Chapter 16: Bandit Cultivators Appear

Qingyang Market.

Qin Ming exited the Juxuan Pavilion and walked at a leisurely pace along the market's main thoroughfare.

On the street, cultivators of all kinds streamed past in an endless flow, coming and going.

Yet it seemed that nowadays, the market held far more unfamiliar faces than usual.

Qin Ming was strolling idly through the streets.

"Fellow Daoist, care to indulge in some passionate spending?"

At the entrance of a nearby brothel, a young female cultivator in a revealing green robe cast a vigorous, coquettish glance his way.

Qin Ming paused briefly, withdrew his gaze with an expressionless face, and strode away directly.

"Oh ho? A paragon of virtue?" the female cultivator muttered in surprise, her previously confident gaze instantly vanishing.

She rolled her eyes in the direction Qin Ming had departed, then immediately began beckoning to the next passerby.

After Qin Ming left.

From inside the brothel emerged a burly man with a bristling beard, squinting slightly as he asked, "Didn't take the bait?"

"Mn, he's a stubborn fool, truly boring," the green-robed female cultivator replied indifferently while filing her nails.

The burly man nodded silently and returned inside.

Having left the market.

Qin Ming thought with great disdain, 'Are you kidding? I wouldn't even want it if it were free.'

'Let alone pay for something like yours?'

'Just common, vulgar beauty; fortunately, my Dao Heart is firm.'

Evening.

Qin Ming returned to the shantytown.

For dinner, he again boiled a pot of premium Beast-Tooth Rice, then immediately began cultivating the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra."

Over the past half-year.

The amount of premium Beast-Tooth Rice he had consumed was absolutely a terrifying figure; had he not been lucky enough to continuously refresh the "Ripening" attribute.

With such consumption, even he would soon be unable to sustain the cultivation of his body-refining technique.

Fellow Daoist Ruan's description of a "bottomless pit" truly did not deceive.

Ordinary cultivators simply cannot support such consumption of spiritual materials.

Qin Ming discovered that for the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra," the further one progresses through its layers, the spiritual materials required to increase one's blood and qi increase almost geometrically.

Although the price to pay is quite high.

This technique indeed possesses extraordinary qualities; its first three layers offer far superior body-refining effects compared to ordinary methods.

Qin Ming's current supply of premium Beast-Tooth Rice was still relatively sufficient.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Just as Qin Ming finished his cultivation, a series of urgent knocks suddenly rang out from outside his door.

His brows furrowed.

'Who could be in such a hurry?'

Qin Ming rose, put away the Beast-Tooth Rice, and then went out to open the door.

Cautiously, he peered out through the crack in the door.

Outside stood Cai Laojiu.

But at this moment, he was drenched in sweat, looking frantic and panicked.

Qin Ming opened the door and hurriedly asked, "Laojiu, what has happened to you? Why are you so utterly discomposed?"

"S-s-something huge has happened!" Cai Laojiu stammered.

His voice trembled slightly, as if he feared something.

"Fellow Daoist Long has p-p-perished!"

Cai Laojiu's face was deathly pale as he forced out these few words, trembling with fear.

Qin Ming's mind instantly went blank—this news was truly astonishing beyond belief!

"Are you certain? Could there not be a mistake?"

"Fellow Daoist Long was a major cultivator in the late Qi Condensation stage; his divine abilities were far beyond those of ordinary cultivators. How could he suddenly perish?"

"Could it be that he also went to the reclamation frontlines?"

After speaking, Qin Ming began to feel uneasy and suspicious in his heart.

Cai Laojiu said urgently, "At a time like this, how could I possibly make a mistake?"

"Fellow Daoist Long did not go to the frontlines either. F-Fellow Daoist Long was killed by a bandit cultivator; his corpse lies in the river channel nearby, discovered just moments ago. Come with me to take a look, and you will understand clearly."

As Cai Laojiu delivered this even more explosive news, Qin Ming also began to panic.

Without another word, the two rushed feverishly toward the nearby river channel.

In less time than it takes to brew half a pot of tea.

They arrived at the scene of the incident.

Only then did Qin Ming realize with shock that the place where Fellow Daoist Long's corpse was discovered was astonishingly close to his own dwelling, a mere few hundred zhang away! By the time he and Cai Laojiu arrived, a large crowd of cultivators living nearby had already gathered along the riverbank.

At this moment, each of them was terrified, constantly pointing and commenting on the corpse in the river.

Qin Ming forcibly squeezed through the crowd and raised his eyes to look.

"It truly is Fellow Daoist Long!" Now he was left speechless.

Within Qin Ming's line of sight, Fellow Daoist Long's pale corpse had been stripped completely bare; all his belongings and storage bags had vanished without a trace.

Moreover, his entire body conspicuously displayed several dozen horrifying blood-filled holes, while his neck and heart had been pierced clean through by a magical artifact.

He probably died so quickly that he didn't even have time to cry for help. "Alas, how tragic; I heard that just now, when Daoist Wang and the others came to the riverside to wash clothes, they discovered Daoist Long's corpse."

"Indeed, he has been dead for quite some time; his body must have been stuck under the bridge arch since last night and only now washed out into the river channel."

"Do you think this was the work of a Calamity Cultivator? But given Daoist Long's strength, what level of cultivation would a Calamity Cultivator need to kill him silently and without a trace?"

Hearing this, the people around exchanged glances, and an ominous premonition settled over everyone's hearts.

The atmosphere immediately became extremely oppressive.

Not long after.

The Spirit Feather Sect's patrol team also rushed hurriedly toward this location.

The leading commander dispersed the crowding onlookers; he gazed into the river channel, and after just one glance, a look of shock and suspicion appeared on his face as well.

He asked himself that even if he himself encountered the murderer who killed Daoist Long, there would be absolutely no possibility of survival.

"Could it be that a Foundation Establishment Calamity Cultivator made a move? But... it doesn't seem like it?"

The Spirit Feather Sect commander stroked his chin in thought, then decisively took out a communication talisman to report to the sect, as this clearly exceeded the scope of his abilities.

Qin Ming returned to his room somewhat distracted.

He had not expected that danger would be so close to him.

"It seems the shantytown has become unsafe."

"Qingyang Market Town is protected by a second-rank formation; it can withstand even a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"I must make plans early; I need to find a way to move and live within the market town to be safer."

Thoughts churned violently in Qin Ming's heart.

"And regarding the spiritual fields, let us hope the Spirit Feather Sect will strengthen their patrols."

"Alas, to think that even farming in the future will require constant vigilance; I am truly numb."

"Let us hope that Calamity Cultivator, having robbed a fat sheep at the late Qi Condensation stage, does not come to target us lowly spiritual farmers."

"They probably... wouldn't even deign to look at us, right?"

The death of Daoist Long deeply shocked Qin Ming.

Even someone as strong as a late Qi Condensation cultivator met the fate of death and the extinction of their Dao.

Qin Ming could not help but feel his sense of crisis reach its peak.

'After killing Daoist Long, the perpetrator did not even bother to dispose of the corpse, instead blatantly dumping it into the river; clearly, the murderer had no scruples whatsoever.'

'It was more like a barefaced show of force.'

Because in recent years, the shantytown had been deterred by Daoist Long, a late Qi Condensation cultivator of considerable righteousness.

Only then did the surrounding petty villains dare not act recklessly.

Now that Daoist Long was dead, the surrounding security had first and foremost become the biggest problem.

Qin Ming took out a mid-grade Lightning Arrow Talisman and placed it in his sleeve, which made him feel slightly more at ease.

'After reaching the third layer of the "Hundred Treasures Glazed Sutra," the effect of increasing blood qi from the high-quality Beast Tooth Rice has also begun to gradually slow down.'

'I need better spiritual rice capable of enhancing blood qi to accelerate my body refinement progress.'

'What would happen if I raised the quality of the high-quality Beast Tooth Rice to the top-grade level?'

'But aside from the first one, the 【Quality Improvement】 entry has not appeared for half a year.'

Thinking to this point, a trace of determination appeared in Qin Ming's eyes! He currently had enough stock of high-quality Beast Tooth Rice to last another year.

Screw it, I'm going all in! This time, he prepared to use the final 'Accelerated Growth' entry on those three mu of Yin Congealing Flowers.

I'm betting on the appearance of one 【Quality Improvement】 entry! (End of Chapter)