Chapter Eighty-Two: The Dragon Forces Gather, Chaos in Qingyang Market
Night falls, the moon is bright and stars are few.
Qin Ming left Qingyang Market, riding his spiritual light shuttle toward a certain destination.
About an hour later.
He arrived at the base of a broken cliff, then unfolded his divine sense for a careful search.
After a moment.
Qin Ming found a faint mark on a nearby rock wall.
“This should be the place.”
He raised his fist and struck the stone wall.
Bang!
A cave entrance, two fathoms high, appeared before him.
This was the “auspicious place” that Feng Yuan had told him about before leaving.
Truth be told, if it weren’t for Feng Yuan’s directions, no ordinary person could ever have found this spot.
According to Feng Yuan’s final account, this cave had been discovered by him and his brother long ago, when hunting monsters.
Qin Ming cautiously swept through the cave with his divine sense, finding nothing amiss, so he stepped inside.
He followed the path inward for several hundred yards, finally arriving at the deepest part of the cave, where he found a skeletal corpse seated upon a stone slab.
Qin Ming approached and examined it closely, then let out a deep sigh, “Ah! Fellow Daoist Feng…”
The owner of these remains was undoubtedly Feng Yuan.
Beside the corpse lay the dragon-shaped token and a yellow map.
Qin Ming reached out and gently drew both items to his hand.
First, he fiddled with the token, discovering that upon infusing it with magical power, a golden light screen would appear, accompanied by the roar of a dragon.
Afterward.
He unfolded the map and studied it carefully.
At a glance, Qin Ming felt the material was somehow familiar.
Suddenly!
A flash of inspiration crossed his mind—he remembered!
Qin Ming slapped his storage pouch and took out the beast hide inscribed with the “Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture.”
Comparing them side by side.
He was astonished to find the materials were identical!
At that moment.
The two pieces of beast hide overlapped, and a chain of glowing red dotted lines gradually appeared, ultimately pointing toward a location within the ancient ruins.
It clearly marked a safe and swift route.
“This ruin actually has two entrances!”
“If that’s the case, when the ruin opens, perhaps I can slip in unnoticed.”
Qin Ming originally had no intention of getting involved with the ruins, but since it concerned his main cultivation technique for body refinement, he wavered.
Moreover, the beast hide indicated this map was unique, meaning only he knew of this secret passage.
Qin Ming put away both items.
Facing Feng Yuan’s remains, he said, “Fellow Daoist Feng, I will fulfill my promise to you.”
“I’ve already slain two core disciples of the Feather Gate. Taking these two items isn’t without cause.”
“Rest in peace.”
---
Having spoken, Qin Ming strode out of the cave and sealed the entrance with a spell.
...
An hour later.
Qin Ming returned to the vicinity of Qingyang Market.
He gazed ahead, a smile playing at his lips.
Within his sea of consciousness lay a green leaf—the [Dark Phantom] entry.
This entry had recently ripened on the black vine, which had borne a few new black fruits.
Once activated, [Dark Phantom] would consume the essence of plants to create a phantom, capable of mimicking any form and possessing movement for about the time it takes incense to burn.
Qin Ming touched the leaf with his mind.
Instantly.
Green lights flickered in the air beside him, like fireflies.
Qin Ming recognized this as plant essence and silently envisioned the image of the ancient elder of the Feather Gate.
The essence shifted, transforming into the elder’s likeness.
Lifelike, almost indistinguishable from reality.
Only, this phantom lacked the spark of animation, appearing somewhat stiff.
But for Qin Ming’s purposes, it was sufficient.
He infused a trace of magical power into the “elder,” issuing a command.
Then, he placed the dragon-shaped token in the phantom’s hand, instructing, “Go.”
The [Dark Phantom] transformed elder nodded woodenly, took the token, and flew toward Qingyang Market.
Watching the “elder” depart, Qin Ming remarked with amusement, “Elder Gu, this round is yours to lead!”
He settled onto a nearby hill, quietly observing the market from afar.
Tonight, sleep would not come.
...
The “elder” soon alighted before the market’s archway.
The Feather Gate guards, seeing Elder Gu arrive, hurriedly saluted and let him pass.
The “elder” nodded and entered the market.
One guard scratched his head, puzzled, “Why does Elder Gu seem odd tonight?”
“What’s odd?” asked another.
“I can’t quite say.”
The “elder” turned off the main road into an alley, producing the dragon-shaped token.
The token, perhaps sensing the presence of others within the market, began to hum and tremble.
The “elder” hesitated no longer. Leaping into the air, he flung the token toward the center of the market.
Roar!
In an instant, a dragon’s cry echoed through Qingyang Market.
Above the market, a golden light screen revealed the shadow of a giant dragon.
It seemed to summon the other tokens.
---
Having completed all this, the “elder” returned to the alley, dissolving into sparks of green light and vanishing.
“Look!”
“It’s the final dragon token!”
“It’s finally appeared!”
“No one try to snatch it from me!”
At that moment in Qingyang Market, countless figures leaped skyward toward the dragon token.
Chaos erupted!
Cultivators from major sects and all manner of factions turned red-eyed with greed.
The previous tacit standoff suddenly collapsed.
The sudden appearance of the last dragon token
acted as a fuse, utterly igniting the long-standing tension among the powers.
“Brothers! What are you waiting for?”
“This is our chance! Zero spirit stones to buy! The path to Foundation Establishment is right before us!”
While the sects and noble families fought for the token, rogue cultivators hidden among the crowd shed their disguises, beginning to kill and plunder within the market.
Boom!
Feather Gate’s second-tier “Azure Water Barrier Array” was activated at full force!
A blue light screen, like a dome, enveloped Qingyang Market.
From above, powerful spells rained down, striking the rioting cultivators below and forcefully suppressing the chaos.
Boom!
Crack!
An even greater explosion sounded from the direction of Feather Gate’s Mingzhen Tower.
The clash of magical tools could be heard amid the tumult.
Suddenly, another thunderous crash resounded, and the nine-story Mingzhen Tower collapsed, reduced to rubble.
Qin Ming, watching from afar, was dumbfounded, his scalp tingling!
From the ruins, several streaks of light shot out.
At the forefront was Feather Gate’s Foundation Establishment elder, Zheng Qingran.
He was on duty at Qingyang Market, and had only arrived a few days prior, never expecting such a cataclysmic event.
“Fairy Baihua, Linghu Qing, what is the meaning of this?”
“Do you intend to wage war against Feather Gate?”
Elder Zheng Qingran’s face was livid, blood spurting from his chest—clearly wounded in the recent duel.
The Baihua Sect’s saint maiden, veiled in pink gauze with a radiant smile, channeled her power and projected her voice throughout the market: “All forces, hear me!”
“Jinyun Valley and Feather Gate plot treachery. Our sect commands all to unite against them!”
“Jinyun Valley has just been eradicated by our sect. Only Feather Gate remains!”
Inside the market.
In a weapon shop, an elderly man with graying hair stared out the window at the sudden upheaval, his face stunned.
“This… is a change of era.”