Chapter 250: Locking Down the Location

With a slight probe of his divine sense, Qin Ming immediately knew this was a False Dan cultivator.

He then took out his Elder token and handed it over to the other party.

The elderly gatekeeper of the Technique Pavilion accepted the token, deducted one hundred contribution points, returned the token to Qin Ming, and then said carelessly, "You may go in."

Qin Ming put away the token and immediately stepped inside.

Only after entering the Technique Transmission Pavilion did he discover the space within was vast, filled with rows upon rows of technique jade slips, along with other secret arts and books on the hundred arts of cultivation.

On the first floor, where most Xuanyu Valley Qi Condensation disciples gathered, they all bowed and greeted him upon seeing Qin Ming, a Foundation Establishment Guest Elder, enter.

After nodding slightly in response, Qin Ming went straight to the third floor, where the crowd thinned out considerably, with only a handful of Foundation Establishment cultivators browsing the classics.

He wandered around casually and found quite a few top-tier techniques and secret arts, though compared to what was in his storage bag, they were far inferior.

After pondering briefly, Qin Ming ascended to the fifth floor, where the space began to become spacious and empty.

Technique books became scarce, and Qin Ming was practically the only cultivator who had come up here.

An hour passed.

Seeing no one around, he secretly transmitted a voice to the Shi Tian Shu:

"Do you have a way to enter beyond the fifth floor?"

"It must be done without gods knowing or ghosts noticing."

"If you are discovered, just wait for Xuanyu Valley to turn you into dried rat meat."

"Hehe! Master, the formations here aren't strong; I can come and go freely without being detected," the Shi Tian Shu's voice rang out in Qin Ming's mind.

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming immediately said, "In that case, slip in quietly; if you find the Golden Core Formation Pill Formula, make a copy for me."

"Uh, but I don't know what the Golden Core Formation Pill Formula looks like..." the Shi Tian Shu replied awkwardly.

Qin Ming told it, "Usually, the name of the pill formula is written down; or, if you see any formulas listing Bathing Fire Golden Lotus and Returning Nether True Yin Flower as main ingredients, copy those down as well."

"Alright, Master, rest assured; I'll be back shortly."

Qin Ming then released the Shi Tian Shu; as soon as it emerged, it flashed and vanished into the void, disappearing from sight.

Ripples spread through the void as the Shi Tian Shu slipped toward the staircase leading to the sixth floor.

Qin Ming pretended to browse classics on the fifth floor, waiting for the Shi Tian Shu to return.

He was quite confident in the Shi Tian Shu's abilities.

Back when it had fled to Wangyue Island, it had managed to pass through his third-tier mid-grade great formation without gods knowing or ghosts noticing, and even evaded Qin Ming's divine sense probe, which was comparable to that of a Jin Dan stage cultivator, fully demonstrating the power of its divine abilities.

Time ticked by.

After another hour or so, the Shi Tian Shu ran back and burrowed into Qin Ming's storage bag.

"How did it go? Did you find anything?" Qin Ming asked with some anticipation.

The Shi Tian Shu transmitted a voice, saying, "Master, I've been through floors six to eight, but none of them contain the Golden Core Formation Pill Formula you mentioned."

"However, there are quite a few high-grade human techniques inside, all top-tier techniques secretly transmitted by Xuanyu Valley; shall I get them for you? Hehe!"

Hearing this, Qin Ming shook his head with slight regret: "Then it seems to be located elsewhere."

Afterwards, Qin Ming exited the Technique Transmission Pavilion with a composed demeanor.

The False Dan elderly gatekeeper glanced at Qin Ming, detected nothing unusual, and went back to dozing off on his own.

On the mission plaza of Qianyuan Peak, figures surged and jostled.

Yan Ruyan, as usual, prepared to accept a mission to exchange for some cultivation resources.

Not long ago, in order to break through to the late stage of Qi Condensation, she had spent almost all her savings accumulated over many years; she could be said to be so poor her pockets jingled, and now she relied solely on the sect's small monthly stipend to survive.

Two Spirit-Nurturing Pills and twenty spirit stones every month.

But for her, these cultivation resources were far from enough.

Just then.

She saw a large crowd gathered around one of the mission walls, so she hurried over to join them.

"Wow! Which Elder is so generous?"

"A spirit planting mission actually rewards sect contribution points!"

"This rivals the reward for a Grade B mission."

"It was posted by Elder Yu of the Jade Bamboo Forest!"

"Let's go, let's go, hurry and grab the mission; planting spirit plants surely requires many hands, and if we're late, there won't be any spots left."

Subsequently, many cultivators headed toward the Steward Hall to accept the mission.

After seeing the notice on the mission board, Yan Ruyan found herself plunged into doubting her very existence.

"Is this really that stingy and petty Elder?"

After standing in place and pondering for a long time, she gritted her silver teeth and also ran toward the Steward Hall.

Jade Bamboo Forest.

After returning, Qin Ming was lying on a reclining chair amidst the bamboo grove, silently pondering the few places where the pill formula was most likely to exist.

Suddenly, he saw a large group of Xuanyu Valley Qi Condensation disciples outside, all running toward his location.

"Elder Yu, I'm here to accept the mission; this junior is at the sixth layer of Qi Condensation and has one year of experience planting spirit rice."

"Same here; this junior is a first-tier mid-grade spirit planter with rich planting experience!"

"Elder Yu, do you think I'm suitable?"

Yan Ruyan hadn't expected the competition to be so fierce; she had no choice but to steel herself and speak weakly, "This junior is at the late stage of the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, has experience planting low-grade spirit herbs, and can endure hardship and work hard." Qin Ming also hadn't expected that a mission he casually posted would attract so many disciples. 'Is this the allure of sect contribution points?' he couldn't help but purse his lips and sigh inwardly.

He then swept his gaze across the crowd, his eyes landing on a familiar figure, and immediately spoke:

"You're the one; everyone else, disperse."

Qin Ming pointed at Yan Ruyan and said indifferently, "..."

Compared to the other disciples, Yan Ruyan held little advantage; originally, she had harbored no hope whatsoever, yet she never expected Elder Yu to select her immediately.

Somewhat incredulous, she pointed at her own nose and asked weakly, "Me?"

"Mm, that's right, it is you." Qin Ming nodded.

"Elder Yu, I too can endure hardship and work hard; won't you consider me?"

"This old man has his own plans; the rest of you may disperse."

Within a short while, only Yan Ruyan remained standing inside the jade bamboo forest.

She felt somewhat dazed; after glancing around in all directions, she asked uncertainly, "I'm the only one planting?"

"What? Didn't you say you were quite capable of enduring hardship and working hard?"

"If you've changed your mind, there's still time," Qin Ming said indifferently.

Yan Ruyan hurriedly nodded, saying, "No, no, no! This junior is willing."

Afterwards, Qin Ming tossed her a spiritual hoe along with the Purple Crystal Rice spiritual seeds he had purchased from the spiritual herb garden, then returned indoors.

He left her to her own devices outside.

Gazing at the dozens of mu of wasteland within the jade bamboo forest, holding the spiritual hoe, Yan Ruyan felt a profound sense of helplessness rise within her.

'No wonder sect contribution points are offered; this reward isn't so easy to obtain.'

Nevertheless, forced by reality, she had no choice but to shoulder the spiritual hoe and begin digging the earth.

Watching Yan Ruyan outside, sweating like rain, Qin Ming felt not the slightest intention to show tenderness toward a beauty.

Three days later.

He came beside the house, casually dug half a mu of land, planted over a dozen second-rank lower-grade spiritual herbs and several second-rank middle-grade spiritual herbs, thereby completing the Qin Keqing mission for Profound Creek Valley.

Seeing him operate in this manner from nearby, Yan Ruyan couldn't help but freeze on the spot, muttering, "Could it be? Planting second-rank spiritual plants is this simple?!"

More than half a year passed.

During this period, Yan Ruyan worked tirelessly every day, busy in the fields, and finally succeeded in cultivating the first-rank Purple Crystal Spiritual Rice.

Of course, Qin Ming's guidance was not entirely absent during this time, though it was minimal; essentially, she accomplished it all by herself.

Over these past six months, Yan Ruyan's delicate skin had been tanned to a wheat color.

What surprised her most, however, was that the second-rank spiritual plants casually planted by 'Elder Yu' had all survived and grown to two inches tall.

She had never seen the other party tend to them much; it was almost a free-range style of cultivation, yet these spiritual herbs grew even better than those in the sect's spiritual herb garden.

With Qin Ming's current level of expertise in spiritual planting, combined with the Ancient Wood Evergreen Body's innate super-strong affinity for vegetation, and bolstered by the Four Seasons Divine Light, cultivating these second-rank spiritual herbs was simply too easy.

Inside the house.

Over these past six months, while Qin Ming ostensibly farmed the land, he had actually been secretly searching for the whereabouts of the Golden Core pill formula.

Not long ago, he finally confirmed the location of the pill formula.

It was within the Scripture Pavilion atop Falling Cloud Peak, one of the three forbidden lands of Profound Creek Valley!

However, guarding the Scripture Pavilion was Profound Creek Valley's Jin Dan Elder Wan.

This presented Qin Ming with a tricky situation; had the Shi Tian Shu recovered to its peak strength as a third-rank Demon King, he would naturally be willing to take the risk.

But now, with the Shi Tian Shu merely at the second-rank perfect stage, facing a Jin Dan Laozu—and moreover an established Jin Dan elder of Profound Creek Valley with deep foundations—even with its vast divine abilities, there remained a high probability of exposure.

"I am determined to obtain the pill formula, but I must wait for an opportune moment to act."

After pondering for a while, Qin Ming took out a pill formula.

This formula was named 'Zhurong Pill'; it was a third-rank spiritual pill that offered tremendous assistance in restoring a spiritual pet's origin essence.

According to the introduction on the formula, this pill had originally been developed by a certain spiritual beast sect within the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty.

Later, it drifted to the Li Fire Palace, from where the founding Yunxi Laozu of Profound Creek Valley brought it back to the Liang Kingdom.

Qin Ming had obtained this formula from a fake-Jin Dan elder atop Profound Creek Valley's Danxia Peak while searching for the Golden Core pill formula.

For this, he had not hesitated to consume vital essence to cast once the 'Heavenly Demon Dream Entry Great Art' from the 'Yuan Sha Seed Demon True Scripture'.

This demonic secret art, once activated, could forcibly plunge a person into a dream realm and tamper with their memories.

However, casting this technique had one rigid requirement: one's divine soul had to be several times stronger than that of the target.

Otherwise, if backlash occurred, the result would be either death or madness.

After deliberating for a long time, Qin Ming transmitted his voice to ask the Shi Tian Shu, "If you recover your peak strength, do you have confidence in copying the Golden Core pill formula right under that Elder Wan's nose?"

"Ehehe! Master, need you even ask? When this grandpa was at my strongest, my innate bloodline divine ability could break through third-rank upper-grade formations, and my Void Walking divine ability could completely evade detection even by Jin Dan late-stage Laozu."

"Very well, I will first help you restore your cultivation and strength." Upon hearing this, Qin Ming felt reassured in his heart.

"Really? That's wonderful! I swear to serve you unto death!"

"Enough, enough! Refining the Zhurong Pill requires third-rank spiritual materials; we must go to Moyuan Xiancheng to purchase them."

Having said this, Qin Ming opened the door and walked out.

(End of Chapter)