"Learning more skills is always good. You never know when it might save your life, and you really do pick things up quickly," the old man Liu said, nodding in agreement but then sighed. In such a remote place, there were hardly any notable families left.
The most important thing was that even if those families had fallen, they still followed their ancestors' teachings and wouldn't easily show their books to outsiders.
"I'll ask around and see what I can find," Liu promised.
Qin Ming was very happy. If he could come across an old secret book filled with the wisdom of past masters, it would be a huge gain for him.
He felt that there was hope; even if a family had fallen, not everyone would cling to the old ways.
"Old man, how's your health?" Qin Ming asked with concern.
Liu had worked hard all his life to get a small red grass with rich spiritual energy from the Fire Bat Cave, only to be targeted by people from Golden Rooster Ridge, who had secretly given him a nasty hit.
He sighed, "I won't die from this injury, and I can recover, but for a complete rebirth, I can't control that anymore. I'll just leave it to fate."
...
When Qin Ming returned home, he took meat from a fire snake, placed it on an iron plate, and began to smash it with a long black hammer until it turned into a paste.
"Hopefully, there's no human blood in this? I washed the hammer twice."
Half an hour later, Qin Ming brought a jar of meat porridge to Liu's house again and said, "I hunted a small spiritual creature in the mountains. While it can't help with rebirth, it's still a supplement. It's a bit cold in nature, which can balance the heat from the red grass."
Liu was suspicious but took it anyway, saying, "You really care."
The next day, just as night was falling, Liu knocked on the door. Upon seeing Qin Ming, he grabbed his hand and said, "Little Qin, what did you feed me?"
The fire snake's meat tasted completely different from ordinary snakes, and Liu felt much better, no longer sickly.
"I feel so good now that I think I could have another child in my old age!"
...
That day, everyone noticed Liu was full of energy, and his voice was much louder.
"Black and White Mountain is making headlines everywhere. Many splendid cities are buzzing about it. The ten-colored light beams tore through the night sky, shocking the world."
While searching for special nodes in the mountains, Cao Long, Mu Qing, Wei Zhirou, and others were discussing this. They had good sources of information, communicating with the outside world through a type of bird.
Qin Ming perked up and listened closely. He was very interested in the mysterious products related to the corner scraps and wanted to learn more about the outside world.
"Many big organizations regret not paying enough attention to this place. After evaluating this mysterious product, they believe it's a heavenly gift worth a fortune. Even some ancient sects that had been sealed off were stirred and sent people to find out more."
In a flash, the long-silent Black and White Mountain became the focus of discussions everywhere.
"Two hundred years ago, a heavenly light pierced through Black and White Mountain. Some of the masters who came from the royal capital are still alive. There's even an old guy who got so angry he couldn't sleep for two days and nights. In the end, he ran into the deep mountains to hunt the legendary six-tusked white elephant."
"The six-tusked white elephant? Isn't that the mount of a deity worshipped by some secret cult? Even if it exists, it must be in the deepest part of the night mist."
Qin Ming listened with great interest. He longed for the vast outside world, and just hearing about it made him feel excited. He wanted to leave this remote place and see it for himself.
"Not only the royal capital, but even the powerful Yu Kingdom's royal city has been stirred. The national teacher personally inquired about this matter. After all, the ten-colored light beams and five-colored mist appeared together and merged, which has never been recorded in any documents."
Although some were eager to find that mysterious product, they couldn't chase it down due to strong resistance from powerful outsiders.
"Those blessed lands and the spiritual mountains that hold heavenly light are now considered..."
Qin Ming wanted to urge them to say more, but while their relationship was good, it wasn't close enough for him to pry. He knew his place and didn't push further.
After a fruitless search for special nodes that day, Xu Yueping and Liu discussed taking three teams to the nest of the Flying Sickle Bird.
Xu Yueping frankly said that he couldn't be sure if there were any spiritual substances there, but it was indeed a good place to test new practitioners.
He was very dedicated and responsible toward the village and wanted to ask Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing to help eliminate the threat.
The reason for the food shortage this winter was largely due to the Flying Sickle Birds. Before the autumn harvest, they flew out of the mountains, skimming over the fire fields and quickly devouring clusters of grain.
Wei Zhirou nodded, saying, "The original plan to sweep the mountains was to clear out various harmful beasts. Since there's this evil bird, we should go take a look."
Xu Yueping was very grateful. Everyone knew that the sweep was just a cover; finding the special products in the mountains was the real goal.
Cao Long said, "This year's new group of young practitioners has only seen a bit of blood in the Fire Bat Cave. They haven't had any real challenges yet, so the Flying Sickle Birds are perfect."
Soon, they arrived at a low cliff where there was a lot of bird droppings in the snow, and the cliff had many crevices where the Flying Sickle Birds lived.
Mu Qing, Cao Long, and the others were well-prepared and even brought nets woven from fine metal wire. They threw out several large nets to cover the densest areas of the nests.
Even so, a large number of Flying Sickle Birds took off, and there were at least a thousand that escaped, truly a disaster.
They were about a foot long, with very large and sharp beaks, and were quite fierce. After their nests were attacked and covered, they all dove in without fear.
Fortunately, everyone was wearing armor. Even though some birds broke through to attack, they could still defend themselves.
Qin Ming, Xu Yueping, and the others were no exception. In the past few days, they had been guiding the three teams in the mountains and were given a set of armor.
In the end, many Flying Sickle Birds were killed, especially in the nests that were covered by the nets. After clearing the cliff, a layer of bird corpses piled up on the ground.
Many fierce birds still managed to fly away, but they dealt with most of them, and with their nests destroyed, they wouldn't dare return for a while. With their numbers reduced, the villagers would also be brave enough to hunt them.
The knight Yang Yongqing was in charge of notifying the villagers to bring bags to collect the bird corpses. It would be a huge waste to throw away so much meat.
In the days that followed, Qin Ming kept an eye on various groups in the mountains but still hadn't found the people he was looking for.
"Those two are in their early thirties. The woman has a mole on her right eyebrow, and the man has long arms. Unfortunately, I haven't found anyone matching that description."
Those two had rescued him from the Feathered Boy and brought him far away from the city, leaving him in Silver Vine Town after scouting Black and White Mountain. But they hadn't shown up this time.
During this time, Qin Ming kept his promise and contacted the old noble's people several times to inform them about what he had seen in the mountains and which organizations had obtained special products.
The old noble, Xie Jingrui, sighed, still waiting for something he needed to appear.
Today, he personally entered the mountains and even went deep into the heart of the mountain, which shocked many old men from Chixia City.
Since Ling Xu and the tabby cat left, no one dared to go deep anymore. In the mountains, not to mention the mysterious mountain lord, even the old weasel that was about a foot long went crazy, running around with a donkey. After being intercepted by a woman in green, it clearly lost its composure. Who would dare to provoke such trouble?
Half a day later, the old noble Xie Jingrui quietly walked out, holding two short plant roots, one black and one white.
He sighed, "Indeed, there are remnants of the Black and White Tree's roots deep in the mountain. Nourished by heavenly light, they have transformed into an incredible mysterious product!"
Qin Ming was acting alone, searching for special nodes. When he saw him coming, he asked, "Did you find what you were looking for?"
"I found something, but someone got there first." Xie Jingrui stood in the forest, somewhat helplessly sighing, "It's a pity I'm injured and can't fight in chaos for long; otherwise, I would have entered the mountain earlier."
"Is there no clue left?" Qin Ming realized that the roots of the Black and White Tree nourished by heavenly light were very important to the old noble. He had come here two years ago just to obtain them.
Xie Jingrui said, "I know who took it. I need to go to Chixia City."
"It wasn't taken by the Lord of Ling Xu, was it?" Qin Ming asked.
The old noble nodded. He had asked Wei Mo, who walked the route of the Giant Spirit God, and was told that Ling Xu had been lingering there for a long time.
Xie Jingrui said, "No wonder Ling Xu ran back to Chixia City after missing the strongest mysterious product. They say he was so angry he almost broke his thigh from slapping it, regretting not buying a flying mount. In fact, he was afraid others would know he had another big gain. He took this opportunity to escape. What a thief! And dressed in white and elegant? He should really wear black."
Qin Ming was speechless and also curious about how the old noble could talk so much before leaving.
He soon got his answer when Xie Jingrui said, "That purple-eyed crow has taken a liking to you. Work hard; this place is too remote and isolated. Get out of here soon."
He was about to leave Silver Vine Town and would set off immediately after returning.
"Miss Xie will leave with you, right?"
"Yes, if fate allows, we'll meet again!" The old noble Xie Jingrui suddenly vanished into the forest with incredible speed.
In the distance, there was a loud commotion. When Qin Ming rushed over, he found a group of well-dressed nobles confronting Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing.
The various families from Chixia City were not all harmonious. Cao, Wei, and Mu families had banded together, and naturally, other big families had also come into the mountains.
Just a moment ago, someone had clashed with Cao Long but was quickly defeated and sent flying, surprising everyone.
At that moment, a young man in golden armor rode a mutated golden leopard and advanced with a strong presence.
Cao Long said coldly, "Feng Xing, don't cause trouble. That old man from the Wang family tried to steal my uncle's longevity tree, and I pushed him back. What's the problem? Are you here to back the Wang family?"
The young man Feng Xing on the golden leopard spoke calmly, "It's been two years since we last met. I heard your strength has increased significantly. We’ve both come a long way; let’s have a spar now."
"You just want to fight, right? I'm not afraid of you!"
The surrounding people were also from Chixia City and knew each other. Although they were mainly divided into two groups, there were also neutral nobles who tried to mediate.
"Brother Feng Xing, Brother Cao Long, you are both outstanding figures from Chixia City. Don't ruin the harmony. Now that your strength is so high, if something goes wrong, the consequences would be dire."
In such a situation, anyone daring to speak up clearly had some background.
The speaker was a young man riding a white rhino, coming closer from afar. He was very handsome, dressed in silver armor that made him look impressive and extraordinary.
Beside him was a girl riding a black tiger, her figure graceful, clad in purple-gold armor, with arched brows and bright, captivating eyes. Many young men couldn't help but steal glances at her.
After this striking pair appeared, many people greeted them warmly, even those older than them were polite.
Behind this outstanding young couple, a large group followed them, surrounding them like stars around the moon.
Qin Ming learned from the whispers of the crowd why these two were so eye-catching.
They had caused a sensation in Chixia City when they became new practitioners this year, the most dazzling in twenty years, stunning the entire region. Many who had built a solid foundation over the years were far less impressive than them.
Sure enough, after the young man spoke, Feng Xing was very respectful, putting away his weapon and chatting with him.
"Who is Qin Ming?" the silver-armored young man Nie Rui asked, looking for him among the crowd.
Qin Ming frowned. How did he know about him?
Nie Rui smiled and said, "I went to visit Master Xu Kong, and during my visit, I wanted to spar with his disciple. But Zhou Wubing said he was unwell and couldn't fight, yet he highly praised you, saying you were stronger than him. I'm really curious if there's a young man here who is even better than a disciple personally taught by Master Xu Kong. So I came to see."
Qin Ming was shocked. This guy was really something!