Chapter 123: Lord of Moon-Watching Island

「Huh? This—」

「Why did he suddenly withdraw?」

「What is Zhao Chanzhen up to?」

The cultivators present were all stunned.

After speaking, Zhao Chanzhen strode out of the arena, face dark, not even glancing back.

Two Foundation Establishment elders from the Zhao family approached, frowning: «Chanzhen, what exactly happened?»

«Fuck! That kid has Yin Thunder Substances!»

Upon hearing this, the two Foundation Establishment elders could no longer remain composed.

Not just him—even if they themselves, as Foundation Establishment cultivators, faced such a thing, they’d either die or be stripped to the bone. Their gaze toward Qin Ming now held a faint, almost imperceptible trace of wariness.

«How could he have Yin Thunder Substances? Isn’t that a restricted resource of the Mirror Snow Pavilion?» The two elders looked puzzled.

«It’s too late now—the duel rules never forbade its use.»

With that, Zhao Chanzhen turned back and gave Qin Ming a long, deep look before swiftly leaving with the Zhao clan.

…

Li Yuanqing also looked surprised; he stepped forward with a smile and said to Qin Ming: «Congratulations, Young Master Qin, you’ve won and now hold rights to the Spirit Island!»

He hadn’t expected to be able to curb the Zhao family’s arrogance so effectively.

After all, their conduct had been far too domineering.

Then,

Qin Ming paid fifteen thousand spirit stones and signed the spirit contract presented by Li Yuanqing, bearing the magical seals of the Seventy-Two Scatter Alliance and the Zhao family.

This signified that the Spirit Island now belonged entirely to Qin Ming.

After the Scatter Alliance completed registration, they asked Qin Ming:

«Young Master Qin, now that this Spirit Island is yours, what name will you give it?»

Qin Ming paused briefly, then replied: «Since it lies on the Moon-Watching Lake, call it ‘Moon-Watching Island.’»

The registrar smiled and recorded the island’s new name.

With ownership settled, the bidding concluded.

Those who came for the spectacle were disappointed and quickly departed.

Many itinerant cultivators approached Qin Ming to offer congratulations and make contact.

Qin Ming exchanged polite pleasantries with them, then saw them off.

When everyone had left,

«Congratulations, Young Master Qin, on becoming Lord of Moon-Watching Island!» Wu Jiang walked over with a grin, bowing respectfully. «I sincerely congratulate you.»

He never imagined that the random cultivator he met aboard the spirit vessel had risen to become an island lord.

The island’s spiritual vein even surpassed that of his own family’s in quality.

Qin Ming, in good spirits, smiled lightly: «Thanks to the information you provided, Wu Dao You .»

«Heh, nothing much—I never expected you to be so powerful that even Zhao Chanzhen had to yield.» Wu Jiang spoke with genuine admiration.

Then his eyes darted as he thought of something.

«By the way, Young Master Qin, now that you’ve secured Moon-Watching Island, what are your plans next?»

«For instance—building a cultivation cave and opening spirit fields.»

Qin Ming guessed his intent and smoothly replied: «Do you have time, Wu Dao You ? I need someone to build a cave on the island—if you know any skilled people, I’d appreciate your help.»

«And of course, your labor fee won’t be forgotten.»

Wu Jiang’s eyes lit up with delight; he patted his chest: «Young Master Qin, rest assured—I’ll handle everything.»

«I know plenty of skilled craftsmen—they’ll satisfy you completely!»

«Though… the initial purchase of construction materials requires some spirit stones—I’m just wondering—» Wu Jiang scratched his head, slightly embarrassed.

Qin Ming asked: «How many spirit stones?»

«About five hundred—I’ll refund any excess or cover any shortfall!» Wu Jiang held up five fingers.

Qin Ming immediately took five hundred spirit stones from his storage pouch and handed them over.

After accepting the task,

Wu Jiang hurried off to organize workers. Qin Ming, having thought it through, decided that since he intended to settle here long-term to cultivate his life-spirit plants and practice the Ancient Wood Immortality Art,

he might as well properly repair the island’s cave.

After all,

Qin Ming had other preparations to make.

His immediate priority was to purchase a level-two defensive array.

Next, he needed to buy spirit seeds and seedlings of the spirit plants he planned to cultivate: spirit rice, purple-gold bamboo, and Spirit-Summoning Tea.

Qin Ming thoroughly surveyed the Spirit Island’s environment.

He had already decided which spirit plants to cultivate.

He also needed to find a secret method to subjugate and refine a heavenly spirit flame—to tame and assimilate the blue flame he’d obtained from the ancient ruins.

After all, he no longer had access to earth fire or a pill-refining chamber.

How he would refine pills in the future remained a problem.

If he could subjugate and refine that second-rank heavenly spirit flame, his progress in pill refinement would greatly advance.

He might even break through to second-rank Pill Master.

Once he reached the peak of Qi Refining, if he couldn’t acquire a Foundation Establishment Pill,

he could try gathering materials to refine one himself.

The Foundation Establishment Pill formula wasn’t hard to obtain.

And as far as he knew, there was more than one such formula.

The difficulty lay in sourcing the main ingredients and rare auxiliary materials—monopolized by major sects.

Itinerant cultivators struggled to gather them.

Such a strategic resource as the Foundation Establishment Pill would never be easily released by sects or clans.

Even in Canghai Xiancheng, Foundation Establishment Pills occasionally appeared at major auctions, fiercely contested by powerful factions—hard to win.

Even if one succeeded in bidding, it was far too conspicuous under everyone’s eyes.

Whether one could escape safely afterward remained a major concern.

A year ago, Qin Ming had asked Gu Qingzhao about Foundation Establishment Pills and learned she couldn’t provide one.

The Foundation Establishment Pill she used had been directly granted by the Mirror Snow Pavilion’s headquarters.

An hour later,

Qin Ming rode his Spirit Light Shuttle back to the Tianhe Bazaar.

This bazaar also housed a Mirror Snow Pavilion branch.

He stepped into a shop with a simple, ancient design.

Like the others, it had nine floors.

A middle-aged female cultivator, plump and composed, greeted him with a professional smile: «Welcome, Dao You . Are you here to dine or purchase cultivation resources?»

Qin Ming nodded and got straight to the point: «I wish to purchase a level-two defensive array, and a batch of level-two spirit plant seeds.»

«Specifically: Spirit-Residing Rice, Purple-Gold Bamboo, and Spirit-Summoning Tea.»

The woman was startled, then calmed—anyone asking for level-two seeds must be a level-two spirit cultivator.

She immediately led Qin Ming respectfully to a private room on the fourth floor and asked: «May I ask your surname, Dao You ? Do you hold Guibin status with our Pavilion?»

«I am Qin.»

«I’m afraid, Young Master Qin, that resources above level-two require approval from higher-ups.»

Qin Ming immediately pulled out the honorary guest-consultant token given to him by Gu Qingzhao and handed it over.

The woman examined the jade token, her expression turning solemn: «Ah! You are Guest-Consultant Qin—my apologies for the oversight!»

«As an honorary guest-consultant of our Pavilion, there is no issue—all resources will be prioritized for you.»

«Though—»

«We can procure the seedlings of Spirit-Summoning Tea and Purple-Gold Bamboo.»

«But as for Spirit-Residing Rice seeds… the upper echelons haven’t had stock for a long time.»

(End of Chapter)