Qingyang Market.
Qin Ming left Juxuan Pavilion and walked slowly on the main street of the market.
On the street, a myriad of cultivators come and go, a constant stream of activity.
But it seems there are more unfamiliar faces in the market than usual now.
Qin Ming is leisurely strolling down the street.
"Fellow Daoist, how about indulging a bit?"
At the entrance of a neighboring hall, a green-robed young female cultivator, dressed scantily, threw him a seductive glance.
Qin Ming paused momentarily, then turned his gaze away expressionlessly and quickly walked away.
"Oh? A righteous gentleman?" the young female cultivator murmured in surprise, her confident demeanor quickly vanishing.
She rolled her eyes in the direction Qin Ming departed and then began to solicit the next passerby.
After Qin Ming left.
A burly man with a whiskered beard walked out from inside the hall, squinting as he asked, "Didn't take the bait?"
"Hmm, just another naive young man, truly boring," the green-robed female cultivator replied, casually rubbing her nails.
The man nodded silently and went back inside.
...
Outside the market.
Qin Ming thought disdainfully:
'Joking, I wouldn't want it even for free.'
'Would I ever want to pay for it from you?'
'Just common cheap allure, fortunately, my Dao Heart is firm...'
...
In the evening.
Qin Ming returned to the slum district.
For dinner, he cooked a pot of Premium Beast Fang Rice and then began cultivating the "Hundred Treasures Glaze Scripture."
Over the past six months.
The amount of Premium Beast Fang Rice he's consumed is truly staggering, if not for his good luck repeatedly triggering the 'Ripening' Entry.
Such a consumption rate, even he could barely sustain the cultivation of the Body Refining Cultivation Technique.
Fellow Daoist Ruan's words of a 'bottomless pit' were indeed truthful.
Ordinary cultivators simply cannot afford such spiritual material expenses.
Qin Ming discovered that the deeper he went into the "Hundred Treasures Glaze Scripture," the spiritual materials needed to increase Qi Blood are multiplying almost geometrically.
Although the cost is pretty high.
Yet this cultivation technique does have its extraordinary points, the effects of the Body Refining cultivation are significantly stronger even in the first three layers compared to ordinary techniques.
The Premium Beast Fang Rice that Qin Ming possesses is still quite sufficient.
Bang bang bang!
Just as Qin Ming finished his cultivation, there was suddenly a rapid knocking at the door.
He frowned.
'Who is in such a hurry?'
Qin Ming got up, stored the Beast Fang Rice, and then went to open the door.
He cautiously looked outside through the crack in the door.
Standing outside was Cai the Ninth.
But at the moment, he was sweating profusely, appearing anxious and flustered.
Qin Ming opened the door and quickly asked, "Lao Jiu, what's happened to you? Why are you so distraught?"
"Something... something big happened!" Cai the Ninth stuttered nervously.
His voice was tinged with a hint of trembling, as if he was afraid of something.
"Fellow Daoist Long... has... has fallen!"
Cai the Ninth uttered with a pale face, stumbling over the words.
Qin Ming's mind blanked instantly...
This news... is truly hard to believe!
"Are you sure? Could it be a mistake?"
"Fellow Daoist Long is a late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator, with divine techniques not comparable to ordinary cultivators, how could he suddenly fall?"
"Did he go to the frontier for clearing?"
With these words, Qin Ming started feeling uncertain inside.
Cai the Ninth hurriedly responded, "With these times, could I be mistaken?"
"Fellow Daoist Long didn't go to the frontier."
"Fellow Daoist Long was killed by a Tribulation Cultivator, the body was just discovered on the nearby riverbank... you'll understand once you come with me to see for yourself."
With Cai the Ninth's shocking news, Qin Ming was also panicking.
Without further delay, the two headed swiftly toward the riverbank.
In less than the time it takes to sip tea.
The two reached the scene of the incident.
Only then did Qin Ming realize that the place where Fellow Daoist Long's body was found was so close to his home, barely a few hundred yards away!
When he and Cai the Ninth arrived, a large group of cultivators residing nearby had already gathered at the riverside.
At this moment, they were all anxious, constantly pointing at the corpse in the river.
Qin Ming forced his way through the crowd and raised his eyes to look.
"It really is Fellow Daoist Long!" Now he had nothing more to say.
Where Qin Ming's eyes fell, Fellow Daoist Long's body was already stripped clean, with all valuables and storage pouch gone without a trace.
Furthermore, all over his body, there were dozens of horrifying blood holes, and both his neck and heart had been pierced by a Magical Artifact.
I reckon, when he died... he didn't even have time to send out a rescue signal...
"Alas, too tragic, I heard it was Fellow Daoist Wang and others who came out to do laundry by the river that discovered Fellow Daoist Long's body."
"Indeed, it had been dead for a while, it should've been stuck under the bridge since last night, just now being washed out to the river."
"Do you think... this was done by a Tribulation Cultivator? But given Fellow Daoist Long's strength, how powerful would that Tribulation Cultivator have to be to silently kill him?"
The people around exchanged glances, an ominous feeling weighing on everyone's hearts.
The atmosphere suddenly became very oppressive.
Not long after.
The patrol team of the Spirit Feather Sect also hurried over.
The leader scattered the crowd of onlookers, peering toward the river, his expression also full of suspicion.
He questioned himself, even if he encountered the murderer who killed Fellow Daoist Long, he would have no chance of survival.
"Could it be a Foundation Establishment stage Tribulation Cultivator at work? But... it doesn't seem like it either?"
The leader of the Spirit Feather Sect stroked his chin in thought, then decisively took out a Communication Talisman to report to the sect, this clearly exceeded his ability range.
Qin Ming returned to his house somewhat dazed.
He never expected danger to be so close.
"It seems the slum district has become unsafe."
"Qingyang Market has Tier Two Arrays for protection, capable of stopping even a Foundation Establishment cultivator."
"I must plan ahead, find a way to relocate inside the market for safer living."
Qin Ming's thoughts surged.
"And in the Spirit Field, hopefully Spirit Feather Sect will intensify patrols."
"Alas, thinking about farming in the future, even that would be nerve-wracking, really numbs oneself..."
"Hopefully, the Tribulation Cultivator, having targeted the late-stage Qi Cultivation fat sheep, won't come after us lowly Spirit Farmers."
"I guess... we aren't appealing enough?"
Fellow Daoist Long's death profoundly shocked Qin Ming.
Even someone as powerful as a late-stage Qi Cultivation cultivator ended up dead.
Qin Ming couldn't help but feel a heightened sense of crisis.
'After killing Fellow Daoist Long, the murderer didn't even bother to deal with the corpse, blatantly discarding it in the river, clearly showing no concern.'
'Rather, it feels like an outright provocation.'
Because over the years, with Fellow Daoist Long, a late-stage Qi Cultivator of considerable righteousness, serving as deterrence in the slum district.
Nearby troublemakers dared not act recklessly.
Now that Fellow Daoist Long is dead, the major issue becomes the guarantee of safety in the area.
Qin Ming took out the Middle-Grade Thunder Arrow Talisman and placed it in his sleeve for a bit of reassurance.
'After reaching the third layer of the "Hundred Treasures Glaze Scripture," the effect of Premium Beast Fang Rice in increasing Qi Blood also started to slow down gradually.'
'I need a better type of Spirit Rice to enhance Qi Blood and accelerate my Body Refining progress.'
'What would happen if Premium Beast Fang Rice quality is raised to a Top-Grade Level?'
'But the [Quality Enhancement] Entry, aside from the first, hasn't appeared for half a year...'
Qin Ming thought at this point, his eyes showing a touch of decisiveness!
Currently, the stored Premium Beast Fang Rice supply is enough for another year.
No more hesitating, going all in!
This time, he plans to apply the last 'Ripening' Entry on those three acres of Yin Condensing Flowers.
Just to gamble on getting a [Quality Enhancement] Entry!