Chapter 260: Important Intelligence

Several days later.

An explosive piece of news rapidly spread outward with Taihu at its center.

An ancient ruin has emerged in the northern domain of Taihu, Jingzhou, Liang Kingdom! Moreover, it is suspected to be the mobile palace of an ancient great expert!

Because the heavenly and earthly anomalies accompanying the emergence of this ruin were too massive, even the Xuanyi Valley of Liang Kingdom could not conceal them.

As a result, the moment the ruin appeared, it was witnessed firsthand by a large number of cultivators, after which the news swept in all directions like a raging tide.

So much so that within an extremely short time, it thundered its way to Moyuan Xiancheng, then continued spreading toward Canghai Xiancheng, Wei Kingdom, Jin Kingdom, and the other three kingdoms of Wu Kingdom.

Furthermore, since this Taihu ruin had not been seized by any single faction, it also attracted a large batch of rogue cultivators who traveled ten thousand li to explore the ancient secret realm and gamble for a stroke of fortune.

In today's Immortal Realm, cultivation resources are scarce and rare.

Major sects and powerful factions eat the meat, while rogue cultivators struggle even to drink the soup.

As long as there is a sliver of chance, they will not let it slip away.

It is said that during the ancient era of cultivation, spiritual energy was incredibly abundant, high-grade spiritual veins and cultivation resources were plentiful, and cultivators with profound cultivation bases could be seen everywhere.

In teahouses and restaurants, during leisure moments after meals, people often discuss strange tales of which down-and-out rogue cultivator accidentally stumbled into a ruin or cave dwelling, obtained ancient inherited elixirs and miraculous medicines, and leaped from Foundation Establishment straight to achieving Jin Dan.

Precisely because there are real precedents of rogue cultivators encountering such fortunes, the cultivators coming to Taihu to seek secrets and treasure have become even more frenzied and headstrong.

They do not even stop to consider whether this place is truly a secret realm or merely a graveyard.

The once-calm Taihu suddenly became turbulent, taking on the aspect of an impending storm.

Even the beast tide, which had originally been stirring restlessly, chose to retreat entirely back to the Beast Cry Mountain Range upon the arrival of this event.

Qin Ming and Shi Tian Shu sensed something abnormal in this; they estimated that the Green-Faced Poisonous Flood Dragon Demon King must also be aware of the serious implications hidden within.

Even with its strength, it still chose to retreat three she.

As for Qin Ming, the very instigator of all this, he had already slipped away quietly, fleeing back to Moyuan Xiancheng.

He knew that beneath Taihu lay not some secret realm, but rather a massive pit! He absolutely could not enter it again; otherwise, not only would he find no treasure, but his life would likely be buried there.

Qin Ming planned that once the spiritual materials from the Mirror Snow Pavilion arrived in full, he would return to Wei Kingdom to refine a Core-Forming Pill and prepare to break through to the Jin Dan stage.

All this turmoil here had nothing to do with him anymore.

Even if he were to publicly declare now that beneath Taihu lies a massive pit, he estimated no one would believe him.

It simply could not be stopped.

Rogue cultivators whose minds have been addled by the temptation of ruinous fortune will only realize their mistake after several batches of them have died.

Qin Ming finally found some leisure, granting him the opportunity to properly understand the situation from that artifact spirit.

Inside a private room at the Mirror Snow Pavilion.

With a thought, Qin Ming connected with the artifact spirit within his storage bag and then cut straight to the point, asking, "Jin Lingzi, if the Taihu secret realm continues developing like this, I fear the outcome will not be favorable, correct?"

"These cultivators who descend will likely all become food for that Golden Toad Laozu."

"And what exactly is this matter you spoke of regarding the White Bone Wang Dian, and how can your master, the White Bone True Person, revive?"

Qin Ming could not imagine how a cultivator from tens of thousands of years ago could possibly reappear in the human world.

What terrifying lifespan would that require?

Hearing this, the artifact spirit replied in a tone devoid of any fluctuation: "The Golden Toad back then was merely a spiritual pet of the White Bone True Person; the threat it can pose is very limited."

"The true danger lies with the White Bone True Person."

"Ah? An unparalleled Demon King possessing late third-stage strength and merely a hair's breadth away from complete transformation is actually just a spiritual pet?" Qin Ming and Shi Tian Shu looked at each other in surprise, unable to suppress a hint of shock.

Qin Ming had already gained a preliminary understanding of him from the silk scroll.

Who exactly was the White Bone True Person?

In the ancient era, he was an existence invincible within the Jin Dan realm.

It is said that relying on the treasure Hooked-Jade Jin Guang Mirror, he swept away almost everything.

Possessing a late third-stage Demon King as a spiritual pet suddenly made perfect sense.

"The White Bone Wang Dian is the mobile palace where the White Bone True Person cultivated; the place you previously reached was already within the core region, and going deeper inward leads to the location of the mobile palace itself."

"Sealed within the mobile palace is the White Bone True Person; he possessed talent that could span heaven and earth, and coupled with the special cultivation technique he practiced, he can revive through the Art of Soul Possession," the artifact spirit explained.

"Sealed? Then who was it that sealed him here in the first place?"

"And why do you call him 'master'?" Qin Ming continued to ask.

Upon hearing these words, the artifact spirit fell into recollection for a long time, seeming somewhat reluctant to address this topic with Qin Ming.

Qin Ming continued to ask. Hearing this, the weapon spirit also fell into deep recollection for a long time, seemingly somewhat unwilling to answer Qin Ming on this topic.

"The White Bone True Person is my master; I was his seventh and final disciple. He refined me into an artifact spirit."

"The one who sealed him was a Nascent Soul great expert from the ancient era, but it was only with the assistance of my eldest senior brother and several other junior brothers that they barely managed to successfully seal him within the mobile palace."

Qin Ming and Shi Tian Shu exchanged another glance; hearing such earth-shattering news, both of them were profoundly shaken in their hearts!

"Master, this White Bone True Person is truly cruel to the extreme, actually refining his own disciples alive into artifact spirits... truly inhuman," Shi Tian Shu transmitted secretly.

"Master, this White Bone True Person is truly cruel to the extreme, actually refining his own disciples alive into weapon spirits; it is truly inhuman," Shi Tian Shu transmitted secretly.

This 'Jin Lingzi' was truly pitiful enough, having encountered such a master.

"Is the White Bone True Person's strength really that terrifying? Although his cultivation base was powerful, being a peak Jin Dan cultivator, why did it require a Nascent Soul great expert to intervene just to barely seal him?" Shi Tian Shu could not help but ask the artifact spirit.

"During my master's peak period, relying on the Hooked-Jade Jin Guang Mirror treasure, he dominated that entire era, even achieving the astonishing feat of slaying Nascent Soul cultivators..."

"The Hooked-Jade Jin Guang Mirror was also hailed as the number one offensive supreme treasure in the Immortal Realm of that time."

"The White Bone True Person's true cultivation base had actually long been capable of breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage; it was only due to the cultivation technique he practiced that he delayed choosing to break through."

After hearing this, Shi Tian Shu clicked his tongue in silent amazement; no wonder this person could dominate the Immortal Realm. "However, no matter how powerful a cultivator is, they cannot achieve infinite lifespan; if he revives this time, it will be in the state of a ghost cultivator, yet even so, he is not someone you can resist."

After listening to the artifact spirit's words, Qin Ming also sank into deep contemplation.

After hearing the weapon spirit's words, Qin Ming also fell into a long period of deep thought.

If such a terrifying existence were released, wouldn't it turn the Southern Wild Immortal Realm upside down?

"Good heavens! There are no Nascent Soul experts in the Southern Wild Immortal Realm; doesn't that mean almost no one can deal with White Bone True Person?"

Shi Tian Shu shivered and said.

Qin Ming also sighed with emotion.

However, matters involving such an existence were beyond his ability to manage.

After pondering for a long time, Qin Ming asked the artifact spirit again:

"Earlier you said you could exchange the 'Heavenly Demon Body Refining Strategy' with me; what conditions are required?"

Jin Lingzi said indifferently, "Let's discuss this matter after you break through to the Jin Dan stage."

"Also, if there is nothing else in the future, do not wake me."

"..."

Seeing that the artifact spirit was unwilling to chat further, Qin Ming had no choice but to drop the matter.

In any case, both the main body and the artifact spirit of the Hooked Jade Jin Guang Mirror were now in his hands, so they could not escape.

Previously, he had been too busy to examine the storage bags of Linghu Yang and that Elder Yan.

Now that he had some free time, it was the perfect moment to take stock of his gains.

As for Xiao Zhongren, he had been eaten by Yunxi Laozu until not even dregs remained, so failing to obtain his storage bag was truly a pity.

First was Linghu Yang; as a Jin Dan True Person, his most precious treasure was naturally his native artifact, the Golden Fallen Sword, with which the sword formation he unleashed possessed immense power.

It was merely bad luck that he happened to encounter Qin Ming and Shi Tian Shu, these two stars of calamity.

Besides that.

Most of Linghu Yang's family wealth had likely been spent on purchasing resources for forming his core, so the spirit stones in his storage bag were not as numerous as imagined.

However, there were quite a few top-grade materials, saving Qin Ming the effort of gathering spiritual materials.

These would be useful for future farming, pill refining, and puppet crafting.

What surprised him even more was that inside Linghu Yang's storage bag, there was actually a small half-bottle of colorful spiritual liquid, precisely one of the several core-forming spiritual items, 'Myriad Transformation Spiritual Liquid,' which could increase the chance of forming a core by ten percent.

What Qin Ming least expected was that inside the storage bag of that Xiao family False Dan stage Elder Yan, there were actually a full twenty high-grade spirit stones, along with over five thousand medium-grade spirit stones.

The rest were mostly items such as cultivation techniques and pills.

Of course, Qin Ming had not forgotten to cast the Thorn Technique before leaving, collecting the blood pearls as well, which were even of the False Dan level.

With one Jin Dan-level blood pearl and one False Dan-level blood pearl, he believed his native spiritual plant would grow significantly, and it would also accelerate the advancement of his native artifact, the Wood Emperor Nail.

Finally, there was Xiao Zhongren's artifact, the 'Spirit-Locking Net.'

Qin Ming's trip to Taihu could be considered immensely profitable, truly a journey well worth taking.

Just as Qin Ming was happily taking stock of his gains.

Outside the room.

An unexpected person came knocking at the door.

(End of Chapter)