Chapter 321: Important Information

Several days later.

A shocking piece of news spread rapidly from Taihu as its center.

An ancient ruin has emerged in the northern region of Jingzhou, Taihu, in Liang State—and it is suspected to be the former palace of an ancient cultivator!

Due to the massive celestial and terrestrial phenomena accompanying its emergence, even the Profound Creek Valley of Liang State could not conceal it.

As a result, the ruin was witnessed by countless cultivators the moment it appeared, and the news surged like a tidal wave across all directions.

Within an extremely short time, it exploded throughout Mo Yuan Xiancheng, then spread further to Canghai Xiancheng, Wei State, Jin State, and Wu State.

Since no faction has seized control of this Taihu ruin, it has drawn a large number of lone cultivators who have traveled thousands of miles to explore the ancient mystery and seek their fortune.

In today's cultivation world, cultivation resources are scarce and hard to come by.

Major sects feast on the meat, while lone cultivators struggle even to sip the broth.

Yet they will never let slip even the slightest opportunity.

In the ancient cultivation era, spiritual energy was said to be extraordinarily abundant, with high-grade spiritual veins and plentiful cultivation resources, and high-level cultivators were everywhere to be seen.

In taverns, over tea and meals, people often discussed the extraordinary tales of destitute lone cultivators who stumbled into ancient ruins and obtained ancient elixirs, leaping directly from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core.

Precisely because such real-life examples existed, the cultivators rushing to Taihu to seek secrets and treasures became even more frenzied.

They don't even bother to ask whether this place is a secret realm—or a tomb.

The tranquil Taihu suddenly became turbulent, as if a storm was about to break.

Even the previously restless beast tide chose to retreat entirely back into the Beast Roar Mountains because of this event.

Qin Ming and Shi Tian Shu sensed something unusual—they suspected the Green-Faced Poisonous Cobra King also understood the grave stakes involved.

Even with its power, it chose to retreat three miles.

…

As the instigator, Qin Ming had long since fled, returning to Mo Yuan Xiancheng.

He knew that beneath Taihu was not a secret realm at all—but a massive trap! He must never enter it again; otherwise, he might not find treasure, but certainly lose his life.

Qin Ming planned to wait until the spirit materials from Jing Xue Ge arrived, then return to Wei State to refine the Core Formation Elixir and prepare to break through to Golden Core.

All the chaos here no longer concerned him.

Even if he publicly declared that Taihu's depths were a trap, no one would believe him.

It was impossible to stop them.

Lone cultivators blinded by the lure of ancient relics would only realize their mistake after several batches had perished.

Qin Ming finally had some leisure time, giving him the chance to properly understand the situation with the artifact's spirit.

Inside the elegant chamber of Jing Xue Ge.

Qin Ming activated his thoughts, contacting the spirit within his storage bag, then asked bluntly: "Jin Lingzi, if this Taihu secret realm continues like this, won't it turn out badly?"

"These cultivators who descend will all become food for the Golden Toad Ancestor."

"And what about the White Bone King Palace you mentioned—and how could my master, White Bone True Person, possibly revive?"

Qin Ming couldn't imagine how a cultivator from tens of thousands of years ago could reappear in this world.

What kind of unimaginable lifespan would that require?

The spirit replied without emotion: "The Golden Toad was merely a spiritual pet of White Bone True Person—its threat is limited."

"The real danger is White Bone True Person."

"What? A peerless beast king with late Stage Three power, nearly fully transformed, was just a spiritual pet?" Qin Ming and Shi Tian Shu exchanged glances, startled.

Qin Ming had already gained preliminary knowledge of it from the silk.

Who was White Bone True Person?

In the ancient era, he was an invincible force within the Golden Core realm.

It was said that with the Jade Pendant Golden Light Mirror, he nearly swept everything aside.

Having a late Stage Three beast king as a spiritual pet made sense.

"The White Bone King Palace was White Bone True Person's cultivation palace. The place you reached before was already within the core zone—further inward lies the palace itself."

"Inside the palace, White Bone True Person is sealed. He possessed extraordinary talent, and his cultivation method is unique—he can revive through soul transference."

The spirit explained.

"Sealed? Then who sealed him here?"

"And why do you call him master?"

Qin Ming pressed further. Upon hearing this, the spirit fell silent for a long while, as if reluctant to answer.

But it finally spoke:

"White Bone True Person is my master. I am his seventh and final disciple—he forged me into an artifact spirit."

"He was sealed by an ancient Nascent Soul cultivator, but only with the help of my senior brother and several other disciples was the sealing successfully completed within the palace."

Qin Ming and Shi Tian Shu exchanged another glance—this shocking revelation left them deeply shaken.

"Master, White Bone True Person is truly cruel—he actually forged his own disciples into artifact spirits. Utterly inhumane," Shi Tian Shu whispered inwardly.

Qin Ming nodded.

Jin Lingzi truly had bad luck, falling under such a master.

"Is White Bone True Person really that terrifying? Even if his cultivation is formidable—a Golden Core peak cultivator—he still needed a Nascent Soul cultivator to barely seal him," Shi Tian Shu asked the spirit.

"During my master's peak, with the Jade Pendant Golden Light Mirror, he dominated his entire era—and even killed Nascent Soul cultivators."

"The Jade Pendant Golden Light Mirror was hailed as the greatest offensive treasure of that age."

"White Bone True Person's true cultivation had long surpassed Nascent Soul—but due to his cultivation method, he deliberately delayed breaking through."

Shi Tian Shu was stunned. No wonder this man once ruled the cultivation world. "But no matter how powerful a cultivator is, lifespan is finite. If he revives now, it will be as a ghost cultivator—even so, you cannot resist him."

Qin Ming fell into deep thought after hearing the spirit's words.

If such a terrifying being were unleashed, wouldn't he turn the Southern Wasteland cultivation world upside down?

"Geez! There are no Nascent Soul cultivators in the Southern Wasteland—so no one can stop White Bone True Person!"

Shi Tian Shu shuddered.

Qin Ming sighed.

But matters involving such a being were beyond his control.

After long consideration, Qin Ming asked the spirit again:

"Earlier you said you'd exchange the Heavenly Demon Body Transformation Scripture with me—what conditions?"

Jin Lingzi replied calmly: "We'll discuss this after you break through to Golden Core."

"Also, if you have nothing else, don't awaken me again."

"..."

Seeing the spirit unwilling to elaborate further, Qin Ming gave up.

After all, the Jade Pendant Golden Light Mirror's physical form and its spirit were both in his possession—it couldn't escape.

Previously, he'd been too rushed to examine the storage bags of Ling Yu Yang and the Yan Elder.

Now that he had time, he might as well inventory his gains.

As for Xiao Zhongren, he was devoured by the Golden Toad Ancestor—nothing remained, and Qin Ming failed to retrieve his storage bag—what a pity.

First, Ling Yu Yang: as a Golden Core True Person, his most valuable possession was naturally his life-linked magic treasure, the Golden Meteor Sword—he wielded a powerful sword formation with it.

He simply happened to encounter Qin Ming and Shi Tian Shu, two demons.

Aside from that,

Most of Ling Yu Yang's wealth was spent acquiring Core Formation resources—his storage bag contained far fewer spirit stones than expected.

But he possessed many top-grade materials, saving Qin Ming the trouble of gathering them.

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

More surprisingly, Ling Yu Yang's storage bag contained a small bottle of five-colored spiritual liquid—the rare Core Formation ingredient "Ten Thousand Transformations Spiritual Liquid," which increases Core Formation success rate by ten percent.

Most unexpectedly, the storage bag of the Xiao family's pseudo-Golden Core Yan Elder held a full twenty high-grade spirit stones and over five thousand mid-grade spirit stones.

The rest were mostly cultivation techniques and elixirs.

Of course, Qin Ming hadn't forgotten to use Thorn Spell to retrieve the blood pearl before leaving—and it was a pseudo-Golden Core blood pearl.

One Golden Core blood pearl plus one pseudo-Golden Core blood pearl should allow his life-linked spiritual plant to grow significantly and accelerate the advancement of his life-linked magic treasure, the Wood Emperor Nail.

Finally, there was Xiao Zhongren's magic treasure—the Spirit Lock Net.

Qin Ming's journey to Taihu was undeniably a resounding success—he returned richer than ever.

Just as Qin Ming was happily tallying his gains,

Outside the door,

An unexpected visitor arrived.

(End of Chapter)