The Immortal Clan begins with deductive intelligence.

Xu Changqing comforted Jiang Rou and told her to go back to her room to rest.

He turned around and went to the backyard of the ancestral hall. The purple-veined golden peach tree, which had been full of vitality just a few days ago, now had its few tiny flower buds drooping, though they had not yet withered.

"He's also a debt collector."

Xu Changqing squatted down and picked up a clump of soil from the roots.

Flowering is a life-consuming task. The meager spiritual energy from the underground water veins is hardly enough to support the extravagance of such a top-grade spiritual plant.

The originally dark red blood spirit mud has long since turned back into a grayish-white ground.

If we don't feed them properly, these flowers might not bear fruit and will wither away.

"We need to get some blood."

Xu Changqing stood up and brushed the dirt off his hands.

Although there are still some spirit stones left in the warehouse, we can't just keep spending them without taking any in. Besides, the Purple-Veined Golden Peach is a bottomless pit. If we really go to the market to buy demon beast blood, we'll waste a lot of money.

Just then, "Palm Thunder" was completed. Simply breaking stones at home was just theoretical; we needed to accumulate real-world experience through bloodshed.

"Uncle Dayou".

Xu Changqing called out.

"Chieftain, what is it?"

"Keep an eye on the house, I'm going to take a walk in the swamp."

Upon hearing this, Xu Dayu's expression changed. They had only been at peace for a few days, so why were they heading to that dangerous place again?

"Chieftain, the front lines are not safe, perhaps..."

"It's alright, I won't go any deeper."

Xu Changqing waved his hand without offering any further explanation. With a light touch of his toes, he leaped over the courtyard wall and disappeared into the vast reed marshes in a few bounds.

Thirty miles outside of Cangwu Island, the moisture in the air gradually increased.

Xu Changqing did not use any magical artifacts. Instead, he cast a concealment spell on himself, stepped on a piece of floating ice, and drifted downstream.

"Splash!"

A muffled splashing sound came from the water plants ahead.

Xu Changqing's gaze sharpened.

A first-tier low-grade "Azure Rock Turtle," its body covered in moss and its carapace as thick as an iron pot, was lying on a reef, its mouth agape, inhaling and exhaling bubbles.

"I'll use you as a sacrifice for lightning."

Xu Changqing held his breath, lightly touched the floating ice with his feet, and floated closer.

The green rock tortoise seemed to sense something, closed its mouth, and turned its beady green eyes around.

Xu Changqing was already three zhang in front of him, his palm facing outwards.

"Zzz—Boom!"

Without any frills, a pale, blinding, twisted bolt of lightning burst forth from his palm.

The lightning arrived in the blink of an eye.

The Green Rock Turtle only had time to let out a low roar before its proud, thick carapace was struck head-on by the lightning.

"Snap!"

The hard shell failed to stop the lightning in the slightest, shattering and exploding instantly, splattering charred flesh and blood everywhere.

The lightning energy penetrated the beast's body, turning its internal organs into a pulp.

The massive body of the Green Rock Turtle suddenly stiffened, then slumped heavily onto the reef, wisps of smoke rising from its body and emitting an unpleasant burnt smell.

Xu Changqing withdrew his hand, looked at his right hand which was trembling slightly and had a red palm, and nodded slightly.

"This penetrating power is indeed formidable."

Without delay, he stepped forward, skillfully cut open the turtle's belly, took out the still-warm demon core, and poured most of his heart's blood into the prepared ceramic jar.

Besides the Green Rock Turtle, Xu Changqing also found two other waterholes on this trip.

Perhaps due to the intense battles at the Demon-Slaying Dike in the previous life, there are quite a few more demonic beasts on the outer perimeter than usual.

In less than two hours, Xu Changqing had killed three nearly first-tier mid-grade demonic beasts, and his storage bag now contained several pottery jars filled with essence blood and three demon cores.

"That's about it."

Xu Changqing glanced at the sky, but instead of heading straight back to the island, he changed direction and headed towards Qinghe Market.

The market was still bustling, but compared to the last time I visited, the streets had a more desolate atmosphere.

Many injured rogue cultivators gathered in twos and threes at the street corner, looking hurried and no longer in the mood for leisurely strolling.

Xu Changqing went straight into "Bai Cao Tang".

The lean shopkeeper was dusting the counter with a feather duster when he saw a customer arrive, and he quickly put on a smiling face.

When the shopkeeper saw the several demon cores that Xu Changqing had taken out, as well as the Iron-skinned Bull demon core that he had been holding for a long time, his eyes lit up immediately.

"Oh my! Chief Xu, this is a rare find!"

The shopkeeper grabbed the bull demon core, examined it closely, and clicked his tongue in disapproval.

"These days, there's a shortage of these demon pills that can greatly replenish qi and blood on the market."

"Shopkeeper, give me a fair price."

Xu Changqing didn't waste any words and tapped his finger on the counter.

"One hundred and eighty spirit stones, that's the most I can offer."

Xu Changqing's heart stirred slightly.

The price has increased by more than 50% compared to two months ago.

"Why is the market rising so sharply?"

Xu Changqing asked casually.

The shopkeeper sighed, counting the spirit stones as he poured out his grievances.

"Chief Xu, you are unaware of the situation. The Demon-Slaying Dike... alas, I heard that another breach has occurred, resulting in heavy casualties. The demand for healing and qi-replenishing pills is alarmingly high."

At this point, the shopkeeper lowered his voice, looked around, and then leaned closer to say, "Besides, the world is not what it used to be."

"Many of those rogue cultivators who couldn't hold out on the front lines deserted and ran back to our rear."

"These people are desperate for money and afraid of punishment from the sect, so they resorted to murder and robbery."

The shopkeeper slapped his thigh, looking utterly dejected.

"A shipment of goods I brought from out of town a few days ago was robbed as soon as it entered this 300-mile stretch of water! Not a single person was left alive!"

"This isn't a rogue cultivator, this is clearly a bandit!"

Xu Changqing listened, but he had a different plan in mind.

With the front lines in dire straits and deserters returning, the outskirts of the Great Swamp are likely to descend into chaos.

I need to be extra vigilant these next few days, lest these roaming fugitives cause trouble on Cangwu Island.

After putting away the spirit stones, Xu Changqing did not linger and turned to leave the shop.

As soon as they reached the street corner, they saw several monks in tattered robes pushing and shoving an old man who was setting up a stall.

"Old man, we clearly saw this medicinal herb first!"

"Bullshit! I just dug this out of the mud!"

The cultivators had fierce expressions on their faces, and their hands were on their storage bags. The passersby all made way, and no one dared to step forward to stop them.

Xu Changqing paused slightly, his gaze sweeping over the group of people.

The stench of blood and the agitation emanating from these men could be smelled from a great distance.

He ignored the matter, adjusted his straw hat, and quickly left the market.

They traveled quickly back to Cangwu Island.

As soon as he entered the house, Xu Dayou came to greet him, looking somewhat flustered.

"Chieftain, you're finally back!"

"What? Something happened?"

Xu Changqing's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that those bandits had really managed to sneak onto the island?

Xu Dayou took a breath and pointed towards the main hall.

"It's not bandits, it's that old bastard Li Shan from the Li family. He said it's an extremely urgent matter and he's waiting in the hall."