Immortal Refiner

On the main peak of Tianliang Mountain stood an enormous stone hall.

From within the hall came roars like those of wild beasts, filled with madness and brutality, as if driven by an urge to destroy anything and everything.

”Roar!”

”Where’s the blood? Why is it late today? It’s been so long, and it still hasn’t been delivered!”

A group of Black-Feathered Men surrounded the stone hall, their bodies trembling, their faces etched with anxiety. They all recognized the brutality in the voice, as if the speaker was on the verge of losing control.

Finally, a blackfeather disciple, his scalp tingling with fear, stammered, ”Mountain Leader, please wait a moment. I’ll go to the side peak to urge them.”

With that, he spread his wings and prepared to fly to the Blood Pool Hall on the side peak to urge the disciples there to quickly deliver the day’s fresh blood to the Mountain Leader.

He wanted to curse them for daring to delay even the blood meant for the Mountain Leader! Didn’t they know they were courting death?

But as soon as the thought crossed his mind, a deafening explosion erupted from the stone hall, sending stone blocks and bricks shattering and scattering.

Bang!

A grotesque tentacle burst through the stone hall’s wall, extending at lightning speed to seize the Black-Feathered Man who had just taken flight.

”Mountain Leader... it’s me.”

”NO!!!”

The Black-Feathered Man, ensnared by monstrous tentacles, stared with utter terror and despair. He struggled, but it was futile.

Completely defenseless, he was dragged directly into the stone hall.

Crunch! Crunch!

The next moment, the sound of something being chewed echoed from within the hall. The Black-Feathered Man’s desperate cries for help had vanished without a trace.

Hearing this, the remaining Black-Feathered Men stationed outside the hall all knelt, their bodies trembling violently, not daring to even breathe loudly.

”What are you all standing around for? Hurry and check the side peak! What’s taking so long to deliver the blood food?”

After consuming the fresh blood food, the voice had noticeably regained some composure and rationality, barely managing to suppress the urge to rage and frenzy.

”As you command, Mountain Leader!”

Not long after, a figure soared through the sky. Like the others, he had a pair of black wings, but each feather shimmered with a metallic sheen, more robust and condensed than the rest. His entire being exuded a powerful aura.

As soon as this person flew over, the other blackfeather disciples all knelt down again, respectfully saying, ”Greetings, Black Feather Mountain Lord!”

The Black Feather Mountain Lord nodded impassively and waved his hand, signaling them to return to their duties.

Tianliang Mountain currently had two mountain leaders: himself and the man who had nearly lost control and gone berserk in the stone hall just now.

The Black Feather Mountain Lord slowly descended, glanced at the massive gap torn through the stone hall, and frowned slightly. He asked with concern, ”Brother Mo Shan, are you alright?”

A reply soon came from within the stone hall: ”I’m fine. I just lost control for a moment and swallowed a few extra Crimson Crystals. I’m feeling much better now.”

The voice still gasped for breath, and several black feathers were blown out of the stone hall by the force of the speaker’s exhalation.

The Black Feather Mountain Lord sighed. ”In my opinion, Brother, you should consider switching to the yin crow path. While it may be slightly weaker in combat power, it offers stability, eliminating the constant fear of losing control.”

At these words, Mo Shan shook his head. ”My unique constitution is already formed. Changing paths now wouldn’t be so easy. I’d likely explode halfway through.”

”Let’s stick to this path for now. After a while, once the blood pool has refined the blood pills, we might find a temporary solution.”

”As for you, how has that old ghost been holding up lately? Has he revealed any secret communication codes with the Blood Lotus Sect in the Autumn Mountain Domain?”

Hearing this, the black feather mountain lord shook his head. ”Not yet. That old ghost’s lips are sealed tight.”

”This matter is too important to delay. Those former immortals are all cunning as foxes. Sigh,” Mo Shan sighed deeply, his tone filled with deep wariness.

The mention of ”immortals” caused the black feather mountain lord to narrow his eyes involuntarily. He couldn’t help but remark, ”Indeed. Only those who once held the immortal cultivation tradition could have conceived of such a miraculous method of refining blood into pills. Once you consume the blood pill, Brother Mo Shan, your strength will undoubtedly surge forward once more. By then, we might not even need to fear the Blood Lotus Sect anymore.”

”Hahahaha! Well said! We’ll send some blackfeather disciples to capture more blood slaves soon. We must refine the blood pills as quickly as possible.”

”That martial alliance leader’s plan to make everyone a Martial Artist is actually playing right into our hands. Let him cultivate more mortal Martial Artists; we can just turn them all into blood slaves.”

As Mo Shan spoke, his voice once again filled with thick malevolent energy. The wild, brutal intent surged back up.

Noticing this, the black feather mountain lord frowned slightly.

”What are those useless fools doing? It shouldn’t take this long to collect blood from the side peak. I’ll go check it out.”

With that, the black feather mountain lord spread his wings and flew out of the stone hall, intending to personally inspect the side peak.

However, just as he neared the hall’s entrance, a claw as large as a palm slammed down.

Boom!

It was a tiger’s paw, its strength astonishing. The exposed claws, gleaming like steel, were razor-sharp.

The black feather mountain lord’s pupils contracted sharply. He wrapped his wings around his body as quickly as possible.

Swish!

The tiger’s paw still struck, its sharp claws slicing through his iron-hard Black Feather, tearing several bloody gashes into his flesh.

A tremendous force slammed into him, sending the black feather mountain lord hurtling backward.

Bang!

The stone hall suddenly shook violently, as if the immense force might collapse the entire structure.

”Cough, cough... What is that? A strange beast? When did it climb the mountain? Why didn’t it make a sound?” The black feather mountain lord’s wings behind him trembled faintly, their iron feathers snapping off one by one, stained with blood.

His expression clearly showed he was in considerable pain.

”Arooo!”

A tiger with heterochromatic eyes squeezed through the stone hall’s entrance, its massive frame forcing the door to crack.

”You’re courting death!” Mo Shan roared, his already volatile temper completely consumed by a murderous rage.

His own body was equally enormous, though his limbs were invisible, covered in grotesque tentacles.

Boom!

He lashed out with a tentacle, directly striking the gluttonous beast squeezing through the door.

But in the next moment, two beams of spiritual light suddenly shot out, nailing the tentacle to a pillar inside the stone hall.

”Aaaah! Who’s there? Come out at once!”

The searing pain caused Mo Shan to roar in agony. He writhed, his pinned tentacle crushing the pillar supporting the stone hall.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The hall teetered precariously. Two bone spears, one azure and the other emerald, were pulled from Mo Shan’s tentacle, leaving trails of crimson blood.

Soon, a tall figure emerged from behind Fan Tong, flanked by two bone spears radiating red and yellow spiritual light.

”Who are you? Why have you trespassed on Tianliang Mountain?!” The injured black feather mountain lord struggled to his feet, his gaze filled with wary respect as he stared at Li Qing.

Mo Shan, equally incredulous, exclaimed, ”A magic artifact? An immortal cultivator... Are you from the Blood Lotus Sect? Here to rescue that old ghost? Impossible! The heaven and earth spiritual energy has withered. How could an immortal cultivator possibly have emerged now?”

Hearing the two mountain leaders’ questions, Li Qing gradually pieced together many things.

Although Tianliang Temple had once been an immortal cultivation tradition, these two mountain leaders knew little about the Immortal Path, possessing only a superficial understanding.

That they could even recognize Li Qing as an immortal cultivator was already quite remarkable.

Li Qing’s calm gaze held a hint of chilling killing intent. He looked at the two grotesque, barely human mountain leaders and spoke coldly:

”My name is Li Qing, guardian of the martial alliance of Giant Rock City!”

Giant Rock City, martial alliance, guardian.

The two mountain leaders had considered many possibilities. Perhaps he was from the Blood Lotus Sect, or an Immortal Cultivation daoist friend of the old mountain lord. They even considered the possibility of outsiders invading their territory.

But they never imagined that the mysterious young man who had barged into their hall would be the guardian of Giant Rock City’s martial alliance!

For years, they had never taken the martial alliance seriously, viewing them as mere ants to be cultivated as blood slaves whenever they pleased.

The New Martial Path the martial alliance followed seemed utterly ridiculous to them. Even a Martial Artist who had achieved the qi blood nine revolutions posed little threat. They were, after all, just mortals with more robust blood qi.

”Are you joking, sir?”

Li Qing had no patience for these two scourges. He didn’t even want to waste another word. He simply spat out a single word: ”Kill!”

Mo Shan could no longer suppress the killing intent in his heart. Deprived of fresh blood, the Red Moon Secret Power within him began to corrupt his mind once more, threatening to transform him into a rampaging monster driven only by the urge to kill.

He writhed his body, sending his grotesque tentacles crashing toward Li Qing, shattering stone pillars in the hall as he advanced.

Boom!

Without the support of the pillars, the already crumbling hall collapsed in a thunderous roar.

”Arooo!”

Fan Tong roared, ignoring the collapsing hall as he lunged toward the injured black feather mountain lord.

Li Qing remained calm. A talisman suddenly appeared in his hand, which he slapped onto his chest. A layer of clear light enveloped his body.

Primal Wall Talisman!

Though its full power couldn’t be unleashed in a world without spiritual energy, it was still a Second-Tier talisman. The inherent spirituality of the talisman paper was powerful enough to withstand falling stones without issue.

Ultimately, neither the two mountain leaders nor Li Qing and Fan Tong were concerned about the collapsing hall. The falling stones posed no threat to them.

The battle erupted instantly!

Li Qing recalled the wind spear and forest spear, then with one hand grabbed the fire spear hovering to his right. He hurled it forward at Mo Shan, who was bearing down on him like a mountain of flesh.

Boom!

The fire spear’s tail ignited into a long trail of flames, while its tip spewed forth a torrent of magma. It pierced directly into Mo Shan’s massive body.

Simultaneously, several tentacles beneath Mo Shan lashed out, attempting to ensnare Li Qing and crush him to death.

Sensing the aura emanating from his opponent, Li Qing’s expression grew grave.

This body, transformed through mutation, was indeed formidable, nearly indistinguishable from a Second-Tier Demonic Beast.

Protected by the Primal Wall Talisman, Li Qing remained fearless. He even advanced, surging his Vital Energy and activating the Limitless Golden Body, reinforcing his own flesh to the hardness of molten gold and cast iron.

Several tentacles wrapped around Li Qing’s body. Mo Shan’s eyes burned with bloodlust as he exerted his strength, sneering:

”Hahaha, courting death! Now I believe you’re a guardian of the martial alliance. Only those brainless fools would dare—”

Before Mo Shan could finish speaking, he sensed something was wrong.

No matter how hard he strained, he couldn’t budge Li Qing’s massive frame.

This flesh-and-blood body was far more resilient than the stone pillars he had crushed earlier.

”You...”

Li Qing withdrew a hand from the giant tentacles. Clutched between his fingertips was a piece of Talisman Paper inscribed with crimson runes.

A Second-Tier talisman: the Fire Dragon Talisman!

Boom!

A massive fire dragon, its waist as thick as a water jar, materialized out of thin air, roaring with scorching flames as it charged toward Mo Shan.

The attack came too fast for the lumbering Mo Shan to evade.

The violent impact and searing heat radiated outward, sending waves of heat rippling through the air.

A pungent smell of burning flesh filled the air. Mo Shan, having taken a direct hit from the Fire Dragon Talisman, was charred black all over. The tentacles that had been wrapped around Li Qing loosened their grip, falling limp.

Landing back on the ground, Li Qing didn’t pause his assault. He raised his hands, channeling his spiritual energy. The three bone spears in the air shot forward simultaneously, piercing Mo Shan’s colossal body from three directions.

At the same time, Li Qing charged forward with long strides, his robes billowing in the wind.

”Kill!”

He landed on Mo Shan’s head, channeling all his Internal Strength while constantly agitating his Vital Energy.

Furious power coalesced in his fist, and then a barrage of punches rained down like a storm, each blow landing squarely on Mo Shan’s head.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The muffled thuds echoed across the ruins of the collapsed hall, causing the black feather mountain lord, who was locked in combat with Fan Tong nearby, to twitch his eyelids.

Though he hadn’t yet cultivated Second-Tier body techniques, Li Qing’s relentless punches had thoroughly dazed Mo Shan, leaving him reeling from dizziness.

”Roar!” Mo Shan had completely lost control, his eyes devoid of any clarity. He lashed out with his tentacles, desperately trying to ensnare the youth on his head.

Unfazed by this desperate counterattack, Li Qing remained motionless. But in his eyes, a golden light had begun to flicker, its source unknown.

In the next instant, a golden blade materialized out of thin air, moving at blinding speed. It sliced through the air and struck Mo Shan’s head.

Soul Condensing Slash!

Li Qing had been preparing this divine soul killing move for a long time, waiting for the crucial moment to unleash it.

With his divine soul equivalent to a mid-foundation establishment stage cultivator, the power of this move was naturally beyond question!

In an instant, Mo Shan’s body, which had been wildly thrashing just moments before, suddenly stiffened. The tentacles that had been coiling towards Li Qing froze in place, only to weakly collapse to the ground after a long moment.

Bang!

”What tenacious vitality!”

After slaying his foe, Li Qing couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

For an ordinary foundation establishment cultivator, surviving so many killing moves with just their physical body would have been impossible. Not only would the final Soul Condensing Slash have been fatal, but even enduring a single Fire Dragon Talisman would have left them on the brink of death.

Only a body transformed by the Red Moon Secret Power could rival a Second-Tier Demonic Beast.

Not far away, the black feather mountain lord continued to spar with Fan Tong in the air.

When he sensed that Mo Shan had completely lost his life force, he was overcome with shock and fury.

”Brother Mo Shan!”

In the next moment, two beams of light shot straight from Fan Tong’s heterochromatic tiger eyes—one black, one red, both eerily demonic.

Bang!

The black feather mountain lord fell to the ground, his aura immediately weakening.

(End of the Chapter)

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