Chapter 173: Teacher of Ten Thousand Demons
Li Qingqiu listened to the giant snake speak in such a pleasant female voice, and his expression turned slightly strange.
Suspended in midair, he pointed his sword finger at the giant snake coiled around the tree trunk and asked, “How many years have you cultivated here?”
The giant snake hurriedly replied, “This little demon has cultivated here for three hundred years and has never harmed a single person. I beg the Immortal to see clearly!”
Li Qingqiu teased, “With such eloquence, don’t you have a master?”
A snake was still a snake.
Even though its tone was fearful, looking at its snake face still gave off a horrifying and eerie feeling.
“To be honest, three hundred years ago, two Immortals came here to live in seclusion. This little demon learned from them. But Immortal, rest assured, this little demon has no relationship with them whatsoever. Only after they left for a hundred years did this little demon barely manage to become a demon.”
The giant snake answered rapidly, afraid that if it spoke too slowly, Li Qingqiu’s sword would fall.
Li Qingqiu looked at its snake body.
Although it hid its demonic aura very well, he could tell that this snake was not simple.
Its strength was at least comparable to the fifth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, and possibly even higher.
So powerful, yet begging for mercy the moment they met?
Li Qingqiu became vigilant and felt that this snake was cunning.
“Immortal, the people by the seaside are yours, right? This little demon has always gone out of its way to avoid them and never dared to disturb them, nor did it harbor any intent to harm them,” the giant snake continued.
Li Qingqiu asked, “Where did those two Immortals come from, when did they arrive, and how long did they stay here?”
“They came from the inland three hundred years ago, one man and one woman. They even had an argument. They stayed for several years, then went out to sea one after the other, and never returned.”
“One after the other?”
“Yes. Several months apart. The female Immortal left later. Before leaving, she even taught this little demon the method of absorbing qi. That was how this little demon became a demon.”
The giant snake answered very sincerely.
After hearing this, Li Qingqiu relaxed slightly.
If those two cultivators had come from overseas, it would mean that there were cultivation forces within the ocean.
But since they had come from the inland—and there were no cultivation forces in the inland now—it seemed they truly had fled there to escape disaster.
Still, he could not directly trust this demon.
But with the other party showing such an attitude, using the Soul Restraining Curse outright would be too overbearing.
Li Qingqiu asked, “In this surrounding area, are there any other demons?”
The giant snake replied, “There are no demons like this little demon, but this little demon has nurtured three small monsters. Like this little demon, they never cause trouble and only hide within this dense forest.”
Li Qingqiu suddenly had an idea and said, “My Clear Sky Sect is about to establish a Demon Subjugation Hall. Are you willing to bring your three small monsters and join? Do you intend to live here forever?”
Upon hearing this, the giant snake hesitated.
Li Qingqiu raised his sword.
Sunlight pierced through the gaps in the leaves, shone upon the blade, and the refracted sword light fell upon the giant snake, frightening it so much that its entire body trembled.
“This little demon is willing! This little demon is willing!” the giant snake hurriedly responded.
Li Qingqiu immediately summoned the Dao Lineage panel and searched for the giant snake.
He had always been curious whether demons could become disciples of the Clear Sky Sect.
Little Eight and Little Nine had not been accepted yet—perhaps because they could not speak human language like the giant snake, they were still unqualified.
Looking toward the very bottom of the disciple list, he indeed found a snake avatar.
【Name: Bai Zhi】
【Gender: Female】
【Age: 334】
【Loyalty (Sect Master / Sect): 45 / 4 (Maximum 100)】
【Cultivation Aptitude: Below Standard】
【Comprehension: Good】
【Fate Traits: Timid as a Mouse, Teacher of Ten Thousand Demons】
【Timid as a Mouse: Naturally timid, fearful of combat and slaughter, but deeply emotional】
【Teacher of Ten Thousand Demons: Due to personal experiences, enjoys guiding wild monsters to cultivate into demons. Her teaching talent will grow along with her cultivation】
……
So it was not cunning—it was genuinely timid.
Being deeply emotional was not bad either.
At least she would not easily become an ungrateful wretch.
【Teacher of Ten Thousand Demons】 made Li Qingqiu’s eyes light up, and countless plans immediately came to mind.
An unexpected gain!
Li Qingqiu raised his left hand, pinched his fingers to calculate, and said, “Bai Zhi? A good name. Did you choose it yourself, or did that female Immortal give it to you?”
Hearing this, the giant snake named Bai Zhi widened her snake eyes, human-like astonishment appearing on her face.
She hurriedly replied, “This little demon chose it herself. I heard that female Immortal say that bai zhi disperses cold and relieves pain. This little demon also feels it is very cold here, and this little demon is also very afraid of pain.”
Li Qingqiu laughed and teased, “You’re a snake demon, and you’re afraid of the cold?”
“Loneliness is the coldest.”
Bai Zhi said faintly.
These words left Li Qingqiu at a loss for how to respond.
He had not expected this demon to say something like that.
Li Qingqiu landed on a tree branch and looked at Bai Zhi, asking, “You’ve cultivated for three hundred years. Don’t you want to know how strong you actually are?”
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhi’s snake body shrank, causing the surrounding trees to sway and tremble.
“I don’t want to!”
Bai Zhi said firmly.
Li Qingqiu grinned and said, “Don’t worry. I won’t harm you. Come.”
“No—”
The forest shook violently, startling many birds into flight.
After the time it took for one incense stick to burn.
Within the forest, fallen leaves flew everywhere.
Li Qingqiu stood upon sword shadows, looking down at the trembling Bai Zhi below, and sighed, “Three hundred years of cultivation is indeed not simple. You are very strong. I underestimated you. I feel that even an ordinary seventh layer Nourishing Vital Energy Realm cultivator would not be your opponent.”
Bai Zhi did not understand what the seventh layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm meant.
She looked at Li Qingqiu in fear, afraid that he would continue.
A snake’s eyes actually appeared watery with tears, making Li Qingqiu feel a trace of guilt.
He immediately raised his hand and applied needles.
Seven silver needles pierced into Bai Zhi’s body, frightening her so much that she trembled violently.
“Don’t move. I’m treating your injuries.”
Li Qingqiu spoke sharply, causing Bai Zhi to immediately stop moving.
Right after, Bai Zhi felt the pain in her body rapidly disappear, which filled her with surprise and relief.
It seemed that the other party truly had no intention of killing her.
As long as she lived, it was fine…
Bai Zhi wailed inwardly.
She had known that dealing with humans never ended well.
She truly could not understand it—she had been so careful, always hiding whenever she saw people.
How had she still been found and confronted?
Li Qingqiu landed before her and took out a Thousand Spirit Fruit from his storage pouch.
“Eat it,” Li Qingqiu said softly.
Bai Zhi looked at the Thousand Spirit Fruit and could sense the spiritual energy radiating from it.
After hesitating for a moment, she still chose to open her mouth.
After she swallowed it, Li Qingqiu took out five more Thousand Spirit Fruits and placed them on the ground.
“You stay here for now. Once I prepare a place for you, I’ll come back to find you. Of course, if you don’t trust me and want to flee, I won’t blame you, nor will I send anyone to hunt you down.”
After leaving these words behind, Li Qingqiu leapt up and rushed out of the forest.
Bai Zhi raised her head and looked once.
After a long while, she finally looked at the five Thousand Spirit Fruits on the grass and muttered, “Is he soothing me… or threatening me?”
She flicked out her snake tongue, savoring the taste of the Thousand Spirit Fruit, not knowing what she was thinking.
……
Li Qingqiu arrived at Ziyang Peak and landed before Xu Ning’s cave dwelling.
Half an hour later, he finally left.
After confirming that Xu Ning was not in serious danger, Li Qingqiu was completely at ease.
Next, it was time to prepare to deal with the Qi Clan.
Before understanding the true strength of the Ancient God, Li Qingqiu indeed wanted to buy time and gather intelligence.
But at this point, he could no longer wait.
Moreover, after his clash with the White-Haired Boy, he had a clear grasp of the situation.
On the way back to Clear Sky Mountain, Li Qingqiu once again summoned the Dao Lineage panel and saw that Bai Zhi’s loyalty had increased, causing a smile to appear on his face.
Night fell.
Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, Li Dongyue, Clear Sky Daoist, Shen Yue, and Mo Jiuhong arrived at the Lingxiao Courtyard.
Mo Jiuhong had heard about the Qi Clan demons attacking the Clear Sky Sect and was extremely furious.
Upon hearing that the Sect Master had summoned him, he was filled with excitement, feeling that he was finally going to be useful.
This would be a crucial step for him to firmly establish himself within the Clear Sky Sect.
He had always wanted to eradicate the tree demon raised by the Qi Clan.
He simply lacked the ability, but that determination had never faded.
“Mo Jiuhong, you will accompany me to the Qi Clan.”
Li Qingqiu’s very first sentence caused Mo Jiuhong to become extremely excited, and he immediately accepted the order.
The others frowned.
They understood the White-Haired Boy’s abilities.
Even Xu Ning, at the eighth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, had difficulty breaking his defense.
Heaven knew how powerful the Ancient God residing in the Qi Clan truly was.
However, they would not question Li Qingqiu’s decision, and they also knew that there was no room to retreat in this matter.
Li Qingqiu looked at the others and said, “Don’t spread the news of our departure for now. Next, the sect will focus on defense. We’ll be back within ten days at most. If we succeed, all will be well. If we fail, we’ll seal the mountain together and focus on development. The Ancient God cannot move. With only his avatars, he cannot shake the Clear Sky Sect.”
Hearing this, the pressure on everyone lessened.
“Senior Brother, you must be careful. Don’t underestimate the enemy just because of past victories,” Li Dongyue said seriously as she looked at Li Qingqiu.
She felt very uncomfortable.
This was not the first time.
Every time she watched Senior Brother leave, she felt utterly useless.
Li Qingqiu stood up, raised his hand, rubbed her head, and said with a smile, “Don’t worry. When Senior Brother takes action, how could anything fail? You must help Senior Brother guard the sect well.”
Li Dongyue rolled her eyes and said, “Senior Brother, do you take me for a child?”
Everyone looked at them and smiled as well, easing the tense atmosphere.
“Let’s go, Elder Shen, Mo Jiuhong.”
Li Qingqiu walked toward the back mountain, with Shen Yue and Mo Jiuhong immediately following.
Jiang Zhaoxia looked at the backs of the three, hesitating as if wanting to speak.
Once the three disappeared from sight, Zhang Yuchun patted Jiang Zhaoxia on the shoulder and said, “Third Junior Brother, once this matter passes, cultivate diligently.”
Jiang Zhaoxia, for once, did not retort.
Even Xu Ning had been seriously injured.
He knew that if he followed, he might indeed become a burden to Li Qingqiu.
This made him extremely unwilling to accept it.
At a critical moment, the one Senior Brother trusted most was not him, but Shen Yue.
On the other side.
Li Qingqiu and the other two rode on Little Eight, flying toward the Northern Border.
The night wind was cold, and flying snow continuously rushed toward the three.
Mo Jiuhong looked around, as it was his first time riding such a demonic bird, and he was very excited.
Shen Yue was equally curious, though he did not show it on his face.
Li Qingqiu could clearly feel that Shen Yue’s waist was somewhat stiff.
Shen Yue spoke and asked, “On this trip to the Qi Clan, do we first eliminate the demons, or deal with the Qi Clan first?”
Li Qingqiu replied calmly, “Using their own methods against them. Since that demon dared to slaughter my disciples first, I naturally must return the favor.”
Shen Yue frowned slightly, yet found it difficult to refute.
Sometimes he truly could not understand Li Qingqiu.
On ordinary days, Li Qingqiu appeared benevolent and righteous, caring for all living beings.
But once the sect encountered trouble, Li Qingqiu would unleash a killing spree, transforming into a god of slaughter, as if he had become an entirely different person.