Chapter 393: Spirit Pet Ascends, Broken Mirror Mended

After nine layers of thunder passed, the Blackwater Crocodile in the valley's center was barely alive.

Just as Qin Ming was about to exhale in relief.

BOOM! The storm clouds above the sky churned wildly once more, and a bolt of purple-gold lightning materialized.

"The tenth tribulation bolt!"

"Tribulation passes, yet tribulation is born."

From afar, Qin Ming, merely by its aura, knew this tribulation bolt was no ordinary force—far beyond anything he'd seen before.

"We're done. We're dead."

"Didn't expect Old Two's tribulation to be this brutal."

The Skydevouring Rat gazed at the thunder above and sighed heavily.

The tribulation an beast endures when ascending to the third rank determines its future strength and potential.

Qin Ming decided not to intervene—let the Blackwater Crocodile face its fate alone.

In the valley, the Blackwater Crocodile dragged its massive body, let out a low roar, opened its jaws, and a brilliant blue demonic core floated out, wreathed in powerful lightning.

In the next instant, the demonic core erupted with terrifying Golden Core-level demonic energy, and the surrounding space began to warp under the surge.

At the same moment.

The purple-gold tribulation bolt crashed down from the heavens! Blinding light engulfed the entire valley.

ROAR! From within the light, a furious, defiant bellow rang out.

Suddenly, four colored lightning flashes—blue, yellow, red, and green—exploded from the Blackwater Crocodile's demonic core.

These were the ancestral bloodline abilities the Blackwater Crocodile had spent years refining: Divine Water Thunder, Divine Earth Thunder, Divine Fire Thunder, and Divine Wood Thunder.

The Blackwater Crocodile spared no strength, its aura surging as it prepared to fight for its life against the deathly tribulation.

It channeled its vast demonic energy, continuously pouring it into the demonic core before it.

ZZZT!

Instantly, the four colored divine thunderbolts intertwined and surged upward to meet the purple-gold tribulation.

BOOM-KRA-KA-KA!

The two forces of lightning collided midair, unleashing a cataclysmic power.

Countless silver lightning arcs exploded outward in all directions.

Countless mountains and vegetation were instantly vaporized into dust by the shockwave.

A few breaths later.

The smoke and lightning faded, and the Blackwater Crocodile's form reappeared—now a hundred-zhang primordial giant crocodile.

Its aura had fully stabilized at the early third-rank demonic king level! After successfully crossing the tribulation.

The injuries it suffered during the tribulation were healed by the replenishment of heavenly and earthly spiritual energy.

Having ascended to third-rank demonic king via a Heaven-grade bloodline, the Blackwater Crocodile's ancestral bloodline ability now completed its final phase—the Gengjin Divine Thunder—fusing into a single Five-Element Divine Thunder, its power surpassing its former state.

Its scales were now covered in intricate sacred patterns, emitting a deep, dark luster; its physical defense had undergone a quantum leap.

Not only was its hide thick and tough, its abilities could now obliterate anything! "Congratulations, congratulations!"

"Thank heavens it was terrifying but not fatal—it actually made it through the tribulation."

The Skydevouring Rat chuckled beside him.

After crossing the tribulation, the Blackwater Crocodile shrank its form and flew toward Qin Ming, excitedly rubbing against his pant leg.

Qin Ming gently patted the Blackwater Crocodile's massive head, feeling satisfied.

After a moment.

"Huh? If you've ascended to third-rank demonic king, why can't you speak yet?" Qin Ming asked, puzzled.

At that moment, the Skydevouring Rat puffed out its chest and said proudly, "Hehe! Among third-rank demonic kings, only a few with awakened intellect can speak human language—like me, hehe!"

"Our kind only gain the ability to speak like humans once we reach late third-rank, nearing partial transformation."

Qin Ming immediately understood and nodded calmly.

From this point on.

With the Blackwater Crocodile's breakthrough, he now had another capable lieutenant.

His overall strength surged once more.

After giving the Blackwater Crocodile an elixir, he ordered it to rest and recover.

Immediately after.

Qin Ming released the Silverwing Frost Bee.

It had sensed the Blackwater Crocodile's breakthrough and could no longer contain itself.

Several days later, the Silverwing Frost Bee's aura also reached its peak.

Above the valley, another spiritual energy vortex, ten li wide, began to coalesce.

The Silverwing's internal demonic core successfully accumulated enough energy to reach the third rank.

The tribulation bolts from the sky began to descend continuously.

But compared to the tribulation the Blackwater Crocodile faced, the Silverwing Frost Bee's was considerably weaker.

BOOM-KRA-KA! Deep within the Beast Roar Mountains, two celestial phenomena appeared in succession.

Naturally, they drew the attention of nearby powerful demons.

Several powerful Foundation Establishment demons, hearing the commotion, rushed toward the valley.

But when they drew near, they discovered two terrifying third-rank demonic kings guarding the perimeter.

One of them, in particular, had reached mid-third-rank—sending them trembling with fear; they scattered like birds and beasts.

Half a day later.

The tribulation within the valley fully dissipated, revealing the Silverwing Frost Bee's form.

Its aura had now fully stabilized at the third-rank level.

Though its bloodline was only Earth-grade—far inferior to the Blackwater Crocodile's—it had undergone transformation due to prolonged exposure to its master's sacred plant, the Yin-Yang Mystic Vine.

Among early third-rank demonic kings, it stood among the elite.

Soon after.

The Silverwing Frost Bee's body swelled, floating midair like a small mountain, its entire form covered in intricate silver spiritual patterns.

They were nearly identical to the patterns on Qin Ming's sacred plant, the Yin-Yang Mystic Vine.

After adjusting to its new surroundings, it shrank its body and vanished from its spot.

When it reappeared, it hovered before Qin Ming, flapping its silver wings, radiating joyous emotion.

Qin Ming was astonished to find that each wingbeat sent strange ripples through the air.

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

"Silverwing has also broken through to third-rank demonic king."

"From now on, we're the Three Blades United—kill anyone who stands in our way, slay gods who dare oppose us!"

"HAHAHA!"

The Skydevouring Rat waved its tiny hand grandly, exuding boundless bravado.

Qin Ming, hearing this, bristled—how long had it been since this troublemaker had stirred up his rebellious spirit again?

He ruffled the Skydevouring Rat's head. "Do you know what 'low profile' means?"

"You trying to defy heaven now?"

The Skydevouring Rat grinned. "Alright, alright, I was just joking—I follow my master's lead. Low profile, low profile."

But the Skydevouring Rat wasn't wrong.

With Qin Ming's own strength now rivaling mid-Golden Core, plus three third-rank demonic kings.

Within the Southern Wastelands' cultivation realm, they were at the absolute peak of power.

Remember, the strongest sect in the Southern Wastelands, the Xuánxī Valley, had only four Golden Core elders.

From now on.

Even if he faced late-Golden Core cultivators or late-third-rank demonic kings, even if he couldn't win, he could escape unharmed. "This lineup? Total security."

"From now on, if anyone causes me trouble, I'll just unleash my three warlords!"

"Let's see who can withstand it!"

Qin Ming gently stroked the Silverwing's back.

"This place made too much noise—third-rank demonic kings will surely come sniffing."

"Let's leave this place."

He waved his hand, summoning the Blackwater Crocodile and Skydevouring Rat into his Spirit Beast Bag, then mounted the Silverwing Frost Bee, which shot off as a silver streak, vanishing instantly.

In midair, Qin Ming felt the Silverwing Frost Bee's terrifying speed—equal to the full-speed dash of a late-Golden Core master.

In the blink of an eye, they flew thousands of li away.

Qin Ming had just left the valley.

A stick of incense later.

The surrounding spiritual energy churned like boiling water, and ripples spread across space like waves on water.

Two terrifying figures suddenly appeared where Qin Ming had just stood.

One figure was a green-faced man, horns sprouting from his head, his body bulging with explosive muscle, arms and torso covered in green scales, his lower half ending in a green dragon tail.

The ancient aura of a high-ranking demon bloodline descended abruptly.

It was the late-third-rank demonic king of the Beast Roar Mountains—the Green-Faced Poisonous Dragon.

Beside him, a voice like a broken gong rang out.

"Greenface, two third-stage beast kings have broken through here in succession, then vanished without a trace—what do you make of it?"

Beside the Greenface Poisonous Dragon, a withered old man hovered in midair, his skin covered in dense, raised bumps that sent chills down the spine.

This fiend was none other than the Golden Toad Ancestor, whom Qin Ming had seen once in the Taihu Ruins—he, too, was at the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

"I seem to have caught a faint trace of human qi, though I'm not certain," the Greenface Poisonous Dragon's icy voice spoke.

Upon hearing this, the Golden Toad Ancestor's long beard trembled as he replied in an odd tone: "Human? Unlikely."

"I hope I'm mistaken," said the Greenface Poisonous Dragon.

The Golden Toad Ancestor said: "By the way, how is that matter progressing?"

"Nearly done."

"Don't forget what you promised me."

"Naturally."

……

Five days later.

Qin Ming rode the Silver-Winged Frost Bee, racing like the wind to the region deep within the Beast Roar Mountains, toward Liang Kingdom.

Following the coordinates given by Jin Lingzi, he arrived here without pause.

But when he reached the designated spot, he found only a cliff ahead—no further path.

Nor was there any sign of the Washing Thunder Pool.

"Use your magic power to draw a talisman in midair, following my incantation, and strike toward the northeast."

As Qin Ming was about to speak, Jin Lingzi's voice drifted softly.

Qin Ming then followed the spirit's instruction, drawing a golden talisman in midair and pointing toward the sky.

A strange sight unfolded: ripples suddenly surged in the air before him, and a void gate, wide enough for a person to pass through, appeared before Qin Ming.

He probed it with his spiritual sense—but detected nothing.

After a moment's hesitation, Qin Ming pulled out two second-stage mid-level turtle golems and tossed them into the void gate.

After a long while, he established mental contact with the two golems—no danger, no anomalies.

Only then did Qin Ming fly toward the entrance.

After a dizzying whirl of vision, he reappeared in a space filled with lightning.

The space was vast, littered with ruins of structures built from blue jade slabs.

Qin Ming directed the two turtle golems ahead to scout.

Moments later.

Qin Ming arrived before a stone pillar inscribed with records of the Qingyuan Sect.

It turned out this Washing Thunder Pool was merely a key site of the Qingyuan Sect's Artificer Hall—not a sect ruin.

After passing through a tangle of ruined buildings, a deep pool twenty zhang wide, shimmering with countless blue lightning arcs, came into Qin Ming's view.

The pool's depths were unfathomable; faint roars of thunder echoed from its bottom.

"This is the Washing Thunder Pool."

"Born of heaven and earth's creation, there is likely no other like it in the world."

"The Qingyuan Sect once hoped to move it into their sect grounds, but failed."

"Soon, throw the fragments of the Hook-Jade Golden Light Mirror into the Washing Thunder Pool and refine them using the Artifacts Refining Incantation I taught you."

"Then add the Heaven-Mending Soulfire Fluid to the broken edges."

"Finally, place me inside—after that, simply wait for fusion and restoration."

Jin Lingzi said calmly.

Qin Ming nodded and immediately pulled two bronze mirror fragments from his storage bag.

He controlled them with his spiritual sense and cast them into the Washing Thunder Pool.

Boom-kraaaak! The moment the bronze mirror entered the pool, lightning arcs surged upward over ten zhang high.

Qin Ming formed hand seals and began refining the mirror according to the spirit's method.

Over two hours passed.

The Washing Thunder Pool was truly miraculous—using the power of heaven and earth's creation, it began repairing the mirror's broken edges.

Under the pool's cleansing, the two fragments slowly aligned and merged.

Seeing this, Qin Ming's gaze sharpened; his refining seals shifted rapidly, forming several intricate hand signs.

When the moment seemed right,

he pulled out the Heaven-Mending Soulfire Fluid and pointed at the pool.

A glob of ink-black spiritual fluid shot out, landing precisely within the mirror's crack.

In an instant,

golden radiance burst forth from the fissure, dazzling beyond measure!

The pool's lightning surged continuously into the mirror, and a profound heavenly energy flowed across its surface.

Hum! In that instant, the surface of the Hook-Jade Golden Light Mirror was restored to its original state, smooth and reflective, mirroring the Washing Thunder Pool below.

The moment this treasure was repaired, the entire Washing Thunder Pool's energy was drained, and it trembled violently.

A defiant will emanated from the mirror, resisting Qin Ming's control.

Even with his powerful Golden Core cultivation, Qin Ming nearly lost control of the artifact's rebellion.

He was drenched in sweat.

"That's enough—this is the moment."

Qin Ming immediately pulled out the emerald-green spirit, its form resembling a hedgehog; it flashed once in midair and vanished into the golden mirror within the pool.

Thus, the two became one—the legendary Hook-Jade Golden Light Mirror was fully restored.

Shuu! An ancient bronze mirror engraved with Bagua talismans reassembled, radiating immense power from its surface.

Even the surrounding lightning was swept clean.

Suddenly!

The Hook-Jade Golden Light Mirror erupted in blinding golden light, shooting straight into the heavens—the golden beam churned the clouds, as if ready to shatter this entire space.

This sudden transformation startled Qin Ming—he froze. The next instant,

the Hook-Jade Golden Light Mirror blazed with dazzling radiance and broke free from Qin Ming's grasp, soaring toward the sky! (End of Chapter)