Immortal Refiner

Beneath the deep, starless sky of the World of Eternal Night, a blinding bolt of lightning tore through the perpetual darkness.

Whoosh!

Li Qing was speeding northward, his curiosity piqued by whatever force had managed to temporarily halt the demonic willow that had been sweeping across multiple great domains.

Could it be another newly emerged strange plant, its power rivaling that of the terrifying demonic willow?

”If that’s the case, this is quite intriguing,” Li Qing mused. ”How did so many strange plants come to exist in this world?”

With these thoughts, Li Qing traversed tens of thousands of miles in mere moments, his speed unparalleled.

Finally, as he approached the region connecting the Autumn Mountain Domain and the Black Wind Domain, an overwhelming aura surged skyward, nearly piercing the heavens.

The earth ahead had been completely overturned, and countless dark willow branches writhed across the landscape, creating a chaotic and menacing scene.

Even before the demonic willow’s main body appeared, its oppressive aura threatened to crush heaven and earth, exerting immense pressure.

Yet this formidable entity had indeed been halted.

Ahead, a dense concentration of Netherworld Yin aura gathered, coalescing into streams of Yellow Springs Water that formed a series of defensive lines, completely severing the demonic willow branches attempting to cross.

In addition, a Yellow Spring Giant Stele stood sentinel here, temporarily suppressing the demonic willow’s advance.

Li Qing immediately recognized these as artifacts of the Yellow Springs Holy Sect. How did they end up here?

His expression froze momentarily before darkening rapidly.

He spotted a familiar, graceful figure standing before the Yellow Spring Giant Stele. She was the one orchestrating this entire defense, single-handedly stalling the demonic willow’s advance!

But this was only a temporary reprieve. Massive quantities of Yellow Springs River Water continued to erupt from the stele, replenishing the increasingly strained defensive lines.

Yet the demonic willow’s power far exceeded her expectations. A willow branch as thick as a celestial pillar swung horizontally, unleashing a storm of willow leaves that shot forth like black arrows.

Shhh! Shhh!

The leaves were pitch-black, and even the Yellow Springs River Water couldn’t completely intercept them.

The sheer number of willow leaves was overwhelming, a dense, rain-like barrage that left no room to evade.

”Not good!” Lin Jing’s face paled as she flipped backward, retreating behind the Yellow Spring Giant Stele. She used the massive, sturdy monument as a shield against the relentless willow leaf assault.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

A series of explosive sounds reverberated through the air as the giant stele trembled violently. Yet, it held firm, enduring the relentless barrage of willow leaves.

But this was far from over. With Lin Jing no longer at the front lines, the intricate defenses she had woven using the Yellow Springs River Water were finally breached.

Several willow branches, thick enough to pierce the heavens, displayed a dexterity far beyond their immense size. Like venomous serpents, they slithered through the layers of Yellow Springs River Water, bypassing the meticulously constructed barriers.

In the next instant, before Lin Jing’s horrified eyes, these demonic willow branches coiled around the Yellow Spring Giant Stele.

”How is this possible?!”

The demonic willow was devoid of emotion or sentience, indifferent to her feelings or thoughts.

With a simultaneous surge of force, the willow branches began to uproot the colossal Yellow Spring Stele, inch by inch, from the ground.

Without the Yellow Spring Stele’s protection, Lin Jing would have no chance against the powerful demonic willow.

”Senior brothers,” Lin Jing murmured sorrowfully, ”Jing’er is powerless. I can’t avenge you.”

Just then, Li Qing could no longer stand by and watch. The moment the demonic willow uprooted the Yellow Spring Giant Stele, he finally intervened.

”Extreme Flame Heaven-Burning Hand!”

Boom!

A colossal palm formed from the spiritual flames of heaven and earth descended with scorching heat, incinerating the willow branches that were about to strike Lin Jing into ash.

Li Qing stepped out into the void, his silver-purple Wind-Thunder Silver Wings flickering behind him, shifting between ethereal and solid forms.

”Master... Master, you’re back?” Lin Jing’s face lit up with joy amidst her despair.

”Retreat and find a safe place to wait,” Li Qing said sternly. ”Leave this demonic willow to me.” With a wave of his hand, a condensed blade of true essence slashed through the air.

Swish! Swish!

Faced with the true essence blade condensed by a Nascent Soul cultivator, the demonic willow’s branches remained completely unmoved, not even a single one severed.

”So resilient... Ordinary methods can’t even cut through them?” Li Qing murmured, slightly surprised but also quite pleased.

The stronger the demonic willow, the more powerful the Wooden Spirit Puppet Art would become after its living refinement.

Sensing Li Qing’s formidable power, the demonic willow, which had been concealing its main body behind a dense thicket of branches, temporarily halted its advance.

”Who are you? Such a being should no longer exist in this realm!”

A telepathic message echoed in Li Qing’s mind, the demonic willow attempting to communicate with him.

”I’ve come to kill you,” Li Qing replied coldly. ”Some of my disciples died by your hand. Today, karma has come due, and it’s time for reckoning.”

The demonic willow offered no response to these words, instead unleashing a storm of countless willow branches that blotted out the pitch-black sky.

Soon, the branches began to converge, forming a cage to trap and kill Li Qing within their confines.

”Mere child’s play!”

As the words fell, Li Qing simultaneously formed hand seals, and boundless spiritual flames erupted from his palms.

In an instant, tri-colored spirit flames enveloped Li Qing’s body, expanding outward in a continuous surge.

Fire Extreme Dharma Body!

Within moments, a colossal flame giant materialized!

As the flame giant stretched its form, the pitch-black willow branches that had been closing in instantly ignited, transforming into countless red-hot iron rods that scattered across the sky.

Li Qing wanted to test the true extent of the demonic willow’s power. Having already conquered the entire Black Wind Domain, it couldn’t possibly be this easily defeated!

With this thought, Li Qing urged the flame giant forward, and a massive war hammer, perfectly scaled to the giant’s size, materialized in its hand.

Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer!

Spiritual flames engulfed the Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer as Li Qing swung the fiery weapon down with tremendous force, smashing it into the earth below.

Boom!

A deafening roar shook heaven and earth!

The ground within a radius of thousands of miles instantly collapsed inward, as surging spiritual flames plunged into the depths, erupting like a volcanic eruption from the earth’s core.

Boom!

The surrounding terrain instantly transformed into a sea of magma and fire. Under the terrifying heat of the heavenly spirit fire, the perpetually dark and icy earth melted into a molten inferno in mere moments.

Having advanced to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, Li Qing’s mana reserves had become vast beyond measure. He unleashed his power without restraint, showing no intention of conserving it.

Soon, the demonic willow revealed its own unique abilities.

A crimson glow descended upon the magma-filled landscape, radiating an intensely concentrated Red Moon Secret Power.

The demonic willow had mastered the art of crystallizing Red Moon Secret Power, likely learned from consuming countless strange beasts’ crimson crystals.

As the Red Moon Secret Power crystallized, countless willow branches cascaded downward.

This time, however, the branches bore no willow leaves. Instead, each branch sprouted a strange beast.

Many branches ended in entire, colossal beasts, their auras overwhelmingly powerful, far surpassing those of ordinary strange beasts!

”Such a technique exists? Even strange beasts that have been devoured and refined become extensions of its power.”

Li Qing, standing within the flame giant, watched the spectacle of what could only be described as the Ten Thousand Beasts Charge with considerable astonishment.

Yet this was ultimately a minor trick. Li Qing had personally slain two powerful Great Demon Kings; how could he possibly fear these strange beasts manipulated by the demonic willow?

He urged the flame giant to stride forward, completely ignoring the willow-controlled creatures.

As the flame giant advanced, numerous spiritual flame clusters spontaneously detached and fell, seemingly with purpose, scattering across the surrounding earth.

Once the final flame cluster landed, confirming the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation’s completion, Li Qing deactivated the Fire Extreme Dharma Body. Flapping his Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, he soared out of the flame giant.

”Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation!”

Li Qing’s deep, resonant shout echoed across the battlefield. As his words fell, pillars of fire erupted from the earth, piercing the night sky.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In the blink of an eye, a fiery realm materialized, its residual heat alone capable of incinerating all existence.

”Refine!”

Li Qing uttered a single word, unleashing the terrifying power of the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation. Chaotic tri-colored spirit flames surged through the space like world-devouring infernos.

The endless tendrils of the demonic willow were instantly reduced to ash, leaving not even a trace behind.

Fueled by the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation, vast quantities of tri-colored spirit flames surged along the willow branches, burning fiercely in the direction of their origin.

This inextinguishable spirit fire would inevitably spread to the willow’s main body unless the demonic willow severed the burning branches itself.

The demonic willow’s decisiveness exceeded Li Qing’s expectations.

In the very next instant, the thousands upon thousands of burning branches snapped simultaneously!

Swish!

The synchronized sound echoed through the air as the flaming branches plummeted to the ground. Even the tendrils that had been entwined around the Yellow Spring Giant Stele loosened their grip.

”Decisive enough, but that’s exactly what I wanted!” Li Qing narrowed his eyes, then with a subtle mental command, the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings materialized behind him.

In an instant, the wings fluttered gently, and his figure vanished from its spot!

Lightning flashed violently, unleashing a surge of Wind-Thunder Power.

Massive numbers of demonic willow branches snapped, finally revealing the location of the demonic willow’s main body.

Li Qing hadn’t forgotten his purpose: to refine the demonic willow into a Wooden Spirit Puppet Art, seizing control of it as a new trump card.

Previously, the overwhelming number of branches had obscured the willow’s true form. After fighting for so long, he hadn’t even glimpsed its main body—how could he refine it into a Wooden Spirit Puppet Art under such circumstances?

By harnessing the power of the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation, he had forced the demonic willow to sever its own branches, finally exposing its core.

This was essentially a kill-or-be-killed scenario. If the demonic willow hadn’t chosen to sever its branches, the inextinguishable spiritual flames would have inevitably spread to its main body.

In that case, Li Qing would still have located the willow’s core, albeit after a longer delay.

The severed willow branch hadn’t even touched the ground, its tip still burning with a faint spiritual flame.

In those fleeting moments, Li Qing finally approached the demonic willow’s main body.

The demonic willow’s true form was colossal beyond imagination. Its crown reached the heavens, nearly touching the Red Moon hanging in the sky.

Even Li Qing, who had steeled himself for this encounter, was deeply shaken by the sheer scale of the entity.

But there was no time for contemplation. He immediately leaped onto the willow’s trunk, found a foothold, and began casting the Wooden Spirit Puppet Art, a secret technique capable of transforming Spirit Trees into Wooden Spirit Puppets.

Whether this method would work on the demonic willow remained uncertain. If it failed, Li Qing would have no choice but to incinerate it completely with spirit fire, eliminating the threat to the Blood Martial Dynasty’s people.

Before resorting to such drastic measures, however, he needed to thoroughly test the technique.

Landing on the willow’s trunk, Li Qing extended a hand and pressed it against the pitch-black bark. Mysterious spiritual light seeped from his palm into the willow’s core.

”Hmm? This might actually work!” Li Qing thought with a surge of hope. He sensed the strange spiritual light he had injected into the willow’s core beginning to corrode its essence.

Soon, he felt a small portion of the willow falling under his control.

The demonic willow immediately sensed the anomaly. It realized that part of its trunk had become unresponsive, as if it had lost all sensation.

Even that section of willow branches could no longer be manipulated.

Boom!

The surrounding willow branches began to retract, and a dense black light radiated from between them.

This was the formation created by countless willow leaves shooting forth at high speed, each one lethally sharp.

Li Qing calmly retrieved the Black Furnace and flipped it upside down over himself for protection.

With the Black Furnace’s protection, he could now focus on refining this massive demonic willow into his own Wooden Spirit Puppet.

”What is this technique? Stop at once!” The usually composed demonic willow finally began to panic, sending out a mental plea to Li Qing.

But this time, Li Qing refused to acknowledge it.

The demonic willow was immensely powerful, and he was determined to transform it into a Wooden Spirit Puppet. This had been his goal since before entering the World of Eternal Night.

Sensing Li Qing’s unwavering resolve, the demonic willow realized that continuing this path would likely lead to its demise.

For countless years, it had swept across the land, never encountering a true adversary. Now, it had finally met an opponent it couldn’t easily overcome.

The demonic willow refused to surrender. It gathered its endless branches, coiling them around its main trunk to form a protective barrier.

Soon, Li Qing, hidden within the Black Furnace, was completely enveloped by the dense mass of branches.

What followed would be a protracted battle of attrition.

(End of the Chapter)

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