Translator: AnubisTL
The most crucial aspect of Li Qing's future cultivation plan remained, of course, enhancing his cultivation realm.
Though he had already reached the nascent soul realm, this was far from his ultimate goal. Water flows downward, but humans must always strive upward.
"The only problem is that advancing in cultivation becomes increasingly difficult once you reach the nascent soul realm," Li Qing sighed softly. Even with the three heavenly spirit fires bolstering his Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, allowing him to cultivate at a pace far surpassing ordinary cultivators of his rank, it still felt insufficient.
At this stage, even cultivators with heavenly spirit roots couldn't achieve rapid breakthroughs. Progress required enduring long periods of gradual refinement, advancing step by step through painstaking effort.
This explains why many Nascent Soul cultivators remain stuck in the early stages of the realm until their great limit approaches, unable to break through despite years of arduous cultivation.
Since diligent practice alone proved insufficient, relying on external forces became essential.
Previously, Li Qing had always been able to find corresponding spirit pills and elixirs at each cultivation realm to enhance his progress. However, even the thought of obtaining spirit pills and elixirs capable of advancing his nascent soul realm cultivation made it clear just how precious such items would be.
"I've scoured Crimson Radiance Heavenly Monarch's inheritance and Senior Bai Ling's legacy, but I haven't found a single relevant pill formula, not even the names of such pills," Li Qing murmured.
"This proves that pills effective for the nascent soul realm were exceedingly rare, even in the ancient era."
As he spoke, Li Qing's gaze fell upon the secret chamber within his cave abode.
If he wished to make significant progress in his cultivation now, his only recourse was the eerie blood lotus.
However, the blood lotus required vast quantities of essence blood to function. In this realm, he lacked sufficient methods to gather such quantities. Even another voyage to sea would likely yield too few demon beasts to sustain his nascent soul realm advancement.
"Alas, there's only one option left: to venture into the World of Eternal Night!"
"Only the World of Eternal Night harbors enough strange beasts for me to hunt without attracting the attention of other dangerous entities. I simply need to explore a wider area."
Speaking of the World of Eternal Night, Li Qing was reminded of many things.
For instance, he hadn't visited his registered disciples there in quite some time.
Long ago, when he was at the core formation realm, he had seized the Spirit Devouring Demon Flame from a secret realm within the World of Eternal Night. The realm had subsequently collapsed into void turbulence.
This was why he had avoided returning, fearing he would be caught in the turbulence and torn to shreds. After all, his core formation realm cultivation had been insufficient to withstand such a calamity.
But now, as a Nascent Soul cultivator, coupled with his mastery of the Kunpeng Treasure Technique, which allowed him to briefly merge with the void, and his formidable defensive Black Furnace, he possessed multiple means of survival should he encounter void turbulence.
"Come to think of it, time flows three times faster in the World of Eternal Night compared to this realm," Li Qing murmured. "After all these years, I wonder what it's like there now."
Although his registered disciples had all embarked on the vital energy martial dao, their lifespans far exceeding those of mortals, they were ultimately not immortals. No matter how long their lifespans, they could never truly be limitless.
Coupled with the threefold time dilation, Li Qing feared that if he went now, he might once again have to bury a younger generation.
Instead of rushing off, he continued to outline the other crucial aspects of his cultivation plan.
"I must continue refining my self-created daoist arts. For one thing, the Dao Tribulation Limitless Sutra remains incomplete and requires time to slowly refine."
"Then there's the matter of lifespan. If I continue cultivating the Dao Tribulation Limitless Sutra, it might further diminish my lifespan."
Considering this, Li Qing realized that even with his current lifespan of over two thousand years, it still seemed somewhat insignificant.
To extend his lifespan, he needed to refine treasures—the most cost-effective and suitable method for him.
And if he was going to refine treasures, he naturally had to attempt refining heaven-piercing spirit treasures.
Currently, Li Qing had two refining concepts for heaven-piercing spirit treasures. One was the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, for which he had already successfully refined a forbidden artifact version. Now, he simply needed to gather sufficient spiritual materials to begin the full-scale refinement.
The other was to reforge the Black Furnace, which had another name in the ancient era: the Annihilation Furnace.
Senior Bai Ling had told him about this during their time in the Myriad Beasts Secret Realm, a memory Li Qing had never forgotten.
Reforging the Black Furnace would restore its original power as the Annihilation Furnace.
"Either of these heaven-piercing spirit treasures, once refined, would greatly extend my lifespan and bring about a qualitative transformation in my strength."
But alas, his aspirations were grand, while reality was harsh.
Refining heaven-piercing spirit treasures wasn't as simple as wishing it so. It required spiritual materials, and materials of an exceptionally high grade. Ordinary materials simply couldn't withstand the immense power of such treasures.
Whether it was the Annihilation Furnace or the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, even if he scoured every corner of the Lingyun Sect, he would only find a few auxiliary materials at best.
So, he still needed to gather spiritual materials!
After finalizing his future cultivation plans, Li Qing realized that his trip to the World of Eternal Night was truly unavoidable.
In that realm, he could not only freely collect strange beasts to refine essence blood but also leverage its threefold time dilation to slowly refine his daoist arts.
Moreover, there was the issue of spiritual materials. The materials needed to refine heaven-piercing spirit treasures were rare and precious in this world, but they might be less coveted in the World of Eternal Night. Perhaps he could even find one or two such treasures there!
"However, I can't rely solely on gathering materials in the World of Eternal Night. I need a two-pronged approach: mobilize the sect's resources while also exploring potential trades with the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild."
With this in mind, Li Qing finalized his upcoming schedule.
Over the next six months, Li Qing issued two directives to the sect:
First, he ordered the disciples to remain vigilant about movements in the Southern Great Wilderness Domain and maintain close contact with the black market forces he had deployed there.
Second, he instructed them to gather all available spiritual materials suitable for artifact refinement, especially the rare materials he specifically required. Any trace of these materials appearing within the Azure Ridge Domain was to be immediately reported.
There was originally a third command: to continue monitoring the movements of the Grassland Holy Temple Tribes.
But after considering it, Li Qing ultimately decided against it.
Now that he was a Nascent Soul cultivator, as long as he lived, the cultivators from the northern Grasslands would never dare to invade.
Li Qing was supremely confident in this. Even if an elder from the Grassland Holy Temple Tribes miraculously succeeded in nascent soul formation, Li Qing was certain he could eliminate them.
Having completed these tasks, Li Qing proactively visited the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion to pay his respects to True Monarch Tianbao.
After all, Fellow Daoist Tianbao had provided significant assistance in his successful nascent soul formation.
In the central region of the Azure Ridge Domain, within the Heavenly River Market of the Soaring Islands, stood an extravagantly opulent pavilion. Above its entrance hung three gilded characters: "Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion."
"Hahahaha! Fellow Daoist Limitless has successfully formed his nascent soul and vanquished an unprecedentedly formidable foe! These are truly two joyous and auspicious occasions!"
Inside the pavilion, True Monarch Tianbao greeted Li Qing with a smile as radiant as a blooming chrysanthemum.
He stroked his mustache with one hand, his eyes crinkling with delight as he offered his congratulations.
In response, Li Qing clasped his hands in a respectful bow.
"This is all thanks to Fellow Daoist Tianbao's timely assistance," Li Qing said. "Without your help, I'm not sure if I would have succeeded in forming my nascent soul."
Now that Li Qing had truly reached the nascent soul realm, he felt confident addressing True Monarch Tianbao as "Fellow Daoist Tianbao." As fellow nascent soul cultivators, they were naturally considered peers.
In the past, when they had met within the Lingyun Sect's Grand Formation, Li Qing had stiffened his resolve and addressed him as "Fellow Daoist Tianbao" to uphold the sect's dignity. Although True Monarch Tianbao was amiable, Li Qing had always felt his foundation was somewhat lacking.
True Monarch Tianbao waved his hand dismissively, his tone polite. "Modesty, modesty! Fellow Daoist Limitless, your success in forming your nascent soul is ultimately due to your own solid foundation. This old one merely played a minor, insignificant role!"
"Hahaha, enough with the pleasantries. What brings Fellow Daoist Limitless here today? Is there some matter you wish to discuss?"
Li Qing had indeed come with a request.
"Fellow Daoist Tianbao, I'll get straight to the point," Li Qing said. "Does your esteemed merchant guild possess any pills or pill formulas that can enhance a Nascent Soul cultivator's mana or cultivation level?"
As soon as Li Qing posed his question, True Monarch Tianbao produced a palm-leaf fan from who-knows-where. Waving it back and forth while shaking his head, he replied:
"This is a confidential matter of the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild, and we cannot disclose it to outsiders. We hope Fellow Daoist will understand."
"Even if our pavilion possessed such heaven-defying spirit pills and elixirs, we would never offer them for trade."
Though the words were veiled, Li Qing immediately grasped their meaning.
The Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild indeed possessed such a precious pill formula, but due to its confidential nature, they couldn't even reveal the name of the pill.
Having deciphered the hidden meaning, Li Qing felt a surge of awe. He realized the guild's true depth was terrifying, as they even possessed such rare and legendary pill formulas.
"I see. I understand now." Li Qing clasped his hands in apology for his abruptness.
This was perfectly reasonable. Such heaven-defying and precious spirit pills would be considered top-secret treasures by any major power in the lower realm, never offered for trade.
They would be far more valuable for nurturing their own Nascent Soul cultivators!
With that, Li Qing smoothly transitioned to his second request.
"I wish to refine a magical artifact, but I'm currently struggling to acquire the necessary spiritual materials. Does your esteemed merchant guild have any such materials in stock?"
As he spoke, Li Qing presented a bamboo slip detailing the spiritual materials he required.
True Monarch Tianbao, his face beaming with smiles, accepted the bamboo slip from Li Qing. But as he read the list of spiritual materials recorded on it, his smile instantly froze.
A pair of fourth-tier late-stage demon bird wing bones, Void Moon Crystal Sand, high-grade Thunder Sound Bamboo.
"Ahem, Fellow Daoist," True Monarch Tianbao coughed awkwardly, startled by the materials Li Qing sought. "While the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild prides itself on gathering all the treasures under heaven, we can't simply conjure up anything you desire!"
Each material on the list was a world-renowned rarity, virtually impossible to find in circulation. Even the headquarters of the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild might not possess them!
Hearing this, Li Qing couldn't help but feel a pang of disappointment, but he quickly suppressed it. After all, these were materials for refining a heaven-piercing spirit treasure—naturally, they would be exceptionally precious.
"I don't need them immediately," Li Qing said with a wry smile. "I simply ask Fellow Daoist Tianbao to keep an eye out for any information regarding these materials in the future. If you hear even a whisper of news, please notify me."
True Monarch Tianbao's expression softened considerably. He nodded slowly and replied, "In that case, there's no problem. However, I must warn you that even if such rare materials do surface, they are typically traded away almost immediately."
Li Qing understood this perfectly, but he had no choice. The Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild had extensive connections, and he had to rely on them to gather the remaining spiritual materials.
After explaining his request, Li Qing clasped his hands in a farewell salute and left the Ten Thousand Treasures Pavilion in Heavenly River Market.
Inside the pavilion, True Monarch Tianbao watched Li Qing's figure disappear into the horizon, then murmured to himself with a hint of awe:
"This man is truly extraordinary. To achieve nascent soul formation before the age of two hundred with a four spirit root aptitude, and to possess three heavenly spirit fires—his fortune is simply astonishing."
"Moreover, after reaching nascent soul formation, he single-handedly slew a cultivator of the same rank. Such a feat is beyond the capabilities of ordinary mortals."
"Now, he seeks to gather such rare and precious spiritual materials. Judging by their quality, he must be refining a Yellow Grade heaven-piercing spirit treasure."
In just a few words, True Monarch Tianbao had nearly deciphered Li Qing's background. The Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild spanned multiple great domains in the lower realm, making its intelligence-gathering capabilities unparalleled.
After Li Qing successfully achieved nascent soul formation, True Monarch Tianbao had specifically ordered the guild to compile all available information. Finally, through the daoist name "Limitless," they unearthed traces of Li Qing's activities in the Great Wilderness Domain, revealing his true origins.
True Monarch Tianbao harbored no ill intentions. He slowly picked up his brush and wrote two secret letters to the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild's headquarters.
The first letter was addressed to all branches of the guild, instructing them to be on the lookout for the rare spiritual materials Li Qing had requested earlier.
The second letter focused specifically on Li Qing himself. In it, True Monarch Tianbao lavished praise upon Limitless True Monarch and urged the guild members to avoid antagonizing him at all costs, emphasizing the importance of cultivating a friendly relationship.
(End of the Chapter)
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