Chapter 111: spiritual energy Archipelago

The map in Qin Ming’s hand was purchased from Gu Qing.

It cost him a hundred spirit stones.

After all, such a comprehensive map was still rare on the market.

It detailed not only geography but also human settlements, resources, climate, and the distribution of spiritual veins with perfect clarity.

This map was the result of years of continuous updates and refinement by the Mirror Snow Pavilion.

The map was large, encompassing not only the territory of Wei State but also the surrounding Jin State, Wu State, and Liang State.

The four states formed a quadrilateral standoff, with Wei State positioned at the southernmost point.

Qin Ming stared closely, his gaze landing on the southernmost tip of Wei State—the Yunze Wilds—where a tiny mark indicated Qingyang Marketplace.

He then traced his eyes northward.

At the border of the four states, a massive mountain range split them in an “X” shape.

This was the Beast Roar Mountain Range, where dangers lurked everywhere, with all kinds of demonic beasts emerging endlessly, and even third-rank great demons said to dwell within.

At every passable mountain gap, fortresses and immortal marketplaces were established along the route.

These scattered marketplaces linked together like guideposts, ultimately pointing to a single junction of the four states, where the largest city was marked, clearly labeled with four red characters: “Canghai Xiancheng.”

This place was the sanctuary of cultivators without sects.

Within Wei, Jin, Liang, and Wu States, each had a Jin Dan elder ancestor suppressing all, serving as the ceiling of combat power.

All other factions had to submit.

Even the source of Foundation Establishment elixirs was monopolized by them; major sects feasted while countless cultivators without sects struggled even to sip the broth, surviving only in the cracks.

Because this region was a no-man’s-land, and backed by the rich resources of the Beast Roar Mountain Range, it rapidly became the center for cultivators without sects to trade and interact.

Later, the True Person Canghai, himself a cultivator without a sect, successfully formed a Jin Dan here and established an immortal city.

He attracted applicants from all sides, including second-rank master alchemists who, given raw materials, could produce Foundation Establishment elixirs.

Thus,

Canghai Xiancheng became the only place where cultivators without sects had any chance of obtaining a Foundation Establishment elixir, earning its reputation as their sanctuary.

According to Gu Qing, the largest branch of the Mirror Snow Pavilion was located in Canghai Xiancheng, and that was also her destination.

Having learned from this experience, he naturally would not return to such a place teeming with all manner of unsavory characters.

Moreover, within the immortal city, Jin Dan True Persons scanned the area with their powerful spiritual senses—some secrets could be exposed without escape.

Thus, it was far from an ideal place for farming, cultivating the Ancient Wood Longevity Art.

His current cultivation principle was to avoid conflict and combat, to grow steadily, farm, and manage resources to strengthen himself.

This was a place riddled with entrenched powers and frequent struggles.

He should not involve himself too deeply.

Over the years, Qin Ming had gathered much intelligence from Gu Qing and studied the Wei State territories in depth—he already had a plan.

His gaze continued moving northward, finally settling on a place named “spiritual energy Qundao.”

This was a vast cluster of islands, crisscrossed by numerous rivers and lakes, forming a dense network of waterways.

These waterways connected at the border of the four states.

The spiritual energy Qundao lay within the jurisdiction of the Zhao family, a cultivation clan.

The Zhao family belonged to one of the three cultivation clans among Wei State’s seven major powers that possessed a False Jin Dan True Person.

This region was famed for its spirit rice and spirit fish.

They were common delicacies in many restaurants.

Yet spiritual energy Qundao possessed only first-rank spiritual veins; second-rank veins were scarce and scattered, so major powers had no interest in it.

They had no desire to compete for resources here—perfect for his steady farming and growth.

Qin Ming planned to wait until he reached Qi Refining peak before heading to Canghai Xiancheng to secure a Foundation Establishment elixir.

North of spiritual energy Qundao, the waters flowed into a perpetual veil of strange mist, which even Jin Dan spiritual senses could not penetrate—those who entered never returned.

Legend said that beyond this strange mist, to the north, lay the “Great Jin Immortal Dynasty,” a land even richer in resources.

There, Nascent Soul True Lords, only seen in ancient texts, ruled and unified the four states.

…

Qin Ming’s spiritual sense barrier and blood qi barrier had both met the requirements.

Only one final barrier remained: the magic power barrier.

With his four-element pseudo-aptitude, without fully cultivating the “Ultimate Wood Body” or possessing a Foundation Establishment elixir,

Even with the Foundation Establishment spiritual item “Heavenly Fire Spirit Liquid” obtained from Friend Feng, his probability of failure remained high.

For this journey to spiritual energy Qundao, he would naturally rent spiritual farmland above second-rank veins.

For a second-rank spirit cultivator like him, this would suffice.

When he cultivated his life-spirit plant and practiced the Ancient Wood Longevity Art, higher-rank spiritual veins were always better.

Since no better location was currently available, he could barely accept a second-rank vein.

After all, his life-spirit plant, the Black Vine, had low requirements for growth environments—so long as it had blood pearls. Of course, if opportunities arose later, he would still seek a higher-rank spiritual vein for it.

That would be icing on the cake.

Also,

Should Qin Ming develop in spiritual energy Qundao, he would not be far from Canghai Xiancheng.

He would still maintain close contact with Gu Qing.

In a sense, she was now the key link through which Qin Ming obtained upper-tier cultivation world intelligence.

She was also an important connection in his network.

Having considered his future destination, Qin Ming took out a Yunling Pill and sat in meditation.

The next day.

Qin Ming found Gu Qing and informed her of his intended destination.

“spiritual energy Qundao?”

Gu Qing showed a hint of surprise, then added: “It’s actually not bad for you, Qin Daoist, to develop in spiritual energy Qundao—it’s not far from us, and we can look out for each other.”

“Moreover, the land here is fertile and quite suitable for your spirit plant cultivation.”

“By the way, Qin Daoist, do you know why this place is called spiritual energy Qundao?” Gu Qing smiled, posing the question with a hint of testing.

Qin Ming gave a wry smile. “Forgive my ignorance—I cannot recall the reason at the moment.”

“Legend says that when these islands first formed, a bird unknowingly carried spirit rice seeds from somewhere and dropped them onto the islands, causing an unknown second-rank middle-grade spirit rice to grow—extremely rare, named spiritual energy Rice.”

“This spirit rice once became wildly popular, but later no one could cultivate it successfully, and it gradually vanished from this region—now it’s nearly impossible to find.” Gu Qing explained with regret.

Qin Ming suddenly understood: “So that’s the origin—I had no idea there was such a story.”

“By the way, our pavilion’s spirit vessel departs in two days. Do you still need to prepare anything?” Gu Qing asked.

Qin Ming shook his head. “I’m fully prepared—ready to depart at any time.”

“The journey to Canghai Xiancheng will take considerable time. Our pavilion will hold an auction aboard the vessel—you may attend,” Gu Qing said slowly.

“Of course, if you have items to sell, you may entrust them to me for auction.”

(End of Chapter)