Right after Qi Ping completely eliminated those three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, the factions backing them immediately caught wind of the news.
And the deaths of those three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators stirred up the undercurrents in the Qingtian Domain once again.
There aren’t many late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators out there—they’re the core backbone of every major power, and prime candidates for the Golden Core stage, especially ones like these who had already grasped the true essence of laws.
Yet now, three of them had fallen in a single stroke!
So when this news broke out, the fragile calm that had barely settled over the Qingtian Domain suddenly turned tense once more…
The death of cultivators at this level could never be brushed aside easily.
But no matter how hard their rivals racked their brains, they simply couldn’t figure out who the culprit was…
What was the motive behind the attack? Was it retaliation from hostile sects like the Skyfire Pavilion? Or was it that underground organization they kept calling “the rat” but could never seem to wipe out?
Even the Qingyuan Sect and the Immortal Alliance began to suspect whether their opponents were brewing some kind of conspiracy.
In short, the already fragile peace in the Qingtian Domain had turned delicate again, and all sorts of hidden currents were beginning to stir beneath the surface.
Meanwhile, in some obscure corner of the Qingtian Domain, after making sure he’d erased all traces, Qi Ping used his Treant Clone to start tallying up the spoils.
First, among the eighth share of the loot—which was one-tenth of the total—he counted over thirty thousand spirit stones.
As for the rest of the items, Qi Ping had the swarm hide them away again. Before he figured out exactly how those late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators had managed to track him through the loot, he wasn’t planning to keep any of it on him—not even the spirit stones, which he stashed far away from his person.
Then there was the haul from the storage pouches of those three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators.
And all Qi Ping could say about that was three words: Way too rich!
Just the spirit stones alone totaled a staggering one hundred and fifty thousand!
And that wasn’t even counting the trove of cultivation manuals, spells, spirit tools, spirit herbs, and spirit materials!
But Qi Ping handed all of it over to the bees to scatter and hide separately. This stuff was way too hot right now—it would only be safe to use after a considerable cooling-off period. Under no circumstances could he keep these items on him, not even for a moment!
As for the spirit stones, Qi Ping planned to spend them directly. If any risks cropped up, he could always shift the trouble over to the box puppets at the Mysterious Black Market!
All in all, adding the three hundred and seventy thousand spirit stones he’d saved up earlier, his total now exceeded five hundred and fifty thousand!
This was the first time Qi Ping had ever held this many spirit stones—just counting them nearly gave his divine soul a cramp…
After recharging over eleven thousand spirit stones into the Mysterious Black Market, he still had five hundred and forty thousand left on him! And that was without counting the other spoils!
[Black Market Spirit Stones: 3400]
[Black Market Points: 29910]
That was Qi Ping’s original balance in the Mysterious Black Market.
Not long ago, after topping up by 11,600 spirit stones, his Black Market spirit stones increased to 15,000.
Then he spent 2,000 Black Market spirit stones to search for information on heaven-oracle divination-type spirit beasts.
And just recently, he spent another 2,000 Black Market spirit stones to refresh the Black Market bounty missions.
So now he was left with only 11,000 Black Market spirit stones.
As for Black Market points—after gaining 15,700, the total jumped to 45,610!
With that many points, Qi Ping could purchase over four hundred and fifty thousand spirit stones’ worth of goods!
[Black Market Spirit Stones: 11000]
[Black Market Points: 45610]
Originally, the two heaven-oracle spirit beasts Qi Ping had found were each priced at over three hundred thousand spirit stones plus over thirty thousand Black Market points—neither of which he could afford.
It wasn’t that he lacked spirit stones—he was short by several thousand Black Market points!
If he was low on spirit stones, he could always sell off some honey or spirit treasures to make up the difference. But being short on Black Market points was a real headache, since actively provoking the Immortal Alliance at this juncture was way too risky.
But then those three late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators just delivered themselves to his doorstep—and two of them even had bounties from the Immortal Alliance. This battle directly solved Qi Ping’s Black Market point shortage.
So in a way, he actually had to thank those guys for so kindly bringing him both treasures and points. How considerate of them.
Of course, all this gain hinged on Qi Ping’s thorough preparation and extreme caution—otherwise, a blessing could have easily turned into a disaster.
One little slip in this situation could have drawn a swarm of enemies, costing him not only the massive loot but also putting himself in considerable danger.
“Counting’s done!”
“Time to start buying!”
Having reaped such a huge haul, Qi Ping was in high spirits. Next up—turning all these resources into combat power!
After relocating to yet another hidden spot, Qi Ping began purchasing the first item on his list:
A heaven-oracle divination-type spirit beast!
“After all this running around, I’m finally getting my hands on a heaven-oracle divination beast!”
As long as he could raise one of these, the security of his territory would basically be guaranteed!
Qi Ping’s Treant Clone once again probed his divine soul into the Black Market token, and two product listings appeared before him.
[Third-Tier High-Level Spirit Beast: Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger Cub – Price: 376,000 Spirit Stones + 37,600 Black Market Points]
[Third-Tier High-Level Spirit Beast: Spirit Saint Turtle Hatchling – Price: 338,000 Spirit Stones + 33,800 Black Market Points]
Reading the descriptions of these two spirit beasts again, Qi Ping couldn’t help but feel his vision blur.
Both were over three hundred thousand spirit stones plus over thirty thousand Black Market points!
No matter which one he chose, it would eat up more than half of his newly swollen fortune!
“Ridiculously expensive!”
But no matter what, he still had to buy one.
Still, when he thought about the bloodlines flowing through these two spirit beasts and the talents they possessed, he quickly made peace with it.
Sure, they were pricey—but absolutely worth every penny!
These were spirit beasts carrying the bloodline of the White Marsh and the Divine Turtle!
The Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger carried the bloodline of the White Marsh!
And the Spirit Saint Turtle carried the bloodline of the Mystic Turtle!
Both the White Marsh and the Mystic Turtle were heaven-oracle divine beasts with unparalleled bloodlines—so naturally, any descendant with even a trace of their lineage would come with a sky-high price tag.
According to the records Qi Ping had read, the divine beast White Marsh could comprehend all things in existence, know of spirits and ghosts, repel foul energies, and wield the power to ward off evil—it was truly a beast of fortune…
As for the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger, it was one of the descendants carrying on the White Marsh’s legacy, boasting a rather rich concentration of its bloodline and similarly possessing the ability to perceive all things.
On top of that, the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger was deeply blessed with fortune—keeping it by your side often led to unexpected windfalls. It could even be tremendously helpful when breaking through cultivation realms or facing heavenly tribulations.
So when Qi Ping saw the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger’s product info and description, he was naturally more than tempted.
Setting aside its formidable combat prowess, if he could raise it properly, it might even bring considerable fortune to his territory.
However, there was one huge catch with the Cloud Dream Immortal Tiger: it was nearly impossible to forcibly contract with it. Any attempt to do so would inevitably invite backlash from both fate and the heavens themselves…
