After roughly counting all the items in the black-clad man's ring and discarding any that were useless, Ming Qi clutched a pitch-black diamond-shaped plaque in his hand, frowning in thought.
Although Ming Qi didn't see any special effects from the plaque at first glance, he didn't discard it. Instead, he examined it carefully.
Because the plaque, which lacked any visible details, bore two words: "Tian Wu."
After seeing the plaque, Ming Qi was finally convinced that the black-clad man indeed had a mysterious connection to the long-extinct Tian Wu Cult.
The Tian Wu Cult had completely dissipated long before the end of antiquity, but the mysterious plaque inscribed with the words "Tian Wu" had reappeared at this moment, compelling Ming Qi to connect the plaque with the revival of the Tian Wu Cult.
Could it be that the Tian Wu Cult was truly about to be revived?
In ancient times, the Tianwu Divine Cult was a formidable force in the demonic realm, a formidable sect that once dominated the world and dared not challenge it. Now that the Tianwu Divine Cult shows signs of a resurgence, one can only imagine the terrifying demonic storm that would erupt if it truly surfaced.
Hmm?
As Ming Qi was flipping through the plaque, he suddenly sensed a faint aura emanating from it.
This compelled him to attempt to infiltrate it with a wisp of his divine consciousness.
Boom!
As his divine consciousness touched the black plaque, a roar echoed through Ming Qi's mind, and he felt an unprecedented, powerful impact instantly reach the depths of his soul.
This force was like an invisible, intangible blade, slicing through him.
Ming Qi was horrified, a cold sweat breaking out all over his body. Fortunately, just as this mysterious force impacted his mind, the dormant Supreme Mountain and Sea Map suddenly roared. A mysterious force emanated from Ming Qi's mind, dispelling the sword-like aura.
"That was a close call!"
Ming Qi wiped the sweat from his forehead, a wave of fear welling up in his heart.
If it weren't for the protection of the Supreme Mountain and Sea Map, his soul might have been shattered and he would have perished.
But before Ming Qi could regain his composure, he immediately sensed another roar from within the black plate. This roar was noticeably different from the previous one. The previous one had simply pounded and strangled his soul, while this time, the sound was much weaker, like a door opening.
Ming Qi's mind cautiously delved into the black plate, and immediately, a string of strange words emerged in his mind.
The text looked strange, not the current language, but Ming Qi could recognize it.
Heavenly Witch Great Order!
First, the four characters "Heavenly Witch Great Order" were written in a flamboyant style.
Ming Qi quickly read down, revealing several lines of smaller characters on the west side.
The text read: "Anyone who obtains this order will be granted access to one of the Heavenly Witch hidden locations. There are thirty-six such hidden locations throughout the universe. Anyone who obtains this order will bear the secret seal of the Divine Religion and assume the role of one of the thirty-six Heavenly Witch Dharma Kings. These Dharma Kings must take the great cause of the Divine Religion's revival as their own. Otherwise, the Heavenly Witch gods will be enraged, burning them to death and shattering their bones, condemning them to eternal damnation!" The following is one of the thirty-six Heavenly Witch hidden locations.
Next, Ming Qi saw the detailed location of the hidden location. Only then did he understand why the man in black possessed so many magical weapons, Yuanjing, and elixirs. He must have obtained them from the Heavenly Witch hidden locations.
That was all the information contained in the Heavenly Witch Token. Ming Qi put the token away, secretly rejoicing. The man in black, who had first obtained the Token, had already been annihilated, taking with him the mysterious Divine Cult's Secret Seal. This, however, allowed Ming Qi to reape the treasures of one of the thirty-six Heavenly Witch Hidden Treasures. He doubted the man in black would possess all the treasures in the hidden treasures.
The location of the Heavenly Witch Hidden Treasures was known only to him, and despite hundreds of thousands of years, it had remained undiscovered. This clearly demonstrated that storing valuable treasures within the hidden treasures was the safest and most reliable means of transport.
Furthermore, the Heavenly Witch Token clearly marked the location of the hidden treasures, effectively handing Ming Qi a vast treasure trove. Such a vast treasure trove made Ming Qi feel somewhat grateful for the man in black's generosity.
Thinking of the man in black's death in pursuit of the Great Destruction Battle Suit, Ming Qi felt it was only natural that these items now fell into his possession.
However, Ming Qi had no immediate plans to search for the Heavenly Witch Hidden Treasure. After all, the treasure he had obtained from the black-clothed man was already a considerable sum. The most important thing now was to improve his strength. Although he had entered the Xiantian realm, the road ahead would be increasingly long and difficult.
Without the support and protection of the sect, even if Ming Qi's current strength was unmatched among cultivators of his level, he would likely be plunged into dire straits if he showed his face.
Thus, placing the more valuable treasures where no one could find them was undoubtedly a surefire way to avoid danger.
Having made all the arrangements, Ming Qi embarked on a new journey.
Improving his strength was certainly important, but restoring Meng Ling was even more crucial. Meng Ling had secured the Ten Thousand Years Crimson Pearl Vine for him, allowing Ming Qi to reap countless benefits during his advancement. Meng Ling's current precarious situation was extremely dangerous, and Ming Qi naturally would not ignore her.
Blood—she needed it, but she couldn't kill innocent people. Ming Qi had no choice but to target the demonic beasts.
But in this harsh winter of icy snow, hunting a large number of demonic beasts proved a formidable undertaking.
However, Ming Qi was now single-mindedly focused on Meng Ling's recovery and awakening. He traveled through the snowy expanse, slaying every demonic beast he encountered, their blood belonging to Meng Ling, and collecting any materials for refining medicine and weapons for future use.
This way, Ming Qi wandered through the mountains for a month.
In the blink of an eye, the year had unknowingly crept into its final days, with the holidays just around the corner.
During this time, Ming Qi had hunted countless demonic beasts, and Meng Ling had finally recovered considerably. However, Ming Qi was concerned that Meng Ling's demonic nature had awakened. As she recovered, her demonic attacks became more frequent, often lasting an entire day. No matter what Ming Qi did, he could not suppress her demonic nature.
Helpless, Ming Qi could only keep Meng Ling locked up in his newly acquired black ring, awakening her only when hunting demonic beasts.
Meng Ling's injuries had healed considerably, but her awakened demonic nature once again became Ming Qi's biggest headache.
He had no idea what in the world could suppress this demonic nature.
After two more days of wandering in the mountains, Ming Qi decided to leave for the bustling area to seek a solution. After all, where cultivators gathered, there would always be someone who knew how to suppress demonic nature.
Of course, during this time, Ming Qi would not slack off in his cultivation.
After over a month in the mountains, his First Level Xiantian realm had largely stabilized, his understanding of the Suzaku Burning Heaven Sutra had greatly improved, and his Yuan Power had greatly increased.
While he didn't know the actual Yuan Power of the average Xiantian cultivator, he was certain that his Yuan Power was far greater than that of a cultivator at the First Level Xiantian Divine Ability Realm.
Two days later, Ming Qi emerged from the mountains and encountered his first small village.
This was just a small village in a remote area, the villagers were poor and the land was barren. Ming Qi didn't linger, but after asking for directions, he continued on his way.
He subsequently encountered numerous villages and towns, gradually gaining a firm grasp of his current location.
After so much time had passed, he had already left the Jinchuan Bai Mansion's sphere of influence and was now within the boundaries of Bailingtan Mansion, one of the seven major prefectures of Xilan Province.
The seven prefectures of Xilan Province each had their own jurisdiction, with strict demarcations between them. This was a rule established by the Xilan Province Governor, Xiongfeng City. Without Xiongfeng City's permission, prefectures could not compete for regional resources, or face a ruling from the Xilan Province Arbitration Hall.
The foundation of a major power is often the resources, trade taxes, and other aspects of its sphere of influence. Fighting for regional resources would be tantamount to suppressing the other's foundation, a practice unacceptable in Xilan Province.
In Xilan Province, Xiongfeng City holds absolute power. This is due in part to its inherently powerful backing and in part to direct authorization from the Central Earth's City of the Gods.
The City of the Gods controls the entire Central Earth. While reaping the benefits of resources from the various states, it also maintains a stable balance between the various powers within them.
Given the constant intimidation from these various powers, Xilan Province currently remains relatively stable.
As for the Bailingtan Mansion, while not inclined towards the comprehension of battle tactics, it maintains a stable position and a vast territory within Xilan Province.
After spending a day resting and reviewing the current situation within Bailingtan Mansion, Ming Qi headed towards the nearest city.
Like the other six prefectures, Bailingtan Mansion's core, the Hundred Flower Valley, is located within the Hundred Flower Corridor, right in the center of its jurisdiction. Ming Qi's current location is in the western edge of Bailingtan Mansion's territory. This place is quite far from the vast Hundred Flowers Corridor and is relatively undeveloped.
Fengxian City.
Ming Qi's first stop was the first relatively prosperous city upon entering the Bailingtan Mansion.
Ming Qi had already learned that in the Bailingtan Mansion, all cities are named after flowers, just like this Fengxian.
When Ming Qi arrived, exhausted and dusty, at the gates of Fengxian City, the sun had already set.
The architectural style of Fengxian City, like its name, is remarkably graceful and elegant. The first impression it gives is that a timeless and graceful Fengxian flower grows here.
As Ming Qi expected, there were cultivators guarding the gates of Fengxian City.
However, these cultivators were not very powerful, only at the seventh or eighth level of the Acquired Realm.
Ming Qi already had the aura of a congenitally powerful man at this time. Although he had been crawling in the deep mountains and forests for more than a month, and his clothes looked tattered, like a down-and-out little beggar, when he stood upright in front of the gate of Fengxian City, he immediately alarmed the acquired cultivator guarding the gate.