Immortal Refiner

Without hesitation, Li Qing immediately retrieved all the spiritual materials he carried after Dao Lord Bai Ling finished speaking.

As an artifact refiner, he naturally possessed an abundance of spiritual materials for refinement.

Moreover, as the ancestor of the Lingyun Sect, which controlled the cultivation resources of the entire Azure Ridge Domain, he had unlimited access to these materials.

Consequently, Li Qing carried a substantial quantity of spiritual materials.

If he gathered them all, refining one or two magic treasures would be no problem at all.

”Excellent! These materials should be sufficient,” Dao Lord Bai Ling nodded in satisfaction.

However, his expression quickly turned solemn when Li Qing produced a fragment of bronze.

This fragment was the one he had obtained during the Moonchase Grand Assembly. At the time, many dismissed it as an unremarkable, rusted piece of bronze.

But Li Qing had never shared that view. He always sensed that this bronze fragment, shaped like a broken blade, must have a significant origin.

Thus, he took it out here, hoping Dao Lord Bai Ling might know something about the bronze fragment’s origins.

Seeing Dao Lord Bai Ling’s sudden seriousness, Li Qing knew he had made the right choice in revealing the fragment.

Dao Lord Bai Ling must know what this strange bronze fragment was!

”Where did you obtain this?” Dao Lord Bai Ling’s tone turned grave, his gaze fixed intently on the fragment, as if unable to tear his eyes away.

Li Qing paused briefly, then truthfully explained its origins.

”I acquired it from a forbidden land called Moonlit Ridge in another great domain. At the time, a nascent soul realm expert was drawing moonlight from that forbidden land, bringing out many spiritual objects in the process.”

”This bronze fragment was among the items I seized from the Moonlight River!”

The mention of Moonlit Ridge caused Dao Lord Bai Ling’s brow to furrow slightly.

”So it’s from Moonlit Ridge. No wonder its Profound Yin Qi is so dense.”

These words surprised Li Qing.

”Senior Bai Ling, do you know about Moonlit Ridge?”

The way the other party spoke suggested a deep understanding of that forbidden land, which surprised Li Qing.

Moonlit Ridge was a forbidden land in the Great Wilderness Domain, rarely visited by humans. Almost no one would willingly venture into that perilous place.

The forbidden land was extremely dangerous. Cultivators below the nascent soul realm who entered rarely returned.

Even nascent soul realm cultivators faced unpredictable dangers there.

Thus, Moonlit Ridge was infamous throughout the Great Wilderness Domain as a true forbidden land.

Yet Li Qing hadn’t expected its reputation to spread so widely that even Dao Lord Bai Ling, who had resided in the demon realm during the Ancient Era, had heard of it.

Dao Lord Bai Ling slowly nodded. ”Moonlit Ridge should be an Ascension Node in the Great Wilderness Domain, right?” he said.

”Every great domain has Ascension Nodes—areas where the fabric of space is thin. Breaking through the void at these nodes significantly increases the success rate of ascension.”

”These Ascension Nodes are all occupied by cultivators at the divine transformation stage.”

”These places are often very primitive, with cultivation environments closely resembling those of the Ancient Era, where heaven and earth spiritual energy is abundant.”

Upon hearing this, Li Qing’s face showed clear shock. He had never imagined such a secret existed.

Li Qing murmured to himself, his expression still shaken, ”A gathering place for divine transformation stage cultivators... spatial nodes for ascension... This is too incredible.”

However, Dao Lord Bai Ling shook his head, unwilling to delve further into the topic.

”These matters are still too distant for you. When you reach nascent soul formation or break through to the divine transformation stage in the future, you will naturally come into contact with these secrets.”

”By then, what seems like highly confidential information to ordinary cultivators will be nothing special to you.”

”As for those so-called divine transformation stage cultivators... heh, they’re just pitiful creatures struggling to survive under the Great Dao.”

Divine transformation stage cultivators... merely pitiful creatures struggling to survive under the Great Dao?

Hearing this, Li Qing’s heart felt like it had been invaded by thousands of ants, and he desperately wanted to press further.

Seeing Dao Lord Bai Ling’s demeanor, Li Qing knew that any questions would be futile, so he remained silent.

Yet inwardly, he couldn’t stop pondering why things were this way.

In his view, cultivators at the divine transformation stage should be the most carefree beings in all of heaven and earth. Having reached the pinnacle of cultivation in the mortal realm, what could possibly threaten such beings in the cultivation world?

Surely, almost nothing?

Li Qing had even imagined that if he successfully reached the divine transformation stage in the mortal realm, he would choose to remain rather than ascend, quietly enjoying a life of freedom and contentment.

But now it seemed that the divine transformation stage was far more complex than he had imagined.

”Enough of that. Since you possess such a peculiar piece of spirit gold, it has given me a different idea.”

As Dao Lord Bai Ling spoke, his gaze took on a slightly wistful quality.

”Young one, I wish to entrust my lingering obsession to your Immortal Spirit Green Gold and leave the Myriad Beasts Secret Realm. I seek a worthy successor to inherit my legacy.”

”Now that the human race in the demon realm has been wiped out, there is no longer any purpose for me to remain here.”

Leave with me?

Li Qing was stunned at first, then a surge of intense joy flooded his heart.

”Senior, if you need it, please use it as you see fit. This Immortal Spirit Green Gold is of little use to me anyway.”

It wasn’t out of generosity. If the Dao Lord hadn’t recognized the Immortal Spirit Green Gold, it would still be gathering dust in Li Qing’s storage pouch.

If he could bring Dao Lord Bai Ling’s lingering spirit out of the Myriad Beasts Secret Realm, it would be an immense boon.

This was a great cultivator at the divine transformation stage! Even a fragment of his obsession would be extraordinary.

His inheritance, in particular, was priceless.

Li Qing could first search within the Lingyun Sect for a suitable disciple. If none were found, he would mobilize the sect’s resources to scour the entire Azure Ridge Domain.

At worst, he could simply recruit the disciple who inherited Dao Lord Bai Ling’s legacy into the sect!

Li Qing wasn’t worried about any hidden dangers from Dao Lord Bai Ling, as only a fragment of his spirit remained.

If only a lingering obsession remained, it couldn’t be seized. After all, it was merely a thought, not a remnant of a soul.

In truth, had Li Qing not appeared at Beast King Mountain, this lingering obsession would have completely dissipated, buried in the dust of history.

”Very well, then consider me in your debt,” Dao Lord Bai Ling said softly.

Upon hearing this, Li Qing immediately clasped his hands in a respectful bow, his voice filled with awe:

”It is this junior’s honor to assist Senior Bai Ling. How could I dare let you owe me a debt of gratitude!”

Though he spoke these words, Li Qing’s heart swelled with joy.

With such a powerful figure by his side, the immediate crisis of escaping the Myriad Beasts Secret Realm seemed to be resolving itself.

”Heh, enough with the formalities. The most crucial task now is refining a magical artifact to escape this place.”

”Since I am merely a lingering obsession, the refining process will require your assistance.”

”Tell me, do you understand artifact refinement? Simply refining your own natal magic treasure doesn’t count!”

Li Qing clasped his hands confidently and declared:

”While I wouldn’t claim to have a profound understanding of artifact refinement, I do have considerable experience in refining magical treasures!”

Dao Lord Bai Ling nodded in satisfaction. ”Excellent. Then simply follow my instructions from now on!”

As a seasoned elder proficient in the Hundred Arts of Cultivation, Dao Lord Bai Ling’s mastery of artifact refinement was naturally unparalleled. His expertise spanned a vast and intricate array of cultivation techniques, each honed to perfection.

”I once stumbled upon a fragmented ancient text containing fragments of remarkably potent dao patterns. With the right spiritual materials and refined refinement techniques, even refining a heaven-piercing spirit treasure would be within reach!”

Dao patterns of a heaven-piercing spirit treasure!

Li Qing’s heart surged with renewed awe. He murmured, ”Senior, are we actually going to refine a heaven-piercing spirit treasure here? But my cultivation level is too low—I doubt I have the capability!”

Dao Lord Bai Ling chuckled softly. ”Heh, you’re getting ahead of yourself. Refining a heaven-piercing spirit treasure isn’t as simple as that.”

”As an artifact refiner, you should understand this principle: heaven-piercing spirit treasures require the Dao’s approval, and only one can exist at a time. Once refined, no one else can replicate them!”

”With your current materials, refining a standard magic treasure would be more than sufficient. But to refine a heaven-piercing spirit treasure? You’re still far from meeting the requirements.”

Li Qing wasn’t particularly disappointed. He reasoned that if heaven-piercing spirit treasures could be refined so easily, they wouldn’t be so rare and precious.

Such powerful treasures demand not only the highest quality spiritual materials but also require the refiner to possess immense cultivation strength and extraordinary skill in artifact refinement.

Even with all these conditions met, success in refining a heaven-piercing spirit treasure remains uncertain.

In essence, nearly every heaven-piercing spirit treasure ever refined owes its existence to a significant stroke of luck!

”What I’m going to teach you to refine is a pair of wings! Wings capable of absolute, unparalleled speed!”

”Among dao patterns, those composed of wind and lightning naturally excel in speed. But when it comes to unpredictability and elusiveness, spatial dao patterns reign supreme.”

”The dao patterns I obtained not only contain the power of wind and thunder but also incorporate subtle mysteries of spatial energy,” Dao Lord Bai Ling explained, demonstrating the priceless dao patterns to Li Qing.

These patterns were incredibly complex, far surpassing any dao patterns Li Qing had ever seen before!

That’s right, Li Qing realized. These must be dao patterns used in refining heaven-piercing spirit treasures.

Recognizing this, Li Qing devoted all his mental energy to memorizing the profound intricacies of these patterns.

Dao Lord Bai Ling, showing no reluctance to share his knowledge, generously imprinted these profound dao patterns directly into Li Qing’s Sea of Consciousness.

Whoosh!

”I’m transferring these dao patterns to you now,” Dao Lord Bai Ling said. ”They’re merely techniques related to artifact refinement, so they don’t violate the rules established by Beast King Mountain.”

As Dao Lord Bai Ling finished speaking, the priceless dao patterns were once again imprinted into Li Qing’s Sea of Consciousness.

In that instant, Li Qing’s understanding of these patterns deepened significantly.

These dao patterns not only contained the power of wind and thunder but also incorporated the profound mysteries of spatial energy!

The complexities involved were staggering, leaving Li Qing deeply shaken. His understanding of artifact refinement had expanded dramatically once again.

”How about it? Do you think you can engrave these?” Dao Lord Bai Ling chuckled. ”If you can master and fully comprehend these principles, you’ll have opened the door to refining heaven-piercing spirit treasures.”

”From then on, all you’ll need to do is gather sufficiently high-grade spirit materials, and you can attempt to refine heaven-piercing spirit treasures yourself!”

After a moment of contemplation, Li Qing slowly replied, ”I wouldn’t dare claim certainty, but this junior wishes to try.”

”Heh, of course you should try. Otherwise, you might never leave the ancestral land.”

”After all, I’m merely a lingering obsession, incapable of confronting those demon kings lurking outside.”

The demon realm is a cruel and hierarchical place. Those utterly savage demon races care nothing for your status as an ancient elder. If there’s profit to be gained, they’ll strike without hesitation.

”Time is short. Though I can use some methods to delay the ancestral land’s opening, I can’t hold it back for long.”

”Begin refining now!”

”Take Thunder Spirit Crystal powder, Void Bone Stone, and Wind Swallow Feathers...”

These materials had been acquired from the Lingyun Sect’s treasure vault, most of which had been inherited from the Shangqing Sect’s secret treasury.

While the quantities were limited, the variety was fortunately abundant.

After all, he needed to feed his Golden Silk Silkworms, so Li Qing always grabbed some extra spiritual materials for artifact refinement whenever he visited the sect treasury.

As the sect’s ancestor, he certainly had the authority to do so.

”The artifact we’re refining this time is a forbidden artifact, similar to a replica of a heaven-piercing spirit treasure, but with limited uses!”

”Even so, the refinement process will be extremely challenging.”

”Activate your pill fire and begin melting the Void Bone Stones!”

Dao Lord Bai Ling instructed earnestly, explaining each step in meticulous detail.

As an experienced artifact refiner, Li Qing executed the process with utmost precision. His movements were flawless, leaving no room for error. Dao Lord Bai Ling secretly marveled at his skill.

He truly is a promising talent for artifact refinement!

Following Dao Lord Bai Ling’s instructions, Li Qing began melting several sizable Void Bone Stones.

Boom!

A jet-black demon flame erupted, instantly engulfing the silvery-white, strangely shaped stones.

The sight made Dao Lord Bai Ling raise an eyebrow slightly.

”This young man’s luck is truly remarkable. He’s actually managed to find and subdue a heavenly spirit fire.”

”I searched for decades in the demon realm for a trace of heavenly spirit fire, but ultimately had to give up.”

”That black spirit fire looks so sinister... Could it be the Spirit Devouring Demon Flame?”

”...”

(End of the Chapter)

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