Immortal Refiner

Bang!

Li Qing’s punch, a brutal and domineering strike, collided with the charging ancient demon, unleashing an earth-shattering explosion!

The colossal ancient demon, its momentum abruptly halted, froze in its tracks.

Terrifying Internal Strength surged outward, carving deep fissures into the ground beneath both Li Qing and the demon.

The sheer force of the impact stunned every cultivator and ancient demon present!

Indeed, Li Qing’s fleshly body had even astonished the ancient demon.

His opponent, Chi Man, was a notorious berserker from the remnants of the Chi Demon Tribe, renowned for his close-combat prowess. Even the tribe’s Ancestors marveled at his demonic physique.

Li Qing himself felt a deep tremor. Though the ancient demon’s aura barely reached the mid-foundation establishment stage, its physical resilience rivaled that of a late second-tier body cultivator!

Had he not cultivated the Brahma King True Body and possessed the enhancement of the qi blood nine revolutions, he would have been utterly unable to budge the demon even an inch!

”Roar! Guli!” Chi Man roared furiously, charging at Li Qing once more.

Thus, the man and demon locked in primal combat, trading savage blows—fists and feet flying in a brutal dance of destruction.

The other Lingyun Sect elders who had been attacking Chi Man alongside Li Qing exchanged uneasy glances, unsure how to intervene in this fleshly combat.

”Leave this demon to me,” Li Qing declared sharply. ”Senior brothers, focus on eliminating the other Demon Lords as quickly as possible!”

At that moment, Chi Man seized an opportunity and slashed a hand-blade strike directly at Li Qing.

This was a true hand-blade, as a razor-sharp black bone blade extended from his wrist.

Whoosh!

Li Qing had no time to dodge. He hastily raised his arm, channeling spiritual energy to activate the gilded battle armor, completely covering his forearm.

Clang!

A piercing, ear-splitting sound erupted as the ancient demon’s hand-blade struck Li Qing’s gilded battle armor, unleashing a brilliant flash of blade light.

Thanks to the armor’s near-top-grade magical artifact quality, Li Qing sustained no serious injuries, only staggering back a few steps from the impact.

In the next instant, he surged forward again, engaging the demon in close-quarters combat.

Protected by the gilded battle armor, Li Qing’s injuries remained minimal, most blows deflected by the armor.

At this point, the ancient demon’s disadvantage became glaringly apparent.

Living year-round in this cramped and barren grotto-heaven, they lacked the spiritual materials needed to refine magic artifacts for combat, unlike the outsider cultivators like Li Qing.

Their fighting style relied more on spells and physical prowess, unlike the Lingyun Sect elders who relied on magic artifacts.

Li Qing fought with increasing ferocity, relying on his self-refined gilded battle armor. His attacks grew more savage, his vital energy surging in relentless bursts, his ferocious aura nearly overwhelming Chi Man’s.

Boom!

At that moment, the other ancient demons, besieged by the elders, finally reached their breaking point and chose to self-destruct in a desperate exchange of lives.

Familiar demonic qi swept outward, but this time many elders were prepared. They activated their protective spiritual light, enduring the blast at the cost of considerable spiritual energy.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

As the ancient demons’ self-destruction echoed through the grotto-heaven, the Lingyun Sect elders’ expressions grew grim.

They realized that capturing an ancient demon alive might be an impossible task.

Sensing the situation, Li Qing frowned slightly. He knew he couldn’t delay any longer. If he dragged out the fight until other elders arrived to surround his opponent, the ancient demon would undoubtedly choose to self-destruct.

If things continued this way, his plans would be ruined.

With this thought, Li Qing steeled his resolve. Feigning carelessness, he deliberately took a punch from Chi Man’s spiked gauntlet on his ribs.

Swish!

A spray of blood erupted, the metallic stench filling the air.

The scent of blood ignited Chi Man’s battle lust. Grinning savagely, he lunged at Li Qing, ready to tear him apart.

Retreating rapidly, Li Qing feigned extreme pain, but a faint golden light was already gathering in his eyes.

”Quick, help Junior Brother Li! Don’t let him get hurt!”

But Chi Man moved faster. He closed the distance and prepared to crush the ’severely wounded’ Li Qing into a bloody pulp with a single punch.

In that instant, a thin golden beam shot forth from Li Qing’s eyes.

Soul Condensing Slash!

A secret technique of divine soul assault!

His divine soul was exceptionally strong. Even now, in the foundation establishment realm, it could unleash formidable power.

As expected, the arrogant Chi Man never saw it coming. The Soul Condensing Slash struck his head directly.

Buzz!

Chi Man froze mid-stride, his fist halting limply in mid-air.

Now’s my chance!

Li Qing drew out the Five Elements Spirit Binding Rope, its spirituality severely diminished, and immediately bound the demon. He then used his divine sense to suppress the demon’s Sea of Consciousness, rendering it completely unconscious.

”Fortunately, the power of the Soul Condensing Slash wasn’t enough to kill him outright. His divine soul is severely wounded; he won’t awaken for quite some time.”

As he spoke, Li Qing’s massive form gradually shrank back to his original size.

He quickly retrieved a set of clothes and dressed. When the other elders arrived, he immediately suppressed his vital energy, forcing his face to turn deathly pale and bloodless.

”Junior Brother Li, are you alright?!” An elder rushed over, bending down to support him.

Li Qing’s lips moved slightly as he feigned weakness. ”Senior brother, I’m fine. Just a bit drained.”

Seeing Li Qing clutching his wound tightly, another elder said with concern, ”With such a severe injury, I should take you back immediately.”

Li Qing’s heart skipped a beat, but he forced a strained smile. ”There’s no need. I’ve critically wounded the demon’s divine soul. It won’t awaken for a while.”

”Then I’ll escort him back to report to the two Ancestors!”

Li Qing understood the other elders’ intentions perfectly. They simply wanted to use the pretext of escorting him to escape this perilous, dark realm.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to give them the opportunity, but he genuinely desired to proceed alone from this point onward.

”That’s unwise. Someone should still escort you. If the demon awakens midway, the consequences would be dire!”

Hearing this, Li Qing shook his head firmly. ”There’s no need to worry about me. I’m just a bit drained, but my divine sense power remains abundant. If he awakens, I can immediately knock him unconscious again.”

”Besides, I’ve tamed a demon beast that can carry me all the way out.”

With that, Li Qing immediately released Fan Tong.

”Aow-roar!”

A massive, imposing demon beast materialized in the chamber, leaving many elders stunned for a long moment.

Fan Tong now radiated a sky-piercing demon aura, his presence utterly awe-inspiring. His strange-eyed tiger eyes burned with intense malevolent energy.

”Senior Brothers, our fellow sect members are still awaiting rescue ahead. Please don’t delay their chances of survival for my sake.”

”Trust me, Junior Brother,” Li Qing said. ”I can deliver this demon back to report. Every moment we delay puts our fellow sect members ahead in greater danger!”

Having said this much, any further attempts by the others to claim the delivery would reveal their intentions too clearly.

”Very well, Junior Brother Li. Please be extremely careful on your journey. This is the only ancient demon we’ve captured alive so far, and this achievement is crucial. We cannot afford to lose it!”

”Fellow Disciples, let’s hurry and rescue the remaining elders!”

With a wave of his sleeve, one of the elders led the way, and the others followed.

Seeing himself finally alone, Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief. He stood up, bound the massive ancient demon behind Fan Tong, and had the beast drag it along.

”Alright, you big lug, time to earn your keep by dragging this thing for a while. Let’s get moving!” Li Qing clapped his hands, his inner excitement quickly rising.

In truth, he didn’t even need to feign injury. The sole credit for capturing this ancient demon alive would be enough to justify his return to report.

This meant half of their mission was complete. Now, they only needed to rescue the remaining fellow sect members before they could temporarily withdraw.

”Awoo!”

Fan Tong had a spirit binding rope tied behind him, the other end dragging the massive ancient demon.

Li Qing watched the others advance and couldn’t help but sigh softly.

”Ah, let’s hope we can find something useful here.”

”The real battle will be a long and arduous one.”

Based on the strength the ancient demonic race had displayed so far, most of their forces were around the foundation establishment realm.

But if they had so many foundation establishment realm demons, there were undoubtedly even stronger old demons lurking in the shadows—a fact that required no speculation.

Despite the fierce clashes, the current fighting was merely a probing phase.

The Lingyun Sect didn’t know how many high-level combatants remained in the Chi Demon Tribe, nor did the Chi Demon Tribe understand the exact condition of the sealing formation.

Ultimately, the war’s climax wouldn’t arrive until the Ancestors of both sides clashed.

With such high stakes, both sides would keep their elite forces hidden until they obtained accurate and clear intelligence.

(End of the Chapter)

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