Chapter 954: Dark Clouds

Li Qing didn't care who the Golden Abundance Trading Company sold the Jade Bone Pills to; that wasn't his concern. He only needed to ensure his merit points were properly credited.

The Golden Abundance Trading Company's representative arrived precisely on time, almost as soon as the first rays of dawn pierced the horizon.

As agreed, Li Qing handed over fifty Jade Bone Pills. The representative immediately transferred Li Qing's earned merit points to his Merit Token on the spot.

This was a testament to the Golden Abundance Trading Company's wealth and integrity. They didn't wait for the pills to be sold before crediting Li Qing's merit points, instead honoring their agreement with immediate payment upon delivery.

"Fifty Jade Bone Pills, totaling 150,000 merit points. After deducting our one-tenth commission, the net amount is 135,000 merit points. Senior, please confirm the amount."

Li Qing nodded in satisfaction as he checked the newly added merit points on his Merit Token. "Correct. The amount is accurate."

"Then I'll take my leave. May Senior's immortal dao flourish eternally!"

With these parting words, the Golden Abundance Trading Company's representative departed from Li Qing's cave abode.

"After this, I only need to refine ten furnaces a month. I can spend the rest of my time cultivating."

With these words, Li Qing collapsed, utterly exhausted, and began to recover his nearly depleted divine sense.

Two days later, his divine sense had gradually replenished.

"Let's see just how potent this Brahma Clarity Pill truly is," he murmured. "Thirty pills should be enough to push me into the mid divine transformation realm, right?"

Li Qing swallowed a round spirit pill the size of a jujube.

The Brahma Clarity Pill dissolved instantly upon entering his mouth, requiring no chewing before he swallowed it whole.

Boom!

In an instant, a torrent of medicinal power erupted within Li Qing's body, causing the mana in his dantian to surge and boil violently.

Sensing the surging medicinal power, Li Qing immediately activated his cultivation technique, channeling four heavenly spirit fires to refine the overwhelming energy of the pill.

Soon, his swollen meridians began to relax slightly. Determined not to waste a single trace of the pill's potency, Li Qing meticulously converted every last drop into pure mana, which he then stored within his dantian.

Li Qing's cultivation, which had previously advanced at a snail's pace, finally began to surge forward at a visibly rapid rate.

The Brahma Clarity Pill's medicinal efficacy was astonishingly potent, far surpassing the effects of Li Qing's usual meditative cultivation. The difference in magnitude was simply incomparable.

At this moment, the advantage of Li Qing's five elements spirit root became apparent. His efficiency in refining the pill's energy was exceptionally high, further amplified by the heavenly spirit fire. In less than a day, he had completely refined the medicinal power of the Brahma Clarity Pill.

"Hah! Truly a treasure pill from the spirit realm—its potency is remarkable," Li Qing remarked, clicking his tongue in astonishment at the pill's effects.

However, he understood that this initial surge was likely due to the novelty of the substance. As he consumed more pills in the future, their efficacy would likely diminish, never again reaching such a dramatic peak.

Still, this was more than enough. Li Qing would continue to accumulate merit points steadily, allowing him to exchange for Brahma Clarity Pills at the Giant Spirit Royal City. The exchange list still showed a plentiful supply of these pills.

Wasting no time, Li Qing seized the opportunity while his condition remained optimal and immediately consumed a second Brahma Clarity Pill.

Another surge of medicinal energy erupted within Li Qing. He channeled his inner spirit fire to refine the Brahma Clarity Pill's medicinal power, absorbing every last trace without wasting a single drop.

Having tasted the marrow of this experience, he found it difficult to stop. For the next ten days, he became almost intoxicated by the rapid cultivation progress the pills provided.

Witnessing his cultivation level rise at a visibly accelerated pace was an irresistible temptation, one that anyone would struggle to resist.

By the time Li Qing had consumed fourteen of the thirty Brahma Clarity Pills, leaving sixteen remaining, he finally paused his cultivation.

"I've taken too large a stride," he mused, sensing the state of his body. "The progress I've made in just over ten days surpasses all the advancement I've achieved since entering the Divine Transformation stage."

His dantian felt slightly swollen, a result of excessive mana accumulation that his body hadn't yet adapted to. His nascent soul also felt somewhat unstable, lacking its usual refined clarity.

"Treating these pills like candy does indeed carry risks," he concluded. "I need to allow proper intervals for my body to adjust. Otherwise, I'll face problems when breaking through to the next realm."

With his unwavering willpower, Li Qing stopped taking the Brahma Clarity Pills and instead retrieved the Jade Bone Pills.

These were body refining pills, offering no assistance to his cultivation and thus posing no risks.

Finally, Li Qing dedicated seven days to opening the furnace and refining pills. He had become so proficient in refining the Jade Bone Pills that he could hardly improve further.

In just seven days, he successfully refined ten furnaces of Jade Bone Pills without a single failure.

This yielded fifty-six Jade Bone Pills, which he planned to deliver to the Golden Abundance Trading Company.

However, to Li Qing's surprise, the second month had passed, yet no one from the Golden Abundance Trading Company arrived to collect the pills.

"They're already late in the second month? What could be happening?"

Muttering to himself, Li Qing stepped out of his cave abode, taking in the long-missed fresh air.

He waited outside for nearly half a day, but still no one from the Golden Abundance Trading Company came to collect the pills. Deciding to investigate the situation himself, Li Qing began to set out.

Before he could get far, the person who had previously contacted him finally arrived, belatedly hurrying over.

Panting heavily, the man apologized, "Senior Li, I'm so sorry for being late!"

Li Qing frowned slightly. "What happened to delay you so long? I was about to visit your merchant guild myself."

"Something did happen. Just recently, news spread that a void refinement realm cultivator and several late divine transformation realm members of the Flying Spirit Clan had died!"

"Initially, it had nothing to do with our human race, as a Bull Demon from Wild Bull Ridge took responsibility for the incident."

"But a few days ago, a merchant caravan from the Golden Abundance Trading Company returning from Wild Bull Ridge was attacked by the Flying Spirit Clan."

"Somehow, the Flying Spirit Clan learned that human cultivators were involved in the deaths of their clansmen!"

As these words were spoken, Li Qing's heart sank, and his expression turned grave.

"So, what's the current situation? Is the Flying Spirit Clan declaring war on the human race?"

The representative from the Golden Abundance Trading Company sighed. "Profound Ancient City has no right to wage war against the Flying Spirit Clan. If hostilities escalate, and the Giant Spirit Race doesn't intervene to mediate, the only outcome for the human race will be annihilation."

Li Qing's hands, clasped behind his back, trembled slightly as his heart plummeted into despair.