Immortal Refiner

To withstand a heavenly tribulation while at the core formation realm, and even actively draw Heavenly Thunder to temper one’s fleshly body, was nothing short of a miracle!

Of course, the price paid was steep.

Li Qing’s vital energy was nearly exhausted, his vital energy damaged, and he had nearly perished beneath the Heavenly Thunder. That was his current state.

However, the benefits were equally remarkable. Li Qing’s fleshly body had undergone a quantum leap in strength, now reaching the mid-stage of a third-tier body cultivator in terms of physical prowess alone.

This was a fleshly body comparable to that of a third-tier demonic beast. In an era where body cultivators were exceedingly rare, Li Qing’s achievement was nothing short of astonishing!

To be able to engage a third-tier demonic beast in combat purely through physical strength—such a formidable physique far surpassed the imagination of ordinary cultivators.

”I can’t believe you actually endured that,” Wu Chong said, shaking his head as he stared at Li Qing lying on the ground. ”A core formation realm cultivator surviving a heavenly tribulation? If word gets out, it’ll terrify people to death!”

He gazed at Li Qing as if he were a monster, his eyes filled with uncontainable shock.

”Enough with the nonsense. Get me out of here now—this place isn’t safe to linger!” Li Qing rasped, his voice strained. Even speaking was an effort; enduring the heavenly tribulation had drained him to the point of utter exhaustion.

Li Qing’s concerns were well-founded. He recalled the hazy figures he’d glimpsed within the yin meridian—clearly human silhouettes lurking behind the celestial veil. If they could see him, it stood to reason they could see him too.

This meant that immediately after the Yin Sacrifice concluded, those figures would undoubtedly dispatch scouts to investigate the situation at West Mausoleum Divine Mountain. Given the commotion he and Wu Chong had caused, complete concealment was impossible.

Therefore, the divine mountain was no longer a safe place to remain.

Upon hearing this, Wu Chong promptly produced a pitch-black bowl. The vessel rapidly expanded until it was large enough to contain Li Qing.

With Li Qing secured, Wu Chong soared into the sky, streaking eastward across the West Mausoleum Divine Mountain.

As he watched Wu Chong’s black bowl, Li Qing’s eyebrows twitched slightly. He immediately recognized the treasure’s extraordinary nature.

”Is that the Heaven Devouring Bowl? Just like Ancestor Devourer of Heaven, you’ve refined two natal magic treasures?” Li Qing asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

This was far from good news.

Having more natal magic treasures wasn’t necessarily better; in fact, it was often best to have only one.

These treasures needed to be nourished with true essence within one’s dantian qi sea. Having too many would hinder cultivation progress and slow the growth of each treasure’s power, making it a decidedly unwise move.

Ancestor Devourer of Heaven had refined two natal magic treasures—the Heaven Devourer Ring and the Heaven Devouring Bowl—because he had been stuck in the late-stage core formation realm for too long, with no hope of condensing a nascent soul in the near future.

Wu Chong’s expression darkened slightly as he replied, ”My master passed away early and didn’t have time to tell me about the precautions for core formation.”

”But he left me two sets of spiritual materials. So, after achieving core formation, I followed his example and refined two natal magic treasures, just like his.”

”It wasn’t until after they were completed that I realized something was wrong. Now it’s too late to regret it.”

Hearing Wu Chong’s explanation, Li Qing said nothing more.

Ancestor Devourer of Heaven had likely prepared two sets of spiritual materials for Wu Chong’s natal magic treasure refinement, fearing his first attempt might fail.

Little did he know, Wu Chong had refined both sets into his natal magic treasures—a Heaven Devourer Ring and a Heaven Devouring Bowl!

”Speaking of which, what about our other fellow disciples? Do you know their whereabouts?” Li Qing asked.

”Of those who boarded the giant spirit boat with me, some couldn’t endure the Nether Domain’s sparse spiritual energy and eventually chose to leave and seek their own paths of cultivation.”

”Others were separated from the main group due to unforeseen circumstances during our escape.”

”Only a handful of fellow sect members remain with me in the Nether Domain. However, the spiritual energy here is so meager that our cultivation progress has stagnated.”

Wu Chong sighed deeply as he finished speaking.

He understood the implication behind Li Qing’s question: Li Qing was planning to reclaim the Azure Ridge Domain and wanted to know if any other fellow disciples had achieved core formation.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the Azure Ridge Domain or the Great Wilderness Domain. The cultivation environment here was exceptionally harsh.

It was only because he possessed the Gluttonous Bloodline, cultivated the supreme cultivation manual Gluttonous Divine Art, and received guidance from a master that he had successfully achieved core formation.

In the spiritually barren Nether Domain, the only way to advance one’s cultivation was through Yin Sacrifices like the one just performed.

However, performing a Yin Sacrifice required meeting at least two conditions. First, a sufficient quantity of yin stones was needed.

Yin stones could only be found in specific locations, and mining them would drain one’s Lifespan. Few cultivators would willingly undertake such a task.

Second, the Yin Sacrifice had to be performed at the entrance of a yin meridian, specifically at the foot of West Mausoleum Divine Mountain, where nether monuments suppressed the meridians.

Unfortunately, the number of yin meridian entrances was limited, and most were already occupied by immortal dao factions like the Western Mausoleum Divine Temple and Heaven’s Guard Temple.

For Wu Chong, an outsider from the outer domain, seizing control of a yin meridian entrance was an almost impossible task.

Unable to cultivate through Yin Sacrifices, his fellow sect members had essentially stagnated in their cultivation progress.

Upon hearing this, Li Qing showed no signs of discouragement. He replied:

”I see. At least the others are still alive.”

”Once my vital energy recovers, I’ll prepare to return to Azure Ridge Domain and rebuild the Lingyun Sect.”

Wu Chong instinctively responded, ”Huh?”

”What are you saying? Rebuild the Lingyun Sect? Just the two of us? How could we possibly manage that!”

Wu Chong might be a bit simple-minded, but he wasn’t a fool.

For just two core formation realm cultivators to rebuild the Lingyun Sect would be nearly impossible—harder than ascending to heaven.

The Shangqing Sect, which now controlled all the immortal dao resources in the Azure Ridge Domain, had become an overwhelmingly powerful force. The two of them stood no chance of challenging it.

But Li Qing chuckled softly.

”Naturally, it won’t just be the two of us. With you joining, we can probably gather five core formation realm cultivators!”

Wu Chong’s pupils widened in shock, barely able to believe Li Qing’s words.

”Five core formation true lords? You mean besides you and me, there are three more core formation true lords?”

”Where did you meet these people? Where have you been all these years? Compared to you, it feels like I’ve been wasting my time!”

Li Qing laughed heartily and shook his head.

”It’s a long story. I’ll tell you all about it later.”

(End of the Chapter)

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