Chapter 396: Harvest

Just as Qin Ming annihilated Jiang Yuan.

The true disciples of the Blood Refinement Demon Sect, hidden within the Great Li and Great Zhou Immortal Realms, were all struck pale with shock.

They pulled out their own demon-patterned blood tokens, only to discover in horror that the soul imprint at the very top, representing the Demon Sect's Holy Son, had vanished without a trace.

What this meant went without saying.

"The Holy Son has met with misfortune; he has perished!"

"How is this possible?!"

"With Senior Brother Jiang's cultivation and strength, could it be that he encountered an extremely powerful Nascent Soul Qin Zhenjun?"

"It's over; with the Holy Son dead, the Old Ancestors will surely punish us."

"What about Senior Sister Lan Bing? Wasn't she together with Senior Brother Jiang?"

"Right, right, I also received news that those two senior brothers and sisters should have infiltrated Great Jin to hunt down that Elder Cold Crow."

"Could it be that Elder Cold Crow fought back desperately before dying?"

"Alas! Disaster strikes; who would have thought such a major event would occur!"

Inside the Yin Demon Sect of the Great Li Dynasty.

Lan Bing, the Holy Maiden, clad in a long black gauze dress, held a demon-patterned blood token in her fair hand, her narrow eyes flickering constantly.

Below her stood several disciples of the Blood Refinement Demon Sect in a respectful manner.

"Senior Sister Lan, following the deaths of Senior Brother Ji Chou and Junior Brother Meng, Senior Brother Jiang has also perished; what do you think we should do?"

"If too many die, it will surely affect our trial results."

These true disciples of the Blood Refinement Demon Sect had never expected that while they had sailed smoothly through the Great Li and Great Zhou Immortal Realms, plundering lower-realm treasures and blood-sacrificing cultivators' living souls and flesh to cause their demonic cultivation to rise with the tide and their power to greatly advance,

yet upon entering the Great Jin Immortal Realm, three fellow sect members had died in succession, one of whom was even the Holy Son in whom the sect's Old Ancestors had placed high hopes.

This was something that had never happened in any of the descents to the lower realm in thousands of years.

How could this not leave this group of demonic cultivators shocked and filled with lingering fear.

Holy Maiden Lan Bing sat on the treasure throne at the head, paying no heed to the discussions of the few fellow sect members below.

It seemed as though she had long anticipated the demise of Holy Son Jiang Yuan.

"Actually, when I was with Senior Brother Jiang, I used a divination divine technique to make a prediction."

"The result indicated a great calamity; amidst the unseen forces, even I felt a sense of heart-pounding terror, which is why I abandoned the pursuit of that Elder Cold Crow and departed early."

"Senior Brother Jiang was obsessed with Elder Cold Crow's possessions, never expecting to meet such a calamity."

Holy Maiden Lan Bing spoke casually, showing complete indifference to the death of the Demon Sect's Holy Son.

"Ah? So that's how it was."

The few demonic cultivators of Holy Maiden Lan Bing's faction below looked at each other in blank dismay, at a loss for words.

This Senior Sister Lan was truly heartless; clearly foreseeing the danger, she did not call for Senior Brother Jiang to flee with her.

However, upon thinking it over, they realized it was only natural, as the competition between the Holy Sons of the Demon Sect was exceptionally fierce.

Senior Sister Lan Bing probably wished for Senior Brother Jiang Yuan to die sooner rather than later.

Immediately after.

Holy Maiden Lan Bing continued in a faint tone: "With three fellow sect members lost in succession, it seems there are indeed some problems within the lower realm."

"Given Senior Brother Jiang's strength, only the intervention of a Nascent Soul cultivator could have completely annihilated him."

"After all, he possessed a fourth-grade demonic treasure for protection."

"I wonder which Nascent Soul cultivator made the move."

At this moment, a yellow-haired demonic cultivator below suddenly stepped forward to ask: "Senior Sister Lan, do you think... could it be the doing of those other few sects in the Blood Universe Realm?"

"If they employed methods to smuggle a Nascent Soul cultivator into the lower realm to hunt down our Holy Sect's disciples,

thereby weakening our sect's backbone, it is entirely possible."

"Especially the Holy Son's demise; it is a severe blow to our Holy Sect, playing right into the hands of the other few sects."

Holy Maiden Lan Bing pondered for a moment, frowning slightly as she said: "Impossible; if the other few sects were secretly tampering with things, causing fluctuations in the realm barrier forces, our Demon Suppression Platform would have reacted."

"Let alone smuggling a Nascent Soul cultivator into the lower realm; even if a Soul Transformation Venerable were caught in the chaotic void currents, the only outcome would be death and the extinction of their Dao."

The yellow-haired demonic cultivator found this reasonable, so he asked again: "Then does Senior Sister Lan mean that there is an eighty or ninety percent chance this was done by someone from the lower realm?"

"Should we go investigate?"

"After all, since both Elder Meng Kuo's grandson and our sect's Holy Son have perished, the authorities above will surely conduct a thorough investigation into this matter."

Holy Maiden Lan Bing contemplated for a moment before saying:

"Let the people of the Yin Demon Sect take the demon-patterned blood tokens to investigate secretly; you all should not act rashly, lest more casualties occur."

She spoke in a cold tone, "Since even Jiang Yuan was no match for him, meeting him would only mean certain death for you as well."

"The fact that Jiang Yuan could not even send out a message at the moment of his demise is proof enough of the situation."

"Additionally, notify the few fellow sect members lurking in Great Jin to return to Great Li as soon as possible."

"Focus your primary efforts on the matter of the Qingyuan Sect's secret realm."

"As for Elder Cold Crow... he can only be considered incredibly lucky."

As soon as her words fell, the few demonic cultivators below hurriedly responded.

"Yes! Senior Sister Lan!"

On the other side.

Qin Ming had taken a long detour and returned to the Five Elements Mountain Market.

Although this journey had its twists and turns, with some unexpected situations arising midway, it was ultimately a huge harvest.

First, he had exchanged with Elder Han Ya for the 'Five Elements Spiritual Ginseng,' crucial for refining the Infant-Condensing Pill, and also obtained Phoenix Blood Crimson Gold, a fourth-tier spiritual material.

Most importantly, he had acquired Fire Voidzi's storage bag, as well as the entire fortune of the Holy Son of the Blood Refinement Demon Sect.

Inside the Small Spirit Realm.

"A bumper harvest, a tremendous bumper harvest!"

The Shi Tian Shu, Profound Water Crocodile, Yin Yi Shuangfeng, and Hua Tianxiong gathered around the corpse of Jiang Yuan, the Holy Son of the Demon Sect, their eyes revealing extreme excitement.

"Th-this Holy Son of the Demon Sect actually died at Master's hands," Hua Tianxiong's face showed a bitter smile.

After he returned this time, he would likely have to bear the brunt of the blame.

After giving Hua Tianxiong some rewards, Qin Ming sent him away.

Before departing, he instructed him to continue gathering the remaining spiritual materials and to keep close watch on intelligence within the Immortal Realm.

Hua Tianxiong thanked Qin Ming profusely before taking his leave; he had been greatly frightened by this affair and still needed to rush back to handle matters within the Shang Alliance.

Next.

Qin Ming began to inspect the spoils of this expedition.

First was Fire Voidzi's storage bag; as his divine sense swept through it, he was immediately attracted by a piece of spiritual wood that was azure blue throughout.

He took out this piece of spiritual wood and carefully examined it in his hand.

"Is this the Star Sea Divine Vine, one of the five great divine trees legendary in the Immortal Realm?"

Even the Shi Tian Shu gazed at this wood with intense longing, indicating just how miraculous this object was.

Just as Qin Ming brought out the Star Sea Divine Vine, his lifebound spiritual plant, the Yang Xuanteng, suddenly emitted a sound of joy and delight.

"Could it be that this piece of divine wood also has an effect on one's lifebound spiritual plant?"

"Roots still remain; it should be possible to revive it using the 【Regenerative Spirit Seed】 trait, right?"

Resting his chin on his hand, Qin Ming pondered for a moment, then immediately put thought into action.

He paced over to the base of his lifebound spiritual plant, the Yang Xuanteng, and then inserted this cutting of the Star Sea Divine Vine into the soil nearby.

Immediately after.

Qin Ming consumed one 【Regenerative Spirit Seed】 trait; a mysterious power descended, purple spores appeared out of thin air, and enveloped the Star Sea Divine Vine.

Moments later, this piece of the Star Sea Divine Vine gradually recovered its vitality.

However.

Perhaps because this divine wood's rank was too high, the energy within a single trait seemed insufficient to fully revive it.

Thus, Qin Ming consecutively used two more 【Regenerative Spirit Seed】 traits, applying them to the Star Sea Divine Vine.

Finally, the Star Sea Divine Vine began to emit azure blue, starlight-like tender shoots, completely reviving and coming back to life.

Qin Ming then consumed five more 【Space-Time Leaf】 traits to accelerate its growth to five hundred years of age.

The vine, resembling starlight, began to grow wildly and shoot upward, eventually becoming a small tree three feet tall.

The divine vine shimmered with flowing light and colorful brilliance, mesmerizing to behold.

Suddenly.

Specks of brilliant light emanated from the Star Sea Divine Vine, drifting toward his lifebound spiritual plant, the Yang Xuanteng.

The Yang Xuanteng absorbed this starlight, and the entire spiritual seed seemed to receive some benefit in a mystical sense, beginning to undergo a subtle transformation.

Having done all this, Qin Ming rummaged through Fire Voidzi's storage bag again; as the number one rogue cultivator of Great Zhou, his wealth was quite substantial.

Furthermore, over the past century, in his search for opportunities to condense an infant, he had engaged in cunning theft and violent plunder everywhere, accumulating an overwhelming array of heavenly treasures and earthly gems.

He had even dared to rob the auction of the Myriad Dao Shang Alliance.

Inside his storage bag, there were over three hundred superior-grade spiritual stones alone, not to mention countless medium and lower-grade spiritual stones.

There were also several types of heavenly and earthly spiritual materials that aided in condensing a Nascent Soul.

"Illusory Extinction Mysterious Liquid, Spiritual Nether Qi."

There was also his most powerful treasure, the Yang Yan Hammer, a third-tier upper-grade artifact.

The rest consisted of pills, talismans, and similar items; the variety was quite complete, but for Qin Ming, they held little significant use.

Moreover, his other few magical treasures were mostly of the fire attribute.

Subsequently.

Qin Ming put away the storage bag and shifted his gaze to Jiang Yuan's corpse.

He released his divine sense to search the body for a moment, but found no storage bag or similar items.

There was only that pitch-black Lei Lei Yuanmo Bead.

He extracted Jiang Yuan's perfect-grade Jin Dan; this was the essence of a Jin Dan cultivator's entire being and could be considered their most precious possession.

Even as Qin Ming took out the Jin Dan to observe it, deep within the dark black Jin Dan, a sacred fetus had already begun to condense, leaving only one final step before becoming a Demon Infant.

One could imagine how terrifying Jiang Yuan's cultivation talent was! The Shi Tian Shu and the other two beasts stared at the Jin Dan in Qin Ming's hand, drooling all over the ground.

He picked up the Demon Bead and the Jin Dan, then cast a Thorn Technique on the corpse, obtaining a blood bead of perfect Jin Dan grade, which he immediately tossed backhand to his lifebound spiritual plant, the Yang Xuanteng.

Receiving this nourishment, the Xuanteng began to grow slowly once more.

As for the remaining corpse, it was buried again beneath the Feng You Ghost Date tree to serve as fertilizer.

For this spiritual plant, Jiang Yuan's demonic corpse, cultivated via the Nether Nether Heavenly Corpse Technique, was an unprecedentedly great supplement.

Subsequently.

Qin Ming projected his divine sense onto the Lei Lei Yuanmo Bead and forcibly erased the imprint left upon it.

"Just as expected!"

The moment the imprint was erased, Qin Ming saw that inside this Lei Lei Yuanmo Bead lay a space about ten zhang in size, divided in an orderly fashion.

It was dozens of times larger than an ordinary storage bag.

Qin Ming immediately sank his divine sense into it and began to browse its contents.

"Hiss~"

"Merely in high-grade spirit stones, there are over two thousand pieces, far exceeding the wealth of an ordinary Jin Dan perfection cultivator."

"There are also vast quantities of heavenly treasures, talismans, pills, cultivation techniques, and secret manuals."

"Yet these are all just the minor portion."

"The true bulk should lie in this person's several innate demonic treasures."

"As well as this very Lei Lei Yuanmo Pearl itself, which is a genuine fourth-grade demonic treasure."

Immediately, Qin Ming drew a blood-colored, inkstone-shaped demonic treasure from the ground into his hand.

"This object is the Blood Pagoda initially unleashed by that Demonic Sect Holy Son; it has already reached the level of a pseudo-demonic treasure, lacking only the final thread to ascend to the fourth grade."

"A fourth-grade demonic treasure is equivalent to the spiritual treasures used by a Nascent Soul Qin Qin Zhenjun."

Qin Ming had personally witnessed the sharpness of this item; it could arbitrarily drag cultivators into the Blood Pagoda, weakening and suppressing the opponent's cultivation, allowing one to duel within the Blood Refining World where the enemy's momentum wanes while one's own waxes, thus gaining an overwhelming advantage.

Had that Fire Voidist not been driven to desperation and silently detonated his Jin Dan without a second word, blasting a breach in the Blood Pagoda, Elder Jin Han of the Myriad Dao Shang Alliance would never have escaped.

He would likely have been completely refined and assimilated by Jiang Yuan using the Blood Pagoda.

"However, even though the Blood Pagoda was damaged, there should be a method to repair it."

Next, Qin Ming discovered those three late-stage Jin Dan demonic heads in a corner of the spatial storage.

Alas, with Jiang Yuan's death, the three demonic heads lost all vitality, their qi entirely extinguished, perishing completely alongside their master.

"And here is this Demonic Net of Heaven, a top-grade third-grade demonic treasure of the sealing type."

Moments later, Qin Ming also discovered several hundred dark-black crystal stones, within which surged an abnormal energy.

Flipping through a demonic book on the shelf, he learned this substance was called a Demon Crystal, an extremely precious item in Demonic Sect cultivation, and for demonic cultivators, even rarer than high-grade spirit stones.

As Qin Ming's exploration deepened, his divine sense reached the center of the Demon Pearl.

Yet the scene before his eyes left Qin Ming utterly astonished.

"Could this be that 'Lei Lei Yuanmo Qi'?"

There, placed in the center, was a demonic rune altar, upon which floated a wisp of dark-black demonic qi, seeming as if it would swallow one's very soul.

This wisp of Lei Lei Yuanmo Qi was precisely the core of this fourth-grade Demon Pearl.

"Even that long-browed human face was exceptionally concerned about this; they must have been aiming specifically for this wisp of Lei Lei Yuanmo Qi."

Finally, Qin Ming's gaze fell upon a row of bookshelves in the corner.

Upon them were neatly arranged rows of jade slips and various books.

"The demonic technique cultivated by this Demonic Sect Holy Son has indeed been placed under some kind of restriction by the Demonic Sect, making it difficult to break easily."

Qin Ming took out several pitch-black jade slips and tossed them to the Devouring Heaven Rat, instructing it to undo the seals.

The Devouring Heaven Rat made quick work of it; spitting forth a light of severed prohibitions from its mouth, it removed the seals above in mere instants.

Qin Ming released his divine sense to inspect them, yet his expression changed little.

"As expected, it is the cultivation of the 'Nether Nether Sky Corpse Art'."

"I never expected that the core technique cultivated by Demonic Sect disciples within the Blood Ring World would be this kind of 'pig-fattening' method."

"Presumably, the moment Jiang Yuan cultivates to the point of condensing a Demonic Infant will be the moment his cultivation is harvested."

"And that Qiu-surnamed demonic cultivator's cultivation of 'Heavenly Demon Infusion' was the same."

"Clearly, this involves cultivating the same demonic technique, then devouring one another, so that only the last one remaining becomes the strongest."

"Within the Blood Ring World, there must be some great figure laying out schemes in the shadows."

Qin Ming put away the jade slips and began rummaging through the bookshelves again.

"Aside from the demonic techniques and secret arts cultivated by Jiang Yuan, there are actually techniques and secret arts he collected, as well as geographical gazetteers and catalogs of spiritual treasures concerning the Blood Ring World, not lacking in inheritances of the hundred arts of cultivation and notes on observations."

"This..."

"A fourth-grade Pill Dao inheritance, the 'Blood Refining Pill Scripture'!"

Qin Ming's eyes immediately brightened, and he felt a surge of great interest.

After roughly browsing through it once, he discovered this pill scripture was none other than the Pill Dao inheritance of the Blood Refining Demonic Sect.

It even contained fourth-grade top-grade pill formulas required by a late-stage Nascent Soul Demon Lord.

For instance, the Boundless Blood Sea Pill, the Five Organs Pill, and the Blood Spirit Pill all require using the flesh, blood, and living souls of cultivators as medicinal guides in their refinement, with methods that are incredibly vicious and evil.

These pills can greatly enhance one's demonic cultivation in a short period.

They differ vastly from the pill refining inheritance of the Human Realm, following an extremely domineering path.

Qin Ming flipped through it for a while before putting it away; naturally, he would not refine such demonic pills under his current circumstances.

"Hmm, but if I have the chance in the future and capture a few more demonic cultivators, I could try refining these human pills."

"Perhaps they might come in useful later."

After pondering briefly, he put the pill scripture away.

After rummaging and inspecting for a long while, Qin Ming found an inheritance on fourth-grade demonic treasure forging on the bookshelf.

"The secret method for sacrificing and nurturing the Blood Pagoda demonic treasure, as well as the repair method, actually exists..."

"Repairing the demonic treasure requires ten late-stage Jin Dan living souls, an amount of flesh and blood, two hundred high-grade Demon Crystals, and one wisp of Cold Yin Essence Soul..."

"It seems repairing this demonic treasure will require quite a few items."

Coincidentally, in another corner of the Lei Lei Yuanmo Pearl, Qin Ming discovered all the materials listed above.

"Just how many sins did this fellow Jiang Yuan commit in Great Zhou? So many living souls and cultivator flesh and blood..."

"I suppose this counts as eliminating harm for the people."

"With the death of this Demonic Sect Holy Son, I imagine the other demonic paths will no longer dare to plot against Great Jin."

"Once again, I have brought peace to the Great Jin Immortal Realm..."

Qin Ming picked up another book, a geographical gazetteer introducing the Blood Universe Realm, and began flipping through it.

"So this Blood Universe Realm is a small world situated between the Mortal Realm and the Spirit Realm."

"It is controlled by several Daxingzong Sects, with the highest existence being a Soul Transformation sect."

"This Blood Refining Demonic Gate is one of them."

"This so-called Heavenly Demon Great Tribulation is merely a trial for the demonic gate's disciples, carried out to conveniently harvest resources from the lower realm."

……

(End of Chapter)