Immortality Start with Farming - chapter 779 (Patreon)

Chapter 779: Profound Tortoise Divine Lord, a Fellow Practitioner of the Cautious Path

A few breaths later.

A strange smile appeared on Yin Rong's face. “I didn't expect this fellow's path of cultivation to have been rather full of twists and turns.”

After Qin Ming's Demon Infant Primordial Spirit successfully possessed the body, the heavily damaged body began recovering at a visible rate now that it once again housed a powerful primordial spirit.

After reaching the Void Refinement realm, as long as one's primordial spirit remained intact, one could easily seize a new body and be reborn, rapidly recovering one's cultivation and strength.

Moreover, Qin Ming's Demon Infant Primordial Spirit had cultivated the Giant Spirit Transformation and Kunpeng Transformation body-refining arts, giving him physical strength comparable to a late Void Refinement cultivator.

Simply disguising his aura was trivially easy.

After all, the Myriad Forms Selfless Heavenfiend Liberation Technique specialized in exactly this.

Qin Ming casually flicked his sleeve and beckoned. The enormous magnetic thunder divine mountain rapidly shrank and returned to palm size before being collected by his main primordial spirit.

After finishing all this, his gaze once again fell upon the nearby space.

The vicious late sixth-rank iron-devouring fire-flying ant queen had been frozen into an ice sculpture by the Ice Phoenix's ice-sealing divine power.

The Ice Phoenix, transformed from Lan Bing, was about to kill it when she received a voice transmission.

“Wait. I have another use for this insect.”

Qin Ming stopped her.

The possessed Yin Rong then raised a hand and summoned the frozen giant ant back. Following the insect demon's memories, he used a special secret method to subdue it and store it away.

After all, a large portion of the insect demon's reputation came from his signature insects.

These spirit insects would definitely be useful for moving about in the future.

As for the enormous swarm of blood mosquitoes, more than half had been killed, nearly exterminated by Qin Ming's spirit bee swarm.

Fortunately, about one-third survived.

These high-rank blood mosquitoes were also collected into an insect pouch by Qin Ming's Demon Infant Primordial Spirit.

He even placed the spirit bee swarm on the Demon Infant Primordial Spirit as well, allowing him to impersonate the insect demon even more convincingly.

“I still possess a strand of Yin Rong's soul. Presumably, even if the Heavenly River Sect has a natal soul lamp for him, they won't discover that he has already died.”

“The Demon Infant Primordial Spirit can take his place perfectly.”

Next, Qin Ming cleaned up the battlefield and used divine abilities to erase the surrounding traces.

After confirming nothing had been overlooked, he had Lan Bing carry him away at once.

The commotion from the battle had been far too great. Although it had taken place in the wasteland, nearby high-rank cultivators had likely already been alerted.

The Gold-Armored Star Guards from Celestial Star City would soon dispatch people to investigate.

Not long afterward, Lan Bing carried Qin Ming and “Yin Rong” through a spatial tear and fled into the distance, disappearing in an instant.

Standing on the Ice Phoenix's back, Qin Ming looked at the appearance of the Demon Infant Primordial Spirit beside him and revealed a strange expression.

After possessing Yin Rong, he had obtained quite a bit of information.

A smile appeared on Yin Rong's gaunt face as he pulled out a golden talisman key from his storage pouch.

“I didn't expect this thing to circle around and end up back in my hands.”

Qin Ming had also learned that Ye Kucan and Yin Rong of the Heavenly River Sect had gone to great lengths to obtain the golden talisman key in Insect Valley so they could travel to the demon race's spirit domain and enter the Linglong Immortal Manor secret realm in search of opportunities.

What he had not expected was that after witnessing the remarkable suppressive effect of the Skyvault Tree's heartwood essence on ancient demon insects, Yin Rong's greed had been stirred once again.

That was why he had returned and attempted to ambush Qin Ming.

Instead, ten thousand years of cultivation had gone up in smoke.

Even his body had been seized by Qin Ming's Demon Infant Primordial Spirit.

Qin Ming had deliberately refrained from completely erasing him for his own reasons.

First, Yin Rong held a position of great authority within the Heavenly River Sect. Acting through him would be extremely convenient, and he had access to high-level information from the cultivation world.

Second, Qin Ming planned to send the Demon Infant Primordial Spirit to the demon race's spirit domain to investigate the Linglong Immortal Manor secret realm.

Now that large-scale abnormalities were appearing across the Redwater Wasteland, they were undoubtedly connected to the emergence of the immortal manor secret realm.

At the same time, he could search for Silverwing's whereabouts.

Ever since she advanced to the sixth rank, she had never returned.

A full century had already passed.

If he did not bring her back soon, she might truly become missing.

The cultivation world was ever-changing. Although Qin Ming currently lived comfortably as a local immortal on Little Tortoise Peak, ruling over a spirit domain and enjoying complete freedom, if circumstances changed, he would be able to obtain information early and make timely decisions.

Living quietly beside Celestial Star City's spirit veins did not guarantee safety.

When true calamities descended, hiding alone would not be enough.

One had to prepare ahead of time.

Furthermore, Qin Ming had learned from Yin Rong's memories that even more terrifying unknown monsters existed within Insect Valley.

Soon afterward, the two parted ways before reaching Celestial Star City and went about their own business.

The Demon Infant Primordial Spirit touched his nose and could not help but complain.

“The main body really knows how to enjoy life. Hiding safely inside Little Tortoise Peak.”

“He sends me out to fight and risk my life, dumping all the dirty and exhausting work on me. Now I even have to head into dangerous demon territory to search for a spirit pet...”

Despite the complaints, he still transformed into a crimson insect cloud and flew toward Celestial Star City.

To reach the demon race's spirit domain, he first needed to use a large cross-domain teleportation array to reach the border. After that, he would disguise himself as a demon cultivator and infiltrate the region.

The two proceeded separately.

...

...

Meanwhile,

Qin Ming had already arrived at the Starlight Sacred Hall in Celestial Star City and met Lord Zichen, who had recently returned from the demon domain.

Lord Zichen sat steadily upon a gilded throne, reading through intelligence jade slips.

When he saw Qin Ming arrive, a smile appeared on his thoughtful face. He rose from the throne and personally came forward to greet him.

“Daoist Li, you've come. Please, have a seat.”

“Greetings, Commander-in-Chief,” Qin Ming replied with a cupped-fist salute.

After both were seated and attendants served spirit tea, they began discussing matters.

Qin Ming noticed that the influential figure of Celestial Star City looked considerably more worn and haggard than before. He had likely exhausted himself dealing with the insect tide and the demon race secret realm.

Qin Ming then explained the purpose of his visit and inquired about several matters.

The two enjoyed a close friendship, and with no one else present, there was no need for excessive formality.

Ever since Qin Ming had acted as a peace ambassador of the cultivation world and resolved conflicts among several races, Lord Zichen's attitude toward him had become exceptionally warm.

Most importantly, Qin Ming's Demon Infant Primordial Spirit was also heading to the demon domain to gather intelligence, so the more information he possessed, the better.

Lord Zichen concealed nothing from Qin Ming and shared everything he had personally witnessed.

“The demon and devil races were well prepared.”

“They actually joined forces inside the secret realm to ambush cultivators of other races.”

“And it seems that all the opportunities in the outer regions of the immortal manor have already been thoroughly looted. There was hardly anything valuable left.”

“My trip ended up being a wasted effort as well.”

“Oh? Could it be impossible to hide inside the secret realm?” Qin Ming immediately asked.

After all, anyone qualified to enter the immortal manor secret realm was no ordinary cultivator. Even with the demon and devil races cooperating, the casualties should not have been so severe.

As for the treasures in the outer regions, they had probably already been stripped clean by that demon race traitor from before. Qin Ming had already guessed as much.

Hearing the question, Lord Zichen raised his right arm for Qin Ming to see.

There was a twisted rune mark on his arm identical to the symbol on the golden talisman key.

“Daoist Li may not know this, but once someone enters the Linglong Immortal Manor carrying a golden talisman, a permanent mark is branded onto them. Even I cannot remove it.”

“And as long as people carrying golden talisman keys are within a certain range, they can sense one another through these marks. No concealment divine ability is effective.”

“Therefore, everyone inside the immortal manor secret realm can detect the locations of everyone else.”

“So that's how it is.” Qin Ming nodded in understanding.

“Interestingly enough, I only managed to escape the joint ambush of the demon and devil races because I received assistance from a silver-haired woman.”

At this point, Lord Zichen looked puzzled.

“But I don't know her.”

“Although her cultivation was only at the early Void Refinement stage, her divine abilities and combat strength were astonishing. She was actually able to fight my old enemy Mogulu on equal footing. Even stranger, she seemed unaffected by the golden talisman. No one could detect her existence.”

Hearing this, Qin Ming's heart stirred.

Silverwing had indeed entered the immortal manor secret realm alone. There must be something inside that she desperately needed.

Seeing Qin Ming lost in thought, Lord Zichen immediately asked:

“Daoist Li seems very interested in this matter. Could it be that you wish to investigate it personally?”

“Not at all. I'm merely concerned about the current situation and came to learn more from the Commander-in-Chief. Otherwise, I would never have traded that golden talisman key to you in the first place,” Qin Ming replied with a smile.

Lord Zichen nodded, finding the explanation reasonable.

Afterward, the two continued discussing matters for half a day.

Seeing how busy Lord Zichen was and how many affairs remained awaiting his attention, Qin Ming soon took his leave from the Starlight Sacred Hall.

Before departing, he gifted Lord Zichen a small flask of Void-Heaven Moon-Inviting Wine as thanks for revealing so many details.

This information was immediately shared with Yin Rong, who was being controlled by the Demon Infant Primordial Spirit, saving considerable trouble.

“So the golden talisman keys can actually sense and locate one another.”

After leaving the Starlight Sacred Hall, Qin Ming used the teleportation array there to return to the inner city.

He intended to pay a visit to Venerable Hanya, Qi Xiaoyu, and Fishercloud.

After passing through the bustling main avenue of the northern district, he arrived at a shop situated on a cliff halfway up a mountain.

A sign reading “Gathering Fate Pavilion” hung above the entrance.

A large platform had been carved into the cliff face. From there, one could overlook nearly all of Celestial Star City. The view was excellent.

Qin Ming had not helped much with the establishment. The three of them had managed everything themselves.

“Oh! Senior Li, you've arrived.”

Fishercloud sensed the aura of a major expert outside and personally came out to greet the visitor. To his surprise, it was Qin Ming.

“Please come in!”

Upon hearing the commotion outside, Qi Xiaoyu immediately put down his work and came out as well.

“It looks like the two of you have been quite busy,” Qin Ming said after greeting them and stepping inside.

After looking around, he found that the shop had grown considerably under their management and was flourishing.

However, there were no customers at the moment.

Instead, the interior was piled high with materials for array construction, suggesting they had a large number of orders.

Qi Xiaoyu had been busy refining arrays just moments earlier.

“With Brother Qi's skills, it would be strange if business weren't thriving.”

“By the way, where is Venerable Hanya?”

After looking around, Qin Ming asked.

“Don't even mention it,” Qi Xiaoyu replied with a sigh.

“That old fellow accepted a huge order from a Void Refinement senior. Although they're only fifth-rank arrays, over a hundred are needed, and the craftsmanship differs from ordinary arrays. They're rather complicated. None of the assistants can help, so the two of us have been rushing to finish them.”

“Venerable Hanya left half a month ago to negotiate business at that senior's spirit land. By my calculations, he should be returning soon.”

Fishercloud added, “After taking the order, that old fellow became a hands-off manager. Once he returns, we'll make him work for quite a while.”

“Oh? Venerable Hanya actually knows a Void Refinement cultivator?” Qin Ming asked in surprise.

After all, they had not been in the Spirit Realm very long.

Aside from Qin Ming himself, they should not have had much contact with Void Refinement cultivators.

Thus, Qin Ming casually picked up a completed array disk from the table that Qi Xiaoyu had refined.

His expression grew even more puzzled.

“A fifth-rank low-grade Earth-Rending Array... What does that person need so many of these for...?”

“Heh. That's the customer's private business. We didn't ask,” Qi Xiaoyu replied.

Just then, the teleportation array on the cliff platform flashed, and two figures appeared.

One of them was the youthful Venerable Hanya.

He was respectfully guiding the person beside him.

The other was an exceptionally elegant young cultivator with refined features and flowing robes. His cultivation was at the early Void Refinement stage.

What truly drew everyone's attention, however, was the mount beneath him.

It was a tortoise the size of a millstone.

Qin Ming's gaze also fell upon the Profound Tortoise spirit beast.

On the surface, it appeared only slightly above the middle fifth rank, seemingly possessing some extraordinarily powerful bloodline ability for concealing cultivation and suppressing its aura.

If Qin Ming's soul power were not so strong, even other Void Refinement cultivators would have failed to discern its true depth.

This was actually a mid-sixth-rank Profound Tortoise.

Moreover, the bloodline power within it seemed quite remarkable.

Even the Devourer Rat inside the Small Spirit Realm sensed something the instant the Profound Tortoise appeared.

It immediately called over Xiao Qing and pointed outside at the slowly crawling tortoise.

“Look! A turtle.”

Xiao Qing stared at the Profound Tortoise outside with her large eyes, a thoughtful expression appearing on her face.

Having just returned, Venerable Hanya also noticed Qin Ming's arrival.

His eyes lit up immediately, and he hurried forward with a respectful salute.

“Oh! Senior Li has arrived.”

“As it happens, a distinguished guest is visiting today. Allow this junior to introduce the two of you.”

“Perhaps there will be opportunities for interaction in the future.”

He then introduced the newcomer to Qin Ming.

“This is an esteemed patron of Gathering Fate Pavilion, the Profound Tortoise Divine Lord.”

Turning back, he introduced Qin Ming to the young cultivator seated atop the tortoise shell.

“This is the Moonwatch Divine Lord of Little Tortoise Peak, Senior Li Qianjie, whom I mentioned before.”

“Heh. Both seniors have divine beast mounts and spirit lands whose names contain the character ‘tortoise.’ Meeting here today truly makes you fellow practitioners of the same path.”

“What a remarkable coincidence.”

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