Chapter 172: Harvest and Advancement

Outside Wangyue Island.

Everyone stared in stunned disbelief at Zhao Wuji's frantic, disheveled escape.

Just moments ago, they had seen him enter the outer mist, then suddenly begin flailing and screaming wildly, his movements wild and unhinged.

The noble image of the former Young Master Zhao had vanished without a trace, replaced by utter disgrace.

They turned again toward the pink mist, their gazes filled with deep dread and fear.

"W-what on earth is this?"

"Has Wangyue Island already been swallowed by this mist?"

Zhao Wuji's face was still pale with lingering terror. "Such a bizarre illusionary mist—it can conjure such deadly illusions."

"If not for the life-saving talisman my ancestor gave me, I'd have been trapped there."

"This Qin fellow is far more complicated than he looks."

Having experienced the power of the mist's illusion, Zhao Wuji knew he could never force his way through. He straightened his robes, then led the group away with a dark, grim expression.

On Wangyue Island.

Qin Ming had long since noticed what transpired outside.

He soared into the air, waved one hand, and two blood pearls shot out from the mist illusion, landing precisely in his palm.

Then, with a sweep of his spiritual sense, he retrieved the two cultivators' storage bags from their corpses.

"You got lucky, Young Master Zhao," Qin Ming murmured to himself, standing still as he watched Zhao Wuji's party flee.

He returned to the island and tossed the two blood pearls to his life-spirit plant, Changsheng Teng.

The black vines danced, fully absorbing the blood pearls and sprouting numerous new branches.

Changsheng Teng stretched its tendrils, exuding waves of temporal energy with great delight, flowing steadily into Qin Ming's body.

…

After this incident.

Within the spiritual energy Archipelago, a strange rumor began to spread.

That Wangyue Island was shrouded in pink mist, its illusionary fog so potent even Golden Core elders dared not approach.

"Alas! What a pity for Master Qin! A true genius!"

"We spiritual energy Archipelago finally produced a Spirit Plant Master capable of growing spiritual energy Rice—and now he's gone."

"Not necessarily. Maybe the island is still fine?"

"This kind of eerie mist rivals the mysterious gray fog of the Northern Great Marshes—Golden Core elders can't survive it, let alone Master Qin?"

"."

More and more rumors emerged, each branching into multiple versions.

Like the sudden appearance of the strange mist, it added an air of mystery to Wangyue Lake.

Wangyue Island was now listed among the spiritual energy Archipelago's most dangerous forbidden zones.

Any cultivator who dared enter would never return.

This news also reached the Jingxue Pavilion in Canghai Xiancheng.

Gu Qingzhao and Liao the Shopkeeper were both stunned.

"What?!"

"Master Qin's Wangyue Island has been swallowed by eerie mist?"

"T-this… my lord, what do we do now?"

Liao the Shopkeeper wore a face full of worry. The last grand auction at Jingxue Pavilion had been wildly successful, and sales had been rising steadily ever since.

The senior officials at headquarters had praised them highly.

All of it depended on Master Qin's Foundation Establishment Elixir and numerous rare spirit plants.

If Master Qin were to meet misfortune, it would greatly impact them.

Beyond that, there were personal feelings involved.

At that moment,

a page outside the door reported: "My lord, Shopkeeper—there's a cultivator named Wu here to sell spirit rice."

Hearing this, Gu Qingzhao's furrowed brows instantly relaxed. "Quickly, bring him in!"

Moments later,

Wu Jiang stepped into the private chamber with a smile, bowing to the two.

"Wu Dao-friend, what exactly happened on Wangyue Island?" asked Liao the Shopkeeper eagerly.

Gu Qingzhao also turned to him, her mind equally puzzled.

Yet seeing Wu Jiang, who resided on Wangyue Island, standing before them unharmed,

she easily deduced that nothing dire had occurred.

"Haha! No need to worry, Dao friends. Wangyue Island is perfectly safe."

"The spiritual energy Archipelago is currently in turmoil. Master Qin set up this illusionary mist to shield Wangyue Island from war and hostile factions."

"He merely strengthened its defenses—everything else on the island remains unchanged. He also asked me to inform you both, and to sell some spirit rice and procure supplies."

After Wu Jiang finished explaining, Gu Qingzhao and Liao the Shopkeeper were even more astonished. "This mist that repels Golden Core elders—Master Qin created it?"

Wu Jiang nodded without denying it.

To be honest, when Master Qin first set up the mist, he himself had endured over a month of terror.

He then recounted every detail to the two from Jingxue Pavilion.

"Come, come! Wu Dao-friend coming to sell spirit rice is precisely what our pavilion desires!"

"We were so caught up asking about the island we forgot to offer tea—how rude of us."

After hearing Wu Jiang's account, Gu Qingzhao and Liao's worries vanished instantly, replaced by relief.

Liao the Shopkeeper's face lit up with his professional smile as he invited Wu Jiang to sit and poured them spirit tea.

…

Back on Wangyue Island,

Wu Jiang told Qin Ming every rumor that had spread.

"Haha, perfect. Let them talk—it's quieter this way," Qin Ming chuckled.

From now on, Wangyue Island truly became a place cut off from the world.

Next,

Qin Ming began his monotonous cultivation routine: after daily practice, he studied the inheritance of the Third-Grade Spirit Plant Master and the Miao family's "Thousand Mechanisms Puppet Art."

Since he had just advanced to Second-Grade Superior Spirit Plant Master, he now needed to find a way to reach Third-Grade.

Practicing puppetry demanded extremely high spiritual soul strength, and the Miao family's high-grade puppet art was exquisitely refined.

It included the "Divide Soul, Fragment Mind" technique for controlling puppets—perfect for Qin Ming, like adding wings to a tiger.

With his current spiritual sense, comparable to Foundation Establishment late-stage, he desperately needed such a refined spiritual sense technique.

After studying for less than half a month, he crafted several straw puppets using spirit plants, each possessing the strength of Qi Refining mid-stage.

Those straw puppets now worked in the spirit rice fields, digging and loosening the soil for him.

Time passed slowly.

Three months later,

Qin Ming's three mu of premium spiritual energy Rice had fully matured.

He took his spirit sickle to the spirit paddy, stood like a farmer, and smiled as he gazed upon his hard-won harvest—joy surged through his heart.

The eighty rice-flower spirit fish in the paddy were even plumper than last time, each with thick bodies and three tiger stripes on their backs. The smallest weighed seven or eight catties; the largest reached twenty.

Qin Ming casually peeled open a grain of premium spiritual energy Rice—a dazzling spiritual aura instantly filled his vision. A grain as transparent as Liuli appeared in his palm.

A powerful surge of spiritual energy radiated from the grain.

Feeling the dense spiritual energy within the rice, Qin Ming smiled.

He rolled up his sleeves and began harvesting the rice; the spirit fish in the field leapt and wriggled excitedly.

After a full afternoon of labor, he harvested three shi of premium spiritual energy Rice—enough to last him a long time.

Additionally, he obtained two blue-tiered word-leaf items:

【Magic Power Crystals】×5 【Temporal Leaf】×5

That night, Qin Ming caught a ten-catty rice-flower spirit fish and cooked a pot of premium spiritual energy Rice.

The misty aroma of the spirit food filled his cave, rich and intoxicating.

These two items, if revealed in the cultivation world, would cause a massive uproar.

Qin Ming stared at the rice and fish before him, his appetite soaring, and devoured them with voracious speed.

Vast streams of spiritual energy poured into his body.

After eating, he immediately walked to his life-spirit plant, Changsheng Teng, and began practicing the "Ancient Tree Eternal Life Art."

Feeling the timing was right,

he consumed all five 【Magic Power Crystals】.

Whir! Whir! Whir! His internal green liquid magic power gathered increasingly, flowing along his meridians like a gentle stream into his dantian sea.

Instantly, his Foundation Establishment early-stage cultivation base surged upward.

Until it reached the peak of early-stage, it finally slowed.

His liquid magic power reserves now exceeded those of an ordinary Foundation Establishment mid-stage cultivator—more than double his peers'.

Qin Ming ended his practice, slowly opening his eyes, a flash of green light fading from his gaze.

【101】 Changsheng Teng continued to pour into him endless temporal energy and plant essence.

The silver rune within his body gradually began to take shape in a small portion.

This meant Qin Ming's Ancient Evergreen Body cultivation was finally making progress.

Qin Ming sensed the immense, thick green liquid magic power within him and smiled in satisfaction.

"If this trend continues, and I just keep farming on this island for a few more years, I'll be close to Foundation Establishment's late stage."

(End of Chapter)