Chapter 545: The Secret of Divine Path Mountain

Wen Yuliang's face twisted in terror as he hastily pulled out a dark green circular shield magic treasure to block the attack.

He then retrieved another life-substitution puppet, identical to the one used by Yun Yangzi.

Shhh! The golden divine flame ignored all his defenses, transforming into a golden thread that struck him directly.

In an instant.

Wen Yuliang's eyes widened in shock as his face withered and aged before his eyes; his jet-black hair instantly turned white and fell away.

The vital life force within him vanished completely in the same moment.

His corpse, along with the magic treasure in his hand, slumped lifelessly from the sky.

Qin Ming swept his sleeve, collecting Wen Yuliang's magic treasure and storage bag, then cast a Thorns Spell to drain the corpse, turning it into a Blood Pearl of Golden Core completion.

He did not waste the body, tossing it directly into the Small Spirit Realm to serve as fertilizer for the Fengyou Ghost Jujube Tree.

Having finished all this, Qin Ming calmly turned his gaze toward Yun Yangzi nearby.

Yun Yangzi had witnessed every moment of what had just transpired.

At this very moment, he was utterly terrified, his soul nearly fled from his body.

"This—"

"What kind of technique is this?!"

Just as he believed Wen's junior brother had used a Blood Surge Talisman to forcibly elevate his cultivation to the False Nascent Soul stage, intending to crush Hua Tianxiong with thunderous force—

A sudden, unforeseen turn!

He had clearly seen "Hua Tianxiong" pull out an ancient mirror and shine it upon Wen Yuliang—whereupon Wen instantly died, his life force utterly extinguished. That was a False Nascent Soul cultivator!

He hadn't even struggled. Could it be that Hua Tianxiong before him was actually a Nascent Soul elder in disguise, pretending to be weak?

Such terrifying techniques—even Yun Yangzi, Third Elder of the Divine Path Mountain's Punishment Hall—had never seen or heard of anything like it.

To instantly kill a False Nascent Soul—could this even be called a Golden Core technique? Realizing this, Yun Yangzi abandoned all pretense and prepared to detonate his Golden Core to flee.

Even if he died, he must send word back to the sect immediately.

With Divine Path Mountain's methods, as long as his soul escaped, finding a new body for possession would be effortless.

Qin Ming's sharp gaze locked onto Yun Yangzi.

He had just used the Life-Drain ability of the Hook Jade Golden Light Mirror, sacrificing thirty-five years of his own lifespan to instantly kill Wen Yuliang.

Fortunately, Qin Ming had recently broken through to the late Golden Core realm, his magic power now rivaling that of a Golden Core completion.

When he used Golden Light Divine Flame against an equal-rank cultivator, the lifespan loss ratio was one to ten.

Had he still been at mid-Golden Core, the lifespan drain would have been unbearable.

Yun Yangzi, now battered and bleeding from the Blackwater Crocodile's assault, was already at his last breath.

This was only because he had deliberately ordered the Blackwater Crocodile to spare his life.

Qin Ming naturally understood Yun Yangzi's intent.

"After all the effort I've invested, do you think I'd let you escape so easily?"

He curled his fingers in the air, and two emerald-green Imperial Wood Nails silently vanished into the void.

Just as Yun Yangzi prepared to make his final stand—

Shhh! Shhh! "Aaaah!!!"

Two Imperial Wood Nails, glowing crimson-gold, pierced through his protective spiritual shield and shattered his Qi Sea and Dantian.

His Golden Core, just moments ago poised to detonate, deflated like a punctured balloon.

Then, as terror filled his eyes, a massive hand clamped down upon his skull.

"Thinking of detonating your Golden Core? It's not that simple."

Qin Ming's gaze turned icy as he began the Soul-Search Technique on Yun Yangzi.

Yun Yangzi's agonized screams echoed endlessly. Half an incense stick later, Qin Ming's expression shifted unpredictably—he had extracted several pieces of information from Yun Yangzi's mind that surprised him.

"So Divine Path Mountain has unearthed an ancient sect's hidden realm entrance beneath the Five Elements Mountain's fourth-rank spiritual vein."

"At the entrance alone stands a fourth-rank supreme spiritual plant—the Seven Wonders Treasure Tree—which bears seven distinct wondrous fruits, each enhancing one of the following: spiritual technique, cultivation art, cultivation base, lifespan, magic treasure, spiritual root, or insight."

"Each fruit possesses unimaginable effects—even Nascent Soul True Persons covet them desperately."

"And… it seems this spiritual plant controls the entire realm's opening—entry requires it to bloom the Seven Wonders Flower."

Qin Ming's eyes flickered as he silently absorbed this information.

"Even more coincidentally, this realm's discovery site lies not far from my own spiritual field."

"No wonder Divine Path Mountain wanted to buy my land—they feared exposure."

"And Zou Pinghai's cultivation of Rotting Spirit Grass was to brew something called 'Spirit Eye Liquid'—used to accelerate the Seven Wonders Tree's blooming."

"Since the Seven Wonders Tree blooms once every three thousand years and bears fruit once every three thousand years, the required Spirit Eye Liquid must be a massive quantity."

"Better to use my three 【Temporal Leaves】."

"Divine Path Mountain clearly cannot open this realm in the short term."

But even more surprising to Qin Ming was another matter.

It seemed the Flame Palace was secretly scheming, provoking conflict between Divine Path Mountain and the Ten Thousand Dao Trading Society.

Yet Divine Path Mountain had no concrete evidence—only suspicions.

The Flame Core Ore, it appeared, had been tampered with by the Flame Palace within the trading caravans.

But Divine Path Mountain had already moved against the Ten Thousand Dao Trading Society—now it was too late to say anything.

This was simply fate: just as Divine Path Mountain discovered the ancient realm, they naturally resorted to any means necessary to prevent leaks.

Even if the Flame Core Ore incident had nothing to do with it.

And during this time, the high leadership of Divine Path Mountain had devoted all their attention to the ancient realm.

To mask their true intent, they feigned ongoing conflict with the Ten Thousand Dao Trading Society, to avoid arousing the Flame Palace's suspicion.

"The Flame Palace controls the other half of the Five Elements Mountain's fourth-rank spiritual vein—if they also discovered this realm—"

"Another war would surely erupt."

"And this time, it would be a struggle among the three Nascent Soul-level powers of Great Jin."

"But for now, only Divine Path Mountain appears to know the realm's entrance—the other two factions seem unaware."

After absorbing this intelligence, Qin Ming's expression grew grave.

"Supreme spiritual ore is never easily born—but beneath my own doorstep lies an ancient realm… and the legendary Seven Wonders Treasure Tree."

In midair, Qin Ming held Yun Yangzi's corpse—its soul and spirit already scoured—and cast a Thorns Spell; countless black vines wrapped around it, draining it into a desiccated husk.

He collected Yun Yangzi's late Golden Core blood pearl and storage bag.

Qin Ming casually tossed the shriveled corpse into the Small Spirit Realm to fertilize the Fengyou Ghost Jujube Tree.

For decades, this second-rank supreme spiritual plant, the Fengyou Ghost Jujube Tree, fed on countless high-rank ghost corpses and Golden Core cultivator remains, had begun showing signs of ascending to a third-rank demonic plant. Its eerie, ghostly aura clashed with the other spiritual plants in the Small Spirit Realm—but remained firmly under Qin Ming's control.

Within the Small Spirit Realm.

Hua Tianxiong watched as his master swiftly crushed the two high-ranking Divine Path Mountain elders.

Even Wen Yuliang, a Nascent Soul seed, had been killed without hesitation—such ruthless, powerful, and decisive brutality was something he had never encountered.

He truly gained new insight—being under this master's command promised a brilliant future, far surpassing the exploitative Dry Elder of the Flame Palace.

Thinking this, Hua Tianxiong's massive tiger-like body trembled as he prostrated himself before Qin Ming, bowing fervently: "Master, your magic is boundless, your lifespan equal to heaven and earth, your immortal path eternal, your might majestic!"

…

(End of Chapter)