Harvest

Qin Empire Ming came to a higher slope, not far from where he had buried his weapons and armor, and hid behind a huge tree that took several people to encircle.

That group was indeed heading for the Blood Bamboo Forest. There were eleven of them in all, agile in movement and swift as the wind. In the blink of an eye, they reached the outskirts of the valley.

Taking advantage of the rising Earth Light, Qin Empire Ming could clearly see their faces. They were all young and middle-aged men, clad in gleaming armor and carrying long blades that glinted with cold light.

They worked together with great coordination. Even while advancing at speed, they moved in perfect unison, and when they reached the valley entrance, even their sword-gripping stances were nearly identical.

"Mountain Patrol!" Qin Empire Ming recognized their origins.

They wore standard-issue armor, exactly like that worn by Feng Yi'an, Shao Chengfeng, and the others. The difference was that they had all come carrying blades.

This had likely been a deliberate choice. Long blades were more suitable for dealing with snakes, at the very least better than the standard iron spears commonly used by the Mountain Patrol Group.

The Earth Light had faded. At the dim valley entrance, the group removed the bundles from their backs. Inside were bottles and jars, and they began mixing something.

Qin Empire Ming thought to himself that they truly were a group of seasoned veterans. Perhaps they really could wipe out this nest of Blood Snakes.

Not long afterward, another figure came running through the dense forest and swiftly appeared before the valley entrance. Everyone turned to look at him.

The newcomer panted heavily. "Fu Entao, Feng Yi'an, and the others aren't at their stronghold. And something is very strange—the wooden cabins on the mountain have all disappeared."

Everyone present revealed odd expressions upon hearing that.

"Wasn't that bunch about to make a move on the Blood Bamboo Forest? Where have they run off to fool around? Don't tell me the Mountain Monsters wiped them out in one fell swoop?"

"Recently, nobles from Red Haze City and famous organizations have all arrived. Some of them have already entered the mountains. Could Fu Entao and the others have kicked an iron plate?"

The leader of the group carried great authority. The moment he spoke, everyone else fell silent. "Don't worry about that for now. I had originally been concerned about sneaking into Fu Entao's territory to kill Blood Snakes. I feared that if they discovered us, they would fight us to the death. Now that one danger is gone, so much the better."

"Even Heaven is helping us!" one Mountain Patrol said.

The leader, Liu Huaishan, was immensely brawny, like a brown bear. He said in a deep voice, "I'll emphasize this once more. If anything goes wrong, flee immediately. Save yourselves. Do not hesitate for even a moment."

The others had come for their own Second New Life, while Liu Huaishan had come for his eldest son's New Life. Otherwise, no one would gamble with their lives.

The group silently entered the valley and then stopped. According to their earlier arrangement, Liu Huaishan, the strongest among them, advanced alone.

He was a Second New Life Evolver and a man of responsibility. Carrying all manner of bottles and jars, he went forward by himself. From a great distance away, he ignited the substances in some of the jars, producing thick yellow smoke, then hurled them all toward the Fire Spring.

Some of the other bottles and jars contained medicinal powder and liquid. He threw them with precision as well, and they fell into the dim "red glow."

The instant he finished all this, he rapidly retreated, opening up a sufficient distance.

The other Mountain Patrol Group members were still somewhat nervous at the sight and retreated as well, nearly reaching the valley entrance.

Thick smoke billowed from the Fire Spring, accompanied by a great commotion. First, more than a dozen small snakes several feet long rushed out and swiftly slithered about nearby, as though scouting ahead.

Then two large snakes more than four meters long sprang out. Their entire bodies glowed crimson. When the two snakes brushed against each other, they actually rang out with a clang, like blades striking together. Their scales seemed forged from red gold, dazzlingly brilliant.

They charged toward the valley entrance at extreme speed. Along the way, they even rose off the ground, like two blood-colored spears tearing through the air, issuing terrifying hisses. The two great snakes had been enraged.

The Mountain Patrol members wanted to curse their mothers. How could there be two great snakes? This completely exceeded their expectations.

Liu Huaishan shouted, "Run! Snake medicine and irritating thick smoke are completely useless against Blood Snakes like these!"

In truth, he did not need to remind them. The Mountain Patrol members, who had roamed the great mountains year-round, were experienced enough to know when something could not be done, and they fled decisively.

As a Second New Life Evolver, Liu Huaishan was the fastest. Though he had arrived from the rear, once his strong, powerful legs stretched into motion, he swiftly overtook several people.

One great snake had chased them to nearby. Its body paused briefly atop a massive blue boulder outside the valley entrance, then suddenly sprang up, transforming into a startling crimson glow as it shot toward them.

The momentum was terrifying, as if it carried faint sounds of wind and thunder.

Crack!

The Mountain Patrol member at the very back seemed to have been struck by a blood-colored spear more than four meters long. The two layers of armor on his body shattered, pierced through by the snake's head, hard as refined iron. Armor fragments exploded outward.

This Mountain Patrol member was an old hand and had prepared thoroughly. He had actually placed a thick iron plate over the center of his back, which blocked the Blood Snake at the critical moment. Otherwise, his body would certainly have been pierced through.

Yet this did not change his fate. The iron plate had been knocked slightly out of shape, and he could not remain standing beneath such a tremendous impact. He fell into the snow.

The Blood Snake, more than four meters long, was swift as lightning and instantly coiled around his body.

If it had been another kind of snake, let alone one more than four meters long, even a thicker and longer giant snake could not restrain a New Life Evolver. Yet the Mountain Patrol member before them was screaming miserably.

After coiling around him, the Blood Snake constricted fiercely. Its red-gold scales clanged, while the armor on the Mountain Patrol member's body burst apart in an instant. Then bones all over his body snapped. His face was bitten once, and the flesh and blood there directly melted away.

This Mountain Patrol member died instantly!

In that brief span, the Blood Snake's terrifying qualities were fully revealed. Its body was as hard as iron, its strength astonishing, and it could make short bursts through the air like an iron arrow. Its venom was difficult to cure. Every one of these traits was lethal.

The other great snake had also leapt out of the valley and plunged into the dense forest. The second Mountain Patrol member was caught, and a shrill scream rang out from there.

The great snake at the valley entrance abandoned the corpse and entered the forest to continue its hunt!

When the fourth Mountain Patrol member was entangled by a Blood Snake, the leader, Liu Huaishan, abruptly appeared. Holding a sharp long blade in both hands, he fiercely slashed at the snake's body.

This was the full-powered slash of a Second New Life Evolver. A snow-bright blade light swept past, shattering some of the scales on the red-gold-like snake body. That terrifying strike cut it open, leaving a wound that was not very deep, and dark red blood flowed out.

This was rather frightening. If it had been another creature with a Second Mutation, or a human undergoing Second New Life, its body would inevitably have been severed into two by such a vicious slash.

Liu Huaishan gripped the hilt with both hands and struck repeatedly, but unfortunately, he could not cut the same spot again. The Blood Snake evaded him, leaving only further wounds on other parts of its body.

The Blood Snake released the Mountain Patrol member, who was clearly beyond saving, the instant it felt pain, then launched a frenzied attack on Liu Huaishan.

At the same time, its hissing drew over the other great snake from nearby. A crimson figure charged over at top speed.

Liu Huaishan inwardly sighed. He abandoned the wounded great snake and charged into the dense forest without looking back. He had already seized the best possible opportunity yet still failed to kill one Blood Snake, forcing him to give up decisively.

The two great snakes would not let him go, pursuing him together. However, the wounded snake grew slower and slower. Once its body had been injured, it could no longer adapt to this world of ice and snow.

It stopped, hissed several times, and finally slithered back toward the valley along the original route.

Qin Empire Ming wore four layers of armor. This time, he had wrapped his face in black cloth as well, exposing only a pair of eyes. He stood on the slope beside the valley entrance, waiting quietly.

Several iron spears and a long blade were planted in the snow before him. As for the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer, he carried it on his back.

A moment later, he heard movement and saw a Blood Snake more than four meters long returning. It had already been injured, with scales missing from three places on its body.

Though it still gleamed crimson and its body faintly shone, it was clearly listless, no longer moving as quickly as before.

When it neared the valley, Qin Empire Ming pulled an iron spear from the ground. After drawing a deep breath, he fiercely exerted effort and threw it at the Blood Snake.

Then he swiftly pulled a second iron spear from the snow...

The Blood Snake was thoroughly enraged. Several iron spears flew at it with terrifying speed. Two of them shattered its scales again, tearing wounds in its body that were even more severe than the earlier blade wounds.

It rushed up a tree more than twenty meters tall, then sprang down at extreme speed. Like a dazzling crimson glow, it tore through the night in an instant, plunging down to pierce its target's flesh and blood.

Qin Empire Ming had originally intended to draw his blade, but he suddenly changed his mind. Instead, he gripped the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer tight and smashed it out with all his might, meeting the snake's head head-on.

The Blood Snake shot toward him like a long rainbow piercing the sun. Yet it did not strike flesh and blood—it collided with that heavy Black Gold Hammer.

With a resounding clang, a piercing metallic collision rang out in midair, and sparks flew. The Blood Snake, more than four meters long, instantly crashed to the ground. Its body, stretched taut and straight, curled up as it violently lashed the snow.

If it had been another small snake, Qin Empire Ming would not have used the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer just now. Their slippery bodies made them unsuitable for smashing. But this great snake had taken the initiative to shoot at him, its force extraordinary, so he naturally could not have wished for anything better.

The blood-colored great snake suffered a devastating blow. Its head had been smashed inward, its bones already cracked, but it had not died immediately.

Qin Empire Ming immediately drew the long blade planted in the snow, crushed the accumulated snow beneath his feet, and rushed forward. Unleashing his greatest strength, he hacked down again and again.

Amid ringing clangs, crimson scales fell away, and a snake head was severed!

"This is the provisions that will allow me to undergo Second New Life swiftly." Qin Empire Ming felt somewhat excited. Just like that, he had harvested a Spiritual Creature.

Hiss! Hiss!

Several smaller Blood Snakes near the valley entrance, ranging from three to seven feet long, all began slithering this way. Some even sprang into the air, shooting toward him like iron arrows.

Qin Empire Ming swung his sharp long blade repeatedly. With his full strength unleashed, he cut them down one by one, one snake per slash. Six more snake corpses now lay on the ground.

He took out a beast-hide sack and began collecting his spoils.

Suddenly, Qin Empire Ming felt a warning in his heart. His body shifted rapidly sideways to evade, and an iron arrow shot toward him at terrifying speed, vanishing into the spot where he had just stood.

Two more iron arrows barely grazed the armor on his body, throwing off sparks before embedding themselves in distant trees, piercing deep into their trunks.

Holding his blade, Qin Empire Ming stared at the several people in the distance. "People truly are different. We were all waiting here. I was merely intercepting snakes, while you were planning to intercept people."

Thanks to Aiyi Suifengqi San, Mushi Feng, Shuhai Milu, 00497, o0 War God Xuanyuan 0o, and Sanshengyuan Jiujiu. Many thanks to the alliance leader for the support!