Chapter 172: Immortal, Spare My Life
Inside the Profound Heart Hall, the Hall Masters, Deputy Hall Masters, and elders from each hall were all gathered.
The great hall was silent, and every single person wore an ugly expression.
Xu Ning and Xue Jin had not come; they were recuperating from their injuries.
Li Qingqiu stood atop the steps, looking down at the sect’s upper echelons, and spoke, “Today, seventeen disciples died, and two disciples were gravely injured. If not for Xu Ning and Xue Jin delaying the enemy, the casualties would have been unimaginable.”
After hearing this, the dozens of people in the hall could not help but whisper among themselves.
Such losses could not be considered great, especially in these chaotic times.
However, this incident had occurred within the Ancient Great Mountain Range, forcing them to worry—and to feel anger.
Li Qingqiu cast Zhang Yuchun a look.
Zhang Yuchun immediately stepped forward and recounted one piece after another of the intelligence the sect had gathered on the Qi Clan, including the relationship between the Qi Clan and the Lingtian Sect.
Upon hearing that the Qi Clan was nurturing evil demons, none of the sect’s upper echelons were without fear.
With Zhao Zhi as a precedent, they did not immediately question such matters.
Zhang Yuchun said in a deep voice, “We bore no grudges with the Qi Clan or the Lingtian Sect. It was the Lingtian Sect that first slaughtered Elder Jiang’s family, then used the family of sect disciple Li Yang to threaten us. They even sent people to assassinate Elder Li Sifeng. Now they have gone further, dispatching an evil demon avatar to invade the Clear Sky Sect. Everyone, this hatred can no longer be resolved—only death will end it!”
The dozens of people in the hall all echoed in agreement, emotions running high.
They all understood the sect’s decisions.
Looking across the martial world, across the world at large, no sect was more peaceable than the Clear Sky Sect.
The Clear Sky Sect had indeed annihilated many sects, but every one of them had been forces that actively provoked the Clear Sky Sect.
Many martial sects of the jianghu took the initiative to visit the Clear Sky Sect, and the Clear Sky Sect always received them with courtesy, never bullying others with strength.
Forget the martial world— even they themselves could feel the sect’s magnanimity, feel the Sect Master’s broad vision and grand bearing.
Yet this was the jianghu.
This was the world.
No matter how kind or powerful one was, there would always be ambitious people setting their sights on them.
Zhang Yuchun raised his hand.
Immediately after, a burst of footsteps sounded from behind.
The upper echelons all turned around, only to see two disciples carrying a stretcher as they hurried inside.
The upper echelons quickly made way.
The two disciples placed the stretcher among them.
Everyone focused their gaze and saw the bloodied corpse of the white-haired boy.
His body was still connected to many wooden vines—at a glance, it was clearly not human.
“This demon was an incarnation of a tree demon. Its flesh and hide are extremely hard. You may all step forward and try for yourselves, to understand what kind of enemy we are facing,” Zhang Yuchun introduced.
The upper echelons looked at one another, not daring to step forward lightly.
Yang Jueding was the first to walk over.
He drew his blade and slashed at the white-haired boy.
Sparks burst forth—the blade shattered, yet no new wound appeared on the white-haired boy’s body.
This scene piqued the interest of the others, and they all gathered around.
Li Qingqiu stood on the steps, quietly watching this scene, while also contemplating how to deal with the Qi Clan and the Ancient God next.
Seventeen people had died this time.
Even if he could retain parts of some disciples’ souls, the living and the dead were fundamentally different.
He had no means to revive the dead.
Once this matter spread through the sect, if he did not resolve this enmity, it would inevitably affect the disciples’ perception of the sect.
Moreover, he could not wait any longer, lest even more disciples be killed or injured.
After the upper echelons dispersed and returned to their positions, Shen Yue stepped forward as well.
Everyone’s gaze fell upon him.
None of them had been able to break through the white-haired boy’s skin.
This made them feel dread toward the demon’s strength.
No wonder even Xu Ning had been gravely injured.
If even Shen Yue could not break the demon’s defense, what were they supposed to do?
Shen Yue’s expression was calm.
He stood before the white-haired boy’s corpse, extended two fingers of his right hand, and pointed toward the white-haired boy’s waist.
A strand of sword energy burst forth, directly piercing through his waist.
Seeing this, the others all let out sighs of relief.
Shen Yue then turned around again without changing his expression.
Li Qingqiu thought to himself, what an act.
He could tell at a glance that Shen Yue had already gone all out, concentrating the power of his sword soul into his two fingers, afraid that he might fail to pierce the demon’s flesh.
Of course, the fact that Shen Yue could break through the demon’s defense still pleasantly surprised Li Qingqiu.
Shen Yue was currently still at the fifth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, yet his destructive power was even stronger than Xu Ning’s at the eighth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
Worthy of being Number One Under Heaven, the sect’s foremost sword cultivator.
Li Qingqiu felt that Shen Yue was becoming more and more useful.
Moreover, Shen Yue did not covet merit, did not vie for authority, nor did he seek benefits for others.
Back then, when the Demonic Cult and the Three Founding Sects of the Great Dynasty attacked, Shen Yue alone had held them back.
Had the enemy been allowed to break through at that time, casualties would likely have occurred as well.
The more Li Qingqiu looked at Shen Yue, the more pleasing he found him.
Shen Yue noticed Li Qingqiu’s gaze.
Though he did not respond, his back straightened all the same.
Li Qingqiu suddenly had a plan.
“From today onward, heighten defenses. The matter of selling land will be temporarily shelved. Do your utmost to prevent disciples from leaving Clear Sky Mountain and Ziyang Peak.”
Li Qingqiu spoke, and everyone looked toward him.
Facing the sect’s upper echelons, Li Qingqiu had no intention of concealing anything.
He continued, “I will personally lead people to flatten the Qi Clan and exterminate the demons.”
If the Clear Sky Sect concentrated its forces on defense, with so many disciples at the fifth and fourth layers of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm working together, even if the white-haired boy attacked again, they could hold him off.
This was the foundation accumulated over eleven years of development.
Hearing the Sect Master’s resolve, all the upper echelons were stirred with excitement.
This was the domineering presence befitting the Number One Sect Under Heaven.
Any force that dared to make them an enemy would have to be annihilated!
Half an hour later, the meeting ended.
Everyone departed one after another.
Li Qingqiu called Shen Yue to stay behind.
When only the two of them remained in the hall, Shen Yue looked at Li Qingqiu with a puzzled expression and asked, “What is it, Sect Master? Do you want me to lead people to wipe out the Qi Clan?”
“I can accept that, but I only eliminate demons. I do not indiscriminately slaughter the innocent.”
The reason Shen Yue could become the Sword God, recognized by all under heaven as Number One Under Heaven, was largely because he rarely killed people—at the very least, he never killed innocents, nor did he engage in acts of annihilation.
Li Qingqiu smiled and said, “You are not a match for that demon.”
Shen Yue raised his brows, somewhat unconvinced.
However, thinking that these words came from Li Qingqiu, he knew Li Qingqiu must see far deeper than he did.
Within the Clear Sky Sect, he only acknowledged Li Qingqiu.
Not only because Li Qingqiu was stronger than him, but also because Li Qingqiu’s philosophy in treating disciples and developing the sect suited his own tastes perfectly.
In cultivation matters, as long as he asked, Li Qingqiu was never stingy with guidance, never fearing that Shen Yue might leave after becoming stronger.
Such frankness and openness—working alongside someone like this made him feel at ease, without worrying about being schemed against.
“Then say it plainly.
What do you want me to do?” Shen Yue asked.
Li Qingqiu said, “You and I—together, save the world.”
Shen Yue raised his brows and teased, “The two of us joining forces won’t end up like Xu Ning and Jiang Zhaoxia, will it? Separately, they always complete missions perfectly, yet whenever they work together, they fail. If Number One Under Heaven and the Sword God join hands and still fail, that would be quite the joke.”
Li Qingqiu merely smiled without speaking.
……
The Qi Clan’s demon attack, the brutal slaughter of seventeen disciples, and the severe injuries suffered by senior disciple Xu Ning and Tempering Hall Deputy Hall Master Xue Jin—this series of news came crashing down upon the Clear Sky Sect in rapid succession.
The Clear Sky Sect issued orders for all disciples to return to Clear Sky Mountain and Ziyang Peak, forbidding them from going out.
The seventeen disciples who had died miserably were buried by the sect behind Ziyang Peak.
Li Qingqiu personally came forward to see these disciples off.
Looking at their families, friends, and children, his heart was heavy.
Only six of the seventeen disciples were willing to enter the Soul Refining Banner.
When the effects of the Clear Heart Incantation ended, they drifted above their grave markers, muddle-headed, unable to see the scenes of the living world.
Li Qingqiu noticed Jia Yi’s third son.
Before leaving, he found Madam Zhen and said that, in return for Jia Yi’s contributions, both she and her three sons could enter the Clear Sky Sect as outer disciples.
Madam Zhen wept as she thanked him.
After Li Qingqiu returned to his cave dwelling, he brought up the Dao Lineage panel and found Jia Yi’s three children.
All three had poor aptitude, even inferior to Jia Yi’s.
However, one of them had inherited the fate trait of the Ancestor of the Immortal Emperor.
Good!
Li Qingqiu remembered this child’s name—Jia Ming, Jia Yi’s eldest son.
Afterward, Li Qingqiu took out the Soul Refining Banner and extended his spiritual sense into it.
Inside the banner was a phantom space resembling the clouds above the heavens.
Countless ghosts drifted about.
That mysterious Ghost King was still curled within the red light, like a gigantic sun.
Having obtained the Soul Refining Banner for so long, Li Qingqiu still did not know the origin of the Ghost King raised by Grandmaster Jiang.
When Grandmaster Jiang obtained the Soul Refining Banner, the Ghost King had already been inside.
As long as Li Qingqiu did not disturb the Ghost King, it would remain in a sleeping state.
His intuition told him that this Ghost King had an extraordinary background.
Li Qingqiu directed his spiritual sense toward the white-haired boy’s split soul.
This split soul was still nailed in place by one Soul-Seizing Flying Sword after another, unable to move.
He stared toward the distant Ghost King with a vacant gaze.
Being sealed by the Soul-Seizing Flying Swords, and upon entering the Soul Refining Banner, his connection with the main body had been severed.
Li Qingqiu did not bother interrogating him.
He directly cast the Soul Restraining Curse on him, probing his memories.
The white-haired boy immediately let out a miserable scream.
Meanwhile, the ghosts drifting around the Ghost King were indifferent, as if they had not heard anything, continuing to circle about.
Instead, the six newly deceased, including Jia Yi, turned their heads to look at the white-haired boy.
Seeing his suffering, expressions of pleasure appeared on all six of their faces.
A long while later.
Li Qingqiu opened his eyes, his brows knitted together.
The white-haired boy’s memories were very short.
He could not probe the memories of the main body—only the memories from his birth to his arrival at the Clear Sky Sect.
However, that was enough.
At the very least, it allowed Li Qingqiu to locate the main body.
That Ancient God could not move.
At most, it could prepare defenses in advance.
As for the fortuitous fate triggered by this incident, Li Qingqiu did not intend to activate it for now.
He would wait until after exterminating the Ancient God before making plans.
He planned to first head to the Source Iron Blessed Land tomorrow to find the mysterious existence Shen Yue had previously mentioned, ensure the safety of the Source Iron Blessed Land, then transfer Jiang Zhaoxia back to Clear Sky Mountain.
After that, he would take Shen Yue and head to Cangzhou.
……
After an entire day of searching, Li Qingqiu finally found the mysterious existence that had once spied on Shen Yue in a remote, deep forest.
It was not human—it was a demon beast.
It was actually a giant snake eight zhang in length, coiled within the damp, gloomy forest.
Its body was as thick as a water barrel, and its scales matched the color of tree bark, making it extremely hard to detect.
Most crucially, this snake could even conceal its demonic aura.
When Li Qingqiu appeared before it and drew the Tianhong Sword, it was so frightened that it hurriedly spoke in human language:
“Immortal, spare my life! Immortal, spare my life!”
It actually spoke with a female voice—soft and gentle, like that of a delicate young woman, stirring the imagination.