Chapter 315

In the depths of the gorge, the Three Friends of Mei Mountain danced with excitement.

After confirming the scene before them was real and that no danger lurked nearby,

they were utterly consumed by wild joy.

Faced with so many priceless treasures, even the most high-level cultivators could not remain composed.

Yet Qin Ming, above, furrowed his brow, sensing something amiss.

As he pondered,

"Greetings, fellow cultivator."

"Why not join forces?"

A sudden voice rang out, and Xiao Zhongren and the gray-robed elder appeared not far from Qin Ming.

Qin Ming had long noticed them, yet he couldn't help but wonder.

With his Ancient Wood Longevity Technique's Withered Wood Secret, even a Core Formation cultivator might not detect him.

How had this Foundation Establishment cultivator spotted him? "Master, shall I kill him?"

The Devouring Rat asked beside him, licking its lips as if sensing a hint of blood.

Upon hearing the Devouring Rat's words, Xiao Zhongren and the other man went on high alert.

They hastily explained: "Fellow cultivator, we mean no harm."

"Let us join forces. After success, we split the spoils fifty-fifty—the artifact spirit is yours, I only want the cultivation legacy! What do you say?"

Hearing this, Qin Ming immediately raised a hand to stop the Devouring Rat, then asked Xiao Zhongren: "Xiao Clan Chief, you've hidden yourself well. How did you detect me?"

"Heh, may I ask your name, fellow cultivator?"

"You carry the ancient artifact, the Gouyu Jin Guang Mirror, which shares a bloodline resonance with my clan—I can sense it within a certain range." Xiao Zhongren explained.

"Otherwise, your concealment technique is truly extraordinary—I'd never have noticed you."

Xiao Zhongren glanced at the Devouring Rat, secretly alarmed—he never expected such a terrifying third-rank beast king to be this man's spiritual pet.

And this bearded man before him seemed only at Foundation Establishment peak. Qin Ming instantly understood.

"I am Long Daoren."

"Then tell me, Xiao Daoist, how shall we join forces?"

Hearing Qin Ming's response, Xiao Zhongren breathed a sigh of relief and said at once:

"The artifact spirit of this ancient treasure is not only cunning but its abilities rival those of a Core Formation cultivator."

"With these three fools as bait to draw it out, our chances of success will greatly increase."

Qin Ming nodded immediately.

So this Xiao Zhongren had used the Three Friends of Mei Mountain as fishing bait.

After reaching an agreement, the three men and the beast descended toward the bottom of the ravine.

They concealed their qi near the cliff where the Three Friends stood.

Qin Ming stared intently.

What he saw was utterly different from what the Three Friends saw—deep in the cavern, there were no hidden treasures, only a towering pile of white bones.

The three men, staring at that pile of bones, acted as if they'd found ultimate treasures, dancing wildly, insane with ecstasy.

"Brilliant illusion!"

Qin Ming instantly saw the key.

"Long Daoren, sharp-eyed indeed—this is precisely the artifact spirit's trick." Xiao Zhongren showed genuine admiration.

He even suspected whether Qin Ming was hiding his true cultivation level, pretending to be weak to ambush others.

A mere Foundation Establishment peak cultivator, possessing a third-rank beast king as a spiritual pet, and able to pierce the artifact spirit's illusion—

He simply couldn't believe it.

At that moment,

a green glow appeared directly before the Three Friends of Mei Mountain.

Upon seeing the glow, they were like they'd been injected with stimulant, instantly forgetting the "countless hidden treasures" before them.

Drawn by the green light, the three men moved like lifeless corpses, slowly following the glow inward.

"There it is!"

"Long Daoren, let's follow."

Xiao Zhongren's face flushed with uncontrolled excitement as he saw the green glow.

Qin Ming observed briefly, then confirmed—the green glow was unquestionably the Gouyu Jin Guang Mirror's artifact spirit.

His powerful spiritual sense had already discerned the green glow as a creature resembling a hedgehog.

Qin Ming hadn't expected the Jin Guang Mirror's spirit to manifest in such a form.

He silently whispered to the Devouring Rat: "Watch Xiao Zhongren closely—this old fox is cunning, not to be underestimated."

"Don't worry—if he makes a move, I'll kill him first," the Devouring Rat replied mentally.

Then Qin Ming and the Devouring Rat followed after.

Half an hour passed.

As they went deeper, the space widened, as if this were a hidden world beneath a lake—except for the scattered bones, it resembled an ordinary mountain cave.

The Three Friends of Mei Mountain followed the green glow to a mound of bones.

Beside the bone mound was a pitch-black cave entrance, where thick black iron bars could be faintly seen, blocking the opening with wide gaps—no purpose discernible.

The strange artifact spirit halted here, then revealed its hedgehog-like spiritual form, spewing a jet of ink-green mystic light at the three men. Their eyes glazed over, mouths opening automatically.

Streams of green light surged from their mouths and nostrils, flowing into the spirit's body.

"It's devouring the cultivators' souls!"

The Devouring Rat also sensed the truth.

Soon, the Three Friends' life force rapidly drained, leaving them emaciated, skin clinging to bone.

"Long Daoren, now's the time! While the spirit is feeding and distracted, strike now."

"If it regains awareness and hides, we'll never find it," Xiao Zhongren said quickly to Qin Ming.

He then ordered the gray-robed elder beside him: "Yan Lao, guard the rear—prevent the spirit from escaping."

"Yes!"

At Xiao Zhongren's command, the gray-robed elder named Yan Lao took position behind them.

Qin Ming had secretly observed—the elder named Yan Lao possessed False Core cultivation.

Then Xiao Zhongren drew a red spiritual net magic treasure and flung it toward the spirit greedily devouring souls.

The spirit, evidently unprepared for an ambush, was suddenly caught in the red net and thrashed wildly, trying to escape.

Xiao Zhongren's magic treasure was extraordinarily powerful, seemingly inherently endowed with innate suppression over spiritual entities.

No matter how the spirit struggled, it could not break free.

At that moment,

Qin Ming's heart froze! His blood and true qi spontaneously surged, a sense of imminent danger rising within him.

Qin Ming's heart tightened! His blood qi and true Gang spontaneously surfaced, a sense of danger arising spontaneously.

He warned the Devouring Rat.

But no sooner had he spoken than Yan Lao behind them bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of essence blood, drawing a talisman with it that sank into a circular object in his hand.

Yan Lao's eyes burned with final resolve as he frantically poured magic power into the disc.

"My days are few, Clan Chief. To serve the Xiao clan one last time before death—I die without regret!"

The moment he finished speaking,

the golden disc in midair sucked him dry.

With his last breath, Yan Lao hurled the disc toward the Devouring Rat, not far from Qin Ming.

As a third-rank beast king, the Devouring Rat reacted instantly—but as it stared at the flying disc, a sudden unease surged within it.

The golden disc emitted immense power, splitting into five rings.

Instantly, they encircled the Devouring Rat's four limbs and waist, pinning it firmly to the ground.

The Devouring Rat panicked—it found its beast energy paralyzed, as if locked in place.

"Yan Lao, rest in peace."

"By sacrificing the third-rank mid-grade talisman, 'Caged Beast Ring,' we've trapped this third-rank beast king."

"This time, we spared no effort using a Class Three Mid-grade talisman treasure, the 'Demon-Encircling Ring,' to trap this Class Three Demon King."

"Long Daoren, let's see what tricks you have left!"

"Hahahaha!"

"We searched high and low, yet fortune delivered it straight to us."

"Who knew the ancient treasure, the Gouyu Jin Guang Mirror, was on you? Hand it over, and I'll grant you a swift death. Hehehe!"

Xiao Zhongren, seeing the Devouring Rat trapped by the talisman, sneered at Qin Ming.

"So, Xiao Daoist, what you truly desired wasn't the legacy—but the Jin Guang Mirror?" Qin Ming, seeing the Devouring Rat merely trapped and unharmed, asked calmly, expressionless.

"So, Brother Xiao, what you're most interested in isn't the legacy at all, but the Golden Light Mirror magic treasure?" Qin Ming asked coldly, his expression unreadable, seeing that the Devouring Rat was merely trapped and unharmed.

"Initially, yes—I only sought to extract the legacy from the spirit."

"But now that you carry the artifact's physical form, it's different. If we reunite the artifact with its spirit, we can restore the legendary ancient treasure, the Gouyu Jin Guang Mirror."

"With the Jin Guang Divine Flame unleashed, none below Nascent Soul can stand against it."

"With the Golden Light Divine Flame unleashed, none below the Nascent Soul realm can stand against it!"

"Do you think I wouldn't be tempted?"

As he spoke, Xiao Zhongren's eyes flickered, and he drew another black longblade from his hand, readying to strike Qin Ming.

But just then.

A greater sense of danger surged in Qin Ming's heart; his gaze instantly fell upon Xiao Zhongren's back.

Xiao Zhongren now faced away from the pitch-black cave beside the bone mound, which several of them had already probed with their spiritual sense.

There had been no anomaly within.

Yet now, a pair of lantern-sized crimson eyes silently emerged from the darkness.

A terrifying aura radiated from the black hole.

Xiao Zhongren finally realized what was happening—he turned to look.

A blood-red tongue, over ten zhang long, pierced through the black iron pillars and instantly wrapped around him, dragging him into the black hole.

A piercing scream echoed from within, followed by the sound of gnawing bones, then silence returned.

…

(End of Chapter)