Chapter 144: Chaos Unleashed
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Under the night sky on the Shenzhang Plains, Qin Ming was running for his life.
The old donkey had mobilized a horde of monsters—wolves, goats, rats, and more—to chase and corner him. It even sent a dog demon to deliver a message, while joining the hunt itself. It tore off its tattered nobleman’s robe, dropped to all fours, and galloped ahead, its pitch-black donkey face grim with determination.
The old donkey was virtually unscathed, maintaining formidable combat strength. It had only suffered damage to its hooves during its earlier brawl with Qin Ming’s white jade alloy blade. Among the four old demons, the donkey alone posed a lethal threat to Qin Ming at this stage.
Qin Ming fled through the forest, his body drenched in blood, with multiple broken bones. This was the most grievously injured he had been since starting on his path to awakening.
Normally, the old donkey should have already caught up to him. However, its pursuit grew increasingly unsteady. Qin Ming’s earlier strikes with the blade had left its hooves uneven and jagged, destabilizing its gait. One front hoof was nearly sheared off, while its intact rear hoof caused it to stumble repeatedly. Several times, it nearly twisted an ankle.
The donkey’s long face looked ready to drip ink from frustration, but it pressed on. As it neared the blood-soaked figure in tattered clothes ahead, it quickened its pace, eager for the kill.
Suddenly, Qin Ming turned and charged at it, brandishing his blade.
The donkey froze mid-stride, hesitating sharply, especially when the human youth drew out the gleaming, jade-like small sword. Its fur bristled instantly. It vividly remembered the grisly ends of the Black Roc and Fire Lion.
Feigning to hurl the small sword, Qin Ming made the donkey panic. It rolled on the ground in a clumsy dodge, abandoning all pretense of dignity. When it looked up, the human youth had already resumed fleeing.
Furious at being played, the donkey pursued with renewed vigor. Yet, each time it neared, Qin Ming would turn, raising the small sword. The cycle repeated until the fifth encounter, when the donkey, convinced that the youth’s strength was waning and that he could no longer unleash that deadly move, threw caution to the wind. It lunged forward, determined to trample the boy.
But this time, Qin Ming infused the small sword with his Celestial Light Force, unleashing its full power at close range. The blade erupted with radiant brilliance as it pierced the donkey, leaving a gaping wound through its body.
The donkey staggered, the injury triggering bitter memories of its years under human subjugation. Retreating in fear, it fled, abandoning the chase.
Qin Ming retrieved the exquisite golden small sword and leaned against an ancient tree, struggling to stay upright. Blood streamed from his mouth and nose; his injuries were grave. His breathing was labored, his chest heaving violently. A broken rib had punctured his internal organs, sending waves of cold sweat down his back. Gritting his teeth, he manually set the bone, suppressing the pain.
Stopping the bleeding and stabilizing his condition, he knew he couldn’t rest for long. He needed a safe spot to refine the silver heart, but such a transformation required at least a day or two—time he didn’t have.
“Over here!” a sparrow demon cried from above. Its warning was abruptly silenced as Qin Ming shot it down with a plain iron arrow.
Despite the kill, his situation remained dire. The donkey’s orders had rallied an army of predators and demons, from flying birds to terrestrial beasts. This forest belonged to the four old demons, and none of the creatures dared disobey their command.
A massive fire bat, its wingspan five meters wide, swooped down. Though not as fearsome as the donkey, it was still at the Outer Saint level, presenting a formidable threat to the weakened Qin Ming.
Drawing a deep breath, Qin Ming feigned weakness as he loosed an iron arrow that barely grazed the bat. Suspicious, the bat held back, unleashing a searing red beam that incinerated the tree Qin Ming was leaning against. He dodged, losing a lock of hair to the flames, which he quickly sliced off with a knife hand.
The bat inched closer, its crimson wings fanning the air as it sniffed greedily for the scent of the Silver Wolf King’s heart. It spat another fiery blast, forcing Qin Ming to retaliate with a jade-tipped arrow. Pouring his strength into the shot, he struck the bat’s head. The force of his Celestial Light exploded, killing the creature instantly. Its corpse crashed to the ground, snapping branches as it fell.
No sooner had the bat fallen than a massive bear emerged, silent and deadly. Its paw smashed the tree behind Qin Ming into splinters. Staggering, he narrowly dodged, but the bear—an Outer Saint-level beast—lunged after him with a roar. Trees toppled as the colossal creature rampaged through the forest, leaving destruction in its wake.
The battle was fierce. Qin Ming, though on the brink of collapse, managed a desperate leap, plunging his blade into the bear’s skull. With a thunderous crash, the beast fell. Exhausted and drenched in blood, Qin Ming crumpled beside the corpse, too spent to move.
But the forest offered no respite. More creatures stirred nearby, forcing him to rise once more.
Unable to find a secure place for his transformation, he sat down, activating the Wuji Sutra to absorb faint traces of Earth Qi, regaining a sliver of strength. Gripping the silver heart, he took a desperate gamble, drinking a mouthful of its blood.
The Fate-Altering Sutra described a meticulous process for refining the heart’s essence with Celestial Light, but he lacked the time or resources for such precision. The crude method burned like fire in his stomach, causing waves of agony to ripple through his body.
The complexity of the blood’s composition overwhelmed him. Proper refinement required an alchemist to extract its essence, not reckless consumption. Writhing in pain, Qin Ming felt as though his intestines were tearing apart.
The Silver Wolf King had once been a creature of limitless potential, growing at a remarkable pace. However, its transformation into a silver creature had failed, halting its progress. While it produced some silver blood, it also generated harmful substances as a byproduct.
Qin Ming’s body was drenched, not just with sweat but also with thin threads of blood seeping through his pores. It took a long time for the searing pain coursing through him to fade.
Surrounding him in the darkness, pairs of greedy eyes watched intently. These were other aberrant creatures, drawn by the scent of the silver heart. Yet, seeing the massive bear corpse and the shattered skull of the fire bat nearby, none dared to approach.
When the pain finally subsided, Qin Ming felt a surge of vitality within. The beneficial components of the silver blood had been absorbed into his system, stabilizing him. While not fully recovered, he was no longer as weak as before.
Leaping to his feet, he wielded his white jade alloy blade and charged like lightning, slashing through six aberrants in rapid succession. Two of them were at the Outer Saint level. The chaos scattered the remaining creatures—beasts and bird demons alike—sending them fleeing in all directions.
Despite this victory, Qin Ming felt exhaustion creeping in again. He desperately needed rest, but the old demons hunting him would not grant him such a luxury. Drawing on his extensive survival experience, he quickly found plants in the wild, crushed their leaves, and smeared the juices on his body to mask his scent. Unfortunately, no matter what he tried, the faint, enticing fragrance from the silver heart persisted.
As he moved deeper into the wilderness, he continued to be discovered by monsters. Thankfully, the silver blood he had consumed continued to bolster his vitality, his body growing hotter and his life force stronger.
Realizing he wouldn’t find a peaceful place to recuperate, Qin Ming decided to refine the silver heart directly. Resting briefly, he activated his Celestial Light Force, wrapping the heart in radiant energy to begin purification.
The silver mist and radiant glow of the process emitted a tantalizing medicinal fragrance, irresistibly alluring to aberrants. Inevitably, hordes of beast and bird demons appeared, drawn by the scent. Though Qin Ming attempted to contain the energy and aroma, some still escaped, attracting waves of creatures.
Ignoring the danger, Qin Ming pressed on. The refinement couldn’t be paused once it started. Along the way, he fought continuously, leaving a trail of carnage. Twice, the old donkey reappeared, salivating at the sight of the silver heart. Though it led a horde of demons to attack Qin Ming, its own injuries—the gaping wound in its body—made it cautious. Observing that Qin Ming was growing stronger, the donkey hesitated further.
In desperation, the donkey sent a message “beyond the territory,” summoning reinforcements and issuing a kill order on the human youth. Typically, creatures of similar strength wouldn’t trespass into another’s domain. However, the donkey’s invitation broke convention.
Qin Ming’s situation became more perilous. Though his strength improved, the monsters pursuing him became increasingly powerful. Among them was a black elephant from a neighboring region, massive in size and comparable in strength to the Silver Wolf King.
Still recovering, Qin Ming struggled against the elephant’s overwhelming power. Its colossal legs shook the ground with each step, and its mighty trunk shattered ancient trees like twigs. Twice, Qin Ming narrowly avoided being crushed.
The elephant’s Celestial Light burst forth, amplifying its already terrifying presence. Seizing an opportunity, Qin Ming used a jade-tipped arrow, shooting it into the beast’s eye. The elephant bellowed in agony, nearly toppling. While the arrow’s force broke through the light barrier, it wasn’t as destructive as an exotic metal weapon.
“Another jade arrow lost,” Qin Ming muttered, retreating swiftly. “I hope I can retrieve it later.”
As he escaped, anger flared within him. Some human adventurers in the Shenzhang Plains, drawn by rumors of the silver heart, had joined the hunt—not to help, but to kill him for the treasure.
In the dense forest, Qin Ming beheaded a middle-aged man without hesitation and continued on. Soon after, a young man appeared, raising his hands in a gesture of peace.
“Brother, I’m on your side! I’m here to help!” the youth said, stepping out of the bushes.
Behind him, a volley of cold arrows forged from secret alloys shot toward Qin Ming, aimed at his head and heart. By now, Qin Ming’s Celestial Light had strengthened, his Divine Wisdom and intuition sharp. Sensing the ambush, he dodged and countered, unleashing a deadly assault with his white jade alloy blade.
Moments later, three heads rolled to the ground, and Qin Ming disappeared into the forest.
As time passed, Qin Ming gradually extracted the silver heart’s essence. The complex silver blood contained spiritual substances capable of facilitating his seventh awakening and mysterious medicinal properties to strengthen his foundation—priceless beyond measure.
The bad news was that the Shenzhang Plains had descended into utter chaos. Monsters roamed freely, and even more human adventurers arrived, all coveting Qin Ming’s prize.
Exhaling deeply, Qin Ming discarded the now-empty silver heart. Around him, silver mist surged and radiant fog enveloped his body, releasing a potent medicinal fragrance. He continued purifying the essence and began absorbing it.
Awakening was a gradual process requiring one or two days. But from this moment onward, Qin Ming’s body would only grow stronger.