Chapter 143: The Seven Rankings Records of Immortals and Demons

Qin Feng was certainly no fool!

Instead of stopping, he manipulated Xing Bing to speed up his movements. Taking advantage of the moment when the man in black and the bamboo hat was momentarily stunned, Qin Feng snatched the coarse hempen garment and, with lightning-fast speed, shoved it straight into his own storage pouch. Only then did he brush off his hands and leisurely look toward the person who had interrupted his transaction.

After snapping back to his senses, the bamboo-hatted man gave a bitter smile and shook his head.

He then fell silent.

He knew the newcomer was not to be trifled with and was already contemplating how to extricate himself.

As for Qin Feng, his eyes fell upon a handsome, scholar-like face, but one that was currently filled with extreme annoyance. Evidently, Qin Feng treating the white hempen garment as his own was a sign of utter disrespect to him, causing his anger to flare up intensely.

Handsome yet cold, and clearly very difficult to deal with—this was Qin Feng's first impression of the man.

The other party was young, roughly of the same age as Qin Feng, with his cultivation realm at around the eighth stage of the Human Qi Realm. A rather bizarre top-knot was coiled in his hair, which was threaded with faint silver strands, and his attire was equally eccentric. On a white base, thick black lines formed a strange Nine-Palaces diagram across his clothes. At a glance, the garment was clearly no ordinary item; it was at least a superior-grade profound artifact. Embroidered on his left chest was the character "Nine," and slung across his back was a huge black-and-white ancient scroll. Coupled with his two attendants—each of whose cultivation was also in the Human Qi Realm—it was obvious at a glance that this youth possessed an extraordinary background.

"Could he be from the Nine Palaces Gate of the Divine Profound Kingdom?"

This bizarre attire was something Qin Feng seemed to have seen in ancient texts; it was the unique garb of the Nine Palaces Gate from the Eastern Domain of Qingxuan. The Nine Palaces Gate was a first-rate power in the Eastern Domain. For the youth before him to have cultivated to the eighth stage of the Human Qi Realm at such a tender age made him nothing short of a generational talent.

Especially the fact that he brought two attendants out with him made Qin Feng's brow furrow even deeper.

In truth, this youth possessed considerable strength in his own right, and those two attendants were likely just servants running errands.

While Qin Feng was sizing up the other party, the young man was also glaring at the Xing Bing he controlled with a dark face. However, Xing Bing's fat appearance was evidently far from flattering, filling the youth's eyes with utter disgust.

"Kid, hand over the item if you know what's good for you, hmph!"

Before Qin Feng could speak, the stall owner wearing the bamboo hat seized the opportunity to cut in. "You two, I presume you both saw the course of events just now. Since the item is no longer in my hands, I no longer have the right to decide its fate. Please do not drag me into your grievances. Farewell!"

With that, the black-clad man in the bamboo hat swiftly and efficiently packed up the remaining items on his stall into a storage pouch, flashed away, and left.

Clearly, he too had recognized that the newcomer was not to be messed with. Moreover, the pill for breaking through his cultivation realm was already in his hands, so there was no need to linger here and court disaster.

The stall owner had fled to avoid trouble, leaving only Qin Feng and the other party.

A chilling expression covered Xing Bing's fat face. Sweeping his gaze across the four people before him, he sneered, "What? Do you intend to use force to rob me?"

The Nine Palaces youth was evidently deeply displeased by Qin Feng's dismissive attitude.

"Little bastard, I am definitely taking that item! You've got a death wish!" The Nine Palaces youth wore a ferocious expression, his words reeking of threats.

Yet Qin Feng was not buying it.

Qin Feng knew that the other party was restrained by being on Tianzhi's territory, which was why he dared not use brute force to rob him. If they were outside the valley, the youth probably wouldn't bother wasting words and would simply resort to outright robbery.

As for the item, Qin Feng had no intention of handing it over whatsoever.

He had never taken threats to heart, so he once again chose to ignore the Nine Palaces youth.

Controlling Xing Bing and letting out a cold snort, Qin Feng gave the youth no face at all, turned around, and walked toward the direction of the Tianzhi Pavilion.

Tianzhi's forces operated on commerce. While setting up markets and renting out stalls, they also ran their own businesses. Therefore, right in the most conspicuous spot in the center of the market, they had built the Tianzhi Pavilion, dedicated entirely to trade.

As Qin Feng walked away, the Nine Palaces youth was left fuming with rage.

Staring at Xing Bing's retreating back, he gnashed his teeth, wishing he could immediately tear Xing Bing into a thousand pieces, only to be held back by a middle-aged man behind him.

"Young master, there are experts keeping order here. It won't be too late to deal with him after we leave the valley."

"Hmph! I will personally slaughter him!"

The Nine Palaces youth's gaze was gloomy and cold, his fists clenching so tightly that they cracked loudly.

Qin Feng knew that he had inadvertently provoked quite a troublesome adversary, but he didn't care. Comparatively speaking, he was actually overjoyed. The white hempen garment he had acquired was well worth taking this risk.

This item was undoubtedly extraordinary, and upon returning, he would have to study it thoroughly.

As for the Nine Palaces youth, despite his extraordinary background, Qin Feng didn't take him to heart. He had even provoked Li Xingjian of the Heavenly Qi Realm; he cared even less about adding another kid in the Human Qi Realm to the list. If this fellow really dared to provoke him, Qin Feng wouldn't mind teaching him a hard lesson.

Even if he couldn't beat him, couldn't he run?

With the large black cloth in his possession, Qin Feng still had quite a bit of experience when it came to fleeing for his life.

In high spirits, Qin Feng stepped into the Tianzhi Pavilion.

This pavilion was the largest building in the market, standing a full four stories high. Its architectural design was grand and majestic, possessing quite an imposing air for such a small place.

Walking onto the first floor, Qin Feng looked around. The massive hall was dazzling with all sorts of rare treasures, and many people were earnestly selecting suitable cultivation techniques, profound artifacts, and various materials. Aside from these, Qin Feng also noticed jade slips and books placed everywhere. Judging by their titles, most were books on common sense in the cultivation world, secret anecdotes, and cultivation techniques. However, what caught Qin Feng's eye the most was a set of seven volumes, printed in the largest quantities, neatly stacked across nearly half the hall.

Taking a closer look at the title: *The Seven Manifestations of Immortals and Demons*!

"Oh?"

Surprised, Qin Feng made Xing Bing reach out, pick up a copy, and flip through it.

The pages were densely packed with numerous names and corresponding brief portraits.

Seeing Xing Bing pick up the book, a charmingly pretty female cultivator in palace attire of the Mortal Qi Realm immediately walked over. With a respectful expression, she curtsied to Qin Feng and asked, "Senior, hello. Is there anything I can help you with?" Qin Feng hadn't deliberately concealed Xing Bing's cultivation at the moment, so the woman could tell at a glance that he was in the Human Qi Realm.

Qin Feng had heard his master mention this book before. Because it was printed once every decade and updated rather quickly, the Dragon God Pavilion in Tianfeng City had not collected it. At the time, Qin Feng had felt somewhat curious. Seeing it now, he immediately pointed at the set of books and asked the palace-attired woman, "What is this book about? How many profound stones for a set?"

Hearing Qin Feng's inquiry, the palace-attired woman's eyes instantly lit up. Having sold books for so many years, anyone inquiring about this set of books was, eight or nine times out of ten, a customer looking to buy. Seeing business to be made, she immediately and enthusiastically began to explain in detail to Qin Feng:

"Reporting to Senior, this set of *The Seven Manifestations of Immortals and Demons* is compiled by Tianzhi's forces every ten years. They conduct a large-scale, comprehensive statistical survey of talented individuals and peerless powerhouses below the Heavenly Qi Realm across the entire Eastern Domain's cultivation world. After compiling and organizing the data, professional evaluators edit and issue seven highly authoritative rankings: the Earth Qi, Earth Demon, Human Spirit, Human Slayer, Stunning Beauty, Supreme Slaughter, and Demon Subduing lists!"

"Among the seven lists, apart from the *Stunning Beauty List*, the remaining six are divided into righteous and demonic factions."

"Among them, the righteous lists include: the *Earth Qi List*, the *Human Spirit List*, and the *Supreme Slaughter List*; the demonic lists include: the *Earth Demon List*, the *Human Slayer List*, and the *Demon Subduing List*."

"Such a division was a matter of necessity. A long time ago, there were actually only five lists. However, the righteous and demonic paths are distinct; righteous people often disdain being associated with the demonic path, and demonic people scorn being mentioned in the same breath as the righteous. Therefore, gradually, the *Earth Qi List* split into the Earth Qi and Earth Demon lists, and the *Human Qi List* split into the Human Spirit and Human Slayer lists."

"The *Earth Qi List* records the names of the top one thousand Earth Qi Realm cultivators among the righteous forces of the Eastern Domain's cultivation world, providing brief background introductions for each listed righteous Earth Qi cultivator, such as their faction, sect, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and so on."

"The *Human Spirit List* records the names of the top one thousand Human Qi Realm cultivators among the righteous forces of the Eastern Domain's cultivation world, providing brief background introductions for each listed righteous Human Qi cultivator, such as their faction, sect, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and so on."

"What is rather interesting is the *Supreme Slaughter List*. This is considered an honorary list for the righteous path, ranked based on the amount of honor accumulated from slaying demonic cultivators. Righteous individuals tend to be fond of fishing for fame and compliments, chasing fame and fortune all their lives, so this list came into being in response to that demand. The number of listed individuals is one thousand!"

"Conversely—"

"The *Earth Demon List* records the names of the top one thousand Earth Qi Realm cultivators among the demonic forces of the Eastern Domain's cultivation world, providing brief background introductions for each listed demonic Earth Qi cultivator, such as their faction, sect, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and so on."

"The *Human Slayer List* records the names of the top one thousand Human Qi Realm cultivators among the demonic forces of the Eastern Domain's cultivation world, providing brief background introductions for each listed demonic Human Qi cultivator, such as their faction, sect, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and so on."

"As for the *Demon Subduing List*, only heinous demons are eligible to be listed. Below the Heavenly Qi Realm, regardless of personal strength, selection is based on a comprehensive assessment of factors such as murders, atrocities, the bounty offered for capture, and renown. One thousand people are selected for this ranking, and brief background introductions are provided for each listed cultivator, such as their faction, sect, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and so on."

"As for the *Stunning Beauty List*, as the name implies, it ranks beautiful women below the Heavenly Qi Realm in the Qingxuan Eastern Domain's cultivation world, regardless of their strength. Two thousand individuals are selected and ranked according to the degree of their natural beauty. Naturally, detailed background introductions are also provided for each listed cultivator, such as their faction, sect, cultivation techniques, divine abilities, and so on."

"The seven lists are bound together into a single book titled *The Seven Manifestations of Immortals and Demons*, sold exclusively by Tianzhi's forces. Each set costs three hundred lower-grade profound stones. Would Senior like to purchase a set?"

"Three hundred lower-grade profound stones?"

Hearing this, Qin Feng chuckled inwardly. Tianzhi's forces were truly not ordinary black-hearted merchants. To think a single set of books sold for three hundred profound stones, and with them selling this book across the entire Eastern Domain—how many profound stones would they amass each year? Just thinking about it was terrifying!

"Does Senior find it expensive?" the palace-attired woman asked with a smile.

Qin Feng nodded.

A mysterious look appeared on the woman's face as she explained to Qin Feng, "Senior, please look here!" With that, she picked up another copy of *The Seven Manifestations of Immortals and Demons*, opened a page, and slowly channeled her profound energy into the book. Instantly, the pages of the book refreshed themselves. What shocked Qin Feng the most was that one person's name instantly turned gray, and the names behind it all moved up a notch to fill the vacancy.

"This book is actually a lower-grade profound artifact!"

That was right; the book could absorb profound power and use profound energy as fuel to achieve real-time updates of its contents. The name that had just turned gray meant that person had died, and thus they were replaced by the person behind them.

"This Tianzhi Pavilion really makes extravagant moves!"

Seeing the shock on Qin Feng's face, a hint of smugness appeared on the palace-attired woman's face. Clearly, this was not the first time she had shocked someone. Pausing for a moment, the woman explained, "However, this function can only be maintained for ten years. Once the ten years are up, Senior will have to purchase a newly printed version of the book."

"Viewed in this light, these three hundred profound stones can be considered well spent!"

Such a sum of money was still well within Qin Feng's ability to pay. Smiling, Qin Feng produced three hundred lower-grade profound stones to purchase a set of books, then took the volume and began to flip through it casually.

Qin Feng first looked at the *Human Spirit List*. He only gave it a brief glance, but that single look caused his heart to experience a violent shock. Among the rankings, he unexpectedly discovered two familiar names.

Huo Siyan, ranked seven hundred and thirty-second on the *Human Spirit List*, belonging to the sect: The Heavenly Spirit Water Pavilion of the Luoshui Kingdom. The other person was Li Haoran, ranked six-hundred and forty-first, from the Sword Mountain of the Yunqi Kingdom, and the son of Sect Master Li Xingjian. Both of them were rising stars over the past two years, and their rankings were still climbing steadily, leaving them with immense room for upward growth.

Huo Siyan was not too surprising to Qin Feng. After all, within the Nine Walls, she had obtained a fine inheritance and, with the help of the beast Seven-Eyed Cangni, entering the Human Spirit list was naturally no surprise. It was just that she had actually left Sword Mountain and gone to the Heavenly Spirit Water Pavilion, which surprised Qin Feng slightly. But what was going on with this Li Haoran?

Let us not forget that Li Haoran had been slain by Qin Feng's own hands.

Of this, Qin Feng was one hundred percent certain!

"However, where did this Li Haoran come from?" Following the example of the palace-attired woman, Qin Feng channeled his profound energy into *The Seven Manifestations of Immortals and Demons*. Li Haoran's name remained brightly lit, without the slightest trace of dimming.

Clearly, this Li Haoran was a living, breathing person.

One can easily imagine the immense shock in Qin Feng's heart!

This fellow had to be a fake! The real Li Haoran was already dead. Even if he hadn't died, with Li Haoran's pitiful strength, how could he possibly enter the *Human Spirit List*? He'd be lucky to make it onto a lecherous list! Yet here he was, sitting high at position six-hundred and forty-first, still climbing upward with seemingly boundless potential.

"What the hell is going on here?!"

"Has Li Xingjian gone senile? He even forgot that his own son died? No, wait!" Suddenly, recalling something, Qin Feng's eyes widened abruptly as a lingering, ominous premonition stirred in his heart.

"Could it be... the Seven Sons of Suppressing Demons? That lecherous toad?!"

Li Haoran was already dead—that was a settled fact. But that lecherous toad had been reborn through Qin Xinshu's womb, bearing an appearance identical to Li Haoran's.

And that lecherous toad, after being hunted down by him, had ultimately dived deep into the demonic cave and burrowed into the white egg. Could it be that the white giant egg had hatched and turned into the current Li Haoran?

If his speculation was correct, then this living fake was undoubtedly that lecherous toad!

It had actually achieved its dream of being reborn as a human!

And it had brazenly assumed an extremely prominent identity, using this new shell to ascend to the righteous *Human Spirit List*!

This was simply too damn absurd!

The only person who knew the true identity of this lecherous toad was probably himself. Even Li Xingjian himself likely had no idea that this person was the very culprit who had murdered his wife, and instead regarded him as one of the Seven Sons of Suppressing Demons, even acknowledging the toad as his son!

In an instant, Qin Feng pieced together the general picture of the events.

It seemed he had truly underestimated the intellect of that lecherous toad. Over the span of ten thousand years, it had truly birthed a demonic level of cunning.

Qin Feng had a faint intuition that this lecherous toad might well become his fated arch-enemy for life!