Immortal Refiner

Has my identity as a cultivator from the outer domain been exposed?

Li Qing’s heart churned like a stormy sea at Gui Li’s counter-question.

His mind raced, desperately trying to pinpoint where he had slipped up, allowing his true nature to be revealed with a single glance.

Could it be my accent? Does it sound too foreign for someone from the Great Wilderness Domain?

After a moment of careful consideration, Li Qing decided to answer truthfully. ”Senior Gui Li’s insight is as sharp as a hawk’s eye. I am indeed not from the Great Wilderness Domain. However, I pride myself on my disguise skills. I’m curious, where did I slip up?”

His reasoning was simple: since his true nature had already been exposed, it was better to admit it openly.

Hiding the truth would only make him appear more suspicious. After all, being a cultivator from the outer domain wasn’t something to be ashamed of.

He had come here at Gui Li’s invitation to assist with artifact refinement. As long as his skills met the mark, his origins shouldn’t matter much.

Seeing Li Qing’s candid admission, True Lord Ji Sha’s eyes widened slightly in surprise, but he remained silent.

Gui Li chuckled softly.

”The unique aura of the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art on your body cannot be concealed. Others might not notice it, but I remember it vividly.”

As he spoke, a hint of nostalgia flickered in the Ghost Sword Sect Leader’s eyes.

”Two centuries ago, before I achieved nascent soul formation, I encountered a cultivator who practiced the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art. He hailed from the Azure Ridge Domain. I presume you do as well?”

Li Qing couldn’t help but stiffen slightly. He had believed he had concealed his aura perfectly, yet he had underestimated the perceptive abilities of a nascent soul realm cultivator.

The moment he approached, this man had discerned the origins of his cultivation manual and his place of origin.

”I see. This humble one does indeed come from the Azure Ridge Domain,” Li Qing acknowledged with a nod.

Gui Li didn’t dwell further on Li Qing’s background. As Li Qing had surmised earlier, Gui Li sought an artifact refiner, and the refiner’s origins were of no consequence to him.

”Do you know what kind of magic artifact I’ve invited you here to refine?” Gui Li asked calmly.

Li Qing shook his head with a wry smile. ”I’ve been curious about this myself. I heard Senior Gui Li has invited multiple artifact refiners to refine this rare treasure?”

”That’s right. With you, there are now four core formation realm artifact refinement masters. Each of you will only need to handle your designated part of the refining process,” Gui Li replied.

”May I ask, Senior, what kind of rare treasure are you refining? It must be extraordinary to require the combined efforts of so many experts. I’ve never heard of anything like this before!”

Gui Li remained silent for a moment before calmly responding, ”You will know in three days.”

Thus, under True Lord Ji Sha’s arrangements, Li Qing was assigned to reside on a spirit peak within Sword Valley.

This mountain peak was saturated with spiritual energy, a level of abundance typically reserved for supreme elders within the Ghost Sword Sect.

”As expected of the Great Wilderness Domain’s top immortal dao faction,” Li Qing mused, clicking his tongue. ”This Spirit Vein Land far surpasses any spiritual vein I’ve ever seen. The spiritual energy is so dense it’s practically liquefied.”

He couldn’t help but think of his own meager mountain peak—it was truly pathetic in comparison.

No wonder the Ghost Sword Sect had so generously granted him two peaks on Nanyang Spirit Peak without the slightest hesitation.

Compared to this place, his Hundred Refinements Peak was practically worlds apart.

Seizing the rare opportunity, Li Qing immediately sat down cross-legged and began circulating the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art.

Boom!

The dense spiritual energy surged toward him like a tidal wave, drawn by the art’s power.

In an instant, Li Qing activated the two heavenly spirit fires he had refined: the Netherworld Cold Fire and the Spirit Devouring Demon Flame. These manifested as black and white flames, forming several swirling vortices within his body.

Every wisp of spiritual energy he inhaled was immediately filtered through these fiery vortices, transforming into pure spiritual energy.

This refined energy flowed through his meridians in cycles according to the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, gradually settling into his dantian and merging with Li Qing’s Golden Core.

With each fusion of spiritual energy, his Golden Core expanded by an imperceptible fraction.

Though the growth seemed minuscule, it was remarkably rapid. Before Li Qing had revived the Spirit Devouring Demon Flame at Hundred Refinements Peak, the expansion rate had been even slower.

Even four or five days of arduous cultivation might not have yielded such progress!

Now, with access to such an optimal cultivation environment, Li Qing wasted not a moment, immediately immersing himself in secluded practice.

Three days passed in a flash. The other three artifact refiners had initially planned to visit Li Qing during this time, but they were astonished to find him remaining seated in his cave abode for the entire duration.

This display of diligent cultivation left the three invited refiners feeling somewhat ashamed of their own lack of dedication.

”I’d heard that Limitless True Lord was a cultivator with a four spirit root, but I never truly believed it. How could someone with such mediocre talent achieve core formation? Now that I see it, his success wasn’t due to some miraculous stroke of luck, but rather his unwavering dedication to cultivation.”

”You’re right. For the past three days, I’ve glanced at Limitless True Lord’s spirit peak almost daily. The spiritual energy there has been surging non-stop.”

Among the three artifact refinement masters, two held Li Qing in high regard, while the third remained unimpressed.

”Hmph, what’s the point of such relentless cultivation? Does this man think he can defy the heavens and achieve nascent soul formation?” a burly man with crimson hair scoffed, his muscular chest bare, his bronze skin radiating a rugged aura.

The other two artifact refinement masters were an elderly man with silver hair and an immortal-like demeanor, and a woman with grotesquely distorted features, her facial features twisted into a bizarre arrangement.

Soon, a tall, upright figure descended from the sky—Li Qing, having just concluded his cultivation session.

”I apologize for keeping you waiting. Please forgive my tardiness!” Li Qing said, clasping his hands in a slightly apologetic gesture.

Seeing Li Qing’s belated arrival, the ugly woman chuckled and remarked, ”So this must be the renowned Limitless True Lord? I never imagined you’d be so young! Fellow Daoist Limitless, do you have a dao companion in mind?”

Hearing this, Li Qing raised his head to look at the enthusiastically ugly woman.

Such casually arranged features!

Fortunately, his extensive experience prevented him from showing any reaction. He replied calmly, ”I dare not claim such renown. My daoist name is indeed Limitless.”

He selectively ignored her question about a dao companion.

After speaking, Li Qing glanced around, mentally reviewing the information he had gathered about each of them.

The ugly woman was named Hu Sanniang. She hadn’t even bothered to give herself a daoist name, preferring to use her rustic birth name since she began cultivating.

The silver-haired elder was True Bone Immortal. Despite his frail appearance and advanced age, Li Qing had heard of him before.

True Bone Immortal was a body cultivator, specializing in bone refinement. His bones were said to be as strong as some ordinary magical artifacts.

As for the burly man with crimson hair, he was the infamous Crimson Hair Immortal, known for his demonic reputation.

These core formation realm cultivators had rarely interacted before. Their presence here was due to their exceptional skill in artifact refinement—their mastery was among the highest in the Great Wilderness Domain.

”Fellow Daoist Limitless, it’s been quite difficult to get a moment with you these past few days,” True Bone Immortal said with a chuckle, stroking his white beard. ”We were even considering paying you a joint visit to get acquainted beforehand.”

Hearing this, Li Qing offered a slight apology. ”Please forgive my rudeness,” he said. ”As a rogue cultivator, I’ve never encountered such a dense concentration of spiritual energy. Overwhelmed by the urge to cultivate, I inadvertently spent three days in seclusion, nearly neglecting my artifact refinement duties.”

True Bone Immortal and Hu Sanniang burst into laughter.

”Hahaha! Fellow Daoist Limitless, you truly are a remarkable character!”

”Since you appreciate the environment here so much, why not join the Ghost Sword Sect?” Hu Sanniang teased. ”I’m sure Sect Leader Gui Li would be delighted to have a supreme elder like you in our ranks!”

Only Crimson Hair Immortal remained stone-faced, offering no comment.

Just as Li Qing was about to respond, the sound of rushing wind suddenly echoed from outside the hall.

Sect Leader Gui Li strode in, his face wreathed in a smile. ”If Fellow Daoist Limitless is willing to join the Ghost Sword Sect,” he declared, ”this sect leader would be absolutely overjoyed.”

(End of the Chapter)

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