Chapter 83: Profiting Amidst Chaos

Buzz!

Just as the few Foundation Establishment cultivators confronted each other, a sudden fiery red curtain of light appeared above the Qingyang Market, enveloping the entire Tier Two Azure Water Array. This crimson barrier was clearly a sophisticated second-tier formation, and a powerful surge of spiritual energy instantly spread out. Countless strange runes swam within the red curtain like tiny fish.

Boom!

Suddenly, the red array launched its assault; dazzling magical attacks erupted from the four corners—east, south, west, and north.

Crack!

The Tier Two Azure Water Array protecting Qingyang Market shattered like broken glass, fragments splintering in an instant.

Bang!

With the final magical strike, the defensive array that had guarded Qingyang Market for years dissolved utterly.

"Who dares to come?"

"They broke the array with another array! A high-level formation master!"

The terrifying presence above drew the eyes of everyone in the market, who looked up in alarm.

As the curtain dispersed, a tall figure clad in black robes appeared, wearing a mask of the Buddha and radiating demonic energy, floating in midair. He gazed down quietly.

"It's the demon cultivator Lin Zixiao!"

"Even this harbinger of chaos has come!"

"This bodes ill!"

In the next moment, Lin Zixiao moved, unleashing several dark blades that tore through everything; the cultivators below who were fighting over the token were sliced into bloody fragments.

He raised his hand, and the final Dragon Symbol token flew into his grasp. Without lingering, he transformed into a streak of black light and vanished into the horizon.

From breaking the array to snatching the token, not even a breath had passed. All the assembled forces were still stunned, unable to react.

In a flash, someone shouted,

"Lin Zixiao has taken the last token—now all tokens are assembled!"

"He must be heading for the ruins!"

"But without our tokens, he can't enter either!"

"He must be heading to the ruins—let's go after him!"

At this, many sects and clan members mounted their magical artifacts and raced after Lin Zixiao.

Then, the most authentic scene of the cultivation world unfolded. With the major sects and clans departing, and the defensive array gone, countless rogue cultivators and lesser factions exposed their basest nature, seizing the opportunity to loot and pillage.

It was much like the initial robberies among cultivators.

"Who the hell threw the last Dragon Symbol into the air?"

"I swear I won't rest until he's dead!"

"I think it was Elder Gu of the Feather Spirit Sect."

"Yes, yes, it was him—I saw clearly!"

"Good! Then let's kill the Feather Spirit Sect people first!"

Immediately, the remaining factions in Qingyang Market turned their wrath upon the Feather Spirit Sect cultivators, launching a massacre.

...

Smoke billowed and flames soared in Qingyang Market; chaos reigned as looting, smashing, burning, shouting, cursing, and crying echoed ceaselessly.

Qin Ming, seeing that the situation had stabilized, summoned his Spirit Light Shuttle and flew in the direction Lin Zixiao and the others had taken.

He followed at a distance behind the sect members, flying south for a day and a night.

Suddenly, a vast plain appeared ahead, with a colossal sinkhole several miles wide at its center, shrouded in dense, gray mist. Attempting to probe it carelessly, even spiritual sense would be absorbed.

Around the sinkhole were broken remains of ancient ruins.

By now, the cultivators of the seven major sects and clans had already gathered, and Lin Zixiao stood at the edge. Even the Thunder Origin Sect had sent dozens, and the seven forces seemed to take them as leaders.

Qin Ming swept the surroundings with his spiritual sense and found numerous minor factions lurking in the shadows, hoping to benefit amidst the chaos.

At that moment, Lin Zixiao soared into the sky, embedding his three tokens into a massive stone tablet at the sinkhole's edge.

As he finished, others from the sects followed, embedding token after token into the tablet.

When the final token was inserted—

Rumble!

Roar~

The phantom of a giant dragon burst forth, flying from the tablet and instantly vanishing into the mist within the sinkhole.

In a heartbeat, the ground shook. The mist dispersed, a beam of golden light shot skyward, and as the runes faded, a majestic underground palace was revealed within the sinkhole.

All the cultivators' gazes converged, hearts pounding and breaths heavy.

Suddenly, Lin Zixiao was the first to leap into the palace. Before departing, he used his power to shout at the assembled sects below:

"Hahahaha!"

"You worthless lot! Yu Wenhong of Feather Spirit Sect is at the Tier Three spiritual vein, secretly breaking through to the Golden Core stage without anyone knowing!"

"And you all come here to fight for opportunities!"

"When he advances to the Golden Core—"

"That will be the end of you sects and clans!"

His words stunned the Thunder Origin Sect and the seven forces, freezing them in place.

"Is he telling the truth?"

"That devil dares to sow discord!"

"Yu Wenhong is only at the early Foundation stage—how could he be on the verge of breaking through to Golden Core?"

Lin Zixiao chuckled darkly, "Fools! Who told you Yu Wenhong was only in early Foundation? Feather Spirit Sect hid his talent—he possesses a Metal Heavenly Spiritual Root."

"My information is reliable. I won't argue with you. Believe it or not, he will break through within two days."

With that, he ignored their reactions and turned, flying into the underground palace.

On the ground, members of the major sects hesitated.

"Better to believe it than not."

"If it's true, Feather Spirit Sect's ambitions are vast—we must send word back to our sects at once."

The Thunder Origin Sect cultivators looked grim. If Lin Zixiao spoke truth, Feather Spirit Sect would rise to dominance, a prospect the Thunder Origin Sect, the greatest in Wei, dreaded.

The other sects were thrown into chaos.

They all hurried to deliver this earth-shattering news back to their sects.

Qin Ming watched from afar, frowning and thinking: Lin Zixiao truly has an informant in Feather Spirit Sect, to know such confidential information so clearly.

Soon after, most Thunder Origin Sect and seven major force cultivators changed direction, flying toward the Tier Three spiritual vein. Only a few entered the ancient underground palace.

Seeing the time was right, Qin Ming summoned his Spirit Light Shuttle and flew in another direction.

After the time of a stick of incense, he followed the beast-skin map's guidance to a massive waterfall.

He released his spiritual sense to scan behind the waterfall but found nothing unusual.

He tossed the beast-skin into the air and activated his power with a finger. The beast-skin seemed drawn by some force, settling at a point in the middle of the waterfall, then emitting a golden light curtain that fell upon the water.

Instantly, a twisted spatial entrance appeared.

Delighted, Qin Ming slipped inside and put away the beast-skin. The spatial entrance closed swiftly, restoring the waterfall to normal.

He felt a moment of disorientation as he was teleported into the ruins, arriving in an internal location.

Clearing his mind, he saw he was standing in a medicinal garden, about two acres in size. Yet no spiritual herbs were planted.

Within the garden, more than a dozen stone pedestals stood, each shrouded in a protective light.

The three innermost shields were largest—one black, one purple, one blue—and their brilliance was the strongest. Surely, the treasures inside must be the finest.

Even with spiritual sense, Qin Ming could not discern their contents.

"It must be some sort of peculiar restriction."

He struck the shields with all his strength, but they remained unaffected.

Circling the pedestals, he took out the two beast-skin maps.

In that instant, a complex rune lit up on one map, resonating with the purple shield among the three strongest.

Waving the map, the rune merged into the shield, and the restriction faded, revealing a beast-skin scripture.

Heart pounding, Qin Ming seized it and glanced through.

"It truly is the continuation of the 'Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture'!"

"It contains not only Foundation Establishment body refinement techniques, but can be cultivated all the way to the Golden Core stage!"

He was elated, knowing firsthand the power such techniques bestowed and unable to resist their allure.

Next, he took the other beast-skin map, approaching each pedestal in turn. When he neared the third blue shield, it responded.

The shield vanished, revealing a jade bottle radiating astonishing spiritual energy.

Qin Ming opened the bottle, peered inside, and his eyes widened.

Within lay a cluster of frozen blue flames.

"That's a Heavenly Spirit Fire!"