Immortal Refiner

Another twenty years passed in the blink of an eye.

During this time, a major event shook the Blood Martial Dynasty: the reigning emperor had died. While attempting to ignite the divine fire, he lost control of the ”heat control,” completely burning away his life force.

By the time Chen Chaosheng arrived, it was too late; only a withered skeleton remained.

Chaos erupted. The unfortunate emperor had four sons, but due to his relatively young age, he had not yet designated an heir.

The inevitable struggle for succession among the four princes had begun.

A dark cloud hung over the entire royal city, and the atmosphere within the Imperial Palace grew increasingly tense.

Alliances were forged, deals struck, plots hatched, and compromises made, while clashes and confrontations became commonplace throughout the palace and the capital.

The martial alliance found itself in an awkward position. As the dynasty’s most powerful force, they were forbidden from interfering in the Royal Family’s power struggles. One of their primary duties was to safeguard the imperial bloodline, yet all four princes were the emperor’s direct descendants.

Li Qing, however, had no interest in observing these affairs, let alone participating. He remained focused solely on his cultivation.

Cultivating the third layer of the Universal Treasure Manual was no simple task; the difficulty increased exponentially with each subsequent layer, especially the final three.

Li Qing entered a near-meditative state, completely losing himself in the practice and barely registering the outside world.

In this state of deep concentration, a boy around ten years old arrived at his cultivation site, tears welling in his eyes.

”Senior, imperial consort Your Highness sent me here seeking refuge. I have no intention of contesting the imperial throne, Senior.”

The boy wiped away his tears, a hint of confusion on his chubby face.

Li Qing remained unresponsive, deeply immersed in his cultivation, his entire being focused on comprehending the third layer of the Universal Treasure Manual.

Seeing this, the fourth prince resolved to stay. He recalled his mother’s instructions: he was to remain here until the succession to the throne was decided.

”Since Senior hasn’t refused, I’ll stay then?”

”Thank you, Senior!”

With that, the fourth prince settled into a meditative posture to cultivate. He was naturally a martial artist, having already reached the inner strength realm at such a young age. He practiced internal energy skills, nurturing internal force within his body.

Next, he would need to consider the qi blood nine revolutions technique. However, as an early-stage practitioner of inner strength, he was still far from achieving even the first revolution of qi and blood.

Days passed in this manner, Li Qing remained immersed in his cultivation. He had long sensed the presence of a child beside him but showed no reaction.

During this time, palace maids brought meals—all trusted individuals who had previously served the fourth prince and his imperial consort.

One day, however, the familiar maids stopped delivering food. For two consecutive days, Li Qing endured hunger.

Just as his hunger reached its peak, an unfamiliar palace maid, her face expressionless, placed a platter of delicacies outside the forbidden land and said coldly, ”fourth prince, your midday meal has arrived.”

Clatter!

The young prince, startled, felt tears well up in his eyes. He knew something terrible must have happened to his imperial consort.

He clung to Li Qing’s side, refusing to leave, his lips pressed tightly together to stifle his sobs, though tears streamed down his face.

Soon after, leisurely footsteps echoed from outside.

”Fourth Brother, you haven’t eaten for two days. Aren’t you hungry?”

A young man in a golden robe strode in, a smile on his face. His gaze, however, didn’t fall on his young brother but instead fixed on Li Qing, who remained seated in meditation.

His expression quickly turned serious as he recalled everything he knew about this man.

”Miao Zhengwu pays his respects to Senior Dao Guardian!” he said, clasping his hands in a respectful bow toward Li Qing.

But Li Qing remained deeply immersed in cultivation, showing no sign of awakening.

The fourth prince, meanwhile, was trembling with fear. He clung tightly to the hem of Li Qing’s robe, refusing to let go, like a drowning man grasping at a lifeline.

Seeing this, the man in the golden robe smiled faintly and said, ”Fourth Brother, be obedient and eat your meal. You’ll only harm yourself if you starve.”

”Senior Dao Guardian is in deep cultivation. Your prolonged presence here is already inappropriate. Finish your meal and come with me. We shouldn’t disturb his peaceful practice.”

The fourth prince’s voice trembled with a sob, ”Second Brother, I have no desire to fight for the imperial throne. Can’t you just leave me alone?”

This man was indeed the second prince. He sneered, ”Your imperial consort chose the wrong side. She sided with Big Brother, forcing Third Brother and me to temporarily join forces.”

As he spoke, he approached the fourth prince, intending to drag him away by force.

”Enough noise! You’re disturbing my cultivation. Get out now!”

A voice like the thunderous roar of the great dao reverberated through the air, causing the golden-robed man who had been approaching step by step to bleed from all seven orifices as his qi and blood collapsed within him.

”Uh... Dao Guardian...”

Thud!

Before he could finish speaking, the man collapsed to the ground, blood pooling around him.

Seeing this, the fourth prince turned to Li Qing with delight and exclaimed, ”Thank you!”

Li Qing cut him off impatiently, ”You too, scram! Or you’ll end up like him.”

The child’s face turned deathly pale. He nodded frantically and fled Li Qing’s cultivation grounds without another word.

Li Qing glanced at the corpse before him, his brow furrowing slightly. With a wave of his hand, he banished the body from his sight.

”Sigh... I’ve hit a bottleneck. Does cultivating the Universal Treasure Manual truly require the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion?”

For decades, he had remained stuck on the third layer of the manual, unable to progress further.

Finally, he abandoned his attempts to cultivate the third layer, resolving to return to the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion and continue his enlightenment there.

”All that remains is the Soul Refinement Scripture. This is another profound secret technique, even more extraordinary in origin than all the daoist arts I possess.”

”A soul refinement secret technique from the upper realm, capable of strengthening the divine soul beyond measure.”

As he spoke, the scriptures of the Soul Refinement Scripture materialized in Li Qing’s mind, and he entered the next phase of his cultivation.

(End of the Chapter)

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