Chapter 115: Refinement

“Who accompanied her up the mountain?”

Zhong Cangqiu did not care whether the people from the Cui residence recognized them, nor was he concerned about their comings and goings. His gaze had already shifted away from Cui Dandan and was fixed on the mist-shrouded summit of Qingtan Mountain.

Master Huiming, standing behind the purple-black horse, did not initially know to whom Zhong Cangqiu’s question was directed, but he soon understood.

Suddenly, a sharp sound pierced the air.

A sword scar appeared across the chest of his blue-glazed demon body, oozing a sickly green blood.

“There was a warrior, a Taoist priest, and a fisherman.”

Master Huiming clenched his chest, fighting through the pain and the anger that twisted his fierce blue face, forcing himself to appear harmless as he answered Zhong Cangqiu.

“What does the fisherman look like?” Zhong Cangqiu asked calmly.

“Honest and simple in appearance, dark-skinned, about seven feet five inches tall…”

Before Master Huiming could finish describing, a graceful woman led a horse to the entrance of a village five miles from the foot of Qingtan Mountain.

Lowering her eyes to the villagers who peered at her from doorways and windows, the graceful woman extended her hand and formed a complex hand seal toward the nearest well.

“My patience is running thin.”

Her cold voice was devoid of any emotion.

Suddenly, the village well began to tremble. The pulley shook violently, and water surged upward like a geyser. The cold, clear water did not disperse but transformed into a water dragon that mercilessly ravaged the nearby houses.

Doors were blasted open with a thunderous crash, screams echoed from inside, and the water dragon shattered windows as it surged toward the next house.

Only one house remained, with a drenched man and woman clinging to each other in fear.

“Someone from outside the village has entered Tiedan’s house!” Finally, a voice broke the silence as someone stepped out from a home, pointing at a small, low house in the village.

The graceful woman brought two fingers together and pointed at the small house. The water dragon, which had been rampaging through other homes, suddenly tore through the thatched roof and slid inside the small house.

“Hmph, they know a bit of fire magic after all.”

The graceful woman smiled coldly, crossing her hands to form a complex gesture. Her pupils turned indigo as the surrounding mist surged wildly toward the small house, and the air grew oppressively dry.

---

Chen Chi watched the commotion at the foot of Qingtan Mountain. “Could Murong Yan be in trouble?”

Among their group, the lowest cultivation realm was the Xuanling stage. They had traveled south from Junhuang Commandery without incident, only briefly delayed by the Dharma assembly in the Mist Soul Forest.

But that delay had been unexpected. None had anticipated the Morning Sun Star Officer, who resided at the Bright Palace, would appear in the Mist Soul Forest and wound many of the demons attending the assembly.

Chen Chi noticed this Morning Sun Star Officer was vastly different from any star officials he had seen before—his aura was immensely powerful and majestic. He even considered recruiting him.

But when the officer heard Chen Chi mention the Soul Incense, his twin red crowns almost blossomed like pom-poms, his eyes fixed so intently on Chen Chi that the latter dared not speak further.

Fortunately, the officer did nothing to him and vanished into the clouds and mist.

“No one here can threaten Murong Yan. She chose the Xuanling path of the Five Elements, water element. Though her progress is slow, compared to those on deviant paths or casual cultivators, she is incomparably stronger.

Ordinary astral travelers cannot harm her; instead, they risk being slain by her.”

Zhong Cangqiu was unconcerned about Murong Yan’s safety. His gaze never left the misty summit of Qingtan Mountain, not once looking down at the village below.

There was something he concealed.

Here, Zhong Cangqiu sensed a fierce, ancient demonic aura lingering faintly. It came and went quickly, making him doubt whether he had truly perceived it.

If there truly was a demon awakened with an ancient bloodline here, Zhong Cangqiu would risk his life to capture and refine it.

The current Twelve Provinces were far from peaceful.

“What if there’s a Qi refiner?” Chen Chi asked.

Zhong Cangqiu let out a rare chuckle. “You mean a Qi refiner? They only exist in the immortal aura and spiritual energy-rich Dongtian fiefs of Qingqing Province. They wouldn’t come all the way down to the Southern Wilderness Province.”

Chen Chi, holding the horse’s reins, looked puzzled. “Didn’t that green monk demon mention a Taoist priest?”

“Not every Taoist priest wearing robes and living in the mountains qualifies as a Qi refiner. If a True Immortal or True Sovereign descended casually from the Dongtian fief of Qingqing Province, do you believe that True Immortal or True Sovereign couldn’t easily defeat cultivators with mixed realms? These realms are merely classifications based on cultivation phenomena, much like Qi refiners who achieve the Golden Immortal rank by mastering the Three Blossoms and Five Energies techniques.”

Zhong Cangqiu smiled lightly, lowering his gaze toward the village entrance where Murong Yan stood.

Suddenly, an apparition appeared behind Murong Yan. Unlike Wu Yang’s martial soul white ape shadow, this apparition began as sparkling stars.

The stars connected, forming a dazzling constellation that shaped into a leopard.

Zhong Cangqiu’s golden pupils shimmered. “Not to mention that recently we specially sent a group of cultivators to hunt down the star officer, the Star Leopard. We took the proud and extraordinary Star Leopard’s divine soul and forged it into a water element Xuanling for her.”

The bright star leopard light stirred a fierce wind.

The raging gale tore off the roofs of the village’s small houses. The supporting beams and wooden pillars buckled within moments, leaving only empty frames.

Xie Xiushi, mouth agape, continued to exhale faint flames, struggling against the growing water dragon.

Even without the raging wind, Xie Xiushi would not hold out much longer.

“Hm? Ghost Golden Ram?”

Chen Chi frowned suddenly, noticing something unusual within the village. He quickly pulled out a crimson jade pendant carved in the shape of a Vermilion Bird, which faintly glowed atop its head.

“Not exactly,” Zhong Cangqiu said softly, lowering his eyes to the Vermilion Bird jade pendant Chen Chi held. His brow furrowed rarely as his golden pupils fixed on Xie Xiushi.

Zhong Cangqiu’s three-foot-long sword at his waist trembled suddenly. A flash of sword light shot forth, followed swiftly by another. The sword hovered before him, its tip pointed at a bewildered Xie Xiushi.

Xie Xiushi stared blankly at the imposing man before him and weakly exhaled a faint flame. The flame extinguished midair, never reaching Zhong Cangqiu.

“There is a trace of the Ghost Golden Ram’s divinity.”

Zhong Cangqiu looked at the pair of ram horns on Xie Xiushi’s forehead, then brushed his middle finger across Xie Xiushi’s brow. His lowered eyes watched a faint white flame swirl around his fingertip.

This white flame took the shape of a ram.

“If we throw him into the Immortal Furnace for refining, could we extract that trace of divinity?” Chen Chi asked with curiosity.