Qin Ming saw the Heaven-Devouring Rat pop its head out again and immediately called it over.

"Master!"

The Heaven-Devouring Rat just came beside Qin Ming, but was grabbed by him entirely and inspected.

A few days ago, it almost got refined by the Spirit King Cauldron, suffering great damage to its Primordial Qi, and even after taking pills to recover, it still appeared listless and lethargic.

Qin Ming worried that this creature might have some aftereffects in the future.

Thus he immediately used the Four Seasons Divine Light to channel a few strands into its body.

A profound and intense vitality continuously emanated from the Heaven-Devouring Rat’s body.

After half a day.

The Heaven-Devouring Rat was vibrant once more, restored to its full Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

"Huh? I’m all better!"

"Thank you, Master! Hehehe!"

Qin Ming waved his hand, letting it continue cultivating on its own.

He then took out the Spirit King Cauldron and continued his research.

After several attempts, Qin Ming discovered that using this cauldron to refine pills or high-tier life forms left behind a green essence within the cauldron.

If these essences were to accumulate enough, they would condense into a ’Taiyi Essence’ in the shape of a Meat Lingzhi.

This item had boundless magical uses; Qin Ming had already tried it on his Lifebound Spirit Plant before.

Besides, using this cauldron for alchemy was incredibly handy for Qin Ming, with the success rate increasing by over twenty percent.

Now, refining pills at the Nascent Soul Stage was as easy as pie for him, mastering it effortlessly.

...

...

Days later.

A Communication Talisman fell into Qin Ming’s hand, and he opened it to find it was from True Monarch Dragon Wood.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, the time has come. We are preparing to depart for Dragon Abyss Island."

Qin Ming immediately exited the cave mansion to meet with the two from the Penglai Sect.

Outside the Penglai Immortal Tree, two gigantic thousand-foot-long cross-country spiritual ships were prepared to set sail, the masts bearing the golden leaf emblem of the Penglai Sect.

"How well have you rested during your stay with us, Fellow Daoist Qin?" True Monarch Dragon Wood asked with a smile.

Qin Ming smiled lightly and nodded: "The Penglai Sect is abundant in Spiritual Qi, naturally excellent."

"Glad you don’t mind, haha!"

Then.

The disciples and elders below boarded the ship one after another. The Immortal Mansion Grand Assembly is a grand event held once every thousand years in the East Sea Cultivation Realm.

From Qi Cultivation Stage disciples to Nascent Soul Supreme Elders of various sects, all would want to witness it.

The cross-country spiritual ships of the Nascent Soul Sects slowly sailed out like primordial giant beasts, heading towards the direction of Dragon Abyss Island.

Apart from this.

Qin Ming had already sent Hua Tianxiong to follow Duke Xia Yuan from Celestial Wave Immortal City.

Perhaps they could gather some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, and promote his Thousand Mechanism Pavilion at the same time.

In the luxurious room of the spiritual ship.

Qin Ming chatted enthusiastically with the two from the Penglai Sect.

Since he obtained a set of fourth-tier inheritance on the Penglai Immortal Tree, their attitudes had been even more cordial than before.

"As soon as the Immortal Mansion Grand Assembly commences, talents from all walks of life will gather. Some hidden Nascent Soul cultivators, and even cultivators from several other cultivation realms, will come to witness the event."

"However, it is limited to those with cultivation above Nascent Soul, as the high mountains and long roads prevent ordinary cultivators from reaching Dragon Abyss Island."

Chen Muzhi said with a smile.

"Oh? Will the demon tribes from other regions also come?" Qin Ming asked.

"Fellow Daoist Qin, you mean from the Beast Roar Mountain Range, right? After all, I know you have a good relationship with those two Demon Saints."

"But I’m afraid they won’t come this time, likely focusing their efforts on dealing with the descent of the Blood Realm." True Monarch Dragon Wood replied.

Qin Ming nodded thoughtfully.

"Alright, let’s not talk about this. I will introduce Fellow Daoist Qin to the customs of the East Sea Cultivation Realm and some affairs concerning the Sea Race." True Monarch Dragon Wood promptly changed the subject.

...

Two months later.

The Penglai Sect’s cross-country spiritual ship began to slow down, entering the territory of the Sea Race.

Not long after.

A black dot appeared in everyone’s sight in the distance.

As the spiritual ship approached, the black dot grew larger, revealing itself as an aerial Spirit Island floating above the sea.

Its scale was slightly smaller than Celestial Wave Immortal City.

But Dragon Abyss Island floated above the sea, magnificent and grandiose.

In the surrounding waters, various spiritual bird carriages, treasure beast mounts, and the colorful streaking lights of magical artifacts all converged towards the island.

Among them, entities like the Penglai Sect were not uncommon, and other Nascent Soul sects also sent cross-country spiritual ships, demonstrating their mighty presence.

Besides, the Sea Race was equally active on the surface and underwater, by no means inferior to the Human Race.

Even the Sea Race’s overlord, East Sea Dragon Palace, appeared riding on a massive thousand-foot-long turtle, carrying pavilions of jade and gold.

Smaller powers, upon seeing such overlord-level influences in the cultivation world, quickly gave way.

At this moment.

A massive ice crystal palace appeared majestically over the sea area, dazzlingly splendid in the sunlight and moving at an astonishing speed.

It quickly matched pace with the Penglai Sect’s spiritual ship, showing no inferiority.

True Monarch Dragon Wood, seeing this, squinted slightly with cloudy eyes, somewhat surprised: "I didn’t expect... that even the Profound Nether Sect from the Northern Cold Cultivation Realm would come..."

Qin Ming, hearing this, also pondered, for the distance from the Northern Cold Cultivation Realm to the East Sea Cultivation Realm was extremely far.

Only a Nascent Soul sect could possibly reach it.

"I was wondering who it was, turns out it’s Fellow Daoist Dragon Wood leading the group this time."

A deep voice slowly echoed into everyone’s ears.

The window on the upper level of the crystal palace opened, revealing the face of a middle-aged man in a blue robe, emanating early-stage Nascent Soul cultivation, with a slightly cold tone.

"Oh~ turns out it’s Fellow Daoist Guangling from the Profound Nether Sect! It seems like your ice divine technique has improved quite a bit; no wonder the surrounding temperature has decreased significantly." True Monarch Dragon Wood, seeing this person, didn’t give too much face, replying sarcastically.

"Same to you!" Guangling snorted lightly, also uninterested in further communication with the Penglai Sect people.

Closing the window, the massive crystal palace moved ahead, flying towards the floating island.

After the other party left.

Qin Ming curiously asked: "Fellow Daoist Dragon Wood, do you have some feud with this person?"

"Fellow Daoist Qin might not know, those old guys from the Northern Cold Cultivation Realm, backed by the Divinity Transformation Sect Ice God Hall, are all arrogant and domineering, thinking they are superior."

"If not for meeting face-to-face here, I wouldn’t bother dealing with them."

"I see." Qin Ming understood.

But he also realized, the customs in the cultivation world vary greatly.

It’s normal for cultivators from harsh lands to have a rugged demeanor.

Moreover, judging by their attitudes, he speculated that the Divinity Transformation cultivation of the Ice God Hall’s Venerable is likely higher than that of the East Sea Cultivation Realm’s Star Palace.

Otherwise, the cultivators from the Northern Cold Cultivation Realm wouldn’t act so brazenly on someone else’s territory if they didn’t have some confidence.

With these thoughts.

The two giant ships of the Penglai Sect, along with countless streaks of light, gradually approached Dragon Abyss Island.

The full view of Dragon Abyss Island was now completely revealed to everyone, with various exquisite palaces and pavilions dominating the landscape, most themed with undersea world decor.

Countless coral-like underwater plants were vibrant and colorful, adorned with rare jewels, emitting a soft treasure light.

At the center of the island stood a massive circular structure, with a large plaza in the middle. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Presumably, this was to be the main venue.

The entire Dragon Abyss Island was enveloped in a layer of purple light screen, with high-tier runes flickering, vaguely emitting world-ending waves, evidently a Tier Four High-Grade Defense Array.

Even a late-stage Nascent Soul Great Power could only look on helplessly.

Moreover, with the grand assembly commencing, Dragon Abyss Island’s defense forces were significantly heightened.

The outer areas were patrolled entirely by Sea Race members from the Celestial Sea Alliance and East Sea Dragon Palace, indicating stringent security.

Due to the intelligence Qin Ming provided to the Celestial Sea Alliance last time, the outermost area had a high-tier detection array set up, requiring each cultivator to pass through before entering Dragon Abyss Island.

If any anomalies were detected, they would be struck down on the spot with thunderous force.