"On what grounds? What right do they have to demand our Night Silver?"
"We were nearly starving not long ago. Things have only just started to improve—how can we endure Golden Ridge bleeding us dry like this?"
Everyone was seething with indignation.
Though grain from outside the mountains was being brought in by giant beasts, it still had to be purchased. In such dire times, who had money left to tribute to Golden Ridge?
The crux was that they were being forced to feed a band of brigands.
In this remote region, a family of three frugally managing their resources could cover a month's basic needs with a single Night Silver.
Now the two men Golden Ridge had sent were perched arrogantly on their ground-chickens, mouths casually opening to demand each household's entire monthly living expenses. It was bullying of the worst sort.
Moreover, it was unclear whether this was a one-time payment or if it would become a regular extraction—demanded again and again at intervals.
"These brigands truly never behave like human beings!"
The crowd was inflamed, ready to resist.
The two Golden Ridge riders had only come to notify the villages. They'd already left the village entrance some distance away, yet they could still hear the angry shouts behind them.
"Those peasants are overreacting. We should report this up the chain—don't let their emotions actually spark a desperate revolt."
"Right. The stronghold's strength has been severely weakened. In these troubled times, we need to be mindful of the optics."
...
"Will Redcloud City do nothing about this?"
The villages outside the mountains were all in turmoil. Everyone was talking about it.
Some suggested finding the mountain patrol people to intervene, or better yet, reporting to Redcloud City immediately—they couldn't let Golden Ridge run amok during this critical winter.
An old man sighed: "The higher-ups in Redcloud City may not have the bandwidth to deal with this right now."
"Why not?"
"A traveling merchant brought the latest news. Two major organizations suspect that Redcloud City's Lord Ling Xu has been colluding with the higher-stage aberrants of the Black-White Mountains—that he set them up in the mountains last time."
According to the merchant, the atmosphere in Redcloud City had grown微妙.
There was no direct evidence. The two great organizations merely suspected that Lord Ling Xu's heart was very dark—he'd used them against each other this time, playing them all.
This would probably fizzle out in the end, but for now, Redcloud City's leadership had no attention to spare.
Qin Ming gazed at the pitch-black night, listening to the discussions. A piercing radiance of Heaven Light bloomed across his body as his emotions surged violently.
All humans had the seven emotions and six desires—it was impossible to remain perpetually calm.
A moment later, the Heaven Light across Qin Ming's body subsided.
He entered the cellar and selected two blood snakes, each six or seven feet long and mutated once.
Then he took up the long-handled black-gold hammer and pounded the two spiritual creatures on an iron plate into paste, personally simmering them into a pot of meat broth.
Before leaving, he needed to arrange certain matters.
Shortly after, Qin Ming stepped into the neighboring courtyard.
"Brother Lu, are you feeling better? I hunted a spiritual mountain beast in the mountains—it might help you with your New Life."
Qin Ming didn't want to hide everything. He told Lu Ze that consuming the broth would not only accelerate his injury recovery but might also trigger a New Life within the coming days.
"Little Qin!" Lu Ze was a straightforward man. Not knowing what to say, he simply nodded heavily.
Liang Wanqing's eyes reddened. She knew what a New Life meant under these circumstances—after this, she wouldn't have to live in constant fear every time Lu Ze ventured into the mountains.
Qin Ming said: "Sister-in-law, you can have some too. There's more than enough broth. Even if your body can't undergo New Life, it will still strengthen your constitution."
"Smells so good, Uncle! I want some too!" Wen Rui was still awake. Catching the distinctive aroma of the blood snake, he looked like a little glutton on the verge of drooling.
"You're still too young—it might trigger an early mutation. Here, Uncle brought you the freshest wild fruit. This is a variety Old Huang cultivated."
Wen Rui's big eyes lit up, though he was slightly puzzled. "Uncle, last time you said it was something Uncle Niu grew through hard work."
"Mm, more or less." Qin Ming smiled. The fruit was naturally from Wild Ox Ridge.
"Uncle, I want some too..." Two-year-old Wen Hui stirred awake in a daze.
Then Qin Ming heard the squirrel chattering in its cage, bowing to him. This time it had its eye on the broth made from blood snake.
...
The next day, Qin Ming polished the mutton-fat jade iron blade. It was far too conspicuous—if it was drawn at all, it had to kill whoever saw it.
After disguising and concealing the blade body, he sheathed it.
Qin Ming took a long staff to serve as a spear, then found a bow and arrows he'd used before. He could now legitimately claim mastery of both spear and bow!
In the courtyard, he quickly demonstrated astonishing spear technique. The wooden staff in his hand moved like a flood dragon, spiraling through the air as if about to soar into the sky.
With a light shake, the staff split into dozens of phantom afterimages, thrusting toward different areas. Dozens of falling snowflakes were pierced simultaneously.
But when Qin Ming increased his force, the sturdy wooden staff couldn't withstand his immense strength and shattered into a dozen pieces.
He tested the bow and arrows but stopped almost immediately—with even slight exertion, the bowstring snapped or the bow frame broke.
"Like this, my claim to dual mastery of spear and bow is hollow—I don't even have proper weapons." Qin Ming decided to enter the mountains and find suitable equipment.
The Great Rift Gorge lay silent. The Golden Ridge men who'd been guarding it had long since departed.
Qin Ming entered the lifeless underground cavern, wandering through its web-like passages for a long while. He found broken armor, shattered weapons, and large quantities of dried blood. There were also severed horns and residual bones from various aberrants.
Deep in the cavern, Qin Ming discovered an altar—cold with sinister energy. He kicked it apart with one blow, and a vast expanse of black mist boiled out.
But once his body blazed with Heaven Light, the yin mist rapidly dissipated, evaporating completely.
"What were they doing here?" Qin Ming suspected the two brigands and the mist-forming person Beyond the Pale had been in collusion, up to no good in this place.
He searched for a long time and found several intact weapons. As for armor, he managed to piece together a few sets—anything that survived this long was naturally of fine quality.
He selected a great spear and a long blade, found a hard bow that could barely withstand his strength, and gathered a pile of iron arrows, filling six quivers.
"Tonight, I shall be the Blade Immortal, the Spear Saint, the Arrow God—the Three Supreme Skills of Blade, Spear, and Arrow!" Qin Ming murmured.
He donned gleaming armor, equipped his bow and arrows, hefted a heavy yet razor-sharp spear, and strapped a long blade inscribed with phoenix patterns to his back before emerging from the underground cavern.
"Hmm?" Qin Ming was somewhat surprised to find Old Liu's tracks outside the Great Rift Gorge.
He made no effort to hide and walked straight over.
Old Liu saw him and wore an extremely grave expression. "I heard you'd gone into the mountains and guessed you might come here. Don't tell me you're planning to strike Golden Ridge?"
Since their last trip into the mountains to destroy the ant nest together, Old Liu had witnessed Qin Ming's strength far exceeding others at his level. It had been a sudden revelation, clearing up many things in his mind.
Furthermore, he'd personally seen Qin Ming rapidly develop a Heaven Light Force at Old Wu's house. Beyond his shock, he'd already realized that Qin Ming could likely handle a Fourth New Life opponent—and was very eager to do so.
Qin Ming found the old man surprisingly sharp. He'd probably figured out quite a lot.
"If you really are going to Golden Ridge, I know I can't stop you. But don't act immediately—wait another day or two."
"Why?"
Old Liu said solemnly: "Golden Ridge exists because the legendary Golden Theft Brigand, back when they used to trade between the two great regions, used that spot as a stopover. They rarely go there now, but what if you happened to run into them by bad luck?"
Qin Ming inhaled the snow-laden cold air sharply. "Is your fate truly that special? Things were fine before you spoke—now it really might happen."
He naturally didn't believe such things. He was only joking. He trusted only his own strength.
Old Liu said: "Let me make some inquiries first. You're not in such a hurry that one or two days matters."
"What connections do you have that could track the Golden Theft Brigand's movements?" Qin Ming was curious.
"How could I have such connections or ability? But I can judge based on past patterns and current details. Apparently, whenever the Golden Theft Brigand is about to visit, the two Golden Ridge brigands send people a day or two ahead to prepare rare ingredients, purchase fine wine, and even invite dancers of exceptional beauty."
Qin Ming immediately nodded, finding this very reliable. He could wait for Old Liu's intelligence first.
Then he hid his armor and weapons in the mountains, carried a hunted animal, and returned to the village with Old Liu.
The village was in an uproar again—Golden Ridge had sent more people.
"For whose sake? We recruited New Lifers precisely to protect you!"
Golden Ridge had learned of the villages' strong resistance. This visit was meant to smooth things over with some necessary explanations.
"Days ago, for the sake of the villagers outside the mountains, Golden Ridge fought a bloody battle against the aberrants at the Great Rift Gorge, slaying a great number of mutated creatures that were trying to seize the outer mountain lands. We were nearly wiped out."
Some villagers glared at them with hatred. Everyone knew Golden Ridge had gone into the mountains for the mystical products, gotten outmatched and unlucky, and been nearly annihilated—and now they claimed it was to protect the villagers?
"The two leaders, understanding your situation, have decided to collect that Night Silver next month—giving you time to prepare."
Unquestionably, Golden Ridge's explanation was paper-thin and provoked even greater resentment. In the end, they were still extorting each household. The "protection tax" couldn't be avoided, and many people wanted to fight to the death.
"These peasants are overreacting!" Finally, Golden Ridge's men departed in haste.
That day, Old Liu brought news: Golden Ridge showed no unusual activity. Highly reliable intelligence indicated only the two brigands and their trusted followers were in the stronghold.
"Also, two traveling merchants appeared in Silver Elm Town with the latest news. Redcloud City is changing its lord. Although Lord Ling Xu isn't in trouble, he's being transferred to another city."
Hearing this, Qin Ming nodded. Now was the perfect time to act.
He murmured: "If major organizations suspect Redcloud City's lord of colluding with aberrants, they might also suspect local organizations of providing intelligence and support. They can't touch Ling Xu—but wouldn't they dare destroy Golden Ridge?"
Then he continued to himself: "The two brigands colluded with someone Beyond the Pale, and the mist-forming man died mysteriously. Wouldn't his associates and elders suspect Golden Ridge?"
The Shallow Night had now ended. Qin Ming entered the mountains directly, changed into his armor, equipped his weapons, and set out for Golden Ridge, fifty li away!
The night was thick, the journey was no short distance, and ordinary people wouldn't dare travel alone in the dead of night.
In truth, Qin Ming encountered an unexpected threat en route. A purple-glowing aberrant beast suddenly burst from the forest and stomped toward him.
Its head resembled a horse, but it was clearly no equine. A mouthful of snow-white fangs glinted coldly—it was unmistakably a carnivorous predator. It had a tiger or leopard's torso but long limbs tipped with heavy, horse-like hooves.
Its fur, glossy as silk, shimmered with a hazy purple radiance. It was magnificent. It leaped into the air, its massive hoof coming down toward Qin Ming's skull.
"A Purple Lightning Beast?" Qin Ming was surprised to encounter one of these. He'd asked Old Liu extensively about mountain aberrants recently and knew of this creature.
The Purple Lightning Beast was a newly appeared aberrant, triple-mutated, that ran with the speed of wind and lightning—faster even than creatures mutated four or five times.
It appeared to have been startled, fleeing from the deep mountains. Spotting Qin Ming blocking its path, it had simply hoofed him. If he didn't dodge, he'd be looking at a hole through his skull.
Qin Ming shifted slightly, avoiding the massive purple hoof, then quickly closed the distance and touched its glowing purple body.
The Purple Lightning Beast was stunned. What kind of monster was this? Just a fingertip grazing its fur, and it had stuck to him like adhesive plaster!
Qin Ming's adhesive Heaven Light Force had performed exactly as it should. Once he made even slight contact, escape was impossible. First his fingertip, then his full palm gripped the beast's fur firmly. Then he simply mounted it.
"Stop thrashing—give me a ride!" Qin Ming said.
The Purple Lightning Beast was furious. As an aberrant virtually impossible to tame, it shook its head, whipped its tail, and bucked, trying to throw him off.
Qin Ming wasted no words. With a flash, he drew his gleaming long blade and pressed it against the beast's neck. If it didn't cooperate, he'd just kill it. The glowing purple mane fluttered in the wind, strands of it being sliced away.
The beast tensed up and stopped struggling. It glanced toward the deep mountains, then broke into a wild gallop.
Under the thick darkness of night, Qin Ming rode the magnificent aberrant as it flowed with purple light and mist, charging rapidly toward Golden Ridge!