Immortal Refiner

Translator: AnubisTL

Strands of black mist seeped through the Cold Wind Secret Realm, rapidly filling the entire space.

These wisps of darkness served as Kun Yuan’s eyes. Though he remained hidden, they allowed him to observe the outside world with perfect clarity.

"Oh? A new fellow daoist has arrived?"

"Judging by his aura, he’s a newly evolved divine transformation cultivator. He must be the one who recently weathered the heavenly tribulation."

As the voice echoed through the mist, a figure gradually materialized within the darkness. Kun Yuan revealed himself, his gaze fixed on Li Qing with undisguised hostility.

Li Qing calmly clasped his hands in greeting. "I am Li Qing, Fellow Daoist Kunyuan."

A tremor ran through the mist surrounding Kun Yuan as he spoke coldly, "Have you come here seeking ascension with us?"

"Alas, the ascension platform can accommodate no more than five individuals, and we have already gathered five fellow divine transformation cultivators."

"Venerable Cai Xia, why did you release me from my self-imposed seclusion early? Do you intend for this man to take my place?"

As he spoke, Kun Yuan’s aura steadily intensified, unleashing the oppressive pressure of a divine transformation realm great power.

Clearly, he had misunderstood Li Qing’s purpose, believing the newcomer sought to usurp his position and ascend alongside the other four.

Ultimately, his lifespan was already dwindling, and he had completed his forty-year reconnaissance mission. From this perspective, his value was indeed limited.

It was understandable that Venerable Cai Xia would abandon him in favor of a divine transformation cultivator in their prime, with abundant lifespan remaining, to take his place.

Hearing this, Li Qing was momentarily taken aback, realizing that the hostility stemmed from this misunderstanding.

Venerable Cai Xia, both amused and exasperated, stepped in to explain on Li Qing’s behalf. "Fellow Daoist Kunyuan, you’ve truly misunderstood. This newly ascended fellow daoist’s purpose here isn’t to ascend with us. He has his own agenda."

Kun Yuan, who had been poised for action, paused, surprised to realize he had jumped to the wrong conclusion.

Yet his gaze remained wary, fixed on Li Qing, demanding a reasonable explanation.

"Fellow Daoist Kunyuan," Li Qing said with a wry smile, "I’ve come seeking the tiger. The heavenly demon tiger you forcibly took years ago is my Second Brother."

Seeking the tiger?!

Kun Yuan’s brow furrowed. He immediately recalled the heavenly demon tiger he had subdued in the Cloud Marsh Domain some years prior.

Judging by the faint spirit contract mark he had seen in the heavenly demon tiger’s sea of consciousness, Kun Yuan had assumed its original master was near death. He never imagined the master would survive, let alone reach the divine transformation realm, truly standing at the peak of the human realm.

This was utterly unbelievable. Kun Yuan, concealed within the black mist, narrowed his eyes.

After a long silence, Kun Yuan gently tapped the black-patterned beast taming pouch at his waist. A dark purple light flashed across its surface.

"Aowww!"

Fan Tong, who had been confined in the spirit beast pouch for years, couldn’t resist letting out a low growl of complaint the moment he was released.

But then, he sensed a familiar aura—one he could never forget in his lifetime!

"Big Brother!"

Fan Tong gazed at the tall, upright figure in the distance and roared with overwhelming joy.

He tried to rush toward Li Qing, but Kun Yuan frowned, displeased. With a thought, he activated the spirit contract he had implanted in Fan Tong, suppressing the tiger’s movements.

"Aow!" A sharp pain shot through Fan Tong’s sea of consciousness, instantly halting his advance. He remained rooted in place, whimpering in agony.

It was then that Fan Tong remembered: his big brother was still only at the nascent soul realm, while this place was teeming with divine transformation cultivators.

"Big brother, hurry and leave!"

Anger gradually surfaced on Li Qing’s face as he watched Fan Tong’s pained expression. He couldn’t bear to see him suffer.

"Fellow Daoist Kunyuan, please stop!" Li Qing called out in a deep voice, his mana slowly circulating within him as the three heavenly spirit fires in his dantian began to rise.

At his words, Kunyuan slowly halted. "I’ve already subdued this tiger demon," he said coldly. "How dare you demand its release? Do you underestimate me so greatly?"

Li Qing took a deep breath, bracing himself for a heavy price. He couldn’t abandon Fan Tong to this man’s clutches.

Moreover, if Fan Tong hadn’t gone to the Cloud Marsh Domain, Li Qing might not have awakened so quickly. Ultimately, Fan Tong’s current predicament was his fault.

"Fellow Daoist," Li Qing said coldly, "name your price. What must I pay to take my Second Brother?"

Kun Yuan’s tone grew flippant. "Oh? Such deep affection?"

"But this is the only heavenly demon tiger in this realm, with an extraordinary bloodline. Even in the upper realm, such creatures are exceedingly rare."

"I was planning to take it to the spirit realm to cultivate, making it a valuable asset."

To be honest, given the heavenly demon tiger’s bloodline, its growth potential in the upper realm would be astonishing. In the future, it might even become a crucial asset for him there.

After all, the spirit realm remained mysterious and unknown. Though he could dominate the lower realms, he dared not assume he could achieve much in the spirit realm.

A heavenly demon tiger that had sworn allegiance to him could prove invaluable in the future.

"Alright, seeing your sincere attitude, I won’t hold onto it stubbornly."

"Bring me six to eight top-grade spirit stones, a set of demonic bones comparable to a Fifth-Tier Heavenly Demon Tiger’s, and a treasure medicine that can extend my lifespan by a hundred years, and I’ll agree to return the heavenly demon tiger to you."

As these words were spoken, Li Qing’s expression grew increasingly grim. Six to eight top-grade spirit stones? In all his years of cultivating the Dao, he had only ever obtained two fire-attribute top-grade spirit stones, both of which he had used to break through to the divine transformation realm.

As for the fifth-tier demon bones comparable to a Heavenly Demon Tiger’s, such extraordinary demonic bones could likely only be obtained by finding the dragon tomb of the Flood Dragon Clan and hoping for luck in unearthing a set of fifth-tier flood dragon bones.

The treasure medicine that could extend lifespan by a hundred years sounded simple enough, but one had to remember that divine transformation cultivators nearing the end of their lifespans had already exhausted every possible means of prolonging their lives.

Ordinary Longevity Peaches or Earth Yellow Essence spirit herbs would be utterly ineffective. Perhaps only legendary life-extending holy artifacts might work, such as Rejuvenation Water, Yang Restoration Pills, Nine Revolutions Immortal Pills, Purple Jade Immortal Mushrooms, or ten-thousand-year ginseng fruits.

However, Li Qing possessed none of these. This was clearly an impossible demand.

He took a deep breath and said, "Fellow Daoist, you’re making things too difficult for me. I have none of the items you mentioned. However, I do have a damaged Fifth-Tier Demonic Bird Bone I can offer you."

This bone was one he had retrieved from the Yellow Springs River of the Yellow Springs Holy Sect in the World of Eternal Night. Later, he had refined the pair of bone wings into the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings and dismantled a few bones for trade.

Now, the demonic bird bone was severely damaged, making it only of average value and far inferior to a Fifth-Tier Heavenly Demon Tiger Bone.

"Then I apologize, but I won’t return the Heavenly Demon Tiger to you. Fellow Daoist, please leave and avoid disturbing my secluded cultivation," Kun Yuan’s cold voice echoed from the black mist, utterly devoid of warmth.

With these words, negotiations had effectively collapsed.

Neither side was willing to yield, leaving only one option: battle.

Despite sharing the same divine transformation realm cultivation, Li Qing felt no fear, brimming with confidence.

"Fellow Daoist Kunyuan, why not hear out my proposal? I believe you’ll find it quite interesting."

Kun Yuan, who was about to turn away, paused and asked with amusement, "Oh? I’m all ears."

Clap!

Li Qing slapped his storage bag and tossed out a fifth-tier demonic bird true bone, still faintly reeking of yellow springs water. The bone lacked wings and was missing several sections, making it of only mediocre value.

"I’ll trade this fifth-tier demonic bird bone and your life for my Second Brother. What do you say?"

(End of the Chapter)

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