Chapter 204: Return to Nether Haiyou Zhen Yin Hua

Inside the tent, Feng Sihai and several clansmen were also present, each wearing a somber expression; on ordinary days, they had received no small amount of care from Lü Liang.

Had Lü Liang not arranged for the Feng family to reside within the inner city, they would have long since been caught up in the first wave of beast tide assaults.

Now, seeing him on the verge of falling, an indescribable sorrow filled their hearts.

However, following Qin Ming's instructions, Lü Liang had not revealed to the Feng family that it was Qin Ming who had arranged their placement.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, you have arrived."

Upon seeing Qin Ming enter, Lü Liang forced a faint smile onto his haggard face.

He then turned to the others around him and said, "I wish to speak a few words alone with Fellow Daoist Qin."

Hearing this, everyone in the tent departed.

Qin Ming understood Lü Liang's intent and extended his hand to erect a soundproofing barrier.

"Sigh... One hundred and twenty years of cultivation, yet I never expected that by today, it would all turn to nothing."

"Thinking back, I truly envy Fellow Daoist Qin, unbound and free, acting with uninhibited ease."

Qin Ming took out a second-tier healing spirit pill and brought it to Lü Liang's mouth for him to swallow.

Lü Liang did not refuse, as he seemed to have more to say; after swallowing the pill, though it offered little real effect, it did help forcibly sustain a breath of life within him.

"My path of cultivation in this life is nearing its end; the only thing I cannot rest easy about is my disciple."

"However, thanks to the blessings of Fellow Daoist Qin, she has successfully established her Foundation Establishment and now possesses some ability to protect herself; the road ahead will depend solely on her."

"Cough, cough! I merely... hope that if the opportunity arises, Fellow Daoist Qin can look after her a little more."

"With that, Lü will have no regrets in departing..."

"As compensation, I possess nothing on my person that would be of interest to Fellow Daoist Qin."

Having said this, Lü Liang took out two fruit cores emitting an icy blue chill, each the size of an almond; the moment this object appeared, the surrounding temperature began to plummet sharply, appearing quite miraculous.

"Some days ago, while on a mission, I accidentally discovered this object while searching through a beast cave deep within the Beast Cry Mountain Range; it appears to be the spirit seed of some kind of spiritual plant."

"It should be of some use to Fellow Daoist Qin, so I gift it to you."

Qin Ming accepted these two ice-blue spirit seeds, yet his heart was filled with astonishment.

He naturally recognized this spirit seed; its name was 'Return to Nether Haiyou Zhen Yin Hua'.

It was one of the two primary materials publicly known in the Immortal Realm for refining a Jin Dan pill; aside from the Bathing Fire Golden Lotus, the other was this third-tier lower-grade spiritual plant, the 'Return to Nether Haiyou Zhen Yin Hua'.

It grows only in extremely yin nether lands; let alone the State of Wei, even throughout the entire Southern Wild Immortal Realm, it is exceedingly rare.

This spiritual plant requires five hundred years to mature for medicinal use, and the fruit it bears differs from ordinary spiritual plants; upon maturation, the plant produces a kind of spiritual liquid named 'Return to Nether True Water'.

Qin Ming had no idea what great fortune Lü Liang had stumbled upon, that he should happen to find this spirit seed.

Fortunately, he did not recognize this object; otherwise, it likely would not have fallen into Qin Ming's hands.

It would have long since ended up in the possession of a Jin Dan Yunxi Laozu.

Of course, given the friendship between Lü Liang and himself, even if the other party had not used this spiritual plant as an exchange, Qin Ming would still look after Lü Wanjun to the best of his ability.

"Fellow Daoist Lü, rest assured; even without this item, I will naturally look after your disciple," Qin Ming said, then stored the spirit seeds away.

At this moment, Lü Liang was already at the end of his oil and wick, his face covered by a thick layer of deathly qi.

His departure was not far off.

After Lü Liang had finished his instructions to Qin Ming, True Person Nalan Xi of the Cang Sea entered from outside.

As an old subordinate of True Person Cang Sea, she had rushed to this place the moment she finished handling urgent affairs, to see Lü Liang for the last time.

"City Lord..."

One hour later.

Lü Liang ultimately let go of the human world and passed away.

Within the tent, the sound of sobbing faintly arose.

'Sigh! How tragic, how lamentable... one day death arrives, and a hundred years of cultivation turn into mere bubbles and shadows.'

After matters had concluded.

True Person Nalan Xi again called Qin Ming aside to speak with him privately for a few words.

"Qin Xiaoyou, how is the maturation of the Spirit-Transforming Demon Fruit progressing?"

Hearing this, Qin Ming immediately replied, "Soon, very soon; please rest assured, Senior, I will redouble my efforts and deliver it to Senior Nalan within half a year at most."

He could also see that True Person Cang Sea had been heavily burdened with worry recently, likely driven to distraction by the beast disaster; after all, never before had a situation arisen in the Xiancheng where a Demon King broke through the defenses of a third-tier upper-grade great formation.

The abilities of that Devouring Sky Mouse Demon King were truly bizarre, actually capable of suppressing barriers and great formations.

Even if the formation was repaired, should the next beast tide roll in, the great formation of the Xiancheng would likely still be unable to withstand it.

"Truly? That would be excellent!" Nalan Xi's eyes brightened, a trace of a smile flashing across them.

Once her third-tier spiritual turtle recovered from its injuries, it would be able to share much of the pressure with her.

"Sigh! Qin Xiaoyou, to be perfectly honest with you, Cang Sea Xiancheng has now reached a moment critical to its life and death."

"If the spirit fruit matures, it will be able to help me greatly."

Nalan Xi said slowly.

"Ah?"

"Senior Nalan, has the situation of the beast tide become so severe?" Upon hearing Nalan Xi's words, Qin Ming could not help but be startled.

Nalan Xi nodded, "Based on our encounters with those few Demon Kings, there should be an even more powerful Demon King behind them."

"It is even possible that it is a high-tier bloodline beast Wang Zu of the third-tier middle stage or above."

"Today's events were likely merely a probing attack."

"What comes next will be the battle that decides the life or death of the Xiancheng."

"Once Cang Sea Xiancheng falls and this barrier is lost, the cultivation worlds within the Four States will all suffer beast disasters on a scale even greater than before."

"It is hard to imagine what it will look like."

Hearing this, Qin Ming also felt a heavy burden on his heart.

"By the way, before departing, Fellow Daoist Lü entrusted me to look after his disciple, Lü Wanjun; could Senior arrange for her to be assigned to a position in the rear?"

"This would also preserve a lineage for Fellow Daoist Lü."

Nalan Xi nodded gently upon hearing this. "Even if Fellow Daoist Qin had not mentioned it, I would have planned to do exactly this."

"Additionally, Lü Liang's ten thousand merit points will also be transferred to her."

"Then many thanks to Senior Nalan." Qin Ming bowed in salute.

Ten thousand merit points held considerable value within Canghai Xiancheng, sufficient to provide Lü Wanjun with resources to cultivate all the way to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

After concluding his conversation with the True Person of Canghai,

Qin Ming also met with Wei Wuya, whose words differed little from those of Nalan Xi.

"Alas! Fellow Daoist Qin, holding a high position is not easy to bear!"

"I must still manage affairs within the sect; nowadays, I am stretched too thin to be in two places at once."

From Wei Wuya's tone, Qin Ming learned that if the time truly came when Canghai Xiancheng could no longer be held, Wei Wuya would decisively withdraw and would not stay behind to fight to the death.

After all, Lei Yuanzong was a vast and powerful clan; it could not afford to lose him, their Jin Dan ancestral founder.

Two days later.

News flew everywhere within Canghai Xiancheng, most of it bad.

Most shops in both the inner and outer cities kept their doors tightly shut, looking as though a storm were brewing and a great calamity was imminent.

Qin Ming also went to Lü Liang's villa to pay respects before his spirit tablet.

"Alas! This is precisely the danger of soldiers and the peril of war! Fortunately, I do not enjoy conflict, nor have I joined any faction, so I will not be forcibly assigned such dangerous tasks."

Qin Ming sighed again, poured a cup of Bai Yulin wine, and performed a sacrifice to honor this old friend.

Lü Wanjun had grown much haggard over these past days; Lü Liang had raised her and been like both teacher and father, so she found it difficult to recover from such a blow so quickly.

Afterwards,

Qin Ming chatted with her for a while longer, telling her that if she encountered any difficulties in the future, she could come to Wangyue Island to find him, and he would help within his capabilities.

After all, he could not accept Lü Liang's third-tier spiritual seed for nothing.

But Lü Wanjun, overwhelmed by grief and distracted, may not have even heard what he said.

Another half-day passed.

Just as Qin Ming had expected,

the beast tide had not completely retreated; instead, it lay in ambush around the Xiancheng and, once again organized by the Demon King, surged back toward Canghai Xiancheng.

(End of Chapter)