Translator: AnubisTL

The death of Yan Xishan, the martial alliance leader, sent shockwaves throughout the Blood Martial Dynasty.

His final words, in particular, left every Martial Artist practicing the vital energy martial dao filled with curiosity and confusion.

What had the pioneer of the vital energy martial dao seen in his final moments?

What were these shackles? Where did they come from? And what were they binding?

This question became a pressing puzzle for all vital energy martial artists, one they desperately sought to unravel.

Within the Imperial Palace of the Blood Martial Dynasty, Li Qing was also in low spirits after seeing off his disciple.

For a long time afterward, he remained in the palace’s forbidden land, meditating and contemplating.

During this time, Li Qing casually merged his vital energy with the true qi within his body, effortlessly achieving Qi-Blood Embracing the Core and reaching the Martial Dao Unity Realm.

Upon reaching this realm, his fleshly body grew even more formidable. Even Transformation Stage Great Demons might not be able to match his physical strength, given his already solid foundation.

"Qi-Blood Embracing the Core, Martial Dao Unity."

"This realm seems somewhat similar to an immortal cultivator’s Core Formation Realm, yet they are worlds apart. This core is formed by the fusion of vital energy and Martial Dao true qi, ultimately still a manifestation of a Martial Dao Realm."

Li Qing, having reached this Martial Dao Realm, offered a light comment.

Then, curiosity piqued, he wondered what his disciple, Yan Xishan, had seen in his final moments.

"Shackles? What shackles? Where did these shackles come from?"

As Li Qing spoke, he turned inward to examine his own body, but he couldn’t find any trace of these so-called shackles.

After much deep thought, he remained clueless. Finally, Li Qing decided to cast the question aside, leaving it for other vital energy martial artists in this world to ponder.

After all, for him, the vital energy martial dao was ultimately just a supplementary body art. His foundation lay in the immortal dao. Wasting too much energy on it would be putting the cart before the horse.

The Blood Martial Dynasty now had many Martial Artists cultivating the vital energy martial dao, and he believed this path held great potential. However, for Li Qing, his role was simply to be a dao guardian, quietly waiting for others to broaden and deepen this path. He would merely reap the rewards.

Thus, Li Qing turned his attention once more to the Dao Tribulation Limitless Sutra, the Immortal Dao cultivation technique he had created.

The qi refining realm Chapter of this technique was now completely perfected. He began to ponder and conceptualize the content for the foundation establishment realm Chapter.

"Foundation establishment... it’s about laying the foundation for the Great Dao. This is a crucial realm in the Immortal Dao. The more solid and firm the foundation laid here, the smoother the dao will be in the future."

Having personally experienced this realm, Li Qing naturally understood what mattered most.

Furthermore, he had studied numerous other Immortal Dao cultivation manuals, all of which described the foundation establishment realm in similar terms. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

"This realm could rightly be called the true beginning of the Immortal Dao. Only upon reaching the foundation establishment realm does one truly glimpse the splendor of the Immortal Dao."

For instance, the foundation establishment realm Chapter of the Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art allowed practitioners to begin seeking heavenly spirit fire and attempting to subdue it.

The Yellow Springs Dao Scripture he had previously studied, as well as the Free and Unfettered Sect’s Carefree Primordial Return Scripture, each offered unique insights into this realm.

"So, what should my Dao Tribulation Limitless Sutra focus on during the foundation establishment realm?"

Li Qing posed the question to himself and fell into deep thought.

Months passed in a flash as he pondered.

Finally, a spark of insight flashed through his mind.

"That’s it! My original intention in creating this daoist art was to survive the Fire Tribulation of the Profound Yellow True Flame."

"And the key prerequisite for surviving this tribulation is to fortify my life essence, making my vital energy abundant and vigorous!"

With this realization, Li Qing finally had a clear direction.

He thought of Wu Chong’s cultivation of the Gluttonous Divine Art. Wu Chong had never stopped eating, using food as a means of cultivation.

"The foundation establishment Chapter of my daoist art should also prioritize solidifying my foundation and seeking out various nourishing substances to strengthen my primordial origin and cultivate my essence. Only with a sufficiently rich and vigorous life essence can I lay the fundamental basis for enduring future tribulations."

"This, too, is a form of foundation establishment!"

With this thought, Li Qing began to refine his daoist art once more, guided by this new insight.

During this time, Li Qing became completely absorbed in his work, entering seclusion for several years.

Years flew by in a flash. Finally, Li Qing completed the foundation establishment opening Chapter of the Dao Tribulation Limitless Sutra.

As the saying goes, "The beginning is always the hardest." With the opening Chapter now created, he only needed to refine it gradually over time.

Li Qing wasn’t in a rush. He had plenty of time to hone his work meticulously, perfecting it to the utmost degree.

There was no need to rush!

And so, Li Qing emerged from seclusion once more.

He had no choice. The End of Dao Era had placed an unbearable pressure on him.

His mana had dwindled by a staggering seventy percent, leaving him with the power of a core formation realm cultivator at most.

This wasn’t a decline in his cultivation realm, but rather like water evaporating from a bottle. The less water remained, the faster it evaporated. This was Li Qing’s current state in the End of Dao Era.

If he stayed another decade or so, his true essence would likely vanish completely.

So Li Qing prepared to return to his original world, but before leaving, he had some matters to attend to.

He found his disciple, Lin Jing. Over the years, Lin Jing had been deeply affected by the passing of her senior brother, Yan Xishan, and had grown noticeably thinner.

"Master?" Lin Jing’s eyes widened slightly, as if she had suddenly realized something. A look of reluctance immediately filled them.

Suddenly, she felt a fear that her master was about to leave. She worried that once he departed, she might never see Li Qing again.

"I plan to leave for a while," Li Qing said calmly. "I haven’t set a return date yet, but it shouldn’t be too long."

Lin Jing breathed a sigh of relief before asking, "Master, why did you come this time?"

"To temper your body. Although you’ve reached the Martial Dao Unity Realm, your foundation still isn’t solid enough."

"Sit down!"

Li Qing’s tone brooked no argument. Lin Jing instinctively obeyed and sat down.

In the next moment, Li Qing transformed his finger into a blade and sliced open his left wrist.

He then channeled his heart’s blood from the wound, repeatedly refining it until it became pure essence blood.

Li Qing didn’t rush to infuse the essence blood into Lin Jing’s body. Instead, he used the Transformation Demon Art to refine seven-colored life essence once more. Finally, he merged the seven-colored life essence with the essence blood.

In the end, a thick, seven-colored liquid formed.

Without hesitation, Li Qing poured this liquid into Lin Jing’s body and personally used his true essence to refine her physique and nourish her body.

After completing this, Li Qing’s face had paled considerably.

"That’s all I can do, Lin Jing. You must take care of yourself from now on."

"Master..." Lin Jing’s eyes filled with tears as she looked at Li Qing. She knew exactly what he had just done.

"Silly girl, live well. I don’t want to return next time and find myself staring at your tombstone."

Li Qing smiled gently, unconcerned as he ruffled the pair of cat ears on Lin Jing’s head.

"Alright, I must leave now. I’ve noticed that Miao Tuo seems intent on expanding his territory. Tell him that I’ve already conquered the Giant Mushroom City to the west.

"If he wants it, he can incorporate it into the Blood Martial Dynasty’s territory. No one in the city will resist."

"But treat the common people of Giant Mushroom City well. Don’t act wantonly."

"Also, I’ve subdued the Ji Ling of Giant Mushroom City. As long as you don’t provoke it, there won’t be any problems."

With these words, Li Qing turned and left gracefully under Lin Jing’s watchful gaze.

Instead of immediately returning to the Lingyun Sect, Li Qing rode Fan Tong back to Giant Mushroom City.

He briefed Yang Gong on the Blood Martial Dynasty’s affairs before heading deep into the ancient castle to meet the mushroom spirit’s True Spirit.

"I’ve stored all the essence blood from the strange beasts you requested over the years. You can take it whenever you like."

"And the crimson moon spores... I’ve produced a total of twenty-two third-tier crimson moon spores and three fourth-tier ones!"

"If you want them, you can take them too."

Hearing this, Li Qing smiled with satisfaction. After planting the divine sense imprint, the mushroom spirit had become much more obedient.

"Good. I’ll be leaving again for a while soon. In the future, prioritize using the crimson moon spores you produce to cultivate new third-tier exotic beasts."

"But you still have to keep my share of the blood released by the third-tier exotic beasts."

"Also, if you ever need anything, you can request assistance from the Blood Martial Dynasty to the east."

After giving these instructions, Li Qing used his Carefree Cosmos Pouch to collect all the exotic beast blood and crimson moon spores the mushroom spirit had left for him. Without looking back, he departed.

It had to be said that over the years, the amount of exotic beast blood stored had become truly impressive.

With this blood, he could use the blood lotus in his cave abode to significantly enhance his strength!

And so, Li Qing, accompanied by Fan Tong, returned to the Lingyun Sect through a hidden corner in Giant Mushroom City.

"Huu!"

Back in the Spirit Vein Land of the Lingyun Sect, Li Qing exhaled deeply.

Without the suppression of the End of Dao Era heaven and earth, he felt much more comfortable.

Before he even had a chance to cultivate and regulate his energy, the dense spiritual energy in the surrounding heaven and earth began to converge toward Li Qing on its own.

"Tsk tsk tsk, only eight years have passed, and the heaven and earth spiritual energy in the Azure Ridge Domain has become even denser. The Dao flourishes, and the future looks promising!"

Li Qing soon discovered that the Spirit Vein Land where the Lingyun Sect was located had also undergone significant changes. The concentration of spiritual energy in the heaven and earth had become even denser.

Now, it rivaled even the Great Wilderness Domain!

This was a good thing. In the future, the cultivation environment of this domain would flourish, and the Lingyun Sect would reap even greater benefits.

It was foreseeable that if the spiritual energy continued to thicken, Spirit Springs might even gush forth, transforming these high-grade spiritual vein lands into true cultivation sanctuaries.

Without hesitation, Li Qing immediately sat cross-legged and began to replenish his depleted mana.

The Crimson Blaze Heaven-Burning Art circulated, and several heavenly spirit fires within his body simultaneously empowered him. The surrounding spiritual energy was rapidly refined into pure mana.

Under this voracious consumption, the mana Li Qing had lost in the World of Eternal Night quickly recovered.

Several days passed. The vast sea of spiritual energy surrounding Azure Cloud Peak was completely absorbed into Li Qing’s body. Not only did his mana return to its peak, but he also noticed a subtle, almost imperceptible increase in his Cultivation.

"Heh, it seems the suppression of the End of Dao Era wasn’t entirely without its benefits. After being suppressed for so long, returning now has actually provided a slight boost to my Cultivation."

Li Qing chuckled, his cultivation at its peak.

Rather than immediately heading to the secret chamber of his cave abode to cultivate with the blood lotus, he first went to the Insect Chamber to check on the Fire Jade Bee Queen he had captured.

Outside the Red Jade Beehive hanging high above, numerous Second-tier Fire Jade Bees buzzed in flight.

Seeing this, Li Qing knew the Fire Jade Bee Queen had successfully advanced to a third-tier spirit insect.

As if sensing his approach, the Fire Jade Bee swarm, which had been highly vigilant, immediately cleared a path.

Soon, a plump Fire Jade Bee Queen slowly crawled out of the hive. After confirming it was Li Qing, she flew directly to him, displaying a friendly and affectionate demeanor.

"Hehehe, little one, you’ve certainly grown sturdier. I wonder what your Fire Origin Nectar tastes like now."

Hearing Li Qing’s words, the Fire Jade Bee Queen obediently flew back into the beehive. She then emerged carrying a large mass of crimson nectar, as red as fire.

A few drops spilled onto the ground along the way, and the surrounding Fire Jade Bees swarmed toward them like mad.

Watching the Fire Jade Bee Queen present the Fire Origin Nectar as if it were a treasure, Li Qing unhesitatingly swallowed it down in one gulp.

The nectar contained incredibly pure fire-attribute spiritual energy. After tasting it, Li Qing confirmed it was genuine Third-tier Fire Origin Nectar.

For core formation realm cultivators practicing fire dao cultivation techniques, such a spiritual object held a fatal allure!

Consuming this Fire Origin Nectar could refine one’s mana, enhance their Cultivation, and even purify their true essence.

Some ancient pill formulas even used Third-tier Fire Origin Nectar as the primary ingredient!

However, for Li Qing at his current level, this tier of Fire Origin Nectar was insufficient to significantly advance his Cultivation. At most, it would serve as a quick means to restore his mana.

Its effect was comparable to millennial spirit milk. In a battle to the death, such a spiritual object could become the decisive factor in victory!

"That’s right. This time, this old ancestor brought back some good things that should be useful to you too."

Li Qing was referring to the crimson moon spores. He had obtained a large quantity of them from the mushroom spirit, including several fourth-tier Crimson Moon Spores.

He had already decided how to distribute them. Besides Fan Tong and Ninth Insect, the Fire Jade Bee Queen was also included.

After confirming the Fire Jade Bee Queen’s condition, Li Qing condensed several balls of heavenly spirit fire for it to consume.

With that done, he prepared to enter the secret chamber to use the blood lotus to enhance his cultivation.

But before he could, he sensed a strange fluctuation in the heaven and earth spiritual energy around Azure Cloud Peak. Soon, a voice called out from outside, requesting an audience.

"Disciple Xu Xia requests an audience with Martial Uncle Limitless!"

Xu Xia?

Hearing the voice, Li Qing knew something significant must have happened in the Lingyun Sect or the Azure Ridge Domain during the past eight years.

Eight years was neither a long nor a short time. It was normal for events to unfold in that span. The question was whether these events were good or bad.

(End of the Chapter)

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