Immortal Refiner

Clang!

The sharp sound of porcelain shattering echoed through the courtyard as Li Qing’s body swayed precariously. He stumbled backward, collapsing onto the ground and leaning weakly against the courtyard wall.

”W-why... did you drug me?!” His eyelids drooped, and his breathing grew faint.

His voice was filled with confusion, tinged with a hint of sorrow.

Thump!

Ye Feng dropped to his knees, tears welling in his eyes. ”I failed to reach Foundation Establishment,” he choked out, his voice thick with resentment. ”Two years ago, when I reached the ninth layer of Qi Refining, I exchanged for a Foundation Establishment Pill from the sect, but it still failed.”

”Brother Li, I know you have a Foundation Establishment Pill. I need it. I must succeed!”

”Do you know what my fellow disciples call me? They call me the Body-Seizing Demon Lord. Because of the body-seizing incident, I’ve been ostracized within the sect, constantly looked down upon by my peers!”

”I want to become a Foundation Establishment Elder. I want to change all of this.”

With that, Ye Feng rose to his feet, drawing a razor-sharp longsword from his waist. The blade gleamed with a chilling, icy light.

”If Elder Nine Heavens hadn’t arranged for me to be an Enforcement Disciple at the Heavenly River Market, my situation would likely be even worse.”

”Brother Li, I’m truly sorry. I desperately need that Foundation Establishment Pill and the Soul Nurturing Temple Secret Realm. I swear I’ll pass them down when I reach the Core Formation Realm!”

Ye Feng’s hand trembled as he held his sword, and his steps were unsteady. But as he advanced, he seemed to steel himself, his movements becoming resolute.

In that moment, Li Qing looked at Ye Feng’s figure and felt a profound sense of estrangement.

”Ah, do you remember the promises you made to repay me ten years ago, after I helped you seize your body?”

At these words, pain flashed in Ye Feng’s eyes. Despite his struggle, he raised his longsword high, the blade reflecting a chilling light.

”You ingrate!”

Before the razor-sharp Flying sword could fall, Li Qing’s grief and regret had vanished, replaced by pure, unbridled fury.

Swish!

Li Qing’s brow furrowed as divine sense power rapidly converged before him. In an instant, a faint golden light flashed and vanished!

Before even a blink of an eye had passed, Ye Feng was struck as if by lightning. His body shuddered violently.

Soul Condensing Slash!

Just now, Li Qing’s divine sense had condensed into a blade, transforming into a lethal technique aimed at the divine soul. In an instant, it had severely wounded Ye Feng’s divine soul.

In that split second, Ye Feng, who had been raising his sword to strike, was left with nothing but confusion and blankness in his eyes.

Already inhabiting a body seized through body seizing, his divine soul now suffered a severe blow, leaving him nearly catatonic.

In the next moment, the longsword in Ye Feng’s hand slipped from his grasp, falling limply to the ground.

Meanwhile, Li Qing, his heart twisting in agony, stood up and caught the sword. With a surge of Internal Strength and the activation of his Limitless Golden Body, he forcibly snapped the flying sword—a Low-Grade Magic Artifact—in two!

Clang!

The broken flying sword emitted a mournful tremor. Li Qing’s eyes burned with fury as he spoke, his voice laced with contempt. ”You think such childish tricks could kill me, Li Qing? Ye Feng, haven’t you been a bit too naive?”

After speaking, Li Qing opened his mouth and vomited all the Spirit Wine he had just drunk.

Once he had finished, he wiped the remaining liquor from his lips with his sleeve and said, ”I clawed my way up from the mortal world, only entering the Immortal Path after achieving Grandmaster status in the Martial Dao. Did you really think such petty tricks could harm me?”

”You didn’t poison the wine itself, but the bowl? Did you really think I’d never seen such a cheap trick before?”

Bang!

His divine soul shattered, Ye Feng collapsed to the ground, utterly helpless. His life force was now so weak that he could barely control his own body, only managing to hear Li Qing’s voice without being able to respond.

Li Qing walked step by step toward Ye Feng, his voice cold. ”I had originally come to visit you with a gift of several Millennial Heavenly Star Grass. You’ve left me deeply disappointed.”

”Hesitant, indecisive, and utterly frail!”

As the words fell, Li Qing’s killing intent solidified. He hurled the two broken halves of his sword, one piercing Ye Feng’s chest, the other severing his throat.

At this point, Ye Feng’s life force was completely extinguished. Having already undergone body seizing once, his spiritual sense had now completely dissipated into the heavens and earth, reduced to nothing but ashes.

His face cold and stern, Li Qing bent down and retrieved the storage pouch from Ye Feng’s waist.

He hadn’t touched this pouch since he’d been helping Ye Feng undergo body seizing again.

Now, unexpectedly, he had recovered it, just as he had recovered his own life.

Every sip and peck, was it all preordained?

”Betrayal stings like salt on a wound.”

After taking the storage pouch and the intelligence reports on the table, Li Qing didn’t linger. He walked straight out of the courtyard, determined to leave Heavenly River Market immediately.

By now, he had completely regained his composure, carefully analyzing his current situation.

I have to go!

Killing an Enforcement Disciple of the Heavenly River Sect in Heavenly River Market was an earth-shattering crime.

Regardless of the circumstances, if he fell into the sect’s hands, his fate would be anything but pleasant.

Though he knew a few Heavenly River Sect Elders, their meager friendship wouldn’t be enough to save him from such a catastrophe.

Neither Shi Nantian nor Nine Heavens, nor even Liu Hanyue, could likely protect him.

His relationship with the first two was essentially that of strangers, and his friendship with the last was not particularly deep.

Li Qing was not one to entrust his fate to others. His life was his own to control!

With this thought, Li Qing quickened his pace toward the Heavenly River Market’s exit, maintaining a steady speed while trying to avoid drawing undue attention.

Along the way, a faint sense of bitterness welled up within him. Ye Feng’s transformation over the past decade had left him cold.

A single failure at Foundation Establishment had driven his former close friend to poison him over a Foundation Establishment Pill.

Of course, the Soul Nurturing Temple Secret Realm might have played a role as well. All these factors combined had led to the current crisis.

”The Immortal Path is truly cruel,” Li Qing thought, his heart twisting in agony. He resolved never again to bare his soul to anyone.

Reaching the market’s exit, Li Qing suppressed his inner turmoil. He squeezed into the crowd, feigning composure as he slowly pushed his way toward the exit.

Nearby, the Heavenly River Sect disciple who had previously helped Li Qing deliver the message also spotted him but didn’t react much, only raising an eyebrow in surprise.

Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief, thinking, ”Thank heavens this hasn’t been exposed yet.”

Throughout this time, he had kept his divine sense power extended, not worried about revealing it. There were no Foundation Establishment Realm cultivators present, so they wouldn’t detect his scanning and probing.

Finally, after passing through the Restriction at the entrance, Li Qing felt a great weight lift from his chest.

But soon, his divine sense picked up the conversation of several Heavenly River Sect disciples guarding the array formation.

”Hey, did you see that rogue cultivator just now? He seems to be Old Demon Ye’s friend.”

”Really? I didn’t expect a body-seizing Demon Lord like him to have any close friends visiting. That’s quite a rarity.”

”Heh, a Demon Lord who seizes others’ bodies probably only associates with other unsavory characters.”

”Keep your voice down. Old Demon Ye has some ties to Elder Nine Heavens. We don’t want him overhearing this.”

”...”

Hearing these disparaging remarks, Li Qing gained a deeper understanding of the treatment Ye Feng usually received within the sect.

Li Qing knew that body seizing was a deeply dishonorable act in the cultivation world, but he hadn’t expected his Fellow Disciples, who had worked alongside him in the Heavenly River Market, to react so strongly. Even his simple visit to Ye Feng was branded as the act of a malicious individual.

Ye Feng’s current state was undoubtedly linked to the cold and heartless nature of their sect.

Li Qing didn’t react. He silently withdrew his divine sense and swiftly plunged into the vast mountain forests and ravines below the market.

Moments later, several condensed auras rapidly approached the market’s entrance.

A shout rang out: ”Seal off the Heavenly River Market! No one is to enter or leave!”

Li Qing’s heart leaped at the sound. He accelerated his hammer’s flight, landing in the forest below in the shortest possible time.

Without hesitation, Li Qing released Fan Tong and mounted it directly.

”Let’s go! We need to get out of here quickly!”

This place was no longer safe. Li Qing knew his scheme had likely been exposed. Endless pursuit by the Heavenly River Sect was almost certain, and it wouldn’t be surprising if they even dispatched Foundation Establishment Realm Elders.

Whoosh!

Responding to the command, Fan Tong shot forward like a streak of light, weaving through the forest at incredible speed.

Earlier, in the Soul Lamp Hall of the Heavenly River Sect...

Crack!

A faint cracking sound suddenly echoed through the silent hall, its crispness startling in the pin-drop quiet.

An elderly man who had been on duty here day and night abruptly opened his eyes, two cold beams shooting from them.

”A soul lamp has shattered... Someone has fallen? Judging by the sound, it seems to be a disciple’s soul lamp.”

With that, the old man rose and walked toward the source of the sound.

There, a lamp that had once burned with Soul Fire had been extinguished, a horrifying crack spreading from its base.

The old man picked up the extinguished lamp and examined the disciple’s registration information.

”Ye Feng, current Enforcement Disciple of the Heavenly River Market...”

Upon seeing the words ”Enforcement Disciple of the Heavenly River Market,” a sharp glint flashed in the old man’s eyes, and a powerful aura surged from his body.

”An Enforcement Disciple has fallen in the Heavenly River Market? Was it a brazen criminal or something else entirely?”

”This matter must be investigated immediately!”

As the Cultivation Sect that dominated the Immortal Path in this region, the death of an Enforcement Disciple in their own bustling market was a grave matter indeed.

”Summon someone! Order the Heavenly River Market to report immediately!”

(End of the Chapter)

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