Translator: AnubisTL
The middle-aged Daoist Nun's head exploded, not even allowing her nascent soul to escape.
Li Qing's methods were simply too swift and decisive, far beyond the capabilities of these early Nascent Soul Realm cultivators.
Having once faced a fifth-tier demonic insect, dealing with cultivators whose cultivation levels were far below his was effortless.
In the fleeting moment before the Daoist Nun's divine soul completely dissipated, Li Qing unleashed his powerful and refined divine sense, immediately extracting and refining the remaining memories within her Sea of Consciousness.
Within moments, fragments related to the Spirit Pearl Divine Sect surfaced in Li Qing's mind. Though incomplete, they provided him with a general understanding of this immortal dao faction.
The Spirit Pearl Divine Sect was a clandestine immortal dao faction that rarely operated openly, somewhat reminiscent of the Bright King Valley in the Flame Domain.
However, unlike the Bright King Valley, which had emerged to contribute to the fight against the ancient demons during the demonic cataclysm, the Spirit Pearl Divine Sect remained indifferent even in the face of the demon realm's invasion, continuing to lurk in the shadows.
If that were all, it wouldn't have been so bad. But Li Qing learned from the Daoist Nun's Sea of Consciousness that this organization regularly captured cultivators with exceptional talent in Five Elements Cultivation Techniques, later disguising their actions as the work of the demonic race.
"So they're just a bunch of underhanded scoundrels," Li Qing thought, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. "If I ever cross paths with them, I'll wipe them out sooner or later."
He found the secret sect's actions utterly despicable.
Furthermore, he discovered that the so-called Spirit Pearl Divine Sect had been diligently collecting the five elements spirit pearls of this world, with considerable success.
Currently, the sect already had two Spirit Pearl Envoys, whose cultivation strength rivaled the absolute peak among cultivators of their rank!
This was because each of these envoys had nearly completed the restoration of a spirit pearl and successfully brought it under their control.
The Golden Spirit Pearl, however, signified the potential birth of a third Spirit Pearl Envoy. But its spirituality was severely incomplete and fragmented. To remedy this, the sect's cultivators had been capturing cultivators who specialized in the Metal dao in the surrounding sea territory, using a secret technique to replenish the pearl's essence.
"A secret technique that can even restore the Five Elements Spirit Pearls of Heaven and Earth!" Li Qing exclaimed in genuine surprise. He hadn't expected the Spirit Pearl Divine Sect to possess such capabilities.
Unfortunately, Li Qing had already slain the middle-aged Daoist Nun with thunderous force. The remnants of her Sea of Consciousness memory at the moment of death were incomplete, and he failed to retrieve the special secret technique.
For a moment, Li Qing regretted acting so hastily.
"If only I'd performed soul-searching and soul-refining before killing her," he muttered. "Now I've missed out on this extraordinary technique."
"Otherwise, I could have used it as a reference to enhance the spirituality of my Fire Spirit Pearl. With that, advancing to the Divine Transformation stage would have been within reach."
Li Qing sighed softly, gradually suppressing his regret.
There was no need to rush. The Spirit Pearl Divine Sect still existed in the world, and he would find a way to seek it out later.
Just then, Nine Heavens, now a Golden Vessel, roared again. He was firmly restrained in mid-air by Li Qing's spirit fire hand, his pain unbearable.
"Forgive me!" Li Qing said, pointing a finger to draw Nine Heavens down from the sky. The spirit fire hand's power weakened slightly, but it still held Nine Heavens firmly in place.
Looking at Nine Heavens' current state, Li Qing couldn't help but sigh repeatedly.
"What a vibrant and promising man he once was," he lamented. "And now the Spirit Pearl Divine Sect has reduced him to this wretched state."
As he spoke, Li Qing attempted to awaken Nine Heavens' consciousness. But no matter how hard he tried, even forcing his divine sense into the man's Sea of Consciousness, all he found was a chaotic void.
"This..."
Nine Heavens seemed to have completely succumbed to madness, reduced to a ferocious beast devoid of reason, driven only by bloodlust.
If his restraints were released, he would undoubtedly attack Li Qing first, his face twisted with hatred and hostility.
Li Qing frowned deeply. He carried the Exquisite Immortal Sound within him, which might offer a way to awaken Nine Heavens' consciousness.
However, the Exquisite Immortal Sound could only passively protect its master; he couldn't actively activate it.
Unless he returned to Lingyun Sect and cultivated with the blood lotus in his cave abode, thereby triggering the Exquisite Immortal Sound's passive protective abilities, it might exert some influence on the completely maddened Nine Heavens.
"Forgive me, Brother Nine Heavens!"
With these words, Li Qing picked up the golden bell left behind by the middle-aged Daoist Nun. She had used this artifact to control Nine Heavens, transforming him into a Golden Vessel stripped of his consciousness.
This was a magic artifact designed to control minds. It contained a trace of Nine Heavens' primordial divine soul from his lucid moments. By simultaneously refining the bell with mana and divine sense, one could issue commands to the current Nine Heavens.
Remarkably, there were three more such bells here. The four cultivators from the Spirit Pearl Divine Sect each carried one, leaving no room for error in preventing the Golden Vessel from acting independently.
Li Qing shook his head and began refining the Heart-Controlling Bell, a simple magic artifact, using his divine sense and mana.
Jingle, jingle, jingle!
Almost immediately, the Golden Vessel, who had been fiercely hostile just moments ago, became blank-faced, standing motionless like a puppet. The hostility he had shown Li Qing vanished completely.
Looking at Nine Heavens in this state, Li Qing found it hard to reconcile this shell with the ambitious cultivator he had once known.
"Ah, Brother Nine Heavens, rest assured. This Li will do everything in my power to save you!"
With that, Li Qing patted the Golden Vessel's shoulder and draped a large black robe over him, completely concealing his form.
Li Qing's powerful divine soul sensed a Golden Spirit Pearl residing within Nine Heavens' body.
However, this Golden Spirit Pearl was in even worse condition than his own Fire Spirit Pearl.
The pearl was incomplete, and its spirituality had deteriorated severely.
In terms of value, it was little more than a collector's item, with virtually no practical use.
Even in its incomplete state, it was still one of the Five Elements Spirit Pearls of Heaven and Earth. Perhaps one day it could be restored, allowing the tarnished pearl to shine anew.
After completing this task, he meticulously erased all traces of the battle, collected the storage bags of the fallen, and incinerated them with spirit fire, leaving no trace behind.
With everything taken care of, he led the Golden Vessel away from the scene.
(End of the Chapter)
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