At the end of December, winter was approaching.

The Yunze Wilderness was shrouded in a gray mist.

Huge snowflakes were falling in Qingyang Market.

These days, Qin Ming, having nothing else to do, studied a pill formula, a Middle-Grade Pill specifically for feeding spirit insects called the 'Spirit Feeding Pill.'

In the absence of flowering seasons, these Spirit Feeding Pills could also feed his spirit insects.

That day.

Qin Ming once again went to the back mountain of the Spirit Field, looked around to ensure no one was around, and ventured into the woods alone.

He took out a purple Demon Flower Spirit Seed, holding it in his hand, quietly waiting for prey to appear.

Soon after.

A large snow leopard appeared in Qin Ming's sight.

Quickly reacting, he immediately cast a spell with his hand and flicked the spirit seed towards the snow leopard.

In a split second.

By sheer coincidence, the leopard leaped away, seemingly preparing to find food elsewhere.

The Thorn Technique landed right where it had just jumped from.

Whoosh!

A bunch of purple-black withered vines frenziedly grew from the ground.

Just when Qin Ming thought his spell had failed.

Dense, hair-thin poisonous thorns appeared on the purple vine.

Strangely, these thorns were ethereal, with no physical form.

They emitted an extremely chilling evil qi, seeming to specifically target the divine soul.

If not for Qin Ming's powerful spiritual sense to observe, it would have been almost undetectable.

The thorns, stimulated by the snow leopard's jump, surprisingly flew off automatically, and at lightning speed.

They deeply pierced into the snow leopard's mind.

Thud!

The snow leopard froze, and fell stiffly from mid-air.

Its pupils started to shrink, eyes turning white, collapsing to the ground suddenly without a sign.

As expected!

Yin Evil Poison! Capable of freezing through the divine soul!

"It can actually shoot the Yin Evil Thorns out of the body, much more flexible than the previous thorn technique."

This made Qin Ming even more excited as the Thorn Technique he previously used with Black Spirit Seeds was also powerful.

But it had a flaw; if not pre-emptively set on the enemy's inevitable path, during casting it could easily be dodged or blocked by opponents.

Now with this Purple Spirit Seed, it can automatically emit thorns, catching foes off guard without any defense.

Yet casting it directly is still too obvious, giving the opponent time to react.

If the opponent does not have a defensive spiritual artifact specifically protecting against divine soul attacks.

Using this in conjunction with the previous spirit seeds is enough to confuse the opponent, causing them to fall hard.

The purple withered vine instantly wrapped around the snow leopard's body, turning it into a dried corpse, transforming into a Blood Pearl that fell to the ground.

Qin Ming raised his hand to retrieve the Blood Pearl, which served as excellent nourishment for that Withered Blood Poison Vine.

Suddenly.

A flash of inspiration crossed his mind, his eyes sparkled with spiritual light.

What if this Thorn Technique was used in conjunction with the High-Level Spirit Rain Technique? What chain effect would that cause?

It's known that Qin Ming currently, with mana comparable to the Qi Cultivation Seventh Layer, can cast the Spirit Rain Technique covering hundreds of feet in radius at full strength.

If he hid the Purple Spirit Seed with the Thorn Technique in the clouds, falling with the spiritual rain, it could kill invisibly!

Actions followed thoughts, Qin Ming planned to find a target to test it on.

Qin Ming then summoned the group of Four-winged Frost Bees.

He also wanted to see, now that they've advanced to Tier One Spirit Insects, how formidable their combat capabilities were.

Qin Ming continued deeper into the woods, searching for half a day, finally discovering a cave by a cliff.

He controlled the swarm of bees to fly inside.

Moments later.

Roar!

A tremor from a furious roar shook the ground and mountains from inside.

Qin Ming's expression changed! His demeanor tense.

"Can't be so unlucky, can it?"

"Just out here to test the spell's power, shouldn't run into some formidable demon beast, right?"

He leaped up, landing on a nearby giant tree.

Narrowing his eyes, he kept a watchful gaze locked on the cave entrance.

Thud! Thud!

Footsteps of a colossal creature hitting the ground echoed.

A black-furred Giant Bear, standing over two feet tall, came running out of the cave.

"It's a Tier One Mid-Stage Demon Beast." Qin Ming showed an odd expression, murmuring.

He instantly felt a sigh of relief.

If placed in the past, encountering such a fierce beast meant either becoming its food, or having to flee in panic.

But not anymore.

Hot on the heels of the Giant Bear Demon Beast came Qin Ming's swarm of Four-winged Frost Bees.

A large mass of Frost Bees enveloped the Giant Bear Demon Beast. Though the transparent stingers of the spirit bees penetrated everywhere, putting the beast in a dire state.

Yet its skin was thick, no matter how the spirit bees attacked, they couldn't break through the Giant Bear Demon Beast's thick fur.

Qin Ming, seeing the time was right, recalled the Four-winged Frost Bees back into the Spirit Beast Bag.

He cast a spell and pointed into the air!

Rumble!

Above in the sky, a vortex of dark clouds began to form.

The moment Qin Ming cast the spell, he already scattered the Purple Withered Vine Spirit Seed enhanced with the Thorn Technique into the clouds, making it almost impossible to detect.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Now Qin Ming, having executed the High-Level Spirit Rain Technique, reached the point of instant casting, effortlessly and elegantly, casting it instantly, causing torrential rain to fall suddenly within a radius of several hundred feet.

The Giant Bear Demon Beast below looked up at the sky, fear showing in its eyes.

It couldn't understand why, in this snowy weather, there was suddenly thunder, lightning, and rain.

The Giant Bear began to run, trying to return to the cave.

Raindrops quickly fell on its body; a look of confusion flashed in the bear's eyes as it shook off the rain.

This rain seemed... not dangerous to it.

Cold and refreshing, rather oddly pleasant.

But at that moment.

Several hair-thin, transparent poison thorns mixed in with the rain fell.

Like melting ice, they easily penetrated the Giant Bear Demon Beast's body.

While enjoying the rain's embrace, a sharp pain suddenly struck its mind, its consciousness becoming muddled.

Moments later.

The Giant Bear Demon Beast's body froze, remaining motionless in its previous posture; though it showed no outward injuries, it was already dead.

Several clumps of thorns fell from the clouds, entangling the Giant Bear's body, transforming into a Blood Pearl after a few moments.

"It really works in combination!"

"Hmm, from now on, this technique will be called 'Yin Evil Cold Rain.'"

"I never thought! Spirit Plant Technique could also combine into large-scale sneak moves."

Qin Ming put away the spell and dissipated the clouds, visibly excited.

He leaped and landed in front of the Giant Bear Demon Beast, collecting the Blood Pearl, then took its fur, as Middle Tier demon beast spiritual materials could be exchanged for Spirit Stones.

Qin Ming's face showed joy, having gained another unexpected trump card.

While he was immersed in joy.

The Communication Talisman on him suddenly delivered a message.

Qin Ming opened it to find it from Shopkeeper Liao.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, what are you busy with?"

"I just went to Cool Small Residence to find you, but knocked for a long time, seems you're not home?"

"Here's the thing, our Pavilion Master broke through to Foundation Establishment successfully a few days ago! After consolidating her cultivation, she just finished her closed-door seclusion today."

"The Pavilion Master wants to invite you to attend the small Foundation Establishment celebration a few days later, specifically sent me to deliver an invitation to Fellow Daoist Qin."

Qin Ming's face revealed an expression of shock and envy, murmuring:

"What?"

"Gu Qingzhao broke through to the Foundation Establishment Stage?!"

PS: Thanks to all Fellow Daoists for the monthly tickets and recommendations, much appreciated!

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