Chapter 159: The Demon

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

He continued, "Comrade Qin, these two supreme spirit fruit are each worth roughly six thousand spirit stones, so two total twelve thousand. Add fifty jin of spirit Qixi rice—estimated at seven thousand two hundred spirit stones at auction—and the two items combined are worth about nineteen thousand spirit stones."

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

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

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

Qin Ming frowned at these words.

The man's logic held weight—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 Gray Ape rivaling Foundation Establishment late stage was plainly priceless.

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

And it directly boosted the cultivation base of Foundation Establishment cultivators—that was undeniable.

"Alright, I'll add another ten jin of Qixi rice. What do you say, Comrade Mu?" Qin Ming said without hesitation.

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

"Add twenty jin. I have no more." Qin Ming stated firmly.

To obtain the high-grade ape essence blood, he chose to yield a step.

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

Mu Yuanshan had been waiting for this reply—his face lit up with joy. "Agreed! Comrade Qin."

Qin Ming reached into his storage bag again, took out another twenty jin of Qixi rice, and handed it over along with the supreme spirit fruit on the table.

Mu Yuanshan also pulled out an exquisite jade vial and passed 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 finally obtained this high-grade ape essence blood after all his effort.

The exchange continued.

One valuable item after another appeared—these were the accumulated treasures of the Foundation Establishment cultivators present, rarely shown in public.

Qin Ming exchanged two more items with other cultivators in succession.

Half a day passed.

The exchange was nearing its end.

Xue Zhili ordered 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.

"Comrade Qin, I've heard that beyond your spirit cultivation and alchemy skills, your combat prowess is formidable. Have you reconsidered joining our Seventy-Two Islands Free Alliance?" Mu Yuanshan raised a cup to Qin Ming, probing 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, "I'm used to being unbound. 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, mutual benefit.

Qin Ming left the Liuyun Villa, took leave of Gu Qing, 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 Flying Shuttle, heading toward the Qixi 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 spiritual sense easily pierced through their soundproofing barrier.

'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 leave.

He heard Mu Yuanshan respectfully address the green-robed elder Gu Huai: "Rest assured, Elder Gu, the movements of the Seventy-Two Islands Free Alliance are fully under our control. Huo Qianqiu and his faction, backed by Lei Yuanzong, are preparing to act soon. Here is their detailed plan—please review it."

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 Free Alliance could mobilize such a massive force at once. I must notify the Zhao family immediately—they must respond swiftly."

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

Miao Renke's face brightened—he bowed deeply. "Lei Yuanzong's fate is spent. Ancestor Yuwen's divine might is unmatched. Unifying the Wei Kingdom is inevitable."

Gu Huai nodded in satisfaction.

"Holy shit! Double agent?!" Qin Ming stared, stunned.

This Gu Huai was clearly an Elder of Lingyu Men—and of high standing.

At that moment.

A bad premonition surged in Qin Ming's mind.

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

Four black-robed cultivators, masked, appeared on nearby hilltops beside the trio.

All were Foundation Establishment cultivators; two were even mid-stage.

Behind them, a tall figure slowly emerged, wearing a Buddha mask.

An unmistakable, terrifying Foundation Establishment late-stage magical power surged forth.

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

"Waited three days here—definitely worth it!"

"Caught three big fish!"

Lin Zixiao sneered coldly, "Hmm. Should be four."

"Huh? One more?" asked the black-robed cultivator wearing a pig mask.

He immediately extended his spiritual sense to scan afar—Qin Ming instantly felt a spiritual probe sweep over him.

His heart tightened.

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

"Hehe! Just a Foundation Establishment early-stage—leave him to me." The pig-masked cultivator activated his evasion technique and shot after Qin Ming at top speed.

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

"Understood!"

Lin Zixiao turned his gaze upon Mu Yuanshan and the others like a man staring at corpses, his tone emotionless: "Will you three commit suicide here, or shall I kill you myself?"

Mu Yuanshan and the others turned pale.

They hadn't realized a band of Foundation Establishment bandits had been hiding beneath their noses.

"Your concealment array is masterful," Gu Huai said, his green robe swelling as his magical power surged—rising until it stabilized at Foundation Establishment late stage. "You must be Lin Zixiao, the infamous demon sect warlord recently famed across the land."

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

They had confidence in their own abilities—and with a Foundation Establishment late-stage cultivator beside them, they still had a chance.

Miao Renke raised his hand—two giant wolf golems appeared before him, radiating Foundation Establishment power.

Lin Zixiao ignored Gu Huai entirely, his eyes locking onto the two golems. "Huh? High-grade golem art?"

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

As soon as Lin Zixiao finished speaking, three black spikes wreathed in dark smoke silently appeared behind him, striking straight for his occiput.

Just as Gu Huai believed victory was certain, Lin Zixiao's form twisted violently and vanished instantly.

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

Lin Zixiao raised his hand.

A set of golden array flags flew from his palm, scattering into the air in all directions.

*Wum*—a golden cage materialized out of nowhere, enclosing everything within hundreds of zhang.

"Second-stage supreme confinement array—Jin Guang Binding Cage Array!" Gu Huai's face darkened.

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

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

*Shua shua shua! The remaining three black-robed cultivators unleashed demonic arts and charged toward them.

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

…

Meanwhile, Qin Ming accelerated his flight while extending his spiritual sense backward—he saw only one Foundation Establishment mid-stage black-robed cultivator pursuing him.

Yet no matter how he tried to evade, the man always seemed to know his direction, locking onto him relentlessly.

"Hehehe! You're marked by my Spirit Yin Technique—still trying to run?" chuckled the pig-masked cultivator.

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

His eyes hardened—he made an immediate decision.

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

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

The black-robed cultivator, seeing the powerful sword qi, dared not underestimate—he clapped his hand into the air, and a pitch-black chain weapon instantly materialized in his grip.

*Shua! In the blink of an eye.

He whipped the jet-black chains, dark qi churning as he twisted them toward Qin Ming's azure sword qi.

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

The approaching azure sword qi was sucked into the vortex and shattered one by one.

Zing! The sword qi roared—a single point of azure light suddenly flashed! One blade of qi had pierced through the defense of the black chain magic treasure and struck straight at the black-robed cultivator's face! That azure glow was none other than the true body of the Qingluan Sword! "Mid-grade spiritual treasure!"

The black-robed cultivator's heart lurched; he instantly twisted his body to evade the strike.

Plos!

He barely dodged the terrifying blow, yet his right shoulder was slashed open by the azure sword qi, blood spurting instantly.

The pig-mask on his face was also split apart by the sword qi, revealing a fat, sinister face beneath.

That sudden, lightning-fast strike nearly broke his composure—he was lucky to react in time; had he been a hair slower, his head would have been severed.

He immediately shed his underestimation and focused every ounce of his attention.

But when he snapped back to awareness and looked ahead again,

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

The black-robed cultivator instinctively whipped the black chain magic treasure around himself for defense.

He then looked upward.

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

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

(End of Chapter)