Chapter 48 Alternative

The room was warm. At first, Old Liu did most of the talking while Qin Ming listened quietly. Finally, the two of them studied together.

Qin Ming was quite looking forward to it and felt a little excited. In this dangerous environment, he longed for a third rebirth and didn’t want to experience being chased by giant beasts again.

If he were strong, neither the people of Jinji Ridge nor the Three-Eyed Sect would dare to coerce him, treating him as expendable resources to be sent underground to explore for minerals.

Old Liu took a sip of water and said, “After we enter the mountains, we need to carefully observe the terrain and plan our escape route before we take action.”

“Why do I feel like you’re not that confident?” Qin Ming asked suspiciously, worried that things might go wrong at a crucial moment and cause various problems.

Old Liu said, “It’s better to be careful than not, because we can’t afford to lose. The place we’re going to contains rare spiritual substances and is extremely dangerous. If we fail, people will die.”

Qin Ming also became cautious and said, “Does Silver Vine Town have any homemade explosives? Let’s buy some!”

“If you put it that way, it really opens up my mind, and I can consider a few other options.” Old Liu actually had alternative plans.

Tell me about it.

“There’s a lake in the Xigou area deep in the mountains, where an old turtle that has mutated three times is hibernating. It’s a treasure trove, and its blood is full of spiritual substances. It’s currently hibernating. If we can dig it out, we can throw some explosives into its burrow while it’s fast asleep. I think we’ll have a good chance of success!”

Old Liu got a little excited as he spoke, even considering replacing the first option with a plan to deal with the spirit turtle.

Qin Ming tried to calm him down, reminding him, “The turtle’s shell has amazing defensive capabilities; even homemade explosives might not be able to break it. Most importantly, the lake is so big, how are we going to find it? Are we going to dig until the end of time?”

“You’re right. Spiritual beings are naturally stronger than other creatures of the same level. A spirit turtle that has mutated three times probably can’t be blown up, especially since this species has long legs and can be quite fast when it goes berserk.”

After calming down, Old Liu also dismissed the idea. That spirit turtle had already mutated three times twenty years ago, so it should be even more powerful now.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming’s expression immediately changed. Sensing something was amiss, he said, “Grandpa, is the information you’re providing all from one or two decades ago?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not that unreliable,” Old Liu shook his head in denial.

He suggested another alternative: using homemade explosives to blast the monkeys, creating a huge explosion to scare them all away, and then taking the spiritual substances from their lair.

Qin Ming looked at him with a strange expression. Why were all these plans so unconventional?

Old Liu said, “From my heart, I really want to wipe out this nest of monkeys; they are utterly hateful!”

Qin Ming asked, “Did you get bullied by monkeys before? Aren’t they over twenty miles away? That’s quite far from here.”

Old Liu banged on the table and said, “Do you understand what it means to rid the people of a scourge? In Emei Town, many people who go into the mountains have had their prey stolen by gibbons, and some have even been dragged away.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming immediately knew that he must have encountered those monkeys and was still resentful!

“I think it’s unreliable. What if we don’t scare the gibbons away, but instead arouse their ferocity and they chase us all over the mountains? That would be terrible. Monkeys are the most vengeful creatures.”

Old Liu said, “Although it’s not that sure, it’s still feasible. Thirty years ago, someone made a big fuss by luring the tiger away from the mountain and successfully visited the tiger’s den. It was a similar method.”

“So fierce? That’s amazing!” Qin Ming couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement. That mountain tiger was even more powerful than the old bear and the old bull of Wild Buffalo Ridge.

Old Liu shook his head and said, “The Mountain Lord is even more vengeful. Although it wasn’t as powerful as it is now back then, it was extremely ferocious. Three months after the incident, it broke into Silver Vine Town one night and tore those two people to pieces.”

Qin Ming had just been thinking how formidable those two were, and his mind was racing, but now he was forced to calm down and said, “I think none of your alternative plans are reliable. The first one is more suitable. Let’s go into the mountains!”

As soon as the two stepped out, they saw people from Jinji Ridge entering the village. Their use of free-range chickens as mounts was too obvious; they were the only ones doing this.

“There are still people available at Jinji Ridge, why didn’t they all die in the Great Rift Valley?” Old Liu whispered.

After the arrival of these two people, all the villagers were very nervous. After all, Jinji Ridge was originally a bandit stronghold, and even though it had been recruited by the government, its nature had not changed much.

“We’re here to get a sense of how many newborns there are in your village. Come and register,” said a middle-aged man working on a free-range chicken.

Everyone felt a chill run down their spines. Were they planning to retaliate?

Because everyone knows that almost all the people from Jinji Ridge and the Three-Eyed Sect who entered the Great Rift Valley this time were wiped out, while none of the mountain people died and all escaped.

Given Jinjiling’s usual behavior, it’s highly likely that they will take their anger out on the newcomers who have escaped from the surrounding villages.

Xu Yueping said in a low voice, “Some of the larger villages have been under investigation since yesterday.”

Qin Ming said, “What does it have to do with us that the people of Jinji Ridge couldn’t escape? They were in a dominant position, yet they weren’t as good at escaping as the oppressed mountain people. Who’s to blame?”

Old Liu said, “They won’t reason with you. That’s just how the world is. If you’re strong enough, even the most powerful beings in the mountains might come to your weddings or funerals. If you’re weak, even monkeys will bully you when you go up the mountain. You have to be strong.”

He added, “The old monster deep in the mountains has dealings with the higher-ups of Crimson Cloud City. Don’t disbelieve me; it was said by an old mountain patrolman I knew back then.”

After registering, the two people from Jinjiling left immediately without lingering.

“I think they might be looking to hire more people,” Xu Yueping said.

Everyone agreed that it made sense; Jinji Ridge had suffered heavy losses and urgently needed to replenish its ranks with new recruits.

Old Liu said, “Trouble is brewing. Besides demanding people, they will definitely also ask for money. Recruiting new soldiers will be very expensive.”

The people were heavy-hearted. The bandits of Jinji Ridge had always put great pressure on the surrounding villages, and this situation had been difficult to change.

Qin Ming and Old Man Liu went into the mountains. On the way, they both felt uneasy and cursed the people of Jinji Ridge, believing that they had always been a group of bandits.

“I really want to wipe out Jinji Ridge!” Qin Ming said.

“Don’t talk nonsense, it will be a disaster if someone hears you,” Old Liu stopped him.

“Hey, by the way, Grandpa, you said that the higher beings deep in the mountains have close ties with the higher-ups in Crimson Cloud City, is that true?”

Old Liu said, “Anyway, someone said that, but I don’t know if it’s true or not.”

“Then why was there the Great Rift Valley massacre?” Qin Ming looked at the silent place in front of him. Three days ago, many people and monsters died there, and the valley was filled with the smell of blood.

“I’m thinking that the fact that the aliens attacked the Great Rift Valley might be a tacit agreement between the higher-ups of both sides.”

Qin Ming looked at him and asked, “Why do you say that?”

Old Liu said, “There are more and more strange creatures in the mountains, but there is not enough territory. Some of them need to be used up. The big families in Chixia City have developed rapidly in recent years. According to those traveling merchants, each family has its own monopolistic industry. It is definitely not appropriate for the city lord to suppress them directly. Now that the Great Rift Valley massacre has occurred, it seems reasonable.”

“Uncle Liu, you really have a wild idea!” Qin Ming glanced at him sideways.

“I, an old man, once traveled to Crimson Cloud City. I know the place well and have seen the world. If it weren’t for that famous beast in the mountains tearing my foundation apart with one claw, I wouldn’t be in such a sorry state.”

The two walked and talked.

After going ten miles into the mountains, Old Liu said, “Don’t say any more. Once we’re here, we can’t mention those old monsters in the deep mountains.”

After walking for a while, the two appeared in a primeval forest, and later arrived at the foot of a mountain.

“There’s a fire spring inside this mountain,” Old Liu said. It was only because he knew the mountain so well that no one else would know the situation here.

Moreover, Old Liu had already traversed the path before and knew that the fire spring here was dimmer due to the influence of the mountain’s geomagnetic disturbances, which was one of the reasons he chose to take action here.

There is a nest of silver-headed ants in the mountain. They rely heavily on hot springs; otherwise, their activity level would be severely reduced in the cold, and they would become reluctant to move.

From blood snakes to spirit turtles, to gibbons, and now to the silver-headed ants here, Old Liu’s choices of targets are all rather unconventional.

However, Qin Ming had to admit that this was indeed the best option at present.

Silver-headed ants are very aggressive, and a single colony can be frighteningly large. Winter is the best time to deal with them.

Another crucial reason is that there can only be one queen ant in the entire nest. Although there is still excess spiritual matter that can cause other silver-headed ants to mutate three times, the queen ant will not allow it.

Old Liu said, “We need to get some steel plates to protect our bodies. Just wearing armor isn’t safe. If we get bitten by silver ants, we won’t die from the poison, but half of our body will be numb for a long time. If we get overwhelmed by them, we’ll be bitten to death.”

These silver-headed ants are far superior to the black ants Xu Yueping uses for brewing tea. They can be seen ranging in size from a baby’s fist to an egg, and they are incredibly fierce.

They get their name from the silver markings on their heads.

What’s most amazing about these ants is that they can brew mead by collecting various pollens and wild fruits from the mountains, and even going down into the mountains to steal grains. Then, with the help of the spiritual energy of the fire spring, they can brew a liquid that is both wine and honey.

They can extract the essence from mead again and again, allowing the essence to ferment again, and they will also purify and ferment repeatedly, eventually producing a special spiritual substance, which is a pale golden liquid.

In some large cities, the mead brewed by silver-headed ants is incredibly expensive, not to mention the spiritual substance fermented from the essence extracted time and time again.

Qin Ming and Old Man Liu ventured deeper into the crack in the mountain to take a look. Qin Ming felt a chill run down his spine. The dimly lit spring was teeming with large ants. Anyone with trypophobia would find it unbearable. The silver markings shimmered with a cold luster, and the ants remained motionless.

The two silently withdrew and began to observe the surrounding terrain and plan their escape route.

Over the next two days, they went in and out of the mountains repeatedly, bringing in all the necessary supplies.

“It all hinges on this!” In the freezing cold, with white mist filling their mouths and noses, the two prepared to make their move.

Qin Ming was unsettled, not because of nervousness or fear, but because his thoughts were in turmoil. If he succeeded here, after three rebirths, his fragmented memories would reappear. What would he see this time?