Chapter 43 Mutual Prey

Under the cover of night, towering mountains stood tall, and many people had already gathered in the dense forest, creating a somewhat noisy atmosphere.

The newcomers from each village were furious. Today’s journey into the mountains was destined to be fraught with danger, and once they entered a special juncture, their fate was uncertain.

“What’s all the noise about? Let’s see who dares to talk nonsense again!” A golden rooster knight appeared, his face indifferent, his cold eyes sweeping over everyone.

The golden rooster he sat on was fierce, and then let out a loud, long crow.

The Golden Rooster Knight scolded, “You all better behave yourselves. I’m just asking you to prospect for some minerals. There’s no need for so much nonsense. Shut your mouths and just do what I tell you to do!”

The newcomers from various villages dared not speak out in anger. If it weren’t for their wives, children, and elderly parents, they would have really wanted to fight him to the death, because what he said was really not human. Now ordinary people already know that at certain times, the sunlight will seriously damage the body.

“Let’s go. Let me make this clear: anyone who dares to cause trouble for me, don’t blame me for being ruthless!” the Golden Rooster Knight threatened.

Beside him was a large group of people, all newcomers from Jinji Ridge, dressed in armor and armed with weapons, who led the group on their journey as if they were guarding prisoners.

They arrived silently outside the Great Rift Valley, where some villagers were waiting. They had been brought there by the Three-Eyed Cult, proving that the two local organizations had indeed cooperated.

The Grand Canyon is vast, with fissures everywhere, and some areas are filled with large amounts of rocks. The vegetation is sparse, and the stone forest landscape coexists with the ravines.

Few creatures usually venture here, as one could easily fall into the fissure if one is not careful.

Jinji Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect have brought a large number of people and have been waiting here for a long time, so I will not go to explore for minerals.

“Huh?” In the Great Rift Valley, another Golden Rooster Knight saw Qin Ming, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes.

He once led a group to Old Man Liu’s house, trying to forcibly buy the fiery red grass. Qin Ming later told Cao Long and Mu Qing about it, which resulted in the man being slapped several times and losing several teeth on his right side.

“Keep a close eye on that boy and have him explore a few more mines!”

He dared not act directly, after all, Cao Long and Mu Qing had both warned him and were still there.

But this time, it was the orders from the bandits of Jinji Ridge and the local high-ranking members of the Three-Eyed Sect that allowed these villagers from outside the mountains to enter the node. He could “take advantage of the situation” and give orders at will to torment and kill people who had only been reborn once.

An elderly villager with gray hair said worriedly, “We hope to find the so-called mysterious product as soon as possible. Otherwise, if this goes on for too long, even if we are newcomers, we will suffer from chronic illnesses and may not even be able to leave this place!”

“Shut up, did I give you permission to speak?”

With a snap, the Golden Rooster Knight lashed out with his whip, causing the elderly newcomer to stagger. His clothes tore at the chest, and his face was grazed, leaving a bloody gash.

“Whoever finds the mysterious artifact can leave immediately, and will also receive a substantial reward. Note that it’s not Night Silver; you’ll get Day Gold!”

The people of Jinji Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect did not completely drive everyone to the brink of despair; at least they offered hope and made promises.

An old man from Jinji Ridge came over and instructed, “Go underground. This area has been occupied by us and the Three-Eyed Sect. Now, every inch of land underground in the entire Great Rift Valley is extremely valuable. Search carefully!”

The people from Golden Rooster Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect occupied an area near the entrance, which wasn’t a particularly good location, since their strength was indeed inferior to that of the people from Crimson Cloud City.

Qin Ming followed the other newcomers into the underground. Each of them carried a sunstone that they had prepared in advance, otherwise the underground fissure would be too dark.

This is an underground cave system with numerous spiderweb-like passages extending in all directions. Some areas are filled with a faint light that is unbearable to approach, while other areas are quite dark, and one will not feel uncomfortable in such a place.

“Everyone, I don’t think we need to risk our health or even our lives. Even if we enter those glowing areas, it will be difficult to find any mysterious resources. It would be better to find some safe routes underground beforehand, enter those dark areas, and slowly wait out the time…” an old man suggested.

In fact, many people have this idea.

A middle-aged man spoke up: “We’ll split into two groups. One group will pretend to search for the mysterious artifacts, while the other group will quickly find a way out, looking for those deep passages, preferably leading to the outside of the Great Rift Valley. I think these people might end up fighting each other, with different factions clashing over the special nodes, and they’ll become bloodthirsty.”

“That’s right, we should prepare early!” Everyone nodded in agreement.

Qin Ming had originally intended to suggest that these people hide first, but now he realized that those who made a living guarding the dangerous mountains were all very conscious of their own survival.

He then began to act alone, wandering through the entire underground cavern in search of any possible mysterious resources.

An hour later, before any conflict had broken out among the outsiders, a powerful force intervened, causing bloodshed on the ground.

On the ground of the Great Rift Valley, monkeys howled and tigers roared, and all sorts of mutated creatures appeared, while many birds of prey began to swoop down from the sky.

“The aliens have launched an attack!” shouted a golden rooster knight guarding the entrance to the Great Rift Valley.

There were mutated creatures appearing before, and conflicts occurred, but there weren’t nearly as many of them, and they weren’t organized at all. Now it’s completely different.

The white giant bear that led the charge was five or six meters tall. It was incredibly ferocious, perhaps having just awakened from hibernation. After grabbing two newcomers, it tore them to pieces.

On the other side, a giant golden bull spewed flames from its mouth and nose, rampaging through the crowd and impaling many members of the Three-Eyed Sect with its horns, sending them flying.

There are quite a few such anomalies. Although they are of different species, they do not fight each other at all; they all come towards the humans.

The mutated raptors in the sky were assisting, with a huge silver eagle swooping down and instantly ripping open the skull of a second-generation reborn individual.

“Initially, there were only a few of these outcasts, not a large-scale appearance. They were waiting for us to enter the fray, specifically targeting and hunting us down.”

An old man from Jinji Ridge spoke up and leaped up, grabbing a hawk-owl that had mutated twice in mid-air and snapping its neck.

“What should we do?”

Many people were getting anxious because the entrance to the Great Rift Valley was blocked by a large number of alien creatures that were rushing into the valley, while raptors were watching from the sky.

…

“Something’s wrong. The ground is in chaos. We need to hide quickly and block the hidden passages with rocks to conceal our escape routes.”

In the underground world, hunters from various villages, upon hearing the commotion, were incredibly sensitive and sprang into action.

Qin Ming immediately realized that he was fearless and could retreat towards the path where the sunlight was overflowing. Whether it was the people of Golden Rooster Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect or any other beings, it would be difficult for them to venture deep into such a place for a long time.

On the ground, a large number of people from Jinji Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect gathered together to defend themselves. At this time, people were in a state of panic because there were strange creatures everywhere.

“Higher beings wouldn’t go down in person, after all, they promised the higher-ups of Crimson Cloud City that they wouldn’t hunt in secret, but sending some lower- to middle-level aliens over is definitely no problem.”

This is a very serious problem. Everyone understands that the outliers have been wanting to cause trouble for a long time and have been waiting for an opportunity.

The blood snakes, silver camels, and fiery red grasses found in the mountains are incredibly valuable to people outside the mountains, as they contain a wealth of spiritual substances.

In the eyes of the strange creatures in the mountains, some well-established two-legged beasts are also the object of their envy, belonging to “herbs” that contain rich spirituality.

“So, a large group of strange beings have arrived, not only coveting the mysterious resources, but also wanting to hunt us, regarding us as spiritual beings?”

“That’s right!”

Instantly, the new recruits from Jinji Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect looked extremely grim. Their territory was located at the mountain pass, so weren’t they the first to be attacked?

“The higher beings deep in the mountains dare not let their subordinates wipe out all the people who enter the mountains, as that would completely enrage Lord Lingxu and the others, and would result in cold-blooded retaliation. But if the number of newcomers here is reduced by one-fifth or one-quarter, that is probably nothing.”

In an instant, everyone turned pale. If things continued to develop like this, it would be utterly disastrous, and many people would be destined not to leave the mountains alive.

“Let’s retreat into the cave. The surface is no longer safe. Our two families alone are no match for these strange beings!” said an elder from the Three-Eyed Sect.

“Let’s go, get underground quickly!” The group immediately sprang into action.

They used narrow passages for defense, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack, which made it hard for the aliens to get through.

However, the underground passages are like a spider web, and some of the aliens, who are adapted to underground combat, are trying to find their way in, hoping to lead other mutated creatures to bypass the passage and break in.

Chaos erupted both above and below ground in an instant.

Many of the new members of Jinji Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect rushed towards different passages, hoping to find a way out of the Great Rift Valley.

After all, this is the exit zone.

…

“What a coincidence?” Qin Ming spotted a familiar face at a glance—the Golden Rooster Knight who had tried to force Old Man Liu to buy his spiritual substances, and who had previously shown him hostility at the valley entrance.

“It’s you?” The Golden Rooster Knight had already abandoned his mount and was wandering aimlessly through the underground passage, looking for a way to escape.

“Come here!” He beckoned to Qin Ming and said, “Have you discovered any mysterious artifacts? Also, you heard the commotion up there. Tell me in detail about the terrain here.”

Qin Ming didn’t bother to respond and walked over unhurriedly.

“Are you looking for death? Slow down, I’m asking you a question!” The Golden Rooster Knight’s eyes flashed with ferocity.

His malice was obvious. He had previously wanted to arrange for Qin Ming to explore more mines, forcing him to die from the constant erosion of the sunlight. Now he felt that killing him here would be fine, and who would know? He could just pin the blame on those otherworldly beings afterward, and there would be no way to prove it.

So he made no attempt to hide it, and even lashed out with a whip. He could guess that it must have been this boy and Old Man Liu who complained to Cao Long and Mu Qing, since only these two were involved.

Qin Ming naturally wouldn’t let him draw the winning number, so he used his long-handled black gold hammer to block.

“You still dare to resist?” His eyes turned cold as he prepared to attack again.

Qin Ming has no habit of being passive, so how could he tolerate him stepping on the “red line” again and again? He moved with lightning speed, carrying the sledgehammer forward.

With a loud bang, the Golden Rooster Knight saw stars and was in excruciating pain. The black gold hammer had made intimate contact with his mouth and nose. His front teeth fell out, his nose collapsed, and he felt dizzy and almost fell to the ground.

“Sorry, my hand slipped and I couldn’t hold the hammer handle,” Qin Ming said.

“I… I’m rubbing mud!” The Golden Rooster Knight’s teeth had come loose, and he was so angry that he couldn’t even speak clearly when he cursed.

He endured the pain in his face, tears streaming down his face, anger rising in his heart and malice taking hold. He drew his long sword, ready to kill the boy.

As a second-generation reborn individual, he naturally believed he could easily kill a kid who had just been reborn once.

However, before he could even draw his longsword, a tearing pain shot through his right hand as he was struck by the long-handled black gold hammer. His flesh was mangled and the longsword fell to the ground. His entire right hand was convulsing, twisted and broken, much like the claw of the golden rooster he was riding.

“You used this hand to give Old Man Liu a Yellow Mud Palm, right? Then you can try my Black Gold Fist.” Qin Ming wasted no time and pounded him with his long-handled black gold hammer, smashing it all into his face, turning him into a meat patty. His forehead bone was crushed in, and he fell to the ground like a corpse.

Even in his dying moments, the Golden Rooster Knight couldn’t believe it. How could this be so outrageous? He was a second-generation reborn being, so how could he be no match for the boy in either strength or speed? In his fading consciousness, he realized that his opponent had already undergone a second rebirth and was far stronger than him!

Qin Ming dragged his corpse into a very open area where sunlight flowed through it, making it relatively safe at the moment.

“Huh?” He turned around abruptly and saw an old man walking out from another passage, silently approaching him.

“Who are you, and what are you doing?” the old man asked with a grim expression.

“I am a member of the Three-Eyed Sect. I just saw this person being corrupted by the heavenly light and collapsing on the ground. I am currently saving him,” Qin Ming replied.

With a loud bang, the old man shattered the hard ground and rushed over rapidly, his body radiating a faint white light—the aura of a human being, clearly indicating that he was a 3rd-generation rebirth cultivator.

He wasn’t so easily fooled. As soon as he sensed something was wrong, he took action, even if it was just a teenager, he didn’t hesitate to kill him.

Qin Ming knew he had encountered a formidable enemy, an unprecedentedly powerful opponent, whom he had never faced before in a three-times-newcomer.

“I’ll risk it all. If I kill a top expert like you who has been reborn three times, I might be able to wipe out everyone in Jinji Ridge here!” Qin Ming said fiercely, determined to go all out to kill the old man.