"Could it be that the Tier Five Spirit Rice has ripened? Then it’s no wonder he broke through to Late-stage Nascent Soul..."

"With resources like that to support him, it really makes one envious! If I’d known, I wouldn’t have studied Arrays—I’d have focused on Spirit Plants instead..."

"From now on, Fellow Daoist Lii’s Immortal Path can truly be said to be boundless..."

As for Nine Profound Ascendant, he was also alarmed by this phenomenon, and his expression grew extremely complicated as he gazed at the scene in the sky.

A few days later.

The news that within Qianji City yet another person had advanced to Tier Five Spirit Plant Master, and at the same time broken through to Late-stage Nascent Soul, spread throughout the city, stirring up no small commotion.

On top of that, because Qin Ming was a Loose Cultivator, his name gradually spread among the many cultivators who had come to the Thousand Mechanism Poison Swamp to seek fortune.

However, after they learned that this Elder Lii who had broken through atop Black Obsidian Peak was in fact a genuine Demonic Cultivator, many of those with restless minds all respectfully kept their distance...

Demonic Cultivators are all moody and unpredictable; if something went wrong and they used them as fertilizer for their Spirit Fields, that would be disastrous.

Afterwards.

Qin Ming held a small-scale celebration on Black Obsidian Peak, only inviting those few "cheap" neighbors of his...

Master Yaochen and the others all offered their congratulations in turn, and their attitude toward him vaguely gained a few more degrees of politeness and respect.

After all, in the Cultivation Realm, power is everything and the weak are prey to the strong; a Late-stage Nascent Soul was already a mighty existence.

After Qin Ming revealed a bit of his strength, the cultivators who had been eyeing the area near Black Obsidian Peak instantly vanished without a trace, quieting down considerably.

Just like that, he returned to his peaceful days of quietly farming.

And in the meantime, he looked for a method to refine the Thunder Magnetic Divine Mountain.

...

Time flew by.

Thirty years passed.

Qin Ming lived a reclusive life in Qianji City, diligently farming while cultivating the remaining few types of Five Elements Technique.

And over these past years, within the Red Flame Wilderness, ever since the Netherworld Sect dug up a Tier Six Nether Crystal Stone last time, no cultivator had managed to excavate anything good again.

Instead, they provoked the backlash of the Great Demons entrenched deep within the Red Flame Wilderness—among them, quite a few Tier Five Demon Venerables.

This caused the last few batches of cultivators who went to seek fortune to suffer disastrous casualties.

Thus both the Netherworld Sect and the Netherworld Sect tacitly understood one another and summoned their disciples back out of the Red Flame Wilderness.

As large numbers of cultivators withdrew from the front lines, countless cultivators from all walks of life suddenly poured into Qianji City.

All sorts of large and small forces, as well as Loose Cultivators, gathered there—a motley crowd impossible to distinguish.

This made the Cultivation City standing above the Thousand Mechanism Poison Swamp more bustling and prosperous than ever before.

On Black Obsidian Peak.

Qin Ming walked out of his Cave Mansion with a calm expression, gazing into the distance at the Immortal City at the foot of the mountains.

Baili Hui stood behind him with extreme respect; he had narrowly managed to bring back a life from the Red Flame Wilderness.

After returning to Qianji City, he continued to run errands and do work for Qin Ming, and swore that he would never again rashly go out scrambling for opportunities.

He had only just managed to cultivate back to the Golden Core Stage; he had nearly let a hundred years of bitter cultivation go to waste once more.

"This Immortal City may seem endlessly bustling and prosperous now, but in truth it’s surging with undercurrents..." Qin Ming said softly.

Baili Hui had once been a High-Tier Cultivator himself, so he naturally possessed vision and insight. He adjusted the melon-cap on his head and then said, "Elder Lii is quite right. With such a massive influx of cultivators, something is bound to happen sooner or later!"

"The Netherworld Sect simply can’t manage all of this; fortunately the Loose Alliance has taken in a large portion of the cultivators, otherwise Qianji City truly wouldn’t be able to hold them."

Hearing this, Qin Ming nodded slightly, but what he was worried about was not this.

Back when the Heaven-Devouring Rat and Lan Bing Fairy went to the Red Flame Wilderness, they had once overheard Venerable Nether Bone of the Netherworld Sect speaking.

The ambitions of the Netherworld Sect were immense; they didn’t even spare a glance at a mere Thousand Mechanism Poison Swamp.

Nor would they place the Loose Alliance and Loose Cultivators in their eyes; the only thing they might have any scruples about was that Overlord-level Sect, the Netherworld Sect.

’I wonder... after all these decades, has the Tribulation-defying Treasure that the Netherworld Ancestor was secretly scheming for succeeded or not?’

’If that person really succeeds, he’ll probably give the Netherworld Sect quite a "big surprise."’

’When that time comes, not only the Thousand Mechanism Poison Swamp, but the entire Demon Ancient Wasteland will face a reshuffling.’

Qin Ming said to Baili Hui, "Keep gathering information. Pay more attention to those unfamiliar cultivators entering Qianji City."

"Yes!" Baili Hui agreed, then took his leave to see to the task.

...

A few more months later.

On this particular day.

Qin Ming had just come out of the shantytown district of the Immortal City, where he had given Baili Hui some instructions.

Mainly, he had asked him to help keep an eye out for several types of Heaven and Earth Spiritual Objects, which he could use later for Alchemy and farming.

But in the very next moment.

Suddenly!

Just as he was preparing to make his way back through the intricate maze of alleyways—

Qin Ming’s brows furrowed. With perception comparable to Late-stage Divinity Transformation, he abruptly sensed that tens of thousands of cultivators, concealed under the cover of Nether Mist, were quietly rushing toward the direction of Qianji City from a thousand miles away.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Before the people themselves arrived, hundreds of Celestial Patrol Battleships suddenly appeared suspended in midair, their pitch-black Spiritual Energy Giant Cannons fully activating. Beams of dazzling light emanating an aura of destruction crossed the void in an instant, falling down toward Qianji City.

Buzz!!

The Tier Five High-Grade Protective Array of Qianji City, under attack, reflexively activated at full power. On the violet-tinged Array Light Curtain, countless clusters of radiance exploded, causing the runes within to tremble continuously.

Fortunately, this Grand Array of the Netherworld Sect was extremely sturdy and easily withstood several waves of bombardment from the Spiritual Energy Giant Cannons.

By this time Qin Ming also saw clearly that the emblems on those hulls were none other than the Mist Concealment Loose Alliance and the battleships of several neighboring Divinity Transformation Powers.

On the leading Celestial Patrol Battleship, a middle-aged man in golden robes circulated his Mana to the limit and shouted toward the direction of Qianji City: