In the faint light of early dawn, towering mountains stood one after another. Larches, hazel trees, birches, and other species covered the slopes. The types of trees varied, but most had already shed their leaves, leaving only bare branches supporting layers of white snow.
Qin Ming walked through the snow, crossing several mountains and drawing near the Blood Bamboo Forest. He had never stepped into this area before, as it was no longer considered part of the mountain's outer zone.
Along the way, there had been many mountain beasts and strange birds calling out. But upon arriving here, aside from the howling cold wind, all the other sounds vanished.
Qin Ming immediately sensed the danger of the Blood Bamboo Forest. All kinds of mountain creatures avoided this place, rarely appearing here. And this was still the icy heart of winter. If the Fire Spring were active and life had awakened, the area would become even more eerily silent once the blood snakes emerged to hunt.
"The scenery is beautiful," Qin Ming stood outside a mountain valley, looking in.
The Blood Bamboo Forest lay within the valley. Though the light was dim, he could still clearly see the vast grove of bamboo standing tall in the wind and snow. The vivid red bamboo covered in white snow was breathtaking.
The valley was filled with blood bamboo. It was stunning. The entire plant—from stalks to leaves—glowed with a red luster, resembling coral forests sprouting from the snow.
"This is an incredible place," Qin Ming marveled. Normally, no one dared to come here just to admire the view. The blood snakes' fearsome reputation kept even patrollers at bay.
He didn't see any steam or glow from the Fire Spring in the valley, as it seemed to have gone out. However, Qin Ming didn't step into the valley. He believed there were still embers beneath the frozen earth. The Fire Spring likely hadn't died out completely.
He circled the area, studying the terrain, then climbed a high slope to observe from above. Sure enough, he spotted a faint reddish glow at the very center of the valley.
After a moment of thought, Qin Ming turned and left the quiet valley, heading to a nearby area with more birds and mountain beasts. There, in the snow, he caught a rabbit.
"Sorry," he said, lifting the plump snow hare. He returned to the area near the Blood Bamboo Forest, stood on the high slope, and with a powerful throw, hurled the rabbit toward the glowing red center of the valley.
Thud! The large rabbit landed in the thick snow with an explosion of powder, not far from the embers of the Fire Spring. Almost instantly, a red streak shot out, skimming across the snow with astonishing speed and piercing the rabbit's body in a flash.
Qin Ming remained hyper-focused, golden ripples appearing faintly across his skin. His eyes were locked on the valley's glowing center.
There was no doubt that it was a blood snake. Just over three feet long, its body was indeed as hard as forged iron. It could briefly leap into the air and strike like an iron arrow, piercing its target.
"It truly is a dangerous creature. And that's just a relatively small one. If a several-meter-long snake appears, it'll be much harder to deal with," Qin Ming frowned.
What worried him most was that even in such freezing weather, the blood snake was still active, and it could move through the snow briefly. That made things very tricky.
Soon, he saw several red streaks emerging from the glowing area. These snakes were also only a few feet long. This time, they didn't strike like arrows but slithered along the snow toward the rabbit, their hard heads piercing into its body.
These intellectual snakes couldn't be judged by normal standards. They weren't as afraid of the icy cold as one might think. They didn't freeze up easily.
"What am I doing, giving you a winter supplement? A surprise meal?" Qin Ming muttered, watching the blood snakes, clearly feasting on the rabbit's warm blood.
These snakes were named for their relationship with blood, and their feeding habits reflected that. Unlike ordinary snakes that swallowed prey whole, these drank blood. They fed very quickly. Perhaps unwilling to remain in the snow too long and then slithered back toward the dim Fire Spring.
"Hmm?" Qin Ming noticed that a couple of snakes didn't return right away. Instead, they moved rapidly through the bamboo grove as if searching for something. At the same time, he saw a larger snakehead emerge from the reddish glow, its blood-red tongue flicking in and out, sensing the surroundings.
"A bit troublesome." Qin Ming could tell this spirit creature was not only powerful but extremely alert, far more difficult to deal with than other mutated beasts.
He considered whether he could poison them—offering tainted blood as bait—but judging by the big snake's behavior, it wasn't feeding, and the smaller ones always sampled first. So that plan didn't seem viable.
He watched the two smaller snakes—three to four feet long—as they rapidly circled the grove, then noticeably slowed. Their patrol complete, they returned to the glowing core.
"The cold still affects them quite a bit. That's good news." Qin Ming descended the slope and followed the path back.
He planned to transport various weapons here. Once he entered the Blood Bamboo Forest, he'd have to layer himself in three or four sets of the patrol group's armor. He didn't want to get ambushed by a blood snake. If its iron-like head pierced even a bit of the skin, not even a rebirther could survive.
It didn't take long for him to dig out and bring over iron spears, armor, and more, hiding them near the Blood Bamboo Forest.
"When it comes to fighting blood snakes, Fu Entao's sharp, long blade is better than this black steel hammer."
Heavy weapons worked well against large, mutated beasts as they could crush skulls in one blow. But against slender snakes, they weren't nearly as effective as a good blade.
Qin Ming wondered when the Fire Spring would extinguish fully. The longer it stayed dormant, the weaker the blood snakes would become. But his time was limited. High-ranking leaders and top-tier creatures in the mountains were about to conclude their final negotiations in the coming days.