Tonight, the mountain darkness was particularly heavy, as if draped beneath a colossal black curtain. Now, five-colored haze suddenly surged up from the depths of the mountain range, tearing through the night in an instant and casting brilliant light in all directions. One towering peak after another was dyed in radiant color, and the snow-laden trees sparkled in resonance.
The sight stunned everyone. Across the entire mountain range ahead, shimmering mist steamed and surged with dazzling hues. In an era without a sun, such sheer magnificence made anyone who beheld it yearn for it.
Chaos erupted completely throughout the mountains. Any expert near the lands bathed in the five-colored radiance wished they could sprout wings of lightning to fly there immediately and vie for the most mysterious treasure in the entire mountain range.
"It matured so early!"
"Ah..."
Factions of all stripes went mad, rushing toward the spectacle. Agonized shrieks rang out midway as figures struck from the shadows with vicious ploys.
Amid the vast, rolling mountains, famed beasts roared and strange birds soared. Swarms of mutates grew frenzied as well, scrambling in that direction.
Deep in the mountains, the five-colored haze lingered without dispersing, reaching into the fathomless dark of the night sky, its blinding glow shining across the eight directions.
Everyone knew that all these supernatural signs were merely surface manifestations. It was all because the bounty within the special node had fully ripened, coiling with white mist and billowing with brilliant haze to create such a wondrous phenomenon.
Standing on a sheer precipice, the ten-meter-tall Wei Mo gazed toward the place swirling with five-colored mist. The dark red armor on his body clanged like the scales of a river dragon, bursting with crimson radiance. Channeling power through his feet with a thunderous boom, he crushed the precipice beneath him. Rocks tumbled, the mountain shook, and the ground trembled in an astounding display.
Brandishing a black spear, he leaped down and charged toward the depths of the mountain range.
"Brother Wei, you had better stay." A white-clad figure appeared—none other than the City Lord of Chixia City, a man of exalted standing, blocking the path.
"Ling Xu, you dare obstruct me?" Gripping his black spear and trampling through the forest, Wei Mo vanished from the spot in a single bound. Reappearing abruptly, his spear thrust forward like a bolt of black lightning, tearing through a vast swath of woods and arriving right before Ling Xu.
In another part of the mountains, a three-foot-long calico cat was bounding forward with a crimson longsword strapped to its back. Its movements were agile and soundless, slipping past numerous mutates as it darted straight for the center of the steaming five-colored haze.
"Halt!" a mutate suddenly roared, rushing over like lightning. It was clearly intent on contesting the priceless, mysterious bounty with the calico cat.
A mantis beast appeared, whipping up fierce gales as it arrived. Any branches obstructing its path snapped clean off as it forcefully barred the calico cat's way.
It was entirely white, shaped similarly to a praying mantis but standing as tall as a man, its body covered in snow-white fur. Its mantis forelegs were exceptionally long, like two snow-white, serrated sabers flowing with hazy mist.
The calico cat wasted no words. Drawing its crimson sword, light blossomed like evening clouds, dyeing the forest red as sword qi surged into the night sky.
At the same time, saber light slashed through the dark, weaving through the deep woods like lightning. Under the invisible shockwaves of saber qi, towering trees collapsed in great swaths, and some burst into splinters.
***
The old weasel, which usually rode a donkey in leisurely, unflappable composure, had abandoned its mount today. Skimming along the canopies of the forest, it sped forward like a streak of white lightning.
"Hm?" It suddenly stopped, perching atop a larch tree dozens of meters tall. Its left hand rested behind its back while a string of prayer beads was wrapped around its right. It tilted its head toward the sky.
"The rare bounty in that node is not meant for you!" A frigid voice drifted down from the night mist churning across the sky.
"It seems that aside from the people of Chixia City, other outsiders are peeping from the shadows as well." The old weasel spoke a bit more than usual.
"Stay right where you are!" the voice within the black clouds called out. It clearly intended to stall the unfathomably strong old weasel to buy time for others.
The old weasel said, "Have you considered that even if you keep me here, your companions will be intercepted by someone else? You are not the only faction watching from the dark. Why not let me pass and muddy the waters?"
"Out of the question. I have long wanted to test your mettle. You actually joined forces with Chixia City to injure my friend. Humph!" Wings emerged from the clouds, followed by a massive, scale-covered claw reaching down toward the old weasel on the mountain slopes, truly like a cloud dragon extending its talons.
With the prayer beads coiled around its right hand, the old weasel struck upward with immense force. A booming crash sounded like a thunderclap, and an intimidating beam of light twisted through the night like terrifying lightning, deafening the ears.
The clouds in the sky shattered, revealing an enormous creature flapping silver wings, thrown backward by the impact and churning up dread astral winds.
The larch beneath the old weasel's feet snapped, and other nearby trees fell and exploded across a wide area, creating a horrifying scene. The old weasel drifted lightly down onto a boulder.
In the distance, the forest looked as though a bright moon were rising from the sea. A Moon Insect appeared, confronting a feathered-robe woman standing atop a giant azure bird and radiating hazy light, and the two immediately clashed in battle.
***
"I only wish I were in my prime, standing at the pinnacle, so I could also venture into the deep mountains to compete for the rare treasure nurtured by the spiritual peak! Alas, watching with my own eyes, I don't even dare draw close. It tears my heart out!" In the outer periphery of the forest, someone shouted in indignation, looking thoroughly sorrowful.
"Wake up. You're among the weaker Newborns in our team as it is. Who knows if you'll even still be around when your prime comes?"
Countless people in the dense forest burned with envy, yet after their initial impulse faded, they gradually halted. Their strength was simply not enough to enter the deep mountains to vie for fortune against those old monsters; doing so would be nothing short of suicide.
The various teams all cooled down. If they let hot heads get the better of them, the higher mutates and old monsters in the mountains would give them a swift, simple cooling that left their entire bodies stone-cold.
After halting, Cao Long picked up his longbow and began searching for that foul-mouthed speech sparrow that had dared describe him as a "turd."
"A special node has been found over here! Someone wants to hog it all!" the speech sparrow squawked again. It was practically a spirit in its own right, adept at courting disaster and trying to draw other teams over to fight.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!*
Dense volleys of iron arrows shot out one after another, flying straight toward where the speech sparrow's voice had originated.
"They're murdering to silence me! Help! There's a special node here that birthed a mysterious bounty!" The mutated speech sparrow took flight and fled.
"Today isn't suitable for deep exploration. We should pull back," Mu Qing said. The mountain was in utter turmoil right now. With the place radiating five-colored haze emerging, holding the greatest fortune, the old monsters would go into a killing frenzy. There was no telling what might happen, and innocent bystanders could easily be caught in the crossfire.
Cao Long and Wei Zhirou both nodded in agreement. Their three teams were relatively cautious; they would rather accomplish nothing than make a fatal mistake.
"All right, let's just familiarize ourselves with the outer perimeter. We won't go any deeper today. We can wait until the battle among the high-level figures settles down before discussing anything else."
In the deep mountains, terrifying beams of light flashed one after another. Famed birds spread their wings to tear through the night, and human experts let loose fearsome, drawn-out roars.
The fighting deep in the mountains was exceedingly ferocious.
As guides, the hound-riding Old Man Liu, the black-sheep-riding Yang Yongqing, and the others were now free to act on their own, since Mu Qing, Cao Long, and their groups had retreated to the periphery to wait for the battle's outcome before reconsidering their next move.
Qin Ming was happy to take it easy. Naturally, he would not venture into the depths; rare bounties were wonderful, but one had to stay alive to enjoy them.
He wandered through the forest, searching for that speech sparrow. He had promised to catch one for Xiao Wenrui but had never managed to find any. Today's sparrow had mutated and seemed exceptionally clever.
Unfortunately, he found no further trace of it. That mutated speech sparrow was far too slick; after thoroughly offending Cao Long and his group, it had vanished without a trace.
Qin Ming paused briefly, then walked in the direction of the fissure that had once made him gravely ill, wanting to see how that special node fared after the mountain's upheaval.
"He separated from Mu Qing, Cao Long, and the others. Perhaps we can test his mettle now," someone informed You Liangyun in the woods.
"Is that so? Good, let's follow!" Clad in exquisite armor and carrying a longsword gleaming with chilling light, You Liangyun led his men swiftly through the forest.
***
Deep in the mountains, the clash between experts was indeed terrifying and brutal. A gigantic beast was gravely wounded, blood spouting from its neck like a fountain. When its corpse collapsed, the ground shook, flattening a massive swath of trees.
Purple light surged like clouds across the sky, halberds swept overhead with dazzling cold light, and strange birds unleashed piercing divine radiance that crisscrossed heaven and earth.
At the center of the battlefield, dense webs of lightning seemed to intertwine. No one could tell where these experts had come from; each had a mysterious identity, all were fighting frantically, and higher beings had already perished.
Yet the battles in certain areas appeared somewhat "peculiar."
In one stretch of woods, Ling Xu, clad in white, sat on the ground. He broke the clay seal on a wine jar, poured himself a cup, and tossed the whole jar to Wei Mo. When the latter caught it, the entire jar looked no bigger than a teacup in his hand.
The two drank in silence, yet they still gripped their long saber and war spear over ten meters long, channeling dazzling heavenly light that surged into the night sky.
In another mountain clearing, the calico cat sat on the ground with sword in paw, the blade glowing with crimson clouds, while not far away, the mantis beast swung its saw-blade forelegs toward the night sky.
***
Qin Ming frowned. Dressed in animal skins, he looked like an ordinary local hunter. Why was he being targeted again?
He stopped, realizing that there were two groups in the shadows, one ahead and one behind, faintly boxing him in.
One of the groups was pursuing him from behind, closing in fast.
"Qin Ming?" You Liangyun arrived. Looking at the slender, fair-faced youth before him and his distinctly outstanding demeanor, his expression grew quite complicated.
After all, this very youth was likely to block his path of advancement.
"Who are you, and what do you want?" Qin Ming asked, gripping his long-handled dark-gold hammer.
You Liangyun stared at him blankly, fell silent for a moment, and finally said, "You Liangyun of Chixia City. Someone asked me to test your mettle. Make your move."
Qin Ming frowned. What was this about?
At the same time, he kept a wary eye on the other four men. Their weapons were relatively heavy without being excessive; they were likely all second Newborns.
"Come on!" Holding a fine sword that looked remarkably valuable, You Liangyun initiated the attack, tracing a dazzling arc of sword light through the dim forest.
*Clang!*
The next instant, You Liangyun felt a sharp sting in his palm followed by numbness, and his clear, autumn-water sword nearly flew from his grasp.
Qin Ming said nothing. For a first-time Newborn, the man's strength was decent enough, roughly able to lift a cauldron of over six hundred jin.
Undoubtedly, Qin Ming had held back without unleashing his full power, as he was primarily keeping watch on the other second Newborns.
You Liangyun attacked again, but after his sword was parried three times in succession, his right hand trembled slightly. He let out a dejected sigh and stepped back.
"My strength is inferior to yours, and my speed cannot match yours either. I am certainly no match for you." Looking disheartened, he sheathed his sword onto his back and said, "Someone should be looking for you in the coming days. I am leaving."
"Did my winning affect you?" Qin Ming asked.
"If I lose to you, I am no longer qualified to stay by that noble lady's side. You will replace me," You Liangyun said.
"Then what about you? Where will you go?" Qin Ming asked with a frown.
"What else can I do? Since I can't climb up through my own efforts, I can only go home and inherit my noble title." You Liangyun led his men away.
Qin Ming had intended to say something more, but upon hearing those final words, he swallowed everything right back down.
"Brother You's character truly passes muster. What a pity you must return to Chixia City after losing." Qi Huai'en stepped out from the forest.
You Liangyun, who had been about to depart, halted and turned around.
"The noble lady asked me to come take a look as well. Let me test him." Qi Huai'en drew a long saber and walked toward Qin Ming with a faint smile.
A piercing screech of grinding metal rang out. Qi Huai'en executed three strikes in succession before withdrawing his blade. Shaking his head, he said, "What a pity. He still falls a bit short and fails to meet the noble lady's requirements."
"Even this isn't enough?" You Liangyun was surprised.
"Yes. The noble lady is looking for candidates, and he falls just shy. Let's go." Qi Huai'en walked off with him.
Qin Ming found the whole thing baffling. Had he not been wary of others peeping from the shadows, he would have fought with unrestrained hands long ago. Was this Qi Huai'en so strong that he had any right to judge him like that?
Walking away alongside You Liangyun, Qi Huai'en pondered inwardly. Although he had held back, he could still sense that the youth, despite being only a first-time Newborn, was extraordinary—capable of lifting at least an eight-hundred-jin cauldron. He was truly terrifying.
"Hm? The sound of fighting." You Liangyun looked back.
Qi Huai'en said, "You head back first. I'll go check. The mountains are chaotic right now; if he dies at someone else's hands and the noble lady suspects you, it wouldn't look good."
"I'll bring my men along with you," You Liangyun offered.
Qi Huai'en shook his head. "My strength far exceeds that of ordinary second Newborns; you won't be able to help, and if danger arises, you'll likely only throw away your lives. Go see the noble lady. Perhaps after seeing your upright character, she will change her mind."
"Very well." You Liangyun departed with his men.
Qi Huai'en had a well-proportioned build, standing a head taller than ordinary men. Moving through the forest as swiftly as a tiger or leopard, he quickly arrived at the scene.
He looked surprised as he regarded the several men in the clearing. "You haven't finished him off yet?"
Holding his long-handled dark-gold hammer, Qin Ming faced the other band that had emerged from the woods, now certain that no one else remained hidden.
He looked at Qi Huai'en and said, "You Liangyun had no intention of killing me, yet you want to eliminate me?"
Six men surrounded him, their faces filled with killing intent, having already clashed briefly just moments ago.
"And what if I do?" Qi Huai'en replied calmly with a flat voice.
Qin Ming hurled his hammer, instantly obliterating the head of the man before him. Snatching the spear from the falling man's hands, he charged forward at terrifying speed. With a sickening squelch, he ran another man through, blood spraying everywhere, and hoisted him high into the air with a single arm.
Chapter 32