Chapter 80 Abnormal

Behind Qin Ming and Xu Sheng, Crimson Cloud City was as bright as day, and the tall, thick city walls built of bluestone were completely illuminated.

Ahead of them, the night was shrouded in mist, with towering mountains standing tall, their shadows heavy and the scenery gloomy.

The world in front of them and the world behind them seemed to be two completely different worlds.

Xu Sheng said, “After the first spring thunder, the mountains will be dark again for a while. But after a few more days, when the underground fire springs are fully revived and gushing, the wilderness will be a different kind of wonder.”

Even now, things are different. Most of the ice and snow have melted, and you can smell the earth. Some old trees have even sprouted new buds.

“Could it be that my luck is about to change?” Zhou Lin asked excitedly, pointing her spear forward.

By this time, they had already ventured deep into the mountains.

“Is that a mutated plant? My luck is about to change!” Zhou Lin was only in her twenties, but she called herself that, simply because she had always been a bold and unrestrained person.

“It seems to be a special plant that is imbued with a strong spiritual energy, and it has just been born, so we should still be able to catch it!” Xu Sheng was also surprised.

Without saying anything more, the three of them ran forward at full speed.

In the woods, on a special ancient tree, silver flowers bloom and glow, gradually illuminating the dense forest.

Extraordinary plants can cause various birds and beasts to mutate, and if humans consume them, they can also improve their physique and quickly regenerate.

This wasn’t the first time Qin Ming had seen mutated plants. Once, when he and Xu Yueping went to Yinteng Town, they saw a burst of red clouds and “red butterflies” fluttering along the way.

Unfortunately, they were too far apart at that time, and the petals had already been blown into the night sky by the strong wind.

“We really made it!” Xu Sheng was overjoyed.

In the forest ahead, an old tree is rapidly sprouting and blossoming, bathed in the glow of the setting sun, its fragrance filling the air.

A gentle breeze blows, and some petals fall, dancing like fireflies in the night.

Different flowering plants bloom without regard to season or pattern, making them difficult to actively seek out. Moreover, after their vibrant bloom, they wither and die completely.

That’s why Zhou Lin and Xu Sheng were so excited; you could say they hit the jackpot.

“Xiao Qin, don’t hesitate, don’t leave a single petal!” Xu Sheng reminded him.

“The strange creatures in the mountains will arrive soon, hurry up.” Zhou Lin thrust out his spear, and with a crack, a thick tree branch broke off and fell to the ground.

“Roar!” The beast roared, startling all the creatures nearby.

Qin Ming and Xu Sheng wanted to carry the whole old tree and run away, but it was unrealistic. A huge bird of prey had already appeared in the sky and was swooping down.

The emergence of mutated plants will inevitably cause great chaos, and no one can monopolize them.

“Pah, why does it taste like blood?” Zhou Lin had just put a glowing flower bud into her mouth when she spat it out.

“Pfft!” Xu Sheng also vomited, his expression changing slightly. He quickly looked down to check the tree roots and sensed something was wrong.

“The smell of blood is very strong!” Qin Ming also said.

Xu Sheng’s expression turned solemn. He said, “This isn’t a mutated plant; it was artificially cultivated. Could it be that some recluse is trying to lure beasts here to refine medicine?”

He had once been a traveling merchant and was very knowledgeable. He immediately bowed towards the depths of the mountains and said, “I’m sorry, senior. We sent this message unintentionally and have offended you.”

“Let’s go quickly!” Zhou Lin whispered.

A giant claw had already reached down from the sky, grabbing at them.

Zhou Lin thrust out her spear, colliding with the claw, sparks flying everywhere. It was a raptor nearly ten meters long, its black wings like steel blades, slicing through tree canopies as it flew low, its eyes gleaming with golden light.

“roar!”

In the darkness of the mountains and forests, a large number of mountain beasts rushed in, and countless dark shadows flew in.

“It hasn’t been long, and the birds of prey are almost everywhere! We need to break through!”

The three of them changed their expressions.

The mutated plant that Qin Ming discovered last time was outside the mountains, very close to Silver Vine Town, because there were no powerful mutants there.

They were in a very dangerous situation in the mountains.

“A five-times mutated venomous python has crawled out of the ground in early spring!” Xu Sheng’s face darkened as he encountered a python as thick as a water vat charging at him.

“Is it a spiritual being?” Qin Ming took the initiative to charge forward.

“No, it’s highly poisonous! Be careful of its poisonous mist!” Xu Sheng quickly warned.

The giant python opened its mouth, creating a gust of wind, and a large cloud of colorful light mist shot out.

There was a flow of heavenly light around Qin Ming’s body, and he dodged away immediately. There was no need for a bloody fight if he wasn’t a spiritual being.

The python was ferocious; with a flick of its tail, it snapped some trees as thick as thighs and coiled towards Qin Ming.

puff!

Qin Ming brought down his hammer, and the python’s tail was instantly mangled and severed in half.

On the other side, Zhou Lin clashed twice with a golden leopard using her spear.

Xu Sheng encountered a six-meter-tall black bear and angrily said, “I’ve been so unlucky lately, something bad happens as soon as I go into the mountains. You bear dare to bully me? I’ll take your gall bladder!”

Without hesitation, he went up and took the black bear down.

“Brother Xu, run! There’s a big bear!” Qin Ming shouted.

Xu Sheng was taken aback at first, then his expression changed. There was an even bigger bear?

With a roar, a giant bear twelve meters tall appeared in the forest behind the six-meter-tall “little bear,” coldly gazing down at Xu Sheng.

“Aww!” The six-meter-tall black bear seemed to be complaining.

“Could it be a creature that has mutated six or seven times?” Xu Sheng’s scalp tingled as a huge black shadow pounced towards them, its terrifying bear paw slamming down.

He turned and ran.

If there were only one giant bear, Qin Ming could consider it, but right now the surrounding area is full of birds of prey and beasts, so he can’t stay here for long.

Most importantly, these alien beings see the three of them as flesh and blood elixirs and are eyeing them covetously.

“Thump!”

In the end, Qin Ming still clashed with the giant bear, smashing one of its paws into a bloody mess with his long-handled black gold hammer before it stopped chasing him.

At the same time, this also deterred other outcasts.

Even so, the three of them were in a sorry state, having almost been trapped in an army of birds and beasts.

“I thought I’d struck gold, but it turns out I’ve been having a run of bad luck and almost ended up in the belly of a beast.” Zhou Lin felt that things had been really unlucky lately.

“Are there really people from beyond the secular world there?” Qin Ming asked.

Xu Sheng shook his head and said, “That’s not necessarily true. Perhaps it’s a blood-red potion that flowed out from beyond the mortal realm and was used by others to lure beasts.”

Zhou Lin said, “Xu Sheng, did you get involved with something unclean when you were a traveling merchant? I feel like I’m having bad luck whenever I go out with you.”

“How is that possible!”

After a fierce battle, Zhou Lin and Xu Sheng were both exhausted and decided to go back to rest and recharge before heading into the mountains again the next day.

“Tomorrow, all we need to do is find that kind of spirit shell; we don’t need to fight it out, because its combat power is very weak.”

The next day, Xu Sheng and Zhou Lin led the way, and Qin Ming followed them to a swamp to search for a very rare type of shellfish.

The area is sparsely wooded, dotted with puddles and vast expanses of swamps, shrouded in a thin, dark mist.

“See that glowing substance in the mud? That’s the trace left by the spirit shell.” Xu Sheng pointed to the blue slime in the muddy water.

“Be careful, we were ambushed here last time,” Zhou Lin said.

This time, they were not attacked in secret.

But an hour later, they began to flee in panic, pursued by a group of “mud dragons” who chased them like dogs, and the whole swamp was in an uproar.

Deep within the seemingly calm swamp lies a large nest of mud dragons, resembling crocodiles but with a single horn on their heads and four very long legs, making them much faster than crocodiles.

Each adult mud dragon weighs several thousand kilograms. With red eyes, it chases after them, mistakenly believing they are coming to steal its eggs. As early spring arrives, some mud dragons have already begun to lay eggs.

“Ahhh…” After escaping the swamp, Zhou Lin screamed in anger because she was covered in mud, and her hair and face were covered in mud.

What was once a dashing and beautiful woman is now covered in mud. She was furious and said, “Xu Sheng, there’s definitely something wrong with you. You’ve been having a lot of bad luck lately!”

“Don’t blame me! Who knew that the traces left by that spirit shell led straight into the Mud Dragon’s Nest!” Xu Sheng was also furious, even suspecting that someone was deliberately trying to harm him.

Qin Ming was also frustrated. He rolled around in the mud a few times, and now all three of them looked the same.

Without a doubt, Zhou Lin once again transformed into Sister Fenfang, cursing all the way from the mountains to the city.

Xu Sheng advised, “Don’t be angry. Tonight I’ll go see my traveling merchant master and ask him where spiritual creatures have recently appeared, and if it’s safe enough.”

Many people in the city were looking at Zhou Lin, the mud-covered monkey, which made her even more indignant.

“Brother Xu, why don’t you have your master take a look at you first and see if there’s anything wrong with you?” Qin Ming said, wiping the mud off his face.

In fact, Xu Sheng himself was also having some doubts about life. He nodded and said, “Okay, I’ll have him check it out properly tonight.”

At dawn, Crimson City was bathed in brilliant light, and the three set off again.

“My master said there’s nothing wrong with me,” Xu Sheng explained as soon as they met, as it was definitely not his problem.

“We’re going to the Red Mist Cave this time? There’s a huge swarm of fire bats there, an enormous and terrifying number. We can’t afford to mess with them!” Zhou Lin shook her head.

Xu Sheng said, “It’s not about provoking the fire bats. There’s an underground cold pool there, connected to an underground river, and spirit eels have appeared in it.”

The Red Mist Cave is located inside the mountain. The three of them ventured deeper into the fissure in the ground. It wasn’t very dark inside, because there were fire springs reviving within the mountain.

“Won’t this alert the fire bats in the Red Mist Cave?” Qin Ming worried.

Xu Sheng shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, the Red Mist Cave is very large. We are heading in the opposite direction from the Bat Nest.”

They arrived near a cold pool in the Red Mist Cave. The black water was icy cold, and a flash of colorful light appeared and disappeared within it, confirming that there were indeed spirit eels.

“I’ve brought all the bait, fishing rod, harpoon, and net. Everything’s ready. The moment of harvest is almost here!” Xu Sheng said confidently.

Zhou Lin said disdainfully, “Don’t say things like that. I’m traumatized by being out with you now.”

Half an hour later, fluttering sounds filled the entire Red Mist Cave as a large number of fire bats emerged, covering the sky and rushing across the area.

“Why are there so many?” Qin Ming was horrified; there was no way he could kill them all.

Xu Sheng said, “There are too many mutated insects in the mountains. This is a nest of fire bats that the city lord’s mansion specifically ordered everyone not to touch in order to get rid of the insects. As a result, the number of fire bats here is getting bigger and bigger.”

In the end, the three of them “nested” themselves, jumped into the icy pool, and ran away along the underground river.

Along the way, they kept searching for an exit to return to the surface. They only found a few places to breathe and swam for more than ten miles before emerging from a lake in the mountains.

“Ahhh…” Zhou Lin couldn’t help but warn Xu Sheng again not to ask her to come out next time.

“It has nothing to do with Brother Xu. I’ll go back and investigate!” Qin Ming said, a cold glint in his eyes. He felt it was too much of a coincidence; it seemed like someone was deliberately targeting them.

Although they always escaped safely, they could have died at any moment if they hadn’t been careful.

Moreover, judging from these incidents, if someone is secretly interfering, they hope that they, or rather, he, will naturally lose his life in the mountains.

“Is there an invisible hand reaching out from afar?” Qin Ming thought it was unlikely, because if it were those people, it would be more than ten times more intense and terrifying than what was happening now.

“Could it be some little bastard who came here? I taught him a lesson back then, and now he’s trying to humiliate me like this?” he wondered to himself.

“What did you say? He might be able to receive six or seven waves of Heavenly Light?!” In the city lord’s mansion, Meng Xinghai stood up abruptly upon hearing a report from a man in black.

On that day, he was accompanied by a group of nobles, drinking in the temple of the mountain god and admiring the spectacle above the Hall of Alchemy, unaware of the specific situation inside the hall.

Is the news reliable?

The man in black said, “Xu Hai, the corpse collector, died two days ago after vomiting blood. Before he died, he told his family that he might have killed a genius because of his greed. He deliberately made the boy suffer six or seven waves of heavenly light, so in the end he also suffered retribution.”

“No way! Hmm, you’d better keep this to yourself and never mention it again!” Meng Xinghai said to his trusted confidant.

He waved his hand, signaling the man in black to leave.

Meng Xinghai stood by the window and said, “To be able to withstand many impacts of the Heavenly Light without dying, such a talent… will make the Cui family regret it.”

He smiled and said, “A group of the most outstanding disciples from outside the mortal realm are vying for that legendary item, which is said to be located in a spiritual cave with exceptionally dense heavenly light. In that case, if Qingyue were to have a different golden-armored guard, she might be able to obtain it and become the ultimate victor.”