The room was warm. At first, the old man Liu did most of the talking while Qin Ming listened quietly. Eventually, they both started discussing things together.
Qin Ming felt a mix of excitement and anticipation. In such a dangerous environment, he longed for a fresh start and wanted to avoid being chased by giant beasts again.
If he were strong enough, the people from Jinji Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect wouldn’t dare to treat him as a disposable tool and send him underground to mine.
Liu took a sip of water and said, “Once we enter the mountains, we need to carefully observe the terrain and plan our escape route before taking action.”
“Why do I feel like you’re not very confident, old man?” Qin Ming asked suspiciously, worried that they might run into issues at a critical moment.
Liu replied, “Being cautious isn’t a bad thing. We can’t afford to lose. The place we’re going has rare spiritual materials, and it’s very dangerous. If we fail, it could cost us our lives.”
Qin Ming nodded, becoming more cautious. “Does Yin Teng Town have any dynamite? We should buy some!”
“Now that you mention it, that opens up some ideas. There are other places we could consider too,” Liu said, surprisingly having backup plans.
“Tell me about them.”
“In the mountains, there’s a lake in the West Gully where a mutated three-times old turtle is hiding. Its body is full of treasures, and its blood is rich in spiritual materials. Right now, it’s hibernating. If we can dig it out while it’s still asleep and throw some dynamite into its hole, I think we might succeed!”
Liu got a bit excited at this point, almost wanting to replace the original plan with this one to deal with the spiritual turtle.
Qin Ming cooled him down, reminding him, “The turtle shell is incredibly tough. The dynamite might not even break it. And the lake is so big, how are we supposed to find it? Are we going to dig forever?”
“You’re right. Spiritual creatures are generally stronger than their counterparts, and a three-times mutated turtle would likely be tough to blow up, especially since this type has long legs and can be quite fast when it goes wild.”
Liu calmed down, realizing that the turtle, which had mutated twenty years ago, was probably even stronger now.
Hearing this, Qin Ming’s expression changed. “Old man, you’re not talking about situations from twenty years ago, are you?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not that unreliable,” Liu shook his head.
He then brought up another backup plan: using dynamite to scare the monkeys away. The loud explosion would frighten the long-armed monkeys, allowing them to sneak into their nest and take the spiritual materials.
Qin Ming looked at him oddly, thinking how strange these plans were.
Liu said, “Honestly, I really want to get rid of that group of monkeys. They’re so annoying!”
“Have you been bullied by monkeys, old man? Aren’t they over twenty miles away? That’s pretty far from us.”
Liu tapped the table and said, “I’m trying to rid the people of harm, you understand? Over at Emei Town, many people going into the mountains have had their prey stolen by those long-armed monkeys, and some have even been dragged away.”
Qin Ming immediately realized that Liu must have had a run-in with those monkeys and was still upset about it!
“I think it’s a bad idea. If we don’t scare the monkeys away, they might get angry and chase us all over the place. Monkeys hold grudges.”
Liu said, “It’s not the safest plan, but it’s still feasible. Thirty years ago, someone made a big noise to lure a tiger away from its den using a similar method.”
“Really? That’s impressive!” Qin Ming couldn’t help but be amazed. That mountain lord was stronger than the old bull from the Wild Bull Ridge.
Liu shook his head. “The mountain lord holds grudges even more. Although it wasn’t as powerful back then, it was still fierce. Three months after that incident, it broke into Yin Teng Town one night and tore those two people apart.”
Qin Ming had just thought those two were impressive, but now he was forced to calm down. “I think your backup plans are all unreliable. The first one is the best. Let’s head into the mountains!”
As they stepped outside, they saw people from Jinji Ridge entering the village, clearly riding on ground chickens, which made them stand out.
“There are still people from Jinji Ridge around? How come they didn’t all die in the Great Rift?” Liu whispered.
After the arrival of these two, all the villagers felt tense. After all, Jinji Ridge was originally a bandit group, and even though they had been pacified, their nature hadn’t changed much.
“We’re here to assess the situation. How many new life forms does your village have? Come and register,” a middle-aged man on a ground chicken said.
Everyone felt a heavy weight in their hearts. Were they here for revenge?
Everyone knew that nearly all the people from Jinji Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect who entered the Great Rift had perished, while the mountain villagers had all escaped unharmed.
Given Jinji Ridge’s usual behavior, it was likely they would vent their anger on the new life forms returning from the nearby villages.
Xu Yueping said quietly, “Some of the larger villages have been assessed since yesterday.”
Qin Ming said, “What does it matter to us if the people from Jinji Ridge couldn’t escape? They were in a strong position but still couldn’t escape as well as the oppressed mountain villagers. Who can they blame?”
Liu said, “They won’t reason with you. That’s just how the world is. If you’re strong enough, even weddings and funerals might attract high-level beasts to attend. If you’re weak, even monkeys will bully you. You have to strengthen yourself.”
He added, “The old monsters deep in the mountains have connections with the higher-ups in Chixia City. Don’t doubt it. An old ranger I knew back in the day told me this.”
Once the two from Jinji Ridge finished their registration, they didn’t linger and quickly left.
“I think they might be looking to replenish their numbers,” Xu Yueping said.
Everyone agreed, as it made sense. Jinji Ridge had suffered heavy losses and urgently needed new life forms.
Liu said, “Trouble is coming. Besides needing people, they’ll definitely demand goods too. Replenishing their ranks will cost a lot.”
Everyone felt heavy-hearted. The bandits from Jinji Ridge had always put a lot of pressure on the surrounding villages, and this situation was hard to change.
As Qin Ming and Liu entered the mountains, they both felt uncomfortable and started cursing the Jinji Ridge people, believing they were nothing but thieves.
“I really want to wipe out Jinji Ridge!” Qin Ming said.
“Don’t say that. If someone hears you, it could lead to big trouble,” Liu stopped him.
“By the way, old man, you said the high-level beings deep in the mountains have close ties with the higher-ups in Chixia City. Is that true?”
Liu said, “Well, that’s what people say. I don’t know how true it is.”
“Then why was there still a massacre in the Great Rift?” Qin Ming looked ahead at the silent area where many people and beasts had died three days ago, and the place was filled with the scent of blood.
“I think the attack on the Great Rift might have been agreed upon by both sides’ higher-ups.”
Qin Ming looked at him. “Why do you say that?”
Liu said, “The number of beasts in the mountains is increasing, but their territory isn’t growing. Some of them need to be eliminated. Meanwhile, the big families in Chixia City have been developing rapidly in recent years. According to those traveling merchants, each family has its own monopolized industry, so it wouldn’t be appropriate for the city lord to suppress them directly. Now that the Great Rift massacre has happened, it seems reasonable.”
“Grandpa Liu, you really think outside the box!” Qin Ming glanced at him.
“I’ve traveled through Chixia City before and know it well. I’ve seen the world. If it weren’t for that famous beast in the mountains tearing apart my foundation, I wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.”
The two continued chatting as they walked.
After walking ten miles into the mountains, Liu said, “Don’t talk too much. Once we’re here, we can’t mention those old monsters in the deep mountains.”
After walking a bit further, they arrived at a primeval forest and then reached the foot of a mountain.
“There’s a fire spring inside this mountain,” Liu said, showing just how well he knew the area. Anyone else wouldn’t have known about this place.
Moreover, Liu had already scouted the area and knew that the fire spring had dimmed due to the magnetic disturbances in the mountain. This was one of the reasons he chose to act here.
Inside the mountain was a nest of silver-headed ants, which relied heavily on the fire spring. Otherwise, in the cold, their activity would drop significantly, and they wouldn’t move much.
From blood snakes to spiritual turtles, then to long-armed monkeys, and now to silver-headed ants, Liu’s targets were all quite unusual.
However, Qin Ming had to admit that this was indeed the best option at the moment.
Silver-headed ants were fierce and had a frighteningly large number in their nests, making winter the best time to deal with them.
Another key reason was that there could only be one queen ant in the entire nest. Although there were enough spiritual materials to allow other silver-headed ants to mutate three times, the queen wouldn’t allow it.
Liu said, “We need to get some steel plates to protect ourselves. Just wearing armor isn’t enough. If a silver-headed ant bites you, it won’t kill you, but half your body will feel numb for a long time. If they overwhelm you, you could be bitten to death.”
These silver-headed ants were much stronger than the black ants Xu Yueping used for tea. They could be as big as a baby’s fist or even the size of an egg, and they were extremely fierce.
Their heads had silver stripes, which is how they got their name.
What’s most amazing about these ants is that they can brew honey wine, collecting various pollen and wild fruits from the mountains, and even stealing grains from the fields. With the help of the fire spring’s spiritual energy, they can produce a liquid that resembles both wine and honey.
They can repeatedly extract the essence from the honey wine, allowing it to ferment again, and they will purify it multiple times. After several rounds of fermentation, a special spiritual substance is produced, resulting in a light golden liquid.
In some big cities, the honey wine brewed by silver-headed ants is astonishingly expensive, not to mention the spiritual substance created from repeatedly purifying the essence.
Qin Ming and Liu followed the cracks in the mountain and went deeper. Qin Ming felt a bit of a chill. The dim fire spring was surrounded by giant ants. Anyone with a fear of clusters would definitely struggle here. The silver stripes glimmered coldly, and they remained completely still.
The two silently backed out and began to observe the nearby terrain, planning their escape route.
Over the next two days, they kept going in and out of the mountains, bringing in the supplies they needed.
“This is it! Success or failure depends on this!” In the icy cold, white mist came from their mouths as they prepared to take action.
Qin Ming felt restless, not out of fear or nervousness, but because his thoughts were racing. If they succeeded here, after his third rebirth, what memories would resurface? What would he see this time?