A Stirring Heart

Qin Ming and Old Man Liu busied themselves with all manner of things—chopping firewood, laying paths, trapping beasts, and more. Everything was ready.

"Silver-Headed Ants eat anything, have sharp noses, and are extremely sensitive to scents they like. It's showing now, just as expected!" Qin Ming said.

He and Old Man Liu had spent a high price on honey and also prepared ample beast blood. They had dripped blood all along the route, smearing honey here and there, from far away to nearby.

The moment Qin Ming and Old Man Liu entered along the crack in the mountain, the two scents stimulated the motionless Silver-Headed Ants into awakening.

"Some of them are moving. Light the fire, quickly!"

"Be careful. Don't burn yourselves!"

The two threw several barrels of fire oil over, tossed out torches, then turned and ran.

Boom!

Flames surged up. The Silver-Headed Ants within the mountain's belly were all startled awake. Though many had been burned to death by the fire oil, there were simply too many of them, packed densely together and wriggling about. The ant nest's structure was also complex, with many places the flames could not reach at all.

In an instant, the Silver-Headed Ants were enraged and rushed out along the Earth Fissure like a tidal wave.

"Come on, then! Better yet, bring the Ant Queen out too!" Old Man Liu shouted, gripping his Thick-backed Greatsword.

"Run! They've already rushed over!" Qin Ming grabbed him and began running up the mountain.

Neither worried that the Silver-Headed Ants would not pursue them. Honey, beast blood, and other things had been scattered all along the way. Besides, these creatures were no longer ordinary ants. Their territorial instincts were extremely strong, and they were incomparably vicious. Anyone who dared invade their nest would face immediate retaliation.

"Why can some Silver-Headed Ants fly?" Qin Ming had not even run a hundred meters when his back began ringing with clanks.

"What's going on?" Old Man Liu was dumbfounded too. At least a hundred flying ants as large as fists had charged over, far exceeding their kin.

"You're asking me?" Qin Ming felt that something was wrong. This old man was a little unreliable. Hadn't he claimed to know the mountain's situation like the back of his hand? He did not even know there were flying Silver-Headed Ants!

As Old Man Liu hacked at the flying ants with his Thick-backed Greatsword, he replied, "The Spiritual Matter in the ant nest must be too abundant. Some Silver-Headed Ants evolved. There weren't any five years ago!"

"You... your information is five years behind?" Qin Ming smashed one flying ant after another with his hammer. They felt remarkably hard; an ordinary person definitely could not shatter one in a single blow.

The flying ants were dark red, their silver markings brighter and more numerous. Their transparent wings buzzed above the snow, a rather terrifying sound.

Their mandibles resembled a pair of massive pincers and were blood-red. When they landed on a person, their bites made armor clang loudly. One could imagine just how strong their attacks were.

These hundred-odd ants alone were enough to devour an ordinary person clean in an instant.

"It's fine. There aren't many flying ants. These hundred or so are not enough for us to kill." Old Man Liu swung his blade repeatedly while taking care to protect his face.

No sooner had he spoken than several hundred more flew out from the mountain crack. Their terrifying wingbeats sounded like metal plates grinding together, chilling to the bone.

Qin Ming's expression changed. If they came in an endless stream, with thousands or tens of thousands flying out, they would be in serious trouble.

The two had excellent stamina and ran in one breath to the top of the low hill.

Several hundred flying ants lunged at them like mad. Despite the bitterly cold environment, their speed was not affected in the slightest.

It was like blacksmithing here. Qin Ming smashed one with every blow, continuously crushing the vicious insects that charged at him.

Old Man Liu was no less decisive. He wielded his greatsword, and cracks rang out incessantly amid flashes of snowy light. Ant corpses carpeted the ground beneath their feet.

Standing atop the low hill and looking down, they saw vast patches of dark red that made their eyes swim. Great numbers of Silver-Headed Ants were crawling up through the snow.

In truth, they had not even needed to scatter beast blood and honey. These vicious insects were far too vengeful, and their sense of smell was extraordinarily sharp. They had pursued the two simply by catching their scent.

"How are they still not slowing down in such freezing weather?"

"They've slowed slightly. There hasn't been enough time yet. We need to hold on a while longer."

The two did not flee from the low hill. As they fought the ferocious flying ants, they watched the Silver-Headed Ant army climbing toward them, drawing ever nearer.

"They've slowed down. After a while longer, they may really freeze stiff."

"Let's burn a batch first. Warm them up a little and try to draw more Silver-Headed Ants out of the nest."

The two swung their blades and whirled their hammers, all while remembering to light torches. To enter the ant nest, they first had to destroy the ant army below.

"Be careful. Don't throw the torches in the wrong place!" Old Man Liu warned. He was genuinely afraid Qin Ming would be clumsy and prematurely set off the crude explosives.

They were a byproduct of the medicinal powders refined by Beyond the Mundane People. After spreading to various places, they had gradually come to be used by people.

"Don't worry!"

Soon, several stretches of the low hill that had been covered with firewood began to burn. Doused in fire oil, the flames blazed fiercely.

Many Silver-Headed Ants were burned to death, but it only stirred the ant army's savagery. Fearless of death, they continued charging upward like a tide.

"The second wave of the ant army has rushed out of the nest!" Old Man Liu said.

The worst-case scenario did not occur. There were not as many flying ants as they had imagined.

Suddenly, Old Man Liu let out a shout. With a loud clang, he was knocked flying by a Silver-Headed Ant and plunged headfirst into a snowdrift. A swarm of flying ants immediately pounced on him and submerged him.

Qin Ming's heart jolted. He saw a flying ant larger than a human head, its body blood-red and covered in silver markings. It had not merely mutated—it had likely undergone a Second Mutation.

He immediately charged over and swung his hammer down. Yet the Second Mutation flying ant was extremely fast. It dodged in an instant and dived toward Old Man Liu in the snowdrift.

Qin Ming moved like lightning, rapidly following up and blasting toward the special flying ant.

The Second Mutation flying ant did not want to be struck by the person behind it while pouncing on Old Man Liu, so it swiftly evaded. Enraged, it flew at Qin Ming, weaving left and right as it attacked continuously.

Cursing under his breath, Old Man Liu climbed out of the snowdrift and swung his blade at the fist-sized flying ants.

"I'm such a big man, yet I got knocked down by an ant. I've lost all face today! Has it really come to this—am I old, weak in the legs, and unable to lift a blade? I... hiss, a super-strong ant that has undergone a Second Mutation. Little Qin, can you handle it?"

Qin Ming responded quickly and warned him, "I'm fine. Be careful yourself. There may be other Second Mutation flying ants!"

Old Man Liu's expression grew grave. "That's right. Though the Ant Queen is a Third Mutation creature, she isn't skilled at fighting. She must place special emphasis on raising this kind of flying battle ant."

Qin Ming swung the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer repeatedly, striking the flying ant several times. It was like hammering iron, producing crisp metallic impacts. It was truly formidable.

However, it ultimately could not withstand Qin Ming's immense strength. Each time it was struck, cracks appeared across its body. Then, with a puff, it was hammered apart.

"Not good. Three more super-strong flying ants have appeared!" Old Man Liu's expression changed.

At the foot of the mountain, three obviously oversized flying ants beat their wings with terrifying sounds and flew upward. Behind them were six slightly smaller flying ants, though they still far surpassed ordinary ones.

"Three have undergone a Second Mutation, and six a First Mutation. This insect nest truly isn't easy to deal with!"

As for the ordinary Silver-Headed Ants, some had already climbed onto the peak. Though the main force behind them had slowed, upon seeing the two so close at hand, they still charged upward.

"About time!" Qin Ming said as he blocked the three strongest flying ants.

At his words, Old Man Liu swiftly lit the fuse. With a boom, the crude explosives buried beforehand took effect, triggering an avalanche. Amid rumbling thunder, vast numbers of Silver-Headed Ants were buried below.

They had calculated the timing. The ant army had already been close to freezing stiff, so once buried inside, most likely could not crawl out. Ninety percent would freeze to death.

"You, a tiny little ant, think you can knock me flying? I can't afford that humiliation!" Old Man Liu blocked one Second Mutation flying ant and swung his blade in battle.

"Really hard! I can't cut it apart with one slash!" Old Man Liu was flustered, for other ordinary flying ants surrounded him as well.

Qin Ming went all out. Shattered Gold Ripples emerged across his body. Amid repeated clangs, he finally blew apart two Second Mutation flying ants in succession. Then he spun the Long-handled Black Gold Hammer like a wind wheel, and ant corpses constantly fell around him with popping sounds.

"Don't move! Let me do it myself!" Old Man Liu was fiercely competitive, and in the end, he killed that Second Mutation flying ant himself.

After the two dealt with all the Silver-Headed Ants that had climbed the peak and had not yet frozen stiff, they finally let out long breaths.

"This counts as eliminating a scourge for the people ahead of time. If the Ant Queen undergoes a Fourth Mutation, then once the Silver-Headed Ant population explodes, nothing will remain wherever they pass." Old Man Liu said, dropping onto the snow.

"It's not over yet. Another large swarm has come out of the mountain crack." Qin Ming reminded him.

Old Man Liu's face turned green at once. Fortunately, there were no Second Mutation flying ants this time. Ordinary Silver-Headed Ants crawled up again in dense masses.

"There aren't as many as the last wave. Once we kill these, it should be about done."

They could no longer trigger an avalanche. The Silver-Headed Ants below seemed to have received an order; before freezing stiff, they would return to the nest in advance.

"Let's go down the mountain. We'll lure them out beyond the nest and kill them at close range."

Even Qin Ming was exhausted that day. He had been killing ants nonstop.

Yet Shallow Night was nearly over, and large numbers of Silver-Headed Ants were still crawling out.

As for Old Man Liu, he had long since become listless, and could barely lift his blade.

Fortunately, this area was extremely remote. No other creatures dared build nests beside the Silver-Headed Ants, so no mutated creatures had been drawn over to lurk nearby.

"Let's continue tomorrow!"

Over the past two days, some villagers had entered the underground caverns of the Great Rift Valley and brought out several fine weapons, causing a sensation and drawing even more people there to strike gold.

Many of the weapons and suits of armor had been left behind by the dead descendants of Red Haze City's great clans. Naturally, they were all superior goods.

Neither Qin Ming nor Old Man Liu had expected that, after eliminating a large number of Silver-Headed Ants on the first day, they would kill them for three consecutive days and still not finish them all.

"I think today should be about enough. We should have no problem forcing our way into the ant nest."

"You're an old crow's beak. Better say less of that sort of thing!"

On the fourth day, the two chatted as they walked. Passing the Great Rift Valley, Qin Ming froze, rubbed his eyes, and made sure he was not mistaken. A strand of Black Mist in the valley was slithering swiftly like a spirit snake.

"Take a look over there in the Great Rift Valley..." Qin Ming gestured.

"Look at what? There's nothing there." Old Man Liu said in surprise, his face full of confusion.

Qin Ming said nothing more and pretended his eyes had been playing tricks on him. Yet his heart was far from calm. He secretly guessed that after absorbing the mysterious liquid, he had gained the ability to notice that abnormal Black Mist.

"The families I asked you to contact—the ones that once had some standing but have now declined—have you found any leads?"

Old Man Liu said, "One family has loosened up. I don't think there'll be much of a problem."

"That's wonderful!" Qin Ming was overjoyed.

"You two, come over here. What were you looking at just now?" A voice suddenly came from afar. Near the Great Rift Valley's exit, two figures appeared one after another.

The two carried powerful presences. At a glance, they were clearly extremely dangerous experts, making Qin Ming's heart sink.

Old Man Liu looked at the insignias on their cuffs and lowered his voice. "They have golden patterns on their sleeves, meaning they've received preliminary recognition from the Golden Bandits. They should be the leaders of Golden Chicken Ridge, the two strongest bandit chiefs there."

Then he shut his mouth, grabbed Qin Ming, and walked forward.

Naturally, Qin Ming knew of these two bandit chiefs, especially since he had heard no shortage of rumors recently. They were Fourth New Life Beings, among the strongest figures in the local organizations.

What were these two doing at the Great Rift Valley? Was that Black Mist related to them? Qin Ming was suspicious.

"Stop dawdling and get over here!" one bandit chief barked.

"We wanted to enter the mountain to hunt. We were merely passing through." Old Man Liu kept his posture very low.

The two bandit chiefs looked to be around forty, their gazes cold and sharp. One grabbed Old Man Liu by the collar and lifted him up.

"Though he's a New Life Evolver, he's too old. He's useless now!" the bandit chief commented, then tossed Old Man Liu aside. Old Man Liu staggered and nearly fell to the ground.

He came before Qin Ming and said, "You underwent New Life at such a young age. Not bad."

Then he grabbed Qin Ming by the collar. "Golden Chicken Ridge will be recruiting in the next couple of days. Remember to sign up, understand? I've remembered what you look like!"

The bandit chief spoke calmly, without raising his voice, yet his tone allowed no refusal.

"Fine, don't worry. I'll take him to sign up when the time comes," Old Man Liu hurriedly said. He feared Qin Ming's youthful hotheadedness would make him offend the bandit chief. If that happened, it would certainly bring a fatal disaster!

"You're so old. Are we keeping you around to eat for free?" the bandit chief glanced at him.

"I mean I'll take him to sign up," Old Man Liu explained.

"Mm!" The bandit chief nodded and released Qin Ming's collar.

"I asked you a question just now. Are you mute? Did you hear me or not?" the other bandit chief suddenly spoke, coldly berating Qin Ming.

"I didn't come back to my senses for a moment. Fine, I'll sign up when the time comes." Qin Ming nodded.

"I curse their..." After reaching the vicinity of the ant nest, Old Man Liu spewed vulgarities and burst into furious curses. He was truly seething, having held a bellyful of anger inside.

Then he hurriedly tried to persuade Qin Ming not to act rashly. This time, he absolutely had to endure it and sign up first.

"You're still young, yet you're already this strong. You'll become even more formidable in the future. Anything is possible then..."

Qin Ming took over, saying, "Then I'll go alone, break into Golden Chicken Ridge at night, and wipe out every last bandit there!"

Old Man Liu quickly stopped him. "Quiet! You can't say such things aloud. Wait until you've undergone New Life four or five times before thinking about it!"

After that, things went very smoothly. Upon breaking into the ant nest, they discovered that the Silver-Headed Ant army had indeed been almost completely wiped out by them over the previous three days.

The Ant Queen finally appeared. She was a silver insect. Though she was a creature that had undergone a Third Mutation, she truly was not skilled at combat. Only the glowing liquid she spat from her mouth had considerable killing power, with astonishing penetration and the ability to corrode armor.

At their first encounter, Qin Ming and Old Man Liu were unexpectedly sprayed with liquid by her and nearly got hit. The first layer of their armor was pierced through. Luckily, they each had another steel plate over their chests.

Afterward, there was no suspense in the battle. The strongest battle ants had long been eliminated. Without the protection of vast numbers of Silver-Headed Ants, the Ant Queen was quickly dealt with by the two.

"We're rich!" Old Man Liu reached the depths of the ant nest and saw honey wine sealed within ant wax. His eyes gleamed. Though most of it had been consumed over the winter, even the small amount remaining was astonishingly valuable.

"Should we bury it first?" Qin Ming said. "If we really sell it, the fact that we've become Third New Life Beings definitely won't stay hidden. Those bandits at Golden Chicken Ridge aren't acting like people these days. If they find out, there'll be trouble."

Old Man Liu naturally understood and nodded there.

Then they discovered pale golden Spiritual Matter. The two immediately showed expressions of surprise and excitement. There was enough for both of them to use.

After returning home, Qin Ming looked at the pale golden liquid in the porcelain jar. His emotions surged, and his heart stirred violently.

Many things had happened recently, leaving his heart unable to settle. But as long as he became strong enough, none of the troubles he encountered would remain a problem.

Thanks to Saint Immortal Qi Tian, and many thanks to the Golden Alliance Leader for the support. Thanks as well to Zhaicai for the Silver Alliance Leader support, and to Sanshengyuan Hanbao and Sanshengyuan—Three-Inch Ruler, the two alliance leaders. Many thanks to everyone. What happened today? Why did all the big shots concentrate their rewards? I'll work hard on writing to thank you all!