Translator: AnubisTL
"Oh? What's troubling you that even the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild can't handle? Tell me about it," Li Qing said, raising an eyebrow.
True Monarch Tianbao replied solemnly, "A few years ago, we recovered a corner of our founding ancestor's blood robe from the outer sea. But we firmly believe that our ancestor wouldn't have died so easily."
"We believe he successfully ascended to the Upper Realm. Senior, if you also ascend in the future and happen to encounter our ancestor, we humbly request that you offer him some assistance."
Li Qing chuckled at this, shaking his head with a wry smile.
He couldn't fathom why the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild was so certain Wan Shengtian had successfully ascended. Perhaps they possessed some secret methods unknown to outsiders, given that the guild's origins traced back to the spirit realm.
His amusement stemmed from the absurdity of the request. After all, whether he himself would successfully ascend remained uncertain.
Even if he did ascend, there was no guarantee he'd ever encounter Wan Shengtian. Though he had never been to the spirit realm, he knew it was a realm of unimaginable vastness, where even immortal cultivators struggled to traverse its entirety.
"Senior, why do you laugh?" True Monarch Tianbao asked, his voice tinged with anxiety, unsure of Li Qing's reaction.
Li Qing shook his head. "Fellow Daoist Wan ascended long before me. When I encounter him in the spirit realm, I'll likely be the one needing his guidance, not the other way around."
After a moment's thought, this seemed logical.
Yet True Monarch Tianbao persisted, urging Li Qing to accept.
Li Qing found himself both amused and exasperated. "Very well," he relented. "This Li promises that if I encounter Fellow Daoist Wan Shengtian in the spirit realm, I will offer assistance to the best of my ability."
"With your word, Senior, that is more than enough!" True Monarch Tianbao clasped his hands solemnly in a respectful bow.
As they spoke, twilight deepened, and starlight began to glimmer across the night sky.
"The time has come," Li Qing declared, his expression grave. "Let us begin mending the heavens."
He doubted this attempt would proceed smoothly. Facing the imminent closure of the demonic realm rift, the saint ancestor would undoubtedly take countermeasures, perhaps even dispatching a dao body to the lower realm to obstruct them.
Boom!
At Li Qing's command, True Monarch Tianbao activated the Starlight Mending Heaven Formation, drawing down strands of starlight from the heavens.
"Then I must trouble Senior Limitless to serve as guardian," True Monarch Tianbao said. "If any unforeseen circumstances arise, I will use the formation to amplify the starlight empowering you to confront our enemies."
Li Qing nodded. "Proceed without restraint!"
Intense starlight converged, illuminating the entire formation with increasing brilliance, transforming the surrounding pitch-black darkness into a radiant, day-like glow.
Buzz!
Guided by the formation, the celestial starlight finally began to slowly mend the demonic realm rift in the sky.
Li Qing settled into a meditative posture, quietly observing the changes above.
"The pace is rather slow," Li Qing remarked, his brow furrowing slightly. "I recall the previous repair of the demonic realm rift being much faster."
True Monarch Tianbao, who was controlling the formation, replied gravely, "This demonic realm rift is unexpectedly stable, far surpassing the spatial rifts opened during the demonic cataclysm. Repairing it won't be easy."
A stable demonic realm rift, if allowed to persist, would pose an immense and lasting threat.
"I see," Li Qing murmured inwardly. "It seems the Formless Saint Ancestor's ambitions are truly grand, to go to such lengths to create such a stable demonic realm rift."
The repairs continued, a process that would be lengthy, likely lasting at least a month.
Long nights breed many dreams, and countless changes could occur during this time.
The night passed, and the rift continued to slowly mend, yet there was no sign of activity from the demon realm.
Li Qing remained with a furrowed brow, deep in thought.
During this relatively short wait, he retrieved the Life Profound Jade Iron he had just obtained.
He planned to begin smelting it immediately, attempting to refine Gold Fire Marks.
"Back then, Old Man Meisheng had Senior Chi Huang use the Great Sun Golden Flame to smelt an entire mountain of Life Profound Jade Iron, ultimately obtaining thirty-six Gold Fire Marks."
"Now, I only need two to replace the original ones. This much Life Profound Jade Iron should be more than enough."
Boom!
A torrent of brilliant golden flames erupted from Li Qing's palm, engulfing the entire Life Profound Jade Iron ore.
The scorching heat seared the ore, causing slag to crumble away as strands of golden light coalesced within.
"During the smelting process, I must refine the characteristic essence of the Great Sun Golden Flame into the material. Only then can I obtain the spiritual material needed for refining Gold Fire Marks."
"In truth, the Life Profound Jade Iron is less crucial than the Great Sun Golden Flame itself."
"Using the great sun power to destroy the vital essence within the spiritual material... Although I haven't cultivated Old Man Meisheng's technique, I can only imitate it imperfectly."
Time slowly passed. The slag within the Life Profound Jade Iron had been completely refined away, leaving only the purest spiritual material.
Yet the smelting continued. With each passing moment, the Life Profound Jade Iron absorbed more of the Great Sun Golden Flame's aura.
Three days and three nights passed in this manner. Under the intense heat of the Great Sun Golden Flame, the surrounding earth glowed crimson. Had Li Qing not deliberately controlled the fire's temperature, the land below would likely have transformed into a molten sea of lava.
True Monarch Tianbao, who had been maintaining the formation throughout, felt a growing sense of dread at the heavenly spirit fire Li Qing wielded.
Even a mere wisp of that flame could likely reduce him to ashes in an instant.
"Such power... This must be the Great Sun Golden Flame among the heavenly spirit fires," True Monarch Tianbao mused inwardly. "Senior Limitless truly possesses extraordinary means."
Before Li Qing, a molten pool of jade iron, saturated with the Great Sun Golden Flame's aura, shimmered into existence.
He extracted a small portion of the molten metal and, drawing upon his memory of the Gold Fire Mark's characteristics, began refining the Gold Fire Mark.
The refining process went surprisingly smoothly. In just a day, two Flame Gold Marks slowly coalesced, appearing identical to the Gold Fire Marks embedded in the Black Furnace's inner walls.
"Not as difficult as I thought," Li Qing murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly. "With Life Profound Jade Iron and the Great Sun Golden Flame, refining them is quite straightforward."
He reached into his storage bag and retrieved the Black Furnace.
Two empty slots remained in the furnace's inner wall. He pressed the newly refined Gold Fire Marks into the gaps, fitting them perfectly without a single flaw.
The Black Furnace immediately began to tremble, undergoing a transformation unlike anything Li Qing had ever witnessed.
The furnace, which had shielded him from countless fatal attacks, now shimmered with golden veins that spread across its pitch-black surface like living serpents.
"The Black Furnace's original form was the Annihilation Furnace, a powerful spirit treasure—likely a Profound-Grade Spirit Treasure," Li Qing mused.
"Due to some unknown calamity, it lost all its spirituality, becoming a useless artifact capable only of passive defense."
"Now that all the Gold Fire Marks are complete, there's finally a chance to refine the Annihilation Furnace anew."
Li Qing gazed at the golden-veined Black Furnace with elation, knowing that he now had the opportunity to restore the Annihilation Furnace to its former glory.
(End of the Chapter)
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