Chapter 378: Fox Clan Sacred Ground, Obtaining Spiritual Medicine [Two-in-One]

After several days of flight, Qin Ming had arrived near Twilight Mist Mountain.

"Master, Twilight Mist Mountain is just ahead."

The Sky-Devouring Mouse climbed onto Qin Ming's shoulder and pointed toward a vast, verdant mountain range ahead.

"Mm, I'll send a message to Yue Lingyan." Qin Ming immediately took out a message talisman and sent it off.

In merely half an incense stick's time, a streak of purple light flew from the distance, causing ripples to spread through the air.

A palace-dressed beautiful woman appeared before Qin Ming; her lovely eyes were brimming like autumn water, and between every frown and smile, she radiated a soul-capturing charm.

Beyond that, she exuded a unique kingly bloodline aura that towered over all others.

Beside her followed a small silver fox.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist Qin has arrived so quickly; please come inside our clan for a chat," Yue Lingyan invited warmly, her smile blooming like a flower.

"Senior Yue, long time no see." Qin Ming also stepped forward, smiling and clasping his hands in greeting.

Hearing him address her thus, Yue Lingyan smiled faintly and said:

"I mentioned before that Fellow Daoist Qin need not stand on ceremony with me; in private, there is no need for those external rules and formalities—just call me 'Fellow Daoist' as before."

"Very well then, Fellow Daoist Lingyan," Qin Ming replied, changing his address accordingly.

In the Immortal Realm, ranks were strictly hierarchical; her status was not what it used to be, and he dared not casually overstep.

However, since Yue Lingyan had said so, Qin Ming could only comply with her wishes.

"This junior greets Senior Qin!" The small silver fox beside Yue Lingyan also stepped forward, bowed, and spoke to Qin Ming in a crisp voice.

"Hehe! Little Moon, no need for such formalities." Qin Ming smiled gently and helped her up.

"Ehehe! Little Silver Fox, we meet again." The Sky-Devouring Mouse jumped down, ran over, and greeted the small silver fox.

Qin Ming was speechless; every time this fellow saw the little silver fox, it seemed as if more than half his soul had been bewitched away.

"Fellow Daoist Lingyan, congratulations on your promotion to the position of Demon Saint; this is a small token of celebration from Qin Mou; please accept it with a smile." Qin Ming took out an exquisite jade box and handed it to her.

Yue Lingyan smiled tranquilly, accepted the jade box with her fair hands, and moved her vermilion lips to say politely, "Fellow Daoist Qin, your presence alone is sufficient; why bring a gift?"

Immediately, she opened the jade box and took a glance, only to see a cluster of colorful, shimmering mist-light bursting forth from within.

Upon seeing the object inside, even she, a well-traveled fourth-stage shapeshifting Demon Saint, could not help but freeze in astonishment.

"Th-this is..."

"A fourth-stage mid-tier demon core, and moreover, the innate demon core of the ancient rare species, the Thousand-Illusion Nether Butterfly Demon Saint."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, such a precious gift... where did you obtain it?"

The moment Yue Lingyan saw the Thousand-Illusion Spirit Pearl, her mind trembled.

She could naturally sense the aura upon the treasure; it clearly belonged to the fourth-stage mid-grade tier and possessed an extraordinary origin.

If placed within the Immortal Realm, this would be considered an extremely rare and precious existence.

How could such a treasure appear in the hands of Qin Ming, a Jin Dan cultivator? This filled her with extreme surprise.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist Lingyan, please accept it with peace of mind; this item was requested from a good friend of mine," Qin Ming said with a smile.

Immediately, the expression of Su Yuqing feeling immense heartache floated back into his mind; only then did Yue Lingyan put away the treasure and speak with great gratitude: "Then many thanks for Fellow Daoist Qin's kindness; if you ever need anything in the future, just mention it to me."

"To be honest, this fourth-stage mid-grade Thousand-Illusion Spirit Pearl aligns extremely well with the cultivation technique I practice; it can even be used to refine an innate spiritual treasure."

Above magical treasures lay spiritual treasures.

Only a Nascent Soul True Monarch or a fourth-stage Demon Saint could drive, control, and refine them; their power was incomparable to that of ordinary magical treasures.

"This Thousand-Illusion Nether Butterfly is an ancient rare species; as far as I know, it was once a renowned existence in the Demon Realm; I never expected that a cultivator could actually slay it."

Qin Ming then recounted the origin of the Thousand-Illusion Spirit Pearl to Yue Lingyan.

"Oh, I see; so it was the founding ancestor of the Li Fire Palace who made the move; no wonder then."

Yue Lingyan revealed a look of sudden realization.

"By the way, Fellow Daoist Lingyan, I am a human; isn't it somewhat inappropriate for me to go directly to your Twilight Mist Mountain?" Qin Ming asked.

Yue Lingyan smiled inexplicably and explained to him: "This is a trivial matter."

"Did I not have Moon give you a jade leaf earlier?"

Hearing this, Qin Ming took out that emerald-green jade leaf. "Is this the item?"

Yue Lingyan nodded and explained to Qin Ming with a beaming smile: "This jade leaf stores the complete demon qi of a third-stage late-phase Demon King; it can completely conceal a human's aura; even a fourth-stage Demon Saint would be unable to distinguish its authenticity."

"With Fellow Daoist Qin's capabilities, plus this jade leaf, disguising oneself as a demon race member should be a trivial task, correct?"

Subsequently, Yue Lingyan immediately taught Qin Ming the incantation for utilizing the demon qi within the jade leaf in great detail.

This type of incantation was extremely simple for Qin Ming; within moments, he had already mastered it.

Qin Ming first activated his True Demon Illusion, transforming into the image of a third-stage late-phase Crocodile Demon King.

His upper body remained that of an ordinary young man, but behind him appeared dark scales and a crocodile tail.

Combined with the jade leaf given by Yue Lingyan, he was indistinguishable from an ordinary third-stage late-phase semi-shapeshifted Demon King; the disguise could be described as flawless.

Even Yue Lingyan, who observed him closely for quite some time, could not detect the slightest anomaly.

Let alone ordinary demons.

"Fellow Daoist Qin's disguise divine ability is truly unimaginable; even I cannot detect any falsehood; it seems as if you truly are a demon; hehe!"

"It is all thanks to Fellow Daoist Lingyan's demon-qi spirit leaf; otherwise, Qin Mou could not have achieved such a lifelike performance," Qin Ming replied with a smile.

Immediately, the two transformed into green rainbows and flew toward Twilight Mist Mountain.

At the same time, Yue Lingyan also discovered something surprising.

This Jin Dan late-phase human cultivator, Qin Ming, possessed a flight speed that could actually keep pace with her own, and throughout the journey, he remained without flushing or panting.

This made Qin Ming appear even more mysterious in her eyes.

Because after several encounters and interactions, Yue Lingyan's intuition made it easy for her to guess that Qin Ming was obviously not an ordinary Jin Dan cultivator.

Gradually, a massive mountain range reflected in purple mist appeared within the sight of Qin Ming and his companion.

The Twilight Glow Mountain sacred ground of the Silver Moon Sky Fox occupies a mid-grade fourth-tier spiritual vein; its peaks tower into the clouds, vast and immense.

The core region of the fox clan was shrouded in a kaleidoscope of colorful light, the radiance shifting unpredictably, at times an unfathomable glow, at others eerie as ghostly flames.

Within Twilight Glow Mountain existed not only the fox demon clan but also numerous other types of demonic beasts, all ruled by the Silver Moon Sky Fox clan.

Upon seeing the arrival of Yue Lingyan and the little silver fox, demonic beasts from every path bowed in submission without exception.

The periphery of Twilight Glow Mountain was encircled by a layer of colorful light curtain, within which countless demonic runes drifted and swayed.

Merely approaching from afar, Qin Mou could feel from this light curtain a terrifying power that made one's heart tremble with dread.

"A fourth-grade top-tier protective great formation!" Qin Mou naturally knew that once the demonic clan broke through to the Form-Transformation realm, they could refine pills, forge artifacts, craft talismans, and set up formations, becoming nearly indistinguishable from the human race.

Yet he had not expected that within the Silver Moon Sky Fox's sacred ground, Twilight Glow Mountain, there would actually be the protection of a fourth-grade top-tier great formation.

It seemed he had still underestimated Yue Lingyan's capabilities.

Yue Lingyan, however, thought nothing of it, leading Qin Mou all the way to the rear mountain of Twilight Glow Mountain.

Along the way, Qin Mou could clearly feel that the entire fox clan was filled with an overflowing atmosphere of celebration.

Clearly, Yue Lingyan's achievement of the Demon Saint realm had instantly elevated the Silver Moon Fox clan to one of the four great demonic clans, causing the foxes within the clan and the many demonic beasts under their command to share in the glory.

Before arriving at Yue Lingyan's cave dwelling.

Qin Mou turned his head and said to Yue Lingyan, "Fellow Daoist Lingyan, Qin Mou has one more presumptuous request; I wish to ask you for an item."

"Oh? What item does Fellow Daoist Qin need? As long as this humble woman possesses it, I will certainly give it to you," Yue Lingyan said with a smile.

"Hehe! It is simply that for my pill refining, I require a spiritual herb called Form-Transformation Demon Grass; this spiritual herb grows only near the lairs of fourth-tier Form-Transformation Demon Saints and is a companion spiritual medicine."

"Therefore, I wish to ask you for a few stalks," Qin Mou explained.

Yue Lingyan said, "So that is it; a trivial matter. However, this humble woman does not know what this 'Form-Transformation Demon Grass' Fellow Daoist Qin speaks of; why don't you go take a look yourself?"

Immediately after.

Yue Lingyan flew with Qin Mou to the rear mountain of Twilight Glow Mountain; the moment they entered, Qin Mou instantly felt an extremely dense heaven-and-earth spiritual energy surging continuously toward his face.

The abundance of this spiritual energy was the first he had ever encountered.

"So this is the environment of a fourth-tier spiritual vein?"

Qin Mou took a deep breath, stunned by being surrounded by such dense heaven-and-earth spiritual energy.

If one could cultivate continuously in such a high-tier vein environment, progress would obviously be extremely rapid.

Of course, such top-tier blessed lands and grotto-heavens were exceedingly rare within the entire Beast Cry Mountain Range, occupying merely the few scant locations held by fourth-tier Demon Saints.

For ordinary demonic beasts, entering such a cultivation sacred ground was basically something not even worth thinking about.

"Wow! This spiritual energy density feels like it could be spun into threads; isn't this too exaggerated?" The Shi Tian Shu, following beside the little silver fox, occasionally let out cries of surprise, appearing completely intoxicated.

Seeing its ridiculous appearance, the little silver fox covered her mouth and laughed, "Then why doesn't Brother Rat just join our Silver Moon Sky Fox clan? Mother will surely give you a good position."

Hearing this, the Shi Tian Shu immediately scratched its head in embarrassment and said, "I must decline your kind offer; I promised my master to fight for him all my life, so I'm afraid I cannot join the fox clan, hehehe!"

Then it thought of something else and blurted out, "Ahem! Actually, my master is quite excellent too; Little Silver Fox, why don't you come with us? I guarantee you'll eat well and drink spiced wine, and the two of us can even deepen our affection."

Upon hearing this, the little silver fox's pretty face instantly turned red; she pushed the Shi Tian Shu away with her small paw and lightly spat, "Who wants to deepen their affection with you?"

Immediately after, she ignored the Shi Tian Shu and ran off alone.

Seeing this, Qin Mou couldn't help but chuckle, secretly transmitting his voice to the Shi Tian Shu, "You kid are something, huh? Hooking up so quickly?"

The Shi Tian Shu chuckled, its old face flushing red as it said, "Master... this... this is still far from that."

"Keep it up; win over the Little Silver Fox, and I'll credit you with a great merit," Qin Mou immediately transmitted.

Upon hearing this, the Shi Tian Shu instantly perked up; it had originally thought Qin Mou would blame it for this.

But unexpectedly, Qin Mou not only did not reprimand it but actually encouraged it, making the Shi Tian Shu feel as though it saw the peak of its rat life.

Immediately, it stretched its legs and chased after the direction where the little silver fox had disappeared.

Yue Lingyan nearby also smiled gracefully, saying nothing more, letting the two of them go.

She also knew that the two of them were merely playing around.

Not long after.

Yue Lingyan brought Qin Mou to her cave dwelling.

This place was located atop a peak abundant with spiritual energy; at the mountain summit, spiritual mist drifted ethereally, strange rocks stood jagged, and all around grew many rare flowers and exotic herbs unseen in the outside world.

Qin Mou carefully explored the area near the cave dwelling but found no trace of the legendary fourth-tier companion Form-Transformation Demon Grass.

'This shouldn't be; logically, wherever there is a fourth-tier Form-Transformation Great Demon, it ought to exist.'

After searching in vain, Qin Mou followed Yue Lingyan into her cave dwelling.

The space inside was extremely spacious, the furnishings elegant and antique, possessing a unique charm.

An opening in the dome allowed sunlight and moonlight to pour down, while the interior of the cave dwelling was adorned with various flowers.

There was even a small patch of medicinal garden planted.

Besides this, a spiritual spring of fourth-tier grade or higher continuously gushed forth, flowing out toward the valley beyond.

The moment Qin Mou entered, a subtle fragrance resembling osmanthus and orchids rushed toward his face.

It was undoubtedly the body fragrance of Yue Lingyan.

The instant he entered the cave dwelling, Qin Mou's gaze fell upon dozens of emerald-green spiritual plants near Yue Lingyan's stone bed, and he could no longer shift his line of sight.

These spiritual plants resembled dew grass just sprouting tender shoots, with two drops of crystal-clear, seven-colored water beads still hanging on their leaves.

At first glance, they were no different from ordinary dew grass by the roadside.

Yet this was precisely the fourth-tier 'Form-Transformation Demon Grass' Qin Mou sought! "Fellow Daoist Lingyan, it is this grass," Qin Mou said to Yue Lingyan, his eyes revealing excitement.

Yue Lingyan also released her demonic sense to observe these dew grasses for a moment, then said in surprise, "So these dew grasses are of great use to Fellow Daoist Qin; in that case, just take them all."

"Hehe! Ten-odd stalks will suffice for me; leave the rest, perhaps they will grow even better in the future." Qin Mou then waved his hand, transplanting all ten-odd stalks of Form-Transformation Demon Grass into his small spiritual realm.

Subsequently, he cast a 【Superior Adaptation】 trait upon these fourth-tier Form-Transformation Demon Grasses.

In an instant.

These spiritual herbs began to flourish within the Small Nether Realm.

In the future, once Qin Ming gathers the remaining spiritual materials needed to refine the Nascent Soul Condensation Pill, these Hualing Yao Cao will prove useful.

【133】 Moreover, with his attribute panel in hand, he could cultivate many more of these shape-shifting medicinal herbs, both in quantity and age.

Moreover, with the attribute panel in hand, whether in terms of quantity or age, many more of these shape-shifting medicinal herbs could be cultivated.

"Then many thanks to Daoist Ling Yan; Qin Mou is endlessly grateful."

Since this concerned his great undertaking of condensing his Nascent Soul, Qin Ming expressed his gratitude from the bottom of his heart.

"A trivial matter, not worth mentioning; being able to assist Daoist Qin is an immense honor for this humble one."

"Had Daoist Qin not intervened to save me back then and guarded me while I broke through to the fourth-stage realm, this humble one would likely have perished long ago in the Cold Pool Cave."

Yue Lingyan clearly kept Qin Ming's past kindnesses in mind; even though she had now achieved the status of a fourth-stage Demon Saint, she had not forgotten and was only thinking of how to repay him.

Three days later.

The Demon Saint Grand Ceremony was solemnly convened at Twilight Mist Mountain, with countless demon races from across the Beast Cry Mountain Range coming to pay homage, creating a scene of such immense grandeur that it truly broadened Qin Ming's horizons.

(End of Chapter)