Translator: AnubisTL
In the frozen, snow-covered landscape, the biting wind whipped Li Qing's robes into a frenzy.
Every eye in the arena turned toward the sound.
Through the icy mist, a tall, imposing figure glided forward, riding atop a cyan war spear.
A warm smile played on his lips. Though his features were unremarkable, his presence sent shockwaves through the hearts of everyone present.
This face was one many would never forget—they all recognized him!
"You're... Li Qing!" Nine Heavens gasped, his face twisting in disbelief.
The qi refining realm cultivator from years ago had now reached the mid-foundation establishment stage!
When Nine Heavens had achieved foundation establishment, he had held a small celebration. It was then that he had repaid his debt to Li Qing, severing ties with the rogue cultivator before assuming his new role as an elder in the Law Enforcement Hall.
Yet now, impossibly, Li Qing had not only achieved foundation establishment but had also cultivated to a surprisingly advanced level, his cultivation base remarkably deep.
Liu Hanyue's crimson lips parted slightly, her eyes widening with shock.
It's really him! After all these years, Li Qing has actually achieved foundation establishment!
Among everyone present, Liu Hanyue was the most profoundly shaken by Li Qing's transformation.
She had first met him when he was just a humble spirit mine worker for the Liu Clan.
What was his cultivation level back then? The third or fourth layer of the qi refining realm?
To be honest, Liu Hanyue couldn't quite recall. But it was undeniably low—as low as it could possibly be. His innate talent was equally unremarkable, possessing only a four spirit root.
Yet this ordinary spirit mine worker had not only achieved foundation establishment but had also reached the mid-foundation establishment stage!
He had already caught up to her current cultivation level—an almost unbelievable feat.
Su Xin, who had resigned herself to death, jolted violently when Nine Heavens called out Li Qing's name. She turned to gaze at the tall, imposing figure.
Her soft, beautiful eyes burned the image of that dashing figure in the sky deep into her mind.
"It really is you."
Whoosh!
Moments later, several more figures shot through the air behind Li Qing.
Wu Chong, Shen Ningbing, and another cultivator landed in quick succession. Wu Chong, panting heavily, exclaimed, "Li Qing, you're truly a master strategist! You actually predicted their escape route perfectly!"
Shen Ningbing remained silent, her icy gaze fixed on the Shangqing Sect elders.
Through a twist of fate, the young foundation establishment cultivators from the three great cultivation sects of the Azure Ridge Domain had converged.
Most of them were at the mid-foundation establishment stage, and all possessed formidable strength, making them true elites among their peers.
In fact, it could be said that every foundation establishment cultivator present was exceptionally skilled.
"Heh, Brother Li, Immortal Shen," Ling Ying said, slowly approaching on the back of his Sky-Rending Eagle, his face still bearing its perpetually gloomy expression. "I never expected to meet you again so soon, especially under such regrettable circumstances."
Li Qing had never underestimated the man before him, and his expression immediately turned serious.
"Brother Ling Ying, I must take these people back to the sect to report. Would you be so kind as to grant me this favor?" Li Qing asked, flashing a brilliant smile that revealed his perfectly aligned, pearly white teeth.
"This is the one thing I cannot grant you, Brother Li. Please don't make this difficult for me," Ling Ying replied softly, shaking his head.
Hearing this, Li Qing sighed deeply. "Ah, it seems we'll have to settle this with a fight today."
"Heh heh heh, does that mean the Lingyun Sect has finally decided to oppose my Shangqing Sect?" Ling Ying chuckled.
As his words faded, a battered Golden War Boat materialized behind him, gliding through the air.
On the war boat stood two familiar faces: Lu Feiyu and Zhong Ya, the very men who had once hunted Li Qing to the brink of despair.
"You little beast! We should have finished you off back then. Now you've actually grown into a threat!" Lu Feiyu's eyes turned cold, his voice dripping with murderous intent.
Zhong Ya's expression instantly darkened, his gaze locking fiercely onto Li Qing. "After all these years," he growled, "you, who were once nothing more than an ant, dare to stand before us now?"
Li Qing remained utterly unfazed by the insults and mockery, his expression calm and serene.
He completely ignored the pair, focusing his gaze solely on Ling Ying, his demeanor gradually turning icy.
He thought of the ancient demon about to awaken in the Forbidden Speech Snow Mountains, and of the many fellow sect elders who had perished in the demon's den grotto-heaven.
His dao should have been a path of quiet cultivation, but now, because of their breaking the Extreme Ice Demon-Sealing Formation, the ancient demonic race was about to emerge, adding countless life-and-death trials to his journey.
The tree seeks stillness, but the wind never ceases.
"It's not that my Lingyun Sect has resolved to oppose the Shangqing Sect, Brother Ling Ying," Li Qing countered. "You have it backwards. It's your Shangqing Sect that refuses to let my Lingyun Sect prosper."
"Did the sealing formation on the Forbidden Speech Snow Mountains break itself? Do you know how many Lingyun Sect elders lost their lives in the demon's den recently?"
"Who will take responsibility for those fallen elders?"
Li Qing's voice turned icy cold.
Unnoticed, his deep, jet-black pupils were instantly veiled by a flicker of searing white flame.
Boom!
A sudden, violent gale swept across the sky, carrying a bone-chilling wind. Ling Ying smirked darkly, his gaze hardening into a razor-sharp glare.
The tempest surged, unleashing a barrage of wind blades that shot forward with blinding speed.
With matters having reached this point, words were useless. Only battle remained.
No sooner had the thought formed than Shen Ningbing acted. Her hands flashed through a series of hand seals, summoning a towering wall of ice that intercepted the incoming wind blades.
Rumble!
The ice wall shuddered under the impact, large chunks of ice shattering and splintering away.
Having clashed with Ling Ying before, Shen Ningbing was intimately familiar with his techniques.
But now that they faced each other in a life-or-death struggle, the situation had fundamentally changed.
Seeing this, Li Qing turned to Zhang Lai of the Heavenly River Sect and said:
"There's no time for reminiscing. Those who have exhausted their mana should retreat first. The rest of you, stay on standby and seize any opportunity!"
With a thought, Li Qing's wind spear carried him forward in a swift charge.
Yan Xi, now possessing Shi Nantian's body, met him head-on.
"To so easily melt my Profound Gold Nine Slashes sword qi, that must be a heavenly spirit fire, right?" Yan Xi held a silver-white spear, which he thrust violently at Li Qing.
Undaunted, Li Qing immediately tapped his storage pouch, summoning three spears of distinct colors but similar textures that materialized around him.
Mountain Spear! Immovable as a mountain!
The silver spear's strike was instantly blocked. Though the slender yellow bone spear appeared delicate, it now stood firm and heavy as a mountain.
Next, the forest spear shot forth, instantly creating multiple illusions in the air, as if dozens of forest spears were being launched simultaneously.
"Should I call you Shi Nantian now, or some other name?" Li Qing's eyes burned with murderous intent. His strengthened divine soul had already sensed something amiss about his opponent.
Yan Xi sneered. "That fool is already dead. Heh heh heh, want to know when I took over his body?"
The fire spear clashed with the silver spear, sending massive bursts of spiritual energy and shockwaves erupting outward.
Li Qing had long suspected something was amiss with Shi Nantian, but the whirlwind of events had left him no time to dwell on it. Now, memories of their encounters flooded his mind.
There was no doubt that Shi Nantian had remained his utterly sincere self until their second meeting at Heavenly River Market.
Suddenly, a spiritual light flashed through Li Qing's mind.
"It must have been when Daoist Ling Miao's cave abode appeared, causing such a stir at Heavenly River Market, right?"
"The stall vendor selling Daoist Ling Miao's relics back then—he must have been from your Shangqing Sect."
As Li Qing spoke, he hurled the fire spear with a single hand.
Boom!
The fire spear streaked forward with a crimson tail, piercing directly toward Yan Xi's face.
Though Li Qing's bond with Shi Nantian wasn't deep, the death of such a sincere young man through body seizing still stirred a sense of regret within him. Now that Yan Xi was his enemy, Li Qing wouldn't hesitate to strike ruthlessly to avenge Shi Nantian.
Yan Xi spun his spear, barely deflecting the combined assault of the fire spear and forest spear. Seizing the opportunity, he swiftly drew a talisman from his robes.
Boom!
A massive sphere of earth materialized instantly and exploded directly in front of Li Qing.
This was a powerful second-tier earth attribute attack talisman, its destructive force truly terrifying.
"Heh, I never imagined you'd remember such a trivial matter so clearly. Impressive!"
Faced with the exploding earth sphere, Li Qing's expression shifted slightly. He quickly summoned a pitch-black forge to shield himself.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Dense, muffled impacts reverberated as the Black Furnace shuddered under the barrage of earth fragments.
Even in the midst of a foundation establishment realm battle, this ancient and mysterious forge continued to demonstrate its remarkable defensive capabilities.
Once the aftershocks of the earth explosion subsided, Li Qing retracted the still-undamaged Black Furnace and replaced it with a banner that fluttered in the wind—the top-grade magical artifact, the Heavenly Net Banner.
"What I'm truly curious about is how you managed to locate Shi Nantian with such precision."
With that, Li Qing raised the Heavenly Net Banner high and swung it forcefully.
Hum!
The banner swept out a vast expanse of spiritual light, instantly filling the air with shadow spider silk.
In mere moments, Yan Xi's movements became sluggish, and his expression quickly darkened.
(End of the Chapter)
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