Translator: AnubisTL
After receiving the Heavenly Star Grass, Shen Ningbing immediately retrieved three plump pills from a jade-like porcelain bottle.
Purple Yang Pills!
They had a faint purple hue, perfectly round and full, like three ripe grapes ready to burst.
Li Qing took the pills and, with a single glance, could sense their astonishing medicinal power.
It far surpassed the qi refining realm pills he had taken before, and even consuming one would require days to fully absorb its medicinal power.
"Next is the Demon Spirit. This second-tier Demon Spirit is quite fragile and requires a special magic artifact for preservation, ideally one crafted from materials that can nurture the divine soul."
"Senior Brother Li, do you have such a magic artifact?" Shen Ningbing asked, looking at Li Qing. Such artifacts usually held considerable value, and she couldn't simply gift him the artifact used to preserve the Demon Spirit.
Hearing this, Li Qing frowned slightly and fell into thought.
Nurturing the divine soul...
A small, jade-green bottle soon flashed through his mind.
Back then, Ye Feng had been reduced to a wisp of a remnant soul and had taken refuge in this very bottle, enduring until Li Qing could find him a body to seize.
In the end, Ye Feng still died at his hands, and the small, jade-green bottle naturally fell into his possession.
If it could hold the remnant soul of a qi refining realm cultivator, preserving a second-tier demon spirit shouldn't be a problem!
Li Qing quickly retrieved the small bottle from his storage pouch.
"Let's try this."
Seeing that Li Qing possessed such an artifact, Shen Ningbing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She nodded and then produced a silver-white miniature palace from her own storage pouch. Holding it in her palm, she tapped its surface a few times with her slender, elegant fingertips.
Buzz!
A gentle light extended outward, and from within this radiance, a azure demon spirit with two wings and four legs was escorted forth.
The demon spirit still appeared somewhat ethereal, as it was only a second-tier entity. Retaining its form from when it was a demon beast in life was already quite remarkable.
Li Qing extended the jade-green bottle, guiding the demon spirit inside. After confirming that the hazy, innocent phantom was safe within, he finally relaxed.
"Since the demon spirit is unharmed, I'll take my leave now, senior brother Li," Shen Ningbing said.
"Mm, farewell, junior sister Shen," Li Qing replied sincerely this time.
After seeing Shen Ningbing off, Li Qing didn't return to his cave abode. Instead, he immediately went to the General Affairs Hall.
Using the mission token Shen Ningbing had given him earlier, he successfully obtained all the spiritual herbs listed in the mission.
The elder in the General Affairs Hall couldn't help but ask, "Junior Brother Li, how did the Heavenly Star Grass trade go?"
Knowing someone would inevitably inquire about the Heavenly Star Grass, Li Qing smiled slightly and replied, "I've already traded the Heavenly Star Grass to junior sister Shen Ningbing. If senior brother is interested, you can ask junior sister Shen about it."
With that, he didn't linger and returned directly to his cave abode, feeling a great sense of relief.
After all, it was a precious, high-grade spiritual herb. Once he revealed it, it felt like a hot potato. Now that he had finally traded it away, he could finally breathe a sigh of relief, no longer worrying about others coveting it.
From now on, he would leave everything to Shen Ningbing.
He felt no guilt about this, as it was the truth. Moreover, with Shen Ningbing backed by a core formation true lord, he doubted anyone would dare to target her.
Back in his cave abode, Li Qing laid out all the treasures he had acquired during his long and arduous journey.
First came the spirit materials!
The dark red, magma-like Molten Fire Marrow exuded a potent fire attribute spirituality, yet its temperature remained surprisingly low, as if all its heat had been internalized.
The Firecloud Stone Essence was the purest essence extracted from the Fire Cloud Stone Mine. The legendary Demon Blade Red Lotus, whose fame once shook the mortal realm, was forged from this very material, making it a Peerless Divine Weapon.
In terms of quality, the Firecloud Stone Essence far surpassed ordinary Fire Cloud Stone, but it still couldn't compare to the Molten Fire Marrow, which could only be found alongside earthfire veins. The latter could be refined into a high-grade magical artifact or even serve as an auxiliary spirit material for a top-grade magical artifact!
The centennial spiritwood branch was nothing special, but its abundance of Spirit Wood Essence made it appear both resilient and vibrant—an excellent material for artifact refinement.
The yellow jade stone, unlike ordinary jade, resembled a yellow ginger root, though its texture was far harder and colder. It, too, contained a potent earth attribute spirituality.
Finally, there was the wind from Wind, Forest, Fire, and Mountain!
"It seems that during this training trip, Ancestor Bing Yun must have killed a wind-attribute Demon beast for Shen Ningbing!"
Li Qing narrowed his eyes, examining the wind-attribute Demon beast materials in his hands—a pair of wings and several tendons.
The cuts were smooth and even, but most importantly, they contained very little malevolent energy.
He surmised that the Demon beast had died too quickly, perhaps without even realizing it, its life ended before it could generate significant malevolent energy.
Unlike the white ape Li Qing had killed, whose malevolent energy had been nearly overwhelming!
From this, Li Qing could deduce that the true killer had been Shen Ningbing's core formation realm Master.
"Impressive. A core formation realm true lord killing this kind of Demon beast is like slaughtering chickens."
After sighing in admiration, Li Qing retrieved the small, jade-green bottle that could nurture the divine soul. Inside, he could vaguely see the serene form of the wind-attribute Demon beast with four legs and two wings.
"The wings resemble a bat's, but the body is more like a monkey's... What kind of wind-attribute Demon beast spirit is this?"
Even after studying numerous illustrated manuals detailing Demon beast forms, Li Qing couldn't identify the creature's origin.
However, in this vast world, nothing is truly impossible. It's normal for some unique Demon beasts to remain undocumented.
Moreover, the Forbidden Speech Snowfield is vast and profound, especially near the Forbidden Speech Snow Mountains, a Forbidden Land. Few cultivators dare venture there, so it's understandable that Li Qing didn't recognize the Demon beast.
"One thing's certain: this Demon beast's wind attribute power is incredibly strong. The materials extracted from it are all top-tier for artifact refinement!"
"Once the magic artifact is refined, I might consider incorporating this Demon Spirit into the wind spear. With their shared origin, the success rate of spirit infusion might be significantly higher."
Li Qing's eyes gleamed as he made his decision. He immediately prepared to begin artifact refinement.
Clang!
He retrieved the Black Furnace once again. Though this furnace lacked any special functions, Li Qing found it incredibly easy to use.
It was so sturdy and heat-resistant that it could even withstand the Innate True Fire of a foundation establishment realm cultivator!
Li Qing couldn't help but wonder about the origins of this forge, especially the mysterious runes etched into its inner walls, which he couldn't decipher at all.
Unfortunately, despite having obtained the forge for so long, he hadn't discovered anything extraordinary about it. It remained as plain and ordinary as ever.
"Forget it for now. Let's just start artifact refinement!"
With that, Li Qing took out the four bone spikes he had prepared in advance and arranged them side by side.
These bone spikes now looked exactly like a bone battle spear, only more menacing. Each spearhead radiated a chilling sharpness that made one's heart race.
Boom!
Li Qing first tossed one of the bone spears into the Black Furnace, followed by the yellow jade stone.
Innate True Fire surged forth, beginning to roast the bone spear and the yellow jade stone.
(End of the Chapter)
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