Chapter 290: Homecoming

Half a quarter-hour passed.

Qin Ming, transformed into a bearded giant, wore a thoughtful expression, his eyes flickering with contemplation.

The demonic cultivator Yuan Feng he held in his hand was motionless, his hollow gaze fixed straight upward, his gaunt face frozen in a twisted, agonized grimace—dead beyond any doubt.

Through the soul-searching technique, Qin Ming uncovered the full story behind why this group of demonic cultivators had risked coming to the spiritual energy Archipelago.

'So it's not just the Ten Thousand Souls Valley—every demonic cultivator recently has been searching for the Blood Bone Demon Lord's legacy.'

'No wonder I ran into Lin Zixiao.'

'And Mo Lingwei, while fleeing Wei State with her clan, happened to be spotted by Yuan Feng and the others.'

'They coerced her into joining the Ten Thousand Souls Valley.'

'After that, Mo Lingwei used the Blood Bone Demon Lord's legacy as bait, leading to today's events.'

'Could this Blood Bone Demon Lord's legacy… be the black iron tablet I hold, inscribed with the True Scripture of Yuan Sha's Demon Seeding?'

…

Long silence.

Qin Ming casually tossed the corpse aside, then turned his gaze toward Mo Lingwei.

Mo Lingwei, having witnessed the 'Long Daoist' annihilate Mingyuan Mo and Yuan Feng and the others with thunderous force, was utterly terrified.

She hurried forward, bowed deeply, and said respectfully: 'Greetings, Elder Long!'

'Hmm?'

'Do you know me?'

'Give me a reason not to kill you.'

Qin Ming deliberately spoke in a deep, gruff tone.

Of course, he was only pretending—he had still obtained his third-rank spiritual plant master inheritance from Mo Lingwei.

At the time of the Thousand Leaf Island incident, she had warned him, and today's rescue was merely settling a karmic debt.

Upon hearing this, Mo Lingwei hesitated, then clenched her teeth, cast a spell, and revealed her original breathtaking beauty, then quickly spoke:

'I am originally Mo Lingwei, Master of Qingxiadao. I joined the Ten Thousand Souls Valley only out of desperation—surely Elder Long has already learned the truth from Yuan Feng.'

'Please, Elder Long, do not blame me!'

The 'Long Daoist' frowned. 'I have no interest in orthodox or demonic affairs.'

'Hehehe! But you, little beauty, are truly stunning!'

The Long Daoist burst into wild laughter and reached out with both massive hands toward Mo Lingwei.

Mo Lingwei never expected such a response—her face paled in shock.

Just as she prepared to resist—

A wave of dizziness surged through her mind, her vision darkened, and she collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Qin Ming did the same to Mo Lao nearby, rendering him unconscious and giving him a healing pill.

Mo Lao had been struck by Mingyuan Mo, his foundation damaged—he had nearly lost half his life; even if he recovered, his immortal path was finished.

To Qin Ming, Mo Lingwei and Mo Lao were old acquaintances from the mountains and rivers—he had no intention of taking their lives.

Having finished this, Qin Ming seized the black iron corpse embedded in the cave wall.

The moment it regained mobility, it lunged at him with claws and fangs—he smashed its skull with one palm, killing it utterly.

Then Qin Ming collected the demonic corpse as well.

'This demonic corpse is good material for planting trees!'

Next,

Qin Ming thoroughly searched the demonic cave, gathering numerous ghostly remains—plenty for planting Fengyou Ghost Jujubes.

He wandered everywhere else but found nothing else.

'The most valuable thing in this cave must be that black iron tablet.'

'Now that I have the materials, it's time to leave.'

Qin Ming retraced his steps; before departing, he glanced once at Mo Lingwei on the ground. 'Mo Daoist, take care. May we meet again under fate.'

But just as he was about to leave—

His peripheral vision caught the Tian Shi Pearl on Mo Lingwei's hand glowing faintly with a pale gray radiance.

Qin Ming frowned, raised his hand, and drew the Tian Shi Pearl into his palm.

Suddenly, the Tian Shi Pearl in his hand seemed guided by some unseen force.

'This is…'

Following the guidance, he arrived before a rock wall deep within the cave.

Qin Ming immediately released his spiritual sense to probe—it revealed an inconspicuous recess in the wall, perfectly shaped to hold the Tian Shi Pearl.

He hesitated, then asked the nearby Shitian Rat: 'Do you sense any danger?'

'Uh… probably not?' The Shitian Rat sniffed hard, uncertain.

Qin Ming's face twitched. 'What do you mean "probably not"? Are you even capable?'

'Hehe! The sealing runes here are too powerful—I can't tell what's inside.' The Shitian Rat spoke honestly.

Qin Ming fell into deep thought.

Even the Shitian Rat, a third-rank beast king, could not perceive what lay within—it made him hesitate.

But his strength was no longer what it once was; even if danger arose, he could protect himself.

'Hidden so well… what could possibly be inside?'

So Qin Ming inserted the Tian Shi Pearl into the recess.

Boom! A series of mysterious runes blazed to life across the black rock wall.

An entrance to a stone chamber appeared before Qin Ming.

Qin Ming drew Qing Luan Sword and sent out his spiritual sense to probe inside.

After confirming the chamber's contents, he exhaled in relief.

He gestured to the Shitian Rat, and both stepped inside.

Behind the stone door lay a circular chamber spanning hundreds of square paces, its walls inscribed with countless arcane, obscure runes.

Dozens of black chains, as thick as arms, stretched to a central stone platform.

'So this was where the third-rank Blood Curse Demon Vine was sealed.'

Qin Ming recognized some of the characters on the walls—he had long collected spiritual plant texts and studied obscure scripts.

He swept his spiritual sense around the chamber, confirmed no danger remained, and relaxed.

After the Blood Curse Demon Vine was slain, this place had clearly become empty.

Suddenly, a corner of the chamber caught Qin Ming's attention.

He walked over and looked—only to be stunned: six Blood Curse Demon Vine seeds lay rooted quietly within the rock wall.

But all six seeds were withered and dead.

Beside them sat the skeletal remains of a corpse.

Qin Ming studied the corpse's attire—it looked familiar. Then a flash of insight struck him: 'Isn't this Zhao Wuyang, the fake-core ancestor of the Zhao family?'

'Who would've thought he wandered all the way back to Thousand Leaf Island—his soul finally returned home.'

Seeing the large hole in Zhao Wuyang's skull, he deduced the likely cause.

'The Blood Curse Demon Vine, after finding a third-rank Howling Moon Beast King to parasitize, abandoned Zhao Wuyang's body.'

'A grim fate—he became nourishment for these six seeds.'

'Thankfully, the three True Persons acted in time. But who knew the Blood Curse Demon Vine had already birthed these seeds—if they'd been given enough blood to grow…'

'The Wei State's cultivation world might have ceased to exist…'

Qin Ming immediately swept his spiritual sense over Zhao Wuyang's remains—a storage bag floated out.

His face lit up with joy. 'Fortune! The fake-core ancestor's storage bag!'

'Fortune! Congratulations, Master!' The Shitian Rat chimed in promptly.

Qin Ming opened the storage bag—and his expression froze.

Inside, Zhao Wuyang's bag held none of the riches he'd expected—only a few meager items.

Aside from a few high-grade spiritual artifacts he commonly used, there were only scattered odds and ends.

Zhao Wuyang must have known he was doomed and secretly transferred all his resources elsewhere.

After rummaging through everything, Qin Ming's attention was drawn to several bottles and jars.

(End of Chapter)