Whether it was genuine or not, everyone praised Qin Mu for a long time. As for the idea of competing with Qin Mu, no one had it. Not to mention that they were not Confucian scholars, this poem was not something an ordinary person could write.
Qin Mu was a little embarrassed by the praise, since he hadn't written the poem himself. So he suggested going up the hillside to look out into the distance.
The hillside wasn't high, and it didn't take the group long to climb it.
"Gentlemen! There is something I don't understand, and I'm not sure if I should ask it?" After finding a good spot to look out into the distance, Qin Mu cupped his hands and asked.
"Brother Qin, please feel free to ask," Baili Bing said with a smile.
"I've heard about your exchange meeting. One part of it was a transaction, and the other was a contest to seize control of the mountain range, is that right?"
“Yes! That’s right! In fact, strictly speaking, we should be the ones taking it from those bald guys,” Baili Bing said.
"Oh! Why is that? And what did you take?" Qin Mu asked curiously.
"Outside Yumen Pass, the Buddhist community is dominant, a fact known to many. To avoid alienating the world, the Buddhist community established this once-every-ten-year exchange meeting, dividing the route into several paths into the mountains, and requiring a competition. As for the resources in these mountains, they mainly include Tian Shan snow lotus, Kunlun jade essence, and minerals and medicinal herbs produced from the vast mountains," Baili Bing continued.
Qin Mu then realized that this was something the Buddhist family had no choice but to create. Presumably, the ten great families of the Northwest had come up with a way to charge a fee because they dared not stop the people of the world.
After thinking for a moment, Qin Mu still asked, somewhat puzzled, "These two mountain ranges are so vast, how could the Buddhist family alone possibly block them off?"
“There are many ways to enter the two mountain ranges, but they are also home to many poisonous insects and ferocious beasts, as well as steep cliffs and precipices. Not only are they difficult to pass through, but even if you do enter, you will not survive. Only the places that we and the Buddhist family regularly clear are relatively safe,” Baili Bing explained.
“That’s right! Even wild beasts know to seek good fortune and avoid danger, so they generally won’t set foot in places occupied by people. Over time, they will carve out some safe paths.” Nangong Ling nodded and continued.
“Since Brother Qin is traveling, why not come with us? After the exchange meeting, we can go into the mountains together to seek opportunities,” Ouyang Jing said with a smile.
"Looking for those medicinal herbs? You must have reaped quite a harvest over the years, right? I wonder if we could purchase some?" Qin Mu tentatively inquired.
“Brother Qin should know that the fresher the medicinal herbs, the better. These good herbs are basically used to cultivate the family’s younger generation. The so-called search for opportunities is because there are many meteorites from outer space in the Northwest, especially in those remote high mountains, which is why they are called opportunities,” Nangong Ling said with a smile.
Qin Mu knew that meteorites were the primary material for crafting Heavenly-grade weapons and equipment. However, meteorites were rare, let alone those large enough to be used to forge weapons. Finding a meteorite was only one aspect; other rare auxiliary materials were also needed, and only under the forging of a master could Heavenly-grade weapons and equipment be successfully crafted. That's right, it was only possible to forge Heavenly-grade weapons and equipment.
Qin Mu's understanding of meteorites is probably unmatched by many. Although the two worlds are different, the principles are still the same. These extraterrestrial meteorites, after passing through the resistance of the atmosphere, are inherently small when they reach Earth. Moreover, different minerals contain different compositions, so forging them into weapons is probably not so easy.
Another world is the Northwest Gobi Desert, which is one of the places that produces the most meteorites. It is not surprising that they fell into the nearby mountains, after all, mountains are closer to the sky than flat land.
Qin Mu, who also knew forging, was quite tempted when he heard this. Just as he was about to agree, he saw a group of dark figures approaching the hillside in the distance.
The distance was too great to make out their faces, but they were a group of men in black riding warhorses. Tianshui Lake was outside the city, not exactly remote, but not many people came here either. This group headed straight for the hillside, clearly aiming for Qin Mu's group. Qin Mu couldn't help but look at the others.
Upon looking down, Qin Mu immediately noticed something was wrong; everyone looked down with serious expressions.
As the men in black approached the foot of the mountain, many of them leaped from their horses and pounced on the people guarding the horses at the foot of the mountain.
They were clearly up to no good. Seeing the situation was not good, Bu Mang and some guards, who were a little below the hillside, also retreated to Qin Mu's side.
Qin Mu believed that these people were not after him. They didn't say that he was using an alias and that his trip was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Seeing Qin Mu's gaze fall on him, Ouyang Jing, the one who had initiated the trip, hurriedly explained, "These people were definitely not arranged by me!"
Baili Bing added, "Brother Qin, I assure you, these people are definitely not from the four major families of Tianshui."
"The enemy is coming on strong, we should avoid their advance for now and return to the city to investigate!" Nangong Ling said anxiously.
After thinking about it for a moment, Qin Mu believed them. After all, these people had no reason to harm him and had dragged so many others into it.
Qin Mu glanced around meaningfully and said, "I hope so, but we can't escape! Our horses are all down the mountain! Running away would just give them a chance to catch up!"
"Send a distress signal! We'll fight them to the death here!" Nangong Ling said in a deep voice.
As Nangong Ling finished speaking, a guard silently raised his hand and fired a hidden arrow.
"Beep!"
A piercing sound suddenly rang out, echoing in the sky and lingering for a long time.
"Brother Qin, don't worry. This is an emergency distress signal from the four major families of Tianshui. The sound can be heard for ten miles. Not only will people nearby come to the rescue, but they will also send a message to the city," Baili Bing reassured him.
The group set up their formation in a relatively narrow spot on the hillside, waiting for the men in black to arrive.
"Caw caw! A bunch of juniors, you actually didn't run away, you have some nerve!" A voice like a quack rang out, and then a person wearing a cloak lifted the cloak to reveal a face as ugly as tree bark.
"Old Man of the Dead Tree!" Nangong Ling and Ouyang Jing exclaimed simultaneously.
"Temujin! What do you want to do! How dare you attack us!" Nangong Ling asked through gritted teeth, her face ashen.
"Temujin! No wonder his attire looks so familiar!" Qin Mu thought to himself, a thought flashing through his mind.
"Hehe! Gentlemen, don't worry. We don't want to offend your great families. We just want to invite you to visit Temujin. We hope you won't make things difficult for this old man, otherwise, it would be bad if someone got hurt." The withered old man not only had an unpleasant voice, but his laughter was even uglier. Ouyang Qian couldn't help but frown and turn her head away.
"What do you mean? Are you trying to kidnap me?" Nangong Ling asked with a grim face. As she spoke, her expression became even more unpleasant, and she glared at him angrily, asking, "Did those bald monks send you?"
"Don't put it so harshly! We're just doing this for money!" the old man withered tree said as he led his men closer.
“Whatever they offer, we’ll offer double!” Ouyang Jing said in a deep voice.
“Brother Ouyang, stop talking! So Temujin is a member of the Buddhist family! No wonder they haven’t been able to wipe him out all these years! He must have gone to hide outside the Great Wall for some reason!” Baili Bing said calmly, raising his hand to stop him.
"You know too much!" Qin Mu muttered to himself. Even if he knew, there was no need to say it in front of others! Wasn't this forcing them to shut him up?
"Kill!" Sure enough! As Baili Bing finished speaking, the old man withered wood had a face as stern as the bark of a withered tree, and he waved his hand to give the order.
At the old man's command, dozens of men in black, their bodies radiating a bloodthirsty aura, charged forward.
Not only that, a man in black waved his hand and threw out two iron balls. The iron balls landed and turned into a 1.5-meter-tall iron man, which stomped on the ground and ran towards the crowd.
Another man in black leaped into the air, tossing dozens of chess pieces and a chessboard that spun rapidly in the sky.
As the chessboard turned, a faint mist began to appear around them. Qin Mu frowned, knowing that the newcomer was using an array plate to seal off the surroundings to prevent anyone from escaping.
"Waaah! Waaah!" A sound like a woman crying rang out, which made people feel irritated.
"The traitor of the Mohist school, Tie Ou Xianglicheng; the howling ghost Chen Baiwan; the murderous chess player, the black-clad scholar." Baili Bing read out the names of the men in black who had made the move in a deep voice.
"Kill!" Nangong Ling waved his hand, and a short sword in the shape of a Miao sword appeared. He slashed at the iron puppet with it.
"Suppress!" Ouyang Jingbian waved his hands repeatedly, and a chessboard and dozens of chess pieces appeared, trapping the man in black in front of him.
"Woo woo! Woo!" A melodious sound rang out as Ouyang Qian held a white jade flute in her hand and began to play.
Qin Mu didn't just stand by and watch; he also waved his hands, channeling his powerful energy into the weapons in everyone's hands.
A long-handled goose feather saber appeared in Baili Rou's hand. She leaped up and slashed at another iron puppet that rushed forward.
Bai Libing held a calligraphy brush the size of a wine glass in his hand and began to write stroke by stroke in the air.
As soon as they made their move, both sides lunged at each other with extraordinary ferocity. Qin Mu discovered that the men in black were significantly stronger than those who had tried to assassinate him last time. Looking around, there wasn't a single one of them who was below the Martial Master level.
"Damn it! If it weren't for the experts going beyond the Great Wall, how could these bastards be allowed to run rampant!" Nangong Ling thought to himself through gritted teeth as he dealt with the iron puppet.
For safety reasons, the ten great families all arranged for many people to arrive outside the pass ahead of time to make arrangements.
The man in black had clearly figured out the strength of Baili Bing and the others, and his attacks were very targeted, ensuring that each of them had an opponent to deal with.
"Gah gah!!" The old man with the withered tree chuckled as he walked forward, his laughter putting considerable pressure on the others.
Qin Mu was surprised that Baili Bing and the others all had items in their mustard seed space, so he didn't have to worry about being exposed. He put on the set of bronze armor he obtained from the secret realm.
He hadn't used this set of bronze equipment, except for the bronze sword, for a long time. He brought it out this time because he had made a new discovery.
Last time, when he faced his enemy in the rain, he used his spiritual energy to kill the gutless man. Although it was partly due to the surprise attack, the fact that the bronze sword easily broke through the gutless man's protective spiritual energy was quite unusual.
In the past, when practicing swordsmanship and fighting enemies, I mostly used my righteous energy, especially spiritual energy. This was the first time I had killed an enemy.
After that, Qin Mu conducted an experiment. The bronze suit had a hidden secret. As he put it on and circulated his spiritual energy, the bronze suit, which was originally somewhat mottled and rusty, became brand new, with faint light floating on it.
"So it turns out that one needs to reach a certain level of strength to discover the unusual nature of this equipment." Qin Mu thought to himself as he glanced down.
"Who are you?" The old man withered wood asked, slightly surprised, as he looked at the armored figure that appeared before him. He hadn't noticed Qin Mu wearing armor when he repelled Baili Rou.
The old man with the withered tree asked cautiously while observing his surroundings. He was quite certain that there hadn't been a single person wearing armor just now.
"I'm your grandpa!" Qin Mu said in a deep voice.
Upon hearing this, the old man withered wood was furious, for it had been so many years since anyone had dared to curse him to his face.
"Playing tricks! You're asking for death!" the old man withered wood cursed, raising his hand to strike. Although he was confident, he was also wary, and even in anger, he did not choose to get close.
A wisp of azure spiritual energy shot towards Qin Mu, like a wind dragon.
Qin Mu raised his hand and swung his sword. The sword flashed upwards, shattering the spiritual energy wind dragon.
"Heh heh! Nothing special!" Seeing Qin Mu's protective spiritual energy flickering, the withered old man chuckled with relief, then began to form hand seals.
This was based on experience; according to the magnitude of the fluctuations in Qin Mu's protective spiritual energy, he deduced that Qin Mu's strength was not as great as his own.
He chuckled inwardly at his overly cautious nature. Although these young people were skilled, they were far inferior to him, and it was unlikely that they would have any top-tier experts protecting them at all times.
Qin Mu, having also tested the old man's strength, felt a slight tightening in his chest and focused intently on his every move. Defeating the opponent would be difficult, but stalling for time was not a problem. Now, he could only hope that, as Baili Bing and the others had said, reinforcements would arrive.
The old man withered wood made hand seals and pushed his hands towards Qin Mu. A huge beast head appeared, its blood-red maw wide open, and it charged forward.
Faced with a secret technique attack, the best defense is of course the righteous energy. Qin Mu retreated rapidly while repeatedly pointing out his Qi fingers. Then, with a wave of his hand, he formed a barrier of righteous energy in front of him.
"A practitioner of both Confucianism and Taoism! Who are you? You're not from Tianshui!" the withered old man asked in surprise.
"Hehe! Is it difficult to cultivate both Confucianism and Taoism? Why can't I be from Tianshui?" Qin Mu asked with a smile. He was happy to chat, since he was just stalling for time anyway.
"Whether Tianshui exists or not, I know very well. Boy, considering you're a genius, surrender and I guarantee I won't take your life," the withered old man said confidently.
"Heh! Ugly! But quite beautiful!" Qin Mu sneered. Surrender? No way! He wouldn't let his life be controlled by others.
Seeing that Qin Mu wouldn't agree, the old man withered tree stopped thinking about it and decided to arrest him first, since he knew he couldn't possibly let him go.
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