Translator: AnubisTL
"You promised you'd let me go! I've told you everything I know! You swore you would!" Zhang Da screamed hoarsely, his voice cracking with desperation as he accused Li Qing of breaking his word.
"Aren't you afraid you'll never overcome your Great Heart Demon Calamity if you break your promises like this?!"
The other three members of the Shangqing Sect had already fallen by Li Qing's hand. Now, deciding what to do with Zhang Da was proving to be a real headache.
Li Qing desperately wanted to end it all with a single strike, but Zhang Da had been remarkably cooperative, freely divulging both what he should and shouldn't have.
As for the so-called Great Heart Demon Calamity, Li Qing wasn't particularly concerned. He wasn't even sure if he could achieve core formation yet—that was still far too distant a prospect.
"Sigh... Your desperate desire to live is truly putting me in a difficult position," Li Qing sighed, gazing down at the canyon below where birds of prey circled. "I've always prioritized caution. How can I possibly trust you to keep quiet if I let you live?"
"I swear I'll keep this a secret! I won't breathe a word of it to anyone!" Zhang Da pleaded, tears streaming down his face.
Li Qing sneered coldly. "Keep it secret? Hah! I've clawed my way up from nothing, and I've learned that only the mouths of the dead can truly keep secrets."
Upon hearing these words, despair washed over Zhang Da's face, his eyes burning with resentment.
He had finally embarked on the immortal dao, finally joined a cultivation sect, enduring countless hardships and dangers to achieve foundation establishment.
Now, on a Sect Mission in the Great Wilderness Domain, he had been meticulously cautious, yet he never imagined he would face such a calamity today.
Had his life, lived as if treading on thin ice, ultimately failed to reach the other shore?
His pursuit of the immortal dao had ended in vain.
"Sigh, very well," Li Qing said, clasping his hands behind his back. "I'll offer you a path to survival, even allowing you to retain your current cultivation level."
"But there are two conditions."
"What conditions?! I accept! I accept!" Zhang Da blurted out, like a drowning man grasping at his last lifeline.
"The black market in Sunward City currently lacks an overseer. I believe you'd be quite suitable. You'll manage it for me from now on."
"Of course, there are two prerequisites."
"First, open your Sea of Consciousness. I must sever a portion of your memories, including everything related to the Shangqing Sect!"
"Second, I have a Bone-Corroding Pill here. If you take it and fail to obtain the antidote within a year, you will die a violent death."
"As long as you remain loyal and diligently serve me, I will provide you with the antidote annually."
Having spoken, Li Qing said no more, leaving Zhang Da to ponder his words.
Zhang Da remained stunned for a long while, a flicker of anguish crossing his face.
For a cultivator to open their Sea of Consciousness to another was to expose their entire being, revealing even the most secret aspects of their cultivation manual. Everything would be laid bare.
Moreover, he would have to sever a portion of his memories and swallow a Bone-Corroding Pill, forever binding himself to another's will.
For most cultivators, such conditions would be unacceptable, even at the cost of death.
But Zhang Da feared death above all else. After a moment of conflicted hesitation, he gritted his teeth and pleaded with a mournful expression:
"Could you just sever my memories? Can I skip the Bone-Corroding Pill? I swear I'll behave myself from now on!"
Hearing this, Li Qing finally smiled.
"Congratulations, you've earned your survival."
If Zhang Da had agreed to both harsh conditions without hesitation, Li Qing would have given him no chance to breathe, ending his life on the spot.
Such eagerness would have been terrifying. It would have meant either that Zhang Da possessed some hidden trump card to circumvent the conditions, or that his fear of death was so extreme that he would sacrifice anything—even more than these conditions—just to survive.
Whether it was the former or the latter, Li Qing felt deeply wary and couldn't bear to keep such a person by his side.
Returning to the cave in the valley, he found Shen Ningbing still waiting silently for his return.
"Senior Brother Li, why did you bring him back again?" Shen Ningbing asked, slightly startled as she saw Li Qing approaching the cave entrance.
Li Qing replied matter-of-factly, "The black market still needs an agent. I've erased part of his memory. From now on, he'll manage the black market for us."
"The waters of the Great Wilderness Domain run too deep for us to navigate alone."
Zhang Da, whose memory had just been partially erased, had fallen into a deep coma.
Since Senior Brother Li had made the decision, there was no need to question it further. Shen Ningbing nodded slightly, choosing to trust him.
"Alright, let's quickly divide the spoils of war. Once that's done, we should return immediately. Staying away too long isn't wise!"
With that, they retrieved the four storage pouches they had obtained and began examining their contents.
Without hesitation, Li Qing opened Mu Maocai's pouch first.
When he saw the nearly half-human-sized chunk of Primordial Chaos Stone, Li Qing fell completely silent.
Such a massive piece of this rare spiritual material was simply unheard of, unseen before!
Thud!
The Primordial Chaos Stone, impossibly heavy, landed in the mountain cave with a resounding crash. Even Shen Ningbing, standing nearby, parted her crimson lips in a slight gasp.
Though she had known about it beforehand, witnessing it firsthand still filled her with awe.
"To use such a massive piece of peerless spiritual material as a burial offering... it's no wonder the Ancient Hua Immortal Dynasty fell. It defies all reason!"
If any core formation ancestor from a cultivation sect were to be buried, they would never take such treasures to their grave. Instead, they would leave behind a substantial inheritance for their sect.
The Ancient Hua Immortal Dynasty's downfall was clearly not without cause.
"Indeed. This much spiritual material would be enough for two core formation true lords to refine their natal magic treasures!"
"Junior Sister, let's split it."
Li Qing stroked the Primordial Chaos Stone lying horizontally on the ground, feeling its immense weight and marveling inwardly.
But Shen Ningbing shook her head. "Senior Brother, you should keep the Primordial Chaos Stone. Even after achieving core formation, I wouldn't consider using it as material for my natal magic treasure. I need spiritual materials imbued with the Extreme Ice Power."
Li Qing was stunned by her words. "How can I accept that? The Primordial Chaos Stone is our greatest reward from this mission."
Shen Ningbing shook her head firmly, refusing to take any share of the stone.
"Senior brother, even without my help, you could have easily defeated those four Shangqing Sect elders. I was merely assisting from the sidelines."
"Besides, the Primordial Chaos Stone is incredibly tough. It's not something you can simply split apart."
"If you still feel indebted, senior brother, I'll just take more of the other spoils."
Having said all this, Li Qing could no longer refuse without seeming insincere or distant.
He also genuinely wanted to keep the entire Primordial Chaos Stone for himself. If he successfully achieved core formation in the future, having the complete stone would give him far more options for refining his natal magic treasure.
The two then continued to search through the storage pouches.
"Two bottles of Purple Yang Pills! Their wealth is truly extraordinary."
"Senior brother, you should keep this cushion too. It helps cultivators meditate more effectively, enter deep meditation faster, and even prevents the risk of qi deviation!"
"Only six hundred spirit stones? How utterly impoverished!"
"This is Ice Soul Jade Marrow, Senior Brother. I'll take this rare material."
The two continued to inventory the contents of the storage pouches. It was undeniable that the four individuals had been remarkably wealthy, befitting their status as elders from a cultivation sect.
Even Junior Sister Shen, usually as composed as ice, found her heart racing, her voice filled with awe as she exclaimed repeatedly.
"Hmm, what's this? I sense an astonishingly dangerous aura from it!"
Li Qing retrieved a dark purple orb, roughly the size of a walnut, from Mu Maocai's storage pouch. Yet this seemingly ordinary object radiated an overwhelming sense of danger.
Beside him, Shen Ningbing's usually frosty face showed a flicker of emotion.
"That's... a Heavenly Thunder Pearl!"
The moment the words "Heavenly Thunder Pearl" left her lips, Li Qing gasped sharply, clearly having heard of this legendary artifact.
Heavenly Thunder Pearl! It contained the power of Heavenly Thunder, its destructive potential utterly terrifying.
Once detonated, even a core formation realm true lord caught off guard would likely suffer severe injuries, if not death.
"No wonder this person dared to snatch peaches from under the noses of two core formation true lords! He had such a trump card!" Li Qing murmured to himself, his eyes flashing. A cold sweat broke out on his back.
If he hadn't caught them off guard with the illusion toxin that night, and if his methods hadn't been so swift and decisive, he might have been in serious trouble.
The Heavenly Thunder Pearl's destructive power was terrifying. Apart from using the Black Furnace to defend against it, Li Qing couldn't imagine any other way to survive. Even his fleshly body would likely have been torn to shreds!
Li Qing and Shen Ningbing fell silent, realizing the seemingly casual ambush had concealed such a deadly threat.
This business of killing for treasure was truly not something to be taken lightly. One wrong move could lead to a fatal misstep.
"I'm about to achieve core formation and might need you as my Guardian in the future, senior brother Li. The Heavenly Thunder Pearl won't be of much use to me now, so you should keep it."
Li Qing nodded without hesitation. He genuinely needed such items; each one provided an extra layer of protection for his life.
For Shen Ningbing, who was on the verge of core formation, the Heavenly Thunder Pearl held little significance.
Immediately afterward, the pair began rummaging through the storage pouches, cataloging and dividing the contents.
Spirit stones, medicinal pills, and other items with easily quantifiable value were piled to one side.
As for spiritual materials and other spiritual objects, they carefully sorted through them, each taking their share.
Just as they were finishing searching the last of the storage pouches, Shen Ningbing suddenly pulled out three Crimson Iron pages, densely inscribed with text.
After a quick glance, Shen Ningbing's delicate lips parted slightly, her beautiful eyes widening with astonishment as she looked at Li Qing.
"Senior Brother Li, you have to see these!"
Li Qing paused, then took the Crimson Iron pages and began reading them carefully.
After only a few lines, his hand gripping the pages stiffened abruptly, and a surge of wild joy erupted in his heart.
The inscriptions weren't just any text—they were a cultivation manual, a fire attribute cultivation manual!
Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art!
Li Qing swallowed hard, his voice trembling. "From the Qi Refining Chapter to the Core Formation Chapter, it's all complete!"
"Unbelievable! This person was only two chapters away from having the entire manual!"
Shen Ningbing speculated, "It's not surprising. The Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art was created by a great cultivator in the divine transformation stage from the ancient Azure Ridge Domain, perhaps even earlier. If our Lingyun Sect possesses one copy, it's not strange for the Shangqing Sect to have three."
Li Qing eagerly compared the Foundation Establishment Chapter with what he had learned. They were identical, without a single error.
This meant the other two chapters were likely complete as well, with no omissions or mistakes!
"This person carried the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art with them but never practiced it. They must have been ambitious, planning to switch to it later once they obtained news of a heavenly spirit fire?"
"A clever plan indeed!"
Originally, Li Qing hadn't even considered the Core Formation Chapter. He had simply planned to find a balanced and moderate cultivation manual after achieving core formation, even if it lacked a specific elemental affinity.
Li Qing planned to switch back to the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art once he had collected the remaining chapters.
Now, he wouldn't have to worry about cultivation manuals for quite some time.
This trip had yielded tremendous gains. Not only had he acquired the spiritual materials needed to refine his natal magic treasure, but he had also obtained a cultivation manual that would allow him to continue advancing.
Once he successfully formed his core and fully assimilated these resources, he would be able to achieve the combat prowess of a normal core formation realm true lord in a remarkably short time!
"Life is truly unpredictable," Li Qing murmured to himself, struggling to suppress his inner excitement. "I never imagined the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art would be completed in such a way. I thought I'd have to overcome countless trials and tribulations."
After a considerable time, the two finally finished cataloging and dividing the valuable items from the storage pouches.
They found seven bottles of Purple Yang Pills and thirteen bottles of Clear Profound Pills.
However, there were fewer than three thousand spirit stones. This likely meant the group had spent a significant portion of their resources preparing for their expedition into the Great Wilderness Domain.
(End of the Chapter)
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