Night Without End
Chapter 111 - 72 Nearly Played Dead

Chapter 111: Chapter 72 Nearly Played Dead

At this season, the Earth Light steamed and wild light rain sprinkled everywhere, even the dark clouds in the sky were visible, with the first rumble of the spring thunder, weak flashes of electricity flickered in the distance.

With a whoosh, many people, both men and women, suddenly appeared beside Qin Ming and dashed into the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall, all of them extremely tense.

"Why the rush? The spring thunder has just started, and there’s still some time before the real ’explosion’. How the heavenly phenomena will evolve depends on the Earth Light." Old Zhao, who was seventy-two, really did come as he had mentioned at the Zuixia Tower earlier this year, he intended to gamble with his life in the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall, hoping for a rebirth amidst decay.

"You all are still too young, not entering the Fire Field on normal days, not observing the Earth Light, not distinguishing the seasons—although the underground Fire Spring’s steam has already triggered the heavenly phenomena, it still lacks the right maturity."

A group of old men all came wearing their funeral clothes in advance, making the group of younger and middle-aged people in the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall feel quite gloomy; it was too inauspicious.

"Don’t rush; we will definitely have to wait. Everyone still has time to write their wills, have some food and drink, and should not shortchange themselves before departing—you might even consider whether you really want to die or not."

Led by Old Zhao, several elders, apart from wearing funeral clothes, also wore beautiful jade and carried their favorite items, preparing to "take them along."

"Are you planning to use the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall to cremate yourselves?" a burly man with stubble on his face asked angrily, feeling offended by the earlier words.

"Young man, anxious, aren’t you? This old man has no ill intentions. Based on past experiences, it’s good if even one person survives after several years. It seems we are destined to keep each other company on Huangquan Road, might as well get acquainted in advance, build good relations."

The group of younger and middle-aged individuals was left speechless by his words, because, although unpleasant, they were indeed true.

"If I had known, I would have worn gold and silver beforehand as well, so even if I died here, I wouldn’t feel wronged," said a young man, sighing.

Just then, a toothless old man asked the people outside the hall, "Has my golden silk nanmu coffin been brought here yet?"

The group of younger and middle-aged individuals in the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall were speechless; these old folks probably had their burial items and grave sites already arranged.

"Everyone, don’t be strangers, come, let’s share some food and drink, we’re all ’death friends,’ our own people." Another elder called out, having already ordered to bring plenty of fine wines and delicious dishes.

The group of younger people was very quiet, feeling far from the level of acceptance of these old men, who saw life as a grand dream, ready to leave it gracefully and calmly end their lives.

"You’ve prepared your shrouds and coffins, knowing there’s little hope, so why still come here to suffer? Wouldn’t it be better to avoid being struck by lightning and keep your bodies intact?"

"We won’t know until we try. In this world, nothing is certain, and who doesn’t want to be that ’one’ who succeeds?"

The group sat down and, upon careful counting, there were sixty-nine people in total, approximately the same as previous years. The group of ’death friends’ opened up, regardless of gender or age; they all started to eat and drink, and some even began to reminisce about their pasts.

Qin Ming kept looking outside of the Golden Hall, wondering where the Corpse Collector that Xu Cheng had arranged for him had gone. This didn’t seem reliable, he felt uneasy.

"Lad, you look young, why are you so eager to gamble with your life?" an old man asked.

At this moment, Qin Ming’s long black hair draped loosely, covering most of his face which was dirty, yet the elder still felt he was very young.

Qin Ming sighed, "I have no choice, a millennium giant beast is watching me coldly from afar, unsure of what it wants to do to me. If I don’t rapidly elevate my life level, I can’t grasp my own destiny."

Since everyone was soon to part by Yin and Yang, it didn’t matter what he said now.

"Boy, you’re only fifteen or sixteen years old, even younger, why are you also here?" Old Zhao asked a dull young boy beside him.

The boy named Qian Cheng said blankly, "They say I’m foolish, always bullying and forcing me to do things for them. I don’t want to be kicked or slapped anymore, my grandmother has already passed away, and I’m alone now. I’ve come here to try my luck."

"Oh... ah! Child, you should leave here, you can come to my place, I’ll arrange a job for you feeding horses," Old Zhao said.

"No, thank you. Being pitied, affections will always be consumed by time," Qian Cheng replied dully.

Qin Ming was surprised, feeling that he wasn’t foolish.

"The spring thunder is sounding, why doesn’t it strike yet? This is torture!" a fierce man with tattoos on his face exclaimed, looking like a convict.

Feeling the unusual stares from others, he spoke up, "Stop staring; I’m just a death row inmate sent here to withstand the lightning. If I survive, I won’t have to be executed."

"That’s a Medicine Man, Thunder Meat!" an elder muttered quietly.

"What did you say?" the convict asked.

"Every year some nobles do this, sending death row inmates here. And although only fragments of Heavenly Light might remain, they still use the corpses to feed the Alien Species."

"Not necessarily just to feed Alien Species, those with good teeth and fierce enough might eat it themselves."

When the fierce man heard this, his entire demeanor collapsed. He sat down with a thump; waiting for execution would be better than this!

Now, he was to be struck by lightning first and then either fed to Alien Species or end up inside the stomach of an Old Noble. It was utterly tragic.

"No, I won’t do this, I want to leave the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall!" he stood up and shouted.

"Why are you yelling? Your family has taken the money, your son has started school, and now you want to back out at the last moment?" someone came forward from a distance.

The convict sat down desolately, no longer speaking or moving.

Clearly, he wasn’t alone; there were a dozen or so people in the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall just like him, faces ashen, sent in by nobles or wealthy individuals.

After Qin Ming had his fill of food and drink, he went back to fishing for treasures in the black Sea of Emotions. Finding nothing mattered little, for he realized he could cultivate his Consciousness in such "terrifying waves".

"Hmm?" When he stopped caring and treated this resonance as a form of cultivation, an unexpected strong disturbance occurred.

In this pitch-black Sea of Emotions, a young man was roaring, his whole body radiating a faint silvery glow.

"I am not convinced, I survived two Spring Thunders, became stronger the third year, yet I might die here? Why is the Outer Heaven Light that accompanies the Thunder Fire so intense this time?!"

In the scene ahead, a young man’s hair stood on end as he practiced a bizarre Jin Technique, resisting the erosion of the Heavenly Light.

Around him lay corpses, some pitch-black, others bright red, some even torn apart by the Heavenly Light, resembling a corner of hell.

"Regrettably, I only mastered explosive power, not the true Thunder Force. I hate it, my sect’s Miracle Technique was about to be revealed to me, but in my eagerness to break through quickly, I rushed and ruined my brilliant future."

These were his last thoughts as he was immobilized, unable to flee.

The young man regretted and resented, but in his final moments, he abandoned his negative emotions and erupted in explosive power like electric arcs from all over his body, fully resisting the Heavenly Light.

"I must withstand this!"

Then, he exploded, dying a gruesome death.

Qin Ming felt as if he experienced it himself, his hair standing on end, the scene was too bloody and tragic.

After that, he began to train in that explosive power technique in the Golden Hall. This technique was potent and could evolve into the renowned Thunder Force.

Qin Ming was astonished; the explosive power was actually a compound technique, integrating several kinds of Heavenly Light Force, extremely powerful, capable of bursting a giant beast’s body into a mess of flesh and blood.

"Xiao Qin, it’s still not too late to rethink," Xu Cheng arrived, clearly disguised, looking completely different from usual, and brought along the nearly overslept Corpse Collector.

Qin Ming shook his head, softly informing him that he felt better than ever, having initially trained in the Sun Family’s Hammering Force and Whip Power.

Previously, he had frankly confided in Xu Cheng, after all, he needed to instruct the Corpse Collector, to quickly pull him out of the Golden Hall, whether dead or alive, after withstanding four Heavenly Lights.

Spring Thunder roared in the distance.

Two days later, the actual lightning began to appear above this area. Drizzle fell, the surrounding haze steaming up, making the space between heaven and earth spectacularly vibrant, nearly resembling broad daylight.

Many people arrived at Chixia Mountain, aware that each year at this time, after the eruption of Spring Thunder, there would be a queue of people lining up to die.

Many came to watch this "spectacle," mostly for the excitement, but some nobles waited for their "Thunder Meat" to be carried out.

The Mountain God Temple was once again overflowing with people, all watching the thunderstorm over Chixia Mountain.

Finally, the Spring Thunder struck, booming over the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall, bright metal tiles interweaving with electric arcs, incredibly dazzling, with rolling Thunder Fire Balls, the scene was intimidating.

What was most terrifying was the Outer Heaven Light, following the thunder and lightning, extremely dazzling, able to penetrate buildings and sink into the mountain.

The structure of the Thunder Fire Alchemy Hall was meticulously crafted to conduct electricity and weaken the thunder, but it struggled to withstand the Outer Heaven Light.

Heavenly Light and Thunder Fire combined, giving birth to a precious Spiritual Material, swept up and falling into the Golden Hall.

Qin Ming witnessed firsthand; after the first wave of Thunder Fire Heavenly Light, half the people fell, some with black faces, motionless, others red-skinned, as if cooked.

Qin Ming felt chilled; he indeed sensed the violence of the Heavenly Light, entering his body like boiling water, threatening to cook him alive.

Boom! When the second wave of Heavenly Light fell, few in the Golden Hall remained standing, Qin Ming saw 72-year-old Old Zhao explode.

When the third wave of Heavenly Light arrived, Qin Ming’s whole body ached, and he too laid down on the ground, not wanting to appear too special since everyone else had fallen, still able to receive Heavenly Light and Spiritual Material from the ground.

Far away, people had already begun pulling on ropes, with crying sounds carrying over, knowing that their relatives inside the temple didn’t make it.

When the fourth wave of Heavenly Light fell, the scene in the Golden Hall resembled purgatory, some bodies not yet dragged out were torn apart by the Heavenly Light. Near Qin Ming, lay half of Old Zhao’s thigh and another elder’s arm, both their ceremonial robes charred beyond recognition.

Outer Heaven Light was indeed terrifying, posing a threat to Qin Ming, but he also detected the rich Spiritual Material entering his body.

He practiced the technique from the silk scripture, adjusting his bodily state and harnessing the Heavenly Light for his own use, this Outer Heaven Light merging with his innerally born Heavenly Light.

Suddenly, Qin Ming felt something was off, the fifth wave of Heavenly Light had already fallen, why hadn’t the Corpse Collector made a move yet? He saw half of the three-time Newcomer Old Zhao’s body being dragged away while he still lay there.

What was that Corpse Collector doing? Qin Ming felt like cursing!

Then, the sixth wave of Thunder Fire Heavenly Light mixed with the rare Spiritual Material came down, Qin Ming grew irritable, did that guy really want to send him off?

He couldn’t stand it anymore and was ready to jump up and run.

He, a living person, shouldn’t be tormented to death by an unreliable Corpse Collector, he’d rather not keep a low profile.

From afar, someone spoke to Qin Ming’s Corpse Collector, "Brother, we’ve all pulled our employers out, whether intact or not, we’ve tried our best, why haven’t you moved?"

"It doesn’t matter, dead sooner or later, but still pull it out to avoid being completely shattered by the lightning, causing trouble with the deceased’s family, which would reduce my pay." The Corpse Collector finally acted.

At this moment, Qin Ming nearly sat up, unable to pretend to be dead anymore, he was ready to chop that Corpse Collector once he got out!

Just as he was about to rise, the special material rope around his waist tightened, starting to drag him out, he gritted his teeth and endured!

Then, he wanted to curse again, why so slow pulling the rope, hadn’t he eaten? He really wanted to kill that Corpse Collector.

When the seventh wave of Thunder Fire Heavenly Light fell, Qin Ming caught some of the "tail light" and finally was dragged out of the hall.

He immediately practiced the secret technique "He Guang Tong Chen," beginning to feign death.

Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief, with such rich Spiritual Material entering his body, his fourth rebirth should be no problem, he would regain those lost memories.