Old Refining Spirit

Beneath the dark red and purplish-red dome, a river of blood surged.

Lee Hyun-kyung's gentle and refined words, "I'll just use you guys as kitchen helpers to fill my stomach," echoed in the empty, sticky space of flesh and blood.

The dozen or so inner disciples of the Xuantian Sect who were waving their magical artifacts and driving away the rogue cultivators were first stunned, and then burst into extremely piercing laughter, like that of a night owl.

"Who do we have here? It's that blind Taoist priest who got lucky and broke the spirit-testing stone!"

"Elder Qingxu originally instructed that you be brought to the center of the formation intact and presented to the sect leader as the main course. Since you're so eager to die, your senior brothers will first break off your two arms and let you taste the flavor of the 'Immortal Spirit Body'!"

The leader, an inner disciple, grinned maliciously and suddenly tore open his magnificent Taoist robe.

"Sizzle—"

In the center of his chest cavity, instead of ribs, grew a huge, vertical mouth covered with serrated teeth! A scarlet tongue covered with barbs shot out from that mouth like a venomous snake, carrying a nauseating stench, straight for Li Xuangeng's face.

"Not only do they practice demonic arts, but they practice them so poorly."

Instead of retreating, Li Xuangeng advanced. His white cloth shoes lightly touched the ground covered with stomach acid and blood, seemingly strolling leisurely, but in fact, it subtly corresponded to the "Rest Gate" position in the Taoist Qimen Dunjia.

"The Taoist classic *Yin Fu Jing* says: 'The five thieves reside in the heart, and their actions are manifest in the heavens. The universe is in your hands, and all transformations arise from your body.' Your tongue belongs to the element of fire, yet it is tainted with the poison of water corpses. Water and fire are incompatible; you are utterly worthless!"

Li Xuangeng explained gently, then suddenly reached out with his right hand, like an iron clamp, and precisely and firmly pinched the long tongue that had been thrown at him!

"Ugh—!" The inner disciple let out a painful groan, desperately trying to retract his tongue, only to find that Li Xuangeng's fingers were covered with a layer of dazzling golden true energy, which was as heavy as Mount Tai, pressing him down so hard that he couldn't move at all.

"Since it's delivered to our doorstep, let's put it in the pot."

Li Xuangeng flicked his wrist backward, and an overwhelming force ripped the deformed cultivator, who weighed over 300 jin, into the air. At the same time, in the void behind him, the ten-thousand-foot-tall dark golden [Creation Furnace] suddenly opened its lid!

"boom!"

Without any chance to resist, the inner disciple was thrown directly into the dark blue Samadhi True Fire before he could even let out a full scream, instantly turning into a wisp of black smoke.

"Ding! Killed a low-level flesh and blood mutant! Obtained 3 [Low-grade Blood Qi Pills]! Too many impurities, it is recommended that the host use them to feed the dog."

Hearing the undisguised disdain from the system in his mind, Li Xuangeng sighed deeply and turned his gaze to the remaining dozen or so inner disciples who were already terrified.

"Did you hear that? You're not even worthy to be my dog ​​food." Li Xuangeng tilted his head slightly, a sickly smile curling at the corner of his mouth beneath the white silk. "However, even a mosquito's leg is meat. Today, no one is leaving."

"Form the formation! Quickly set up the 'Heavenly Net Blood Transformation Formation' to kill him!" The remaining disciples finally reacted, screaming and scattering in all directions, attempting to form the formation.

"Trying to use formations in front of me?"

Li Xuangeng burst into laughter, a laugh filled with the pity of a superior for an ant. He swept his wide, moon-white sleeves and stomped seven times across the blood-soaked ground!

"One step to the Heavenly Pivot dispels calamity, two steps to the Heavenly Jade Pivot vanquish demons, three steps to the Heavenly Pivot, four steps to the Heavenly Power, five steps to the Jade Balance, six steps to the Yang, seven steps to the Shaking Light stabilize the universe!"

This is precisely the most orthodox and powerfully combative Taoist technique – the Seven Star Steps of the Heavenly Gang!

With each step Li Xuangeng took, the fleshy ground beneath his feet exploded into a ball of pure golden lightning! The moment the seventh step landed, the seven balls of lightning connected in mid-air to form a huge Big Dipper constellation!

"fall!"

Li Xuangeng pressed his fingers down like a sword.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The Heavenly Thunder and Fire poured down like a torrential rain! The dozen or so inner disciples who had just mutated into having half tentacles and tumors were like paper in front of the pure Taoist Thunder and Fire. As the lightning flashed, severed limbs flew everywhere, and then they were all sucked clean by the huge [Creation Furnace].

More than a dozen core members of the inner sect were reduced to ashes in less than the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea!

On the banks of the Blood River, hundreds of rogue cultivators who had been driven to the brink of despair and were ready to close their eyes and await death were now frozen in place like clay sculptures.

They stared blankly at the blind Taoist priest, dressed in pristine white robes. Some even felt that this man, who casually used people as medicinal ingredients, was a thousand times more terrifying than those tentacle-covered monsters they had just seen!

Li Xuangeng ignored these mortals. He continued to take out the clean white silk handkerchief and carefully wipe his slender fingers.

"I only kill demons burdened with karmic debts. Your aura is still relatively clean. Follow the upstream direction of this blood river. That's the blind spot of this great demon's 'esophagus.' Hide there, and you can save your life."

Li Xuangeng's gentle voice rang in the ears of the rogue cultivators. Only then did they awaken from their daze, kneeling on the blood-stained ground and frantically kowtowing, "Thank you so much, Immortal Master, for saving our lives! Thank you so much, Immortal Master!"

Li Xuangeng did not linger. He casually tossed aside the silk handkerchief he had used to wipe his hands, tilted his head back, and used his [Aura Observation] technique to lock onto the center of this purplish-red space.

There, an immense energy, so vast that it made the entire world tremble, was gathering.

"The main course is finally ready to be served."

Li Xuangeng lightly touched the ground with his toes, and his entire body transformed into a white rainbow, rushing towards the depths of space.

The deeper one ventures, the more absurd and terrifying the surroundings become. Huge blood vessels intertwine in mid-air like giant pythons, and the walls are covered with countless faces of people wailing in agony—the wronged souls devoured by the Xuantian Sect over the past century.

Finally, Li Xuangeng arrived at an extremely spacious and enormous cave.

This is where the "heart" of this ancient demon is located!

In the center of the cave, a dark purple heart, the size of a house, was suspended, beating violently. Below the heart, countless thick umbilical cords and blood vessels were connected.

At the end of these umbilical cords was a huge human-shaped cocoon!

The cocoon was translucent, and inside sat a gaunt old man, his body riddled with tubes, beneath which lay a vast pool of blood. As the essence of blood was continuously drawn into his body, the old man's back was slowly tearing apart, and a pair of wings composed of pure white bone and mucous membrane were gradually emerging from his body.

"Become an Immortal..."

Hearing footsteps, the old man in the cocoon slowly opened his eyes. They were demonic eyes, devoid of pupils, only two dark golden vortexes!

He is the current sect leader of the Xuantian Sect, a half-immortal and half-demon who attempts to forcibly "ascend" by devouring the lifeblood of 100,000 people!

"A mere outer sect trial furnace, yet you managed to get this far?" The sect leader's voice seemed to come from all directions, echoing with a soul-shaking force. "But it doesn't matter, your life force is even more vigorous than I imagined! Once I devour you, my 'Supreme Purity Limitless Golden Elixir' will be perfected, and I can ascend to immortality in broad daylight!"

"The Supreme Purity Limitless Golden Elixir?"

Standing by the blood pool, Li Xuangeng heard these six words and couldn't help but cover half of his face with his hand, letting out a low, helpless, and even somewhat pitying laugh.

"What are you laughing at?!" the sect leader roared.

"I laugh at you, you're about to die and you still don't know what real good things are. You've never tasted them or seen them before, how pitiful."