Chapter 183: Soaring Demon Heart, Innate Blade Cultivator
After the external threats were gone, internal worries followed.
The internal aristocratic struggles within the Clear Sky Sect had already begun.
Li Qingqiu did not care much about this.
At present, the power of those aristocratic families was still insufficient to sway the sect, and the sect’s development indeed required their assistance.
Apart from cultivating, after leaving his cave dwelling, Li Qingqiu basically wandered around the Demon Subjugation Hall and the Heavenly Works Hall, allowing the sect’s disciples to clearly feel how much importance he placed on these two halls.
Ming Guang was responsible for researching formations, and under him were dozens of disciples.
Wu Xingyue likewise had many disciples assisting her.
Li Qingqiu had her focus first on researching communication magic implements.
As for all requests made by these two, Li Qingqiu almost always agreed.
Unfortunately, formations and magic implements were not so easy to research.
Instead, the Cultivation Hall ushered in an explosive harvest.
Li Sijin had once again created many talismans.
Those talisman papers imprinted with spells had already begun to be sold within the sect, and the results were quite good.
Chen Huilan had also finally refined Spirit Energy Pills.
Spirit Energy Pills could be used for cultivation, and could also be used to rapidly replenish vital energy.
These treasures were sold only in the Cultivation Hall, making it extremely popular and turning it into the busiest hall at present.
The status of Cultivation Hall disciples rose greatly as well.
Wherever they went, people fawned over them.
After all, Spirit Energy Pills and talisman papers were still rare items.
With these two things on hand, one could walk the martial world with much greater confidence.
Even though the Clear Sky Sect was an Immortal Cultivation Sect, when disciples ventured into the martial world, cases of disappearance and death still occurred.
The martial world remained just as dangerous as ever.
The Clear Sky Sect and the world under heaven had already become two completely different worlds.
Summer arrived.
Among the mountains, Li Sifeng, having removed his armor, sat cross-legged on a huge rock by the river.
The Emperor Mystic Sword floated around him, gently rising and falling, as if some kind of aura surrounded it.
The Prison Qilin drank water beside him, while Pei Miao sat on the opposite bank of the river.
One hand supported her on the ground, the other rested on her lower abdomen.
She looked at Li Sifeng, her eyes filled with infatuation.
“Husband, since you want to accomplish a great undertaking of your own, why don’t you bring those soldiers along? They’ve followed you through life and death for so many years, they should be trustworthy.”
Pei Miao asked softly.
Even if she followed Li Sifeng roaming the world, she felt it was happiness.
Li Sifeng kept his eyes closed and said, “If I take the troops with me, what will the people under heaven say about me? Say that I betrayed the Pei Clan?”
“But if you don’t bring troops, trying to rise will be far too difficult. We have no money and no people. If you want to contend for the world, how many years would that take?” Pei Miao asked.
She was not worried, only curious about Li Sifeng’s thoughts.
Li Sifeng replied, “How could we have none? Just watch. Soon, people will come to deliver manpower and money to us. Even if I don’t rely on the Clear Sky Sect’s strength, many will still come to help me because of the Clear Sky Sect. Whether this succeeds or fails, they won’t be wasting their effort.”
After hearing this, Pei Miao could not help but recall her father’s words.
“Let him go. As long as you can bear children, the Pei Clan will have a way out.”
Pei Miao felt that Li Sifeng and her father had not truly fallen out.
The two understood each other without words and were deliberately putting on an act.
Li Sifeng wanted to contend for the world with legitimacy, while her father needed to leave the Pei Clan another escape route.
Although she did not participate in discussions of warfare, she could sense the Pei Clan’s troubles.
After occupying two provinces, two other routes of feudal lords wanted to suppress the Pei Clan.
This world was very close to the Pei Clan, yet also very far away.
Pei Miao looked at Li Sifeng and said, “Husband, if you truly have that intention, and are willing to use your identity to act, then I hope you can pacify the world as soon as possible. The longer this chaotic age drags on, the more people will die.”
She had always disliked times of chaos, but her dislike could not change anything.
“Don’t worry. Once my momentum is established, I will end this chaotic age at the fastest possible speed,” Li Sifeng replied.
As soon as his words fell, the grassland by the river trembled, causing him to open his eyes.
The Prison Qilin that was drinking water and Pei Miao both raised their heads to look into the distance, only to see a group of people riding horses toward them, with carriages following behind, swaying as they raised rolling clouds of dust.
The leader held a great banner high, with the character ‘Li’ emblazoned upon it.
Pei Miao frowned and asked in surprise, “Which Li Clan could it be?”
Li Sifeng gazed at the approaching Li Clan convoy.
Although he could not clearly see how many people there were, he was not flustered.
He had now completely mastered the Emperor Mystic Sword, and his strength was no longer what it once was.
He even dared to let the Prison Qilin show itself openly, enough to demonstrate his powerful confidence.
……
In the blazing summer, heaven and earth ushered in intense heat.
Early this morning, Li Qingqiu arrived alone at the seaside harbor.
He arrived by sword flight, with the Tianhong Sword leading the way as it carried him over the mountain peaks.
He saw that at the junction of the mountains and the sea stood a huge pavilion, with many people constructing other buildings around it.
This was the first harbor built by the Clear Sky Sect.
Although it was meant to conceal the mysterious whirlpool, Li Qingqiu still decided to take this opportunity to develop it.
In the future, more disciples could be stationed here to deal with any dangers the mysterious whirlpool might bring.
Li Qingqiu merely swept his gaze over the construction from the air and did not land.
He traced an arc in the sky and flew westward.
Crossing a hundred li, he arrived above a dense forest.
The trees here were packed tightly together, and the forest was so dark that no sunlight reached the ground.
Even viewed from high above, it made people feel uneasy, worried that fierce creatures might be hidden within.
In fact, terrifying things were indeed hidden here.
Li Qingqiu descended from the sky and landed on a treetop.
The Tianhong Sword smoothly returned to the sword sheath at his waist, producing a crisp sound.
The forest below began to sway, as if some enormous creature was moving within.
Very soon, the leaves before Li Qingqiu were pushed aside, and a huge snake head extended out—it was Bai Zhi.
Bai Zhi looked at Li Qingqiu, continuously flicking out its tongue.
“It seems you’ve already made your decision?” Li Qingqiu asked with a smile.
Bai Zhi said respectfully, “Since the Immortal has taken a liking to me, how could this little demon fail to recognize what’s good for it?”
Hearing its words, Li Qingqiu could not help but feel curious about what kind of temperaments those two Immortal Cultivators had, to have taught Bai Zhi such humility.
Li Qingqiu continued, “Bring those three little demons to see me.”
Bai Zhi nodded and then emitted a strange sound.
Though it was clearly a snake, its voice resembled that of some kind of bird.
“Gu-gu—”
As Bai Zhi’s voice spread, Li Qingqiu soon sensed a faint demonic aura.
Immediately after, two more demonic auras rushed over from different directions.
Li Qingqiu estimated that the strength of these three little demons was about the same as Little Nine’s, comparable to the third layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
This was already very strong.
In the secular martial world, there would likely be very few who could deal with them.
Before long, the three little demons arrived one after another around Bai Zhi, climbed to the treetops, and revealed their figures.
A golden monkey, a black leopard, and a mantis.
Li Qingqiu’s gaze was drawn to the mantis, which was only about the size of a house cat.
A mantis spirit!
Its entire body was green, as if it had grown two blade-like arms.
Under the sunlight, it even reflected a metallic sheen.
“Are you willing to join my Clear Sky Sect?” Li Qingqiu asked.
“We are willing!”
The three demons spoke in unison.
The voices were two male and one female—the black leopard was actually a female demon.
Before Li Qingqiu arrived, Bai Zhi had already explained the situation to them, so when faced with his invitation, they did not hesitate.
Li Qingqiu had not expected that they could also speak human language.
As expected of demonic creatures that had lived for over a hundred years.
He immediately summoned the Dao Lineage panel and found the portraits of the three demons.
The golden monkey and the black leopard did not have particularly outstanding aptitude, nor did they possess special fate traits.
The mantis spirit, however, was extraordinary.
[Name: Jin Lang]
[Gender: Male]
[Age: 132 years]
[Loyalty (to Sect Master / Sect): 71 / 44 (Max 100)]
[Cultivation Aptitude: Good]
[Comprehension: Excellent]
[Fate Traits: Soaring Demon Heart, Innate Blade Cultivator]
[Soaring Demon Heart: Reaction speed and movement speed are extremely fast. As cultivation realm increases, these advantages will continuously multiply. Possesses extraordinary comprehension toward movement techniques, dodging spells, divine arts, and secret methods.]
[Innate Blade Cultivator: Born with the ability to comprehend blade techniques. Possesses extraordinary comprehension toward the Blade Dao and is destined to become a blade cultivator.]
……
This “Soaring Demon Heart” made even Li Qingqiu want to copy it.
Under heaven, martial arts feared nothing but speed.
Applied to Immortal cultivation, this was no exception.
And this “Innate Blade Cultivator” fate trait appearing on a mantis was simply outrageous.
Destined to become a blade cultivator—didn’t that mean that even if it had never met Bai Zhi, it could still rely on its innate talent to step onto the demon path?
The more Li Qingqiu looked, the more he liked it, feeling that Jin Lang was highly trainable.
He looked at Jin Lang again.
This mantis spirit tilted its head, looking rather dazed, yet in his eyes, it had already transformed into a decisive and lethal blade wielder.
Li Qingqiu asked, “Bai Zhi, I want to bring these three back to the Clear Sky Sect first. What do you think?”
Upon hearing this, Bai Zhi immediately became nervous and asked, “Then what about me?”
“Once the seaside harbor is completed, I’ll bring you back to the Clear Sky Sect. At most one year. You stay here. If the harbor encounters trouble, I’ll still need you to help.”
Li Qingqiu’s arrangement made Bai Zhi breathe a sigh of relief, and it immediately nodded in agreement.
“However… if I reveal myself, will the people of the Clear Sky Sect treat me as an enemy as well?” Bai Zhi still had concerns.
“I’ll take you to meet them now. Do you need to bring anything with you?”
“There’s nothing that needs to be brought.”
“Then let’s go.”
And so, Li Qingqiu led Bai Zhi and the four demons toward the harbor.
He advanced by sword flight, observing below.
The four demons moved through the forest, each of them agile in posture.
Jin Lang in particular was faintly even faster than Bai Zhi.
After a long while.
Li Qingqiu landed on the beach in front of the harbor.
The moment he appeared, he immediately drew the disciples’ attention.
When the disciples were about to gather around, they were frightened by Bai Zhi behind him.
“A snake! Such a big snake!”
“A snake demon! Sect Master, be careful!”
“Sect Master, watch out behind you!”
“My heavens, how can there be such a huge snake?”
The disciples cried out in alarm.
Several disciples instinctively drew their swords and rushed toward Li Qingqiu.
Li Qingqiu raised his hand and shouted loudly, “No need to panic. These four demons have already submitted to me.”
Hearing this, the disciples all stopped, staring at him in astonishment.
At this moment, Jiang Zhaoxia flew over on his sword and landed beside Li Qingqiu.
He had also heard Li Qingqiu’s words.
His heart was filled with curiosity as his gaze locked tightly onto Bai Zhi, bringing immense pressure upon it.
Next, Li Qingqiu introduced Bai Zhi and the four demons to all the disciples.
When Jin Lang revealed itself, the disciples, just like him, wore strange expressions as they looked at Jin Lang.
A mantis could also become a spirit?