The Lord of Glimmer plants the sun in the eternal night.

In the dim night, towering mountains stand tall, covered with larch, hazel, and birch trees. Although the tree species are different, most of them have lost their leaves, leaving only bare branches bearing the white snow.

Jiang Chuan and Old Man Liu trudged through the snow, crossing several mountains before approaching the Blood Bamboo Forest.

Jiang Chuan had never set foot in this area before; it was no longer considered outside the mountains.

Numerous mountain beasts roamed the route, and the cries of strange birds echoed continuously.

But once we got here, apart from the howling wind, all other sounds disappeared.

"This area is extremely dangerous. During spring and summer, no one within several miles dares to approach, let alone the various creatures in the mountains," Old Liu whispered a reminder.

"Um."

Jiang Chuan nodded.

It's easy to imagine, considering it's still a harsh winter with snow everywhere.

When the fire springs are active and all things revive, and the blood snakes begin to come out to hunt, this area will probably become even quieter.

"The scenery is quite beautiful."

The two stood outside a valley, and Jiang Chuan looked into it and exclaimed in admiration.

The blood bamboo forest is located in the valley. Although it was dark, the bamboo forest could still be clearly seen standing tall in the wind and snow.

Although it doesn't emit light, its fiery red color naturally sets it apart from the surrounding colors, and covered in white snow makes it breathtakingly beautiful.

"Is this blood bamboo considered a mutated plant?" Jiang Chuan asked.

Old Liu, a man of wide experience, glanced at the scene and said:

"No, these plants are just rooted in the fire spring. They look extraordinary, but they are still ordinary plants. Over the years, they have limited absorption of the fire spring's spiritual energy."

"So that means the fire hasn't actually gone out yet?"

Jiang Chuan said thoughtfully.

The valley is full of blood bamboo, which grows into a dense forest like red coral in the snow. At this moment, the bamboo stalks and leaves are all red.

Therefore, he believed that there should still be embers beneath the permafrost, and the fire springs here might not have been completely extinguished.

"It should be."

After hearing Jiang Chuan's conjecture, Old Man Liu also realized this possibility:

"Let's go around and see what happens."

After saying that, the two began to walk around, observe the surrounding terrain, climb up a high slope, and look down from the top.

Sure enough, there was a very faint blush in the center of the valley.

"Uncle Liu, wait here for a moment, I'll be right back."

Seeing this, Jiang Chuan thought for a moment, greeted Old Man Liu, and then turned and left.

Arriving at an area teeming with strange birds and mountain beasts, they caught a wild rabbit in the snow.

"Let Captain Rabbit scout ahead for us first."

When Jiang Chuan returned, he handed the plump wild rabbit to Old Man Liu.

Old Liu is a sixth-level armored warrior. His innate ability is to increase his own strength, making him quite powerful.

Jiang Chuan had him stand on a high slope and threw the snow rabbit towards the reddish area in the center of the valley.

Although Old Liu was old, his aim was still incredibly accurate.

With a thud, the large rabbit was smashed into the thick snow, splashing up a large amount of snowflakes, not far from the embers of the fire spring.

Almost simultaneously.

A red line shot out, sweeping across the snow and rushing towards the rabbit at an astonishing speed, instantly piercing its body.

Jiang Chuan and Old Man Liu were highly focused, their eyes glued to the scene.

Without a doubt, it was a blood snake, more than three feet long.

"Damn it, this snake has really mutated twice! It can fly now!"

"For a long time, they only used poison to wreak havoc, but now they can shoot like iron arrows, instantly piercing the enemy's body!"

"It seems we can no longer call it Blood Serpent; we'll have to change it to Arrow Serpent!"

Old Liu advised the two of them to flee immediately and not try to take advantage of the situation.

"It is indeed dangerous. This is probably a relatively small snake. If a snake several meters long were to appear, it would be even more dangerous." Jiang Chuan frowned.

He was also considering whether to just let it go.

but...

Could we dig up some blood bamboo to cultivate?

Digging on the outside shouldn't disturb those blood snakes in the center, right?

Jiang Chuan scanned the entire valley, wondering where to begin.

"Hmm? There are more experts?"

It was at this moment that Jiang Chuan made a discovery: a group of people were approaching from a distance.

"Xiao Jiang, another group of people is here for the spirit creatures in the Blood Bamboo Forest."

Old Liu noticed this too, and quickly pulled Jiang Chuan into the darkness.

"Let them explore the area again."

Taking advantage of their elevated position, the two hid behind a large tree that would require several people to encircle and observed the situation.

Sure enough, the group of ten people headed towards the blood bamboo forest. They moved nimbly and swiftly, reaching the outside of the valley in the blink of an eye.

Jiang Chuan, whose eyesight was far superior to before, could still vaguely make out their appearances. They were all young and strong, wearing gleaming armor and wielding long, cold-looking swords.

They coordinated perfectly, moving in unison as they sped along, and even their postures of gripping their knives in alertness were very similar when they reached the valley entrance.

"They look like mountain patrollers."

Jiang Chuan learned that they were from a patrol team from another area.

Because their armor was exactly the same as that worn by Qin Kexing, Fang Suo, and others, the only difference was that they were carrying knives.

This was likely a deliberate choice on their part; a long knife is obviously more effective than an iron spear when dealing with snakes.

A group of people took off their packs at the dimly lit valley entrance. Inside were some bottles and jars, and they began to mix something.

"The patrolmen are really experienced! Maybe they can actually wipe out this nest of blood snakes."

Old Liu squinted as he observed, and could barely guess what they were up to.

Soon after, another figure came running from the dense forest and quickly appeared at the valley entrance, and everyone looked at him.

The man, panting heavily, said, "Qin Kexing's people are all gone from the stronghold, and it's quite strange; several wooden houses on the mountain have disappeared."

Those present all showed surprise upon hearing this.

"Their stronghold was closer to where we came from, so there's no way we wouldn't have discovered it. Where did they go? Could they have been wiped out by the One-Eyed Deer? Or did they just happen to run into some powerful monster passing by their stronghold last night?"

"Recently, I've heard that blood bears have been attacking people in this area. That's really strange."

The group leader was very authoritative. As soon as he spoke, everyone quieted down. He said, "Let's not worry about that now. I was a little worried when we sneaked into their patrol area to hunt blood snakes. I was afraid that if we were discovered, they would fight us to the death. Now that we have one less potential threat, it's better."

"Even the heavens are on our side!" one of the patrolmen said.

Jiang Chuan watched them from behind.

Although I couldn't hear clearly, judging from the movements, it seemed like they were about to take action.

The allure of the blood snake was indeed strong enough that even patrol teams from other areas came to join in the fun.

However, the more people the better; who knows, they might actually be able to find a bargain.

Continue to observe...

The group silently entered the valley and stopped. Their plan was very thorough. The most powerful individual leader went forward first.

He carried various bottles and jars on his body and traveled alone. When he was far away, he would ignite the contents of some of the jars, which emitted thick yellow smoke, and throw them all into the fire.

There were also some bottles and jars containing medicinal powder and liquid, which he tossed accurately, and they fell into the dim red glow.

Jiang Chuan watched this scene, completely baffled.

"What is that? Realgar powder?"

"Are you sure such a fierce snake would be afraid of this thing?"