Chapter 178: Suppression from the Bloodline

In the sky.

That second-tier great demon, the Thunder Roc, had detected the existence of the Profound Water Crocodile the moment it appeared.

However, what filled it with rage was that the other party was actually the beast pet of that ordinary-looking human cultivator!

Screech! The Thunder Roc's gaze was sharp; it let out a harsh cry, for it despised nothing more than those demonic beasts willing to serve as beast pets for humans.

Crackling!

Arcs of electricity flashed, and instantly the aura on the Thunder Roc surged violently; its pair of sharp claws, capable of casually piercing through cultivators' magical artifacts, now entwined with the power of lightning as it spread its massive wings and dove toward the Profound Water Crocodile.

Boom! The two second-tier great demons collided in mid-air, erupting in a blinding burst of light; the nearby air suddenly exploded, sending a shockwave radiating outward in all directions.

The blast stunned those low-tier demonic beasts, causing them to fall from the sky.

Subsequently, the two demonic beasts began fighting fiercely in mid-air; wherever they passed, thunder roared, the air became chaotic, and mountains collapsed while the earth cracked.

The gale-force winds generated by the aftermath of the battle even sheared off more than half of the bow of a San Alliance magical ship.

Even though the Thunder Roc's lightning divine abilities were incredibly sharp, coupled with its pair of extremely sharp claws, it still could not break through the defense of the Profound Water Crocodile's dark golden scales.

Instead, the Profound Water Crocodile remained unhurried, swinging its massive tail, which shimmered with the power of thunder, to strike heavily against the Thunder Roc's back.

Thump! Caught off guard and taking the hit squarely, the Thunder Roc was instantly blasted downward for over thirty zhang.

A wisp of fresh blood overflowed from its sharp beak, and in its eyes, it looked at the opposing Profound Water Crocodile with some disbelief.

It had not expected that a Foundation Establishment mid-stage demonic beast could actually cause it harm.

After all, it possessed an Earth-grade bloodline talent! The Thunder Roc discarded its underestimation, no longer engaging in close-quarters combat, but instead relying on its speed to constantly maneuver and circle, attempting to exhaust the Profound Water Crocodile's stamina.

However, after chasing and grappling for half an hour, no matter how the Thunder Roc flew to escape, it could never shake off the Profound Water Crocodile's pursuit.

Finally, the Thunder Roc became frantic; as the leader of its clan, it had always held itself in high esteem, enjoying the authority brought by its noble bloodline.

When had it ever suffered such humiliation? To be chased by a Profound Water Crocodile until fleeing in panic, even if it won, it would be looked down upon by other clans upon returning to the Beast Cry Mountain Range.

Thinking of this.

A trace of ruthlessness flashed in the Thunder Roc's eyes; it let out a sharp whistle and then unleashed its strongest innate bloodline divine ability! It opened its sharp beak wide, and all the silver lightning flashing around its body converged before its mouth, while it continuously exhaled gale-force winds from within, condensing them into a huge sphere woven from wind and thunder.

Terrifying magical power suddenly descended upon this world.

The cultivators of the San Alliance watched this scene, trembling in fear; if this great demon's innate divine ability struck their magical ship, they would definitely be unable to withstand it.

The Profound Water Crocodile was equally unwilling to show weakness; it opened its massive mouth, and the dark golden scales on its back lit up one after another, connecting into a single expanse.

It too unleashed its advanced innate bloodline divine ability—Wu Earth Divine Thunder! A mass of golden-yellow lightning gathered in its mouth, continuously expanding outward.

In almost an instant.

The two lightning-attribute great demons simultaneously launched their innate bloodline divine abilities.

Boom-crack! Two brilliant lightning divine abilities, one golden and one silver, one above and one below, met in mid-air, and then suddenly crashed together.

The sky erupted with power akin to a Lei Jie; arcs of electricity flashed and exploded, and the demonic beasts caught in the periphery were instantly turned to ash.

Many demonic birds scattered in flight, terrified of being swept into the range of the two great demons' divine abilities.

Everyone's gaze focused on this earth-shaking duel.

Zzzt!

With a cold gaze, the Profound Water Crocodile suddenly exerted more power into the lightning divine ability in its mouth! A soul pressure akin to the King of Ten Thousand Beasts erupted from its body!

A strange golden rune drifted out from between the Profound Water Crocodile's eyebrows and merged into the Lei Ting.

The golden-yellow Wu Earth Divine Thunder suddenly doubled in size, instantly submerging the wind-thunder unleashed by the Thunder Roc, and then continued to bombard toward the opponent!

In the Thunder Roc's pupils, a reflection of golden lightning appeared; at the same time, a sense of innate suppression stemming from bloodline transmitted from the depths of its soul, and its gaze immediately revealed terror.

How is this possible? Heaven-grade bloodline! Rumble-rumble! The Wu Earth Divine Thunder spewed by the Profound Water Crocodile struck the Thunder Roc heavily; amidst roaring thunder, it instantly submerged the other party.

A cloud of blood mist burst forth in the sky, and a massive body fell dejectedly from the air.

The Thunder Roc was not yet completely dead at this moment, hanging on by a single breath; it was just about to self-detonate its demon core to perish together with its opponent.

But then, the Profound Water Crocodile transformed into a bolt of lightning, instantly appearing before it, opening its bloody maw, and biting off its neck in one snap.

Gushing fresh blood sprayed out from the Thunder Roc's neck.

The Thunder Roc's eyes were full of unwillingness as it sank into boundless darkness; above in the sky, upon seeing their clan leader killed dry, the host of demonic birds scattered like beasts and birds.

The remaining few Foundation Establishment great demons, looking at the Profound Water Crocodile, were also filled with terror and turned to flee immediately.

The sky, which had just been covered by dark clouds, instantly became clear and sunny; the cultivators on the San Alliance magical ship, while feeling the relief of surviving a catastrophe, were also so shocked by the scene just witnessed that they were speechless.

That second-tier late-stage Thunder Roc great demon possessed extraordinary strength; even a human at the peak of Foundation Establishment might not necessarily be its match, yet it was crushed and killed by Qin Ming's beast pet.

Zhou Ping's gaze toward Qin Ming was also filled with awe; could such a terrifyingly powerful beast pet have been cultivated by a spirit planter?

The Profound Water Crocodile, carrying the Thunder Roc's corpse in its mouth, returned to Qin Ming's side and proudly lifted its head.

"Well done; you will be heavily rewarded shortly!"

Qin Ming waved his hand at the Thunder Roc's corpse, storing it into his storage bag.

He then dismissed the Profound Water Crocodile.

After all this was done, Zhou Ping of the San Alliance finally flew over, bowing deeply to Qin Ming, "Many thanks to Daoist Qin for stepping forward to save us!"

"Otherwise, we would have faced grave danger."

"Daoist Zhou, there is absolutely no need; in the face of a beast disaster, it is only right for us to watch out for and help each other." Qin Ming hurriedly helped Zhou Ping up.

After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, the San Alliance's magical ship dared not delay any longer; they tidied up the battlefield and swiftly departed from Wangyue Lake.

Wangyue Island.

Qin Ming returned to the island with the Profound Water Crocodile.

Wu Jiang swallowed his saliva, his expression tense as he asked Qin Ming, "Daoist Qin, did something major happen outside?"

"Why was there the sound of fighting against a beast horde?" "It's nothing; the San Alliance fleet was targeted by a group of demonic beasts, but it has already been resolved." Qin Ming spoke as if mentioning something extremely trivial.

"Oh, oh! That's good then!" Hearing this, Wu Jiang breathed a sigh of relief.

Qin Ming smiled slightly, patted his shoulder, and said, "Rest assured, focus on farming your land; there is no safer place than here."

Wu Jiang nodded repeatedly, then continued urging his clansmen to go farm.

Qin Ming returned to the front of his cave dwelling, tossed the Lei Peng's corpse onto the ground, and extracted a demon core from its head.

"It actually rarely carries a trace of Thunder Jiao bloodline; no wonder its strength is considerably greater than that of ordinary second-stage late-period demonic beasts," he said, holding and examining the Lei Peng demon core.

Yet the Black Water Crocodile at his feet was already drooling all over the ground.

"Alright, alright, take it!" Qin Ming casually tossed the demon core to the Black Water Crocodile, and while he was at it, took out a third-stage Spirit-Transforming Demon Fruit from his storage bag and gave it that as well.

"I've basically been feeding you these third-stage Spirit-Transforming Demon fruits as meals; this time you must break through to the late stage, otherwise I'll have to eat crocodile meat."

The Black Water Crocodile immediately became extremely excited, affectionately rubbed against Qin Ming's trouser legs, then held the two spiritual items in its mouth and happily crawled back to its old nest.

Qin Ming dismembered the Lei Peng's corpse, collected its essence blood and flesh, then separately removed the pair of thunder wings and sharp claws, sealing them with Spirit-Sealing Talismans.

These items are rare forging materials; if placed in the outside world, they could fetch an astronomical price at auction.

For the following period of time.

The area near Moon-Gazing Lake returned to its usual tranquility; only a few demonic beasts passed by, and even they flew away around the mist of Moon-Gazing Island.

There were also some short-sighted demonic beasts that crashed into the mist illusion realm, turning into beads of blood one by one.

Qin Ming threw all the blood beads to his innate spiritual plant, the Longevity Vine, and the cultivation progress of his Ancient Wood Longevity Body increased by a large margin.

On this day.

Qin Ming went to the wooden house of Wu Jiang and his wife by the lake, asking Mu Ruyin to use the leftover demonic beast meat from pill refining to prepare a large table of delicacies; when it came to cooking skills, her craftsmanship was truly unparalleled.

The dishes on the dining table were all different, complete in color, aroma, and taste, and the few of them ate until oil flowed from their mouths.

Qin Ming had eaten many immortal delicacies in various restaurants, but none tasted as good as what Mu Ruyin made.

The young couple rarely got to eat such precious demonic beast meat, which greatly benefited their cultivation growth, so they paid no heed to their image and kept devouring everything like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds.

"Fellow Daoist Qin Qin, um... I heard... the defensive line established by the San Alliance in the Lingxi Archipelago is about to become untenable?" Wu Jiang asked with a mouth full of some unknown demonic beast meat that seemed quite chewy, his words slurred.

Qin Ming ate some side dishes, nodded slightly, and said, "That's right; if things continue like this, I'm afraid we can only seek aid from Canghai Xiancheng."

"However, judging by the current situation, the Xiancheng is too busy dealing with its own troubles to help others; things are quite difficult!"

"Alas! If I had known it would be like this, I wouldn't have sent my son to Lei Yuanzong; with fighting every day, I estimate he isn't even eating as well as I am!" After saying this, Wu Jiang fiercely bit into a piece of demonic beast essence meat.

Mu Ruyin pinched him hard and said, "Only you know how to talk big!"

Qin Ming was immediately amused by the two of them.

Another half-month passed.

Ever since the Black Water Crocodile swallowed the Lei Peng's demon core and ate that third-stage Spirit-Transforming Demon Fruit, it had fallen into deep sleep and showed not the slightest sign of waking up even now.

Qin Ming even once wondered whether this blockhead had failed to withstand the demonic energy within the Lei Peng's demon core and simply kicked the bucket.

But since he and the Black Water Crocodile shared a spiritual connection, even though he could not sense its aura, he could still perceive that it was alive.

It was just unknown how long one would have to wait for it to wake up; judging by its current state, it probably wouldn't wake up for at least a year or so.

A few days later, Aunt Long from the Mirror Jing Xue Ge also made a trip and, amidst this chaotic situation, transported five 'Five Elements Origin Qi Spirit Peaches'.

Qin Ming hurriedly welcomed her into the Guest Reception Tower and served her Spirit-Gathering Divine Tea.

"Alas! Fellow Daoist Qin, you have no idea; making this single trip was truly not easy!" Aunt Long sighed with deep emotion.

From her words, Qin Ming learned that Canghai Xiancheng was now under city-wide martial law; even for someone from the Mirror Jing Xue Ge to venture out once was extremely difficult.

Afterwards, Aunt Long also handed over to him the spirit stones from the previous time when Qin Ming had entrusted Gu Qingzhao to sell spiritual materials.

Finally, there was a jade slip sent back from Su Yuqing of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.

"Alas! Under such a dangerous situation, to trouble Fellow Daoist Long to make the trip personally truly makes Qin Mou feel uneasy; this is a small token of my appreciation, please accept it, Fellow Daoist Long." Qin Ming then took out a jar of Spirit-Gathering Tea and a jar of Spirit-Fire Wine and gave them to Aunt Long.

In any case, the even more effective Bai Yulin Wine was about to be brewed and ready to leave the cellar.

Aunt Long's eyes lit up! To be honest, she was aware of these two items of Fellow Daoist Qin; they had a tremendous effect on boosting the cultivation of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

She had been stuck at the early stage of Foundation Establishment for several decades; to say she was not tempted would be false, so she half-resisted and half-accepted the two items.

Aunt Long stayed on Moon-Gazing Island for only a small half-day, shared some of the latest intelligence from the Immortal Realm with Qin Ming, and then took her leave.

Afterwards, Qin Ming could not wait and took out the jade slip that Su Yuqing had sent him.

He immersed his divine sense and began reading it.

After finishing the contents, Qin Ming's expression changed from surprise to shock, then from shock to confusion; in short, it was extremely dramatic.

In the jade slip, Su Yuqing expressed great astonishment that Qin Ming had actually managed to obtain a second-stage perfect demon core of a Demon Ape, repeatedly offered congratulations, and between the lines revealed a subtle hint of envy.

Immediately following this were several second-stage superior-grade pill formulas that could be used to refine pills from second-stage perfect demon cores; their rarity was self-evident.

It was feared that even within the Pill Cauldron Pavilion in the core district of Canghai Xiancheng, one could not obtain such pill formulas.

The following content left Qin Ming somewhat shocked; in the letter, Su Yuqing proudly stated that he himself had touched the threshold of a third-grade Pill Refining Grandmaster, and furthermore, his cultivation had broken through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, with a Jin Dan within reach! "Brother Qin, Su Mou knows that you sent me so many good items precisely for the Golden Core pill formula, hehehe!"

"But I heard a beast disaster broke out in your area; are you doing alright?"

"The Golden Core is likewise a strategic-level resource controlled by Nascent Soul sects to dominate a region; if I give you the formula, I could lose my head for it."

"However, I know of a place where the formula can be obtained."

(End of Chapter)