Chapter 703: Term Transformation

Qin Ming immediately stirred his thoughts.

He consumed ten [Leaf of Space-Time] terms in one breath.

In an instant, a force of time and age descended upon the spiritual tea tree before him.

Gradually, the spiritual tea tree began to grow wildly, quickly sprouting new branches, lush and dense.

Half a day later.

The entire spiritual tea tree had grown over ten feet tall, its emerald leaves wreathed in a peculiar, fragrant spiritual tea aroma.

At the same time.

In Qin Ming’s vision, three golden terms appeared: [Name]: Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea [Term]: Nascent Soul Magic Power x1 (Maturity 20%) [Name]: Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea [Term]: Leaf of Space-Time x10 (Maturity 21%) [Name]: Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea [Term]: Great Dao Enlightenment x1 (Maturity 20%) [Great Dao Enlightenment]: After using this term, one immediately resonates with heaven and earth, entering a state of sudden enlightenment.

“Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea!”

“Nascent Soul Magic Power!”

“And it’s even an Enlightenment term!”

“It seems that as the spiritual plant’s rank increases, the terms it refreshes also change accordingly.”

Even though Qin Ming had cultivated for centuries and seen countless wonders of the cultivation world, his heart had long been unmoved.

Yet even now, he was genuinely startled by this sight.

A look of delight immediately appeared on Qin Ming’s face.

But after long consideration, neither the spiritual plant texts he possessed nor the strange tales he’d gathered contained any record of “Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea.”

He thought of Qingyang the Old Devil, a legendary figure from the ancient spiritual plant sect Qingyuan Sect.

So he contacted Qingyang the Old Devil and asked: “Old Devil, do you know what kind of spiritual plant this Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea is?”

Qingyang the Old Devil was asleep within the Blood Floating Altar magic treasure, nurturing his spiritual soul, and was suddenly awakened by Qin Ming. He immediately yawned, drowsily stirring awake.

“Hahhh… What did you say? What tea?”

But the next moment.

When his gaze fell upon the ten-foot-tall spiritual tea tree, Qingyang the Old Devil’s cloudy eyes widened in shock, and he cried out: “Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea?!!”

“Where did you get this? And such a large specimen?”

Qin Ming immediately recounted everything that had happened on Ao Bie Island.

“Tsk tsk tsk! Your luck is truly extraordinary! You actually stumbled upon this!”

"Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea is a fourth-rank supreme spiritual plant; even during the Qingyuan Sect's golden age, there were only a few specimens. I've heard this tea originated from another realm and was transmitted to the mortal world."

“It is exceedingly rare, born only from thunder tribulations. Its greatest effects, besides slightly increasing Nascent Soul magic power and solidifying the Nascent Soul, are enhancing one’s comprehension of the Great Dao.”

“But its greatest use is aiding in resisting great realm heavenly tribulations—it grants extra resilience against several thunder strikes, an irreplaceable tribulation-defying spiritual item, hehehe!”

“If you ever attempt to break through to Soul Transformation, you’ll find it invaluable.”

Hearing Qingyang the Old Devil’s words, Qin Ming was even more astonished—he hadn’t realized this tea had such a grand origin.

It was the legendary fourth-rank supreme spiritual tea.

“You’ve hit the jackpot, and you even brought back such a large piece of Black Jade Spirit Rock.”

“Though Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea can take root in empty space and grow when exposed to thunder tribulations under sufficient spiritual vein conditions,”

“its early formation stage requires the Black Jade Spirit Rock to provide nourishment.”

“It’s an irreplaceable companion spiritual substance.”

Qingyang the Old Devil kept muttering in amazement, marveling at Qin Ming’s fortune.

Qin Ming hadn’t expected his trip to Ao Bie Island would yield such a windfall.

What thrilled him even more was that the flavor of this fourth-rank supreme spiritual tea must be extraordinary.

And the refreshed terms? Those were truly priceless.

“But it seems Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea still has some way to go before maturity.”

“Within the next two years, I’ll refresh more [Leaf of Space-Time] terms to fully ripen it.”

“After obtaining the [Great Dao Enlightenment] term, I can enter the Penglai Immortal Tree to contemplate the Great Dao.”

“Perhaps I’ll even acquire a fourth- or even fifth-rank spiritual plant inheritance—that would be a true fortune.”

Qin Ming had already quietly planned his next steps.

Afterwards.

Qin Ming entered the alchemy chamber within the Small Spirit Realm and summoned the Devouring Spirit Flame to smelt the three pieces of extraterrestrial metal ore.

Then, following the fourth-rank alchemy manual “The Devil’s Art of Crafting,” he activated the magic treasure forging incantation, blending the melted extraterrestrial metal entirely into the black steel fork.

Time passed slowly.

Three months later.

Within the alchemy chamber of the Small Spirit Realm, a stunning black magical light erupted, shooting straight into the heavens! The Devouring Rat, who had been absorbing demonic energy on the grassland to refine the Black Spirit Turtle Shell, immediately noticed the anomaly and his expression turned ecstatic!

“It seems the master has forged the treasure!”

He quickly tucked away the turtle shell and shot toward the alchemy chamber as a streak of black light.

The next instant.

The Devouring Rat’s gaze fixed on the black steel fork floating before Qin Ming, and his spirit surged with excitement.

Though the fork’s overall appearance hadn’t changed much, its surface now bore intricate spiritual patterns.

And it radiated layers of magical light—clearly, its rank had ascended a major tier!

It had reached fourth-rank low-grade magic treasure status!

Qin Ming had considered this during forging: the Devouring Rat’s current cultivation level could barely harness a fraction of a fourth-rank low-grade magic treasure’s power.

If it were any higher, it would drain him dry.

Thus, when incorporating the extraterrestrial metal, he used only one-third, leaving the rest.

Qin Ming flicked his fingers, and the black radiance above him retracted entirely into the black steel fork, returning to its plain appearance.

It looked no different from before, yet its power was no longer comparable.

Qin Ming flicked his finger, tossing the black steel fork to the Devouring Rat: “I’ve found you two treasures for your Tribulation Crossing.”

“Use these next two years to thoroughly refine and familiarize yourself with this magic treasure. When we return to Wangyue Island, begin preparing for your transformation.”

“Thank you, Master, for this gift! Hehehe! With these two treasures, I’ll surely break through!” The Devouring Rat caressed the black steel fork endlessly, his excitement unmistakable.

He silently sighed: “Finally, after all these years, I’ve made it!”

“All the hard work, the endless service, the fearless sacrifices—I didn’t endure them in vain.”

“Finally… waaah, it’s been so hard.” The Devouring Rat immediately infused demonic energy into the black steel fork.

Instantly, three jets of pitch-black arcane light shot forth, emitting a penetrating force like a black hole, seemingly capable of devouring all five-element energies.

“Master! Name this treasure! It’s perfect!” The Devouring Rat exclaimed excitedly.

“Name it yourself. The fork’s yours now.”

"Then I'll call it the Executioner's Spear! What do you think, Master?"

Qin Ming: “.”

“Can’t you be a little more modest? Don’t go around naming things ‘Slayer of Immortals.’”

“But do as you please—I don’t care what you call it.”

Qin Ming, watching the Devouring Rat’s joy, didn’t want to dampen his spirits.

He waved his hand: “Alright, go pick some spiritual fruits and catch a few spiritual fish. I’ve been forging for so long, I’m bored—prepare me a proper spiritual meal.”

“Hehe! Yes sir! Right away!” The Devouring Rat grabbed the treasure and dashed off in a flash.

Moments later.

Smoke curled up from the cave’s kitchen.

Soon, the clatter of pots and pans echoed.

Half an hour later, the Devouring Rat laid out a full table of fine wine and delicacies for Qin Ming.

He personally poured the wine, serving with meticulous care.

After finishing his meal, Qin Ming stepped out of the cave.

“It’s been over half a year—Hua Tianxiong should have gathered most of the alchemical materials by now.”

…

Yet just as he prepared to leave,

Two darts of light descended silently onto the desolate island from the sea.

The black light faded, revealing two figures clad in purple robes.

One was a short young cultivator, the other a dark-faced middle-aged man.

Both were at the late Foundation Establishment stage.

“Senior Yan, this mission the sect assigned us is truly daunting.”

“We’re supposed to infiltrate Long Yuan Island.”

“Sigh. I thought joining the Ghost Realm Sect’s seniors would earn me some easy gains, but instead I’m just cannon fodder.”

The short youth sighed heavily.

“Junior Ling, fortune favors the bold. If we pull this off, the merit will be greatest.”

“If we survive, we might even gain the chance to form a Golden Core.”

“Isn’t that what demonic cultivators live for?”

“Besides, with the demonic spirit talisman granted by the Demon Lord, killing Long Yuan Island’s messenger and replacing him won’t be hard.”

“Our chances of success are still high.”

The black-faced middle-aged man immediately pulled out two high-grade blood-colored talismans and slapped one onto each of their bodies.

A flash of demonic light passed.

Their faces instantly twisted and warped, and even the demonic energy on their bodies transformed into beastly energy.

A few breaths later.

Two shrimp soldiers and crab generals suddenly appeared in Qin Ming’s line of sight. Had he not witnessed it himself, even his spiritual sense—equivalent to late Nascent Soul—would have failed to detect anything amiss.

This alone proved the formidable disguise capability of the Ghost Realm Palace’s demonic spirit talismans.

“Hahaha!”

The shrimp soldier and crab general waved their claws, glanced at each other’s ridiculous forms, and burst into loud laughter.

Then the shrimp soldier pulled out a bead resembling a beast core and handed it to the crab general.

“Let’s go. Swallow this Water-Repelling Pearl—we’re brothers in misfortune now, and from now on, we’ll be no different from the sea clan. Even without using magic power, we can swim freely underwater.”

“For the Golden Core cause! Drink up!”

Afterwards,

the shrimp soldier and crab general swallowed the Water-Repelling Pearl and plunged with a splash directly into the sea.

After the two cultivators had gone far away,

a ripple stirred in the void.

Qin Ming’s figure slowly emerged.

The Devouring Sky Rat held a black steel fork; it had originally wanted to test the new magic treasure’s power, but Qin Ming had stopped it.

“Master, why let these two go?”

"They're probably demonic cultivators from the Blood Realm, right?"

Qin Ming gazed at the turbulent sea surface, his eyes dark and deep, and simply said, “I’ve already planted a spiritual soul mark on both of them. No need to alarm them further.”

“Hehe! Master is always thorough,” the Devouring Sky Rat chuckled.

“If our target is Long Yuan Island,”

“then the Ghost Realm Palace people must also be heading for the Immortal Mansion Gathering. I’d like to see what tricks these demonic cultivators plan to pull.”

After half a month of wandering,

Qin Ming restored his original appearance and returned to Tianlan Xiancheng.

As soon as he entered the city, two powerful aura-laden flight lights rushed out to meet him.

One was an old acquaintance: Xia Yuangong.

The other, a white-bearded elder, had a cultivation base of Nascent Soul mid-stage.

He wore a warm smile and introduced himself to Qin Ming: “I am Long Yangzi, the mayor of Tianlan Xiancheng and one of the inner sect elders of Star Palace.”

“I’ve long heard of your great name, Master Qin, and regret never having met you until now.”

“Today at last we meet—please come to my residence for a chat!”

(End of Chapter)