Chapter 25: Soul-Confining Spell
Nighttime, with the moon bright and stars sparse.
Li Qingqiu returned to his own quarters and found the room clean and tidy.
The bed was neatly made with quilts and pillows—it seemed the Qin Family’s investment had arrived, and life in the Clear Sky Sect had begun to improve.
He had entrusted all financial authority to Zhang Yuchun.
In Li Qingqiu’s view, money was a worldly thing.
As long as he controlled the spirit stones within the Subterranean Spiritual Lake, it would be enough.
Spirit stones could aid cultivation—they were certainly the hard currency of the cultivation world, just like oil in his previous life’s world.
That was the true foundation of the Clear Sky Sect.
Li Qingqiu sat cross-legged on his bed, opening the Dao Lineage panel.
The inheritance reward from escaping the Seven Peaks Alliance had not yet been activated.
Out in the wilderness, he wouldn’t dare to use it carelessly.
Only now, back home and at ease, did he dare to open it.
【Claim Inheritance Reward】
【Activate Dao Lineage Inheritance】
【You have obtained the spell—Soul-Confining Spell】
【Do you wish to accept the inheritance?】
Soul-Confining Spell?
That name didn’t sound righteous at all!
It seemed the Dao Lineage panel didn’t define whether he should follow the righteous or demonic path.
Good.
I like it!
Li Qingqiu didn’t wish to be bound by too many rules and restrictions.
As for these “crooked and unorthodox” paths, he was also willing to learn a bit about them.
With that thought, he immediately began the inheritance of the Soul-Confining Spell.
The familiar sensation surged once more, and he quickly sank into the inherited memories.
After a long time, he opened his eyes.
Having already undergone several inheritances, he was no longer surprised.
This time, however, he frowned deeply.
This Soul-Confining Spell was truly vicious!
The spell could seize a person’s soul—even while the target was still alive.
During the process, the victim would endure indescribable agony, and once the soul was captured, it would forever remain under the caster’s control, until the caster’s death.
Once the spell succeeded, the soul would become a ghost, unable to defy its caster—this was suppression from the depths of the soul itself.
However, the spell carried its risks.
If cast across realms—lower cultivation against higher—it was very likely to cause backlash.
After memorizing the Soul-Confining Spell, Li Qingqiu did not immediately start cultivating it.
He still needed to train the Ghostly Immortal Rejuvenation Needles first, reaching a certain level before proceeding.
He adjusted his state and soon entered into Qi absorption cultivation.
The moon set, and the sun rose—a night passed.
Early the next morning, all the disciples awoke.
Those focusing on martial arts went to train, while those pursuing cultivation sat together to absorb the essence of sun and moon.
Li Qingqiu assigned Yuan Qi to study martial arts under Yang Jueding, along with the six Qin Family disciples.
From this day onward, not everyone could practice the Supreme Purity Primordial Unity Scripture—only those with outstanding aptitude or great merit could qualify.
After the prime cultivation hours passed, Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun returned indoors to discuss future developments.
“First, organize a group of disciples to start building houses—down in the woods below the mountain gate. You can bring Yang Jueding along since he’s an adult. Second, recruit ten new disciples—anyone under twenty will do. We can’t keep recruiting children all the time.”
As Li Qingqiu spoke, he sipped tea.
The tea leaves were also a gift from the Qin Family—the fragrance was rich, and after drinking a cup last night, he had grown fond of it.
Zhang Yuchun smiled.
“I’ve been wanting to do that for a while. Now that we have funds, it’s time to expand! Oh, should we hire a teacher? I heard from Dongyue that you were considering that.”
“Go ahead,” Li Qingqiu nodded.
“Leave these things to you. You don’t need to handle everything personally—select a few disciples to train under you, so they can assist later. As Clear Sky Sect grows, the duties will naturally become more specialized.”
Zhang Yuchun replied, “Huang Shan and Yu Lin are quite good—rough but attentive, thoughtful in their approach. I’ll nurture them carefully.”
“From now on, only true inheritor disciples can study the Primordial Unity Scripture. For now, only Xu Ning will hold that title. As for Huang Shan and the others, they may also enjoy the title of true inheritor disciples, but their focus will remain on martial arts,” Li Qingqiu added.
Zhang Yuchun took note of everything.
Li Qingqiu had many ideas regarding disciple ranks, but it wasn’t the right time to implement them yet—especially when the sect still lacked a structured system.
At present, Clear Sky Sect still had no stable source of income.
Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun discussed this at length—they couldn’t rely solely on the Qin Family.
Jiang Zhaoxia’s experiences during his time down the mountain were worth considering.
Tasks such as escorting nobles or valuable goods, or taking on official bounties these could later be handled by disciples.
It would serve as training, earn money, and spread the sect’s reputation.
Without fame, recruiting disciples would be difficult—they could only take in children from nearby villages.
Such disciples, aside from their mediocre aptitude, often couldn’t even read.
Even training them in martial arts required extra effort and cost.
Of course, Li Qingqiu intended for the Clear Sky Sect to have its own literacy curriculum; he simply didn’t want recruitment to remain confined to rural areas.
The two talked for a full hour.
When they finished, Zhang Yuchun, now full of vigor, immediately went off to carry out the plans.
Li Qingqiu lingered a while longer, then left his quarters and called for Li Dongyue.
Together, they went to the back mountain forest to practice the Ghostly Immortal Rejuvenation Needles.
They trained until nearly noon before returning to the sect.
“Senior Brother, don’t forget to pick one disciple from the Qin Family to take as your apprentice,” Li Dongyue reminded softly as they walked side by side.
“That’s what you promised the Qin Family, and those children are still waiting.”
Li Qingqiu nodded and smiled.
“Don’t worry, I haven’t forgotten. Yuchun reminded me too.”
Qin Jue had already designated his son to be Li Qingqiu’s apprentice, so there wasn’t much to consider.
The sooner he made it official, the sooner the six Qin disciples could settle their hearts.
After lunch, Li Qingqiu summoned Qin Ye to come with him.
Qin Ye stood up immediately, face flushed with excitement.
The other five Qin disciples were equally thrilled for they all carried their family’s hopes.
...
After formally accepting Qin Ye as his disciple, Li Qingqiu sent him to train under Yang Jueding.
His aptitude was poor, making progress in cultivation difficult.
However, if his performance improved in the future, Li Qingqiu might assist him in pursuing cultivation.
The Subterranean Spiritual Lake could compensate somewhat for inadequate cultivation aptitude.
Thus, Yang Jueding also gained a title—the Martial Arts Elder of Clear Sky Sect.
Half a month passed quickly.
Since Li Qingqiu had concealed the truth about his actions in the Seven Peaks Alliance, Jiang Zhaoxia continued training halfway up the mountain, and Li Qingqiu did not stop him.
After all, beyond the Seven Peaks Alliance, there was also the potential threat of the Azure Sect.
Until one day, Zhang Yuchun brought startling news.
Jiang Zhaoxia, Li Dongyue, Wu Man’er, Li Sifeng, and Li Sijin were all summoned to Li Qingqiu’s quarters.
“The Seven Peaks Alliance is in chaos—the First Alliance Leader, Lü Taidou, is dead! No wonder they haven’t come to trouble us!” Zhang Yuchun said excitedly.
Li Qingqiu asked curiously, “Where did you hear that?”
It was Zhang Yuchun’s third trip down the mountain in half a month—Li Qingqiu hadn’t expected him to bring back such martial world intelligence.
Zhang Yuchun grinned.
“We ran into bandits on the road this time. I went with Huang Shan and Yu Lin to handle them. Through some new friends, I heard this shocking news, it’s spread across Guzhou’s martial world.”
Li Sifeng’s eyes widened as he looked at Li Qingqiu.
“Senior Brother, you didn’t… you didn’t do it, did you?”
The others also looked on nervously yet with a glint of expectation—after all, Li Qingqiu had gone missing for half a month not long ago.
Li Qingqiu rolled his eyes.
“How could I possibly have that ability? Ask Third Brother—was the Seven Peaks Alliance that easy to deal with?”
Jiang Zhaoxia nodded.
“To kill the strongest man in the Alliance’s headquarters is no easy feat. Fighting one-on-one and fighting against hundreds or thousands are entirely different matters.”
The others, recalling Jiang Zhaoxia’s previous injuries, all understood.
Li Sifeng began flailing his arms, vividly recounting how powerful the Seven Peaks Alliance experts were.
Meanwhile, Jiang Zhaoxia stared at Li Qingqiu with a complex expression, making him feel uneasy.
Unable to bear that gaze, Li Qingqiu coughed lightly, interrupting Li Sifeng’s antics.
“Anyway, the Seven Peaks Alliance won’t come after us for a while. But we can’t relax. From now on, everyone either trains or helps with sect construction—no idleness.”
The sect’s expansion had already begun, with the male second-generation disciples contributing the most labor.
Aside from Li Sijin, Li Qingqiu had assigned tasks to all his junior brothers and sisters.
After the meeting, Zhang Yuchun stayed behind.
He tugged at Li Qingqiu’s sleeve and said, “Senior Brother, I’ve invited a teacher from the town below. He claims to be skilled in face-reading and the Eight Trigrams. He insists on meeting you personally.”
“You didn’t pay him, right?”
“I did—but he said he’d decide how much effort to give based on your face.”
“All right then. Let’s see what kind of trick he’s playing.”
Li Qingqiu agreed, and the two walked out together.
Outside, they saw a man in white scholar’s robes standing behind two disciples, watching them work with wood.
The man looked about twenty or thirty, carried a bookcase on his back, and had a refined, scholarly air—a typical learned man.
“Mr. Zhang, my Senior Brother is here,” Zhang Yuchun called out.
At the sound, the white-robed scholar named Zhang Yu turned at once and walked toward them.
His gaze immediately fell upon Li Qingqiu.
As they drew closer, his eyes lit up.
Before Li Qingqiu could even speak, the man rushed forward and grabbed his hand.
Li Qingqiu thought to dodge, but sensing no inner energy from him, he allowed the man to grasp it.
“Master Li, your face is extraordinary! Born of noble blood, your youth was troubled, yet destiny favors you greatly. The stars of Purple Tenuity shine above—you are destined to become a true dragon!” Zhang Yu exclaimed excitedly, almost ready to kneel.
A swindler!
A silver-tongued trickster!
Li Qingqiu immediately labeled him with two Fate Traits—deceitful and glib-tongued.
What utter nonsense.
His biological father was nowhere near that impressive.
Composing himself, Li Qingqiu withdrew his hand and asked calmly, “Thank you for your kind words, sir. May I ask where you learned your art of physiognomy?”
Zhang Yu composed himself, took a respectful step back, and saluted.
“I studied under the Old Man of the Nine Veins. You may not have heard of him—he has long secluded himself from the world and lived to a hundred and thirty, now enjoying his final years of peace.”
Li Qingqiu didn’t question him but smiled faintly.
“And teaching all our disciples by yourself—would that be too great a burden?”
“No burden at all,” Zhang Yu replied, smiling broadly.
“Though your sect is small, it is filled with hidden dragons and dazzling talents—destined for greatness! Zhang Yu would be honored to offer his service. Of course, if the Sect Master could add thirty more copper coins to my monthly pay, that would be even better.”
He spoke clearly and confidently, his tone strong and sonorous—giving off the air of a true scholar.