Mortal: Supreme Being of the Ghost Path

Meanwhile, as Qin Han left the world within the cauldron, the auction began. The entire process wasn't long, and after it ended, a dark-skinned, thin old man personally handed Qin Han a jade box about a foot long.

"This is the winter frost grass that you just photographed, fellow Daoist," the old man said with a chuckle.

Qin Han took the jade box, opened it a crack, and a strong, chilling aura rushed out.

Inside the box lay a pure white spiritual herb, its leaves as translucent as ice crystals, its roots intact, and its appearance excellent.

"good."

Qin Han nodded in satisfaction, closed the jade box, and stored it within the cauldron's world. He casually asked, "Have you ever heard of the 'Zhirenma'? Does such a creature exist on the island?"

The dark-skinned, thin old man pondered for a moment, then shook his head: "The Zhirenma is a ghostly spirit creature, mostly found in places with dense Yin energy. We probably don't have any on Qiyuan Island. You should know that such ghostly resources are usually hard to come by. I've been running an auction house for decades, and I've only seen them a handful of times."

Upon hearing this, Qin Han, though somewhat expecting it, was still inevitably disappointed by the answer. However, he remained outwardly calm and simply nodded.

"In that case, I'll trouble you, fellow Daoist."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, and a surge of black mist appeared in his palm, slowly revealing a bulging storage bag, which he then handed to the old man:

"I'd like to trouble you with a favor. If you have any similar rare Ghost Path materials to auction in the future, please inform me as soon as possible. There are some spirit stones and a communication talisman here..."

The dark-skinned, thin old man took the storage bag, scanned it with his divine sense, and immediately beamed with joy upon seeing the considerable number of spirit stones inside: "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, if there is any news, this old man will inform you immediately."

Qin Han nodded, said no more, turned and left the auction house. With a flicker, he transformed into a cloud of dark ghostly mist and soared into the sky.

……

Qin Han glanced at the undulating sea below, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly raised his hand, and a jade slip emitting a grayish-white aura appeared out of thin air.

This jade slip was recently obtained from Xuan Gu.

It not only records the complete cultivation method of the "Mysterious Yin Scripture", but also cultivation methods and secret techniques such as the "Mysterious Soul Refining Demon Technique", as well as the specific locations of several secret caves of the Mysterious Bone in the past.

Qin Han originally didn't want to make an extra trip for this, but after carefully reading the jade slip, he discovered that two of the cave dwellings were actually located near this sea area, not too far away.

Since it's on the way, there's no harm in making a trip; consider it a chance to loot some spoils.

"Let's go check this place out first."

Qin Han put away the jade slip, identified the direction, and suddenly increased his speed, transforming into a long black rainbow that disappeared into the horizon in the blink of an eye.

……

Seven days later.

In the depths of a pitch-black sea, Qin Han slowly stopped his escape light.

Below, a deserted island lies quietly on the sea.

The island is covered with jagged rocks and sparse vegetation, shrouded in a thin layer of mist, making it impossible to discern anything special.

He had just left another cave, but had made a great haul.

Xuan Gu, that old demon, has lived for over a thousand years and has indeed accumulated a considerable fortune, including spirit stones, pills, and magical treasures, which can truly be described as a mountain.

However, what Qin Han cared about most were those spiritual herbs and medicines.

Xuan Gu seems to have a great deal of knowledge about alchemy. His cave dwelling contains a large number of rare spiritual herbs, all of which are quite old, and some of which have long been extinct in the outside world.

"It's just a pity that there's nothing particularly outstanding about it," Qin Han thought to himself.

Those magical treasures and elixirs were merely icing on the cake for him, not a pleasant surprise.

Now, the small island before us is the second and last one marked on the jade slip.

"I hope there's something different here."

Just as Qin Han was about to land, his expression suddenly hardened, and he paused slightly in mid-air.

But the next moment, he clearly noticed something unusual, and his divine sense spread out without hesitation, instantly enveloping the entire island.

A moment later, Qin Han's expression turned strange.

There are people on the island!

There were three cultivators, two women and one man.

The one with the highest cultivation level was a male cultivator at the mid-stage of Core Formation, while the other two female cultivators were at the early stage of Core Formation.

The three were busy doing something in front of a cliff on the island, seemingly trying to break a restriction.

"How could someone have found the Xuan Gu Old Demon's cave, which was hidden so deep?"

Qin Han was somewhat surprised. This small island was in a remote location, and the surrounding sea was pitch black, with even demonic beasts rarely seen.

If it weren't for the jade slip marking the location, he would never have been able to find this place.

The fact that those three were able to reach this place suggests either they stumbled upon it by chance, or they must have been guided in some way.

"interesting."

Qin Han concealed his presence and landed silently on the island, observing the three people's every move from a distance.

Before them, three cultivators were seen talking in hushed tones around a barrier that emanated a faint spiritual light.

A plain-looking female cultivator in yellow asked, "Brother Yu, how is it? Are you confident you can break this restriction?"

The gray-robed male cultivator, who was concentrating on casting spells, shook his head, withdrew his magic power, and frowned: "I'm afraid it won't work. This restriction is quite mysterious; a Core Formation cultivator could never have set up such a restriction. If I'm not mistaken, it should be the cave dwelling of a Nascent Soul cultivator inside."

Upon hearing this, the three men reacted with varying expressions.

Another female cultivator in red, who was somewhat attractive, didn't seem to care and scoffed, "It's alright. I already borrowed my master's magic weapon for breaking restrictions. With this in hand, even if this restriction was set by a Nascent Soul cultivator, the three of us working together can definitely break it in less than half a day."

Upon hearing this, the gray-robed cultivator's expression softened slightly, and he was about to inquire further when a cold voice suddenly came from behind the three of them. The tone was calm, yet it carried an undeniable chill.

"I've taken a liking to this place."

The three of them simultaneously changed their expressions and turned around abruptly.

Suddenly, a black-robed cultivator appeared behind them. His pale red eyes coldly swept over them, and a faint black mist surrounded him, emanating a terrifying pressure that made people's hearts tremble.

"Those who do not wish to perish here, retreat now. I can pretend I did not see anything." Qin Han's voice was not loud, but it clearly reached the ears of the three.

Upon hearing this, the three cultivators exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with surprise and uncertainty.

It was the gray-robed male cultivator who came to his senses first. He scanned the area with his divine sense and his expression changed drastically. He immediately realized that the other party's cultivation was far above his own, at least at the late stage of Core Formation, and possibly even stronger!

"Since you have taken a liking to this place, senior, I am naturally willing to offer it to you..."

Before he could finish speaking, the red-clad female cultivator beside him bit her lip, frowned, and said, "We discovered this place first, so why should we—"

Upon hearing this, Qin Han's gaze turned cold, and the black mist around him surged violently. A powerful aura of a peak Core Formation cultivator was released without reservation, sweeping towards the three of them as if it were a tangible substance!

The female cultivator in yellow beside her turned pale with fright and instinctively took several steps back, but then she was so shocked by the powerful pressure that her chest felt tight and she uncontrollably knelt down.

The red-clad female cultivator was so overwhelmed by the pressure that she gasped for breath and swallowed back the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

Seeing the situation about to spiral out of control, the gray-robed cultivator's eyelids twitched violently. He hurriedly stepped forward, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and forced a smile, saying, "Senior! Senior, since you have taken a liking to this place, we juniors naturally dare not contend with you. We will leave now, we will leave now!"

After saying that, he hurriedly stepped forward and tugged at the sleeves of the two female cultivators. Without saying another word, he immediately transformed into a gray rainbow, carrying the two Core Formation female cultivators with him as if fleeing into the distance.