Chapter 718: Replenishing Vital Essence [2.3k]

Translator: AnubisTL

After slaying the two Transformed Demon Kings, Li Qing immediately returned to his sect.

His life essence was severely depleted, leaving him in a state of near-exhaustion. Compounding this, his recent full-power activation of a spirit treasure had further eroded his Lifespan.

If he remained in this state of depleted life essence, the over twelve hundred years of Lifespan he had recently gained by refining the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings would likely drain away three to four times faster than normal.

"I must replenish my vital essence quickly," Li Qing muttered. "Fortunately, I obtained the remains of two Fourth-Tier Transformation Demon Kings!"

Upon returning to his cave abode, Li Qing hurried to the secret chamber.

The demon kings’ corpses were massive; bringing them out whole would likely shatter the entire cave abode. Therefore, Li Qing extracted them piece by piece, using the wingtips of his Wind-Thunder Silver Wings to carve them into manageable portions. He then drained the blood.

During this process, Li Qing used his mana to refine the blood into essence blood, otherwise the blood pool would have been too small to contain it all.

Soon, crimson drops of essence blood, as radiant as dawn, flowed into the blood pool, gradually filling it to the brim.

Smelling the overwhelming stench of blood in the secret chamber, Li Qing couldn’t help but sigh, "If this essence blood were sold, its value would be astronomical."

This was essence blood extracted from Transformed Demon Kings, beings whose bloodlines were inherently extraordinary. Once refined into essence blood, it would possess countless miraculous properties, driving even Nascent Soul cultivators into a frenzy to acquire it.

However, to replenish his vital essence as quickly as possible, Li Qing had no choice but to pour this priceless demon king essence blood into the blood pool.

After draining every drop of blood from the two demon king corpses, the blood pool was now half-full. The constantly swaying blood lotus within seemed even more sinister than before.

Without hesitation, Li Qing soared into the air and landed at the center of the blood lotus.

The lotus petals enveloped him layer by layer, sealing him completely except for his head, which remained exposed.

In the next moment, a torrent of vital essence surged into him.

Li Qing, who had been like a dried-up pond, now felt an inexhaustible spring of water gushing forth from within.

It was undeniable that the life energy contained within the demon king essence blood was overwhelmingly potent, befitting the apex predators of this world.

This replenishment of vital essence far surpassed any previous effect Li Qing had experienced!

His lifespan, which had been draining away at three to four times the normal rate, finally slowed to a normal pace.

Evil thoughts resurfaced, subtly altering Li Qing’s consciousness—a familiar pattern he had long grown accustomed to.

Soon, an immortal melody rang out, its exquisite notes like the tinkling of jade. The evil thoughts vanished instantly, restoring clarity to Li Qing’s mind.

With the Exquisite Immortal Sound’s aid, he could freely draw vital essence from the blood lotus without fear of his consciousness being corrupted or emerging as a different person.

As Li Qing’s vital essence steadily replenished, the essence blood in the blood pool gradually drained downward. After seven days, the pool was completely dry.

"Hah..."

Li Qing slowly awoke, exhaling deeply.

"I’ve recovered roughly half of my lost vital essence. Though not fully restored, at least my lifespan is now draining at a normal rate."

Moreover, Li Qing’s cultivation level, which had recently advanced to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, had now stabilized. He no longer needed to spend additional time consolidating his cultivation.

This might be his greatest gain so far!

"Next, I should consider returning to the World of Eternal Night to retrieve more strange beast blood from Giant Mushroom City. Another replenishment should restore my life essence to near full capacity."

But before that, Li Qing still had some pressing matters to attend to.

The two demon king corpses, even drained of their essence blood, remained invaluable treasures. The materials harvested from their bodies were exceedingly rare and precious.

In particular, Li Qing coveted the Golden Bear King’s claws, fused with Geng Metal, his mouth watering at the thought of them.

With this in mind, Li Qing began rummaging through the spoils of war in his storage bag.

Rumble!

The storage bag shook violently as ten massive, golden claws, each half a man’s height, tumbled out.

These dark-gold claws were razor-sharp, their piercing aura so intense that even approaching them sent a bone-chilling pain through one’s body.

"If I hadn’t refined the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, the outcome of this battle against the Golden Bear King, whose claws were reinforced with Geng Metal, would have been far less certain."

Li Qing’s words were not false modesty but a serious assessment.

With the Black Crocodile King joining the fray, even if he unleashed all his techniques, victory would likely come at a devastating cost.

These ten Geng Metal-enhanced claws were terrifyingly sharp, capable of piercing even the lifebound magical treasures of Nascent Soul cultivators, let alone his fleshly body.

If struck, he would have no choice but to abandon his physical form and flee with his nascent soul.

The thought sent a chill down Li Qing’s spine, grateful for his narrow escape.

Surviving a great calamity brings great fortune!

Gazing at the ten claws, the sharpest in this realm, a fiery glint ignited in Li Qing’s eyes.

Geng Metal!

He had deeply regretted failing to acquire this peerless spirit metal at the auction. Yet, after a twist of fate, it had finally fallen into his hands.

Now I have the spirit material to refine the first Immortal-Slaying Sword. I’ll use pure Geng Metal as the base material.

However, the Geng Metal was fused with the Golden Bear King’s claws. Li Qing would need to expend considerable effort to separate them.

Boom!

Without hesitation, Li Qing acted immediately, using the heavenly spirit fire to smelt the ten Geng Metal claws, aiming to extract the purest Geng Metal.

In his vision, the killing swords within the Immortal Slaying Sword Formation Diagram required no impurities—even the Golden Bear King’s claws seemed superfluous.

He planned to forge each killing sword from the most powerful peerless spirit metals, though he hadn’t yet decided on the materials for the formation diagram itself.

As the spirit fire blazed, time passed. The smelting process proved surprisingly lengthy, taking over ten days to separate only a portion of the Geng Metal.

The Golden Bear King and the Geng Metal were exceptionally compatible—a fact likely unknown even to the bear himself!

This made the separation extremely arduous. Even with the aid of the heavenly spirit fire, Li Qing spent several months completely extracting the Geng Metal from the ten claws.

As the Geng Metal Treasure Liquid solidified, the cave abode shimmered with golden light, as if swept by razor-sharp sword qi.

"Excellent. Truly fine material for sword refining. Using this to forge a killing sword won’t disgrace the name ’Immortal-Slaying Sword.’"

Gazing at the newly refined Geng Metal, Li Qing nodded in satisfaction.

Li Qing wasn’t in a hurry to refine the materials. Having just endured a heavenly tribulation, he had no desire to repeat the ordeal. His vital essence hadn’t fully recovered yet.

Moreover, while he now possessed the materials, he still had no idea how to begin the refining process.

With this, the immediate crisis had been resolved. Successfully refining the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings also fulfilled a long-held wish of Senior Bai Ling.

However, another great tribulation of heaven and earth was imminent. Cultivators across the Human Realm would likely be unable to protect themselves and would inevitably be drawn into the conflict.

"With the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, I should now have some means of self-defense even against Divine Transformation Stage cultivators," Li Qing mused.

"But the Human Realm is only so vast. Where could I possibly escape to? Besides, with such a massive sect here, the monk can leave, but the temple remains."

At this thought, he couldn’t help but sigh again.

Yet dwelling on these worries would accomplish nothing. He needed to seize every moment and exhaust every method to further enhance his strength.

While it was said that the tall would bear the weight when the sky fell, Li Qing refused to entrust his fate to those towering figures.

Moreover, he had offended a demon ancestor. He wondered if the Formless Demon Ancestor’s true form would sense the destruction of its Dao Body.

Li Qing even suspected that he might have provoked the demon realm’s invasion!

Dismissing these unfounded worries, Li Qing emerged from his cave abode and stood atop Azure Cloud Peak, gazing out over the sect’s territory.

After a long silence, he summoned Fan Tong and Ninth Insect.

"Roar! Brother, what’s the matter?" Fan Tong asked, shrinking slightly to fit comfortably on the mountain peak.

Ninth Insect, meanwhile, used its nine tentacles to coil securely around the mountainside, creating an eerie spectacle.

"This world faces an impending calamity from the demon realm," Li Qing said gravely. "You must quickly enhance your strength. Even I might struggle to survive the demon realm’s invasion."

Ninth Insect slowly extended its tentacles, waving them in confusion. Originating from the World of Eternal Night and having spent most of its life in a spirit beast pouch, it had little understanding of such external matters.

"You can each take some of the third-tier crimson moon spores we obtained from Giant Mushroom City and divide them among yourselves. Use them to become as strong as possible."

"As for the single fourth-tier crimson moon spore, whoever reaches the peak of core formation first gets to consume it!"

"But don’t rush too much. I’ll be making another trip to the World of Eternal Night soon to see if I can get the mushroom spirit to produce another fourth-tier spore. That way, both of you will have a chance at transformation."

As he spoke, Li Qing retrieved the crimson moon spores and divided them equally between Fan Tong and Ninth Insect.

"Roar!"

Upon hearing about the opportunity to attempt transformation and gain greater power, Fan Tong let out a low roar of excitement.

However, Li Qing wouldn’t be taking Fan Tong with him on this trip to the World of Eternal Night. Time was short, and there was no time to waste. Fan Tong needed to stay at the sect and focus on maximizing his strength.

"Alright, you two, focus on your cultivation."

"Awoo! Thank you, Big Brother!" Fan Tong howled excitedly.

After finishing this, Li Qing returned to his cave abode.

He retrieved the last two crimson moon spores he had and placed them into the Red Jade Beehive.

For Li Qing, the Fire Jade Bee Queen’s strength was equally crucial. If he could wait until the queen bee reached the fourth-tier, the Fire Origin Nectar it produced would benefit even him.

Therefore, Li Qing also gave two crimson moon spores to the Fire Jade Bee Queen, hoping it would grow stronger quickly.

"Hurry up and get stronger," he said. "Once the demonic race invades, these peaceful days might be gone forever."

With that, Li Qing tapped the queen bee, which resembled a crimson jade gemstone, inside the beehive.

The queen bee affectionately nuzzled Li Qing’s hand before beginning to devour the crimson moon spores he offered.

After settling all matters, Li Qing prepared to return to the World of Eternal Night.

This trip was more rushed than his previous, well-prepared expeditions. This time, Li Qing had only two simple goals:

First, he planned to go to Giant Mushroom City, obtain the strange beast’s blood from the mushroom spirit, and see if he could acquire another fourth-tier crimson moon spore.

Second, and even simpler, he intended to add another powerful trump card to his arsenal to use against the demonic race’s invasion!

Moreover, this time his target was clear and specific, eliminating the need for aimless searching!

With this thought, he slowly closed his eyes and initiated interdimensional travel.

As the surrounding environment shifted, Li Qing once again found himself in the World of Eternal Night!

Giant Mushroom City, atop the mushroom canopy.

Just as when he had left, the environment and appearance remained largely unchanged. The entire city was still supported by a colossal mushroom.

The moment he arrived, Li Qing sensed his connection to the mushroom spirit.

He didn’t rush to collect the blood, however, because there were now many vital energy martial artists in the city. These warriors clearly hailed from the Blood Martial Dynasty’s martial alliance.

"It seems that brat Miao Tuo hasn’t wasted a moment since I left. He’s already brought Giant Mushroom City under his control."

As he spoke, his will stirred, and a pair of silver-purple wings materialized behind him.

After refining the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, Li Qing had been curious about what it would be like to sense the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth in this realm using the spirit treasure.

Finally, he could satisfy his curiosity!

Li Qing closed his eyes, mentally connected with the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, and immediately began sensing the surrounding energy.

"Even though we’ve entered the End of Dao Era, the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth still exists, though it’s become much thinner."

"I wonder what it will be like to manipulate it now."

With that, he used the spirit treasure to begin drawing upon the Wind Thunder Primordial Energy of heaven and earth.

But his expression soon twisted into one of profound shock.

The moment he attempted to manipulate the primordial energy, his own vital essence began draining uncontrollably, and his lifespan rapidly diminished.

"Hiss!"

"In this era of thin primordial energy, controlling it actually drains vital essence and lifespan?"

"I understand now! No wonder those Divine Transformation Stage Old Monsters have withdrawn from the world, rarely showing themselves. This must be the reason!"

(End of the Chapter)

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