As the night was coming to an end, Qin Ming woke up. The sunstone in the copper basin emitted a soft glow, and the house was quiet.
He was extremely thirsty, his throat felt dry, and after drinking several bowls of cold water, he finally felt a bit better.
Soon, he noticed something unusual. His clothes felt a bit tight and didn't fit well anymore.
Realizing what was happening, he stood in the doorway and measured his height, confirming that he had grown taller.
Qin Ming was a bit lost in thought. He had only taken a nap, but the experience was beyond imagination. In a short time, he had gained a strong new life force, and his innate foundation had developed again.
Stretching his limbs, he felt like he had endless energy. Once outside, he easily lifted two stone grinding wheels.
Next, he tried to hold one with one hand. It felt heavy, but he could manage it for a little while.
Qin Ming was surprised. He could barely lift four hundred pounds with one hand. Didn’t that mean he was as strong as some well-known youths in the bright city far away?
He took off his ill-fitting clothes and noticed that the scab on his shoulder had fallen off without leaving a scar. This was also a sign of rebirth.
After that, he began to prepare dinner.
Qin Ming cooked a pot of meat soup and grilled wolf ribs that smelled delicious, using ingredients from mutated creatures to satisfy his body's needs for "rebirth."
He ate meat and drank soup heartily. His body was already hot, and now he was sweating profusely, a wave of heat flowing through him.
Though he was in the later stages of rebirth, it wasn’t over yet. He wanted to take advantage of this moment to fully stimulate his body and promote the process.
His physical abilities had improved dramatically. Movements that were once difficult now felt effortless and natural.
It felt like there was a fire burning inside him, ready to shine through his skin.
In the end, his body was covered in patches of "golden dots," which soon broke through the surface, with tiny golden threads emerging. Though they were very small, they were distinguishable.
This was unusual; it had never happened before.
The "golden threads" emerged from his flesh, leaving faint traces of blood. At first glance, it looked alarming, but it didn’t truly harm him.
Qin Ming felt a sense of relief. His body’s energy was becoming fresher, full of vitality, as if he was "detoxifying."
He quickly understood that this was a full rebirth, eliminating harmful substances.
It seemed his pores weren’t enough. The "golden threads" kept popping out, mixed with some blood, bringing out the old impurities.
The golden light continued to appear, densely packed, like golden needles moving around, intertwining on his skin, as if sewing, creating a strange sight.
Along with the faint white mist around him, he looked quite ethereal.
He felt tireless, consuming a lot of energy. Whenever he was hungry, he would eat wolf ribs, and after a short rest, he would continue to stimulate his body's activity.
Occasionally, he would also study Lu Ze's "Night Meditation Technique."
Throughout the night, Qin Ming sweated a lot, and his metabolism was unusually vigorous.
His body felt tingly, as if it was sprouting new life, full of energy and the breath of new beginnings.
When intense sleepiness hit him, he stopped moving.
He realized he was about to enter the final stage of "hibernation."
After a quick wash, he lay down on the bed, his eyelids feeling heavy.
In his blurry vision, he saw faint silver light on his skin and a lot of golden threads emerging, like golden needles weaving fabric in the silver mist.
Though he was very sleepy, Qin Ming was still amazed. The golden threads crisscrossed, dividing the silver light into many sections, forming a dense grid pattern. Overall, it looked like his body was wrapped in a "golden threaded jade robe."
He was a bit dazed, his thoughts wandering.
In ancient times, emperors were buried with jeweled robes and jade boxes, even with golden threads, expressing their desire for immortality, even in death.
Was the "wild path" he learned as a child so special? During rebirth, a layer of pure white mist flowed naturally, and the golden threads connected, resembling the golden threaded jade robe.
Could it be that ancient emperors had heard certain rumors, prompting them to create the golden threaded jade robe?
He shook his head, feeling he was overthinking. Soon, he couldn’t hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep.
As night fell, Qin Ming woke up, feeling tight all over. He quickly understood the situation; he had sweated a lot during the night, and the golden threads had brought out some blood, forming a thin layer of cocoon on his skin after drying.
In the water tank, there was a solid block of ice. After breaking it into pieces, he boiled a pot of water. After washing up, he changed into loose, clean clothes and felt refreshed.
It was clear that his body temperature had dropped, meaning the "rebirth" was almost over.
Qin Ming went outside again and lifted the two stone grinding wheels. This time it felt much easier, and he could hold them with one hand for a long time.
Then, he added a stone lock weighing over a hundred pounds.
"Very heavy!" He felt the weight pressing down, quite a struggle.
The two rough stone grinding wheels, plus the stone lock for training his arms, weighed over five hundred pounds, but he could still hold them with one hand.
Lu Ze had told him that in the bright city far away, there were youths who could carry six hundred pounds.
Qin Ming’s eyes sparkled, and he smiled brightly. His arms felt as strong as a thousand pounds.
As for the mysterious cities at the far end of the earth, he had no idea how powerful the new life forms there were.
Qin Ming picked up half a deer and a hind leg of a donkey-wolf, along with some ribs, and went to the neighboring yard.
"Little Qin, this... is way too much!"
"Brother Lu, sister-in-law, I can’t eat all this by myself. I’ll be going into the mountains again anyway; changing up the flavors is better," Qin Ming said.
If it weren’t for Lu Ze’s care recently, he might have starved.
"Uncle, you’re so kind! Otherwise, in a few days, we would have gone hungry," Wen Rui said happily, as he had heard his parents mention that their food supplies were running low.
Qin Ming ruffled his hair and said, "With your uncle around, how could you go hungry?"
The mutated squirrel in the cage was jumping around, clearly upset, chirping at Qin Ming. This little mountain beast held grudges.
"Little Qin..." The village chief, Xu Yueping, arrived, wearing a fur coat. He looked to be in his forties, with a square face, thick eyebrows, bright eyes, and a sturdy physique.
"Uncle Xu," Qin Ming greeted him.
He laughed heartily, "I knew you’d make progress. Taking this step is like leaving a golden footprint."
He was eager to know how strong Qin Ming had become after rebirth.
"Little Qin, you’ve grown a bit taller. Has your rebirth ended?" Lu Ze asked.
Just as Qin Ming was about to respond, a sudden gust of wind rushed in.
Xu Yueping’s right hand moved like a knife, unexpectedly aiming for Qin Ming’s neck.
The situation was too sudden, and the close distance made it hard to react.
But Qin Ming managed to dodge and quickly countered, grabbing his wrist with a loud thud.
"Your reaction speed is far beyond other new life forms," Xu Yueping exclaimed. At such a close range, he couldn’t have struck first; even the most alert mountain beasts would struggle to avoid it.
Liang Wanqing gasped, then realized he was testing Qin Ming’s abilities after rebirth.
Xu Yueping's wrist was tightly held, and he couldn’t move it at all.
"Your rebirth strength..." He looked surprised.
Lu Ze and Liang Wanqing were filled with anticipation, hoping Qin Ming’s physical abilities had greatly improved, leading to a significant change.
Because this was a life-changing opportunity.
Qin Ming released his grip.
Xu Yueping’s eyelids twitched. As the strongest new life form in Shushu Village, he could tell that the young man before him hadn’t used all his strength yet.
He spoke seriously, "I suspect your strength is close to six hundred pounds."
Liang Wanqing was stunned. It was known that in this area, a new life form carrying five hundred pounds was already the limit.
Lu Ze was very excited. "This... even if you enter the bright city far away, you won’t be any worse than anyone else."
"Uncle is the best!" Wen Rui clapped his hands and cheered.
"Old Xu, the mountain patrol team is here," Yang Yongqing appeared, having just heard the previous conversation, feeling shaken.
He realized that Qin Ming had broken the local new life form limit.
With the mountain patrol team arriving, things were definitely serious, and Xu Yueping and Yang Yongqing quickly left.
After a short while, someone came to call Qin Ming to the village chief’s house.
He was puzzled about why they were looking for him.
"All new life forms need to participate and listen to the mountain patrol team about the situation in the mountains," the person informed him.
Xu Yueping’s house was lively. Including Qin Ming, there were seven new life forms in the village, and even the elderly Liu, over seventy, was present.
The sunstone lit up the room brightly, and the atmosphere was friendly. The mountain patrol team member, Feng Yi'an, was explaining the situation in the mountains.
"Recently, the magnetic field in the mountains has been chaotic. Going deeper can easily lead to getting lost, and there have been many strange occurrences. Some dangerous creatures have nearly extinguished their fire springs, while high-level fire springs have appeared in the depths of the night mist," Feng Yi'an, a burly man with a big beard, said as he drained his cup of tea.
Qin Ming finally understood why the mountains had been so chaotic lately, with some huge creatures appearing near the dense forest.
Because there had been changes in the mountains, some nests of famous birds and strange beasts had been disturbed, causing them to move and leading other creatures to flee.
"Will the situation worsen? What if high-level species come out?" someone asked.
"Everyone, please don’t worry. The higher-ups will enter the mountains to talk to those mysterious beings and restore calm to this area as soon as possible," Feng Yi'an assured them. Even if the negotiations failed, there would be powerful figures to block the top creatures in the mountains.
"Just in case, the mountain patrol team members are on alert, and all new life forms in the villages outside the mountains should be prepared," he explained. The higher-ups were mainly there to prevent top creatures, but some "small fish" might slip through the net.
Everyone listened with serious expressions; new life forms might have to fight if necessary!
Feng Yi'an smiled, "No need to be nervous. It’s not as serious as you think. Besides, if there’s a big battle, the bright city far away will send noble youths to train, all of whom are elites who will help us clear the mountains."
Hearing this, the people present breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother Feng, you’ve come to deliver news to us after patrolling the mountains all night. You’ve worked hard," Xu Yueping said.
Feng Yi'an waved his hand, "What are you saying, Brother Xu? This is part of my job. Don’t worry, if fierce beasts or mountain monsters come out, they’ll have to step over our patrol team’s corpses to hurt anyone outside the mountains."
Xu Yueping personally brought out a large iron platter with a whole roasted rock goat, its aroma inviting, to treat Feng Yi'an.
He stopped a few people who were about to leave, saying, "Don’t go, let’s drink a couple of cups with Brother Feng."
The atmosphere in the room instantly became lively.
"I’m telling you, there’s no need to worry. Not only will the city lord who oversees this area come, but I’ve also heard that a master has been invited from afar. There won’t be any trouble; the main concern is to guard against the moon worms and the unpredictable mountain lord," Feng Yi'an said.
After a few cups of wine, Feng Yi'an revealed a lot of information.
Qin Ming was surprised and listened carefully.
He wasn’t used to the spicy liquor at the table. Just as he was about to take a sip of tea, he noticed that there were dried ants the size of his thumb in the cup, making the tea’s composition complicated. He put the cup down.
Xu Yueping laughed, "Little Qin, a man must learn to drink. Also, these black ants are very nourishing, real good stuff!"
Feng Yi'an turned to look at him, "This young brother looks fresh and unfamiliar."
"Uncle Feng, just call me Little Qin," he replied.
Xu Yueping introduced, "This is Qin Ming, just over sixteen, who has just successfully rebirthed. He’s the most promising youth in our area, and I hope he can study in the distant Chixia City."
"A good seedling, transforming in the golden age. What a foundation to envy!" Feng Yi'an said with deep feeling.
The others also chimed in with admiration, knowing how great the potential of someone with a golden foundation could be.
Everyone clinked glasses, and the atmosphere at the table became lively as Feng Yi'an shared some strange events from the mountains.
"Have you seen any mysterious fields in the deep mountains? All the crops are golden in color, and the thick fog can’t hide them. Brilliant golden light breaks through the dark night sky… whose food supply is that?"