Translator: AnubisTL

Li Qing was eager to see what Fan Tong would look like after his transformation. After all, this companion had journeyed with him all the way from the mortal realm. Now that Fan Tong was finally able to transform, Li Qing naturally wanted to witness it.

However, Fan Tong grew hesitant, letting out a low growl: "Awooo!"

"Brother, my injuries are quite severe. I’m not ready to assume human form yet!"

Li Qing immediately recognized this as a flimsy excuse. He knew Fan Tong was just being shy and embarrassed.

This only piqued Li Qing’s curiosity further. What exactly did Fan Tong’s human form look like?

"Ha ha ha! Don’t try to fool me. How much mana does it really take to transform? Hurry up and show me, or I won’t recognize you when you transform later!"

Hearing this, Fan Tong reluctantly rose to his feet.

A faint purple spiritual light flashed, and the heavily injured, ferocious tiger that had been lying below vanished. In its place stood a handsome young man with striking purple hair.

The youth’s features were strikingly handsome, though two tiger ears still drooped from his head. Paired with his purple locks, he truly resembled a jade-like, elegant young man.

Li Qing was stunned. He had always imagined that after Fan Tong’s transformation, he would become a burly, imposing man radiating an overwhelmingly ferocious aura.

He never expected Fan Tong’s human form to be so refined and handsome, with that flamboyant purple hair. It was completely at odds with the way Fan Tong usually behaved.

"Your human form is... quite unique!" Li Qing remarked, barely suppressing the laughter in his eyes as he feigned composure.

But Fan Tong had been with Li Qing for years and knew exactly what his master was feeling.

"Brother, if you want to laugh, just laugh," Fan Tong said, his voice tinged with melancholy.

Li Qing coughed twice. "Ahem, there’s no need to be so pessimistic. I’ll find some spells and divine abilities to change your form later. Once you learn them, you can transform into whatever appearance you desire."

"Though I must say, I actually think you look quite good as you are now!"

Upon hearing this, Fan Tong immediately reverted to his true tiger form, resolving not to reveal his human appearance so readily again.

Seeing Fan Tong’s severely depleted vital energy, Li Qing finally retrieved a handful of medicinal pills and spirit herbs from his storage bag.

"These are precious medicines for healing injuries and restoring vital energy. Take them back and recuperate properly."

With that, the man and the tiger returned to the sect.

From this day forward, the Lingyun Sect would have two nascent soul realm combatants guarding its borders, its strength now incomparably formidable.

This foundation surpassed even the ancient cultivation sects of the Great Wilderness Domain, with their long-standing inheritances!

After returning to Azure Cloud Peak, Li Qing stood with his hands clasped behind his back, surveying the sect’s majestic scenery.

Since the demonic cataclysm had been quelled, the sect’s fortunes were flourishing, and stability had returned to all corners of the Azure Ridge Domain.

"If only the Primordial Energy of Heaven and Earth weren’t so depleted now," Li Qing mused, "the Lingyun Sect might have been able to add another one or two Nascent Soul True Monarchs."

This was no idle boast. Several core formation realm supreme elders of the Lingyun Sect now possessed Dragon Transformation Pills bestowed by Li Qing.

Among them were Wu Chong, who cultivated the Gluttonous Divine Art; True Lord Fu Xuan; and Su Xin, who had merged with the Water Spirit Pearl. These individuals all possessed remarkable potential!

To claim they had the potential to form nascent souls was no exaggeration.

In short, there remained hope for the emergence of a third and fourth Nascent Soul stage Ancestor in the future.

Under his leadership, the Lingyun Sect was steadily ascending to its peak.

After a moment of reflection, Li Qing retreated to his cave abode to begin preparing for the Thunderfire Core refinement.

Using the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, he had collected a vast amount of Heavenly Thunder during Fan Tong’s transformation tribulation. Combined with heavenly spirit fire, the resulting Thunderfire Core would possess formidable power.

"The refinement process carries considerable risk," Li Qing mused. "If I fail to balance the Heavenly Thunder and spirit fire, an accident could occur that even a typical nascent soul realm cultivator might not survive."

"Fortunately, my fleshly body has already been tempered by both Heavenly Thunder and spirit fire, granting me significant resistance to these forces."

With that, Li Qing channeled strands of Heavenly Thunder from the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings, gathering them in his left hand.

The thunderous energy crackled and flashed incessantly, its raw power causing even Li Qing’s heart to race slightly.

Boom!

In the next instant, a ball of Profound Yellow True Flame erupted from his right hand.

As the two forces converged, the surrounding air warped and distorted. Both the Heavenly Thunder and spirit fire grew increasingly volatile, their energies surging with unrestrained fury.

"Truly, Heavenly Thunder and spirit fire have been drawn together, unleashing an unstoppable force!"

"I wonder which ancient great power dared to conceive of using these two most domineering forces in the world to refine the Thunderfire Core."

Li Qing’s expression grew even more solemn. He realized that merging Heavenly Thunder and spirit fire to refine the Thunderfire Core was far more challenging than he had anticipated.

Even bringing the two forces slightly closer nearly overwhelmed his ability to suppress them simultaneously.

Li Qing admitted he had underestimated the difficulty of refining the Thunderfire Core, naively believing that acquiring sufficient Heavenly Thunder would make the process straightforward.

Taking a deep breath, he focused his entire mind and treated the process as artifact refinement.

In the following days, Azure Cloud Peak was periodically rocked by violent explosions that drew the attention of many Lingyun Sect disciples.

Rumble!

Each time these tremors reverberated, the sky darkened, suffused with overwhelming destructive energy.

This cycle repeated until the Lingyun Sect disciples gradually grew accustomed to the disturbances, no longer reacting with surprise.

Time flowed leisurely, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.

Suddenly, a hearty, genuine laugh echoed across Azure Cloud Peak.

"Hahaha! I finally refined it! That was truly difficult!"

Inside Li Qing’s cave abode, his eyes were bloodshot, but an unwavering smile stretched across his lips.

In his hand lay a fist-sized Crystal Core, its surface swirling with alternating hues of yellow and blue.

This was the Thunderfire Core he had refined by combining Heavenly Thunder and Profound Yellow True Flame. Within the core, these two domineering and volatile forces had achieved a perfect equilibrium, their state stabilized to the utmost degree.

The process had taken several months—longer than refining a spirit treasure—a testament to its extreme difficulty.

Yet, during this time, Li Qing’s mastery over Heavenly Thunder and spirit fire had reached its zenith. He could now perfectly fuse the two elements and maintain their stability.

Future refinements would undoubtedly require far less time.

With his initial success, Li Qing proceeded to refine the remaining Heavenly Thunder within the Wind-Thunder Silver Wings into Thunderfire Cores. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

In the end, Li Qing refined the Heavenly Thunder into sixteen fist-sized Thunderfire Cores.

At first glance, they might not seem remarkable. But Li Qing knew that once the power within a Thunderfire Core was unleashed, it would unleash a terrifying destructive force.

He wasn’t sure exactly how powerful they were.

So he flew out of his cave abode, all the way to the sea territory beyond the Lingyun Sect, intending to test the Thunderfire Cores’ true power there.

(End of the Chapter)

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