Immortal Refiner

In the World of Eternal Night, a massive hoof, reeking of violent destruction, stomped down with the force to crush everything in its path.

Boom!

This single hoof strike contained the power of ten thousand acres, descending upon Li Qing and the light cocoon beside him with unstoppable momentum.

In the final moment, just five seconds before the iron hoof landed, the space around them rippled and twisted slightly. Then, Li Qing and Fan Tong vanished into thin air!

Bang!

The One-Eyed Giant Deer’s iron hoof finally struck the ground, cracking the earth. The fissures spread for over ten meters before finally stopping.

”Hmph!”

The One-Eyed Giant Deer paused, snorted, and slowly lifted its iron hoof, gazing at the ground.

When it realized its long-awaited prey had vanished, its already volatile mood flared into even greater rage.

The surrounding area was still saturated with crimson moonlight, but the purest essence had been taken by Fan Tong, leaving only scraps behind.

From another direction, a figure with massive black-feathered wings slowly approached. Though the wings were similar to those of the four Black-Feathered Men Li Qing had slain earlier, this figure’s aura was far more powerful.

”Those four wastes are all dead. Who could have done this?”

The Black-Feathered Man’s wings were even more majestic than the others, his aura condensed to an extreme degree. His feathers shimmered with a metallic sheen even in their normal state, without any deliberate cultivation.

He flew at a leisurely pace, gently lifting into the air and gazing toward the outer reaches of the Bloodthirsty Mushroom Forest.

There, a particular area was completely dyed crimson by the moonlight.

”Hmm? The Red Moon Secret Power is so dense... What could have happened?”

Before long, he spotted a ferocious One-Eyed Giant Deer lying on the ground, greedily absorbing the remaining crimson moonlight into its body.

The Black-Feathered Man’s expression shifted slightly. He narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the deer, and speculated, ”Could this Giant Deer have killed those four wastes? Did it also summon this moonlight?”

”But why are the corpses charred? It’s highly suspicious.”

In the end, he chose not to provoke the One-Eyed Giant Deer, which was still engrossed in absorbing the moonlight. Instead, he grabbed the charred corpses of the four Black-Feathered Men Li Qing had just slain and soared high into the sky.

On the other side, within the Soul Nurturing Temple Secret Realm, Li Qing, having narrowly escaped back, was now deathly pale and panting heavily. It took him a long while to calm his racing emotions.

Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he said with lingering fear, ”It seems I can’t casually draw moonlight in the World of Eternal Night anymore. If this happens again, I might not be as lucky as I was today.”

As he spoke, Li Qing turned his gaze to the red cocoon beside him.

Back in the Soul Nurturing Secret Realm, without the Red Moon hanging in the sky to empower it, the cocoon was visibly dimming, its crimson moonlight dissipating into the heavens and earth.

After a long while, Fan Tong finally broke free from the cocoon. It let out a roar that shook the heavens, then began to inhale the surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy like a whale swallowing the sea.

”Is it evolving again? How can it be so fast?!” Li Qing was stunned. Fan Tong had only reached the late stage of the First Tier a few years ago. How could it be growing stronger so quickly?

But Li Qing soon realized that while Fan Tong’s spiritual energy absorption was quite intense, it wasn’t enough to break through to become a Second-Tier Demonic Beast.

If I had to put it precisely, it was like reaching the peak of the late-stage First Tier, akin to the Qi Refining Realm’s Great Perfection in the cultivation world.

”Arooo!”

Once its aura had completely stabilized, Fan Tong ceased absorbing heaven and earth spiritual energy and let out a furious roar toward the sky.

On the verge of becoming a Second-Tier Demonic Beast, Fan Tong’s aura was now extraordinary.

This metamorphosis hadn’t caused its size to increase further, but it appeared far more ferocious.

Its fur, no longer the typical yellow and black stripes of an ordinary tiger, had blurred and faded, taking on a dark red hue.

Most striking were its eyes: one black, one red, both incredibly mystical.

Acquired strange eyes—Li Qing didn’t know what this signified. At least so far, Fan Tong hadn’t displayed any unique abilities stemming from them.

However, he suspected it was a benign mutation. While he’d never heard of a tiger demon with such eyes, Fan Tong seemed to be in excellent condition. Perhaps in the future, they could uncover more of its hidden potential.

After confirming Fan Tong was safe, Li Qing turned his gaze toward a Medicinal Field Peak within the secret realm.

The peak shimmered with brilliant starlight, where rows of Heavenly Star Grass, each taller than a man and pale blue in color, grew in abundance. All of them were over a thousand years old!

”Time to break the Restriction!”

As his words fell, Li Qing stepped forward, reaching the foot of the Medicinal Field Peak.

He cautiously ascended halfway up the mountain, carefully surveying the area just before reaching the Restriction.

Li Qing circled the mountain, his spiritual sense spreading out to search for a weak point where he could use strange beasts to create an opening.

”This spot will do. The Restriction here has strong offensive capabilities, but it’s precisely where its defenses are weakest.”

”Sacrificing three strange beasts should be enough to tear open a gap.”

With that, Li Qing skillfully began setting up the ritual, following the methods he’d used before.

He poured a small bowl of crimson, glistening blood for himself, then added a few pieces of Crimson Crystal, placing them all at the point where he intended to break the Restriction.

Next, he concealed himself using the Jade Ruyi and an Aura Concealment Talisman. Only after everything was prepared did Li Qing finally release the captured strange beasts from his spirit beast pouch.

Boom!

As always, whenever these strange beasts from the World of Eternal Night entered a world rich in spiritual energy, they underwent a sudden leap in power, advancing at least one minor tier.

A massive influx of spiritual energy surged into the beast. This creature, whose strength had been roughly at the mid-stage of the first tier, effortlessly broke through to the late-stage of the first tier.

After its metamorphosis, the monstrous beast, resembling a Primordial Raging Bull, was immediately drawn to the bowl of fresh blood and several Crimson Crystals atop Medicinal Field Peak.

”Moo!”

Bloodshot eyes blazing with fury, the monstrous raging bull, its horns broken, roared and charged towards the blood and Crimson Crystals.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Sensing the approach of an unknown life form, the Restriction atop Medicinal Field Peak unleashed several beams of spiritual light, each possessing formidable offensive power. They swept across the charging raging bull with deadly precision!

Fearless in its single-minded pursuit, the raging bull now saw only the Crimson Crystals and fresh blood. It cared nothing for anything else, showing no fear even as the Restriction’s spiritual light bore down upon it.

Whoosh!

The spiritual light swept across the raging bull like a sharp blade, tearing a massive wound across its ferocious body.

The raging bull, seemingly immune to pain, continued its relentless assault on the Restriction protecting Medicinal Field Peak.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

It used its broken horns to furiously ram against the Restriction on the mountain, desperately trying to break through and devour the Crimson Crystal and the bowl of blood that dripped crimson.

Spiritual energy beams relentlessly attacked, while the raging bull charged with equal ferocity. The combined sounds of their struggle created a symphony of destruction.

Li Qing, concealed nearby, patiently waited as he sensed the commotion on the mountain.

”A single strange beast’s strength clearly isn’t enough to tear through the Restriction,” he muttered to himself. ”It’s a second-tier restriction, after all. Unless a Foundation Establishment cultivator or someone with a top-grade magical artifact intervenes, it’ll take a constant stream of strange beasts to slowly wear it down.”

Li Qing closed his eyes and waited quietly.

After a long while, the commotion on the mountain finally subsided. Li Qing opened his eyes and looked towards the mid-slope.

The raging bull’s destructive power was undeniable. The area where the Restriction had been set up was now a scene of utter devastation, as if a storm had swept through.

Li Qing wasn’t surprised by this. He continued to send strange beasts to attack the Restriction.

After all three strange beasts had perished on Medicinal Field Peak, Li Qing emerged to inspect the damage.

”Excellent! Though the breach is small, it’s a real gap. That’s more than enough!”

Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief. If the three strange beasts hadn’t made any impact, things would have become quite difficult.

He couldn’t risk returning to the World of Eternal Night to capture more beasts. Traveling there now would likely mean encountering the terrifying One-Eyed Giant Deer.

For the time being, he had no plans to revisit the World of Eternal Night, at least not for another year or two.

Only after the One-Eyed Giant Deer had left would Li Qing consider crossing over again.

With a gap in the Restriction, Li Qing ascended the mountain. He retrieved several defensive magical artifacts from his storage pouch.

He held a spirit shield in one hand and the Crimson Shadow Umbrella in the other, wary of any unforeseen dangers.

But then, Li Qing spotted the black Forge within his storage pouch.

It had been a long time since he had brought it out. After a moment of thought, Li Qing decided that the Black Furnace’s defensive capabilities should be able to withstand the Restriction’s attacks.

”I’ll see just how astonishing the defense of this Black Furnace, which looks like it was forged from scrap spiritual materials, truly is.”

With his words, Li Qing produced the plain, pitch-black Forge. He pushed the heavy Black Furnace with both hands, guiding it toward the intact Restriction on the other side.

Clang!

In an instant, the Restriction unleashed a beam of spiritual energy, striking the Black Furnace’s body with a dull thud.

It was completely unharmed!

”Could this thing have been forged from the scraps of a top-grade magical artifact or even a treasure artifact? Is that why it’s so tough?”

Li Qing’s eyebrows twitched wildly, stunned by the Black Furnace’s defense.

It had effortlessly blocked an attack equivalent to a strike from a Foundation Establishment cultivator, and it didn’t even seem to have suffered any damage, not even a crack.

”What kind of Artifact Refining Furnace did the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion sell me!”

When Li Qing bought the Black Furnace, it cost him only a few hundred spirit stones.

This Forge couldn’t be activated, had no spirituality, couldn’t be inscribed with spirit patterns, and couldn’t be used to suppress enemies.

Li Qing had bought it solely for its durability and heat resistance, but he hadn’t expected it to be this durable!

Regardless, it was a bargain.

Its simple yet formidable defensive capabilities alone were worth far more than the price he paid.

Li Qing didn’t continue testing the Black Furnace’s durability. He dragged it back and used it to clear a path.

His strength was considerable, and pushing the heavy Forge wasn’t a problem. All the spiritual energy attacks ahead were completely blocked.

The vibrations from the impacts left his hands numb.

Finally, he reached the gap in the Restriction torn open by the strange beast. He began deciphering the Restriction, intending to create a clear path for his ascent.

(End of the Chapter)

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