Longevity: Start by refreshing your entries through farming.

Chapter 975 The Mysterious Treasure Appears
Inside the rented cave dwelling of Tiansha Immortal City.

Upon seeing Master Tiansha's arrival, Yun Gu Zi asked Qin Ming, "Fellow Daoist Qin, should we see him?"

"Let's meet him and see what his purpose is. Then we can make further plans, since we're on his territory," Qin Ming said.

Yun Gu Zi was hesitant because Tian Sha Shang Ren's cultivation was powerful, reaching the peak of the mid-stage of the Integration Realm, which even he himself was no match for.

Therefore, at this moment, he put Qin Ming first and asked him to make the decisions.

After all, this is not the human realm, and it would be difficult to deal with a conflict with these old monsters outside.

A moment later.

Qin Ming and his companion then welcomed Master Tiansha inside.

"I am Celestial Sand Master, and I greet you two fellow Daoists of the human race. It is a pleasure to meet you!"

"I was busy with some matters earlier and only returned to the city a few days ago. I was unable to fulfill my duty as a host. Please forgive me for any neglect."

Upon seeing the two, the Venerable Tiansha, dressed in a purple robe, greeted them quite politely, proving to be much more approachable than expected.

After all, it's said that this person has an eccentric temperament and is not easy to deal with.

As Tian Sha Shangren spoke, his powerful divine sense quickly swept over the two of them. After discovering that they were just two cultivators in the early stage of the Integration Realm, he didn't take them too seriously.

Yun Gu Zi was alright, but Qin Ming was different because he concealed his aura, so the other party naturally couldn't see his strength and only regarded him as an ordinary cultivator.

"We have long admired Fellow Daoist Tiansha. We were just passing through this place when we happened to come across the Hanhai Auction, which was truly an eye-opening experience," Yun Gu Zi said with a smile and a cupped hand.

Master Tiansha nodded slightly on his usually stern face, followed the two into the cave, sat down, and began to chat.

After some pleasantries among like-minded people.

Qin Ming discovered that this person was indeed extremely cunning and scheming, concealing his intentions until the very end before revealing them.

"It has been a long time since I returned to the human race. I did not expect Fellow Daoist Qin to be so wealthy!"

"To be honest, I already knew the information in that jade slip. The contents recorded there should be related to the Black Sand Rift, right?"

Master Tiansha took a sip of spiritual tea, his face showing no emotion, and calmly asked Qin Ming and the other person.

Qin Ming's eyes flickered slightly. He put down his teacup and feigned surprise as he replied:

"So Fellow Daoist Tiansha also knew the inside story of the opportunity in Black Sand Rift Valley."

Master Tiansha nodded and said, "That's right. Logically speaking, only I and a few others should know about this matter. I didn't expect that the news would leak out and that it would be put up for auction as intelligence."

"If I find out who did it, I will definitely settle this score with them."

Followed by.

He pondered for a moment, then said, "Since you two fellow Daoists already know the secret, why not join us and go together to seize this opportunity?"

"For cultivators like you and me, there are not many opportunities left to truly improve our cultivation."

"To put it simply, I at least know a little about the situation in the Black Sand Rift."

Upon hearing this...

Yun Gu Zi hesitated. Their main mission was to represent Tianxing City at the Alliance Conference of the Xianyuan Clan.

However, if one gets caught up in the power struggles among these old monsters in the Vast Desert, it's likely that one won't be able to escape for a while.

Therefore, he also looked at Qin Ming and secretly transmitted his voice, saying, "Fellow Daoist Qin, it seems we've brought back a hot potato. We should be careful."

It is clear that Yun Gu Zi still harbors great fear of Tian Sha Shang Ren and cannot be treated like an ordinary cultivator.

After a moment's thought, Qin Ming realized that there must be a great opportunity hidden within the Black Sand Rift, but cooperating with an old monster like Tian Sha Shangren meant that the opportunity would most likely not come his way.

After all, according to the information on the jade slip, Master Tiansha had already entered the Black Sand Rift Valley and gained opportunities there, so he must be extremely familiar with the environment inside.

It is entirely possible that he might try something malicious at that time.

Therefore, he politely declined Tian Sha Shangren's invitation, saying, "Thank you for your kind invitation, Fellow Daoist Tian Sha, but we both have important matters to attend to. Even if we were to encounter such a great opportunity, we are afraid we would be unable to enjoy it."

"After tomorrow, the two of us plan to leave for the Immortal Origin Clan. If I had known earlier that the information recorded in this jade slip was something that Fellow Daoist Tiansha was determined to obtain, I would have given up the fight long ago."

Master Tiansha narrowed his eyes, his expression as he looked at Qin Ming and the other man was unreadable.

He clearly didn't believe Qin Ming's explanation; the mere fact that so many seventh-tier treasures had appeared was enough to make even a Nascent Soul cultivator flock to them.

At this moment, Qin Ming pretended not to be tempted at all, which was even more shameless than what he did.
However, the information Qin Ming possessed was obtained openly and legitimately at the auction. Even though Master Tiansha was furious about the leak of news about the rare treasure's appearance, he was helpless.

After all, the opportunity in the Black Sand Rift is available to everyone, and it's not just his.

"It's alright, fellow Daoists, you can stay a little longer. Please consider things carefully before making a decision. I will be waiting for you at any time." After saying this, Master Tiansha also got up to take his leave.

After he left.

Yun Gu Zi stroked his beard and said to Qin Ming, "This man is truly not an easy person to deal with. He has great ambitions. In my opinion, it is best to avoid dealing with him."

Qin Ming revealed a meaningful smile and said, "It's obvious that someone is messing with Master Tiansha. We don't even need to lift a finger; I bet there's going to be a good show."

"Let's observe secretly for a while and see how things go before making any plans."

Yun Gu Zi also felt that Qin Ming's words made sense, so he immediately agreed.

Several days later.

Qin Ming and his companion packed up and left Tiansha Immortal City.

On the eve of departure.

He rewarded the broker Jiang Xiaoyu with a small bag of spirit stones.

Jiang Xiaoyu followed the two powerful beings who had only been heard of in rumors, and she was always very cautious and apprehensive.

He finally felt relieved and repeatedly expressed his gratitude to Qin Ming.

However, not long after Qin Ming and his companion left Tiansha Immortal City, a figure with a powerful aura silently followed them.

If it were any other cultivator, they would never have noticed that they were being followed.

However, Qin Ming possessed divine sense power comparable to the peak of the Integration Realm, and he easily detected the person secretly following him.

So Qin Ming stopped and said to the air behind him:
"What are your intentions in following us so suspiciously?"

The moment he finished speaking, Qin Ming's spiritual pressure suddenly erupted, forcing out the figure of the person who had been secretly following him.

As the void twisted, a stunningly beautiful woman dressed in a long, light blue dress appeared, uttering a soft exclamation:
"Huh? Such powerful divine sense! It can actually see through my disguise."

Her beautiful eyes then fell on Qin Ming, as if trying to figure out what was going on, but it was as if they were blocked by a huge mountain.

The moment Yun Gu Zi saw this woman, he immediately recognized her identity and hurriedly transmitted his voice to Qin Ming:
"She is the Snake Queen of the Snake-People Clan in the Vast Sea Sand Region. Not only is she powerful, but she also possesses the bloodline of the Ancient Illusionary Scale Devouring Python. Never look directly into her eyes, or you will be turned into a stone statue by her petrifying gaze, even if you are a Nascent Soul cultivator."

But as soon as he finished speaking, the Snake Queen opposite him seemed to become very interested. A gray glint flashed in her pupils as she glanced at Qin Ming.

A strange force was about to fall on Qin Ming from the void.

The next moment, Qin Ming unleashed his divine sense once more, forming a sphere around himself that protected him. The Snake Queen's divine attack landed on the sphere of divine sense protection, and was easily deflected.

Qin Ming was just about to use a few methods to properly retaliate against this snake woman when he saw her withdraw her supernatural powers and smile radiantly as she said to him:
"Fellow Daoist, your skills are truly remarkable. You have cultivated your divine sense to such an extraordinary level."

"Not all of you humans are useless."

"It was worth the long journey I took to personally test this out of the blue."

"Isn't this wonderful gift I've given you quite nice?"

"So you're the famous Snake Queen from the Vast Desert? What do you mean?" Qin Ming frowned and asked.

The Snake Queen chuckled softly, and said meaningfully, "If it weren't for me, how would that jade slip containing information about the Black Sand Rift have ended up in your hands?"

"So it turns out you were the one who released this intelligence." Qin Ming and Yun Gu Zi were also quite surprised.

Snake Princess smiled and said, "Of course, but what surprised me the most was that you two did not agree to cooperate with that old fellow Tensuna, which can be said to be an extremely wise move."

"Why don't we join forces with me and seize the opportunities in the Black Sand Rift? We can each take what we need. I will only take one item from inside, and all the other treasures can be yours."

Qin Ming never expected that the famous Snake Queen of the Vast Sea Sands would choose to cooperate with him.

Clearly, she was just testing him.

"Oh? Does Your Excellency know about the opportunities within the Black Sand Rift?" Qin Ming asked. "To show your sincerity, shouldn't you reveal a little more?"

The Snake Princess smiled meaningfully and said, "You're quite cautious, aren't you?"

"To tell you the truth, what kind of opportunities are hidden in the Black Sand Rift depends on one's own fortune and destiny."

"The only thing we know is that every three thousand years, a spiritual treasure or opportunity will fly out of the Black Sand Rift Valley and last for about half a day."

"Anyone with ability can seize an opportunity from this."

"As far as I know, it was from the Black Wind of the Rift Valley that Venerable Tiansha retrieved a seventh-grade Dao Integration Pill, which enabled him to break through to the Integration Stage."

"What? There's such a thing?" Yun Gu Zi was also very surprised.

Qin Ming then said, "Since you wish to cooperate with me, how can you demonstrate your sincerity?"

"Furthermore, what exactly is this special item that you need? That you're willing to give me all the remaining treasures?"

The Snake Queen looked Qin Ming up and down, then smiled and said, "That item only works on our own kind. Even if you gave it to Fellow Daoist Qin, you wouldn't be able to use it."

"As for sincerity, if Fellow Daoist Qin doesn't mind, why not give yourself to me? Hehehe~"

Upon hearing this, even Yun Gu Zi, who was standing nearby, was deeply ashamed.

The Snake Queen, a member of the dignified Snake-People clan, dared to utter such frivolous words in broad daylight.

The Sky-Devouring Rat was also in Little Spirit's territory. He was stunned by what he heard and couldn't help but blurt out, "This is too outrageous!"

Qin Ming remained unmoved, simply smiling faintly as he said, "I'm afraid this isn't enough, is it?"

"Sigh~ You human cultivators are really boring. How about this? We'll sign a soul contract and maintain a cooperative relationship until the matter is settled. As for what happens after that, that's another matter," the Snake Queen suggested.

Qin Ming then nodded and said, "In that case, it's not impossible."

Then.

The two then began to sign a contract.

……

……

at the same time.

Deep within the vast desert, a black sand rift valley.

The valley floor, which had been filled with gusts of cold wind and was pitch black, began to tremble violently. Amidst the swirling black winds, clusters of light of various colors were being swept up.

It looked as if it was being spat out from a giant mouth.

These treasures are all imbued with spiritual energy; none of them are ordinary, and any one of them could change a cultivator's fate.

Immediately afterwards, in the pitch-black valley, it seemed that some ancient being was about to awaken.

Accompanied by a deafening roar, a milky-white pillar of light shot into the sky, spanning dozens of miles in area.

The aura it exuded even surpassed the seventh level.

A streak of purple light arrived in an instant, revealing the figure of the Celestial Sand Master.

He gazed at the unusual activity deep within the rift valley, then reached out and summoned a high-level talisman, attempting to conceal the anomaly occurring there.

No matter how much Tian Sha Shangren tried to stop it, the violent milky-white pillar of light showed no sign of stopping, and his plan to monopolize the opportunity here also failed.

To his astonishment, the milky-white beam of light began to manifest as lush branches, as if it had grown out of chaos.

Just getting close to it gives one an extremely awe-inspiring feeling.

Soon, this astonishing celestial phenomenon spread from its initial range of tens of miles to a range of tens of thousands of miles across the vast desert.

As a result, all the low-level cultivators who were hunting in the Yellow Sand Spirit Realm looked up at the sky, not knowing what had happened.

"What...what is this?"

"Could it be a rare treasure falling from the sky? But such a phenomenon is too exaggerated."

"Our vast desert has been silent for so long, does this mean something is about to happen again?"

"Could it be some powerful being undergoing tribulation deep within the sand realm?"

"How did that white beam of light turn into the shape of a tree?"

"Look, what's that?"

As everyone gazed into the distance, they saw numerous colorful orbs hanging from the branches of the milky-white, luminous tree, resembling a bountiful harvest.

These spheres of light clearly contain various opportunities.

This scene greatly excited all the cultivators.

Shouting and ignoring the spirit beasts they were hunting, they all surged toward the Black Sand Rift.

……

Qin Ming had just completed the divine contract with the Snake Queen when he saw the spiritual energy in the world suddenly change, as if it were being drawn by some kind of force.

There was even a sense of oppression he felt when facing the Great Dao during his tribulation.

Qin Ming and the other two looked in the same direction and saw a scene that was extremely unforgettable for them.

(End of this chapter)