Gathering the Demon Cores

Qin Fei was unaware of Shangyu Market's predicament.

His plan was to first hunt down second-tier demon cores in the Luoping Mountain Range, and then return to Shangyu Market to cultivate in seclusion after refining enough Foundation Establishment Pill.

However, he did not expect that after several years of bloody fighting on the front lines, Shangyu Market's reserves were far less than before.

With the barbarian army mobilizing a large number of troops, Shangyu Market is now in grave danger.

A large number of Rogue Cultivator began to flee, and even the Lin and Lu families began to prepare for their escape routes.

It just goes to show that things can never be predicted.

By this time, Qin Fei had completely settled down in Luoping Mountain.

He transformed the previous cave into a habitable cave abode.

The room is spacious and furnished with a stone table and chairs.

Several puppets were cleaning, and a long, rectangular iron box hung on the wall, blowing a comfortable breeze.

There are three secret rooms on both sides, one for Qin Fei's cultivation and another for refining pills.

Foundation Establishment Pill is a second-tier pill, which Qin Fei is currently unable to refine.

So he decided to hunt Demon Beast while learning alchemy from the Big Yellow, doing both at the same time, which would save a lot of time.

As for the last room, it was reserved for Big Yellow and Cloud Treader.

Cloud Treader seemed to have mistaken the Big Yellow for her mother, and would occasionally nibble on its belly.

The Big Yellow was on the verge of tears; it couldn't beat the dog in a fight, and in the end, it could only accept its fate.

Qin Fei, accompanied by his Iron Guard, searched everywhere for traces of second-tier Demon Beast.

Weak Demon Beast usually have a keen sense of smell, and will immediately retreat once they detect danger approaching.

Some powerful Demon Beast can become extremely enraged and will immediately attack anyone who intrudes into their territory.

This led to an interesting phenomenon.

The two were sometimes surrounded and intercepted by a Demon Beast, and sometimes chased by a Demon Beast and forced to flee for their lives.

Some powerful Demon Beast were beyond their ability to be defeated even when the two of them joined forces.

Fortunately, Qin Fei always made thorough preparations before each action, which ensured his safety.

Time passed slowly.

The mountains were covered with a thick layer of snow, which gradually melted and new buds sprouted.

Two figures darted swiftly through the dense forest.

Ahead of them, a wounded Black Dark Ox was running away frantically.

"Iron Guard, block it from the front! Don't let it escape!"

Qin Fei shouted loudly, then flicked his wrist, and dozens of puppets appeared.

These puppets were only at the second or third level of Qi Refinement, but each one carried a cannon on its shoulder.

The cannon barrel contained terrifying Spiritual Power, seemingly ready to erupt at any moment.

These are the Spirit Energy Cannon that were refined earlier. After being charged, each one can unleash the power of Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

"Block its position."

Iron Guard scrambled forward, grabbing the two bull horns with both hands and bracing his feet against the ground.

The body slid backward for dozens of feet before finally bringing the Black Dark Ox to a stop.

"Now!"

Suddenly, a bright light burst forth from the cannon barrel on the puppet's shoulder, followed by countless beams of light shooting out fiercely.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Explosions rang out incessantly, and the Black Dark Ox was instantly blasted away.

Iron Guard seized the opportunity to follow up. Although the previous attack was fierce, it might not be enough to defeat the Demon Beast. It still needed to be dealt with decisively by Iron Guard.

It spread its two palms, like sharp knives, and plunged them into the belly of the Black Dark Ox.

Then he ripped it open with a sudden force, and his intestines spilled out onto the ground.

The Black Dark Ox howled with heart-wrenching pain, charging headlong ahead.

Qin Fei was not in a hurry to close the net, and followed behind at a leisurely pace.

After a year of hunting Demon Beast and teetering on the brink of death several times, he had long understood that the more critical the moment, the less he should rush things.

Demon Beast possess powerful physiques, and when they are on the verge of death, they can often unleash energy far exceeding that of ordinary beings.

Therefore, the most stable approach is to slowly wear it down.

Sure enough, half an hour later, the Black Dark Ox had almost bled out and collapsed to the ground, exhausted.

Iron Guard stepped forward, reached in, and pulled out the inner core.

Qin Fei smiled slightly and murmured:

"Ten second-tier Demon Beast inner cores should be enough."

He put away the inner core, then flipped his palm, revealing a palm-sized, turquoise flying boat.

He tossed it into the air, and the flying boat grew larger in the wind, reaching a length of three zhang (approximately 13 meters), before finally coming to a stop.

Qin Fei leaped into the air and straddled the flying boat.

Then the flying boat transformed into a streak of light and shot away.

Two weeks later.

The outline of Shangyu Market finally came into view, but the flying boat stopped above the clouds.

"Why are there so many barbarian soldiers...?"

Qin Fei frowned slightly. Between his eyebrows, a vertical eye gleamed with a faint blue light, taking in the entire scene inside the workshop.

He could clearly see that the city walls were teeming with people and filled with banners.

These people were tall and clad in animal skins; they were clearly Barbarian Tribe.

The banners have also changed; they are no longer the two large characters "Lin" and "Lu," but have become the totem of some kind of tribe.

Shangyu Market has clearly changed hands!

Qin Fei was completely baffled by the loss of Shangyu Market.

How could the barbarian army have captured such a massive city with almost no damage to its walls without bloodshed?

It seems more like the human race willingly gave up the position.

After pondering for a moment, Qin Fei took out a communication talisman and began contacting Tang Zhan and the others.

The communication talisman remained completely silent, clearly indicating that it was outside the communication range.

"Enough. The city has over a million inhabitants. If they abandon the city and flee, there will surely be traces to follow."

He patted his waist, and several birds flew out of his Storage Bag and scattered in all directions.

Before long, Qin Fei's eyes lit up, and he shot off in one direction.

Along the way, some abandoned items began to appear on the ground.

The tattered robes, the broken magical Law Artifact, and the scattered corpses of cultivators gradually appeared.

Qin Fei controlled the Divine Travel Boat to land, arriving in front of a corpse and examining it carefully.

The corpse belonged to a male human cultivator, with a large hole in his chest, likely caused by a sharp weapon.

The body had begun to rot, and flies swarmed around it, suggesting it had been dead for some time.

The further they chased, the more corpses they found on the ground.

The majority of them were humans, with only a few scattered barbarian corpses.

"Tiezhu, Old Zhang, you two must be alright."

Qin Fei silently chanted in his heart and suddenly increased his speed.

A hundred miles away, in a valley.

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators gathered here to rest.

There was a long line of people slowly making their way outside the valley.

Inside a makeshift tent, six monks were engaged in a heated discussion.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, the barbarian army is about to catch up. If we continue with these Rogue Cultivators, none of us will escape."

"Indeed, these lowly Rogue Cultivator, some don't even have a flying Law Artifact, and some even have mortal families with them. How can they possibly outrun the strange beasts ridden by the Barbarian Tribe? Hesitation will only lead to chaos. Fellow Daoist Lin, think deeply!"

The Lin Lineage patriarch frowned and said helplessly:

"We have retreated to Repel the North City on this trip. It is not like Shangyu Market. We have no foundation there. If we don't bring these Rogue Cultivators with us, how can we make a comeback?"

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Everyone understood that, on the surface, Repel the North City was praising Shangyu Market's meritorious service in resisting the barbarians and promising to provide them with a place to live.

But once they get there, how they are settled is entirely up to others.

If we could bring all these Rogue Cultivator along and accumulate strength from them, their situation might improve considerably.

After much deliberation, the Lu Household patriarch made a difficult decision:

"Fine, let's give it a try. I hope you make the right decision."

What they didn't know was that this decision would mark the beginning of the decline of both the Lin and Lu families.