Chapter 331: First Arrival in Great Jin (Seeking Subscriptions~)

After a moment of dizziness that felt as though the heavens were spinning and the earth turning.

Qin Ming's vision brightened, and when he opened his eyes again, he had already appeared within an array inside a cave.

Having undergone long-distance transmission via a mid-grade teleportation array, and relying on his mid-stage True Pill body-refining cultivation, his body felt no discomfort whatsoever.

In contrast, the several people behind him stood unsteadily, swaying east and west as if drunk, including the trio of Han Yuan.

It took half the time it takes to drink a cup of tea before they recovered to normal.

For such long-distance transmission, those with cultivation below the Jin Dan stage would more or less suffer some adverse reactions.

"Fellow Daoists, welcome to the Great Jin Immortal Realm!"

Subsequently, a middle-aged cultivator dressed in crimson and purple appeared before everyone, leading a team of disciples from the Offending Li Huogong.

With a smiling expression on his face, he offered words of welcome to these cultivators who had traveled from afar.

"Elder Liang, long time no see!"

Han Yuan and the others were clearly familiar with the cultivators stationed here, and the groups exchanged pleasantries.

Afterwards, under Elder Liang's guidance, they walked out of the cave.

Only upon reaching the outside did Qin Ming realize that this teleportation array of the Offending Li Huogong was hidden within a mountain body in a canyon, heavily guarded by troops and extremely secretive.

"Have we finally arrived? The Great Jin Immortal Realm."

Qin Ming took a deep breath, his mind swirling with emotion, and a smile curled the corners of his mouth.

He could clearly feel that the density of spiritual energy here was indeed slightly better than in the Southern Wild Immortal Realm.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist Lu, speaking of which, the branch of the Mirror Snow Pavilion you are heading to is located in the 'Spirit Ruin Market' not far from here, quite close indeed."

Han Yuan said with a smile.

"Oh? Is that so? Thank you for informing me, Fellow Daoist Han," Qin Ming replied gratefully.

"Here is a simplified map of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty; I shall gift it to Fellow Daoist Lu."

Gao Feng, standing nearby, took out a pale yellow jade slip and handed it to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming accepted the jade slip and thanked him again; although this was a simplified version of the complete map of Great Jin, it was still a rare item.

Such maps were generally held only by major powers, as compiling them was quite difficult.

After putting away the map, Qin Ming seized the opportunity to inquire of the group: "I heard that the Offending Li Huogong was previously engaged in battle with another great enemy; although the war has ended, I wonder what the final outcome was?"

"Hehehe! I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Lu, far away in the Southern Wild lands, to be so well-informed," Gao Feng remarked with some surprise, then proceeded to explain to Qin Ming, "Fellow Daoist Lu, the other party fighting the Offending Li Huogong is the newly risen Nascent Soul-level power, 'Divine Dao Mountain'."

"The great war between these two super powers ceased two years ago; both sides reached an agreement to stop hostilities with the 'Five Elements Mountain' region as the boundary, interfering not with each other."

Hearing this, Qin Ming couldn't help but ask in confusion: "This Divine Dao Mountain... is it actually a newly risen Nascent Soul-level power in Great Jin?"

"Exactly; Divine Dao Mountain is located in the southern region of Great Jin, occupying a vast territory. Several decades ago, the Grand Elder of Divine Dao Mountain secretly succeeded in forming a Nascent Soul, and subsequently began the great war..."

"During the war that lasted several decades, even Jin Dan cultivators suffered heavy casualties, and eventually, the situation... even developed to a life-or-death struggle."

"Fortunately, two years ago, high-ranking cultivators from both sides held several negotiations at Five Elements Mountain and finally reached a ceasefire agreement," Gao Feng said patiently.

Qin Ming's eyes lit up. "Oh? Then I wonder what the combat losses were for both sides?"

"In this battle, the number of low-ranking cultivators killed or injured was naturally incalculable, and even countless famous Jin Dan True Persons within the Great Jin Immortal Realm perished; it was truly fierce."

"It is said that even the Nascent Soul Zhenjun of the Offending Li Huogong and the Nascent Soul Laozu of Divine Dao Mountain fought a battle, with the result being that neither side gained any advantage."

"Instead, both sustained serious internal injuries and are now in secluded cultivation to heal; for cultivators of such great ability, the injuries they suffered will not recover without several decades."

"Thus, once the agreement was signed, the war ended."

Hearing this, Qin Ming immediately felt secretly delighted; this suited his intentions perfectly, as now, apart from Nascent Soul great experts, basically no one posed a threat to him.

However, he still had many questions. For instance, why was the Grand Elder of Divine Dao Mountain able to suddenly succeed in condensing a Nascent Soul? Furthermore, since Divine Dao Mountain was merely a newly risen Nascent Soul sect, why was it able to confront the old-established Nascent Soul sect, the Offending Li Huogong, which had been entrenched in Great Jin for thousands of years, without falling behind during the war? Their foundations differed vastly, so there must be some hidden story behind this.

Besides that, why did the two sects suddenly go to war over a single disagreement, and what was the triggering cause?

However, these belonged to high-level intelligence of the Immortal Realm, and Han Yuan and these Foundation Establishment cultivators probably had no access to them.

Qin Ming planned to find an opportunity to thoroughly gather this intelligence, after all, it concerned his future safety in Great Jin.

At any time, being able to grasp intelligence that others do not know is extremely helpful for assessing the situation.

After all, Qin Ming was cautious by nature; if the situation looked wrong, he was prepared to flee at any moment... 'Fortunately, I have arrived in Great Jin, and as a peace envoy of the Immortal Realm.'

'The peace and stability between the two factions should be maintained for a very long time.'

Thinking thus silently, Qin Ming followed the trio as they flew toward the outside of the valley.

However, halfway there.

When he opened that map jade slip, he froze.

The location where Qin Ming and the others currently stood was in the southern region of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty, not particularly far from Five Elements Mountain.

It was merely a half-month's journey away.

Besides that, the destination for this trip, under the alias of Shopkeeper Lu that Gu Qingzhao had arranged for Qin Ming, was the 'Spirit Ruin Market', which was not far from here.

To avoid attracting attention, Qin Ming planned to first use this identity to gather intelligence for a while, adapting to local customs and familiarizing himself with this Immortal Realm before making specific plans.

Otherwise, if Shopkeeper Lu disappeared inexplicably right after arriving in Great Jin, the behavior would be too abnormal and would inevitably attract the attention of scheming individuals.

'Since even a sect like Divine Dao Mountain had the opportunity to secretly condense a Nascent Soul, it shows that opportunities for condensing a Nascent Soul are still plentiful within the Great Jin Immortal Realm.'

Two days later.

Spirit Ruin Market, Riding Wind Tower.

In the restaurant on the first floor, Qin Ming raised his cups with Han Yuan and the other two for a hearty drink; the group had ordered a large table full of fine wine and delicious dishes to host a banquet in Qin Ming's honor.

"As Lu, newly arrived, I have relied on the care of you three; I toast you all with this cup." Having said this, Qin Ming raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.

Han Yuan and the other two laughed in unison: "Fellow Daoist Lu is straightforward, our temperaments match, we feel like old friends upon first meeting, regretting only that we did not meet sooner."

"Let this meal serve as our welcome banquet to wash away the dust of your journey; welcome to Great Jin, hahaha!"

Han Yuan, Gao Feng, and Liu Ye also raised their cups one after another and drained the spiritual wine in their hands.

Amidst the clinking of cups and exchange of toasts, the distance between the few of them narrowed considerably.

Even for someone as experienced and knowledgeable as him.

When Qin Ming first arrived at Lingxu Market, he too had been stunned by this place.

Lingxu Market was jointly established by nearby cultivation sects and several major and minor factions; located on the frontier of the Southern Region, it bordered the territory controlled by the Divine Dao Mountain of the Southern Barbarians.

Continuing further south lay the endless Beast Cry Mountain Range.

Geographically, it was a vital transportation hub, with cultivators passing through in an unending stream.

Lingxu Market sat atop a third-tier upper-grade spiritual vein; having existed for over a thousand years, it enjoyed high prestige among rogue cultivators.

Qin Ming could not help but sigh inwardly: "The strength of Great Jin truly far surpasses the four kingdoms of the Southern Wasteland; the abundance of resources is indeed extraordinary. Even a small frontier market like this is enough to rival Canghai Yunze Xiancheng."

……

(End of Chapter)