Hua Tianxiong, feeling awkward, explained, "Master, you may not know, but those three demonic cultivators were truly terrifying. If not for Elder Qian arriving at the last moment to suppress them, the outcome might have been unpredictable..."
"Being able to completely eradicate the demonic cultivators within the Five Elements Mountain Market is already an impressive achievement."
"Hmm, thatâs true. A true disciple of the Blood Refining Demon Sect, an average Golden Core wouldnât be its match; being able to kill one is already commendable." Qin Ming nodded.
"Elder Qian of the Lihuo Palace truly has some skills."
Hua Tianxiong smiled and said, "Elder Qian is one of the top ten renowned Golden Core cultivators in the Great Jin."
He reached the Golden Core Perfection Realm over a hundred years ago and possesses several core true inheritance divine secret techniques of the Lihuo Palace, with rare defeats."
"Of course, no matter how formidable Elder Qian is, he canât surpass you, Master, hehe."
Hua Tianxiong timely praised.
He had witnessed firsthand the shocking scene where Qin Ming used a Treasure Mirror to instantly kill Wen Yuliang, a Nascent Soul Seed of Divine Dao Mountain.
At that time, Wen Yuqing used a Blast Talisman to stimulate his potential, forcibly elevating his cultivation temporarily to the Fake Infant level.
Even so, he couldnât escape his destined fall.
In his eyes, although Elder Qian was extraordinary, he was far from matching Qin Ming before him.
"Oh, by the way, I was credited with a great merit for delivering intelligence this time, and the Guardian Dao Alliance rewarded me with treasures."
"I conveniently chose the spiritual materials on your list; theyâre all here."
With that, Hua Tianxiong quickly took out a small storage pouch and respectfully handed it to Qin Ming.
Qin Ming received the storage pouch, opened it, and glanced casually.
He found that most of the spiritual materials inside were Tier Three High-Grade auxiliary materials for refining the Nascent Condensation Pill and Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill, totaling dozens of kinds.
With this, all the auxiliary materials for refining the Ice Heart Jade Soul Pill were gathered, and only a few were missing for the Nascent Condensation Pill.
However, the last few auxiliary materials were exceedingly rare, requiring some effort to find even within the Great Jin.
Qin Ming put away the items, feeling quite pleased, and said, "Hmm, youâve done well."
"All thanks to your guidance, Master!" Hua Tianxiong joyously replied.
"Alright, continue to stay hidden and report any news to me promptly."
"Yes!"
...
On the other side.
In a dark cave within the mountain ranges of the Great Jin Southern Domain.
Two members of the Blood Refining Demon Sect were tending to their injuries.
"Damn it, donât let me find out who did this!"
The Meng cultivator wore an extremely gloomy expression, with a fist-sized wound on his shoulder.
He then casually tossed aside the unfortunate cultivator heâd captured from somewhere, whose body instantly withered.
After devouring this blood meal, the wounds on his body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"Brother Qiu, how were our movements exposed?"
"Could someone within the sect have betrayed us?"
The rough-looking young man, although not seriously injured, spoke in a cold tone:
"Impossible, doing so holds no benefits for them."
Junior Brother Meng further questioned:
"Then why were we discovered despite having the sect-given Mirage Pearl disguise?"
"And we didnât encounter any formidable figures along the way, either?"
"Besides a Nascent Soul cultivator, who could see through it?"
The demonic cultivator named Qiu replied, "I donât know; it seems I underestimated this group of ants in the Human Realm. Letâs discuss this matter at length."
"We canât stay in Five Elements Mountain for now; itâs already become a target."
"Moreover, it seems that the Cold Crow Ascendant has been alerted, and wonât appear for a while."
"Brother Qiu, what should we do?"
"Lay low for a while and wait for other fellow members to make a move."
"After all, the Secret Realm of the Cyan Origin Sect canât be opened anytime soon."
"During this period, focus on healing your injuries."
...
In the ensuing period.
The news of slaying demonic paths in the Five Elements Mountain Market spread widely across Great Jin.
And it was none other than the true disciples of the Blood Refining Demon Sect who were killed.
This was a heavy loss for the Great Li Demon Dao.
Evidently, the strength of the Great Jin Cultivation Realm surpassed the Great Zhouâs.
Additionally, there was another crucial reason.
The Divine Dao Mountain and Yin Demon Sect were also very worried that the Cyan Origin Sectâs Secret Realm matter would get exposed. If that happened, it wouldnât just be Great Jin Cultivation Realm.
All sorts of rogue cultivators and other entities would set their sights on the Five Elements Mountain Range, something they didnât want to see.
Qin Ming also didnât wish to reveal this; if war broke out within Great Jin, heâd have to run away again.
The current situation was perfect for him.
At the very least, it wasnât too late to harvest the Spirit Plants in his Spirit Field, and the most crucial spiritual material collection was only a few items away from completion.
On this day.
Qin Ming was tending to Spirit Plants in the Spirit Field of the Five Elements Mountain.
He suddenly noticed a slight disturbance in the Spiritual Qi within the Little Spirit Realm.
The Heaven-Devouring Rat ran over with an excited expression and said:
"Mas...Master, I feel that the Demon Essence within me has reached a critical point and is about to break through!"
This surprised Qin Ming, as he hadnât expected the Heaven-Devouring Rat to be on the verge of a breakthrough.
It made sense, though, since it had consumed numerous Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and was enjoying the Top-Grade Spiritual Vein environment within the Little Spirit Realm with his pills.
Reaching this point was only a matter of time.
However, with so many rare Spirit Plants in the Little Spirit Realm, the Heaven-Devouring Rat couldnât undergo the Demon Beast Thunder Tribulation here.
The Thunder Tribulation for a Tier Three Mid-Stage Demon King breaking through to the Late-stage was even more terrifying than before.
Even a slight wave could destroy Qin Mingâs herb garden.