Chapter 257: Caught

A thief struck on Lingdao, and Qin Ming was powerless to catch him, leaving him deeply frustrated.

He carefully inspected the Third-Rank Xuan Gui Fu Hai Array and found no flaws or anomalies.

"This is truly strange."

Next.

Qin Ming accelerated the maturation process, ripening all remaining spirit peaches on the five Five-Element Qi Peach Trees and swiftly harvested them.

Immediately afterward, two blue entries appeared in Qin Ming's spiritual perception.

"I could have harvested over twenty spirit peaches, but the peach thief stole ten—truly infuriating." Qin Ming tucked the spirit peaches away and tossed one to the Xuan Shui Eel to extend its lifespan.

With such a menace on Lingdao, how could Qin Ming sleep? He must find the peach thief at all costs.

Otherwise, his spirit plants would be ravaged.

"It must not be an ordinary beast—it evaded my spiritual sense, comparable to a Jin Dan cultivator's."

"But first, I'll boost my strength."

Qin Ming ordered the Xuan Shui Eel to guard the cave entrance, then activated the entry 【Abundant Lifespan】 ×5.

In the depths of the cosmos.

A vast force of temporal energy suddenly descended upon Qin Ming.

His lifespan surged by two hundred and fifty years, bringing his total to eight hundred and sixty years.

It was an extraordinarily long life, far exceeding that of a Jin Dan Ancestor.

Qin Ming grinned, savoring the joy of his greatly extended lifespan.

Moments later.

He activated the entry 【Blood Source】.

An unprecedented surge of blood qi erupted from within him, flowing ceaselessly along his meridians in a full celestial cycle.

Qin Ming seized the moment and began cultivating the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture.

Two days later.

Behind Qin Ming, a torrent of crimson light erupted! The crimson phantom of the Four-Armed Demon Monkey materialized automatically; its blood qi true Gang condensed powerfully, the phantom growing clearer—until a majestic, awe-inspiring armor appeared upon the demon monkey, radiating dominance.

"The condition for the Third Transformation of True Gang Manifestation has finally been met!"

His body had strengthened once more, his power exploding—he now resembled a humanoid primordial beast, invincible in all directions.

Next, Qin Ming took out the beast hide once more and infused it with his blood qi true Gang.

Moments later.

Having met the cultivation condition, the beast hide map glowed again with the Hundred Beasts Visualization Diagrams.

Qin Ming immersed his spirit, beginning to select a beast phantom.

A few seconds passed.

He withdrew from the Hundred Beasts Visualization Diagram, but his expression darkened.

"To fully complete the Third Transformation of True Gang Manifestation, I must refine the essence of three Second-Rank Peak beasts."

"This is too difficult."

Qin Ming frowned—he had no easy way to obtain Second-Rank Peak beast essences.

He had barely slain one Second-Rank Peak Earth-Shaking Bear Beast last time, but he'd already fed it to his root spirit plant for its advancement.

Yet Qin Ming also learned from the Hundred Beasts Visualization Diagram.

The reason the Third Transformation was so difficult was clear.

Once completed, his body cultivation would reach a level rivaling that of a Jin Dan cultivator.

"It seems I must bide my time and plan carefully for the beast essences."

Cultivation ended.

Qin Ming was about to step outside for some fresh air.

Suddenly!

A commotion erupted outside the cave, and he received an urgent call from the Xuan Shui Eel in his mind.

Qin Ming's face darkened. 'Could the peach thief have struck again?'

His figure blurred instantly and vanished from his spot.

When he reappeared, he had followed the Xuan Shui Eel's signal to the base of his root spirit plant, the Yin-Yang Xuan Teng.

But when Qin Ming saw what lay before him, he was stunned.

"What a huge rat!"

There, hanging from a black tendril of the Yin-Yang Xuan Teng, was a large, gray-furred beast rat.

It was tightly bound by the vines, struggling uselessly, swinging like a pendulum beneath the tree—its appearance absurdly comical.

"So you're finally caught!" Qin Ming's gaze sharpened; his spiritual sense swept over the beast rat, confirming it was the shadow that had stolen his spirit peaches.

Clearly, this thief hadn't changed his ways—after stealing the peaches, he'd come to steal the Third-Rank Spirit Transformation Fruit beneath his root spirit plant, and had been caught red-handed by the Yin-Yang Xuan Teng.

Yet the more Qin Ming stared, the more familiar the beast rat seemed.

He'd seen it somewhere before. Suddenly, a flash lit his mind: "This—this!"

"Doesn't it resemble the Third-Rank Shi Tian Rat King that attacked Canghai Xian City?!"

But this gray rat was only at Late Stage First Rank—equivalent to a Qi Refining cultivator.

Even so, Qin Ming broke into a cold sweat; he dared not underestimate it and immediately drew the Qing Luan Spirit Sword.

He intended to strike while the enemy was vulnerable.

Whether or not it was the Rat King, daring to openly steal spirit fruits on his own spirit island was a grave crime.

Qin Ming formed a Qing Ming Sword Seal and poured all his magic power into the Qing Luan Sword.

A towering azure sword qi surged into the sky!

He prepared to slash down upon the gray rat.

But at the brink of death, the gray rat spoke in human speech, frantically pleading: "Wait! Wait!"

"Stop! Stop right now!"

"Esteemed cultivator, please don't! Spare my life!"

Qin Ming had never heard a beast speak before—he froze, now certain this was the Third-Rank Rat King, and resolved to kill it.

He ignored its pleas, his gaze icy, ready to strike the final blow.

'Just needed beast essences for cultivation—and here it comes to me.'

The azure blade above blazed brighter, poised to cleave the rat's head.

The gray rat, dangling upside-down from the vine, panicked and screamed at the top of its lungs:

"I'm going to die!"

"Stop! Big brother, stop!"

"Don't you want the next part of the Heavenly Beast Body Refinement Scripture?"

Qin Ming frowned, retracting his sword seal and coldly asked: "What 'Heavenly Beast Body Refinement Scripture'? What does it have to do with me?"

The rat, seeing Qin Ming halt, let out a long breath.

It had nearly pissed itself.

This human boy was truly ready to kill without hesitation.

It blurted out: "Huh? The body cultivation technique you were just practicing!"

"It's the famed Heavenly Beast Body Refinement Scripture of our beast race! You've already reached the Second Stage—how could you not know?"

"Honestly, you're a freak."

"With only a human body, you've reached this level—clearly, you're one step away from breaking into the Third Stage—the Ultimate Body."

Hearing this, Qin Ming recalled his own cultivation of the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture, and the ancient script on the beast hide—not written in human characters—and realized it might indeed be what the rat claimed.

Qin Ming's expression turned grim—he hadn't realized his primary body cultivation technique was a beast race scripture. What if it caused problems?

After all, beast physiology and meridian structures differed from humans'.

The gray rat seemed to sense his worry and spoke up: "Esteemed cultivator, rest easy. If you've practiced the Heavenly Beast Body Refinement Scripture and are still alive and kicking, then it's perfectly safe."

Qin Ming felt both irritated and amused.

"Who's your 'esteemed cultivator'?"

"You keep calling me that—spit it out. Who are you really?"

"If I'm not mistaken, you're the Shi Tian Rat King who was gravely wounded by the four Jin Dan cultivators."

"I cultivate the human scripture, the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture—not your so-called Heavenly Beast Body Refinement Scripture."

The gray rat was caught off guard and fell silent.

Then it awkwardly chuckled, no longer hiding: "Cultivator, your insight is uncanny! I'm none other than… uh… I am… hehe!"

"The Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture is the Heavenly Beast Body Refinement Scripture—its name is just a disguise. Otherwise, how could I instantly recognize your cultivation progress?"

"Oh? So that's how it is. But Qin Mou has no intention of making a pact with a tiger—I'll simply perform a soul-search on you. I might find what I need." Qin Ming sneered, preparing to cast the Soul-Search technique.

He had observed carefully—the Shi Tian Rat King, for some reason, had plummeted from his former power and now stood at Qi Refining level. The rat shrieked: "You're not playing fair!"

"I'll be honest—the Heavenly Beast Body Refinement Scripture is the pinnacle of beast techniques. I've never even practiced it—only royal bloodline beasts may cultivate it."

"But I know where to get it."

"If you keep pressing me, I'll kill myself—then you'll never get it!"

(End of Chapter)