Translator: AnubisTL
Three spirit fires of different colors erupted simultaneously, instantly spreading outward and coalescing into an intricate Great Flame Formation that sealed off the surrounding heaven and earth.
Boom!
Within the fiery domain, the temperature soared, as if even the air itself were melting. The hardened, snow-covered ground transformed in an instant into molten, viscous magma.
The Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation combined the divine abilities of three heavenly spirit fires. Only cultivators at the nascent soul realm could wield such power, a testament to its immense strength.
Carefree Old Lord's nascent soul, having just escaped his fleshly body, was immediately trapped by the scorching spirit fire, unable to flee any further.
Inside the fire array, Li Qing's expression remained icy. He slowly formed a profound magical seal with his hands, which hovered in the air.
At that moment, Carefree Old Lord finally felt fear. He sensed an aura of extreme danger—a power capable of annihilating him effortlessly!
Even in his prime, he couldn't have withstood the might of the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation. Now, reduced to a nascent soul stripped of his fleshly body, how could he possibly resist?
Panic seized Carefree Old Lord. His mind and spirit turned to ice as he desperately cried out:
"Fellow Daoist, show mercy! This old one concedes defeat. I will withdraw from the Azure Ridge Domain and never set foot here again. I swear this oath on my dao path, invoking the heart demon!"
"Spare me! I know many secrets of the Great Wilderness Domain. I'll tell you everything if you show mercy."
At these words, Li Qing's hands, which had been forming a magical seal, paused slightly. He feigned interest and asked, "Oh? What secrets might those be?"
Seeing Li Qing finally willing to show mercy, the Carefree Old Lord's nascent soul breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to negotiate further, he realized Li Qing's hands had completed the magical seal.
In an instant, the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation erupted with temperatures high enough to melt all matter.
The Carefree Old Lord's nascent soul was instantly refined into nothingness, never having a chance to reveal any secrets.
"Too bad. I'm not interested in the secrets you know," Li Qing said, slowly lowering his hands within the Great Flame Formation. He glanced at the Carefree Old Lord's remaining corpse, then waved his hand to collect it.
He had feigned interest only to prevent the desperate Carefree Old Lord from detonating his nascent soul.
The self-detonation of a Golden Core by a core formation realm cultivator was already terrifying enough. If a Nascent Soul True Monarch were to detonate their nascent soul here, the surrounding thousand-mile radius would likely be reduced to utter ruin, devoid of all life.
The spiritual vein in this area would also suffer catastrophic damage.
While these consequences were concerning, the most critical issue was that this location served as a spatial node connecting to the demon realm. Li Qing couldn't afford to trigger a major catastrophe.
After eliminating his formidable enemy, Li Qing finally exhaled in relief.
A Nascent Soul True Monarch had fallen by his hand—a reality that still felt surreal.
Such beings had once been figures he could only crane his neck to admire, yet now he had personally slain one.
Without realizing it, he had ascended to the pinnacle of this world, becoming a true patriarch-level existence.
With Divine Transformation stage cultivators now virtually extinct, Nascent Soul realm cultivators reigned supreme across the land.
With his mind at peace, Li Qing waved his hand, dispelling the Myriad Flames Heaven-Burning Formation.
As the spirit fire faded, clarity returned to heaven and earth, revealing the rare clear weather of the Azure Ridge Domain.
Li Qing's battle with the Carefree Old Lord had already disrupted the surrounding celestial phenomena.
As the spiritual flames subsided, the remaining core formation true lords from the Free and Unfettered Sect were being relentlessly suppressed by the four supreme elders of the Lingyun Sect, unable to mount any effective counterattacks.
It was then that they finally noticed the commotion from Li Qing's battlefield.
When they saw Li Qing emerge from the Great Flame Formation almost completely unscathed, their hearts turned to ice, chilling them to the bone.
Their sect's Patriarch Xiaoyao had vanished without a trace—not even his bones remained!
Had he been refined into nothingness by that terrifying Great Flame Formation?
Before they could dwell further on this, Shen Ningbing and True Lord Fu Xuan seized upon their opponents' vulnerabilities, delivering decisive killing blows that ended their lives without hesitation.
Wu Chong, however, was a step behind. His opponent was True Lord Chang Jue.
Seeing that the tide had turned against him, True Lord Chang Jue's eyes finally revealed despair. He then made a desperate choice: detonating his Golden Core in a bid to take Wu Chong down with him, or at least inflict grievous injuries.
But this time, Li Qing had already reached the nascent soul realm. He wouldn't let Chang Jue succeed so easily.
"Self-detonating your Golden Core before a Nascent Soul cultivator? Didn't Old Ghost Xiaoyao tell you such tactics are futile?"
Li Qing slowly raised his hand, then abruptly slammed it down.
A colossal hand of dao fire materialized from thin air, sealing off the space around True Lord Chang Jue.
The earth-shattering force that should have erupted from the Golden Core's self-detonation was completely contained, like a muffled thunderclap trapped within the fiery palm.
With this done, Li Qing gradually released his grip, reducing True Lord Chang Jue to ashes.
Wu Chong, standing nearby, let out a sigh of relief. He immediately asked with concern, "Phew! Li Qing, did you really kill Patriarch Xiaoyao?"
True Lord Fu Xuan arrived swiftly, his gaze sweeping over the ravaged landscape—a wasteland carved by the clash of two Nascent Soul cultivators. He couldn't help but gasp.
"I heard that when Nascent Soul cultivators are on the verge of death, their nascent souls can escape."
Hearing their concern, Li Qing chuckled softly. "Heh, no need to worry. I've already refined Old Ghost Xiaoyao's nascent soul as well."
"From this day forward, the Azure Ridge Domain will no longer have a Free and Unfettered Sect."
With these words, the fate of the Free and Unfettered Sect, which had only emerged a few years prior, was sealed.
With all its senior members dead, the sect's existence was indeed destined to vanish like smoke.
Thus, the Free and Unfettered Sect's dao lineage was completely extinguished. Amidst the Lingyun Sect disciples and elders' ecstatic joy, the industries and spiritual lands that had once belonged to the Lingyun Sect were swiftly reclaimed.
No one could have imagined that the Carefree Old Lord's grand 800th birthday celebration would become his death anniversary.
The news spread like wildfire across the Azure Ridge Domain:
Ancestor Limitless of the Lingyun Sect has successfully achieved nascent soul formation! On the Carefree Old Lord's 800th birthday, he utterly annihilated the 800-year-old patriarch of the Free and Unfettered Sect on the spot!
Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned into silence, remaining frozen in place for a long while as they slowly processed the news, only to be plunged into deeper shock once more.
"The Free and Unfettered Sect... just vanished like that?"
"It seems so. I heard the Lingyun Sect has lifted its mountain closure, and many of its disciples are reclaiming their former holdings."
"That's right. The Meng Clan Head personally brought back the news after attending Patriarch Xiaoyao's Birthday Banquet."
"Ancestor Limitless of the Lingyun Sect actually broke through to the nascent soul realm? That's unbelievable!"
"..."
The news spread like wildfire, reaching every corner of the Azure Ridge Domain's immortal realm. Regardless of their cultivation level, everyone soon learned of this momentous event.
When they witnessed Lingyun Sect disciples appearing in person, they finally accepted that the Azure Ridge Domain's recently changed heavens had returned to the Lingyun Sect's control.
In the end, the heavens of the Azure Ridge Domain still belonged to the Lingyun Sect!
These past few days had been particularly grueling for the clan heads of the Azure Ridge Domain's cultivation clans. Having just returned from Patriarch Xiaoyao's Birthday Banquet, they were now scrambling to prepare for another journey to the Lingyun Sect.
Soon, one after another, the clan heads of the cultivation clans arrived at the Lingyun Sect's mountain gate, presenting themselves in a posture of humble apology.
The Lingyun Sect did not pursue their transgressions too harshly.
Their actions couldn't be considered a major offense, after all. Faced with the overwhelming power of the Free and Unfettered Sect at its peak, even the Lingyun Sect had chosen to seal its mountain gate.
If not for the protection of the Fourth-Tier Grand Formation and the formidable strength of their Ancestor Limitless, the outcome might have been far worse.
With this understanding, the Clan Heads of the cultivation clans breathed a collective sigh of relief and cautiously began probing the future distribution of resources.
The Lingyun Sect remained magnanimous, allowing them to continue their previous arrangement: the clans would contribute seventy percent of their profits as tribute, while retaining the remaining thirty percent for their own development.
Having witnessed the Free and Unfettered Sect's brutality firsthand, the Clan Heads were moved to tears of gratitude and pledged their unwavering loyalty to the Lingyun Sect.
The Lingyun Sect's fairness stood in stark contrast to other cultivation sects, who would undoubtedly have exploited them mercilessly. Thus, the clans genuinely hoped that the Lingyun Sect would rule the Azure Ridge Domain from now on.
At least under their rule, they could still scrape by.
The relieved clans proposed paying homage to Ancestor Limitless of the Lingyun Sect, eager to witness the majesty of a Nascent Soul True Monarch.
Li Qing flatly rejected all these requests. He had no time to waste words with these mercenary clan heads and delegated the matter entirely to Sect Leader Xu Xia.
Faced with the refusal of a Nascent Soul True Monarch, the clan heads dared not voice any complaints. After showering him with extravagant praise, they finally took their leave of Lingyun Sect.
In truth, Li Qing genuinely lacked the inclination and time to deal with them.
Having pacified the Free and Unfettered Sect, he had acquired a wealth of cultivation manuals and inheritances, including the sect's foundational technique.
This scripture, capable of guiding cultivation to the Divine Transformation stage, was named the Carefree Primordial Return Scripture. It had been left behind by Patriarch Xiaoyao, the sect's founder, as an Immortal Dao cultivation technique.
Unlike Immortal Dao techniques aligned with the Five Elements, this method cultivated a true essence characterized by balance and harmony, making it suitable for the vast majority of cultivators.
Of course, Li Qing, already possessing the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, had no intention of switching cultivation methods.
However, he ultimately planned to forge his own daoist arts in the future, so he naturally needed to study a wide range of other cultivation manuals for reference and inspiration. After all, even the stones of distant mountains can be used to polish jade.
Creating a new cultivation manual is no simple task. It requires not only extraordinary talent and comprehension but also deep accumulation of knowledge.
Studying other cultivation manuals for reference can never be a mistake.
"I never imagined the Free and Unfettered Sect had such a glorious past. Their founding sect leader was a great cultivator who successfully ascended to the upper realm."
"Senior Xu Xiaoyao probably never imagined that after his ascension, the dao lineage he left behind in this realm would gradually decline, with no cultivator ever reaching the divine transformation stage again."
In the Free and Unfettered Sect's Hall of Ancestral Founders, there were records and memorial tablets for each generation of ancestors. After Xu Xiaoyao, the founding sect leader, no other cultivator from the sect ever reached the divine transformation stage.
By the time of the current generation, the Free and Unfettered Sect had not only failed to protect its mountain gate but had also been completely overturned by Li Qing.
As time flowed onward, another immortal sect's dao tradition faded into the mists of history.
Li Qing remained deeply curious about the ancient era. What kind of environment existed then, and why was it so vastly different from the current cultivation world?
"In ancient times, while cultivators at the divine transformation stage were rare, they weren't completely extinct like they are now. Not a single divine transformation stage powerhouse has revealed themselves in the world for ages."
"Whether based on ancient records from the Free and Unfettered Sect or fragments left by Senior Bai Ling, divine transformation stage cultivators occasionally intervened in worldly affairs during that era."
When Li Qing was merely at the core formation realm, he hadn't paid much attention to such distant matters.
Now that he had achieved nascent soul formation, these issues suddenly felt much closer.
After all, few beings in the world could still threaten his life, and these mysterious divine transformation stage old monsters were among them. Naturally, his curiosity had been piqued.
Unfortunately, no matter how he searched, he couldn't find any clues. Li Qing had no choice but to suppress the question in his heart and stop wasting effort on it.
After thoroughly reviewing all the Free and Unfettered Sect's dao lineage scriptures, the Hall of Technique Transmission at Lingyun Sect gained a vast new collection. The paths available to the sect's disciples and elders had become significantly richer.
After completing these tasks, Li Qing returned to the secret chamber within his cave abode.
In the dried-up blood pool, the peculiar blood lotus had begun to wither, its crimson petals shriveling from lack of essence blood nourishment.
Li Qing hesitated for a moment before patting his storage pouch.
After refining Patriarch Xiaoyao's nascent soul, he had remembered to collect the patriarch's corpse.
The remains of a Nascent Soul cultivator should, in theory, be far more valuable than the bones of third-tier demonic beasts.
Ultimately, Li Qing tossed Patriarch Xiaoyao's corpse into the blood pool, transforming it into pure bone marrow essence.
Though the quantity was small, its purity was exceptional. In an instant, the eerie blood lotus regained its luster.
As usual, Li Qing settled into a meditative posture at the center of the lotus petals, using the blood lotus to nourish himself.
Within Fire Cliff Cave, Li Qing had created his own daoist art, the Dao Tribulation Limitless Sutra. While this brought him considerable benefits, it also depleted his primordial origin, costing him four hundred years of lifespan.
Now, nourished anew by the blood lotus, his depleted primordial origin had been fully replenished.
During this process, Li Qing's cultivation had subtly advanced once more. The improvement was slight, yet it surpassed the progress he would have gained from several years of arduous meditation.
As the blood lotus unfurled its petals again, the malevolent thoughts surged into Li Qing's mind once more.
Fortunately, the Exquisite Immortal Sound protected him. These chaotic, evil thoughts were immediately swept away, leaving Li Qing's consciousness undisturbed.
Having concluded this brief cultivation session, Li Qing rose and returned to his cave abode, where he began to contemplate his future cultivation plans.
(End of the Chapter)
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