The Terrifying Path of Immortal Cultivation

Several blood lights emanated from his body, as if they had life, instantly enveloping the people around him.

"No, help, it hurts so much!"

A woman screamed in distress, wearing luxurious clothing, looking around 40 years old, presumably Li Guangliang's wife.

At this moment, a cluster of blood lights stuck to her body, spreading like a spider web, draining the Essence Qi from her blood.

Her body visibly withered, eventually turning into a dried corpse.

A bit of blood light rose from the dried corpse, all returning to the sinister man's body.

His complexion grew even redder, and the blood light throughout his body surged like a river.

"So comfortable," a contorted face exclaimed in admiration.

Li Qing watched quietly from the side, realizing that this seemed to be some kind of illusion.

"In the dossier, the Ghost Dao doesn't have the ability to create illusions."

"It seems I've hit the jackpot, encountering a case of misjudgment."

A hint of seriousness appeared on his face, his expression growing darker.

His gaze fell on the man.

After killing everyone, the man headed straight for a small building in the backyard.

Li Qing quietly followed, sensing that this mysterious young man's killing spree seemed to have another purpose.

Li Qing followed the young man into the small building, where he went directly to the second floor, leading to a study.

The man quickly found a hidden compartment in the study.

Upon opening it, a secret letter was revealed.

"Hmph, overestimating one's abilities, daring to oppose my Blood Demon Cult."

Taking the letter, a fiery red flame flashed in his hand, burning it to ashes.

Turning to leave the small building, he piled up the dead bodies in a house in the courtyard.

He set the entire place ablaze, burning it to the ground.

As the scene reached this point, the image shattered like glass.

The surroundings once again turned eerie, as if everything before had been an illusion.

"Sob... sob..."

"Sobbing..."

...

The sound of crying rang out again, and Li Qing turned to look behind him.

At some point, a phantom woman in white stood there with disheveled hair, about twenty feet away from him.

Li Qing silently watched the phantom woman, recognizing her clothes.

She was the daughter of the Ministry of Personnel, now transformed into an unknown anomaly.

Li Qing tightly gripped the summoning card in his left hand, ready to launch an attack at any moment.

Taking a deep breath, he asked, "Can you speak?"

"Sob... sob..."

Amidst the crying, the white phantom suddenly moved.

With a contorted face and eyes filled with endless resentment, she lunged ferociously at Li Qing, who shook his head helplessly.

Injecting Essence Qi into the summoning card, an illusory Flood Dragon burst forth.

Moo!

The resounding roar of the dragon instantly froze the phantom woman in place, completely depriving her of self-control.

The Flood Dragon pounced on the phantom woman, tearing her in half with one bite and turning her into fragments with a swipe of its claws.

The woman's fragments dissipated into specks of light, leaving behind a round Essence Qi stone and a black talisman.

The Flood Dragon returned to the summoning card, and Li Qing walked over to pick up the Essence Qi stone.

In his mind, the Jade Tablet trembled slightly as the Essence Qi in the stone was drained.

Another wisp of Essence Qi flowed out, swiftly merging into the "Spirit Blood Art."

The Essence Qi rapidly circulated, and in just a few breaths, his total Essence Qi capacity increased again, reaching 3/5 of his bloodline's capacity.

"With two more Essence Qi stones, I can reach the peak of Essence Refinement."

"According to the records in those diaries, it usually takes two to three years for an ordinary person to reach the peak of Essence Refinement through cultivation."

"I'm about to complete it in just a few days, truly a natural talent."

"All thanks to my diligent cultivation!"

A smile appeared on Li Qing's face as he looked at the black talisman.

The pitch-black talisman was extremely eerie, bearing an unusual pattern that resembled a ghostly face.

Furrowing his brow, he took out a piece of paper from his pocket and wrapped the talisman in it.

This case clearly concealed something, and presenting it as evidence would be beneficial.

Perhaps his merit would increase as a result.

Silently leaving the scene, the entire Ministry of Personnel seemed to return to tranquility.

A phantom shadow suddenly appeared over the ruins.

Invisible eyes seemed to be searching for something.

In the next moment, the shadow vanished without a trace.

In a dim room, a Daoist with a ghostly mask sat cross-legged.

The shadow returned and merged into his body, and a cold, fierce glint appeared in his eyes.

"Damn it, who destroyed my illusionary ghost."

"My Five Ghosts Transport Technique will be delayed again."

"I finally managed to take advantage of the Blood Demon Cult's people."

"What bad luck."

"Perhaps I should consider the Blood Spirit Young Master's invitation."

...

Early the next morning, Li Qing arrived at the Demon Slaying Temple.

He found Wentaiquan, "Brother Wen, good morning."

Wentaiquan looked at Li Qing, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Seeing you so cheerful, I assume you solved yesterday's case."

Li Qing smiled faintly, "Yes, it's solved, but there are some issues."

"Care to explain?"

With that, he took out a handkerchief, revealing a black talisman inside.

Wentaiquan glanced at it, furrowing his brow, "This is a Ghost Nurturing Talisman from the Rotating Ghost Hall."

"This belongs to a Ghost Dao cultivator?"

"Are you suggesting that someone was nurturing ghosts in that case?"

"Are ghosts a type of anomaly?" Li Qing asked curiously.

"Yes, everything in this world that humans cannot comprehend exists because of anomalies."

"This includes ghosts, which are formed by the combination of human souls or spirits with Essence Qi."

Li Qing nodded slightly, "There were issues with yesterday's mission."

"It wasn't the Ghost Dao, but rather a type of anomaly capable of creating illusions."

"I witnessed everything that happened when the Ministry of Personnel was destroyed."

Upon hearing Li Qing's words, Wentaiquan's expression turned grave, "Don't tell anyone about this matter."

"I will report it to the higher-ups, and rewards will be issued soon."

"This mission, I will discuss it with Elder Huang. You'll probably be promoted to a lower rank."

"Anomalies capable of creating illusions are usually quite dangerous."

Li Qing nodded, "I'll look forward to it."

"I earned 15 merits in one trip? Then I can choose a few martial arts techniques!" A hint of joy appeared on Li Qing's face.