"Not like what?" Xie Lingxi asked.
"Not like some people who glare back at you just because you happened to glance at them," Qin Ming replied casually.
"You're not talking about my martial uncle from the front courtyard, are you?" Xie Lingxi's expression shifted.
The woman who had just stepped out of the old noble's mansion paused mid-step, and a purple-eyed crow gliding low in the air let out a loud laugh, "Caw caw caw..."
"What an awful sound!"
...
Qin Ming didn't feel it was appropriate to freeload a meal at the old noble's house. He felt he had already gained a lot today, just the information alone made the trip worthwhile. As he neared Shuangshu Village, he was still pondering the things Xie Lingxi had said, lost in thought the entire way.
"I believe that with my third rebirth, those lost memories will eventually return," he murmured, eyes filled with determination.
Qin Ming realized that the old noble was far from ordinary. Her daughter was extremely powerful. Despite her young age, she was nearly five meters tall, which meant she had already progressed far on the path of the Giant Spirit God.
"The two who led me on this journey, the woman had a red mole on her right brow, and the man had unusually long arms. I wonder if they'll return to the mountains to harvest resources from special nodes this time," Qin Ming mused.
At the same time, he had come to know that Luoyue City was quite large and very far from here.
Soon, news came from Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing: they'd be entering the mountain in two days!
There was now solid confirmation. The high-level powers of Chixia City had negotiated with the higher beings in the mountains. The territories previously seized by the foreign entities would be fully relinquished.
The mountain's outer regions, where people would hunt and gather herbs in the past, were once again freely accessible. However, it was every man for himself for anyone wanting to go deeper into the dangerous inner regions of the mountains.
Of course, the high-level beings promised not to secretly hunt humans, but the mountains were still filled with other dangerous creatures, and it would be up to the outsiders to survive.
The authorities of Chixia City also pledged not to intervene secretly.
Even after expelling the foreign high-level beings, the mountains would remain far from peaceful. Even if the top powers refrained from bloodshed, the old monsters of various clans and terrifying mutated beings would still clash in the densest night fog.
Once someone ventured deeper, bloodshed was inevitable. No one cared about your background or status.
"I can lead the way, but only through the outer regions. I won't step into unknown zones!" Qin Ming promptly informed Mu Qing and the others.
"We don't dare go too deep either. That's the domain of the old monsters. They'd slaughter us without mercy," said Mu Qing, Cao Long, and Wei Zhirou with some regret.
The main issue was that people from other regions had also arrived. Even the outer areas weren't safe anymore.
Word had gotten out that rare resources had begun to emerge at certain special nodes, and they were now ready for harvest.
Over the next two days, Qin Ming observed all kinds of movement from various factions. Not just the newly arrived outsiders, even local organizations were making moves, like the Three-Eyed Sect and Golden Rooster Ridge.
The Three-Eyed Sect was quite mysterious. They're rumored to have members in distant cities, with this area being merely a local outpost. Normally, their local members liked to throw around the weight of their high-ranking elders, often warning others before any conflict, saying, "We're from the Three-Eyed Sect. We've got top experts backing us. Think carefully."
But today, their tone had changed. Someone came to speak with Xu Yueping, and the approach was far less confrontational.
"We're all locals here. If there are any special discoveries, let's share the info. These rare local resources should stay in our region. That mountain has always been there, it will never move, accompanying us for life. Even in death, we will rest with it. The Three-Eyed Sect has taken root here, too, and like the mountain, we'll be here forever."
Old Liu stared at the man with a scarred face, visibly irritated. "Scarface Two, you were better off being blunt like before. You should roll up your sleeves, slam your blade on the table, put your foot on the stool, and threaten us: if we find a special node and don't tell you, you'll get revenge once the Chixia City folks leave. Isn't that what you really mean?"
"Yeah, that's basically it. I wanted to say it that way, but the higher-ups said not to be too aggressive this time. As long as you get the message, I'm out!" said Scarface Two from the Three-Eyed Sect as he turned and left.
Not long after, people from the Golden Rooster Ridge arrived too. They used to be notorious bandits. Though they had been pacified and incorporated, the nearby villages still feared them.
That was because Golden Rooster Ridge trained fierce Golden Rooster Knights, perfect for assassination in the forest. The golden ground-birds they rode were second-stage mutated creatures, and along with their riders, they were a deadly combo.
...
"We're about to enter the mountain." You Liangyun sat quietly in his room. On the table before him was a jade jar, containing a kind of spiritual substance. After consuming it, he could undergo a second rebirth. With two days remaining before departure, there was enough time to upgrade his life level completely.
Initially, he hadn't planned to do it so soon, he had wanted to further solidify the foundation of his rebirth. But now, his expression kept shifting, cold one moment, hesitant the next. If he couldn't follow that woman to Liuguang City, he would be unwilling to let go.
"You've gathered all the info, right?" You Liangyun asked the person outside the room.
"Yes, it's all confirmed. Best not to approach him during the first two days on the mountain. He'll most likely be with Mu Qing, Cao Long, and the others. Once that group was familiarized with the terrain, that'll be the time to make a move."
"Good!"
Two days later, everyone began entering the mountain.
To Qin Ming's surprise, Old Liu was wearing armor, carrying a massive broad-blade on his back, and riding his earth-yellow dog. He wasn't the only one. Yang Yongqing was dual-wielding blades, riding a black mountain goat taller than a grown man's shoulder. He had become a Black Goat Knight.
"Into the mountain!" Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing led their teams out. They were just a small group of young people from Chixia City. Many more troops from major families and organizations were also headed in.
"Attention, humans ahead! Two-legged beasts spotted!" shouted a talking bird flying above them. This was a species of bird capable of human speech, it was clever and fast. It was now alerting the mountain's inhabitants. The keywords were "humans" and "two-legged beasts", mutated creatures in the mountains understood those phonetic cues.
"Shoot it down!" Cao Long ordered.
"There's a huge clump of two-legged beasts here, bigger than a three-meter-tall bear!" No doubt, this bird was mutated. It wasn't just passing information to the mountain's creatures, it was also trying to provoke infighting among human groups.
Cao Long was furious and personally drew his bow.
Boom!
Suddenly, from deep within the mountains, a multicolored cloud of spiritual mist erupted into the sky, stunning everyone. They had only just entered the mountain, and one of the most mysterious, rare resources was already ripening and about to emerge!
"My Mountain God! The place of the five-colored spiritual mist has appeared. Charge!"