Immortal Refiner

The purpose of Elder Qiu Ya’s visit to Li Qing was simple: to trade for the nine-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass.

Elder Qiu Ya was a beautiful woman with a graceful figure and an air of refined elegance in every movement.

”Junior Brother Li, I’d like to trade for that nine-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass!”

Li Qing smiled and replied, ”Of course, Senior Sister. I’m surprised you were so swift! It’s only been half a month, and you’ve already gathered all the spiritual materials I’ve been searching for.”

However, upon hearing this, a troubled expression appeared on Elder Qiu Ya’s otherwise serene face. She bit her lip and said hesitantly, ”Junior Brother Li, I’ve almost gathered all the materials you requested, but I’m still missing Molten Fire Marrow and wind-attribute demonic beast materials.”

”I came today to exchange for the Heavenly Star Grass in advance. As for the Molten Fire Marrow and wind-attribute demonic beast materials, give me some time, and I’ll definitely gather them for you.”

Li Qing’s heart sank slightly. He had clearly stated in the mission details that the Heavenly Star Grass would only be traded once all the required materials were assembled!

The fact that she hadn’t even managed to do that suggested her sincerity in the trade wasn’t very strong. He doubted she could offer anything that would truly impress him.

Li Qing immediately ignored Senior Sister Qiu Ya’s feigned demeanor and forced a bitter smile. ”Senior Sister Qiu Ya, you’re really putting me in a difficult position. The mission has already been issued. If another fellow sect member or elder completes the task and comes to me to trade for the Heavenly Star Grass, how am I supposed to explain myself?”

”Junior Brother Li, to be honest, I injured my divine soul while cultivating a sound-based divine ability recently. I urgently need this Heavenly Star Grass to recover. Please, I beg you to help me!” Elder Qiu Ya’s voice was almost pleading.

But Li Qing remained unmoved. His tone suddenly became firm. ”I hope Senior Sister Qiu Ya can understand. This is the only nine-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass I have!”

”Senior Sister, you’ve been in the sect longer than I have. You should know better than I do that if an elder who issues a mission can’t provide the promised reward after someone completes it, the punishment is quite severe!”

Indeed, the sect had such a rule. If they didn’t enforce it, who would dare accept missions from the General Affairs Hall?

It could even damage the reputation of the sect’s elders. If they made disciples work without giving rewards, eventually no one would want to join the Lingyun Sect!

”Junior Brother Li, can’t you make an exception?” Qiu Ya’s eyes, fixed on Li Qing, now held a hint of vulnerability.

Despite her display, Li Qing’s heart remained as cold as iron. This had crossed his bottom line. Even if she stood before him naked, he wouldn’t have agreed.

”Senior Sister, please return. I’ve only recently joined the sect and fear I couldn’t bear the consequences.”

”Ah, very well. My apologies for overstepping today. I hope Junior Brother Li will forgive me.” Seeing she couldn’t sway him, Qiu Ya decided not to waste any more effort and turned to leave without hesitation.

”Farewell, Senior Sister,” Li Qing said, clasping his hands in a parting gesture.

Watching her depart, Li Qing felt no regret.

True, he still had more than one Heavenly Star Grass in his storage pouch. But those were Millennial Heavenly Star Grasses. If he revealed them, he might attract the attention of a core formation ancestor.

This time, Li Qing was determined to stick to his story: he only possessed one nine-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass. Under no circumstances would he reveal he had more, especially those with even greater medicinal age.

With his current reputation, a nine-hundred-year-old spiritual herb was more than enough to deter any further demands.

But if he flaunted his wealth again, who knew if some unreasonable core formation ancestor within the sect might try to forcibly seize the Heavenly Star Grass? Could he really refuse them, risking offending a core formation true lord?

”A man of no fault is punished for possessing a treasure,” Li Qing muttered to himself. ”Every core formation true lord is a pillar of the sect. If they accuse me of not considering the greater good, I won’t be able to withstand the pressure.”

He shook his head, his resolve to ascend to a higher Dao becoming even stronger.

After several more days of preparation, Li Qing had completed all the necessary steps for refining the Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain Spears. The four white ape bone spikes had been ground into spearheads, and he had a general idea of the spirit patterns he wanted to inscribe.

Now, all he needed were the four elemental materials to begin refining this set of magic artifacts with distinct elemental properties.

”The Molten Fire Marrow is the most crucial ingredient. It’s a top-grade fire-attribute material, far superior to Firecloud Stone Essence.”

”Coincidentally, one of the bone spikes is stained with my blood, and I primarily cultivate a fire-attribute cultivation manual. I can refine that spear into my primary offensive weapon!”

As the words left his lips, Li Qing paused, then wore a surprised expression.

Li Qing sensed the Restriction outside his cave abode being triggered again. However, the visitor surprised him. It was none other than Shen Ningbing, who had been out cultivating.

”Why is it her?”

Li Qing stood up and immediately went out to greet her.

”Junior Sister Shen, I heard you went out cultivating recently. Now that you’ve returned safely, you must have gained quite a bit.”

Shen Ningbing had a true core formation true lord as her Master. Li Qing was determined not to treat her lightly.

”Yes, thank you for your concern, Senior Brother Li. I didn’t gain much, but I did accidentally injure my divine soul.”

”I heard you have a nine-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass here. I came to exchange for it.”

Shen Ningbing spoke softly, her demeanor as cold as frost, her voice as clear and aloof as ever. However, her slightly pale lips and the faint weakness in her eyes suggested she had genuinely suffered a divine soul injury.

The excuse was the same as Qiu Ya’s before, but judging by her condition, Shen Ningbing seemed to be genuinely injured.

Li Qing wondered why she would have suffered such a troublesome injury while cultivating, especially since she should have had her Master with her.

Li Qing didn’t press for details. Instead, he said, ”Of course, there’s no problem. But what about the spirit materials I tasked you with collecting, junior sister?”

Before Li Qing could finish speaking, Shen Ningbing produced a token from the General Affairs Hall—proof that the mission was complete.

Li Qing could now use this token to collect the spirit materials he needed from the General Affairs Hall.

”Impressive, junior sister Shen! Your abilities truly leave me in awe. I searched high and low for those materials, especially the Molten Fire Marrow, but couldn’t find a trace of it. Yet you found it so easily!”

Li Qing’s genuine praise reflected his satisfaction. He thought, ”Having a core formation true lord as a backer is truly different. The resources at her disposal far surpass those of ordinary elders.”

”It’s not as impressive as senior brother makes it sound,” Shen Ningbing replied honestly. ”Master happened to have Molten Fire Marrow in her collection. The wind-attribute demonic beast materials were from a demonic beast I happened to kill during my training. As for the rest, I borrowed some contribution points from Master and exchanged them at the sect.”

Hearing Shen Ningbing’s candid explanation, Li Qing forced a chuckle on the surface, but envy burned within him.

Having a core formation true lord as a master had countless benefits.

Without hesitation, Li Qing paid the agreed-upon spirit stones for the various spiritual materials listed in the task.

”Junior sister Shen, the Heavenly Star Grass is indeed in my possession, and it is indeed nine-hundred-year-old!”

”I also hope to help with your divine soul injury, but if the items you offer in exchange aren’t what I need, I hope you’ll understand.”

Shen Ningbing remained composed, as this was only natural.

Li Qing had emphasized in the task that he was merely offering an opportunity for a trade, not guaranteeing one. Whether a deal could be struck depended on sincerity.

Clearly, Shen Ningbing’s sincerity was more than sufficient. She asked directly, ”What does senior brother want in return?”

”Hehe, my aptitude is terrible, and I know how difficult cultivation is. I’d like to trade the Heavenly Star Grass for some Purple Yang Pills to aid my cultivation.” Li Qing was equally straightforward.

Purple Yang Pills?

Shen Ningbing frowned slightly, her willow-like brows furrowing. She didn’t immediately agree.

”Senior Brother Li, while I do have some Purple Yang Pills, they’re essential for my own cultivation. I can’t give you all of them at once.”

”I can offer you three Purple Yang Pills, plus a Second-Tier wind-attribute Demon Spirit, in exchange for the Heavenly Star Grass. How does that sound?”

Only three? Li Qing was slightly disappointed, but it was what he had expected.

They were all cultivators who had only recently entered the foundation establishment realm. Naturally, they wouldn’t casually part with too many precious medicines like the Purple Yang Pill.

However, the Second-Tier Demon Spirit did genuinely pique Li Qing’s interest.

Once a Demon beast reached the Second-Tier level, it not only formed a demon beast crystal core within its body but also gave rise to a Demon Spirit.

Yet, most of these Demon Spirits were incredibly fragile and utterly ignorant, making them extremely difficult to collect and preserve.

If a Second-Tier Demon Spirit perished in battle, it would quickly dissipate.

Only by striking with overwhelming force, swiftly killing the Demon beast before its spirit could vanish, and then immediately collecting and carefully preserving the Demon Spirit could one hope to obtain a Second-Tier Demon Spirit.

This is why Li Qing failed to collect the Demon Spirit after killing the white ape that day. The battle had dragged on too long, pushing the creature’s essence, qi, and spirit to their limits. When its life ended, the Demon Spirit dissipated along with it.

To achieve a clean kill that would allow for Demon Spirit collection, one would need to be at least in the late Foundation Establishment realm, or even at the Pseudo-Core Formation stage.

Could an ice attribute variant spirit root possess such ability?

Li Qing didn’t think so. He suspected that the white ape’s core formation Master had intervened.

A Second-Tier Demon Spirit...

Li Qing pondered seriously. For him now, the greatest value of a Demon Spirit lay in using the Treasure Artifact Spirit Imbuing Method to refine it into a magic artifact.

He had obtained this secret technique at the Soul Nurturing Temple. Back then, it had been utterly useless to him.

Tasteless to use, yet too precious to discard.

But now that he was in the Foundation Establishment realm, he had no choice but to revisit this secret technique and carefully consider how to put it to use.

The greatest value of this secret technique lay in its ability to refine Demon Spirits into magic artifacts, granting them autonomous driving capabilities that wouldn’t require the cultivator’s divine sense or mana.

Imagine: in a cultivator’s battle, having an additional powerful magic artifact that could be activated autonomously would be an enormous advantage!

Of course, there were drawbacks. The success rate of the Treasure Artifact Spirit Imbuing Method was notoriously low—extremely low, in fact.

And the price of failure was steep. Not only would the Demon Spirit completely dissipate, but the magic artifact’s spirit patterns and spirituality would also be annihilated.

Should he try it?!

Li Qing was deeply conflicted. His original intention was to trade the Heavenly Star Grass for more Purple Yang Pills to boost his cultivation. But if the Treasure Artifact Spirit Imbuing Method succeeded, that would be an equally excellent outcome.

Perhaps sensing Li Qing’s difficulty in weighing his options, Shen Ningbing sighed softly and reminded him, ”Senior Brother Li, the fellow sect members and elders willing to trade for your Heavenly Star Grass are mostly foundation establishment cultivators.”

This remark jolted Li Qing into action. He immediately agreed to the trade.

”Alright, let’s proceed as Junior Sister Shen suggested.”

Indeed, Li Qing had been so preoccupied with artifact refinement these past few days that he hadn’t realized this.

For foundation establishment cultivators, Purple Yang Pills were as vital as their lifeblood, capable of directly enhancing their cultivation.

Li Qing wanted it, and naturally, other foundation establishment cultivators would covet it as well. Why would they readily offer it in trade?

It was only because Shen Ningbing had suffered a divine soul injury that she was willing to part with three pills. Otherwise, Li Qing might not have been able to obtain any at all.

With Shen Ningbing’s reminder, Li Qing quickly grasped the key point.

”This is Heavenly Star Grass, junior sister Shen. Please inspect it.”

As he spoke, Li Qing presented a sandalwood box the length of his arm. Inside lay a Heavenly Star Grass nearly half a person tall.

Its entire body shimmered with a brilliant blue hue, and its leaves were adorned with countless dazzling star-like speckles.

After receiving the Heavenly Star Grass, Shen Ningbing carefully examined it. It was indeed a nine-hundred-year-old specimen. In fact, judging from its appearance, this spiritual herb was almost a thousand years old!

If it had been harvested just a decade or so later, it might have become a true Millennial Heavenly Star Grass.

”It’s definitely a nine-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass!”

Having confirmed the herb’s authenticity, Shen Ningbing’s usually icy face finally cracked into a smile, like a glacier melting.

(End of the Chapter)

📖Read [IR] ahead on Pa.treon@AnubisTL upto c364. [+4/+7.9k].

🎁All [2] Novels can be accessed for just $6/mo.

🔥Translated [1k+] Chapters and [2.17M+] Words.

🎯1 Review = 5 Extra Chapters. Reviews 5/5. Chapter 25/25. (Bonus Chapter)