"Don't mention it. We're neighbors; helping each other is the right thing to do."
With a modest smile, Ye Qian departed and returned to her own quarters.
Not long after Ye Qian went inside, Lin Shengbing also left their house.
Qin Wang didn't consume the bowl of spirit rabbit soup. Instead, he poured it down the drain in his back room, then locked the door and took out the hundred-pound piece of white bone, probing it with his divine sense.
"Strange, no reaction at all..."
"There shouldn't be a mistake!"
Despite probing the bone for a long time with his divine sense, Qin Wang found nothing peculiar except its extraordinary weight. He started doubting if he had bought the right bone mentioned in the intelligence.
"Never mind, I should focus on cultivating."
After fiddling with the bone for an hour without any discoveries, Qin Wang put it away, took a refined pill, and started meditating.
While Qin Wang was cultivating, about five miles from his shack, in a large wooden house, nine individuals with powerful auras were gathered. The lowest among them was at the ninth level of Qi Refining!
The highest among them was a young man appearing around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, at the twelfth level of Qi Refining!
This man, evidently the leader, looked at a middle-aged cultivator with a simple appearance and said, "Lin Daoyou, it's settled then. Tomorrow, Li Daoyou, Zhang Daoyou, and Chen Daoyou will be waiting fifteen miles outside Tianhu Mountain. You and Ye Daoyou will bring him there, and capturing someone at the tenth level of Qi Refining should be a breeze!"
"You should head back now and stick to the plan!"
"Alright!"
Lin Shengbing nodded, stood up, cupped his hands in salute to the other cultivators, and left.
Inside his room, Qin Wang was meditating with his legs crossed, watching his cultivation progress slowly increase.
Qin Wang
Lifespan: 20/147
Realm: Qi Refining Level 10 (5162/10000)
Five Elements Condensation Technique: (Small Success) (1563/2000) Absorb and refine the essence of the five elements of heaven and earth into magic power, condense it into liquid form, diligence makes up for deficiencies!
In the early hours of the morning...
Daily Intelligence Refreshed!
Today's Intelligence:
1) Yesterday, you bought a heavy white bone at the rogue cultivator market. This bone is a relic of a supreme being. Collecting more of such bones might yield unexpected rewards.
2) Yesterday, after touching the white bone, you learned that it is a piece of a skull from a supreme being who lived ten thousand years ago. Another piece of this bone is in the Wanmo Mountain of the Dayu Immortal Dynasty.
3) Yesterday, Ye Qian brought you spirit rabbit soup. Lin Shengbing has already discussed with Li Shentong and other robbers the details of ambushing you today.
4) Ye Qian gave you the spirit rabbit soup to gain your trust, making it easier to ambush you at the supposed formation site.
5) Lin Shengbing excels in using talismans during combat.
6) Ye Qian specializes in using a poison-laced spirit sword known for its speed and ability to seal magic power.
7) Yesterday, at the rogue cultivator market, you met the tomb raider Huang Sanqi. Over the past year, he has raided eighty-eight cultivator tombs, accumulating corpse poison that might help him advance rapidly in the future.
8) The four fragments of the Crimson Barbarian Shield you combined yesterday have greatly enhanced its defensive power. This shield is actually called the 'Barbarian God Shield,' shattered by a supreme celestial weapon, with fragments scattered across the Nine Regions and outer worlds.
9) Yesterday, you brushed past the rogue cultivator Wang Lin. He possesses considerable fortune, not inferior to Li Qiye.
10) Yesterday, at the Tianfu Tower, you brushed past Murong Chenggao of the Murong Family. He is searching for you to acquire the iron fragments you possess.
"This bone is a piece of a supreme being's skull from ten thousand years ago?"
"Another piece is in Wanmo Mountain of the Dayu Immortal Dynasty?"
"Collecting more such bones might yield unexpected rewards?"
Qin Wang looked at the first piece of intelligence, then at the white bone in his hand, and couldn't help but feel anticipation.
He remembered that, according to the intelligence about the Soul Gathering Bowl, the ancient demon Fang Yantian from ten thousand years ago had left a Nascent Soul inheritance in the Nine Regions, also located in the Wanmo Mountain. It seemed he would have to make a trip there in the future.
"Ye Qian and Lin Shengbing are truly thorough in their plot to ambush me. If I don't turn their bodies into puppets and their souls into soul seeds, it would be a waste of their efforts!"
Reading the second, fourth, fifth, and sixth pieces of intelligence, Qin Wang couldn't help but twitch his mouth in disdain. These two wretches were as meticulous as human traffickers from his past life, laying the groundwork thoroughly.
Without the intelligence panel, how could he possibly fend them off?
"The Crimson Barbarian Shield is actually the 'Barbarian God Shield'? Shattered by a supreme celestial weapon? Fragments scattered across the Nine Regions and outer worlds?"
"So, there are outer worlds beyond our Nine Regions?"
Qin Wang was shocked by the eighth piece of intelligence.
He was currently in the Southern Region, which was infinitely vast. Many people spent their entire lives without leaving the Southern Region. Now he learned that there were outer worlds beyond the Nine Regions!
"Murong Chenggao is looking for me? Fortunately, I was wearing a mask at the time. He shouldn't find me. I'll deal with him inside the Wanling Blessed Land and take his fragments!"
Seeing the tenth piece of intelligence, Qin Wang's eyes flashed with killing intent.
He currently had four fragments. If he could acquire a few more, the Barbarian God Shield would become even stronger!
The next morning...
Bathed in the morning sun, Qin Wang prepared and stepped out of his door.
At the same time, he controlled Mu Hun Two, Zhao Hun One, and Shi Hun Three with his divine sense, having them wait in the distance, ready to move.
"Mei Daoyou, Lin and I are going to Tianhu Mountain today. The cultivator is there. If you have time, you can come with us to get the formation. What do you think?"
At this moment, the door to the adjacent shack opened, and a graceful female cultivator, Ye Qian, walked out, smiling warmly at Qin Wang.
"Sure!"
"I'd feel more at ease getting the formation as soon as possible. Thank you for the trouble!"
Qin Wang cursed internally but agreed outwardly, planning to kill the couple on the way.
"No need to be so polite!"
Ye Qian appeared enthusiastic, calling to Lin Shengbing inside. "Old Lin, are you ready? Mei Daoyou is waiting!"
"Coming, coming..."
Lin Shengbing responded from inside, quickly stepping out and smiling naively at Qin Wang. "Sorry for the wait, Mei Daoyou. Let's go!"
"Okay."
Qin Wang nodded.
The three set off towards Tianhu Mountain outside Wanling Market.
Tianhu Mountain was a hundred miles southeast of the market, a giant mountain a hundred feet tall with a large lake at its summit, hence its name.
The place was lush and filled with ancient trees, a small market in its own right. Many rogue cultivators chose to cultivate here due to the good spiritual energy, while waiting for the opening of the Wanling Blessed Land.
"Mei Daoyou, that cultivator lives fifteen miles below Tianhu Mountain. Shall we head there?"
As they walked, Ye Qian took a step forward and asked warmly.
"Sure, that works."
Qin Wang nodded, a flash of killing intent in his eyes unnoticed by Ye Qian.
At the same time, he controlled Mu Hun Two and Shi Hun Three to follow. Zhao Hun One, being only at the sixth level of Qi Refining, was relatively less useful and was kept for potential sacrificial use.
The three continued forward.
They passed through a dense forest, deserted, still forty miles from Tianhu Mountain.
"This is a good spot for killing."
Qin Wang eyed the forest expectantly.
He made up his mind and addressed Ye Qian and Lin Shengbing. "Thank you for your help. Once this is done, I must treat you both to some spirit wine!"
"No need, Mei Daoyou, you're too kind—ugh, you!"
Ye Qian started to decline modestly but was abruptly interrupted by a blazing white light piercing through her chest!