Clouds drifted between steep cliffs. Rays of sunlight sprinkled down and reflected against the mist, adding a glow to the land that made it seem that much more quiet and tranquil. But at this time, rumbling echoed out from the clouds, ruining the quiet atmosphere.

Feathers fell down from the chicken overlord. Its red crown had been ruptured and fresh blood streamed down its face. However it didn’t seem to care at all, and instead glared at its opponent viciously.

Across from it was a wild wolf that was two meters long. It looked like a blue-furred calf. One of its eyes had become a bloody hole and the other eye was bloodshot.

A corner of the valley had been tossed into upheaval in the battle. However, the medicine field behind the chicken overlord actually hadn’t been touched. In truth, the chicken overlord had a very simple reasoning behind this; if it wasn’t even able to eat those things, how could it let a barbaric beast destroy them!?

The wild wolf opened its blood-drenched jaws and a mass of blue energy started to emerge from its throat. Fear finally emerged in the chicken overlord’s small and beady eyes, but it didn’t choose to retreat. Rather, it fanned its wings about and took the initiative to attack, ruthlessly launching a strike against the approaching wild wolf.

A flash of cunning appeared in the wild wolf’s eye. It suddenly lowered its head, allowing the chicken overlord to land its strike. Skin was torn and pale white bones were revealed, however, with a pained roar, the mass of blue energy was spat out and sent shooting towards the chicken overlord’s head.

A moment ago, a mere scratch had broken the chicken overlord’s crown of feathers. If it were to be directly struck, that was more than enough to kill it on the spot. The wild wolf had one of its eyes pecked blind by the chicken overlord and hated the chicken to the marrow of its bones. If it could kill the chicken, it wouldn’t hesitate to pay any price.

The chicken overlord didn’t have time to evade. It cried out in its hurt: My time has finally arrived! It's time I leave this mortal coil. My beautiful hens, I won’t be able to visit you anymore!

Hu –

A strong wind suddenly swept up the chicken overlord, moving it out of the way of the ball of blue energy. With a loud bang, a large hole appeared in the ground.

The wild wolf felt all its hairs stand up on end. It pushed its legs upwards and leapt away.

“What a wonderfully vigilant beast. However, you intruded into my mountain valley and you still think you can leave?” Qin Yu flicked a sleeve and the wild wolf wailed as it was sent crashing into a cliff wall. The sounds of cracking bones continued for a long time, and it lost any ability to crawl back up.

After surviving an encounter with death, the chicken overlord sobbed with joy. It flapped over and grabbed onto Qin Yu’s thigh with a heart-rending cry.

Qin Yu lifted his hand and sent some magic power into the chicken overlord’s body. Its wounds stopped bleeding and its mind seemed to refresh itself.

“You did well. These pills are yours.”

The chicken overlord untied the storage bag with great familiarity. Then, it beamed with joy, its eyes turning into crescent moons as it saw what was inside. It hid the storage bag between its wings and then turned around to glare at the wild wolf before flapping its wings high in the air. You stupid idiot, I have a backer here!

The wild wolf struggled to crawl up. It howled as it finally stood on its legs, clearly unwilling to die on the ground here.

Qin Yu’s eyes flashed with surprise. He waved his hand, “Whatever. I will spare your life today. Leave.”

The wild wolf lay prone on the ground. It bowed once and them limped away.

The chicken overlord anxiously stomped its feet, clearly not willing to let the beast go like this.

Qin Yu smiled. “You pecked one of its eyes blind and only lost a bit of blood in return. Considering everything, you didn’t suffer a loss at all. Don’t try to push things too far.”

Although the wild wolf had obviously developed spiritual wisdom it clearly didn’t have the ability to break through the array formation. So, how had it gotten in? Was it possible that…Qin Yu walked over to the edge of the valley. He flicked his sleeve and lifted up the ground, revealing light gray spirit stones that had long since crumbled.

He frowned. He inspected other areas and found that the spirit stones in these places had been severely damaged or perhaps they had lost a serious amount of spiritual strength.

Before he left with You Qi, Qin Yu had specifically inspected the array formation. It had been working perfectly fine when he left, so how had the spiritual strength inside the spirit stones been used up in such a short period of time?

After breaking into the Golden Core realm his divine sense had risen dramatically, giving him the qualifications to study the dao of array formations. If he had a chance, he would definitely keep an eye on this problem.

After replacing the spirit stones and making sure that the revolution of the array formation was unimpeded, Qin Yu returned to his wooden house and sat down on a round cushion, deep in thought. After his Demon Body was enhanced and he stepped into the Golden Core realm, his confidence had risen tremendously. He believed that it would be possible for him to walk throughout the Southern Empire without fear. But, when he went to kill Deepsea Demon, the appearance of the Seventh Slaughter Sect Master had left him feeling alarmed.

Though he had many methods at his disposal, he could only be overwhelmed by the power of a Nascent Soul. The 108 strange fish teeth that had been refined into the Storm Flow weapons had been used up. If he ran into another Nascent Soul realm cultivator, he might not be able to escape even though he possessed the Blood Escape Art.

Of course, there was an extremely small number of old Nascent Soul freaks in the Southern Empire, so the chances of him suffering from one were equally low. But, this event had sobered Qin Yu to the reality of things and had scattered the bits of arrogance he had started to gather in his heart.

After reaching Golden Core, what lay afterwards was the Nascent Soul great dao. And after the Nascent Soul great dao, there were rumored to be many other mysterious boundaries. The endless road of cultivation only just started here.

Qin Yu went into seclusion.

A month later he had thoroughly stabilized his Golden Core, and by this time he couldn’t wait to leave. The reason was that once a pill-based cultivator had to start relying on themselves to cultivate, their speed would fall to that of a turtle. This was particularly true for Qin Yu, whose martial talent was horrendously poor.

With the Skythunder Bamboo in hand he could clear up the pill impurities. It also wasn’t a problem with his foundation because he could rely on failed breakthroughs to purify his magic power. It was because of this that once Qin Yu embarked on the road of pill cultivation, there was no longer any turning back for him.

But soon, Qin Yu fell into a difficult position and had no choice but to pause his great cultivation plans.

The reason was simple: he didn’t have any pills to eat!

The little blue lamp could strengthen raw materials and purify pills. With such heaven-defying abilities, it was laughable for someone to say that they didn’t have pills they could take. But, this was the reality of things. While it was true that the little blue lamp could accelerate the growth of plants, with the mere foot of sea blue light it released, the quantity of spirit plants it could reach was actually extremely limited. It wasn’t enough to provide Qin Yu with the materials he needed.

And, what was even more important was that Golden Core realm spirit plants were considered precious goods within the world of cultivators. People couldn’t wait to use these things for themselves, much less recklessly sell them to others. Of course, exchanging pills for materials was still an available option, but if Qin Yu were to do that it would inevitably attract the attention of old Nascent Soul monsters from all around, eventually causing him to draw a disaster upon his own body!

With all things considered, Qin Yu discovered that only by purchasing his own seeds could he continue on this path. After determining this, he bitterly smiled. Whatever. If he needed to be a little slow, then he’d be a little slow; safety always came first. Perhaps after he reached the Nascent Soul realm he wouldn’t need to worry about these things.

But with his current speed, who knew how many years it would take for him to reach the Nascent Soul realm. Moreover, Qin Yu’s body itself acted as an invisible cage. If he wanted to step into the Nascent Soul great dao, he would need to find a drop of even more potent demon blood to help enhance his Demon Body.

Three days later, he poured magic power into the bamboo dragonfly and left the mountain valley. It was time to buy Golden Core realm spirit plant seeds.

….

Half a month later, after journeying through tens of thousands of miles, Qin Yu had eventually visited all the major cultivator cities. As he did so, his complexion became increasingly ugly. Golden Core realm spirit plant seeds were nearly absent from the market, and even the few that were sold were sold at mind-bogglingly high prices.

After some questions, he was able to ascertain the reason. The demonic path invaded the Southern Empire with staggering arrogance, placing the land in imminent danger. The number one immortal cultivation sect, Immortal Eclipse Valley, decided to meddle. They announced that all Golden Core realm spirit plants and seeds were now strategic reserve commodities and weren’t allowed to be privately traded.

Right in front of Qin Yu’s eyes, the last road available to him had been turned upside down. Though he was filled with anger he had nowhere to vent it. The reason that Immortal Eclipse Valley was respected as the greatest immortal cultivation sect of the Southern Empire was not only because they were an alchemy juggernaut, but also because it was rumored they had Nascent Souls guarding their sect, perhaps even more than one.

In a restaurant, Qin Yu sat in a corner, increasingly worried the more he thought about things.

“Hehe, Immortal Eclipse Valley, what a wonderful game they played this time!” Someone at another table sneered.

The complexions of the several other people with him suddenly changed.

“Brother Xu, be quiet!”

“There are many people and many mouths here. Even the walls have ears!”

“Don’t speak reckless nonsense, or you’ll just stir up trouble for yourself.”

The cultivator surnamed Xu coldly sneered. “What is there to be scared of? If Immortal Eclipse Valley does something, could it be that we can’t talk about it? They forbid the trading of spirit plants and seeds, saying that this was because of some strategic reserve, but it was clearly for them to suppress prices so they could purchase for themselves. This time, Immortal Eclipse Valley truly benefited!”

“Humph!” At another table, a cultivator angrily laughed. “Idiotic fool, I guess this is what they call blinded by money! If it weren’t for Immortal Eclipse Valley providing pills and supplies to the Southern Empire’s cultivator alliance, the war situation would probably be far worse than it is. I think that little fellow daoist here has strayed down the wrong path of greed and is a bit too dissatisfied!”

Bang –

The cultivator surnamed Xu slapped the table. “Brat, what are you saying!”

“I am saying you are as stupid as a pig!”

Seeing a fight about to break out, the cultivators at both tables immediately tried to drag their friends back, persuading them from doing anything. This was especially true from the cultivators at the Xu fellow’s table, as if they began to curse loudly in their hearts. Wasn’t it enough that he disparaged Immortal Eclipse Valley, but he even wanted to cause a ruckus? Did he want news of this event to spread out even further?

If you want to die, don’t drag us down with you!

After this brief tussle, the atmosphere of the restaurant became much more heated. Many small rumors began to circulate.

“Hehe, speaking of Immortal Eclipse Valley, I actually heard a secret…” The man intentionally spoke in increasingly hushed tones, but it was hard for him to hide his satisfied smile. As he saw more people looking his way, he proudly proclaimed, “In Immortal Eclipse Valley, there is a guardian spirit beast, and it is said to be an ancient variation insect, a Purpleback Bluewing Ant…”

“Che. Who doesn’t already know of this? And to think you want to show off with that!”

“What a waste of my time, I almost thought you knew some secret!”

“If you don’t have anything to say then don’t speak. You’re just making a mockery of yourself!”

The old man was flushed red with shame and anger. “What do you know? I haven’t even finished speaking! You know that Immortal Eclipse valley has Purpleback Bluewing Ants, but do you know why they are kept in Immortal Eclipse Valley?”

Sweeping a disdainful gaze around and seeing the confused looks of the listeners, the old man sneered. “This is because in Immortal Eclipse Valley, there is a Radiant Red Wood that has been passed down since ancient times! Do you know what a Radiant Red Wood is? It is an ancient spirit plant that is able to automatically draw in the strength of the heavens and earth to form Radiant Red Fruits!”

“Radiant Red Fruit! You meant the Radiant Red Fruit that can help Golden Core cultivators cultivate?” A person gasped.

The old man shot him a glance. “I didn’t think someone would know about it. That’s right, I am talking about the Radiant Red Fruit that is even more precious than pills to a Golden Core cultivator. This fruit contains a massive amount of the heavens and earth’s spiritual strength. After eating it, it will directly enhance one’s cultivation without any hidden dangers at all. The value of it is far above the sexual aphrodisiac pills used by Golden Core realm cultivators.”

The restaurant fell utterly silent before conversation broke out once more.

“Old man, come to my table for a drink.”

“Waiter, hurry and bring several dishes over. I want to ask this elder to drink with us.”

“Old friend come here, let’s talk.”

The old man’s smile almost spread to his ears. He pretended to refuse for a while before choosing the table with the best wine and food. He ate and drank with gusto, and this person’s tongue was indeed fierce. The limits of his bragging were without end and everyone in the restaurant was left stunned. Then, he wiped his mouth and left, leaving everyone behind.

Qin Yu tossed down a spirit stone for his bill and left the restaurant.

Soon, in a narrow alley, he flickered out, blocking the way.

The old man frowned. “Unknown junior, you dare to block my way? Are you tired of living?”

With a deep shout, he did seem a bit imposing.

Qin Yu lightly said, “I come from Immortal Eclipse Valley, so I am quite interested in what you say.”

The old man’s complexion changed. “Stop talking nonsense. Do you know that pretending to be an Immortal Eclipse Valley cultivator is a great crime!?”

Qin Yu sneered. His Golden Core cultivation erupted, shrouding around him. “You old thing, you dare to carelessly spread rumors, it seems you are impatient to die!”

The old man collapsed to the ground, bowing again and again. “Senior, spare me! Senior, please spare me!”

Qin Yu threatened, “Where did you hear that there is a Radiant Red Wood in Immortal Eclipse Valley? Half a lie from your lips and I will make sure you suffer a life worse than death!”

The old man hurriedly said, “A mysterious person told me. He gave me some spirit stones to spread this news.”

Qin Yu’s eyes flashed. “And how did you know that what he said was true?”

The old man said, “The mysterious person showed me a Radiant Red Fruit, a real Radiant Red Fruit. Although my cultivation is low I have worked with spirit plants for many years and my sight is quite keen for these things.”

Qin Yu thought for a moment and coldly sneered. “Leave. I will spare your life today. If you dare spout nonsense in the future, there will be no more mercy!”

The old man was overjoyed. “I won’t, I won’t!” He fled.

Qin Yu rubbed his chin. Although he didn’t know who wanted to spread news of the Radiant Red Wood, this matter was most likely real.

The Medicine Codex recorded information on the Radiant Red Wood and it also went into complex detail on how to raise it. If he could obtain a part of the Radiant Red Wood’s root system then he could use the little blue lamp to cultivate it into a full-fledged tree, allowing it to blossom and bear fruit.

At that time, the matter of him lacking pills for the Golden Core realm would be easily solved!

Moreover, Immortal Eclipse Valley had Purpleback Bluewing Ants. And, his two Thousandgold Mulberries had already evolved into Greatsun Mulberries.

Qin Yu smiled in joy. Oh Immortal Eclipse Valley, Immortal Eclipse Valley. Since you made it so that I couldn’t obtain spirit plant seeds, don’t blame me for trying to take advantage of you.