Chapter 13: Calmed

“Roar~~~~”

A thunderous roar, shaking the mountains and forests, erupted from Qin Ming’s bronze bell magic treasure! The sound was deafening and continued without pause.

Just hearing this display was terrifying: waves of sound, like a tidal surge, swept outward from Qin Ming in Cengceng layers, devouring everything in their path.

Completely drowning out the shrieks of the Feral Howler Monkeys!

The monkeys’ eerie sonic waves were instantly shattered.

The nearby spirit farmers gradually lost the red hue in their eyes, their minds returning to clarity.

The low-grade Feral Howler Monkey troop scattered in panic.

The few Feral Howler Monkeys attempting to attack Qin Ming and his companion inside the formation were closest to the range of the bronze bell’s assault.

They were shaken violently, their fur standing on end, their faces twisted in terror, trembling uncontrollably.

But the mid-stage First-Rank Feral Howler Monkey, after a brief moment of shock, hesitated only a few breaths before regaining its ferocious state.

It seemed barely affected at all.

“Squeak-squeak-squeak—”

It let out another piercing shriek toward the sky, trying to regroup the troop and launch another assault—it had clearly discerned the weakness of the Beast-Driving Spell: all sound and no substance, causing no real harm.

All show, no substance.

……

“My goodness, is this the Beast-Driving Spell? Isn’t this the Lion’s Roar Art?!”

“With a loudspeaker upgrade.”

Qin Ming himself was startled.

Casting the Beast-Driving Spell once drained one-fifth of his magic power instantly.

But since this was his first time using it and he’d already seen its effect on the monkey troop, his heart steadied slightly.

“Qin Dao You actually knows the Beast-Driving Spell!”

Behind him, Su Danshi was greatly surprised, his eyes repeatedly reassessing Qin Ming.

He didn’t know how to judge this man at all.

“Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Su Danshi, don’t laugh.”

“Qin Dao You , be careful! The Feral Howler Monkeys are coming again!”

Hearing this, Qin Ming immediately snapped to attention, channeling his magic power and casting another Beast-Driving Spell!

……

Half a cup of tea later.

Finally.

A massive magic vessel sliced through the sky, arriving instantly above their spirit fields.

Qin Ming squinted—it was Gu Zhishi of Lingyu Gate, arriving with outer-disciple reinforcements.

“Just in time.”

He exhaled a long breath of relief.

He had just exhausted all five uses of the ‘Beast-Driving Spell’ in one go.

Now Qin Ming’s face was pale, his dantian hollow and empty.

Had his Changchun magic power not been twice as abundant as a normal cultivator’s,

Gu Zhishi’s arrival even a moment later would have left him utterly drained.

He’d even considered using the ‘Weak Magic Power’ term to stave off death.

This Yaoshou ambush had come swiftly—less than half a quarter-hour had passed.

Coupled with the eerie sonic attacks, everyone had been caught unprepared.

“Hmph!”

“For days I’ve been searching everywhere for you vermin—and you’ve been hiding right under my nose!”

Gu Zhishi was clearly furious, his temper boiling over.

The damage to the spirit fields was substantial; as the chief official overseeing spirit rice taxation, he would surely face punishment from the sect.

He flicked his finger, and a crimson flying sword shot from his hand!

A streak of rainbow light flashed through the air, tracing an arc.

*Clang!* The sword pierced straight through the mid-stage First-Rank Feral Howler Monkey leader.

The air fell silent.

A streak of blood appeared from the monkey’s head to its tail—it had been split cleanly in two by a single sword strike. The corpse collapsed lifelessly.

“spiritual energy Completion—terrifying indeed!”

Qin Ming stared, dumbfounded, at Gu Zhishi’s Leitingshouduan .

The arrival of Lingyu Gate’s forces signaled the end of this incident.

Gu Zhishi and his disciples swiftly cleared and slaughtered the remaining Feral Howler Monkeys.

Not a single monkey escaped.

For the foreseeable future, no Yaoshou should dare harass the spirit fields again.

“Who cast the Beast-Driving Spell just now?”

After clearing the battlefield, Gu Zhishi boarded the magic vessel and turned back to ask the crowd.

Qin Ming stood silent, not speaking. In the cultivation world, he dared not reveal too much of his uniqueness.

Qin Ming had always been the most cautious in his conduct—he never yielded to anyone in caution, but unless absolutely necessary, he only pretended to possess the power he could control, never risking more.

“It was Qin Dao You . We owe him greatly.”

Su Danshi stepped forward and spoke up for him.

“Oh? Su Danshi is here too?”

“I was so angry just now, I didn’t notice.” A rare smile crept onto Gu Zhishi’s stern face.

“The spirit farmer who grew Fangtooth Rice? Record him a merit. Reduce his spirit rice tax quota by one-tenth this quarter.”

Gu Zhishi squinted at Qin Ming, but saw nothing extraordinary.

He then coldly ordered his sidekick, Du Haifu.

Du Haifu’s face twisted as if he’d just eaten shit, and he hurriedly replied: “Yes yes yes, I’ll see to it immediately.”

Reducing one-tenth meant reducing his own share. “Su Danshi, what we discussed before still stands. If you change your mind, come find me at Lingyu Gate’s outpost anytime.” Gu Zhishi spoke solemnly to Su Danshi.

“I’m used to being idle—I truly dislike being bound. Let me think on it some more.”

“Very well. I have urgent matters to attend to—I’ll take my leave now.”

With that, Gu Zhishi departed with his disciples to report back.

Qin Ming exhaled in relief.

He looked around at the hillsides ravaged by the monkeys—only his own and a few other spirit farmers’ fields had been spared.

Among them, three or four fields had lost over half their crops.

More than a dozen spirit farmers on the hill had died, all lured by the Feral Howler Monkeys’ sonic Guhuo into killing each other.

Aside from Qin Ming and Su Danshi, the other surviving farmers all bore wounds of varying severity.

Looking at the corpses strewn across the spirit fields, Qin Ming felt an indescribable emotion rise within him.

“Sigh.”

These bottom-tier spirit farmers merely toiled hard, struggling to survive.

Yet in the end, they couldn’t withstand a sudden, unforeseen disaster.

‘If Su Danshi hadn’t recognized those Yaoshou , I’d likely be lying dead outside like the others.’

‘By the way, how is Cai Laojiu doing?’

Qin Ming suddenly remembered.

“Qin Dao You , we owe you greatly.”

“If not for your Beast-Driving Spell breaking their sonic attack, had those Yaoshou launched a full assault, neither you nor I would have survived unscathed.”

Su Danshi walked over and kindly handed Qin Ming a vial of Soul-Returning Pills.

Qin Ming froze.

After a moment’s hesitation, he accepted the pills without refusal.

He opened the jade vial—inside lay five Soul-Returning Pills.

He immediately swallowed one, sat down on the spot, and began to meditate to restore his magic power.

Moments later, a faint flush returned to Qin Ming’s pale face—he felt somewhat better.

“Su Danshi, you collect the Crimson Spirit Dew in the fields—I’ll go check on Cai Laojiu.”

Qin Ming stood up and informed Su Danshi.

Then hurried toward Cai Laojiu’s field.

What he didn’t expect:

Halfway up the mountain path, Qin Ming met Cai Laojiu face-to-face.

He was covered in dirt and grime, wounded, utterly disheveled, leaning on a stick he’d picked up, limping upward.

Cai Laojiu looked up and saw Qin Ming—alive, unharmed, bouncing around like nothing had happened—and immediately broke down.

“No way! How are you completely fine?!”

Cai Laojiu had been worried about Qin Ming’s safety—but now, he simply couldn’t accept it.

"Old Man Cai Nine, how are you? Not too badly hurt, are you?"

"Sigh, I have no idea where this bunch of crazy monkeys came from."

"As long as you're fine, that's what matters."

Qin Ming saw the man had only minor external injuries, so he relaxed.

"What do you mean 'fine'?"

"Who the hell was it, fooled by those monkeys into sticking a spirit hoe stick up my ass?!"

"Damn it! Don’t let me find out who it was!"

"."

Cai Nine held his waist with one hand and leaned against a nearby tree, disgruntled: "You haven’t answered me yet! Why are you completely unharmed?"

"Are those monkeys your relatives? Too scared to lay a hand on you?"

Qin Ming replied dryly: "What are the odds? I just happened to run into Su Danshi."

"If it weren’t for him, you’d probably be burning paper money for me by now, sigh."

(End of Chapter)