Chapter 110: Gains and Alliances
A jade slip of bluish hue appeared, floating gently in Qin Ming’s hand.
“The Divine Formula of the Wine Immortal.”
Qin Ming immersed himself completely, absorbing every detail within.
After a long while, delight lit his face as he realized this was a tome on brewing various spiritual wines.
It not only recorded numerous methods for crafting these elixirs but also provided different types suited to various stages of cultivation, each capable of enhancing one’s spiritual progress.
For instance, the “Foundation Establishing Wine” mentioned earlier by Luo Rong, also known as “Spirit Fire Wine,” when brewed, could boost the magical power of cultivators in the initial phase of foundation establishment.
Its effect was nearly on par with alchemical pills, yet ordinary cultivators could brew it themselves without the demanding skills required of alchemy.
Some of the spiritual ingredients used in this wine overlapped with those for making foundation-establishing pills.
Its greatest advantage was that the required ingredient ages were far less stringent than those for pills.
One key ingredient, the Chalcedony Herb, only needed to be fifty years old or more.
Compared to alchemy, the cost was considerably lower.
Surely, this classic of winemaking was created by a master who had long immersed themselves in the craft.
No wonder Luo Rong tried every means to seize the Chalcedony Herb from him.
Qin Ming happily stored away the jade slip, knowing he could now experiment with brewing spiritual wines on the island.
Just then, his attention was drawn to two sprigs of spiritual herbs stored in Luo Rong’s storage pouch.
He carefully examined them, and a joyous expression spread across his face.
“Night Jade Flower and Heartseparation Grass!”
These were precisely the last two missing ingredients he had been desperately seeking to refine his foundation-establishing pills.
Truly, after tireless searching, fortune had come effortlessly.
With this, Qin Ming had now gathered all the spiritual materials necessary to concoct the foundation-establishing pills.
Next, he would return to revive and accelerate the maturation of these materials.
Excitement gleamed in his eyes—the path to foundation establishment lay just ahead!
Moreover, as a foundation-stage cultivator, Luo Rong’s storage pouch contained many valuable items.
The total spirit stones exceeded twenty thousand, and there was a top-grade defensive magical artifact—the black spiritual umbrella that had just withstood the Devouring Spirit Poison Flame.
Had it not been for this defensive artifact, Luo Rong would have been reduced to ashes instantly.
Judging by its appearance, this artifact was likely picked up by Luo Rong from the same cave dwelling.
Qin Ming skimmed through the rest of Luo Rong’s storage and found the other items rather ordinary.
It seemed Luo Rong was among the more modestly endowed foundation-stage cultivators.
Of course, there were some cultivation methods, pills, talismans, and tools as well.
Qin Ming considered this a small windfall.
He cast a fireball at the corpse, reducing it to ashes without a trace.
Then, he summoned his spiritual light flying shuttle and set off toward Moonwatch Island.
A day later, Qin Ming returned to his lair without pause.
Everything on the island remained as usual.
---
Seeing Qin Ming’s return, Wu Jiang greeted him and reported on the island’s recent conditions.
After entering his cave dwelling, Qin Ming first inspected the spiritual plants he had cultivated.
He then approached his life-nourishing vine, withdrew the blood pearl, and casually tossed it aside.
Suddenly, countless vines fluttered wildly, shaking off all the accumulated snow.
Qin Ming formed hand seals, hurling the falling snow far away to avoid damaging the spiritual plants in the field.
A strange heartbeat sounded once more.
Upon absorbing the blood pearl formed from the foundation-stage cultivator, numerous purple runes erupted around the ancient tree, spinning rapidly.
The dozens of skull-shaped demonic flowers withered instantly, gradually bearing black fruits resembling skulls.
The life-nourishing vine grew another segment taller.
Its status entries updated:
[Name]: Life-Nourishing Vine
[Entry]: Weak Lifespan x5 (Maturity 84%)
[Name]: Life-Nourishing Vine
[Entry]: Leaf of Time and Space x5 (Maturity 83%)
[Name]: Life-Nourishing Vine
[Entry]: Essence of Vitality x1 (Maturity 85%)
[Name]: Life-Nourishing Vine
[Entry]: Great Five Elements Art (Maturity 86%)
With this came a surging essence of wood and plant spirit, replenishing Qin Ming’s body.
He immediately sat down and began cultivating the “Ancient Tree Life-Extending Technique.”
After a long time, the spiritual body of his ultimate wood element behind him grew substantially.
Only one final step remained before true completion.
As winter arrived, Qin Ming spent most of his time immersed in cultivation.
His magical power settled steadily, on the verge of breaking through to the tenth layer of Qi Refinement—full perfection.
The crops in the island’s spiritual fields thrived well.
Purple-gold bamboo and Concentrated Spirit Tea had grown tall after more than two years.
Spiritual Qi Rice began to bear ears of spiritual grain.
Spiritual fish in the water rice fields had been initially cultivated successfully, plump and lively as they darted through the water.
One day, while cultivating in his cave and studying the “Divine Formula of the Wine Immortal,” the protective array outside suddenly detected a presence.
Someone had come to visit.
Qin Ming closed the jade slip and stepped outside.
He opened the formation and looked out.
It was Li Yuanqing, the deputy leader of the Seventy-Two Island Alliance, accompanied by two others.
They were conversing below with Wu Jiang.
Seeing Qin Ming emerge, Li Yuanqing smiled warmly and approached, exclaiming, “Ah! Truly unexpected!”
“Under your management, Daoist Qin, Moonwatch Island has changed so much.”
“Just now, I almost thought I had come to the wrong place, ha ha ha!”
“Deputy Leader Li, you flatter me. May I ask the purpose of your visit today?” Qin Ming cupped his hands respectfully.
As the saying goes, no one visits the Three Treasures Hall without cause; the sudden visit from the alliance made Qin Ming uneasy.
Li Yuanqing spoke plainly: “Daoist Qin, we come to invite Moonwatch Island to join the Seventy-Two Island Alliance.”
“Although its population is sparse, your strength is undeniable.”
“We scattered cultivators in this territory face many hardships; we should unite for mutual support.”
“What do you say, Daoist Qin?”
He then explained the conveniences and benefits of joining the alliance.
After finishing, he quietly awaited Qin Ming’s decision.
“I appreciate the alliance leader’s kindness, but I have no intention of joining any faction for now. I only wish to cultivate quietly on the island,” Qin Ming replied politely.
Li Yuanqing hadn’t expected such a direct refusal.
Before he could speak, a burly middle-aged man beside him frowned and said angrily, “So many spirit islands wanted to join our alliance, but the leader refused. Today you come inviting him, yet he shows no gratitude or respect?”
“Shut up!” Li Yuanqing shot the man a fierce glare.
The burly man immediately fell silent.
“Heh heh heh, Daoist Qin, please forgive my subordinate’s impropriety,” Li Yuanqing smiled again, apologizing to Qin Ming.
Qin Ming frowned, puzzled by the sudden push to recruit him.
“No matter, thank you for taking the trouble to come,” he said, clearly indicating the end of the conversation.
Li Yuanqing saw Qin Ming’s resolve and took his leave.
Qin Ming watched them depart, his gaze deep in thought.
---
High above, the burly middle-aged man grumbled, “Not even invited inside the cave, and dared to snub the leader’s face.”
“Winning a few duels has made him think he’s somebody?”
“I investigated earlier; that brat comes from Lingyu Sect as a spirit farmer. His spiritual roots are average; he probably won’t break through foundation establishment this lifetime.”
“Yet he acts as if he’s a hard-working cultivator.”
“This Moonwatch Island might be wiped out all at once someday.”
Li Yuanqing scolded, “Have you finished?”
“If you can, try breaking through to a second-rank spiritual plant master first!”
With that, the burly man fell silent.
“Since the Zhao family, one of the seven great powers, allied with Lingyu Sect, they’ve grown increasingly unruly. Even if we can’t recruit allies, we mustn’t push people into their hands.”
Another voiced concern, “Leader Li, I heard that the Yu family of Bicao Island and the Yan family of Feiling Island have secretly begun cooperating with the Zhao family.”
“Should we act?”
Li Yuanqing shook his head calmly: “Just a few jumping clowns, not worth worrying about. Let’s watch and wait.”
---