Immortality Start with Farming - chapter 777 (Patreon)

Chapter 777: Signs of Decline

Time flowed on silently, leaving no trace behind.

In the blink of an eye, more than half a year had passed.

During this period,

the emergence of the Linglong Immortal Mansion secret realm within the Demon Clan Spirit Domain stirred up a tremendous upheaval throughout the Spirit Realm.

According to the latest intelligence brought back by Baili Hui,

Qin Ming learned that the deeper exploration of this immortal mansion secret realm by the Human, Demon, and Devil races had sparked bloody struggles. Even other foreign races of the Spirit Realm had become involved.

Although the first group of cultivators to enter the immortal mansion secret realm was not large, and consisted mainly of late-stage Void Refinement cultivators,

within just half a month,

the casualty rate among those who entered was astonishingly high.

Yet no one outside knew exactly what had happened within.

Even the Demon and Devil races, who had been working together, suffered devastating losses. Very few cultivators emerged alive.

Holding the latest intelligence brought back by Baili Hui, Qin Ming could not help but remark in surprise, “Just as expected. Even late-stage Void Refinement cultivators have fallen inside. It truly seems to be a place of extreme danger.”

“I wonder how the Commander and the others are doing in there.”

“Heh heh! I only managed to obtain intelligence from the outer regions. As for the details inside, this old man has no idea.”

Qin Ming nodded slightly and dismissed him.

As Qin Ming had anticipated, the cultivation world soon launched an unprecedented struggle centered around the Linglong Immortal Mansion secret realm.

Nowadays, one could hear such news everywhere in Celestial Star City.

It was easy to imagine just how tempting the inheritance of a True Immortal was.

No matter where it appeared, countless cultivators would rush toward it without hesitation.

Even someone of the Commander’s status had risked his own life for it.

Qin Ming then took out the Buddhist scripture he had previously exchanged from Ye Kuchan, the Hall Master of the Hall of Heaven’s Mandate, and began reading it.

This item would serve as a crucial credential for attending the Little Mount Sumeru Dharma Assembly.

Qin Ming had also consulted various books and records regarding the Heavenly Brahma Domain and learned that one of the Three Sacred Lands of the Human Race was located there. It was a genuine Buddhist kingdom.

Even among the seventy-two Human Spirit Domains, it ranked among the very best.

When the time came, Qin Ming would be able to experience the customs of a foreign land firsthand.

He also hoped to gain some understanding of Buddhist teachings in advance, lest he arrive there knowing absolutely nothing.

…

On this day,

the Devourer Rat had transformed into a boy in green robes and was holding a storybook, reading with complete fascination.

Its mind and body were utterly immersed in the world within the pages.

Sometimes it clapped and laughed loudly, while at other times it became emotionally stirred,

as though it were personally experiencing the story.

Little Silver Fox and Yue Lingyan were nearby, burning incense and brewing tea. Seeing how absorbed it was, they could not help asking:

“Brother Rat, are human storybooks really that interesting? They’ve gotten you so worked up.”

Hearing this, the Devourer Rat poked half its head out from behind the book and grinned.

“It’s just something to pass the time, but it’s genuinely entertaining. It tells the story of an ordinary mortal with mediocre cultivation talent who relies on his own hard work, with only a little help from fate, diligently farming and cultivating until he ultimately becomes a Dao Ancestor.”

“Come to think of it, he’s actually quite similar to Master.”

“Oh? Really? That does sound interesting. Brother Rat, let me take a look.”

The moment she heard that, Little Silver Fox became interested. Her bright eyes sparkled eagerly.

The Devourer Rat beckoned.

“Come read it together.”

The two immediately pressed their heads together and began reading the storybook, completely immersed in it.

Seeing the two of them like this, Yue Lingyan, dressed in a palace gown, smiled brightly.

She shook her head helplessly.

Just then,

a streak of purple light rapidly approached from outside Little Turtle Peak.

It was none other than Baili Hui returning once again.

After greeting Yue Lingyan,

he hurried straight toward the cave residence to make his report.

Seeing how urgent he appeared, Qin Ming invited him to sit down and catch his breath before speaking.

Instead, Baili Hui immediately produced an intelligence jade slip and handed it over.

“This is the highest-grade intelligence I purchased from Rain-Listening Pavilion. The situation appears rather unfavorable.”

“Oh?”

Qin Ming accepted the jade slip and began examining it.

A while later,

after learning the contents, his expression also became serious.

The intelligence mainly recorded two matters.

The first concerned the internal situation of the Linglong Immortal Mansion secret realm.

To Qin Ming’s surprise,

Rain-Listening Pavilion truly lived up to its reputation as an all-knowing intelligence organization. Even highly classified matters from within the secret realm had been thoroughly uncovered.

It was said that a major upheaval had occurred inside.

Cultivators of the Demon and Devil races had joined forces against the other races, leading to bloody battles.

Several Human Void Refinement cultivators had already fallen.

More importantly,

this information had actually been brought back by the commander of the Star Armor.

He had only been exploring the outer regions when he was besieged by cultivators from the Demon and Devil races, forcing him to withdraw from the immortal mansion secret realm early.

Among the Human cultivators who had entered using Golden Seal Pages, he was the only one who returned alive.

Fortunately, the Commander’s cultivation and strength were formidable.

Otherwise, the entire group would have been wiped out.

The second matter concerned the Ancient Insect Valley in the Redwater Wasteland.

The gray mist that had originally remained motionless inside was now showing signs of continuously expanding outward.

As the poisonous miasma spread, the scale of the insect tide continued to grow more severe, and several powerful new insect swarms had appeared.

The sects throughout the Redwater Wasteland had begun showing clear signs of decline under the pressure of this terrifying insect tide.

Countless cultivators had perished in the jaws of insects.

Even more alarming was the fact that after feeding on cultivators’ blood essence, the insects reproduced at an astonishing rate.

Their numbers had already increased by dozens or even hundreds of times.

Even the dominant Heavenriver Sect had repeatedly sent urgent requests for aid to several neighboring spirit domains.

After reading these two reports, Qin Ming’s brows knitted together.

Based on the information the Devourer Rat had gathered about the changes in the insect valley, combined with the intelligence brought back by Baili Hui, it was not difficult for him to infer that the expansion of the insect valley was undoubtedly connected to the Linglong Immortal Mansion secret realm.

“Could it be that the opening of this immortal mansion secret realm has accelerated the evolution of the insect tide?”

The main issue was that the Redwater Wasteland bordered the Kunlun Domain.

If the insect tide expanded and swept in this direction, then even the remote Eastern Wastelands Mountain Range would become one of its targets.

That would be extremely bad.

After all, there was no Wall of Life tens of thousands of zhang high here like the one protecting Celestial Star City.

“Sigh... I wonder how Silverwing is doing.”

Qin Ming put away the jade slip and decided to personally visit the Commander of the Star Armor in Celestial Star City to gather more detailed information and prepare for future dangers.

He then instructed Baili Hui to continue monitoring the situation outside.

Afterward, he stepped out of the cave residence alone and saw the Devourer Rat, Little Silver Fox, and Yue Lingyan.

Upon seeing Qin Ming emerge, Yue Lingyan rose and greeted him.

“Senior Qin.”

“There’s no need to be so formal, Fellow Daoist Lingyan. Have you grown accustomed to living in the spirit land recently?”

Qin Ming smiled slightly.

“Thanks to Senior Qin’s generosity in taking me in, everything has been well here. My cultivation has also improved somewhat. If there is anything I can help with, please do not hesitate to ask.”

“As long as you’re comfortable here. There’s no need to feel constrained.”

After chatting with Yue Lingyan for a while,

Qin Ming turned toward the Devourer Rat, who was still absorbed in the storybook.

“I’m going to Celestial Star City. Will you two stay behind to guard the spirit land, or come with me?”

“Master is going out? Then we’re coming too.”

The Devourer Rat immediately snapped the book shut and turned to Little Silver Fox.

“Well? I wasn’t lying, was I? This storybook is fantastic, right?”

“We can continue reading another day. Let’s accompany Master on his business first.”

“Mhm.”

Little Silver Fox nodded obediently.

After saying farewell to Yue Lingyan,

Qin Ming stored the two beasts within the Small Spirit Realm and transformed into a streak of azure light, flying toward Celestial Star City.

As space rippled around him, Qin Ming merged into the void and instantly traveled a thousand miles.

However,

while still midway through the journey, his brows suddenly furrowed.

With divine sense comparable to that of a perfected Void Refinement cultivator, Qin Ming detected a powerful figure sneaking along behind him, pursuing him closely.

The moment he recognized who it was,

a nearly imperceptible killing intent flashed through his eyes.

Qin Ming immediately changed direction and flew toward the desolate southern wilderness.

The place was sparsely populated, inhabited only by wild beasts.

After several bursts of acceleration, the azure streak abruptly traversed an immense distance.

At that moment,

the pursuing figure finally revealed himself.

It was none other than the Insect Devil, Yin Lingzi.

“Hm? How did this kid discover me?”

“That shouldn’t be possible.”

“I maintained the distance and concealment perfectly.”

“Heh heh! He runs pretty fast.”

“Looks like he’s carrying quite a few secrets.”

As Yin Lingzi’s sinister eyes shifted,

he stopped hiding altogether and unleashed the full extent of his cultivation.

Riding atop a cloud of blood-colored insects, he sped toward Qin Ming at astonishing speed.

In his view,

no matter how capable Qin Ming might be, the gap between early and late Void Refinement was like two insurmountable chasms.

Without the protection of a sixth-tier top-grade grand array, crushing Qin Ming would be as easy as crushing an ant.

Not long afterward,

the azure streak formed by Qin Ming arrived deep within the southern wilderness.

The endless wasteland stretched beyond sight.

Releasing his divine sense, Qin Ming saw that Yin Lingzi had caught up and, after only a few breaths, blocked his path.

“Fellow Daoist Li, don’t be in such a hurry to leave.”

“I’ve been waiting outside for you for quite some time. You finally decided to leave your home.”

“You truly are a dedicated cultivator.”

Buzz, buzz, buzz—

Dense swarms of blood mosquitoes scattered apart, revealing Yin Lingzi’s gaunt figure.

When the Devourer Rat saw him arrive, it immediately revealed itself behind Qin Ming and cursed loudly while relying on its master’s backing:

“You old fellow really refuse to give up!”

“My master didn’t even bother looking for you, yet you delivered yourself right to our doorstep.”

Then, after desperately recalling some lines from the storybook, it blurted out:

“You’re practically courting death!”

Hearing this, Yin Lingzi’s face instantly darkened.

When had anyone ever dared speak to him like that?

And from a mere fifth-tier rat demon, no less.

But the next moment,

when his sinister gaze landed on the Devourer Rat, excitement suddenly appeared in his expression.

“This rat demon... its bloodline aura seems extraordinarily special...”

Qin Ming remained unmoved.

The last Void Refinement cultivator who had waited for him outside Little Turtle Peak had already become fertilizer for his spirit plants.

“You’ve pursued me so relentlessly. May I ask what business you have with me?”

Qin Ming spoke calmly.

“Hahaha! You already know the answer.”

Yin Lingzi let out a sinister laugh before continuing,

“Of course it’s for the Skyvault Tree.”

“And besides that, I remain quite interested in the opportunity you obtained a hundred years ago within the void insect nest in the insect valley.”

“But you’re a stubborn brat who refused to respect the authority of my sect.”

“Out here, you can’t hide behind the Commander’s name anymore.”

“Heh heh heh!”

“So now I’ll simply take it myself.”

As his words fell,

a wave of spatial fluctuations spread through the heavens and earth.

The spiritual pressure of a late-stage Void Refinement cultivator descended abruptly.

The primordial energy of heaven and earth within a thousand-mile radius instantly stagnated.

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