During this season, the earth's glow rises, and light rain falls in the wild. The dark clouds in the sky are visible, and the first spring thunder echoes, with faint flashes of lightning in the distance.
With a whoosh, a large group of people appeared beside Qin Ming, both men and women, rushing into the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall, all looking very tense.
"Why the rush? The spring thunder has just started, and there's still some time before the real 'explosion.' How the celestial phenomena evolve depends on the earth's light." Seventy-two-year-old Old Zhao really came. He had mentioned at the Drunken Mist Pavilion that he would risk his life at the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall this year, hoping for a revival in spring.
"You all are too young. You don't usually enter the fire fields, observe the earth's glow, or distinguish the seasons. The underground fire springs have already caused the celestial phenomena, but it's still not enough."
A group of old men arrived, already wearing burial clothes, making the young and strong in the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall feel gloomy and unlucky.
"Don't rush, there's still time to write your wills, have some food and drink, and think about whether you really want to die."
Led by Old Zhao, a dozen old folks, besides wearing burial clothes and jade ornaments, also carried their favorite items, ready to "take them along."
"Are you planning to cremate yourselves with the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall?" asked a burly man with a stubbly face, feeling offended.
"Young man, are you upset? I mean no harm. Based on past experiences, it's good if one survives in several years. We're destined to accompany each other on the road to the underworld, so it's better to get to know each other and build good relationships."
The young and strong were left speechless because, although unpleasant, his words were true.
"I should have worn gold and silver too. If I die here, at least I wouldn't have wronged myself," a young man sighed.
At this moment, an old man with almost no teeth asked the people outside the hall, "Has my golden nanmu coffin been brought?"
The young and strong in the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall were speechless, thinking these old folks had probably arranged their burial goods and plots.
"Don't be strangers, come, let's have some food and drink together. We're 'death friends,' all one of us," another old man invited, having already ordered a lot of fine wine and food.
The young and strong were silent, feeling far less open-minded than these old men, who viewed life as a big dream and were ready to end this life calmly.
"You've prepared burial clothes and coffins, knowing there's little hope. Why come here to suffer? Isn't it better to avoid being struck by lightning and keep your body intact?"
"How would you know without trying? What if it works? In this world, nothing is certain, and everyone wants to be that 'one.'"
The group sat down and counted, totaling sixty-nine people, about the same as in previous years. The group of death friends relaxed, regardless of age or gender, and started eating and drinking, with some even reminiscing about their past.
Qin Ming kept looking outside the golden hall, wondering where the corpse collector Xu Sheng found had gone. He hoped nothing would go wrong, feeling a bit unreliable.
"Young man, you seem quite young. Why are you risking your life so early?" an old man asked.
At this time, Qin Ming's long black hair covered most of his face, and his face was dirty, but the old man still sensed his youth.
Qin Ming sighed, "I have no choice. A thousand-year-old beast in the distance watches me coldly. I don't know what it intends to do. If I don't quickly elevate my life level, I can't control my fate."
Since they were about to be separated by life and death, he didn't care what he said now.
"Boy, you're only fifteen or sixteen, right? Why are you here?" Old Zhao asked a dull-looking boy beside him.
The boy named Qian Cheng said blankly, "They say I'm stupid, always bullying and scolding me, forcing me to do things for them. I don't want to be kicked or slapped anymore. Anyway, my grandma has passed away, and I'm alone. I'm here to try my luck."
"This... sigh! Child, leave here. You can come to my house, and I'll arrange a job feeding horses for you," Old Zhao said.
"No, being pitied, the friendship will eventually fade with time," the dull boy Qian Cheng said.
Qin Ming was surprised, feeling he wasn't stupid at all.
"The spring thunder has sounded, why hasn't it struck yet? It's torturous!" a fierce man said, with tattoos on his face, looking like a prisoner.
Sensing others' strange looks, he said, "Don't look at me. I'm a death row inmate, sent here to withstand the lightning. If I survive, I won't be executed."
"That's a medicine man, thunder meat!" an old man whispered.
"What did you say?" the man asked.
"Every year, nobles do this, sending death row inmates in. Some residual celestial light remains, and later the bodies are fed to exotic creatures."
"Not all are fed to exotic creatures. Those with good teeth and enough ferocity might eat it themselves."
Hearing this, the fierce man felt terrible, sitting down heavily. This was worse than waiting for execution!
Now, he had to be struck by lightning first, and then either fed to exotic creatures or end up in an old noble's stomach. It was too tragic.
"No, I won't do it. I want to leave the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall!" he shouted, standing up.
"What are you shouting for? Your family has taken the money, your son is in school, and you want to back out now?" someone approached from afar.
The man sat down dejectedly, silent and motionless.
Clearly, he wasn't alone. There were a dozen people in the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall with the same hopeless expressions, all sent by nobles or wealthy people.
After eating and drinking, Qin Ming went to the black sea of emotions to fish for treasures. If he couldn't find any, it didn't matter because he found that he could train his consciousness in this "terrifying wave."
"Hmm?" When he stopped caring and treated this resonance as a form of cultivation, an unexpected strong wave came.
In the dark sea of emotions, a young man roared, emitting a faint silver glow all over.
"I refuse to accept this! I've survived two spring thunders, and I'm stronger in the third year, yet I'm going to die here? Why is the celestial light accompanying the thunderfire so intense this time?!"
In the scene ahead, the young man's hair stood on end as he operated a strange thunder force to resist the celestial light's erosion.
Around him, corpses lay everywhere, either pitch black or bright red, some torn apart by the celestial light, resembling a corner of hell.
"Unfortunately, I've only mastered the explosive force, not the true thunder force. I regret it so much. My sect's ultimate skill was about to be open to me, but I rushed for a breakthrough, ruining my bright future."
These were his thoughts in the last moment, as he was already immobile and couldn't escape.
The young man regretted and blamed himself, but in the final moment, he let go of negative emotions, with all his pores exploding with arc-like explosive force, fully resisting the celestial light.
"I must endure!"
Then, he exploded, dying miserably.
Qin Ming felt as if he experienced it firsthand, his hair standing on end. It was too bloody and tragic.
Afterward, he began practicing that explosive force in the golden hall. This force was strong and could evolve into the famous thunder force.
Qin Ming was amazed that the explosive force was a composite force, integrating several celestial light forces, with immense power. When unleashed into a giant beast's body, it would shatter a large area of flesh.
"Xiao Qin, you can still back out now," Xu Sheng arrived, clearly disguised, looking completely different from usual, and brought the corpse collector who almost overslept.
Qin Ming shook his head, quietly informing him that he was in an unprecedentedly good state, having initially mastered the Sun family's hammer and whip forces.
He had already been honest with Xu Sheng before, as he needed to instruct the corpse collector to pull him out of the golden hall, dead or alive, after enduring four celestial lights.
The spring thunder rumbled in the distance.
After waiting two more days, real lightning began to appear in the sky over this area. Light rain drizzled, the earth's glow rose, and the world was as bright as day.
Many people came to Chixia Mountain, knowing that every year at this time, after the spring thunder, people would line up here to die.
Many came to witness this "spectacle," mostly for fun, but some nobles were waiting for their "thunder meat" to be brought out.
The Mountain God Temple was crowded again, all watching the lightning on Chixia Mountain.
Finally, the spring thunder descended, exploding above the Thunderfire Alchemy Hall. On the bright metal tiles, electric arcs intertwined, dazzling, with thunderfire balls rolling, a terrifying sight.
The most frightening was the celestial light from beyond, descending with the lightning, extremely dazzling, penetrating buildings and entering the mountain.
The Thunderfire Alchemy Hall was intricately constructed, capable of conducting electricity and weakening the thunder, but it struggled to resist the celestial light from beyond.
The celestial light combined with the thunderfire, nurturing an incredibly rare spiritual substance, which was enveloped and fell into the golden hall.
Qin Ming witnessed that after the first wave of thunderfire celestial light, half the people fell. Some turned black, motionless, while others turned red, like they were cooked.
Qin Ming was solemn, feeling the celestial light's violence. It flowed through his body like boiling water, trying to cook him.
With a rumble, when the second wave of celestial light fell, few were left standing in the golden hall. Qin Ming saw seventy-two-year-old Old Zhao explode.
When the third wave of celestial light arrived, Qin Ming was in severe pain. He lay on the ground, not wanting to stand out, as everyone else had fallen. He could still receive the celestial light and spiritual substance on the ground.
Far away, people had already started pulling ropes, and cries could be heard, knowing their relatives in the hall hadn't survived.
When the fourth wave of celestial light fell, the golden hall was like a purgatory. Some bodies not pulled out in time were torn apart by the celestial light. Near Qin Ming lay Old Zhao's leg and another old man's arm, with the tattered burial clothes burned beyond recognition.
The celestial light from beyond was indeed terrifying, threatening Qin Ming while he sensed the rich spiritual substance entering his body.
He operated the method from the silk book, adjusting his body and harnessing the celestial light for himself. This celestial light from beyond could merge with the celestial light generated within.
Suddenly, Qin Ming felt something was wrong. The fifth wave of celestial light had fallen, yet the corpse collector hadn't moved. He saw Liu Laotou, another three-time reborn, being dragged out, while he was still lying there.
What was that corpse collector doing? Qin Ming wanted to curse!
Then, the sixth wave of thunderfire celestial light, mixed with rare spiritual substance, fell. Qin Ming was furious. Did that guy really want to send him off?
He couldn't bear it any longer, ready to jump up and run.
He was a living person, not to be tormented to death by an unreliable corpse collector. If necessary, he wouldn't keep a low profile.
From afar, someone spoke to Qin Ming's corpse collector, "Brother, we've pulled our employers out, whether intact or in pieces. We've done our best. Why haven't you moved?"
"Anyway, they won't survive. Sooner or later, it's the same. But better pull them out to avoid being completely shattered, or the deceased's family will cause trouble and pay me less," the corpse collector finally acted.
Qin Ming was about to sit up, almost coming back to life. He wanted to chop that corpse collector to pieces once he got out!
Just as he was about to get up, a special rope tightened around his waist, dragging him out. He gritted his teeth and endured!
Then, he wanted to curse again. Why was the rope pulling so slowly? Hadn't they eaten? He really wanted to kill that corpse collector.
When the seventh wave of thunderfire celestial light fell, Qin Ming caught some "tail light" and was finally dragged out of the hall.
He immediately operated the secret method of blending with the dust, pretending to be dead.
Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. With such rich spiritual substance entering his body, the fourth rebirth should be no problem. He would regain those lost memories.