Chapter 180: The First Body Cultivator
The New Year arrived, and Clear Sky Mountain and Ziyang Peak were decorated with lanterns and streamers, lively beyond compare.
Zhou Ya’s private founding of a sect had caused no small amount of discussion within the sect.
Many disciples felt that if Zhou Ya had not been doing good deeds, the outcome would not have been merely being demoted to a menial disciple.
At the same time, this also showed that the Sect Master still had chivalry in his heart.
On the day of the festival, Li Yang returned.
With the Qi Clan destroyed and the Lingtian Sect gone, Li Yang naturally no longer guarded the Li Clan.
He came to the Lingxiao Courtyard and spoke privately with Li Qingqiu.
“Sect Master, thank you for saving my clansman’s wife and child.”
Li Yang spoke as he observed Li Qingqiu’s expression.
After Li Qingqiu and the other two brought Xu Hong and the Xu Clan mother and son to the city, they parted ways.
The Li Clan’s disciples were spread across cities throughout the world; as long as they did not enter enemy cities, they would certainly return safely.
Li Qingqiu did not care much about this and replied casually, “I just happened to run into them.”
He had saved the Xu Clan mother and son not for the sake of the Li Clan.
If he had encountered others with no connection, he would still have intervened.
He would not even harbor hatred toward the Li Clan because he had been abandoned by his parents, since his parents had also deceived the Li Clan.
Li Yang sighed with emotion.
“These days, following the Li Clan, I have seen the chaos of the world. The foundations of the great families run deeper than I imagined. I even suspect they foresaw an age of turmoil long ago and prepared weapons and provisions in advance. Oh right, that clansman of mine, Li Yuzhong, is no simple figure. At such a young age, he has already become a great general, commanding thirty thousand troops. I feel that if he cultivated immortality, his talent would likely not be inferior to mine.”
Li Qingqiu noticed his gaze and said irritably, “ If you have something to say, spit it out. Speak plainly.”
Li Yang hesitated for a moment, then said, “Actually, Li Yuzhong is your biological younger brother. The ones you saved were your younger brother’s wife and your nephew.”
He felt that Li Qingqiu had long known his own background, so he said it directly.
Li Qingqiu replied calmly, “He is not. Do not harbor other thoughts, and do not speak on behalf of others either.”
Li Yang hurriedly explained, “ Of course I will not say it out loud. However, some elders in the clan have guessed this. In the future, they may come to trouble you.”
“You’d better help me stop them. If I get angry, I don’t mind making the Li Clan disappear,” Li Qingqiu said seriously.
Li Yang felt awkward and at a loss.
Li Qingqiu continued, “The fact that I can tolerate you means I have already let go of the past. In the future, if there are good seedlings among the Li Clan disciples, they may also come to Clear Sky Sect to cultivate immortality. But if anyone wants to use severed ties to persuade me, I can only personally extinguish their hopes.”
“Li Yang, since you already know this matter, restraining the Li Clan’s greed becomes your responsibility. If you cannot do it, and one day the Li Clan is destroyed by me, that will be your fault.”
Seeing Li Qingqiu speak so clearly, Li Yang immediately took a deep breath and said, “I know what I should do.”
After that, Li Qingqiu changed the topic and asked about his cultivation.
Li Yang had already abandoned his identity as the Martial Champion and his dream of fighting on the battlefield, devoting himself fully to immortal cultivation.
This greatly pleased Li Qingqiu, who hoped he could grow quickly and shoulder more responsibilities in the future.
After Li Yang left, Li Qingqiu looked toward a tender blade of grass in the corner of the courtyard wall.
“I hope the days ahead can be more peaceful.”
Li Qingqiu murmured to himself.
Clear Sky Sect needed time now.
Give him another ten years, and he was confident he could lead Clear Sky Sect into an entirely new stage.
……
The first major event of the new year was the formal establishment of the Demon Subjugation Hall.
From that point on, Clear Sky Sect changed from seven halls to eight halls.
In early February, the disciples of the Demon Subjugation Hall had all arrived and gathered at the Demon Subjugation Hall’s training ground.
One hundred disciples chatted in small groups.
Today, the Sect Master and the Hall Master would arrive, and every disciple was extremely excited.
Cheng Xiu and her younger brother, who had once saved Li Sifeng, were also present.
They were equally excited, feeling as though clouds had parted to reveal the sky.
“The Sect Master is here!”
A Demon Subjugation Hall disciple ran over from the main gate and said excitedly.
The Demon Subjugation Hall disciples immediately began forming ranks.
With no one directing them, they still lined up neatly, as if they had rehearsed it.
Very soon, Li Qingqiu and Cheng Canghai entered through the courtyard gate and walked toward the training ground.
At the moment they saw Li Qingqiu, the disciples immediately became excited.
They struggled to restrain their emotions, only now daring to be certain that the Demon Subjugation Hall had truly been established.
Cheng Canghai was equally exhilarated.
He had rushed back from Silent Heaven Mountain and only arrived today.
Over these past few months, Clear Sky Sect had already determined communication routes with the lower-tier demon realms, with dedicated disciples responsible for relaying messages.
He was explaining his experiences in demon command to Li Qingqiu.
He had already established emotional bonds with several demon beasts.
Although he still could not command them as Li Qingqiu did Little Eight, he had seen hope in the path of demon command.
Commanding demon beasts to fight was undoubtedly a shortcut, with vast prospects for the future.
“You’re thinking too simply. Demon cultivators should not merely order demon beasts around. You can also cultivate spells and techniques together. You can consider heading in this direction in the future,” Li Qingqiu said.
These words caused Cheng Canghai to freeze.
Joint cultivation of spells?
It sounded absurd, but upon careful thought, it might not be impossible.
Li Qingqiu walked all the way to stand before the Demon Subjugation Hall disciples, while Cheng Canghai stood to the side, half a step behind him.
Li Qingqiu swept his gaze across all the disciples, not lingering on Cheng Xiu and her brother.
After a full sweep, he raised his hand and blew a whistle.
Immediately after, piercing cries resounded through the sky, drawing all the disciples to look up.
They saw two black shadows appear high in the air.
They dove downward, stirring up powerful wind pressure that kicked up dust across the training ground.
The disciples raised their arms to block it, their bodies forced to bend under the pressure.
When the winds subsided, Little Eight and Little Nine appeared atop the palace roof behind Li Qingqiu.
Even with their wings folded, the two black eagles looked enormous.
Little Eight stood nearly six zhang tall, while Little Nine was also three zhang tall.
Beneath their talons, the discussion hall of the Demon Subjugation Hall looked short and small.
Looking at these two majestic demon beasts, every Demon Subjugation Hall disciple found their breathing quicken.
They all knew what the Sect Master meant.
At the thought that they too would one day have such majestic, colossal demon companions, they found it hard to restrain their emotions.
Li Qingqiu was very satisfied with the disciples’ expressions.
He said, “As you can see, in the future you will also have demon beast partners like these. Remember, I say partners, not pets, and certainly not slaves. Demon beasts are the same as humans; they have hearts as well. When they reach a certain realm, they can even communicate with us.”
He began to lay down the guiding principles of the Demon Subjugation Hall.
After spending so long with Little Eight, Li Qingqiu truly treated it as a younger brother.
Moreover, in the future he would also bring Bai Zhi into the Demon Subjugation Hall, so he had to establish the correct outlook on demon command first.
All the disciples listened attentively, especially when Li Qingqiu recounted his experiences nurturing Little Eight.
They listened even more intently, hardly daring to blink.
Over the next period of time, disciples passing by the Demon Subjugation Hall would occasionally hear cheers and shouts coming from within, loud and spirited, allowing them to feel the fighting spirit of the Demon Subjugation Hall.
Ming Guang and Wu Xingyue from the Heavenly Works Hall returned from the Source Iron Blessed Land and happened to pass by the Demon Subjugation Hall.
Upon seeing the figures of Little Eight and Little Nine, neither could tear their gaze away.
Wu Xingyue pondered thoughtfully.
She had already successfully refined her second magic implement.
As long as she had good materials, she felt that refining magic implements was not difficult.
What was difficult was innovation.
The second magic implement she had crafted was essentially no different from the Mystic Fire Mirror.
It was merely a container holding restrictions that made spellcasting easier.
She thought of the storage pouch the Sect Master had given her before.
The spatial restrictions within the pouch were far too exquisite; she had not yet fully comprehended them.
“If demon beasts could be placed into a pouch, Demon Subjugation Hall disciples would find things much more convenient. In the future, demon beasts could even play a greater tactical role.”
Thinking this, Wu Xingyue snapped back to her senses under Ming Guang’s urging and quickened her pace up the mountain.
They first had to return to the Heavenly Works Hall to meet Zhu Yan.
After a full hour had passed, Li Qingqiu finally walked out alone from the Demon Subjugation Hall gate.
Little Eight and Little Nine also spread their wings and flew into the sky.
Little Nine returned to the Blessed Land of a Thousand Spirits to cultivate, while Little Eight still had to head to the Northern Border to transport Demon Wood.
There was no helping it—the corpse of the Ancient God was simply too massive.
Even after two months of hauling, Little Eight had yet to finish moving it all.
For Clear Sky Sect, that Demon Wood was extremely precious and could not be wasted.
Occasionally, Mo Jiuhong and Shen Yue would also accompany Little Eight to avoid any mishaps.
Of course, as long as no immortal cultivators appeared, martial world experts could do nothing to Little Eight.
The current Little Eight was already unafraid of arrows.
……
Days passed swiftly.
Clear Sky Sect carried out construction with great fervor.
Some built towns, some constructed courtyards and pavilions, others reclaimed farmland.
Everywhere looked busy.
Li Qingqiu still devoted most of his time to his own cultivation.
Even after eliminating the Ancient God, he remained eager to reach the Spirit Perception Realm.
It was not that he had sensed some impending calamity; he simply wanted to become stronger.
Time arrived in mid-March.
While staying in his cave dwelling, a notification suddenly appeared before Li Qingqiu’s eyes:
【 In view of Clear Sky Sect producing its first disciple to achieve body cultivation, adding more possibilities to the development of the Dao Lineage, you have obtained one Fortuitous Fate Chance 】
Li Qingqiu opened his eyes.
Achieving body cultivation?
He immediately felt delighted.
Shen Yue had achieved sword cultivation, created a sword soul, and his strength had soared, even surpassing Xu Ning.
This showed that different cultivator titles represented higher realms of their respective paths.
So what kind of power was body cultivation?
It should not be merely a simple enhancement of the physical body.
Li Qingqiu was not in a hurry to go see them.
That person would come to him on their own.
He even did not want to activate the Fortuitous Fate Chance.
The one he had obtained earlier from killing the Tree Demon’s avatar had also been kept unused.
Because he had a hypothesis.
Fortuitous fates were selected according to his current cultivation level.
If he waited until reaching the Spirit Perception Realm to activate them, the value of the fortune obtained would certainly be greater.
If he were still far from the Spirit Perception Realm, it would be one thing.
But he had already reached the ninth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm and could completely afford to wait.
Moreover, the sect had not yet fully digested the various blessed lands it currently controlled.
Li Qingqiu closed his eyes and continued cultivating.
It was not until evening that he returned to the Lingxiao Courtyard.
Someone was already waiting for him inside, and this person surprised him.
It was not Zhao Zhen, not Ji Ya, and not Xiao Wudi, but Yuan Li.
Yuan Li, who had not yet awakened the Undying Overlord Body, had actually taken the first step to achieve body cultivation?
“Master, I’ve had a small bit of success with the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art. Would you like to take a look?” Yuan Li looked at Li Qingqiu and asked cautiously.