Chapter 27: High-Level Confrontation

Xu Yueping spoke up, "Xiao Qin, do you want to go take a look?"

"Have Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing gone?" Qin Ming asked. Although he was curious about the top-tier heteromorphs in the great mountains, when weighing his options, he naturally prioritized safety for the sake of prudence.

Xu Yueping said, "They’ve already passed our village entrance and headed over. They got permission from the higher-ups, saying it's fine as long as they don't get too close."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Old Man Liu suddenly perked up, being the first to express his stance.

Qin Ming didn't object. Since Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and the others were going, there was no need to worry excessively.

A moment later, the group set out and soon reached the outskirts of the great mountains. This area was already filled with many Reborn; figures moved about, all craning their necks in anticipation, desperate to see the high-level figures of Crimson Cloud City make their appearance.

Qin Ming stared at a certain donkey, remaining silent. This donkey looked quite similar to the one he had hunted in the mountains a few days ago; surely it wasn't some descendant of that one?

A pure white yellow weasel sat cross-legged on the donkey's back, resembling an enlightened monk. It was silent and exceptionally composed, with a pair of eyes that seemed deep enough to see through the affairs of the world.

Qin Ming visualized the Silent Void, masking his vitality and using "Harmonizing with Light" to naturally blend into the crowd.

"They're here!" someone whispered. Under the night sky, a figure appeared at the edge of the snow-covered land, drawing closer and gradually becoming clear.

"This must be one of our Crimson Cloud City's higher-ups, right?" Even the nobles couldn't stay calm, discussing in low voices as they gazed into the distance.

Soon, the area fell silent again, because the figure was yet another heteromorph.

It approached with an elegant gait, neither hurried nor slow, arriving at the very front of the mountain terrain.

It was actually a tabby cat, about three feet long and weighing dozens of pounds. It didn't walk on all fours but approached standing upright.

Qin Ming was somewhat speechless. It seemed high-level heteromorphs weren't all that exotic; one could see such creatures in daily life.

Furthermore, tabby cats and yellow weasels were natural enemies. Would these two start fighting in the mountains?

Many people shared this thought, but none dared to speak, keeping a tense silence.

"I thought top-tier heteromorphs would all be like the Moon Bug..." Old Man Liu grumbled indistinctly.

He had guarded the great mountains for decades and heard too many legends—of terrifying Mountain Lords, of rare birds that had stood tall for two hundred years—each more mysterious than the last. Yet, none of them had appeared.

"They wouldn't... be having internal strife, would they?" Someone noticed something unusual.

The large tabby cat, walking elegantly, and the old yellow weasel on the donkey's back were at each other's throats, looking very much like they were about to fight.

On the snow, the large tabby cat stood still, carrying a crimson longsword on its back that was as long as its upright height. The sword had already automatically sprung half a foot out of its scabbard. For a moment, crimson light radiated in all directions, looking like the legendary sunset clouds, staining the nearby snow red.

The snow-white yellow weasel was no longer calm. It jumped off the donkey's back and patted the old donkey, sending it off to wait in the distance.

The snow-white old yellow weasel stood there itself, its upper limbs no different from human arms. One "hand" was tucked behind its back, while the "hand" in front was twining a string of prayer beads.

Dressed in pure white, it looked up at the sky, leisurely and ethereal. As it slowly turned the beads, a faint white mist flowed out, pushing back against the opposite crimson haze.

Everyone was a bit dazed. These two creatures weren't on the same side? They were confronting each other!

"One of them should be a human, but the path they took is different, so their physical form gradually stopped being human," someone whispered.

Hearing this, the people present felt quite unsettled. Those paths were very far from them.

And right now, they couldn't even tell which one was human and which was a high-level creature from the mountains.

There were many people at the scene, including a large number of Mountain Patrollers who had rushed over after hearing the news. Although they guarded the endless mountains, they only stayed on the periphery and could never see top-tier heteromorphs; they had come today just to broaden their horizons.

Crimson Cloud City had also sent many Reborn, young and old. Some were from noble families, others from powerful organizations; a sea of people stretched as far as the eye could see.

Brave Reborn from the nearby villages and towns had also come to watch.

In the dense forest opposite them, a large number of creatures also appeared—even more than on this side. They were all from strange races, looking particularly intimidating in the dim forest. Some were as red as fire, while others were shrouded in purple mist, making a cacophony that was much louder than the discussions outside.

"Be careful, the other side might cause trouble!" Cao Long spoke up, his three-meter-tall body covered in polished armor, his hand already gripping a sharp great lance.

"Isn't this supposed to be the final negotiation? Are the two sides still going to fight?" someone asked, sounding confused.

Mu Qing, whose entire body was covered by a black cloak, spoke, "We won't start trouble, but if those heteromorphs dare to cross the line, we'll fight them. The higher-ups will back us up."

At the same time, other organizations, great clans from Crimson Cloud City, and experts among the Mountain Patrollers were also sending voice transmissions, telling others to fight if things went wrong.

"It's been a long time since I've seen such a big scene. Is it about to start? I remember the last large-scale Mountain Sweeping Operation was thirty years ago," Old Man Liu said, slightly excited as his right hand gripped his thick-backed saber.

He and Qin Ming’s group had arrived relatively late and were standing toward the back; relatively speaking, it should be safer.

However, Qin Ming didn't dare to be careless. Since there was a consensus on their side and such words had been spoken, he also made preparations, holding his Long-handled Purplegold Hammer in his hand.

With the appearance of a tall and burly figure, all the commotion was suppressed. Both the heteromorphs in the forest and the Reborn on the snow fell silent.

No one saw how he appeared; he was suddenly standing right there at the tense scene.

He was about ten meters tall, with an incredibly massive physique. Wearing ancient-looking armor and holding a black spear in one hand, he carried an invisible, powerful field that intimidated the heteromorphs among the mountains and valleys, and even gave the Reborn on the snow goosebumps.

Fortunately, that invisible field quickly dissipated; otherwise, it would have been suffocating for everyone.

The man had sharp, well-defined features and looked to be in his forties. With such a massive physique, people naturally thought of the Giant Spirit Path.

"This must be some big figure from our Crimson Cloud City, but why haven't I seen him before?" someone wondered.

Even core members of the nobility like Cao Long and Wei Zhirou were talking and asking around, as they hadn't seen him either.

Regardless, this was a very pure human; he couldn't be a heteromorph.

This man with the black war spear had his black hair blowing in the wind, his face showing absolute grit. He stood beside the snow-white old yellow weasel, together facing the tabby cat with the crimson sword on its back.

With his arrival, the crimson sword—which had automatically unsheathed and dyed the surroundings red like the sunset—let out bursts of light hums, as if warning of the newcomer's power and danger.

An old Mountain Patroller spoke, "The situation is clear now. The ten-meter-tall burly man is an expert invited by our Crimson Cloud City, so Senior Huang must also be one of ours. Because the path he chose is different, he transformed into an alternative true form."

People couldn't help but nod. Clearly, the tabby cat with the crimson longsword was from the depths of the mountains.

In the clearing, the ten-meter-tall giant and the one-foot-tall white weasel twirling its beads stood together. The contrast was so extreme that many people wanted to comment on it, but they didn't dare to speak and could only keep their mouths shut.

"Brother Wei, Wei Mo, we haven't seen each other for twenty years. You've been traveling through deep mountains and marshes, cultivation near forbidden lands—have you been well?" A calm voice rang out, and very suddenly. No one saw it clearly, but another figure appeared on the snow.

This was also a human male, looking to be in his early forties, dressed in white. He was very elegant and handsome, and just by standing there, he seemed to merge with the color of the snow.

He stood beside the tabby cat with the crimson sword, looking at the ten-meter-tall human male across from him.

This time, many people on the snow were completely bewildered, their mouths agape. They truly couldn't understand which side was the high-level leadership and allies of Crimson Cloud City.

The giant called Wei Mo nodded, and his dark red-gold armor let out a series of clanging sounds. He spoke, "Indeed, twenty years have passed. Ling Xu, you are showing signs of age as well."

People were puzzled. Why did Wei Mo say the white-clothed man showed signs of age when he looked to be in the prime of his life? It seemed people at this level had different standards of judgment.

At the same time, some people from Crimson Cloud City cried out in surprise.

"Ling Xu... he's the City Lord!"

Qin Ming, Old Man Liu, and the others were also stunned several times, but now they finally understood which side was the high-level beings of the mountains and which was the high-level leadership of Crimson Cloud City.

In just this short period, people's understanding had taken several sharp turns.

Ling Xu, the elegant middle-aged man in white, nodded and said, "Who can avoid growing old? No one can resist the years, not even that tiny handful of the most mysterious top-tier beings."

He then looked at Wei Mo and said, "You chose to go deep into the night fog, wandering outside the endless forbidden lands, and you're not coming back, are you?"

"No," Wei Mo said, offering only a single word.

"Understandable," Ling Xu nodded.

Many people had solemn expressions. A few older people had heard of Wei Mo's name and knew how powerful he had been back then. In the past, his body was far taller than it was now; had he initiated a higher level of change?

"Why is he standing on the side of the heteromorphs from the mountain depths?" a youth from Crimson Cloud City couldn't help but ask the elder beside him in a low voice.

The old man whispered, "When one can't find a path and loses hope, they walk into the vast, endless night. So, among the high-level beings in the deep mountains and marshes, within that vast darkness, some of those mysterious heteromorphs aren't necessarily monsters—they were humans in their early years!"

Hearing this, Qin Ming also fell into a daze.

"Let's sit and talk," Crimson Cloud City Lord Ling Xu said, making a gesture of invitation.

Four beings of four very different forms sat on the snow and began the final negotiation.

However, the people realized they couldn't hear their voices.

This was a private meeting of the higher-ups; clearly, they wouldn't be allowed to listen. Allowing them to watch quietly from a distance was already considered a chance for them to see the world.

One could see that the scene was not peaceful. Crimson haze seethed and white mist swirled. The clothes, armor, and fur of the four beings were all shaking violently; there seemed to be a terrifying force field between them.

The large tabby cat even drew its sword directly. The crimson light shone so brightly it was blinding, like a red sun rising from the ground.

And that pure white old yellow weasel seemed quite angered, unable to maintain its previous calm. One hand turned the prayer beads while the other lightly patted the snow to express its dissatisfaction.

Instantly, everyone was horrified because they felt an earthquake. A massive amount of accumulated snow on the ground was shaken into the air.

Many saw clearly that it had only given a light pat, not a real strike.

However, this indeed heightened the tension of the situation.

Furthermore, as various heteromorphs in the dense forest began to roar, several other terrifying high-level beings emerged from the great mountains.

Some stood on the peaks, watching coldly; others flapped their wings and hovered in the sky, looking down.

One bug was particularly special because it was so brilliant that it illuminated several nearby peaks, and it had come to the very edge of the mountains.

"The Moon Bug!" many people cried out.

However, to counter it from outside the mountains, a powerful being also appeared in the night sky. A large green bird, flowing with brilliant colors, carried a figure in feathered robes. That person stared at the Moon Bug from high above, possessing an incredibly ethereal and otherworldly temperament that instantly countered the terrifying aura expanding from the Moon Bug.

As Qin Ming looked at the figure on the large green bird, he felt a pain in his head. It wasn't because of the person, but because of those wide feathered robes, which hit his heart like a bolt of lightning, splitting open his dust-covered subconscious and instantly bringing back images that revealed the bloody events from when he was fourteen.