Immortal Refiner

True Lord Wood Dragon had claimed the first spiritual object from the river-like moonlight. Though he didn’t yet know the purpose of the fragmented jade pendant, he was immensely pleased.

He hadn’t even considered the earlier offer to trade spirit herb seeds for the pendant. While he was indeed interested in cultivating various spirit plants, he understood that this artifact from Moonlit Ridge was far beyond the value of any ordinary spirit herb seeds.

”Hahahaha! This old Daoist has no intention of trading this pendant. I plan to take it back and study it thoroughly,” True Lord Wood Dragon declared, clutching the jade pendant tightly with his fingers, his tone resolute.

The core formation true lord who had proposed the trade could only grumble in resignation:

”Old Daoist Wood Dragon, since when did you become interested in ancient artifacts? Weren’t you only fond of planting flowers and herbs?”

True Lord Wood Dragon was a renowned figure in the Great Wilderness Domain. His medicinal garden, cultivated entirely by his own hand, boasted an astonishing variety of spirit herbs, including many rare and obscure spiritual flowers and herbs.

Over the years, countless cultivators had sought medicinal assistance from his garden, receiving invaluable aid and incurring a debt of gratitude.

Offending True Lord Wood Dragon was never a wise move, as one might urgently need some rare spirit herb at any moment. This was why he chose to back down.

Soon, within the Moonlight River, where moonlight converged, two more spiritual lights surged forth simultaneously.

”Another wave! This time there are two spiritual lights, and they seem even brighter than before!”

The cultivators present were once again stirred, their gazes fixed on the two radiant lights as they pondered which one to seize.

At this point, Li Qing could no longer remain aloof. His eyes narrowed slightly as he surveyed the surroundings.

He noticed that Gui Fan, who had failed to secure the first spiritual object, showed no signs of discouragement and was already charging forward again.

Gui Fan channeled his mana, preparing to intercept the spiritual light.

However, the core formation true lord from the Taiyi Sect seemed determined to antagonize him, sneering from behind:

”Trying to claim the treasure? Don’t you think you should ask my permission first?”

With these words, he once again interfered with Gui Fan’s movements.

Sensing this, Gui Fan’s expression turned icy. He growled, his voice dripping with murderous intent:

”Old ghost, do you think I wouldn’t dare to cut you down?”

He drew the ghost sword from his back, holding it in one hand and pointing it diagonally at the Taiyi Sect cultivator who continued to harass him.

This was a natal magic treasure refined from Demonic Essence Gold, its power terrifyingly potent!

Even the natal magic treasure wielded by Gui Li, the sect leader of the Ghost Sword Sect, during his core formation realm days couldn’t compare to this demonic sword’s unique material.

”Is all you juniors can do is spout empty boasts?” the man sneered, striking a sanctimonious pose. ”At the Moonchase Grand Assembly, treasures go to those destined to possess them. If you can’t obtain it, it simply means you lack the fate.”

This sanctimonious display ignited murderous intent in Gui Fan’s heart.

However, the palace master of Moonchase Palace had already issued a stern warning: any further complications would lead to dire consequences!

Seeing Gui Fan entangled with the man again, the other cultivators seized the opportunity to pounce, vying for the spiritual object Gui Fan had been trying to intercept.

Surprisingly, the second spiritual light hidden within the Moonlight River attracted fewer contenders.

Li Qing seized this moment to strike decisively!

Boom!

The Netherworld Cold Fire erupted from Li Qing’s palm, manipulated with such mastery it moved as naturally as an extension of his own body.

A searing white tongue of flame shot forth, instantly forcing back the other cultivators.

The frigid flames locked onto the second spiritual light within the Moonlight River!

Witnessing this, someone immediately exclaimed in shock:

”What kind of flame is that? It’s so... bizarre!”

”Hiss... This chilling aura... Could it be the Netherworld Cold Fire?”

”Indeed, it is the Netherworld Cold Fire!”

”...”

As core formation realm cultivators, they immediately recognized the origin of the flames Li Qing had unleashed.

The moment the words ”Netherworld Cold Fire” were uttered, all eyes in the hall turned to Li Qing.

”Is he the Limitless True Lord? The one from Nanyang Spirit Peak?”

”So it’s him. I never expected Moonchase Palace to invite him here.”

”I heard he’s indifferent to fame and fortune, with a gentle temperament and an aversion to conflict. Plus, he’s an artifact refiner. Someone like that is worth befriending.”

Hearing these whispers, True Bone Immortal’s expression twisted into a bizarre grimace.

His mind flashed back to the scene of Li Qing’s ruthless execution of Crimson Hair Immortal—a display of ruthless decisiveness and merciless cruelty.

None of that matches the rumors!

It’s all lies!

Though he desperately wanted to expose the truth, Li Qing’s overwhelming presence silenced him. He didn’t even dare approach to compete for the treasures.

”Speaking of which, I heard news recently from the Far North Ice Plains about another heavenly spirit fire. A core formation realm cultivator there has mastered the Spirit Devouring Demon Flame!”

”Yes, I’ve heard about that too. They say the master of the Spirit Devouring Demon Flame is ruthless, using the Demon Fire’s power to directly kill a cultivator of the same rank.”

”I must say, these extraordinary heavenly spirit fires are truly formidable!”

”To encounter such a rare treasure and then subdue and refine it... that person must be extraordinary indeed.”

”...”

Amidst the chatter, Li Qing’s Netherworld Cold Fire finally approached the spiritual light.

But in that instant, everything changed!

A surge of pure yang power erupted with overwhelming force, like a miniature sun blooming in the area.

Li Qing’s icy flames, previously so potent, seemed to meet their natural counter. They instantly melted away, vaporized into nothingness.

Behind the Netherworld Cold Fire, Li Qing’s pupils constricted sharply.

This was the first time he had encountered such a phenomenon since subduing this heavenly spirit fire. It was almost unimaginable.

Yet, recognizing the familiar qi mechanism, he immediately identified the person responsible.

Three words flashed through Li Qing’s mind:

Pure Yang Physique!

”True Yang Daoist? Pure Yang Physique?!”

At the same moment, demonic path cultivators immediately identified the cultivator who had neutralized Li Qing’s Netherworld Cold Fire.

A cultivator with a face etched with unwavering resolve soared through the air—none other than True Yang Daoist, whom Li Qing had encountered earlier on the Far North Ice Plains!

No one had anticipated True Yang Daoist’s sudden appearance.

”This spiritual object... I shall graciously accept it,” True Yang Daoist declared calmly, preparing to retrieve the object from the Moonlight River with deliberate ease.

But as his pure yang power touched the Moonlight River, another shocking transformation occurred.

The river of gathered moonlight erupted like hot oil splattered with water, boiling violently!

Rumble!

The moon represents the taiyin, the great yin!

This moonlight, drawn from Moonlit Ridge, was saturated with the purest profound yin power.

Now, as yin and yang forces clashed, an unforeseen mutation erupted.

The suddenly berserk profound yin power surged outward, unleashing a terrifying shockwave that swept toward True Yang Daoist, who was about to retrieve the spiritual object.

Caught completely off guard by this sudden turn of events, True Yang Daoist had no time to evade the onslaught.

Swish!

The moonlight, saturated with profound yin power, surged toward True Yang Daoist like droplets splashed from a river.

Sizzle!

A piercing sound erupted as True Yang Daoist’s body convulsed, emitting pained groans.

”Ugh...”

Yin and yang are mutually reinforcing yet opposing forces. The invading profound yin power had inflicted significant damage on his body, causing even his indomitable spirit to struggle against the agony.

Before the assembled crowd, True Yang Daoist now resembled a wounded beast.

”The moonlight has invaded his body? Has it damaged his origin?”

”Could it have harmed his fundamental essence?”

Meanwhile, Gui Fan, who had been observing everything, finally burst into laughter.

”Hahahaha! Should I call you bold or ignorant?”

”Do you think Moonlit Ridge is some ordinary place? How dare you touch the moonlight drawn from there with your pure yang power?”

”Fellow Daoist Limitless, what are you waiting for? Seize the spiritual object now!”

Hearing this, Li Qing finally snapped out of his shock from the sudden turn of events. He once again urged the Netherworld Cold Fire to spread toward the Moonlight River.

Unlike its reaction to pure yang power, the Netherworld Cold Fire within Li Qing’s body, having absorbed a substantial amount of profound yin power in the yin-yang cave, encountered no resistance whatsoever.

On the contrary, the dense profound yin power permeating the Moonlight River smoothly accepted the encroaching Netherworld Cold Fire, allowing it to retrieve the spiritual object within.

”So easy? Is this the Netherworld Cold Fire’s true nature?”

”The moonlight didn’t resist at all! It simply allowed him to take the spiritual object so effortlessly.”

All eyes turned to Li Qing, or rather, to the object he clutched tightly in his hand.

”Fellow Daoist Limitless, may we ask what spiritual object you obtained from the moonlight?”

”Fellow Daoist, there’s no need to be so stingy. Once a spiritual object is claimed, no one else can seize it. We wouldn’t dare violate the Moonchase Palace’s rules.”

”Show it to us! We’re all dying of curiosity!”

Li Qing frowned slightly, his expression shifting strangely. The others assumed he was being possessive, unwilling to reveal the spiritual object.

But that wasn’t the case. While Li Qing valued the object, what truly concerned him was the string of Lifespan numbers—visible only to him—that had flickered just moments before.

The moment the spiritual object entered his grasp, Li Qing’s lifespan inexplicably diminished by two years!

Could this be the so-called ominous omen? Does obtaining something from Moonlit Ridge shorten one’s lifespan? Li Qing mused inwardly, his eyes flickering with uncertainty.

Now wasn’t the time to dwell on such matters. He opened his palm, revealing the spiritual object to the group.

It was a small, fragmented section of a bronze blade, its surface heavily corroded and seemingly on the verge of crumbling.

As the others clearly saw the object in Li Qing’s hand, suppressed laughter rippled through the crowd.

The unremarkable appearance of the rusted bronze fragment hardly suggested it was anything of value.

”Just a broken, rusted blade?”

”Fellow Daoist Limitless’s luck is truly...”

”So it’s just a fragment? It’s so small—I thought it would be something precious.”

”Hahaha! Could it be a hidden gem, a treasure in disguise?”

Of course, no one took this last remark seriously. Nearly everyone present wore amused expressions.

Only True Bone Immortal, concealed within the crowd, couldn’t hide the profound emotion on his face.

It seemed he was quite concerned about the rusty fragment of a blade in Li Qing’s hand.

Seeing that no one else showed any interest in the object, Li Qing could only shake his head with a wry smile, saying in a helpless tone:

”My luck truly isn’t great. I’ve made a fool of myself, expending so much effort only to obtain this useless thing.”

With that, he tossed the fragment casually, glancing at the crowd watching him.

Finally, he nonchalantly stowed the bronze fragment into his storage pouch, his expression completely indifferent.

Now that the spiritual object had been revealed, the crowd’s attention naturally shifted back to the injured True Yang Daoist.

The Taiyi Sect cultivator who had blocked Gui Fan earlier immediately rushed to True Yang Daoist’s side, his face etched with worry.

”True Yang? How are you? Are you alright?”

True Yang Daoist, still trembling, looked deathly pale, his face contorted in pain.

”Wait here,” he gasped. ”I’ll go fetch Patriarch Taixuan!”

At the Moonchase Grand Assembly, the participants vying for spiritual objects were all core formation realm cultivators. Nascent soul realm experts like the Rakshasa Demon Lord and True Monarch Taixuan naturally wouldn’t participate.

Whether they disdained the rules governing spiritual objects or feared the ominous omens, the fact that such powerful figures refrained from intervening was a great boon for the core formation realm cultivators present.

Otherwise, under the predation of nascent soul realm cultivators, the core formation true lords wouldn’t have even gotten a sip of the soup.

Just as the Taiyi Sect’s core formation true lord finished speaking, True Yang Daoist Vast Righteousness, barely holding on, reached out and grabbed him, his voice trembling:

”Senior Brother Meng, take me with you.”

Only then did the Meng Clan cultivator react, his gaze shifting to Gui Fan, who was smirking coldly on the other side.

Gui Fan had already secured the spiritual object: a flawless, pearly white pearl radiating extraordinary spiritual light, clearly an item of immense value.

Yet he paid little attention to the pearl in his hand, his eyes fixed instead on the severely wounded True Yang Daoist, a chilling killing intent hidden in their depths.

His expression resembled that of a wolf poised to strike, ready to pounce at the first opportunity.

Once the Taiyi Sect’s Meng Clan cultivator left, Gui Fan would stop at nothing to slay the Pure Yang Physique cultivator on the spot, eliminating a future threat to the demonic path!

(End of the Chapter)

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