Old Refining Spirit

In Li Xuangeng's mind, these twelve words were automatically translated by the [Creation Furnace] into: a super original ecological luxury buffet restaurant that has stockpiled high-quality monster meat for over a hundred years and has been stewed to the perfect temperature!

He was craving the "ingredients" from that secret realm; he was practically drooling with desire.

"I appreciate Miss Mu's kindness." Li Xuangeng interlaced his fingers and gently rested them on his chin, his voice deep and magnetic. "However, my greatest hobby in this life is to travel to those ancient temples deep in the mountains and secluded places."

"But it's dangerous inside!" Mu Wanjiao exclaimed anxiously, standing up abruptly.

"It's not dangerous." Li Xuangeng raised his head slightly, the white silk fluttering gently in the breeze. He spoke in the gentlest tone the judgment that would terrify any monster, "Because for those things hiding in the darkness... I am the true calamity."

Mu Wanjiao stared blankly at him, her heart suddenly skipping a beat.

She suddenly realized that she was completely unable to refute him. His almost absolute rational confidence, and the madness and arrogance that emanated from his bones, were like a deadly vortex, sucking her gaze and her thoughts into it, bit by bit.

"Master Daoist!"

Just then, Xiaoman ran over carrying an empty winnowing basket, her little face flushed. Pointing excitedly at the old pine tree outside the yard, she boasted, "Master, what are we having for lunch? Xiaoman will make it for you!"

Li Xuangeng's thoughts were interrupted by the homey voice. He chuckled and said, "Go to the kitchen and see if there are any clean vegetables. Let's make some porridge. I'm actually a bit hungry after dealing with the trash."

Watching the interaction between the master and servant, seemingly oblivious to everyone else, Mu Wanjiao suddenly felt like an outsider. A bittersweet feeling welled up inside her.

"Then...then I'll be leaving now!" Mu Wanjiao gripped her silver whip tightly, her face flushed, and gave a haughty snort. "Remember to take my grandfather's pills! If...if you encounter danger in the secret realm, you can mention my grandfather's name; it might help a little!"

After saying that, she didn't dare wait for Li Xuangeng's reply and turned around to flee from the Luoxia Peak villa.

She ran until she reached halfway up the mountain before stopping. She leaned against a blue stone, clutching her heaving chest tightly, feeling her heart pounding wildly like a war drum. Her cheeks were flushed red as if they were about to bleed.

"Mu Wanjiao, Mu Wanjiao... what are you doing? He's just a blind Taoist priest... but... how can he be so handsome and so powerful..."

The girl's soft murmurs, filled with the first stirrings of love, dissipated into the false peace and tranquility of Qingzhou City.

Inside the villa on Luoxia Peak, Li Xuangeng picked up the cup of Longjing tea that was gradually cooling down and drank it all in one gulp.

"Ten days."

The blind Taoist licked his lips, his [Aura Observation Technique] locked onto the overwhelming, foul-smelling demonic aura emanating from the back mountain of the Xuan Tian Sect, and his Adam's apple bobbed heavily once more.

"Ten more days of hunger, it's going to be so hard."

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.

During these ten days, Qingzhou City appeared calm on the surface, and the Xuantian Sect even sent "gifts of comfort" to Luoxia Peak more than a dozen times.

Ostensibly, Elder Qingxu was showing compassion for the newly ascended "Immortal Spirit Body" by bestowing upon them top-grade Blood Spirit Pills and various century-old spiritual herbs. However, Li Xuangeng only needed to use his Qi Observation Technique to scan them and he could clearly see that inside those pills, which emitted strange fragrances, were countless tiny bloodthirsty Gu worms and millennia-old corpse poison.

Even if an ordinary cultivator only eats one, they will become a flesh and blood puppet whose life and death are controlled by the Xuantian Sect for the rest of their lives.

Li Xuangeng's reaction was to accept all the poison pills offered, and in front of the disciples who were delivering the medicine, he stuffed handfuls of them into his mouth like he was eating fried beans, crunching them to pieces.

The disciples delivering the medicine were always terrified, secretly sneering that the blind man's death was imminent. Little did they know that the moment these poison pills entered Li Xuangeng's throat, they didn't even touch his stomach before falling directly into the [Creation Furnace] lurking deep within his dantian.

"Ding! Ten inferior corpse poison pills have been purified... After removing impurities, ten [Pure Essence Pills] have been obtained."

For the past ten days, Li Xuangeng has stayed indoors and relied on the Xuantian Sect's "feeding" to push the true energy of creation within his body to a higher level.

Day 10, early morning.

There wasn't a ray of sunshine in the sky, and the entire city of Qingzhou was shrouded in a thick layer of leaden-gray clouds, with an extremely oppressive and stifling atmosphere in the air.

Li Xuangeng stood on the edge of the cliff at Luoxia Peak, a gentle breeze ruffling his moon-white Taoist robe. He didn't look up at the sky, but his fingers were rapidly calculating within his sleeves.

"Today is the year of Dingmao, the month of Guimao, the day of Gengshen, and the hour of Bingzi."

Li Xuangeng's lips curled into a cold smile as he muttered to himself, "Geng metal born in the month of Mao is inherently in a state of utter despair. Moreover, today's Gengshen clashes with the month's stem and branch, Guimao, resulting in a conflict between metal and wood. What's even more critical is that the day pillar Gengshen and the hour pillar Bingzi have the heavenly stem Bing fire clashing with Geng metal, while the earthly branches Shen and Zi form a half-combination of water, scattering the last trace of yang energy."

"With all four pillars being Yin, and the Heavenly Stems clashing with the Earthly Branches, and the Hurting Officer seeing the Official, a hundred misfortunes are brewing. According to the interpretation of 'Di Tian Sui' and the blind school of fortune telling, this is an extremely ominous death situation of 'extinction of the family line and blocked road,' and the most suitable methods are to raise the corpse, offer sacrifices to ghosts, and perform blood sacrifices."

He stopped calculating with his fingers and took a deep breath of the damp, cold mountain air: "Even the time and date for opening the secret realm have to be carefully chosen to be an extremely yin and inauspicious time. The Xuantian Sect is indeed determined to hold a gluttonous feast for 100,000 people in this 'Ten Thousand Demon Secret Realm'."

"Master Dao..."

Xiaoman came out of the house, carrying a neatly folded winter cloak. Looking at the dark clouds in the sky that seemed to press down, she instinctively felt a pang of panic: "The weather is so scary today, and I feel a chill in the air. You...you really have to go?"

"How can you miss a banquet?" Li Xuangeng turned around, patted Xiaoman's head, and said, "Remember to recite the Golden Light Mantra and the Purification Mantra that I taught you day and night. Lock the courtyard gate and do not come out no matter what noise you hear outside."

After saying that, Li Xuangeng waved his sleeve and transformed into a graceful white rainbow, flying towards the main peak of the Xuantian Sect—the Jietian Platform.

The platform leading to the sky was now packed with people.

Besides the thousands of "genius" newcomers who stood out in this Ascension Ceremony, there were also tens of thousands of outer disciples and rogue cultivators. They were all told that today, the sect leader had shown great mercy by opening the outer perimeter of the Myriad Demon Realm, giving everyone the opportunity to enter and seek ancient opportunities.

On each young face was written a fervent and greedy desire for the path of immortal cultivation.

Directly in front of them, on an altar surrounded by nine enormous black dragon pillars, Elder Qingxu held a whisk made of human nerve, looking down at the crowd with a solemn expression.

"Disciples! Today marks the opening of the once-in-a-decade secret realm of our Xuantian Sect!" Elder Qingxu's voice, infused with true energy, echoed across the plaza. "Within this secret realm lie supreme immortal herbs and unparalleled cultivation techniques! As long as you possess a heart yearning for the Dao, you will surely be reborn and ascend to immortality within this realm!"

"Become an immortal! Become an immortal!"

Tens of thousands of disciples below the stage had bloodshot eyes and shouted wildly like brainwashed believers.