Chapter 55: Return to the Fields

After Qin Ming departed.

Four figures in black robes landed at the spot where Qin Ming and the other had just battled.

"Damn it, someone intercepted the kill!"

"That kid was rich; we worked so hard to injure him severely."

"Should we still pursue?"

"It's too late; the Spirit Feather Sect's pursuers are almost here. Let's flee first."

"Dammit! Don't let me find out who stole my kill!"

Just as the four were discussing.

Not far away, a Spirit Feather Sect dharma boat was speeding toward this location.

"Not good! Run!"

An elder from the Spirit Feather Sect on the dharma boat frowned as he watched the four flee; when he drew near and saw the corpse on the ground already burned to ash, he was greatly shocked.

He immediately abandoned the boat and flew after the four.

After taking a detour that lasted more than an hour.

Qin Ming twisted and turned through seven bends and eight turns, secretly sneaking back into Qingyang Market.

Upon returning to Clear Cool Cottage, the heart hanging in his chest gradually settled.

Huu~ Qin Ming exhaled heavily.

Yet a hint of excitement hung on his face.

Having personally slain that bastard Jiang Kun, things would be much quieter from now on.

He entered the meditation chamber.

And began to tally his gains.

Inside Jiang Kun's storage bag, what made Qin Ming's eyes burn the most was that supreme-grade dharma sword.

Qin Ming held it in his hand and toyed with it for a while, then relying on his own powerful spiritual sense, easily erased the magic power imprint Jiang Kun had left within the dharma sword.

This supreme-grade dharma sword was named 'Azure Nether Sword'.

After a session of refinement, it completely became Qin Ming's own item.

However, when Qin Ming slightly tried to activate it with magic power, he startlingly discovered that fully controlling this sword required a truly terrifying consumption of magic power.

Even with his fifth layer of Qi Condensation cultivation, where his magic power was two times higher than peers at the same stage, it was still a struggle; he estimated he could only maintain it for less than half an incense stick's time.

He would need at least the cultivation base of the late Qi Condensation stage to use this sword completely at will.

Inside the storage bag, accompanying this sword was a top-tier sword art called the 'Azure Nether Sword Art', comprising six layers, cultivable all the way to the late Foundation Establishment stage.

The first three layers of the sword art correspond to the Qi Condensation stage, while the latter three correspond to the Foundation Establishment stage.

After all, Qin Ming himself had personally experienced the might of this sword art, so he was very clear about its power.

Relying solely on a single strike of Azure Nether sword energy, it could pierce through his Glazed Treasure Robe and his formidable flesh.

He put away the Azure Nether Sword and the sword art, then continued to inspect Jiang Kun's storage bag.

There were fifty medium-grade spirit stones and over three thousand low-grade spirit stones.

In total conversion, this equated to more than eight thousand low-grade spirit stones.

What surprised him most was the presence of a pill for breaking through to the late Qi Condensation stage, the 'Marrow-Cleansing Pill'; it was the very same one Jiang Kun had prepared to use to curry favor with him last time at Mingzhen Pavilion.

After going around in a circle, it ended up back in his hands.

There were also some pills for healing injuries and removing poison, as well as pills for enhancing magic power; the rest consisted of spiritual materials, talismans, and the like.

At the very bottom of the storage bag lay quietly a golden talisman, upon which the spiritual energy had dissipated, leaving it dim.

Qin Ming took it out and examined it carefully, breaking out in a cold sweat! "It's actually a talisman treasure!"

Talisman treasures are refined by cultivators of the Foundation Establishment stage or above; they can be used multiple times, and the magical arts released possess power equivalent to a full-force strike from a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

However, upon checking the state of this talisman treasure, its spirituality was completely lost; it seemed Jiang Kun had used it several times already, meaning it was scrapped and could no longer be used.

Qin Ming felt deeply fortunate; if Jiang Kun hadn't exhausted this talisman treasure while being chased by those several bandits.

Then the outcome would have been hard to say.

This also sounded an alarm in his heart; killing people for their goods ultimately carried too great a risk.

It was far better to farm peacefully and steadily.

But if he hadn't encountered Jiang Kun in a critically injured state this time, Qin Ming would not have rashly made his move.

Missing such an opportunity, who knows when the next one would arise.

Nevertheless, overall, the harvest was abundant.

In Qingyang Market, Qin Ming dared not openly use Jiang Kun's items; he could only wait until his strength improved and he had left the Spirit Feather Sect.

Or, if there was a chance, find a black market to secretly dispose of them.

Qin Ming tidied up his things.

Expelling distracting thoughts, he consumed pills inside the meditation chamber and entered a state of cultivation.

The next day.

Qin Ming rose very early.

Having cultivated throughout the night, his entire person appeared brimming with vitality and spirit.

He first walked to the corner of the courtyard to inspect that Withered Blood Poison Vine.

After so much time had passed, those three purple demonic flowers still showed no change. 【Name】 Withered Blood Poison Vine 【Entry】: Space-Time Leaf x5 (Maturity 1%)

Qin Ming then took out the blood bead from Jiang Kun's death and threw it over.

In an instant, the black withered vine, like a starving wolf pouncing on prey, rapidly enveloped it, absorbing and digesting its essence.

The black vines visibly grew thicker.

Gradually.

The three purple, alluring flower buds also slowly cracked open a fraction.

Qin Ming continued to observe closely and noticed the entry above had changed slightly.

【Name】Withered Blood Poison Vine 【Entry】: Space-Time Leaf X5 (Maturity 15%)

Absorbing this drop of blood had significantly increased the maturity of the purple demonic flower.

"The essence and soul of a Cultivation Base Completion cultivator indeed accelerate its growth."

Qin Ming rested his chin in thought for a moment.

Then he took out from his spirit beast pouch the nest of Yin Yi Shuangfeng and hung the entire hive directly onto the black withered vine.

Once the flowers bloom, let this swarm of spirit bees pollinate the purple demonic flower.

Having finished all this.

Qin Ming stepped outside and walked toward his spirit field.

He hadn't tended to his spirit field for several days and still felt some concern.

Arriving at the spirit field, gazing at the thriving spirit plants, Qin Ming resembled a farmer, a smile tugging at his lips.

Three mu of Jin Ling Mi had grown to half-height, lush and green.

Two golden entries caught his eye:

【Name】: Jin Ling Mi 【Entry】: Weak magic power (Maturity 48%)

【Name】: Jin Ling Mi 【Entry】: Quality Enhancement (Maturity 43%)

After tending to the Jin Ling Mi field, Qin Ming walked toward the three mu of Shou Ya Mi field, where the spirit rice ears were heavy with fruit.

All that remained was to harvest them at year's end.

In the two mu of spirit herb field,

twelve Mo Yan Cao and eleven Qi Ye Huang Ling were also growing vigorously.

Because Shou Ya Mi and high-grade spirit plants were cultivated here,

Du Haifu, the spirit field overseer of Lingyu Sect, and the spirit plant recorder from the Executive Hall, occasionally brought men to inspect the area closely.

As long as no bandits of the caliber that attacked Elder Zhuang's herb garden appeared, the spirit field remained safe.

Qin Ming spent half a day casting the Advanced Spirit Rain Art within the spirit field.

He summoned spirit rain over all the spirit crops, and under its nourishment, the plants grew even more luxuriantly.

Even the three mu of Shou Ya Mi showed signs of further quality improvement.

This was without him ever using the 【Quality Enhancement】 entry.

"No way? Premium Shou Ya Mi?"

After spending the entire day tending the fields, he returned to Qingyang Marketplace.

At the beginning of You Hour.

Qin Ming cooked and ate a pot of premium Xue Huang Mi, then entered his daily cultivation state.

He currently cultivated the Hundred Treasures Glass Sutra, just one step away from entering the Seventh Layer.

Yet, he still needed much more blood qi.

Two days later.

The news of the bandit gang's violent raid on Lingyu Sect's herb garden spread like wildfire.

After all,

Many outside cultivators had witnessed the event that day.

No matter how large the paper, it couldn't hide the fire.

The outcome? Lingyu Sect failed to capture the five cultivators.

It was said two Foundation Establishment elders were dispatched, yet neither could match the black-robed cultivator wearing a Buddha mask.

The black-robed cultivator's demonic arts were strange and unfathomable.

Elder Jiang Minshan of the Punishment Hall nearly perished, struck down and severely wounded.

Elder Zhuang Xiran suffered slightly less severe injuries.

The cultivators of Qingyang Marketplace finally realized!

"Whoa! That's a scam! Jin Yun Valley bastards—two Foundation Establishment elders combined couldn't beat this monster, yet they offer only one Foundation Establishment Pill as a reward?"

"They just want us to take his head?"

"Why don't they go themselves?"

"He～tui～"

"Despicable, these sects are utterly vile."

……

(End of Chapter)