For Desolate Ancient Families and supreme powers, putting up ten million jin of Source hardly amounted to a crippling loss.
The Source they dug out of their many mines each day was enough to cover their clansmen's expenses, with a substantial amount left over.
A single vein could yield a full million jin in a year, leaving plenty to spare even after the disciples' daily consumption.
Of course, mining Source depended entirely on luck. Sometimes there was more, sometimes less.
For instance, the Source Mine Qin Tian had worked in this time had produced a staggering harvest, even after a million jin of Source had been embezzled.
An ordinary Source Mine contained countless tiny Source Veins. Any one of them yielding a cubic unit of Source was already considered highly productive.
If an entire large Source Mine yielded a million jin of Source in a year, it was considered a high-quality mine.
These three million jin of Source amounted to quite a handsome haul.
"Murder and arson earn you a golden belt!" Qin Tian clicked his tongue. Even with his incredible luck, he had worked himself to the bone for three years, and whether he had dug up three million jin of Source was still an open question.
He continued rummaging and took out a pile of jade boxes one after another. Opening them, he found precious treasures that extended lifespan. Qin Tian pocketed them all; these were valuable too.
Finally, Qin Tian took out a scroll of scripture. He unrolled it and was immediately startled.
"Is this the Primordial Sacred Light Technique?!"
"No wonder the Yaoguang Holy Land has gone so crazy."
It was not the Heaven-Devouring Secret Technique Qin Tian wanted.
But to a penniless wretch like Qin Tian, a Quasi-Emperor's secret technique was practically a gift from heaven.
This was his first great offensive technique.
"Capture a strand of primal essence from the stars filling the heavens and the earth veins spanning the world, merge it with your own divine power, and condense sacred light. Then nourish it with the energies of the five elements, refining the sacred light into Hunyuan Holy Light that envelops the body. It can attack and defend, with endless wondrous applications."
Propping up his chin, Qin Tian said, "This Primordial Sacred Light Technique looks rather difficult to cultivate!"
"The steps are so complicated!"
"But... it won't stump me!"
"I happen to have studied the Dao of the five elements. As for the energy of the heavens and the breath of the earth veins, with my luck, they shouldn't pose much trouble."
Qin Tian rubbed his chin. Suddenly, a stray tuft of hair stood up on his head. He instinctively stamped his foot, splitting the ground open.
A lump of blazing-hot fiery jade emerged. Qin Tian coated his hands in divine power, pulled it out, and examined it carefully.
"Hmm, I was just thinking of using five-element spiritual treasures to cultivate the Primordial Sacred Light Technique, and along comes a piece of fire essence." Qin Tian beamed. "My luck really is amazing!"
"Maybe I can impersonate the Yaoguang Holy Son someday!" Qin Tian hefted the fire essence in his hand.
"I've been working hard for so long. I should rest for a bit and recover my energy." Qin Tian stretched and yawned.
He casually found a comfortable spot to lie down and set up array formations, covering everything from warnings and defense to Spatial Transposition. Having taken every possible precaution, he began his long-overdue afternoon nap.
While Qin Tian rested, more and more cultivators gathered outside the Fire Domain.
There were people from the Yaoguang Holy Land, members of the so-called Great Bandits, and even other Desolate Ancient Families and supreme powers.
The reward on the Yaoguang Holy Land's wanted notice was simply too astonishing.
They began searching the Fire Domain little by little, trying to locate Qin Tian.
Qin Tian did not care in the slightest. He was currently at the boundary between the sixth and seventh layers. Unless they were Immortal Platform cultivators, they could not possibly venture this deep.
He could safely say that the sensation of having his backside scorched had left a lasting impression.
As for Immortal Platform cultivators, the moment anyone crossed the fifth layer of the Fire Domain, the array formations Qin Tian had laid would immediately relocate him.
And so Qin Tian fell into a deep sleep, the myriad flames unable to touch him. He slept all the way until dawn the next day.
"Ahh!" Qin Tian got up and stretched, his eyes exceptionally bright. After a night's rest, his essence, energy, and spirit were replenished, and he was in peak condition.
"Hmm, time to leave!"
"There's more than one great battle waiting for me!" Qin Tian grinned. Silver light shone in his left eye, an unfathomably profound aura spread, and all sorts of possible futures surfaced before his gaze.
With mysterious spatial ripples beneath his feet, Qin Tian shot out of the Fire Domain at incredible speed. Following the contours of space, he merged into the void, standing upright yet invisible. Within an inch lay the ends of the earth; a single step carried him thousands of meters.
Just like that, Qin Tian escaped the encirclement outside the Fire Domain without anyone noticing. They continued searching inside for traces of him.
No, someone had noticed!
The void footwork originating from Qin Tian's right eye was indeed mysterious, but before the descendants of the man who had mastered space to its utmost and was known as the Emperor of the Void, it was still far too immature. Calling it brandishing a saber before Guan Yu would hardly be an exaggeration.
Not long afterward, Qin Tian left the Fire Domain far behind and arrived near a stretch of barren hills.
This place was not far from the Fire Domain. Assailed day and night by scorching heat, it had become a wasteland where nothing grew.
Mountains towered into the clouds, but not a trace of green adorned them. They were bare and utterly desolate.
As Qin Tian walked, he suddenly stopped.
Without warning, a black banner appeared before him, snapping in the wind. Black mist churned and dark clouds surged, while immense pressure spread like mercury pouring across the ground.
"Hmph, I've been waiting here for you for quite some time!"
Ji Haiyue stood blocking the way, tall and powerfully built, his gaze as sharp as lightning.
Qin Tian looked him up and down. Sensing spatial fluctuations that felt both familiar and unfamiliar, he asked tentatively, "Someone from the Ji Family?"
"Indeed!" Ji Haiyue nodded proudly.
Qin Tian said, "We've never had any grievances or grudges. Why block my path?"
Ji Haiyue replied coldly, "I came because I wanted to kill you. Why would I need any more reason?"
Qin Tian grinned. "As expected of a Desolate Ancient Family. Quite domineering."
"You make it sound grand, but really, you're just drooling over the Yaoguang Holy Land's bounty."
"By the way, I'm curious. How many jin of Source did the Yaoguang Holy Land offer for me?" Qin Tian blinked his large eyes and asked curiously, "Ever since I escaped the mine, I haven't had a moment's peace. People have been hunting me day and night."
Ji Haiyue said calmly, "They offered no reward. The Yaoguang Holy Land merely announced that you were carrying a full million jin of Source."
Qin Tian nodded and thought, It seems the Yaoguang Holy Land hasn't revealed anything about the Primordial Sacred Light Technique. Apparently, they're quite confident they can capture me before anyone else.
Then Qin Tian smiled and said, "Too little, too little. It's at least three million jin of Source!"
Ji Haiyue gave Qin Tian a somewhat surprised look. "Excellent. Hand over those three million jin of Source, then surrender!"
"Before the Ji Family, death is your only path." Ji Haiyue spoke very calmly. He did not even spare Qin Tian another glance, brimming with absolute confidence.
As one of the Ji Family Descendants, which commanded the ultimate power of the void, he had the right to say those words.
"Don't be so sure of yourself!"
The corners of Qin Tian's lips rose in a faint smile, and he shot straight into the sky. He had no intention of clashing head-on with his opponent. He was not surrounded, so there was no need to fight to the death.
But as he rose into the air, Qin Tian found himself amid a gray haze. An inexplicable force sealed him in and forced him back to the ground.
He knew someone had prepared this place, engraving dao patterns and gathering the mighty force of the earth veins to trap him here.
Ji Haiyue sneered. "Stop wasting your effort. From the moment you stepped into this place, you were destined not to escape this calamity."
Before you continue