Chapter 80: Unusual Events
This novel is translated and hosted on Bcatranslation
Behind Qin Ming, Xu Sheng, and Zhou Lin, the City of Red Glow gleamed as brightly as daytime. Its tall, robust walls of bluestone enclosed a luminous expanse. Ahead, however, lay a stark contrast—an eerie realm shrouded in night mist. Towering mountains loomed like dark silhouettes, their shadows stretching endlessly into a dim, foreboding wilderness. It felt as though the world behind them and the one before them belonged to two entirely different realms.
Xu Sheng remarked, “After the first thunder of spring, the mountains dimmed again, but once the underground fire springs fully awaken in a few days, the wilderness will reveal a spectacle unlike anything we’ve seen before.”
Even now, the landscape was shifting. Most of the snow had melted, releasing the scent of earth into the air. Some old trees were already budding, their branches tinged with the promise of new life.
“Could it be that our luck is turning around?” Zhou Lin asked, her tone tinged with excitement. She pointed ahead with the long spear in her hand.
By now, the group had ventured deep into the mountains.
“Is that an aberrant plant? If it is, this might be the break I’ve been waiting for!” Zhou Lin exclaimed. Despite being in her twenties, she referred to herself with an audacious confidence that matched her bold personality.
“It really might be! A rare plant brimming with spiritual essence—and it’s just now blooming! We could still make it in time!” Xu Sheng said, his voice laced with astonishment.
Without another word, the three of them bolted forward, racing through the forest.
Nestled amidst the dense woods was an ancient tree unlike any other. Its silver blossoms glowed faintly, illuminating the surrounding foliage.
Aberrant plants had the power to mutate birds and beasts, and when consumed by humans, they could enhance physical strength and trigger a rapid rejuvenation of the body.
This wasn’t Qin Ming’s first encounter with such a plant. He recalled a previous journey to Silver Vine Town with Xu Yueping, during which they had spotted a crimson bloom emitting radiant light, surrounded by fluttering “Scarlet Butterflies.” Unfortunately, they had been too far away to harvest it, and the petals had already been scattered into the night sky by the wind.
“This time, we’ve got it!” Xu Sheng’s delight was palpable.
Ahead, an ancient tree was sprouting new buds and bursting into bloom. Its radiant glow cast an amber sheen across the forest, filling the air with an intoxicating fragrance.
A gentle breeze carried a few petals into the air. They floated through the darkness like fireflies.
Aberrant plants didn’t adhere to seasonal patterns. Their blooms were unpredictable, rare, and fleeting. Once their dazzling display ended, they would wither and die completely. This made Zhou Lin and Xu Sheng all the more exhilarated—they had stumbled upon a treasure by sheer luck.
“Qin, don’t hold back—grab every single petal!” Xu Sheng urged.
“The mountain’s aberrant creatures will be here any second. We need to be quick,” Zhou Lin added, her spear slicing cleanly through a thick branch with a sharp crack.
A guttural roar shattered the stillness. The commotion had already drawn the attention of nearby beasts.
Qin Ming and Xu Sheng had briefly entertained the thought of uprooting the entire tree and running, but it was impossible. The skies were already swarming with massive birds of prey swooping down toward them.
An aberrant plant’s presence inevitably caused chaos; no one could claim it uncontested.
“Ugh, what’s this taste? Blood?” Zhou Lin spat, grimacing after biting into a glowing bud.
“Bleh!” Xu Sheng did the same, his expression shifting uneasily. He quickly knelt by the tree’s roots, his frown deepening.
“The smell of blood is overwhelming!” Qin Ming commented.
Xu Sheng’s face grew grim. “This isn’t a natural aberrant plant—it’s been artificially induced. Could someone outside the mundane world be using this to lure beasts for alchemical purposes?”
Having traveled widely as a merchant, Xu Sheng had seen his share of unusual things. He immediately clasped his hands in a respectful gesture toward the forest. “Apologies, senior. We’ve intruded unknowingly and mean no offense.”
“Let’s go!” Zhou Lin whispered urgently.
Above them, a massive claw descended, aiming straight for the trio.
Zhou Lin thrust her spear upward, striking the claw with a force that sent sparks flying. The predator was a bird of prey nearly ten meters long. Its black wings, sharp as blades, sliced through the treetops, scattering branches like confetti. Golden light glinted ominously in its eyes.
A cacophony of howls erupted from the forest. Dark shapes surged through the trees—waves of beasts charging toward them.
“In just moments, we’re already surrounded by an army of birds and beasts! We need to break out now!” Xu Sheng shouted, his face tense.
Qin Ming’s prior encounter with an aberrant plant near Silver Vine Town had been far less perilous, as it occurred just outside the mountains. But here, deep in the wilderness, the situation was dire.
“A five-time-mutated venomous python—crawling out of its burrow this early in spring!” Xu Sheng’s voice darkened as an enormous snake, as thick as a water barrel, slithered toward them.
“Is it a spiritual creature?” Qin Ming asked, stepping forward to confront it.
“No, but it’s highly venomous. Watch out for its poison fog!” Xu Sheng warned.
The python opened its jaws, unleashing a gust of wind that carried a shimmering, multicolored mist.
Qin Ming’s body shimmered faintly with Celestial Light Flow, and he dodged swiftly, unwilling to risk a head-on fight with a non-spiritual creature. The python lashed out, its tail snapping through the air and splintering tree trunks as it coiled toward Qin Ming.
With a resounding thud, Qin Ming brought his hammer down on the serpent’s tail, mangling it into a bloody mess and severing a segment cleanly.
Meanwhile, Zhou Lin clashed twice with a golden leopard, her spear striking sparks as they collided.
Xu Sheng found himself facing a six-meter-tall black bear. He cursed under his breath. “This is ridiculous—nothing but trouble since we entered the mountains! You overgrown raccoon, I’ll take your gallbladder for this!”
Without hesitation, he tackled the bear, wrestling it to the ground.
“Xu Sheng, watch out! There’s another bear—a bigger one!” Qin Ming shouted.
Xu Sheng froze, his expression shifting rapidly as he turned. His heart sank.
Looming behind the smaller bear was a hulking giant, towering twelve meters tall. Its glowing eyes gleamed with malevolence as it glared down at Xu Sheng.
The smaller bear let out a plaintive roar, as if complaining to its parent.
“Could that thing have mutated six or seven times?!” Xu Sheng’s scalp tingled as the monstrous bear lunged. Its massive paw descended like a falling boulder.
Xu Sheng didn’t hesitate. He turned and ran for his life.
If it were only the giant bear, Qin Ming might have considered engaging it. But with the entire forest teeming with predatory beasts, staying was a death sentence. Even more troubling, these creatures saw the trio as walking elixirs of flesh and blood.
The ground trembled beneath the weight of the chaos.
“Boom!”
Finally, Qin Ming collided head-on with the gigantic bear. With a swing of his long-handled Black Gold Hammer, he smashed one of its paws into a bloody mess, forcing it to retreat and cease its pursuit. The strike also intimidated the other aberrations nearby.
Even so, the three of them were in a sorry state, barely escaping the army of ferocious beasts and predatory birds.
“I thought we were lucky for once, but it turns out our luck is terrible. We nearly ended up in some beast’s stomach,” Zhou Lin lamented, feeling like her streak of misfortune would never end.
“Do you really think someone from the Outside Lands is there?” Qin Ming asked, his tone skeptical.
Xu Sheng shook his head. “Not necessarily. It could just be a blood-colored elixir from the Outside Lands that someone used to lure the beasts.”
Zhou Lin shot him a sharp look. “Xu Sheng, did you bring some bad luck with you from your time as a traveling merchant? I swear, trouble always finds us when you’re around!”
“That’s impossible!”
After the fierce battle, both Zhou Lin and Xu Sheng were utterly exhausted. They decided to head back and rest, planning to venture into the mountains again the next day.
“Tomorrow, we just need to find that type of spiritual clam. No need for a life-or-death struggle. They’re not strong fighters,” Xu Sheng reassured.
The next morning, Xu Sheng and Zhou Lin led the way while Qin Ming followed. They arrived at a marshy area, searching for a rare type of clam. The terrain was sparse with trees, filled instead with countless muddy pits and stretches of swamp, all shrouded in a faint black mist.
“See that glowing stuff in the mud? That’s the trail left by the spiritual clam,” Xu Sheng pointed out, gesturing toward the blue, viscous substance in the water.
“Be careful. This is the spot where we were ambushed last time,” Zhou Lin warned.
This time, they weren’t attacked by hidden enemies.
But an hour later, they were running for their lives, chased by a swarm of Mud Dragons. The swamp erupted into chaos as the creatures pursued them, snapping at their heels like hunting dogs.
Deep within the seemingly tranquil marsh lay a nest of these Mud Dragons. They resembled crocodiles but had a single horn on their heads and long, powerful legs that made them much faster than crocodiles. Each adult Mud Dragon weighed thousands of pounds and now, with their eyes glowing red, they were in full pursuit. Mistaking the group as egg thieves, the creatures became ferociously aggressive. It was early spring, and some Mud Dragons had begun to lay eggs.
“Ahhh!” Zhou Lin shrieked after they escaped the swamp, furious and covered in mud. Her hair, face, and clothes were smeared with filth. What had been a strikingly beautiful and commanding presence was now a comically enraged figure.
“Xu Sheng! There’s definitely something wrong with you. Every time I go out with you, disaster strikes!” she snapped.
“It’s not my fault! How was I supposed to know the clam trail led straight to a Mud Dragon nest?” Xu Sheng retorted, clearly frustrated and starting to suspect someone was deliberately targeting him.
Qin Ming, also drenched in mud, was equally annoyed. The three of them were an equally miserable sight.
Zhou Lin didn’t hold back, berating Xu Sheng all the way back to the city.
“Calm down. Tonight, I’ll go ask my old mentor, the traveling merchant, if he knows of any other places where spiritual creatures appear—and if they’re safer,” Xu Sheng offered.
Zhou Lin’s temper only worsened as the townsfolk openly stared at her mud-covered appearance.
“Xu Sheng, maybe you should ask your mentor to check if something’s wrong with you,” Qin Ming suggested, wiping mud from his face.
Even Xu Sheng was beginning to doubt himself. He nodded. “Alright, I’ll let him have a look tonight.”
At dawn, the brilliant light of Red Glow City heralded a new day. The three set out once again.
“My mentor said there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m perfectly fine,” Xu Sheng announced as soon as they met, clearly eager to clear his name.
“Are we really going to Red Mist Cave this time? That place is crawling with Fire Bats, and there are too many of them to handle!” Zhou Lin protested.
“We’re not going there to bother the Fire Bats. There’s an underground cold pool connected to a subterranean river. I heard Spiritual Eels have appeared there,” Xu Sheng explained.
The Red Mist Cave lay within the belly of a mountain. The three of them descended along a fissure, finding that the cave wasn’t as dark as expected. Within the mountain, fiery springs were beginning to awaken, casting an eerie glow.
“Are you sure we won’t disturb the Fire Bats?” Qin Ming asked, nervous.
Xu Sheng shook his head. “Don’t worry. The Red Mist Cave is huge. We’re heading in the opposite direction of the bat nests.”
They arrived near the cold pool. The dark, icy waters were chilling to the bone. Brief flashes of multicolored light beneath the surface confirmed the presence of Spiritual Eels.
“I brought bait, fishing rods, harpoons, and nets. Everything’s ready! Let’s start collecting!” Xu Sheng declared confidently.
Zhou Lin rolled her eyes. “Don’t jinx it. Every time I come out with you, I feel like disaster’s just waiting to happen.”
Half an hour later, disaster struck. The Fire Bats filled the cave with the thunderous beating of their wings, swarming toward them in overwhelming numbers.
“Why are there so many of them?” Qin Ming shouted in shock. “There’s no way we can fight them all!”
Xu Sheng grimaced. “The City Lord’s Mansion issued an order years ago not to touch this nest. The Fire Bats help control the mountain’s mutated insects, but their numbers have grown too large.”
The three of them had no choice but to leap into the cold pool, using the underground river to escape.
For hours, they swam through the icy darkness, searching for a way back to the surface. Eventually, they emerged in a lake ten miles away from the cave.
“Never again!” Zhou Lin yelled, drenched and furious. “Xu Sheng, don’t you dare ask me to come out again!”
“This isn’t Xu Sheng’s fault. I’ll investigate when we get back,” Qin Ming said coldly. He was beginning to suspect their repeated close calls weren’t coincidences but deliberate acts meant to harm them—or him specifically.
While they had survived each time, a single mistake could have been fatal. If someone was indeed behind these incidents, they were orchestrating them to make Qin Ming’s death appear accidental.
Meanwhile, in the City Lord’s Mansion, Meng Xing Hai stood by the window, listening to the report from a black-clad subordinate.
“He managed to withstand six or seven waves of Celestial Light?!” Meng Xing Hai’s eyes widened, and he shot to his feet.
The subordinate continued, “Two days ago, the corpse collector Xu Hai died vomiting blood. Before his death, he confessed to his family that his greed may have led to the death of a prodigy. He intentionally made the boy withstand multiple waves of Celestial Light, which ultimately brought retribution upon himself.”
“Incredible!” Meng Xing Hai muttered. After a moment of thought, he turned to his subordinate. “Bury this information. Don’t ever mention it again.”
After dismissing the man, Meng Xing Hai stood at the window, a calculating smile on his face.
“Someone who can endure so many waves of Celestial Light and survive… The Cui Family will regret losing such talent,” he murmured.
His gaze shifted toward the mountains. “A group of the finest Outside Lands disciples are vying for that legendary artifact, hidden within a Spiritual Cave teeming with Celestial Light. If I equip Qing Yue with a new Golden Armor Protector, she might just claim the prize and emerge victorious.”