Chapter 784: Mystical Essence Concentration

Xia Shouyu knelt to the ground. The demon general writhed on the floor, his voice hoarse, crying out:

“Immortal… Immortal, spare my life…”

Li Ximing found him noisy. With a thought, the sound was faintly muffled and contained. He smiled and said:

“Little friend Xia, you picked precisely. This fellow is undoubtedly a Yin Water creature. Does he have any background or relatives? Don’t make too much of a fuss and attract attention from outside.”

Xia Shouyu understood the unspoken meaning, realizing that this old demon wanted to recover from his injuries in seclusion. Such old demons often had powerful enemies outside, most likely leaders of righteous sects. If he caused trouble, he would be no better than a bug. He nodded repeatedly and replied:

“Immortal! This fellow is a demon general from the Cape of the Sea, named King Qiu. Our area is extremely remote; even the Dragon Clan doesn’t come here to patrol the sea. Only a few Foundation Establishment level demons have visited over the years and have some connections with local lesser demons. Even if all these demons die, it’s unlikely to cause any significant stir…”

Li Ximing didn’t fully believe her words, considering she was only at the Qi Refining stage. He thought to himself:

‘This little demon is somewhat intelligent. Although she didn’t claim to arrive with a grand entourage, she did bring a group of trusted subordinates. If they all died here, it would certainly attract a lot of attention. It’s better to keep the commotion to a minimum.’

Seeing his silence, Xia Shouyu feared he might be contemplating something or using her as a pawn. Hoping he would remain low-key, she whispered:

“This demon is relatively minor, but I’ve heard that if you travel west from here, across the sea, you’ll reach the Peacock Sea in the outer waters. In that sea, there’s a Mount Nine Hills, and on it resides a mighty cultivator with boundless power, capable of making the dead speak and the living ascend. An immortal envoy from that mountain visited the Cape of the Sea over sixty years ago to take disciples… so they must still be paying attention.”

“Oh?”

Li Ximing heard that this person was a Purple Palace cultivator, located at the edge of the Cape, likely the closest one. So he quietly asked:

“What’s his surname? What cultivation method does he practice? And what’s his reputation?”

Xia Shouyu hastily kowtowed and said:

“This humble one doesn’t know! I only heard that a powerful cultivator often travels between this immortal mountain. That mighty being has a gourd. More than ten years ago, golden talismans ascended to the heavens above the Cape, and shimmering light fell like rain, with a gourd as vast as a mountain. It must have been him engaging in a contest with that mighty cultivator.”

Li Ximing had never heard of any gourd. Alert to the location, he waved Xia Shouyu to stop and looked at the sea worm on the ground, saying:

“You monster, you’ve run into my hands. Whose side are you on?”

The demon general wailed:

“Sir! I am from the Zhunan Water Palace, Immortal! I unintentionally offended you, Sir. For the sake of the Water Palace… spare this humble demon’s life!”

The demon cried out, unfastened its storage bag from its waist, and poured out a heap of flashy, poor, and meager items, mostly blood energy. Their tattered state was astounding, inferior even to the possessions of a direct disciple from an immortal sect in Jiangnan at the Qi Refining stage.

Trembling, he took out a jade bottle from the pile and pleaded:

“This is something I acquired by chance, humble one presents it to the Immortal!”

“Haha!”

Li Ximing glanced at it; it was an ancient pill, and he wasn't sure if it was still usable. He found it amusing. He wanted to hear the demon's excuses and use them to his advantage, but he was too lazy to believe such a clumsy lie. He picked up the lump of flesh, slightly loosened his divine ability, allowing it to transform back into human form, and scolded:

“Nonsense! The Zhunan Water Palace is far to the south of Zhulu. This place is the Cape of the East Sea. It would take you a year and a half to fly from there to here. Don’t talk rubbish to me!”

Li Ximing’s own Zongquan Island was within the Zhunan Water Palace’s territory, so he knew the details better than this demon. The effeminate man broke out in a cold sweat and said tremblingly:

“Reporting to Sir, this humble demon was once a subordinate of Yun Taozi, a high-ranking official in the Zhunan Water Palace. Later, I ventured out and traveled all the way to the Cape of the Sea…”

“Enough!”

Upon hearing this, Li Ximing smiled faintly and said:

“Call your subordinates down and tell them you want to study formations properly. Dismiss them first, send them back to guard your palace, and leave two to guard the island, so outsiders don’t find out.”

Even if the demon had a thousand thoughts and considerations swirling in its mind, knowing its death was imminent, it was helpless. No matter how much it wanted to frown or speak more in front of its subordinates, with the divine ability suppressing it, it couldn’t even make an extra expression.

It could only quietly instruct the demons above. Li Ximing, empowered by the Immortal Mirror and supervising with his divine ability, saw everything clearly, preventing the demon from causing any disturbance. The group of demons, without suspicion, left together.

After remotely checking with the Immortal Mirror and confirming that the group of demons showed no abnormalities, Li Ximing returned to the cave. He took a black, lacquered alchemy furnace from his storage bag. It landed with a thud. The furnace was covered in intricate patterns, with waves and ferocious beasts carved onto its body, supported by three legs.

The River Furnace.

Actually, with Li Ximing’s advancement to the Purple Palace stage, whether or not he had an alchemy furnace for refining this pill wasn’t very important anymore. What’s more, the River Furnace wasn’t even a Foundation Establishment level artifact. However, since Li Ximing was refining a life-saving elixir, he was particularly cautious.

The demon’s face was ashen. In an instant, it reverted to its true form. Li Ximing lifted it and casually said:

“Yun Taozi? That old cloud octopus died many years ago!”

The disparity between a Purple Palace cultivator from Jiangnan and a Foundation Establishment demon from the Cape of the Sea was simply too vast. The demon general’s supposedly impressive news was nothing but a joke to him. Seeing the demon’s magical power surge violently, emitting specks of gray gas, Li Ximing couldn’t help but click his tongue:

‘A good Yin Water creature, yet it didn’t cultivate properly, instead using so much blood and flesh to accumulate cultivation.’

After a moment of consideration, he decided not to use the originally chosen Huiyuan Spiritual Water. Instead, he substituted it with Earth Fiend Cold Spring, then neutralized it with Clear Gloom Spiritual Flower to dispel the demon’s evil aura. Many valuable spiritual items from the Li family were already on him, and he quickly gathered the necessary components.

He opened the furnace to refine the pill. Purple flames blazed, casting his leaping shadow on the stone wall. Xia Shouyu’s heart grew increasingly uneasy, her eyelids twitching. She wondered just how much harm she had caused:

‘How long will this old demon refine the pill for…? If he secludes himself for ten or twenty years, missing the opportune time… I’ll be trapped and die here.’

She knelt in the bright firelight for two days and two nights. The flames before her unexpectedly began to diminish. Xia Shouyu was inwardly terrified when, suddenly, she saw the old demon abruptly slap the alchemy furnace and shout:

“Rise!”

Immediately, a clear fragrance permeated the air. Xia Shouyu felt she had never smelled such a wonderful scent. The strong medicinal aroma filled her mind, making her feel light and disoriented, not knowing where she was. Then she heard a dull thud:

“Thump!”

The lid of the alchemy furnace immediately flew open, and seven pills shot out. Each was blue and white with bright purple patterns, and they obediently fell into Li Ximing’s palm one after another, clinking together like glazed jade.

“It’s done!”

Li Ximing felt a sudden surge of joy in his heart. Seeing there were seven pills, he couldn’t help but laugh heartily. With a flick of his finger, all seven pills rolled smoothly into a jade bottle.

‘A pleasant surprise!’

It’s worth noting that the pills Li Ximing was refining were not based on a pre-existing formula. Instead, he had taken the Profound Truth Sutra’s core medicine as a foundation, combined it with the extremely profound method of Yin Water Spirit Pills called “Heavenly Quintessence Extraction” that he had read from Ziyan’s texts, and customized it according to his own injuries! The ability to refine seven pills in one go was enough to prove that his alchemy cultivation had broken free from the Xiao family’s lineage and he could now be called a Purple Palace Alchemist.

“Good… based on the Profound Truth refining method, and extracting heavenly quintessence to form the pill, I’ll call it Profound Truth Quintessence Pill!”

He burst into laughter, startling Xia Shouyu, who kowtowed furiously, crying out:

“Congratulations, Immortal, on the great success of your divine medicine! Congratulations, Immortal, on further advancement!…”

Li Ximing found her words strange and somewhat unpleasant to hear, so he stopped laughing. Without another glance at the woman, he silently took out a pill and placed it in his hand. The purple patterns on the pill were still faintly glowing, exquisitely beautiful.

As this pill was swallowed, the pure Yin Water energy circulated. Under Li Ximing’s guidance, it all surged into his Juque Court. With Juque as the valley, the nourishing yet unactivated power of the Yin Water instantly dispersed, making his Juque Court feel refreshingly cool.

The surging gray water immediately rose from his Juque Court, completely enveloping the spiritual fire. Li Ximing seized the opportunity to suppress the external fire. As the 'Nine Profound Methods of Sang Yu Can' sensed both internal and external forces, the black fire immediately surged forth.

He sat cross-legged. The spiritual fire that had continuously burned on his Dharma Body for so long finally vanished completely, transforming back into his Juque, where it was then suppressed by the Profound Truth Quintessence Pill, unable to spread.

Witnessing this, Li Ximing finally let out a deep breath. Divine power and colorful light flickered in his slowly opened eyes. He exhaled and smiled, saying:

“Finally suppressed!”

The effectiveness of the pill meant that Li Ximing no longer had to walk around engulfed in flames; he could finally move freely. The Profound Truth Quintessence Pill was slowly consuming the fire within his Juque Court. Although it couldn’t suppress it for a very long time, Li Ximing had six more pills, enough to last a year or even a year and a half. In fact, he might not even need to refine subsequent pills, as the spiritual fire could be completely extinguished with the aid of his divine ability and the Profound Truth Quintessence Pills.

“Rumble!”

As the flames vanished, the cave became vast and dark. The black water vein on the ground continued to gush outwards, emitting a violent roaring sound, while the spring water on the surface flowed back in, intertwining blue and black, creating a rather splendid sight.

Li Ximing lifted Xia Shouyu and emerged from the cave. The lake’s temperature had already dropped, and its green color quickly turned black, transforming from clear water into deep, profound water.

The two demons were still foolishly guarding the lakeside. Li Ximing knew these two would usually capture people to satisfy their cravings while on guard. With a glance, the heads of the two demons fell. He dropped Xia Shouyu to the ground and instructed:

“Collect the items and transport the people on the island away.”

Xia Shouyu was a little perplexed. Since this demon had come out of seclusion, devouring all the people and demons on the island in one go would be a mere thought. So she could only pack up the two demons and respectfully said:

“I can’t transport so many barbarians by myself… I’ll have to go back and ask someone to help.”

Li Ximing himself was poor, not even possessing a spirit boat. He could only wave his sleeve and say:

“Never mind then! Lead the way…”

‘Lead the way where…? Where else could it be…? Naturally, to my lineage’s Qingxu Temple…’

Xia Shouyu felt uneasy. She raised her eyebrows to look, realizing that the old demon had grown facial features. His glabella shone with a celestial light like an immortal, his appearance was upright, his eyebrows smooth, and his eyes were a pale golden hue, quite intimidating.

What could she say? Since she was the one who had released this terrifying divine ability user, was there now a second path to take? Silently, she led the way, her expression one of extreme panic and fear, unable to control herself.

Li Ximing, by contrast, felt refreshed. Standing in the wind, he had never found the sea breeze so invigorating. From his sleeve, he took out a jade bottle—it was the pill the demon had given him.

Li Ximing looked at it for a moment, and his heart gradually settled:

“My injuries aren’t healed; I absolutely won’t return to Jiangnan! This Cape of the Sea has quite an ancient feel. I’ll wander around for a while and, in passing, try to find a way to inquire about news from home.”

Armed with the Immortal Mirror, Li Ximing feared no one in the desolate and remote Cape of the Sea, where some places didn’t even have a connection to the Grand Void. If Changxiao dared to pursue him here, facing the Immortal Mirror would be a trivial matter. Naturally, he felt completely confident.

As for the pill in his hand, it was nothing special. However, its refining technique had an ancient charm, seeming to involve gathering the essence of heaven, earth, sun, and moon. Li Ximing understood this and felt somewhat intrigued:

‘The refining method for this thing… I wonder if any traces remain in the Cape of the Sea. If I could get a refining method that collects moonlight essence for a pill, that would truly be an endless, inexhaustible source of resources…’

Of course, a refining method using moonlight essence for pills wouldn’t solely use moonlight. Li Ximing considered himself a Purple Palace Alchemist now; with a refining method in hand, there were many ways to improve it. Normally, he could use moonlight to substitute one or two spiritual items. That would be a huge gain.

Xia Shouyu dared not waste time. After flying over the sea for a while, they vaguely saw a peak rising from the ocean, with a large complex of temples and monasteries situated upon it. Li Ximing raised his eyebrows, glanced at it, and quietly asked:

“Oh? Is that a temple?”

Xia Shouyu felt a chill rush to her mind. The person before her was clearly a great demon, most likely disdainful of Buddhist cultivators. Fearing a misunderstanding, she quickly and urgently explained:

“Reporting to Immortal, my lineage is Qingxu Temple, and it once worshipped a mighty divine being named Xuxiang. Thus, it is also a temple… It has little relation to modern or ancient Buddhist sects… Sir, please understand!”

‘Xuxiang of Tongxuan Palace!’

This name was not unfamiliar to Li Ximing. Su Mian’s profound lineage took Xuxiang of Tongxuan Palace as its patriarch. He nodded slightly and replied:

“So it’s the lineage of True Lord Baotu, a rare sight.”

Xia Shouyu clearly hadn’t expected Li Ximing to actually recognize Xuxiang. Her heart skipped a beat, and she made a mental note of “True Lord Baotu.” Seeing the demon raise an eyebrow, he said:

“You also know about ancient and modern Buddhist sects?”

Xia Shouyu respectfully said:

“Reporting to Immortal, there are ancient Buddhist lineages in the Cape of the Sea, but few modern Buddhist cultivators stay here. Most of the lineages in the Cape are also temples, but they worship ancient powerful beings, and there aren’t many Buddhist cultivators among them.”

Li Ximing nodded upon hearing this, a strange glint in his eyes. He wondered if this group of opportunistic Buddhist cultivators disdained coming here or simply couldn’t. He smiled and said:

“Modern Buddhist cultivators are mostly shameless, bullying the weak and fearing the strong. Since you worship Immortal Dao True Lords, I assume they wouldn’t dare go too far.”

He stood in the clouds, watching the layout below with interest. Xia Shouyu respectfully waited beside him, seeing the demon smile and say:

“Do you want to go down and prepare first? If I descend directly like this, I might scare your lineage’s people unconscious, and that wouldn’t be good.”