In the dim light of night, tall mountains stood proudly, with patches of larch, hazel, and birch trees. Although the trees were different, most of them had shed their leaves, leaving only bare branches covered in white snow.
Qin Ming walked on the snow, and after crossing several mountains, he was nearing the Blood Bamboo Forest.
He had never been to this area before; it was no longer just the outskirts of the mountains.
Along the way, many mountain beasts roamed, and strange birds called out, but once he reached this place, apart from the howling cold wind, all other sounds vanished.
Qin Ming realized the danger of the Blood Bamboo Forest. Various creatures in the mountains avoided this area, rarely venturing here.
It was still the cold winter with heavy snow, but if the Fire Spring became active and everything revived, when the blood snakes began to hunt, it would probably be even quieter nearby.
"The scenery is quite beautiful," Qin Ming said as he stood outside a valley, looking inside.
The Blood Bamboo Forest was located in the valley. Although it was dark, he could still see the bamboo forest standing tall in the wind and snow, a brilliant red covered in white snow, a stunning sight.
The valley was filled with blood bamboos, which were beautiful. This plant, from its stalks to its leaves, glowed red like coral, forming a dense forest in the snow.
"This is truly a good place," Qin Ming marveled.
Usually, no one dared to come here to enjoy the scenery. The notorious blood snakes made mountain patrollers extremely wary.
There was no sign of the Fire Spring in the valley, as if it had truly gone out.
However, Qin Ming did not step into the valley. He believed there must still be "embers" beneath the frozen ground; the Fire Spring might not be completely extinguished.
He circled around, observing the nearby terrain, climbed a high slope, and looked down. Indeed, in the center of the valley, there was a very faint "red glow."
After thinking for a moment, Qin Ming turned and left this quiet place, heading towards an area with more strange birds and mountain beasts, where he caught a fat rabbit in the snow.
"I'm sorry," he said, holding the plump snow rabbit. He returned near the Blood Bamboo Forest, stood on the high slope, and threw the rabbit into the center of the valley where the "red glow" was.
With a thud, the big rabbit landed in the thick snow, sending up a flurry of snowflakes, not far from the embers of the Fire Spring.
Almost simultaneously, a red line shot out, darting across the snow at an astonishing speed, instantly piercing into the rabbit.
Qin Ming's mind was highly focused, and a shimmering pattern appeared on his skin. His eyes were fixed on the not-too-distant center of the valley.
Without a doubt, it was a blood snake, just over three feet long. As rumored, its body was as tough as iron, capable of momentarily leaping up and piercing its target like an iron arrow.
"Indeed, a troublesome creature. This is still a relatively small snake; if a several-meter-long snake appears, it would be hard to deal with," Qin Ming frowned.
The main issue was that, in such cold weather, the blood snakes were still active, able to move briefly in the snow, which made things tricky.
Then he saw several more red lines emerge from the "red glow," each only a few feet long. This time, they did not dart like iron arrows but crawled along the snow, approaching the snow rabbit, their hard heads piercing into its body.
These snakes, which carried a spirit, could not be judged by common sense; they were not as afraid of the icy world as one might think and could not be easily frozen in a short time.
"Am I giving you a winter supplement, an unexpected meal?" Qin Ming watched the Blood Bamboo Forest, noticing that the few blood snakes were clearly drinking the warm blood of the rabbit.
These snakes were named for their blood, and their feeding method was related to that; unlike ordinary snakes that swallowed their prey whole, they fed very quickly, perhaps because they did not want to linger in the snow, soon moving towards the nearly extinguished Fire Spring.
"Hmm?" Qin Ming noticed that two of the snakes did not return immediately but instead crawled quickly through the Blood Bamboo Forest, as if searching for something.
At the same time, he noticed a larger snake head emerging from the "red glow," continuously flicking its bright red tongue, as if sensing something.
"This is a bit troublesome," Qin Ming realized that this deadly, intelligent creature was very strong and extremely alert, much harder to deal with than other mutated creatures.
He pondered whether he could use poison against them, perhaps offering them some poisonous blood food. However, seeing that the large snake did not seem to be eating, and the smaller snakes went to test the food first, he felt this plan might not work.
Qin Ming observed that the two smaller snakes, after quickly circling the Blood Bamboo Forest, noticeably slowed down, finishing their patrol of the territory and disappearing into the "red glow."
"The icy weather does have a significant effect on them; that's good news," he thought as he walked down the slope and retraced his steps.
He planned to bring various weapons over. Once he entered the Blood Bamboo Forest, he would definitely need to put on several layers of armor from the mountain patrol team. He did not want to be ambushed by a blood snake; if its iron-like head pierced his skin, even a newcomer would surely die.
Not long after, he dug out those iron spears, armor, and other weapons and hid them near the Blood Bamboo Forest.
"To deal with blood snakes, actually, Fu Entao's sharp long knife is better than the long-handled black gold hammer."
When attacking larger creatures with heavy weapons, the lethality was indeed strong; one blow could crush a head. But when it came to slender snakes, it was far less effective than a long knife.
Qin Ming thought about when the Fire Spring in the Blood Bamboo Forest would completely extinguish. The longer it took, the weaker the blood snakes would become, but his time was limited because the final negotiation with the top mutated creatures in the mountains would happen in the coming days.
"I startled the snakes today, making them alert. I'll come back tomorrow." Qin Ming decided to retreat. Though time was tight, he could afford to wait a day.
"I should be able to deal with this nest of blood snakes, right?" he mused on his way back. Feng Yian, Shao Chengfeng, and others were planning to make a move on the Blood Bamboo Forest, and he intended to wipe them all out.
He felt he couldn't be careless and needed to be cautious.
On his way back, he spotted three large birds of prey running through the forest at high speed, carrying people on their backs, crossing through the dense trees ahead of him.
"People from Golden Chicken Ridge?" Qin Ming guessed their identity as he hid behind a large tree.
Those were three mutated ground chickens, each over a person's height, very strong, capable of carrying people while running swiftly through the forest. Only Golden Chicken Ridge could cultivate such creatures.
Qin Ming had heard of Golden Chicken Ridge, where there was nearly a level two Fire Spring. Originally, a group of bandits lived there, but they were eventually subdued.
Because the mutated ground chickens they raised were very useful, mountain patrollers sometimes needed to hire their Golden Knights to scout the conditions in the mountains.
"Golden Chicken Ridge is quite far from here. How did they get here?" he wondered as he watched the three ground chickens leave. One of the riders was wearing fine armor, looking different from the locals and dressed quite differently from the other two.
"From Chixia City?" Qin Ming noticed that the black armor worn by that person was different from those of the Cao, Wei, and Mu families, suggesting they were from another prominent family.
Seeing they were not heading towards the Blood Bamboo Forest, he continued on his way back.
Just as he was about to leave the mountains with his catch, he spotted four unusual newcomers.
Although two of them were not wearing armor, they were clearly dressed in fine clothing, covered in black robes woven with metallic threads that concealed their faces.
Qin Ming was puzzled. The mountain patrol had not even started, yet things were already getting lively in the mountains. Who were these people?
The other two newcomers appeared to be locals in their thirties. One of them smiled and greeted him, "Little brother, do you know if there's a fissure nearby that glows with silver light?"
Qin Ming realized they were looking for a special node, and it seemed the two black-robed individuals were likely also from Chixia City.
"Go that way, just walk straight for three miles, and you'll get there!" Qin Ming pointed them in the direction. It wasn't a secret place; many people already knew about it.
"Little brother, lead us the way, and we'll give you a silver coin later," the man asking for directions said with a smile.
Qin Ming took two steps back, saying, "I'm afraid of that place; the fissure is very dangerous. Plus, I need to hurry back. I haven't caught anything for many days, and my mother is almost starving."
"Let's go," one of the black-robed men said, sounding quite young.
Upon hearing this, Qin Ming decided to leave.
However, the next words from the black-robed man froze him in place.
"Take care of him; it's not wise for us to let too many people know we're here," the black-robed man said lightly, directly deciding the fate of a "young hunter."
Qin Ming was shocked. Who were these people? To decide life and death with a single word showed a complete disregard for the lives of ordinary people.
He had met Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, Mu Qing, and others from Chixia City. Those people were all quite peaceful; whether or not they were maintaining the courtesy expected of nobility, they at least acted decently and did not make people feel uncomfortable.
But this black-robed man was far too decisive, showing no emotional fluctuation, and ordered the two locals to kill him.
"Brothers, we’re all locals; we can’t do this," Qin Ming said.
One of them laughed, "Sorry, brother. We were ordered to accompany these two distinguished guests into the mountains and must obey all their commands."
"You are..." Qin Ming asked.
"We come from the Three-Eyed Sect," the two locals advanced together.
In the next moment, Qin Ming moved like a swift leopard, leaving a shadow in place as he dashed forward, swiftly slicing the throats of the two men.
The two men from the Three-Eyed Sect were stunned and terrified, unable to believe their eyes. They thought they were confronting an ordinary hunter since Qin Ming had only caught a small prey, a rock sheep. But suddenly, they found their throats cut before they could react.
When the two black-robed men saw Qin Ming rushing towards them and noticed the heavy long-handled black gold hammer he had taken from his back, their expressions changed.
Qin Ming swung the black gold hammer towards one man's head while stabbing the other black-robed man with his short sword.
Since they had already made the decision to kill him and ensure their presence remained unknown, there was no point in saying anything more. He could only fight back with all his might.
In an instant, the sound of metal clashing erupted between the three, an ear-piercing noise.
After a brief exchange, Qin Ming understood their strengths. One of them was a second-generation newcomer, while the other was not a threat, having only been reborn once.
He focused all his attacks on the second-generation newcomer, as that was the only one who posed a danger.
If this had happened earlier, he might have had to battle the other for a while, but after reviewing the sword techniques today, the improvement to his combat skills was substantial.
"Clang!"
After several clashes, the strong black-robed man's long knife was knocked high by the black gold hammer, leaving his arm numb.
At the same time, his pupils contracted as the long-handled black gold hammer came at him like a flash of lightning, striking towards his chest with a speed he couldn't match.
He realized it was too late to dodge; his chest caved in, and he coughed up blood, knowing he wouldn't survive.
"Competing with me in knife skills?" Qin Ming gripped the long-handled black gold hammer, using it like a knife, not even glancing at him as he turned to pressure the other black-robed man.
The other man was shocked. He had just been knocked back, and his companion had died in no time. It was all too fast. How could a boy who looked like a hunter be so terrifying?
He knew he was no match and turned to flee into the dense forest.
"Throwing knife style!" Qin Ming uttered those words, and with a loud crash, the long-handled black gold hammer flew out, smashing the head of the black-robed man nearby like a rotten watermelon.
Without any hesitation, Qin Ming quickly cleaned up the battlefield, using the snow to wipe the blood off the long-handled black gold hammer, and dragged his prey back on the road.
However, he felt uneasy. There were so many people entering the mountains now, each with different intentions. He couldn't stay away from the Blood Bamboo Forest for too long.
After having a meal, he quietly returned to the mountains.
"Every day that passes, the Fire Spring dims a lot, which is beneficial for me, but I also need to be wary of outsiders coming to snatch the spiritual items," Qin Ming muttered to himself. For now, he could only guard this place.
He left only when it was close to midnight because no one would choose to act at such a late hour. The dark night didn't affect the snakes much, but it would limit the newcomers.
The next day, he entered the mountains early and found that the "red glow" in the center of the valley had indeed dimmed considerably.
With this discovery, he decided to wait a little longer, planning to act before the end of the day.
An hour later, the entire mountain suddenly lit up brilliantly, endless "earth light" rising, and a rain of light appeared, illuminating the nearby area.
The earth light surged, and the rosy glow flowed. This spectacle captivated Qin Ming; it was indeed beautiful.
Especially here, the fiery red bamboo forest contrasted with the pure white snow, creating a fresh, stunning sight, forming a uniquely gorgeous landscape.
"Hmm?" Just then, Qin Ming noticed a group of people approaching from a distance.
He didn't rush; instead, he calmly retreated into the shadows. This was good; if this group was coming for the spiritual items in the Blood Bamboo Forest, he would let them scout the way first.