Chapter 287: Unexpected

Qin Ming's body refinement technique had not yet fully broken through, yet his strength had already surged again.

He was preparing to depart for Qianye Island to gather and search for the corpse remains of ghostly creatures needed to cultivate Fengyou Ghost Jujubes.

Now, he was comparable to a humanoid great demon, barely a hair's breadth away from becoming a true third-rank demon king.

After consecutively devouring and refining the blood essence of two second-rank peak primate demons, plus the blood essence of the Double-Pupil Demon Monkey he had refined during his breakthrough to the Second Transformation.

Qin Ming's sheer physical strength had already surpassed many second-rank peak great demons.

Even if a second-rank peak demon from a demon royal bloodline engaged him in close combat, it would not be his match.

At this moment, every gesture and movement Qin Ming made radiated immense power and authority.

Strong confidence filled his heart.

Soon.

He retracted the aura around his body, returning to the appearance of an unassuming, ordinary youth.

"Depart for Qianye Island!"

Qin Ming's gaze blazed as he waved his hand toward Shitian Mouse.

"Yes!"

"I'll go call Old Two and Old Three right away."

Shitian Mouse, upon hearing it could go out and play again, immediately beamed with joy, brimming with energy.

It did not want to dig another minute. Then, as a precaution, Qin Ming summoned his three spirit pets and left Wangyue Island, heading straight toward Qianye Spirit Island.

'Xuansha Spirit Liquid—I will obtain it at all costs.'

'Although I have now cultivated the Ancient Wood Evergreen Body, with a talent comparable to a Heaven-grade spiritual root, even without consuming any spirit items or elixirs, I still have a certain chance of breaking through to Golden Core.'

'But Golden Cores vary in quality; if I am to form one, I naturally want the highest quality possible.'

Ever since Qin Ming established ties with Wei Wuya and Nanlan Xi True Person.

Through their words, he gradually learned some secrets about forming the Golden Core.

According to theory, a cultivator with a Heaven-grade spiritual root, upon reaching Foundation Establishment peak, could attempt to break through to Golden Core without external aids, provided sufficient spiritual energy from a third-rank spiritual vein.

However, such a method is usually only chosen by cultivators with no other options.

And the risk is extremely high—if the breakthrough fails, without a Golden Core to protect the dantian, qi sea, and meridians,

the consequences range from cultivation regression to immediate death; if the qi sea is damaged, one will forever lose the chance to attempt Golden Core formation again.

For example, Yuwen Hong of Lingyu Sect achieved Golden Core directly under extreme circumstances.

According to Wei Wuya, Yuwen Hong formed a mid-grade Golden Core; with his talent and fortune, had he received other spirit aids, he could have achieved a high-grade Golden Core.

But Wei Wuya was different—he had a powerful sect as his backing. Lei Yuanzong, the undisputed hegemon of Wei State, possessed far greater depth than Lingyu Sect.

It provided him with vast quantities of rare resources, even strategic-grade items like Golden Core-forming elixirs, and with his own Heaven-grade spiritual root talent, he achieved a high-grade Golden Core in one stroke.

One's innate talent, effort, physical and mental state, fortune, and resource supply—all are indispensable.

A high-grade Golden Core is exceedingly rare even across the entire Southern Wasteland cultivation realm, with only one or two known to exist.

This is why Lei Yuanzong later regained the upper hand over Lingyu Sect in their disputes.

The quality of a Golden Core determines its wielder's power, and they cannot be compared.

Wei Wuya himself used this advantage to severely wound the Earth-Shaking Bear King during the Beast Tide siege of Canghai Spirit City.

A low-grade ordinary Golden Core elder would likely fail to even pierce the demon king's defenses.

A low-grade Golden Core is merely the most common type of Golden Core True Person.

Yet even so, the Golden Core Dao remains the lifelong pursuit of all cultivators.

'Seekers of the Dao are as numerous as fish crossing a river; those who attain it are as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns.'

'With my Word List in hand, I naturally aim for the highest Dao.'

Half an hour later.

Qin Ming rode on Silver-Winged Frost Bee and arrived near Qianye.

He raised his hand and gazed far into the sky; today, Qianye Island had shattered into numerous small islets after that battle years ago.

With its third-rank spiritual vein destroyed and two wars having ravaged it, all resources had been stripped bare by various cultivators, dug down to the bedrock, leaving only ruins and remnants.

After the spiritual vein was completely severed, no cultivator had any interest in the place—not even Qi Refining families would deign to settle here. Over time, the Seventy-Two Islands Alliance abandoned it.

Only occasionally did the Alliance's enforcement squad patrol through here.

'In the cultivation world, rise and fall come and go; even a power as mighty as the Zhao Clan, one of the Seven Great Forces, has vanished entirely into the dust of Wei State's cultivation history, becoming mere past clouds.'

'All royal authority and hegemony are but illusions.'

'Only strength, cultivation, and immortality are eternal.'

Time had changed all things; Qin Ming gazed at the shattered Qianye Spirit Island and felt a flood of emotion.

He had personally experienced the Qianye Island upheaval and the subsequent Demon-Slaying War.

He was one of the witnesses to this history.

Especially during these two major events, Qin Ming had acquired abundant resources, enabling him to reach this point.

Without that demonic plant, his core spirit plant might never have advanced, and the Ancient Wood Evergreen Body could never have been achieved so swiftly.

"Descend."

Qin Ming patted the Silver-Winged Frost Bee beneath him, and immediately descended toward the spirit island.

Following Shitian Mouse's guidance, he arrived at an unremarkable island in the southwest.

This place had been utterly plowed over by the devastating spells of three Golden Core elders, leaving the ground blackened everywhere.

The earth's vitality was extinguished, barren and bare, with only mounds of earth and scattered rocks—no vegetation remained.

"Are you certain this is the place?" Qin Ming released his spiritual sense, sweeping over the entire island, yet found nothing.

He furrowed his brow and summoned Shitian Mouse.

"Hehehe!"

"Master, that demonic cave lies directly beneath us."

"Absolutely certain—I've already sensed it."

"Watch my technique."

Upon saying this, Shitian Mouse approached a pile of rubble.

It exhaled a stream of black mystic light, enveloping the ruins entirely.

Suddenly, an entrance appeared at the edge of the rubble—clearly concealed by an extremely powerful method.

Even Qin Ming's spiritual sense, comparable to a Golden Core cultivator's, had detected no anomaly.

Seeing this, Qin Ming gained a renewed appreciation for Shitian Mouse's abilities as a third-rank demon king.

This was still only a fraction of its full power—it had not yet regained its complete cultivation.

"Well done," Qin Ming nodded in approval.

Shitian Mouse, hearing Qin Ming's rare praise, grinned widely. "Heh, just a minor trick."

Just as Shitian Mouse was about to say more,

Qin Ming's expression changed instantly. "Someone is coming this way—hide!"

Shitian Mouse cut off its words and immediately used its ability to merge into the void.

Qin Ming found a concealed spot nearby and secretly activated the Withered Tree Technique from the Ancient Wood Evergreen Scripture, causing his entire aura to vanish, as if he had turned into a dead log.

Half a stick of incense later,

Five colored light trails approached from afar and landed precisely where Qin Ming had stood.

All five had cultivation bases at Foundation Establishment.

One was Foundation Establishment early stage, three were mid-stage, and one was late-stage.

Yet—

Among these furtive individuals, Qin Ming spotted a figure that surprised him greatly.

'It's her!'

(End of Chapter)