Chapter 179: The Orthodox Line of Immortal Cultivation
Li Qingqiu and the other two traveled with stops and starts along the way.
As the ten-day deadline drew near, they finally began flying forward on their swords.
In the end, at dusk on the tenth day, they at last returned to Clear Sky Mountain.
Shen Yue’s face was slightly flushed, while Mo Jiuhong was panting heavily.
Maintaining sword flight with his vital energy for such a long time was truly a severe test for him.
After returning, Li Qingqiu had Yuan Qi strike the bell.
The bell of Lingxiao Courtyard had been newly installed, making it convenient to swiftly summon the hall masters of each hall.
When discussing affairs in Profound Heart Hall, the lowest status allowed was that of a hall elder, whereas discussions in Lingxiao Courtyard could only be attended by hall masters.
As night fell, the hall masters entered the courtyard one after another.
Seeing Li Qingqiu and Shen Yue safe and sound, they all let out a sigh of relief.
“Those demon woods really all came from the same demon?”
Yang Jueding sat opposite Li Qingqiu and asked curiously.
Li Qingqiu was busy dealing with Li Dongyue and Li Sijin and replied casually, “Once everyone is here, we’ll answer together.”
Yang Jueding nodded.
As long as Li Qingqiu had returned, that was good news.
Truth be told, during the days when Li Qingqiu was away, he had indeed felt somewhat uneasy.
Even though nothing had gone wrong within the sect, his heart had not been at ease.
At some point unknown, he had also begun to rely on this youngster.
While waiting, Yang Jueding noticed that Shen Yue’s aura seemed a bit unstable, so he asked with concern, “Senior Shen, were you injured?”
Shen Yue glanced at him and said, “The Tree Demon was dealt with by the sect master. I merely faced thousands upon thousands of warriors from the Qi Clan on my own. How could I be injured?”
“Thousands upon thousands? Really?”
Yang Jueding widened his eyes and exclaimed.
Li Dongyue, Li Sijin, and Chai Yunshang in the corner all cast their gazes toward Shen Yue.
Shen Yue’s expression did not change.
He pinched his beard and did not explain further, hiding his achievements and fame.
Li Qingqiu was amused.
This old fellow really knew how to put on an act!
Only after everyone had arrived did Li Qingqiu begin to recount the trip to Cangzhou.
He did not go into detail about the battles, but he vividly described the sheer enormity of the Ancient God.
Upon hearing that Li Qingqiu had torn apart an Ancient God as large as a mountain, everyone looked at him with strange expressions.
Clear Sky Daoist could not help but ask, “Could it be that the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm has dozens of layers?”
He voiced the thoughts of Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning.
Both were at the eighth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, yet they still could not imagine what realm Li Qingqiu was in now.
“The Nourishing Vital Energy Realm only has nine layers. Don’t overthink it,” Li Qingqiu said with a shake of his head and a laugh.
Not giving the others a chance to pursue the matter, he immediately continued, “The Ancient God has been eradicated, and the Qi Clan has been trampled flat. Although members of the Qi Clan still remain outside, and there are even feudal lords, as long as the Ancient God has been destroyed, the Qi Clan poses no threat to us. Clear Sky Sect has truly weathered this calamity.”
After hearing this, smiles appeared on everyone’s faces.
The threat of the Tree Demon had been far too great.
Even Xu Ning had been seriously injured, plunging the entire Clear Sky Sect into gloom.
“Starting tomorrow, the sect will resume normal operations. Disciples will no longer be restricted from descending the mountain. Hall Master Zhang and Hall Master Zhu, make use of your connections and continue investigating Lingtian Sect. This will be a long-term task, lasting until Lingtian Sect is completely uprooted.”
Li Qingqiu gave his orders.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuchun and Zhu Yan both nodded.
Afterward, Li Qingqiu instructed Zhang Yuchun to write up the Cangzhou journey tomorrow and announce it to the entire sect.
On one hand, this would thoroughly reassure the disciples; on the other, it would boost morale.
“Next, the sect’s construction efforts will focus on Heavenly Works Hall. I need Heavenly Works Hall to concentrate on formations and magic implements. I permit you to recruit another hundred people specifically to study formations and magic implements. Every disciple may study the basic formation manuscripts. In addition, I will establish extra reward systems to encourage innovation among Heavenly Works Hall disciples.
The demon wood will also belong to Heavenly Works Hall.”
Li Qingqiu looked at Zhu Yan seriously as he spoke.
Once these words were spoken, the expressions of the other hall masters changed slightly.
They, too, had set their sights on the demon wood.
That demon wood could withstand attacks from the eighth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
Whether used to forge weapons or craft armor, it had extremely high value.
Before they could even ask for it, Li Qingqiu had directly allocated it to Heavenly Works Hall.
Zhu Yan was naturally overjoyed and hurriedly bowed in thanks to Li Qingqiu.
Li Qingqiu swept his gaze across everyone and said, “I know what you’re thinking. But rather than carving it into weapons, it’s better to have Heavenly Works Hall craft magic implements. You must understand this clearly: the creations of Heavenly Works Hall will ultimately flow to all halls, benefiting the entire sect.”
After hearing this, the hall masters felt it made sense and hurriedly explained that they were in agreement.
Li Qingqiu did not fuss over their little thoughts.
Immediately afterward, he spoke of other development plans.
After year’s end, Demon Subjugation Hall would be formally established.
Li Qingqiu would personally teach the essentials of demon subjugation.
At the same time, Source Iron Blessed Land would be opened to disciples.
He planned to build a small city centered around the harbor.
Li Qingqiu had many plans.
Everyone firmly committed them to memory.
They did not find it troublesome; instead, they felt their fighting spirit surge.
Developing the sect felt very grounded to them.
They had originally worried that after Li Qingqiu destroyed the Qi Clan, his mentality might swell, but now it seemed they had worried for nothing.
Unconsciously, the hall masters also began to look forward to the future Li Qingqiu described, anticipating Clear Sky Sect becoming a true Immortal Cultivation Sect.
As the moon set and the sun rose, early the next morning, disciples of the Free Spirit Hall went to the courtyards of the two peaks to post notices, exposing the crimes of the Qi Clan and the Ancient God.
The news quickly spread throughout Clear Sky Sect, causing the entire sect to curse the Qi Clan in anger, while marveling at the strength of the sect master and the Sword God.
Li Qingqiu had Zhang Yuchun specifically highlight Shen Yue’s battle achievements.
Of course, in the end, Shen Yue was still criticized for failing to fully carry out the sect’s orders.
Even so, Shen Yue became the center of attention.
After reading the notice himself, he was quite satisfied.
As for the sect’s criticism of him, he did not take it to heart.
After Clear Sky Sect resolved the crisis, a large number of disciples began descending the mountain to carry out missions.
Some of them wanted to go into the martial world to publicize the sect master’s feats, afraid that the whole world might not know of them.
Inside the cave dwelling.
Li Qingqiu sat on the stone bed, holding the Soul Refining Banner as he read the memories of the Ancient God.
The Ancient God had lived for over a thousand years, and its memories were incomparably vast, making it very difficult for Li Qingqiu to fully grasp them in a short time.
Li Qingqiu withdrew his spiritual sense and let out a breath.
From the time the Qi Clan came into contact with the Ancient God, no stronger forces had been involved.
Back then, the Qi Clan’s family fortunes had declined, while the Ancient God had been trapped deep in the mountains.
The two sides had been in a relationship of mutual aid.
Seeing Li Qingqiu open his eyes, Nangong E came closer and asked, “Master, the Tree Demon won’t still have other means, will it?”
That day, after Li Qingqiu slew the Ancient God, the ground had shaken.
Nangong E and Lin Chuan had infiltrated discreetly to investigate and discovered many underground passages, as though something enormous had burrowed through.
They suspected it was caused by the Ancient God’s root system.
After investigating for most of the day, they found that several of the Ancient God’s roots had indeed broken off and vanished.
“There indeed are, but there’s no need to worry. It’s equivalent to giving birth to offspring and will not use this to revive itself. Moreover, for those roots to grow to the scale and strength of an Ancient God, it would take a thousand years,” Li Qingqiu replied.
This was the reason Ancient Gods could not be completely exterminated.
Once they died, their roots would automatically detach and burrow deep underground.
Li Qingqiu learned this from the Ancient God’s memories.
It was something even Ancient Gods could not control.
Worth mentioning was that the reason the Ancient God’s soul had transformed into a humanoid form was because it was extremely close to the next major realm.
It was essentially at the complete perfection of the ninth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, only one step away from the Spirit Perception Realm.
Yet it was precisely this single step that had stalled it for many years.
Li Qingqiu guessed that its inability to break through was due to a lack of a breakthrough method.
He was different.
The Supreme Purity Primordial Unity Scripture recorded the method of breakthrough; it merely required an opportunity.
Hearing Li Qingqiu say this, Nangong E was completely reassured.
Chu Jing popped out and said, “Master, can you create a spell that allows me to become one of your combat methods as well, like when Shen Yue uses his sword soul?”
As a sword soul, he had actually been unable to participate in battle.
Thinking back on it afterward, he felt rather stifled.
Li Qingqiu glanced at him and said, “Cultivate first. I’ll satisfy you in the future.”
“Thank you, Master!” Chu Jing hurriedly bowed in thanks.
Nangong E and Lin Chuan also drifted over, asking Li Qingqiu the same.
They wanted to shoulder more combat responsibilities as well.
He could only agree to all of them, saying that he would think about creating suitable spells later.
……
“A thousand-year Tree Demon appears in the Qi Clan—Clear Sky Sect Master heads north to slay demons!”
This piece of news shook Cangzhou, then spread toward Weizhou, Beiliang Province, and Zhongtian Province.
Because the news involved the Qi Clan and Li Qingqiu, it aroused intense curiosity among listeners.
Passed from mouth to mouth, it formed a spark that spread across the entire world.
At year’s end.
Han Lang and the other Sword Sect disciples brought Zhou Ya back.
Facing Li Qingqiu, Zhou Ya immediately knelt down and tearfully recounted his actions.
Upon learning that what Zhou Ya had spread was not the Primordial Unity Scripture, but a self-created technique, Li Qingqiu’s expression softened.
No wonder the prompt said this matter had profound significance for the sect.
Clear Sky Sect had effectively taken on the role of the human Dao Ancestor Yang Xuan.
Li Qingqiu also thought seriously about this matter.
He felt that such things could not be completely prevented.
One day, other Immortal Cultivation Sects and families would inevitably rise.
It would be very difficult for them to threaten Clear Sky Sect’s status.
Even if it could not be prevented, Li Qingqiu hoped to delay the pace of this trend as much as possible.
“Considering that your motive was good, the death penalty is waived, but you cannot escape punishment. For the next three years, you are demoted to a menial disciple and may not leave the sect,” Li Qingqiu said, staring at Zhou Ya.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ya was overjoyed and hurriedly bowed in thanks to Li Qingqiu.
After thanking him, Zhou Ya asked cautiously, “Then how should my disciples outside be handled?”
Li Qingqiu glared at him and said irritably, “Do you think I’m a bloodthirsty person who insists on exterminating everyone?”
Zhou Ya let out a sigh of relief, deeply moved.
He once again thanked Li Qingqiu on behalf of his disciples.
Han Lang stood to the side and also felt admiration for Li Qingqiu.
If he were the sect master, he felt he might not necessarily be so magnanimous.
“I will have someone write this matter up and post it in all courtyards as a warning to the sect’s disciples. Next, you may face criticism, so prepare yourself mentally.”
Li Qingqiu stared at Zhou Ya and continued.
His reason for doing this was twofold: first, to issue a warning; second, to plant a seed.
If Azure Cloud Sect truly developed in the future, it would allow disciples to recall this matter and know that Azure Cloud Sect’s Immortal Cultivation methods originated from Clear Sky Sect.
No matter how the world developed in the future, Clear Sky Sect had to be the orthodox lineage of the Immortal Cultivation path!
No sect or family under heaven was permitted to cultivate the Primordial Unity Scripture.
Once discovered, they would be exterminated without mercy.
Of course, it would be even better if Clear Sky Sect could be the sole Immortal Cultivation Sect in the Nine Provinces.