Chapter 325: Return to Wei Country

Qin Ming collected all the spiritual materials needed to refine a Golden Core elixir into his storage bag.

"Senior Long, aside from the deposit you already paid, you still need to pay twelve thousand eight hundred middle-grade spirit stones," Long Yi said with a smile.

Qin Ming nodded, his expression unchanged.

The spirit stones he obtained from the storage bags of Lingyu Yang and Yan Lao were sufficient to cover this cost.

For his current wealth, it was negligible.

A golden belt for murder and arson. Then he handed the remaining spirit stones to Long Yi.

It was worth it to purchase these third-rank spiritual materials.

The transaction was completed.

Qin Ming had achieved his goal and had no interest in exploring the secret realm.

Thus, he planned to return to Wei Country.

On the other side.

Huangfu Qi entered another private chamber, where three or four cultivators were conversing.

Upon his entry, all eyes in the room turned to Huangfu Qi.

"Fellow cultivators, I've decided to cancel this plan temporarily."

His words startled everyone present.

"Huangfu brother, has something happened?"

"Indeed, according to my information, the Taihu Ruins may not be as simple as they seem."

"Did Senior Long tell you something?"

"Even he managed to make you back out?"

The cultivators in the room also looked astonished and questioned Huangfu Qi.

"According to Senior Long, the Taihu Ruins contain no opportunities—instead, they may be extremely dangerous."

"I choose to believe him this once."

"Alas, Huangfu cultivator, you won't know the true situation unless you go and see for yourself."

"You shouldn't fully trust Senior Long's one-sided account."

"Perhaps he has another motive?"

Huangfu Qi pondered for a long time.

Finally, he said: "Fellow cultivators, I still decide to withdraw from this expedition. I apologize deeply."

"If you still wish to proceed to the Taihu Ruins, make your own decisions."

"I've said all I have to say."

Upon hearing this, the others could do nothing but accept it.

"This…"

……

Ten days later.

Qin Ming set out on the journey back to Wei Country.

He boarded a Jingxue Pavilion merchant ship bound for Wei Country, arranged through Long Yi, departing from Moyuan Xiancheng.

As for his alias as Yu Changqing of Xuanxi Valley, he fabricated a story that he had vanished during a patrol mission.

A month later.

After enduring long and arduous travel, Qin Ming finally returned to the Wei Country cultivation realm.

As the magic ship slowly entered Canghai Xiancheng, Qin Ming stood at the bow, feeling as if he had stepped out of another lifetime.

Upon his return to Wei Country, news arrived.

The major Golden Core factions of the four nations jointly developed the Taihu Secret Realm, using several third-rank spirit-breaking talismans and the expertise of third-rank array masters.

They had finally shattered most of the outer barriers surrounding the lake's ravine.

After all, even the Bone King Palace's array barriers, though ranked upper third-rank in ancient times, had inevitably developed flaws after tens of thousands of years of erosion.

Moreover, Qin Ming himself had already breached a hole in the barriers near the Bone King Palace when he escaped.

Cultivators from all sides had now approached the location Qin Ming had previously reached.

Yet, just as everyone rejoiced, believing they could enter the ruins to harvest treasures and resources, they were met by a massive swarm of ghostly entities.

Far beyond the cultivators' comprehension.

Deep within the Taihu Ruins, even a Golden Core-level ghost appeared; the first wave of entering cultivators suffered heavy casualties.

Only a few managed to escape alive.

Even so, this only intensified the cultivators' enthusiasm to explore the ruins.

Because the appearance of a Golden Core ghost proved the ruins might truly contain a Golden Core opportunity! But as wave after wave of explorers died and the ghostly horde showed no sign of diminishing, the great powers of each nation finally realized the ruins were far more complex than imagined.

Yet by the time they realized it, it was too late.

The sealing barriers of the Bone King Palace were completely shattered; countless yin souls and ghostly entities surged forth from the lakebed, flooding the Taihu region and spreading outward.

When the four nations' major Golden Core factions tried to seal the breach again, they found it impossible.

Within Liang Country, the Ghost Gates opened wide, unleashing an unprecedented "Yinming Ghost Disaster."

Its terror was so great that even Xuanxi Valley, which possessed four Golden Core Ancestors, could not suppress it. The severity of the disaster quickly slipped entirely beyond the control of the major sects.

"Alas, what a tragedy!"

Qin Ming shook his head. He knew the initial ghost disaster was merely an appetizer—the greater threat still lay ahead.

For instance, if the Ancient Ghosts like the Golden Toad Ancestor and the Bone True Person within the Bone King Palace were to awaken, that would be the worst possible news for the entire Southern Wasteland cultivation realm.

This stirred a sense of urgency within Qin Ming.

"Only by enhancing my strength can I survive the coming upheaval."

"I must break through to the Golden Core realm as soon as possible."

The Jingxue Pavilion merchant ship, after a long journey, arrived at Canghai Xiancheng.

Qin Ming visited the Jingxue Pavilion's inner city branch and learned from Gu Qing's report that Huangfu Qi had not joined the other cultivators in exploring the Taihu Ruins—she had been desperately worried about him.

According to Jingxue Pavilion's reports, Xiang Zehao and others who had planned to accompany Huangfu Qi into the Taihu Ruins—all of them at Foundation Establishment peak—had perished without exception within the ruins. Huangfu Qi now owed "Senior Long" an immense debt of gratitude; whenever he thought of it, he trembled with fear.

Had it not been for Senior Long's warning, he would now share the same fate as Xiang Zehao and the others from Shennong Gate.

After returning to the Xiancheng, Qin Ming also visited Lu Wanjun, the descendant of an old acquaintance, and seeing she faced no major difficulties in the Xiancheng, he did not disturb her further.

Moreover, Feng Sihai of the Feng Clan had likely consumed the Foundation Establishment elixir Qin Ming had given him and successfully broke through to Foundation Establishment. The Feng Clan had risen to prominence in Canghai Xiancheng as a renowned Foundation Establishment family specializing in talisman crafting.

Qin Ming had thus settled a karmic debt.

Afterwards, Qin Ming did not linger in Canghai Xiancheng but returned directly to Wangyue Island.

"Two years have passed since my last return; everything on the island remains largely unchanged."

Qin Ming resumed his original appearance, a faint smile on his face, hovering in midair as he gazed down over the entire Wangyue Island.

Yet he noticed the island's total area had expanded by one-third due to the effects of the Primordial Qi Soil.

The spiritual peach blossoms had bloomed again, and countless spiritual bees buzzed about collecting nectar.

The Wu family's spiritual farmers worked diligently on the island; upon seeing their lord return, they immediately paused their labor and bowed to him.

Wu Jiang arrived with Mu Ruyin to greet Qin Ming.

"Wu cultivator, it's been over two years—how have you been?" Qin Ming said with a faint smile.

Wu Jiang had aged; his face bore traces of time's passage. He hurriedly replied:

"Lord Qin, the island has remained peaceful these past two years—rest assured."

"Good," Qin Ming nodded in satisfaction.

Clearly, Wu Jiang had put in great effort: the outer spiritual fields had expanded significantly, and additional spiritual plants had been cultivated, all managed with meticulous order.

After chatting with Wu Jiang for a while, Qin Ming returned to the main peak.

The first thing he did upon returning was to replant his life-spirit plant, Yin-Yang Xuan Teng.

After stretching out, the Yin-Yang Xuan Teng once again grew into a towering giant tree on the island, then vanished from sight.

Qin Ming took from his storage bag the Golden Core blood pearl and the pseudo-Golden Core blood pearl, and fed them to his life-spirit plant.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh! Countless black vines whipped through the air; after absorbing these two weighty blood pearls, the Yin-Yang Xuan Teng grew taller still.

Countless silver runes spiraled around the plant, and a vast force of ancient time-energy descended.

At the same time.

Qin Ming clearly perceived that the life-spirit treasure, the Wood Emperor Nail, planted via 【Spirit Plant Treasure】, had instantly been upgraded to a third-rank middle-grade magic treasure!

The emerald-green Wood Emperor Nail was now wreathed in a thread of silver lightning, radiating astonishing power.

These two powerful blood pearls had provided the life-spirit plant with the equivalent of thousands of years of time-energy.

Not only had the plant grown significantly, but the Wood Emperor Nail had also advanced in rank.

Qin Ming immediately willed it, and one Wood Emperor Nail appeared in his hand.

He held the treasure, examined it closely, sensed its power, and rejoiced.

At that moment.

"Huh?!"

"Isn't that the Wood Emperor Nail?"

"No… how could this be?"

"Its rank has been upgraded!"

"And this mysterious black vine—it seems to be of no low rank."

Qin Ming's storage bag's spirit, Jin Lingzi, emitted a voice of disbelief.

"Oh? You know about the Wood Emperor Nail?" Qin Ming asked.

He had never before seen a spirit artifact speak out on its own—normally it was cold and aloof.

Jin Lingzi replied calmly: "The method to forge the Wood Emperor Nail was obtained by White Bone True Person from elsewhere."

"It originated from an ancient great sect, Qing Yuan Sect."

"During my lifetime, I once forged a complete set, but not as many as yours—only sixteen nails."

"If you ever find a way to obtain Solar Essence Gold, you can add it to the magic treasure and re-ensoul it."

"This would greatly enhance the Wood Emperor Nail's ability to repel evil."

"It might even raise the magic treasure's rank once more."

Qin Ming had some knowledge of Solar Essence Gold—it was a third-rank supreme-grade spiritual material, exceedingly rare even in ancient cultivation realms.

Let alone in today's resource-depleted cultivation world.

Still, after hearing Jin Lingzi's words, Qin Ming silently noted this down.

He would keep an eye out if he ever had the chance in the future.

He hadn't expected that White Bone True Person's final disciple understood the art of forging.

Next,

Qin Ming found a cold, yin spot on the island and planted the Fengyou Ghost Jujube.

He then consumed one 【Leaf of Space-Time】 entry to accelerate its ripening.

Three days later,

A three-zhang-tall jujube tree, radiating dense yin energy, sprouted from the ground.

Qin Ming immediately buried the corpses of the Mingyuan Demon and the Xuantie Black Corpse beneath the Fengyou jujube tree as fertilizer, then performed the Spirit-Planting Spell.

One by one, yin-evil energies flowed ceaselessly from the earth into the tree's branches.

Next came the wait for the ghost jujube to naturally absorb the yin-evil energy from the corpses.

He periodically cast the Spirit-Planting Spell on the tree to accelerate the formation of "Mystic Evil Spirit Liquid."

Qin Ming's next plan was to find two places of extreme yin and extreme yang, and plant and ripen the Fire-Bathing Golden Lotus and the Huanyou True Yin Flower—the two main ingredients for forging a Golden Core elixir.

For the extreme yang location—a fiery site—there was already a third-rank superior fire vein atop Canghai Xiancheng's main peak, which could be rented.

As for the extreme yin location, Qin Ming had already chosen his spot: he would travel north of the spiritual energy Archipelago, to the frigid extremes, to plant.

(End of Chapter)