Chapter 751: Changing Fortunes

On Wangyue Island, a rare calm returned to its usual state.

Below, spirit farmers toiled diligently; the spirit island resembled a fairyland, thriving with vitality.

Qin Ming completed his daily cultivation and came beneath the spirit peach tree to sip tea, brewing a pot of Great Dao Thunder Tribulation Tea, enjoying it with serene contentment.

The Devouring Rat’s belly was swollen round, sprawled on the grass basking in the sun.

Since Qin Ming last let it devour two fourth-rank dragon demon cores, it had indeed produced two more fist-sized Dark Mystery Stones, sufficient for Qin Ming to use the ancient talismans for teleportation several times.

Not to mention, it added another crucial lifeline for emergencies.

In addition, from the storage bags of the Gengchi Demon Dragon and Prince Xuance, Qin Ming acquired numerous treasures.

“They say these sea clan demons love hoarding treasures—truly so!”

“Spirit stones and demon crystals are countless; fourth-rank spirit materials, cultivation techniques, and elixirs pile up.”

“The millennia-old legacy of this demon dragon clan has now all fallen into my hands.”

This haul directly multiplied Qin Ming’s wealth several times over.

In addition,

Through recent cultivation, Qin Ming discovered something.

That was, the progress of the Qingyuan Sect’s supreme secret scripture, the Qing Emperor Scripture, had become unusually slow.

Even with the blessing of his life-spirit plant, the Everlasting Immortal Vine, and daily absorption of temporal energy and plant essence, his progress had slowed to a crawl—though he had long heard from Qingyang the Demon Devil that this Qingyuan Sect lineage becomes increasingly difficult to cultivate after the ninth layer, he had assumed his Qing Emperor Wood Sovereign Holy Body, combined with his life-spirit plant, would not hinder him much.

But reality still gave him a lesson.

“Qin friend, be content—you’re already at a level few among the Qingyuan Sect’s brilliant geniuses ever reached.”

“The few who ascended to the higher realm reached no higher than the sixteenth layer.”

“You’ve already reached the thirteenth layer—that’s exceedingly rare.”

Qingyang the Demon Devil spoke with calm assurance.

Qin Ming nodded; he was merely accustomed to rapid cultivation progress, and the sudden slowness felt slightly unnatural.

This alone proved the Qingyuan Sect’s core scripture was no ordinary cultivation method.

…

Meanwhile,

In the Blood Realm.

Qin Ming’s demon nascent soul had returned to the Blood Refining Demon Sect, entering the sect’s treasure vault to plunder it.

Seven Sorrow Demon Lord, as the highest-ranking figure in the Blood Refining Demon Sect, ranked just below Heaven-Hatred Demon Lord and held absolute power over life and death.

Outside the sect’s one reclusive Soul Transformation elder, virtually all affairs were decided by him.

“Seven Sorrow Elder, you’ve come.”

The demon lord guarding the treasure vault, an early-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, immediately rose to greet Seven Sorrow Demon Lord.

“Seven Sorrow Demon Lord” gave a slight nod and said coolly: “I need a few items for healing—come to retrieve them.”

The guard elder skipped registration entirely and let him pass, producing a talisman to open the Blood Refining Demon Sect’s treasure vault.

Upon entering, though Seven Sorrow Demon Lord already possessed some memories of the place, Qin Ming’s demon nascent soul was stunned by the dazzling array of treasures.

Without hesitation, he seized only the rarest heavenly and earthly spirit items of the Blood Realm, stuffing his storage bag until it bulged.

Then, under the guard elder’s stunned gaze, he strode out of the vault with casual confidence—yet the elder dared not utter a word.

Qin Ming’s demon nascent soul returned to his cave dwelling and entered seclusion to cultivate.

He swallowed the Gengchi Demon Dragon’s essence blood and activated the Yuan Sha Seed Demon True Scripture; instantly, demonic energy surged, his aura rising steadily in stages.

…

Time flowed, years slipped by like a shuttle.

Five years passed in the blink of an eye.

Qin Ming lived quietly on Wangyue Island, farming, refining elixirs, and cultivating—his days were peaceful.

During this time, the Demon Alliance of the Blood Realm and the mortal realm clashed in several large-scale battles, with countless cultivators killed or wounded.

Not only were low-rank cannon-fodder cultivators mowed down like grass, but even several Nascent Soul cultivators perished in the war.

According to news relayed by Qin Ming’s demon nascent soul, the five major sects of the Blood Realm had originally believed their descent invasion would be a sure victory.

Yet who could have foreseen that after millennia of biding their time, the mortal realm’s overall strength was nearly equal to that of the Blood Realm?

For victory in war still depended on the number of top-tier cultivators.

The Southern Wastes, after prolonged development, reversed its earlier decline and had produced another alchemy master: Fang Han.

The Xuanxi Valley was regaining its former glory.

Another crucial reason was that Seven Sorrow Demon Lord had blocked every single plan by the demonic sects to invade the Southern Wastes.

Thus, for these five years, conflicts had been minor skirmishes—unlike other major spiritual realms, where war raged continuously and lives were laid waste.

The Southern Wastes had instead become a land far from the flames of war.

During this time, Qin Ming received appeals for aid from two neighboring spiritual realms and symbolically dispatched cultivators from the Four Kingdoms Alliance.

Han Ya the Immortal and Tianji Zi had personally visited Wangyue Island twice.

“Brother Qin, why won’t these demonic sects attack your Southern Wastes?”

“Why do they focus all their attacks on us?”

“My Great Zhou is under immense pressure—I can’t hold out much longer!”

Han Ya the Immortal wore a face full of worry, deeply perplexed and lamenting.

“Indeed! Han Ya Dao friend speaks truly—my Western You are nearly at our limit.”

Tianji Zi, seemingly injured in his battles against the demons, was deathly pale.

“These demons are truly vile—they always pick the softest targets.”

“Yet not a single shadow dares approach Brother Qin’s territory.”

Qin Ming brewed the two a pot of spirit tea and sighed, feigning solemnity: “You two are mistaken.”

In the One-True Version!

“Ten years ago, when the demons launched their first large-scale descent, our Southern Wastes bore the brunt—I myself had to beg for aid from you two.”

“You both know how perilous that battle was—I was gravely wounded and nearly perished in Seven Sorrow Demon Lord’s hands.”

“Our Southern Wastes fought a bitter war to earn this brief peace.”

Qin Ming was speechless—these two old men truly had the audacity to repeatedly come begging for reinforcements.

Yet as he spoke,

He seemed to have struck a nerve.

“You didn’t mention it, but these demonic cultivators each possess astonishing abilities and cruel, unpredictable tactics—we can’t match your strength, Brother Qin, who can stand against a mid-stage Nascent Soul demon like Seven Sorrow Demon Lord.”

“In the last battle, I barely escaped death after encountering just one early-stage Nascent Soul demon from the Ghost Realm Palace—alas!” Tianji Zi’s face twisted in bitterness.

Qin Ming said: “Yet you need not worry too much—I have reliable news that the Star Palace and the Ice Divine Palace have breached the Blood Realm; now the demonic sects dare not gamble everything.”

“Soon enough, this descent crisis will end.”

Hearing this, the two men, once dejected, perked up with excitement:

“Is this truly true, Brother Qin?!”

“I hope so—if not, how much longer can this war last?”

Han Ya the Immortal and Tianji Zi both wished the Great Demon Tribulation would end soon.

As they spoke,

Han Ya the Immortal said to Qin Ming: “By the way, Brother Qin, besides seeking aid from the Southern Wastes, we have another important matter to discuss with you in person.”

“Oh? What is it?” Qin Ming asked.

Han Ya the Immortal sipped his tea and sighed: “Alas, the beast clans of the Howling Mountains are suffering too.”

“The Yin Demon Sect of Dali and the Divine Path Mountain of the Southern Region, allied with the Blood Refining Demon Sect, launched several surprise attacks—the beast clans have suffered heavy losses.”

“Huh? With such a vast beast population, could they suffer such defeat?” Qin Ming frowned. “Back then, when the Green-Faced Poisonous Dragon unleashed the beast tide, even our Southern Wastes were overwhelmed.”

Han Ya the Immortal sighed deeply and explained: “Do you still remember that Black Wind Demon Saint?”

“I remember well—when the Devouring Rat ascended to Demon Saint, he came to Wangyue Island with Ancient Mountain Demon Saint. I had some unpleasantness with him.”

“Could it be that this old man, like the Eastern Sea’s Second Crown Prince, betrayed the beast clans?” Qin Ming’s thoughts shifted—he already guessed the reason for the beast clans’ defeat.

Tianji Zi continued: “Exactly. No one expected that the death of his own brother, Great Black Heaven Demon Saint, was tied to Silver Moon Demon Saint. Somehow, Black Wind Demon Saint discovered the truth.”

“In a rage, he used this as an excuse to secretly ally with the demonic sects, taking his entire Stormwind Eagle clan with him.”

“He launched a surprise attack, severely crippling several major beast clans.”

Qin Ming’s heart tightened, but he asked calmly: “Besides Silver Moon Demon Saint, were there others involved in Great Black Heaven’s death?”

“I’ve heard no such thing—I only know Silver Moon Demon Saint held a blood feud with the Stormwind Eagle clan. I never imagined he’d secretly eliminate them—his strength must be extraordinary,” Tianji Zi murmured.

Qin Ming immediately realized Yue Lingyan had taken full blame upon herself and mentioned nothing of him.

“So this Black Wind Demon Saint intends to follow his brother’s path,” Qin Ming’s gaze sharpened. “What is your purpose in telling me this?”

“Has the Silver Moon clan suffered retaliation from Black Wind Demon Saint?”

Han Ya the Immortal continued: “Naturally—they have. But with Silver Moon Demon Saint guarding them, the Silver Moon Celestial Fox clan’s casualties were light.”

“After this incident, Ancient Mountain Demon Saint was furious and decided to rally all the beast clans of the Howling Mountains, uniting with our Way-Defending Alliance and the human cultivators of Western You, to initiate a second round of negotiations.”

“Their goal: to eradicate the Yin Demon Sect and Divine Path Mountain, the demons’ accomplices, and purge the Stormwind Eagle clan as a warning to others.”

“To be honest, I’ve long despised these two sects—they must be destroyed without delay!”

“This matter is too grave for low-rank cultivators to know. Ancient Mountain Demon Saint has invited the Southern Wastes to meet at Jilei Mountain, the ancestral home of the Mountain Ape Clan, to plan together.”

Qin Ming pondered briefly—indeed, he owed Ancient Mountain Demon Saint a debt for his past aid.

But at the time, the opponent had genuinely fought a battle with my demonic Nascent Soul, nearly causing a clash between kin.

“What?! The Silver Moon clan was also attacked?” Hearing the three’s conversation, Shi Tian Shu walked in from outside, his small face stern and furious: “That Black Wind Old Demon—I’ve hated him for a long time; he must be utterly eradicated!”

(End of Chapter)