Chapter 449: Chapter 267: How Much Do I Resemble My Former Self?
The Fire Spring flows through the ditches into the large Fire Fields outside the village, like small streams of lava spreading, all the crops are growing exceptionally well.
The Night Fog is stained red by the Chixia, resembling clouds on fire, with the houses at the village entrance outlined in gold, their rooftops and tiles glowing.
"It’s close to the Second Level Fire Spring now." Qin Ming was surprised; after being away for just half a year, even more Fire Fields had been developed outside the village, far surpassing before.
Cao Qianqiu came twice consecutively, significantly enhancing the grade of the Fire Spring.
Many villagers were praising the "old immortal."
A few who saw the truth felt uneasy, as that old immortal left each time covered in blood, presumably "paying a lot."
Shallow Night had just arrived; the sounds of chickens and dogs echoed, smoke from kitchens curled up, and the lifestyle of the remote village was rich and vibrant.
Qin Ming quietly returned, not wanting to make a big fuss.
He came to a slope, overlooking Shuangshu Village.
He felt that the Cui Family and some people from the Outer World had low morale; if he got too entangled with this place, it might invite "storm and rain."
A streak of red light flashed in the village, quickly reached the entrance; it was a Red Squirrel whose fur was like satin, standing swiftly on one of the Black and White Dual Trees.
Soon, it started punching, kicking, flipping its tail, followed by a side flip, executing moves quite flawlessly, starting its training early in the morning.
"Hum hum ha hei!" It surprisingly made such sounds.
"Second mutation, not simple," Qin Ming nodded; this was quite a motivational squirrel.
It leapt around the Black and White Tree, diligently practicing fist and foot techniques, looking quite impressive.
Eventually, it sat down quietly like an old monk, ready to meditate, when it inadvertently glanced at the distant high ground, its expression instantly froze.
The Red Squirrel left an afterimage on the tree, leaped down, charging toward Qin Ming.
"This little fellow is really enthusiastic, quite close to me indeed, remembering me even after half a year," Qin Ming smiled.
Suddenly, his smile froze; the Red Squirrel jumped energetically, soaring to a height equal to a person, aiming a punch at his face.
At that moment, he sensed its emotional fluctuations.
The Red Squirrel, brimming with fighting spirit, practicing its boxing technique daily, vowed that someday it wanted to spar with him, giving him a good beating, and swore it would turn the tables and raid his nest!
"Through storm and rain, I shall rise... squeak!" The Red Squirrel stiffened, as it fell into his hands.
Qin Ming promptly countered, pinching its neck fur with two fingers, lifting it up.
"You’re so motivated just to challenge me?" Qin Ming found it absurd; this squirrel really holds grudges.
The Red Squirrel was dumbfounded; after its second mutation, it was capable enough to knock down adult men in the village, yet still couldn’t overcome the young man before him.
Instantly, it became disheartened, somewhat deflated.
Every morning after accompanying Little Wenrui to practice boxing, it would also go to extra practice on the Black and White Tree at the village entrance, but was still defeated.
Qin Ming smiled: "The technique you’re practicing isn’t good, too ordinary; I’ll leave a Miracle Technique in the village for you to learn alongside."
The Red Squirrel, full of spirit, heard this and its eyes rolled, its fighting spirit rekindled; it felt it was capable once again.
"Do you know where the Evil is in the mountains? If not, it’s okay, I’ll describe it again, those dangerous locations, approaching them feels like being pricked by needles..."
Moments later, Qin Ming took the Red Squirrel into the deep mountains.
The Black and White Mountain seemed different, the lush forest more vibrant, towering mountains stood like they were breathing, as if gradually resurgent.
Despite Qin Ming’s significant progress, reaching the Mid Stage of Second Realm, he remained cautious, not venturing recklessly.
Because, he knew well that the old monsters in the mountains were mighty, the White haired Mountain Master, Old Weasel, and Moon Worm, were certainly in the Fourth Realm.
He searched for a day and found no Cursed land.
Qin Ming frowned; such places were dangerous, unlikely to be occupied by the old monsters deep in the mountains.
"Are there places with Dragon Pond, Abyss in the mountains?" he asked.
The Red Squirrel blinked its big eyes, shaking its head, indicating it didn’t know; its Taoist practices were limited, and it dared only wander in its own territory in the past.
However, it thought for a moment and took Qin Ming to a place with a pond, the water appearing blackish, surrounded by reeds.
The ancestors of the Red Squirrel told it that the underwater here was very dangerous.
Qin Ming perked up, casting special fishing gear to fish here.
Finally, it indeed caught something; he fished up a large turtle, mutated four times, a spiritual creature, ferocious as it appeared, biting at Qin Ming.
"Perfect for a gift when returning to the village." Qin Ming went into the mountains originally to gather some Spiritual Material.
The Red Squirrel watched him collecting the spirit blood of the fierce turtle, drooling, began bowing to him, squeaking non-stop.
"You’re quite practical."
As darkness fell, Qin Ming hunted a few more spiritual creatures.
In the past, he and Old Man Liu used all sorts of means to capture the Silver headed Ants’ nest for spiritual materials to allow thrice rebirth.
Now mutated three to four times creatures were nothing to him.
The only concern was that some Spirit Beasts in the mountains were registered by the Mountain Master.
At night, Qin Ming returned.
The Night Fog was dense, entering the village now wouldn’t draw attention.
"Little Uncle!" Almost six-year-old Wen Rui widened his eyes, hardly believing it, suddenly seeing his Little Uncle after a long separation.
"Uncle..." Almost three-year-old Wenhui still had a big tongue, hugging Qin Ming’s leg.
"Xiao Qin!" Lu Ze and Liang Wanqing were extremely delighted, quickly welcoming him into the house.
"Don’t make a fuss, I’ll leave in a while," Qin Ming said.
Now he was somewhat famous, not wanting those around him caught in his grudges, attracting unwanted attention.
Qin Ming handed a pot of Spiritual Material to Lu Ze, informing him that he would leave a Miracle Technique, telling him to seek Old Man Liu to ponder together.
Finally, he patted the heads of the two children and disappeared into the night.
"Little Uncle, I want to find you in the future, slowly catching up with you in the Yewu World!" Little Wen Rui shouted softly from behind.
Late at night, Qin Ming secretly sent a voice message, calling Old Man Liu.
"Uncle Liu!"
"My Mountain God, is my time up? Why do I hear someone calling me, could it be the Ghost Messenger coming?" Old Man Liu widened his eyes, looking alarmed.
Qin Ming mused, is this person really related to the high-ranking Divine being of Kunleng? It doesn’t seem like it at all.
"Uncle Liu, it’s me!" Qin Ming poked his head over the courtyard wall.
"Hiss, aren’t you supposed to be gone, how can you transmit sound to me like this?" Old Man Liu came into the courtyard, looking like he had cold chills down his spine.
Qin Ming couldn’t figure out his situation and joked, "Don’t curse me like that, your mouth isn’t enchanted, right? Quick, say ’eternal life and immortality’ to me."
"It really is you!" Old Man Liu’s eyes widened, then he picked up a jar of fine wine, took two wine glasses, and quickly walked out of the courtyard.
The mutated Big Yellow Dog behind him wagged its tail and was about to follow when it was kicked back into the doghouse by him.
Finally, the two of them came to the Fire Field Edge outside the village head.
"You don’t want people to know you’re back?" Old Man Liu saw his behavior and immediately understood what’s up.
Qin Ming said, "I’m afraid of causing trouble for the village, so I’ll keep a low profile."
"Looks like you’ve made quite a splash outside, kid." Old Man Liu said, now his hair was jet black, his complexion rosy, and his previously white hair was gone.
Qin Ming teased, "After the third rebirth, could it be that you’ve really had another child in your old age?"
"You knew as soon as you got back?"
"Wow!" Qin Ming was stunned.
"Squeak squeak..." The red squirrel followed along, clutching its belly in laughter.
Old Man Liu glared and said, "What are you laughing at? You’ve become a spirit, yet you haven’t even managed to find a wife. Every night at Shallow Night, you’re at the tree in front of my house practicing your punches, you lonesome squirrel."
The red squirrel wanted to jump up and punch him in the old face, but it clearly knew it couldn’t win, having learned from past lessons.
Ultimately, it became the wine-pouring assistant, carrying a large wine jar, responsible for pouring wine for the two of them.
"Here, take this." Qin Ming gave it a jar of Spiritual Material.
However, the red squirrel still didn’t leave, eagerly waiting to learn a Miracle Technique.
"Uncle Liu, are you a god?" Qin Ming asked directly, out of the blue.
"What did you say?" Old Man Liu was stunned, not expecting him to ask that.
Then, he stood up, "Wait for a moment, let me compose myself."
He straightened his attire, took a deep breath, and said, "Alright, how much do I resemble my former self?"
Qin Ming was taken aback, then noticed the mischievous smile that Old Man Liu struggled to hide on his face, knowing this old man was mocking the legend of the Yellow Weasel, playing tricks.
Old Man Liu asked and answered himself, "Am I a god? Yes!"
Qin Ming quickly corrected, "No, you’re not. In this life, you want to start fresh; you can’t rush into becoming a god heading to Yujing."
As he spoke, he carefully observed Old Man Liu’s facial expression.
His appearance was identical to the human-skin lantern person seen at the hut, especially now with Old Liu’s head full of black hair; there was really no difference between the two.
"What’s with you, talking all strange, making this old guy puzzled." Old Man Liu looked at him suspiciously.
Qin Ming felt that the owner of the hut wasn’t a fierce deity; otherwise, he wouldn’t have gained such great opportunity from there.
Regardless of whether Old Man Liu had any special feelings, he decided to speak frankly.
Then, Qin Ming said everything he saw at the Kunleng Evil Land in one breath.
Old Man Liu was dumbstruck, is it really that absurd?
"My whole body hair stood on end, it was so terrifying to me!"
Old Man Liu’s shocked expression didn’t seem fake, his whole body on edge, the hut with the skin lantern, and escaping from Yujing were truly absurd and horrifying.
He hurriedly drank a big bowl of wine to dispel the chills on his back.
The red squirrel was also stupefied, then jumped onto Old Man Liu’s shoulder and started massaging it.
In a flash, the Motivational Squirrel turned into a Flattery Rat.
Old Man Liu said, "You’re talking about something from five hundred years ago, I’m just over seventy now, not that old!"
Qin Ming couldn’t determine his real situation either, he just looked like an old rustic villager, though very shrewd, he really didn’t resemble a god-like creature.
Then, Old Man Liu frowned, "Also from five hundred years ago, the black and white mountain collapsed with a great reputation."
"Right!" Qin Ming looked at him with bright eyes.
Old Man Liu said, "Don’t look at me, it really has nothing to do with me."
He recalled the past, lamenting his bad luck, that even flying a kite got him bloodied, going hunting which wiped out the entire team by a famous beast, narrowly escaping himself, he once went to Chixia City to worship a famous master, only for the teacher to die tragically meeting an enemy.
"Uncle Liu, what’s the situation up there?" Qin Ming pointed above the village.
"You ask me, who do I ask then?" Old Man Liu mentioned the old immortal Cao Qianqiu unavoidably, and said, "He’s a good person, every time he stirs things up, our Fire Spring becomes a bit brighter."
"Training a bird to go up and see, is it feasible?" Qin Ming asked.
"Never tried, why don’t you throw it up there and see." Old Man Liu pointed at the red squirrel.
The Motivational Squirrel’s hair stood on end immediately, although not knowing the situation up there, it definitely didn’t want to fly up.
"Why did you stop massaging just for such a trivial thing?" Old Man Liu, already with a bit of drunkenness, drank consistently to calm himself.
He burped drunkenly and said, "If I really become a Heavenly God, you help me out, I’ll give you a Divine Position later."
The red squirrel’s eyes widened immediately, its hair stopped standing on end, and it looked eager, even pointing to the night sky, indicating its willingness to participate.
"Forget it, just find a bird to try later." Qin Ming shook his head.
The red squirrel scribbled on the ground: "Seeking riches in danger, I’m asking for a divine appointment!"
Then it added, "Don’t throw in the central position, just at the village entrance, throw it halfway up carefully to test it."
Qin Ming hurled the wine jar upward, finally mitigating its fall with gentle Heavenly Light, catching it steadily.
In the end, the red squirrel went skyward, disappearing into the pitch-black Night Fog, being far from the critical spot.
In the night sky, a squeak of surprise sounded, then there was silence, the squirrel... didn’t come down?
Qin Ming shivered with chills, did something really happen?
"It’s coming down." Old Man Liu said.
The red squirrel wafted down like a falling leaf.
It was wrapped in a fine line, with a kite above it, seemingly still dripping blood, following its descent, words on it seemed to glow faintly.