Chapter 190: Cultivation Holy Land, the Potential to Change the Sect
“Lingtian Sect was wiped out cleanly?”
Li Qingqiu turned his gaze toward Shen Yue and continued asking.
Shen Yue nodded and said, “It was wiped out cleanly. Even Ji Wuye, who was hiding in the dark, was found by us. It’s just that…”
“Just what?”
Li Qingqiu hated this kind of hanging tone the most.
Shen Yue frowned and said, “Before Ji Wuye died, he did not evade, did not resist. There was even a smile on his face.”
Xue Jin added a sentence, “I originally wanted to interrogate him, but he gave no chance and severed his own meridians, dying on the spot.”
After hearing this, Li Qingqiu let out a breath of relief.
He said indifferently, “As long as he’s dead, it’s fine. Even if there are still people behind him, we can deal with them later.”
No matter what, only by eradicating the Lingtian Sect completely could this matter be considered concluded, and it could also be regarded as an explanation to the Jiang Clan.
He looked at Shen Yue and said, “Shen Yue, being able to hold back from killing is indeed worthy of respect. But if someone travels with you, and because of your hesitation a fellow sect member is harmed, then your refusal to kill will instead become a sharp weapon for the enemy to kill with.”
Shen Yue did not refute him.
This matter had indeed shaken him and made him reflect on himself.
It was not that he never killed, but that he disdained killing the weak.
“I am willing to accept punishment.” Shen Yue took a deep breath and said seriously.
Li Qingqiu nodded and said, “Your punishment is to stand guard at the mountain gate at the foot of the mountain for three months. Do you have any objections?”
“No objections.”
Shen Yue accepted directly.
Xue Jin hesitated to speak.
Without Shen Yue, he likely would not have been able to kill Xiao Wuhui, and might even have died at Xiao Wuhui’s hands.
However, since the order had been issued by Li Qingqiu, he did not dare to disobey.
After that, Li Qingqiu began reconnecting Xue Jin’s arm.
Fortunately, this arm had been nourished with vital energy by Shen Yue and had not completely necrosed.
No wonder Shen Yue had insisted on personally carrying this arm with him.
When Li Qingqiu pointed this out, Xue Jin looked at Shen Yue with gratitude, while Shen Yue turned his head away.
After Li Qingqiu finished reconnecting Xue Jin’s arm and used the Ghostly Immortal Needle of Rejuvenation to stimulate blood regeneration, he told Xue Jin to go back and rest well, and to come again the next day.
Before parting, Li Qingqiu looked at Shen Yue’s back and said, “Shen Yue, when carrying out missions, you must execute them according to the mission. If you want to act this way, you must also demand the same from those below you. Only then can unnecessary disasters be avoided.”
Shen Yue’s steps paused.
He responded once, then continued leaving.
After they exited Lingxiao Courtyard, Li Qingqiu finally let out a sigh.
It would depend on whether Shen Yue could change.
If not, then in the future he would be left to guard the sect, or be assigned to other tasks.
Everyone had their own personality and principles, and he could not force Shen Yue too hard.
“Ji Wuye… the Ji Clan…”
Li Qingqiu tapped the tabletop with his fingers and murmured to himself.
His intuition told him that Ji Wuye’s reliance was the Ji Clan.
This ancient imperial surname seemed to have always existed, lurking in the shadows, waiting for the right moment.
He decided that in the future he would have the Dark Hall investigate the Ji Clan.
No matter how strong the Clear Sky Sect was, it could not simply wait for trouble to come knocking.
“This world is still far too vast.”
Li Qingqiu looked at Xiao Wuhui’s severed head on the table and sighed with emotion.
At present, the Clear Sky Sect could only dominate the Ancient Great Mountain Range.
The Ancient Great Mountain Range was merely one area of Guzhou.
Beyond Guzhou lay the Nine Provinces under heaven, and beyond the Nine Provinces there were even vaster lands such as the Northern Barbarians and the Western Desert.
Looking southward, there was also a boundless ocean.
Who knew what was hidden at the end of the sea.
One day, the resources on this continent would no longer satisfy the Clear Sky Sect, and the sect’s development would inevitably come into conflict with more forces.
This was a road that could not be avoided and could not be turned back from.
Staying secluded in one corner would only turn one into someone else’s prey.
……
Year’s end passed, and a new year arrived.
Just after the New Year Festival, Li Qingqiu opened his remaining fortuitous fate chance.
This time, what he obtained was a blessed land known as the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool.
Heavenly Mountain was located in Yuzhou.
It was one of the foremost high mountains in the Nine Provinces, spanning thousands of li.
It was a place that living people found hard to reach.
Li Qingqiu once again led a team there, ultimately leaving behind fifty disciples, with Huang Shan, the foremost of the Seven Sons of Clear Sky, responsible for overseeing this place.
Li Qingqiu did not leave immediately.
He stayed at the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool for two days.
Although it was called a spirit pool, the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool was in fact boundless and vast.
When Huang Shan and the others first saw it, they thought they were seeing the sea atop a high mountain—a deep blue expanse, unfathomably deep.
Li Qingqiu cultivated beside the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool and felt nothing special, but the other disciples all said that cultivation here was easier.
It was not only that spiritual energy was abundant, but their thinking also became more active.
Cultivating techniques and spells, their comprehension became clearer and more transparent.
This meant that the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool was a true cultivation holy land.
Spiritual energy was vast, and it could also enhance insight.
Li Qingqiu was greatly delighted.
Not only that, he also discovered that beneath the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool were unusual spirit stones, and there even existed some kind of tiny fish with astonishing speed.
Some disciples wanted to enter the water.
Fortunately, Li Qingqiu had sharp eyes, noticed those fish, and immediately stopped them.
No wonder this blessed land had only now been discovered.
According to Li Qingqiu’s observations, even an immortal cultivator at the seventh layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm would likely be seriously injured, or even die, if they went down.
It was worth mentioning that he personally caught one fish.
The moment it left the spirit pool, that fish rapidly died.
As long as these fish could not come ashore, that was fine!
Li Qingqiu instructed Huang Shan and the disciples to guard against unknown ferocious beasts emerging from the depths of the spirit pool.
After witnessing the speed of the spirit fish, all the disciples developed a sense of reverence toward the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool.
The Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool was far removed from the secular world, at extremely high altitude.
Ordinary people would die violently on the way.
In all directions were endless white snow mountains, with no end in sight.
Anyone who could reach this place was absolutely an immortal cultivator.
Therefore, Li Qingqiu warned them that if they encountered anyone who was not from the Clear Sky Sect, they must be extremely cautious.
After staying for two days, Li Qingqiu brought one disciple down the mountain, preparing to have this disciple lead the way in the future.
This disciple experienced the sect master’s speed for the first time.
After stepping into the Spirit Perception Realm, Li Qingqiu’s vital energy far surpassed the past.
Even if he flew at full speed around the lands of the Nine Provinces for a full circle, his vital energy would not be exhausted.
After returning to the Clear Sky Sect, Li Qingqiu directly ordered people to strike the great bell for council in the Profound Heart Hall.
All elders and those of higher authority entered the hall one after another.
Li Qingqiu directly announced the discovery of the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool.
He held nothing back and was not afraid of anyone harboring ill intent.
After everyone knew, attempting small schemes would instead become more difficult, because everyone would be watching.
Upon hearing that the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool could aid in insight, everyone was extremely excited.
“This is the true cultivation blessed land!”
“It truly is heaven’s blessing upon our Clear Sky Sect.”
“Such a blessed land, and yet it was never discovered by the dynasties of past ages?”
“Nonsense, is Heavenly Mountain a place humans can go? Only us immortal cultivators can reach it.”
“Hahaha, there is only one immortal cultivation sect under heaven. The resources of the Nine Provinces are free for us to pick up.”
Listening to the discussions in the hall, Li Qingqiu wore a smile on his face, but in his heart he was calculating.
As more and more disciples from noble families entered the Clear Sky Sect to cultivate, situations of feeding back their families would inevitably arise.
Those people might not dare to touch the Clear Sky Sect’s resources, but they might very well go excavating undiscovered resources, after all, they had broadened their horizons within the sect.
Such matters could not be completely prevented, and greedy behavior had even already appeared within the sect.
Toward disciples within the sect, there were sect rules.
Toward the outside world, there was no need to speak of sect rules.
After the council ended, Li Qingqiu summoned Zhang Yuchun to Lingxiao Courtyard for a private discussion, and explained his concerns.
Zhang Yuchun said seriously, “This is indeed something that is bound to happen. I had long been concerned about it as well, so I have been keeping an eye on the noble families that have entered the sect. I have an idea that I have long wanted to mention.”
Li Qingqiu poured him a bowl of tea and said, “Let’s hear it.”
“Actually, this is also a good thing. It saves the process of exploration and excavation.” Zhang Yuchun’s tone carried deeper meaning.
Li Qingqiu neither agreed nor disagreed.
Zhang Yuchun continued, “It’s just that we shouldn’t do things too absolutely. We need to think through strategies to placate things afterward.”
“Senior Brother, this world should be settled. We should establish imperial authority early and instill the concept of sovereign power granted by the immortals into the people of the world. That way, everything in the Nine Provinces will have an owner, and we will have righteousness on our side. Taking back what belongs to us will be perfectly justified.”
Li Qingqiu nodded.
When dealing with common people and individuals, one could speak of good and evil, benevolence and righteousness.
But in matters of the world, the distinction between righteous and evil was sometimes very blurred.
As long as the Clear Sky Sect allowed the people of the world to live in peace, that would be enough.
If the people could also have enough to eat, that would be even better.
Allowing the people of the world to have no worries about food and clothing was one of Li Qingqiu’s long-term plans.
First, it satisfied his goodwill, since he himself had once been an ordinary person.
Second, such an age of peace might give birth to more geniuses.
No matter how one looked at it, if the people favored the Clear Sky Sect, then things would be good for the Clear Sky Sect.
This was also the core of sovereign power granted by the immortals.
Only by binding the interests of the people together with those of the immortal sect could the Clear Sky Sect, from top to bottom, unite as one and adhere to its principles.
“Go and do it, but don’t make things too ugly.” Li Qingqiu said after some contemplation.
Zhang Yuchun smiled and said, “Rest assured. I will not use the power of the sect to forcibly suppress the structure of the world. I am also waiting for the appearance of a benevolent and people-loving enlightened ruler.”
Li Qingqiu asked, “How is Sifeng doing?”
“This kid has done pretty well. In just half a year, he has already gained momentum.
However, there are currently three major warlords under heaven—namely the Cai, Liu, and Pei clans. The three great warlords are contending for half of the world. The other minor warlords are still dividing territory and fighting among themselves, unable to shake the overall situation.”
Zhang Yuchun wore a satisfied expression.
His tone shifted as he teased, “Sixth Junior Brother wants to be emperor, but he’s probably too late. That’s fine too—it’ll let him come back to cultivate sooner. With his temperament, could he really be an emperor? Don’t let him end up throwing aside the affairs of the realm and becoming a carefree emperor instead. Actually, I think he doesn’t necessarily want to be the Son of Heaven. He just finds it exciting and thinks being emperor would be impressive. If he really were allowed to become one, he’d get tired of it in just a few years.”
Li Qingqiu had no objections to this.
He understood Li Sifeng’s temperament far too well.
This kid had a loud mouth, but too little sense of responsibility, and no patience in doing things.
Moreover, even if Li Sifeng wanted to be emperor, as long as he did not demonstrate sufficient ability, the Clear Sky Sect would not support him.
The authority of the world was no trifling matter.
It concerned not only the safety of the people under heaven, but also the development of the Clear Sky Sect.
It could not be left to reckless behavior.
Even if Li Sifeng possessed the fate traits 【Unscrupulous】 and 【Wolfish Ambition】, Li Qingqiu still had ways to keep him in check.
Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun chatted about worldly affairs for a full half hour.
It was not about scheming against anyone; Li Qingqiu simply wanted to understand the character and conduct of the various warlords.
After Zhang Yuchun left, Xiao Wuqing entered the courtyard and came before Li Qingqiu to salute.
Li Qingqiu looked at him, waiting for him to speak, but saw that he seemed hesitant.
“Why are you being so timid? How can you accomplish great things like this?” Li Qingqiu frowned and said.
Xiao Wuqing possessed the fate traits 【Eye for Talent】 and 【Right-Hand Man】.
From this year onward, Li Qingqiu had already prepared to cultivate him, to make him into a talent like Zhang Yuchun, one who would serve him exclusively and help shoulder the sect’s major affairs in the future.
The twenty-year-old Xiao Wuqing took a deep breath, looked at Li Qingqiu, and said, “Sect Master, didn’t you ask me to inspect the sect? I discovered a disciple. Although he is only a registered disciple, I think he possesses the potential to change the sect. He may even become the strongest disciple of the sect.”