Night Without End
Chapter 138 - 87 Heaven Sent

Chapter 138: Chapter 87 Heaven Sent

Chixia City, majestic and towering, bright as day.

Qin Ming bathed in the warm wind of early spring, safely returning, just in time to see a team of experts leaving the city, their armor gleaming, resembling a steel torrent fading into the distance.

This region had no Mountain Master, and the City Lord’s Mansion was the most dominant force. Suddenly, in the distance, high-level Abnormalities were spotted, stirring the people and horses in the city.

Deep in the mountain range, although there were top Alien Species such as the Tongling Jade Rhinoceros and Black Flood Dragon, they never dared to challenge the authority of Chixia City. Normally, both sides lived in peace, and high-end forces rarely crossed boundaries.

Soon, the handful of Newcomers blocked by Alien Species on the road all returned safely.

Wu Zheng happened to see Qin Ming returning to the inn and greeted him, "Brother Qin, did you just come back from the mountains alone? I’m about to go out, shall I bring back dinner for you?"

"How did you get injured?" Qin Ming noticed, his neck and hands were wrapped in gauze, with slight traces of blood seeping through.

Wu Zheng appeared dejected, bowing his head and sighing, "I’ve been going into the mountains these past few days too, four of my companions died. My Arrow Technique and gun skill are quite good, I escaped a calamity. Sigh, it’s too difficult to obtain Spiritual Material in the mountains."

This is reality, many Newcomers can only risk their lives to further enhance themselves.

After returning to his room, Qin Ming, to be cautious, discarded the "Baiyu Powder", a powder exclusively for men to mask overly strong body odors.

He didn’t have any bad odor himself, but he had changed his identity for this journey into the mountains, intentionally so. Afterwards, he took a hot shower and changed into clean clothes.

"Brother Qin, I brought back some beef patties and a few home-cooked dishes, not sure if they suit your taste," Wu Zheng said as he entered after knocking on the door.

A seventeen-year-old, emboldened and hopeful for his future when he left Black and White Mountain, now appeared listless and dispirited due to successive defeats and injuries.

Wu Zheng’s eyes were slightly reddened, clearly having cried before.

"Do you want to eat some more?" Qin Ming asked.

"No, I’ve already eaten outside," Wu Zheng shook his head.

"Then go to your room and take this." Qin Ming took out the Spiritual Material he had purchased from the Snake Clan’s Wu Yiyi at a very low cost.

Wu Zheng, puzzled, opened it and saw the liquid flowing with Spiritual light, immediately shocked, realizing what it was.

"Brother Qin, this... it’s too valuable, I can’t afford it," he hurriedly covered the jar, fearing the loss of Spiritual essence.

"Just keep it, start by boosting your constitution, other problems are easier to solve," Qin Ming said, thrusting it into his hands.

Wu Zheng, a year older than him, always sincerely called him Brother Qin and had learned the Gun and Arrow Double Excellence from the Wu Family. Qin Ming could easily unravel the youth’s predicaments and was willing to give him a hand.

"Brother Qin!" Seventeen-year-old Wu Zheng, with tears in his eyes, heavily nodded and left with the Spiritual Material.

After dinner, Qin Ming began to sort through his gains, looking at three blood-stained ancient books, he could imagine the life-and-death scenes contained within.

Once in the mountains, one is not only a hunter but also prey; even if one has "stories", dying in the mountains makes everything vanish.

Today’s experience was somewhat bizarre, he did not expect the Purple Lightning Beast to be so significant; the Alien Species in the mountains, to please it, had given him such generous gifts.

Meeting it twice consecutively, Qin Ming couldn’t help but laugh himself, guessing that the Purple Lightning Beast was probably about to explode on the spot.

"Don’t meet me again next time." Anyway, he didn’t want to encounter the Purple Lightning Beast again, lest he be recognized and face a fierce "storm."

Qin Ming felt no guilt; when he first met the Purple Lightning Beast, it had leapt into the air, aiming for his head. If it had been another newcomer, they would likely be dead already.

Whatever noble species or significant origins it claimed, it was still a dangerous creature in the mountains. Most of the time, they were mutual prey, life and death determined momentarily. It was hard for Qin Ming to empathize with the feelings of Alien Species.

"Flying on the Grass." Qin Ming first picked up the Secret Book about Footwork Technique, looking at the three characters on the cover with anticipation.

He studied attentively, resonating with the author’s lingering emotions for a long time, combining his own insights, he fully mastered this Secret Technique.

The book mainly emphasized escape; after activating a special "Wind Power," running would be like the wind, the body extremely agile— in short, a method of saving one’s life.

The book also included Attack Techniques, but they were limited in scope, not the main focus.

Qin Ming felt this book, "Flying on the Grass," was very interesting; he was in need of such an escape method.

He picked up the second Secret Book, "Body Refining", which was a Cultivation Technique to enhance the strength of the body, training a type of "Forging Power" to refine the body as tough as Refined Gold.

Qin Ming focused intensely, resonating with those leftover emotions, and with his far superior insight, comprehended the true essence of this Cultivation Technique.

The third book, bound in gold animal skin, was called "Golden Light Shield", which, true to its name, was a Protective Body Technique that mobilized Heavenly Light to form a layer of Golden Light on the body surface to protect oneself.

When practiced to a profound level, the Golden Light would shine brightly, able to expand outward, far beyond just covering the body.

Qin Ming was startled, seeing the creator’s power; that female had trained the Golden Light Shield to its highest level, her thick Golden Light even thicker than city walls!

"Amazing!" he couldn’t help exclaiming. No wonder Bai Xi of the Tongling Jade Rhinoceros Clan initially hid it away; she definitely planned to sell it for a sky-high price later.

The Golden Light Shield could not only protect oneself but also emit terrifying Heavenly Light from the dense Golden Light, slaughtering enemies around.

Qin Ming believed that this cultivation technique was extremely valuable, and the "Golden Light Power" within it was definitely a very strong composite Jin Technique.

"I wonder if this ’Golden Light Shield’ can be fused with the ’Vajra Armor.’ If they could be combined into one, the power would surely surge." He was quite anticipative.

Qin Ming didn’t just bring back these three books, but also several beast skin scrolls that couldn’t resonate with his spirit. He was intelligent enough to want to practice several more on his own.

However, he soon frowned. The secret manuals bought from outside really shouldn’t be practiced recklessly. They were fine for the first ten pages, but practicing further caused his blood and qi to surge violently, making him extremely uncomfortable.

He quickly used the methods from the silk scripture to adjust himself, slowly exhaling a breath of turbid air, and then he tossed those books aside.

One trip to the mountains and obtaining the "Flying on the Grass," "Body Refining," and "Golden Light Shield" techniques was enough. Coupled with Ge Qianxun’s "Vajra Armor" and the immeasurably valuable Miracle Technique "Lihuo Scripture" given to him by Ning Siqi, he had enough to study for the short term.

If he could fully digest all these secret books, his strength would definitely increase significantly!

Afterward, Qin Ming held the earth-yellow stone in his hand and observed it carefully. It was only the size of a palm and had some mysterious patterns on it.

Merely upon contact, his Heavenly Light became restless. After he used the Yellow Mud Palm, the attribute of his Heavenly Light changed. It wasn’t Soft Strength nor the extreme firmness of Soft Strength, but a thick and majestic earth-yellow Heavenly Light Force.

This was the prowess of the Silk Scripture technique, capable of merging various Heavenly Light Forces and even transforming towards a single kind of Jin Technique, or adapting along the route of a particular Miracle Technique to transform into the most suitable Heavenly Light Force.

"This stone has congealed from the Earth Vein Essence Qi underground!" Qin Ming realized what it was. It wasn’t recorded in the secret manual concerning the Yellow Mud Palm, but during the emotional resonance, that old man had muttered about this strange stone.

He immediately got excited. It was very difficult to train the Yellow Mud Palm to a profound level; one needed the Heavenly Light to radiate outward to enhance it, which could then capture spiritual materials from the exterior, such as Earth Qi.

Now that Qin Ming had obtained a strange stone formed from Earth Vein Essence Qi, this process could be accelerated.

He knew very well how terrifying the highest realm of the Yellow Mud Palm would be—breaking a giant beast akin to a small mountain as if it were a clay dog, Soft Strength could transform into firmness, and it could also absorb Earth Essence Qi, destroying all decay in its path.

Although this strange stone couldn’t let him train to that level, it could definitely enhance his capabilities significantly, adding another powerfully lethal Palm Skill.

In the following days, Qin Ming diligently practiced, excluding the difficult Miracle Technique "Lihuo Scripture," which he hadn’t studied yet; he was making advances with the others and initially trained some Heavenly Light Force.

Particularly the Yellow Mud Palm—when he completely absorbed the essence from the strange stone, there was a faint yellow mist between his fingers when he performed the palm skill.

When he tried it out, a giant strange stone placed in the courtyard instantly turned into powder, and even the rockery collapsed.

The innkeeper was upset and pulled him aside to discuss compensation. Qin Ming didn’t want to escalate the situation, promptly paid some Day Gold, and told him that it was the deed of the black-clothed man from the City Lord’s Mansion who frequently visited, telling him not to spread the word.

"Then I won’t ask for compensation."

"No, please take it. It’s only right to compensate."

...

Two days later, Meng Xinghai sent someone to look for Qin Ming.

In the City Lord’s Mansion’s living room, the calming incense in the incense burner wafted gently.

Meng Xinghai handed him four sheets of paper, his expression serious, asking him to comprehend them on the spot.

Qin Ming was puzzled but took them anyway. It wasn’t long before he put down the papers and went to practice in the courtyard.

"How does it feel?" Meng Xinghai came out shortly after to ask.

"I think I’m about to cultivate the first strand of Heavenly Light Force," Qin Ming informed.

"That fast?!" Meng Xinghai was surprised again. This young man seemed to always bring him surprises, his perceptiveness made it hard for him to keep his composure.

"I’ve always learned things very quickly. Many people knew this when I was with the Cui Family," Qin Ming said.

Meng Xinghai forced himself to stay calm, regaining the steadiness fitting of a senior and the City Lord, and nodded, "Hmm, this is a prelude of a certain heritage that has drifted outside. If you can enter its introductory phase quickly, you can then practice that rare and valuable full Miracle Technique. Since you are highly compatible with its method, I’ll set aside my pride and go ask two friends to join forces to see if they can help you acquire this technique."

Qin Ming said, "You’re only in your early thirties, in the prime of your life, the golden age for progress. How can you talk about losing face? I’m just a youth and still of an immature age, needing Uncle Meng’s care."

Meng Xinghai laughed, "You young rascal, you’ve even fed me your sweet talk. How about... I just take you as my adopted son."

"Uncle, you’re not that much older than me, are you?" Qin Ming noticed that Meng Xinghai seemed very busy, with many people seeking him in just that brief time.

Soon he learned what had happened.

After Meng Xinghai conducted a detailed investigation and added the intelligence gathered from Ge Qianxun, he discovered that the Golden Thief had many secret operations in Chixia City.

Clearly, the Golden Thief had sensed something and wanted to quickly pull out of those businesses, taking all the assets with them.

Meng Xinghai knew he couldn’t wait any longer; it was time to act, not allowing them to escape with the money.

He understood that doing so would definitely lead to retaliation and pushback from the Golden Thief—they wouldn’t dare to mess with Meng Xinghai and Chixia City but might cause trouble in the surrounding areas.

"Uncle Meng, I need to go back to Black and White Mountain temporarily!" Qin Ming suddenly stood up, knowing clearly that if the Golden Thief sought to retaliate against Meng Xinghai’s actions, it would definitely involve the area around Black and White Mountain.

Especially since he had once personally wiped out Jinji Ridge, that area’s grudge might be specifically remembered by the Golden Thief.

Ever since stepping onto the Newborn Road, Qin Ming had been advancing smoothly, and he felt that it was time to test his own strength through a major battle, wanting to fiercely defend against the assault of the Golden Thief on that remote area where he had once lived!