Chapter 713 |
“Brother, what’s the surprise?”
Xiao Yan couldn’t help but ask.
“This one’s a secret for now. You’ll know once your transformation is complete.”
Lu Qing smiled mysteriously and then took out a jade vial.
“You’ve just refined the Mysterious Ice Cold Flame into your life-bound spirit fire. Your body will be nourished by that fire, so this transformation will take quite some time.
Once it’s over, you can start refining the essence blood within this jade vial to strengthen your physical body.
The stronger your body, the more powerful the mana it can withstand—this is an unchanging truth.
By then, your foundation will be solid, and when the time comes for you to transcend the Nascent Soul Tribulation, it will be much easier to pass.”
“As for the key to refining essence blood, you heard it from Master yesterday, didn’t you?”
“It’s good that you remember. Your brother has plenty more of this essence blood. When the time comes, you and Sister Han can refine it together. That way, she won’t feel uncomfortable accepting these spiritual materials.”
Lu Qing still felt deeply grateful toward Han Lingshuang.
She had abandoned her duties at the Cold Water Palace and spent years on the Sacred Mountain caring for Xiao Yan, helping to suppress the changes in her temperament caused by her cultivation technique.
Such kindness was something Lu Qing would never forget.
But he also knew Han Lingshuang disliked formal gestures, so having Xiao Yan handle this would be best.
“I understand, Brother,” Xiao Yan said earnestly.
“Good. Now go cultivate. You’ve just turned the Mysterious Ice Cold Flame into your life-bound spirit fire. This flame is unique—take your time to comprehend its nature. Once you’ve mastered it fully, the benefits will be great.
I’ll head to the Sacred Mountain to inform the Three Holy Lords that the Eagle Demon is dead and make a few arrangements. I’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, Brother, go ahead.” Xiao Yan nodded obediently.
Lu Qing left Xiao Yan at home to cultivate, then took Xiaoli with him and summoned his Void Flying Boat, heading straight for the Sacred Mountain.
To save time, Lu Qing once again used his spatial traversal ability, steering the flying boat directly into the airspace above the Sacred Mountain.
After all, the spatial fabric of his home world wasn’t nearly as stable as that of the Tianyuan Great World, so using void traversal here cost him little mana.
Looking down at the mountain, Lu Qing put away the flying boat and descended with Xiaoli.
He hadn’t suppressed his aura, so the Three Holy Lords had already sensed his arrival.
By the time he landed, they were already waiting at the summit to greet him.
“Greetings, Three Holy Lords.”
“Has little friend handled all matters at home?”
After returning their salutes, the First Holy Lord asked.
“Yes.” Lu Qing nodded. “I came today to tell you that the last of the four demonic cultivators who attacked the Sacred Mountain—the one called the Eagle Demon—was slain by me yesterday. You needn’t worry about him wreaking havoc anymore.”
“The last demon has fallen?”
All three Holy Lords were overjoyed.
That was what they had feared most—the last surviving demon, a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. Other than Lu Qing and Xiao Yan, none in the Sacred Mountain could deal with such an enemy.
Now that he was dead, how could they not rejoice?
“Little friend, you’ve rid the world of yet another demon. Truly a deed of immense merit.” The First Holy Lord spoke sincerely.
“It was but a small effort,” Lu Qing replied with a smile.
He did not explain how he had tracked down and slain the Eagle Demon.
But the Three Holy Lords didn’t doubt him; they knew his powers had long surpassed their comprehension.
For them, hunting that demon’s trail would be near impossible—but for Lu Qing, it was likely as simple as breathing.
“With this, we can finally act—to purge the demonic cultivators from the world!” the First Holy Lord said excitedly.
The other two Holy Lords also looked exhilarated.
They had long refrained from sending disciples out to exterminate demons, wary of the four late-stage Golden Core demon lords.
Now that all four were dead, they could at last lead a full crusade against demonic cultivators everywhere.
“Good. The lesser demons can be left to you. I’ll give you another batch of talismans later to aid your efforts,” Lu Qing said calmly.
He had no intention of running across the world slaughtering demonic cultivators himself. That duty would fall to the Sacred Mountain.
He couldn’t protect them forever—his disciples needed to experience trials to grow stronger.
So he planned to do as before, providing them with powerful talismans to inspire their resolve to purge evil.
“Many thanks, little friend!”
The Three Holy Lords were overjoyed.
Although Lu Qing had left them many talismans years ago, they had long been used up.
While some elders skilled in talisman-making had tried to replenish them, their creations were nowhere near Lu Qing’s level—both in power and craftsmanship, they weren’t even in the same league.
So hearing he would give them another batch filled them with delight.
With Lu Qing’s talismans, their confidence in purging the demonic path surged.
After leaving the talismans, Lu Qing returned once again to Jiuli Village.
Back home, he saw Xiao Yan and Han Lingshuang both cultivating, so he didn’t disturb them. Leaving a brief message, he took Xiaoli and quietly entered the Hundred Thousand Mountains, making his way to the valley where the Jade Transformation Chamber was located.
As before, he first paid his respects to Li Weitian, then entered the chamber.
Though decades had passed, the Jade Transformation Chamber was largely unchanged, save for the spiritual energy being even denser now.
Sensing his presence, his puppet avatar emerged from the cultivation room.
Seeing the puppet, Lu Qing felt a faint sense of strangeness.
That puppet had cultivated here for many years and had already reached the third transformation of the Golden Core Realm.
However, since it was a puppet and had not undergone any heavenly tribulation, its core was a false one—its foundation weaker than that of a true cultivator.
Of course, because the puppet’s divine soul was formed from one of Lu Qing’s own soul seeds, it retained much of his memory and understanding of techniques—far beyond that of an ordinary Golden Core cultivator.
Ordinary third-transformation Golden Core experts would stand no chance against it.
“I will cultivate here for a while. Guard the entrance for me,” Lu Qing instructed.
The puppet nodded silently and sat cross-legged at the cave entrance.
Lu Qing didn’t mind. The puppet was an extension of himself, not an independent being. Having it guard the entrance was as good as leaving part of his own consciousness there.
If the soul seeds he created could develop independent will, he would never have practiced such a technique to begin with—it would have been too great a risk. With his many secrets, he couldn’t afford such hidden dangers.
After giving his order, Lu Qing turned to the inscriptions on the cave wall.
With his current mastery of formations, there were no more secrets here.
He could tell that this Jade Transformation Chamber had been constructed by a Nascent Soul cultivator skilled in talismanic arts—likely a high-ranking member of the Divine Rune Sect.
After examining the runes for a while, Lu Qing sighed.
The Divine Rune Sect’s legacy had been of immense help on his cultivation path.
Even back in the Xiao Cang Realm, the talismans he made using their knowledge had earned him a fortune in spirit stones.
Those spirit stones had paved the way for his future progress.
Not to mention, his mastery of teleportation talismans and ability to move freely through Zhou Tian City, toying even with Nascent Soul experts—those were also thanks to the foundation laid by the Divine Rune Sect’s teachings.
“It’s a pity… During my travels through the stars, I couldn’t find any trace of those who left our home world during the previous Immortal Era.”
The starry void was vast beyond imagination.
Within the Great Yuan Immortal Domain alone, there were countless cultivation worlds.
Lu Qing had no idea where the cultivators who left on the Void Breaking Ark tens of thousands of years ago had ended up—or if they had even survived their journey.
Without any clues, seeking them out would be like searching for a needle in the sea.
At least within the Tianyuan Great World, he had found no hint of their fate.
Thus, he still had no news of whether the Divine Rune Sect survived—nor of Xiaoli’s parents.
Drawing back his gaze, Lu Qing entered the meditation chamber and sat cross-legged.
After days of handling various matters, he finally had time for himself.
And for him, nothing was more important than cultivation.
He calmed his mind, entering deep concentration, and activated his divine comprehension ability, immersing himself fully in the state of enlightenment.
What he intended to cultivate this time was the divine soul secret technique he had obtained from that cold old man—the Ephemeral Life Anchored to Heaven and Earth.
This technique was wondrous beyond compare.
Once mastered, it would grant him the equivalent of nine extra lives.
Even though Lu Qing already possessed numerous life-saving methods, one could never have too many ways to survive.
Moreover, since it was a divine soul technique, studying it would deepen his understanding of the Nascent Soul Realm as well.
As his divine ability activated, Lu Qing entered the deepest state of meditation. Waves of enlightenment rippled from his body.
Though the Ephemeral Life Anchored to Heaven and Earth was profoundly complex, he swiftly began to grasp its principles. Insights bloomed within his mind like stars flickering to life.
…
While Lu Qing secluded himself within the Jade Transformation Chamber, somewhere within the Great Yuan Immortal Domain, on a vast world—
Inside an enormous palace, dozens of powerful figures sat in two neat rows.
At the head sat a middle-aged man in a purple dragon robe, his bearing majestic and authoritative.
“Everyone, the Starsea Gui Xu Secret Realm—appearing once every ten thousand years—is about to manifest again. How do you all intend to respond?”
At his words, the hall fell silent.
After a brief pause, one of the figures spoke: “Patriarch, the Gui Xu Secret Realm’s appearance is no small matter. When it emerges, not only we of the Immortal Clan, but countless other great powers will covet the opportunities within. It will not be easy to claim them.”
“Hmph! So what if they covet it? To enter the Gui Xu Secret Realm, one must possess a token. In the Great Yuan Immortal Domain, there are but a few powers that hold such tokens besides our Immortal Clan.
Without one, they can only watch helplessly from the outside!”
Another figure snorted coldly.
“True, but the sects that do hold tokens are not to be underestimated—like the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect, the Black-and-White Temple, and the Netherworld Palace. Each of them is formidable, even more so than our Immortal Clan.”
At those names, the others stirred uneasily.
Everyone present knew those sects were fearsome beyond measure.
Only the one who had spoken earlier remained defiant. “So what if it’s the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect or the Black-and-White Temple? We are the descendants of the Immortal Clan—since when have we ever feared them?”
“This isn’t about fear,” said another in a grave tone. “It’s about prudence—”
“Thirteenth Brother!” The defiant man slammed the armrest of his seat. “You’re always praising outsiders and belittling our own clan! What’s your motive? Are you suggesting we give up this chance to enter the Gui Xu Secret Realm—and hand its fortunes over to others?
Don’t you understand? This is our greatest opportunity to restore the glory of the Immortal Clan and reclaim dominion over the Great Yuan Immortal Domain! How can we back down now?”
“Seventh Brother, I didn’t mean that, I just—”
“Enough!”
The middle-aged man in the purple dragon robe cut in, his voice carrying the weight of command.
“You are all Nascent Soul experts—arguing like children is unseemly.”
At his rebuke, both men fell silent.
“Seventh Brother’s words are not without merit,” the patriarch continued. “The Gui Xu Secret Realm concerns our clan’s destiny. The fortunes within may be the key to restoring our ancient glory. We must not relinquish this chance.”
Hearing this, the Seventh Brother’s eyes gleamed with satisfaction.
But the Thirteenth Brother looked troubled.
“However,” the patriarch went on, “Thirteenth Brother is also correct. Those other sects that possess tokens—the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect, the Black-and-White Temple, and the Netherworld Palace—are formidable opponents.
Since you’ve raised this issue, Thirteenth Brother, have you thought of a more prudent plan?”
All eyes turned toward the Thirteenth Brother.
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