Translator: AnubisTL
Witnessing four Divine Transformation Great Powers from the Four Human Realms tear open the void and ascend toward the Spirit Realm, every cultivator's heart surged with emotion. They felt they had personally witnessed a miracle—an event destined to be etched in the annals of the cultivation world!
Everyone was filled with excitement, as if they had rediscovered the initial passion that had driven them to cultivate.
Yet Li Qing remained remarkably calm. His drive to cultivate had never waned; the ascension of the four Divine Transformation Great Powers had added little to it.
To him, whether these four Divine Transformation Great Powers ultimately succeeded or failed in their ascension would not affect his unwavering pursuit of the Dao.
Moreover, he was rational. He knew that what had just transpired was merely the simplest step in the ascension process.
Whether they could truly reach the upper realm remained an unknown.
In truth, with the Immortal Slaughtering Sword in hand, he could, with full activation, also cleave open the void with a single strike.
But the subsequent challenges—the void turbulence and the precise positioning of the Spirit Realm Beacon—remained an enigma.
"I hope the ascension path for the seniors will be smooth," Li Qing murmured to himself, not joining the lively discussion among the surrounding cultivators.
Beside him, Liu Hanyue stood, her beautiful eyes fixed on the gradually closing spatial rift, a complex and unreadable expression in her eyes.
Once the rift, torn open by the four Divine Transformation Great Powers, had completely sealed, Li Qing decided it was time to leave. With his hands clasped behind his back, he said, "Let's go. Instead of envying others, we should focus on our own dao."
Hearing this, a refined smile appeared on Liu Hanyue's delicate face. "Brother Li speaks wisely. When we return, I too must begin preparing for the shattered core and nascent soul formation."
Li Qing chuckled softly. "With your talent, Fellow Daoist Liu, I'm sure condensing a nascent soul will be no trouble at all."
Indeed, Liu Hanyue's talent was somewhat more exceptional than his. With dual spirit roots and the resources of Moonchase Palace, condensing a nascent soul should be a trivial matter for her.
Liu Hanyue, however, slightly raised her head, her autumn-water-like, beautiful eyes gazing directly at Li Qing. She said softly, "Brother Li, if you don't mind, please call me Hanyue. 'Fellow Daoist' sounds a bit too distant."
After speaking, she lowered her head, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. Then, in a voice as soft as a mosquito's, she continued:
"Of course, if you feel it's inappropriate, then just pretend I said nothing."
Hearing these words, which were nearly a confession, Li Qing was momentarily taken aback.
In the cultivation world, only those with close relationships typically addressed each other by name. Liu Hanyue's words just now were indeed a clear indication of her feelings.
Li Qing wasn't foolish; he understood the unspoken meaning behind her words.
He sighed inwardly repeatedly, thinking, What have I done to deserve this?
Still, he steadied his slightly stirred emotions and replied, "Then I wish you a smooth nascent soul formation, Hanyue. If you need any assistance, feel free to seek me out in the Azure Ridge Domain."
At this, Liu Hanyue looked up and smiled radiantly. "Thank you, Brother Li."
Thus, the group departed the sea territory around Heaven's End Island, soaring eastward toward the Boundless Sea.
Upon returning to Lingyun Sect, Li Qing sat in his cave abode for several days, gradually calming his mind.
He retrieved a storage bag from his waist—the spoils from killing Yang Wu.
As the master of the Western Heaven Pavilion and a cultivator at the peak of the nascent soul realm, Yang Wu's wealth was staggeringly vast.
Li Qing had briefly scanned the bag when searching for the Emotion-Cleansing Poison-Curing Pill for Liu Hanyue, but due to the urgency at the time, he hadn't had the chance to examine it thoroughly.
Opening the storage bag, Li Qing's divine sense probed its depths.
The first thing that met his gaze were mounds of spirit stones, piled up like small mountains. He estimated there were at least hundreds of thousands, including a significant number of mid-grade spirit stones.
This was truly a massive fortune. Simply looking at the spirit stones made Li Qing's mood lift considerably.
"To carry so many spirit stones on his person... it seems Yang Wu had long been preparing for his breakthrough to the Divine Transformation Stage."
With such a massive amount of spirit stones, Li Qing was spared the trouble of having to request them from the sect.
He continued to scan the storage bag with his divine sense, marveling at the dazzling array of porcelain bottles filled with spirit pills and elixirs. Among them were numerous precious spirit pills, including several that could advance cultivation in the nascent soul realm—extremely rare and valuable.
However, these cultivation-advancing pills held no use for Li Qing.
He retrieved them and placed them in his Carefree Cosmos Pouch, thinking he could give them to other Nascent Soul Ancestors of the sect in the future.
The other pills served various purposes: healing injuries, rapidly restoring true essence, replenishing vital energy, and even some low-grade pills for enhancing intimacy.
"Quite extravagant," Li Qing shook his head, "as expected of a cultivator who practices dual cultivation and essence harvesting." He then shifted his divine sense to other areas within the storage bag.
Talisman arrays, heavenly materials, and earthly treasures overflowed, nearly matching the reserves of an ordinary immortal dao faction, and their quality was exceptionally rare.
"Tsk tsk tsk, this is actually a Tai Sui with at least three thousand years of medicinal age! What extraordinary fortune to possess such a rare spirit herb!"
"What a pity. If it had been able to grow for another seven thousand years, this Tai Sui would have become a Myriad Ages, a true peerless sacred medicine."
Tai Sui is a spirit herb that strengthens the foundation and nourishes the vital essence. While its effects are relatively ordinary when consumed alone, when refined into the legendary Tai Sui Pill, it can not only enhance the mana of Nascent Soul cultivators but also extend their Lifespan.
If a Tai Sui grows for over ten thousand years, it becomes a Myriad Ages. The Myriad Ages Pill can then assist Divine Transformation Stage cultivators in breaking through minor realm bottlenecks.
Spirit herbs are like this: the older they are, the more extraordinary their medicinal properties become. Especially after crossing the five-thousand-year threshold, each additional millennium of growth represents a qualitative leap.
Millennial spirit herbs are already rare in the Human Realm, and so-called Myriad Ages spirit herbs are virtually unseen. At least, Li Qing had never encountered one in all his years of cultivation.
"However, in an environment like the Human Realm, the birth of a Myriad Ages spirit herb is probably harder than climbing to heaven."
Li Qing didn't feel particularly regretful about the Tai Sui's failure to reach the Myriad Ages stage. After all, he didn't possess the refining method for either the Tai Sui Pill or the Myriad Ages Pill.
Skipping over the spirit herbs, Li Qing's divine sense continued to probe deeper.
Soon, jade slips and ancient manuals emerged—Yang Wu's collection of secret cultivation manuals and profound daoist arts.
To Li Qing, this was the greatest treasure. Still engaged in his own Law Creation, perusing other cultivation manuals and secret manuals would undoubtedly enrich his understanding and add to his accumulated knowledge.
As Li Qing began casually browsing these manuals, his expression darkened.
"These Western Heaven Pavilion cultivators are playing way too wild! Western Heaven Blissful Paradise Art, Joyful Union Jade Play Art, Yin-Yang Harmonious Coexistence Technique, Essence Gathering and Refinement Manual..."
Most of these manuals were related to dual cultivation, with hardly any proper cultivation methods in sight.
The secret techniques and manuals were all related to furnace alchemy, designed for both men and women to cultivate into human furnaces.
The path of cultivation is truly vast and profound!
With a critical mindset, Li Qing began flipping through these manuals.
But as he read, the frown on Li Qing's face gradually eased.
He had initially assumed this Dual Cultivation Technique would be some lewd and depraved text, but after carefully reviewing it, he discovered that it actually contained some depth and substance, far from the crude and shallow material he had imagined.
"These Dual Cultivation Heart Methods emphasize joint practice between men and women, unlike ordinary cultivation manuals. Only when the energy has circulated fully within both partners is a complete cycle considered complete."
"Through repeated cycles, one can achieve the harmonious coexistence of yin and yang."
Li Qing admitted that he had been too prejudiced against these methods before. When properly practiced, these orthodox Dual Cultivation arts actually incorporated principles of heavenly law and human desire.
However, the subsequent essence harvesting techniques left him feeling somewhat relieved.
"It seems the perverted path isn't the dual cultivation method itself, but these essence harvesting techniques."
Essence harvesting, in the traditional sense, refers to the harvesting of yang to supplement yin, or vice versa.
These secret techniques were created by demonic path cultivators based on dual cultivation manuals. They involve refining the dual cultivation partner into a human furnace for essence harvesting, which can dramatically accelerate cultivation progress!
Yang Wu's earlier attempt to capture Liu Hanyue and True Monarch Yue Xuan stemmed from his desire to exploit their intact Primordial Yin bodies. He intended to refine them into human furnaces for essence harvesting, thereby accelerating his breakthrough to the Divine Transformation Stage.
"Once someone has been harvested, their entire foundation is ruined, and their path to the Dao is completely severed."
"This method truly defies the heavens."
Li Qing shook his head, choosing not to comment further on these cultivation manuals.
Instead, he resolved that he would need to visit the Western Heaven Pavilion soon, primarily to collect the Flame Gold Marks he required.
Beyond these cultivation manuals and secret texts, his storage bag held few other valuable items.
There were some pill formulas and other inheritances of cultivation techniques, but these were of little use to Li Qing. He could only use them to enrich the collection in the sect's Hall of Technique Transmission.
As days passed peacefully, Li Qing continued to focus on his own cultivation.
Having previously consumed the Soaring Immortal Brew, the bottleneck to the Divine Transformation Stage had weakened slightly.
However, shaking it completely still seemed unlikely. It would require continued gradual refinement.
Fortunately, unlike other Nascent Soul cultivators who had reached this stage, Li Qing's lifespan remained vast. He had plenty of time to patiently continue his efforts, grinding away at the bottleneck bit by bit until the day it could be easily shattered.
(End of the Chapter)
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