Translator: AnubisTL
Boom!
Within Li Qing's cave abode, a ball of intensely white, frigid flames slowly ignited.
Beside him, Gui Fan stood holding the dark purple Demonic Essence Gold in both hands. Sensing the bone-chilling aura of the Netherworld Cold Fire, a satisfied smile spread across his handsome face.
Indeed, the purest profound yin power contained within these frigid flames was precisely what he needed to break the Pure Yang Seal!
"Brother Gui Fan, if we don't start soon, I won't be able to maintain the Netherworld Cold Fire for long," Li Qing remarked calmly.
This was, of course, a lie. With Li Qing's current strength, maintaining the Netherworld Cold Fire at this level would be no problem, even for three days and nights. He simply didn't want to waste mana unnecessarily, as restoring mana in the core formation realm was far more difficult than in the foundation establishment realm.
"Heh, I'm ready. Maintain this flame intensity—I'm going to refine the gold with fire," Gui Fan said, an effeminate smile curving his handsome face. A glint of cunning flashed in his narrow eyes as he moved into action.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
As Gui Fan's fingertips danced lightly through the air, strands of Netherworld Cold Fire were drawn from Li Qing's palm, flowing like liquid threads.
The Netherworld Cold Fire, brimming with profound yin power, slowly descended upon the Demonic Essence Gold. The dark purple metal shimmered as if coated in a layer of white quicksand.
Hiss!
A sound like ice water hitting red-hot iron echoed through the air. The previously calm Netherworld Cold Fire suddenly began to boil and surge.
Li Qing's pupils narrowed slightly at the sight.
The Pure Yang Seal on the Demonic Essence Gold was far more deeply rooted than he had anticipated. After so many years, it had likely fused completely with the metal.
The one who cast this seal must have been an ancient great power with heaven-piercing cultivation!
Gui Fan, his expression utterly focused, continued to draw forth the Netherworld Cold Fire, gradually channeling it into the Demonic Essence Gold in his hand.
"This Pure Yang Seal is proving far more troublesome than I expected," he remarked. "But the Netherworld Cold Fire you wield is no ordinary flame either. It contains an astonishingly abundant reserve of profound yin power."
"If its power weren't so limited, I'd almost suspect this was the legendary Grand Yin True Fire," Gui Fan murmured, his expression focused.
Li Qing couldn't help but roll his eyes.
How could it possibly be the Grand Yin True Fire?!
Such a source fire seed could never exist in the lower realm. Even a trace of it could incinerate the entire Human Realm into the nether realm.
With his current abilities, even if he were a hundred times stronger, he couldn't refine or subdue a fire on par with the Grand Yang True Fire.
As for why the Netherworld Cold Fire contained such abundant profound yin power, Li Qing had some understanding.
It was simply because when his dao foundation was elevated in the yin-yang cave, the Netherworld Cold Fire within him had also benefited, absorbing a significant amount of Profound Yin Qi from the cave abode.
Normally, ordinary Netherworld Cold Fire wouldn't possess such a concentrated amount of profound yin power.
In the silent atmosphere, Li Qing and Gui Fan remained focused on their respective tasks.
One maintained the Netherworld Cold Fire's activation, while the other used it to refine the seal on the Demonic Essence Gold.
"Brother Limitless, increase the intensity of the flames. I can feel the Pure Yang Seal weakening," Gui Fan said urgently, his expression shifting.
Without hesitation, Li Qing channeled more energy into the Netherworld Cold Fire, intensifying its power.
Sizzling sounds echoed as the pure yang power within the Demonic Essence Gold was continuously refined away, gradually weakening the seal's strength.
Li Qing maintained the Netherworld Cold Fire for nearly two days and nights—his longest continuous use of the flame to date. Even the source fire seeds he had subdued within his body began to tremble.
The intensified flames had drained a significant portion of Li Qing's true essence. At this rate, his mana would likely be completely depleted within another day and night.
Yet the Pure Yang Seal on the Demonic Essence Gold remained stubbornly resilient.
"Brother Limitless, if it's too much, let's rest for a while," Gui Fan said, his brow furrowed in concern.
Hearing this, Li Qing immediately ceased channeling the Netherworld Cold Fire and let out a long sigh.
"This Pure Yang Seal is truly formidable."
Seals laid by ancient great powers of the righteous path were never easily broken.
No wonder this artifact was buried as a funerary item in the tombs of royal marquises. Though Demonic Essence Gold was rare and precious, it was merely a useless piece of scrap if the seal upon it couldn't be broken.
Useless to consume, yet too valuable to discard!
With that, Li Qing sat down cross-legged to replenish his mana, while Gui Fan rubbed his temples and the space between his eyebrows, clearly exhausted from focusing his mental power for so long.
But in the next moment, the golden markings on the now-idle Demonic Essence Gold began to deepen in color, as if the Pure Yang Seal was slowly restoring itself to its strength from two days prior!
Li Qing and Gui Fan's lips twitched in unison at this sight.
"How is this possible?! The seal is actively restoring itself?!" Gui Fan cursed, his expression turning dark.
Li Qing, however, was awestruck. "The methods of ancient great powers are truly unfathomable. Even the seals they cast can autonomously regenerate."
"Damn it, Brother Limitless, keep channeling the Netherworld Cold Fire! Otherwise, all our efforts these past two days will have been for nothing!"
Even before Gui Fan could speak, Li Qing had already moved.
Boom!
The Netherworld Cold Fire erupted from his palm once more, its bone-chilling aura instantly spreading through the air.
Forcing himself to endure the crippling drain on his mental power, Gui Fan once again began channeling the Netherworld Cold Fire.
This seal had to be broken in one continuous effort, or it would regenerate completely.
For this peerless material for refining his natal magic treasure, Gui Fan was pushing himself to his absolute limit.
This was Demonic Essence Gold, a spiritual material found only in the demon realm—something that could never naturally occur in this world.
If he could refine it into his natal magic treasure, he dared not imagine the extent to which his combat prowess would surge. He would undoubtedly become invincible among cultivators of his level.
Of course, the world doesn't operate on sheer passion and effort alone; practical considerations also mattered.
For instance, Li Qing's mana reserves couldn't sustain the continuous activation of the Netherworld Cold Fire for much longer. Even the abundant mana of a core formation true lord wasn't limitless.
Even if Gui Fan could withstand the mental power drain, he couldn't overcome Li Qing's finite mana.
Li Qing turned to Gui Fan, whose expression was resolute, and said, "Brother Gui Fan, I don't mean to discourage you, but my mana is running low."
Gui Fan, his eyes bloodshot, replied in a low voice, "I know there are some mid-grade spirit stones here. Take them and use them first."
With that, Gui Fan swiftly retrieved a pile of mid-grade spirit stones—about twenty or so—from his storage pouch and handed them to Li Qing.
The spiritual energy within the stones was remarkably pure, far more efficient than restoring mana through meditation.
However, given Li Qing's rapidly depleting mana, it was likely just a drop in the bucket.
Even with the stones' refined spiritual energy, he still needed to circulate his cultivation manual to refine it into spiritual energy within his dantian.
To break the seal on the Demonic Essence Gold in one go, relying solely on spirit stones to replenish mana would still be insufficient.
"Brother Gui Fan, take these five drops of dragon marrow and focus on refining the seal. I have a way to resolve my mana shortage," Li Qing said calmly.
Gui Fan froze, turning to stare at Li Qing in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"I never make promises I can't keep," Li Qing replied calmly.
"Fine! Deal!" Gui Fan gritted his teeth, a flicker of pain crossing his eyes.
But he had no choice. Compared to his natal magic treasure, dragon marrow could wait.
The most critical factor was the recent news that Zhang Xiao of the Taiyi Sect had likely achieved core formation. His prolonged seclusion before accepting the challenge suggested he was preparing countermeasures against Gui Fan.
This battle was of paramount importance. Without his natal magic treasure, Gui Fan might not stand a chance against Zhang Xiao.
He absolutely had to break the seal on the Demonic Essence Gold!
Hearing Gui Fan's agreement, Li Qing smiled.
"Brother Gui Fan is indeed a man of his word!"
With that, Li Qing activated the Netherworld Cold Fire with one hand while tapping his storage pouch with the other.
Clink!
A small jade bottle appeared in his hand, containing a milky-white, pure spiritual liquid.
The moment Li Qing opened the bottle, even the faint aroma made his mana feel slightly replenished.
That's right, this was the bottle of millennial spirit milk he had obtained in exchange for crimson crystals!
Though the bottle contained only a small amount, its value lay in its millennial grade. Just a few drops could rapidly replenish his depleted mana.
Without hesitation, Li Qing took a small sip from the bottle.
Contrary to his expectations of sweetness, the spirit milk had an unpleasant, dry taste that was difficult to swallow.
"Millennial spirit milk?!" Gui Fan exclaimed in shock upon witnessing this.
He never imagined Li Qing would possess such a rare treasure. Even he, the young sect master of the Ghost Sword Sect, didn't have such a thing in his collection!
Glug!
After swallowing the spirit milk, Li Qing smiled and replied, "Brother Gui Fan, focus on breaking the seal. You don't need to worry about me."
Indeed, the spirit milk worked almost instantly. Li Qing felt his true essence rapidly replenishing, an efficiency far surpassing that of absorbing spirit stones!
Seeing this, Gui Fan breathed a sigh of relief and resumed his efforts to break the seal on the Demonic Essence Gold.
(End of the Chapter)
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