"Could it be... that Cui clan?" the maid whispered in surprise.
She knew that her young mistress had once resided in a prestigious city for four years, where she had become acquainted with some truly formidable figures.
Beside them, hearing the words "Cui clan," both gold-armored men could not help revealing strange looks. Their eyes shone brightly as they gazed toward Golden Rooster Ridge beneath the shroud of night.
"It cannot be confirmed that it is him yet. After all, it has been over two years since we last met. When he dashed past on the purple lightning beast, the eyes, nose, and mouth visible beneath his face guard truly bore a striking resemblance, not to mention his habitual manner when riding an anomaly—gripping the mane with one hand, holding his saber like a horse whip..."
"Young Mistress, you are truly amazing! The night is so deep, and in that fleeting glance, I could only see a blur, yet you saw him so clearly. Is this an ability of those beyond the mundane world?" The maid chirped away with lively chatter.
She even muttered under her breath, asking whether that Cui Chonghe was the young mistress's acquaintance, a close friend, or someone dear to her, and whether they were going to step forward and recognize each other shortly.
The young lady wore a feathered robe, her black hair cascading like a waterfall, brilliant divine light swirling in her bright eyes. She murmured softly, "If it is him, why would he appear here? Things have changed with time; it is no longer appropriate to meet him. Let us just wait in the dense forest. I only wish to confirm whether he is truly that old acquaintance."
"Not appropriate to meet? Does he have... an issue?" The maid opened her small mouth slightly in astonishment.
One of the gold-armored men spoke up: "Young Mistress, we should move a bit farther away. City Lord Meng ventured into the mountain depths to seek the remnants of the Black and White Ancient Tree's branches for you. If negotiations fall apart..."
...
In the back mountain of Golden Rooster Ridge, Qin Ming, mounted on the purple lightning beast, saw a vast grove of parasol trees. More notably, he spotted an enormous bird's nest cradling an anomaly of a bird. It was not colossal, measuring over three meters in length, lying quietly in the nest.
Built from parasol tree branches upon the ground, the nest held a fowl that possessed only a sparse scattering of gleaming golden feathers across its body. Broad patches of its skin were bare, and its frame was emaciated—no matter how one looked at it, it seemed rather aged.
"Feel it out and tell me: is this a five-times-mutated vicious bird?" Qin Ming tapped the purple lightning beast's head with his spear.
When it came to sensitivity toward anomalies, mutated creatures understood one another best. He questioned the purple lightning beast to be sure.
The purple lightning beast possessed abundant spiritual awareness and understood his words completely. Though highly reluctant to comply, in the end it yielded and nodded.
"So this is the foundation of Golden Rooster Ridge. No wonder it bears this name—there's an old golden rooster mutated five times." A look of surprise crossed Qin Ming's face. The old bird's condition seemed quite poor, its feathers nearly all molted away.
The four bandits who had fled earlier were right beside the parasol-branch nest. Facing the old golden rooster, they were exceedingly nervous, bordering on trembling with terror.
The surviving bandit chief stood before the nest and said, "Senior, though you warned us that no one was permitted to disturb you, this is a matter of life and death. Golden Rooster Ridge is about to be wiped out, so we had no choice but to seek aid here."
It was evident his body was taut with tension, fearing the old golden rooster would turn on him.
Having entered its twilight years, this vicious bird had completely lost control and paid no heed to them whatsoever; coming here with "tribute" was useless.
Presently, its heart was set on emulating the legendary nirvana of phoenix-blooded miraculous birds, seeking to make one final attempt here: if successful, it would evolve into a six-times-mutated creature; if failed, it would perish tragically on the spot.
The bandit chief of Golden Rooster Ridge understood that it was doomed to fail. How could it know any method of nirvana? Its thin trace of phoenix blood was nowhere near enough to support another breakthrough.
The old golden rooster glared savagely at the bandit chief, then turned its violent gaze upon the lone rider ahead. What few golden feathers remained on its body stood on end one by one.
Whoever hindered its "nirvana" would be torn to shreds. It had little chance to begin with, clinging only to this final thread of hope, and now that it had been disturbed, ferocious malice surged through it.
"Are you brooding on the nest to lay eggs?" Qin Ming asked in a hoarse voice.
Then he quickly whispered to the purple lightning beast, "In case I can't beat it, you can outrun it, right?"
In the nest, the old golden rooster flew into a rage, covered in goosebumps—or chicken skin, in the truest sense. It stood straight up and let out a piercing, resonant crow.
"You're dead meat! Senior is a male phoenix! How dare you insult it like that..." one of the surviving bandits shouted, clearly attempting to curry favor with the old golden rooster.
However, this flattery struck the wrong chord—or rather, the rooster's leg. The vicious bird was utterly capricious right now, venting its wrath indiscriminately on everyone.
Lurching out, it assumed a Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg stance, while its other powerful leg delivered a side kick, sending the four bandits flying in a burst of wet thuds.
This was no ordinary side kick. Its sharp talons instantly pierced the four men in a shower of blood: some had their bellies ripped open and intestines spilled, while another clutched his chest as a gaping hole was gouged through it. Falling to the ground, they screamed piteously, with one bandit dying on the spot.
Even the sole surviving bandit chief's expression shifted drastically as he scrambled backward, but he was still a step too late. The old golden rooster executed Phoenix Spreads a Single Wing; its bare, fleshy wing gleamed with light, and though it failed to strike him squarely, it sliced open his armor, carving a deep, bloody gash across his chest.
Cruelty was the old rooster's defining trait; whoever kept it from living out its twilight years or disrupted its nirvana process would die by its claws.
Swift as lightning, it followed up with another claw strike against the bandit chief, kicking him seven or eight meters away and gouging through his thigh into a mangled pulp, the talon even snapping one of his bones.
This was mainly because the chief had already been severely wounded by Qin Ming earlier; otherwise, he wouldn't have been felled so swiftly.
Qin Ming stared wide-eyed. Why did it feel like this old golden rooster was a seasoned martial artist? Its strikes were ferocious and deliberate, adhering to disciplined forms, as though it were well versed in human combat techniques.
The bandit chief was enraged, but lying on the ground, he dared not utter a sound. Unless the Golden Bandits came in person, this old golden rooster gave face to no one.
The next instant, the old golden rooster strode forward on its long legs, its talons shattering the rocks beneath the snow. Trailing a gale that whipped up a flurry of snow, it lunged toward Qin Ming with savage ferocity, closing the distance almost instantaneously.
Even the purple lightning beast grew tense, nearly wheeling around to flee.
Gripping his spear, Qin Ming thrust outward, producing dozens of spear shadows that resembled a coiling dragon spiraling through the air, baring fangs and claws to tear the vicious bird apart.
With a metallic clang, the old golden rooster's massive golden beak clamped shut on the spearhead. Then, with a violent jerk of its head, it snapped the spear tip clean off with a sharp crack.
Simultaneously, one of its bare, fleshy wings chopped down toward the rider and mount like a human executing a Pigua Palm strike.
The purple lightning beast did not hesitate to ram upward while carrying Qin Ming, using him as a meat shield to protect itself; it was deathly afraid of the old rooster and refused to take the blow.
Qin Ming had originally intended to block the wing anyway to gauge the bird's strength, but being used as a shield by the beast infuriated him. He slammed a palm down onto its back, making it wail in agony and slump dejectedly, while his other hand met the incoming wing.
Heavenly light flowed across both Qin Ming's palm and the old golden rooster's fleshy wing. With a tremendous boom upon impact, it sounded as if two behemoths had collided.
Unable to bear the colossal force, the purple lightning beast crashed into a massive ancient tree, staggering and swaying uncontrollably.
Qin Ming leaped down from its back and threatened, "See this? I'm saving this broken spear for you. Dare to run, and I guarantee I can throw it with pinpoint accuracy right into you."
He looked toward his opponent. A bloody mark had surfaced on the rooster's fleshy wing, oozing blood.
Qin Ming now had a clear grasp: he was fully capable of fighting this old golden rooster.
Generally speaking, rare anomalies aside, normal creatures that had mutated five times were roughly comparable in strength to humans who had undergone Newborn five times.
The old golden rooster possessed an overall strength of over three thousand jin, similar to Qin Ming's own.
The fallen bandit chief and the three dying bandits were utterly astonished. This mysterious man, who still seemed very young, could actually clash head-on with the old golden rooster!
Having its featherless wing bleed threw the rooster into a violent fury. Striding forward on its long legs, it raised both fleshy wings like two broadsabers and lunged at Qin Ming.
"You really have trained!" Qin Ming confirmed.
Lying on the ground, the bandit chief knew full well that the rooster had been instructed by one of the Golden Bandits; it had mastered a formidable legacy and possessed potent combat techniques.
In an instant, the rooster swung its fleshy wings repeatedly, unleashing incandescent heavenly light that ruptured the air with booming bursts of wind and thunder.
Qin Ming remained composed. His heavenly light force surged, directly confronting the saber-like wings.
Both being two-legged beasts swinging upper limbs, the old golden rooster truly displayed the combat methods taught by the Golden Bandit to the fullest, showing extraordinary prowess.
Yet it was an anomaly after all; the heavenly light it unleashed according to its racial traits could not withstand Qin Ming's fused varieties of heavenly light force.
With a squelch, its fleshy wing was pierced through by Qin Ming's nail force, opening a bloody hole.
Next, Qin Ming employed his fused intercepting force. His palm slashed like a blade, severing part of the large talon that the rooster had suddenly kicked out in an attempted sneak attack.
The old golden rooster shrieked and executed a Golden Rooster Rapid Pecking strike—yet another practical combat move. Its golden beak pecked directly toward Qin Ming's forehead. Had an ordinary person been struck, their frontal bone would have surely shattered and their head burst open.
Though Qin Ming had heavenly light force protecting his body, he had no desire to let an old rooster peck his skull. His right palm blocked like lightning, fingers glowing. His fused awn force and nail force erupted, and with a metallic crunch, five finger-holes appeared in the bird's beak.
Immediately after, he applied his adhesive force and, with a snap, tore off half of the old rooster's beak.
Things having reached this point, despair gripped the bandits on the ground. When even the five-times-mutated old rooster was no match for this mysterious expert, they were doomed to complete annihilation.
The bandit chief sighed. The old rooster was an "ordinary breed" after all, lacking the heavenly light eruption techniques of powerful species. Even with a profound reservoir of heavenly light built up over time, it was still no match for that man.
In the end, the old rooster did not fight to the death. Instead, it leaped up and returned to the parasol-branch nest. Blinding light erupted from its entire body as it released a resonant crow.
Refusing to resign itself, it sought to make one last gamble: setting its blood boiling to initiate a sixth mutation, hoping to elevate its life level.
Ultimately, the last remaining golden feathers on its body burned to ash. Cracks split across its frame as blood poured forth like torrents. Experiencing total failure, it died inside the nest.
Even Qin Ming had not anticipated such resolve from it, remarking, "Neither human nor ordinary beast, yet even a golden rooster could be this unyielding."
However, as he passed by the parasol nest, any sympathy he felt evaporated. In the large iron platter used to hold its food lay a human arm, not yet completely devoured.
To show respect for its fierce pride, Qin Ming had originally intended to personally give it a "gastric burial"—after all, this was a five-times-mutated creature, and he had never tasted such high-grade ingredients before.
Now he could only wave the purple lightning beast over and say, "You eat it. Consider it a reward. Though the old golden rooster isn't a spiritual creature, eating it will still do you some good."
Holding its head high with aloof pride, the purple lightning beast wore a look of utter disgust and disdain, refusing to eat it.
"Suit yourself!" Qin Ming turned away. Carrying the broken spear, he finished off the bandits one by one amid their indignant howls.
"Just who are you? Someone sent by the new city lord, or a mountain guardian recruited by people beyond the mundane world?" In his final moments, the bandit chief roared with all his remaining strength.
Qin Ming gave no reply, treating him like worthless weeds as he severed the head with the broken spear's blade, then swiftly cleared the battlefield.
He was quite dissatisfied, for in the stronghold's storehouse, he found piles of armor, weapons, bows, and arrows, clearly prepared for newly recruited members.
This meant Golden Rooster Ridge had spent a fortune, yet these were spoils he could not carry away.
"My day gold!" Qin Ming sighed.
In the end, he searched the entire place, "arranging the appearances" of all the dead, and collected a total of forty-seven day gold coins along with some night silver.
Naturally, this was a massive sum, far exceeding the wealth looted from Wang Nianzhu, Huang Jingde, and the others. But this was Golden Rooster Ridge, a stronghold of bandit chiefs, which made the haul seem rather meager.
Fortunately, he found three books here, one of which bore the crystallized life's work of predecessors; he sensed intense emotional fluctuations from it.
A smile spread across Qin Ming's face at once. Such a secret manual was far more precious than day gold!
While he was ransacking the mountain for spoils, two bandits returning from drinking at a brothel in a nearby town turned pale with fright. They had faintly heard the bandit chief's roar, which sounded despairing.
Both sobered up instantly. Plunging into the dense woods, they found a wooden shack. It should have been guarded to monitor movements along the mountain path, but due to the severe shortage of manpower, it had sat empty for days.
However, someone came daily to feed several birds of prey kept here; if Golden Rooster Ridge ever came under attack, they could be released to seek outside reinforcement.
"Sending word to the lords of the Golden Bandits will definitely be too late—distant water cannot quench an immediate thirst. Better call on the Three-Eyed Cult for help!"
Shortly thereafter, twenty li away in Qingsong Town, the higher-ups of the Three-Eyed Cult looked solemn. Someone had actually launched a night raid on Golden Rooster Ridge, and the people there were calling on them for help.
"A major disaster has struck! Make preparations at once!"
They sprang into action swiftly.
Qin Ming lingered on the mountain for quite some time, searching every corner until he truly could find nothing else of value, before finally riding the purple lightning beast down the mountain.
"Give me one more ride, to Qingsong Town!" he decided. Since he had already made a move tonight, he might as well wipe out the Three-Eyed Cult too, which posed no small threat to the local area.
Mainly, having flattened Golden Rooster Ridge single-handedly, he hadn't found it particularly taxing.
"I promise to release you back into the mountains tonight. Run faster, take that trail—speed is the essence of war!" Qin Ming had done his homework before coming, having studied this terrain.
However, when he charged into Qingsong Town, the Three-Eyed Cult's stronghold was eerily quiet and deserted; all the members had evacuated.
In the distant woods, cultists were whispering among themselves: "I thought we were going to reinforce Golden Rooster Ridge. Who would have thought the higher-ups were leading us to flee!"
Disappointed, Qin Ming left Qingsong Town along the main road. Near the exit of the town, he saw four figures approaching from a distance: two men clad in gold armor, and of the two women, one was actually wearing a feathered robe—evidently a person beyond the mundane world.
"Young Mistress!" the maid called out softly.
"It truly seems to be him," the feather-robed woman murmured.
Chapter 59