Chapter 720 |
“Strange fluctuations?”
Lu Qing was momentarily stunned when he heard his master’s words. Then, as understanding dawned, he felt a trace of disbelief.
Could it be that his master had…
Instead of answering immediately, he asked, “Master, what kind of strange fluctuations did you sense?”
“I can’t quite describe it clearly.”
Doctor Chen paused to organize his thoughts before continuing, “When you returned that time, didn’t you give me some cultivation manuals and secret techniques?
“For the past year or so, I’ve been studying and integrating them into my own cultivation path.
“Just a few days ago, I had a sudden insight. My domain changed slightly.
“After that, whenever I entered the state of unity between heaven and man, I began faintly sensing some mysterious pulse resonating through the heavens and earth.
“But lately, that sensation has grown stronger and clearer.
“I was worried that something might have gone wrong with my cultivation, so I wanted to ask you about it.”
Lu Qing was astonished. His master had actually sensed the fluctuations emanating from the Gui Xu Secret Realm.
That was something only Nascent Soul cultivators should be able to perceive.
It seemed that over the past year, his master had made remarkable progress again — his “Heaven and Man as One” perception had become even more extraordinary.
Seeing the concern on his master’s face, Lu Qing thought for a moment before saying, “I didn’t expect even you could sense that fluctuation, Master.”
Doctor Chen’s eyes lit up. “So that means, Ah Qing, you…”
“Yes,” Lu Qing nodded. “That fluctuation truly exists. It’s not because your cultivation went astray.
“However, under normal circumstances, only those above the Nascent Soul Realm can sense it, so I didn’t mention it before.
“I didn’t expect that you could feel it too. It seems your cultivation over the past year has reached a truly astonishing level.”
Lu Qing spoke with genuine admiration.
His master’s cultivation resources were far inferior to his own, yet his progress was by no means slow.
He was pushing the very limits of what their reviving homeworld allowed.
In truth, aside from Lu Qing himself, there was likely no one else in the world who could rival his master’s strength now. His spiritual perception had reached an extraordinary level.
Even the vast cosmic pulse — something normally only perceptible to Nascent Soul cultivators — could now be faintly sensed by him.
And yet, his master’s cultivation realm was still only Golden Core Sixth Transformation at Perfection, not even having stepped into the Seventh Transformation yet.
“Don’t exaggerate,” Doctor Chen chuckled and scolded lightly. “Compared to you, my little ability is nothing. I only noticed a faint trace when entering the Heaven-and-Man Unity state.”
He then asked curiously, “Ah Qing, what exactly is that fluctuation? It feels as if it’s coming from beyond the heavens.”
“I’ve investigated it,” Lu Qing replied calmly. “That pulse comes from a secret realm beyond the stars that is about to emerge. Its reach is immense — it likely encompasses several Immortal Domains around us.”
Doctor Chen was taken aback.
“The emergence of a single secret realm could send ripples across several Immortal Domains?”
He knew, from Lu Qing’s explanations, that each Immortal Domain contained an unimaginably vast stretch of the starry skies.
For one secret realm’s emergence to resonate across multiple domains — that was almost beyond comprehension.
What kind of secret realm could possess such terrifying power?
Nearby, Xiaoyan, Han Lingshuang, and the others listened in stunned silence.
“No need to dwell on it,” Lu Qing smiled. “A secret realm of that magnitude will surely draw the attention of countless powers. It has nothing to do with us.”
“Indeed,” Doctor Chen nodded. “Such a secret realm will shake the world. It’s best we keep our distance.”
He could easily imagine that forces across the starry heavens were already eyeing that realm greedily.
The slightest mistake for a weaker cultivator could mean certain death.
In such circumstances, venturing there was pointless — and suicidal.
“As long as it’s not my illusion, that’s good. I thought perhaps I’d taken a wrong turn in my cultivation, or given rise to a heart demon.”
Doctor Chen sighed in relief.
Lu Qing smiled. “Master, you’re blessed by Heaven itself and carry the Light of Merit. How could you possibly be plagued by heart demons? Even if I were to suffer from one, you certainly wouldn’t.”
He looked at his master thoughtfully.
The Light of Merit had endless uses — it could suppress all evil influences and was especially effective against inner demons and negative emotions.
When his master had crossed his Golden Core Tribulation decades ago, he’d used up nearly all his accumulated merit.
But through years of healing and saving others, he had slowly rebuilt it — now shining even brighter than before.
“Don’t talk nonsense. No one should ever casually mention having a heart demon,” Doctor Chen scolded with mock severity.
“Yes, I’ll remember that,” Lu Qing answered obediently.
After chatting a while longer, Lu Qing left with Xiaoyan, Han Lingshuang, and Xiaoli.
“Brother,” Xiaoyan asked sweetly, “now that you’ve finished cultivating your divine technique, what will you do next? Go into seclusion again to practice a new one?”
Lu Qing thought for a moment. “Let’s rest for a bit. I’ll cook dinner for you tonight, and we can start on new cultivation later.”
For over a year, he had been comprehending the Dao, exhausting both mind and spirit.
Now that he had finally relaxed, he felt the deep fatigue in his soul.
He decided to rest a few days before beginning cultivation of the Phantasm Divine Ability.
“Brother’s going to cook? Then I want fish~”
Xiaoyan’s eyes sparkled as she clung to his arm.
“Fish, is it? Alright — we’ll go fishing then.”
Lu Qing chuckled. Fishing, for him, was also an excellent way to calm the mind.
“Fishing for spirit fish? Yay!”
Xiaoli’s tail wagged excitedly, and even Han Lingshuang’s expression softened slightly at the thought of Lu Qing’s Spirit Fish Feast — one of the most delicious meals she’d ever tasted.
“If everyone’s in the mood for fish, let’s head to the river now.”
Soon, Lu Qing led them all toward the riverbank.
The villagers, seeing Lu Qing with his fishing rod and Xiaoli carrying a wooden bucket, immediately knew what was going on.
“The Immortal Master’s going fishing again,” some of the younger villagers whispered with admiration.
They spent a peaceful afternoon by the riverside. By evening, they returned home with a bucket full of spirit fish, and Lu Qing prepared a feast that left everyone smiling contentedly.
After dinner, Lu Qing returned to his meditation room. For once, he found himself idle — a strange feeling.
Though he had planned to rest a few days before starting on the Phantasm technique, being used to nightly cultivation made idleness almost unbearable.
After a moment’s thought, he suddenly remembered something and summoned the Li Huo Cauldron.
“Yan, I plan to refine some pills. I might need your help.”
“Yes, Master!”
The spirit within the cauldron, Yan, was startled at first, not knowing why Lu Qing had suddenly called it out.
But upon hearing he wanted to refine pills, it became instantly excited.
It had been a long time since it had last participated in alchemy.
And as Lu Qing’s cultivation grew ever deeper, Yan had begun to realize that the cauldron’s usefulness to him was diminishing.
Just recently, when Lu Qing had succeeded in cultivating the True Witch Body, even the mere pressure from his physical form could distort space — leaving Yan utterly speechless.
It had never imagined that a mortal’s body could grow so strong — perhaps even stronger than the cauldron itself.
That realization had left Yan anxious.
If one day Lu Qing no longer needed the Li Huo Cauldron at all… what then would become of it?
So, upon hearing Lu Qing wanted its help, Yan was overjoyed.
That meant it still had value.
“Master, what kind of pills are we refining?” Yan asked eagerly.
“I plan to use the ice-element spiritual herbs I collected in the Ice Soul Valley to make spirit pills for Xiaoyan and Palace Master Han.
“After that, perhaps I’ll see if I can refine the Lotus of Tranquility and Five-Colored Treasure Lotus into pills as well.”
Both Xiaoyan and Han Lingshuang cultivated ice-based techniques, and Lu Qing still had many cold-element herbs stored from the Ice Soul Valley expedition.
Rather than letting them sit unused, it made more sense to refine them into pills.
As for the Lotus of Tranquility and Five-Colored Treasure Lotus — he had originally planned to keep them for himself, but his cultivation path had diverged from the norm.
Such treasures that enhanced aptitude were now of limited use to him.
While he could technically consume them to increase cultivation, that would be wasteful.
Spirit stones alone were enough for his advancement.
But refining those two supreme herbs into pills could yield far greater benefits.
Especially the Lotus of Tranquility, known for cleansing and upgrading Golden Cores — it could offer cultivators like Hu Zezhi and Han Lingshuang, who possessed middle-grade Golden Cores, a real chance to reach the Nascent Soul Realm.
“I see,” Yan said thoughtfully. “The Li Huo Sect once had several cold-element pill recipes, both for enhancing cultivation and improving aptitude.”
As the Li Huo Sect’s former guardian artifact, the Li Huo Cauldron had refined countless pills and treasures.
Its knowledge of pill refinement was immense — one could even call it a grandmaster.
“If those formulas don’t suit, I also have many pill recipes stored here,” Lu Qing said, taking out several jade slips.
“Master has pill recipes too?” Yan’s eyes brightened.
“Yes. Not just for pills — but for refining artifacts as well. Do you want them?”
After all, Lu Qing had obtained numerous manuals and techniques from slain cultivators — some even contained instructions for refining supreme treasures like the Lotus of Tranquility.
That was precisely why he’d thought to attempt it now.
Yan suddenly trembled with excitement.
“Master… may I make a request?”
“What is it?”
“If possible… could you teach me those pill and artifact refinement methods?”
Lu Qing smiled. “Of course. When I have time, I’ll sort out those jade slips. You can study them as you wish.”
“Thank you, Master!” Yan said joyfully.
Lu Qing chuckled.
He’d already memorized all those techniques. Giving them to Yan would do no harm — and it might even keep the spirit occupied.
“Then let’s begin refining,” Yan said, voice brimming with enthusiasm.
Following Lu Qing’s guidance, the cauldron’s flames began to roar to life.
Meanwhile, far away — beyond the starry void — within the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect, revered by countless sword cultivators…
Upon the highest Sword Formation Peak, a white-robed young man led dozens of Nascent Soul cultivators, all carrying swords and radiating sharp sword intent, to stand before a grey-robed elder.
“Swordmaster, the disciples are ready. We can depart at any time.”
“Good.”
The elder turned, his eyes sweeping over the gathered cultivators.
Under his gaze, every disciple instinctively straightened their backs even more.
The Swordmaster of the Heaven-Shattering Sword Sect — the one who commanded the mightiest sword lineage of all — was rarely seen.
Now that they stood before him, they dared not breathe too loudly.
“Excellent,” the elder nodded with satisfaction. “You all know your mission?”
“Yes, Swordmaster!” they chorused.
“Good. The Gui Xu Secret Realm is about to emerge. Your task is to seize whatever opportunities lie within. But remember — while fortune is precious, preserving your lives comes first. Obey your senior brother’s commands in all things.”
“Yes, Swordmaster!”
“Then go. You have three days to prepare. After that, we depart. The journey to the Gui Xu Secret Realm will be long — best to leave early.”
“Understood!”
After the disciples dispersed, the white-robed youth remained.
“What is it?” the elder asked.
“Swordmaster,” the youth said respectfully, “you once ordered me to investigate that young man in the Tianyuan Great World who used Heaven-Shattering Sword Qi.
“My men have returned — and we’ve discovered the truth.”
“Oh?” The elder’s eyes gleamed faintly. “Speak.”
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