Chapter 70: A Transaction

Qin Ming’s mind went utterly blank.

“What?!”

“All of our companions have fallen?”

“What about Fellow Daoist Lin?”

A storm raged inside Qin Ming’s heart. Among their group, apart from the Feng brothers—who were at the eighth layer of Qi Refinement—the other three had all reached the peak of Qi Refinement. And yet, even with such a lineup, only Feng Yuan had survived.

“Alas, I am ashamed to say that if I hadn’t escaped with Fellow Daoist Lin Zixiao at the very last moment, using his formation to cover our retreat, I likely wouldn’t have made it back at all…” Feng Yuan sighed heavily. “As for Fellow Daoist Lin… When I fled, I saw him beset by several peak Qi Refinement cultivators. I fear his chances were slim.”

As soon as the words left his lips, Feng Yuan’s face flushed a deep red. Dark blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Pain twisted his features as he clutched his chest, gasping for breath.

Qin Ming distinctly saw a shadow of death flicker in Feng Yuan’s eyes.

Alarmed, Qin Ming quickly took out a healing pill, intending to help him swallow it.

“Cough! Cough!” Feng Yuan waved him off. “Fellow Daoist Qin, don’t waste your medicine. My injuries are mortal—my meridians are shattered, my spiritual sea and dantian destroyed. Even the best healing elixirs are powerless now.” He coughed up another mouthful of black blood.

“I know my own condition well enough. I’m a dying man, only clinging to life with the aid of a Gengxue Pill.”

Qin Ming looked at Feng Yuan with complicated feelings. Though their relationship was no more than that of neighbors, the brothers’ forthright nature had always left him with a good impression.

“Ambushed?” Qin Ming frowned. “Didn’t you all go to the ruins seeking a Foundation Establishment opportunity?”

Feng Yuan wiped the blood from his lips and glanced at Qin Ming. “We did, but we only entered the outer perimeter of the ruins. Even so, we managed to obtain a Foundation Establishment treasure—Heavenfire Spiritual Liquid. And there were other gains as well. Yet just as we were preparing to leave, we were ambushed by numerous sect cultivators. Most of them were from the Hundred Flowers Sect and Shennong Gate, with some from the Lingyu Sect and Golden Cloud Valley as well. Everything we found in the ruins was stolen by their hands.”

“All our efforts were for nothing but to serve as their stepping stones.”

“My brother and our companions died at their hands.” Hatred burned in Feng Yuan’s eyes.

Qin Ming was not surprised. These sects had deliberately spread word of the ancient ruins and the Foundation Establishment resources inside, intending to lure rogue cultivators to act as cannon fodder. Even if someone managed to snatch a benefit, escape from the sects’ grasp was impossible.

“Sigh… Fellow Daoist Feng, my condolences,” Qin Ming said, at a loss for how to comfort him.

The two fell silent, the air around them freezing with unspoken sorrow.

After some hesitation, Feng Yuan seemed to steel himself. He looked up, fixing Qin Ming with a serious gaze. “Fellow Daoist Qin, I wish to make a deal with you. Would you be willing to hear me out?”

“Oh? What sort of deal?” Qin Ming was taken aback.

Feng Yuan produced a jade bottle, a dragon-shaped token, and a tattered map from his storage pouch, laying them on the table.

“These are the greatest spoils of our expedition. The jade bottle contains the Foundation Establishment treasure, Heavenfire Spiritual Liquid. I found and secretly kept it myself—even my brother didn’t know. As for the token and map, they were discovered by the five of us together on an ancient corpse in a cave at the edge of the ruins. They are likely crucial for entering the ruins proper.”

As Qin Ming realized the treasure before him was the legendary Heavenfire Spiritual Liquid, his heart pounded wildly, his resolve wavering.

When breaking through to Foundation Establishment, a cultivator who takes Foundation Establishment Pills and supplements them with Heavenfire Spiritual Liquid can increase their chance of success by twenty percent—a significant improvement in such a critical breakthrough.

“These three treasures I am willing to give you, but in exchange, you must agree to two conditions,” Feng Yuan said solemnly.

“First, if you ever achieve Foundation Establishment, help me take vengeance by killing one core disciple from any of those sects.”

“Second, my brother and I have no other kin in the world of cultivators, but there is still a bloodline descendant of ours in the mortal world of Wei Kingdom. If you have the chance and the ability, please look after them.”

Qin Ming’s brows furrowed deeply. Tempted as he was by the Heavenfire Spiritual Liquid, the first condition meant seeking vengeance against those sects—a perilous endeavor.

After a moment’s thought, he declined, “Fellow Daoist Feng, I cannot accept the first condition. I am but a humble spiritual herbalist, lacking the strength to challenge entire sects. As for the second condition, if opportunity allows, I can promise to try. But as for the token and the map, I also cannot accept them.”

He could see at a glance that the dragon-shaped token and the map were hot potatoes—many would be hunting for them. He had no wish to invite trouble or become a target.

Feng Yuan’s face showed disappointment, but he knew Qin Ming’s cautious nature and could not blame him.

After a long, silent struggle, Feng Yuan finally nodded. “Very well. As you say. I only hope you will not go back on your word.”

He put away the token and the map, pushing the bottle of Heavenfire Spiritual Liquid toward Qin Ming.

Qin Ming’s eyes blazed as he picked up the bottle, removed the stopper, and swept it with his spiritual sense. Inside was half a bottle of liquid that flickered like fire, exuding a powerful spiritual aura—truly remarkable.

“It really is Heavenfire Spiritual Liquid!” Qin Ming’s joy was uncontained. He sealed the bottle and silently placed it in his storage pouch.

In truth, he could accept this treasure with a clear conscience—for had he not already slain Jiang Kun, a core disciple of the Lingyu Sect, with his own hands?

Feng Yuan then took out a handwritten letter and a jade token, passing them to Qin Ming with a few last instructions.

With that, their conversation ended.

“Well then, it’s time I took my leave. No need to see me out,” Feng Yuan said, making his farewells and rising.

Qin Ming watched the stagger in his gait, a complicated mix of emotions in his chest—a sense of sorrow for one of his own kind. Once, the Feng brothers had been notable figures in Qingyang Market; now this was their fate.

At the door, Feng Yuan suddenly turned back, forcing a faint, bitter smile. “I know my days are numbered. I’m only leaving to find a quiet place to die. That token and map will be buried with me. If you ever change your mind, you’re welcome to come and retrieve them.”

He quietly told Qin Ming the location.

Then, without another word, Feng Yuan departed from Qingyang Market.

Watching him leave, Qin Ming gave a wry smile. “If you wish to find a resting place for eternity, so be it—but why must you tell me about it?”

…