Immortal Refiner

The battlefield situation deteriorated rapidly as demonized cultivators joined the fray.

Wu Chong and two other core formation realm cultivators from the Lingyun Sect launched a thunderous assault, sweeping through the battlefield to prevent the influx of cultivators undergoing demonic qi infusion.

Fortunately, the trio’s skills were exceptional, and Li Qing had bestowed upon each of them a suitable magic treasure before the battle, making the fight less difficult than it could have been.

Most of the demonized cultivators were only at the foundation establishment realm. Even with their enhanced combat prowess, they stood no chance against core formation realm cultivators.

However, the few core formation realm demonized cultivators proved more formidable.

Wu Chong and Jiang Han each deployed their methods, using Li Qing’s natal magic treasures to hold them at bay.

Chu Lingyi, still inexperienced in combat, focused on clearing out the lower-level foundation establishment realm demonized humans. Armed with the precious mirror Li Qing had gifted her and her own vast collection of talismans as a Talisman Master, she proved adept at handling the swarming enemies.

With a flick of her skilled hand, several crimson talismans lined up in a row. Then, a roaring wave of flames erupted, sweeping across the battlefield.

In a single strike, countless demonized cultivators of the Foundation Establishment realm met their doom, reduced to ashes by the terrifying fiery wave.

Yet these demonized cultivators, their personalities completely warped by the demonic qi infusion, showed no fear. A normal person witnessing such carnage would have been terrified, but these creatures were different. Even as allies perished beside them, they remained unfazed, charging toward the heart of the battlefield with fanatical eyes fixed on the pile of ancient demon corpses.

”They just keep coming... endless waves. I don’t know how the demonic race manages to create so many Foundation Establishment cultivators,” Chu Lingyi murmured, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly, a hint of anxiety crossing her pretty face.

Despite her concerns, she understood the gravity of the situation and showed no mercy.

”This is the only way!”

As she spoke, a pale green Talisman Paper materialized between her fingertips, its runes far more profound than those on the talismans she had used before.

A third-tier talisman—the Heavenly Wind Talisman!

This was a premium third-tier talisman of the wind attribute, created to simulate the Heavenly Wind of the Boundless Sea.

The Heavenly Wind was a terrifying natural disaster of the Boundless Sea, one that had even left Li Qing utterly disoriented when he encountered it.

Talisman made in imitation of this phenomenon were naturally terrifyingly powerful. Even if they couldn’t fully replicate the full might of the true Heavenly Wind disaster, having just twenty or thirty percent of its power was more than enough.

With a hint of pain in her eyes, Chu Lingyi activated the Heavenly Wind Talisman. The pale blue runes on its surface instantly erupted with dazzling spiritual light.

Immediately, fierce winds surged across heaven and earth, and hurricanes materialized out of thin air, sweeping toward the seemingly endless horde of demonic humans with terrifying force.

But she wasn’t finished. Chu Lingyi drew out two more third-tier fire attribute talismans. Biting her red lip lightly, she activated them simultaneously.

Boom!

Two seas of fire instantly formed, but under the influence of the Heavenly Wind Talisman, all the flames were drawn into the hurricanes.

The winds fueled the flames, transforming the hurricanes into blazing tornadoes that swept forward with devastating force. Every demonized cultivator in their path was caught in the fiery vortex, perishing instantly.

In that moment, Chu Lingyi finally demonstrated the terrifying destructive power of a skilled Talisman Master on the battlefield.

Even the members of the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild couldn’t help but steal glances at the scene.

Though these fiery hurricanes might not have caused them severe damage, their sheer spectacle was undeniable.

”This young girl’s mastery of talisman art is quite impressive. I wonder who her teacher was?”

”Using wind talismans to amplify fire—the combined power unleashed through their synergy is truly astonishing.”

Chu Lingyi, however, had little time to feel pride. The continuous use of multiple talismans had severely depleted her divine sense power, and she pressed her forehead to alleviate the strain.

Meanwhile, in a hidden corner of the sky, Li Qing watched the scene and nodded in approval.

”Junior Sister Chu’s talismanship truly reflects the true teachings of Fellow Daoist Fu Xuan. Without such extraordinary proficiency, even knowing the principle of wind amplifying fire wouldn’t allow her to combine two distinct talismans to achieve a combined talisman effect.”

When two talismans complement each other, the resulting power is far more than a simple sum of their individual strengths.

Of course, the true critical point of the battlefield lay with True Monarch Tianbao and True Monarch Guangzhu. If anything went wrong on their end, the entire situation would collapse in an instant.

Once a nascent soul realm ancient demon broke free, a few mere third-tier talismans would be utterly useless.

Therefore, throughout the entire battle, Li Qing’s attention remained focused on the location of the Starlight Mending Heaven Formation.

At this moment, the void rift continued to slowly mend itself. True Monarch Tianbao, single-handedly maintaining the formation art, was already drenched in sweat.

He had to divide his attention into three parts: maintaining the repair of the Demonic Realm Rift, diverting the ancient demons descending through it, and using spirit formations to eliminate the surviving ancient demons.

True Monarch Guangzhu faced no less pressure. He had already slain five nascent soul realm ancient demons. These demons, having crossed the two realms, were in a severely weakened state, which allowed True Monarch Guangzhu to gain the upper hand.

However, the current two ancient demons were both at the mid-Nascent Soul stage, and their battle with him had become a fierce stalemate.

”Fellow Daoist Guangzhu, hold on a little longer! I’ll soon have this demon suppressed,” True Monarch Tianbao said, sweat dripping from his forehead. He looked flustered, feeling that a mistake could happen at any moment.

True Monarch Guangzhu’s expression grew increasingly grim. The two mid-Nascent Soul stage ancient demons were putting immense pressure on him, making it impossible to resolve the battle as swiftly as before.

His only consolation was that no Divine Transformation stage ancient demons had descended to the lower realm yet. If even one appeared, the mission here would likely fail immediately.

Finally, just as the battle reached its most critical juncture, more ancient demons who had descended earlier finally arrived behind the demonic human battlefield.

”This is the Doma Clan’s territory, isn’t it? It seems they’ve been wiped out.” Two ancient demons of imposing presence slowly flew down from the sky.

They didn’t even glance at the countless dead demonic humans. These ancient demons from the demon realm cared nothing for these grotesque beings, twisted by demonic qi infusion; the death of any number of them evoked no pity whatsoever.

Another ancient demon sneered, ”Serves them right for meddling in territories belonging to other clans. Total annihilation is what they deserve!”

”Still, the defensive forces here are far weaker than at the other void rifts—only two Nascent Soul cultivators and a few insignificant stragglers.”

”Agreed. At least leave one void rift open as a passage back to the holy realm. We can’t let them repair all of them.”

In mere moments, two formidable ancient demons of the nascent soul realm surged through the air, their overwhelming aura crushing everything in their path.

True Monarch Tianbao and True Monarch Guangzhu immediately sensed the situation. Their faces paled, and their hearts sank.

The situation was already dire. With two fresh, powerful ancient demons joining the fray, abandoning the mission seemed the only reasonable course of action.

”We’re one support short. If only Fellow Daoist Limitless were here.”

As he spoke, True Monarch Tianbao began to consider retreat. Having lived for centuries, he had no intention of sacrificing his life for the greater good of heaven and earth.

At that moment, Li Qing knew he could no longer conceal his presence. It was time to act.

Boom!

In an instant, a vast and majestic aura surged from the horizon. Celestial phenomena churned across the four directions, and endless winds and clouds converged.

Amidst the commotion, a hearty and unrestrained laugh rang out: ”Hahaha! Several fellow daoists of the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild, you’ve worked hard. It seems This Li hasn’t come too late!”

This sudden turn of events startled everyone present, their eyes snapping toward the sky.

Such a formidable aura! It must be a late-stage Nascent Soul great cultivator!

Wu Chong and the others were fine; they knew the truth. But True Monarch Tianbao and True Monarch Guangzhu had subconsciously believed that Li Qing had fallen into the hands of an ancient demon during the battle at Heaven’s End Island.

Their earlier greetings had been mere pleasantries.

Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined Li Qing would actually appear here, and with what seemed to be a further breakthrough in his cultivation!

True Monarch Tianbao was the most shaken, almost spitting blood from the shock.

When they first met, Li Qing was merely a perfected core formation cultivator. He had even helped gather several crucial spirit herbs needed to refine the Dragon Transformation Pill.

How many years had it been? Yet Li Qing had already surpassed him, becoming a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.

True Monarch Guangzhu, though less familiar with Li Qing, had long heard of the Limitless True Monarch’s formidable reputation.

”Hahaha! It’s better to arrive just in time than too early. Fellow Daoist Limitless, you’ve come at the perfect moment!” True Monarch Guangzhu, unlike True Monarch Tianbao, felt immense joy rather than shock.

With such a powerful ally, their current crisis was averted!

True Monarch Tianbao was even more impatient. ”Fellow Daoist Limitless, hurry and kill these two ancient demons and come assist us! The demons pouring forth from the demon realm are truly relentless!”

Li Qing chuckled. ”Consider it done.”

With a flicker of movement, Li Qing materialized before the two invading ancient demons.

Though he was far smaller than them, the aura radiating from his body completely suppressed the two ancient demons.

After all, he had endured the full force of the Heaven’s End Island incident. This current skirmish was nothing more than a minor disturbance.

The two formidable ancient demons, however, felt as if they were facing a mortal enemy. An overwhelming sense of crisis welled up within them.

Their innate demonic intuition told them this human was immensely powerful—a being who had undoubtedly slain countless ancient demons of his own tier. The aura emanating from him sent shivers down their spines.

In an instant, without a word, they turned and fled, their earlier air of effortless dominance vanishing completely.

The scene left everyone present stunned, utterly unprepared for such a turn of events.

”Senior Brother Li is so powerful!” Stars lit up in Chu Lingyi’s eyes, her fatigue vanishing as her face filled with adoration.

Li Qing shook his head helplessly. ”The Azure Ridge Domain isn’t a place you can just come and go as you please.”

As he spoke, he flicked his hand, and a torrent of fiery meteors erupted before him. These were techniques forged from heavenly spirit fire. Though not true divine abilities, under Li Qing’s immense cultivation, they proved far more terrifying than many such techniques.

Boom!

Three meteors, each condensed from heavenly spirit fire, shot forth with blinding speed. In less than a blink, they struck the two fleeing ancient demons. The heavenly spirit fire ignited on their demonic bodies, refining vast amounts of primordial demonic qi in an unquenchable blaze.

In an instant, the two ancient demons, who had moments before carried themselves with arrogant superiority, died without even uttering a word.

So powerful! What a terrifying technique!

This was the only thought that could arise in the minds of the onlookers as they gazed upon Li Qing’s towering figure.

Immediately after, Li Qing turned and, with the most ruthless methods, collaborated with True Monarch Tianbao and True Monarch Guangzhu to eliminate the remaining enemies.

The situation, which had been on the verge of collapse, turned around in an instant, and the members of the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild breathed a collective sigh of relief.

”Fellow Daoist Limitless, it’s wonderful that you could make it here,” True Monarch Tianbao said, finally able to wipe the cold sweat from his brow and spare a moment to speak with Li Qing.

With Li Qing’s arrival, the pressure eased dramatically, almost as if it had vanished entirely.

”Heh, why the formality, Fellow Daoist Tianbao? I am a native cultivator of the Azure Ridge Domain, after all. It is only natural that I contribute to the defense of this land.”

”I was delayed by certain matters earlier. Upon learning of the situation here, I rushed here without delay. I hope you will not hold it against me, fellow daoists.”

Even after advancing to the late-stage nascent soul realm, Li Qing remained as amiable as ever with his old acquaintance, showing no airs.

He had never forgotten the great assistance True Monarch Tianbao had rendered him in the past.

”This must be Fellow Daoist Limitless?” True Monarch Guangzhu stepped forward, his previous arrogance gone, replaced by a clear desire to befriend Li Qing. ”I have long admired your reputation. I am Guangzhu, who attained enlightenment in the Western Sea Region and now serve as an honored consultant for the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild.”

A smile begets a smile, Li Qing replied with a grin. ”So, it’s Fellow Daoist Guangzhu! I’ve long admired you!”

With Li Qing’s arrival, the tension in the air eased considerably. The ancient demons of the Nascent Soul stage who had descended upon the Human Realm were swiftly and ruthlessly slain by Li Qing, leaving them no room to struggle.

Now, the group could finally relax. As they watched the Demonic Realm Rift slowly seal, they began to chat casually.

”Fellow Daoist Limitless, your cultivation speed is truly astonishing!” True Monarch Tianbao exclaimed repeatedly. ”To reach the late-stage Nascent Soul realm so quickly... I’m speechless!”

”Hahaha, it’s merely been a few fortunate encounters these past years,” Li Qing waved his hand dismissively. ”In several near-death experiences, I managed to gain some benefits. In the end, it was all just luck.”

Unwilling to dwell on the topic, Li Qing changed the subject. ”By the way, what was the outcome of the battle at Heaven’s End Island that day? Are the Divine Transformation stage seniors safe? I vaguely recall four such ancient demons arriving. It was a battle that shook the heavens and stirred the seas!”

True Monarch Tianbao then briefly recounted the day’s events. Despite being outnumbered three to four, they managed to kill one Divine Transformation stage ancient demon, severely wound another, and rescue most of the cultivators trapped by the Five Elements Spirit-Sealing Rings. It was a truly glorious victory!

Li Qing listened with great admiration, realizing how far he still had to go.

(End of the Chapter)

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