In the quiet of the night, Qin Ming carried a long-handled black gold hammer and a short sword, moving swiftly as if he might take flight, rushing into the dense forest.
He felt a sense of urgency. The nobles from Chixia City had arrived, and once they set foot in the mountains, they would surely start searching for various spiritual materials.
He didn't want anyone to get to the Blood Bamboo Forest before him; it was crucial for his second chance at life.
As the night mist cleared, the forest remained dim, but with his keen eyesight, he could clearly see the distant scenery.
"The Blood Bamboo Forest isn't easy to enter; there must be dangers."
If it were otherwise, Feng Yi'an and Shao Chengfeng would have acted long ago instead of waiting until it was too late.
"I’ve been a bit restless."
Cold snowflakes fell on him, some even slipping down his collar, and this chill helped Qin Ming calm down.
Just a moment ago, he was rushing like an eager old man, wishing he could sprout wings and fly into the Blood Bamboo Forest to grab the frozen blood snakes.
"Focus." Qin Ming slowed his pace and adjusted his breathing in the woods.
It's just a second chance at life, right? Even without the spiritual materials, he could still break through based on his own abilities.
"A restless heart leads to mistakes." Walking steadily on the thick snow, Qin Ming gradually became calm and composed.
The Blood Bamboo Forest was undoubtedly dangerous. With someone like Fu Entao, who had also undergone a second rebirth, the patrol teams were hesitant to act. That said a lot.
Qin Ming moved silently through the dense woods and finally unearthed an old knife manual from one spot. The leather pages were worn and frayed, showing signs of frequent reading.
The book wasn’t thick, but it carried an ancient feel, and he wondered where Fu Entao had found it.
"Reading the hard work of those before me will calm my heart." Qin Ming sat down in the forest.
After a moment, he became completely absorbed, diving into the book with all his heart.
Before he knew it, he stood up from the snow, holding the leather book in one hand and gripping the long-handled black gold hammer with the other, swinging it like a long knife.
Though it was a heavy weapon, in his hands, it felt as light as a wooden hammer, moving gracefully and naturally.
To achieve rebirth, he needed to practice the corresponding scriptures, like the Night Meditation Technique and Qi Techniques, which could enhance strength, flexibility, speed, and other physical qualities.
Various combat techniques were about using the body's strength and speed to achieve effective attacks.
Qin Ming's physical abilities were exceptionally strong, surpassing the golden foundation, but his combat techniques had not been systematically trained; most were practical and scattered.
Some came from his years of practicing wild techniques, while others he learned from old hunters in the village.
His practical combat skills were honed in the mountains.
The forest at night was dangerous. Hunting in such an environment meant facing various fierce beasts, and a slow reaction could lead to death.
Though most of his techniques were scattered and could be called wild, they were incredibly lethal. Fighting against beasts didn't follow any rules; it relied on strength, speed, and adaptability.
Because of this, Fu Entao found him exceptionally tricky to deal with. There was no "pattern" to his attacks, making them unpredictable.
Now, as Qin Ming read the knife manual, combining his experiences from battling beasts and his insights from life and death situations, he became entranced, unconsciously holding the book in one hand and the hammer in the other, continuously changing his "knife techniques" based on his understanding.
As he grasped the essence of the knife manual, he began to swing harder, and though there was no flash of a blade, the intent of the knife filled the air, causing the snow on the ground to swirl into the sky. The long-handled black gold hammer moved like lightning, breaking the forest's tranquility.
He "struck" at a large tree, and in an instant, the thick trunk shattered. The force of this "strike" was incredibly violent, and nearby creatures that had been watching him closely were now frightened and scurried away.
Among them was a mutated black tiger, over four meters long, which turned tail and fled.
"Still daring to lurk here, huh?" Qin Ming spotted a humanoid vulture, much larger than its kind, circling close to the trees, hovering about twenty meters above the ground, reluctant to leave.
Just then, he grasped the "throwing knife technique" from the book and immediately executed it. The heavy "hammer-knife" vanished into the night and soared into the air.
"Thud!"
Blood splattered in mid-air, feathers flying everywhere.
The mutated humanoid vulture, with wings spanning several meters, had been quite fierce, but now it was as fragile as porcelain, shattered by Qin Ming's "throwing knife technique"!
His arms had the strength of a thousand pounds, and this strike was without doubt. The long-handled black gold hammer crushed the massive beast, leaving it in pieces, with chunks of flesh and scattered feathers raining down.
Some creatures in the distance saw this scene and immediately bolted, feeling that this two-legged beast was exceptionally ruthless and that they needed to stay far away from him.
"Great knife technique!" Qin Ming praised, lifting the long-handled black gold hammer to practice again.
This knife manual was like a bright light in the night mist for him, illuminating his path, merging his combat experience with the wild techniques, and rapidly elevating his skills.
Qin Ming was so absorbed that he almost lost himself, getting completely caught up in it.
He practiced all the knife techniques from beginning to end. While he didn't achieve complete enlightenment, his combat skills did improve significantly, and his strength was noticeably enhanced.
This knife manual was worth studying; it inspired him deeply and held great value!
"If Fu Entao fully masters this knife manual, it will truly be troublesome." Qin Ming muttered to himself, but if he could fully understand this book, Fu Entao wouldn’t stop at just a second rebirth.
This was not just a knife manual; it also contained some research on rebirth techniques, which was very enlightening for him.
For instance, the book mentioned "Heavenly Light," which first appeared during the third rebirth but would permeate the entire rebirth realm. Even after completing rebirth, one would still need to study Heavenly Light deeply.
In this age of disappearing suns, Heavenly Light embodied people's beautiful wishes and carried infinite hopes.
The Heavenly Light mentioned in the book was not the bright light of the sky that people yearned for but rather a kind of light within the body, given a beautiful name by people.
When a person undergoes their third rebirth, this "Heavenly Light" will initially manifest within them, marking a rise in their life level.
At this point, the reborn individual's strength would greatly increase, allowing them to fight against various dangerous creatures barehanded, all thanks to the "Heavenly Light."
Once the body gives birth to Heavenly Light, a special force called "Heavenly Light Energy" would emerge, possessing strong penetrating and tearing abilities.
Otherwise, how could a reborn individual, with their delicate and small physique, possibly contend with such massive beasts?
The emergence of Heavenly Light Energy allowed the reborn to tear through the scales of mutated giant beasts, capable of piercing their tough, resilient flesh.
However, within the rebirth realm, Heavenly Light Energy could only spread to the surface of the body, extending slightly to fists and feet, and could not yet expand to weapons.
In fact, Heavenly Light Energy was just a general term; if broken down, there would be many types. This book must have had many owners, as the pages were filled with various insights, notes, and annotations from different people.
Among them, someone greatly praised a type of Heavenly Light Energy, lamenting: "I wish I could cultivate the like of the Buddha's strength!"
For someone like Qin Ming, who came from a wild background, the various records and descriptions in the book were quite captivating.
Unfortunately, while this knife manual mentioned some strange and powerful names for Heavenly Light Energy, it didn’t record how to cultivate it.
Qin Ming was lost in thought, pondering for a long time.
As he flipped further through the knife manual, it became less suitable for him to read; he hadn't reached that level yet.
However, in the insights left by predecessors, he discovered a practical secret technique called "Blending with Light and Dust," which could ensure his safety.
After studying it carefully, he couldn't help but break into a cold sweat, feeling fortunate to have found this record.
According to the predecessors, the gaze of higher beings was terrifying; they could see through the vitality within other beings, even at night, perceiving the strong and weak life forces.
That was frightening because lower beings had no secrets from higher beings.
Especially when a reborn individual or a creature birthed Heavenly Light, to higher beings, it was like a fireball in the dark night.
"I must hurry to practice this!" He wiped his cold sweat, suddenly feeling that the mountains were quite dangerous.
Fortunately, Blending with Light and Dust was just a practical secret technique, not some profound and difficult-to-understand text.
"Visualize stillness, be like a withered tree, heart like cold ash, conceal your life force, gradually weaken it, and you can obscure your spirit." He slowly began to comprehend, having at least entered the doorway.
Qin Ming sat quietly for a long time, silently understanding and pondering, gradually discovering more about how Blending with Light and Dust could conceal part of his life force, allowing him to blend in with ordinary people.
Moreover, this "degree" could be controlled. After practicing to a certain level, even after the third rebirth when his body birthed Heavenly Light, he could still conceal it if needed.
With that, Qin Ming let out a sigh of relief.
However, upon further reflection, he couldn't help but chuckle. Perhaps he was overly cautious; even if a high-level being passed through this area and could see through his life force, they probably wouldn't care too much, right? After all, he had only undergone one rebirth, and in the eyes of those creatures, he was just one of the many beings in the mountains.
Then he thought about the higher-ups in Chixia City. Since they could negotiate with the mysterious beings in the mountains, they should possess similar abilities.
"Don't be greedy. Learning this much today is enough. I need to solidify and master it all!" Qin Ming stood up, found a hidden spot, and buried the knife manual again.
Without a doubt, he had gained a lot today. After deeply studying those knife techniques and integrating them with his insights, his strength had significantly improved.
Qin Ming said to himself, "If I were to meet Fu Entao and Feng Yi'an again now, I think I would have a much easier time."
Most importantly, this book had broadened his horizons, allowing him to learn about many things he couldn't access before.
"Fu Entao is actually not bad; he gave me a good book."
After leaving the dense forest, he headed toward the Blood Bamboo Forest.