Book 2 - Fame Spreads - Chapter 42.2

He’d maintained a powerful strength on his arms from beginning to end. It was as if a huge grinding machine had been slowly whittling away their Internal Energy.
This kind of feeling was indeed quite frightening. Zhuang Yuan and Xiao Yilin would have rather had a swift death like Xiao Yifan instead of dying such a slow and tiring death. However, as of now, their life and death was no longer in their control. It only followed Yiming’s baton, continuously spinning along with it.
It lasted until one of the two had completely exhausted himself, causing He Yiming to sober up.
This moment, Zhuang Yuan’s eyes no longer had the haughtiness, astonishment, fury, or resentment from before, and like Xiao Yilin, there was only confusion, and loss.
Under complete exhaustion, he could no longer preserve any emotion. Perhaps his only thought at this moment was to forget everything and just close his eyes.
The reason he could still survive was almost purely instinctive which was supported by a desire to live.
For some reason, He Yiming had no feeling of excitement. He only sucked in a deep breath, struck his hand out, which split Zhaung Yuan’s arms and gave a silent push at his chest.
Powerful True Qi frantically rushed out, instantly turning his entire internal body into powder.
Zhuang Yuan’s footsteps suddenly stopped, and a breath, which sounded like a sigh of relief, escaped his mouth. He seemed to have sobered at the last moment, but his eyes only seemed to contain delight of finally being free.
He Yiming’s gaze swept on the ground. He then raised his head and looked at the sky.
Darkness still covered the the sky, but he knew, it would be day soon.
The three individuals on the ground obviously could not be left as they were. Although He Yiming knew nothing about their master, except that his name was Lu Xinwen, since he could raise such disciples and by his disciples confidence in him, he couldn’t be any weaker than them, and in fact, might even be in Xiantian realm.
Encountering such a figure out of nowhere, even He Yiming couldn’t help but let out a helpless sigh.
He grabbed up the three individuals from the ground. Although their weight was much higher than that of Reclining Moon Blade, they still didn’t bring him any inconvenience.
Moving in large strides, he advanced towards that section of high mountains where he’d refined Reclining Moon Blade.
Although his speed couldn’t be compared to that of the Xiao brothers, with the support of True Qi, it wasn’t any below than that of Zhuang Yuan.
When the first ray of the dawn appeared, he’d already climbed up the mountain.
Fiercely striking the ground a few times, he opened up a huge pit. Thinking for a bit, He Yiming reached out and took off the armguards from the bodies of the Xiao brothers, then again searched their bodies for a few moments.
The most precious object on their bodies was undoubtedly the bottle that contained Essence gold cores. In addition to this, they had some money in form of gold ingots. As for the Xiantian agility technique’s scripture which He Yiming had hoped to find was not with them at all.
After collecting these things, He Yiming dumped the three corpses into the pit and covered it with surrounding dust by his sweeping his feet.
Suddenly, He Yiming recalled the dark-clothed man he’d encountered during Cheng family’s birthday banquet.
Back then, he’d only wished to snatch the scripture he was carrying but ended up directly killing him due to the formidable might of [Splitting Mountain Thirty-Six Forms].
However, that was not his first killing. Therefore, he’d dealt with it rather calmly.
However, this moment, he thought that his actions at that time didn’t seem different than the current actions of Xiao Yifan, except that the latter was too vicious and merciless.
He slowly sighed as he thought to himself, ‘Is it possible that there are such frightening thoughts and notions in the depths of every person’s heart? The only difference being that a few are strong enough to act on it, while the absolute majority are not and could only hide such thoughts in their hearts?’
The corner of his mouth curled into a bitter smile. If it was truly as such, this world was simply too dreadful.
Suddenly, a water droplet fell on his head.
He astoundedly raised his head. Somewhere along the line, fine streams of rain had already begun to softly fall on the forest.
For some reason, an inexplicable gloomy feeling welled up inside him. He suddenly sprang to his feet and ran up the mountain as fast as he could.
The mountain, which was hard to climb for an ordinary person, although wasn’t like even ground to He Yiming, at the very least, it couldn’t halt his advancement by much either.
His figure seemed like that of a monkey as he unceasingly moved by gently stepping on trees, covering vast distances with every step. Not too long after, he’d arrived at the peak of this high mountain.
The rain was becoming increasingly intense. The water droplets seemed to be knitting a net which hung before his eyes.
The rustling sound of the leaves that floated within the wind and rain conformed to the rhythm of the rain- which was sometimes heavy, and sometimes soothing- seemed to be creating a pleasant symphony in his mind.
He watched the multiple layers of mist and fog that pervaded the mountain range.
Within an instant, the clouds suddenly began to shine, as if splendid red-violet flower buds, gently swaying and dancing like a charming young woman, and also as if a vast expanse of splendid, full bloomed camellia, each more beautiful than the rest.
He Yiming’s spirit and mind also seemed to have undergone a cleansing due to this sudden mountain rain, purging away all the impurities.
His mind no longer had a single thought related to the secular world. His clear and pure eyes seemed like that of newborn, curiously sizing up the world.
A cloud once again appeared in his mind- a constantly fluttering and unpredictably transforming cloud.
In the bride-receiving arena of Tai Cang county’s Cheng family- that unfathomable, erratic, and illusory Rain Cloud Imprint.
In Zheng Tong county’s Yuan family- that strange, mysterious, and incomprehensible mysterious footwork displayed by the two brothers of the Xiao clan.
Furthermore, his comprehension from his own experience from Xiao Yilin- all erupted at this moment.
He Yiming slowly closed his eyes, no longer measuring the world with his eyes, but comprehending this mystical world with his mind and spirit.
The heavy downpour and the intensely fluttering cloud brought an extremely mystical feeling to him.
The mysteries of nature were so vast that he, a Xiantian realm expert, was not worthy to be even laughed at.
The unceasingly transforming and fluttering cloud in his mind gradually took the shape of a human figure. This human figure then gradually grew distinct, constantly performing various mysterious movements in his consciousness.
He could see the reflection of rain and clouds in its movements and could also see the mysterious footwork of Xiao brothers. However, even more, as this figure altered, what he saw was actually the fine rain falling on his head and mist that prevaded the mountains.
He silently stood atop the mountain peak, feeling the nature’s rising, incomprehensible odor. At this moment, his entire being seemed to have blended into the heavens and the lands.
His consciousness seemed to have left his brain and was soaring among the clouds and mist, becoming a part of it.
Suddenly, that human figure completely cleared in his mind. His movements no longer looked all over the place but seemed to be in perfect synchronization- indistinct and untraceable like nature’s rain, clouds, mist, and rain.
Ultimately, this figure stopped.
And at this moment, He Yiming clearly saw that this figure was none other than him….
His two eyes suddenly opened. He lifted his head. The rain had already stopped somewhere along the line. The sun hung high up above his head, emitting warm light rays.
Before his eyes, the mist pervading the mountains had already disappeared and tall mountains stood as far as the eye can see.
He discovered that the seemingly tall mountain peak, which he’d been standing on, was merely a bump on the land.
Faraway, tall and lofty mountains stood superimposing each other, penetrating the clouds- so majestic and unparalleled.
He softly let out a sigh, feeling as if stepping into the Xiantian realm was akin to mounting this mountain peak, where there were many more and much higher mountain peaks waiting for him to climb.
Gazing into the endless horizon, his heart brimmed with excitement. Suddenly, a hearty laugh proudly whizzed past the mountain forest, and into the heavens and lands.