Immortal Refiner

The moment the Sky-Rending Eagle’s blood dripped onto the Beast Transformation Talisman, the beast hide talisman instantly absorbed every last drop.

Soon, a mysterious pattern began to automatically etch itself onto the talisman’s surface, perfectly mirroring the shape of the Sky-Rending Eagle!

As the eagle’s imprint formed, a piercing cry echoed through the cave abode.

”Scree!”

The sound was identical to the one Li Qing had heard outside Lingyun Market, even carrying a faint pressure reminiscent of a Second-Tier Demonic Beast!

”Remarkable resemblance,” Li Qing chuckled. ”If I hadn’t set up soundproof restrictions, junior sister Shen would probably have prematurely emerged from her seclusion.”

Amused, Li Qing stored the Sky-Rending Eagle transformation talisman away.

With this task completed, Li Qing quietly pondered the reasons behind the Shangqing Sect’s envoys visiting Lingyun Sect.

”If my guess is correct, it must be related to their conflict with the Heavenly River Sect. They’re likely either seeking an alliance or urging Lingyun Sect to stay out of the conflict.”

”Having been in secluded cultivation for so long, I’m completely out of touch with the current state of affairs between the two sects.”

If two immortal dao giants were to truly engage in a life-or-death battle, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Even though the Lingyun Sect rarely concerned itself with worldly affairs, it could easily be drawn into the conflict, given the myriad factors involved.

”I’ll go out and gather some information,” Li Qing said. ”I’m bored anyway, and learning more about the situation can’t hurt.”

With that, he left his cave abode.

Shen Ningbing’s injuries weren’t severe; her mana and divine soul were merely depleted. She needed only three to five days of secluded cultivation to recover and resume their journey back to the sect.

For Li Qing, these few days of seclusion would be largely unproductive. He’d rather gather intelligence.

In Lingyun Market, inside a building called the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion:

”Heh, Senior of the Lingyun Sect, what information do you seek?”

After asking the sect disciples guarding the market, Li Qing learned about the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion—a place specializing in selling intelligence and information.

”I hear you know everything from the heavens to the earth,” Li Qing said, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. ”Is there anything in the entire Azure Ridge Domain you can’t uncover?”

Upon hearing this, the green-robed servant in the attic immediately offered a fawning smile. ”Senior, you misunderstand. The Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion merely dabbles in intelligence trading; we’re nowhere near as all-knowing as the rumors suggest.”

”It’s all just hearsay! Hearsay!”

The servant wiped a bead of sweat from his brow.

While the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion did indeed deal in intelligence, claiming they knew everything from celestial phenomena to earthly matters was a gross exaggeration.

Li Qing remained unfazed, nodding slightly as he inquired, ”What types of intelligence do you typically sell?”

”Our pavilion specializes in information related to secret realms, rare spirit herbs, and sightings of uncommon demon beasts.”

”Of course, if Senior wishes to investigate a particular sect or powerful immortal cultivator, we’ll accept such commissions. However, we can’t guarantee complete information; we can usually only gather basic details.”

”Additionally, the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion employs immortal cultivators skilled in divination and geomancy. If Senior requires their services, I can arrange an introduction.”

In just a few words, the green-robed servant had clearly explained the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion’s primary business.

Li Qing’s heart stirred slightly. He asked, ”What about heavenly spirit fire? I want to inquire about information related to heavenly spirit fire. Do you sell such intelligence here?”

The servant immediately replied with a fawning tone, ”We do have some information, but since heavenly spirit fire is such a precious commodity, the spirit stones required...”

Before he could finish, Li Qing calmly produced a handful of multicolored spirit stones and slapped them down on the table.

Clatter!

”Spirit stones are no issue. I want to know where heavenly spirit fire is known to appear!”

With spirit stones paving the way, all obstacles vanished instantly.

Without another word, the green-robed servant turned and hurried into the pavilion, presumably to search for information related to heavenly spirit fire.

After a considerable wait, he emerged carrying a chaotic stack of bamboo and jade slips.

”Esteemed guest, this is all the information our Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion has on heavenly spirit fire. The total cost is one hundred and thirty spirit stones!”

To be honest, Li Qing was quite surprised. He hadn’t expected the other party to produce so much information related to heavenly spirit fires.

A hundred and thirty spirit stones seemed a small price to pay compared to the value of a heavenly spirit fire.

”Hmm, I’ll take them all!” Li Qing retrieved another pile of spirit stones from his storage pouch and handed them over. He then accepted a jade slip and began reviewing its contents.

But as soon as he read the information, his face darkened instantly.

”Two thousand four hundred years ago, a powerful cultivator with the daoist name True Lord Baoshan used the Profound Yellow Spirit Fire to slay several early-stage core formation realm opponents.”

”Eleven hundred years ago, when the Ancient Temple Secret Realm opened, someone witnessed a cluster of azure flames within the realm, suspected to be the Heavenly Azure Lotus Fire!”

”The Shangqing Sect’s True Lord Four Symbols possesses a heavenly spirit fire known as the Four Symbols Stellar Flame!”

”...”

The information was indeed related to heavenly spirit fires, but it was essentially useless to Li Qing.

Either the events were too ancient, or the fires were in the hands of overwhelmingly powerful cultivators, making them impossible for Li Qing to seize with his current abilities.

After skimming through the documents, Li Qing’s expression darkened, as if it could drip water.

”Are you mocking me? What use is this information? It’s either outdated intelligence from centuries ago or details about beings I can’t possibly contend with.”

The green-robed servant chuckled dryly, his face full of apology. ”Senior, heavenly spirit fire isn’t like common cabbage you find by the roadside. If there were truly unclaimed heavenly spirit fire, it would have caused a massive uproar long ago.”

Hearing this, Li Qing sighed inwardly.

He’s right, Li Qing thought. How could information about heavenly spirit fire, bought for just one hundred and fifty spirit stones, possibly be useful?

However, the green-robed servant hesitated for a moment, as if deep in thought, before cautiously adding:

”But... Senior, have you ever heard of Daoist Ling Miao, the renowned figure from centuries ago?”

Daoist Ling Miao?

The name instantly stirred up distant memories in Li Qing’s mind. Back when he first visited Heavenly River Market, he had heard rumors about the emergence of Daoist Ling Miao’s cave abode.

Later, a massive upheaval shook the Heavenly River Sect region, with even foundation establishment realm cultivators perishing within his cave abode.

”I’ve heard rumors,” Li Qing said, his curiosity piqued. ”I remember he was active around the Heavenly River Sect before being hunted down by a core formation true lord and vanishing without a trace. Do you have news of him?”

The green-robed servant smiled and lowered his voice. ”Senior, the Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion not only sells information but also buys it. Recently, someone came to us with a tip: they may have discovered traces of Daoist Ling Miao’s activities in the Mu Kingdom.”

Li Qing paused, unmoved by this revelation. He calmly asked, ”So what? I have no interest in Daoist Ling Miao’s inheritance. I’m not going to compete for it.”

”Heh heh, Senior, take another look at the contents of this jade slip.”

This jade slip also contained information about spirit fires, but its significance was minor, so Li Qing had only given it a cursory glance.

Taking the jade slip, he now meticulously imprinted its contents into his mind, then fell silent.

One of the entries read: ”Centuries ago, Daoist Ling Miao, wielding the Netherworld Cold Fire at the late foundation establishment realm, slew several Pseudo-Core cultivators, ultimately provoking True Lord Wanshan of the Heavenly River Sect to pursue him.”

After reading this intelligence, Li Qing’s eyes narrowed sharply.

What truly shocked him wasn’t the Daoist’s combat prowess, but the fact that the heavenly spirit fire he wielded was none other than the Netherworld Cold Fire!

”How about it, Senior? Just two hundred spirit stones will secure this intelligence on Daoist Ling Miao’s whereabouts,” the green-robed servant said, holding up two fingers.

Two hundred spirit stones wasn’t an exorbitant price.

More importantly, Li Qing wanted to know how Daoist Ling Miao’s Netherworld Cold Fire related to the heavenly spirit fire he already knew about.

”Agreed!”

Li Qing promptly produced another two hundred spirit stones.

Spirit stones were the least of his concerns these days. Even if he ran out, he could easily sell a Second-Tier cultivation art inheritance to replenish his reserves.

”Senior, two months before the ascension conference, a rogue cultivator discovered a corroded token inside the belly of a dead Demon beast. Our Thousand Mechanisms Pavilion faintly recognized the characters ’Lingmiao’ inscribed on it.”

”Therefore, we boldly conclude that this token likely belonged to Daoist Ling Miao.”

”The deceased icefield wolf was found in the southwest region of the Forbidden Speech Snowfield.”

”We believe that Daoist Ling Miao was ultimately pursued by a core formation realm true lord. Driven to desperation, he fled into the Forbidden Speech Snowfield, perhaps even attempting a perilous gamble within the Forbidden Speech Snow Mountains—seeking survival in the face of certain death!”

Such a profound connection!

Li Qing took a deep breath and began pondering the relationship between Daoist Ling Miao’s Netherworld Cold Fire and the Netherworld Cold Fire within the Coldwind Pool Secret Realm.

He clearly remembered that Elder Xu had personally witnessed the initial manifestation of the Netherworld Cold Fire eighty years ago, when the Cold Wind Secret Realm first opened!

Hundreds of years ago... eighty years ago... the timeline doesn’t quite align.

Li Qing’s eyes flickered as he relentlessly analyzed the connections.

Could it be that after Daoist Ling Miao’s death centuries ago, the Netherworld Cold Fire also went dormant? Perhaps it was only after centuries of nourishment from heaven and earth that it reignited eighty years ago.

Moreover, heavenly spirit fires possess an undying nature. They may temporarily slumber, but they will inevitably reignite.

With this realization, Li Qing suddenly felt a sense of clarity.

(End of the Chapter)

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