Immortal Refiner

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The two-faced ancient demon, leading two other ancient demons, descended from the heavens. Their aura was ferocious, and they were enveloped in thick, rolling demonic qi.

The surrounding heaven and earth spiritual energy was automatically repelled, as if suppressed.

Observing the formation art rising from the Lingyun Sect’s mountain gate, the two-faced ancient demon sneered, ”A formation art? It seems this Grand Formation isn’t of low quality.”

”But compared to the Grand Formations laid out by the human race of the spirit realm, it falls far short.”

”Those formations can sever heaven and earth, annihilating all life. This formation is, at best, merely competent.”

With those words, the two-faced ancient demon soared into the air. From his palm, a spear of demonic qi materialized.

Without further ado, with the battle merits laid out before him, he naturally sought to secure them swiftly. Afterward, he could proceed to other great domains to continue amassing his rewards.

Boom!

The spear of demonic qi, carrying world-destroying momentum, was hurled by the two-faced ancient demon.

In that instant, the once clear sky turned pitch-black, as if the demonic spear had devoured all light.

Rumble!

The Lingyun Sect’s Sect-Protecting Grand Formation, the Heavenly Origin Spirit-Slaying Formation, trembled violently. The ground shook violently, as if struck by an unprecedented earthquake.

The single strike of the late-stage Nascent Soul ancient demon was absolutely terrifying, even the Fourth-Tier Grand Formation struggled to withstand its power.

But just then, the Heavenly Origin Spirit-Slaying Formation flashed with blinding light, spiritual energy from within the mountain gate coalesced, forming a radiant pillar that shot straight outward.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The three ancient demons moved with lightning speed, easily evading the formation’s attack.

But that was only the beginning. As one after another core formation ancestor of the Lingyun Sect took their positions at the formation cores, the Fourth-Tier spirit formation, meticulously arranged by Dao Lord Bai Ling, unleashed its most powerful display in history.

With the formation fully activated, no one dared hold back at this critical moment for the sect’s survival. A single lapse in concentration could lead to its complete annihilation.

Blades of light, sharp as swords, erupted in all directions. The Heavenly Origin Spirit-Slaying Formation sealed off the surrounding heaven and earth, making it impossible even for the ancient demons, with their speed, to evade every attack.

At that moment, a crimson escape light flashed from within the Lingyun Sect’s mountain gate.

In the next instant, Li Qing, clad in an azure Daoist robe, boldly flew out to confront the two-headed ancient demon of late-stage Nascent Soul power.

Three rings of fire of different colors swirled around him, purifying and incinerating the rolling demonic qi in the vicinity.

”How bold! I thought you’d cower within the formation, but you actually dare to fly out.”

”That saves me some effort!”

The two-faced ancient demon showed no fear, instead laughing as he saw Li Qing walking straight into a trap.

Despite his words, his hands moved with lightning speed. Another spear of demonic qi materialized in his palm.

Whoosh!

The demonic qi spear pierced the air, hurtling towards Li Qing with unimaginable speed.

But no matter how fast it moved, it couldn’t outrun a spirit treasure!

With a thought, Li Qing summoned a pair of silver-purple bone wings behind him. With a slight flutter, he vanished from his original position.

So fast!

The two-faced ancient demon’s expression flickered. He was shocked by Li Qing’s speed, having failed to notice when he disappeared.

In less than a breath, a tall figure materialized behind the ancient demon.

”Die!”

Three orbs of heavenly spirit fire coalesced in Li Qing’s palm, forming a three-colored flaming blade that thrust towards the late-stage nascent soul ancient demon.

The move was so swift that it left no room for reaction. Even if the demon tried to turn and defend, it would already be too late.

The strike was almost guaranteed to hit the ancient demon.

But at that critical moment, the face on the back of the two-faced ancient demon’s head suddenly opened its eyes.

Seeing this, Li Qing felt a sudden sense of danger.

Immediately, his divine soul was pierced by an excruciating pain, as if being stabbed by ten thousand needles.

”Not bad. You actually forced out my second soul. You human are quite remarkable.”

”How did you like my demonic soul piercer? Countless Nascent Soul cultivators in the spirit realm have met their end with this technique.”

The two-faced ancient demon cackled maniacally as it charged toward Li Qing, whose divine soul was under attack.

However, it hadn’t anticipated Li Qing’s exceptionally strong divine soul. Combined with the first layer of the Soul Refinement Scripture he had cultivated, the injury was at most a stinging pain, not enough to incapacitate him.

In an instant, Li Qing recovered from the soul-piercing agony.

Kunpeng Treasure Technique: Kunpeng Heaven-Rending Hand!

Li Qing’s right hand transformed into a Kunpeng Claw. The Kunpeng Divine Power surging within him flowed into his hand, amplifying its might.

The Kunpeng Claw, still wreathed in the lingering Heaven-Earth Spirit Flames, slashed forward at the charging two-faced ancient demon.

Not good!

The two-faced ancient demon realized the danger almost instantly, but it was already too late to dodge.

The strike was powerful enough to cleave the heavens, leaving a trail of spirit fire as it descended upon the demon’s body.

Whoosh!

Everything happened in an instant, the situation turning on its head in a flash.

The two-faced ancient demon felt as though it were facing a True Spirit Kunpeng from the spirit realm, its aura utterly irresistible.

The Kunpeng’s claw, wreathed in the heavenly spirit fire, descended like a meteor. The demon’s body nearly shattered, dark purple blood splattering across the sky as its aura suddenly weakened.

Just then, from the mangled demonic body, a demonic infant emerged.

This was its nascent soul, condensed from primordial demonic qi, representing the ancient demon’s life force.

The demonic infant’s face twisted in fear as it tried to flee.

But Li Qing would not allow it. With a thought, the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings behind him fluttered again.

The Wind Thunder Primordial Energy of heaven and earth surged forth, striking the fleeing demonic infant that had abandoned its body.

Boom!

”A yellow-grade spirit treasure... How is this possible?!”

Li Qing refused to give the demon infant any chance to survive. He immediately followed up with another Fire Dao Divine Power, completely pulverizing it.

In such a short time, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator of the ancient demonic race had fallen to Li Qing’s hand.

The battle had been brief, and victory seemed to have been decided in an instant. Yet only Li Qing knew the true danger he had faced.

Had his divine soul been even slightly weaker, he might have been the one to perish today.

”The methods of the demonic race from the demon realm are truly bizarre,” Li Qing muttered to himself. ”I never expected it to have a face on the back of its head, capable of launching such a fierce soul attack.”

”A normal Nascent Soul cultivator’s divine soul would absolutely not withstand such an assault if caught off guard.”

Li Qing glanced at the other two ancient demons, who were still entangled in the Heavenly Origin Spirit-Slaying Formation.

These two were weaker than the two-faced ancient demon—one at the mid-Nascent Soul stage and the other at the early Nascent Soul stage.

Yet Li Qing refused to let his guard down.

At that moment, the two ancient demons finally realized the two-faced ancient demon had fallen. A tremor ran through their hearts.

”Something’s wrong. This human is absurdly powerful.”

”The two-faced demon died so quickly? He was only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage!”

”Even with a yellow-grade spirit treasure, we might not be their match. Let’s retreat and report this to the leader!”

The two ancient demons, both from the Doma Clan, sensed something was amiss and prepared to flee.

But Li Qing wouldn’t let them escape!

Before they could move, he fully activated the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings behind him. The spirit treasure’s full power nearly drained half of the true essence within his body.

”Wind-Thunder Phantom Break Strike!”

Li Qing roared, and the Wind-Thunder Power of heaven and earth responded. Instantly, countless illusory figures of himself materialized across the battlefield, creating a bewildering spectacle.

Bolstered by the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth, these phantoms moved in unison. Li Qing flapped his bone wings, slicing through space like razor-sharp blades.

When the illusions vanished, the two ancient demons, who hadn’t managed to escape, were torn apart, their bodies disintegrating piece by piece.

Only one demonic infant survived—a deliberate choice by Li Qing. He needed to interrogate the ancient demons to gather intelligence on the demons who had descended from the lower realm, specifically their numbers.

The sole surviving demonic infant attempted to flee, but Li Qing seized it in his hand. With lightning speed, he unleashed several secret techniques, suppressing the infant and preventing it from self-detonating.

Thus, all three ancient demons that had attacked Lingyun Sect were annihilated.

What was expected to be a world-shattering battle that could even destroy the sect had ended surprisingly quickly.

Once the battle’s conclusion was confirmed, thunderous cheers erupted throughout Lingyun Sect.

”Long live the Ancestor! Long live the Ancestor!”

”Long live Ancestor Limitless!”

”The Ancestor’s divine might is peerless! He crushed three ancient demons with a mere flick of his hand!”

”...”

Li Qing paid no heed to the adulation. He issued a stern warning to the sect members, urging them to remain vigilant and not relax their guard, as more ancient demons might still come.

After giving his instructions, he returned to his cave abode.

Inside the cave, Li Qing didn’t immediately restore his mana. Instead, he retrieved the ancient demon’s demonic infant.

Suppressed by his secret techniques, the infant was completely immobilized.

”So the ancient demons’ dao is so similar to the immortal dao... In the end, all paths of cultivation converge?” Li Qing murmured to himself, his gaze falling upon the sealed demonic infant.

Generally, the nascent soul is the fusion of the divine soul and the Dao Fruit, considered the very foundation of a cultivator’s existence. Once destroyed, the cultivator is doomed to die.

Li Qing had sealed this demonic infant because he intended to use the soul-searching and spirit-refining technique to extract intelligence about these ancient demons.

Soon, divine sense power surged within his Sea of Consciousness. Vast and majestic, his divine sense directly invaded the demonic infant, breaching its Sea of Consciousness in an instant. He began refining the ancient demon’s memories.

Countless complex memories scrolled before Li Qing’s eyes like a painted scroll, leaving him somewhat dizzy. These were images from another world, a realm comparable to the spirit realm—the demon realm.

Li Qing witnessed numerous scenes related to the demon realm, including many battle scenes depicting clashes between the demon realm and the spirit realm.

”So the spirit realm wasn’t so peaceful after all,” he mused. ”It frequently warred with the demon realm, and the scale and intensity of those conflicts far surpassed this invasion of the Human Realm.”

”Compared to that, this invasion from the demon realm was practically a minor skirmish. If not for the restrictions on the lower realm, the entire Human Realm would have been reduced to ashes with just a fraction of their power.”

After gaining a general understanding of the situation in the upper realm, Li Qing continued his search. He wanted to know why the demon realm had suddenly invaded the Human Realm and how many ancient demons had descended to the lower realm.

As he meticulously sifted through the memories of this ancient demon, Li Qing’s expression gradually stiffened when he finally uncovered the information he sought.

”So many ancient demons have invaded the Azure Ridge Domain, and one at the Divine Transformation stage is even leading them!”

”Fortunately, these demons aren’t targeting the Lingyun Sect. To earn more battle merits, they’ve gone to other great domains to capture Nascent Soul cultivators.”

Li Qing swallowed hard, thinking how lucky they were. Otherwise, today might have been the day the Lingyun Sect was destroyed.

”That void rift connecting to the demon realm has already formed a demonic nest, constructed from the corpses of ancient demons who died on their way down.”

”The nest is guarded by five powerful ancient demons—three at the late-stage Nascent Soul realm and two at the mid-stage. They’re clearly using it as a stronghold.”

”Having established a base means these ancient demons who went to other great domains to hunt cultivators will return.”

At that moment, Li Qing’s expression grew extremely grave.

He immediately began searching the demonic infant’s Sea of Consciousness again, desperate to understand the true reason behind the demon realm’s sudden invasion of the Human Realm.

After a long while, Li Qing withdrew from the demonic infant’s Sea of Consciousness, his face now as grim as it could be.

”The order to invade the Human Realm came from the Formless Saint Ancestor himself. The goal was to capture all cultivators above the nascent soul realm, even those in the divine transformation stage.”

”And the timing of this order...”

”It coincided with the time I used the Crimson Radiance Hall to suppress the Formless Demon Ancestor’s dao body. Could it be that simply destroying one of his dao bodies has drawn the attention of the Formless Saint Ancestor?”

”So, the true purpose of this demonic invasion might be me?”

At this thought, Li Qing’s heart grew heavy.

If this were exposed, unless he ascended to the spirit realm, there would be no place for him in the Human Realm.

Sigh... I can’t panic. At least I’m safe for now. These ancient demons are targeting all cultivators above the nascent soul realm, not me specifically.

This means the Formless Saint Ancestor doesn’t even know it was me who destroyed his dao body!

(End of the Chapter)

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