Immortal Refiner

A day in the cave is a thousand years in the world.

This saying perfectly captures the nature of cultivation. Once immersed in secluded practice, one feels that no amount of time is ever enough.

Li Qing, who had retreated to the Hidden Realm for solitary cultivation, found his sense of time blurring completely due to the absence of day and night cycles. Combined with his naturally long lifespan, time seemed to slow to a crawl within the secret realm.

”I’ve nearly mastered this True Explanation of Restrictions, but breaking through these barriers still proves incredibly difficult,” Li Qing sighed, gazing at the mountain peaks ahead, each still bristling with restrictions. He felt a sense of helpless awe, like a man staring across a vast ocean.

These restrictions had been established by Foundation Establishment cultivators, requiring at least the same level of cultivation to dismantle. Yet Li Qing’s cultivation remained at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. However, this Qi Refining Sixth Layer was vastly more powerful than when he had first entered the secret realm.

Firstly, his mana had become far more refined and abundant through prolonged cultivation at this stage. Moreover, having mastered the second layer of the Vital Essence Enhancement Secret Art, his mana now surpassed that of ordinary Qi Refining Sixth Layer cultivators by nearly half!

Don’t underestimate this slight advantage. In battles of magic, even a small surplus of mana can often determine victory or defeat.

”Ah, the bottleneck of the Late Qi Refining Realm truly isn’t easy to break through.”

”In the end, my aptitude is still too lacking. Even with the aid of so many medicinal pills, I still can’t break through.”

Like many rogue cultivators with poor aptitude, Li Qing had hit a bottleneck.

Without the Spirit Condensation Pill, his only option would be to slowly grind away at it over time. After years of persistent effort, he might eventually break through this barrier.

Of course, Li Qing’s years of diligent cultivation hadn’t been wasted. During his time in the secret realm, he had never stopped consuming Heavenly Star Grass. He had completely harvested all the Heavenly Star Grass growing outside the Restrictions of the Medicinal Field Peaks.

After consuming Heavenly Star Grass for so many years, his divine sense had become remarkably strong. Even cultivators in the Late Qi Refining Realm couldn’t match his current divine sense.

Nourishing his divine soul had brought significant benefits. His perception and spiritual intuition had become exceptionally sharp, and his mental state was remarkably robust.

When he deliberately activated his divine sense power, a golden light would suffuse his eyes, a clear manifestation of his formidable divine sense.

It was precisely due to his strengthened spiritual power that Li Qing had been able to comprehend the True Explanation of Restrictions with remarkable ease, mastering it completely in a short period.

Li Qing stood up, set down the incomplete artifact refinement inheritance he had been reading, and stepped out of the wooden hut.

At the entrance stood a sapling half his height, its presence causing the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy to become noticeably denser.

This sapling was the Jade Locust Tree, now five years old. It had taken root and sprouted in the Heavenly River Market for a year and a half before being safely nurtured in the secret realm for the past three and a half years.

The Jade Locust Tree now possessed far greater vitality and vigor than when he had first acquired it.

Numerous tender leaf buds clustered along its branches, radiating vitality and brimming with the force of life.

Over the past few years, Li Qing’s favorite pastime had been watering this tree. Watching the sapling he had planted slowly grow taller and stronger each day filled him with a sense of accomplishment greater than anything else.

”Grow quickly,” he murmured, gently touching the Jade Locust Sapling as if he were an old farmer eagerly awaiting the ripening of his crops. ”Perhaps one day I can use your branches to cultivate a body refinement secret technique. When that time comes, I’ll leave you here in the secret realm to grow naturally.”

After checking on the sapling, Li Qing continued his journey, measuring the secret realm with his own feet.

He walked around the Restriction-laden mountain peaks, pausing frequently to observe them closely.

During these pauses, he used his divine sense power to meticulously examine the Restrictions, searching for any vulnerabilities that might allow him to breach them.

Unfortunately, the results were the same as before: the Restrictions were flawless, leaving him no openings to exploit.

Li Qing continued his trek until he stood before the main peak. He tilted his head back, gazing up at the Daoist Temples perched atop the mountain, his eyes once again glowing with a golden light.

After a long silence, Li Qing, his hands clasped behind his back, frowned and said, ”Although the Restrictions on the main peak are the most dangerous, perhaps the key to breaking through lies in this very mountain.”

Danger implied greater complexity in the Restrictions.

The main peak’s defenses combined spiritual energy beams for offensive strikes with divine sense attacks. This combination would pose a significant challenge even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator attempting to force their way through.

Yet it was precisely this complexity that made the Restrictions relatively less perfect.

”If we blast a gap in the giant boulder on the right side of the peak, we can gradually infiltrate it, triggering the Restrictions one by one over time. This will minimize the overall power of the Restrictions.”

With that, Li Qing closed his eyes, using his divine sense power to mentally simulate the process of breaching the Restrictions.

His divine sense power was formidable, easily imprinting the main peak and its intricate Restrictions into his mind.

After repeated simulations, he finally succeeded in mentally completing a successful breach of the main peak.

After a long while, Li Qing reopened his eyes, the faint golden aura slowly receding.

”I need cannon fodder to scout the way. If I have enough, they might even wear down the power of these Restrictions.”

In the cultivation world, the best cannon fodder was always other low-level cultivators.

Whenever a Divine Treasure Secret Realm emerged, high-level cultivators would use low-level cultivators as cannon fodder to scout the way, weaken the Restrictions, and discover safe paths.

But Li Qing himself was a low-level cultivator!

At this realization, Li Qing let out a bitter laugh.

”Should I find a Puppet Master and buy some puppets?” Li Qing stroked his chin, considering the feasibility of this option.

Ultimately, he rejected the idea.

With war raging outside, finding a Puppet Master willing to cooperate was no easy task.

Li Qing closed his eyes again, pondering alternative methods.

Suddenly, a spiritual light flashed through his mind.

”That’s right! If we need cannon fodder, the World of Eternal Night has plenty of strange beasts.”

”We can use those beasts to weaken the Restriction. They’re fearless and eager for battle—perfect for the job.”

The moment this idea struck him, Li Qing’s eyes lit up, his thoughts instantly clearing.

The problem that had plagued him for so long finally had a solution.

Gazing at the main peak looming before him, Li Qing couldn’t help but smile, a hint of joy creeping into his expression.

”Finally, I can attempt to break through the Restriction!”

The only remaining challenge was how to make the strange beasts obediently attack the Restriction. But with the Jade Ruyi’s ability to conceal his aura, this wouldn’t be too difficult.

The strange beasts of the World of Eternal Night shared a common trait: an insatiable thirst for blood. Having absorbed too much Red Moon Secret Power, they developed an intense craving for blood.

Additionally, Li Qing suspected that the few crimson crystal grains he possessed—whose purpose remained unknown—might serve as excellent bait.

”The plan to capture strange beasts, originally canceled due to the chaos in the immortal cultivation world, can now be revived thanks to the Restrictions on Medicinal Field Peak.”

”Truly, the world is ever-changing. Plans can never keep up with reality.”

Li Qing had always been a decisive man. As soon as the idea struck him, he began preparing to execute it.

Thus, he led Fan Tong through the Hidden Realm to the World of Eternal Night, ready to use the Water Entangling Net to capture the frenzied strange beasts of that realm.

In this world of perpetual darkness and biting cold, the man and tiger moved relentlessly. Whenever they encountered a low-level strange beast, they swiftly captured it and stored it in their spirit beast pouches.

Li Qing was meticulous in his selection of prey, only targeting beasts with strength equivalent to the early first-tier.

After all, these beasts would undergo mutations upon entering a world rich in spiritual energy, advancing at least one tier in power.

If he captured a beast that was too strong, it might absorb spiritual energy, mutate, and then he’d become the cannon fodder himself.

Finally, through Li Qing and Fan Tong’s tireless efforts, they had captured seven cannon fodder beasts, each with strength equivalent to the early first-tier.

After that, they encountered an extremely powerful strange beast, one that could rival a Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator. This Second-Tier Mutant Beast Lord possessed terrifying strength.

Faced with such a formidable foe, Li Qing didn’t dare glance at it even a second time. He grabbed Fan Tong and fled for their lives, barely escaping becoming the beast’s prey.

Fortunately, with the aid of the Jade Ruyi and Aura Concealment Talisman, the pair managed to shake off the relentlessly pursuing Mutant Beast Lord.

In a secluded corner of the mushroom forest, Li Qing leaned against Fan Tong’s massive body, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead.

”That was too close,” he said, his voice still trembling with fear. ”The changes in the World of Eternal Night are far greater than I imagined. There must be countless extremely dangerous strange beasts lurking here now.”

Fan Tong let out a low, agreeing growl, careful not to make too much noise for fear of being discovered. The massive tiger had curled up into a tight ball, trying to minimize its presence.

Seeing this, Li Qing scratched Fan Tong’s head, soothing the tiger’s anxiety.

The encounter had indeed been perilous. The Second-Tier Mutant Beast Lord had been like a madman, driven by an insatiable hunger for blood.

After a long while, the commotion in the mushroom forest gradually subsided. The Second-Tier Mutant Beast Lord finally retreated with a frustrated roar, its voice fading into the distance.

”Let’s go, it’s time to return. These strange beasts should be enough for now.”

With that, Li Qing grabbed Fan Tong by the scruff of its neck and teleported them back to the secret realm.

After quickly restoring his energy, Li Qing began meticulously preparing his plan beneath the Daoist Temple on the main peak.

Getting the strange beasts to attack the Restriction instead of him required careful planning.

Li Qing had already devised a simple strategy:

First, he needed to completely conceal his presence, ensuring the beasts couldn’t sense him.

Second, he needed bait. The best bait would be fresh blood, followed by Crimson Crystal Grains infused with Red Moon Secret Power. Both substances held an irresistible allure for the strange beasts.

Li Qing planned to combine his blood with the Crimson Crystal Grains and use a Magic Artifact to transport the mixture to the massive boulder Restriction he needed to destroy.

Then, he would release the strange beast and allow it to begin its metamorphosis. While the beast was transforming, Li Qing would conceal himself, ensuring the creature could only sense the blood and Crimson Crystal Grains on the mountain peak.

This way, Li Qing would gain a fully automated Restriction-destroying strange beast.

(End of the Chapter)

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