“How… how can this be!” Qing Yi’s expression was one of utter disbelief and confusion. It was almost as if he wanted to escape from his own body which was helplessly deteriorating in that moment. No matter how hard he tried to stop his Spirit Qi from dissipating, he could not. Within seconds, his cultivation level dropped to its original state. “No… no, this can’t be. That was clearly an Immortal Formation Pill… it clearly was!”
Lonemoon picked up the pill bottle from the floor. On scrutinizing it, he realized that the sealing array formation had already vanished. Without the array formation, the pills inside would naturally have lost their intended effect as time went by.
It looked like even the strongest of array formations couldn’t withstand time. It was no wonder that they were able to enter the Immortal Pavilion so easily; the defense array formation at the door had also lost its effect. The only array formation that still seemed to be working in the entire hall was the one at the entrance of the Pill Storage Repository, and that was probably because the presence of Bitao’s Immortal Soul close by gave it power to withstand time.
Qing Yi’s dream of achieving Immortal Ascension was now in shambles and he had officially lost his mind. He frantically grabbed the pill bottles around him and swallowed all of their contents. When he realized that they were not having any effect on him, he turned to glare at the three people standing at the entrance.
“It was you guys. What did you do to the pills?” His entire face began to twist in fury. His eyes were filled with so much rage that he looked as if he wanted to tear at their flesh.
The three people remained in silence. You ate the expired pill and now you’re blaming us for it?
Qing Yi’s glare focused on Lonemoon. His eyes suddenly reflected clarity as if he had realized something, and then they reflected greed. “Oh yes, the Vegetation Spirit… You still have the Thousand Leaves Vegetation Spirit. With that, I can refine an Immortal Formation Pill.”
The Immortal Formation Pill’s recipe was no secret in the Azure World. It was only rarely used because what it required was no ordinary spirit herb—the requirement was an immortal herb! Since immortal herbs could not be found in the Azure World, the first thing Qing Yi thought of was the Pill Storage Repository in the Immortal Pavilion. He hadn’t realized that the Thousand Leaves Vegetation Spirit could detect all the spirit and immortal herbs in the vicinity. The Thousand Leaves Vegetation Spirit could help him get exactly what he was looking for.
“Give me the Thousand Leaves Vegetation Spirit!” All of a sudden, Qing Yi turned around and unleashed an Inferno Dragon. A flaming light filled the room as all the pills in the Storage Repository disintegrated in the flames.
Lonemoon instinctively summoned his defensive shield. Shen Ying frowned while Yi Qing stepped forward and waved his sword. The Sword Qi surrounding Yi Qing’s body erupted and formed a powerful sword which Yi Qing used to slice the Inferno Dragon’s body into two.
“Master…” He suddenly turned around and looked at Shen Ying, his expression one of conviction. “Please let me handle this man. I will not fail you, Master.”
“You’re crazy!” Lonemoon shouted before Shen Ying could answer. “He hasn’t achieved immortality, but he’s still a Traveling Immortal after all. You’re not his match.” Sword Cultivators were powerful and Yi Qing was one of the most powerful Sword Cultivators Lonemoon had ever met, but a mere Nascent Soul stage cultivator would not be able to beat someone at the Soul Formation stage, much less a Traveling Immortal. We should use the cheat while we can, Brother!
“Master, please give me permission!” Yi Qing’s gaze was fixed on Shen Ying. He did not so much as glance over at Lonemoon. Qing Yin was left to Lonemoon to handle, Qing Lan to Master, so I should take down Qing Yi. That was how they had arranged it from the beginning. Qing Yin and Qing Lan had already succumbed to them and Qing Yi was the only one left… Yi Qing was his master’s only disciple. No matter what, he had to complete his task.
“Alright then, all the best!” Shen Ying nodded.
“Yes, Master!” Yi Qing turned back around and charged toward Qing Yi.
“Wait…” Lonemoon turned to look at Shen Ying and then back at the man who had no regard for his own life. “Hey, hey, hey! Shen Ying, you aren’t really going to allow Yi Qing to fight Qing Yi alone, are you? Your disciple has a screw loose in his head and you’re just going to let him be?”
Shen Ying looked unbothered as she replied, “He’s been my disciple for so long. Let’s just take it that he’s finishing a family assignment.”
“Assignment my ass!” You guys are really unreliable. “Don’t make it sound as if you’ve really taught him anything! He’s only at the Nascent Soul stage, he’ll-”
“Father Niu.” She interrupted him. Her usually uncaring expression suddenly took on a more serious change. “You have to believe in him!”
“…” Lonemoon hesitated. He slowly calmed down and said nothing further.
Yi Qing and Qing Yi had already been fighting for awhile. The air was filled brilliant gleams of light from their swords. One was fighting in a crazy manner while the other was fighting for his life. Both were giving all they had to overpower the other. This duel between two high-level cultivators caused not just the Pill Storage Repository, but also the entire Immortal Pavilion to quake.
Lonemoon and Shen Ying had to step outside. They observed the duel from the field where the human cauldron was. The moment they stepped out, they heard a huge explosion behind them—half of the Immortal Pavilion had collapsed. Qing Yi and Yi Qing flew up from inside the Immortal Pavilion into the sky.
Qing Yi had already summoned forth several Inferno Dragons which were following close behind him. They flew toward Yi Qing who was surrounded by spirit swords. Yi Qing’s Sword Qi was surging up. All at once, his spirit swords flew toward the Inferno Dragons, slicing them apart and causing a rain of fire.
“Hmph, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator really thinks he can win against me.” As the Inferno Dragons faced continual attack from Yi Qing’s swords, Qing Yi became increasingly outraged. He swiftly changed the imprint of his palm and the small flames suddenly grew into huge ones. A sea of fire formed within seconds, engulfing the Immortal Pavilion mystic realm.
“Red Lotus Karmic Fire!” Lonemoon exclaimed in shock. He quickly set up several arrays around himself. He hadn’t expected Qing Yi to be able to summon Red Lotus Karmic Fire. Yi Qing was in for a tough battle.
As soon as the sea of fire appeared, the spirit swords surrounding Yi Qing disintegrated into ashes and scattered. Yi Qing immediately changed his strategy and recalled tens of thousands of his spirit swords. They surrounded him, forming a revolving wall of swords. He attempted to use the wall of swords to put out the flames, but he couldn’t stop the flames from drawing near.
Qing Yi changed his tactic once again. Out of the sea of fire came an Inferno Dragon which was several times bigger than the ones before. Its flames looked as red as blood and seemed capable of lighting the entire sky on fire. The whole surroundings were suddenly illuminated under its crimson light.
The Inferno Dragon roared loudly, causing the entire area to vibrate. It flew up into the air toward Yi Qing, opening its maw wide.
Yi Qing’s expression darkened and he recalled his swords, collapsing the defensive wall. Yi Qing channelled all his Spirit Qi into forming a Great Golden Sword which extended to the end of the horizon.
“His Sword Intent is so powerful!” Lonemoon exclaimed. Yi Qing is capable of condensing all his Sword Intent to form a Great Sword like that… Is he really just at the Nascent Soul stage? Or… or could he really…
The two fighters had truly gone all out—this moment would decide the winner and loser.
The Great Sword flew downward and the Inferno Dragon roared. There was a great collision of Spirit Qi, causing an explosion of blinding white light which turned the remainder of the Immortal Pavilion to ashes. Lonemoon grabbed Shen Ying and they both hid behind the pill refining cauldron. They were only able to survive that explosion due to the durability of the immortal artifact.
The light disappeared after a couple of seconds, revealing Yi Qing and Qing Yi who had fallen to the ground. The latter had spit out a mouthful of blood and he was obviously gravely injured, while Yi Qing was in even worse shape. The sword which he held in his hands had already been broken, his entire body covered with wounds and burns. Yi Qing fell to his knees, unable to hold the weight of his body up any longer as blood flowed uncontrollably out of his mouth. There was only one word to describe Yi Qing’s condition right now—tragic.