Translator: AnubisTL

Li Qing wasted no time in meeting Xu Xia, the current sect leader of the Lingyun Sect.

Eight years had passed since their last meeting, and Xu Xia's cultivation had advanced to the mid-foundation establishment stage, just a step away from the late foundation establishment realm.

This cultivation speed was neither fast nor slow, considering Xu Xia's unremarkable spirit root aptitude.

His progress to the mid-foundation establishment stage in eight years was primarily due to his position as sect leader, which granted him access to relatively more cultivation resources.

As sect leader, Xu Xia was burdened with an overwhelming amount of daily sect affairs, leaving him with little time for cultivation. This special treatment was the sect's way of compensating for his demanding duties.

"Not bad," Li Qing remarked approvingly, immediately recognizing Xu Xia's progress. "It seems you've been diligent in your cultivation these years. You're not far from the late foundation establishment realm."

Xu Xia responded modestly, "It's all thanks to Martial Uncle Limitless's guidance. Without the sect's cultivation resources, I wouldn't have come this far."

Li Qing couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity in Xu Xia's words. Wasn't this exactly the tone he used when he was being self-deprecating?

Chuckling to himself, Li Qing shook his head and didn't dwell on the matter. Instead, he asked about what had happened at the Lingyun Sect during his absence.

"Well, tell me. Why have you come? Has the sect encountered some trouble?"

As he spoke, Li Qing's voice carried a newfound confidence. As a cultivator in the Nascent Soul realm, he was confident he could handle any trouble that might arise.

Xu Xia shook his head repeatedly. "It's not quite trouble, Martial Uncle. It's just some important matters that require your attention."

"First, there's Senior Tianbao from the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild. Two years ago, Senior Tianbao sent a letter to the sect."

"The letter stated that some of the Spirit materials you commissioned the guild to search for have been gathered."

"Second, the guild's headquarters is about to host a grand auction. By my calculations, it should be in less than two years. Cultivators from many great domains will be attending, and the Lingyun Sect has received an invitation."

The Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild was a merchant guild with influence spanning numerous great domains. Its strength and foundation were undoubtedly among the peak of the Human Realm, and with a divine transformation stage old monster potentially pulling the strings from behind the scenes, few dared to provoke it.

When such a powerful entity hosted an auction, its impact was undeniable. There was even a chance of encountering divine transformation stage cultivators at the event!

"The Ten Thousand Treasures Grand Gathering... might be worth attending, just to broaden my horizons," Li Qing murmured, nodding to himself.

Seeing this, Xu Xia continued, "The second matter concerns the demonic path sects of the Great Wilderness Domain. They've learned about the increasingly abundant spiritual energy in the Azure Ridge Domain."

"However, after learning that you personally slew Patriarch Xiaoyao, those demonic path sects haven't made any overt moves. They've merely sent formal greetings."

Li Qing nodded calmly, his expression unchanged, showing neither tension nor gravity.

That the Azure Ridge Domain would come to the attention of the demonic path sects of the Great Wilderness Domain came as no surprise to him. It was, in fact, entirely expected.

After all, the increasingly dense and prosperous spiritual energy environment of a great domain was not something that could be hidden for long. Even the most obtuse cultivator would eventually notice.

Furthermore, as the situation in the Great Wilderness Domain grew increasingly chaotic, more and more rogue cultivators were fleeing to the Azure Ridge Domain to escape the immortal dao war. News of this was bound to spread.

Li Qing's response to this was remarkably calm, radiating confidence:

"It's of no concern. As long as those demonic sect cultivators don't provoke us, we won't bother with them."

"After all, the Lingyun Sect has never claimed to be a righteous path sect, so there's no need for us to actively provoke the demonic sects of the Great Wilderness Domain."

Now a Nascent Soul realm cultivator, Li Qing naturally felt much more secure than he had in the past, when he had held those demonic path sects in such awe.

If a fight were to break out, it was far from certain who would emerge victorious.

The demonic sects of the Great Wilderness Domain were no fools. They wouldn't needlessly make an enemy of a Nascent Soul realm cultivator!

Li Qing's unwavering confidence put Xu Xia at ease, and a sense of security washed over her.

This is the advantage of having a Nascent Soul stage Ancestor in charge, he thought. We can sit back and watch the tides of the world rise and fall.

If the Lingyun Sect were still as it had been before, the outcome would have been drastically different.

Demonic path sect claws might have already reached into the Azure Ridge Domain by now.

"The third matter is that we've finally made some progress in locating the Flame Gold Marks you instructed us to search for before you left, Ancestor!"

At these words, Li Qing's brow finally twitched.

"Oh?"

Before leaving, he had tasked the sect with searching for flame-shaped golden marks. This matter was crucial to refining the Black Furnace into the heaven-piercing spirit treasure, the Annihilation Furnace, so Li Qing naturally took it very seriously.

After all, in his earlier years, he had traveled far and wide, his footsteps covering countless places, yet he had only managed to collect eleven Flame Gold Marks.

The inner wall of the Black Furnace had thirty-six gaps, meaning twenty-five more marks were scattered throughout the heaven and earth, their whereabouts unknown.

In truth, Li Qing hadn't held much hope of collecting all the Flame Gold Marks. The task was akin to searching for a needle in a haystack.

"It's quite a coincidence, actually," Xu Xia said. "Three years ago, a massive geological upheaval struck the central and southern regions of the Azure Ridge Domain. Several towering mountain ranges were overturned and collapsed, burying many cultivators who had been hiding in the area!"

"But after the upheaval, a strange grotto-heaven seemed to emerge, attracting the covetous gazes of many cultivators."

"Later, I sent people to observe the situation from the periphery. By chance, they saw someone holding three of the Flame Gold Marks you mentioned, Ancestor. I decided to trade a foundation establishment pill and several hundred Spirit stones for them."

With that, Xu Xia produced three golden, flame-shaped marks from his pocket. They were identical to the eleven Li Qing had obtained earlier—all of the same design!

Li Qing recognized them instantly. He nodded and accepted the marks. "Excellent, excellent. These are indeed the golden Flame Gold Marks I was looking for."

With these three, he now possessed fourteen Flame Gold Marks. But he still had a long way to go before he could collect them all.

"Also, that person mentioned that these three Gold Fire Marks were brought out from that grotto-heaven. We don't know if there are more inside."

Li Qing fell into deep thought after hearing this. He recalled the words Senior Bai Ling had once spoken.

The Black Furnace was originally a heaven-piercing spirit treasure called the Annihilation Furnace. It was wielded by an old monster at the Divine Transformation stage—Old Man Meisheng, who had lived during the same era as Dao Lord Bai Ling.

After Dao Lord Bai Ling passed away, he left Li Qing the method to refine the Annihilation Furnace, but only if he could gather all the Flame Gold Marks.

Legend had it that when fully activated, the furnace could obliterate any living being in the world, its power reaching an astonishing level!

Because of this, Li Qing had always harbored a desire to refine the furnace to its peak.

After all, he had used the Black Furnace for many years and found it extremely convenient. It served not only as an artifact refining furnace but also for Pill Refinement. Most importantly, its defensive capabilities were astonishing, capable of even withstanding void turbulence.

Now, it seemed that if he could refine it into a heaven-piercing spirit treasure, its utility would be even greater.

"This mysterious grotto-heaven that appeared after the massive geological upheaval... Could it be the tomb mansion where Old Man Meisheng was buried?"

Li Qing speculated inwardly, considering exploring the cave abode himself, but not yet.

He soon spoke, "Yes, send a letter to True Monarch Tianbao of the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild. I'll take all the Spirit materials he collected. And I won't miss the grand auction hosted by the guild's headquarters."

After dismissing Xu Xia, Li Qing retreated to the secret chamber deep within his cave abode.

Buzz~!

The secret chamber door trembled slightly, revealing the scene within.

After eight years, the blood pool was completely dry. The blood lotus growing at its center had withered, its petals showing signs of decay and fading color.

"Heh, if I'd returned a few years later, I might have only found a Blood Lotus Seed," Li Qing quipped, then patted the Carefree Cosmos Pouch at his waist.

In the next moment, a torrent of crimson blood gushed from the storage bag like a waterfall, pouring into the blood pool.

As the pungent scent of blood filled the secret chamber once more, the pool quickly filled, sending crimson waves rippling across its surface.

In moments, the withered blood lotus had regained its vitality, quickly swelling to its full size once more.

Watching the blood lotus sway gently in the blood pool, Li Qing released a large quantity of blood from third-tier exotic beasts, pouring it all into the pool.

The more he poured, the faster the blood lotus absorbed it, as if it could never overflow.

Next, Li Qing leaped into the air and sat directly atop the Blood Lotus Pedestal.

In an instant, the crimson lotus seat enveloped him, this time with a ferocity unlike any before.

Despite having experienced this process countless times, Li Qing couldn't help but gasp when he felt the life essence surge into him.

The sensation made every cell in his body leap with joy. Ever since achieving Nascent Soul cultivation, his life essence had been depleted.

Moreover, he had expended a significant amount of essence blood and vital essence in the World of Eternal Night to temper Lin Jing's physique.

"Hiss... this feeling is like ascending to the heavens in broad daylight."

Li Qing's body trembled slightly as the blood lotus infused his body with pure life essence, inevitably affecting his subconscious once more.

Fortunately, a burst of Exquisite Immortal Music erupted within Li Qing's body, swiftly erasing and expelling the evil thoughts that had been altering his subconscious.

This was the true wonder of the Exquisite Immortal Sound. Even without active activation, its passive protection alone, preventing him from falling into qi deviation, was enough to make countless cultivators envious.

As this process continued, Li Qing's life essence gradually became more abundant and vibrant.

Consequently, the Qi-Blood Embracing the Core he had cultivated in the World of Eternal Night also grew stronger.

Faintly, the blood core within him seemed to be on the verge of igniting like a flame, leaving Li Qing somewhat bewildered.

"Blood flame? What's going on now?"

Uncertain whether this was a good or bad sign, he could only suppress it for the time being, preventing the blood pill from growing any further.

In addition, Li Qing's magical power gradually deepened.

Although the progress remained slow, it was undeniably improving!

This was far more efficient than his usual meditation and qi refining practice. Witnessing his cultivation grow bit by bit filled Li Qing with profound satisfaction.

"Truly incredible. In just a short while, I've achieved what would have taken me over a decade of diligent meditation and qi refining."

As Li Qing refined the primordial origin he had converted from the Blood Lotus Pedestal, he continued to replenish the blood pool with the fresh blood of third-tier exotic beasts.

The Carefree Cosmos Pouch still held a considerable amount of third-tier exotic beast blood, enough to sustain his cultivation for a long time. This meant Li Qing's current cultivation session could last for months. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

Time gradually passed, and Li Qing's aura grew increasingly profound and distant. He had already made significant progress in the early Nascent Soul stage.

In the blink of an eye, half a year had flown by!

Lost in the embrace of the blood lotus, Li Qing finally exhausted all the exotic beast blood stored in the Carefree Cosmos Pouch.

As the lotus petals slowly unfurled, Li Qing's figure, seated cross-legged at the center of the pedestal, gradually emerged.

"Hmph... truly unbelievable. In just half a year of arduous cultivation, my cultivation has advanced so far."

Feeling the surge of mana within him and the vitality of his life essence, Li Qing couldn't help but gasp again, his face filled with astonishment.

His cultivation was now on the verge of reaching the mid-Nascent Soul stage, separated by only a thin layer of paper. It seemed he could break through at any moment, needing only a single opportunity to pierce that final barrier.

And Li Qing had long been prepared for that opportunity.

He was now on the verge of breaking through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, leaving many Nascent Soul cultivators far behind.

However, Li Qing had no intention of doing so just yet. This leap in cultivation had been too significant, and he wanted to take his time to fully grasp his progress and savor the changes within him.

He wanted to avoid the instability that could result from such a rapid breakthrough, knowing that shortcuts always came with inevitable drawbacks.

"I'm just one step away from the mid-Nascent Soul stage. I wonder if anyone in this world, from ancient times to the present, has ever cultivated as quickly as I have."

Of course, Li Qing wasn't being arrogant. After all, he had endured countless years in the World of Eternal Night—a testament to his genuine experience.

So, strictly speaking, his progress wasn't as rapid or exaggerated as it might seem. His foundation remained remarkably solid.

Moreover, the suppression of heaven and earth during the End of Dao Era seemed to have brought unexpected benefits. It had solidified his foundation, preventing the instability that could have resulted from such a massive leap in cultivation.

Without this grounding, he would likely have needed far longer to refine his cultivation, avoiding the insurmountable bottlenecks that could arise during future breakthroughs.

"It seems the End of Dao Era in the World of Eternal Night wasn't entirely without its advantages. If any cultivator in that world could survive this spiritual energy depletion and witness the spiritual energy revival, their cultivation would likely soar to unprecedented heights."

Li Qing chuckled to himself, deeply satisfied with the fruits of his recent cultivation.

(End of the Chapter)

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