Translator: AnubisTL
Frost Jade Ice Butterfly!
Upon hearing the name, Li Qing instantly recalled the basic information about this demonic insect.
The Ice Butterfly was entirely ice-blue, resembling a crystal sculpture. It was an ancient variant with an exceptionally powerful bloodline.
Frost Jade Ice Butterflies could continuously cocoon themselves and undergo metamorphosis. Each time they emerged from their cocoons, their strength would increase significantly, making it highly likely they could reach the Third-Tier.
No wonder junior sister Shen came to exchange Heavenly Star Grass with me a few years ago. It seems she needed it to subdue this demonic insect, Li Qing mused inwardly, recalling events from when he had just achieved foundation establishment.
At that time, he had offered a nine-hundred-year-old Heavenly Star Grass for trade, which Shen Ningbing eventually acquired.
He had initially wondered why, with the protection of a core formation realm master, she would suffer such severe divine soul injuries during her training, requiring Heavenly Star Grass for recovery and nourishment.
Now it seemed clear: these injuries were likely the price she had paid for subduing the Frost Jade Ice Butterfly.
"Having a Core Formation True Lord as your master is truly advantageous," Li Qing mused. "Just imagine the immense effort I had to expend to help Fan Tong undergo metamorphosis into a Second-Tier Demonic Beast."
"Yet she's only just achieved Foundation Establishment, and her master has already led her to subdue such a powerful demonic insect—an ancient variant, no less."
As this thought crossed his mind, Li Qing couldn't help but feel a pang of envy.
Compared to Shen Ningbing's meticulously paved path of cultivation, he had to struggle alone, clawing his way forward with every ounce of his strength, all for the sake of advancing even a little further.
Yet even with such immense effort, the achievements he had painstakingly earned might merely be her starting point.
Amidst these fleeting thoughts, the most intense clash of the battle began.
The Sky-Rending Eagle flapped its wings, its body suddenly expanding in size, each feather radiating a cyan glow.
Boom!
A violent hurricane erupted instantly, amplified by the combined power of the Ling Ying brothers, and swept toward Shen Ningbing.
But Shen Ningbing, having summoned the Frost Jade Ice Butterfly, had no intention of passively awaiting her fate.
With a single hand, she formed a hand seal, channeling her pure Ice Attribute spiritual energy into the Ice Butterfly.
The Ice Butterfly's crystalline wings became even more translucent, revealing faint, mystical patterns shimmering across their surface.
Buzz!
Vast amounts of frigid air converged from the heavens and earth, causing the surrounding temperature to plummet further. Even Li Qing and Liu Hongyuan, who were observing the battle from below, felt a bone-chilling cold that pierced their very souls.
In an instant, several towering ice pillars materialized in the air, their temperatures so low they seemed capable of freezing anything they touched.
The next moment, the ice pillars shot toward the raging hurricane sweeping toward them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The opposing forces collided, their energies mutually neutralizing and merging before erupting outward in all directions.
The mere aftershock of their clash unleashed a localized blizzard!
Boom!
The gale-force winds, laced with razor-sharp ice shards, would instantly kill any qi refining realm cultivator caught in their path.
Fortunately, the blizzard's reach was limited, dissipating entirely after sweeping across a few hundred meters.
If this had been any larger, the mortal villages would have been devastated.
As the aftershocks subsided, Shen Ningbing's face paled considerably. Her beautiful eyes reflected disbelief, as if she couldn't accept the reality before her.
Ling Ying had actually withstood a joint attack from her and the Frost Jade Ice Butterfly in this freezing, snowy environment.
Her Frost Jade Ice Butterfly was an ancient variant, further empowered by the surrounding environment. Yet it had been blocked by a Sky-Rending Eagle with an ordinary bloodline.
Of course, Ling Ying hadn't emerged unscathed either. Both he and the Sky-Rending Eagle had sustained minor injuries in the clash.
"Haha! As expected of an ice spirit root disciple taken in by a core formation True Lord—your methods are truly formidable!" Ling Ying roared with laughter.
Shen Ningbing didn't respond, her gaze still fixed on the Sky-Rending Eagle circling overhead, searching for any anomalies.
Ling Ying, however, had no intention of continuing the fight. "Fellow Daoists," he said, "would you be willing to guide me to your sect?"
At this, Li Qing stepped forward first, clasping his hands in a respectful greeting.
"Junior sister Shen and I still need to return to Lingyun Market to retrieve the disciples from the ascension conference. This might take some time, so we won't be traveling together."
"If you wish to visit the Lingyun Sect, feel free to do so. Though we remain aloof from worldly affairs, we are not discourteous. Guests from afar are always welcome, and I'm sure Senior Brother Sect Leader would be willing to grant you an audience."
Travel together?
Li Qing had no interest in that. He couldn't wait to distance himself from this ominous figure. Despite the Demon Eagle Wanderer's current demeanor, which seemed no different from that of a normal cultivator, Li Qing knew all too well the ruthless deeds he had committed in the Heavenly River Sect region. This was a man who truly belonged on the demonic path.
Having already responded, Li Qing naturally nodded in agreement, and Shen Ningbing followed suit.
"Very well, then we'll take our leave first. Farewell!"
Ling Ying clasped his hands in a fist salute before swiftly flying away.
Liu Hongyuan also offered a silent fist salute to Li Qing and Shen Ningbing before following after Ling Ying.
After confirming the pair had moved far enough away, Li Qing slowly approached Shen Ningbing, asking with concern, "Junior Sister Shen, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, just a bit drained," Shen Ningbing replied, shaking her head, her face pale. "Using the Frost Jade Ice Butterfly in combat still lacks synergy, especially the drain on my divine sense."
Hearing this, Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief. He bent down and picked up several blood-stained feathers from the snow.
"This Sky-Rending Eagle's bloodline must have undergone a mutation. It's far from an ordinary Sky-Rending Eagle."
As he spoke, he extracted the blood from the feathers and carefully stored it in his storage pouch.
"That must be it. Otherwise, it would have been impossible..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Shen Ningbing stumbled, suddenly losing all strength.
Reacting swiftly, Li Qing wrapped his arm around her slender waist, preventing her from falling to the ground.
A chilling sensation immediately radiated from her body into his arm. Li Qing was secretly startled, wondering what cultivation manual she practiced that made her body as cold as ice.
"Junior Sister Shen, how are you feeling? Should we return to Lingyun Market to rest and recuperate? We can set out again once you've recovered," Li Qing asked, his face full of concern.
Shen Ningbing frowned deeply but eventually nodded.
"The Frost Jade Ice Butterfly is far too proud and aloof. Just now, it even tried to break free from the Master-Servant Spirit Contract. It seems we can't easily wield its power until we've fully bonded with it."
"Then let's follow Senior Brother Li's suggestion and return to Lingyun Market to rest for a while."
Hearing this, Li Qing's envy toward Shen Ningbing faded considerably.
So, even taming an ancient variant isn't easy after all. The stronger the Demon beast, the more resistant it is to being bound by a Master-Servant Spirit Contract.
Even with Shen Ningbing's Ice Attribute variant spirit root, she couldn't simply force this ancient demonic insect into submission.
In that case, my old glutton Fan Tong, whom I've raised since childhood, is still the better choice. At least I don't have to worry about these kinds of problems.
Soon, Shen Ningbing regained some strength, and the lingering effects of the divine soul shock began to dissipate. She gently withdrew from Li Qing's arm.
Side by side, the two returned to Lingyun Market.
"How did it go?" Liu Hongyuan, who had already distanced himself, couldn't help but ask. The battle he had just witnessed had been breathtaking, completely revealing the power of a variant spirit root.
Ling Ying replied grimly, "She's no ordinary opponent. If my Sky-Rending Eagle hadn't mutated after consuming that strange crystal, we might have suffered a serious setback today."
"It's clear she's a Personal Disciple of a core formation True Lord. Her strength is undeniable."
Hearing this, Liu Hongyuan sighed. "The Lingyun Sect has remained secluded for centuries, their true power unfathomable. Even if we can't secure their cooperation, we must prevent them from interfering. The consequences would be catastrophic."
The long-standing feud between the Shangqing Sect and the Heavenly River Sect was a well-known secret in the cultivation world.
Over time, the Shangqing Sect's fortunes had steadily risen, their strength gradually surpassing that of the Heavenly River Sect. Yet they had refrained from launching a full-scale assault, primarily due to the Lingyun Sect's unpredictable influence.
Everyone understood the principle of "when the snipe and clam fight, the fisherman profits." No one wanted to become prey for the fisherman's opportunistic catch.
"We shouldn't worry too much about this. Securing their cooperation would be ideal."
"If negotiations fail, we'll give the Lingyun Sect something to keep them occupied, preventing them from focusing on other matters."
Ling Ying suddenly chuckled, his gaze drifting toward the distant horizon. There, a vast, snow-capped mountain range stretched across the sky like the spine of the world.
The Forbidden Speech Snow Mountains, one of the four great Forbidden Lands of the Azure Ridge Domain.
Now, a new, unstable element of danger had been added to this Forbidden Land, a fact known to only a handful of people in the entire cultivation world.
And the "something" Ling Ying intended to give the Lingyun Sect to occupy them clearly lay within those mountains.
Lingyun Market, the area around the ice lake had been ravaged by the battle between Ling Ying and Shen Ningbing, leaving the landscape utterly devastated, as if it had been plowed and swept clean.
Many cultivators sensed the aftermath of the battle and rushed out of the market to investigate.
When they saw the scene, they couldn't help but gasp in shock.
"Hiss!"
"Terrifying! Who could have fought here?"
"The temperature has plummeted to near arctic levels!"
"Could it be that the two Lingyun Sect elders overseeing the ascension conference were indeed ambushed?"
"Who would dare to attack an elder of the Lingyun Sect here?"
"..."
The culprit behind this chaos had already returned to his cave abode in Lingyun Market to recuperate.
As for Li Qing, he found himself with an unexpected stretch of leisure. Instead of immersing himself in arduous cultivation, he retrieved the drop of Sky-Rending Eagle blood he had previously refined.
"I wonder if junior sister Chu's Beast Transformation Talisman is truly as miraculous as she claims. If it lives up to her description, it could prove invaluable in the future."
As he spoke, Li Qing narrowed his eyes, his mind racing with possibilities.
When he had collected the Sky-Rending Eagle's fallen feathers earlier, it wasn't a random act. His true target was the bloodstains on those feathers.
Shen Ningbing had dismissed this as a normal habit for an artifact refiner who often collected Demon beast materials.
But only Li Qing knew that he had no interest in those useless broken feathers. The real prize was this single drop of blood!
He quickly retrieved a peculiar beast-hide talisman from his storage pouch and imprinted the drop of blood onto it.
(End of the Chapter)
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