Chapter 298: Acquaintances

Several days later.

Qin Ming arrived at the border of Liang Kingdom; he planned to deliver the Longevity Fruit Pill to Profound Creek Valley and then travel around Wu Kingdom.

As for Liang Kingdom, where a ghost calamity had erupted and the situation was unstable, it was not suitable for him to linger; it would be better to stay far away.

"Counting on my fingers, I am already one hundred and twenty years old."

"Now that I have initially refined the Green Emperor Wood Sovereign Body, combined with my innate spiritual plant, the Yin-Yang Profound Vine, and aided by the Dust-Extinguishing Pill and Jade Emperor Spirit Rice, I estimate that in another thirty to fifty years, I will be able to break through to the mid-stage of the Jin Dan realm."

"With such a rapid cultivation speed, even among the few Jin Dan cultivators across the entire Southern Wild Immortal Realm, I would be considered one of the very best."

"Therefore, it is better to be cautious."

His current strength already made him a top-tier fighter within the Jin Dan stage.

Furthermore, possessing three demon king-level spiritual pets, he still adhered to the principle of keeping a low profile.

As long as others did not scheme against him, under normal circumstances, Qin Ming would not force himself into the spotlight.

After all, he possessed a lifespan of over two thousand years.

Not to mention anything else, reaching the late stage of the Jin Dan realm was basically not a problem.

Precisely because of this, he had no intention of traveling to the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty in the short term; after all, even Nascent Soul True Lords existed there, and the Offending Fire Palace was still fighting a major enemy, which was indeed quite dangerous.

"At the very least, I must wait until my cultivation breaks through to the mid-to-late stages, and wait for the situation in Great Jin to stabilize before going there to travel and explore."

"No... the mid-to-late Jin Dan stages are still not stable enough; I should wait until my Jin Dan is perfect."

"Actually, forget it; if I can break through to the Nascent Soul realm, that would naturally be best..."

"In short, within the Southern Wild Immortal Realm, I am already at the ceiling level of combat power; apart from a few old monsters in the late Jin Dan stage, no one can threaten me, so I'll just lie low and develop for a while first."

Qin Ming secretly made his plans and flew in the direction of Profound Creek Valley.

Liang Kingdom, border of Jing Prefecture.

On a mountain path thousands of li away from Profound Creek Valley.

A caravan of seventy or eighty people was moving at high speed; inside the carriages were the elderly, the weak, women, and children, looking like refugees fleeing disaster.

"Everyone, pay attention; we are about to pass through Yellow Wind Ridge. Have you all taken the Spirit-Concealing Pills I gave you?"

"Once we cross this area, my fellow sect brothers will come to rendezvous with us, and then we will be safe."

The young female cultivator speaking from the carriage ahead had a clear and beautiful appearance, a slender figure, and a cultivation base at the late Qi Refining stage.

This woman was none other than Yan Ruyan, who had once worked the land for him for a year when Qin Ming had previously infiltrated Profound Creek Valley to obtain a pill formula.

"Aunt, this Spirit-Concealing Pill tastes truly terrible, and it makes my stomach uncomfortable; why do we have to leave our hometown in Chushui Commandery?"

"There are so many blue-faced, fanged monsters along this road; they are truly terrifying," asked a round-faced child with a topknot, blinking his eyes innocently.

Hearing this, Yan Ruyan looked despondent and sighed, "Alas, it is precisely because of the ghost calamity."

She patted the child's head, then stood up and glanced back at the procession of her clansmen behind her; they were all low-stage Qi Refining cultivators, mostly in the early to mid-stages.

As for the elderly, weak, women, and children, they were completely helpless, unable to even bind a chicken.

"If it weren't for the rampant ghost calamity, we wouldn't need to migrate our entire clan over ten thousand li."

"Chushui Commandery will soon be invaded and occupied by ghost creatures..."

Profound Creek Valley's current situation was fraught with internal and external troubles, so naturally, they had no leisure to attend to the families of these Qi Refining disciples.

They could only rely on themselves to find settlement.

Since ghost creatures were extremely sensitive to the aura of a cultivator's magic power, Yan Ruyan could only have her clansmen consume Spirit-Concealing Pills to bypass the roads occupied by ghosts and head toward Profound Creek Valley.

This Spirit-Concealing Pill could mask the magic power on a cultivator's body and fabricate an aura identical to that of ghostly souls, fooling ordinary ghost creatures.

However, it had little effect against high-stage ghost creatures.

Along this journey, Yan Ruyan had been trembling with fear; they had encountered many waves of ghost creatures, and several times they had nearly been exposed.

Fortunately, after traveling day and night for more than half a month, they were now not far from Profound Creek Valley.

Once they crossed this Yellow Wind Ridge, she only needed to send a signal, and a dharma boat from her fellow sect members would come to rendezvous.

With her status as an outer sect disciple, even if she could not arrange for her clansmen to enter Profound Creek Valley, settling them in Moyuan Immortal City would be far safer than staying outside.

The clansmen of Yan Family Fortress, having endured a long trek and the hardships of travel, were all exhausted, hoping only to reach their destination quickly.

"Yan'er, among us of Yan Family Fortress, you are the most promising and have the highest cultivation; you may arrange everything as you see fit, and we will all listen to you."

An elder of the clan stated firmly.

Yan Ruyan nodded and immediately continued leading her clansmen forward.

One hour later.

The Yan family members passed through Yellow Mountain Ridge without incident and entered a river valley.

Yan Ruyan let out a long sigh of relief, took out a communication talisman, and sent a message.

Then she turned back and said to everyone, "Rest for a moment; my fellow sect member will arrive shortly."

Another half hour passed.

A beam of earth-yellow escaping light approached from afar and landed before the Yan family, revealing a Profound Creek Valley dharma boat ten zhang in size. "Sister Yan, are these all the people? Has everyone arrived?"

A handsome young male cultivator dressed in a yellow robe flew down from the dharma boat and asked Yan Ruyan with a smile.

Seeing this, Yan Ruyan was delighted and immediately stepped forward to greet him.

"Senior Brother Cao Yun, my clansmen are all here; thank you for your trouble."

"Sister Yan need not be polite; it is a trivial matter," Cao Yun said with a laugh.

"We should leave this place quickly; recently, the spread of the ghost calamity has become increasingly severe."

Having said this, Yan Ruyan was about to call her clansmen to board the boat, but her brows furrowed as if she had sensed something amiss.

So she asked Cao Yun again, "Senior Brother Cao, where is Senior Brother Liang? Did he not come with you?"

"Oh, hehe, Junior Brother Liang has been assigned another mission and could not spare the time," Cao Yun explained with a smiling face.

But just at this moment.

In Yan Ruyan's hand, a crystal ball the size of a fist subtly appeared, within which a wisp of eerie, dark-black yin energy strangely manifested.

"Not good! It's a ghost!"

This Soul-Revealing Bead was a low-grade magical artifact issued by the Profound Stream Valley to their disciples.

It could reveal the yin energy of ghosts in the surroundings.

"Heh heh heh!"

"I didn't expect you, little girl, to be so cautious."

"This seat originally intended to toy with you a bit longer."

Only then did they see Cao Yun's face become ferocious; thick, dark-green ghostly qi erupted from his entire body, transforming into a rotting visage, exposing rows of bone-white fangs, while empty eye sockets spewed a cloud of dark-green ghost flames.

He extended a pair of withered, sharp hands and casually waved; immediately, a large swarm of Qi Condensation-stage ghosts burst forth from the Dharma Boat behind him, baring claws and fangs as they pounced toward the members of the Yan clan.

"A Foundation Establishment ghost!"

Yan Ruyan's face turned deathly pale, his eyes filled with despair; clearly, his fellow sect members had already met with misfortune along the way.

"You shall remain for this seat; it has been a long time since I have tasted such tender cultivators."

That Foundation Establishment ghost let out a ferocious laugh, rolling up a mass of black mist that surged toward Yan Ruyan.

The members of the Yan clan possessed low cultivation; where had they ever witnessed such a terrifying scene? They were completely no match for these ghosts and all trembled uncontrollably.

Yan Ruyan formed hand seals, causing a fire talisman to appear, which transformed into a fire bird and flew toward the black mist.

Although fire-attribute spells possessed an innate suppression effect against yin souls and ghosts, in the face of such a disparity in strength, it was like a mayfly trying to shake a great tree.

The first-grade upper-tier Fire Blaze Talisman she unleashed was like a drop of mud entering a sea of clouds, utterly incapable of raising even the slightest ripple.

Swish! A surge of black qi transformed into a ghostly face that suddenly shot out, instantly blasting Yan Ruyan away, causing him to crash heavily dozens of zhang distant.

"Give me your life!"

Immediately, the ghostly mist churned violently, about to swallow her whole.

Just at this moment.

Boom! An immensely powerful spiritual pressure suddenly descended! The ferocious laughter of that Foundation Establishment ghost abruptly ceased.

Simultaneously, the nearby ghosts were crushed as if by some inexplicable force, exploding one after another.

"Eh? These ghosts... could they not be those astonishingly numerous white bones from the underwater karst caves beneath the lake?"

A faint voice rang out, and immediately Qin Ming's figure materialized.

He glanced slightly at the Foundation Establishment ghost before him; looking at its appearance and attire, he felt it was somewhat familiar.

Suddenly, a flash of inspiration struck his mind: Was this not the eldest of the Three Friends of Meishan from back when he first entered the Taihu Ruins? He shook his head, then swept his divine sense across; that ghost could not even let out a cry before instantly turning to powder and dissipating into the air. "Many thanks, Senior, for saving my life!"

On the ground, Yan Ruyan, having found life in the midst of despair, paid no heed to wiping the blood from his face and hurriedly bowed in gratitude to Qin Ming.

She had not even seen the other party make a move, yet hundreds of ghosts and that Foundation Establishment ghost had been instantly annihilated.

What level of cultivation must this be? Her cultivation was shallow, and she could not quite comprehend it.

The people of the Yan clan had also escaped death by a hair's breadth; they gathered around and bowed in gratitude to Qin.

Qin Ming merely smiled faintly; he had not expected that just as he was about to reach the Profound Stream Valley today, he would encounter such a matter.

And that it involved this woman, Yan Ruyan.

However, since Qin Ming now appeared in his original form, the other party naturally could not recognize him.

After all, back when he had infiltrated the Profound Stream Valley, he had used the alias Yu Changqing.

"Mn, rise."

"This seat was heading to the Profound Stream Valley anyway; it was merely a trivial effort."

(End of Chapter)