Chapter 178: Grand Development Plan
Between Clear Sky Mountain and Ziyang Peak, many disciples had gathered on the flat ground, and the number of disciples rushing over from the two mountains was still increasing.
Ji Ya arrived with five Sword Sect disciples.
These five Sword Sect disciples were precisely the children who had once been imprisoned together with him in the underground palace of the state capital; now, all of them had already grown up.
Yang Lin looked at the broken log ahead that was like a small hill, widened her eyes, and exclaimed in amazement: “This is way too big.”
That broken log stood on the grass, a full five zhang wide and two zhang tall.
The grain patterns on the wood were extremely clear, and one could vaguely see half the outline of an eye occupying the surface of the wood.
It was not just her—other onlooking disciples were also discussing it.
“I heard this is the remnant limb of the Qi Clan Demon?”
“It’s only been three days, and the demon raised by the Qi Clan is already dead?”
“Do you even need to ask? It must be that the Sect Master rode his divine eagle to the Northern Border.”
“That’s right, we haven’t seen the Sect Master these past few days. The Sect Master is truly amazing, always resolving the sect’s great calamities alone.”
“The Qi Clan was truly foolish, insisting on sending a demon to harm us. That’s simply courting death. Angering the Sect Master—there’s absolutely no good ending.”
Hearing those disciples’ words, Yang Lin turned her head to look at Ji Ya and asked: “Did the Sect Master really go to the Northern Border?”
Ji Ya shook his head and said: “I don’t know either, but it’s true that I haven’t seen him these past few days.”
Hearing this, Yang Lin felt a bit worried.
Another companion smiled and said: “What are you thinking about? Is there really anyone in this world the Sect Master can’t deal with? Besides, the appearance of this broken log shows that the Sect Master has already finished the battle. It’s just that returning takes some time.”
When Yang Lin heard this, she felt it made sense, and a smile appeared on her face once more.
Not far away, Zhao Zhen, Yuan Li, and the three brothers of the Xiao Family also rushed over to join the excitement.
The appearance of the five of them caused the surrounding disciples to make way one after another.
Everyone knew that these five were disciples personally emphasized and cultivated by the Sect Master.
Their future achievements would very likely not be inferior to Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning.
Yang Lin watched them chatting and laughing together, and could not help but tilt her head toward Ji Ya and ask: “Ji Ya, why don’t you usually hang out with them?”
Ji Ya smiled and said: “Where would I find so much time? Just accompanying you all already takes enough.”
Yang Lin frowned and said: “Actually, you don’t need to come look for us whenever you have free time. Interacting more with them will be helpful for your future.”
Among the Seven Halls and the Sword Sect, there were both open and hidden struggles.
As a disciple of the Sect Master, Ji Ya would also be drawn into power struggles in the future.
They were still young now and might not have such competition yet, but that would not be the case later.
Yang Lin worried that when the time came, Ji Ya, who was away from the core inner circle, would be targeted.
“It’s fine. We’re fellow disciples after all, our feelings won’t change.
Besides, my temperament is rather quiet—I can’t keep up with them,” Ji Ya said with an indifferent smile.
He knew the temperaments of Zhao Zhen and the others.
With the current way they interacted, he felt quite comfortable.
Yang Lin shook her head, but when she thought of the Sect Master, she relaxed again.
With the Sect Master around, even if Ji Ya did not socialize with others, nothing would happen.
In the days that followed, Little Eight brought back a section of demon wood every day.
As the amount of demon wood increased, the disciples finally realized that they had vastly underestimated the enormity of this demon.
At the same time, they also began to feel curious—how exactly had the Sect Master slain this demon?
Many disciples had touched the demon wood.
It was extraordinarily hard.
The higher-ups of the sect even allowed them to cast techniques on a section of the demon wood.
No matter how they attacked, they could not damage it in the slightest, which gave the disciples an even deeper understanding of how terrifying demons truly were.
……
Amid snow-covered mountain ranges, Li Qingqiu, Shen Yue, and Mo Jiuhong walked forward at a leisurely pace.
Mo Jiuhong carried several large bundles on his back.
He did not feel tired at all, and a smile hung on his face the entire time.
Shen Yue walked in front, one hand gesturing as if sketching something in the air.
He had discovered a sword technique manual in the Qi Clan and was currently studying it.
Li Qingqiu held a book, reading it as he walked.
This book recorded strange tales from ancient times, which greatly interested him.
It was said that in the distant past, there were no humans on the land.
Only various ferocious beasts, auspicious creatures, and demon beasts roamed freely.
Later, immortals descended, slaughtered the ferocious and demon beasts, and captured the auspicious creatures.
Only then did the land gradually become peaceful, and the human race began to migrate in.
Li Qingqiu had always been very interested in the immortal cultivation inheritance of the Nine Provinces.
Why the cultivators of the past had left, and exactly what they were avoiding—these questions would have to be uncovered sooner or later.
In the Ji Clan legends, a heavenly calamity had once appeared on this land.
All kinds of signs indicated that some sort of tribulation indeed existed.
Li Qingqiu felt it was necessary to prepare in advance to face such a tribulation.
After returning this time, he planned to focus heavily on formations and magic implements.
He had already cut the corpse of the Ancient God into many pieces and assigned Little Eight to transport them.
Such hard wood would definitely be suitable for refining into magic implements.
Just as Li Qingqiu was thinking about the sect’s future development direction, two figures ran toward them along the mountain path ahead—one man and one woman.
The woman wore the armor of a soldier and held a young boy in her arms, while the man was a monk holding a wooden staff.
Li Qingqiu merely glanced at them before withdrawing his gaze.
Shen Yue, walking in front and focused on practicing swordplay, did not look up at all.
Mo Jiuhong, however, curiously looked toward the front.
The monk and the armored woman ran swiftly.
When they neared Shen Yue, the monk spoke up in warning: “Hurry and hide—the Yellow Springs Army is coming!”
As soon as his words fell, the ground began to tremble, and the sound of horse hooves followed.
The monk gritted his teeth, preparing to take the armored woman and run into the forest at the side.
Suddenly, when his gaze swept over Li Qingqiu and Mo Jiuhong, he froze and stopped in his tracks.
“What’s wrong?”
Seeing him stop, the armored woman asked in surprise.
Her face was tense, and as she spoke, she also glanced backward, afraid that the Yellow Springs Army would catch up.
The monk stepped forward, bowed to Li Qingqiu, and said: “Chan Meditation Temple’s Xu Hong greets Sect Master Li.”
Li Qingqiu had an impression of him.
Back when they went to the Guzhou State Capital to battle the Demonic Cult, he had seen Xu Hong fighting alone against many enemies and suffering severe injuries.
That had been the first battle when the Clear Sky Sect entered the city.
“Is there something you need?” Li Qingqiu asked.
Xu Hong was no longer as young as he had been back then.
His face appeared somewhat weathered.
He gritted his teeth and said: “I ask Sect Master Li to save us.”
The sound of horse hooves grew closer and closer.
A group of mounted soldiers appeared at the end of the mountain path.
They wore armor, yellow scarves wrapped around their necks, each holding a long weapon, their killing intent soaring.
Xu Hong glanced at them, then turned back to Li Qingqiu and said rapidly: “Sect Master Li, beside me is the wife of General Li Yuzhong of the Li Family of Linchuan, Madam Xu. The child in her arms is General Li Yuzhong’s own son. The Li Family once resisted Demon Emperor Zhao Zhi and is one of the few righteous families among the great clans under heaven. The Yellow Springs Army listened to a Daoist, bewitched the refugees, attacked Yuling City, and abducted Madam Xu and her child…”
Before he could finish speaking, the Yellow Springs Army had already surrounded them.
Madam Xu tightly hugged the child in her arms, looking around in terror.
Xu Hong gripped the long staff in his hand, warily facing the Yellow Springs Army.
The leading general wore exquisite and dazzling silver armor.
A smile appeared on his face as he looked at Xu Hong and said: “Monk, where do you think you can still run? I’ll give you one more chance—serve the Yellow Springs Army. Otherwise, I won’t let you escape again.”
Xu Hong glared at him and said: “The Yellow Springs Army attacks cities and seizes land, yet does nothing constructive. You only indulge in pleasure, committing rape and plunder, leaving no evil undone. This poor monk will never serve you!”
The general leaned forward slightly and laughed mockingly: “There are so many lords under heaven. If the Yellow Springs Army were to occupy a city and declare kingship now, that would only put us at a disadvantage. Let the other lords fight first while we accumulate strength. One day, this world will belong to the Yellow Springs Army. When that time comes, who would dare question our actions? Monk, you probably haven’t broken your fast yet, have you? If you bow your head, Li Yuzhong’s wife can let you enjoy yourself for once. This opportunity won’t come again.”
Upon hearing this, Xu Hong flew into a rage and was about to charge at him, but Li Qingqiu raised his hand and stopped him.
Suddenly, a figure flashed past Xu Hong’s side and dragged the general straight off his horse, slamming him to the ground.
The other soldiers were startled and raised their weapons one after another.
The one who made the move was Mo Jiuhong.
Carrying a large pile of bundles on his back, Mo Jiuhong looked down at the general on the ground and said expressionlessly: “In front of our Sect Master, who allowed you to look down on him from above like this?”
Such fast movements!
Xu Hong was secretly shocked.
After roaming the martial world for so many years, he had never seen Mo Jiuhong before.
As expected of the Clear Sky Sect—truly a place where experts gathered like clouds.
Just from the movement technique Mo Jiuhong displayed, no one in Chan Meditation Temple could compare.
“You…”
The general lying on the ground was both shocked and enraged.
He wanted to get up, but Mo Jiuhong stepped on his chest, pinning him so that he could not move.
Li Qingqiu said impatiently: “Why waste words? Kill them all.”
When Mo Jiuhong heard this, he immediately grinned.
He bent down and raised his hand, using his palm as a blade, and directly chopped off the general’s head.
Fresh blood splashed all over the ground.
Seeing this, the cavalry turned pale, and those closest immediately attacked.
For a time, horses collided, snow mist flew everywhere, and the scene became chaotic.
Xu Hong protected Madam Xu and her child, feeling fear in his heart as well.
He had not expected Li Qingqiu and Mo Jiuhong to be so ruthless—killing without hesitation.
It seemed the rumors were indeed true.
Martial sects that offended the Clear Sky Sect would be completely exterminated.
Soon, most of the cavalry began to flee.
Mo Jiuhong refused to let them go and chased after them.
The mountain path quickly became quiet again.
Xu Hong hurriedly bowed to Li Qingqiu, thanking them for intervening.
Li Qingqiu’s expression was calm as he casually said: “I did it for Li Yang’s sake.”
Madam Xu was surprised and asked: “Sect Master Li, did Li Yang really acknowledge you as his master?”
For some reason, she always felt that Li Qingqiu looked somewhat similar to her husband.
“It doesn’t count as formally acknowledging a master, but he has already joined the Clear Sky Sect,” Li Qingqiu replied casually.
He stepped forward and continued walking.
Shen Yue followed behind him.
Xu Hong hesitated for a moment, then let Madam Xu follow along as well.
As they walked onward, corpses lay everywhere along the path.
After Mo Jiuhong finished killing the last person, he stood in place waiting.
When Li Qingqiu and the others approached, he squatted down and used accumulated snow to wipe the blood from his hands.
“Your bundles will be carried by Shen Yue,” Li Qingqiu suddenly instructed.
Shen Yue, who had been practicing swordplay, looked at him in astonishment.
Mo Jiuhong chuckled and directly flung the bundles onto Shen Yue’s body.
Shen Yue?
The Sword God?
Xu Hong looked at Shen Yue, feeling excited.
Toward the Sword God of legend, he likewise held deep respect.
He had not expected to encounter him here.
Li Qingqiu did not refuse to let Xu Hong and Madam Xu follow.
Along the way from Cangzhou, they had already saved many people—saving three more made no difference.
Mo Jiuhong stretched his body, feeling completely refreshed.
He moved closer to Xu Hong and began chatting with him, asking about their previous experiences.