Immortal Refiner

”Fellow sect members, I have come to the Nether Domain with the intention of leading you back to rebuild the Lingyun Sect!”

Li Qing stood in mid-air, his hands clasped behind his back, and announced this news directly.

The declaration stunned everyone present into silence for a long moment before they finally regained their senses.

”What? Rebuild the Lingyun Sect?”

”Are we going back to the Azure Ridge Domain? But the entire Azure Ridge Domain has fallen into the hands of the Shangqing Sect!”

”Martial Uncle Li, although you and Martial Uncle Wu have both achieved core formation, I believe we should consider this matter more carefully!”

”Exactly! The Shangqing Sect’s power is at its peak. We must not underestimate them!”

Almost everyone, including Elder Wen, voiced their concerns and offered different opinions.

In their eyes, the Shangqing Sect was currently at the height of its power. Returning to the Azure Ridge Domain to rebuild the Lingyun Sect would require thorough deliberation.

Lu Fan, however, had unwavering faith in Li Qing. He immediately spoke up:

”If Martial Uncle Li has said this, he must have his own plans and confidence. What’s the point of us meddling?”

At this moment, Wu Chong chuckled and said, ”Haha, everyone, there’s no need to worry. We have a very good chance of successfully returning to the Azure Ridge Domain and rebuilding the Lingyun Sect.”

He didn’t reveal Li Qing’s experiences in the Great Wilderness Domain, only giving the others a reassuring look.

Hearing this, the others finally realized that the Li Qing standing before them was no longer their Junior Brother Li!

He was now a powerful core formation true lord, a figure who would have been revered as a patriarch within the sect in the past—an absolute pillar of strength!

As a result, everyone fell silent.

”Pack your belongings as quickly as possible,” Li Qing said. ”If there’s nothing else to attend to, the sooner we depart, the better!”

As he spoke, the excitement in his heart grew stronger.

The day he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Recalling the sect’s old members and returning to the Azure Ridge Domain!

No one had imagined this day would come so soon.

In truth, many had resigned themselves to spending their entire lives on this isolated island, harboring little hope of ever rebuilding the Lingyun Sect.

Li Qing’s arrival was truly a shot in the arm for them.

With renewed determination, everyone returned to their lodgings and immediately began preparing to depart, clearly eager to return to the Azure Ridge Domain.

However, no matter how urgently they rushed, the journey would still take time.

Given the large number of people, the best way to leave was aboard a giant spirit boat.

This particular giant spirit boat had traversed all the way from the Azure Ridge Domain, encountering numerous dangers along the way, leaving it heavily damaged.

”Li Qing, take a look. How difficult would it be to repair this giant spirit boat?” Wu Chong said, retrieving the massive vessel left to him by Ancestor Devourer of Heaven from a secluded spot on the island.

The boat was colossal, and Li Qing had once traveled aboard it. Its intricate design was far more complex than that of ordinary spirit boats.

As Li Qing slowly circled the giant spirit boat, examining it carefully, he observed, ”Hmm, the spirit patterns are severely worn, and there are many areas with damage. It’s clear your journey from the Azure Ridge Domain to the Nether Domain was far from peaceful.”

The spirit boat before them was colossal, far exceeding the scale of ordinary spirit boats. It might be more accurate to call it a spirit warship!

This giant spirit boat, capable of carrying nearly a thousand people, was riddled with cracks that crisscrossed its hull.

Moreover, the spirit patterns originally inscribed within the hull had become severely faded and indistinct, with several critical patterns completely destroyed.

”How is it? Can it be repaired?” Wu Chong asked anxiously.

Ancestor Devourer of Heaven had left him many treasures, but this spirit warship was the one he cherished most. He desperately hoped Li Qing could restore it to its former glory.

Fortunately, Li Qing’s artifact refinement technique had reached a new level of mastery, his vision now far surpassing what it had been before.

While the warship’s refining methods were complex, for Li Qing, with a little focus, repairing it wouldn’t be too difficult.

”Repairing it shouldn’t be a major problem. Let me examine it thoroughly,” Li Qing nodded, then released his divine sense, enveloping the giant spirit boat completely.

Li Qing’s divine sense probed with microscopic precision, quickly mapping every intricate detail of the spirit warship’s internal structure into his mind.

Studying the complex patterns, Li Qing’s eyes flickered with understanding as a rough plan formed in his mind.

Boom!

A jet-black heavenly spirit fire erupted from his palm, instantly raising the surrounding air temperature to scorching levels.

During the spirit warship’s refinement, the Lingyun Sect had used numerous types of spirit gold, with multiple elders assisting Ancestor Devourer of Heaven in the forging process. It was truly a masterpiece, the culmination of the entire sect’s painstaking efforts!

Yet this grand creation, the result of countless hours of labor by multiple artifact refinement masters, was dissected in Li Qing’s mind with the precision of a butcher carving a cow.

”Repairing the surface damage should be simple enough,” he mused. ”I can just melt some spirit gold with the Spirit Devouring Demon Flame and patch it up.”

Li Qing quickly retrieved some ordinary spirit gold materials from his storage pouch—leftover scraps from feeding his little golden silkworm.

Although it couldn’t be used to refine any magical artifacts, the spirit gold was perfect for repairing the spirit boat.

Boom!

The scorching Spirit Devouring Demon Flame rapidly melted the spirit gold into liquid form. Under Li Qing’s control, the molten metal flowed directly into the cracks on the spirit warship’s surface, sealing them shut. The repaired areas looked like patches.

To ensure the patches’ durability, Li Qing even melted the edges of the cracks on the warship’s surface, fusing them seamlessly with the new metal.

In no time, all the surface cracks had vanished without a trace, as if they had never existed.

Of course, this was merely superficial repair. The truly severe damage lay within the spirit warship’s internal spirit patterns!

The faint spirit patterns were manageable; Li Qing could barely discern their functions. However, some patterns were so severely damaged that even he couldn’t identify their specific purposes.

”These spirit patterns guide spiritual energy through the warship’s hull, but what are these other lines for?”

Perplexed, Li Qing immediately focused his mind, continuously simulating the patterns’ functions.

As he pondered, he began inscribing spirit patterns onto the warship, hoping to deduce their purpose through trial and error.

Despite repeated attempts, he achieved no substantial progress.

”No, I’ve been stuck in a rut. The repair work shouldn’t focus solely on a few spirit patterns; we need to consider the entire system!”

Li Qing stroked his chin, his perspective suddenly broadening.

He now approached the problem from the perspective of refining the entire spirit warship, imagining what spirit patterns he would inscribe if he were to refine it himself.

His thoughts began to flow freely, spiritual light surging through his mind.

Gradually, a confident smile spread across his lips.

”So that’s it! The Grand Elder and other refining elders of the refining hall back then truly had remarkable insight. It’s a pity they’re all gone now... such a loss.”

With that, Li Qing began repairing the spirit patterns within the warship.

Soon, the other cultivators on the isolated island had gathered, having packed their belongings and prepared to depart.

”Huh? Is he repairing the spirit warship?”

”Is Martial Uncle Li trying to fix it all by himself?”

”Whoa, Martial Uncle Li was a refining elder in the refining hall back then. Could it be that in recent years, not only has his cultivation advanced rapidly, but his artifact refinement technique has also reached new heights?”

”Impossible! I can’t for the life of me figure out how to complete those missing spirit patterns. The elders who refined this spirit warship back then had such wildly imaginative ideas!”

”...”

Amidst the crowd, Elder Wen, the former second-in-command of the refining hall, was visibly trembling with excitement.

”Grand Elder, if only you could witness this! Our Lingyun Sect now has a core formation realm master of artifact refinement!”

Elder Wen had joined the refining hall relatively late and hadn’t participated in the original refinement of this spirit warship.

In the years since arriving in the Nether Domain, he had often felt regret over this, especially now that even attempting to repair it seemed impossible.

But at this moment, Li Qing’s arrival had finally resolved his long-held frustration.

Boom!

A heart-stopping surge of spiritual energy erupted as the massive spirit warship before them suddenly blazed with radiant spiritual light.

The dazzling brilliance was so captivating that no one could tear their gaze away.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Li Qing channeled streams of true essence with a single hand, injecting them into the warship.

Hum!

The spirit warship trembled faintly, then, to the astonishment of all present, it began to rise into the air!

Ever since its arrival in the Nether Domain, the warship had suffered severe damage, rendering it virtually unusable.

Now, under Li Qing’s masterful artifact refinement techniques, the spirit warship had been completely restored, its spirit patterns once again seamlessly integrated.

Li Qing, channeling his abundant true essence to power the giant spirit boat, gazed down at the Lingyun Sect elders below and roared with laughter, ”Hahahaha! Everyone, it’s time to set sail! If not now, when?”

Rebuilding the Lingyun Sect was of utmost urgency!

With the giant spirit boat fully repaired and their belongings packed, there was no reason to linger on this island any longer.

”Let’s go!”

”Who would have thought Martial Uncle Li’s cultivation would be so unfathomable, and his artifact refinement technique so exquisite!”

”Hurry aboard! It’s time to return to the Azure Ridge Domain!”

Soon, figures soared upward from below, landing on the spirit boat with boundless joy.

They had arrived on this same giant spirit boat, yet never imagined they would be able to return to the Azure Ridge Domain aboard it once more!

As for Wu Chong, he had already flown up in a frenzy of excitement, stroking the spirit boat’s hull with unrestrained delight.

”Thanks to you, I almost thought this spirit warship couldn’t be fully repaired!” Wu Chong grinned widely.

Though his frame had grown gaunt, his smile remained as pure as ever.

”Don’t mention it. It was just a small effort.”

”Next, let’s head to the Great Wilderness Domain!”

Li Qing clasped his hands behind his back, his eyes brimming with anticipation for the future.

”Alright, let’s go!” Wu Chong rubbed his hands together, immediately volunteering to pilot the Giant Spirit Boat.

When they had fled to the Nether Domain aboard this spirit boat, they had relied entirely on the pure true essence extracted from Ancestor Devourer of Heaven’s body.

At that time, they were merely foundation establishment realm cultivators, their mana reserves utterly insufficient to sustain the spirit boat’s operation.

But now, things were different. Wu Chong had reached the core formation realm and cultivated the Gluttonous Divine Art. His true essence was not only exceptionally abundant but also replenished at an astonishing rate.

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, the giant spirit boat soared into the sky, rapidly accelerating westward!

Meanwhile, let’s shift our focus back to the Western Mausoleum Divine Temple in the Nether Domain.

The once majestic West Mausoleum Divine Mountain now lay in ruins.

”The Western Mausoleum Divine Temple has truly been destroyed. Those two figures behind the Other Shore Heavenly Curtain must have been the ones who killed the Hall Master of West Mausoleum, right?”

A middle-aged Daoist Nun narrowed her eyes, hooking her whisk over her arm and falling into deep thought.

”Intriguing. They could have claimed this yin meridian entrance for themselves, yet they chose to leave instead. Who could they be?”

Beside the Daoist Nun, a boy in Daoist robes crouched slightly, picking up a handful of dust from the ground.

”There’s the aura of a heavenly tribulation,” the boy murmured, slowly lifting his head to gaze at the sky. He concluded, ”After the Yin Sacrifice ended that day, someone emerged from this yin meridian entrance and triggered a heavenly tribulation!”

The Daoist Nun’s pupils dilated in shock.

”Triggered a thunder tribulation? They must be from the outer domain!”

”Otherwise, they would have known the taboos within the yin meridian. This person likely didn’t use the lotus dao platform to refine the nether marrow.”

”The question remains: did they survive the thunder tribulation? If they did, we might soon face another great cultivator in the nascent soul realm.”

Hearing the Daoist Nun’s words, the Daoist Child, whose face was still youthful but whose eyes held an ancient wisdom, remained silent, lost in thought.

”Abbot, what do you think of this yin meridian entrance belonging to the Western Mausoleum Divine Temple?” the Daoist Nun asked cautiously.

After a moment of contemplation, the Daoist Child finally shook his head.

”Let it be. There’s no need to seize it. Our Heaven’s Guard Temple already has its own yin meridian entrance. Having more wouldn’t bring any significant benefit.”

”Besides, this territory originally belonged to the Yin Puppet Sect before being taken over by the Western Mausoleum Divine Temple. Now it’s changing hands again. This place carries an ominous aura.”

The Heaven’s Guard Temple revered the natural order above all else, placing absolute faith in the so-called ”mandate of Heaven.”

Hearing this, the Daoist Nun sighed. ”The Nether Domain grows increasingly desolate. Must we truly continue to wait here in vain for that elusive opportunity?”

”Perhaps we should follow the Yin Puppet Sect’s example and venture into other realms to claim our place.”

Before she could finish, the Daoist Child interrupted sternly, ”Silence! These are the ancestral teachings passed down by generations of patriarchs. How dare you suggest we abandon them so lightly!”

(End of the Chapter)

Translator’s Corner:

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