Qin Ming stepped into the dense forest on one side of the road, used the mutton-fat jade iron blade to dig a deep pit, and buried the palm-sized scrap of cloth inside.
"Worried about trouble?" Old Liu asked.
Qin Ming nodded and tossed in a wild rabbit he'd hunted.
The mist-formed young man had been cold and sinister beyond measure, giving Qin Ming an extremely unpleasant feeling. The only personal item the creature had carried warranted caution.
The two ate a steaming breakfast in Silver Elm Town, then wandered the streets for another half-hour before heading toward the household they'd arranged to visit.
The Wu family's residence wasn't small, but it showed clear signs of decline. Red paint was peeling from the main gate, and the bronze knockers had lost their luster.
"Old Wu, open up!" Old Liu rapped on the door knocker.
"Coming." An elderly man appeared and ushered them inside.
The courtyard was spacious but had lost its former grandeur. Some of the blue flagstones forming the paths had cracked, a large flowerbed had long been converted into a vegetable plot, and dry gourd vines crawled over the rockery.
The Wu family had once been wealthy. Now they'd fallen on hard times. The compound had four full courtyards, but the buildings were in disrepair—everything looked worn and gave an impression of desolation.
If it weren't for this, they probably never would have agreed to let outsiders view their ancestral secret manual.
Old Wu's body had only undergone one New Life. He'd long since lost any airs of high family status and was much like any ordinary old man.
The Wu family had no servants. A teenager brought them coarse tea.
"Old Wu, let's not beat around the bush. You know why we're here—name your price." Old Liu got straight to the point, not wanting to waste time.
"To be honest, my feelings are complicated. My Wu family was once so distinguished. Four generations ago, we had a great expert of the Fifth New Life who looked down upon this whole region—let alone our ancestors further back. Now... am I selling off what my forefathers built? Sigh, thinking carefully fills me with shame." Old Wu sighed.
He glanced at the spacious sitting room. Once decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, the corners of the table were now chipped, and the gold and silver threads inlaid in the thick pillars had all vanished.
Old Liu sipped his tea. "Old Wu, you need to look on the bright side. Which family hasn't had its glory days? If you trace my Liu family back far enough, we were royalty. Have I ever bragged about being a descendant of dragons?"
Old Wu said: "That's ancient history—and are you even from the same 'Liu'? Sigh, I haven't slept well these past few days."
"Elder Wu, we're only borrowing it for a day and guaranteeing no leaks." Qin Ming was direct. He placed five Day Gold coins on the damaged table.
This was already quite generous. In this remote region, a single Day Gold could feed a family of three for a year.
"Not enough." Old Wu shook his head.
Old Liu said: "Old Wu, don't push it. We're only borrowing it for one day, and we guarantee no leaks. You act like this is some celestial scripture."
Old Wu sighed: "When I was young, I went to the Moonview Tower in Redcloud City. One night cost me two Day Gold."
Old Liu burst out laughing. "Still bringing up the old days? Be careful your wife hears!"
Qin Ming finally understood why the Wu family had fallen so fast. Old Wu had been quite the spendthrift in his youth.
He said nothing and placed two more Day Gold on the table.
Old Liu sighed: "Old Wu, Young Qin and I have risked our lives recently, killed some aberrants, and picked up a few damaged weapons from the Great Rift Gorge. After selling them, this is everything we have. Don't fleece us too badly."
Old Wu said nothing, sitting quietly and drinking his tea.
Only when Qin Ming raised the total to fifteen Day Gold did Old Wu sigh: "Unworthy descendants burdened by life have no choice but to show the secret manual to outsiders."
He produced a beast-hide book from his robe—it had an ancient look about it. After placing it on the table, he walked out with a look of melancholy and weariness.
Qin Ming held the beast-hide book, his focus absolute, his mind immersed. This was a sensitive and critical period—he needed to improve his strength quickly.
Old Wu hadn't cheated them. This ancestral secret manual was the crystallized effort of the Wu family's predecessors, carrying powerful emotions within.
Qin Ming studied it carefully. The New Life technique portion couldn't compare to the silk tome, but it was still somewhat instructive.
After a long while, he handed the beast-hide book to Old Liu and closed his eyes to digest what he'd gained.
Old Liu wasn't shy about it. He took the book and read page by page, comparing and verifying against what he'd learned from the old mountain patrolman.
Suddenly, he sensed something and looked up. His composure shattered.
Qin Ming sat with his eyes closed, but threads of Heaven Light had appeared at his fingertips—sharp and unmistakable.
Old Liu had always considered himself a quick learner with exceptional talent. But now he nearly broke down. What was he seeing? Qin Ming had only just started reading, yet he'd already developed the Heaven Light Force recorded in the book.
"You take your time reading, old man. You paid for it after all. I'm going home to contemplate." Qin Ming rose.
Old Liu was completely numb. People truly couldn't be compared. He'd nearly become a disciple in Redcloud City once—how was his talent suddenly insufficient?
"Young man, you're leaving already?" Old Wu in the courtyard was surprised. He hadn't expected Qin Ming to emerge so quickly and come to bid farewell.
Qin Ming nodded. "Yes. This book's content is rather obscure, and its approach doesn't suit me."
Old Wu's despondent expression finally brightened. He smiled, walked over, and patted Qin Ming's shoulder. "That's perfectly normal. The secret manual my ancestors left behind is extraordinarily profound. Forget about your brief reading—even I've been studying it for half my life without fully comprehending it."
"Yes, a truly remarkable book!" Qin Ming nodded and walked out the Wu family's front gate.
Crash!
A sound came from the sitting room. Old Wu hurried inside to find Old Liu somewhat flustered, having accidentally knocked his teacup to the floor.
When Qin Ming returned, he happened to see Yang Yongqing patting the tall black goat at the village entrance, murmuring: "Yonghei, in four days we have to go to Golden Ridge..."
Qin Ming returned to his small courtyard and began practicing the entirely new Heaven Light Force.
The Radiance Force—the beast-hide book recorded it. Once mastered, it allowed one to easily break through armor with bare hands, penetrating nothing. It was a Heaven Light Force with extremely strong penetrating power.
Unquestionably, it overlapped significantly with the Nail Force. Practicing both together would likely complement each other and enable efficient fusion.
The Wu family's ancestors had been renowned in this region for their dual mastery of spear and bow. Their archery and spear techniques were both based on the Radiance Force. Once Heaven Light could be projected externally, the arrows and spear thrusts they launched were truly terrifying.
Additionally, related entries in the beast-hide book—certain experiential insights—expanded Qin Ming's knowledge. For example, it mentioned the medicinal effects of the three-colored flower.
According to the book, three-colored flowers produced by the Spirit Mountain were superior-grade, with gentle medicinal properties. They could nourish and strengthen the Heaven Light within the body, enhancing one's Heaven Light Force.
In the end, everything came down to Heaven Light itself. The Heaven Light born in the human body was, in its natural state, mild and warm, able to nourish the self. But when projected outward and channeled through different force methods, its violent aspect was drawn out.
The beast-hide book cautioned that when fusing various Heaven Light Forces, one must be extremely careful and prudent. If they were incompatible, it could trigger a catastrophic internal Heaven Light explosion with devastating consequences.
The Radiance Force was itself a fusion of three ordinary force arts. The Wu family's ancestors hadn't dared attempt more.
Qin Ming considered this thoughtfully. He hadn't encountered such problems—he felt his Heaven Light Force was extraordinarily inclusive.
The book mentioned that when Heaven Light pierced through the night and descended, the three-colored flowers nourished at those locations were supreme-grade—far more precious than the superior-grade ones from the Spirit Mountain.
However, these supreme-grade three-colored flowers contained external Heaven Light, making their medicinal properties extremely potent and highly corrosive. The human body couldn't withstand them unaided—one needed to consume them alongside substances rich in life essence to avoid harm.
Naturally, this excluded the rare few with extraordinary constitutions who might resist the corrosive force of supreme-grade three-colored flowers.
Qin Ming speculated that the so-called corrosion was related to the spiritual essence of Heaven Light that the external Heaven Light left within the three-colored flower.
Back in the underground cavern, Huang Jingde had seemed forthcoming and answered every question, yet he hadn't mentioned any of this. Old habits of concealment, in the end.
Qin Ming considered that his body had withstood the corrosion of Heaven Light without dying—he should be able to handle the supreme-grade three-colored flower's potency without needing to find additional life-rich substances.
...
In the mountains, near the Great Rift Gorge, two Golden Ridge brigands were personally guarding the area with their men.
"You don't think he'll start targeting the elderly again, do you? We've warned him multiple times—people dying one after another will attract attention. If the higher-ups in Redcloud City notice, we'll have serious trouble."
"Is he really someone Beyond the Pale? Cold, sinister—nothing like the godlike beings you'd expect from that path."
"If he doesn't reveal himself voluntarily, we can't see him at all. That's definitely a Beyond the Pale technique. But from how he operates, he doesn't seem to be walking the orthodox path."
The two brigands talked in secret, unaware that the mist-formed young man was already dead.
Earlier, the young man had come bearing a token from the Golden Theft Brigand, asking the Golden Ridge brigands to guard the area and keep others away.
"He promised to only target the elderly—making it look like natural death, no trouble caused. But the deep night ended long ago. Why hasn't he returned?"
"Let's wait a bit longer."
"Remember when the old mountain beast wailed at the graves back then? Each bow brought a new phenomenon. It mutated rapidly, advancing through stages, causing an enormous stir. Afterward, Redcloud City's higher-ups suppressed all follow-up information. Now this Beyond the Pale fellow is stirring things up at the same place. You don't think he's trying to emulate that old beast, do you? If that's the case, and it gets out—you and I could die a hundred times over and it wouldn't be enough."
"He's someone Beyond the Pale. Surely he wouldn't follow an aberrant's path?"
The two brigands wore grave expressions. They really didn't want to deal with that yin-chilled youth.
"Could it be that a powerful Beyond the Pale figure is using him to probe the Black-White Mountains?"
"I doubt it. I think he's about to leave soon. He looked like he was in a hurry—probably just passing through and doing a bit of business on the side."
...
Qin Ming sat in quiet meditation. He had mastered the Coiling-Silk Force, the Severing Force, the Nail Force, and the Radiance Force. Together with his own unique Heaven Light Force, he felt he could now consume the three-colored flower and fuse them all completely. His strength would surely see a significant leap!
"This scene... feels familiar..." He gazed at the three-colored flower in the jade case, momentarily lost in thought.
The layered petals—resembling willow leaves or swords—emitted a profusion of colorful mist, spiritual light flowing from them, enveloping him.
Since completing his Third New Life, Qin Ming had been recalling fragments of his childhood. Other vague, scattered memories had begun surfacing in his mind.
"Abandoned." He murmured the word, dipped his finger in tea, and wrote it on the table.
As he looked at the three-colored flower, he seemed to see a similar scene from the past.
"Cui Chonghe." He then wrote these three characters on the table, studying them closely. "'Chonghe—qi flowing into harmony'—from a text scattered by those Beyond the Pale. Cui is my surname. Cui Chonghe... is that my true name? But I find those Beyond the Pale repugnant."