Qin Ming heard this and thought for a moment, then politely declined, "Thank you for your kind offer, Fellow Daoist Zhao, but I am more accustomed to staying on the island as a solitary wanderer."

"Moreover, my talent is limited, and I fear I may only reach the early stage of Foundation Establishment in this life, and dare not dream of the Golden Core Dao."

Although Qin Ming despised some of the Zhao Family's actions, as long as they didn't bother him, he could tolerate it.

Even if they leaked some information about Wangyue Island to the Tribulation Cultivators, the current time was not right to fall out with them.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, won't you reconsider?" Zhao Wuji was somewhat surprised.

Usually, it is difficult for a Foundation Establishment Cultivator to resist the allure of a Core Formation Spiritual Object.

He didn't expect that even with such conditions, he couldn't sway Qin Ming.

Zhao Wuji was actually sent here by the clan leader, with the purpose of getting Qin Ming on their side.

The Zhao Family had long coveted Qin Ming's spirit plant skills and alchemy mastery.

What they valued was the immeasurable worth of Qin Ming's cultivation techniques.

As for his future cultivation potential... as long as he could grow Spirit Nesting Rice, the Zhao Family didn't care.

If it weren't for the tense situation in the Spirit Nest Islands, the Zhao Family originally planned to gradually approach Qin Ming, winning him over step by step.

After all, they were wary of Qin Ming's status as an Honorary Guest Elder of the Mirror Snow Pavilion, though it was just a title.

The Mirror Snow Pavilion would not easily hand over such a promising cultivator with dual skills to others.

But now, the situation was different; with the outbreak of war, the Zhao Family found themselves in a life-and-death situation.

They had to resort to any means necessary.

Zhao Wuji initially leaked some information to the Evil-faced Old Monster, hoping to lure the Tribulation Cultivators to target Wangyue Island.

At the critical moment, he would emerge to resolve the situation and save Qin Ming's life.

In this way, Qin Ming would owe him a considerable favor, making it easier to manipulate him.

Little did he know, before he could even arrive, the group led by the Evil-faced Old Monster mysteriously disappeared.

Zhao Wuji realized that Wangyue Island's situation was more complex than it appeared; it wasn't as peaceful as it seemed.

This seemingly harmless spirit plant master, Qin Ming, was actually quite extraordinary.

He gradually dispelled his underestimation.

"Fellow Daoist Zhao, you don't need to persuade me further; my mind is made up," Qin Ming firmly rejected him.

In the face of promises of great benefits, Qin Ming refused the Zhao Family's attempts to win him over for the second time.

Even then, Zhao Wuji, still somewhat unwilling to give up, offered a few more conditions, but Qin Ming declined them all.

More than an hour later.

Zhao Wuji left Wangyue Island, his composed and capable expression vanished, replaced by a somber look as he contemplated something.

...

Qin Ming watched Zhao Wuji leave, his gaze flickering. He already knew that the group led by the Evil-faced Old Monster had targeted Wangyue Island, with Zhao Wuji's shadow behind it.

But he couldn't act recklessly now.

Zhao Wuji, as a prodigy of the Zhao Family, one of the Seven Great Powers in Wei Country's cultivation realm, had a deep background and unpredictable strength.

It is said that in the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, he had few rivals, even having fought to a draw against late-stage Foundation Establishment opponents.

Qin Ming needed to avoid confrontation until he advanced to the late-stage of Foundation Establishment.

"I need to quickly produce the Tier Three Illusion Realm from Mist Illusion Mushrooms!"

"This Zhao frequently targets me, surely harboring some malicious intent."

After pondering for a moment, Qin Ming made up his mind.

...

Spring passed, and autumn came, heralding the harvest season once again.

However, it wasn't Qin Ming's Spirit Fields that were abundant; he was cultivating Tier Two High-Level Spirit Plants, and the fastest to mature, Spirit Nesting Rice, still had some time before harvest.

This harvest was from the Spirit Field he leased to the Wu Family long ago.

Early that morning, Wu Jiang came in search of Qin Ming.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist Qin, the spirit rice in the Spirit Field my Wu Family rented from you has matured."

"Let me take you to see it and settle the rent we promised you back then."

Qin Ming smiled and nodded.

Subsequently, Wu Jiang took him to the Spirit Field below the island.

In the Spirit Field of over a hundred acres of Golden Spirit Rice, a rich aroma of spirit rice filled the air, golden light shimmering brilliantly.

In addition, Wu Jiang had successfully cultivated five acres of Beast Fang Rice. While the yield wasn't high, it was successfully grown.

Under Qin Ming's supervision, Wu Jiang instructed the Wu Family members to start harvesting the spirit rice.

After a full day of toil, the spirit farmers below were drained of their mana.

Ultimately, Wu Jiang handed over more than ten stone of Golden Spirit Rice and over one stone of Beast Fang Rice to Qin Ming.

Qin Ming could then sell it to the Mirror Snow Pavilion, making a substantial income.

Qin Ming felt the satisfaction of land ownership, reminiscing about his days of paying rent, and felt a deep sense of emotion.

He patted Wu Jiang's shoulder, "Fellow Daoist Wu, you've done well. Keep up the good work next year. There are still many vacant spirit lands on the island, aim to rent more Spirit Fields; the Wu Family's rise is promising!"

Wu Jiang felt embarrassed hearing this, as just managing these over a hundred acres of Spirit Field had nearly exhausted their resources...

Nevertheless.

For the Wu Family, it was still worthwhile, as it generated revenue for the family and enjoyed the protection of Wangyue Island.

After collecting the rent, Qin Ming returned to his cave mansion to cultivate.

During this period, the conflict between the 72 Loose Alliances and the Zhao Family was still intense.

Qin Ming periodically sent Wu Jiang to gather the latest news from outside.

However, it was the same as before, with both sides unable to escalate into large-scale clashes, but small-scale skirmishes persisted.

The behind-the-scenes forces, the Spirit Feather Sect and the Thunder Origin Sect, showed no intention of stepping in, manipulating the situation from the shadows.

One day.

Qin Ming arrived at the back mountain of the main peak, gazing at the vast Mist Illusion Mushrooms emitting pink mist.

He then used over ten [Ripening] entries, typically used for cultivating low-tier spirit grass, to fully ripen the three Mist Illusion Mushrooms with entries.

In Qin Ming's sea of consciousness, three blue entry leaves instantly appeared.

[Soul Power Crystal] X5

[Leaf of Space-Time] X5

[Spirit Plant Coexistence] X5

Qin Ming was invigorated by these three powerful entries in his sea of consciousness.

He immediately sat down cross-legged and used the [Soul Power Crystal] entry to continue strengthening his divine soul.

Boom!

The moment he used the entry, the pain was intense, the tearing sensation in his mind was unbearable for ordinary cultivators.

Fortunately, Qin Ming could clearly feel his divine soul continuously growing stronger.

Accompanying this was a substantial increase in his divine thought power.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The sound of shattering glass echoed in his mind.

After using five [Soul Power Crystal] entries in succession, his divine soul reached an unimaginable level.

Simultaneously, his divine thought breached the late-stage Foundation Establishment level, now able to extend ten miles around his body.

Qin Ming immediately unleashed his divine thought to test it. He could clearly perceive the Wu Family's people diligently farming below the island and even detect a Profound Water Crocodile lurking behind a reef eight to nine miles away from Wangyue Island, dozing with its eyes half-closed.

Just then.

The Profound Water Crocodile suddenly opened its eyes, looked around in confusion, found nothing unusual, and closed its eyes again.

"This fool dares to slack off."

Qin Ming's lips curled into a faint smile.

He decided to leave it alone, as he was preparing to use the Leaf of Space-Time and ripening entries to mature a large tract of Mist Illusion Mushrooms around Wangyue Island, creating the legendary Mist Illusion Realm.

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