Immortal Refiner

Azure Ridge Domain, southern region.

The void rift remained open, its depths spewing forth torrents of dense demonic qi that rapidly permeated the surrounding heaven and earth.

Beneath this rift stood a towering demonic nest, constructed from countless demonic seeds, which gathered vast quantities of primordial demonic qi.

Centered on the nest, the land for thousands of miles in all directions had been utterly transformed into demonic soil, devoid of life, with every living creature having perished.

”Why has that fool from the Horned Demon Clan left again?”

A deep, booming voice in the ancient demonic language reverberated through the nest.

A hulking ancient demon with a grotesque face and a body forged from refined iron emerged, growling.

”Jue Li hasn’t been idle these past few days. He’s devoured every human settlement within a hundred-mile radius. He’s probably gone out for another feast.”

”Hahaha! The Horned Demon Clan harbors a deep-seated hatred for the humans of the spirit realm. Coming to the lower realm this time was likely to indulge their thirst for vengeance.”

”Unable to vent their fury on the humans of the spirit realm, that bastard Jue Li naturally grew restless in this Minor World.”

”...”

Inside the demonic nest, the ancient demons left behind burst into raucous laughter, their relaxation absolute.

During their time in the lower realm, they had already gathered sufficient intelligence.

The Azure Ridge Domain of the Human Realm was pitifully weak, possessing only a single cultivator at the nascent soul realm.

With a Doma Clan leader leading a force to apprehend that cultivator, success was virtually guaranteed.

Thus, the ancient demons remaining in the nest paid little heed to the ongoing skirmish. The eternal enmity between humans and demons left no room for intervention.

”I’m worried that fool Jue Li’s reckless actions might bring us trouble,” one Doma Clan ancient demon said gravely.

”What trouble could arise? Even if a few more human or demon cultivators at the nascent soul realm emerge, they’ll just be more war merits for us.”

The ancient demons stationed at the nest remained indifferent. In their view, if they could truly provoke several nascent soul cultivators, that would be even better—it meant more war merits!

Although they would still receive some war merits for remaining here, the amount would inevitably be less than what their kin fighting on the front lines would earn.

They valued these war merits greatly, as they were extremely precious. In the demon realm, the only way to obtain them was by fighting on the Two Realms Battlefield against the powerful beings of the spirit realm.

Such battles were life-or-death affairs. While their cultivation might allow them to dominate this human Minor World, they were utterly insignificant on the brutal Two Realms Battlefield.

Opportunities to effortlessly gain a significant amount of war merits like this were rare!

In the end, the small leader of the Doma Clan seemed to accept this, choosing not to pursue the matter further.

Meanwhile, a mortal town had been reduced to complete ruins.

Boom!

A massive black shadow plummeted from the sky, smashing into the earth and creating a colossal crater that shook the very foundations of the world.

Amidst the billowing dust and smoke, a giant hand covered in demonic armor emerged from the crater. Its movements were shaky, and the surface was riddled with cracks.

”Damn you, human! I’ll flay you alive! I am Jue Li of the Horned Demon Clan, and you, you lowly creature, are nothing but blood food!”

From the swirling dust, an ancient demon with a single horn on its head emerged, but the horn itself was cracked and broken beyond recognition.

At that moment, a tall figure descended from the void, wielding a great hammer wreathed in chilling, cold flames, his face etched with icy killing intent.

Who else could it be but Li Qing?!

”Killing you now would be too kind,” Li Qing said.

”Your life isn’t enough to atone for the sins you bear. You slaughtered entire mortal towns to the last soul—how could you do such a thing?”

Li Qing advanced step by step, his fury reaching its peak.

On his way to the demonic nest, he had personally witnessed this horned ancient demon massacre an entire town of mortals.

Not even infants had escaped its demonic maw. The sight nearly drove Li Qing to madness.

The ancient demon of the Horned Demon Clan was already panicking. It recognized that it was no match for the human cultivator before it.

The Horned Demon Clan’s ancient demon was far superior to Li Qing in terms of mana, divine soul, and physical strength.

He truly regretted his actions now, retreating step by step. For every step Li Qing advanced, he took one back.

”Come on! Weren’t you going to make me your blood food? Why are you backing away now?”

As the words fell, Li Qing’s figure flickered and became ethereal. When he solidified again, he raised the Primordial Chaos Peerless Hammer high and brought it down with lightning speed.

The bone-white spiritual flame clinging to the hammer was Netherworld Cold Fire. The strike not only shattered the Horned Demon Clan’s horn but also allowed a massive amount of Netherworld Cold Fire to seep into its brain!

In an instant, the previously arrogant ancient demon collapsed to the ground, writhing and trying to alleviate the burning sensation of the Netherworld Cold Fire on his divine soul.

Li Qing’s face tightened, his eyes glacial.

With swift movements, he pinned the demon’s head down and immediately blasted through its Sea of Consciousness with his divine sense.

In the next moment, he forcibly extracted the demon’s divine soul.

But he wasn’t finished. Li Qing seized the demon’s demonic infant and instantly sealed it with a secret technique.

The divine soul and demonic infant separated, and Jue Li didn’t even have time to react before losing all ability to resist.

Next, Li Qing took some spirit gold scraps, casually melted them down, and shaped them into an oil lamp.

He sealed the ancient demon’s divine soul inside the lamp as fuel and lit it with the Netherworld Cold Fire.

Sizzle! Sizzle!

”Ah! Kill me! Kill me!” Jue Li’s soul screamed wildly, as if enduring extreme agony.

The Netherworld Cold Fire didn’t burn intensely, but rather seared his soul strand by strand, causing him immense pain.

Li Qing remained expressionless, coldly stating, ”Don’t worry, you won’t die quickly. This Netherworld Lamp will burn continuously, slowly consuming your divine soul to nothing.”

After sealing the lamp he had casually refined, even Jue Li’s screams of agony became inaudible to anyone but himself.

”Four more to go. I’ll eliminate them all at once and then completely raze that demonic nest.”

Li Qing muttered to himself and soared towards the demonic nest, its air thick with demonic qi.

Inside, the nest remained eerily quiet, with several ancient demons seemingly dozing.

Unbeknownst to them, fire seeds were being planted in the surrounding area. However, due to Li Qing’s restrictions, these seeds remained dormant, their power completely concealed.

Li Qing’s divine soul was so powerful that he easily masked all his actions, leaving the ancient demons within the nest completely unaware.

Even after the final fire seed was placed, no alarm was raised.

He was about to deploy the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation!

This was the first time he had meticulously planted the fire seeds, using masses of heavenly spirit fire to seal off the surroundings.

Normally, he would form fire formations during battle by casually scattering fiery rain and meteors, ultimately delivering a fatal blow to his opponents.

But now, his sole objective was to exterminate all the ancient demons in the area, so his actions had to be absolutely covert to ensure flawless execution.

Once Li Qing confirmed the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation was complete, he could no longer conceal the murderous intent in his eyes. A sharp, killing aura leaked from his pupils.

The ancient demons, with their keen senses, were immediately alerted the moment Li Qing dropped his guard.

”Not good! An enemy!”

”This one is strong. The killing aura just now sent a shiver down my spine.”

”Who is it?!”

The ancient demons grew wary, clustering together and scanning their surroundings.

But their only response was a series of fiery pillars erupting skyward!

Boom!

Each pillar radiated terrifying heat, instantly sealing off the heaven and earth around the demonic nest.

The Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation!

”We’re trapped!” The Doma Clan leader’s voice deepened, as if sensing the extraordinary nature of this divine ability.

Beyond the fiery barrier, Li Qing formed a mysterious magical seal with his hands and roared, ”Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation, demonic refinement!”

Three streams of heavenly spirit fire erupted simultaneously, their flames—capable of scorching the heavens and melting the earth—swept toward the four ancient demons trapped within!

Trapped within the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation, the four ancient demons sensed a thick, murderous intent. To their astonishment, this threat originated from a mere human outside the formation, whose cultivation appeared to be only at the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

”A mere Nascent Soul human, lacking even Divine Transformation cultivation—how dare he!” one ancient demon roared with bitter laughter, feeling utterly underestimated.

”Since when has a human cultivator become so audacious? Do you think you’re an inherited Holy Son from the Holy Sects of the Spirit Realm?”

Despite their mockery, Li Qing’s Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation posed a genuine threat. The relentless waves of flame surging through the formation would have been devastating if the demons hadn’t united to resist them.

Li Qing remained silent, his entire focus concentrated on activating the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation and refining the four ancient demons within.

His actions were truly audacious.

To refine four ancient demons, each with cultivation equal to or surpassing his own, single-handedly!

If this feat were ever revealed, it would undoubtedly cause a massive uproar.

Not just in the Human Realm, but even in the upper realm, where Heavenly Prodigies abound, such a feat would shock many!

After all, these were no mere weaklings, but fierce and formidable ancient demons!

The Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation, fueled by three strands of heavenly spirit fire, generated an absolutely terrifying blaze.

If there had only been one or two ancient demons, its power would have been more than enough to easily refine them.

But here, in the demonic nest, four ancient demons stood strong, several of them even surpassing Li Qing in cultivation.

To refine them all simultaneously was an incredibly difficult task. The endless tide of demonic qi surged forth, blocking wave after wave of spirit fire.

After all, this wasn’t a true formation, but merely a divine ability evolved from the heavenly spirit fire.

Li Qing’s true essence was rapidly depleting, draining away like water. In just this short time, he had already exhausted nearly a third of his magical power.

Yet the results were still remarkable. Two of the weaker ancient demons were already heavily wounded, their bodies covered in scorched marks from the flames.

”Hold on! I don’t believe this human’s mana could be so vast! He’s merely a Nascent Soul stage cultivator!”

”Human! When I break free of this formation, your death will be certain!”

Hearing the ancient demons’ furious roars from within the fire formation, Li Qing’s lips curled slightly. ”We’ll talk when you manage to get out,” he replied. ”For now, just stay put and enjoy the taste of being roasted alive.”

With that, he intensified the fire formation’s power, causing the three heavenly spirit fires to burn even more fiercely.

Of course, this also drastically accelerated the drain on his true essence.

Just as Li Qing’s mana dwindled to one-third of its original amount, one of the mid-Nascent Soul stage ancient demons finally couldn’t endure it any longer.

”Raaah!”

His pitch-black demonic body seemed to melt into slag, glowing red marks erupting across its surface. Even cold-white spirit fire began to erupt from within him.

Bang!

The ancient demon collapsed, his divine soul completely incinerated.

”His mana isn’t depleted yet! How can this human’s magical power be so vast?!”

”We can’t keep this up! We have to fight him!”

Just as the ancient demons were about to make a desperate charge, the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation, which had been sealing off heaven and earth, finally dissipated.

The remaining three ancient demons were momentarily stunned, but they soon realized that Li Qing’s magical power must be nearly depleted.

With ferocious expressions, they turned their gaze toward the towering figure outside the demonic nest, their faces contorting into cruel visages.

But Li Qing showed no intention of fleeing. He raised his head, a confident smile playing on his lips.

”It’s time to make you feel true despair!”

As his words faded, a sharp snap echoed through the air.

Crack!

Li Qing brought his hands together, his divine sense surging.

In the next instant, the dimly lit sky plunged into absolute darkness!

”Tree Puppet, descend!”

A colossal dark willow, its trunk soaring high enough to pierce the clouds and its branches and leaves blotting out the sun, descended from the heavens!

The dark willow was truly massive, its spreading foliage and branches replacing the entire sky. The shadows it cast were so dense that not a single sliver of light could penetrate.

Boom!

As the dark willow plummeted, the remaining three ancient demons were instantly crushed beneath its weight.

Li Qing had never intended to destroy these ancient demons solely with the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation; he had merely wanted to exhaust them first.

The true killing blow now was this Wooden Spirit Puppet he had personally refined!

(End of the Chapter)

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