Chapter 214: Suppression from the Bloodline

In the sky.

That second-rank great demon, Lei Peng, had detected the Xuan Shui E's presence the moment it appeared.

But what enraged it was that the creature was none other than the pet of that plain-looking human cultivator!

Jiu! Lei Peng's gaze sharpened, let out a screech—it despised nothing more than demons who submitted to humans as pets.

Crackling!

Lightning arcs flashed, and Lei Peng's aura surged violently; its claws, capable of piercing through any cultivator's magic treasure, were wreathed in thunderous energy as it spread its massive wings and dove toward the Xuan Shui E.

Boom! The two second-rank great demons collided midair, unleashing a blinding flash of light; the surrounding air exploded outward in a shockwave.

The shock sent lower-rank demons reeling, tumbling down from the sky.

Then the two demons began wrestling in midair, leaving behind thunderous roars, chaotic air currents, and shattered mountains and earth.

The gale from their battle's residual force even sheared off more than half the prow of a Shangmeng Society magic vessel.

Despite Lei Peng's devastating lightning arts and razor-sharp claws, it could not pierce the Xuan Shui E's dark-gold scales.

On the contrary, the Xuan Shui E remained calm, swinging its thunder-charged tail and smashing it squarely into Lei Peng's back.

Boom! Caught off guard, Lei Peng was slammed downward thirty zhang.

A trickle of blood seeped from its beak; its eyes stared in disbelief at the Xuan Shui E across from it.

It never expected a Foundation Establishment mid-stage demon to wound it.

After all, it possessed a Grade-Terrace bloodline talent! Lei Peng shed its contempt, ceased close combat, and relied on its speed to circle and evade, attempting to exhaust the Xuan Shui E's stamina.

Yet after half an hour of chasing and grappling, no matter how Lei Peng fled or twisted, it could not shake off the Xuan Shui E's pursuit.

Finally, Lei Peng lost patience. As the leader of its clan, it had always held itself above all others, basking in the authority granted by its noble bloodline.

When had it ever endured such humiliation? Being chased like a rat by a Xuan Shui E—even if it won, returning to the Beast Cry Mountains would make it a laughingstock among other clans.

Thinking this through,

Lei Peng's eyes flashed with ruthlessness; it let out a piercing shriek and unleashed its ultimate bloodline technique. Its beak opened wide, and all the silver lightning swirling around its body converged before its mouth, while gusts of divine wind poured forth, coalescing into a massive sphere of wind and thunder intertwined.

A terrifying magical power descended upon the heavens and earth.

The Shangmeng Society cultivators watching this scene trembled in fear—if this great demon's bloodline technique struck their vessel, they would be utterly defenseless.

The Xuan Shui E refused to yield; its massive mouth opened, and dark-gold scales along its back ignited one after another, forming a continuous chain.

It too activated its advanced bloodline technique—Wu Tu Divine Thunder! A golden-yellow lightning sphere gathered in its mouth, expanding rapidly.

In an instant,

the two thunder-type great demons simultaneously unleashed their bloodline techniques.

Boom-Krak! Two brilliant lightning techniques—one gold, one silver—met midair and collided violently.

The sky erupted with the power of a heavenly tribulation; lightning arcs exploded outward, turning all demons caught in the blast into ash.

Many flying demons scattered in panic, terrified of being drawn into the two great demons' techniques.

All eyes fixed on this earth-shattering confrontation.

Zilaa!

The Xuan Shui E's gaze turned icy; its lightning technique suddenly surged again, unleashing a soul-pressure of the King of All Beasts!

A strange golden rune drifted from the Xuan Shui E's forehead and sank into the thunder.

The golden Wu Tu Divine Thunder instantly doubled in size, engulfing Lei Peng's wind-thunder sphere and surging toward its source!

Lei Peng's eyes reflected a streak of golden lightning; at the same time, a primal suppression surged through its bloodline, filling its gaze with terror.

How is this possible? A Heaven-grade bloodline! Boom! The Xuan Shui E's Wu Tu Divine Thunder struck Lei Peng full force; thunder roared and instantly swallowed it whole.

A burst of blood mist exploded in the sky; a massive body tumbled lifelessly downward.

Lei Peng was not yet dead, still clinging to a breath; it prepared to detonate its demon core and take the enemy with it.

But the Xuan Shui E flashed like lightning, appearing before it in an instant, opening its jaws wide and biting clean through its neck.

Gushing blood spurted from Lei Peng's severed neck.

Lei Peng's eyes filled with defiance as it sank into endless darkness. Above, the other flying demons, seeing their clan leader slain, scattered like birds and beasts.

The remaining few Foundation Establishment great demons, staring at the Xuan Shui E in terror, turned and fled.

The sky, once choked with dark clouds, suddenly cleared into boundless blue. The Shangmeng Society cultivators on the vessel, feeling the relief of survival, were left speechless by what they had witnessed.

That second-rank late-stage Lei Peng demon was exceptionally powerful—even a human Foundation Establishment peak cultivator might not have been its match, yet it was crushed by Qin Ming's pet.

Zhou Ping's gaze toward Qin Ming was filled with awe. Could such a terrifying pet truly be bred by a spirit gardener?

The Xuan Shui E returned to Qin Ming's side, dragging Lei Peng's corpse, and proudly lifted its head.

"Well done. I'll reward you handsomely later!"

Qin Ming waved his hand over Lei Peng's corpse, storing it in his storage bag.

Then he dismissed the Xuan Shui E.

Only after this did Zhou Ping of the Shangmeng Society fly over, bowing deeply to Qin Ming, "Thank you, Qin Daoist, for saving us!"

"Otherwise, we would have been doomed."

"Zhou Daoist, please don't bow. Before demonic calamities, we must stand together—it's only right." Qin Ming quickly helped Zhou Ping to his feet.

After exchanging pleasantries, the Shangmeng Society vessel dared not delay further; they cleaned up the battlefield and swiftly departed from Wangyue Lake.

…

Wangyue Island.

Qin Ming returned to the island with the Xuan Shui E.

Wu Jiang swallowed hard, nervously asking Qin Ming, "Qin Daoist, has something major happened outside?"

"Why the sounds of battle with the demon herds?"

"Nothing. The Shangmeng Society fleet was targeted by a group of demons—already dealt with." Qin Ming spoke as if dismissing a trivial matter.

"Oh! Good to hear!" Wu Jiang exhaled in relief.

Qin Ming smiled faintly, patting his shoulder. "Relax. Keep tending your fields—nowhere is safer than here."

Wu Jiang nodded vigorously and returned to urging his clan members to farm.

Qin Ming returned to his cave entrance, dropped Lei Peng's corpse on the ground, and extracted its demon core from its skull.

"Rarely does one carry even a trace of Thunder Dragon bloodline—no wonder its strength surpassed ordinary late-stage second-rank demons." He examined the Lei Peng demon core in his hand.

But beneath his feet, the Xuan Shui E had already drooled a puddle on the ground.

"Alright, alright, take it!" Qin Ming tossed the demon core to the Xuan Shui E, then pulled a third-rank Hua Ling Yao Guo from his storage bag and handed it over too.

"I've practically fed you these third-rank Hua Ling Yao Guo like rice—this time you must break through to late-stage, or I'll eat crocodile meat."

The Xuan Shui E instantly thrilled, nuzzling Qin Ming's pant leg, then happily crawled back to its den, mouth full of the two spiritual items.

Qin Ming dismembered Lei Peng's corpse, collected its essence blood and flesh, and separately removed the thunder wings and talons, sealing them with spirit-sealing talismans.

Qin Ming dissected Lei Peng's corpse, collecting its essence-blood and flesh, then carefully removed its thunder wings and claws, sealing them with Spirit-Containment Talismans.

These were rare alchemical materials—if sold on the outside, they could fetch a fortune.

Peace returned to the vicinity of Wangyue Lake; only a few demonic beasts passed by, all of them circling around the mist of Wangyue Island before flying away.

the area around Wangyue Lake returned to its former calm; only a few demons passed by, all avoiding the mist-shrouded island.

Some foolish demons who wandered into the mist's illusionary realm were reduced to blood pearls.

Qin Ming fed all the blood pearls to his life-spirit plant, the Changsheng Teng; his Gumu Changsheng Ti cultivation progressed significantly.

Qin Ming arrived at the wooden hut by the lake where Wu Jiang and his wife lived, and had Mu Ruyin prepare a lavish feast from the demonic beast meat left over from alchemy—when it came to cooking, her skill was truly unmatched.

Qin Ming visited Wu Jiang and his wife's wooden cottage by the lake, asking Mu Ruyin to prepare a feast using leftover demon meat from alchemy—her culinary skill was truly unmatched.

The table held diverse dishes, each fragrant, colorful, and delicious; everyone ate with grease dripping from their lips.

Qin Ming had tasted many celestial delicacies from taverns, but none rivaled Mu Ruyin's cooking.

The couple rarely ate such rare demon meat, which greatly aided their cultivation; they forgot decorum and devoured everything in sight.

"Qin… Qin Daoist, uh… I heard… the Shangmeng Society's defense line on the spiritual energy Archipelago is about to collapse?" Wu Jiang mumbled through a chewy chunk of unknown demon meat.

Qin Ming nibbled a side dish and nodded slightly: "Correct. If things continue like this, they'll have to beg for aid from Canghai Xiancheng."

"But given the current situation, even the Xiancheng is overwhelmed—it won't be easy."

"Sigh! If I'd known this, I never would've sent my son to Lei Yuanzong—constant warfare, and he probably eats worse than I do!" Wu Jiang bit down hard on a chunk of demon muscle.

Mu Ruyin pinched him hard. "You're such a glutton!"

Qin Ming couldn't help but laugh at the two.

…

Since the Xianshui Crocodile swallowed Lei Peng's demonic core and consumed the third-rank Hua Ling demonic fruit, it had fallen into a deep slumber and shown no sign of awakening.

Since swallowing Lei Peng's demon core and consuming the third-rank Hua Ling Yao Guo, the Xuan Shui E had fallen into deep slumber with no sign of awakening.

Qin Ming even suspected the brute might have been overwhelmed by Lei Peng's demonic energy and died outright.

But since he shared a soul-link with the Xuan Shui E, even without sensing its aura, he still knew it was alive.

He just didn't know how long it would take to awaken—by its current state, it wouldn't stir for at least a year or two.

A few days later, Long Yi of the Jingxue Pavilion arrived, bringing five "Five Elements Qi Spirit Peaches" through the chaotic times.

Qin Ming hurriedly welcomed her into the Reception Tower and served her Shenjing Lingcha.

"Ah! Qin Daoist, you have no idea how difficult this trip was!" Long Yi sighed.

From her, Qin Ming learned that Canghai Xiancheng was now under full lockdown—even Jingxue Pavilion members struggled to leave.

Then Long Yi handed him the spirit stones from the previous sale of his alchemical materials, arranged by Gu Qing.

Finally, she delivered a jade slip sent back by Su Yuqing of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.

"Ah! Under such dangerous circumstances, you went out of your way to come here—I'm truly indebted, Long Daoist. Here's a small token of my gratitude." Qin Ming then presented Long Yi with a jar of Shenjing Tea and a cask of Linghuo Wine.

【101】 After all, the superior Yulin Wine was nearly ready for bottling.

Long Yi's eyes lit up! To be honest, she knew exactly what these two items were—they could greatly enhance a Foundation Establishment cultivator's cultivation base.

She had been stuck at the early stage of Foundation Establishment for decades; to say she wasn't tempted would be false, so she reluctantly accepted the two items.

Long Yi stayed on Wangyue Island for less than half a day, shared with Qin Ming the latest news from the cultivation world, then took her leave.

Immediately afterward, Qin Ming eagerly pulled out the jade slip Su Yuqing had sent him.

He immersed his spiritual sense in reading it.

After reading its contents, Qin Ming's expression shifted from surprise to shock, then from shock to confusion—in short, it was quite a spectacle.

In the jade slip, Su Yuqing expressed great astonishment that Qin Ming had managed to obtain a second-rank peak monkey demon core, congratulated him repeatedly, and subtly revealed a hint of envy in his words.

He then attached several second-rank superior-grade elixir formulas, usable for refining elixirs with a second-rank peak demon core—their rarity was self-evident.

Even the Dan Ding Pavilion in the core district of Canghai Xiancheng might not possess such formulas.

The next part left Qin Ming stunned: in the letter, Su Yuqing proudly declared he had touched the threshold of a third-rank elixir master, and his cultivation had broken through to late Foundation Establishment—he was now on the verge of Golden Core! "Brother Qin, I know you sent me all these fine items just to get the Golden Core elixir formula, huh? Hehehe!"

"But I heard there was a beast disaster in your area—are you alright?"

"The Golden Core elixir is a strategic resource controlled by Nascent Soul sects; if I give you the formula, I risk losing my head."

"But I know a place where you can obtain the formula."

(End of Chapter)