Immortal Refiner

In his cave abode, Li Qing extracted all the shadow spider silk. Channeling spiritual energy through his hands, he refined the silk and wove it into a banner.

As strands of silk coiled around the refined wild bull spine, the rudimentary form of the Heavenly Net Banner gradually took shape.

”This is just the prototype. To unlock its full potential, I can’t afford to be missing any of the auxiliary materials!”

Truth be told, Li Qing could only gather these spiritual materials so easily within the Lingyun Sect. The sect’s treasury was exceptionally well-stocked, and he had also purchased some from Elder Xu using spirit stones, allowing him to quickly acquire everything he needed.

”First, the Heavenly Net Banner’s immobilization ability. To activate this power, I need to infuse this Profound Jade Stone with immobilization-type spirit patterns!”

With that, Li Qing extended his slender fingers and retrieved a gray jade stone from his storage pouch.

Boom!

The Innate True Fire surged forth once more, its scorching heat engulfing the jade stone.

Soon, layers of crystalline crust began to crumble from the stone’s surface, transforming into fine, shimmering dust that settled at the joint between the banner’s pole and the banner itself.

Repeating this process, Li Qing incorporated all the auxiliary spiritual materials into the nascent Heavenly Net Banner.

With this final step completed, the pseudo-magical artifact was fully formed.

The banner was strikingly distinct in color: its dark black surface, woven from shadow spider silk, contrasted sharply with the flagstaff, refined from the spine of a raging bull. The staff’s texture was warm and smooth, resembling pure white jade.

At their juncture, the fused spiritual materials shimmered with an otherworldly spiritual light.

Even in its nascent state, Li Qing could clearly sense the profound spirituality emanating from the Heavenly Net Banner.

”As expected of a magic artifact refined primarily from the spine of a late second-tier Demon beast!” he couldn’t help but exclaim in admiration. ”Even in its pseudo-magical artifact form, it surpasses many ordinary high-grade magical artifacts!”

Li Qing couldn’t help but feel immensely satisfied with his progress.

In the next moment, he began imbuing the pseudo-magical artifact with spiritual energy.

This step required minimal time and spiritual energy. The Heavenly Net Banner already possessed abundant spirituality, so he merely performed a symbolic cleansing with spiritual energy—a mere embellishment to perfection.

”Next, it’s time to inscribe the spirit patterns!” Li Qing took a deep breath, bracing himself for a grueling battle of attrition.

Inscribing spirit patterns on a top-grade magical artifact, even with an artifact refinement diagram, was far from easy.

The process involved a profound understanding of various spirit pattern types and the subtle variations in their attributes. Each pattern had to be meticulously inscribed, making the task immensely laborious.

After briefly centering himself, Li Qing fully immersed his mind in the spirit pattern inscription process.

A faint spiritual light flickered at the tip of his slender finger, as striking as a star in the night sky.

He gently touched his fingertip to the bone flagstaff, instantly imprinting a radiant spirit pattern that quickly dimmed.

Meanwhile, in Liang Country, at the location of the Shangqing Sect’s mountain gate:

Rumble!

One giant spirit boat after another rose from the mountain gate, surging westward across the heavenly domain with overwhelming spiritual energy.

These colossal vessels were packed with Shangqing Sect disciples, led by foundation establishment realm elders radiating immense authority.

One after another, giant spirit boats soared into the sky, then vanished into the clouds as if cloaked by spatial concealment.

”The day we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived!”

A slender figure in crimson robes stood suspended in mid-air. Her features were exquisitely beautiful and radiant, yet the aura she exuded was profoundly soul-stirring.

”After all these years, Master, your great vengeance will finally be avenged today.”

Exquisite True Lord Ling Long’s fingertips danced lightly, a wisp of spiritual energy dissolving into the air. Her jade-like fingers, as pale as scallions, tapped rhythmically, as if summoning something.

The Shangqing Sect’s mountain gate bordered the Boundless Sea, a region rich in spiritual energy. Yet, remarkably, sea clan demon beasts rarely emerged to cause trouble here.

Sea clan demon beasts, once submerged in the depths, were notoriously cunning and difficult to deal with. Unless they ventured ashore, even cultivators of equal rank struggled to confront them.

The fact that this sea area could maintain such a high concentration of spiritual energy and remain peaceful for so long could only be attributed to one reason.

Boom!

In the next instant, a colossal wave surged skyward, erupting from the sea like a towering mountain rising from the depths.

As the waves receded, a colossal Mountain-Bearing Turtle emerged from the depths. Its sheer size was staggering; even after surfacing, seawater continued to cascade from its massive shell.

This was the Shangqing Sect’s Sacred Beast—the Mountain-Bearing Turtle!

Over twenty years ago, when the Shangqing Sect first attacked Heavenly River Market, this very demon beast had withstood the bombardment of a third-tier formation.

Now, as war erupted again between the two great cultivation sects, this ancient turtle, whose age was beyond reckoning, had been summoned once more.

The turtle’s name, Mountain-Bearing, was no exaggeration. For this colossal creature, which carried a trace of Black Tortoise bloodline, bearing a mountain peak on its back was truly a trivial matter.

Exquisite True Lord spoke earnestly, ”Senior Tuo Shan, we must once again trouble you to suppress the Heavenly River Sect’s formations. The current situation presents perhaps the best opportunity in a century—one we cannot afford to miss.”

The Mountain-Bearing Turtle transmitted a divine sense:

”Your master, Perfected Cang Yuan, once showed me great kindness. Lending my aid this time is only proper.”

With the Sacred Beast’s cooperation secured, the Shangqing Sect’s confidence in their impending assault on the Heavenly River Sect surged.

Exquisite True Lord narrowed her eyes, gazing westward into the distance. Deep within her gaze lay a burning hatred and murderous intent.

To attack the Heavenly River Sect, the Shangqing Sect naturally mobilized its full strength. After all, their target was a major cultivation sect that had flourished for countless ages.

This time, the Shangqing Sect was truly serious.

Deep within their mountain gate, hidden yet powerful auras stirred to life, their spiritual pressure dominating the surrounding lands.

These were no mere pseudo core formation stage cultivators, but True Lords of the core formation realm!

They represented the Shangqing Sect’s accumulated power over the years, a hidden strength that would terrify many if ever fully revealed.

”Alas, my great limit approaches. Let this be my final contribution to the sect,” sighed a Shangqing Sect Pseudo-Core cultivator on the verge of death, ending his secluded retreat to formally enter the world once more.

”Heh heh heh, I’ve heard the Heavenly River Sect once controlled an ancient secret realm that opens every century or so. I’m quite curious to see what treasures lie within.”

”Decades have passed in seclusion, yet my first emergence is to wage war against the Heavenly River Sect?”

”...”

As the Great War loomed, storm clouds gathered.

The Shangqing Sect, mobilizing its entire strength, formally declared war on the Heavenly River Sect—a conflict between two major cultivation sects!

Given the Shangqing Sect’s dominance over Liang Country, all the cultivation clans within the realm swiftly pledged their support, dispatching large numbers of their disciples to join the battle.

In an instant, the shadow of war descended upon the Heavenly River Sect.

This time, the Shangqing Sect surged forward with unstoppable momentum, their resolve set on annihilating the Heavenly River Sect entirely.

The entire cultivation world of the Azure Ridge Domain erupted in uproar!

News spread with unimaginable speed, instantly sweeping across the entire Azure Ridge Domain.

Within the Lingyun Sect, news of the conflict reached them immediately.

In Cloudsoaring Hall, Sect Leader Xu Yun studied the intelligence reports with a grave expression.

”So sudden! The Shangqing Sect has declared war already?! Do they truly believe they can disregard the Lingyun Sect so easily?!”

To be honest, Sect Leader Xu Yun felt an inexplicable unease stirring within him.

This made no sense. No matter how he looked at it, the Shangqing Sect couldn’t possibly ignore the Lingyun Sect’s existence and launch a direct assault on the Heavenly River Sect.

”Though the Lingyun Sect has always remained aloof from worldly affairs, refraining from external conflicts, this is far too suspicious,” Sect Leader Xu Yun muttered, his brow furrowed in thought. He couldn’t quite grasp the underlying motive.

Unless the Shangqing Sect was confident they could simultaneously withstand the combined might of the Lingyun Sect and the Heavenly River Sect!

But was that even possible?!

If the Shangqing Sect truly possessed such confidence, they wouldn’t have needed to send their elders to negotiate earlier.

(End of the Chapter)

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