Translator: AnubisTL
In the end, Li Qing decided against trading his heavenly spirit fire for information. It simply wasn't worth it, especially since he was still in the human realm.
For him, a heavenly spirit fire was crucial to his cultivation. Losing even one would slow down the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art, reducing its efficiency.
What good would information be if he couldn't even ascend to the spirit realm?
Though the human realm was vast, searching the four seas would likely yield no more unclaimed heavenly spirit fires. These rare treasures of heaven and earth required eons to form.
Once Li Qing ascended, the human realm would lose four more heavenly spirit fires.
With that, Li Qing stopped questioning the man about the spirit realm, choosing to remain ignorant for now.
However, he firmly etched the information about curse removal into his mind, planning to investigate further in the spirit realm later.
Ten days passed without further incident. The demonic realm rift in the sky closed silently, leaving no trace of its existence.
"Phew! Seniors, the void rift has been completely repaired. We won't have to worry about ancient demons descending from this place for a long time to come."
True Monarch Tianbao wiped a bead of sweat from his brow after completing the task, then clasped his hands in a respectful bow toward Li Qing and the Palace Master of the Ice Extremity Palace.
The latter had diligently fulfilled her duty to this realm, at least for the ten days she had stood guard.
"Now that the rift is sealed, I should take my leave. If you ever wish to exchange information about the spirit realm, you can find me at the Ice Palace anytime." With these words, the Palace Master transformed into a wisp of icy mist and vanished without a trace.
Li Qing chuckled wryly and shook his head. "Her visit at least restored some of the proper frigid climate to the Southern Domain Snowfield. That's a silver lining, I suppose."
The world was once again draped in a pristine blanket of silver and white. This transformation was entirely due to the Palace Master's profound mastery of the ice dao. Even without using mana, her mere presence in a place could alter its atmospheric conditions.
True Monarch Tianbao said respectfully, "Senior Limitless, the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild has also preserved some information related to the spirit realm. If you're interested, you're welcome to visit the Spirit Treasure Realm to peruse our classic texts."
"However, due to the passage of countless years, the number of surviving texts is rather limited. It's better than nothing, I suppose."
Li Qing's eyes lit up at this news. He had almost forgotten that the Ten Thousand Treasures Merchant Guild was originally a force that descended from the spirit realm, so they would naturally have preserved some classic texts related to it.
"I see. Then I will definitely visit in the future. Thank you in advance, Fellow Daoist Tianbao," Li Qing replied with a smile.
"It's no trouble at all. Just a small matter. I'm glad you find it useful, Senior."
"Since our business here is concluded, I should take my leave. Take care, Senior!"
With that, Fellow Daoist Tianbao bid farewell and departed, carrying the formation plate for the Starlight Mending Heaven Formation.
Li Qing nodded, knowing he would need to visit the Merchant Guild Headquarters soon. Their next meeting wouldn't be too far off.
Afterward, Li Qing glanced at his wrist. The pitch-black curse mark there stood out starkly, causing him a wave of discomfort.
"I'll return to the sect and see if the power of the five elements spirit pearls can cleanse it. If that fails, I'll truly have to consider ascension," Li Qing sighed softly, stowing the shattered Annihilation Furnace and soaring toward the sect.
At the Lingyun Sect's mountain gate, within his cave abode on Azure Cloud Peak, five spirit pearls illuminated the chamber with a radiant glow, filling the air with a dense, abundant power of the five elements.
Li Qing channeled this pure five elements spiritual energy, continuously refining it against the curse mark on his wrist.
He repeated this process tirelessly, again and again, but the curse mark remained stubbornly rooted, utterly impervious to his efforts.
"Such a high level of power... the methods of the Demon Realm Saint Ancestor are truly terrifying," Li Qing muttered, his brow furrowing deeply.
These were the five elements spirit pearls of heaven and earth, yet they proved utterly insignificant against this curse mark—forces operating on entirely different planes of existence.
"It seems I must venture into the spirit realm to seek a method to cleanse this curse. Otherwise, the Formless Saint Ancestor could continue to track my location indefinitely. If he remains in the human realm for too long, there will come a day when I can no longer defend against him."
Ascending to the Upper Realm would at least offer some measure of safety.
Judging by the Formless Saint Ancestor's current attitude, Li Qing was certain that this Demon Realm Saint Ancestor wouldn't let him off easily and would descend again in the future.
"It seems the time I have left in the human realm is truly limited."
Li Qing sighed deeply, wrapping his wrist several times with a strip of silk to conceal the glaring black curse mark.
Though this was largely futile, it offered a small measure of psychological comfort.
Over the next eight years, Li Qing painstakingly repaired the damaged Annihilation Furnace.
With all thirty-six Gold Flame Marks intact, the task wasn't particularly difficult. By continuously nourishing the furnace with the Great Sun Golden Flame, it naturally restored itself.
Time flowed ceaselessly. Li Qing remained secluded in his cave abode, and fifty years passed in the blink of an eye.
During these five decades, he devoted himself entirely to cultivation. His cultivation technique cycled through countless cycles, and he benefited from the sustained enhancement of four heavenly spirit fires. Yet his cultivation progress remained minimal.
Conversely, the sect's spiritual energy had thinned considerably. Although the spiritual vein had evolved into a fourth-tier vein, it still struggled to sustain the cultivation of a divine transformation cultivator.
Realizing this, Li Qing sighed deeply, acutely aware of how arduous cultivation in this realm truly was.
"No wonder there have been so few late divine transformation realm cultivators throughout history. Now that I've completed my five elements spirit root and enhanced my cultivation technique with four spirit fires, my qi refining efficiency is already exceptionally high. Yet the prospect of breaking through to the mid divine transformation realm remains as distant as ever."
"At this rate, even without encountering any bottlenecks, I'd likely need to meditate in seclusion for nearly three thousand years just to touch the threshold of the mid divine transformation realm."
A despairing figure. Divine transformation realm cultivators typically only live for two to three thousand years.
And apart from Li Qing, virtually all cultivators who reached the divine transformation realm had barely over a thousand years of lifespan remaining.
Further advancement seemed virtually impossible.
"While I no longer need to worry about exhausting my lifespan, I can't afford to wait that long."
He had been marked with a cursed seal. The Formless Saint Ancestor would hardly grant him three thousand years of undisturbed secluded cultivation. Within a millennium, the Demon Realm Saint Ancestor would undoubtedly find ways to send more dao bodies to descend upon him.
How could he possibly withstand this onslaught indefinitely?
Li Qing's cultivation plan in the human realm had originally been to progress steadily to the mid divine transformation realm. By then, the spirit herbs he had planted in the Heavenly Wonder Immortal Mansion would have matured.
After harvesting the herbs, he intended to refine medicinal pills that would enhance his cultivation, aiming to reach the late divine transformation realm.
Once he achieved that, he could ascend to the immortal realm without worry.
But in the end, all worldly plans are ultimately subject to change.
Li Qing sighed deeply and retrieved artifact refining spiritual materials from his storage bag.
Boom!
Four spirit fires erupted as Li Qing's divine sense expanded, melting the low-grade materials.
Soon, the rough forms of magic treasures began to take shape.
With his current mastery of artifact refinement, crafting magic treasures was now a trivial matter.
Li Qing focused his mind on multiple tasks simultaneously, empowering several nascent treasures with spirits and inscribing dao patterns.
Before long, spiritual energy surged through heaven and earth as the magic treasures materialized, each one fully formed.
(End of the Chapter)
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