Chapter Ten: The Death of Xiao Hei

  In the following days, Qin Long would run to the highest peak of the mountain range every time it rained and practiced "Lei Dong Jiu Jie". Almost every time, he would be stimulated by the violent thunder and launch a frenzied attack on the trees in the mountains. During this process, Qin Long's strength rapidly increased.

  On this day, Qin Long sat beside the bonfire, looking at Xiao Hei who was lying on top of a roasted wild boar. His eyebrows rose in surprise as he noticed that Xiao Hei's appetite had increased significantly over the past few days. Originally, one roasted rabbit per day was enough for him, but now he could eat half a wild boar in one sitting! Moreover, what Qin Long couldn't understand was that despite eating so much, Xiao Hei's body remained the same size, without any noticeable changes!!

  Just as Qin Long was stunned, Xiao Hei bit off the wild boar leg and walked towards Qin Long with it in his mouth. Seeing that Qin Long had no reaction, Xiao Hei rubbed against Qin Long's feet intimately, which finally made Qin Long wake up from his thoughts. Looking at Xiao Hei holding the pig leg, Qin Long felt a warmth in his heart, took over the pig leg, and gently stroked Xiao Hei's small head. Only then did Xiao Hei climb onto Qin Long's legs contentedly, yawned, and fell asleep on Qin Long's lap with half-closed eyes.

  Looking at the sleeping Xiao Hei, Qin Long's mouth corners involuntarily curled up, revealing a smile! In Qin Long's heart, Xiao Hei was no longer just a little beast, six months of dependence on each other had made Qin Long regard Xiao Hei as family! And Xiao Hei couldn't leave Qin Long anymore.

  He lightly bit into the wild boar meat, and Qin Long began to introspect his body. After being nourished by the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, his skeleton was tightly connected, emitting a faint white glow! In this one month of experiencing the power of thunder, Qin Long's cultivation had already reached the peak of Refining Bones Four Yang, and he was only one step away from breaking through to Refining Bones Five Yang!

  "I once read in an ancient book that when stimulating the life force, one should calm their mind and feel every bone in their body to find the one that is different from the others, which is the life force bone! But with so many bones in the body, which one is it?!" Qin Long muttered to himself. After reaching the peak of the fourth yang of bone refinement, he had tried to feel for the life force bone several times, but had never succeeded.

  "Rumble!" As Qin Long was deep in thought, a sudden clap of thunder rang out. Qin Long glanced at the gradually darkening outside of the cave, slowly put down Xiao Hei, and walked out of the mountain cave. Looking up at the black clouds drifting over from afar, Qin Long directly sprinted towards the highest peak in front of him.

  "Crack!" A thunderclap accompanied by a bolt of lightning over ten thousand feet long suddenly exploded, and the world was plunged into an instant of alternating daylight and darkness. The rolling black clouds surged to cover the sky, as if there was a fierce beast hiding in the thunderclouds, stirring up the wind and waves.

  Qin Long, who had already reached the highest mountain, did not know that this thunder would wake up Xiao Hei, who was sleeping soundly in the cave. When Xiao Hei opened his eyes, he didn't see Qin Long and let out a few cries, then walked out of the cave.

  With the sudden rise of strong winds, countless fallen leaves danced in the air, and a few raindrops hit the tree leaves with a crisp "crackling" sound, which was just the prelude to the storm! A torrential downpour suddenly fell from the sky, knocking the flying leaves to the ground!

  "Crack crack!"

  "Rumble!"

  The sound of raindrops and thunder mixed together, while in this harsh environment, Qin Long gathered his mind and quietly felt the violent thunder that filled the space. Meanwhile, outside a few mountain peaks, Xiao Hei was running frantically towards the front, occasionally letting out painful howls from his mouth. However, Xiao Hei's body was too small and weak, and he was constantly blown away by the strong wind, slipping and falling in the stormy rain. His originally black fur was covered with mud and water, but he didn't stop for a moment, still aimlessly searching for Qin Long.

  "What a dense and powerful force of thunder!" Qin Long, who was running the "Thunder Movement Nine Calamities", felt that this time's thunder force was much denser than usual, to the point where the violent intent in his heart spread rapidly. Just then, Qin Long suddenly sensed a certain bone on his back, which was involuntarily absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. This made Qin Long extremely happy, as it was a sign that he had obtained the Bone of Destiny!

  Qin Long held his breath, and with internal vision, he found the bone that was autonomously absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. What surprised Qin Long was that this bone was located below the spine. In the past, in the Qin family, Qin Long had not infrequently read about martial techniques, but as far as he knew, most people's innate force bones were located on their hands and feet, and very few people's innate force bones were located on their spine. Qin Long didn't have time to think much, and he quickly activated "Lei Dong Jiu Jie", wanting to use the power of this thunderstorm weather to stimulate his innate force bone.

  Gradually, a spiritual vortex emerged around Qin Long, containing the violent thunder of the heavenly spiritual energy pouring into his body, causing Qin Long's body to be covered in layers of silver threads, like a thunderous shield.

  "What's going on?!" When the absorbed spiritual energy had reached its limit, Qin Long's body began to swell. Qin Long stopped running "Lei Dong Jiu Jie", but what he didn't expect was that the vertebra below his spine was frantically absorbing the heavenly and earthly spiritual energy... No!! To be precise, it was absorbing the power of thunder from the heavens!

  Concentrating the dense power of thunder within his body, Qin Long felt an inexplicable discomfort throughout his entire being, as if he had been struck by lightning! And that powerful force contained a fierce violence that caused the ferocity in Qin Long's heart to spread uncontrollably!

  "ROAR!!" Qin Long let out a mighty roar, his eyes filled with endless fury. Unlike usual, this time his eyes flickered with a faint purple glow. The thunderous bellow was almost imperceptible in the stormy weather, but it seemed to have given Little Black a target, as it stumbled and staggered towards the mountain where Qin Long stood.

  "Ah!!" The surging violent intent within his body made Qin Long unable to bear it, and the lowest vertebra of his spine had turned pale purple. Its absorption speed did not decrease but increased instead. As this vertebra's color gradually turned purple, Qin Long was like a thunderball, with the surging power of thunder spreading throughout his entire body!

  "Woof woof!" Just then, a small black figure appeared in front of Qin Long, looking like a ball of thunder. Xiao Hei let out an anxious bark as he circled around Qin Long, who was emitting a fierce and violent aura that made him feel uneasy, so he continued to bark nonstop.

  Qin Long's eyes, which had become ferocious, suddenly fixed intently on the small black figure in front of him, and a hint of clarity was restored. However, the frenzied absorption of the lightning force by his bones made Qin Long almost lose control, and the violent fury in his heart made him want to slaughter everything in front of him!

  "Run!!" Qin Long yelled at Xiao Hei, his mind almost completely covered in madness. Xiao Hei, who had already reached spiritual enlightenment, was not going to listen to Qin Long's words at this moment. He anxiously spun around in place.

  "Rumble!" A thunderclap accompanied the explosive rain, and in that instant, a purple glow burst forth from Qin Long's back. Above him, a massive spiritual vortex suddenly appeared, as if the convergence of a hundred rivers into the sea merged into Qin Long's spine.

  "Whoa!" Just as Qin Long's last shred of sanity was about to be overwhelmed by his violent intentions, a bolt of lightning shot down from the rolling thunderclouds above, striking Qin Long like a ball of lightning. The little black creature, which had been staring intently at Qin Long, seemed to sense an enormous crisis and its dirty fur suddenly stood on end as it let out a furious howl. In the instant that the lightning struck Qin Long's head, the little black creature leapt up and blocked the attack for him.

  "Boom!" The little black was struck by the heavenly thunder and didn't even have time to let out a miserable cry, directly being struck to the ground, blasting out a huge crater. Originally, that ink-black mane had all turned to ashes, his skin cracked open and his flesh burst forth, he no longer had any signs of life!

  "No!!" As he watched Xiao Hei fall to the ground at his feet, Qin Long's eyes suddenly cleared up from his enraged state. His face twisted in a ferocious scowl, he let out a low growl. Although Qin Long had regained his clarity, the Bone of Heavenly Thunder continued to absorb the power of lightning, causing the lightning energy within him to swell rapidly. Just as Qin Long was about to pick up Xiao Hei, another bolt of heavenly thunder descended from the clouds and struck the back of Qin Long's head, hitting the Bone of Heavenly Thunder. Qin Long let out a blood-curdling scream as he fell to the ground, losing consciousness. This lightning energy was too overbearing, far beyond what Qin Long could withstand.

  However, what was astonishing was that the bone was still absorbing the power of the lightning while Qin Long was unconscious, to the point where it triggered another bolt of heavenly lightning from the clouds above. The bone underwent a baptism by heavenly lightning and gradually emitted a dazzling purple glow, while Qin Long's body was also undergoing changes in silence under the tempering of the heavenly lightning.

  Until the thunderstorm gradually dissipated, Qin Long's Primordial Power Bone had not attracted heavenly lightning. By this point, Qin Long had suffered six bolts of heavenly lightning and his body was on the verge of death. However, a vigorous life force began to emanate from the newly activated Primordial Power Bone, flowing through Qin Long's limbs and nourishing his dying body, gradually reviving it.

  Three days later.

  "Am I dead?" Qin Long's consciousness stirred, and a thought rose in his empty mind!

  "Xiao Hei?!" Qin Long suddenly remembered the scene he saw before he fainted, and it made him instantly wake up. He abruptly opened his eyes wide and sat up straight. When he saw the small body lying in front of him on the muddy ground, already charred beyond recognition, Qin Long's heart felt like it was being pierced by a thousand arrows. His gaze trembled as he stared at the charred corpse, and he let out an incredulous roar: "No!!"

  Qin Long picked up Xiao Hei in a state of frenzy, but Xiao Hei, who had been struck by lightning, had already lost all signs of life and was now just a charred and unrecognizable corpse.

  "Xiao Hei!!" Qin Long tightly hugged Xiao Hei, his eyes reddening! Half a year may not be long, but this half year was the most helpless and difficult period for Qin Long to get through! Xiao Hei's companionship not only made Qin Long's cultivation less dull, but also allowed him to feel the warmth of kinship again. In Qin Long's heart, Xiao Hei was like a younger brother to him.

  This time, Xiao Hei died to block the heavenly thunder for Qin Long. Xiao Hei died because of Qin Long!!! This made Qin Long wrapped in pain, regret and self-blame!

  Holding the charred little black, Qin Long walked down the mountain in a daze.

  The next day.

  Considering that Xiaobai would return after a while, Qin Long buried Xiaohuo in front of the cave where he and Xiaobai lived, and even erected a simple tombstone: "Xiaohuo's Tomb!"

  Sitting in front of Xiao Hei's tomb, Qin Long looked at Xiao Hei's grave, his eyes red as he murmured: "Xiao Hei, brother promised you, I will definitely bring Xiao Bai to see you later." Last time, when Xiao Bai left, Qin Long did not promise Xiao Hei, but this time, Qin Long made up his mind that he would definitely find Xiao Bai in the future. Perhaps, only then could Qin Long's heart be slightly at ease.

  After that, Qin Long hunted a wild rabbit and a wild boar, roasted them well and placed them in front of Xiao Hei's grave. Then he sat down cross-legged to examine the situation inside his body. If Xiao Hei hadn't died, then this breakthrough was worth celebrating! The bones under the spine had been completely activated into the vital bone, the entire bone presented a pale purple color, and a continuous flow of pale purple gas flowed out from it, flowing along the skeleton into the limbs and joints throughout the body.

  It's not just the skeleton, Qin Long's muscles throughout his body have also become stronger through the Tempering of Thunder, Qin Long only feels that there is an inexhaustible power within him, more importantly, Qin Long has initially entered the realm of "Thunder Movement First Tribulation: Inviting Thunder", according to the "Nine Thunder Movements", the pale purple airflow emanating from his innate force is the power of thunder!

  For seven consecutive days, Qin Long accompanied the small black tomb, without the lively and jumping figure of the past, but a cold grave, which was hard for Qin Long to adapt to.

  On this day, Qin Long took out the scroll from his savings ring and looked at the blurry figure floating on it, and those two words "Life and Death", Qin Long's eyes flickered.

  "The two words 'life and death' are the cycle of heaven and earth. When life emerges, it is extinguished everywhere; when illusions arise, they also die in an instant. Calmness resides in the heart, sinking into the bones, using the power of death to condense the mechanism of life. The thought of life and death is all up to my mind!" Qin Long silently recited the small characters below the two words "life and death". Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind: if he could uncover all the secrets of this scroll, would it really be possible for him to control life and death with just one thought? And if so, could he bring Little Hei back to life?

  Although this was just an idea, and even Qin Long had inadvertently forgotten about it, the idea had taken root in his heart.

  On the eighth day after Xiao Hei's death, Qin Long left the mountain range where he had stayed for nearly eight months. With Xiao Hei gone, there was no longer any place that held sentimental value to him here, and having entered the fifth stage of Bone Forging, it was time for him to leave.

  Three days later, Qin Long put on the black battle armor in the ring, weighing a thousand catties of battle armor, which greatly restricted Qin Long's movements, but he gritted his teeth and persisted, walking out of the mountain range with a steady pace, stepping onto a winding small path.

  Qin Long wanted to go back to Mingyue City to take a look, but he didn't know where he was deep in the mountains and where Mingyue City was, so he could only ask around first!

  Qin Long didn't know that three months after he left, the soil on Xiao Hei's grave began to sink, as if something was moving beneath it.

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