Chapter 103: Repelled and Triumphant

After receiving the message from Wu Jiang, Qin Ming immediately summoned his spiritual light flying shuttle, transforming into a streak of azure light that vanished into the horizon.

The Dragon Scale Island Wu Jiang mentioned wasn’t particularly far from their current location. After flying for over an hour, Qin Ming arrived at the scene—an unnamed small island near Dragon Scale Island.

Four or five Qi-cultivators were surrounding Wu Jiang and two others, their faces filled with mockery. The leader among them was a middle-aged cultivator from the Yu family of the Azure Green Island, in the late Qi Refining stage. His cheekbones jutted sharply, his figure thin, and his eyes sinister as he stared at Wu Jiang and sneered, “You brat always like to show off, don’t you? Fine! You three, come in first!”

Wu Jiang glanced nervously at a nearby cave entrance on the small island and swallowed hard. “Yu Pinghai, don’t act recklessly! We’ve already sent a message for backup.”

Yu Pinghai of the Azure Green Island sneered darkly, “What’s the use of saying that now? I’ve been crouching here for over ten days, finally setting up a trap to lure that giant wild beast out of its den. If it weren’t for you reckless brats disturbing things, it wouldn’t have been startled back to its lair prematurely and caused this mess.”

Wu Jiang’s expression turned grim. If he hadn’t learned from another friend that a rare spiritual herb called the Stone Milk Spirit Lotus grew inside that cave, he wouldn’t have dared to enter recklessly. The aura emitted by that giant wild beast was clearly late first-stage, and the three of them, only mid-Qi Refining cultivators, would have died without a doubt if they ventured inside. Moreover, the cave’s interior was unknown; what if there was more than one beast?

Wu Jiang was anxious, trapped and surrounded by the Azure Green Island cultivators, caught between a rock and a hard place.

“Hmph! Do you want me to personally send you all in?” Yu Pinghai’s patience seemed to wear thin. He nodded to his companions to attack.

Wu Jiang and his friends’ faces changed drastically.

At that moment, a streak of azure light shot from afar and landed swiftly beside them. A plain-looking young cultivator appeared.

“Daoist Wu, sorry for the slight delay,” Qin Ming said calmly as he landed beside Wu Jiang. He glanced at Yu Pinghai and his group with utter indifference.

“Daoist Qin! Not late at all! You’ve come just in time!” Wu Jiang’s face brightened with joy, his worries finally eased. The situation had indeed been perilous just moments ago.

The Azure Green Island cultivators retracted their attacks, revealing cautious expressions. Yu Pinghai’s face turned extremely sour when he recognized Qin Ming.

“How could it be him?”

Back when the ownership of Moon Gazing Island was contested, Yu Pinghai had also witnessed Qin Ming’s formidable strength firsthand. Even a powerful Qi Refining stage perfect cultivator like Zhao Chanzhen chose to surrender.

Such power left Yu Pinghai with no confidence to fight Qin Ming.

Taking a few steps back, Yu Pinghai hesitated before asking, “Does Daoist Qin intend to meddle in this matter as well?”

Qin Ming’s voice was flat and indifferent: “You have five breaths to leave, or you’ll be the next one to go in and scout.”

Yu Pinghai’s expression darkened as if a vat of soy sauce had been spilled, turning liver-colored. After a brief hesitation, he gritted his teeth and spat out one word: “Leave!”

Without daring to look back, he quickly retreated with his clan.

Halfway through, one of Yu’s people muttered resentfully, “Are we really just going to leave like this? We have five of us, but that brat…”

“Shut up!” Yu Pinghai snapped. “Where do you get your confidence? Even Lord Zhao chose to avoid confrontation. How could we possibly take him on? Or are you just thick-headed and want to test how strong his Shadow Thunder is?”

He scolded the man, then added, “Let him have his fun for a while. Once the Zhao family delivers the Foundation Establishment Pills and our clan leader breaks through to the Foundation Establishment stage, we’ll come back for today’s shame!”

“I’ve heard that brat only has false spiritual roots of the four elements and is almost doomed to never establish a foundation,” someone said. “Even if the spiritual plants are top-notch, so what? Nowadays, cultivation breakthroughs mostly rely on pills. Although his spell techniques are sharp, that’s only temporary.”

The clan members fell silent, following Yu Pinghai as they hastened away.

Meanwhile, on the unnamed island, Wu Jiang said to Qin Ming, “Daoist Qin, the Stone Milk Spirit Lotus you gathered is inside, but the beast has returned to its lair. It might be difficult to retrieve them now.”

Wu Jiang then introduced his two friends to Qin Ming. They had witnessed how a single word from Qin Ming had driven away five Azure Green Island cultivators and greeted him respectfully.

“No matter. I’ll go in and have a look. You wait outside,” Qin Ming instructed, then leapt toward the cave entrance.

Wu Jiang and his friends were stunned. “Daoist Qin, do you think it will be safe? There’s a late first-stage beast inside!”

“Uh… given Daoist Qin’s strength, it should be fine,” one replied hesitantly.

---

Inside the cave, Qin Ming spread his divine sense as he walked, observing the terrain. He discovered it was a natural karst cave. The deeper he went, the more spacious it became.

After advancing several hundred feet, he stopped. His divine sense detected a late first-stage giant python coiled at the bottom of the cave, over ten yards long.

Beside the python lay the skeleton of a giant crocodile beast, and not far off, a nest of crocodile eggs. The python was feeding on these eggs, clearly having taken over the den.

After confirming no other dangers lurked within, Qin Ming narrowed his eyes and leapt downward.

The python sensed an intruder, flicking its long tongue as it charged at Qin Ming, spraying a stream of acidic liquid.

Qin Ming stepped lightly aside, dodging the attack with ease. Seizing the moment, he flicked his finger, releasing a needle of innate fierce qi that pierced the python’s vital spot.

The python let out a mournful cry and collapsed.

To the cultivators outside, this terrifying late-stage beast was dispatched in just a few moves with barely any effort.

Qin Ming then skinned the python carefully, storing the hide—an excellent material for forging.

A thorough inspection revealed the python contained no demon core. Such a massive carcass was too large to carry, so Qin Ming decided to leave it for Wu Jiang to handle later.

His gaze then shifted to a pool at the cave’s center. Within it bloomed four or five pure white spirit lotuses, as flawless as jade.

These were the rare auxiliary ingredients for refining Foundation Establishment Pills—the Stone Milk Spirit Lotus.

Qin Ming’s expression brightened. He carefully harvested them, roots and all, placing them in a specially prepared container for preservation.

Having secured the spirit herbs, Qin Ming was about to send a message to call the others inside when his eyes caught sight of the nest—some eggs left uneaten by the python.

Among them lay a single gray giant egg, quietly resting, miraculously untouched.

Curious, Qin Ming examined it carefully with his divine sense.

What he discovered astounded him, a wild joy spreading across his face.

“A mutant bloodline!”