Chapter 714: Grand Gathering of the Immortal Mansion

Outside Longyuan Island.

The Penglai Sect’s transnational spiritual vessel slowly docked near Longyuan Island.

Shitian Rat had already rushed out, climbing onto Qin Ming’s shoulder to gaze at Lingdao, its expression brimming with excitement.

“Hey! No wonder this is the sea clan’s territory—far richer than my rat nest in the Beast Roar Mountains.”

“This time, I’ll definitely get to see this once-in-a-millennium grand gathering.”

Then.

Qin Ming followed the Penglai Sect members through the outer array inspection and entered Longyuan Island.

The island was already packed with people, divided from outside to inside into trading zones for Qi Refining to Golden Core cultivators.

Stalls lined every street and alley, shops overflowing with treasures, bustling and lively.

Among the streets and lanes, various strangely shaped sea clan demonic cultivators mingled harmoniously with human cultivators—a rare sight indeed.

“Whoa! There’s the Fish-People Clan, the Giant Shark Clan, and the Hai Sha Clan.”

“The Giant Crab Clan, the Bi Luo Clan.”

“They look so strange, Master—I feel like I’m watching seafood walking down the street. Hehehe!”

Shitian Rat, as if discovering a new continent, had never seen so many sea clans before.

Qin Ming found this amusing and turned to it, saying: “There are shape-shifting sea creatures here—watch your tongue. To land-based demonic races, they’re just as valuable as nourishment.”

“Hehe! I was just joking—I’ll be careful from now on.” Shitian Rat realized those who came to the island surely included fourth-rank demonic sages among the sea clans.

Meanwhile.

Qin Ming subtly sensed and discovered that the two Ghost Realm Palace cultivators disguised as shrimp soldiers and crab generals were also on Longyuan Island.

When he arrived, he had already extended his spiritual sense across hundreds of miles around the island and found no trace of demonic cultivators.

Yet these two demonic cultivators had clearly infiltrated the island’s inner circle, leaving Qin Ming deeply puzzled.

‘These demonic cultivators’ plan has already been exposed—could they have other hidden moves?’

‘Looks like I’ll have to find those two later and forcibly extract their memories.’

After entering the island, Qin Ming was immediately drawn in by all manner of rare treasures.

He told Longmu Zhenjun: “My two fellow cultivators, I’ll wander around for a while—I’ll meet you again at the Nascent Soul gathering.”

“Very well,” Longmu Zhenjun smiled. “Though the grand gathering offers countless celestial treasures, each must rely on their own fortune. I wish you success in finding something valuable here.”

Next.

Qin Ming, accompanied by Shitian Rat, began wandering the island.

He had heard that in past Immortal Mansion Gatherings, even Nascent Soul True Cultivators had found incredible deals at Qi Refining stalls—stories still told with awe.

So Qin Ming started from the outer zones, buying anything he fancied on a whim.

At the same time, he contacted Huatian Xiong via the Black Talisman: “Huatian Xiong, you’ve arrived on the island, right?”

“Reporting, Master—I arrived with Senior Xia and the others two days ago. I’ve secured a stall in the Golden Core trading zone to sell goods and keep an eye out for what you need.”

“Good. Keep a sharp lookout for news of ‘Qingkong Spirit Soil’—notify me immediately if you hear anything.”

“Yes, Master.”

After instructing Huatian Xiong, Qin Ming continued strolling along the streets.

Shitian Rat had an uncanny sensitivity to treasure energy and rarely missed anything of value.

“Ladies and gentlemen, step right up! Special Donghai Bilingshan sea ginseng—restores male vitality!”

“Freshly harvested scales from a high-stage second-rank scaled beast—perfect for defensive magic treasures. Yunhai Pavilion—guaranteed quality!”

“Early-stage third-rank eel-sea beast earth-elemental core—waiting for a destined buyer!”

“Rare lightning-elemental electric eel from ten-thousand-zhang depths—alive! Do not touch—liability is yours!”

“Donghai Treasure Talisman Pavilion’s talismans on sale—essential for travel and daily life!”

The streets teemed with crowds; merchants’ calls rose and fell in a ceaseless din.

Qin Ming, enjoying his stroll, arrived at a stall selling spirit seeds.

The vendor was a dark-skinned youth, a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Seeing Qin Ming approach, he instantly sensed the depth of his spiritual power and knew Qin Ming’s cultivation far surpassed his own.

“Esteemed elder, may I ask what you’re interested in? Allow me to introduce it to you.” The dark-faced youth bowed with a flattering smile.

Qin Ming casually picked up a few pale purple spirit seeds: “How much for these?”

“These are spirit seeds of the second-rank superior plant, Purple Yang Flower. They mature in about two years—when harvested, they’re a rare celestial delicacy. Hehe!”

“Feeding them to demonic beasts or spirit pets greatly enhances their reproductive capacity.”

The dark-faced cultivator glanced at Shitian Rat on Qin Ming’s shoulder and added emphatically:

“If you want them, this bag costs one hundred mid-grade spirit stones.”

Shitian Rat immediately bristled: “How dare you speak like that? I use third-rank spirit tea as mouthwash—who’d care about your trash? Need your stuff to boost my abilities? Pfft!”

The dark-faced youth, startled that the rat could speak, froze—then quickly bowed apologetically: “Forgive me, elder! I didn’t know—I’m sorry! So sorry!”

Shitian Rat sneered and ignored him.

Qin Ming smiled faintly and said: “I’ll take all these bags of spirit seeds. How much in total?”

At these words,

the vendor first froze, then broke into an ecstatic grin.

He hadn’t expected to sell out in just half a day.

“Thank you, elder! Altogether, it’s sixteen hundred mid-grade spirit stones!” The youth’s face split into a grin—he’d bought these seeds from various places hoping to profit from the markup.

After deducting stall fees, he’d make a fortune—this was pure windfall!

Qin Ming paid the spirit stones and took the seeds.

Payment and goods exchanged.

He left the stall.

“Master, why suddenly interested in second-rank spirit seeds?”

Once they were far enough away, Shitian Rat asked.

Honestly, it was a bit nerve-wracking—if Qin Ming really fed those Purple Yang Flowers to him and bred more little rat demons, it wasn’t impossible. After all, his Shitian Rat bloodline was valuable. Qin Ming selected a few gray seeds from the pile, examined them closely, and said: “These few seeds are ‘Chenhai Zilu Grass,’ a fourth-rank inferior spirit plant recorded in the ‘Hua Mu Spirit Scripture’—used to brew elixirs that restore magic power for Nascent Soul cultivators.”

“I see the Immortal Mansion Gathering lives up to its reputation—I’ve finally found a hidden treasure.”

“What? You really want to eat those Purple Yang Flowers to bulk up? If you want, grow some yourself in the Small Spirit Realm.”

Shitian Rat exhaled deeply, then quickly waved its hands upon hearing Qin Ming’s next words:

“No no no—I don’t need any!”

Qin Ming smiled and continued toward the central zone.

For the first few days, the stalls and shops on Longyuan Island merely warmed up for the Immortal Mansion Gathering.

The true grand gathering would be held in a circular arena at the island’s center, capable of holding tens of thousands of cultivators.

But entry here had strict thresholds—not just anyone could enter.

All manner of celestial treasures from immortal mansions would be displayed and traded here.

Large-scale auctions would also be held, jointly hosted by the Tianhai Alliance and the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace.

At that moment,

the cultivators ahead on the street scattered in panic, clearing a wide path.

A handsome young man sat atop a treasure carriage made of purple jade coral, pulled by several azure sea horses, slowly advancing down the street.

The carriage was open-air; the youth wore white jade gold-threaded robes, possessed golden eyes, and radiated an unfathomable aura—clearly exuding the power of a shape-shifting demonic beast.

On the coral carriage, the golden-eyed shape-shifter was flanked by two stunning female cultivators, dressed lightly, clinging tightly to him. His procession was extravagantly flamboyant.

Qin Ming stood before a stall, preparing to buy something—but the vendor, seeing this spectacle, abandoned his post and fled. Only Qin Ming remained alone.

Moments later,

the golden-eyed shape-shifting demonic beast’s gaze suddenly narrowed, locking onto Qin Ming.

His handsome face broke into a smile. He pushed away the women beside him and asked Qin Ming: “May I ask, esteemed guest, where are you from? You seem unfamiliar.”

“I come from the Southern Wastelands cultivation realm,” Qin Ming replied calmly with a polite smile.

At this, the golden-eyed demonic beast’s interest surged.

“Oh? How coincidental.”

“You must be the newly appointed Wangyue Zhenjun. I’ve heard much, but never seen you.”

“I am Prince Xuanxiao, third prince of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace. I’ve heard of you from Old Ao Feng—he mentioned you saved his son’s life?”

“Why not come to my estate for a visit?”

The golden-eyed demonic beast’s smile widened as he directly invited.

“Thank you for your kind offer, Prince Xuanxiao, but I intend to wander first—I’ll pay my respects another day,” Qin Ming replied with a smile.

Xuanxiao nodded, saying nothing more: “Very well. May fortune favor you, Qin Daoist.”

He then continued driving his carriage away.

Only then did the crowd on the street snap back to reality—they hadn’t expected a Nascent Soul True Person to stroll through Foundation Establishment stalls. It was utterly unbelievable.

Qin Ming looked plainly ordinary—if not for the Eastern Sea’s third prince recognizing him, they’d have assumed he was merely a Golden Core elder.

But when they turned back to look at Qin Ming’s stall, he had already vanished.

…

…

Qin Ming left the outer zone and entered the island’s core area.

“According to Longmu Daoist, the Dragon Clan of the Eastern Sea Dragon Palace carries the legendary ancient true spirit bloodline.”

I wonder if it's even true—it truly stirs my heart.

He thought to himself silently.

Until he reached a shop in the Jin Dan section and spotted an old acquaintance.

A long-missed smile of joy instantly appeared on his face.

Before the shop stall.

A young cultivator in a green robe was fiercely haggling with the shopkeeper.

“You’re asking me three hundred high-grade spirit stones for this third-stage late-grade dragon-rhinoceros horn? Are you trying to swindle me?!”

“Sir, please look closely before you speak—this isn’t a dragon-rhinoceros horn, it’s a fourth-stage early-grade dragon-elephant horn.”

The shopkeeper fell silent in disbelief.

……

(End of Chapter)