Immortal Refiner

Li Qing intended to transform the demonic willow into a Wooden Spirit Puppet. Sensing this, the willow reacted violently, attempting to refine Li Qing instead.

Willow branches cascaded down, radiating an intense dark light that seemed to embody the primordial origin of darkness itself, capable of corroding all matter.

”Insignificant cultivator, rejected by heaven and earth! Do not presume to overstep your bounds!”

The willow’s will surged into Li Qing’s Sea of Consciousness, its voice reverberating endlessly, shaking his divine soul.

But Li Qing had cultivated the Soul Refinement Scripture, making his divine soul exceptionally strong, far surpassing that of cultivators at his level. He easily resisted the mental assault and intensified his living refinement of the willow. His vast true essence now flowed entirely into activating the Wooden Spirit Puppet Art.

Simultaneously, he relentlessly imprinted divine sense imprints onto the willow’s body.

These imprints were largely ineffective, however, as they couldn’t reach the willow’s spiritual sense, preventing him from enslaving it outright.

This maneuver was merely intended to further harass the demonic willow, allowing Li Qing to more smoothly activate the secret technique and transform it into a Wooden Spirit Puppet.

The demonic willow continued its counterattack, relentlessly unleashing deep, dark light in an attempt to refine Li Qing.

Its willow branches thrashed wildly, desperately trying to pierce the Black Furnace—the demonic willow’s method for drawing energy from heaven and earth and the Red Moon Secret Power. It sought to drain Li Qing dry as well.

But the Black Furnace remained impenetrable, its defenses firmly repelling the willow branches.

In this stalemate, the Wooden Spirit Puppet Art finally revealed its extraordinary effectiveness in suppressing spirit plants.

Part of the demonic willow had already fallen under Li Qing’s control, including several willow branches that he had successfully manipulated.

With a subtle shift of his divine sense, Li Qing commanded the controlled branches to lash back at the demonic willow’s main body.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

At this point, even if the demonic willow wanted to sever the branches under Li Qing’s control, it couldn’t. It could only mobilize its remaining branches to counterattack and suppress them.

But soon, Li Qing gained control over more of the demonic willow, launching another counterattack against its main body.

This back-and-forth created a vicious cycle. If the willow couldn’t eliminate Li Qing, this continued struggle would inevitably turn it into his spirit puppet.

For the demonic willow, this was the most unacceptable outcome. Born during the End of Dao Era, it had swept across an entire great domain, its path seemingly destined to reach its peak. Yet now, it faced this catastrophic turn of events.

As time passed, Li Qing’s control over the willow grew steadily.

It must be said, the Wooden Spirit Puppet Art proved overwhelmingly effective against the demonic willow. This trend of domination seemed unstoppable.

Finally, convinced that it couldn’t break free from Li Qing’s control, the demonic willow resolved to fight to the death.

Boom!

A dark, shadowy light enveloped the entire willow, transforming it into a massive black cocoon that sealed off the surrounding heaven and earth.

In that instant, the deafening commotion that had shaken the world fell into complete silence. Heaven and earth returned to stillness.

Outside the black cocoon, Lin Jing froze for a moment before taking hesitant steps forward, her face etched with panic as she approached.

”Master... are you alright, Master?”

The demonic willow, which had seemed capable of dominating heaven and earth, had vanished, and her master was now sealed within this black cocoon, filling her heart with dread.

Li Qing didn’t respond, as if he had indeed been sealed within the cocoon along with the demonic willow.

In that instant, Lin Jing imagined the worst possible outcome.

”No! My senior brothers are all gone... why must you leave too, Master?!”

Tears welled up in her eyes, making Lin Jing appear utterly alone and helpless.

”Master is so powerful! He couldn’t have just... left like this!”

”I refuse to believe it!”

With that, Lin Jing raised her hand. Behind her, the Yellow Spring Giant Stele materialized in mid-air and crashed down upon the massive black cocoon.

Boom!

A muffled, earth-shaking rumble echoed through the land, causing the ground to tremble slightly.

Yet despite the colossal force of the Yellow Spring Giant Stele, it couldn’t even scratch the surface of the mysteriously appearing black cocoon.

Time gradually passed, day after day.

In the blink of an eye, several months had passed. During this time, the Blood Martial Dynasty dispatched Martial Artist scouts to the area, who discovered the anomaly.

The demonic willow calamity, which threatened to destroy the world, seemed to have been quelled. Everyone felt a mix of relief and bewilderment.

It wasn’t until the Blood Martial Dynasty’s Martial Artists found Lin Jing guarding the site that they learned the full story.

The dao guardian of the vital energy martial dao had seemingly perished in the battle, sacrificing his life to seal the world-destroying demonic willow.

Upon hearing this, Miao Tuo remained in stunned silence for an extended period, struggling to believe the news.

Eventually, Miao Tuo ordered the construction of a stronghold at the site, assigning guards to maintain constant vigilance.

Meanwhile, the despondent Lin Jing sat motionless against the Yellow Spring Giant Stele, hugging her knees and staring blankly at the black cocoon before her, as if she had turned into a statue.

Her master was gone, her senior brothers had departed one after another, and all the familiar faces were gone.

She could no longer find any reason to keep living.

”Master, is this how you felt all these years, constantly bidding farewell to generations of old friends?” Lin Jing murmured to herself, finally understanding her master’s burden.

She was utterly alone, with not a single familiar face left in the entire world.

Such profound solitude, such desolate emptiness.

In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

Heartbroken and disillusioned, Lin Jing slowly recovered from her master’s departure. She rose to her feet, intending to journey north to the Black Wind Domain and revisit Giant Rock City, the city ravaged by the demonic willow.

But just as she was about to set off, the massive black cocoon that had remained silent for over a year suddenly began to tremble.

Buzz! Buzz!

A crisp cracking sound echoed through the air!

Crack! Crack!

Lin Jing froze mid-stride, straining every muscle to turn her head. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she stared at the black cocoon behind her.

Nearby vital energy martial artists, stationed in the area, immediately noticed the commotion.

”Look! The black cocoon is cracking!”

”No way! Is the demonic willow reviving?”

”Impossible! Didn’t the dao guardian master seal it with his life?”

Amidst the growing panic, the black cocoon shattered completely, revealing gnarled willow branches thrashing wildly in the air!

Each pitch-black willow branch moved with eerie agility, as if possessed of its own life.

Seeing this, Lin Jing’s eyes filled with anguish, and a bone-deep hatred surged within her.

”Return my master’s life!”

With that, she raised her hand, activating the Yellow Spring Giant Stele buried beneath the ground, intending to perish alongside the resurrected demonic willow.

But before she could make another move, a pitch-black willow branch, moving with lightning speed and unerring precision, coiled around her body, swiftly dragging her into the willow’s trunk.

Believing her death was inevitable, Lin Jing felt utterly useless, unable to even wound the demonic willow that had claimed her master’s life before her end.

She closed her eyes, preparing to face death with resignation.

But then, a familiar voice rang out:

”What’s this? Is my disciple throwing a tantrum and refusing to even open her eyes to look at her master?”

Hearing that warm, familiar voice, Lin Jing’s eyes snapped open.

There stood a tall, upright figure, hands clasped behind his back, a gentle smile gracing his lips as he gazed at her with indulgent affection.

”Master... you’re alright?”

”And this demonic willow...”

Li Qing chuckled softly. ”Don’t worry. Its life force has been extinguished, its spiritual sense utterly destroyed. It’s now completely my puppet.”

”And you,” Li Qing said sternly, ”what’s happened to you? You’re so thin and haggard, and your hair has turned so white.”

Hearing her master’s authoritative rebuke, Lin Jing felt a pang of emotion. Unable to suppress her longing any longer, she stumbled forward and threw her arms around Li Qing, bursting into tears.

”Master... I thought you were dead!”

Li Qing affectionately ruffled the drooping cat ears on his disciple’s head, gently comforting her. ”Your master won’t die so easily. I’m sorry for making you worry.”

As he spoke, Li Qing’s brow furrowed, as if recalling something important.

After refining the demonic willow into a Wooden Spirit Puppet Art, he had gained complete control over it, transforming the terrifying tree into his living puppet.

But at that very moment, he had also gleaned fragments of hidden truths about this world.

What he could now confirm was that these strange plants—including the blood lotus he had seized, the mushroom spirit he had subdued, and the willow tree he had refined into a spirit puppet—were all influenced by some unknown will.

These demonic plants devoured everything, consumed everything, and used every means to grow stronger, all in a relentless struggle to determine the ultimate victor.

This seemed to be their innate destiny, an inescapable fate.

Li Qing’s heart pounded with dread whenever he pondered the forces behind these events.

Such heaven-shattering methods, using an entire world as a foundation, were being recklessly tested within the World of Eternal Night.

The power behind it all seemed so terrifying that Li Qing felt suffocated by anxiety and unease.

”Jing’er, you still haven’t explained why your hair has turned completely white. And that Netherworld Stone Tablet—isn’t that an artifact of the Yellow Springs Holy Sect? How did it end up in your possession?”

Li Qing had noticed earlier that Lin Jing’s hair had become entirely silver-white. If he hadn’t sensed her vigorous life force and abundant vital essence, he would have assumed her great limit was approaching.

”The demonic willow calamity is imminent. Desperate to find a way to resist it, I was forced to return to the Boundary River.”

”Later, the Netherworld Stone Tablet in the river seemed to call out to me, and I formed a connection with it.”

”The tablet possesses a spirit. It claimed I should become the Yellow Spring Heavenly Maiden to gain the power to oppose the demonic willow.”

The tablet has a spirit?!

Li Qing’s eyes turned cold. He had completely failed to detect this earlier.

Immediately, he channeled his supreme mana, manipulating the demonic willow’s branches to forcibly restrain and summon the Yellow Spring Giant Stele.

Gazing at the colossal Yellow Spring Giant Stele, Li Qing extended his divine sense, once again probing the space within the Netherworld Stone Tablet.

This time, he received a response.

”Fellow Daoist, do not be alarmed. I am the Yellow Springs Tablet Spirit, and I harbor no ill intentions.”

An ancient voice echoed forth, both ethereal and mysterious.

Yet Li Qing, ever vigilant, refused to take these words at face value. He retorted coldly, ”Tablet Spirit? Why didn’t you reveal yourself before?”

The Yellow Springs Tablet Spirit chuckled bitterly. ”At that time, my spirit body was also frozen by the Great Yin True Water. Only after you removed the water did I slowly awaken.”

Li Qing remained unmoved, his tone still sharp. ”Then what about the Yellow Spring Heavenly Maiden? What schemes do you have for my disciple?”

When it came to his disciple, Li Qing would not let matters rest until he understood everything.

”You can think of her as the holy maiden of the Yellow Springs Holy Sect. Anyone who resonates with the stele can become the Yellow Spring Heavenly Maiden.”

”However, the Holy Sect no longer exists, so the title carries little significance now.”

”The reason I made your disciple the Yellow Spring Heavenly Maiden was because I recognized the extraordinary nature of this world. I wanted to use her to forge a different path.”

”Fellow Daoist, rest assured. This will only benefit her, not harm her in any way. At the very least, becoming the Yellow Spring Heavenly Maiden has greatly enhanced her self-preservation abilities, and her lifespan now far exceeds that of ordinary people.”

Hearing this, Li Qing reluctantly withdrew his suspicions.

He had never imagined that the Yellow Springs Holy Sect possessed such a profound opportunity.

At least for now, it seemed the Tablet Spirit genuinely harbored no ill intentions toward Lin Jing.

”Do you know why this world has become like this?” Li Qing asked tentatively.

The Tablet Spirit chuckled bitterly. ”Fellow Daoist, you overestimate me. Though I have existed for eons, I have spent almost all my time by the Yellow Springs River. I know virtually nothing of the outside world.”

”As for why the End of Dao Era has taken this form, I have no clue whatsoever.”

With that, Li Qing could only issue a final warning: ”If I ever discover any malice toward my disciple, I will obliterate you completely, body and soul.”

”Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I harbor no ill intentions.”

After delivering this final warning, Li Qing slowly withdrew his divine sense from the space within the Netherworld Stone Tablet.

”You little rascal, you never cease to worry me!” Li Qing sighed, shaking his head helplessly as he gazed at Lin Jing’s blinking eyes.

With their business concluded here, there was no reason to linger.

Li Qing and Lin Jing returned together to the Royal City of the Blood Martial Dynasty. They stayed at the Imperial Palace for several days, guiding Miao Tuo in his martial techniques before bidding farewell and departing.

The demonic willow had been completely transformed into a Wooden Spirit Puppet, eliminating the future threat to the Blood Martial Dynasty. The dynasty could now develop peacefully in the coming years.

As for Li Qing, he returned to the Lingyun Sect, bringing with him the newly refined Wooden Spirit Puppet Art, ready to face the imminent demonic cataclysm that threatened to engulf the world.

End of Volume!

The ”Reign as Ancestor” volume has concluded. The next volume will likely wrap up the Human Realm arc.

After that comes the Spirit Realm arc.

(End of the Chapter)

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