Night Without End
Chapter 75 - 75 48 Alternative

75: Chapter 48 Alternative 75: Chapter 48 Alternative The room was warm, initially, it was mostly Old Man Liu talking, with Qin Ming listening quietly before both of them studied the matter together.

Qin Ming was quite eager and somewhat excited; in such a dangerous environment, he yearned for a Third level Rebirth to avoid being chased by a giant beast again.

If he were strong, people from Jinji Ridge and the Sanyan Sect wouldn’t dare to oppress him, treating them like consumables to be sent into the mines.

Old Man Liu took a sip of water and said, “Once we enter the mountain later, we need to carefully observe the terrain and plan escape routes before we make a move.”

“Why do I feel like you’re not so confident?” Qin Ming doubted, hoping not to encounter various problems at a critical moment.

Old Man Liu said, “Being careful is never a mistake because we can’t afford to lose.

The place we’re going to contains rare Spiritual Materials and is extremely dangerous.

If we fail, people will die.”

Qin Ming became cautious as well and said, “Does Yinteng Town have Dirt Explosives?

Let’s buy some!”

“If you say so, that actually opens up some ideas for me, and a few other places could be considered as well.” Old Man Liu actually had alternative plans.

“Let’s hear them.”

“In the big mountains, there is a lake in the West Valley, where a Third level Mutant old turtle lies dormant, its entire body is a treasure, with its Turtle Blood rich in Spiritual Material, and it’s currently in hibernation.

If we could excavate it and take advantage of its deep sleep by throwing Dirt Explosives into the Gui Cave, I think it might just work!”

Old Man Liu got a bit excited at this point, even wanting to replace the first plan with going after that Spirit Turtle.

Qin Ming cool him down and reminded, “The turtle shell has an astonishing defense, the Dirt Explosives may not be able to smash it.

Most importantly, with the lake being so big, how are we going to find it, are we supposed to dig forever?”

“You are right.

Spiritual creatures are generally stronger than their Alien Species counterparts, and a Third level Mutant Spirit Turtle is likely not to be blastable, especially since thisspecies has long legs and when mad, is not slow.”

Old Man Liu calmed down, even negating it himself, that Spirit Turtle has been a Third level Mutant since twenty years ago, it must be more powerful now.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming’s expression changed immediately, feeling something was amiss, and said, “Old man, don’t tell me the information you provided is all from twenty years ago?”

“Don’t worry, I’m not that unreliable.” Old Man Liu shook his head to deny.

He then suggested another alternative plan, which was to use Dirt Explosives to blast monkeys, utilize the massive explosion to scare all the long-armed monkeys away, and then raid their den for Spiritual Material.

Qin Ming looked at him with a strange expression, all these plans were so unconventional?

Old Man Liu said, “Frankly, I do want to wipe out that nest of monkeys, they’re too hateful!”

Qin Ming asked, “Were you bullied by monkeys?

Aren’t they twenty-something miles away?

They’re far from here.”

Old Man Liu knocked on the table, saying, “To remove nuisances for the people, do you understand?

Over by Emei Town, people entering the mountains often get their prey stolen by long-armed monkeys, they even drag people away.”

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming knew right away that he must have encountered those monkeys and was still holding a grudge!

“I think it’s unreliable, what if we don’t scare the long-armed monkeys away and instead provoke their ferocity, causing them to chase us all over the mountains?

That would be bad, monkeys are very vengeful.”

Old Man Liu said, “Although not very stable, it’s still feasible.

Thirty years ago, someone had made a huge commotion, diverted the tiger away from the mountain successfully raiding the Mountain Lord’s den, using a similar method.”

“That fierce?

Really impressive!” Qin Ming couldn’t help but exclaim, that Mountain Lord was even more formidable than the old bears of Golden Chicken and the old bulls of Wild Bull Ridge.

Old Man Liu shook his head, “The Mountain Lord holds grudges even more.

Although it wasn’t as powerful then as it is now, it was very ferocious.

Three months after the incident, it entered Yinteng Town in the dead of night and tore those two men to shreds.”

Qin Ming had just thought those two were impressive, his thoughts also started to stir, but now was forced to calm down, saying, “I think these alternative plans are unreliable, the first one is suitable, let’s head into the mountain!”

As the two of them stepped out the door, they saw people from Jinji Ridge entering the village, using walking chickens as mounts, too conspicuous, there was no other like it.

“There are still usable people from Jinji Ridge?

How come they didn’t all die cleanly in Dalie Valley?” Old Man Liu whispered.

After these two arrived, all the villagers were very nervous, after all, Jinji Ridge used to be bandits, even after being recruited, their nature hadn’t changed much.

“We are here to check, how many newcomers are in your village, come and register,” a middle-aged man on a walking chicken said.

Everyone felt a sinking feeling, could it be they were seeking revenge?

Because everyone knew, this time Jinji Ridge and the Sanyan Sect’s people who entered Dalie Valley were nearly wiped out, in contrast, not a single mountain villager died, all had escaped.

Given Jinji Ridge’s usual way of doing things, it was very possible that they would vent their frustrations on the surrounding villages that had newcomers who escaped back.

Xu Yueping spoke in a low voice, “Some larger villages have been checked since yesterday.”

Qin Ming said, “What does Jinji Ridge’s inability to escape have to do with us?

They are already in a strong position, yet not as good as the oppressed mountain villagers at escaping, who’s to blame?”

Old Man Liu said, “They won’t reason with you, that’s the way of the world.

If you are strong enough, even for ordinary events like weddings or funerals, high-level Alien Species from the mountains might personally attend your feast.

If you’re weak, even monkeys will bully you when you go up the mountain, people still need to rely on their own strength.”

He added: “The old creatures deep in the mountains and the high-ranking officials of Chixia City have had dealings with each other.

Don’t disbelieve it, an old mountain patrol I knew once told me so in person.”

After registering, the two people from Jinji Ridge did not stay long and immediately left.

“I suspect they wanted to replenish their numbers,” said Xu Yueping.

Everyone agreed that this made sense, especially since Jinji Ridge had suffered heavy losses and urgently needed new recruits.

Old Man Liu said, “Trouble is coming; besides needing more people, they will surely demand wealth.

Recruiting new troops and buying horses won’t be cheap.”

The people felt a heavy burden, as the bandits from Jinji Ridge had always put great pressure on the surrounding villages, a situation that never seemed to change.

Qin Ming and Old Man Liu went into the mountains, and along the way, both expressed their discomfort, cursing the people of Jinji Ridge as thieves who had been the same from past till now.

“I really want to wipe out Jinji Ridge!” Qin Ming said.

“Stop talking nonsense, it could bring disaster if someone overhears us,” Old Man Liu stopped him.

“Eh, by the way, old man, you said that the High level Creatures deep in the mountains closely interact with the upper echelons of Chixia City.

Is that true or not?”

Old Man Liu replied, “Someone did say that, but I don’t know if it’s true.”

“Then why did the Dalie Valley massacre happen?” Qin Ming looked ahead at the quiet area where many humans and Alien Species had died three days ago, the valley still filled with the stench of blood.

“I suspect, the Alien Species attacking Dalie Valley might signify a tacit agreement between both high-ranking sides.”

Qin Ming looked at him, asking, “Why do you say that?”

Old Man Liu explained, “The number of Alien Species in the mountains has been increasing, but territory has not, it needs to be thinned out.

The big families in Chixia City have grown rapidly over the years, with monopolistic industries according to the traveling merchants.

It wouldn’t be right for the City Lord to suppress them directly, but with the Dalie Valley bloodshed occurring, it seems reasonable now.”

“Uncle Liu, you really dare to think!” Qin Ming glanced sideways at him.

“In my younger days, I traveled to Chixia City.

I understand that place well and have seen the world.

If that famous beast in the mountains hadn’t torn apart my foundation with one swipe, I wouldn’t be in such a plight.”

The two continued their conversation while walking.

After entering deep into the mountains for about ten miles, Old Man Liu said, “Let’s not talk anymore.

We can’t mention those old creatures in the mountains here.”

After walking a bit further, the two arrived in a primeval forest and then reached the foot of a mountain.

“There’s a Fire Spring in this mountain belly,” Old Man Liu said, his intimate knowledge of the mountain allowing him to be aware of things unknown to others.

Moreover, Old Man Liu had already scoped out the route, knowing that the Fire Spring here, affected by magnetic disturbances in the mountain, had become dimmer, which was one of the reasons he chose to make his move here.

The mountain harbored a nest of Silver headed Ants, which heavily depended on the Fire Spring.

Without it, their activity would drastically decrease in severe cold, making them lethargic.

From Blood Snake to Spirit Turtle, to long-armed monkeys, and now the Silver headed Ants here, Old Man Liu’s targets were all rather unusual.

But Qin Ming had to admit that this was indeed the best option available.

Silver headed Ants are fierce, with a nest amount horrifying in number, and winter was the best time to deal with them.

Another key reason is that there can only be one Ant Queen in the entire nest, although there’s spare Spiritual Material that could cause the other Silver headed Ants to become a Third level Mutant, the Ant Queen does not allow it.

Old Man Liu said, “We’ll need to get some steel plates to protect our bodies, just wearing armor isn’t safe.

A bite from a Silver headed Ant won’t poison us to death, but half of our body will feel numb for a long time.

If overwhelmed by them, we could be bitten to death.”

These Silver headed Ants, much stronger than the black ants Xu Yueping used for brewing tea, ranged in size from a baby’s fist to that of a chicken egg, incredibly fierce.

They are named after the silver streaks on their heads.

One amazing thing about these ants is that they brew Honey Wine, collecting pollen, wild fruits, and even raiding grains from mountains, then using the Spiritual essence from the Fire Spring, they produce a liquid that tastes like wine yet like honey.

They can extract the essence from Honey Wine over and over, allowing it to ferment again, repeatedly refined and fermented, eventually creating a special Spiritual Material, a pale golden liquid.

In some large cities, the Honey Wine brewed by Silver headed Ants is shockingly expensive, not to mention the repeatedly refined essence fermented into Spiritual Material.

Qin Ming and Old Man Liu, following the fissures in the mountain, looked inside; his scalp tingling, the dim Fire Spring side was full of large ants, overwhelming for anyone with a fear of dense patterns, the silver streaks emitting a cold sheen, the ants immobile at the moment.

The two silently retreated, starting to observe the nearby terrain to plan escape routes.

Over the next two days, they constantly entered and exited the mountain, bringing in necessary supplies.

“This is it, all or nothing!” Amidst the icy landscape, their breaths visible, they prepared to act.

Qin Ming’s mind was unsettled, not so much from nervousness or fear, but his thoughts were turbulent.

If he succeeded here, after the third rebirth, memories from his shattered past would reappear—what would he see this time?