Immortal Refiner

Li Qing didn’t have time to ponder the hypothetical existence of reincarnation. He gazed intently at the converging spiritual light, trying to discern what transformation might occur.

Soon, guided by the ethereal flute music, the spiritual light continued to coalesce, gradually taking on a humanoid form!

Seeing this, Li Qing’s instincts flared with alarm, a chill running down his spine.

What sinister ritual is this? Could we be witnessing the resurrection of a great sage’s remnant soul from the past?

As the spiritual light continued to gather, Li Qing prepared for battle. He subtly activated the Netherworld Cold Fire within his body, ready to unleash its spirit-body-suppressing flames at the slightest sign of danger.

This is a great sage from the Ancient Era’s Great Wilderness Domain! If they attempt body seizing, we’ll be in serious trouble.

If not for the Netherworld Cold Fire protecting him, Li Qing would have fled long ago, fearing the malevolent influence of the remnant soul.

However, it soon became clear that Li Qing’s fears were unfounded.

In the end, the spiritual light could barely maintain a humanoid shape, and facial features never fully materialized.

Just as Li Qing exhaled in relief, a faint mental whisper echoed in the minds of both him and Zhao Tianxiong.

”That peculiar flute melody again... The descendants of later generations must have far too much time on their hands.”

In that moment, the hearts of both men surged like a thousand-meter-high tidal wave, their terror reaching its peak.

They had actually awakened the Remnant Soul of an ancient great power!

Zhao Tianxiong, who was playing the Nethercall Bone Flute, trembled uncontrollably.

He had never anticipated such a phenomenon. The instructions given to him by the previous Clan Head made no mention of this possibility.

He had simply been told to come to this ancient battlefield, use the compass to locate a hidden place, and then play the Nethercall Bone Flute using the clan’s secret technique to obtain the opportunity to acquire the Golden Silkworm!

Of course, the prerequisite was reaching the core formation realm. Otherwise, the trip would be futile.

Li Qing nearly bolted. His scalp tingled with dread. If not for the relatively benign tone of the voice, he would have already fled a thousand miles away.

Without a doubt, this faint wisp of divine sense originated from a great sage of the past who had not yet completely perished.

To be awakened after such an immeasurable span of time... just how terrifying must their cultivation have been in life?!

Li Qing dared not dwell on the thought. He even considered abandoning his quest for the Golden Silkworm altogether.

Zhao Tianxiong’s melodious flute melody had finally come to an end, and the swirling spiritual light stabilized, no longer requiring the flute’s ethereal notes to maintain its illusory form.

”Senior, my ancestor once told me that after reaching the core formation realm, I could come here to obtain the Golden Silkworm.”

”If I have disturbed you, please forgive this junior!”

Zhao Tianxiong lowered his posture, his voice dripping with humility. Facing such a weak Remnant Soul with a terrifying origin, he dared not assume any airs.

The Ancient cultivator’s Remnant Soul remained silent for a moment before replying:

”Your ancestor? Has it truly been centuries again? Are you a descendant of that young whelp from all those years ago?”

Zhao Tianxiong knelt down in excitement, his words tumbling over each other:

”Yes, Senior! This junior is Zhao Tianxiong, a descendant of Zhao Shanhua!”

Li Qing stood silently to the side, trying to minimize his presence.

However, as a cultivator in the core formation realm, how could the Ancient cultivator’s Remnant Soul possibly overlook him?

”Hmm, considering the effort you took to awaken me, I’ll give you a chance.”

”There is only one condition for inheriting the Golden Silkworm: erase the Divine Soul Imprint I left upon it. Only by achieving this will you prove yourselves worthy to take the Golden Silkworm.”

”Let me be clear,” the Ancient cultivator’s Remnant Soul said. ”Though countless millennia have passed, my Divine Soul Imprint remains unshakable. At the very least, you’ll need cultivation at the core formation realm to stand even a slight chance.”

As he spoke, the Remnant Soul’s attention shifted to Li Qing.

Sensing this, Li Qing steeled himself and clasped his hands in a respectful bow. ”This junior, Limitless, greets Senior.”

Before such an old monster, even as a Remnant Soul, Li Qing dared not address himself as ”True Lord.” He understood that his mere core formation realm cultivation was likely no more significant than a strand of hair in the eyes of this ancient great power.

”Heh, your divine sense is remarkably refined, and your forehead is full and auspicious,” the Remnant Soul chuckled. ”Your divine soul power must be considerable. Perhaps your chances aren’t as slim as I thought. If you can claim the Golden Silkworm, it would be a matter of fate.”

Hearing this, Li Qing forced himself to ask, ”Senior, may I inquire as to the location of the divine sense imprint?”

The Remnant Soul smiled faintly. ”It lies beneath the pit. Dig down another thirty feet or so, and you’ll find the stone tablet I left behind.”

Li Qing hesitated briefly before raising his hand and unleashing several strands of highly condensed true essence.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

With a series of piercing whistles, the solid earth crumbled like tofu under the force of the true essence, rapidly excavating the ground.

Clang!

A crisp sound rang out, as if striking something hard.

Beneath Li Qing’s excavation, half of a stone tablet had emerged, bearing a faint, flickering divine sense imprint.

Behind the tablet, a dark cave yawned open.

Li Qing frowned. He had scanned the area multiple times with his divine sense, yet detected nothing unusual, especially not the imprint.

Its sudden appearance was truly remarkable.

Could this be the formidable technique of an ancient great sage? If they intended to conceal the imprint, no outsider could ever discover it!

”Break through this divine sense imprint, and you’ll find the nest of Golden Silkworms,” the ancient cultivator murmured.

Sure enough, Li Qing spotted several strands of shimmering golden silk within the cave. If his guess was correct, this was Golden Silkworm Silk!

Trusting the cultivator’s words, Li Qing clasped his hands in a respectful bow. ”Forgive my intrusion, Senior!”

With that, he unleashed his formidable divine sense power, sweeping outward like a tidal wave.

Boom!

The surging divine sense power crashed against the imprint like a relentless tide.

Such a profound imprint!

Li Qing’s brow arched, clearly astonished by the imprint’s resilience.

If his divine sense power were the ocean waves, the imprint stood like a steadfast reef, unyielding and unbreakable.

But Li Qing was no pushover. Having mastered the soul core method, he wouldn’t retreat so easily.

His divine soul far surpassed that of ordinary core formation realm cultivators. If ranked, it would rival those in the mid Core Formation Realm.

Rumble!

Embracing his soul core, he channeled even greater divine soul power, unleashing a ferocious assault on the imprint etched into the stone tablet.

Buzz!

The imprint began to waver, flickering erratically under Li Qing’s relentless divine sense assault.

”Heh, not bad, not bad at all. Your divine sense power is remarkably potent.”

A few beads of cold sweat trickled down Li Qing’s forehead. Sustaining such intense divine sense exertion was proving somewhat taxing.

Despite the strain, Li Qing continued his relentless assault, determined to obtain the Golden Silkworm and its precious Golden Silkworm Silk.

Finally, the divine sense imprint on the stone tablet flickered erratically, like a crumbling rock on the verge of collapse.

But in that instant, a faint sound emerged from the cave behind the tablet—a sound as delicate as the flutter of a mosquito’s wings, almost imperceptible.

”Jiji Nigu...”

Li Qing, whose five senses were exceptionally sharp, heard the sound with perfect clarity.

His expression froze momentarily, a flicker of terror flashing in his eyes before he quickly regained his composure.

”Senior, my divine sense power is exhausted. I can’t break through this imprint.”

”Fellow Daoist Zhao, I’m afraid I can’t help you. Perhaps we should abandon the Golden Silkworm.”

As he spoke, Li Qing retreated step by step from the pit, wary of approaching the stone tablet again.

Zhao Tianxiong was stunned. He hadn’t expected Li Qing to give up so quickly—it was too abrupt.

Just moments ago, Li Qing had seemed determined to fight to the end. Why this sudden retreat?

”But the Golden Jade Garment...”

Zhao Tianxiong opened his mouth to speak, but before he could finish, Li Qing surged forward with the ferocity of a Primordial Savage Beast, charging straight at him.

”True Lord Li—”

Slap!

Li Qing seized Zhao Tianxiong by the shoulder, his vital energy surging like a raging river.

He bolted forward, leaping into the air with a few swift strides, his body transforming into a soaring roc, gliding effortlessly through the sky.

In the blink of an eye, he had already covered hundreds of meters.

”No more talk! If you don’t want to die, come with me!”

The spiritual light coalesced from the Remnant Soul of the Ancient cultivator lingered in place for a moment before gradually dissipating, its luminous particles scattering back into the earth.

As it faded, a faint chuckle echoed:

”Heh, who would have thought that after all these years, someone in the Human Realm would still understand my race’s language? Humans... truly remarkable.”

”But this is enough. Heh, Old Ghost Xuanyang’s Divine Soul Imprint can no longer restrain me.”

With those words, the humanoid spiritual light vanished completely.

Immediately afterward, the underground cave blocked by the stone tablet began to tremble violently.

Rumble!

A terrifying surge of energy violently assaulted the stone tablet, causing its divine sense imprint to flicker intensely.

Within a hundred-mile radius, the ground trembled as if struck by a massive earthquake.

In an instant, the divine sense imprint on the tablet shattered, and cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.

Bang!

A deafening explosion erupted as the stone tablet disintegrated into fragments, as if blasted apart from within.

Boom!

Malevolent demonic qi surged forth, and a wisp of ink-black spirit body coalesced from the underground cavern, forming a dark, swirling vortex.

Beneath the earth, the Remnant Soul of an ancient demon had been sealed.

”Heh heh heh... Barely reborn, and already a perfect vessel awaits me. You must have exhausted much of your divine sense power resisting my imprint, boy. Where do you think you can run? Let me grant you an immortal body!”

Whoosh!

The Remnant Soul of the ancient demon shot forth like a black streak of light, hurtling toward the direction Li Qing had fled.

Li Qing, carrying Zhao Tianxiong to safety, heard the violent commotion behind him and felt his scalp tighten.

”That demon... it seems to have broken free.”

Zhao Tianxiong was completely disoriented, still struggling to grasp the situation. Only now, seeing the bizarre and terrifying scene behind them, did he begin to understand.

”True Lord Li, how did you know there were demons beneath us?”

Li Qing replied solemnly, ”Just now, in the cave behind the stone tablet, I heard a fragment of ancient demonic language. I happen to understand some of it.”

”True Lord Li, the ancient demon is catching up!” Zhao Tianxiong froze in terror. The Remnant Soul’s speed was astonishing, closing the distance in an instant.

Hearing this, Li Qing’s expression grew even more grave. He glanced back and saw the Remnant Soul, its aura surging menacingly, had closed the gap by dozens of meters.

The distance between them had narrowed dramatically.

It’s coming for me!

Realizing this, Li Qing abruptly released Zhao Tianxiong, letting him plummet from the sky.

He no longer had time to worry about whether Zhao Tianxiong could retrieve his flying magic artifact in time to escape. He was about to face the most perilous moment of his life since achieving core formation.

As expected, the ancient demon Remnant Soul didn’t even glance at Zhao Tianxiong, continuing its relentless pursuit of Li Qing.

A core formation realm cultivator who had exhausted much of his divine sense power, and possessed an exceptionally strong fleshly body, was the perfect target for body seizing.

”With such a powerful fleshly body, if infused with demonic qi, it would become a vessel of exceptional quality, perhaps even surpassing the bodies of my own race,” the ancient demon Remnant Soul snarled, then lunged directly at Li Qing.

Sensing the Remnant Soul rapidly closing in from behind, Li Qing knew he couldn’t escape. He whirled around, meeting the demon’s malevolent gaze head-on.

”You think you can seize my body? Keep dreaming,” Li Qing sneered.

But the ancient demon dismissed this as mere bravado. It charged toward the center of Li Qing’s forehead, intent on plunging into his Sea of Consciousness.

Yet, in that instant, the unexpected occurred.

Boom!

A blindingly intense, ghostly white flame erupted from Li Qing’s body, engulfing him in an instant.

Netherworld Cold Fire!

The ancient demon Remnant Soul, already halfway into Li Qing’s Sea of Consciousness, was immediately engulfed by the chilling flames.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

”Aaaah!”

Like hot oil meeting a spark, the entire Remnant Soul ignited in an instant, unleashing a tortured roar.

(End of the Chapter)

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