Chapter 373 Crossing World Immortal Island, Divine Monk Ruran

Above the magnificent and boundless sea surface, two streaks of light raced across the sky, chasing one another at incredible speed.

Looking carefully, the two streaks of light actually contained two men.

Within the golden light was a young monk wearing kasaya robes. His features were handsome, and he appeared only a little over twenty years old, his expression solemn.

Within the cyan light was a gray-robed elder with a robust physique and loose long hair. Half of his face was covered in fine scales, making him resemble a demon.

The two were heading directly toward the deserted island where Li Qingqiu was hiding.

After entering the island, the gray-robed elder suddenly halted.

Holding a black oil lamp in his right hand, he shouted furiously, “Ruran, are you truly determined to exterminate me completely?”

The young monk called Ruran revealed himself.

He rolled up his sleeve, raised his right hand, and said, “It is not this poor monk who wishes to exterminate you completely, but the Heavenly Dao that wishes to destroy you. Han Cheng, you are the leader of a sect, yet you walked onto a demonic and evil path. If allowed to continue cultivating, you will surely become a great calamity to the mortal world. This poor monk shall deliver you, hoping that in your next life, you will not walk the wrong path again.”

As he spoke, Divine Monk Ruran raised his left hand with his palm facing upward.

One Buddhist bead after another flew out from his sleeve and rose above his head, rapidly spreading outward. Each bead burst forth with golden light, forming a magnificent golden halo.

The gray-robed elder named Han Cheng roared angrily, “Crossing World Immortal Island claims itself righteous, yet you refuse to solve the Land of Demons and Devils in the north or eradicate the Demon Emperor deep within the Heavenly Nether Sea. Clearly, you are merely cowards who bully the weak and fear the strong! You speak such grand and righteous words, but in truth, you only fear that I might threaten your Crossing World Immortal Island!”

Divine Monk Ruran did not answer again.

He began chanting an incantation.

The sound of Buddhist scriptures echoed between heaven and earth, as though countless Buddhas were shouting in unison. Their voices merged together—clearly earth-shaking—yet the surging waves around the deserted island strangely froze in place.

Han Cheng also did not sit still awaiting death.

His expression became savage as Blood Essence overflowed from his body and poured into the black oil lamp in his palm.

Rolling Ghostly Energy erupted from the black oil lamp, condensing before him into a gigantic evil ghost over one hundred zhang tall, baring its fangs and claws toward Divine Monk Ruran.

Standing beneath the trees, Li Qingqiu watched the battle through gaps in the leaves.

This was a battle of the Heaven-Connecting Radiance Realm.

The two did not fight using Dharma Manifestation Domains, but instead competed through Magic Implements.

Li Qingqiu guessed they had already fought using Dharma Manifestation Domains earlier, because both of their auras were somewhat unstable.

Judging from their momentum, the two were inferior to the Sword Demon, though not by much.

He did not know whether he was unlucky or whether absorbing the power of the sun here had attracted these two great cultivators.

When the Extreme Yang True Body absorbed solar power, it would stir the surrounding Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth, especially fire-attribute spiritual energy.

That was precisely why Li Qingqiu had hidden himself here.

Li Qingqiu had no intention of interfering and only hoped they would leave quickly.

Soon, the spells of the two great cultivators collided violently.

The raging wind pressed the island’s trees flat, and the entire island trembled violently.

Han Cheng’s Vital Energy was clearly inferior to Divine Monk Ruran’s. The golden Buddhist light pressed down upon the evil ghost, causing it to howl endlessly.

Li Qingqiu discovered that the Buddhist light possessed extremely high temperatures and had a powerful burning effect against souls. Amid its shrieks, the evil ghost rapidly dispersed.

Han Cheng was suppressed until he coughed blood, while the scales on his face began falling off.

“Ruran, you will die horribly!”

Before his death, Han Cheng let out a hysterical curse.

His soul was first blasted out of his fleshly body before violently exploding apart. Immediately afterward, his flesh was melted away by the intense heat, his blood scattering into smoke.

In less than five breaths’ time, Han Cheng’s body and soul were utterly annihilated.

Only the black oil lamp in his hand fell downward.

Divine Monk Ruran raised his hand and drew the black oil lamp into his grasp. He casually erased the restrictions inside it before placing it into his Storage Pouch.

Only then did he sigh in relief and raise his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

The Buddhist beads in the sky began shrinking as the golden Buddhist light dispersed. Like living beings, they flew back toward Divine Monk Ruran.

However, Divine Monk Ruran did not immediately leave.

Instead, his gaze fell upon the deserted island below.

“The Spiritual Energy of Heaven and Earth here was abnormal earlier. Could something be hidden here?”

Divine Monk Ruran muttered softly while scanning the island beneath him.

Suddenly, as though he sensed something, he raised his left hand and wiped it across his forehead.

A golden phantom eye appeared before his forehead, its pupil staring directly toward a patch of forest below.

Standing beneath the tree, Li Qingqiu immediately felt a sensation of being spied upon.

He realized he had already been discovered.

He was not panicked.

Although he had cultivated aura concealment methods, he had not spent much time on them. Being discovered was normal.

It seemed he could only change locations to cultivate.

Li Qingqiu turned around, preparing to leave.

Divine Monk Ruran descended from the sky, landing before Li Qingqiu. The fierce wind stirred by his landing sent leaves and dust sweeping toward him.

Li Qingqiu’s sideburns danced wildly in the wind, yet his expression remained calm.

He looked at Divine Monk Ruran without speaking immediately.

Divine Monk Ruran sized him up before asking, “May I ask which sect or faction this fellow Daoist belongs to?”

Li Qingqiu replied, “Li Bai. A wandering cultivator.”

“A wandering cultivator? Was the abnormal spiritual energy here caused by you?” Divine Monk Ruran pressed further.

Li Qingqiu countered, “What? Did it hinder you? Could it be that you intend to silence witnesses?”

Divine Monk Ruran shook his head.

“No. This poor monk was merely curious. This poor monk’s Buddhist title is Ruran, from Crossing World Immortal Island.”

Li Qingqiu had never heard of Crossing World Immortal Island, but any faction daring to include the word “Immortal” in its name likely was not a small force.

“If there’s nothing else, then I’ll be leaving first.”

As Li Qingqiu spoke, he walked toward Divine Monk Ruran.

Divine Monk Ruran nodded, then stepped aside and watched Li Qingqiu depart.

Only after Li Qingqiu had walked far away did he leap into the air, flying out from the forest and disappearing beyond the horizon.

Within the forest, Divine Monk Ruran frowned and softly muttered to himself, “Such powerful fire aura. Just what is this man’s background?”

Li Qingqiu’s aura made him uneasy.

He was certain the abnormalities here had been caused by this man.

However, since the other party had not committed evil in front of him, he could not forcibly attack.

He sat down cross-legged where he was and began recovering his cultivation.

……

After leaving the deserted island, Li Qingqiu flew eastward for another two hours before finding another uninhabited island and continuing to absorb the power of the sun.

Along the way, he saw islands inhabited by people and even islands occupied by Demonic Beasts.

Compared to the Nine Provinces, the Heavenly Nether Sea was indeed far more vast. It was only natural for even more flourishing immortal cultivation forces to emerge here.

Because he possessed the 【Hundred-Refinement Demonic Body】, the time Li Qingqiu required to fill his Extreme Yang True Flame far exceeded Yin Jingxing’s.

With the Supreme Sword remaining at Clear Sky Mountain, Li Qingqiu could still monitor the situation within the sect, so he was in no hurry to return.

Meditating alone atop the island’s mountain peak, Li Qingqiu did not feel lonely.

After all, two Ghost Servants resided within his body.

They were Nangong E and the Ghost Flood Dragon.

Lin Chuan, who possessed the Ghost Infant Body, could already move independently away from him, but Nangong E and the Ghost Flood Dragon could not.

“Master, just how terrifying will the flames inside your body become?”

Nangong E asked curiously from within Li Qingqiu’s body.

If her soul had not belonged to Li Qingqiu, she would have long since been burned away by the Extreme Yang True Flame.

Just the Extreme Yang True Flame alone already made Nangong E feel that this power surpassed everyone within the Clear Sky Sect.

She even suspected that Yin Jingxing’s awakening had been caused by receiving Li Qingqiu’s power.

Li Qingqiu answered, “Another half month should be enough.”

Extreme Yang True Flame was different from physical strength and Vital Energy.

The latter two could be slowly cultivated or accumulated using Spirit Stones.

Extreme Yang True Flame required fire-attribute power, and the most suitable source for it was the power of the sun itself.

Though it seemed he had no direct connection to the sun, he could absorb heat from sunlight and convert it into Extreme Yang True Flame.

During this process, Li Qingqiu had already become capable of dual-tasking—drawing in solar power while simultaneously absorbing Inner Energy to cultivate.

He discovered that his speed of Inner Energy absorption had greatly increased.

It seemed the 【Extreme Yang True Body】 had also improved his cultivation aptitude, though he did not know whether it could compare to Yin Jingxing’s increase.

After all, Yin Jingxing possessed more than just the 【Extreme Yang True Body】.

Perhaps his other Fate Traits were also exerting their effects, allowing for such astonishing growth.

“Another half month?”

Nangong E was deeply shocked.

She could not imagine how terrifying Li Qingqiu’s Extreme Yang True Flame would become after another half month.

The man and ghost chatted intermittently.

Time flew by rapidly.

Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

Early August—

Li Qingqiu’s Extreme Yang True Flame had finally nearly reached a saturated state.

The Extreme Yang pattern upon his forehead had become far richer than before, nearly occupying his entire forehead, while the mark at the center of his brows resembled an eye.

During the process of absorbing solar power, Li Qingqiu had also comprehended methods of utilizing Extreme Yang True Flame.

He further discovered something astonishing.

Throughout the process of absorbing solar power, his physical strength was also increasing.

In other words, Yin Jingxing not only possessed Extreme Yang True Flame—

His physical body’s strength would also become terrifying.

That made sense.

An Ancient Sacred Body would naturally surpass mortals in terms of physical strength, though not to the extreme level of the Undying Overlord Body.

The Undying Overlord Body possessed not only terrifying strength, but also rapid bodily regeneration.

Li Qingqiu became very curious how long the Undying Overlord Body could endure within Extreme Yang True Flame.

Of course, there was no need for him to test it.

After all, he possessed both Fate Traits himself.

Suddenly—

Li Qingqiu opened his eyes and looked toward the horizon, his brows furrowing.

Why had that fellow come again?

Li Qingqiu sensed Divine Monk Ruran’s aura rapidly approaching the island where he currently stayed.

Originally, he thought Divine Monk Ruran had come seeking trouble.

However, not long afterward, he discovered vast amounts of demonic aura chasing behind Ruran.

Among them was one particularly terrifying demonic aura, even somewhat stronger than the Sword Demon and Song Qianxiang.

Could that demon have already surpassed the Heaven-Connecting Radiance Realm?

Li Qingqiu’s brows furrowed even more deeply.

He immediately stood up, preparing to leave.

“Fellow Daoist Li Bai, please save this poor monk! This poor monk will certainly repay you!”

Divine Monk Ruran’s anxious voice transmitted from afar.

Originally, Li Qingqiu did not want to provoke trouble.

Yet after hearing those words, he involuntarily stopped.

Coincidentally, he also wished to test what the outcome would be if he fought against a higher realm opponent.

If he could not win, then he could simply flee.

With his current Vital Energy, if he frantically used the Extreme Movement Technique Divine Art, he was confident he could escape any pursuit.

Thus, Li Qingqiu stood atop the cliff and waited for Divine Monk Ruran to arrive.

A streak of golden light rapidly shot over.

It was Divine Monk Ruran.

He quickly landed beside Li Qingqiu, his face gloomy.

“A Great Demon King is pursuing this poor monk. As long as fellow Daoist can help this poor monk escape this predicament, this poor monk is willing to offer a magical treasure.”

Li Qingqiu glanced at him, his gaze indifferent.