Chapter 233: The Legendary Clear Sky Sect Master
The night was dim. Murong Tiancheng leaned against a rock, gazing at the magnificent starry sky, lost in a daze as he revisited his life.
Ever since he was born, Daoists had declared him destined for greatness. At three, he had thoroughly memorized the family scriptures; at five, when he began practicing martial arts, he already knew that one day he would become Number One Under Heaven.
By the age of sixteen, Murong Tiancheng had mastered all the martial arts of his family. Even his grandfather had said that he had hope of becoming the strongest in the family’s history.
Having never encountered adversity, he had been proud.
Until the moment he was cut in half at the waist…
Now, when he recalled the process of being cut in half, fear still rose uncontrollably in his heart.
He had not even clearly seen what that thing looked like, yet after being cut in half, he had distinctly felt something prowling around him, scrutinizing him with eyes filled with extreme malice.
The night grew deeper, and his thoughts became heavier.
Looking at his own mangled, bloody waist, he felt that he was finished. Death was drawing closer and closer, and he even hoped he would die quickly.
He no longer had the strength to comfort his younger sister and could only wait numbly for the final moment of his life.
Just then, a sound of footsteps came from the darkness nearby, making Murong Tiancheng’s eyelids twitch.
Murong Tianxuan, who had been crying, trembled violently in fright. She hurriedly raised her head and looked toward the direction of the sound, instinctively gripping the sword beside her.
Murong Tiancheng could only glance over with his peripheral vision. He saw a human figure emerge from the darkness, drawing closer and closer.
“Who… are you? A human or a ghost?”
Murong Tianxuan asked cautiously, her voice carrying a sob.
As soon as the words fell, Li Qingqiu walked out from the darkness and raised his hand, throwing three needles toward Murong Tiancheng.
Seeing that the newcomer was human, Murong Tianxuan let out a sigh of relief. Although her fear subsided, her vigilance remained. Encountering someone in such a wasteland was not necessarily a good thing.
Murong Tiancheng’s vision quickly became clear. He even felt a bit of sensation returning to his body, which left him somewhat dazed.
Li Qingqiu looked at Murong Tianxuan and asked, “Was he cut by something invisible?”
Murong Tianxuan snapped back to her senses, quickly stood up, and nodded. “That’s right. You know that thing as well?”
“It didn’t eat you. That counts as your good fortune.”
Li Qingqiu spoke. Because there had been cases of disciples from the Tempering Hall being possessed, he used his spiritual sense to probe the siblings and found nothing abnormal.
In the memories of the Silent Nether Ghost King’s split soul, the Silent Nether Ghost King was extremely greedy and would never let prey escape. Yet judging by this man’s injuries, at least nearly two hours had passed. Could it be that the Silent Nether Ghost King had already left?
In addition, Li Qingqiu was also very curious about the origins of the two of them. To be able to stop such a severe wound at the waist—this was not something simple inner energy could achieve.
“What exactly was that thing? A ghost?” Murong Tianxuan asked cautiously.
Li Qingqiu replied, “Mm. A ghost. It likes to eat people. Before eating them, it will torment its prey continuously. There is no torture in this world more terrifying than encountering it.”
These words made Murong Tianxuan recall the fear she had experienced earlier.
It wasn’t that she hadn’t wanted to flee with her second brother. First, Murong Tiancheng’s injuries were far too severe. Second, she constantly felt that the thing was still lurking nearby.
“Brother… thank you for saving me… I won’t survive… I beg you to take my fifth sister back to Cangzhou. Our Murong family will surely repay you…”
Murong Tiancheng looked at Li Qingqiu and spoke weakly.
Under the night sky, with only his upper body remaining, he looked incomparably miserable.
Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow. “The Murong family? What relationship do you have with Murong Xi?”
Murong Tianxuan asked in surprise, “You know my elder sister?”
Li Qingqiu had never met Murong Xi, but he cared a great deal about Zhang Ping and knew of such a woman entangling him.
“I only know of her. Carry your brother back. I’ve already stopped his bleeding. From here on, just give him water, and he’ll be able to live.”
Li Qingqiu replied. As he spoke, he stepped forward, passing between Murong Tiancheng and Murong Tianxuan.
After taking two steps, Li Qingqiu suddenly stopped. With his back to Murong Tiancheng, he said, “Don’t give up on yourself. As long as you live, there is hope. If you truly wanted to die, you wouldn’t have held on until now. There must be unwillingness in your heart. Think about why you are unwilling.”
Hearing this, Murong Tiancheng’s pupils abruptly widened.
Seeing that he was about to leave, Murong Tianxuan urgently asked, “What is your name? At least let us know the name of our benefactor.”
“Li Qingqiu.”
As the words fell, Li Qingqiu plunged into the darkness and disappeared without a trace.
“Li Qingqiu?”
Murong Tianxuan frowned and muttered softly, repeating the name. She felt it sounded familiar, yet she couldn’t recall where she had heard it.
Murong Tiancheng, on the other hand, stared wide-eyed, his expression filled with shock.
One of the reasons he had come to the Northern Border to undergo tempering was precisely because of Li Qingqiu.
The family feared that he might clash with disciples of the Clear Sky Sect, so they sent him to the Northern Border, conveniently suppressing the Northern Barbarians’ tribes.
In the past, he had scoffed at the legends of Li Qingqiu, believing that the Clear Sky Sect Master Li Qingqiu must be an ambitious man, and that all those so-called good deeds were merely self-promotion by the Clear Sky Sect.
Tonight, Li Qingqiu sought no reward and casually saved him. This made him feel deeply ashamed.
If it had been him, he might not have saved a stranger—especially someone who looked as though he was certainly doomed.
Murong Tianxuan turned back and walked to Murong Tiancheng. She squatted down and asked cautiously, “Second Brother, should I take you back?”
Looking at her second brother, who was left with only half his body, she did not even know where to start.
Murong Tiancheng took a deep breath and said, “Yes. Take me back. He’s right—I can’t just die like this.”
After that, Murong Tianxuan carefully lifted Murong Tiancheng onto her back. She only dared to hold him by the waist, terrified of touching the mangled flesh.
After finally steadying her movements, she began to move forward.
Murong Tiancheng regained a bit of strength and barely managed to grip the torch.
“Second Brother, who was that person just now? Have you heard of him?”
“You don’t even remember the name Li Qingqiu?”
“Could it be that he’s a martial arts expert renowned throughout the world?”
“He is the Clear Sky Sect Master.”
“What?”
Murong Tianxuan was stunned, her eyes widening as Li Qingqiu’s face surfaced in her mind.
Once the fear and panic faded, she suddenly realized that Li Qingqiu looked very young, very handsome.
Who would have thought that the legendary Clear Sky Sect Master would possess such a striking appearance?
Wait, didn’t he seem to have a mantis on his shoulder?
……
On the other side.
Under the cover of night, Li Qingqiu moved forward at high speed, heading toward the Xuanji Sect according to the memories of the Silent Nether Ghost King’s split soul.
Lin Chuan and Nangong E were advancing underground, able to keep up with Li Qingqiu’s speed.
The Northern Border was desolate. Along the way, Li Qingqiu did not encounter another person, not even a wild beast.
This gave him a feeling of drifting away from the mortal world.
Living on such land, no wonder the Northern Barbarians always wanted to march south.
When dawn was about to break, Li Qingqiu finally arrived at the Xuanji Sect.
The Xuanji Sect was built atop a towering mountain. Below the mountain stretched an endless wasteland. From afar, it looked as if there were only this single mountain between heaven and earth. The mountain stood straight and upright, as though it could reach beyond the heavens.
Upon reaching the foot of the mountain, Lin Chuan and Nangong E emerged from underground.
“The mountain gives me a very terrifying feeling,” Nangong E said with a grave expression.
Lin Chuan nodded as well. He, too, felt deeply uneasy.
Li Qingqiu frowned upon hearing this.
Under normal circumstances, he would have Lin Chuan and Nangong E scout the enemy first. But this time, the enemy was different—a powerful evil ghost. He could not forcibly send the two ghost servants to investigate.
After some thought,
Li Qingqiu decided to take the risk himself.
There was no choice. He was truly worried about Li Sifeng.
Just imagining Li Sifeng meeting the same fate as Murong Tiancheng made it difficult for him to restrain his emotions.
He immediately rushed up the mountain, simultaneously communicating with Nangong E and Lin Chuan through mental messages, instructing them to spread out on both sides and stay alert.
All the way up the mountain, Li Qingqiu kept his spiritual sense released, allowing him to see the ghostly energy along the path.
The ghostly energy here had not fully dissipated. In other words, even if the Silent Nether Ghost King had left, it had not been long—he might very well still be hiding up there.
Xuanji Mountain rose several hundred zhang high. The road up the mountain was not particularly rugged. The Xuanji Sect had constructed a mountain path, and the steps along the way were stained with blood. Occasionally, severed limbs could be seen.
When Li Qingqiu reached the mountaintop, the first ray of sunlight of the day swept across the horizon, passing through the ruined mountain gate of the Xuanji Sect. The rows of buildings within were in complete disrepair, clearly having endured a terrifying battle.
Li Qingqiu leapt onto a high tower and looked ahead. Behind the rows of buildings lay a spacious martial training ground. At its center was piled a mountain of bones, over ten zhang tall, densely packed and horrifying to behold.
He did not detect the aura of the Silent Nether Ghost King, but he did see living beings.
The Prison Qilin was confined in an iron cage at the edge of the training ground. Its four limbs had been severed, and it lay on the ground, barely clinging to life, having lost all trace of its auspicious aura.
Its miserable appearance made Li Qingqiu frown deeply.
The Prison Qilin had been in the Clear Sky Sect for many years. Li Qingqiu had formed a certain bond with it, and seeing it reduced to this state, the killing intent in his heart could not be concealed.
Nearby were other iron cages. Some held living people, others ferocious beasts. Without exception, all of these living beings were missing arms or legs. Some had even been cut in half at the waist like Murong Tiancheng, bleeding to death inside their cages.
The living people inside the cages were all numb. Living day after day alongside the dead, they could no longer see any hope of survival and could only wait for death to descend.
Li Qingqiu leapt, vanishing into the air, and reappeared inside the Prison Qilin’s cage. What he used was precisely the divine art Extreme Movement Technique.
He appeared behind the Prison Qilin, then squatted down and treated it using the Ghostly Immortal Needle of Rejuvenation.
The Prison Qilin sensed something and instinctively raised its head.
“It’s me. Don’t move for now. I’m hiding behind you, waiting for that thing to come back,” Li Qingqiu said in a low voice.
He had cultivated the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art. This technique also contained a method of concealing one’s aura, allowing him to make his presence disappear.
Upon hearing Li Qingqiu’s voice, light clearly returned to the Prison Qilin’s eyes. It lowered its head again, letting out faint panting sounds, like a wronged little cat.
Li Qingqiu’s heart ached, and at the same time, he worried about Li Sifeng.
He had to kill the Silent Nether Ghost King and also find Li Sifeng, so he could not directly leave with the Prison Qilin.
The Xuanji Sect was silent. Occasionally, sounds of pained groans and wails echoed out, making the ruined sect appear especially eerie and terrifying.