Qin was officially appointed as the Guardian Immortal Master of the Great Zhou Kingdom, and the temporary residence arranged for him at the Danyang Camp was ready. He arrived at a tent. "Senior, what do you think of the arrangement inside the tent?" Zhou Lin, this woman was quite deft and clever. Seeing that Ye Qin was dressed entirely in a plain cyan robe without any ornamentation, she knew he preferred simplicity, so she hadn't placed any superfluous decorative items inside the tent.

Ye Qin nodded in satisfaction. The tent was spacious, floored with snow fox pelts, and contained a low Eight Immortals Table. Upon the table sat a bronze censer, emitting wisps of faint, fragrant smoke—a scent known to settle the spirit and concentrate the mind. The living quarters were simple, quiet, and suitable for cultivation.

"Then Senior should rest first. If you have any instructions, just call me! I am in the tent not far from here. The Clan Leader commanded that for this period, I only need to heed your orders," Zhou Lin said cheerfully, then smiled and gracefully excused herself.

"Wait!"

Ye Qin called out to Zhou Lin, who was about to leave. He took two small bottles of low-grade elixirs from his embrace and handed them to her, smiling, "I need some spirit stones recently. Here are two bottles of low-grade elixirs used by Qi Condensation stage cultivators. These were mine, but I no longer need them. Help me exchange them for spirit stones with the Qi Condensation cultivators in the main camp. One elixir pill in here will be your reward."

Zhou Lin’s face lit up with joy. One elixir pill was worth several spirit stones. To receive an elixir pill for such a small task was extremely worthwhile. However, she did not immediately take the vials but asked curiously, "Why doesn't Senior approach them directly?"

Ye Qin smiled, "If I approach them directly, they will certainly be overly cautious. Even if I set a very high price for the elixirs, they won't dare to haggle with me. That would be somewhat exploitative. So, I thought of asking you to help me exchange these elixirs for spirit stones, selling them at a normal price."

"Alright."

Zhou Lin tilted her head, a thoughtful expression on her face. She quickly grasped Ye Qin's intention and left the great tent with the two small bottles of low-grade elixirs.

After Zhou Lin departed, Ye Qin sat alone in the tent. He pondered the end of this month, when the gathering of Foundation Establishment stage cultivators of the Great Zhou Kingdom would take place. He considered what items he might bring out to trade with the other cultivators.

He certainly would not bring out his best treasures; he needed those for himself. He would only trade items he had no use for, but even those could not be too low-grade. Foundation Establishment cultivators had exceedingly high standards; they would hardly value trash-like items.

Ye Qin inspected the items he carried with him.

In his storage pouch: a top-tier Winged Spirit Tool obtained from the Spirit Mist Grand Canyon, several offensive magical artifacts acquired from the Ten Thousand Withered Ridge—the Violet Saber, the Soul-Seizing Bell, the Immortal-Binding Rope, the small green sword, the small golden sword, and the little hammer—as well as the Treasure Gathering Gourd and the Unsparing Fire obtained from the Immortal Fate Palace. Additionally, there was a portion of the purple ore crystal material needed to forge the "Southern Bright Fire Sword," though the essential essence was still missing, preventing its creation.

In his item pouch were several important cultivation technique manuals: the Scripture of Sitting in Oblivion, which he had been continuously cultivating, a foundational cultivation method; the Yin Profound Art from the Dark Yin Sect, which contained techniques specifically for Ghost Cultivators; the Violet Sword Art from the Ancient Violet Jade Slip, an incredibly powerful technique, but one with excessively high prerequisites; and the Heavenly Heart Art from Prince Liao's residence, suitable only for Foundation Establishment stage cultivators or higher with a sufficiently high state of mind. Beyond these were ordinary items: low- and mid-grade talisman paper, spirit stones, and so on.

In addition to these, there were the items stored within his Purple Mansion. On the Wood Mansion's floating island, hundreds of spiritual herbs, spiritual woods, and spiritual fruits, ranging from first to sixth rank, were being cultivated. On the Fire Mansion's floating island, the hundreds of wisps of Azure Flame Earth Fire had been transformed into a single, far more pure and immensely powerful strand of Blue Flame Earth Fire.

The effects of this Purple Mansion were exceptionally powerful and were the very foundation of Ye Qin's gradual increase in strength. However, this powerful effect of the Purple Mansion could only be utilized by him alone.

Ye Qin dared not let anyone know that such a wondrously effective Purple Mansion existed within him. Even his intimate wife, Huangfu Bing'er, knew absolutely nothing about it. Within the Purple Mansion, medicinal ingredients could grow rapidly.

Occasionally, he would even ponder: if he relied on the Purple Mansion to produce massive quantities of elixirs for sale, he could quickly become the wealthiest cultivator in the world in a short amount of time.

Unfortunately, this thought flashed through his mind only briefly before he let out a wry smile, shook his head, and unhesitatingly tossed the idea into the rubbish heap.

While the idea was appealing, if he truly acted on it, he would be finished long before becoming the world's richest cultivator. The reason was simple: he lacked the strength to protect himself, much less his assets.

It was like a hunter in the wild near Xiu County town. His entire wealth consisted of a worn set of animal skins and a hunting bow, with a few dozen copper coins tucked in his pocket—perfectly normal, and no one would give him a second glance. If this hunter suddenly found a gold nugget weighing several hundred pounds in the mountains and was foolish enough to publicize it, he would surely be dead within three days, either killed by swarming bandits or robbed by government soldiers. With just a small hunting bow, the hunter could not defend against such rapacious individuals. Unless the one who found the gold was not a hunter, but a high-ranking official or a general, then people naturally wouldn't dare covet such wealth.

If cultivators discovered that the source of his medicinal ingredients was unusual, they would surely investigate, suspecting that he possessed some kind of "exotic treasure" that caused rapid growth in herbs. At that point, perhaps every cultivator in the world yearning for longevity would go mad, desperate to capture him, force him to surrender the exotic treasure, or imprison him to cultivate spiritual herbs for them.

And yet, he lacked the strength to protect himself.

Ye Qin understood this point perfectly.

Therefore, from the very beginning, he had established three self-preservation principles for himself: First, bury his head in cultivation, strengthening his personal power by every means possible. Second, while increasing his strength, never allow anyone to harbor suspicion toward him. Third, display only as much wealth as his strength allowed, ensuring that other cultivators would not 'covet' him.

As early as when he was a Qi Condensation cultivator, his strength was extremely weak, almost at the bottom tier within the Azure Elixir Sect. He would rather laboriously seek spirit stones in mineral caves than directly sell large quantities of elixirs, which might arouse suspicion about the origin of his herbs. He had persistently endured, concealing from his fellow sect members the fact that he possessed enough herbs and elixirs for cultivation, let alone the source of these herbs.

Six or seven years had passed, and this approach had proven effective. To this day, no one in the Azure Elixir Sect knew he possessed sufficient herbs and elixirs for his cultivation, let alone the provenance of those herbs.

Now, having leaped to the Foundation Establishment stage, his strength had greatly increased. At least the Qi Condensation cultivators posed no threat to him now. And Foundation Establishment cultivators would not needlessly make trouble for him.

With his current level of strength, even if he possessed some high-grade elixirs, no one would be suspicious; rather, they would believe it was fitting for his status as a nascent Foundation Establishment cultivator. If he possessed nothing of decent value, it would make others wonder how he even managed to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

This was the benefit brought by increased strength.

Precisely because of this, Ye Qin gave Zhou Lin two small vials of low-grade elixirs to help him sell, in exchange for a few hundred spirit stones from the numerous Qi Condensation cultivators in the Danyang Camp.

Ye Qin was cautious in his actions, but he was not stingy.

For the trading meet among the Great Zhou Foundation Establishment cultivators at the end of the month, the only two types of items he could bring out to sell that matched his early Foundation Establishment rank were: firstly, raw materials of fourth-rank spiritual medicines or higher, and secondly, mid-grade elixirs meant for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Ye Qin considered for a moment and decided to offer several fifth-rank raw medicinal materials for trade. Fifth-rank materials were only moderately valuable to Foundation Establishment cultivators, fitting his status perfectly.

Half a day later, Zhou Lin rushed excitedly into Ye Qin's tent, handing him a bag of spirit stones and an elixir vial in exchange, saying happily, "Senior Qin, I managed to trade for approximately six hundred and thirty low-grade spirit stones in total. Additionally, there are still a little over ten elixir pills that didn't sell."

Ye Qin was slightly surprised. He knew clearly how much those two vials of low-grade elixirs were worth. The price for those low-grade elixirs in the Immortal Fate City market could only fetch six hundred low-grade spirit stones. However, in the Great Zhou Kingdom, the selling price of elixirs seemed significantly higher, likely because elixirs were much scarcer here.

"What about the remaining ten or so elixirs? Did no one want them?"

Zhou Lin explained, "They wanted them, Senior, but they simply ran out of money to buy more elixirs. The cultivators here spend money very quickly; even if they have spirit stones, they spend them fast. It’s already the middle of the month, and they don't have many spirit stones on hand. But once the Guardian Immortal Master stipends are distributed at the end of the month, they will have a lot of spirit stones, and I could sell more then."

Ye Qin collected the spirit stones and the remaining elixirs. These spirit stones already greatly satisfied him. This trip to the Danyang Camp in the Great Zhou Kingdom had yielded over six hundred spirit stones, enough for him for more than two months. At least for the next two months, he wouldn't have to worry about finding spirit stones for immediate needs.

However, Zhou Lin blushed slightly and said, "Senior Qin, I wonder if you could sell me those remaining elixirs? I don't have spirit stones, but I can exchange them for items of equal value. I have some materials here."

"No need. Besides spirit stones, other things are of little use to me," Ye Qin chuckled. Then, remembering Zhou Lin's background, a thought struck him. "Oh, right. You are a disciple of the Beast Spirit Sect, so you should know the art of controlling insect beasts, correct? Could you command a small insect? If you can do that, I can give you all these remaining ten-plus low-grade elixirs as payment."

Zhou Lin quickly replied, "Controlling insects and commanding beasts is a skill Beast Spirit Sect disciples must learn from childhood; of course, I understand. What kind of small insect does Senior wish to command?"

Ye Qin took out a small box from his storage pouch, opened it, and a black rock, about the size of a fist, rolled out. Zhou Lin's eyes widened. Wasn't this just a rock? Where was the strange insect?

Before she could ask, Ye Qin crushed the rock. Inside, a small, crystal-red insect was lightly breathing out fire, soundly asleep, completely unaware that the rock had shattered.

It wasn't until Ye Qin flicked its head that it awoke, leaping up in panic, baring its tiny teeth and spitting a faint stream of flame at Ye Qin's finger before burrowing back into the broken rock.

This insect, obtained from the magma river in a cave in the Ten Thousand Withered Ridge, had been kept unused, causing Ye Qin a headache. He didn't understand the art of commanding strange insects and was reluctant to discard it. Only when organizing his storage pouch just now did he remember it. A disciple of the Beast Spirit Sect should be able to train it.

"What kind of strange insect is this?"

Zhou Lin frowned slightly, racking her brain. Even as a Beast Spirit Sect disciple with broad knowledge, she couldn't immediately identify the creature.

It was only when the small bug melted the magma and began rolling in it that she suddenly recalled something. Her eyes snapped wide open, her mouth agape in surprise. Pointing at the little bug, she exclaimed, "This is a Fire Mist Worm! It grows deep underground. Senior Qin, how did you capture it?"

Ye Qin was astonished. "This is the Fire Mist Worm? I called it the Rock Fire Bug; I found it in the magma."

Zhou Lin became agitated. "Yes, it lives in magma! I remember this insect is recorded on the Beast Spirit Sect's Ranking List of Precious Strange Insects, ranked thirty-third. This insect grows in the magma deep beneath the earth. The female lays eggs on the shore near the magma, and the larvae, upon hatching, instinctively crawl toward the magma, but the vast majority are quickly burned to death by the earth fire. Only a very small number of larvae survive and grow up in the magma's earth fire."

"This insect hasn't appeared in the Beast Spirit Sect for a long time; this is the first time I've seen one too. However, this kind of strange insect is difficult to rear. If it doesn't live in magma, it simply cannot grow, let alone mature. The ranking list doesn't specify its power once it matures."

"Can you command this Rock Fire Bug?"

Ye Qin didn't much care about its background. This Rock Fire Bug was surely an adult already. He only cared whether it could be commanded; otherwise, keeping it idle served no purpose.

Zhou Lin thought for a moment, then nodded solemnly. "I should be able to. With enough patience, any strange insect can be tamed. Every kind of strange insect has a unique insect language that can be used to control them. This Fire Mist Worm is extremely rare, so I will need some time to understand the sounds it makes to slowly master its control language. Moreover, controlling insects is much harder than controlling beasts. Demonic beasts have higher intelligence and can understand complex commands. But strange insects have extremely low intelligence and mostly act on instinct, so they can only be controlled in very simple ways. Besides the control language, there is another method to directly control their divine sense. However, this is a high-level secret art of the Beast Spirit Sect, and I cannot casually teach it to you."

Zhou Lin said apologetically. This was a rule of the Beast Spirit Sect, which she could not violate arbitrarily.

Ye Qin considered it and said calmly, "It's fine. Just telling me the control language will suffice. There is still some time before the great war between Great Zhou and Northern Qi. I will remain here during this period. You help me figure out this Rock Fire Bug's insect language, and the remaining ten-plus low-grade elixirs in this vial will be yours."

Over ten days later, the Great Zhou Kingdom's main army marched toward the border. The Guardian Immortal Masters scattered across the Great Zhou Kingdom successively arrived at the Danyang Camp with the troops. The Danyang Camp now spanned hundreds of miles, with troop strength exceeding one million—the momentum was immense. Judging by the atmosphere, the battle Great Zhou and Northern Qi were fighting for the border territories was unavoidable, and war was imminent.

During these ten-plus days, although the tension grew daily, Ye Qin remained within the Danyang Camp cultivating, without any abnormal actions. Nor did he transmit a single piece of intelligence to the Lü family of the Northern Qi Kingdom.

This made the few young disciples of the Zhou Clan, who harbored suspicions about his origins and secretly monitored his every move, puzzled. Could it be that this Cultivator Qin truly intended to serve as the Great Zhou's Guardian Immortal Master and aid the kingdom? If so, they might have misunderstood this Cultivator Qin.

Seeing that Ye Qin made no unusual moves, the caution of the Zhou Clan cultivators gradually relaxed. They shifted their focus to monitoring other cultivators. (To be continued. For future developments, please log in to m for more chapters, support the author, and support genuine reading!)