Seeing how smug he was, Tang Yushang felt an uneasy flutter in her chest—a sudden sense of foreboding, much like all those times in the past when she had puffed out her chest and thrown down bold words, only to end up eating humble pie in the end.
"With you acting so proud and conceited, if I run with you, I'm afraid I'll get beaten nine times every three days."
Hearing this, Qin Ming reassured her, "This is my blessed land—spiritual treasures flourish here, and heaven's fortune surges. Follow me, and we're sure to return loaded with spoils."
Taking the lead, Qin Ming marched deeper into this world.
Along the route, night mist curled in the air across a vast, majestic land dotted with all manner of wondrous sights.
Take the vista before them: even Tang Yushang was struck dumb, staring ahead in astonishment.
Dragon veins undulated beneath endless stretches of towering immortal peaks. Among them, four colossal mountains pierced the clouds, each draped with a thousand-zhang waterfall of a distinct hue.
They were four varieties of super fire springs—gold, silver, purple, and azure—cascading down from the peaks in a truly breathtaking spectacle.
The four-colored super fire springs surged violently, gathering into a resplendent lake where Earth Immortal-grade great medicines grew, sending rain-like showers of flying-immortal light soaring into the sky. Without question, an old monster of the seventh realm was in secluded cultivation there. Only now was Tang Yushang thoroughly convinced that this realm was extraordinary.
At first, she had felt a sense of discomfort; the Dao rhyme here was somewhat different, proving they were immensely far from Yujing. Seeing Qin Ming take to it like a fish to water, she could not help but admire him.
Circulating her true scripture and constantly regulating her breathing, Tang Yushang spent the better part of a day adjusting before gradually harmonizing with the heaven and earth of this realm.
Qin Ming led her through numerous towns, having her master the common tongue as quickly as possible so she could better blend in.
With her potent spirit and consciousness, learning an otherworldly language was hardly difficult; before long, she had even picked up two or three prominent local dialects.
With a beaming smile, Qin Ming said, "That should just about do it. Time to disguise ourselves."
"What do you mean?" Tang Yushang eyed him warily, instinctively feeling that his smile was far from innocent.
Qin Ming replied, "Reflecting on when I first arrived, I successively disguised myself as Yuan Dingming, Yang Dingming, and Hu Dingming. Only then could I move unhindered and have everything go smoothly."
He informed her that races were numerous in this region while pure-blooded humans were scarce, suggesting that Big Tang disguise herself as a six-tailed demon fox.
Her dark hair fluttering, Tang Yushang's lustrous, fair face was filled with shock, quickly followed by embarrassment and annoyance. "You really are up to no good! You want me to disguise myself as a vixen!"
Qin Ming adopted an utterly solemn expression. "What wild thoughts are you entertaining? Given your slender, shapely figure, you wouldn't need to completely reshape your flesh, which would make traveling across this land quite convenient. If you're unwilling, then you can compromise and disguise yourself as a female ape of the upright ape-demon clan."
"An upright female ape-demon?" Tang Yushang's expression instantly warped, her voice pitching slightly higher. For a peerless banished fairy of captivating beauty to cover herself in fur was truly worse than killing her.
Since they weren't in a desperate crisis, she naturally refused to disfigure herself if given a choice. She had no desire to don beast skins, hoist a white-bone club over her shoulder, and walk shoulder-to-shoulder with Ape-Demon Qin Ming, stomping across the earth in a rugged, barbaric style. Just imagining such a scene made her shudder.
Qin Ming smilingly offered another suggestion: "Or how about disguising yourself as a woman of the White Tiger clan? It matches your temperament well—as a core scion of your lineage, you naturally possess an imposing aura and a commanding presence that towers over ordinary peers."
Tang Yushang felt that when he smiled, his eyes drifted slightly. As the saying went, the eyes were windows to the soul; looking at his expression, who knew what absurd thoughts he was harboring? If she could overpower him, she would love nothing more than to pin him down and give him a sound beating.
Tang Yushang had genuinely considered becoming a fox girl, but when she saw Qin Ming hand over several snow-white fox tails he had just purchased and tell her to get accustomed to certain habits, her hair stood on end on the spot.
For instance, casually swaying a fluffy white fox tail while walking?
What a joke! What kind of background did she come from? She was extraordinarily noble; how could she roam the world like that? She felt this was nothing but Qin Ming's twisted taste, deliberately teasing and mocking her.
As a compromise, Tang Yushang chose to disguise herself as a cat girl, sporting a pair of fluffy cat ears, which was something she could just barely stomach. From that moment on, she temporarily became Mao Yushang.
Qin Ming, meanwhile, became Mao Ming. In truth, he was quite fond of the name Mao Dingming, but unfortunately, "Dingming" had most likely already earned widespread infamy across this world.
Mao Ming offered a critique: "Now that you're a cat person, you need to strut a proper catwalk."
Saying so, he took the lead and began walking. Strictly speaking, his gait wasn't effeminate; rather, it held a certain graceful poise, as he had blended in elements of tiger and leopard prowling steps.
Tang Yushang froze slightly. Her first lesson in this foreign realm was so embarrassing—actually having to strut a catwalk? Was Qin Ming doing this on purpose?
Yet seeing Mao Ming stride about so openly and naturally, she gritted her teeth and cast caution to the wind. Her supple waist swayed softly as she stepped forward in an elegant, lilting catwalk.
Qin Ming praised, "Very good. Elegant, beautiful—just like a noble among the catfolk."
Tang Yushang had a slender, curvaceous figure, and as she moved, her graceful swaying was undeniably gifted.
Yet hearing his compliments only brought her a wave of embarrassment. To think that she, the core successor of Taixu and a divine maiden of her generation, had come to another world just to strut a catwalk?
She felt that, in a moment of carelessness, Scum Ming's smooth talk had made her lose her head.
Qin Ming gestured around and said, "Don't glare at me. Look around you—don't all the catfolk walk like this?"
Tang Yushang noticed that catfolk were indeed a major race in this region, and those people truly did walk this way. Once one grew accustomed to seeing it, it actually seemed quite normal.
She felt she must have gone mad, for she even began to find it refined, gradually settling into this rhythmic, aesthetically pleasing pace.
After walking for a distance, Qin Ming asked, "How is it? Not bad, right?"
Tang Yushang wanted to snap at him, only to realize that without noticing, she had already walked several li, traversing right through a city.
Everyone around her moved the same way; having grown used to it, she surprisingly found it pleasing to the eye.
Tang Yushang shot him a sidelong glance, not bothering to speak. Though the fellow wore a solemn face, he clearly just wanted to watch her strut.
Qin Ming explained, "Day gold is hard to earn, and fortune is hard to find. What does this tiny bit of trouble count for? Besides, how can this be called suffering? It clearly enhances your natural allure, making you all the more radiant."
Tang Yushang glared at him with her beautiful eyes. "Do you really think I can't see through your terrifying brainwashing? Whatever. Since everyone around here walks like this, let's hurry on our way."
Evidently, as the divine maiden of Taixu, Tang Yushang was no pushover and far from weak. She immediately countered with a demand of her own: wherever she went on ordinary days, she always had attendants by her side, a long-ingrained habit. To appear more natural now, Qin Ming would just have to make a sacrifice.
"What are you dreaming of?" Qin Ming flatly refused.
He knew full well that this lady had lived in luxury since childhood, with even her lackeys being descendants of Heavenly Gods like Bai Meng. Now that she had arrived in an alien world, did she really think she could domineer over him with her noble young mistress attitude?
Qin Ming said, "At different stages of life, one should seek brand-new experiences. An unchanging existence is the most dull and tedious of all. Why not try a different way of living?" He added, "When your identity and status shift, your perspective on life broadens as well. Observing heaven and earth, witnessing all living beings, and examining yourself from another vantage point might bring you extraordinary insights."
Although Tang Yushang knew he was spouting nonsense, after some reflection, she surprisingly found a ring of truth to it—words worthy of Dao enlightenment, indeed. Thus, she was tempted to step away from her aloof persona as a banished fairy and give it a try.
Qin Ming nodded. "Very good. My recommendation is to make the change thorough and step into uncharted territory. Only then will your vision expand sufficiently, entirely distinct from your past."
Tang Yushang nodded. "It is worth a try." She asked, "What identity do you think I should adopt?"
Qin Ming enthusiastically chimed in, "In the past, you were always the one bossing people around. Now, let's reverse it. Experience what it feels like to be an attendant. Only then can you perceive a whole new world and examine yourself more clearly."
"And then?" Tang Yushang asked blandly, looking at him as if staring at a fraudster. While she inquired, she was thoroughly immune to his deception.
Qin Ming said, "You serve as the follower, and I'll play the young noble master. Such a stark contrast will give you plenty of experience to savor for a long time."
"Scum Ming!" Big Tang gritted her teeth and spat out the two words as her final verdict.
Did he really think she was some sheltered, innocent white lotus oblivious to the world? Daring to bully her like this, Mao Yushang had half a mind to thrash him soundly.
Along the road, an elderly cat person spotted them and couldn't help admiring, "To think that in this domain, our feline race could produce such a well-matched pair of Dao companions. A truly flawless match made in heaven!"
And then, he watched as this divine couple shot each other looks of utter disdain.
In the end, as they advanced into the depths of the land, their dynamic was settled: neither Dao companions nor master and servant, but brother and sister.
Kaiyuan Ancient City dominated the region. Blessed with illustrious figures and rich natural bounties, it was a celebrated capital of spiritual essence.
Beneath the shroud of night, its walls stretched like the spine of a crouching dragon, towering and majestic. The entire giant city radiated an awe-inspiring presence, as though an immortal citadel had descended from beyond the heavens to anchor the realm.
Qin Ming had returned, feeling almost as if he were coming home. Back then, he had waged a fierce battle against members of the Godkin Society here and reaped immense spoils. Thus, when looking to pull off a major business deal, this place had been the first to cross his mind. Furthermore, he intended to choose an organization affiliated with the Godkin Society for his transactions.
Qin Ming sent a voice transmission: "We'll act separately, one in the open and one in the shadows. At a critical juncture, should anything go wrong, you can activate the special weapon—the jade mirror—and secretly back me up."
They prepared to enter the city, but did not walk together.
Qin Ming added, "Harmony breeds wealth. Unless I make a move, don't expose yourself or show your face."
Tang Yushang sneered. "Harmony breeds wealth," indeed!
By now, Big Tang was well aware of what Qin Ming was up to. He wanted to peddle fake medicine—more precisely, he intended to dump a massive batch of demonic medicine.
Tang Yushang's cat ears twitched gently. "What did the Godkin Society ever do to you? You must hate them to the bone to scheme against them like this."
Qin Ming nodded. "Our grudge runs deep. If they had merely wanted to rob me of my wealth back then, it wouldn't have been so bad. But they actually coveted my person! If this can be tolerated, what cannot?"
Tang Yushang rolled her eyes. She realized that ever since they had become well acquainted, her aloof veil had been stripped away, exposing an unexpectedly contrasting side, while his dashing, radiant image had completely crumbled to pieces.
Qin Ming said, "Alright, keep your distance. I'm off to play the child-bearing Bodhisattva."
At this point, he was no longer Mao Ming, having shifted into Yang Ming. After all, peddling medicine was risky business, bound to run into trouble eventually. The identity of Mao Ming had to be saved for ordinary travel in this land and for escaping later.
The large hoard of demonic medicine in his possession had naturally been harvested from the "fortune land" deep inside the blood-colored forest. He had seen with his own eyes cultivators consuming these precious herbs and instantly conceiving a child on the spot. Even now, the memory of that demonic scene gave Qin Ming goosebumps.
Pondering it afterward, he had already deduced the truth. In the past, the fallen supreme sanctuaries were inundated with the obsessions of immortals and gods who had died gruesome deaths. Having been devoured by parasitic civilizations, their horrifying grievances and boundless curses lingered on, their negative emotions intertwining with the supreme sanctuary's spiritual essence. The flora blanketing the mountains were all tragic remnants of the deceased. Or rather, to be precise, they were the physical manifestations of grievance and curses.
For this medicine-selling expedition, Qin Ming had prepared thoroughly. He had long investigated and confirmed that this region was vastly distant from the Celestial Clan, the Abyss civilization, the Totem faction, and the like; many people had never even heard of those supreme sanctuaries, let alone maintained trade relations with them.
Thus, he was thoroughly at ease, having no fear that someone else might beat him to the punch and dump goods first.
In front of an exquisite pavilion, patrons came and went in abundance, all experts of the third and fourth realms, with grandmasters even gracing the place on occasion. This was a renowned treasure medicine pavilion.
Yang Ming walked steadily into the pavilion. To test the waters, he did not take everything out, picking only several representative herbs: a humanoid golden fruit, tea leaves coiled in flames, a spiritual vine bearing heavenly dragon scales—at a glance, all of them were clearly priceless "premium stock."
Tang Yushang did not enter. Even from a distance, she held her breath, worried that even inhaling might cause her to fall victim and inexplicably "conceive."
Unquestionably, natural treasures with such rare appearances alarmed the pavilion's manager, prompting the old man to personally come forward and receive Yang Ming with utmost courtesy. Moreover, the elder brought out an illustrated catalog, carefully comparing the items as his facial muscles twitched slightly, his emotions in wild turmoil.
Qin Ming was surprised. Could spiritual treasures produced in the blood-colored fortune land also grow in other regions? Presumably uncontaminated ones, he reasoned.
Highly alert, he kept his resonance active to guard against surprises.
*It really is this kind of rare great medicine, worth fortunes beyond measure! Quick, call our experts!* Such were the old man's inner thoughts.
Qin Ming was startled. Did this old geezer want to rob him outright? Demonic medicine or not, there was no way he would let the other party get something for nothing and fleece him!
Qin Ming asked, "Proprietor, give me a straight answer: how much per stalk?" He wanted to make one final effort to exploit the time lag and walk away with the day gold.
The elder made a serious valuation, stating, "Each stalk is worth a hundred thousand day gold."
Qin Ming said, "Proprietor, are you bullying me because I'm young? A humanoid medicine like this should fetch at least several hundred thousand day gold to start; at an auction, it would easily go for a million."
The elder shook his head. "Though it is a rare humanoid herb, it is not of a divine variety. Shape alone does not dictate medicinal potency."
Qin Ming said, "Forget it then. I won't sell. I'm leaving right now."
The elder said, "Wait, I'll raise the price! Whatever you say—five hundred thousand day gold a stalk."
This was not how a negotiation normally went; he simply wanted to stall Qin Ming until the experts arrived.
Qin Ming nodded. "Fine. Fetch the day gold immediately."
He had already resonated and detected that the expert summoned was a grandmaster, so he felt no panic, still hoping to pull off the deal if possible. Of course, given that the other side lacked integrity and sought to swindle him out of his demonic medicine, Qin Ming knew conducting large-scale transactions here was out of the question.
Sure enough, the elder took his sweet time, dawdling when ordering his subordinates to fetch the funds—a blatant stall.
"Give it here!" Qin Ming refused to wait any longer; striking directly, he seized the five hundred thousand day gold stored in the secret chamber.
"Just this little bit of wealth?" he grumbled in deep dissatisfaction.
The elder was astounded. Before they had even made their move, the other party had robbed them first!
Sensing that his opponent was at least a grandmaster, he caved on the spot, confessing that the medicine pavilion was too conspicuous, so to avoid being plundered, major business was never conducted here; they had another secret treasury protected by super arrays.
Without a word, Qin Ming pocketed the few stalks of demonic medicine, spun around, and bolted.
In the distance, Tang Yushang was dumbfounded. Peddling fake medicine was bad enough, but he had straight-up robbed them instead? He hadn't even left behind the demonic herbs!
She felt Qin Ming was truly wicked beyond measure. Stirring up trouble like this would easily invite disaster; if they ended up wanted by this world and hunted down across the land, they might never leave alive.
Soon after, she sensed grandmasters appearing in the distance—four of them, charging straight over. Qin Ming, meanwhile, raced out of the city and vanished into the distance.
Activating the jade mirror, Tang Yushang melted soundlessly into the clouds and trailed behind.
In the end, Qin Ming shook off his pursuers without dealing any fatal blows, waiting for her atop a mountain peak.
"Why did you resort to outright robbery?" Tang Yushang asked.
Qin Ming replied, "They were the ones harboring crooked intentions first, wanting to take the great medicine for free. Only because I'm magnanimous and believe in harmony breeding wealth did I spare their lives."
The main reason was that he still intended to sell medicine and didn't want to ignite a storm of blood right from the start; staying low-profile within controllable limits was the wiser choice. This was his first time robbing robbers, which relatively speaking was no big deal. Qin Ming didn't believe the pavilion masters in other great cities would share such a vile character; he firmly held that good people were in the majority.
"Let's go!"
Mao Ming led Mao Yushang deeper into the region, choosing an exceptionally magnificent metropolis.
And then, another accident struck.
Acting alone under the guise of Yang Ming, he resonated carefully and proceeded with caution, but dammit, this proprietor's character was even worse—not paying a single copper, he directly called for backup, bringing in a mid-stage grandmaster this time!
In a fit of rage, Qin Ming smashed through the pavilion, snatched six hundred thousand day gold, and strutted away.
Speechless, Tang Yushang caught up and said, "Did you come here to sell demonic medicine, or did you come here to be a robber? Be careful you don't make too big a scene."
Qin Ming sighed, "The proprietors of medicine pavilions in other worlds generally have terrible morals!"
In truth, after two consecutive incidents, suspicion stirred in Qin Ming's heart; something felt off.
The third time, he selected another great city and acted with even greater caution. He haggled with the proprietor for a long time without rushing to bring out the demonic medicine, carefully examining whether the other party had issues. Only at the end did he display the humanoid demonic medicine and the dragon-scaled demonic vine, finally capturing key information from the proprietor's thoughts.
It turned out there were orders from above: whenever someone brought in precious medicines matching the illustrated catalog, immediately summon experts to capture them!
Thus, Qin Ming was forced to rob the robbers once again, plundering a third haul before fleeing.
Tang Yushang was at a loss for words. After staring at him for a long time, she finally said, "Next time just rob them outright. Why even bother taking out demonic medicine?"
Qin Ming said, "No, I want to trade fairly with them!"
In reality, he was certain that something was brewing; otherwise, it wouldn't have happened three times in a row. For the fourth attempt, he decisively followed her advice and stopped trying to sell demonic medicine. Instead, he targeted a pavilion manager, followed the trail up to the higher-ups above him, and carefully resonated to unearth the truth.
Qin Ming frowned. There was a major issue here.
Managers of Godkin Society medicine pavilions everywhere had received orders to check against an illustrated catalog: whenever someone came to sell the "new medicines" listed, immediately summon grandmasters to capture them. However, the higher-ups hadn't explained why. As a result, the proprietors all assumed that these great medicines were priceless treasures hailing from the garden of some secret realm, and the leadership wanted to silence the source, swallow the goods, and keep the discovery secret.
Qin Ming felt a twinge of panic, sensing that disaster was looming.
Sure enough, as he probed deeper and reached key figures of the medicine pavilion, he uncovered the unvarnished truth.
Instantly, he felt as if the sky had collapsed!
Someone had arrived in this world ahead of him to dump demonic medicine! Major organizations like the Godkin Society—and more than one of them—had suffered massive losses. Fearing it would damage their future business, they had kept the matter strictly under wraps for the time being. After all, they bought low and sold high; if their stored stocks of great medicines turned out to be flawed, it would truly be as catastrophic as the heavens falling.
Qin Ming investigated thoroughly: the culprit who had beaten him to the punch and dumped fake medicine in advance definitely didn't hail from the Celestial Clan, the Abyss civilization, or the Totem faction. Based on the limited clues, Qin Ming strongly suspected the perpetrator was from his own home base—originating from the Yujing domain, with a style unmistakably characteristic of a fellow townsman!
Thus, Qin Ming's composure completely shattered!
He was merely two days late! How could such a brilliant prospect take a nosedive, leaving the entire area already harvested by someone else?
"One shouldn't be too Yezhou in character, nor too Yujing in deeds!" Qin Ming wailed toward the heavens in utter anguish. Who the hell was committing crimes right in the teeth of the wind? They had walked his path and left him with nowhere to go!
Sure enough, in an alien world, fellow countrymen were the most dangerous and terrifying creatures of all!
Learning the truth, Tang Yushang was equally dumbfounded. Even peddling fake medicine could result in a turf collision?!
Reviewing the situation, Qin Ming said, "Wait, on the Yujing faction's side, I was the only one who entered the blood-colored forest at the time, the only one who harvested great medicines—"
At this critical moment, Tang Yushang didn't forget to twist the knife, piercing right to his heart: "That's right. Only you crossed the boundary and almost got beaten to death."
Qin Ming muttered to himself, "Could it be that some old monster of the seventh realm—like Zhuo Kun, the Sage, Dog Sword Immortal, or Helian Chengyun—quietly slipped over and frantically harvested a massive haul of demonic medicine?"
If it were someone of that caliber, he certainly wouldn't have noticed, and they naturally wouldn't have left any trace behind.
"There's another possibility—" Qin Ming's eyes suddenly went wide as he thought of... the Golden Board!
If it was Old Jin's doing, that would make even more sense.
Whether it was seventh-realm old monsters on the prowl or the Golden Board itself, the quantity of demonic medicines collected would definitely exceed all imagination, inevitably dumped across the entire world!
"This is... too Yezhou!" Qin Ming was driven mad.
"Damn it all, this is way too Yujing!" Qin Ming was utterly distressed, his whole being thrown into disarray.
He had considered every possibility, checking beforehand whether the Celestial Clan or the Abyss civilization had entered the market. Seeing no trace of them, he had rejoiced, thinking he had completely monopolized this world's market. Who could have known that fellow countrymen were the hardest to guard against!
"It seems your big deal is dead in the water. Throw away the demonic medicine. Shall we... head back?" Tang Yushang asked.
"No! The world is so vast; there's bound to be a place capable of absorbing it!" Qin Ming refused to give up. After all, many ancient mist portals had yet to open; he wanted to hold onto the precious medicine and await an opportunity. Besides, this world was immense, with paths leading far into the distance. In no hurry to embark on the return journey, he wanted to look for other chances.
Sure enough, Tang Yushang's premonition came true: following Qin Ming meant getting beaten nine times every three days. It seemed as though the whole world was hunting for them!
Fortunately, the wanted notices only showed Yang Ming's likeness, bearing no relation to the current Mao Ming. With two catfolk walking together, they were still relatively safe.
On the road, Qin Ming corrected Mao Yushang: "You're doing it wrong. When speaking in front of outsiders, not only do you have to call me elder brother, you also need to use the catfolk's verbal tic—add a 'meow' at the end."
Tang Yushang was so incensed she wanted to turn and leave right then and there. However, they truly couldn't afford to blow their cover right now. When surrounded by crowds, she held her nose and went along with it, speaking with that peculiar lilt: "Meow—"
That tingling, delicate tone made the hairs on Qin Ming's arms stand on end, while Tang Yushang herself found it utterly unbearable.
"I want to go home, meow!" Mao Yushang felt deeply humiliated.
Qin Ming grinned ear to ear. "Wait a little longer. Since we're already here, let's find a way to pull off a big score, or I won't be satisfied!"
Tang Yushang, worried that trouble was brewing, said, "Meow, one shouldn't be too Yezhou in character, nor too Yujing in deeds. We really ought to leave!"
Chapter 569