Chapter 442: Decision

Several days later, within the Small Nether Realm.

Following the memories of the Blood Aversion Qishang Mojun, Qin Ming retrieved a blood token from his storage bag, then began chanting incantations according to a special formula.

Gradually, the blood token in his hand lit up, and a strange blood ring emerged from his body.

As the spellcasting continued, wisp after wisp of bloody curse-mark qi from his body was sucked into the blood token without a single trace remaining.

In some indistinct way, Qin Ming could sense that a lingering aura shrouding his body had been completely erased.

"With this, the matter of the Blood Ring Curse Mark is resolved; I never expected it would end this way." Qin Ming turned his divine sense inward to inspect everything thoroughly.

At this point, a heavy stone in his heart finally settled.

Over these past few days, Qin Ming had also taken stock of the gains from this journey.

"I never expected that before even reaching Great Jin, I would already have claimed the lives and fortunes of three Nascent Soul cultivators."

"It's just a pity I couldn't save Fellow Daoist Li Huo; I can only tearfully accept his storage bag."

First and foremost, the richest prize was naturally the storage bag of the Blood Aversion Qishang Mojun.

"There are roughly eight to ten thousand high-grade spirit stones, followed by over a thousand black demon crystals used by demon cultivators for cultivation."

"I never expected that even a Nascent Soul Qishang Mojun would lack such treasures as top-grade spirit stones; it seems such resources are extremely scarce even in the Blood Universe Realm."

"Otherwise, given his high status and power, he should have possessed at least one or two of them."

"The most precious item on the Blood Aversion Qishang Mojun was undoubtedly that Blood Spirit Cage Demon Treasure; although currently only at the fourth-grade lower tier, once refined and having absorbed enough Nascent Souls, this treasure can continuously advance."

"It was truly a bitter fate for Elder Li Huo."

When Qin Ming opened this demon treasure, the other party's Nascent Soul had already been mostly refined away, its essence entirely absorbed by the treasure.

Originally, Qin Ming had intended to try using the divine ability of the Four Seasons Divine Light to attempt a rescue.

After all, this special spiritual plant divine ability of his had previously been tested on the Yan Laomo Qingyang, proving extremely effective in healing the divine soul.

It could truly be called a miraculous return to life.

But now, Elder Li Huo had already become part of the cage demon treasure; even if Qin Ming wished to save him, he lacked the power to turn back heaven.

Elder Li Huo's fortune was also quite substantial, with countless spirit stones, heavenly materials and earthly treasures, demonic beast materials, cultivation techniques and secret arts, and miraculous pills and elixirs.

The most formidable among them was undoubtedly his fourth-grade middle-tier spiritual treasure, the 'Eight Extremities Ruler,' truly a rare and precious offensive supreme treasure.

However, what he carried personally in his storage bag was clearly not the entirety of the Li Huo Palace's fortune.

The foundation of the Li Huo Palace should still be entirely stored within the sect's treasure vault.

With the fall of the two main pillars of the sect, Elder Li Huo and Elder Qian, considerable strife would likely arise within the sect.

Finally, there was the 'Soul-Transforming Spirit Gourd' belonging to Qin Zhenjun Yousha, also a fourth-grade lower-tier spiritual treasure.

After all, not every Nascent Soul cultivator possesses a fourth-grade spiritual treasure; most Nascent Soul cultivators use high-grade or top-grade magical treasures.

Reaching the level of spiritual treasures requires not only extremely superb artifact-refining skills but also demands a terrifying amount of resources.

Merely finding those rare fourth-grade spiritual materials is no easy task.

The reputations of these three individuals were quite significant even among Nascent Soul cultivators, and the resources they controlled were far more abundant than those of ordinary Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Made a huge profit; I've struck it rich in one go."

"From now on, within the Nascent Soul circle, I can be considered slightly wealthy."

Afterwards.

Qin Ming took out the two blood pearls and approached his innate spiritual plant, the Yin-Yang Profound Vine.

With a casual toss of his hand, he threw the two dark-black blood pearls to the Yin-Yang Profound Vine.

The pitch-black vines danced, wrapping around the blood pearls in mid-air like tentacles, and absorbed them completely in an instant.

Qin Ming gazed quietly at his innate spiritual plant, feeling somewhat expectant.

After absorbing the blood pearls of these two Nascent Soul cultivators, the pitch-black vines seemed to have gained immense benefit, emitting a wave of extremely joyful and exuberant emotion toward Qin Ming.

Immediately after, under Qin Ming's watchful gaze, the black vines finally began to grow and transform once more.

Lines of silver runes began to circle around the spiritual plant.

In some indistinct way, vast and boundless qi of time emanated from the Yin-Yang Profound Vine; its dense branches blocked out the sun and sky, making it even more lush and flourishing than before.

Those silver runes were now more complex and profound than before; it seemed that only one final step remained for this innate spiritual plant to complete its transformation and advance once again.

"It seems the number of blood pearls is still slightly insufficient."

"Only when my innate spiritual plant advances can my Green Emperor Art and Green Emperor Wood Emperor Sacred Body continue to break through."

Qin Ming raised his head to gaze at the aged and mysterious black vines.

Nevertheless, being able to cause his innate spiritual plant to grow to this extent already left him very satisfied.

After finishing these tasks, Qin Ming proceeded to completely dissect the corpse of the fourth-grade Blood-Scaled Demon Python.

He separated and collected its ordinary blood and essence blood, storing them in jade bottles and sealing them for future farming use.

Although this demon core had lost most of its spiritual essence, as a fourth-grade demon core, its value remained very high.

Afterwards, he skinned the demon python; the fourth-grade python hide was a rare and precious spiritual material for refining magical or spiritual treasures, something one could encounter but not seek.

Its blood python precious meat was also rich in spiritual qi, so Qin Ming invited the Devouring Heaven Rat, the Profound Water Crocodile, and the Silver-Winged Frost Bee to organize a barbecue within the Small Nether Realm.

One human and three beasts eating grilled fourth-grade great demon precious meat and drinking Demon Flame Wine made life simply too comfortable.

Only the Yan Laomo Qingyang remained inside the Blood Pagoda, staring blankly at the delicious food and fine wine, sighing repeatedly.

"Alas! I can no longer remember how long it has been since I last enjoyed such fine wine and delicious food; forget it, I'd better not look, it's just upsetting!"

Holding a skewer of meat, the Devouring Heaven Rat deliberately chewed loudly in front of him, making a sizzling sound, "Mmm, this fourth-grade precious meat is truly too fragrant, offering all sorts of indescribable benefits."

Yan Laomo Qingyang: "..."

At the same time.

With the death and fall of these three Nascent Soul True Monarchs, a great uproar was stirred up within the Immortal Realm.

In particular, the fall of the Grand Elder of the Li Huo Palace, Elder Li Huo, and Elder Qian, was nothing short of a catastrophic disaster for this number one power in Great Jin.

Without a Nascent Soul Qin Zhenjun to hold the fort, various internal troubles and external threats immediately arose one after another.

It was only said that, because the primordial soul lamp of the founding ancestor of the Li Li Huogong still remained, the other powers of Great Jin hesitated to strike, fearing backlash.

They did not dare to completely break relations.

But it was not difficult to judge that if no new Nascent Soul Qin Zhenjun emerged, the status of the Li Li Huogong would plummet from then on.

Within the Dao Upholding Alliance, chaos also reigned, with dragons lacking a head; fortunately, Wanbao Qin Zhenjun of the Ten Thousand Dao Merchant Alliance was managing the overall situation, keeping things relatively stable.

The impact on the Blood Refinement Demon Sect was also considerable.

Within the Great Li Yin Demon Sect.

In the upper seat of the main hall sat the figure of that Sister Lan Bing Saintess; after so many years, she had long since advanced to the realm of a Nascent Soul Qishang Mojun.

Beside her sat the Profound Yin Yan Laomo of the Yin Demon Sect, along with two other Nascent Soul Demon Monarchs of the Blood Refinement Demon Sect, both of whom had descended through the Realm Descent.

"Why did that old ghost Xue Yan, together with those two human Nascent Soul cultivators, perish in the Beast Cry Mountain Range?"

"Could it be that the Demon Saint Gushan of the demon race made a move? With not even a Nascent Soul managing to escape, it must have required encountering an opponent at the mid-Nascent Soul stage or above."

"It should not be; according to the intelligence sent back by Qishang Mojun Xue Yan, the demon race is planning to cooperate with the human race to jointly oppose our sect." The Sister Lan Bing Saintess's face was extremely cold and beautiful, her temperament even superior to before.

"Some major variable must have occurred."

"Order the disciples under the sect to investigate this matter as soon as possible; they must clarify it."

The fall of a Nascent Soul Qishang Mojun was also a significant blow to the Blood Refinement Demon Sect.

It was also the first occurrence in the many years since the Realm Descent happened, forcing them to take it seriously.

Half a month later.

Qin Ming had just completed a major job; to avoid causing unnecessary trouble, he immediately activated his True Demon Illusion, transforming into an ordinary-looking traveling merchant, and entered the territory of Great Jin.

After arriving here, he had indeed witnessed the chaos brought by war.

A tense atmosphere permeated everywhere.

Especially the former Five Elements Mountain Range, which had already become the central battlefield between the Demon Path and the Dao Upholding Alliance.

The Spirit Ruin Market had long since been blood-sacrificed by the Great Black Heaven, and the Five Elements Mountain Market no longer existed, having turned into a wasteland.

Qin Ming sighed, "With conflicts and wars on such a scale, even I cannot bring peace to this place again."

Immediately, Qin Ming contacted Hua Tianxiong, ordering him to come meet him.

Hua Tianxiong's great backer, Elder Qian, had also perished; continuing to stay in this chaotic scorched earth was actually meaningless.

Outside the Li Heaven Immortal City in the Central Prefecture of Great Jin.

Hua Tianxiong drove his Golden Luan Precious Carriage, and upon seeing Qin Ming, he hurriedly bowed and said, "Hua Tianxiong pays his respects to Master!"

He looked listless; it seemed that the death of Elder Qian had dealt him a heavy blow.

After all, he had been his protector for so many years, although Elder Qian's care for Hua Tianxiong was mostly driven by interests.

Subsequently, Qin Ming pulled Hua Tianxiong into the Small Xiao Lingjing to communicate, learning about some of the latest developments.

"By the way, how is Su Yuqing doing?" Qin Ming casually asked.

Hua Tianxiong hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Reporting to Master, two years ago, Su Danwang Su attempted to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, but unfortunately... he failed."

"Ah? With Brother Su's talent and qualifications, he must have refined the Infant-Condensing Pill and the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill, prepared everything needed for Tribulation Crossing, and only attempted the breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm when he had some certainty; how could he have failed?" Hearing this news, Qin Ming felt slightly surprised.

Hua Tianxiong sighed, "It is said that the process of condensing the infant is incredibly difficult; not everyone possesses the great fortune that Master does. Fortunately, Su Danwang Su made preparations beforehand, so although his meridians were damaged, he did not drop in realm after the failed breakthrough."

"Afterward, I went to visit him; according to Su Danwang Su, he plans to enter secluded cultivation for ten years before attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul stage again; whether he lives or dies will likely depend entirely on this."

"Now that Li Fire Shangren has perished, some places have become entangled with the Su family's affairs, so Su Danwang Su is under considerable pressure."

"As for Great Jin, Wanbao Qin Zhenjun should be temporarily coming forward to manage the overall situation and resist the Demon Path."

Qin Ming also felt myriad emotions, but he knew Su Yuqing's temperament; once he decided on something, he would never change it easily.

"Hua Tianxiong."

"Master, please give your orders."

"Next, I will give you two choices: first, I arrange for you to return to the Southern Desolate Immortal Realm to manage Wangyue Island together with Mo Lingwei."

"Or, you may operate your businesses within the Star Moon Market, and help me gather spiritual items while you are at it."

"The Southern Desolate currently has no worry of invasion by Demon Path cultivators descending through the Realm Descent, so the cultivation environment is naturally safer and more stable than in the current Great Jin."

"With my verbal decree, you will be able to move as freely as a fish in water."

Upon hearing these words, Hua Tianxiong's previous gloom instantly vanished, his face revealing an unmistakable look of excitement.

He was almost about to eagerly agree.

However, Qin Ming stopped him and continued speaking, "The second option is that I plan to travel through the Eastern Sea Immortal Realm; the duration is uncertain, perhaps only a few years, or it could be several decades."

"During this period, there will certainly be matters requiring you to run errands for me, handling some affairs that require showing one's face."

"But the Eastern Sea region is also a place I am visiting for the first time; being unfamiliar with the people and the land, there may well be various crises at sea, and I may not be able to guarantee your safety at all times."

"How you choose is up to you."

After speaking, Qin Ming quietly waited for Hua Tianxiong's reply.

After hearing Qin Ming's words, Hua Tianxiong immediately fell into a tangled state of indecision.

It was only after half a cup of tea had passed.

That Hua Tianxiong's face revealed a determined expression; he bowed and clasped his fists toward Qin Ming, saying decisively, "I am willing to follow Master and travel together to the Eastern Sea Immortal Realm, serving Master diligently and sharing his burdens."

He was already of an advanced age; if he did not take a gamble now, he might never have another chance; he could clearly distinguish who was his true great backer.

"Mm, go and settle your affairs with your subordinates."

"By the way, regarding Old Jia, Li Lan, and the others from the Mirror Snow Pavilion, arrange for someone to send them back to the Southern Desolate."

Qin Ming gazed into the distance toward the direction of Li Heaven Immortal City.

The Li Li Huogong was currently only able to attend to the crisis of its own internal strife.

Originally, beyond the gates of Yunze Xiancheng, the greatest immortal city of Great Jin, bandit cultivators ran rampant everywhere; the atmosphere was tense with fear, and it was clearly no place for safe commerce.

"Of course, there is no rush regarding the East Sea matter; taking advantage of the chaos these past few years, perhaps many scarce resources will secretly flow out from within Great Jin. Here is a list of spiritual items this seat requires; go ahead and try to gather some for me first."

"Pay particular attention to spiritual items such as 'Azure Sky Spiritual Soil'."

"Yes, I will attend to this immediately!"

Hua Tianxiong took the jade slip from Qin Ming's hand, then withdrew to carry out the order.

(End of Chapter)