Translator: AnubisTL
In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
During this time, the Lingyun Sect remained tightly sealed behind its mountain gate, with not a single disciple venturing beyond the sect's protective formations.
Since Li Qing successfully condensed his nascent soul, the sect's cultivation atmosphere had become even more diligent and exceptional.
All this was in preparation for the immortal dao war against the Free and Unfettered Sect. Everyone hoped to swiftly restore the Lingyun Sect's former status in the Azure Ridge Domain.
Truth be told, after more than two years of seclusion, the Azure Ridge Domain's cultivation world had nearly forgotten the Lingyun Sect's existence.
Yet Li Qing remained remarkably composed.
Throughout these two years, he had been diligently cultivating within his cave abode, studying the inheritance he had obtained from the Crimson Radiance Hall.
The Crimson Radiance Heavenly Monarch had undoubtedly been a patriarch who had mastered the art of fire to its absolute limits!
Through these inherited divine abilities and cultivation techniques, Li Qing had gained profound insights.
"The Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation... This divine ability actually uses multiple heavenly spirit fires as catalysts to simulate the power of a true formation!" Li Qing murmured to himself, deeply impressed by this technique personally created by the Crimson Radiance Heavenly Monarch.
This divine ability shared a similar principle with the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation Diagram, both relying on external means to replicate the formation's power.
However, the Cultivation Method personally created by the Crimson Radiance Heavenly Monarch was far more ingenious.
It used spirit fire as the foundation for formation deployment, harnessing the destructive power of heavenly spirit fire to annihilate enemies.
Yet, mastering this divine ability required exceptionally stringent conditions.
Firstly, the cultivator's cultivation level had to be at least in the nascent soul realm. Cultivators below this realm had virtually no chance of success. Only those who had condensed a nascent soul were qualified to attempt its cultivation, making the entry barrier extremely high.
In addition to this, two other conditions had to be met: the cultivator's cultivation manual had to be the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, and they had to possess three types of heavenly spirit fire.
These three exceedingly demanding requirements combined to ensure that very few individuals could ever master this divine ability.
Even Li Qing currently met only two of these conditions. However, the third condition wasn't insurmountable.
By venturing to Fire Cliff Cave once more, he could seize the opportunity to subdue a third heavenly spirit fire—the Profound Yellow True Flame within Crimson Radiance Hall.
Li Qing didn't rush to depart. During this time, he had been using his secret agents to observe the situation at the Free and Unfettered Sect.
Before resolving the major threat posed by the Free and Unfettered Sect, venturing rashly into Fire Cliff Cave risked attracting the attention of Patriarch Xiaoyao.
With this thought, Li Qing sighed deeply.
"Alas, I've run into a dead end!"
To eliminate Patriarch Xiaoyao, the best approach would be to first fully harness the power of the third heavenly spirit fire and then unleash the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation.
With this divine ability empowered by three heavenly spirit fires, he was confident he could slay Patriarch Xiaoyao, even though the latter was a renowned Nascent Soul cultivator with decades of experience.
The problem was that Li Qing couldn't determine Patriarch Xiaoyao's current state.
On the surface, the Free and Unfettered Sect appeared to have lowered its guard against the Lingyun Sect, almost completely ignoring them.
But Li Qing dared not draw any conclusions. He suspected this might be a deliberate facade, with the sect secretly observing the Lingyun Sect.
If he rashly left the sect, who knew what might happen?
Having failed to devise a method to break through the impasse, Li Qing had no choice but to set aside this immensely powerful divine ability, unable to truly attempt its cultivation.
However, another divine ability left behind by the Crimson Radiance Heavenly Monarch proved somewhat intriguing. Over the past two years, Li Qing had devoted considerable effort to studying it.
This divine ability, known as the Fire Extreme Dharma Body, involved infusing spirit fire into one's body, then using the nascent soul as a central nexus to condense a formidable fire-attribute dharma body.
Within these two years, Li Qing had managed to condense the initial form of his Fire Extreme Dharma Body, barely qualifying as a successful cultivation.
However, he hadn't yet truly tested the divine ability's power, leaving him uncertain of its effectiveness.
With another soft sigh, Li Qing slowly set down the Scripture Scroll and made his way to the secret chamber within his cave abode.
First, he fed spirit fire to the Fire Jade Bee Queen, whose strength had now reached the late second-tier stage, not far from advancing to the third-tier.
"Truly, when one attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven," Li Qing mused. "I never imagined that the pure heaven and earth spiritual energy I gathered during my nascent soul formation would bestow such significant benefits upon this queen bee."
Li Qing nodded in satisfaction. Once the Fire Jade Bee Queen officially became a third-tier spirit insect, she would be a formidable combat asset.
Judging by the current progress, that day shouldn't be far off.
After feeding the Fire Jade Bee Queen, Li Qing turned and entered a hidden chamber within his cave abode.
Inside the chamber lay a crimson blood pool, at its center floated a fully bloomed blood lotus, swaying gently.
The blood lotus had grown increasingly eerie, its sinister aura and the surrounding stench of blood causing Li Qing to frown.
Nourished by the bones and blood of numerous powerful demon beasts, this blood lotus had become truly extraordinary.
"Could I use this blood lotus like the Blood Lotus Sect Leader did?" Li Qing muttered to himself, his brow furrowed. Despite having possessed the lotus for some time, he still hadn't figured out how to utilize it.
Refine it into a medicinal pill?
But he didn't even know the lotus's name, and as someone completely ignorant of the Pill Refinement Technique, using it as an ingredient was out of the question.
Creating an entirely new pill formula was simply beyond Li Qing's capabilities.
Even Alchemists deeply versed in pharmacology found it exceedingly difficult to devise a new pill formula, let alone Li Qing.
The blood lotus had bloomed a year prior, a year after his nascent soul formation. At that time, the entire secret chamber had filled with an intense crimson glow as the eerie blood lotus drained nearly half of the festering blood from the blood pool in a single surge.
Li Qing had spent the entire year pondering how to utilize this blood lotus.
Now that his foundation was completely stabilized, Li Qing finally resolved to personally test the blood lotus's true purpose.
With this thought, a resolute glint flashed in Li Qing's eyes. He stepped forward, crossed the edge of the blood pool, and settled into a cross-legged position at the heart of the crimson lotus.
Almost instantly, the blood lotus's petals began to slowly envelop Li Qing, as if the flower were closing once more.
Sensing a faint danger, Li Qing cautiously summoned the two heavenly spirit fires within his body.
At the slightest sign of trouble, he would not hesitate to unleash thunderous methods, incinerating the painstakingly cultivated blood lotus.
As the crimson petals closed around Li Qing, he quickly sensed the lotus's mutation.
Each petal pressed against his body slowly transmitted a dense vital essence, causing his fleshly body to gradually grow stronger.
This was astonishing. Li Qing's body arts cultivation had already reached the peak of the third-tier.
Further progress would be exceedingly difficult, nearly as challenging as a third-tier demonic beast undergoing transformation.
The blood lotus slowly nourished Li Qing's body. This sensation of his fleshly body gradually strengthening was utterly blissful, completely immersing him in its embrace.
Soon, completely entranced, Li Qing noticed that his cultivation had also subtly improved. Though barely perceptible, there was indeed a slight advancement.
Upon confirming this, he gasped.
"How is this possible? For the past two years, no matter how diligently I meditated and practiced breathing exercises, my cultivation remained as immovable as a stubborn stone."
"Now, it's actually increased slightly!"
Li Qing's heart pounded wildly. This blood lotus could actually enhance a Nascent Soul cultivator's mana.
But soon, it seemed the demon beast bones and blood in the pool had been completely drained.
The blood lotus's nourishment gradually ceased, leaving Li Qing feeling a pang of regret and reluctance.
In that moment, a sinister thought surfaced in his mind.
It seems this blood lotus thrives on absorbing the essence blood of living beings. Not only does it strengthen the fleshly body, but it also advances cultivation.
So, should I...?
The instant this thought arose, a crisp, melodious sound reverberated through Li Qing's mind.
Exquisite Immortal Sound!
Ever since Li Qing absorbed the primordial origin of the Exquisite Treasure Physique during his nascent soul formation, he had gained a divine ability similar to the Exquisite Immortal Sound.
However, unlike Exquisite True Lord Ling Long, he couldn't actively control or activate this immortal melody. It could only be triggered passively, maintaining his mental clarity under the influence of illusion techniques or other external forces.
Once the Exquisite Immortal Sound faded, Li Qing snapped back to his senses. He tore open the blood lotus's petals and burst free.
"This blood lotus is truly malevolent! It was subtly influencing my thoughts and consciousness!"
"If not for the Exquisite Immortal Sound awakening me, my mind might have been permanently altered, turning me into a servant of this blood lotus. I would have sought living beings' essence blood at any cost to enhance its power!"
As he spoke, Li Qing's back was drenched in cold sweat.
Just moments ago, after experiencing the enhancement of his cultivation and fleshly body, he had felt an overwhelming urge to slaughter all living beings for blood sacrifices.
One careless move, and he would have plunged straight into the demonic path!
Still shaken, Li Qing took a long moment to calm his racing thoughts.
His gaze toward the blood lotus now held profound wariness.
The essence blood in the blood pool was nearly depleted, and the blood lotus no longer radiated its earlier malevolent aura. Instead, it appeared withered and listless, clearly in need of fresh essence blood to sustain it.
For a moment, Li Qing was unsure what to do.
The benefits he had gained from the blood lotus were undeniable: a tangible improvement in both his fleshly body and mana cultivation.
After all, he was now a Nascent Soul cultivator. At this realm, simply meditating—even for decades or centuries—would yield little progress in his cultivation.
After weighing the pros and cons, Li Qing finally made his decision.
"With the protection of the Exquisite Immortal Sound, I don't need to worry too much about the blood lotus corrupting my mind."
"But I fear I might become uncontrollably addicted to it in the future, eventually turning to the demonic path willingly."
As he spoke, a bitter expression crossed Li Qing's face.
Reaching the Nascent Soul Realm had been incredibly difficult, and now he truly understood how much harder it would be to advance further.
He knew that many Nascent Soul cultivators in this realm remained stuck in the early Nascent Soul Realm for life, finding it nearly impossible to progress beyond that.
Even Patriarch Xiaoyao, who had lived for countless years, was still only at the early Nascent Soul Realm.
This starkly illustrated the immense difficulty of cultivation at the Nascent Soul Realm—it was akin to ascending to the heavens.
Li Qing considered his mental fortitude to be relatively strong, but if he failed to make any progress in his cultivation for centuries, he wasn't sure if he could resist the blood lotus's temptation.
In the end, Li Qing decided to use the blood lotus, but he set a firm boundary for himself.
"No matter what happens in the future, I will never wantonly slaughter innocent beings to offer blood sacrifices to this lotus. This is my bottom line, and I will not cross it."
After entering the Nascent Soul Realm, Li Qing had thoroughly studied the notes left by Dao Lord Bai Ling, gaining some insight into the hidden secrets of this world.
He now knew that even the Nascent Soul Realm was not the pinnacle of power.
At least in this realm, cultivators existed in the Divine Transformation Stage—true old monsters.
Unlike Nascent Soul cultivators, these Divine Transformation Stage old monsters rarely showed themselves in the mortal world, preferring to remain hidden in ancient, secluded lands.
Dao Lord Bai Ling had not explained the specific reasons for this, only advising Li Qing to exercise caution.
If Li Qing were to recklessly slaughter innocents for blood sacrifices to enhance his power, he risked provoking one of these reclusive Divine Transformation Stage old monsters to emerge from their seclusion.
Therefore, Li Qing ultimately decided to maintain a low profile in his future actions, even after becoming a Nascent Soul True Monarch. He resolved not to act recklessly or wantonly.
"Just follow the dictates of my heart," he murmured.
With these words, Li Qing left the secret chamber and resealed the entrance with a restriction.
At that very moment, a Spirit Sealing Letter materialized outside his cave abode.
"Hmm? Intelligence from our external spies?"
"New information so quickly? Could the Free and Unfettered Sect be making some moves recently?"
Li Qing opened the spirit letter and began reading it carefully.
As he read the contents, his eyes narrowed slightly.
The message was brief, consisting of a single sentence:
"In twenty days, the Free and Unfettered Sect will hold a grand ceremony to celebrate the eight-hundredth birthday of their sect patriarch, Carefree True Monarch."
Nascent Soul cultivators possess lifespans exceeding a thousand years. Consequently, cultivators at this level typically only hold grand birthday celebrations once every hundred years.
Celebrating in hundred-year increments would certainly make the occasion more grand.
"Eight hundred years old."
Upon seeing this intelligence, Li Qing's first reaction was surprise. He hadn't expected Patriarch Xiaoyao, who had lived for eight centuries, to still be at the early Nascent Soul Realm.
He had initially assumed the patriarch was only five or six hundred years old at most, never imagining he was such an ancient figure.
This clearly demonstrated the extreme difficulty of advancing in the Nascent Soul Realm.
Otherwise, how could Patriarch Xiaoyao, who had lived for eight hundred years, have made no progress whatsoever in his cultivation?
Li Qing realized this might be his own future—spending centuries stagnating in the Nascent Soul Realm.
The only good news was that Li Qing's lifespan was still vast, allowing him to endure the passage of time.
For now, Li Qing didn't dwell on such distant matters. Instead, a cold glint gradually appeared in his eyes.
"An eight-hundredth birthday banquet... Is this an opportunity to flaunt their power?"
"It seems the chance to subdue the Profound Yellow True Flame has finally arrived."
(End of the Chapter)
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