Longevity: Start Farming with Entries

Chapter 737 - 578: Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Demon

Inside the ancient hall.After Qin Ming finished everything, he withdrew his divine techniques.

Looking again at the Nanming Ancestor on the ground, he had already reverted from a demonified state to human form, and his consciousness had become clear once more.

However, the celestial demon qi within the Nanming Ancestor was extracted by Qin Ming, causing his cultivation realm, which was at the Divinity Transformation stage, to plummet back to the late-stage Nascent Soul realm.

Yet, having reached the Divinity Transformation stage for over a thousand years, this did not affect his ability to eventually cultivate back to the Divinity Transformation realm, though it would likely take several decades.

After a moment.

"I... what is this!" Nanming Ancestor slowly stood up and examined his own condition, with an incredulous look on his withered face.

He realized that the celestial demon qi tormenting him was completely gone!

Nanming Ancestor immediately understood and deeply bowed to Qin Ming: "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Qin, for your rescue! I cannot express my gratitude with words. If there is ever a need for the old man, please feel free to command me!"

After speaking, he did not forget to take out half of the Reversed Scale Stele from his storage pouch and present it.

"It’s nothing! Qin merely happened to have a secret technique to extract and collect the celestial demon qi..." Qin Ming took the Reversed Scale Stele, inspected it, and then stored it away.

During this journey, not only did he acquire a very rare celestial demon qi, but also managed to obtain that half of the Reversed Scale Stele.

In fact, it seemed he got the better deal.

Nanming Ancestor took out a few pills and meditated in place for a while, then stabilized the turbulent spiritual qi within him.

"Next, what are Fellow Daoist Nanming’s plans?" Qin Ming asked.

Nanming Ancestor’s expression showed a trace of melancholy, and he nostalgically sighed: "Now that the greatest problem on me is resolved, naturally I wish to return to the Great Jin Sect. Alas! I owe those disciples and grand-disciples too much..."

"Very well." Qin Ming nodded.

Then he asked, "In this demon ruins, are there any other places with hidden treasures?"

Since he was already here, Qin Ming decided to explore for a while.

But Nanming Ancestor shook his head and said, "When the old man first came here, I already searched thoroughly several times."

"Aside from the bones of the ancient great demon, the most precious was that celestial demon qi."

"Everything else is just ruins and corpses left over from past battles, long weathered in the dust of history."

When Qin Ming entered, he too released his divine thought for a search, which was, as Nanming Ancestor said, there was nothing of further value to them, so they abandoned the exploration.

The two followed their original path back to the entrance of the cave they came through.

Before long, the familiar dark world of the seabed was restored before them.

Qin Ming and Nanming, concealing themselves, stealthily moved away.

He cautiously let out his divine thought, scanning towards the nearby ’Soul-Eroding Bone Swamp,’ thankfully, the Cangming Demon Venerable had not returned.

Thus, the two sped up.

But in the next moment.

Just as the two were stealthily moving outward, Qin Ming’s powerful divine thought detected two presences approaching them, two late-tier four demon cultivators coming straight at them.

They were about to meet.

’Could it be that we’ve been discovered?’ Qin Ming’s heart trembled.

But he quickly dismissed it as unlikely, so he instructed the Heaven-Devouring Rat to use the Void Walking Divine Technique to dig a void passage nearby, and led Nanming Ancestor into it to hide.

To see what’s happening.

Nanming Ancestor was also amazed by the extraordinary ability of the Heaven-Devouring Rat.

Just as they concealed their forms, the two demon cultivators immediately arrived, stopping not far away.

Once the escape light dissipated, a hunchbacked old man and a short, chubby middle-aged man were revealed, both with features of sea tribe demon beasts.

"Old Monster Crocodile, the task assigned to us by Cangming Lord is truly life-threatening!"

"Who would have thought that inciting a beast tide would provoke such a massive reaction from the Human Race? Although much blood food has been collected this time, our clan has suffered heavy losses too..." The short, chubby middle-aged man had a pair of blood-colored vertical pupils and gill-like demon features on the sides of his cheeks.

The hunchbacked old man said, "Blood Shark, you should also know Cangming Lord’s temperament. If he is angered, the major clans at Dragonbone Reef will face the same fate as us!"

"Even if unwilling, we must comply."

Then.

The demon cultivator called Blood Shark suddenly raised his hand to set up a barrier, speaking cautiously:

"Old Monster Crocodile, do you know why Cangming Demon Venerable is making such a big commotion this time?"

"Hmm? Did you receive some insider information?" The hunchbacked old man frowned and asked, "Isn’t it related to the internal turmoil of the Blood Flood Dragon Race and the Merfolk Race?"

"Not so, it’s not insider information, just that last time when I went to Soul-Eroding Bone Swamp to transport blood food, I had the fortune to enter the core area once." The short, chubby demon cultivator spoke mysteriously, unaware that their entire conversation was overheard by Qin Ming.

Qin Ming had originally intended to mind his own business and simply leave.

But when these two demons mentioned the cause of the Outer Sea Beast Tide, he suddenly became interested and, along with Nanming Ancestor, stopped to eavesdrop.

And the barrier set up by the two Tier Four Demon Cultivators was no more than a formality to Qin Ming and the Nanming Ancestor.

Only to hear the short, stout cultivator continue, "Deep within the territory of the Cangming Demon Venerable, there is unbelievably a legendary Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Demon. All the blood food we’ve been delivering to the island is for feeding this demonized Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Demon."

"And it’s said that this Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Demon is a remnant from the great battle of the Ten Thousand Valleys Profound Continent, gradually evolving after absorbing ancient great demon essence blood and fallen demon blood. The Cangming Demon Venerable owes a significant part of his current status to this demon plant."

"The fact that he has us perpetrating such widespread slaughter to gather blood food for the Wood Demon, and that the Venerable himself is not sparing any effort to hunt Human Race Nascent Souls, likely means this demon plant is on the verge of a breakthrough. If it continues to advance, it will at least reach Tier Five Middle-Grade and above."

"Subsequently, the Venerable will draw from the power of origin within, and breaking through to Tier Five Mid-stage, or even later stages, is highly possible."

At this moment,

the hunched old man lowered his voice and said, "Brother Blood Shark, you must be jesting! Is everything you’re saying true? If the breakthrough succeeds, are you implying that Cangming Demon Venerable will continue to rule the Outer Sea for another ten thousand years? He’ll become invincible in the Human Realm?"

"Absolutely true!" said the short, stout demon cultivator with utmost certainty.

"Hiss! I didn’t expect Cangming Demon Venerable to have such grand schemes. Alas, we are all of the Demon Race, yet why do we not have such opportunities..." the hunched old man lamented enviously.

The short, stout demon cultivator said, "No, you’re mistaken. This is not the end. The Venerable secretly cultivating the Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Demon seems not just about breaking through realms but involves other, even greater ambitions...we simply do not know the interior details."

"Alas! No matter how it turns out, as long as the Venerable doesn’t take our lives, that’s all that matters." The hunched old man sighed deeply. "Let’s quickly go hand over the collected blood food."

After complaining for half a day, the two once again activated their Escape Light and vanished into the air.

Hearing their conversation, Qin Ming’s heart suddenly stirred. He then extended his Divine Thought, comparable to the Divinity Transformation Stage, towards the island near the ’Soul-Eroding Bone Swamp’ to conduct a thorough inspection.

His current Divine Thought could envelop an extremely far-reaching range.

In a moment, the dark terrain of the Soul-Eroding Bone Swamp appeared within sight.

Previously, he hadn’t investigated carefully; this time, he left no stone unturned, venturing deep into the Bone Swamp.

Half an incense stick later.

Sure enough, in the core depth of the island, his Divine Thought broke through a concealed restriction, subsequently entering a black swamp.

The depths of the swamp were shrouded in dense fog, exuding miasma capable of isolating a Nascent Soul Stage Cultivator’s Divine Thought.

However, it posed little obstruction to Qin Ming, allowing him to smoothly invade the interior.

As the view before him shifted, at the center of the black swamp was a vast Blood Pool in which a towering, over-a-hundred-zhang tall, eerie green Spirit Plant grew.

Intense Evil Qi swirled thickly around the vicinity.

This Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Demon was covered in dark red tree tumors, its bark showing scaly cracks, with gnarled and twisted roots like tentacles plunging into the Blood Pool, madly absorbing the blood-fiend energy.

The sky-darkening dark green leaves were densely parasitized with translucent human-faced miasma, in which distorted faces of devoured cultivators could be faintly seen, screaming in agony.

Seeing the fully matured Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Demon, Qin Ming gained quite an insight.

However, at the instant he saw this demon plant.

The Lifebound Spirit Plant Immortal Vine within the Little Spirit Realm, the jet-black vines danced endlessly, and rustling vibrations emanated between the branches, conveying a profoundly eager and excited emotion to Qin Ming...

"This..."

It was also the first time Qin Ming saw such a significant reaction from his Lifebound Spirit Plant.

’Could it be that my Black Vine wants to devour this Ten-Thousand-Year Wood Demon to complete its metamorphosis and advance?

He quickly understood the reason behind it.

If that were the case, Qin Ming would have no choice but to study this Spirit Plant thoroughly.

However, in the next instant,

Qingyang the Old Demon from the Blood Massacre Spiritual Treasure said, "Something feels off, Friend Qin, keep looking further down."

Therefore, Qin Ming complied and continued to search deeper.

Yet in the next instant,

As Qin Ming’s Divine Thought continued exploring deeper into the Blood Pool, it was abruptly repulsed by a mysterious force.

’Even Divine Thought from the Divinity Transformation Stage can be blocked. It seems something truly formidable is hidden beneath this Wood Demon!’

Qin Ming dared not probe further, fearing he might trigger the restriction within. If discovered by the Cangming Demon Venerable, a fierce battle was inevitable.

...

A long while later.

The figures of Qin Ming and the Nanming Ancestor surfaced again, without lingering, they left the place at the fastest possible speed.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, I didn’t expect that Cangming Demon Venerable would be treating our Human Race cultivators as blood food to rear that ancient demon plant...it’s truly infuriating. This vile individual has developed into such a formidable force, and if allowed to break through further, the consequences would be dire. The Outer Sea might face another calamity," sighed the Nanming Ancestor.

Qin Ming said, "Let’s discuss this with Fellow Daoist Xiao once we return."

"Indeed," the Nanming Ancestor nodded in agreement.

A few days later.

The two of them returned to the Celestial Edge Sea Pavilion.