Chapter 361

Words : 2331 Updated : Oct 9th, 2025

Chapter 361When Lu Qing awoke from his meditation and put away the Li Huo Cauldron, Wei Xinghe immediately asked, "Young Master Lu, how did it go?" Earlier, upon seeing Lu Qing use the Li Huo Cauldron, Wei Xinghe had a vague suspicion that the demonic cultivator might not have perished completely. After all, he had seen clearly at the time that when Lu Qing absorbed the demonic cultivator’s body, a black light shot out from it. Later, it was placed into the Li Huo Cauldron. Thus, he more or less understood the method Lu Qing had mentioned. “To fully break the seals on Zihao and the others will still take some time. However, I’ve already found a way to restore their minds,” Lu Qing replied. “Truly?” Wei Xinghe was overjoyed upon hearing this. What had pained him the most about Zihao before was his completely changed personality. That cold, ruthless demeanor, with no regard for family, still chilled Wei Xinghe to think about. Now, hearing that Lu Qing could restore their minds, how could he not be ecstatic? “Let me give it a try.” Lu Qing formed a hand seal, concentrating his mind. Waves of strange energy seeped into the minds of Wei Zihao and the other Qingyun Sword Sect disciples. Since they were still at the Postnatal Realm, the space within their brow acupoints had not yet been opened, and their souls were weak. Added to the fact that they were unconscious, they were naturally unable to resist Lu Qing’s intrusion. Before long, Lu Qing located the demonic energy marks left by the demonic cultivator to control their minds. Following the demonic cultivator’s method for controlling them, Lu Qing quickly dissolved the demonic marks using his soul power. Then, he stimulated their minds, bringing them back to consciousness. Wei Xinghe watched nervously as Lu Qing cast his spell. Then, he saw Wei Zihao and the others tremble and slowly open their eyes. “What happened? Where are we?” After waking, Wei Zihao and the others looked around, confused. They were in a cave with only the light of a fire flickering in the distance, unable to tell where they were. “Zihao!” Wei Xinghe saw the clarity in his son’s eyes, no longer the eerie coldness from before in the city. He immediately realized that his son’s mind had been restored, and his joy knew no bounds. “Father, why are you here?” Wei Zihao was shocked to see his father and tried to get up, but found his body weak and sore, unable to move. This alarmed him even more. “My body…” “Don’t move just yet,” Wei Xinghe stopped his son. “You were under the demonic cultivator’s control, lost your mind, and had a curse planted inside you. The curse is deeply rooted, constantly draining your life force. So, Young Master Lu has temporarily sealed off your qi and blood…” Wei Xinghe slowly explained what he knew. “The demonic cultivator controlled our minds and planted curses...” As Wei Zihao and the others listened to Wei Xinghe’s explanation, memories of being under control began to surface. Their faces showed growing pain. This was the terror of the demonic cultivator’s curse. Those he controlled only had their minds twisted, not erased. Even if one day the demonic energy controlling them was dissolved, the memories of being controlled wouldn’t vanish. Those wicked memories could easily corrupt the mind, leading one back onto the demonic path. Fortunately, Wei Zihao and the others hadn’t been under control for long, and the demonic cultivator, trying to stay hidden, had only used them to secretly set up array nodes. He hadn’t forced them to commit greater evils. Thus, even though they recalled their time under control, their minds remained intact, and they didn’t fall into darkness. “Zihao, how did the demonic cultivator manage to control you all, and how was the Qingyun Sword Sect destroyed?” After making sure they were okay, Wei Xinghe finally voiced his deep suspicions. Lu Qing said nothing. Though he already knew the story from the demonic cultivator, he also wanted to hear Wei Zihao and the others’ account to verify if the demonic cultivator had been truthful. Upon hearing the question, Wei Zihao and the others’ expressions became complex—filled with fear and anger. After a long pause, Wei Zihao steadied his emotions and said, “Father, that demonic cultivator wasn’t just anyone. He was actually our sect’s grand-uncle. It was he who destroyed our sect, and it was him who personally tortured the sect master to death…” Wei Zihao and the others took turns telling the story of how the Qingyun Sword Sect was annihilated. Wei Xinghe was shaken to the core as he listened. He had never imagined that the Qingyun Sword Sect harbored such a sinister and bizarre grand-uncle. Back when he had sent his son to the sect to learn, he had unknowingly sent him into the jaws of a beast. If it weren’t for Lu Qing’s intervention this time, the consequences would have been unthinkable. Not only would he and his son have perished, but the entire prefectural city would have been plunged into an inescapable disaster. “After the sect master was tortured to death, we hadn’t even escaped Jizhou when the demonic cultivator caught up with us. He took the sect’s secret treasure that we had hidden on us. Later, he controlled our minds and placed the curse on us. Under his orders, we spent months quietly setting up array nodes in the prefectural city. After that, when the array activated, Father, you know what happened.” Wei Zihao’s eyes were filled with guilt as he spoke. From his memories, he knew that once the array was triggered, many people in the prefectural city had lost their lives. Although they were under the demonic cultivator’s control when they set up the array, those deaths were still partly their responsibility. This weighed heavily on Wei Zihao’s heart. The other Qingyun Sword Sect disciples also showed expressions of guilt. “It’s over now. The array in the prefectural city has been dismantled, and the demonic cultivator has been killed. What you did in the city was beyond your control. It wasn’t your fault, so don’t burden yourselves with guilt,” Wei Xinghe comforted them. Whether or not they could let go of their guilt depended on their own state of mind. Fortunately, Wei Zihao and the others were all disciples of a prestigious sect, and their wills were strong. After a while, they managed to regain their composure. “Father, where are we now?” Wei Zihao asked. “We’re in a cave not far from the prefectural city. Young Master Lu said the curse in your bodies is extremely troublesome. It drains your life force in exchange for power. If it’s not dispelled soon, your life force will be exhausted, and you’ll die. Just now, Young Master Lu helped restore your minds by removing the control over your spirits.” Wei Xinghe explained. Wei Zihao and the others trembled and looked toward Lu Qing with eyes full of respect. Since their memories of being controlled hadn’t been lost, they knew all too well how terrifying this young man was. The other Qingyun Sword Sect disciples had personally experienced Lu Qing’s power. To this day, they still didn’t know what kind of force Lu Qing had used back then. Without even moving, he had easily subdued them, who were at the Precelestial Realm. As for Wei Zihao, there was no need to mention it. He had witnessed the entire battle between Lu Qing and the demonic cultivator, so he knew even more clearly just how frightening Lu Qing’s strength was. That was a level of power he couldn’t even dream of reaching. “Thank you, Young Master Lu, for saving our lives and avenging the destruction of our Qingyun Sword Sect,” Wei Zihao said, though he was unable to get up. He forced himself to clasp his hands in a salute, his face full of gratitude. “Thank you, Young Master Lu, for saving our lives!” The other Qingyun Sword Sect disciples also respectfully thanked him. “No need for formalities. Here is a bottle of healing pills. Share them among yourselves. The curse in your bodies has been temporarily suppressed. After taking these pills, your injuries should heal by tomorrow. Then, we’ll head back to Cang County and see about removing the curse entirely.” Lu Qing took out a bottle of elixirs and handed it to Wei Zihao and the others. As they took the medicine to heal, Lu Qing’s consciousness once again entered the Li Huo Cauldron. ... “Master, have their minds been restored?” the demonic cultivator asked eagerly when he saw Lu Qing enter. In the spiritual artifact’s sealed space, the demonic cultivator was unable to sense the outside world due to his current cultivation level. “That’s right. I’ve dissolved the demonic marks in their minds, and they’ve regained clarity. It seems you were honest and didn’t lie to me,” Lu Qing said with a nod. “How would I dare deceive you, Master? Now that I’ve been enslaved, any treachery on my part would surely be detected by you!” The demonic cultivator hurriedly replied. A soul seal had been placed on his true spirit by Lu Qing, enslaving him completely. Should any thought of betrayal arise in his mind, Lu Qing would sense it. Thus, the demonic cultivator dared not harbor any other thoughts. Lu Qing, however, remained noncommittal. While it was true that he could detect any shift in the demonic cultivator’s thoughts under the soul seal, he would never trust the demonic cultivator’s words completely. The cultivation world was vast, filled with practitioners of various extraordinary abilities. In the Tianyuan Great World, there were countless practitioners with extraordinary powers. Given the myriad of bizarre cultivation techniques, who could say there wasn’t some strange method to counteract the soul seal? “Alright, since you’ve behaved yourself, I’ll grant you some demonic energy to restore part of your spirit. Once you’ve recovered sufficiently, you will dispel the curse from Wei Zihao and the others.” With that, Lu Qing produced a severed black hand and tossed it to the demonic cultivator. It was the hand he had sliced off during their battle. “Thank you, Master!” The demonic cultivator was overjoyed at the sight of the severed hand and immediately started absorbing the demonic energy from it. He had suffered severe losses in his essence from being refined by the cauldron’s spiritual fire. If he didn’t absorb demonic energy soon, he would eventually dissipate even without Lu Qing’s intervention. As the demonic cultivator absorbed the demonic energy, the figure of Yan appeared beside Lu Qing. “Young Master, you intend to spare the demonic cultivator’s life?” Yan asked. “For now, yes. This demonic cultivator has an unusual background. There are some things I’d like to learn from him. He still has some use.” Lu Qing replied coolly. The demonic cultivator’s origins lay in the Tianyuan Great World, which had piqued Lu Qing’s curiosity. “As long as you know what you’re doing. Still, be cautious. Demonic cultivators are inherently deceitful. He has a mysterious background, so don’t rely solely on the soul seal,” Yan warned. “Rest assured, elder. I have my own plans.” Lu Qing’s tone was confident. He had no intention of releasing the demonic cultivator from the spiritual artifact space. As long as the demonic cultivator remained there, Lu Qing had numerous ways to keep him under control. And he’d never promised the demonic cultivator that he’d leave him alive. Yan, sensing Lu Qing’s confidence, nodded and refrained from further comment. He had seen Lu Qing’s meticulous planning before. The boy’s cunning was such that even he, Yan, had been caught off guard. Since Lu Qing had a plan, there was no need for additional warnings. Lu Qing and Yan’s conversation took place in front of the demonic cultivator, but the demonic cultivator was oblivious. Within the spiritual artifact space, Lu Qing and Yan controlled everything, and their conversation couldn’t be overheard. After tossing the severed hand to the demonic cultivator, Lu Qing’s consciousness quickly withdrew from the Li Huo Cauldron. He glanced over at Wei Zihao and the others, who were still healing, and refrained from disturbing them. Resuming his meditation posture, Lu Qing let his soul power extend outward, sensing the surrounding space. He had yet to take in the changes in heaven and earth since the fourth time the Heavenly Dao sounds had reverberated today. Lu Qing’s soul power was now incredibly strong, rivaling that of a true Foundation Establishment cultivator. He quickly sensed the differences in the heavens and earth. The spiritual energy in the world had grown even denser, but more than that, the rules of the heavens and earth had stabilized and become more complete. The pressure that he had felt after achieving mastery of Qi Refinement had vanished. He understood that this was due to the further evolution of the heavenly rules, allowing for even stronger cultivators. This meant he no longer needed to fear being restricted by the heavens due to rapid cultivation, as he had been during his journey to Zhongzhou. This time, the rules of heaven had advanced ahead of his cultivation. Moving forward, he should be able to achieve Foundation Establishment without any hindrances. Realizing this filled Lu Qing with joy. Though the further evolution of heavenly rules reduced the limits on powerful individuals, meaning true experts could soon emerge, he wasn’t afraid. Even if faced with an actual Foundation Establishment cultivator, he had the strength to contend with them. Moreover, with several spiritual artifacts in hand, he could even hold his ground against those at the peak of Foundation Establishment. “Xuankong Mountain, I hope you’ll be able to give me some surprises,” Lu Qing murmured, a fierce glint appearing in his eyes. Table of content

Chapter 361

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