Qin Ming stopped peeling the stone skin. The forest was too dangerous for him to act impulsively; if a beam of light shot up here, his life would be in danger.
After the stone had shrunk a bit, he could barely fit it into the sleeve of his fur robe, but he chose not to.
He walked out of the mountain, leaving the stone behind in the dense woods.
He noticed that there were people watching at the mountain's exit. All the major organizations were keeping a close eye on the special resources in this area.
Soon, he spotted a woman in a fur cloak. She was tall, standing in the wind and snow, her hair flying in the breeze, but her face remained hidden.
"He’s indeed safe." The crow was also there and had spotted Qin Ming. Its purple eyes flickered with symbols as it looked at him several times.
Qin Ming maintained a calm expression, but inside, he felt a ripple. He couldn’t tell how many eyes were scanning those coming out of the mountain. If he brought the stone with him, it would definitely raise suspicion.
The purple-eyed crow circled in the sky, wishing it could dive back into the mountains. "This is beyond comprehension. How could there be ten-color nodes? And they merged with the five-color mist! I’m so tempted; if I had known, I would have asked your master to come personally and let me out of the black mist world. Let’s see who dares to stop me!"
The woman in the black cloak said, "Don’t act recklessly. All the high-level beings are on edge right now. We need to wait for the right moment."
Outside the mountain, Qin Ming found Mu Qing, Cao Long, and others. He noticed that this group of noble heirs was very cautious and didn’t make any rash moves.
"Where have you been? It’s too dangerous in the mountain now," the black sheep knight Yang Yongqing asked him.
"I was chasing that talking bird but lost it," Qin Ming replied with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Cao Long immediately asked where he lost it. That talking bird had offended him badly, and he was still angry about it.
That day, the commotion deep in the mountain was enormous. Even the nearby villagers were gazing in wonder; they had never seen such a dazzling sight in their lives.
The early night was almost over, but there was still no conclusion in the mountains.
Qin Ming dutifully checked with his employers and confirmed that they wouldn’t be going into the mountains anymore. He called out, "Uncle Xu, Grandpa Liu, we should head back."
"Ah, why go back so early?" Grandpa Liu said, not having seen enough yet.
"We need to go back to eat; we’ve been hungry all day!" Qin Ming replied.
Wei Zhirou, Cao Long, Mu Qing, and others couldn’t help but glance at him, thinking how pure-hearted and simple-minded this boy was. Even with such a big event happening in the mountains, all the attention, it didn’t affect his desire to go back for a meal.
"True, even if we stayed for three days and nights, it wouldn’t concern us. Let’s go back to eat," Grandpa Liu said.
The black sheep knight Yang Yongqing and Xu Yueping also followed suit and left. Although the mountain was colorful, it wasn’t their world.
At night, Qin Ming sat at the village entrance under the black and white trees, gazing towards the mountains. It was bright as day, and the vibrant colors hadn’t faded; it was so refreshing that it made one yearn to get closer.
"This is Black and White Mountain. Ever since it collapsed five hundred years ago, it hasn’t returned to its former black and white scenery. What a pity."
Qin Ming was surprised to hear such words from two women he spotted in the snow.
He was a local and didn’t even know the old name Black and White Mountain. He usually referred to the mountains by names like East Ridge and West Gully, but these two outsiders seemed to know more than he did.
In the wind and snow, the two women stood gracefully, their clothes fluttering. They were dressed lightly, and it was still far from the hot summer when the hot springs were most active.
As they approached the village entrance, they examined the black and white trees by the hot spring.
"This village actually has black and white trees. It must be seeds from Black and White Mountain that sprouted," said the woman in white, who had spoken earlier.
She wore a white dress that stood out in the fiery night, surrounded by a faint mist. Her slightly chubby face was clear, and she looked quite young, around fifteen or sixteen years old, with beautifully arched eyebrows and big, sparkling eyes.
If it were Qin Ming, he definitely wouldn’t choose to wear white when hunting in the mountains; it was too eye-catching and not suitable for survival.
He soon noticed that the girl in white was following the other woman closely, who was dressed plainly in green and stood quietly in the wind and snow, carefully observing the two old trees in the hot spring.
A thick fog surrounded her, making her appear hazy and ethereal, like a fairy about to ride the wind away.
Qin Ming stood up, realizing he shouldn’t sit by the hot spring anymore, and greeted the two women.
They nodded in response. The woman in green spoke for the first time, "What is the name of this village?"
"Double Tree Village," Qin Ming replied, taking the chance to ask, "What’s the story behind the old Black and White Mountain?"
The woman in green spoke softly, her voice pleasant to hear. "One half of the land was pitch black, and the other half was bright as day, separated by thick fog. It used to be a dead end, but then it collapsed."
"You’re quite rare, young man. My lady actually spoke so much to you," the girl in white said, showing a lively personality. She and the woman in green didn’t seem to have a very strict master-servant relationship, given her playful tone.
The woman in green didn’t say anything more. She took a deep look at the black and white trees before turning to leave, heading towards the mountains with a light but determined stride.
"What are your names, ladies?" Qin Ming asked from behind.
The girl in white chuckled, "Young man, don’t think too much. We’ll disappear soon. We are separated from you by mountains and seas."
"I was just asking for names. How far is infinity? Don’t you usually live among people?" Qin Ming said.
The girl in white laughed, "Ah, you’re so pure and adorable. Based on the path you’re taking, when you stand at the mountain's peak, perhaps there will be a slight chance to see us from afar in certain situations."
"Watch your mouth," the woman in green scolded.
Qin Ming watched their retreating figures, feeling speechless. Who were these people? For a moment, he really wanted to scold the girl in white and ask her what nonsense she was talking.
"Go back and call Jin Peng. I’m going into the mountains," the woman in green said.
"Okay!" The girl in white turned and walked in another direction.
Qin Ming’s pupils shrank. The girl in white moved too fast, almost absurdly so. A mist flowed around her, isolating her from the wind and snow, wrapping her entirely, and in the blink of an eye, she disappeared at the edge of the earth.
The next day, Qin Ming took on the role of a guide, as Mu Qing, Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and others could no longer sit still and began exploring the nodes outside the mountain.
Previously, four organizations had already harvested mysterious resources after losing some members to the light mist.
All the newcomers were restless, carefully searching, and figures could be seen all over the mountain, trying to venture into the dangerous underground node space.
As for the deepest part of the mountain, it still shone brightly as day. The high-ranking members of the big organizations and those high-level beings had been stirred up for a day and night, their eyes bloodshot.
They had come to capture the mysterious resources, initially like patient fishermen, but now they were the ones being slipped away.
The two wonders were merging into one, constantly shifting, sometimes sinking underground for a long time before surfacing, bringing with them blinding light and thick fog.
So far, no one had been able to get close enough to see what it truly was.
In the end, these people were all in, braving terrible erosion, delving into the underground node space, preparing to cut off its path in the spiritual veins created by the daylight.
Even those who set traps, like Ling Xu and the old yellow weasel, had lost their patience for fishing. Instead, they dove headfirst into the nodes, entering the underground world.
They had a feeling that after merging, those two mysterious resources might have completed their final transformation and were about to emerge, so they had to act with all their might.
The competition grew fiercer, with high-level beings dying underground, never to return.
They vanished from the surface, and those outside the mountain finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Old Wang, don’t go too far. This spirited little tree is already in my possession. Are you going to steal it from me?!" In the distance, an old man covered in blood stumbled out from a node, clutching a small tree about a foot tall, swirling with purple mist.
"Stop him! The old man from the Cao family found the longevity tree! It can extend life by ten years!" shouted the old man named Wang, chasing after him.
"Seventh Uncle, come over here! Let’s see who dares to stop me?!" Cao Long shouted, sitting atop a giant red bull that was taller than an adult, wielding a gleaming spear.
"Good nephew, quickly bring people to help block them."
An old man in broken black armor ran over. In the process, he huffed and puffed, directly eating the small tree, roots and all, not leaving a single bit behind.
"I’ve already eaten it, old man Wang! What can you do about it?" laughed the old man from the Cao family.
"Everyone, cut open his belly! The medicine is still in there!" shouted the old man Wang.
Nearby, six or seven old men closed in, their eyes fierce. For them, the longevity tree was more precious than any mysterious resource.
"Old man Wang, you’re rotten to the core! No wonder your son Wang Nianzhu is a notorious criminal; it’s because you’re not much better!" Cao Long’s seventh uncle was furious, looking at the approaching old men. "If you really want to kill, don’t blame me for being disgusting!"
He glanced at the big yellow dog sitting next to Grandpa Liu and then at Yang Yongqing’s black goat. "If you push me, I’ll cut open the goat’s belly and drink its urine. Then you can all eat this longevity medicine!"
Everyone was stunned, thinking he was quite ruthless. But why was he staring at the big yellow dog?
Meanwhile, Yang Yongqing’s black goat urinated loudly, clearly sensing the danger.
And the big yellow dog sitting next to Grandpa Liu also reacted, letting out a load.
"Why are you all reacting so much?" Cao Long’s seventh uncle was furious.
"Alright, if you’re such a ruthless person, we’ll just turn around and leave. We’re just watching here. Do you dare to do that?!"
"Enough!" Cao Long moved, urging the giant bull forward, directly striking at the old man Wang with his spear.
"You’re strong, young man, but… ah!" The long knife in the old man Wang’s hand was knocked away, and he flew back, covered in blood.
"Good nephew, you’ve become so strong! You didn’t waste your time in that big city!" Cao Long’s seventh uncle was both shocked and delighted.
Instantly, several old men retreated.
Cao Long had knocked over an elder, causing everyone to be wary and not dare to approach, making their area quite safe.
During this time, Qin Ming consulted with people from the Mu, Cao, and Wei families about the mysterious resources and their characteristics.
For the people of Chixia City, this information was already quite public, with no secrets. Just a few sentences could broaden Qin Ming and Xu Yueping’s knowledge.
"Plants, earth liquids, and other spiritual resources are easy to harvest and collect. The troublesome ones are the special resources wrapped in stone skin, which are often overlooked. If you’re not careful, you might miss them."
Qin Ming learned a lot of useful knowledge, and some of his doubts were cleared up.
Unless a special resource was dazzling and radiant, it would calm down once the light faded after being uncovered.
Qin Ming thought he could cut open the stone he picked up to take a look; it shouldn’t be a big problem.
As the early night was coming to an end, he hid in a snowdrift and peeled off the stone skin. Sure enough, a faint light escaped and entered his body.
Beneath the stone skin, a pure white jade light emerged, crystal clear.
"Could this be the jade iron they mentioned?" Qin Ming had only heard a few things about it and knew it was a rare material, and weapons made from it had a mysterious quality.
Of course, while jade iron was rare, it wasn’t worth its weight in gold. Every time the light fell, one could collect some materials of similar quality.
Even in the same area, one could gather multiple pieces of jade iron.
He buried the stone again after peeling off a corner, confirming it wasn’t anything edible. There was no rush; he could take it later.
It was getting late, and Qin Ming had already finished his guide duties and was preparing to leave the mountain.
Boom!
The ground shook, and a massive burst of light erupted from the distance, even more dazzling than before, hurting people’s eyes and making them tear up.
"What happened?" Everyone was shocked.
Deep in the mountain, five colors and ten lights indicated that mysterious resources were emerging, and someone had snatched them, bursting forth from the underground fissures.
A woman was racing through the forest, but her form couldn’t be hidden. The special resource she had, though wrapped in stone skin, was sending out strong waves that spread in all directions, glowing continuously and seemingly taking a while to extinguish.
During this time, she summoned a golden giant bird and leaped onto it. The giant bird soared into the sky, ready to escape into the horizon.
However, six high-level beings, including winged humanoids and a woman with wings standing on a blue bird, blocked her path.
"Is it her?" Qin Ming was surprised. It was indeed the woman in green he had seen at the village entrance last night. She was very young and surprisingly strong, daring to snatch food from a group of high-level beings.
The woman in green was being pressured by six experts, forced back into the forest.
Qin Ming turned and ran, showcasing "Harmonizing Light and Dust" to its fullest, as he was not far from her.
"Whoosh!" The woman in green, suspended in mid-air, broke off a piece of stone about a foot long and directly extracted the mysterious resource from within.
The light in her hand became even more intense, with five colors and ten lights intertwining, tearing through the night.
The outer layer of the object was a mist of light, hiding something dazzling, which she pressed against a crystal-clear red mole on her forehead.
The brilliant light actually entered her body directly, and she remained on the back of the golden bird, not being forced down into the forest, rapidly heading towards the distance.
"Chase!" All the powerful figures from the major organizations and high-level beings pursued her.
It was unclear how long it took, but Qin Ming finally breathed a sigh of relief as he emerged from the dense forest. He walked through the heavy night, finding the two pieces of stone that had been broken off.
"Hmm?!" He was stunned. After experiencing the light’s erosion and baptism in the earth fissure, he had developed a special sense. It seemed there were faint fluctuations in the stone in his left hand.