Chapter 84: Have You Ever Seen Golden Rain?

"This is at least a second-tier spirit fire!"

Qin Ming quickly sealed the jade bottle, delightedly placing it into his storage pouch.

He then brought the beast hide close to the remaining light shields, testing each one in turn, but none of them responded.

Suddenly,

Qin Ming sensed someone approaching the spirit herb garden.

He hurriedly took out the beast hide map, fixed it in midair as he had done when entering, and channeled his power, pointing at it.

A twisted passage appeared, and Qin Ming darted inside. After a moment of dizziness, the passage vanished.

The moment Qin Ming left, a shadowy figure descended into the spirit herb garden—it was none other than the demonic cultivator Lin Zixiao.

He frowned, surveying the garden, then walked over to the two now-empty stone pedestals.

"Could someone have beaten me to it?"

"Impossible. No one could be faster than me."

Perplexed, Lin Zixiao unleashed a blade of black energy at one of the light shields.

Yet, there was not even the slightest reaction.

"Hmm?"

"What sort of restriction is this?"

"Interesting."

He raised his hand, sending out an array of formation flags that enveloped all the light shields, beginning to unravel the restrictions.

...

Outside the waterfall,

The air twisted, and Qin Ming's figure was transported out once again.

His harvest had been substantial, and he was inwardly thrilled.

He didn’t linger, but summoned his flying shuttle of spiritual light and headed toward Yunmeng Mountain.

On the way, he repeatedly encountered cultivators from the seven great factions hunting down members of the Spirit Feather Sect.

He had to slow down, carefully avoiding them.

After a day,

Qin Ming was hiding behind a mountain hollow, taking a rest.

He swallowed a pill to restore his power, then cautiously swept his divine sense around to check for danger.

Once he was sure it was safe,

He prepared to summon his flying shuttle and depart.

But just then—

Whoosh, whoosh!

Two powerful cultivators streaked through the sky, landing precisely several hundred yards from him.

Qin Ming's heart tightened, cursing his luck.

He hurriedly concealed himself and suppressed his presence.

When he saw who had arrived, he was stunned.

One was the tall, black-robed Lin Zixiao.

The other Foundation Establishment cultivator was, to his astonishment, Elder Gu from the Spirit Feather Sect!

Qin Ming's mind raced, not daring to act rashly.

"Why did you reveal that matter so openly?"

"The Spirit Feather Sect is already in grave danger—I fear I can’t stay here any longer."

"And I have no idea which bastard has been impersonating me and openly provoking war. Now all blame falls on me."

"It infuriates me!"

Elder Gu’s face was frosty, his situation now one of universal condemnation.

"You succeeded in establishing your foundation with the Foundation Establishment Pill. Is it not natural to pay a price?"

"Besides, you should know: ever since you killed that man named Long in the shantytown, you can’t get off this ship."

Lin Zixiao spoke with icy coldness.

At this, Qin Ming felt a moment of clarity. So Fellow Daoist Long’s death was linked to Elder Gu.

"I have fulfilled every promise to you. From now on, we owe each other nothing," Elder Gu said firmly.

Lin Zixiao sneered, "You were the one who sought me out in the first place. Now you want to quit? Isn’t it a bit late?"

"What do you mean by that?" Elder Gu asked angrily.

At that moment,

Lin Zixiao’s eyes narrowed. He channeled his power, snorting coldly. "Friend in the shadows, you’ve heard enough. Isn’t it time you showed yourself?"

Qin Ming was alarmed and was about to flee.

But—

From behind a distant boulder emerged an old man in green robes, gaunt-faced. He laughed awkwardly at Lin Zixiao. "Heh heh, it’s me. Quite the coincidence."

"What are you doing here?" Lin Zixiao asked coolly.

The green-robed elder chuckled, glancing at Elder Gu. "Just pursuing members of the Spirit Feather Sect under orders, so I followed."

Elder Gu’s face darkened. Judging by his attire, this was a Foundation Establishment elder from Shennong Sect. He asked Lin Zixiao, "Care to explain?"

"One of us," Lin Zixiao replied succinctly.

Qin Ming hadn’t expected an inside man had infiltrated Shennong Sect as well. The three were clearly birds of a feather.

The group conversed for a while, apparently reaching some kind of agreement.

Afterwards, they each left in a different direction.

Qin Ming finally let out a long breath.

"At least I wasn’t discovered."

He hadn’t expected to stumble upon such a secret.

It seemed the seven great factions had long been infiltrated by demonic cultivators—they were far from united.

However,

Just as Qin Ming was about to summon his flying shuttle and leave,

Suddenly!

A powerful surge of blood and energy around him triggered a violent reaction.

He distinctly sensed three murderous auras locking onto him.

Every hair on Qin Ming’s body stood on end. Without hesitation, he surged his power and sped away on the shuttle.

Whoosh!

Behind him, Lin Zixiao, Elder Gu, and the green-robed elder—three mighty Foundation Establishment cultivators—gave relentless chase.

"Be careful."

"Don’t underestimate Fellow Qin. He must have something extraordinary on him. Watch out for any surprises," Lin Zixiao warned as he pursued, sending a message.

Elder Gu scoffed, "No need to be overly cautious. That boy only has a few Yin Thunder Seeds. I’ve already experienced them once. As long as we’re careful, it’s no trouble."

Lin Zixiao nodded, but immediately activated a treasure that could divine good or ill.

Yet the result he received left him deeply shocked.

"Something’s not right! Fellow Qin is hiding something—be on guard."

Elder Gu and the green-robed elder, hearing Lin Zixiao’s grave tone, instinctively raised their vigilance.

After all, they knew Lin Zixiao’s strength perfectly well.

Over the skies near Qingyang Market,

A streak of azure light raced forward, with three more lights quickly closing the distance.

In Lin Zixiao’s pale hand appeared a pitch-black oil lamp.

He formed a seal and pointed at it—the lamp belched forth thick black smoke, which wove itself into a giant net.

The net exuded a soul-seducing aura, sweeping toward Qin Ming.

Startled, Qin Ming didn’t hesitate any longer. He hurled two Yin Thunder Seeds at the black net.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A series of earth-shattering explosions erupted behind him.

Qin Ming expended two Yin Thunder Seeds, barely fending off Lin Zixiao’s sinister trick.

A massive hole was blown in the black net. Elder Gu and the green-robed elder burst out of the smoke, looking battered.

"Damn it!"

"How can that brat have so many Yin Thunder Seeds?!"

Elder Gu’s face was grim, his gaze fixed on Qin Ming. He formed a sword seal, and a crimson magic sword appeared before him, transforming into a rainbow arc that shot toward Qin Ming.

Qin Ming glanced back, his eyes cold. A blue magic sword appeared in his hand as he formed a sword seal and pointed behind him.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

In an instant,

Several dazzling blue sword lights exploded forth, slashing backward!

Clang!

It was the very Azure Nether Sword Art Qin Ming had painstakingly practiced for three years.

The sword lights he unleashed met and blocked Elder Gu’s attack head-on.

"Azure Nether Sword! You killed Elder Jiang’s son?" Elder Gu looked on in disbelief.

His words had barely fallen when the three pursuers realized Qin Ming had stopped a short distance ahead.

"Hahaha, why aren’t you running?" The green-robed elder sneered.

"Have you picked out a burial place for yourself?"

Elder Gu wore a mocking smile, but inwardly he was wary. He could no longer see through his opponent—how could someone in the late Qi Refining stage block his spell directly?

Was this really the timid spirit farmer he’d once known?

At this point, even if someone claimed this youth’s body had been seized by a Foundation Establishment monster, he would have believed it.

"Elder Gu is correct," Qin Ming said with a faint smile. "However, the burial plot is for the three of you."

"Have you ever seen golden rain?"

"What?" The three were taken aback.

With that,

A purple leaf appeared in Qin Ming’s palm—the product of the [Spell Replication] trait.

The spell replicated on it was the most powerful strike of Huanfu Qi, one of the top ten Foundation Establishment experts in Wei.

Qin Ming lightly tapped the purple leaf, sending it toward the trio.

"This is..."

Lin Zixiao, Elder Gu, and the green-robed elder all felt an overwhelming sense of dread.

The next instant, their vision blurred.

The three were instantly engulfed by a vast golden ocean.

Crack! Boom!

Elder Gu’s eyes filled with shock and fear, his consciousness plunging into endless darkness.

The green-robed elder of Shennong Sect, eyes glazed, could not believe what was happening. A loud buzzing filled his ears, and he too fell into the abyss.

In a flash,

A range hundreds of yards wide was shrouded in a golden thunderstorm, lightning roaring with terrifying might!

A colossal golden sword of lightning descended from the clouds, annihilating every living thing below.

"Divine Sword Lightning Summoning—worthy of being the ultimate strike!"

Qin Ming gazed calmly ahead, a surge of heroic pride welling in his heart.