Chapter Twenty-Two: The Farmer Roams the Wilds, Five Consecutive Triumphs!

Qin Ming concealed his emotions, slowly closing the beast-hide scripture in his hands. A faint smile appeared on his face. He then took out a small brocade pouch from his storage bag. Bowing respectfully to the two patrolling cultivators of the Spirit Feather Sect beside him, he said, "The two of you work hard as patrol officers. This is a token of my appreciation—when passing through the alley, please help keep an extra eye out."

With that, he offered the pouch. The two cultivators exchanged glances as they watched Qin Ming’s gesture. A hint of derision touched their lips. At this moment, Qin Ming was only a few steps away from them, just as he was about to make his move—

"Well, well—what do we have here?"
"Isn't this the paragon of virtue?!"
"What brings you here?"
"You like wild encounters, huh? If only you'd told us sooner—"

A mocking voice rang out. Qin Ming turned to see the speaker: the seductive woman in green from the brothel. Her cultivation was revealed to be at the fourth level of Qi Refining. Beside her stood a burly, bearded man, at the fifth level of Qi Refining, glaring fiercely at Qin Ming.

It was obvious.
These five were a group—cultivators turned bandits.

"This kid is truly gutless."
"I’ve tried luring him out several times, but he wouldn’t budge."
"If we hadn’t risked exposing our patrol officers, we wouldn’t have gotten him."

At this point, the so-called 'Friend Ruan' dropped all pretense, his vicious nature on full display as he licked his lips, eyeing Qin Ming with wicked amusement.
"Hurry and finish him off. Take his belongings and leave—before anything changes," the bearded man rumbled.

"Just this kid?" sneered the Spirit Feather Sect patrol officer at the fifth level of Qi Refining. To him, Qin Ming—a mere third-level Qi Refining spirit farmer—was beneath notice.

The five formed a circle around Qin Ming. Suddenly, Qin Ming struck first! He bent his knees to gather strength and leaped into the air. Reaching for his storage bag, he intended to draw his Azure Spirit Sword, but in the urgency, he pulled out a spirit shovel used for tilling the earth instead.

He had no time to care. Channelling his vital energy into the spirit shovel, the muscles on his forearm bulged like steel cables. Without hesitation, he unleashed his full strength, aiming a fierce blow at the nearest Spirit Feather Sect patrol officer.

The cultivator was surprised by Qin Ming's speed. In the blink of an eye, Qin Ming vanished from sight. No longer daring to underestimate him, the officer quickly performed a hand seal, summoning a blue shimmering shield to envelop himself.

Thunk!
With a single strike, the magic shield shattered like paper.

Shocked, the officer hurriedly produced a golden protective talisman, casting another golden shield around himself.

Thunk!
Another blow.

Qin Ming’s spirit shovel didn’t slow for an instant. The golden talisman lasted less than a breath before it, too, was crushed.

With a swift thrust, Qin Ming closed in on the fifth-level Qi Refining patrol officer, trapping his movements. Trying to retreat, the officer stumbled right into Qin Ming’s shovel, which pierced through his neck—clean through.

A sickening sound; the officer fell backward, clutching his throat, convulsing, legs kicking as life fled him.

The scene unfolded so quickly—just one exchange, and the self-assured Spirit Feather Sect cultivator was instantly killed. The others were caught off guard.

"Not good!"
"He’s a body cultivator! Fall back!"

The other patrol off