Chapter 127: The Demon

Qin Ming turned toward the sound and saw that the speaker was Mu Yuanshan of Qilian Mountain.

He continued: "Brother Qin, these two top-grade Divine Essence Fruits are each worth roughly six thousand spirit stones, so two total twelve thousand spirit stones; add fifty jin of spiritual energy rice, and at auction price that's another seven thousand two hundred spirit stones—so the two items together are worth about nineteen thousand spirit stones."

"And my second-stage mid-tier White-Armed White Ape's essence blood is equally rare and hard to come by."

"Know that this beast's strength rivals Foundation Establishment late stage; back then, my old ancestor and several other Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivators joined forces barely to slay it."

"You must understand the value of its essence blood, Brother Qin?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming frowned.

The other's words held merit—essence blood was not ordinary blood, but the concentrated essence of a demonic beast's bloodline; one beast yielded only a small vial, sometimes merely a few drops.

The essence blood of a White-Armed White Ape rivaling Foundation Establishment late stage was naturally priceless.

Yet on the other hand, Qin Ming's spiritual energy rice was equally scarce—there was no other source on the market.

And it directly boosts the cultivation of Foundation Establishment cultivators—that's undeniable.

"Alright, I'll add another ten jin of spiritual energy rice—what do you say, Brother Mu?" Qin Ming said after a moment's thought.

Mu Yuanshan's eyes gleamed with greed as he replied: "Add thirty jin of spiritual energy rice, and I'll make the trade with you, Brother Qin."

"Add twenty jin—that's all I have." Qin Ming stated firmly.

To obtain the high-grade ape beast's essence blood, he chose to concede a step.

After all, he still had hundreds of jin of spiritual energy rice in his storage bag.

Mu Yuanshan had been waiting for this—his face lit up with joy. "Then it's settled, Brother Qin!"

Qin Ming reached into his storage bag again and took out another twenty jin of spiritual energy rice, placing it on the table alongside the top-grade Divine Essence Fruits and handing them to Mu Yuanshan.

Mu Yuanshan also withdrew a delicate jade vial and handed it to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming took the vial, broke its seal, and glanced inside—immediately, a thick, brutal, bloody aura surged toward him.

Inside, a primate's essence spirit roared uncontrollably.

He concealed the essence blood without expression, secretly elated—he had gone through great trouble, but finally obtained this high-grade ape beast's essence blood.

The exchange continued.

All manner of valuable items kept appearing—these were the accumulated treasures of the Foundation Establishment cultivators present, rarely shown in public.

Qin Ming also exchanged two more items with other cultivators.

Half a day passed.

The exchange was nearing its end.

Xue Zhili instructed his servants to set up several tables of wine and food.

"Hehehe, this exchange has concluded successfully—come, come, everyone, let's drink together!"

Amid clinking cups and goblets, the Foundation Establishment cultivators grew noticeably more familiar with one another.

"Brother Qin, I've heard that besides your cultivation of spirit plants and alchemy, your combat skills are also formidable—have you reconsidered joining our Seventy-Two Islands San Alliance?" Mu Yuanshan toasted Qin Ming, hinting subtly.

"With your current cultivation and reputation, Lord Huo and the others would surely offer you a fine position."

Qin Ming sipped his spirit wine and replied bluntly: "Qin Mou is used to solitude—I have no interest."

After three rounds of wine.

Everyone bid farewell to Xue Zhili and departed.

Xue Zhili promised them that if future opportunities arose, he would arrange more such exchanges among fellow cultivators, for mutual benefit.

Qin Ming left Liuyun Biyuan, took leave of Gu Qingzhao, and set off toward Wangyue Island.

He had gained much this time, and his primary goal had been achieved.

Qin Ming was riding his Spirit Light Flyer, heading toward the spiritual energy Archipelago.

Suddenly.

His powerful spiritual sense detected three cultivators gathered together a li away, conversing.

It was Mu Yuanshan, Miao Renke, and Gu Huai.

His powerful spiritual sense easily pierced through the soundproofing array they had set up.

'Why are these three together?' Qin Ming thought.

Yet he had no interest in probing their secrets and prepared to detour away.

Just as Qin Ming was about to turn and change direction.

He heard Mu Yuanshan respectfully address the green-robed elder Gu Huai: "Rest assured, Lord Shangshi—the Seventy-Two Islands San Alliance's movements are fully under our control. Huo Qianqiu and his faction, backed by Lei Yuanzong, are preparing to strike soon—here is their detailed plan. Please review it, Lord Shangshi."

Gu Huai took the jade slip, immersed his spiritual sense in its contents, frowned slightly, and spoke in a hoarse voice: "Hmm… troublesome. I didn't expect the San Alliance could mobilize such a massive force at once—I must notify the Zhao family immediately and urge them to respond."

"You've done well. When Lingyu Men unifies the Wei Kingdom's Immortal Realm, your two families will have a place among us."

Miao Renke's face brightened; he immediately bowed deeply: "Lei Yuanzong's fate is spent. Master Yuwen's divine might is unmatched—unifying the Wei Kingdom is the inevitable tide."

Gu Huai nodded in satisfaction.

"Holy shit! Double agent?!" Qin Ming was stunned.

This Gu Huai was clearly a senior elder of Lingyu Men—and of high rank.

At that moment.

Qin Ming felt a bad premonition rise in his heart.

The space around Mu Yuanshan and the other two twisted like rippling water—several figures suddenly materialized out of thin air.

Four black-robed cultivators, masked and silent, appeared on the nearby hilltop beside the trio.

All were Foundation Establishment cultivators, two of them mid-stage.

Behind the four black-robed cultivators, a tall figure slowly emerged, wearing a Buddha mask.

An unmistakable, terrifying aura of Foundation Establishment late stage radiated from him.

The moment Qin Ming saw him, his scalp prickled—it was his old acquaintance, Lin Zixiao! "Hahahaha! Big Brother! I heard the Canghai Xiancheng held a huge auction!"

"I've been lying in wait for three days—definitely not wasted effort!"

"Caught three big fish!"

Lin Zi let out a cold laugh. "Hmph! You should say four."

"Huh? Another one?" asked the black-robed cultivator wearing a pig-head mask.

Instantly, he extended his spiritual sense to scan the distance—and Qin Ming immediately felt a spiritual sense sweep over him.

His heart tightened at once.

Without hesitation, he retracted his Spirit-Light Flying Shuttle and unleashed his evasion technique at full power, fleeing in the opposite direction.

"Hehe! Just a Foundation Establishment beginner—I'll handle him." The pig-head mask cultivator activated his evasion technique and shot after Qin Ming's fleeing path at top speed.

Lin Zi warned, "Hurry back. I sense something familiar about his aura—be careful."

"Understood!"

After speaking, Lin Zi gazed at Mu Yuanshan and the other three as if they were already dead, his tone devoid of emotion: "Will you three commit suicide on the spot, or must I do it myself?"

Mu Yuanshan and the other two wore grim expressions.

They never expected a band of Foundation Establishment bandits had been hiding right beneath their noses.

"Your concealment array is remarkably sophisticated," said Gu Huai, his green robe swelling as his magic power surged violently—until it stabilized at Foundation Establishment late stage.

Seeing Gu Huai reveal his true strength, Mu Yuanshan and Miao Renke felt slightly reassured.

Both had confidence in their own abilities; with Gu Huai's Foundation Establishment late stage power added, they still had a chance to fight.

Miao Renke raised his hand and summoned two giant wolf golems before him, radiating Foundation Establishment energy.

Lin Zi's gaze ignored Gu Huai's late-stage aura and fixed instead on the two wolf golems. "Huh? High-grade golem art?"

"Excellent! Perfect—I've been preparing to study golem techniques."

As Lin Zi finished speaking, three black spikes emitting dark smoke appeared silently behind him, striking straight for his occiput.

Just as Gu Huai thought he had succeeded, Lin Zi's figure twisted abruptly and vanished.

"Trying to trick me? You're still too green."

Lin Zi raised his hand.

A set of golden array flags flew from his grasp, shooting into the air in different directions.

*Wum~* A golden cage materialized out of thin air, enclosing everything within a several-hundred-zhang radius.

"Second-rank supreme binding array! Jin Guang Binding Cage Array!" Gu Huai's face darkened.

"Hehehe! You've got good taste!" Lin Zi's demonic aura surged violently, as if a demon god had descended.

Mu Yuanshan and Miao Renke also braced themselves—these weren't ordinary bandits.

*Shu shu shu! * The remaining three black-robed cultivators unleashed demonic arts and charged straight at the two.

Lin Zi also moved—vast torrents of black demonic flame roiled and surged as he clashed with Gu Huai.

……

On the other side, Qin Ming accelerated his flight while extending his spiritual sense backward—he discovered only one Foundation Establishment mid-stage black-robed cultivator was chasing him.

But no matter how he tried to shake him off, the man behind always seemed to know his escape direction, locking onto him tightly and refusing to let go.

"Hehehe! You're caught in my Spirit-Yin Technique—still trying to run?" chuckled the pig-head mask cultivator, his voice sinister.

Qin Ming's expression flickered uncertainly—if he kept being pursued like this, once Lin Zi finished off Mu Yuanshan and the others and came to help, it would be his death.

Instantly, his gaze turned icy—he made a decisive choice.

He slapped his storage bag—the Qing Luan Sword floated before him. He formed the Qing Ming Sword Seal in his hands.

*Swoosh! * More than a dozen Qing-colored sword qi, several zhang long and gleaming with cold light, slashed toward the black-robed cultivator behind him.

Seeing the powerful sword qi approaching, the black-robed cultivator dared not underestimate—he reached out, grasped the air, and instantly summoned a pitch-black chain spiritual artifact in his hand.

*Shua! * In the blink of an eye.

He whipped the black chain, demonic energy surging, and twisted it violently against Qin Ming's Qing Ming sword qi.

The black chain formed a swirling vortex, thick with dark mist.

The incoming Qing-colored sword qi were sucked into it and shattered one by one.

*Zheng! * A sharp, piercing sword qi—suddenly, a single point of blue-green light appeared! One sword qi had pierced through the black chain's defense and struck straight for the black-robed cultivator's face! This streak of blue-green light was none other than the Qing Luan Sword's true body! "Mid-grade spiritual artifact!"

The black-robed cultivator's heart froze—he instantly twisted his body to dodge.

*Puch! *

He barely avoided the terrifying strike, but his right shoulder was sliced open by the Qing Ming sword qi—blood spurted instantly.

His pig-head mask was also split open by the sword qi, revealing a fat, sinister face.

The sudden strike shocked him so badly he nearly lost composure—had his reflexes been a fraction slower, his head would've been severed.

He immediately shed his arrogance and gave his full attention.

But when he regained his focus and looked ahead again—

He was stunned to find Qin Ming's figure had vanished into thin air.

The black-robed cultivator instinctively curled the black chain around himself for defense.

He looked up.

A crimson figure, radiating terrifying blood aura, suddenly appeared directly above him.

The blood-shadow swung a crimson fist aura, slamming down with crushing force!

(End of Chapter)