Chen Ming went together with Fairy Zi Xia back at the box with dragon scales, “I looked inside this box and found it filled with dragon scales. They all have scriptures on them, possibly extinct!”

When the box popped open, the number of people peering inside grew by three. The others saw glittering dragon scales.

“With so many dragon scales, the ones who found it has it!”

“You two don’t intend to hog it all to yourself right?”

“I saw you acting suspiciously a long time ago and knew you’re up to no good.”

Hence, after a friendly exchange, everyone got their share of dragon scales. Liu Xuancha held up a palm-sized scale, conveying his doubts, “Could they have used these damaged scriptures to get to Sovereign rank?”

Xue Xunmei said, “We will give them to the Sages and maybe they can deduce the rest of the scriptures!”

They didn’t hold any interest in the rest. They reckoned Dragon Sovereign got them. As for Chen Ming’s scriptures, he didn’t feel like sharing.

Humph, deducing a complete scripture. What a joke! My system lady can’t make anything out of them and you want to deduce the whole thing? Keep dreaming!

His power got a significant boost this time and has yet to reach his peak. I’ll slowly pass the tribulation when I get back.

My merits hit rock-bottom again. I need to think of other ways to spread fertilizer to my chives.

To pass the advancement mission, he’d need more than a hundred thousand merits. With his disciples’ cultivations growing ever higher, the merit income rose to around ten thousand.

Even if I wait, I’ll still need a year. Better go start applying fertilizer.

After going so long on this expedition, I haven’t seen the growth of my crops. Hardworking farmer, Immortal Master Chen, needs to tend to his farm.

They went outside to look for Dragon Sovereign and receive his reward. When he saw the shattered head of Bone Dragon, he couldn’t contain his joy and even gave a book containing all his insight about his cultivation on top of the original promise.

The pill recipe landed in Chen Ming’s lap, of course, since none of them cared about such things. This way, they would get the price of the pill recipe in the Dragon Transformation pills, and could also buy them later from Chen Ming.

Chen Ming didn’t care about other people’s situations, “This thing needs some pricey ingredients. I can’t refine it, for now, so don’t be too hopeful.”

Fairy Zi Xia said, “Now that these forbidden areas are cleared, we need to return and report to the sects.”

Chen Ming tossed a spiritual sword with a teleportation array on it, “Take this with you. If you’re in trouble, pour your spiritual power inside and I’ll be there.”

Fairy Zi Xia received it, “Alright. If Sage wants to see you, I will inform you immediately.”

Ancient immortal sects’ hinterlands.

This wasn’t this place’s name, but what others came to call it. Under the ancient immortal sects’ rule were many affiliated sects. Of these sects, most of them were under Ghost Immortal’s control.

This was a plain rebellion of the ancient immortal sects’ subordinates. And today, this traitorous area came to have a different name in the ancient immortal sects, Chaos Battlefield.

The most outstanding in this Chaos Battlefield weren’t the four ancient immortal sects, nor other sects. It was the famous and renown Yan Mountain’s Financial Group!

Of course, Yan Mountain never went by that name, calling it the Scarlet Tide.

Yet when cultivators witnessed Yan Mountain’s extravagant fighting style, they began calling them that.

Yan Mountain didn’t fight with weapons, oh no! It fought with spirit stones and pills!

The one to rise the highest in fame in Yan Mountain’s battles was none other than Zhuo Qingyao. Just her name alone would take one’s thought to the cruel extent of the battles. All Yan Mountain armies, with Zhuo Qingyao at the helm, ravaged the battlefield, cutting through it like a hot knife through butter!

Rumor had it that in its first month of battle, Yan Mountain Financial Group killed at least a million Dao Initiation realm cultivators and thousands of King ranks.

Witnessing Yan Mountain Lords’ powerful display, many rogue cultivators came to know of Yan Mountain’s renown, while this also lowered the difficulty in recruiting them. When they heard Yan Mountain Lords were recruiting, they came in doves, competing among each other to be the first.

More and more land came under Yan Mountain’s control, yet the ancient immortal sects didn’t object. Firstly, they though Myriad Mountains wasn’t adequate for a sect of Yan Mountain’s magnitude. Secondly, these were times of war. With the addition of Yan Mountain armies, there were now fewer variables in play in the final battle. They didn’t want to have an enemy at their backs when fighting against the demonic sect.

As the war has yet to end, all talks were valid. When the war ended, we would take our time and discuss it.

But in times like these where the main issue was whether they could win against the demonic sect, why would they care about Yan Mountain’s expansion? This war wasn’t a mere quarrel!

Plus, Yan Mountain’s territory was nowhere near as large as the ancient immortal sects. It held no threat to their position.

So much so that they were in high spirits about its expansion. Most of the pills came from Yan Mountain, while the few pills here and there from other sects didn’t put a dent in their appetite.

The stronger Yan Mountain got, the more pills arrived. The more pills, the bigger the advantage in battle.

The ancient immortal sects were willing to let Yan Mountain sweep a million li, to push their border next to Steel Ox Valley’s territory. This way, if the demonic sect attacked Yan Mountain, they could come to its rescue.

After all, Yan Mountain’s position was precarious, at the demonic sect’s doorsteps.

And Medicine King Valley’s position compared to Yan Mountain’s was equally dangerous. It was close to the border between the demonic sect and the immortal sect, but it relied on many Sovereigns under its control to free itself from the ancient immortal sects’ influence.

Therefore, the current situation became awkward. In which two alchemy sects were the vanguard on the frontlines.

The more the ancient immortal sects and demonic sect’s Head Sect Leader looked at the two sects, the more cumbersome it seemed.

This was why they came to a mutual understanding. Neither side was allowed to act against an alchemy sect.

Chen Ming also felt the perilous position of Yan Mountain. Moreover, the chances were high for a battle to erupt not far away, at the Jade Void Temple.

Trouble after trouble let Chen Ming know how weak he was. He wasn’t strong enough to face such a chaotic situation.

But from Li Suyi’s words that time, Chen Ming knew the King ranked war would last for a long time. What he didn’t know was whether Li Suyi, Ling Xian and Qingyao’s participating in it would cause a great shift and put a close to this state earlier.

The more he pondered the more he feared for Zhuo Qingyao’s safety. This lass must be related to crabs. The kind that likes to rush everywhere. One look is enough to bring her disaster. She is an easily angered girl.

I’d better go look for her. I’ll only feel at peace when there’s a nation weapon at her side.