Chapter 374: Shocks Across All Factions

Before departing, Qin Ming escorted Hua Tianxiong to a safe location.

He instructed him, "Continue to lie low within the Wan Dao Shang Alliance; given that Shendao Mountain and the Wan Dao Shang Alliance are now at daggers drawn, Shendao Mountain will most likely investigate you."

"However, the Wan Dao Shang Alliance will definitely protect you, as will the Brother Li Huo Palace."

Hua Tianxiong hurriedly replied, "Yes, Master, please rest assured; once I return, as long as I rarely venture out, safety shouldn't be a major issue—Shendao Mountain surely wouldn't dare attack the Wan Dao Shang Alliance headquarters, would they?"

Qin Ming nodded, then retrieved a storage bag from his robes and handed it to Hua Tianxiong, instructing, "Inside are items; please deliver them to Su Yuqing on my behalf."

"Yes! Master." Hua Tianxiong accepted it and took a look, immediately widening his eyes in astonishment, for inside the storage bag were entirely top-grade spiritual materials of extreme rarity.

What Qin Ming had sent to Su Yuqing were three sets of materials for refining the Divine Wood Pill; given her skill level, he believed she could successfully refine them soon.

Having incurred a favor from Su Yuqing, he naturally needed to settle matters of human reciprocity properly.

Hua Tianxiong put away the storage bag and was about to take his leave.

"Wait a moment." Qin Ming called out to stop him.

Hua Tianxiong halted, asking respectfully, "Does Master have further instructions?"

Qin Ming produced an exquisite jade bottle in his hand and tossed it to him, saying, "This is a reward for you."

"Thank you for Master's bestowal!" Hua Tianxiong showed a look of surprise.

He had always believed that since Qin Ming controlled him with a black talisman, forcing him to fight life-and-death battles and bear the blame, he dared not harbor any complaints, let alone any desires.

His primary goal was simply to survive.

He never expected a day would come when he would be bestowed with a spiritual pill.

Hua Tianxiong carefully removed the bottle stopper, and a pill fragrance that instantly invigorated the spirit rushed into his nostrils.

"This..."

"Could this be..."

"Indeed, it is the Divine Wood Pill," Qin Ming said lightly.

As the president of the Qian Ji Merchant House, he naturally knew the value of goods; this ancient miraculous pill, capable of helping Jin Dan mid-to-late stage cultivators break through bottlenecks, was likely refinable only by Grandmasters of the Dandaoda Sect within Great Jin.

Such figures numbered no more than five.

Furthermore, the Dust-Extinguishing Pill refined by Su Yuqing during the previous auction at the Five Blessings Auction House had fetched an exorbitant price.

Moreover, as a spiritual pill for the Jin Dan mid-stage, the Dust-Extinguishing Pill was not necessarily purchasable even with spiritual stones; only at large auctions would a small quantity of such pills circulate.

Thus, the value of this "Divine Wood Pill" before his eyes could be imagined.

The Divine Wood Pill was a higher-grade spiritual pill than the Dust-Extinguishing Pill.

Hua Tianxiong had remained at the early Jin Dan stage for quite some time; with this Divine Wood Pill, he was highly confident he could advance his cultivation one step further.

"Aside from managing your merchant house, do not neglect your cultivation."

"Do not waste your Earth-Attribute Spiritual Body talent either."

"Spend your free time practicing more spells and divine abilities."

"Yes, yes, yes; upon my return, I will definitely raise my cultivation," Hua Tianxiong said awkwardly, clearly realizing that as a Jin Dan stage cultivator, he was impressive to look at but useless in practice, capable only of intimidating low-realm cultivators.

"Very well, report any developments to me promptly."

Having spoken, Qin Ming did not linger; his form blurred, transforming into a green rainbow that vanished into the horizon.

Initially,

the matter of Yun Yangzi and the Nascent Soul seed Wen Yuliang of the Shendao Sect being annihilated was secretly suppressed by the sect.

Yet, paper cannot ultimately contain fire.

Several days later, news of the demise of two renowned Jin Dan great cultivators in the Great Jin Immortal Realm gradually spread.

Like a stone casting ripples across a thousand layers of waves, all factions were shaken! Everyone became curiously eager to know which mighty figure had slain these two Jin Dan great cultivators.

The ability to annihilate a Nascent Soul seed was certainly not something ordinary cultivators could achieve.

Furthermore, Wan Gu Shangren, the Nascent Soul Qin Qin Zhenjun of Shendao Mountain, issued a fierce threat: if he discovered who committed this act, regardless of their identity, he would extract their soul and refine their spirit!

Even against a Nascent Soul Qin Qin Zhenjun, he would fight until death! Wan Gu Shangren was notoriously vindictive.

Moreover, Shendao Mountain offered an extremely high bounty; anyone providing clues could claim a massive reward.

Meanwhile, Hua Tianxiong of the Wan Dao Shang Alliance was listed by Shendao Mountain as the prime suspect, since the Shendao Mountain disciples had disappeared while pursuing him.

As for the Wan Dao Shang Alliance, upon learning that two high-ranking Jin Dan cultivators from Shendao Mountain had died, they were delighted beyond measure.

They praised Hua Tianxiong highly and placed him under protection.

Since Hua Tianxiong had accepted Qin Ming's Divine Wood Pill, he naturally silently bore this heavy burden of blame.

Various factions also formed a new perception of this president of the Qian Ji Merchant House.

They felt this person was not as incompetent as external rumors claimed, but rather subtly appeared to be a mysterious expert.

After all, previously, when Tian Laomo and others from the Yin Demon Sect pursued him, they chased and chased until he simply vanished—a fact truly difficult not to associate with wild speculation.

Simultaneously, the atmosphere within the Great Jin Immortal Realm once again began to turn sinister.

The three major powers jostled secretly, with open struggles and hidden conflicts occurring frequently.

After Qin Ming returned to the Five Elements Mountain spiritual fields, he saw Shi Tian Shu running over excitedly; shrinking its form, it jumped onto his shoulder and said, "Master, do you know what I dug up?"

"This time, we're truly going to strike it rich!"

Shi Tian Shu wore an air of proud arrogance, deliberately trying to whet Qin Ming's curiosity.

"Could it be that you dug up the secret realm discovered by Shendao Mountain?" Qin Ming asked with a furrowed brow.

This time it was Shi Tian Shu's turn to be surprised; "Master, how did you know there was a secret realm underground?"

"Not only is there a secret realm, but is there also a Seven Wonders Treasure Tree?" A playful smile curled the corner of Qin Ming's mouth.

"Ah? Master, you know everything!" Shi Tian Shu immediately found it incredible.

It had originally intended to play coy.

Immediately, it communicated with the Silver-Winged Frost Bees and the Profound Water Crocodiles, discovering that the second and third were full and satisfied, sleeping soundly with soft snores.

Qin Ming then recounted the entire sequence of events to the Shi Tian Shu.

"Alas, why didn't such good fortune fall to me?" The Shi Tian Shu, seeing that the second and third had both received benefits, felt quite sour.

Qin Ming smiled faintly. "Did you not just obtain the Five Elements Banner magical treasure? It is far superior to theirs."

"By the way, describe to me in detail what you saw."

The Shi Tian Shu immediately recounted everything it had seen and heard in that underground world to Qin Ming, holding nothing back.

Afterwards, it pondered for a moment and asked, "Master, should we secretly sneak in, steal that precious tree, and then enter the secret realm to reap the benefits? Hehehe!"

"After all, among the more powerful cultivators below, there seems to be only one old man at the peak of the Jin Dan realm standing guard; with Master's strength, he should pose no threat."

"With such high-grade spiritual plants growing right at the entrance of the secret realm, who knows what treasures lie within?"

"The other few main ingredients Master needs to refine the Infant-Condensing Pill might very well exist inside too."

Qin Ming's expression remained calm; propping up his chin, he deliberated for a moment before shaking his head. "Mm, we still cannot touch this place for now. The Divine Dao Mountain will surely dispatch heavy troops to guard it; perhaps even an old monster from the Nascent Soul realm is lurking in the shadows, waiting for us to take the bait."

"Moreover, I estimate that once this matter is exposed, it will immediately spark a struggle between the Wan Dao Shang Alliance and the Brother Li Huo Palace; it is best to proceed with caution."

"Even if there are treasures, one must have the life to claim them!"

"Let us just observe the situation for now."

Although Qin Ming no longer feared any cultivator within the Jin Dan realm, he still needed to keep his distance when encountering old monsters of the Nascent Soul realm.

At present, he truly had little interest in places like secret realms; even with a heavenly and earthly spiritual object like the Seven Wonders Precious Tree, it was not worth the risk.

"Master speaks most wisely! Hehe!"

Subsequently, Qin Ming gave the Shi Tian Shu another Beast Emperor Pill; clutching the pill, it went off to cultivate, thoroughly content.

(End of Chapter)