Chapter 384: Message Sent, Third-Stage Late Demon King

When Qin Ming returned, he deliberately took a detour with extra caution.

Only after confirming no one was tailing him did he return to the Five Elements Mountain spirit fields.

After all, the opponent was a Daoist practitioner of the demonic path, necessitating careful vigilance.

Upon returning to the spirit fields, his deep eyes flickered incessantly.

Based on the recent encounter, Qin Ming could easily deduce that some demonic cultivators from Great Li had secretly infiltrated the southern region of Great Jin.

Furthermore, Qin Ming sensed that the aura of those three demonic cultivators was abnormally robust.

They even differed from ordinary demonic cultivators; the density of their demonic energy was worlds apart from that of typical demonic path practitioners.

It was highly probable they were true disciples of a demonic sect who had descended from the Blood Universe Realm.

Especially that demonic cultivator surnamed Qiu; Qin Ming could feel that he must have cultivated some powerful demonic body-refining technique, possessing extremely robust qi and blood power.

'Fortunately, the opponent did not make a move against me.'

'Otherwise, the Profound Ghost Jujube Tree would likely have gained three more fresh pieces of fertilizer.'

'However, if a fight had truly broken out, I estimate my true identity would have been exposed, making it impossible for me to remain within Great Jin.'

Nevertheless, this incident generated a slight sense of urgency in him; even cultivators from the Blood Refinement Demonic Sect had managed to mix into the Five Elements Mountain market.

This indicated that the situation was once again becoming unpredictable.

The Holy Son and Holy Daughter of that demonic sect must also be nearby.

Qin Ming had no desire to easily provoke figures capable of defeating even an old monster at the Nascent Soul stage.

'That old monster Cold Crow could have gone anywhere, yet he insisted on coming to the southern region of Great Jin.'

In the days that followed.

After returning to the spirit fields, Qin Ming kept a low profile, farming and cultivating, rarely venturing out to show his face.

However.

Since he had already discovered the traces of demonic cultivators, and they had come to settle within Great Jin, he naturally could not pretend to have seen nothing.

Although he did not wish to become entangled in trouble, handling such matters did not require his personal intervention.

If the sky were to collapse, someone tall would naturally prop it up.

Since its establishment, the Dao Protection Alliance had maintained strict defenses and searched everywhere for traces of the demonic path; it would be perfect to leak this information directly to them, using their hands to eliminate the hidden dangers within the Five Elements Mountain market.

Once the major powers of the Great Jin Immortal Dynasty discovered demonic infiltration, they would naturally dispatch high-level cultivators to deal with it.

Mainly, if these demonic cultivators from Great Li kept running to the Five Elements Mountain Range every day in the future, disturbing his farming, how could that be tolerated? Thus.

After pondering for a moment, Qin Ming contacted Hua Tianxiong via the Black Talisman Flower.

"Master, you summoned me?"

At that moment, Hua Tianxiong was attending a social gathering at the headquarters of the Myriad Daoes Commerce Alliance; after Qin Ming contacted him, he made an excuse to leave the hall and go outside.

"Hua Tianxiong, there is a piece of information I need you to relay to the Dao Protection Alliance; you might even earn a great merit from it," Qin Ming said lightly.

Hearing this, Hua Tianxiong was somewhat surprised, then a smile spread across his face: "I wonder what message Master wishes me to convey?"

"I have located the traces of three demonic cultivators, but their cultivation is all above the late Jin Dan stage, and their strength is unfathomable; there is a high probability they are from the Blood Refinement Demonic Sect of that Upper Realm."

Upon hearing this, the smile on Hua Tianxiong's face instantly froze; he had not expected such earth-shattering secret news.

Immediately after, Qin Ming told Hua Tianxiong everything about the appearance and whereabouts of the three individuals.

"Remember, these three are absolutely not easy opponents; do not take action personally, just deliver the message."

"I understand, Master, rest assured!"

After the exchange concluded, excitement shone in Hua Tianxiong's eyes, and he rushed back into the hall without stopping.

Meanwhile, after giving his instructions, Qin Ming let out a long sigh.

"I hope the Dao Protection Alliance can capture these demonic cultivators in one fell swoop this time, making them dare not offend again."

"At least there will be peace for a while."

After the message was sent.

Within just a few days, an earth-shattering great battle erupted in the Five Elements Mountain market.

Moreover, it was an organized, aggressive strike by the Dao Protection Alliance to annihilate demonic cultivators lurking within Great Jin.

Once this news broke, it spread throughout the entire Great Jin Immortal Realm in a very short time.

All major powers were shaken.

Immediately after the incident occurred, Hua Tianxiong sought out Qin Ming to report the specific details.

Qin Ming stepped out of the spirit fields and subsequently pulled Hua Tianxiong into the Small Xiao Lingjing.

"Hua Tianxiong, what is the situation over at the market?"

"Reporting to Master, this time the Dao Protection Alliance's encirclement and suppression of the Five Elements Mountain market yielded significant results!" Hua Tianxiong said with a radiant face, extremely excited.

"After learning that those three demonic cultivators might be from the Blood Refinement Demonic Sect, the Dao Protection Alliance directly dispatched a large contingent of elite high-level cultivators to exterminate them."

"Even Elder Qian of the Departing Li Huogong personally took action."

"However, the strength of those three demonic cultivators was truly extraordinary; despite such an inescapable net, two of them still managed to escape."

"Nevertheless, one Jin Dan stage demonic cultivator was slain on the spot by Elder Qian, serving as a warning to others!"

"In addition, the Dao Protection Alliance pulled up the radish and brought out the mud, following the vine to find the melon, and searched out dozens of demonic cultivators lurking in the Five Elements Mountain market."

"Among them, there were unexpectedly even disciples of the Yin Demon Sect, all of whom were wiped out in one pot, hehehe!"

"This operation thoroughly cleansed the demonic cultivators from Five Elements Mountain; the Five Elements Mountain market is now garrisoned with heavy troops stationed by the Dao Protection Alliance, so it is estimated that no demonic path dares to scheme against it for the time being."

"Even the security in the surrounding area has improved considerably, thoroughly deterring those petty villains."

After listening, Qin Ming's eyes flickered incessantly; after pondering for a moment, however, he frowned and said: "The Dao Protection Alliance isn't very capable either? We already provided them with detailed intelligence on the demonic cultivators in advance, yet they still let two escape?"

Hua Tianxiong looked embarrassed upon hearing this and explained, "Master, you may not be aware; the strength of those three demonic cultivators was truly terrifying. Had Elder Qian not arrived at the last moment to suppress them, the outcome would have been difficult to predict."

"To completely eradicate the demonic cultivators within the Five Elements Mountain market is already a remarkable achievement."

"Hmm, come to think of it, that's true; a core disciple of the Blood Refinement Demon Sect, even an ordinary Jin Dan cultivator might not be their match. Killing just one is quite an accomplishment." Qin Ming nodded.

"Elder Qian of the Li Li Huogong truly possesses some means."

Hearing this, Hua Tianxiong beamed and said, "Elder Qian is one of the ten famous Jin Dan cultivators of Great Jin."

"Over a hundred years ago, he already cultivated to the peak of the Jin Dan realm, bearing several core secret techniques of the Li Li Huogong, and has rarely suffered defeat."

"Of course, no matter how formidable Elder Qian is, he still cannot compare to you, Master, hehe."

Hua Tianxiong seized the moment to flatter him.

He had witnessed with his own eyes the shocking scene where Qin Ming instantly killed Wen Yuliang, a Nascent Soul seed from Divine Dao Mountain, using a precious mirror.

At that time, Su Yuqing had used a Yuan-Exploding Talisman to stimulate his potential, forcibly raising his cultivation temporarily to the False Nascent Soul level.

Even so, he could not escape the fate of demise.

In his view, although Elder Qian was extremely powerful, he was far inferior to the Qin Ming standing before him.

"Oh, by the way, since I made a meritorious contribution by transmitting intelligence this time, the Dao Protection Alliance recorded a great merit for me and bestowed a treasure as a reward."

"I took the opportunity to select the spiritual materials needed from your list; they are all here."

Having said this, Hua Tianxiong hastily took out a small storage bag and respectfully handed it to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming took the storage bag, opened it, and casually swept his gaze inside.

He discovered that most of the spiritual materials within were third-tier high-grade auxiliary ingredients for refining the Infant-Condensing Pill and the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill, numbering up to several dozen types.

With this, all auxiliary ingredients for refining the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill had been gathered, and only a few ingredients for the Infant-Condensing Pill remained.

However, these final few auxiliary ingredients were exceedingly rare; even within Great Jin, some effort would be required to find them.

Qin Ming put the items away and said in an excellent mood, "Hmm, you did very well."

"It is all due to Master's excellent cultivation of me!" Hua Tianxiong exclaimed joyfully.

"Alright, continue your infiltration; report any news to me promptly."

"Yes!"

On the other side.

In the southern mountain range of Great Jin, within a dark cave.

Two individuals from the Blood Refinement Demon Sect were treating their injuries.

"Damn it, don't let me find out who did this!"

The cultivator surnamed Meng wore an extremely gloomy expression; a fist-sized wound had been torn open on his shoulder.

Then, with a 'plop', he casually discarded an unlucky cultivator he had abducted from somewhere, the corpse instantly withering.

After absorbing this blood food, the wounds on his body were healing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Senior Brother Chou, how could our whereabouts have been exposed?"

"Is it possible someone within the sect betrayed us?"

The rough-looking young man, who had not suffered many injuries himself, spoke in an icy tone:

"Impossible; doing so would bring them no benefit."

Junior Brother Meng asked again in confusion, "Then, given that we possessed the Mirage Bead bestowed by our sect for disguise, how could we have been seen through? Moreover, we kept a low profile throughout our journey and encountered no powerful figures?"

"Except for a Nascent Soul cultivator, no one should be able to see through it, right?"

The demonic cultivator surnamed Chou replied, "I don't know; it seems I somewhat underestimated these ants of the Human Realm. Let us discuss this matter at length later."

"We cannot stay at Five Elements Mountain for now; this place has already become the target of all arrows."

"Furthermore, Elder Cold Crow has likely already startled the snake by beating the grass; he will not appear for a short while."

"Senior Brother Chou, what should we do then?"

"First lie low for a period and wait for other fellow disciples to act when the opportunity arises."

"In any case, the Qingyuan Sect's secret realm cannot be opened for some time."

"During this period, you should first focus on healing your injuries."

In the following period.

News of the slaying of demonic cultivators at the Five Elements Mountain market spread uproariously throughout Great Jin.

Moreover, the one killed was a core disciple of the Blood Refinement Demon Sect.

Furthermore, the Great Li demonic path had suffered a heavy loss.

Obviously, the strength of the Great Jin Immortal Realm was superior to that of Great Zhou.

Besides this.

There was another important reason.

Primarily, both Divine Dao Mountain and the Yin Demon Sect were deeply worried that the matter of the Qingyuan Sect's secret realm would leak out; if that happened, it would not just be the Great Jin Immortal Realm involved.

All sorts of dubious characters and evil spirits would set their sights on the Five Elements Mountain Range, which was something they did not wish to see.

Qin Ming also did not want to pierce this veil of paper; once war broke out within Great Jin, he would have to flee again.

The current situation was just right for him.

At the very least, it was not too late to wait until he had harvested the spiritual plants from his spiritual fields; moreover, the collection of the most crucial spiritual materials now had only the final few items remaining.

On this day.

Qin Ming was tending to spiritual plants in the Five Elements Mountain spiritual fields.

However, he suddenly discovered a slight disturbance in the spiritual energy within the Small Xiao Lingjing.

Only to see the Shi Tian Shu running toward him with an excited face, saying:

"M-m-master, I feel my demonic yuan has reached a critical point; I'm about to break through!"

This surprised Qin Ming somewhat; he hadn't expected the Shi Tian Shu to be on the verge of breaking through.

Then again, it had consumed so many heavenly treasures and earthly jewels, plus the pills he refined, enjoying daily the environment of a top-grade spiritual vein within the Small Xiao Lingjing.

Reaching this step was merely a matter of time.

However, since numerous rare spiritual plants were cultivated within the Small Xiao Lingjing, naturally the Shi Tian Shu could not undergo its demonic beast Lei Jie there.

The Lei Jie when a Tier 3 mid-stage Demon King breaks through to the late-stage realm is far more terrifying than before.

Even a slight spillover of residual waves could destroy Qin Ming's medicinal garden.

Upon learning this news, Qin Ming naturally had to find a relatively suitable place for its breakthrough.

For a demonic beast advancing, the spiritual vein environment naturally should be as high-grade as possible.

After pondering briefly, he thought of a place.

That was Muxia Mountain, the sacred land of the fox clan within the Beast Cry Mountain Range.

Breaking through while enduring the tribulation in the Five Elements Mountain spirit fields would be too conspicuous and attract attention.

"I will take you to Muxia Mountain; its Tier 4 spiritual vein environment is sufficient for your breakthrough," Qin Ming said lightly.

Hearing this, the Shi Tian Shu was delighted and rubbed its hands together: "That's wonderful, Master!"

"Wonderful what? I think you're just seizing the chance to show off in front of the Little Silver Fox, aren't you?" A meaningful smile curled Qin Ming's lips.

Seeing its little scheme exposed, the Shi Tian Shu awkwardly scratched its head: "Eh-heh-he! I just wanted to be on the safe side..."

Afterwards.

Qin Ming took the Shi Tian Shu and headed to Muxia Mountain in the Beast Cry Mountain Range.

After flying for several days.

They arrived outside the fox clan's sacred land; Qin Ming once again took out the jade leaf Yue Lingyan had given him, activated the True Demon Illusion, and disguised himself as a Crocodile Demon King.

Then he sent her a message.

Upon receiving the message, Yue Lingyan brought the Little Silver Fox to appear before him.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, long time no see; have you been well lately?"

"Heh! Thanks to the blessings of Fellow Daoist Lingyan, everything is fine."

"The reason for this visit is that my spiritual pet, the Shi Tian Shu, is about to break through to Tier 3 late-stage and undergo Tribulation Crossing, so I wish to borrow your precious land for this purpose," Qin Ming said with a cupped-fist salute and a smile.

"I see; I didn't expect the Shi Tian Shu King's cultivation progress to have reached this step as well; allow me to offer my congratulations in advance," Yue Lingyan said, nodding gently.

"Brother Rat, are you really breaking through?" The Little Silver Fox blinked beside them, speaking with a tone of envy.

For a demonic race to advance to Tier 3 late-stage meant becoming a half-transformed Great Demon King, a existence as rare as phoenix feathers and unicorn horns within the Beast Cry Mountain Range.

"Eh-heh-he, it was just a combination of opportunities and coincidences; nothing is certain yet," the Shi Tian Shu said, being rare modest for once.

Next.

After entering the fox clan's sacred land.

Yue Lingyan arranged a separate cave dwelling for the Shi Tian Shu on Muxia Mountain for it to use for breaking through its realm.

The spiritual energy here was abundant, and coupled with the high grade of the spiritual vein, it was fully capable of supporting its Tribulation Crossing.

However, whether it could survive this trial depended entirely on the Shi Tian Shu's own fortune.

Qin Ming was not too worried, because now the Shi Tian Shu possessed not only strange treasures like the Black Steel Fork, but also a complete set of top-grade Five Elements Flag magical treasures.

Surviving the Tier 3 late-stage Lei Jie should not be a major problem.

Several days later.

Above the sky of Muxia Mountain, a vortex of spiritual energy covering several li began to condense, funnel-shaped, pouring down toward the Shi Tian Shu's location.

Once the surging of spiritual energy ceased, the auspicious clouds of spiritual energy in the sky began to disperse.

As dark, oppressive tribulation clouds churned, the Tier 3 late-stage Lei Jie began to descend.

Standing at a distance observing, Qin Ming saw the Shi Tian Shu's aura continuously climb to the Tier 3 late-stage level, after which its form surged in size, reaching a colossal hundred zhang.

Even more peculiar was a layer of cyan-green patterns flickering across its body.

"The aura on these patterns seems somewhat familiar..."

Seeing this, Qin Ming couldn't help but frown.

Boom-crack! The terrifying Lei Jie struck down, causing the surrounding demons watching to exclaim in astonishment.

The Shi Tian Shu opened its mouth and spat out five banner magical treasures, which landed around it, firmly protecting it in the center.

It itself held a Wu Earth banner, manipulating the great formation composed of this set of magical treasures.

In an instant.

The illusory shadows of the Azure Dragon, Bai Hu, Zhu Que, and Black Tortoise flew out from the banners, unleashing a relentless barrage of various powerful divine abilities that continuously collided with the descending Lei Jie.

Half a day later, the thunder had struck nine times.

The tribulation clouds in the firmament began to dissipate, and spiritual energy from all directions began to nourish the Shi Tian Shu, until its cultivation was finally consolidated at the Tier 3 late-stage realm.

From now on, this meant the Shi Tian Shu had formally stepped into the half-transformed Demon King realm.

With this set of Five Elements Flag spiritual treasures in hand, the Shi Tian Shu found undergoing Tribulation Crossing effortless.

Although the ninefold Lei Jie of Tier 3 late-stage was terrifying, it was almost entirely neutralized and blocked by it.

Inside the cave dwelling on Muxia Mountain.

The Shi Tian Shu's eyes shone with excitement as it felt its demonic core, around which swirled a layer of vibrant, ever-regenerating cyan mist, and which had grown more than double in size.

Its strength had surged by a huge margin, and for a moment it was extremely agitated.

If this were in the past, the Shi Tian Shu wouldn't have even thought about it.

It had originally believed that the endpoint of its life would be stopping at Tier 3 early-stage.

He never expected to encounter Qin Ming; along the way, all sorts of fortuitous opportunities emerged one after another, allowing him to advance directly to the late third stage, a half-transformed Demon King.

If he strives for it in the future, there is even hope of progressing further and looking toward the realm of the fourth-stage Demon Saint.

"Ahahaha!"

"Late third stage! This Great Master has finally made it!"

"Second Brother, Third Brother, you two must work harder at your cultivation!"

The Shi Tian Shu felt refreshed and invigorated, suddenly feeling vindicated; with hands on hips, he threw back his head and laughed wildly.

Throughout the entire Xiashan, his arrogant and unrestrained laughter echoed.

……

(End of Chapter)