Chapter 413: Returning Home in Glory

"Elder Lu, we have arrived at the Southern Wild Immortal Realm."

Shi Jin, captain of the Black Sail Pirate Crew, accompanied by his scrawny monkey-like son, spoke to Qin Ming with utmost reverence.

Throughout this period, he had not dared to rest for a single moment, hoping only to follow Elder Lu's instructions and reach the Southern Wilds as quickly as possible.

He was terrified of offending this elder whose strength was unfathomably deep.

Thus, for these three months, they had exerted all their effort, sailing full speed toward the Southern Wilds, without daring to engage in any acts of plundering along the way.

Even if it meant earning less, they had to deliver Elder Lu to the Southern Wilds first.

"Elder Lu, here are the spirit stones you previously gave; if not for your intervention to save us, our entire ship would have perished at the hands of the Lou clan, so it would be truly improper to accept your travel fees again."

Having finished speaking, Shi Jin took the spirit stones from his son's hands, intending to return them all to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming waved his hand. "No need; you should keep what is yours to keep."

"You have also been troubled for over half a year, effectively making a special trip to escort this seat."

Shi Jin paused briefly, then pocketed the spirit stones, retrieved a conch shell magical artifact from his robe, and handed it to Qin Ming, saying:

"We of the Black Sail Pirate Crew have no way to repay Elder Lu's great grace of saving our lives; this is a Myriad Spirit Conch. Should Elder Lu ever need to issue any commands in the future, you may simply use this object to contact me."

"As long as one is upon the great sea, even separated by thousands of miles, I will still receive the message."

"Oh? There exists such a miraculous item?"

Hearing this, Qin Ming felt a surge of curiosity, then slowly nodded and accepted the Myriad Spirit Conch from the other party.

After all, perhaps someday he would travel to the Eastern Sea Immortal Realm and find a use for them.

These pirates were highly skilled in navigation and familiar with the geography of the seas.

"Very well, this is far enough."

"If there is a need, this seat will contact you all."

Having spoken indifferently, Qin Ming instantly transformed into a streak of cyan rainbow light and vanished into the horizon. Shi Jin gazed deeply into the distance, watching Qin Ming depart, remaining silent for a long time.

"Father, is this elder truly a Nascent Soul Qin Qin Zhenjun?" The scrawny monkey-like youth raised his hand to shield his eyes as he looked into the distance. "We have visited the Southern Wilds more than once, yet never heard of any Nascent Soul great expert?"

"Mm, perhaps some great expert went to the Southern Wilds to handle affairs and did not wish to speak of it; how could matters concerning such figures be something people like us can fathom?" Shi Jin took a deep breath, as if a heavy stone had finally fallen from his heart.

Immediately, he summoned all his strength and let out a mighty roar! "Lads! The elder's mission is complete; it is time for us to set sail!"

"As the saying goes, surviving a great disaster guarantees future blessings!"

"We haven't done business in three months; this time, I, your old man, am going to properly scout out a fat sheep!"

Upon hearing these words, the merfolk on the ship instantly became wildly excited and fervent.

"Wuu wuu wuu wuu wuu!"

"Long live Captain Shi!!"

Amidst the cheers, the Black Sail pirate ship once again dove into the deep sea, transforming into a giant black shark, gradually disappearing into the distance. Meanwhile, after flying far away,

Qin Ming withdrew his True Demon Illusionary Divine Ability, restoring his ordinary, unremarkable true appearance.

On this return journey, Qin Ming had never intended to conceal his identity.

Nowadays, his cultivation and strength were no weaker than that of a Nascent Soul Qin Qin Zhenjun; even a fourth-rank Demon Saint could not withstand a single punch from him.

He was merely one final step away from condensing his Nascent Soul.

Furthermore, the various treasures and foundations he possessed were already no inferior to those of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

Within the Southern Wild Immortal Realm, there was not even a single Jin Dan perfectionist; one could say there were no longer any opponents, leaving a master lonely... "This time, I return with my Jin Dan perfected, coming home in glory to my native place."

"If I continue to keep such a low profile under these circumstances, that would truly be taking modesty too far."

Immediately, Qin Ming took out a third-rank upper-grade Lingxiao Precious Carriage and sat inside.

This Lingxiao Precious Carriage had been rummaged from the storage bags of the dual Lou demons whom he had previously killed.

Who knew which sea race Crown Prince these two great pirates had robbed, that they would actually treasure such a luxurious vehicle.

The Lingxiao Precious Carriage was exceedingly magnificent, adorned with dragon patterns, featuring a high canopy and spacious cabin, emitting a colorful, dazzling treasure light.

Qin Ming then released the Black Water Crocodile, ordering it to pull the carriage from the front.

Usually, it ate and drank well; it was time for it to do some work.

On both sides of the carriage were eight sea-horse demon beasts of the sea race, treading upon green waves, looking exceptionally handsome and extraordinary.

A late third-rank giant crocodile Demon King pulling the carriage, accompanied by eight sea horses treading waves— with such style, even if a Jin Dan Yunxi Laozu encountered them, they would have to politely make way...

Southern Wild Immortal Realm, northern border of the State of Wei.

"Hulu lu!"

"Heng chi heng chi!"

A demon beast resembling a black wild boar, its body covered in steel-needle-like bristles, with a pair of white tusks growing on either side of its snout and serrated teeth opening and closing in its mouth, was bloodily devouring scraps of meat on the ground.

It was a second-rank early-stage demon beast, the Black-Bristled Demon Boar.

The Black-Bristled Demon Boar was famous for its astonishing reproduction speed; hence, the population of this demon beast tribe was massive. They often moved in large groups, and wherever they passed, it was like a locust swarm crossing, leaving virtually no vegetation alive.

A nearby Qi Refining family and several surrounding villages had already been turned into ruins.

Everything edible had been gnawed clean by them.

Having eaten and drunk their fill, the Black-Bristled Demon Boar rubbed its body back and forth against a huge boulder nearby, about seven or eight zhang in size. Ao! Bang! Once it felt comfortable rubbing, it suddenly thrust its massive tusks forward with great force; the boulder before it instantly shattered into countless fragments, scattering and flying apart in all directions.

The Black-Bristled Demon Boar glared with its blood-red eyes and opened its huge mouth to roar furiously, clearly having detected some abnormal situation.

It unleashed its powerful limbs and charged violently toward the area behind the boulder!

Boom boom!

Under the charging assault of the Black-Bristled Demon Boar, the earth trembled, and trees and forests fell in vast swathes.

Suddenly! From the sky ahead, a huge Xuan Rope magical artifact descended, casting a net down upon this Black-Bristled Demon Boar! Once it was trapped, the giant Xuan Rope net magical artifact abruptly contracted and tightened.

"Now is the chance! Attack quickly!"

"Avenge our fallen compatriots!"

A silver-haired elder with a fierce countenance, radiating the magic power fluctuation of a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, suddenly darted out from the woods behind.

Without a word, he sacrificed the flying sword artifact in his hand, channeling his magic power to activate a sword technique.

The crimson flying sword artifact split in midair in an instant, unleashing over ten strands of crimson sword qi that slashed toward the Black-Maned Demon Boar.

At the same time.

Behind the silver-haired elder, more than ten cultivators from the mid-to-late stages of Qi Condensation flew out, varying in age.

Well-trained and with clear divisions of labor, they each drew their artifacts and launched fierce attacks against the Black-Maned Demon Boar trapped within the Xuan Suo artifact.

In that moment, a dazzling array of spells, talismans, and artifacts all landed upon the demon boar.

"Elder Huang, we are here to assist you!"

Boom—boom—boom! However, as these spells struck the Black-Maned Demon Boar, they were all blocked by its steel-needle-like black fur.

Even after everyone's frantic bombardment, they failed to damage so much as a single hair on its hide!

"Hiss~"

"With skin this thick and flesh this tough, what are we to do!"

Seeing the Black-Maned Demon Boar struggling violently, on the verge of breaking free from the net-like artifact, everyone couldn't help but gasp in shock. "Hmph! Die, you evil beast!"

The Huang-family Foundation Establishment elder roared in anger, shifting the sword technique in his hand to unleash a strand of incomparably sharp crimson sword qi.

Swish! The crimson flying sword pierced through a gap, stabbing directly into the weak spot at the Black-Maned Demon Boar's tail, then exiting through its mouth, skewering this demon beast of astonishing defensive power straight through.

Instant kill!

"Elder Huang is mighty!"

This maneuver made everyone's buttocks tighten in tension, yet they still couldn't help but cry out in admiration.

"Hahaha! Thanks to all of you for diverting this creature's attention, only then did this old man have the chance to kill it with a single strike—eh?!"

"Oh no!"

Just as the Huang-family Foundation Establishment elder wore a look of pride and was about to retrieve his artifact.

Boom—boom—boom! The earth suddenly began to tremble violently once again; dust rose from all around the mountain range and canyon as thousands of Black Demon Boars formed an encirclement, their eyes bloodthirsty, charging toward the crowd!

Although these demon boars were all at the mid-to-late stage of the first tier, their sheer numbers were overwhelming.

Even a Foundation Establishment cultivator, under an assault of such scale by these demon boars, would meet nothing but a bitter end. "These beasts must have been attracted by the commotion just now," a Qi Condensation cultivator said, his face filled with despair.

"If we scatter and flee, there might still be a sliver of hope for survival; life and death are now up to fate!"

The Huang-family elder was also a person of decisive nature; reaching the Foundation Establishment stage was not achieved by idling.

Seeing the situation turn dire, he immediately, without further ado, activated his escape mode.

Everyone else also drew their life-saving talismans and artifacts, scattering in all directions to flee.

But just at that moment.

Roar! From the sky, a Black-Maned Demon Boar over ten zhang tall soared through the air!

Its spiritual pressure was so immense that the surrounding air came to a standstill.

With a single furious roar, even the Huang-family Foundation Establishment elder suffered chaotic magic power within his body and plummeted from midair.

"A third-tier Demon King!"

The Huang-family elder's eyes filled with despair, his heart turning to ash.

"It's over... this time, we're all finished..."

"My life is ended!"

Roar-roar!

Suddenly.

A beast's roar echoed from the distant sky beyond.

Before the stunned and deeply shocked gazes of the cultivators.

A colossal crocodile of terrifying aura appeared, accompanied by eight Emerald Wave Seahorses pulling a Lingxiao Imperial Carriage, resembling a magnificent palace in the sky.

The Lingxiao Imperial Carriage arrived in the blink of an eye; the giant crocodile opened its mouth and spat, causing a bolt of Lei Ting as thick as a water bucket to crash down with a thunderous boom.

Crack-crack-crack! In an instant, the beast herd below, along with that third-tier Black-Maned Demon King, turned entirely to flying ash. (End of Chapter)