Immortal Refiner

Following the long-eared rabbit’s instructions, Li Qing registered for a quota on the next teleportation formation and paid 30,000 spirit stones upfront.

Intercontinental teleportation formations consumed vast amounts of spiritual energy with each activation, making them extremely expensive to operate.

The Azure Floating Islands were the only place in the surrounding region with such a formation, tightly controlled by the four great powers. Each activation generated a staggering six million spirit stones in revenue for them.

Even after deducting the daily operational and maintenance costs, the profits remained astonishing, revealing the immense wealth the four great powers had amassed through this monopoly.

”Truly exorbitant,” Li Qing murmured to himself. ”The fact that these four powers can maintain such a tight grip on this teleportation formation suggests their strength is beyond easy estimation.”

Afterward, Li Qing settled in the heart of the Azure Floating Islands, choosing a spiritual vein brimming with abundant spiritual energy as his residence.

He wasn’t short on spirit stones. The substantial quantity he had acquired in the Heavenlight Secret Realm had left him with ample resources to spend.

This was a genuine sixth-rank spirit vein, located at the very center of Floating Azure Main Island. The surrounding spiritual energy was so dense it had condensed into a visible mist. Even casual breathing allowed one to refine massive amounts of mana.

”The teleportation formation isn’t expected to activate for at least another month. This time would be perfect for cultivation, ideally reaching the perfected stage of the Divine Transformation realm in one go.”

Inside his cave abode, Li Qing exhaled deeply, then adjusted his mental and physical state.

Soon after, he retrieved the last few Earth Spirit Grass Fruits he possessed and swallowed them whole.

Boom!

The energy contained within the fruits erupted within his body, causing the mana in his dantian to surge violently.

Li Qing steeled his mind and began circulating the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, using four strands of heavenly spirit fire to refine the surging energy.

The immense power within his body blazed like a sun. As the cultivation technique cycled through its cycles, his cultivation steadily advanced, climbing at a rate visible to the naked eye.

What would normally take ordinary cultivators decades, centuries, or even longer, Li Qing was achieving in a fraction of the time, thanks to the Earth Spirit Grass Fruits.

His aura grew increasingly potent, his entire being transforming into a furnace that devoured every trace of the fruits’ energy, leaving nothing unrefined.

Before long, over ten days had passed. Having fully absorbed the medicinal power of the Earth Spirit Grass Fruits, Li Qing stood just a hair’s breadth away from reaching the great perfection stage of the Divine Transformation realm.

He had no intention of stopping. With a backhand motion, he retrieved a wood essence jujube.

These five elements jujubes were extraordinary. To fully unlock their potency, they were best refined into medicinal pills.

However, Li Qing lacked the pill formula associated with the five elements jujubes, leaving him with no choice but to use them directly as a last resort.

Yet the jujubes couldn’t be swallowed whole. They needed to be broken open using the principle of the five elements’ mutual restraint to unleash their maximum medicinal power.

”Metal restrains wood,” Li Qing murmured. ”The metal attribute Heavenly Light from the Immortal Slaughtering Sword is the perfect tool for this.”

With these words, he refined the Immortal Slaughtering Sword, summoning its golden Heavenly Light.

The razor-sharp Heavenly Light grazed the wood essence jujube, instantly piercing its skin and releasing a drop of vibrant, emerald-green essence.

Without hesitation, Li Qing inhaled the essence through his nose and mouth.

Boom!

In an instant, aided by the jujube’s power, the scarlet true essence within Li Qing’s body erupted into a violent boil, like water splashed into a hot oil pan.

Even before he could circulate his cultivation technique to refine the medicinal power, he effortlessly ascended to the perfected stage of the divine transformation realm.

Yet a vast reservoir of medicinal power remained within him. Li Qing’s scalp tingled with alarm. He had severely underestimated the jujube’s overwhelming potency.

”Truly a peerless treasure medicine capable of affecting even cultivators in the void refinement realm. Its medicinal power is nearly equivalent to the combined effects of over ten Earth Spirit Grass Fruits.”

Li Qing had already reached the great perfection of the divine transformation realm, his cultivation progress stalled. To advance further, he would need to break through to the void refinement realm.

However, he remained unsatisfied with his comprehension of the five elements harmony and had no intention of rushing into the void refinement realm prematurely.

He channeled the surging true essence out of his body, guiding it into the Immortal Slaughtering Sword to nourish the spirit treasure.

This was his most extravagant nourishment session yet, with vast quantities of true essence flowing into the Immortal Slaughtering Sword like a river.

Under this massive influx of true essence, the Immortal Slaughtering Sword finally broke through from the profound grade to become an earth-grade spiritual treasure in a single leap!

Li Qing had achieved this milestone decades ahead of schedule.

Now an earth-grade spiritual treasure, the Immortal Slaughtering Sword’s luster had dimmed, its once brilliant golden sheen fading into a dark golden hue.

”Excellent. The Immortal Slaughtering Sword’s killing power now far surpasses even the Immortal-Trapping Sword. This metal-attribute divine light has amplified its capabilities immensely, perfectly complementing my Immortal Slaughtering Sword.”

With that, Li Qing opened his mouth and swallowed the Immortal Slaughtering Sword whole.

He didn’t even need to test it further to know how formidable the sword had become. Once drawn, it would inevitably thirst for blood.

The Immortal Slaying Four Swords Formation he had envisioned in the lower realm was now half complete, with only the Immortal-Slaying Sword, Immortal-Trapping Sword, and the sword formation diagram remaining to be refined.

Li Qing’s ambition knew no bounds. He was no longer satisfied with mere earth-grade spiritual treasures.

Now that both the Immortal Slaughtering Sword and Immortal-Trapping Sword possessed the potential to advance to Heaven-Grade Spirit Treasures, he naturally held high expectations for the remaining two killing swords. At the very least, they must be refined to the level of Heaven-Grade Spirit Treasures.

If he succeeded, he would wield four heaven-piercing spirit treasure-level killing swords. Combined with the sword formation diagram, he would be able to sweep aside any opponent of equal cultivation level.

Only then would he truly live up to the name ”Immortal Slaying.”

”I wonder how powerful these so-called chaos supreme treasures truly are, if even earth-grade spiritual treasures are this terrifying.”

This matter exceeded his imagination. He had only heard that each chaos supreme treasure contained law power—some strong, some weak—and that these supreme treasures had existed since before the primordial chaos was divided.

Filled with satisfaction, Li Qing slowly rose to his feet. He was pleased with his cultivation progress and felt ready to attempt breaking through to the void refinement realm at any moment.

With a complete five elements spirit root and a deep understanding of the mysteries of five elements harmony, coupled with the Violet Zenith Heavenly Light, Li Qing was confident in his chances of advancing to the void refinement realm.

All that remained was to consolidate his foundation one last time.

Thus, Li Qing left his cave abode, eager to explore the bustling commercial hub of Floating Azure Main Island.

This island, a melting pot of various races, might yield valuable information, such as the location of the Heavenly Origin Continent or news about the Thunderclap Continent.

Both continents were essential destinations for him.