The head master has a new female apprentice

Chapter 330 A Bountiful Harvest: The Advancement of Five Thousand Spirit Seals (6k)

At this moment, Zhou Qing felt his nearly depleted meridians, but a cold smile appeared on his lips.

"It took more effort than I expected."

Then, his gaze pierced through the layers of clouds, looking down at the hundreds of black ships and the bandits on board who were looking up and waiting. He snorted coldly.

With a flick of his right hand, an antique-style mirror frame appeared out of thin air.

Although it lacks a mirror surface, it exudes a chaotic aura, with obscure and incomprehensible Dao patterns etched along its edges, as if carrying the secrets of some annihilated era.

"receive!"

As Zhou Qing activated his spiritual power, countless golden threads surged out from the mirror frame, weaving into a giant, sky-covering net among the clouds like a spider spinning its web.

Wherever the silk threads passed, even space rippled, and the unique suppressive force of the Sea of ​​No Light was forcibly torn apart!

On the flying boat below, the bandits were still immersed in the fantasy that their nine leaders would surely win.

Some even waved their weapons excitedly: "The leaders definitely won! That kid is absolutely..."

Suddenly, the monk who had spoken first stopped abruptly.

He was horrified to find his arm rising uncontrollably, a golden thread already wrapped around his wrist.

"This, this is."

The entire airspace instantly erupted into turmoil.

Some of the quick-reacting bandits immediately summoned their flying swords to try and cut the threads, only to find that their spiritual energy was sluggish, as if they were stuck in a quagmire.

Before many people could react, their limbs were suddenly bound by golden threads.

A cold glint flashed in Zhou Qing's eyes, and his five fingers suddenly clenched.

"rise!"

The golden threads suddenly taut, and tens of thousands of bandits simultaneously let out a shrill scream.

Some were dragged upside down by their ankles towards the clouds, some had their necks constricted until the veins bulged, and many more were lifted into the air like puppets with their limbs twisted.

Their protective aura was as thin as paper under the scorching karmic fire, turning into balls of fire in the blink of an eye.

On the Narwal, Jin Mantang stared blankly at this horrifying scene.

Watching one screaming figure after another disappear into the dark clouds, leaving long trails of flame in their field of vision.

An absurd thought suddenly flashed through his mind: This is not a battle of cultivators, it is clearly a spider pulling in its web to catch its prey!

"This battle," a guard's voice trembled, "was Young Master Chicken victorious?"

Luo Lingling held the old hen and leaned against the side of the boat, a smile unconsciously spreading across her face, and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking at the golden threads fluttering in the air, she suddenly chuckled: "Has Little Aqing turned into a giant spider?"

A few days ago, when he used his double pupils, there seemed to be a spider phantom in his pupils.

It seems that Xiao Aqing has had quite a few opportunities while I was away.

……

shhhhhh!
Countless golden threads gathered like a spider web, mercilessly dragging the screaming bandits into the Mirror of Infernal Fire.

Being kind to others is being cruel to yourself!

Zhou Qing's expression was stern, his gaze sharp as lightning.

These bandits, who had followed Tu Qianyue and his men, roamed various places for years, their hands stained with the blood of countless innocent people.

They burned, killed, looted, slaughtered caravans, and even took pleasure in torturing monks.

Today is simply the cycle of cause and effect, a consequence of one's own actions!
Moreover, these desperados are vengeful and vindictive; if one is let go today, it may attract more enemies tomorrow.

This will only allow them to continue wreaking havoc and harming more innocent people.

As the last person was being dragged in, the Mirror of Infernal Fire immediately emitted an extremely terrifying suction force.

Since obtaining this incomplete ultimate weapon, this was the first time Zhou Qing had absorbed tens of thousands of people into his fold at the same time.

The spiritual energy consumed in this process is unimaginable!

Without saying a word, he flipped his right hand and took out an ancient spirit-gathering array plate.

This array plate is entirely blue and red, and its surface is covered with intricate array patterns.

It was through his daily appraisal of the frame, which he personally crafted from feedback, that he created the dual-color spirit-gathering array.

After all, we can't always rely on Lu Yaoyao.

Then, he took out ten top-grade spirit stones from the storage bag of a notorious thief, and with a flick of his finger, the spirit stones were precisely embedded into the grooves of the array plate.

"Om-"

The array plate immediately emitted a dazzling spiritual light, and the intricate light pattern array was instantly activated, forming a stable spiritual energy cycle.

Zhou Qing quickly placed the Mirror of Inextricable Karmic Fire in the center of the array plate.

The ancient patterns on the frame immediately glowed with a scarlet light, like a ferocious beast awakened, greedily devouring spiritual energy.

After doing all this, Zhou Qing's figure flickered, transforming into a streak of light and actively entering the mirror world!

The next moment, the spirit stones on the array plate dimmed at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The first top-grade spirit stone shattered with a "crack" in just a few breaths, turning into dust and scattering away.

Then came the second and third.
When the third spirit stone was exhausted, the frame suddenly shook violently.

"boom!"

A beam of azure light broke through the mirror, and Zhou Qing's figure reappeared.

At this moment, he held a full six crimson tribulation crystals.

Zhou Qing looked down at the tribulation crystal in his hand, a complex look flashing in his eyes.

"Although his behavior at this moment is somewhat like that of a demon."

But then his gaze hardened.

"But those I, Zhou Qing, killed all deserved their fate!"

"Even if I eventually sever my spiritual path and seek the Dao, I will remain open and honest, with a clear conscience!"

……

Then, Zhou Qing put away the Mirror of Infernal Karma, stepped into the void, and slowly descended from the dark clouds.

On the Narwal, Jin Mantang and the others unconsciously held their breath.

They looked up at the figure descending from the sky—his long robe fluttering, his black hair flying, and the lingering spiritual energy around him.

At this moment, Zhou Qing was like a god descending to earth.

This chicken head mask is so distracting.

"Boom-"

With a soft thud, Zhou Qing landed steadily on the deck.

"Chicken, Senior Chicken," Jin Mantang's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice unusually dry.

He instinctively tried to bow, but his knees were stiff.

Zhou Qing waved his hand, his voice slightly weak: "Manager Jin, just call me Young Master Chicken."

As he spoke, he looked at Luo Lingling, who was walking slowly towards him carrying an old hen, nodded slightly, and looked tired.

"I need to rest. I'll be relying on you guys for the rest of the trip!"

Zhou Qing looked at Jin Mantang, his tone light but his words leaving no room for doubt.

"Yes! Don't worry, Young Master Rooster!"

Jin Mantang quickly responded, feeling both awe and gratitude.

If it weren't for the person in front of me intervening, I and the Narwhale would probably have already perished in the Sea of ​​No Light.

At this moment, how could he dare to be negligent in the slightest?

Zhou Qing said no more and turned to walk towards the cabin.

Luo Lingling then looked at Jin Mantang and said calmly, "Manager Jin, the formation has been repaired. Let's set off now."

"Yes!"

Jin Mantang dared not delay. He immediately looked at the remaining dozen or so people and shouted, "Full speed ahead! Leave the Sea of ​​No Light!"

Excitedly, everyone sprang into action. The sails of the Cloud Whale billowed, the spirit array hummed, and it broke through the clouds, speeding away into the distance.

Luo Lingling quickly chased after Zhou Qing.
……

A few days later, Zhou Qing finally made a full recovery.

Meanwhile, Luo Lingling, who was in the same cabin and also acting as a protector, had finished organizing the storage bag that Zhou Qing had entrusted to her in the past few days.

Many of the items that were no longer needed were packed up and given to Jin Mantang.

Jin Mantang naturally bought it at the highest price. Although he didn't have enough cash on hand, he patted his chest and guaranteed that once they arrived at the capital headquarters, he would settle the payment in full!

"You fought against nine Great Perfection Nascent Soul Realm cultivators all by yourself, and each of them was ruthless. You didn't suffer any injuries, you were just exhausted!"

Seeing Zhou Qing open his eyes, Luo Lingling couldn't help but say something.

Zhou Qing smiled and said, "What, does Senior Sister want me to get hurt?"

Luo Lingling rolled her eyes at him: "Don't talk nonsense! I just knew you were tough, but I didn't expect you to be this tough."

She paused, her eyes filled with curiosity, "Where exactly is your limit?"

Zhou Qing shook his head: "I don't know, I haven't tried it before, I've already given it my all this time!"

Luo Lingling didn't ask any more questions. Suddenly, she smiled mysteriously and handed over a storage bag: "I have a surprise for you."

"We were lucky this time. The nine leaders and the five treasure merchants collected a total of twelve top-grade wood-attribute spirit stones from their storage bags."

"There are 45 stones of the other four attributes and 368 ordinary top-grade spirit stones."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Qing was shocked and quickly took the storage bag to examine it.

"It really is"

Luo Lingling continued, "Manager Jin estimates that those miscellaneous items are worth more than five hundred top-grade spirit stones."

She added with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that you killed Tu Qianyue. That guy killed the thirteenth prince and was wanted by the royal family."

"If we can bring his body or soul back, we can get a large reward."

Zhou Qing seemed indifferent, after all, this had completely exceeded his expectations, and one should know how to be content.

When Tu Qianyue was mentioned, Zhou Qing's expression turned slightly serious.

Through soul searching, he learned some unexpected information.

Back in the capital, Xuan Yuanshuo obtained the corpse of a level four array master from a certain area on the border, along with a large number of handwritten notes.

Therefore, a Hall of Array Masters was established, which is currently only open to royal family members for study and practice, seemingly in an effort to cultivate array masters exclusively for their own family.

Zou Lun agreed to help Tu Qianyue because Tu Qianyue tricked him by saying that he could get his hands on these royal manuscripts.

In reality, Tu Qianyue only captured a few noble disciples who were cultivating in the array hall, and pieced together some fragments through soul searching.

It has absolutely no practical value.

Zhou Qing seemed to be thinking about something.

If I'm not mistaken, that corpse should be the one that he, his second uncle, and Xuan Yuanshuo found in the Penghuang Cave—the corpse of Master Situ Jiuyao. Back then, he pretended to burn three incense sticks, and then used the corpse-touching scroll to obtain Master Situ's past enlightenment opportunity, directly condensing a large number of spiritual seals.

When Xuanyuan Shuo saw this scene, he hypocritically said that the killing of the fourth-level master by Peng Huang was his fault, and he wanted to bury him himself so that people could pay their respects.

Unexpectedly, they had ulterior motives.

Zhou Qing sighed.

As for those notes, he had already deciphered them, and Master Lin was almost finished studying them as well.

"Besides the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree, the reason I was able to comprehend four thousand spirit seals so quickly was Master Situ's notes, which saved me from many detours."

"Even Shen Hanyi, number six, sought guidance from Master Situ back then, not to mention the opportunity she obtained by touching the corpse scroll. What they did was truly immoral!"

Zhou Qing muttered to himself.

He still remembers that the "corpse-touching notice" triggered his three last wishes.

[Last wish 1: I hope someone will help me avenge my grievances and kill that Peng Huang.]

[Last wish two: I hope someone can take me back to the Tianyun Holy Dynasty, where I can return to the ancient Fengxi sect.]

[Last Wish Three: I hope someone can help me retrieve the Five-Colored Formation Disk. I spent over three hundred years getting it piece by piece from the ruins.]

The old man's last wish was to return to his roots, rather than die in a foreign land and be studied in this way.

Then, he shook his head to dispel these distracting thoughts and looked at Luo Lingling: "Senior Sister, besides the wood, fire, and water attribute spirit stones, how many do you need? I can't use them all at once."

"Then I won't stand on ceremony. I do need some spirit stones lately," Luo Lingling said, her eyes crinkling into crescents. "I'll wait until later."

“It would be too formal for us to talk about these things,” Zhou Qing interrupted with a smile, but his gaze sharpened slightly as he looked down.

The Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystals in his storage bag were emitting an eerie red light. Thinking of the massive amount of energy he would need to reach the Spirit Severing Realm in the future, his heart felt heavy.

You should accumulate top-grade spirit stones as early as possible; the more the better!

After all, he's different from ordinary people!
……

In the days that followed, Zhou Qing first planted all fourteen wood-attribute spirit stones into the Enlightenment Ancient Tea Tree.

Adding the two given by Jin Mantang earlier, this perfectly meets the requirement of condensing five thousand spirit seals.

"The conditions that Sikong Yan wanted to help with can be met ahead of schedule," he muttered to himself.

Even he himself was somewhat surprised.

As for the Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystals, he specially took out two and handed them to Luo Lingling: "Senior Sister, you can keep these for when you break through to the next realm, but you must not let outsiders see them."

"What is this...?" Luo Lingling took the blood-red crystal with a puzzled look.

"Good stuff." Zhou Qing smiled mysteriously, without explaining further.

Luo Lingling was puzzled, but she still carefully put it away.

In the days that followed, Zhou Qing focused on comprehending the insights into the Spirit Severing Realm given to him by the Lu sisters, while simultaneously absorbing the Blood Phoenix Tribulation Crystal with all his might.

After the ancient tea tree, having awakened to its ethereal aura a little over a month later, began meticulously copying its spiritual imprint.

Thus, one day six months later, the seclusion room suddenly shook violently.

Zhou Qing suddenly opened his eyes, and five thousand dazzling spiritual seals surrounded him like a galaxy, each one as solid as a tangible substance.

His aura had become several times stronger, and every move he made carried a profound Daoist charm.

"This feeling is truly captivating!"

He looked down at his palm, his fingers slightly clenched, feeling the surging power within him, his eyes gleaming with excitement.

After a moment, he suppressed his aura, retrieved all the spiritual seals into his body, straightened his robes, and then slowly pushed open the cabin door.

During the six months of seclusion, Luo Lingling served as his protector, ensuring that no one would disturb his cultivation.

The massive Narwhal now has only a handful of people left, making it seem exceptionally empty.

However, this made it easier for her to take the old hen around, so she didn't feel bored.

Fortunately, the past six months have been peaceful, and no further accidents have occurred.

As Zhou Qing stepped onto the deck, Jin Mantang saw him from afar and hurriedly ran over, his face beaming with a smile: "Young Master Chicken, have you finished your seclusion?"

Zhou Qing nodded slightly, glanced at the clouds below, and asked, "Where are we now?"

Jin Mantang respectfully replied, "Thanks to your improvements to the array formation of the Cloud Whale, its speed has greatly increased. At the current speed, it should arrive at the capital in about four months."

Just then, a series of light footsteps came from afar.

Luo Lingling, carrying the old hen, strolled over slowly. When she saw Zhou Qing emerge from seclusion, a smile flashed in her eyes.

However, he didn't say anything, but nodded slightly.

The old hen then clucked at the opportune moment, tilting her head and glancing sideways at Zhou Qing with her black bean-like eyes, as if re-examining her long-unseen master.

Suddenly, a guard rushed over, his face filled with undisguised excitement.

He first bowed respectfully to Zhou Qing, his eyes filled with reverence, before turning to Jin Mantang to report: "Manager, a flying boat is approaching, claiming to be the 'Xuanxiao' and requesting to establish contact with the Yunjing!"

"Xuanxiao?"

Jin Mantang was taken aback at first, then a look of joy flashed in his eyes, and he quickly said, "Quick! Establish a communication link immediately!"

He turned to Zhou Qing and explained, "Young Master Ji, the Xuanxiao is a ferry of our Duobao Merchant Guild, specifically responsible for searching for missing caravans in emergencies. I didn't expect headquarters to send them here!"

Zhou Qing nodded slightly, gazing intently at the distant horizon where the sea and sky met.

Before long, a silver-white flying boat emerged from the clouds and gracefully sailed in sync with the Narwhale.

This airship has a slender shape and its hull is covered with intricate array patterns, making it clearly more advanced than the Narwhale.

As the airship came to a stop, the hatch opened, and several figures stepped out.

The leader was a middle-aged man dressed in brocade robes, with a calm face, piercing eyes, and a powerful aura of a Great Perfection of the Divine Transformation Realm.

"Jin Mantang?!"

The middle-aged man recognized Manager Jin standing on the deck at a glance, and a look of obvious surprise appeared on his face.

"You're still alive?!"

Jin Mantang gave a wry smile, cupped his hands, and said, "Manager Chen, it's been a long time."

The middle-aged man, referred to as Manager Chen, strode forward and looked Jin Mantang up and down.

He glanced again at the few survivors on the Cloud Whale, his brow furrowing. "Headquarters discovered that all five of the enshrined spirit lamps had gone out, which is why they sent me to search. We thought you were already..."

Jin Mantang sighed deeply, then suddenly remembered something: "Has that batch of goods been delivered to headquarters?"

Manager Chen stared at Jin Mantang with a complicated expression, his Adam's apple bobbing a few times before he finally nodded slowly.

"Indeed, headquarters owes you something in this matter. Of course, I only learned about the inside story recently."

“It’s alright,” Jin Mantang waved his hand, a bitter smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. “If I were in his shoes, I would make the same decision.”

Manager Chen sighed and patted him on the shoulder: "Thank you for understanding. It's a miracle you survived. Headquarters sent me here to search for the wreckage and bring back some clues, but I didn't expect this..."

As he spoke, his gaze involuntarily fell on Zhou Qing and Luo Lingling.

Especially Zhou Qing—this young man, though just standing there quietly, inexplicably gave people a feeling of unfathomable depth.

"Who are these two...?"

Jin Mantang quickly introduced, "This is Young Master Chicken, and this is Young Master Ox. If it weren't for Young Master Chicken's rescue, we would probably have perished in the Sea of ​​No Light long ago."

A hint of shock flashed in Manager Chen's eyes, then he solemnly clasped his hands in thanks: "So it's my benefactor! Chen Xuan of the Duobao Chamber of Commerce thanks you on behalf of the headquarters for saving my life!"

Zhou Qing smiled calmly and nodded slightly: "It's no trouble at all."

Luo Lingling, holding the old hen, stood aside, watching this scene with a half-smile.

Seeing that they had something to talk about, Zhou Qing and Luo Lingling exchanged a glance, then wisely turned and left, heading towards the inner cabin.

Manager Chen withdrew his gaze and turned to Jin Mantang, asking in a deep voice, "Old Jin, what exactly happened? Which force attacked you? And what happened afterward?"

Seeing that Manager Chen had taken out the image stone, Jin Mantang knew that this was a routine recording procedure of the Chamber of Commerce.

He took a deep breath, gathered the surviving crew members on deck, and began to recount his harrowing experience.

"Six months ago, we encountered the Cloud Robbers who had been lying in ambush in the Sea of ​​No Light... Master Zou Lun destroyed the formation first... Young Master Ji fought alone against nine Great Perfection Nascent Soul Realm cultivators..."

……

After listening to Jin Mantang and the others' stories, Manager Chen was deeply shocked.

He never expected that Zou Lun, the array master hired by the Chamber of Commerce for many years, would collude with the Jieyun Bandits, and he was even more surprised that the other party would send nine experts at the Great Perfection of the Nascent Soul Realm.

"This young master is truly remarkable!" Manager Chen exclaimed inwardly, his eyes gleaming.

"Not only can it repair and improve the damaged dual-color magic array in a short time, but it can also fight nine enemies at once and kill all the Jieyun Thieves."

The opponent's strength is probably beyond his comprehension.

He recalled the fleeting glimpse he had just caught; though the man wore a mask, he could not conceal his sharp yet restrained demeanor.

His every move exudes a calm and unhurried authority.

He is probably another newly promoted level three array master after Lin Daochen.

If we can win him over, it will be of great benefit to the Chamber of Commerce, especially after losing Zou Lun, the traitor.

What's even more amazing is that the other party came to the rescue in Wuguanghai, and Jin Mantang bought back the stolen goods from those bandits at a high price.

This back-and-forth exchange left a good impression on the other party.

"Perhaps... the chances of success are quite high." As soon as this thought arose, Manager Chen felt a surge of heat in his heart, and even his breathing became a little rapid.

He immediately grabbed Jin Mantang and laid out his plans, then lowered his voice and said, "Old Jin, you two are now friends who have gone through thick and thin together, so we need you to step in and handle this matter."

Jin Mantang was overjoyed upon hearing this and patted his chest, saying, "Don't worry, Manager Chen, leave this to me!"

The two discussed in hushed tones for a while, and the final terms they offered were five times the amount they had initially offered when they hired Zou Lun.

After all, this was the highest level of authority that the two of them could use.

Even so, the two were still uneasy, after all, such a person could not be swayed by wealth alone.

With a mix of anticipation and nervousness, Jin Mantang led the way, his face beaming with a fawning smile, and gently knocked on the door.

"Is Mr. Chicken there? It's Old Jin..."

However, despite calling out several times, no one answered from inside the cabin.

Jin Mantang frowned and exchanged an uneasy glance with Manager Chen behind him.

"Young Master Chicken?" he called out again, raising his voice and knocking harder.

But the cabin remained silent.

Manager Chen's expression changed slightly, and he whispered, "Could they have already left?"

Jin Mantang gritted his teeth and finally pushed open the door to enter.

The cabin was empty, the bed was spotless, and only a plain note lay on the table, trembling gently in the breeze.

The two hurried forward and saw that the ink on the paper was clear and elegant:
Manager Jin:

We have important matters to attend to, so we'll take our leave first.

"We'll meet again in the capital; I'll come back then to collect the spirit stones."

Looking at these few words, Manager Chen and Jin Mantang exchanged a bitter smile, their hearts filled with unspeakable regret.

Jin Mantang sighed deeply, carefully folded the note and put it away, muttering, "Such a person is indeed not easy to keep."

(End of this chapter)