Marauder Cultivators Afoot

Qingyang Market.

Qin Ming left Juxuan Pavilion and strolled slowly along the market's main street.

All manner of cultivators flowed endlessly through the streets, people coming and going.

Yet it seemed that the market now had quite a few more unfamiliar faces than usual.

Qin Ming was wandering the streets.

"Daoist, care for a little passionate spending?"

At the entrance to a pleasure house nearby, a young female cultivator in a skimpy green dress gave him a vigorous flirtatious wink.

Qin Ming paused, expressionlessly withdrew his gaze, and promptly strode away.

"Oh? A righteous gentleman?" the female cultivator muttered in surprise, the look of certain victory in her eyes instantly vanishing.

She rolled her eyes in the direction Qin Ming had left, then began soliciting the next passerby.

After Qin Ming left.

A burly man with mutton-chop whiskers emerged from inside the pleasure house and asked with narrowed eyes, "He didn't bite?"

"Mm. Just some greenhorn. How boring." The green-clad female cultivator casually replied as she rubbed her nails.

The burly man silently nodded and went back inside.

After leaving the market.

Qin Ming thought disdainfully:

What a joke. I wouldn't even take it if it were free.

And you think I'd pay for yours?

Nothing but cheap rouge and powder. Good thing my Dao heart is firm.

By evening.

Qin Ming returned to the Shantytown.

For dinner, he cooked another pot of Superior Beast Fang Rice, then began cultivating the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture.

Over the past half year.

The amount of Superior Beast Fang Rice he had consumed was absolutely terrifying. If not for his good fortune in repeatedly refreshing the "Accelerated Growth" Affix.

Even he was nearly unable to keep up with the consumption required for cultivating his Body Refining Art.

Daoist Ruan's description of it as a "bottomless pit" had indeed not deceived him.

Ordinary cultivators simply could not sustain such consumption of spiritual materials.

Qin Ming discovered that with each successive layer of the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture, the spiritual materials needed to increase one's vitality and blood rose at almost a geometric rate.

Though the price it demanded was indeed steep.

This cultivation art truly had extraordinary aspects. Its first three layers alone produced far better body-refining results than ordinary methods.

Qin Ming's current supply of Superior Beast Fang Rice was still fairly abundant.

Bang bang bang!

Qin Ming had just finished his cultivation when a string of urgent knocks suddenly sounded from outside.

He frowned.

Who was in such a hurry?

Qin Ming rose and put away the Beast Fang Rice before going to open the door.

He cautiously peered outside through the crack in the door.

It was Cai Lao Jiu.

But he was drenched in sweat, looking flustered and frantic.

Qin Ming opened the door and hurriedly asked, "Lao Jiu, what happened to you? Why are you in such a panic?"

"Something... something huge happened!" Cai Lao Jiu stammered.

His voice also carried a trace of trembling, as though he feared something.

"Fellow Daoist Long... Long is dead!"

Cai Lao Jiu's face was deathly pale as he shakily forced out those few words.

Qin Ming's mind instantly went blank.

This news was truly hard to believe!

"Are you sure? Could there have been some mistake?"

"Fellow Daoist Long was a Late Qi Refining Great Cultivator. His divine abilities were far beyond those of ordinary cultivators. How could he suddenly die?"

"Did he also go to the frontier reclamation line?"

After speaking, uncertainty began to rise in Qin Ming's heart.

Cai Lao Jiu said urgently, "At a time like this, how could I possibly be mistaken?"

"Fellow Daoist Long never went to the front lines either."

"Fellow Daoist Long was killed by Marauder Cultivators. His body is in the nearby river channel. It was only just discovered. Come with me and take a look—you'll understand."

As Cai Lao Jiu revealed this even more explosive news, Qin Ming panicked as well.

The two said no more and hurried toward the river channel.

In less than the time it took to drink half a cup of tea.

They arrived at the scene.

Only then did Qin Ming realize in shock that the place where Fellow Daoist Long's body had been found was so close to his house—only a few hundred zhang away!

By the time he and Cai Lao Jiu arrived, a large crowd of cultivators living nearby had already gathered beside the river channel.

Each of them was pale with fear, continuously pointing at the corpse in the water.

Qin Ming forcibly squeezed through the crowd and looked up.

"It really is Fellow Daoist Long!" He had nothing more to say now.

As far as Qin Ming could see, Fellow Daoist Long's pallid corpse had been stripped completely bare. All his belongings and Storage Bag had vanished without a trace.

Moreover, dozens of horrifying bloody holes covered his body, while his neck and heart had been pierced through by magical artifacts.

When he died... he likely had not even had time to cry for help.

"Ah, how tragic. I heard that Daoist Wang and the others came to the river just now to wash clothes and only then discovered Fellow Daoist Long's body."

"Exactly. He's been dead for some time. His corpse must have gotten stuck beneath the bridge last night and was only washed out into the river channel now."

"Do you think Marauder Cultivators did this? But with Fellow Daoist Long's strength, what level of cultivation would a Marauder Cultivator need to silently kill him?"

The people around them looked at one another, and an ominous premonition settled over everyone's hearts.

The atmosphere immediately became extremely oppressive.

Not long after.

A patrol team from the Spirit Feather Sect hurried over as well.

The commander leading them dispersed the onlookers. He gazed into the river channel, and after just one glance, his face revealed astonishment and uncertainty.

He knew that if he encountered the murderer who had killed Fellow Daoist Long, he would have no chance of surviving.

"Could a Foundation Establishment Realm Marauder Cultivator have acted? But... it doesn't look like it."

The Spirit Feather Sect commander stroked his chin in thought, then decisively took out a Message Talisman to report to the sect. This matter had clearly exceeded the scope of his abilities.

Qin Ming returned to his house in a daze.

He had never expected danger to be so close to him.

"Looks like the Shantytown has become unsafe."

"Qingyang Market is protected by a Second-Order Array. It can withstand even Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators."

"I need to make plans early. Finding a way to move into the market would be safer."

Thoughts churned in Qin Ming's heart.

"And the Spirit Fields... I hope the Spirit Feather Sect will strengthen its patrols."

"Ugh, just thinking about having to farm while constantly on edge from now on is enough to make me numb."

"I hope that after robbing a fat sheep at Late Qi Refining, those Marauder Cultivators won't set their sights on bottom-tier Spirit Farmers like us."

"They probably... wouldn't even look twice at us, right?"

Fellow Daoist Long's death deeply shook Qin Ming.

Even someone as powerful as a Late Qi Refining cultivator had met the end of body and Dao alike.

Qin Ming's sense of crisis could not have been higher.

After killing Fellow Daoist Long, they did not even bother disposing of the body. They brazenly dumped it in the river. Clearly, the murderer had no scruples whatsoever.

It was more like a naked demonstration of power.

For all these years, the Shantytown had been kept in check by Fellow Daoist Long, a Late Qi Refining cultivator with a strong sense of justice.

Only then had the petty villains in the surrounding area not dared to act recklessly.

Now that Fellow Daoist Long was dead, the safety of the surrounding area had immediately become the greatest problem.

Qin Ming took out a Mid-Grade Lightning Arrow Talisman and tucked it into his sleeve, which gave him a little peace of mind.

After the Hundred Treasures Glazed Scripture reached the third layer, the effect of Superior Beast Fang Rice in increasing vitality and blood had also gradually begun to slow.

I need better Spirit Rice that can strengthen vitality and blood in order to speed up my body-refining progress.

What would happen if I raised the Quality Enhancement of Superior Beast Fang Rice to the Supreme tier?

But aside from the first one, the Quality Enhancement Affix hadn't appeared again for half a year.

As Qin Ming thought this, a decisive glint appeared in his eyes!

His current stockpile of Superior Beast Fang Rice was enough to last him another year.

Forget it. He would go all in!

This time, he intended to use his final "Accelerated Growth" Affix on those three mu of Yin Condensation Flowers.

He would gamble on a Quality Enhancement Affix appearing!