Chapter 769: Upgrading Life-Bound Magic Treasure, Secret Realm Opens

Hearing the voice, Song Qingming and the shop owner hurriedly turned around and found that three more people were walking toward the stall.

The three, like Song Qingming, were Golden Core cultivators. The one walking in front and speaking was a black-clothed woman with a somewhat charming face, whose cultivation had already reached the seventh level of Golden Core. Every move she made while walking faintly exuded a charm that made people's hearts move.

Song Qingming only took one look at the other party, and an inexplicable agitation immediately arose in his heart. Feeling that something was wrong, he immediately operated the "Soul-Devouring Art" in his body, slowly calming the agitation in his heart.

And the shop owner beside him, who only had Foundation Establishment cultivation, was now staring blankly at the black-clothed woman, and a look of obsession gradually began to appear on his face.

"What a profound charm technique!"

Having cultivated for so many years, Song Qingming had encountered some cultivators who were good at practicing charm techniques abroad, but the black-clothed woman's proficiency in this path was obviously stronger than others Song Qingming had met before.

Fortunately, after cultivating the "Soul-Devouring Art" for many years, Song Qingming's spiritual sense had already exceeded that of ordinary cultivators of the same rank. Facing the black-clothed woman's very confident charm technique, although he was affected a bit, he soon recovered with a clear face.

"I have already offered to buy these formation discs. This item is not a rare thing. If you want a second-tier high-grade magic array, fellow Daoist, you can go to other shops to see. I think it should not be difficult to find."

After Song Qingming turned his eyes away, he responded to the other party, and his voice also carried a trace of magic power to shake off the woman's charm technique. The shop owner standing beside him then woke up.

Knowing that the black-clothed woman had just used a charm technique on him, the shop owner was also a bit unhappy looking at the other party and directly explained:

"This Senior, fighting is forbidden on Wind Thunder Island. Please don't make things difficult for this little one. This item has already been sold to the Senior just now. If you want it, you can discuss it with him yourself."

Usually, these formation discs had been on the stall for half a month, and not many people looked at them. Today it was strange that there were Golden Core cultivators who wanted to compete for this item.

It's just that these two were Golden Core cultivators whose cultivation he couldn't see through, and the shop owner didn't want to offend them easily, so he could only try his best to distance himself and let them discuss the matter themselves.

Hearing Song Qingming's refusal, a look of surprise instantly appeared on the black-clothed woman's face.

She was not surprised because Song Qingming refused her, but because she saw Song Qingming break her charm technique so quickly, which made the black-clothed woman find it hard to believe for a while, and she couldn't help but frown slightly.

Not only the black-clothed woman, but a hunchbacked old man and a white-clothed woman standing not far behind her also had a look of surprise on their faces, and the look in their eyes when looking at Song Qingming also added a few more meaningful meanings.

Hearing that the shop owner had no opinion on this transaction, Song Qingming put away the formation discs in his hand, ignored the black-clothed woman in front of him, and turned to leave the stall.

After Song Qingming left, the white-clothed woman standing on the side walked toward the black-clothed woman with a smile and asked: "Is there any problem with the formation discs just now? Why did Senior Sister suddenly want this item?"

"The formation discs are mixed with some high-tier mysterious crystals. If this item is refined into a life-bound magic treasure, it can enhance the magic treasure's ability to resist fire-attribute spells."

"That person just now should also be a high-tier formation master, which is why he saw the mystery inside the formation discs."

"This is not a very precious thing, it's just a pity that I was a step late and let him pick up this bargain."

Just after the black-clothed woman finished speaking, the hunchbacked old man on the side looked at the direction Song Qingming left, with a bit of curiosity: "This person's spiritual sense is no less than mine. I didn't expect him to be a high-tier formation master. This Wind Thunder Island is truly full of hidden talents, which is more interesting than when I came last time."

"Oh! This person's spiritual sense is actually no less than Old Qi's? No wonder he could break my charm technique so quickly. It was indeed a bit rash just now. I need to be careful next time I meet this person."

The hunchbacked old man known as Old Qi is a cultivator whose cultivation has reached the peak of Golden Core, and not long ago, he also tried to break through to the Nascent Soul stage once. His spiritual sense is far from what ordinary Golden Core cultivators can compare to.

Hearing the hunchbacked old man praise Song Qingming's spiritual sense as no less than his own, although the black-clothed woman had expected it in her heart, a look of surprise still appeared on her face.

"Since it's not an important thing, I think that's it. I've been out for so long today and I'm a bit tired. Let's go back first!"

After the white-clothed woman finished speaking, she turned and left the spot. The hunchbacked old man and the black-clothed woman saw this and didn't say much, and soon followed behind the white-clothed woman.

When the white-clothed woman and the other two were talking just now, they were all using private voice transmissions. The shop owner standing on the side didn't hear what they were discussing.

It was just that when the three left, the white-clothed woman walking in front obviously had a cultivation base not as good as the other two, but the other two took the initiative to follow behind her and always maintained a bit of respect, which made him curious and look at them a few more times.

After buying those formation discs, Song Qingming, who was still worried that those people might be watching him, no longer had the heart to continue strolling and hurriedly returned to the tent where he lived.

When buying the formation discs just now, Song Qingming also saw that the background of the three people was not small, and they didn't look like ordinary rogue cultivators from outside.

Especially the hunchbacked old man, whose cultivation had reached the peak of Golden Core, and his strength was something even Song Qingming couldn't see through. If it weren't for the fact that this formation disc was important to him, Song Qingming wouldn't want to cause more trouble and provoke them.

However, fortunately, fighting is forbidden on this "Wind Thunder Island," so Song Qingming was not worried that they would come to his door to make things difficult for him for a while.

It's just that he was afraid that these people had already targeted him. When he enters the secret realm, if Song Qingming is unlucky enough to bump into them, it might bring him some trouble.

However, since this was the case, Song Qingming didn't regret his decision about what happened just now.

After returning to his residence, Song Qingming took out one of the formation discs he had just bought.

After looking at it carefully for a while, Song Qingming's magic power moved, and a burst of elixir fire instantly emerged to start melting the formation disc in front of him.

Although there is no elixir fire specially used for refining tools to help, the quality of the formation disc in Song Qingming's hand is only second-tier high-grade. Song Qingming can also melt it directly with his own elixir fire.

Spending a whole day, after the continuous quenching of his life-bound elixir fire, Song Qingming finally successfully melted the formation disc in his hand into a flowing liquid.

Then Song Qingming cast a spell to search inside, and soon he found a white crystal block that had shrunk into a ball.

Feeling a special icy cold air coming from the white crystal block, a hint of joy appeared on Song Qingming's face.

"Sure enough, I didn't see it wrong. There really are high-tier mysterious crystals inside!"

Song Qingming spent thousands of spirit stones to buy these formation discs before, not because he really wanted to study these formation discs as he said.

The thing that interested him was actually the white mysterious crystals hidden inside the formation discs, and their value was much higher than the original formation discs.

This white mysterious crystal is a rare refining material in the cultivation world, born only in the deep sea, so it is very rare.

The reason why it was refined into this formation disc was mostly because the refiner's cultivation was low and he didn't know the origin of this item.

Song Qingming could see the difference in this formation disc because he had seen this white mysterious crystal in a classic book before, and he happened to be a high-tier formation master, so his understanding of formation discs was much stronger than ordinary cultivators.

At that time, the black-clothed woman suddenly wanted to take a formation disc from Song Qingming's hand, actually because of this reason, but Song Qingming was lucky enough to discover the secret inside the formation disc a step ahead of her.

After melting out the white mysterious crystal, Song Qingming immediately took out two middle-grade spirit stones from his body and began to restore his own magic power.

Because of the help of the residual map, Song Qingming only spent half a stick of incense to restore his magic power to a full state.

Immediately after, Song Qingming cast a spell to summon his life-bound magic treasure "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" and began to integrate the white mysterious crystal into the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror."

Although Song Qingming did not specialize in refining tools and is only a second-tier low-grade refiner until now, melting materials to upgrade life-bound magic treasures is not very difficult for him.

After spending nearly three days, Song Qingming finally refined all the white mysterious crystals into his life-bound magic treasure. At this time, a layer of faint white light appeared on the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror."

In order to test the effect of the white mysterious crystal, Song Qingming directly summoned the "Ice Fire Flood Dragon" and commanded it to spit a fierce flame at the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" in front of him.

The "Ice Fire Flood Dragon" is already a late-stage Foundation Establishment demon beast, and its fighting ability is not much different from those peak Foundation Establishment demon beasts. The flame it spits is not something that ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators can face directly.

But this time, before the flames could get close, a burst of cold air emerged in front of the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," freezing the flames in front of him directly in mid-air.

"It was not in vain for me to work so hard for so long."

Seeing the power displayed by the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" in the face of the flames, which was no worse than ordinary ice-attribute magic treasures, Song Qingming, who had been continuously melting magic treasures for days without stopping, finally showed a look of satisfaction on his face.

The life-bound magic treasure has been successfully refined with white mysterious crystals. If he encounters opponents who practice fire-attribute cultivation techniques in the future, he can be considered to have some restraint means.

After whispering to himself, Song Qingming put away the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" in front of him, then took out a sound transmission talisman and sent it out.

Not long after, a few figures walked into the tent, and it was Du Fangling and the other three who hadn't been seen for days. As soon as they saw Song Qingming, the three hurriedly stepped forward and bowed.

"We haven't seen Senior summon us for the past few days, and we were just about to come and notify Senior. We didn't expect to receive Senior's message at this time. It's really a coincidence."

"I have been in closed-door cultivation and forgot the time. How is the situation outside now? When will the secret realm open? Has the time been set?"

Hearing Song Qingming inquire about the time when the secret realm outside would open, Du Fangling hurriedly explained: "Yesterday, disciples from major sects such as the Tianxu Sect, Shenhuo Sect, Luofeng Valley, and Yujian Gate have all arrived."

"It is estimated that the cultivators of other sects should also have arrived. There are rumors on the island that the secret realm will open in these two days."

"The junior dares to ask, is Senior also going to enter the inner hall to compete for spiritual items this time?"

The ancient secret realm on "Wind Thunder Island" is somewhat similar to the "Taiyue Lake" secret realm that Song Qingming entered back then, and it is also divided into inner and outer layers.

It's just that whether it's the inner hall or the outer hall, it is an open secret here, unlike the "Taiyue Lake" secret realm where ordinary cultivators who enter can basically only search for spiritual items in the outer valley, and only a small number of disciples sent by major sects know of the existence of the inner valley.

Like most secret realms, this ancient secret realm on "Wind Thunder Island" is also extremely dangerous, and cultivators can easily lose their lives inside if they are not careful.

Generally, Foundation Establishment cultivators like Du Fangling can only move in the outer hall, which is slightly safer, after entering the secret realm. If they want to enter the inner hall without a Golden Core cultivator leading them, they will only be throwing their lives away if they go in with their strength.

Du Fangling asking this must be wanting to see if Song Qingming, a Golden Core cultivator, is willing to take them into the inner hall to search for treasures.

After understanding the other party's thoughts, Song Qingming first nodded to admit that he would enter the inner hall, and then explained to them: "I came here this time, indeed wanting to go to the inner hall to take a look. However, I am alone and weak, and I am afraid it will be difficult to compete for spiritual items with those major sect disciples."

"It is not easy for you to reach this step in your cultivation. It is too dangerous to enter the inner hall with me. I think you should not go to the inner hall rashly."

"Of course, this is just my personal opinion for you. You have to decide what to do yourself."

"Coming here this time can be considered a fate with you. I have some cultivation techniques and elixirs here, which are useful for your future cultivation. Take them first! Consider it a reward for your hard work in helping me inquire about news these days."

After Song Qingming finished speaking, he took out a green jade bottle and several volumes of cultivation techniques that can be practiced at the Foundation Establishment stage from his body and handed them to Du Fangling and the other three in front of him.

Seeing that Song Qingming did not want to take them with him, a look of disappointment appeared on Du Fangling's face, but the next moment, seeing the spiritual items taken out by Song Qingming, a hint of spiritual light flashed on the faces of the three.

"Senior's words are very true. It is our presumption. Senior's guidance to us these days is already a great help to us. We dare not accept these spiritual items."

"These little things are of no use to me. You take them, maybe they will be helpful to your future path. It is good to make the best use of everything. Don't be polite with me."

Seeing that Du Fangling and the other three still wanted to be polite with him, Song Qingming did not entangle with them too much, waved his hand to signal them to accept the spiritual items, and then took the initiative to send them out of the tent.

In order to upgrade his life-bound magic treasure before the secret realm opened, Song Qingming had not stopped for a moment for several days, and had been quenching the magic treasure in the tent.

Fortunately, with the help of the residual map, the time he spent quenching the magic treasure was several times shorter than that of ordinary people. Otherwise, Song Qingming would not have been able to refine the white mysterious crystal into the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" so quickly.

After sending away Du Fangling and the other three, Song Qingming also left the tent and walked alone toward the west side of the island.

Looking at the blue sky outside against the sea breeze on the island, Song Qingming felt much more cheerful, sweeping away the hard work of quenching the magic treasure for days.

High-tier cultivator escape lights flashed across the sky from time to time. Just as Du Fangling and the other three said, many cultivators had been added to the island these days, and it was much more lively than before Song Qingming went into closed-door cultivation.

As the ancient secret realm was about to open, every cultivator on "Wind Thunder Island" had a bit more excitement on their faces.

After walking around the island, Song Qingming, who felt that his state had recovered much, had not walked far when a burly man in a red robe at the fifth level of Golden Core took the initiative to walk toward him.

"This fellow Daoist, I am Zhao Tianji. Greetings. Seeing that you have been alone, have you not found a partner to travel with?"

Hearing that the other party wanted to invite him to join, Song Qingming decisively shook his head and cupped his hands: "Thank you for your kindness, fellow Daoist, but I am a rogue cultivator and am used to being alone, and have no intention of traveling with others."

"Haha! Fellow Daoist should be coming to Wind Thunder Island for the first time. Although fighting is forbidden on this island, it is not the case after entering the secret realm."

"If fellow Daoist only searches for spiritual items in the outer hall, it's fine. Once you enter the inner hall, if you are alone and bump into those unreasonable major sect disciples, it will be dangerous."

"I have already agreed with several rogue cultivator fellow Daoists to travel together. Your cultivation is so profound, why not travel with us? Even if we don't find any good things, we can have more protection between each other, and we won't be bullied by those major sect disciples."

Seeing that the other party was still unwilling to give up on him, Song Qingming could only be humble: "Fellow Daoist Zhao doesn't know that I came from the East Sea cultivation world and came to broaden my horizons after hearing that there is a secret realm here."

"I am not familiar with this secret realm and have no intention of taking risks in the inner hall. I really failed your kindness."

Hearing that Song Qingming had no intention of going to the inner hall, Zhao Tianji was very disappointed and nodded with a smile: "Oh! So that's it. Then I was a bit abrupt, please don't blame me! I live in the cave dwelling on the back mountain with several fellow Daoists. If you have any intention of going to the inner hall at any time, you can come to find us."

"Thank you for your kindness!" Song Qingming cupped his hands slightly toward the other party and returned directly to where he lived.

After Song Qingming left, two escape lights suddenly flew from not far away, and soon a man and a woman came to Zhao Tianji's side.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, did he refuse just now?"

A purple-clothed woman among the two saw the disappointment on Zhao Tianji's face and guessed what had just happened, taking the initiative to ask.

Zhao Tianji sighed and nodded: "This person's cultivation is high, but he seems to have no intention of entering the inner hall. Let's find others!"

"I said earlier that he didn't dare to ask for a cave dwelling after getting on the island and has been living in the tent on the west side with those juniors. He must be a timid person."

The purple-clothed woman looked at the direction Song Qingming left, and a look of disdain appeared on her face.

Another white-haired old man standing on the side smiled while stroking his beard:

"Fellow Daoist Li, don't be angry. There should be one or two days left before the secret realm opens. Let's look carefully on the island, and we will always find suitable people to travel with."

"This person's cultivation is so high, it's also possible that he looks down on us, which is why he refused. Next, let's look for people with similar cultivation, and don't target these late-stage Golden Core cultivators."

"Hmph! What about late-stage Golden Core cultivators? If this guy just turns around in the outer hall, it's fine. If he really dares to enter the inner hall alone, he will have a good look then."

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Li is right. Let's not waste time here and hurry to find other fellow Daoists!"

After the three chatted for a while, they turned into escape lights and left the spot together.

It's just that they didn't know that not far from where they were talking, a transparent butterfly lying in the grass and blending with it was quietly watching everything that had just happened.

It wasn't until a long while after the three left that the transparent butterfly spread its wings and flew out of the grass, then followed the direction Song Qingming left, and soon landed on his shoulder as he walked back to his residence.

Song Qingming stretched out a finger, placed it on the "Golden Illusion Butterfly," and used his spiritual sense to explore it. After a while, a smile appeared on his face, and he put away the spiritual insect. —— Two days later at noon, Song Qingming was meditating in the tent when he suddenly heard a commotion outside the tent and hurriedly stood up to check outside.

Song Qingming, who walked out of the tent, saw escape lights flying quickly across the sky, all rushing toward the east side of the island, one by one scrambling and with a bit of excitement on their faces.

"Could it be that the secret realm has already opened?"

Before Song Qingming could ask what happened, Du Fangling and the other three ran over from the side and said loudly to Song Qingming: "Senior Song, someone just notified that the secret realm is about to open. Let's hurry over!"

"Hmm! Wait a moment, I will take you over together!"

Confirming that the ancient secret realm was about to open, Song Qingming immediately nodded with a smile, then returned to the tent to pack up, took out the "Phantom Boat," took Du Fangling and the others, and followed the cultivator team to a beach on the south side of the island.

By the time Song Qingming and the others arrived here, at least a thousand cultivators had gathered on the beach, standing densely together, and many cultivators were rushing from all directions in mid-air.

The crowd on the beach formed a large circle on the outside, and their eyes were focused on a small formation located in the center of the circle.

"Is this the entrance to the secret realm?"