Chapter 489: Changes in the Situation

On Moon-Gazing Island, the rare tranquility of days past had returned.

Below, spirit farmers toiled diligently; the spirit island resembled a fairyland, presenting a scene of thriving prosperity.

Having completed his daily cultivation, Qin Ming came beneath the spirit peach tree to sip tea, brewing a pot of Great Dao Lei Jie Tea and enjoying it with contentment.

Shi Tian Shu, its belly round from eating, lay sprawled on its back on the grass, basking in the sun.

Ever since Qin Ming had it devour two fourth-stage dragon demon cores last time, sure enough, it had produced two more fist-sized Nether Profound Stones, enough for Qin Ming to use ancient talismans for teleportation several times.

If nothing else, it provided another crucial trump card for saving his life in critical moments.

Beyond that, from the storage bags of Gengchi Mojiao and Prince Xuan Ce, Qin Ming had gained quite a few treasures.

"They say these sea beast demons love hoarding treasures; sure enough, it's true!"

"Spirit stones and demon crystals are countless, with piles of fourth-stage spirit materials, cultivation techniques, and pills."

"This Mojiao clan's foundation, inherited over several thousand years, has all cheaply fallen into my hands."

This windfall directly caused Qin Ming's personal wealth to skyrocket several times over.

Besides that.

Through his cultivation in recent days, Qin Ming discovered something.

That was, the progress of cultivating the Qingyuan Sect's supreme secret classic, the "Green Emperor Art," had become unusually slow.

Even with the blessing of his innate spirit plant, the Ageless Immortal Vine, absorbing the qi of years and the essence of vegetation every day, it had begun to crawl at a snail's pace; although he had long heard Yan Laomo say that this core inheritance technique of the Qingyuan Sect would become increasingly difficult to cultivate after the ninth layer, he had boasted that possessing the Green Emperor Wood Emperor Saint Body, plus his innate spirit plant, it should not be too slow.

But reality had taught him a lesson.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, you should be content; back in the day, how many brilliantly talented figures of the Qingyuan Sect failed to reach the realm you have attained?"

"Those few great experts who ascended to the upper realm only cultivated up to the sixteenth layer at most."

"You have now cultivated to the thirteenth layer; that is already extremely rare."

Yan Laomo said with an air of serene confidence.

Qin Ming nodded; he was simply accustomed to rapid cultivation progress, and the sudden shift to extreme slowness made him feel slightly unaccustomed, that was all.

From this, one could see that this core technique of the Qingyuan Sect was by no means ordinary.

Meanwhile.

In the Blood Nether Realm.

Qin Ming's demon infant had returned to the Blood Refining Demon Sect and entered the treasure vault to plunder the sect's treasury.

Qishang Mojun, as the highest authority within the Blood Refining Demon Sect, held a status second only to Lord Tianhen and wielded the power of life and death over the sect.

Within the demon sect, apart from that Soul Transformation stage Grand Elder who never left seclusion, virtually all matters, large or small, were decided by him.

"Elder Qishang, you have arrived."

A Nascent Soul stage early Mojun guarding the treasure vault, seeing Qishang Mojun arrive in person, hurriedly rose to welcome him.

'Qishang Mojun' nodded slightly and said indifferently, "This seat requires a few items to heal injuries and has come to retrieve them."

The guarding elder skipped even the registration, directly granting him passage and taking out a talisman to open the Blood Refining Demon Sect's treasure vault.

After entering the vault, although Qishang Mojun possessed some memories of this place, Qin Ming's demon infant was still stunned by the dazzling array of treasures.

Without a second word, he specifically selected those rare heavenly and earthly spirit objects seldom seen in the Blood Nether Realm, stuffing his storage bag until it was bulging.

Subsequently, under the bewildered gaze of the guarding elder, he swaggered out of the treasure vault; even so, the elder dared not say a word.

Qin Ming's demon infant returned to his cave dwelling and began closed-door cultivation.

He took out the essence blood of Gengchi Mojiao and consumed it, circulating the "Yuan Sha Seed Demon True Scripture"; instantly, demonic qi surged, and the aura on his body climbed higher and higher.

Time flowed, years passed like a shuttle.

In a flash, another five years had gone by.

Lying low on Moon-Gazing Island, farming, refining pills, and cultivating, Qin Ming lived quite comfortably.

During this period, the Mo Alliance of the Blood Nether Realm and the Human Realm fought several large-scale battles, with countless cultivators on both sides killed or injured.

Not only were low-ranking cannon-fodder cultivators harvested like straw, but several Nascent Soul stage cultivators also perished in the war.

According to news sent back by Qin Ming's demon infant, the five major sects of the Blood Nether Realm had originally believed this descent and invasion was basically a sure thing.

But who could have expected that after thousands of years of hiding one's light and biding one's time, the Human Realm's overall strength was not much inferior to that of the Blood Nether Realm.

Because what ultimately determined the outcome of the war was still the number of top-tier cultivators.

After long development, the Southern Wilderness reversed its previous decline and consecutively gave birth to great masters of the Dandao Sect like Fang Han.

Profound Stream Valley showed signs of restoring its former glorious peak.

Another extremely important reason was that all the demon path's plans for descending and invading the Southern Wilderness Immortal Realm had been blocked by Qishang Mojun.

Thus, over these five years, there were only minor skirmishes; unlike several other major Immortal Realms where warfare continued incessantly and living beings suffered devastation.

The Southern Wilderness instead became a place far removed from the flames of war.

During this process, Qin Ming also received requests for aid from the two surrounding Immortal Realms; Qin Ming symbolically had Wei Wuya dispatch cultivators from the Four Nations Alliance to provide support.

Elder Han Ya and Tian Ji Zi had personally visited Moon-Gazing Island twice.

"Brother Qin! Tell me, why don't this bunch of demon path attackers assault your Southern Wilderness Immortal Realm?"

"Why do they focus solely on attacking us?"

"This seat's Great Zhou is under truly immense pressure! If this continues, we really won't be able to hold on."

Elder Han Ya, his face full of sorrow, spoke with great confusion and endless complaints.

"Indeed! What Fellow Daoist Han Ya says is absolutely right; my Western Nether is also nearing its limit."

Tian Ji Zi seemed to have sustained some injuries while resisting the demon path, his face extremely pale.

"It feels like this bunch of demon path cultivators is truly detestable, as if they are specifically picking soft persimmons to squeeze."

"Fellow Daoist Qin, one cannot even see a ghost shadow here."

Qin Ming brewed a pot of spiritual tea for the two, sighed, and affected a profound tone as he said, "Fellow Daoists, you are mistaken in your words."

Read the error-free version one by one!

"Ten years ago, when the first large-scale descent of the Modao Sect occurred, our Southern Desolate Immortal Realm bore the brunt of it; even Qin Mou was forced to seek aid from you two fellow Daoists."

"You both know that battle was extremely perilous... Qin Mou suffered heavy injuries and nearly perished at the hands of that Qishang Mojun."

"Our Southern Desolate region also endured a bitter fight before earning this brief peace..."

Qin Ming was speechless; these two old fellows could really shamelessly lower their dignity, coming to him again and again to request reinforcements.

But just as he spoke to this point,

it seemed he had touched upon a sore spot for the two of them.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, it is better not to mention it; these demonic cultivators all possess astonishing divine abilities and use insidious methods that are hard to guard against. How can we two compare to Fellow Daoist Qin, who possesses such formidable strength and can contend against a mid-Nascent Soul demonic cultivator like Qishang Mojun?"

"In the previous battle, this old man merely encountered an early-Nascent Soul demonic lord from the Ghost Nether Palace and nearly lost his life, alas!" Tian Ji Zi said with a bitter expression.

Qin Ming said, "However, you two fellow Daoists need not worry too much; according to Qin Mou's reliable intelligence, the Star Palace and the Ice God Temple have already opened breaches in the Blood Universe Realm. Nowadays, the demonic path is also afraid to damage the vessel while catching the mouse and absolutely dares not stake everything on a single throw."

"I believe that before long, the matter of the descent will eventually come to an end."

Hearing these words, the two who had previously been dejected were suddenly invigorated, and they said with excited expressions:

"Fellow Daoist Qin, are these words true?!"

"Let us hope so; otherwise, no one knows how much longer such a battle situation can be sustained."

Han Ya Shangren and Tian Ji Zi both hoped the Great Calamity of the Heavenly Demons would end soon.

In the midst of their conversation,

Han Ya Shangren said to Qin Ming, "By the way, Fellow Daoist Qin, besides coming here to seek aid for the Southern Desolate region, we two have another important matter to discuss with you face-to-face."

"Oh? What is it?" Qin Ming asked.

Han Ya Shangren took a sip of tea and said, "Alas! The situation on the demon beast side in the Beast Cry Mountain Range is also difficult."

"Great Li's Yin Demon Sect and the Divine Dao Mountain of the Southern Region have joined forces with the Blood Refining Demon Gate to launch several surprise attacks, causing heavy losses within the demon beast factions."

"Ah? With the massive strength of the demon beast clans, could they also suffer such a crushing defeat?" Qin Ming couldn't help but frown as he asked, "Thinking back, when the Green-Faced Poisonous Flood Dragon alone launched the beast tide, it already gave our Southern Desolate Immortal Realm a terrible headache, leaving us exhausted in our response."

Hearing this, Han Ya Shangren let out a long sigh and explained, "Does Qin Ming still remember that Brother Hei Feng Demon Sage from back then?"

"Qin Mou naturally remembers; back when Shi Tian Shu advanced to become a Demon Sage, this person followed Brother Gushan, the Demon Sage, to Moon Gazing Island, and Qin Mou even had some unpleasantness with him..."

"Could it be that this old fellow has also learned from the Second Crown Prince of the Eastern Sea Immortal Realm and betrayed the demon beasts to switch sides?" As thoughts churned in his mind, Qin Ming had already guessed the reason for the demon beasts' crushing defeat.

Tian Ji Zi picked up the thread and said, "Exactly; who would have thought that the death of his clansman, the Great Black Heaven Demon Sage, was actually related to the Silver Moon Demon Sage... No one knows how Brother Hei Feng Demon Sage discovered this."

"In a fit of rage, using this as an excuse, he directly led the entire Split-Wind Condor clan to secretly collude and conspire with the demonic path."

"Taking the demon beasts by surprise, they launched sneak attacks that severely injured several major clans."

Upon hearing this, Qin Ming immediately felt a chill in his heart and asked without showing any emotion, "Regarding the death of Great Black Heaven, apart from the Silver Moon Demon Sage, were there any others involved?"

"I have not heard of any; this old man heard that the Silver Moon Demon Sage held a blood-deep hatred against the Split-Wind Condor clan, yet I never expected they would actually secretly eliminate their opponent; this shows that the Silver Moon Demon Sage's strength is indeed extraordinary," Tian Ji Zi said with a sigh.

Qin Ming knew immediately that Yue Lingyan had taken all the blame upon herself and had not mentioned him.

"It seems this Brother Hei Feng Demon Sage intends to follow the old path of his clansman brother." Qin Ming's gaze sharpened, and then he asked the two, "So, what is the matter you two fellow Daoists wished to discuss?"

"Has the Silver Moon clan also suffered retaliation from Brother Hei Feng Demon Sage?"

Han Ya Shangren continued, "That is inevitable; however, with the Silver Moon Demon Sage holding the fort, the casualties in the Silver Moon Sky Fox clan were not significant."

"After this incident, Brother Gushan, the Demon Sage, was furious and decided to gather the strength of all clans in the entire Beast Cry Mountain Range, uniting with us of the Dao-Defending Alliance and the human cultivators of the Western Nether Immortal Realm, to prepare for opening a second round of cooperative negotiations."

"The goal is to uproot the Yin Demon Sect and the Divine Dao Mountain, these two demonic sects acting as tyrants' accomplices, and to purge the Split-Wind Condor clan to serve as a warning to others."

"To speak honestly, this seat has long found the Yin Demon Sect and the Divine Dao Mountain eyesores; they must be eliminated to set one's heart at ease!"

"This matter is of great importance and is known only to us Nascent Soul peers; Brother Gushan, the Demon Sage, has also issued an invitation to the Southern Desolate region, preparing to discuss grand strategies at Accumulated Thunder Mountain, the territory of the Mountain-Spanning Giant Ape clan."

Qin Ming pondered slightly; indeed, the friendship of assistance that Brother Gushan, the Demon Sage, had shown in the past needed to be repaid.

It was just that, back then, that fellow had genuinely fought with his own demonic infant, nearly causing a conflict where flood waters washed over the Dragon King's temple.

"What?! The Silver Moon clan was also attacked?" Hearing the conversation of the three, Shi Tian Shu walked in from outside, wearing a stern little face and saying furiously, "This Brother Hei Feng old demon; this Grandpa has long found him disagreeable; he must be thoroughly eradicated!"

(End of Chapter)