Chapter 364: Weighing the Options

After returning to the spirit fields, Qin Ming gathered all the spirit farmers together.

"From now on, while farming, if you discover any abnormalities within the spirit fields, or unearth any special objects, you must report them to me immediately."

"Yes! We strictly follow Shopkeeper Lu's instructions!"

The spirit farmers responded one after another.

Sweating profusely, Jia Heyi asked Qin Ming, "Shopkeeper Lu, has some problem arisen within our spirit fields?"

"Mm, the recent situation is somewhat off; have your people pay extra attention."

"The Wan Dao Shang Alliance and the Divine Dao Mountain have erupted into conflict; it is likely related to the matter of the spirit veins."

"However, there is no need for you to be overly worried," Qin Ming instructed indifferently.

Jia Heyi repeatedly agreed and withdrew, subsequently strengthening the guard forces around the spirit fields.

Qin Ming acted this way just in case; if no spirit mine was unearthed, it would be fine, after all, this place was merely an extending branch vein, and he believed the probability of digging out a spirit mine within these two hundred mu of spirit fields was not high.

But the Divine Dao Mountain clearly was unwilling to let go of any place capable of producing a spirit mine, which was why they took an interest in this location, willing to pay a heavy price to seize it.

If a spirit mine were truly unearthed within his own spirit fields, this place would once again become a fiercely contested ground between the two major powers, something Qin Ming did not wish to see.

After this matter.

The changes in the situation of the Immortal Realm also sounded an alarm bell for Qin Ming; he tightened his schedule to cultivate diligently and farm hard.

After a period of time passed.

Jia Heyi ran over again to report to Qin Ming:

"Shopkeeper Lu, I have investigated clearly the identities of the two Jin Dan elders from the Divine Dao Mountain who visited our spirit fields some days ago."

"One of them, Yunyangzi, is the inner sect's chief elder of the Divine Dao Mountain's Punishment Hall, and within the Great Jin Immortal Realm, he counts as an old-timer among late-stage Jin Dan great cultivators."

"As for the other, Wen Yuliang, he possesses a Heavenly Spirit Root and is hailed as the most talented young cultivator of the Divine Dao Mountain in several hundred years; he broke through to the peak of the Jin Dan realm in merely over two hundred years."

"Furthermore, he has already entered the Divine Dao Mountain's Nascent Soul seed sequence."

"Cultivators outside speculate that this person is the most likely to break through to the Nascent Soul stage after the Divine Dao Mountain's 'Ten Thousand Gu Shangren'."

"This person not only possesses extraordinary cultivation talent but also enjoys remarkable luck; it is said that during his early travels, he obtained a heavy water rare treasure that acknowledged him as its master, and in the previous war between the Divine Dao Mountain and the Brother Li Huo Palace, he relied on this treasure to slay several powerful Jin Dan great cultivators, gaining a formidable reputation throughout the Great Jin."

"Moreover, his prestige among high-level cultivators ranks only below Elder Jin Han of the Wan Dao Shang Alliance."

"Sigh, who would have thought that our Mirror Snow Pavilion would be targeted by such a figure; whether this is a blessing or a curse remains unknown."

After finishing his speech, Jia Heyi sighed deeply, his face filled with worry; anyone encountering such a matter would feel extremely distressed.

Qin Ming nodded upon hearing this and offered a few words of comfort: "It is of no consequence; Elder Jin Han has already told me that the Wan Dao Shang Alliance will grant us protection."

"Is it not just a piece of spirit land?"

"If the worst comes to the worst, after harvesting this season's spirit plants, if the people of the Divine Dao Mountain continue to pester us, we might as well just sell it off."

"As long as the green hills remain, there will be no shortage of firewood."

After much deliberation, Qin Ming had already formulated a countermeasure.

If the Divine Dao Mountain was truly determined to take this land, he naturally could not allow himself to be used as a pawn by the Wan Dao Shang Alliance; clashing head-on with a major power like the Divine Dao Mountain was not a wise move.

Previously, when Elder Jin Han comforted Qin Ming and told him to die rather than sell this land, he likely had his own calculations and did not harbor any good intentions.

In the Immortal Realm, the weak are prey to the strong; before profits, these small commercial houses under the Wan Dao Shang Alliance are merely reduced to cannon fodder in the gambling of major powers.

"Shopkeeper Lu's insight is profound; this subordinate will follow your arrangements entirely," Jia Heyi said, also breathing a sigh of relief.

At the same time.

During this period, besides farming and cultivating, Qin Ming's frequency of visits to the Five Elements Mountain Market also gradually increased.

This was mainly to keep abreast of the situation at all times.

If the situation became unfavorable, he was already prepared to flee at any moment.

Over the past several months, the Divine Dao Mountain and the Wan Dao Shang Alliance had already experienced several clashes of varying scales.

To retaliate against the Divine Dao Mountain, the Wan Dao Shang Alliance not only prohibited relevant industries of the Divine Dao Mountain from entering the Five Elements Mountain Market but also secretly assassinated a Jin Dan elder, serving as tit for tat.

On this day.

Qin Ming was inquiring about the latest situation with Han Yuan and the other two; the few of them sat by a window on the third floor of the Wind-Riding Tower.

During their exchange.

They saw Hua Tianxiong walking down the stairs from the fourth floor alongside a strange Jin Dan cultivator, preparing to head outside.

Hua Tianxiong naturally noticed Qin Ming, but having served for many years as a double agent for both the Brother Li Huo Palace's Qian Elder and Qin Ming, his skill in hiding one's light had reached perfection.

Even when meeting in public occasions, he revealed no emotion, maintaining an expression that appeared quite natural.

It was just that the next moment.

Han Yuan and the other two at Qin Ming's table, upon seeing the blue-robed old man beside Hua Tianxiong, immediately stood up and stepped forward to greet him: "Subordinates pay respects to Elder Zou!"

"Greetings, Senior Hua."

The blue-robed Jin Dan old man glanced indifferently in their direction, saying, "Mm."

Afterwards, without saying much more, he followed Hua Tianxiong downstairs.

After the two had left and gone far away.

Qin Ming then turned to ask Han Yuan and the other two:

"Fellow Daoist Han, who was that senior just now?"

"Oh, that was Elder Zou Pinghai of our Ben Alliance; he belongs to the upper echelons of the Shang Alliance, holding a seat as one of the members of the Elder Council," Han Yuan explained.

"Elder Zou rarely shows himself on ordinary days; unexpectedly, we met him today, and he was together with President Hua of the Thousand Mechanisms Commercial House."

Qin Ming nodded, then sat down again to drink and eat with the few of them.

A moment later, Hua Tianxiong transmitted a voice to Qin Ming via the black talisman.

"Master, you are here as well?"

Qin Ming furrowed his brows and asked without revealing his emotions, "How did you end up together with Zou Pinghai?"

"Reporting back to Master, the Myriad Dao Shang Alliance has a batch of cargo requiring caravan transport; with the recent crackdown being so severe, they truly could find no one else, so Yu Pinghai wished to entrust this to our Thousand Mechanisms Merchant House, offering considerable benefits."

"I just finished negotiating with him and have already accepted the matter."

"You are quite bold; under the current circumstances, you still dare to take business from the Shang Alliance," Qin Ming said.

"Hehe! Isn't this how our trade works? Without taking some risks, one simply cannot scoop up any decent profits," Hua Tianxiong said with a dry laugh.

"Very well, just be careful yourself."

"Yes! Master."

Half a year later.

Within the spirit fields of the Five Elements Mountain, Qin Ming gazed upon his ten mu of spirit fields, where golden, glittering entries flickered before his eyes.

【Name】: Dragon Pattern Grass 【Entry】: Source of Magic Power x5 (Harvestable) 【Name】: Dragon Pattern Grass 【Entry】: Source of Qi and Blood x5 (Harvestable) 【Name】: Dragon Pattern Grass 【Entry】: Quality Improvement x5 (Harvestable) 【Name】: Star Twilight Flower 【Entry】: Source of Magic Power x5 (Harvestable) 【Name】: Star Twilight Flower 【Entry】: Source of Qi and Blood x5 (Harvestable) 【Name】: Star Twilight Flower 【Entry】: Leaf of Space-Time x5 (Harvestable); a smile spread across Qin Ming's face as he harvested all the spirit plants within the ten mu of spirit fields.

Within his sea of consciousness, many blue entry leaves instantly appeared.

"Ten entries of 【Source of Magic Power】 should be enough for me to break through to the late stage of Jin Dan, correct?"

Excitement flowed within Qin Ming's gaze.

(End of Chapter)