Chapter 130: The Only Immortal God in the Mortal World
The feeling of death was far more terrifying than Zhao Zhi had imagined.
That suffocating struggle filled him with endless regret; for every choice that led him to this end, he wished he could overturn them all.
Amid that remorse, fear, and despair, he suddenly felt himself rising, then saw his own corpse lying upon the high platform.
Had he been decapitated?
The thought had barely formed when Zhao Zhi’s consciousness sank into darkness.
He didn’t know how much time had passed—perhaps many years, perhaps only a moment—before his eyes suddenly opened again.
He found himself standing on the high platform, where Li Qingqiu was facing off against Grandmaster Jiang.
Below, the Forbidden Martial Guards filled the square.
Instinctively, he looked down—and saw his own headless body.
His face changed drastically, but he soon realized he could not move.
“Could it be that I’m in a soul state now? It seems that cultivation technique really did work.”
Zhao Zhi thought in shock.
He turned his gaze toward Li Qingqiu, straining to hear his voice.
Though Li Qingqiu was right beside him, Zhao Zhi felt as if they existed in two separate worlds.
Perhaps this was what it meant for yin and yang to be divided.
He focused his will, staring fixedly at Li Qingqiu, until at last he caught his voice.
“Do you have any other means left? Show them now,” Li Qingqiu said.
Hearing Li Qingqiu’s taunt toward Grandmaster Jiang, Zhao Zhi sneered and cursed under his breath, “You arrogant fool. I’ll wait for the day you die in regret—come join me below. The Grandmaster can revive me, but what about you?”
Grandmaster Jiang smiled; he hadn’t expected Li Qingqiu to be this conceited.
“Since you wish to witness my spell, then watch closely. I’ll show you that my cultivation arts far surpass yours!”
He stepped back beside the black flag, raised his right hand, and gripped the pole.
The searing flames beneath licked at his robes, yet he did not flinch—as if he felt no heat at all.
Everyone turned their eyes toward Grandmaster Jiang—the one who had bewitched the emperor and brought chaos to the realm—and their hearts were filled with dread.
“Master Li, kill him quickly! Don’t give him a chance!” one of the prisoners shouted.
But Li Qingqiu remained unmoved.
Grandmaster Jiang held the flag with one hand, forming incantation seals with the other while chanting rapidly.
In an instant, the black flag began to shudder violently.
Billowing ghostly energy surged out from within, swirling around him.
From that mist emerged countless souls—men, women, young, and old—all with hideous faces twisted in terror.
A chorus of hair-raising shrieks echoed faintly through the air, sending ministers fleeing from the platform in panic.
Zhao Zhi’s lips curled coldly as he stared at Li Qingqiu’s back.
The terror of death had faded, and his true nature resurfaced.
He looked upon the prideful Li Qingqiu with utter disdain.
That man was a fool.
He could hardly wait to see Li Qingqiu’s expression of regret and fear.
“Puha—”
A soft, eerie laugh came from behind him.
Startled, Zhao Zhi turned around and saw a white-clad woman with disheveled hair standing there, her eyes fixed on him, a strange smile curving her lips.
From that smile, Zhao Zhi sensed greed—greed so chilling that it made his scalp tingle.
“Who are you?” Zhao Zhi demanded coldly.
Nangong E asked, “You’re already dead. Do you have anything you wish to say to your people?”
Zhao Zhi snorted.
“Say what? Those lowly commoners only live by my will. I sought immortality, yet they cursed me. Once I return to life, they’ll pay the price!”
Nangong E shook her head.
Looking at him again, her neck began to stretch upward.
Her head rose toward the sky, growing larger and larger.
The delicate beauty of her face twisted into something monstrous, serpent-like.
Zhao Zhi tilted his head back, unable to move, terror spreading across his face.
“What are you trying to do?” he stammered.
From above, Nangong E looked down at him and said, “They are not lowly commoners. Before you, the people of this world were my father’s most cherished existence.”
With that, she swooped down and devoured Zhao Zhi’s soul in a single bite.
He didn’t even have time to scream.
Li Qingqiu stood with his back to them, a faint smile tugging at his lips, eyes never leaving Grandmaster Jiang.
The ghostly aura around Grandmaster Jiang grew denser and thicker, forming an ominous mist that swirled upward.
Everyone watched in horror, unsure what he intended to do.
Then, a Forbidden Martial Guard suddenly clutched his chest.
Before he could speak, others around him—including the Divine Martial Soldiers—did the same.
Thud!
Another guard dropped to his knees, trembling violently as if enduring unbearable agony.
This scene threw prisoners, ministers, and soldiers alike into chaos.
No one understood what was happening, and the unseen threat only magnified their terror.
Some prisoners seized the chance to knock over guards and flee.
In an instant, the plaza descended into pandemonium.
Grandmaster Jiang ignored the chaos.
Fixing his gaze on Li Qingqiu, he laughed wildly.
“Li Qingqiu, your arrogance will soon cost you dearly! My Soul-Refining Flag is complete—prepare to meet despair!”
“After you die, everyone in this city will follow you. Then, this world will descend into an age of unprecedented turmoil! I’ll travel across the Nine Provinces and Fourteen Regions, drawing every soul beneath heaven into my Soul-Refining Flag! I shall become the one true cultivator—the only cultivator in this mortal realm!”
“I will attain immortality! I will become the only immortal god in the mortal world! From then on, princes and nobles shall bow before me, and all commoners shall worship my name! Those who follow me shall prosper; those who defy me shall perish!”
His voice grew louder and more frenzied until he burst into manic laughter.
His ambition was laid bare for all to hear.
The ministers and the prisoners pinned by the guards cursed him in rage.
Li Qingqiu merely stood there, calm and unperturbed.
One by one, the Forbidden Martial Guards and Divine Martial Soldiers collapsed, their souls being torn from their bodies and sucked into the mist surrounding the flag.
Just as Li Qingqiu had suspected.
All along his path of battle, he had sensed something strange about those guards and soldiers—the peculiar soul marks within them.
He had already guessed that it was connected to the Martial God Pill, the Yin Ghost Pill, and another mysterious elixir.
Those pills seemed to enhance strength, but in truth, they existed to harvest souls.
Li Qingqiu deliberately allowed Grandmaster Jiang’s scheme to unfold—both to end it completely and to punish those who had slaughtered countless innocents, whether willingly or not.
More and more souls were drawn into the flag’s surrounding ghost mist.
A terrifying pressure radiated from within the Soul-Refining Flag.
It wasn’t just from this plaza; throughout the imperial city, souls rose into the air—visible even to the living.
Countless souls soared across the night sky of the capital, striking fear into both commoners and nobles alike.
Wind howled around the high platform.
The prisoners struggled to crawl away.
Daoist Clear Sky knelt on the ground, his hoarse voice trembling.
“You… what is your relation to Lin Xunfeng?”
Li Qingqiu turned slightly, glancing at the frail old man beside him.
Daoist Clear Sky opened his mouth to ask more, but guilt choked his words.
Li Qingqiu looked back toward Grandmaster Jiang.
Seeing that Li Qingqiu still hadn’t moved, Grandmaster Jiang grew uneasy—but the thought of the power recorded in the book about the Soul-Refining Flag rekindled his confidence.
His grin returned, and as the ghostly aura enveloped him, his pupils turned crimson, making him look every bit the demonic Daoist.
Just then—
A figure suddenly rushed past Li Qingqiu toward Grandmaster Jiang.
It was Daoist Clear Sky—he still had inner energy!
Smack!
A hand pressed down on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.
He turned instinctively—it was Li Qingqiu.
“My time is nearly up. Let me help you one last time…” Daoist Clear Sky said through clenched teeth.
Li Qingqiu said calmly, “What do you mean ‘time is nearly up’? Once I bring you back to Silent Heaven Mountain to recover, you’ll be fine.”
With his exceptional hearing, Li Qingqiu had already discerned Daoist Clear Sky’s identity from the prisoners’ whispers.
Though he felt little emotional connection to this grandmaster of his sect, he would not deny the bond between them.
He drew Daoist Clear Sky behind him.
The old man stared in confusion.
“What are you waiting for?”
Li Qingqiu gazed at Grandmaster Jiang and said, “That flag is quite good. I like it.”
Daoist Clear Sky’s eyes widened, his heart trembling.
Perhaps he had misjudged Li Qingqiu.
Grandmaster Jiang’s eyes turned cold; he hadn’t expected Li Qingqiu to covet his flag.
“You think you’re worthy to touch my Soul-Refining Flag? Then feel the power of the ghostly path!”
With a furious roar, he swung the flag toward them.
Ghostly energy surged like a tidal wave, ghostly faces clawing out of the mist as if from the depths of hell.
Daoist Clear Sky froze, his pupils quivering.
But Li Qingqiu advanced instead of retreating.
He raised his sword and strode toward Grandmaster Jiang.
The countless spirits that collided with him disintegrated instantly.
His body cut through the ghost mist like a blade, splitting it apart.
Grandmaster Jiang’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Impossible…”
He trembled, waving the flag again.
Ghostly energy rushed forth, only to collapse on contact.
“No… impossible… absolutely impossible…”
He swung faster and faster, his expression growing darker, sweat beading on his forehead.
Li Qingqiu stepped closer until he stood before him.
Grandmaster Jiang trembled, raising the flag horizontally as if to shield himself.
“When you cultivated, did you always feel that you couldn’t control your energy properly? When you practiced spells, did you often find no progress at all?”
Li Qingqiu’s voice was cold as he stared him down.
Grandmaster Jiang’s face changed.
“How did you know that…?”
Li Qingqiu snorted.
“Because your aptitude and comprehension are lacking. Even after harming so many, you’ve barely reached the third layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm. Your only real talent lies in alchemy.”
Aptitude and comprehension… lacking?
Grandmaster Jiang felt deeply insulted.
In fury, he swung the flag down at Li Qingqiu.
Slash!
A flash of sword light passed.
Grandmaster Jiang’s head flew into the air, his face still twisted in rage and disbelief.
Li Qingqiu caught the Soul-Refining Flag in his left hand, feeling the immense ghostly power within it.
His expression changed slightly.