Chapter 125: Storms Over Wei Kingdom

Gu Qingzhao raised her cup and smiled faintly.

"If Brother Qin speaks up, then of course there's no problem—I'll have my people gather as much as possible."

"Then thank you very much! I'll buy it all, whatever quantity there is." Qin Ming raised his cup in toast to Gu Qingzhao and drained it in one gulp.

As for Qin Ming's Foundation Establishment elixir formula.

It had recently been returned to him by Su Yuqing through Jingxue Pavilion, the letter opening with thanks for the five supreme Shen Yuan fruits that Qin Ming had given him.

She lavished him with praise without hesitation.

She then briefly mentioned her recent situation in the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.

She informed Qin Ming that she had successfully established her Foundation and advanced to Second-Rank Alchemy Master.

At the end of the letter, she attached her insights on brewing Foundation Establishment elixirs, along with a mainstream formula.

In addition, there were two other formulas for elixirs that enhance Foundation Establishment cultivation.

"Could it be… Brother Qin intends to brew his own Foundation Establishment elixir?" the nearby Shopkeeper Liao exclaimed in shock.

Qin Ming could only smile bitterly: "What else can I do? A poor wandering cultivator like me can't obtain Foundation Establishment elixirs through any other means."

"I can only try brewing a few myself."

"I don't have much confidence in it."

Gu Qingzhao was deeply impressed by his bold idea.

"Brother Qin must think carefully—materials and spirit stones required to brew Foundation Establishment elixirs are an absolutely terrifying sum."

"Still, I believe your alchemical talent makes it not impossible."

Since meeting Qin Ming, she had seen him shatter her understanding time and again.

So she felt he might truly succeed.

If Qin Ming advanced to Second-Rank Alchemy Master and could brew Foundation Establishment elixirs,

the benefits to Jingxue Pavilion would be obvious.

Gu Qingzhao took another sip of spirit wine, her beautiful eyes flickering as she said: "By the way, I heard from Long Yi that Brother Qin purchased Shen Shen tea and young Zijin bamboo from her?"

Qin Ming froze in surprise.

So the woman shopkeeper at Jingxue Pavilion's Tianhe Market stall was called Long Yi.

"That's right—I plan to cultivate these two spiritual plants," Qin Ming nodded.

"If they mature in the future, could you sell me some?"

"Of course, no problem."

Gu Qingzhao's expression brightened, then she remembered something and added regretfully: "I also heard you're seeking spiritual energy rice—but that rice is nearly impossible to find now."

"No matter—I've already gotten some leads from Brother Wu," Qin Ming said dismissively.

"Oh? That's excellent!" Gu Qingzhao was slightly surprised and smiled faintly.

Qin Ming's plan was:

Besides asking Gu Qingzhao to help gather materials for brewing Foundation Establishment elixirs,

he himself would also search—after all, two paths always move faster than one.

Because he needed to prepare multiple batches of materials at once.

After all, no one could guarantee success on the first try.

His cooperation with Jingxue Pavilion was extremely close and reliable.

So entrusting Gu Qingzhao with the search, he had full confidence.

"By the way, I have an important piece of news to share with Brother Qin," Gu Qingzhao suddenly said.

Qin Ming perked up—he knew she was about to reveal the latest developments among the upper echelons of the immortal world.

"Sister Gu, please go ahead."

"The current situation is this: Lingyu Gate and Lei Yuanzong have begun their next round of rivalry. Among the Seven Great Powers, three major clans and numerous third-tier factions have fully sided with Lingyu Gate."

"What? Aren't the Seven Great Powers Lei Yuanzong's vassals? How could they defect?" Qin Ming was stunned.

Gu Qingzhao's eyebrows furrowed slightly: "It's tied to Lingyu Gate's newly promoted Jin Dan, Yuwen Hong."

"A Tian Linggen forming a Jin Dan is no small matter—I suspect Yuwen Hong's Jin Dan quality and strength far exceed those of peers."

"I've even heard Yuwen Hong fought a battle with Lei Yuanzong's long-established Jin Dan Ancestor—and neither won."

"In the Wei Kingdom's immortal world, only one of these two dominant powers can reign supreme—it's only a matter of time before they settle who's master."

"Also, Zhao Family among the Seven Great Powers has chosen to side with Lingyu Gate," Qin Ming said, astonished.

The situation had taken an unexpected turn.

When Jin Dan sects clash, little fish like us get crushed to ash in an instant.

Lucky I escaped in time! Gu Qingzhao continued:

"Another piece of news: after the ancient ruins in Yunhuang Great Swamp opened, the inheritance within was seized by the demonic cultivator Lin Zi."

"And within a short time, he broke through to late Foundation Establishment."

"Not only did his cultivation surge, but his demonic arts became incredibly formidable—rarely matched among Foundation Establishment cultivators."

"He's now showing signs of becoming a demonic warlord."

"But… I heard that before his breakthrough, Lin Zi was hunting down two Foundation Establishment Elders from Lingyu Gate and Shennong Gate."

"Those two Elders died utterly, their bodies left in pieces."

"Later, Lin Zi himself was severely wounded and vanished for a long time—when he reappeared, he had reached late Foundation Establishment."

Qin Ming's face remained calm, his expression unchanged.

He feigned close attention, as if the matter had nothing to do with him.

Still, he was genuinely surprised to hear Lin Zi had reached late Foundation Establishment.

He guessed that the final black aura Lin Zi had opened in the ruins' herb garden

must have been an extremely powerful demonic inheritance.

After half a day of discussion with Gu Qingzhao and confirming future cooperation,

Gu Qingzhao and Liao the Shopkeeper took their leave.

…

Afterwards,

Qin Ming summoned Wu Jiang and instructed him to help search for auxiliary materials needed to brew Foundation Establishment elixirs.

Brewing Foundation Establishment elixirs requires over thirty auxiliary ingredients; aside from a few rare ones, others are interchangeable with those used in other Second-Rank elixirs.

They might appear on the market—Qin Ming told him to immediately send a message if he spotted any.

Wu Jiang took the list Qin Ming handed him, scratched his head, and couldn't fathom why he needed these herbs.

He quickly went off to work.

Next,

Qin Ming took out the young Shen Shen tea and Zijin bamboo plants.

Following the guidelines in the spiritual plant manual,

he planted them one by one beneath the main peak, where the spiritual energy environment matched a Second-Rank Mid-grade spiritual vein.

Cultivating spiritual plants here would yield twice the results.

He had purchased only a dozen or so seedlings of each type—Second-Rank spiritual plant seeds were scarce and expensive.

These were the very ones Long Yi of Jingxue Pavilion had gone to great lengths to transfer from the upper-level store.

But it was enough.

Once he unlocked the 【Ripen】 term, Qin Ming could turn these dozens of plants into a vast grove.

Finally,

he released the Black Vine, his life-linked spiritual plant, coiled around his arm, and planted it in an open patch of ground.

The Blood-Draining Poison Vine seemed to sense the environmental shift.

With abundant spiritual energy flowing in, its vines danced wildly, responding joyfully.

It rooted itself in the spirit soil and greedily absorbed the spiritual vein's energy.

One thread after another of plant essence flowed steadily into Qin Ming's body.

Qin Ming felt unprecedented comfort.

A thought struck him: what if he fed the "Ten Thousand Trees Mother Qi" he obtained from the Plant Illusion Realm to it? What effect would that produce? He acted on impulse.

Qin Ming formed a hand seal, drew out a strand of Ten Thousand Trees Mother Qi, and cast it toward the Black Vine.

(End of Chapter)