Chapter 149: The Ritual Began
One month quietly passed, and the slaughter outside Ant Dwelling Ridge caused no small stir in the Black Market.
After all, the vast majority of people had never even seen someone use a Thunder Type-3 Revolver in person—just hearing about it alone was a first.
Especially for hunters who had no Beast Tamer qualifications and could only rely on firearms and martial arts to survive in the wilderness, an indistinct goal had quietly appeared in their hearts.
However, for Zhou Ming, he knew nothing of the rumors outside, because all of his energy was focused on advancing his class and becoming a Professional Beast Tamer.
In December’s winter, the northern wilderness was already covered by a thick layer of snow.
In a low-lying area, several figures were cautiously searching around.
They wore garments sewn from fur, with an outer layer of white cloth wrapped around them to conceal their bodies.
Within the Alliance’s internal sphere of influence, although the level and distribution density of Ferocious Beasts were far inferior to those outside the Alliance’s territory,
during the coldest months of winter, ordinary hunters would generally choose to rest.
Only a small number of hunters who accepted high-bounty commissions would enter the wilderness to carry out missions.
Yet the few people before them were equipped in an exceptionally shabby manner. Aside from several old rifles, they had no other powerful weapons—not even the most basic protective suits.
“Uncle Hu, th-that… what is that?”
Within the team, a young man with a youthful face suddenly pointed into the distance and shouted, his voice filled with fear and panic.
The others, upon hearing this, immediately tightened their grips on their rifles and followed the direction he pointed with their gazes.
On the vast white snowfield, tens of thousands of Ironthread Snakes were slowly crawling toward a distant valley amid the cold winter.
Ironthread Snakes were not uncommon in the wilderness, but gathering in such numbers had already exceeded normal circumstances.
Moreover, Ironthread Snakes were merely ordinary mutated snakes. Unlike Ferocious Beast–level serpents, they could not ignore the low temperatures brought by winter.
“Follow them and take a look.”
The middle-aged man called Uncle Hu, his weather-beaten face shifting expressions back and forth, decisively made his choice.
“Could it be dangerous?”
The young man who had shouted earlier spoke with a hint of worry, clearly reluctant to take the risk of investigating the anomaly ahead.
The others, after hearing this, shared the same thoughts as the young man.
“What’s there to be afraid of? They’re just Ironthread Snakes—they can’t outrun us.”
“If we can discover a spiritual item or some other treasure, we might even have a chance to get rid of our Wildfolk status.”
Upon hearing this, the fear in the hearts of the few—including the young man—vanished without a trace.
“Uncle Hu, we’ll listen to you.”
“That’s right. If we can get rid of our Wildfolk status, it’s worth risking our lives.”
When the words “Wildfolk” were mentioned, resentment immediately filled their hearts.
Although they were Wildfolk, they had not committed grave crimes. Instead, it was their ancestors who had violated Alliance laws and were ultimately exiled into the wilderness.
As descendants of exiled criminals, they were born as Wildfolk, struggling their entire lives to survive in the wilderness.
Not only did they have to guard against sneak attacks by Ferocious Beasts, they also had to face harm from their own kind.
When trading with people from the bases, they would also suffer various forms of oppression.
A high-quality mutated animal hide could be worth thousands of Alliance Coins within a base, yet they could exchange it for at most a dozen jin of grain.
As for medicine, weapons, and other items, they had to expend even more resources to obtain them.
If they wanted to shed their Wildfolk status, their only hope was to obtain extremely precious treasures and offer them to major powers, relying on those forces to reenter the Alliance.
And those major powers, in order to obtain treasures in a steady stream, would not go back on their word regarding Wildfolk shedding their status.
It was precisely because of this that when Uncle Hu mentioned escaping their Wildfolk identity, the others were willing to gamble with their lives.
Without further discussion, the few tightened the white cloth around themselves and immediately followed the snake swarm into the valley.
Inside the valley, densely packed Ironthread Snakes gathered from all directions, eventually entering a rock cave in the steep cliff face.
At the entrance inside the cave, there was a blood pool three meters long and wide, and two meters deep.
The Ironthread Snakes that entered the cave hesitated not at all, plunging directly into the blood pool and ultimately melting into puddles of blood.
And directly behind the blood pool, a naked human figure sat cross-legged on the ground—it was Zhou Ming, who had been missing for an entire month.
At this moment, the ground beneath him had already been polished smooth, as if it were paved with floor tiles.
On the smooth rock surface, dense grooves had been carved with tools. A liquid concocted from Purple-ringed Octopus Ink along with other auxiliary materials was slowly flowing within these special circuit-like grooves.
At the nodal points of the grooves, various materials and Source Crystals had already been placed.
The class advancement ritual had already begun, and the boiling blood pool was its symbol.
When the Ironthread Snakes filled the blood pool, the long-prepared Zhou Ming immediately took out the Worm Potion and drank it in one gulp.
The slick potion slid down his throat, and he immediately felt every cell within his body become active, as the potion began to influence the internal genetic structure.
At the same time, Silver Scale, Inkband, Vermilion Jade, and the other Ironthread Snakes all appeared around him.
Under the influence of the Secret Technique · Gathering Sand, one thousand and eight Ironthread Snakes fused together, ultimately forming a twenty-meter-long purple-scaled giant python with a metallic sheen.
At the head of the giant python, one long and two short black bone spikes protruded, connecting as one, resembling a crown.
At this moment, the Snake Swarm Will—namely Zhou Ming himself—completely controlled the giant python.
He directly manipulated the giant python to coil tightly around himself, the massive python head hovering above him like a magnificent canopy.
As the class advancement ritual formally activated, the Source Crystals began to radiate golden light, the liquid within the grooves flowed rapidly, and a mysterious force emerged.
From the boiling blood pool, a stream of blood-colored energy was drawn out, flowing along the grooves and merging with the previous liquid.
Immediately afterward, blood light rose from the ground, enveloping Zhou Ming and the giant python like an enormous blood-colored cocoon.
Using the Snake Swarm Will to command the giant python, and relying on the two Secret Techniques—Blood Descendant and Gathering Sand—the class advancement ritual began to drive the fusion of Zhou Ming and the giant python.
For a time, blood light flickered within the cave, a mysterious and noble aura spread, and changes originating from the very essence of life began to occur.
Outside the cave, the Ironthread Snakes that had not yet melted into blood raised their heads, guarding something amid the cold wind.
Any existence that approached the cave would be met with their death-defying defense.
In the distance, Uncle Hu stared fixedly at the cave entrance where blood light appeared. The aura emanating from within made them all afraid to approach.
“Uncle Hu, what should we do?”
With Ironthread Snakes everywhere around, it was impossible for them to enter the cave with their strength—let alone the terrifying aura within.
“Should we go back to the camp and call for help?”
With a treasure so close yet unattainable, the youthful-faced young man immediately made a suggestion.
“Shut up. If we tell the people in the camp, would any benefits still come to us?”
“Then what should we do?”
The middle-aged man called Uncle Hu pondered for a moment, then decisively made his choice.
“We’ll report this directly to the Ironfang Gang. The master behind them is the Qi Family of Qinghui Base.”
The Ironfang Gang was a faction that secretly conducted trades with their camp, serving as the Qi Family’s black glove within Qinghui Base.
Among the forces they had contact with, only the Qi Family could help them shed their Wildfolk status.
“Alright, we’ll do it that way.”
The others immediately agreed, then quietly withdrew from the valley and rushed toward the direction of Qinghui Base.