Chapter 601: Transformation

Qin Ming stood up, clenching his fists.

He felt the surging blood qi within him, like a primordial beast.

He was filled with confidence.

"With this punch, even a Nascent Soul cultivator who gets too close won't be able to withstand it, right?"

"Then what realm would one reach to shatter the void and become a saint through the flesh alone?"

"Beyond ordinary shape-shifting great demons, breaking the limits of bloodline and flesh, remolding true physical power—enough to crush Nascent Souls."

Qin Ming couldn't help but look forward to the realms ahead.

"My flesh strength and true golden core have both grown substantially, rivaling the Nascent Soul monsters of the Body Refining realm."

"After enduring so long, I've finally broken through—henceforth, I've truly entered the ranks of the top-tier cultivators."

"Today's mood is excellent—I must drink a great cup!"

"Alas, the Demon Flame Wine hasn't fermented long enough—what a pity."

"Otherwise, my magic power and cultivation base could have both broken through to Golden Core perfection."

"But that day is coming soon."

…

On the other side.

After flying for several days atop Silver-Winged Frost Bees, the Devouring Sky Rat and the Blackwater Crocodile finally arrived at the Fox Clan's sacred ground, Muxia Mountain.

Upon arrival, they immediately sent a message to Yue Lingyan.

Moments later.

A small silver fox emerged as a white streak of light.

It blinked its eyes, saw the Devouring Sky Rat and the other two beasts, and smiled: "Brother Rat, what brings you here? Only a few months have passed, yet we meet again."

"By the way, where's Elder Qin? Why are only the three of you here?"

"Hehe! The Master's busy," the Devouring Sky Rat winked at the little silver fox. "We've come bearing something special."

The little silver fox, seeing the Devouring Sky Rat's mysterious demeanor, was puzzled.

She led them before Yue Lingyan.

"Devouring Sky Rat King, how have you been lately?"

"What brings you to my palace?"

Yue Lingyan's voice, ethereal and melodious, echoed through the cave chamber.

The Devouring Sky Rat stepped forward, explained their purpose, then took out the two Bi Luo Huang Quan Pills Qin Ming had given it and handed them to Yue Lingyan.

"Hehe! Thanks to Elder Yin Yue's blessings, I've been doing well."

"Recently, the Master acquired a miraculous elixir with extraordinary power for demonic races—he specifically ordered me to deliver it."

Yue Lingyan's beautiful eyes instantly brightened as she took the vial and opened it.

Inside lay two pale yellow pills, radiating an extremely potent aura—even she sensed an extraordinary energy.

"Is this the legendary 'Bi Luo Huang Quan Pill'?"

"Devouring Sky Rat King, you're not just doing well—you're thriving!"

"Under Elder Qin's care, you've had endless divine elixirs—far better than when you were king of the Beastsong Mountains."

The Devouring Sky Rat nodded. "Hehe! The Master told me to keep a low profile when traveling."

"It's fine, it's fine."

Yue Lingyan brought the Bi Luo Huang Quan Pill to her delicate nose and sniffed.

"This elixir is indeed rare—but why do I sense a trace of Golden Core energy?"

"Could this pill be refined from a Golden Core?"

Hearing this, the Devouring Sky Rat shuddered inwardly—sure enough, a fourth-rank demonic saint could instantly perceive the secret.

Yet it could never reveal the pill's ingredients—even a great demonic saint like her would be stunned.

"Hehe! I have no idea how it's made."

"This pill is exceedingly precious. Elder Qin has thought of me—thank him on my behalf," Yue Lingyan said with a cryptic smile.

Beside her, the little silver fox, seeing the high-grade pill that could break her realm, was overjoyed.

"Little one thanks Brother Rat, and also thanks Elder Qin for this gift."

"Hehe! No need to be polite—I won't forget you, little silver fox, when I'm enjoying the good life."

Then Yue Lingyan arranged a quiet cultivation space for the three beasts on Muxia Mountain.

…

On the other side, within the Xiao Ling Realm.

Qin Ming stood before the Fengyou Ghost Jujube Tree.

At this moment, the strange spiritual plant was undergoing an incredible transformation.

To this day, Qin Ming didn't know how many demonic and ghost cultivator corpses he'd buried beneath it.

Most were corpses of cultivators above Golden Core level.

Even the Golden Core-perfect Holy Son of the Demon Sect had become its fertilizer.

It was terrifying indeed.

The entire jujube tree radiated dense yin energy, with tendrils of demonic aura swirling around it.

Originally, Qin Ming had planted this tree to harvest the Golden Core spiritual material, "Xuan Sha Spirit Liquid."

But now, the demonic energy had accumulated to an unprecedented level.

Strange demonic light flickered unpredictably along the branches.

The Fengyou Ghost Jujube Tree began sprouting new leaves again, growing over two zhang taller—and on its branches, dark black jujubes formed.

Then, in the empty space around the tree, tiny bolts of thunder energy appeared, darting across its branches.

Immediately, three golden terms flashed into Qin Ming's vision:

【Name】: Lei Yuanmo Jujube 【Term】: Spatial-Temporal Leaf x5 (Maturity 2%) 【Name】: Lei Yuanmo Jujube 【Term】: Abundant Lifespan x5 (Maturity 2%) 【Name】: Lei Yuanmo Jujube 【Term】: Primordial Demonic Qi x1 (Maturity 1%) "Lei Yuanmo Jujube?"

"Primordial Demonic Qi?!"

Qin Ming was slightly startled—the ghost jujube tree had clearly advanced, undergoing a tremendous change.

The newly spawned terms included a trace of 【Primordial Demonic Qi】—the same core demonic energy as that on the Primordial Demonic Pearl Altar. Qin Ming immediately recalled something, sent his spiritual sense into the Primordial Demonic Pearl, and took a jade slip from a shelf to examine.

Finally, he found the entry on demonic plants:

Third-rank lower-grade demonic variant—Lei Yuanmo Jujube.

This demonic plant grows only in a few yin-mystic places even within the Xuehuan Realm.

As a demonic plant, it feeds on thunder and demonic energy, and can root itself in empty space—given sufficient corpses and thunder, it can endlessly advance and grow.

Its demonic jujubes are spiritual items that aid demonic cultivators in condensing a Demonic Nascent Soul.

A treasure that defies heaven and earth—any sect in the Xuehuan Realm would covet it desperately.

The branches of the Lei Yuanmo Jujube are constantly refined by thunder, which it consumes; when incorporated into magic treasures, they can even help resist Nascent Soul heavenly tribulations.

The older the tree, the more thunder energy it absorbs, and the stronger the magic treasure's power becomes.

"What a wonderful thing!"

"When the Blackwater Crocodile returns, I'll have it strike the tree with divine thunder—let it grow vigorously. Perhaps it can reach third-rank supreme, even fourth-rank."

In the days that followed,

Qin Ming resumed his daily farming and cultivation.

Since the death of the Demon Sect Holy Son, the Five Elements Mountains had enjoyed a period of calm.

But he knew this was merely the stillness before the storm.

Not long ago,

Qin Ming had secretly followed the tunnel dug by the Devouring Sky Rat to the depths beneath the Five Elements Mountains' fourth-rank spiritual vein, near the Qinyuan Sect's secret realm entrance.

It seemed the Yin Demon Sect and the Divine Path Mountain had chosen their ritual date—many high-rank cultivators now guarded the realm's entrance.

Even several true disciples of the Blood Refining Demon Sect were stationed there—its defenses were tight.

These demon cultivators seemed certain they would claim the ancient sect's treasure.

Since the Blood Refining Demon Sect's disciples from the descending realm couldn't linger long in the mortal realm, they were now resorting to any means necessary.

Fortunately, the Seven-Miracle Treasure Tree still showed no sign of blooming.

Even if the ritual succeeded, it would still take years.

Half a month later.

Within the Xiao Ling Realm.

The Devouring Sky Rat returned with the Blackwater Crocodile and the Silver-Winged Frost Bees from the Fox Clan's sacred ground.

"Master, we're back! Hehehe!"

Its demonic aura had broken through to third-rank perfection—it looked spirited, majestic, and strode with powerful strides.

The Blackwater Crocodile and Silver-Winged Frost Bees had also advanced to third-rank late stage.

"Hmm, good. You didn't waste my elixirs," Qin Ming said, nodding slightly at his three beast companions.

The Devouring Sky Rat had planned to boast further—after all, it had broken through to third-rank perfection first.

Equivalent to Golden Core perfection among humans.

But when its demonic sense landed on Qin Ming, it froze in shock: "Master—you've reached True Golden Core perfection in the Heavenly Demon Body Refining Scripture?!"

Qin Ming replied calmly: "Indeed."

The Devouring Rat: "."

"Master is truly unparalleled in history—never before seen, never to be repeated! I've heard that upon reaching full Golden Core, one can rival a Nascent Soul realm cultivator using only physical strength."

"Congratulations, Master, on your tremendous advancement! My minor progress pales beside yours—it's like fireflies challenging the bright moon."

"A mayfly to the vast ocean."

"Enough with the flattery," Qin Ming glanced at it. "The spiritual plants in the Small Spirit Realm have increased lately—take good care of them."

"Of course! Leave it to me," the Devouring Rat patted its chest.

Then Qin Ming summoned the Blackwater Crocodile and communicated with it, learning that since its advancement to the late stage of the third rank, its thunder manipulation had greatly improved.

Perfect—he would send it to feed the Lei Yuanmo Jujube with thunder.

The Devouring Rat, seeing the ghost jujube tree transformed utterly, marveled: "The Dao's creation is truly wondrous—how could such a spiritual plant even come into being?"

"I wonder what the taste of this demonic jujube might be…"

CRACK!

Before the Devouring Rat could finish its thought, the Blackwater Crocodile spat out a thunderbolt as thick as a water barrel, striking the Lei Yuanmo Jujube.

"You scared the hell out of me, Brother Two—couldn't you have warned me first?"

A miraculous thing occurred: the thunder struck the jet-black trunk of the demonic jujube tree and was instantly absorbed, leaving not a trace.

It caused no harm whatsoever—on the contrary, the tree grew more vigorously than ever.

…

…

The days of cultivation and farming passed swiftly.

Time slipped away; two years vanished in a flash.

The ten mu of Tianluo Fruit plants Qin Ming cultivated on the Five Elements Mountain spiritual fields had finally fully matured.

In his vision, three golden terms stood clearly before him.

【Name】: Tianluo Fruit 【Term】: Magic Power Source X5 (Maturity 100%, Harvestable) 【Name】: Tianluo Fruit 【Term】: Blood Qi Source X5 (Maturity 100%, Harvestable) 【Name】: Tianluo Fruit 【Term】: Regenerative Spirit Seed X5 (Maturity 100%, Harvestable). As a third-rank superior spiritual plant, Tianluo Fruit should have been exceedingly rare in yield.

Yet Qin Ming's ten mu of spiritual fields bore an abundance of dark red nuts—each one a primary ingredient for crafting the high-rank elixir 'Tianluo Powder.'

This miraculous medicine possesses the great power to regenerate flesh from bone and restore life from death.

Li Lan, witnessing such an overwhelming harvest of Tianluo Fruit, was awestruck and sincerely admired Qin Ming:

"Master Lu's cultivation of spiritual plants has reached the level of a third-rank Grand Master—likely among the top ten in the entire Great Jin."

"Congratulations!"

Qin Ming harvested all the Tianluo Fruit from the ten mu of fields; instantly, three blue term leaves appeared in his spiritual sea.

Then, over several days, he refined all the Tianluo Fruit into third-rank superior elixir—'Tianluo Powder.'

…

(End of Chapter)