Chapter Sixty-Seven: Giving It Everything

Facing the low-grade Shadow Spirit before him, Qingxu appeared calm and composed on the surface, yet inside he was deeply tense. To put it bluntly, this was the most formidable enemy he had ever encountered since embarking on his path. As someone possessing the Deification System, Qingxu was well aware of the terror posed by a low-grade Shadow Spirit at the peak of the Profound Immortal realm. Relying on his own abilities, his chances of victory were less than half. Of course, if he summoned his Three Pure Ones avatars, the outcome would be beyond doubt. However, Qingxu was reluctant to use the Supreme Celestial Talisman to call forth those avatars too often, as he understood it contained a trace of the Supreme One’s divine consciousness.

A Sage of Primordial Origin possessed boundless powers, and even a mere wisp of his consciousness might see through countless of Qingxu’s secrets. Furthermore, each use of the Supreme Celestial Talisman brought it closer to destruction, which was not Qingxu’s wish at all—he hoped to study the talisman and glean some secrets of the “Transforming Three Pure Ones from One Qi” technique. Thus, he resolved that unless it was a matter of life and death, he would avoid using it if at all possible.

Now, relying only on his avatar at the early stage of the Grand Unity Golden Immortal realm, it was no easy matter to even defeat the Shadow Spirit, let alone kill it. The gap between a Profound Immortal and a Grand Unity Golden Immortal was a chasm—a fundamental difference in essence. Yet, Qingxu had not yet attained the Dao Fruit of Grand Unity; his true cultivation was only mid-stage Earth Immortal. Controlling his avatar at such a realm meant much of its power was diminished. Adding to this the restrictions of the Three Yin Abyss, it was clear that a fierce battle awaited him.

The Shadow Spirit was a denizen of the nineteenth and lowest layer of the Netherworld—born with extraordinary gifts. In most circumstances, neither physical combat nor mystical arts were effective against it; only attacks upon the soul could avail, and such assaults were the most perilous of all—almost always ending with one side utterly destroyed. At best, the loser would be left crippled, mad, or as a living shell; at worst, their soul and true spirit would vanish from the world, utterly annihilated. Thus, very few cultivators dared to employ soul attacks.

Qingxu understood that once low- or mid-grade Shadow Spirits left the abyssal depths of the Netherworld, they instantly lost the source of their power and became much easier to kill. High-grade Shadow Spirits, however, were entirely different—capable of linking to the essence of the nineteenth hell at any time, even outside its depths. They were nearly immortal unless one could obliterate the very source of the nineteenth hell itself.

The one small consolation for Qingxu was that Qiongqi, in possessing and controlling the Shadow Spirit, would inevitably face obstacles—thus its strength would be somewhat diminished.

Leaving Qingxu aside, even Qiongqi’s heart was far from calm at this moment. Despite being at the peak of the Profound Immortal realm, he could not see through Qingxu’s depths, which astonished him.

After expending all his focus, Qiongqi roughly discerned that Qingxu’s cultivation was at the early stage of Grand Unity Golden Immortal, which put his mind at ease.

“Daoist, I advise you to surrender and hand over that demonic sword. Perhaps, should I be feeling magnanimous, I might spare your life. Otherwise, I shall extract your primordial spirit and subject you to torments, leaving you unable to live or die,” Qiongqi declared his terms.

“The Demon Sword?” Qingxu was startled, immediately suspecting a possibility. Though he found it hard to believe, his mind could not help but dwell on it.

“What’s the matter? Surprised? In fact, your every move has been within my grasp. The fates of Hundun, Taotie, and Taowu, the karmic ties of the Devouring Sky Beast, even that chaotic spiritual vein—all that you know, I know; and all that you do not, I know as well. This is your final chance: put down the demon sword and leave!” Qiongqi barked coldly.

Astounded!

Qingxu was dumbstruck, never expecting his worst suspicions to be realized.

“Hmph! My cultivation far surpasses yours, yet you dare boast so shamelessly. Hand over the body of the Qiongqi beast, and perhaps I will let you go. Otherwise, you will regret it too late!” Qingxu retorted, readying himself for battle. At this point, all he could do was give it his all. Even if he was outmatched, he still had the Supreme Celestial Talisman as his final safeguard—what was there to fear?

Though Qiongqi’s knowledge of Qingxu was considerable, it was unlikely he knew of the Supreme Celestial Talisman.

“Enough pointless talk. If you seek death, I am happy to oblige. No matter if you are a disciple of the Primal Heaven Sovereign, if you stand in my way, your fate is sealed.”

It turned out Qiongqi’s offer to let Qingxu go stemmed from his fear of the Primal Heaven Sovereign—a Sage of Primordial Origin, after all, and not someone he wished to offend, at least not for now.

Seeing that Qingxu was resolved not to surrender the Demon Sword, Qiongqi wasted no more words. The Shadow Spirit transformed into a colossal hand of darkness, over a dozen yards wide, reaching out to seize Qingxu from midair. Judging by its force, even a mountain would be crushed to pieces.

Not daring to be careless, Qingxu immediately summoned the Jade Void Palace Lantern. Now, with half of its innate restrictions refined, the treasure could unleash immense power. Aided by his early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, even a Great Golden Immortal would be hard-pressed to withstand it.

Heaven-Earth Fire Net!

If he was to strike, it would be with his deadliest move. This time, the Heaven-Earth Fire Net spanned only a few dozen miles, yet its power was at least ten times greater than when he had used it in the Red Rock Hills. Back then, he had been merely an Earth Immortal; now he was a Grand Unity Golden Immortal—the difference was vast.

“The Jade Void Palace Lantern is powerful, but I am now a Shadow Spirit, existing between reality and illusion. Your Heaven-Earth Fire Net is but a hundredth as effective as usual; it cannot threaten me,” the dark giant hand surged on, becoming ever more elusive—seemingly before his eyes one moment, at the horizon the next. The dissonance was enough to make one cough blood from sheer discomfort.

Screech! Screech, screech!

The fire net, as soon as it touched the illusory black hand, encircled and ensnared it, swiftly beginning to refine it. No matter how the giant hand struggled, it could not break free. An innate treasure was, after all, an innate treasure—even a Shadow Spirit existing between illusion and reality could be trapped. Yet, as Qiongqi claimed, its effect was but a fraction of usual. At such strength, injuring Qiongqi was possible; to destroy him, nearly impossible.

“Now you are fully engaged in restraining and refining me—let’s see what else you can do! Hahaha!” Amid the sinister laughter, a shadow sped toward Qingxu from afar. As it neared, its form became clear: the size of a bull, shaped like a tiger, covered in bristling spines, winged, its cry like a hound, its body pitch-black and glistening with blood.

“Qiongqi? Multitasking? Not good!” Though the Qiongqi beast approached from behind, Qingxu had already sensed it with his divine awareness.

Qingxu knew much about the notorious Qiongqi—one of the four great fiends. It was said Qiongqi often flew to the scene of disputes, biting off the nose of the righteous party; and whenever someone committed evil, it would catch wild beasts for them, urging them to commit more misdeeds—a beast of chaos and calamity, whose evil knew no bounds.

“The Qiongqi’s cultivation is low, but as a local Earth Immortal, and imbued with the blood-fiend miasma, its attack power likely rivals an early-stage Profound Immortal. This puts me at a grave disadvantage—just restraining a Shadow Spirit is already taxing; splitting my focus further?” Qingxu considered using the Demon Sword to subdue Qiongqi, but feared it would prove ineffective, since Qiongqi had not yet transformed into a pseudo-innate demonic being.

“I have no choice but to risk it—if I cannot prevail, I’ll have to use the Supreme Celestial Talisman.” Sighing inwardly, he split his attention: while controlling the Jade Void Palace Lantern and its Heaven-Earth Fire Net to restrain the Shadow Spirit, with his right hand he formed a seal, summoning a shroud of azure light and flickering lightning—the Divine Thunder Art of Yuqing.