Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-21

The map showed in detail the location of Xuan Qi Island, the mini islands and areas within its jurisdiction, as well as the origins of various spirit mines, spirit herbs, spirit materials, and other materials needed for cultivation.

Lu Ping looked up and glanced around alertly; everyone was still admiring the battle of the four Blood Condensation Realm cultivators. He quietly found the body of a Xuan Ling Sect disciple who looked like him.

He stripped the disciple’s clothes and then burned the body into ashes. Then, he cast a face-changing spell that would blur his face in the eyes of the commoners. After that, following the guidance of the map, he ran to other places on the island.

Every sect wanted to expand its area of influence solely to increase its cultivation resources. Other than some natural spirit mines and spirit herbs, all other renewable resources had to be cultivated.

Therefore, within the sect's sphere of influence, every suitable place must be utilised to cultivate these cultivation resources. Whereas the cultivators stationed at these places would be responsible for guiding the local commoners to cultivate these resources and distribute them within the sect. At the same time, they were also responsible for protecting the safety of these places.

“Ten miles east of the cliff, at an area facing directly towards the sun, there’s a spirit field roughly the size of 2000 square yards, but it only has 300 pounds of spirit rice. The production rate of this spirit rice sure is low!” Lu Ping muttered to himself as he moved towards another site.

“Eighteen miles to the south-east, the Garden of Spirit Wood only has ten pieces of spirit wood. The rest aren’t fully grown yet. So unlucky!”

Twenty miles to the south, at the middle of the back mountain, there was a mine of fine copper. The fine copper was a common metal used to forge low and mid-grade mystic instruments. There, he found a hundred crudely refined fine copper ores.

At the west side of the mountain, there was a spirit herb garden within the mountain shade. There, he found ten fully cultivated hundred-year spirit herbs, most of which were used to concoct Late Blood Refining Realm medicinal pellets. On top of that, there was also a 500-year spirit herb used to concoct the common medicinal pellets for Blood Condensation Realm cultivators!

He had already gone to the spirit stone mine located in the north. Although there were a few other places he had yet to visit, plundering everything away would make his actions too obvious and bring suspicion. He also didn’t expect to find many valuables in those places.

Furthermore, the battle of the Blood Condensation Realm master immortals had most likely reached its conclusion. Excluding the spirit stone mine, the resources he plundered were worth almost a thousand spirit stones.

At the thought of earning almost 3000 spirit stones for the mission, Lu Ping felt a burst of excitement in his heart. He could step up his pace of entering the Blood Condensation Realm!

For this mission, Lu Ping deeply felt the consequences of his low cultivation level. He didn’t even have the right to know the mission’s goals and could only follow orders to fight in battle—he didn’t even know what he might be dying for.

Xuan Qi Island had a radius of 60 miles, hence Lu Ping took some time to explore its surroundings. When he returned to Xuan Ling Sect’s station on the island, a loud bang came from the sky followed by two shouts of pain. Then, Cultivator Sharing Union’s leader Zhang Zhihe was heard saying from afar, “Zhang Zi-Yuan, since when did you attain the Late Blood Refining Realm? How despicable!”

Lu Ping’s arrival at the station coincided with Master Immortal Liu and Master Immortal Du’s return. Master Immortal Du was clearly tired, while Master Immortal Liu appeared in good condition. The vast difference between Mid and Late Blood Refining Realm was made clear.

Seeing that everyone had gathered together, Master Immortal Liu asked, “Have you exterminated the enemies? How are our casualties?”

First Senior Martial Brother Yao Yong stepped forward and answered, “Two have escaped. They have cultivated some kind of secret technique, but will mostly likely end up disabled as a result. The rest were annihilated. Five of our martial siblings have died and thirteen were wounded. Most casualties were caused by the enemies’ desperate moves before their deaths.”

Master Immortal Liu sighed and said, “Because you assumed you already had victory at hand?”

The disciples flushed with embarrassment—Master Immortal Liu had gotten it right!

Master Immortal Liu continued, “It’s a battle of life and death. No matter where, when, or who it is, you need to give it your best. How do you have the leisure to feel pleased about yourself in the middle of a battle? Are you not happy to be alive and wish to die early?”

On the side, Master Immortal Du noticed the anger brewing in Master Immortal Liu’s words and he quickly intervened to mediate the situation. “But I’m sure you’ve all learned a lesson by now. Always remember what happened today and stay cautious!”

The disciples quickly nodded in understanding!

Master Immortal Liu carried on, “Master Immortal Du and I have killed Zhao Lingqiao. Zhang Zhihe is severely wounded. He managed to flee with his [Blood Spirit Escape], but not even years of attentive care will heal his wounds. Your mission here is almost complete. The sun has almost set, so get some rest and prepare for tomorrow. You will spread out to the mini islands under Xuan Qi Island’s jurisdiction. All remaining Xuan Ling Sect disciples will be exterminated. From today onward, Xuan Qi Sect will be under our Zhen Ling Sect’s ruling.”

Excitedly, the disciples left to find a place to rest for the night.

Lu Ping watched the master immortals as they walked toward a pavilion, thinking the spirit stone mine shouldn’t be made public to everyone. Hence, he slowly followed behind them and waited a few moments for them to enter the pavilion, only then did he step forward and knock on the pavilion door.

He heard Master Immortal Liu saying from the inside, “Come on in!”

Lu Ping entered the pavilion and saw the master immortals sitting on two putuans. They were smiling as they looked at Lu Ping.

Taken aback, Lu Ping wondered if they knew what he’d done on the island.

With a smile, Master Immortal Du said, “When Brother Liu and I entered the pavilion, we noticed you following behind us. Is there anything you want to tell us?”

It was then Lu Ping knew that his actions weren’t exposed. He calmed himself and told them the story he had prepared beforehand.

“What? A small spirit stone mine?” Master Immortal Liu was shocked.

“Brother Liu, keep it down. What about that cultivator’s looks, did you see his face clearly?” Master Immortal Du had been stationed outside of the sect for a long time. He was clearly more experienced and calm when handling situations.

“He was dressed in a black robe, it was the uniform for the Xuan Ling Sect outer disciples. He moved quickly. By the time I followed him to the bottom of the cliff, he was already gone. After that, I searched around and discovered the spirit stone mine behind the sharp turn. So I placed a seal and held the miners inside the cave. I didn’t dare to say anything to anyone and came here to report this to the master immortals as soon as possible.”

Master Immortal Liu recollected his usual composure, then praised, “You’ve done well. But don’t speak a word to anyone about this anymore.”

Lu Ping quickly nodded in understanding.

Then, Master Immortal Du smiled bitterly. “I’m afraid the black-robed man has already plundered most of the island’s resources by now.”

Lu Ping’s heart shook again.

Master Immortal Liu continued, “It doesn’t matter. Those resources can be cultivated again as long as the fields, gardens, and mines are not destroyed. It’s just a matter of time. Even more, those resources are nothing to the spirit stone mine. If we don’t handle this properly, it could lead to bigger troubles!”

Master Immortal Du nodded in agreement, “Thankfully, Perfect Person Qu is on Xuan Hua Island. We need to hurry and report this. It’s only 500 miles, the message will be received in no time.”

Master Immortal Liu said gravely, “This is most likely beyond Junior Martial Uncle Qu’s abilities. He will have to report back to the sect.”

Master Immortal Du shook his head. “That is not something we should worry about. Fortunately, the operation seems to be a success. Although a few escaped, they won’t be able to pass the message out faster than us. It’s enough for us to grab a head start.”

After saying so, he took out a charm. Lu Ping recognized it as a [Sonic Message Charm]. However, it was not the usual one crafted by Blood Condensation Realm cultivators. This one was filled with arcane energy and golden yellow in color. Clearly, it was crafted by a Core Forging Realm Perfect Person.

Sure enough, he was right. Master Immortal Liu whispered something to the charm before throwing it into the air. In the blink of an eye, it disappeared into thin air.