Immortal Refiner

Azure Ridge Domain, Lingyun Sect.

With the void rift stabilized, Li Qing returned to the sect immediately.

Under Lingyun Sect’s large-scale counteroffensive, the territories occupied by the demonized cultivators were being reclaimed inch by inch.

Rogue cultivators and cultivation clans who had reluctantly allied with Lingyun Sect also joined the counteroffensive.

Lingyun Sect’s core formation elders launched continuous attacks, driving the demonized cultivators into a rout, leaving them virtually defenseless!

Of course, casualties were inevitable during this process.

In this immortal dao war, Lingyun Sect suffered hundreds of inner sect disciple casualties and over a dozen foundation establishment realm elder deaths.

While not a crippling blow, it was still a heavy loss.

Fortunately, Li Qing had personally intervened once, unleashing a single Shattered Origin Great Fire Seal that instantly incinerated swathes of demonized cultivators.

”The war in Azure Ridge Domain is nearing its end,” Li Qing said, standing with his hands clasped behind his back in the void, his expression calm as he surveyed the battlefield below.

The demonized cultivators’ defeat was sealed, and they could barely muster any resistance. Under the relentless pursuit of rogue cultivators and Lingyun sect disciples, countless demonized cultivators were being annihilated every moment.

With the intention of further tempering his sect disciples, Li Qing ceased his attacks. These demonic humans were no longer a threat.

”Kill!”

”Slay these demonic cultivators—neither human nor ghost—and spare none!”

”You dog bastards, I’ll avenge my father’s death!”

...

The pursuit of the fleeing demonized cultivators lasted for seven full days. Only when the last demonic human had been completely annihilated did the war finally come to an end.

With the war over, Lingyun Sect and the entire cultivation world of the Azure Ridge Domain lay in ruins. Markets were rebuilt, and cultivation clans had to relocate and reestablish their settlements.

”Alas, many spiritual veins have been destroyed, and the spiritual energy in heaven and earth has become noticeably thinner.”

”Competition is fierce. Two cultivation clans are already squabbling over a second-tier spiritual vein.”

”If only the demonic cataclysm hadn’t happened. My cave abode, where I cultivated for over a decade, was completely destroyed. The spiritual fields I had painstakingly cultivated are now nothing but ruins.”

The demonic cataclysm had dealt a devastating blow to the entire cultivation world of the Azure Ridge Domain, pushing it back to its most primitive state.

Fortunately, the Lingyun Sect’s inheritance remained intact. With the help of Lingyun Sect cultivators, markets across the region began to rebuild, gradually returning to normal.

However, it would take countless years to recover to the level before the demonic cataclysm.

Li Qing deeply understood this. He could clearly sense that the spiritual energy in heaven and earth had become significantly thinner. The opening of void rifts and the invasion of countless demonic races had caused an enormous loss of primordial energy.

”The cultivation environment has become even harsher. This is likely due to the heaven and earth’s self-regulation.”

”In such conditions, advancing further is truly harder than climbing to the heavens.”

Li Qing sighed deeply. The demonic cataclysm had profoundly impacted the world.

Even in the Azure Ridge Domain, where only one Demonic Realm Rift had opened, the effects were so severe. One could only imagine the devastation in great domains like the Great Wilderness Domain, where two or even three rifts had opened!

Fortunately, Li Qing had collected numerous ancient demon corpses. He had refined them into bone and blood, which he then added to his blood pool to nourish himself.

During this process, his mana cultivation improved slightly. However, the increase was so minuscule it was barely noticeable.

Even a mosquito’s leg is meat, as the saying goes. Li Qing showed no disdain whatsoever, accepting the cultivation gains with perfect equanimity.

After the nourishing process concluded, Li Qing slowly emerged from his meditative trance.

”Hmph, essence blood refined from the corpse of an ancient demon in the nascent soul realm is of little use to me now.”

As he spoke, he retrieved a bizarrely shaped demonic insect from his storage bag. This was the Fifth-Tier Demonic Insect he had slain using the Starlight Mending Heaven Formation.

Even in death, the insect’s pairs of mantis blade-like legs remained incredibly tough and sharp, surpassing even the magic treasures of many Nascent Soul cultivators.

Li Qing had once attempted to refine a magic treasure using this insect, but the attempt ended in failure.

Materials refined from such demonic creatures were completely resistant to spirit tempering, and spirit patterns could not be inscribed upon them. Despite racking his brains, Li Qing could not devise an effective method.

”No wonder the Flood Dragon Clan discarded these things like worthless trash, dumping them all into the bottomless Sea Rift Valley. They truly are useless scraps.”

With that, Li Qing dismantled the mantis centipede demon insect’s corpse, then refined a small amount of bone blood to add to the blood pool.

This was essence blood refined from the corpse of a Fifth-Tier Demonic Insect, its potency far surpassing that of an ancient demon at the Nascent Soul realm.

With this thought in mind, Li Qing once again sat cross-legged at the center of the blood lotus and entered a meditative state.

As expected, the nourishment provided by the blood lotus this time was incredibly potent. His cultivation, which had almost stalled, began to advance slowly once more, its effects far more significant than the combined benefits of the dozens of ancient demon corpses he had used before.

After a long while, once the dark red essence blood in the blood pool had dried up again, Li Qing slowly reopened his eyes.

”This nourishment was quite effective. It seems I’ll need to find a way to collect the corpses of ancient demons at the Divine Transformation stage in the future.”

”With the cultivation environment of heaven and earth continuing to deteriorate, this is the only way for me to maintain my rapid progress.”

As he spoke, a glint flashed in Li Qing’s eyes. He recalled that ancient demons at the Divine Transformation stage had been sighted in other great domains, particularly in the Great Wilderness Domain. The mysterious master of the Ice Extremity Palace had reportedly slain three or four Divine Transformation ancient demons during the recent demon realm invasion.

Clearly, Li Qing was considering acquiring those ancient demon corpses.

Such ancient demon corpses were useless scraps to cultivators, unsuitable for artifact refinement. Leaving them around would only pollute the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy with their demonic qi.

Ultimately, Li Qing decided to inquire through the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild about the current situation in the other great domains of the Human Realm.

After hastily concluding his cultivation session, Li Qing sent a letter to the guild.

Instead of directly asking which great domain held the divine transformation stage remains of an ancient demon, he inquired about the progress of repairing the Demonic Realm Rifts in the other domains and the status of the demonic cataclysm’s suppression. Only then did he casually mention how other factions were handling ancient demon corpses.

In truth, even if Li Qing hadn’t sent the letter, the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild would have proactively informed the Lingyun Sect of these matters.

After all, Li Qing had already demonstrated astonishing power by slaying a Fifth-Tier Demonic Insect from the demon realm while still at the late-stage nascent soul realm!

Even with the aid of the Starlight Mending Heaven Formation’s starlight enhancement, this level of combat prowess was enough to warrant the guild’s attention.

There weren’t many cultivators at the divine transformation stage in the Human Realm, and they were also restricted by the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth, unable to unleash their full power. Doing so would drain their vital essence and shorten their Lifespan.

Therefore, Li Qing’s current strength already placed him at the very pinnacle of the Human Realm.

Adding to this his status as a fifth-tier refiner, the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild naturally wanted to cultivate a good relationship with him.

The Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion’s reply came swiftly, arriving in Li Qing’s hands within just a few days.

”I didn’t expect such a quick response. I thought it would take some time,” he remarked as he opened the Spirit Sealing Letter and began to read it carefully.

During the recent demon realm invasion, twenty-seven void rifts had opened across the Human Realm, scattered across various great domains and the Four Seas Region.

Through the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild’s organized efforts, twenty-two of these Demonic Realm Rifts had been sealed. However, five remained open, their closure disrupted during the repair process, ultimately failing.

Yet for some unknown reason, the demon realm’s invasion seemed to have halted. Even though the remaining five Demonic Realm Rifts remained unsealed, no further ancient demons were being sent down to the lower realm.

Therefore, the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild decided to organize one final operation to completely seal the remaining five Demonic Realm Rifts.

Once this was accomplished, the ancient demons still lingering in the Human Realm would be trapped like turtles in a jar, unable to cause any further trouble.

Li Qing nodded repeatedly as he read this, his heart relaxing considerably.

This was excellent news. Only five Demonic Realm Rifts remained, and no more ancient demons were being sent down. It seemed the demon realm’s invasion was finally coming to an end.

This meant that once they united to completely quell the demonic cataclysm in the Human Realm, it wouldn’t be an insurmountable task.

Of course, good news always comes with bad.

The demonic race had previously captured numerous Nascent Soul cultivators and demon kings in the transformation stage from various great domains. Many of them had already been sent to the demon realm.

This was why the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild’s plan had gone so smoothly. Many ancient demons had returned to the demon realm through the void rifts to escort these captured Nascent Soul cultivators.

The Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild had chosen their moment perfectly, striking when the remaining ancient demons in the Human Realm were at their weakest.

Li Qing’s thoughts extended far beyond the immediate situation. He already had a grim idea of what awaited the human cultivators and demon kings captured and taken to the demon realm.

”Ah, better to sacrifice a fellow Daoist than oneself. If I were captured alive, I’d probably suffer the same fate.”

It wasn’t quite the feeling of ”when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold,” but a sense of rabbit-dying-fox-grieving inevitably crept into his heart.

Soon, Li Qing’s mind drifted back to the Nascent Soul cultivator gathering on Heaven’s End Island. He even suspected it might have been deliberately orchestrated by the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild.

”To provide the ancient demons with an opportunity to capture a large number of Nascent Soul cultivators alive, so they could quickly escort their captives back to the demon realm and fulfill their mission.”

The moment this thought crossed his mind, Li Qing inhaled sharply, a slight chill running through his body.

It wasn’t that he was overly paranoid, but the mounting evidence left him no choice but to consider such possibilities.

While the truth remained unclear, Li Qing was deeply wary of such methods.

”Truly ruthless—they devour their prey without leaving a trace and still expect us to be grateful to the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild.”

”These top-tier factions... not a single one of them is simple.”

As Li Qing spoke, he buried these thoughts deep within his mind, refusing to dwell on them further. He had already made up his mind: in the future, when dealing with these powerful factions, he would be extra cautious. He wouldn’t let them trick him into counting their spirit stones for them.

Next, Li Qing turned his attention to the other contents of the spirit letter.

During this demonic cataclysm, the Azure Ridge Domain had suffered the least damage and was the quickest to completely quell the chaos.

In contrast, the Great Wilderness Domain and the Cloud Marsh Domain, two vast territories, had endured the most severe calamities!

The Cloud Marsh Domain was already in dire straits. Its most powerful immortal dao faction, the Western Heaven Pavilion, had been forced to relocate its entire sect at the start of the demonic cataclysm, suffering heavy losses. Nearly all its disciples and elders had been killed or wounded.

The Great Wilderness Domain, located just south of the Azure Ridge Domain, was the next hardest hit. Two Demonic Realm Rifts had opened within its borders.

As if that weren’t enough, the Doma Clan Leader who had descended upon the Azure Ridge Domain immediately led his forces to the Great Wilderness Domain, adding insult to injury.

The entire cultivation world of the Great Wilderness Domain was nearly decimated. Countless cultivators perished, and the Blood Spirit Sect, one of the three demonic sects, was completely wiped out, with its ancestor’s fate unknown.

The Yin Puppet Sect also suffered severe damage. Had they not summoned several Ten-Thousand-Year Yin Corpses hidden within their sect, they likely would have been destroyed as well.

The Ghost Sword Sect fared relatively well. Gui Li made a breakthrough during the calamity, reaching the mid-Nascent Soul stage. Through some unknown secret technique, he even came within a hair’s breadth of the late-stage Nascent Soul realm.

Gui Li barely survived thanks to the sect’s Ten Thousand Ghosts Return to Heaven Formation and the forbidden artifact, the Four Symbols Heaven-Suppressing Cauldron.

As for Divine Transformation cultivators, the Great Wilderness Domain’s hidden strength proved astonishing. Besides the Ice Extremity Palace, Moonlit Ridge unexpectedly produced two Divine Transformation great powers who assisted Moonchase Palace in suppressing the demonic cataclysm, slaying two ancient demons at the Divine Transformation stage.

Reading this information sent Li Qing’s heart racing. He had never imagined the Great Wilderness Domain’s waters ran so deep. What he had witnessed before was merely the tip of the iceberg!

”Truly worthy of the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild. Their intelligence gathering is remarkably detailed and thorough.”

In the Wind Origin Domain, Flame Domain, Four Seas Region, and other regions of the Human Realm, the situation varied, with some areas faring better than others. However, overall, the losses suffered were still considerable.

Despite this, they had managed to survive the demonic cataclysm without being annihilated.

In truth, Li Qing was unaware that just as he was reviewing intelligence from other great domains’ cultivation worlds, immortal dao factions in those domains were also studying battle reports related to the Azure Ridge Domain.

One piece of intelligence stood out prominently: Li Qing, at the late-stage Nascent Soul realm, had used the Starlight Mending Heaven Formation to slay a Fifth-Tier Demonic Insect that had descended from the demon realm!

Everyone who read this report found it hard to believe.

The feat was simply too spectacular—killing an opponent a full cultivation realm above him was practically unheard of!

As cultivators advanced, even a slight difference in cultivation realm could translate into a vast disparity in power.

Suddenly, Li Qing’s name resounded once more throughout the various domains of the Human Realm, even drawing the attention of Divine Transformation stage great powers.

(End of the Chapter)

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