Chapter 48: An Unexpected Harvest
Flying toward Li Qingqiu were two black eagles, one large and one small.
The larger one was his own pet, Little Eight, while the smaller was Li Sijin’s, named Little Nine — naturally, its name was inspired by Little Eight.
Originally, Li Qingqiu had wanted to use a chicken or a pig to test the Thousand Spirit Fruit, but it happened that Little Nine had fallen ill with a strange disease.
Even with the Ghostly Immortal Needle of Rejuvenation, its life could only barely be sustained.
Li Sijin was heartbroken, so Li Qingqiu decided to treat a dead horse as if it were still alive and brought Little Nine over for the trial.
The result was astonishing — after consuming the Thousand Spirit Fruit, Little Nine not only recovered but became lively and vigorous again.
According to Li Qingqiu’s observation, its blood and vitality had been greatly enhanced, and its bones were slowly strengthening as well.
The Thousand Spirit Fruit could be regarded as a sacred medicine for healing wounds and also for strengthening the body.
As for how many fruits one could consume before reaching a limit — that remained unknown for now.
After taking the Thousand Spirit Fruit, Little Nine also successfully followed in Little Eight’s footsteps, becoming able to better absorb Li Sijin’s vital energy.
Previously, Li Qingqiu had instructed his junior brothers and sisters to imitate him by infusing wild creatures with vital energy, yet none of them had succeeded in nurturing a creature capable of generating its own vital energy like Little Eight.
This only proved that Little Eight’s innate talent was extraordinary.
The two black eagles landed before Li Qingqiu.
Little Eight folded its wings and stood tall, nearly as high as he was.
Though Little Nine was much smaller, its head almost reached his waist.
Little Eight affectionately rubbed its head against Li Qingqiu’s shoulder, while Little Nine flapped its wings excitedly, full of liveliness.
Both young creatures had begun to show early signs of intelligence — especially Little Eight, whose intellect Li Qingqiu felt had already reached that of a small child.
“You’ve been stealing food again, haven’t you?”
Li Qingqiu noticed bits of bloody flesh hanging from Little Eight’s beak and couldn’t help but ask.
Little Eight spread its wings — nearly three zhang wide — and chirped twice.
Though it did not speak human words, Li Qingqiu could understand it perfectly.
This unspoken understanding was something even he could not explain; perhaps it was because his own vital energy resided within Little Eight.
“A snake? How big?”
“Chirp—gu gu—”
“That big? Then you two must drive them away.
Don’t let them come near this place.”
“Chirp chirp—”
Hearing its assurance, Li Qingqiu smiled with satisfaction and reached out to rub its head.
Then, both black eagles leaped skyward, stirring up gusts of wind that billowed Li Qingqiu’s robes.
He watched them vanish into the thick mist.
Now, Li Qingqiu had stationed the two eagles here to drive away beasts lurking within the fog, while also guarding the Blessed Land of a Thousand Spirits.
Of course, he checked the Thousand Spirit Tree each time he visited, in case the eagles tried to sneak a bite.
Fortunately, when he wasn’t around, the eagles dared not approach the tree — its vines were aggressive and would strike at anything unfamiliar.
Strangely, the Thousand Spirit Tree was only affectionate toward Li Qingqiu.
No one else had ever been touched by its vines; perhaps this was because Li Qingqiu had been the first to discover it.
There were plenty of skeletons scattered throughout the mist outside, yet not a single person had managed to reach this place.
The fog seemed to be a trial set by the Thousand Spirit Tree, and Li Qingqiu was the first to pass it.
…
Snow blanketed the mountains for thousands of miles.
The winter atop the Ancient Great Mountain Range remained as bitterly cold as ever.
Zhu Yan sat upon a cliff, her face covered by a light veil.
In front of her lay a guqin, and draped around her shoulders was a thick robe made of beast fur.
As snowflakes drifted and her music echoed through the air, it created a scene of poetic grace.
Not far away stood Su Xiling, dressed in her usual azure robes, gazing down the cliff.
Her clothing was hardly fit for winter — not much different from what she wore in summer or autumn.
When the song ended, Zhu Yan lifted her hands from the strings and asked, “Xiling, what are you watching so intently?”
Without turning her head, Su Xiling replied, “I’m watching the disciples of the Clear Sky Sect practicing their sword formation. They’re called the Thirteen Sword Fiends — what a tongue-twisting name, as if they were sword-wielding ghosts. But I must admit, their formation looks rather decent.”
“The Thirteen Sword Fiends… Are they the students of Jiang Zhaoxia?” Zhu Yan asked.
“That’s right. Jiang Zhaoxia is down there too, though he’s been sitting on a rock in meditation for half an hour now — I haven’t seen him practice once,” Su Xiling said, her tone puzzled toward the end.
Zhu Yan smiled faintly.
“Geniuses like him can’t be measured by common sense. It’s just like that Xu Ning — have you ever seen her practice martial arts?”
“That’s true… Huh? What a powerful sword aura!”
Su Xiling had just agreed when her tone suddenly shifted to surprise.
Following her gaze, the one who had unleashed the sword aura was none other than the leader of the Thirteen Sword Fiends — Xue Jin.
Xue Jin’s strike carved a five-zhang-long gash into the snow.
After releasing his sword aura, he half-knelt to the ground, panting heavily.
The twelve disciples around him quickly gathered, all visibly excited.
“What domineering sword energy! Senior Brother Xue, you’ve done it!”
“This Heaven Net Sword Formation is truly exquisite. We act as the illusion, and Senior Brother as the substance — with sword energy like that, who could withstand it?”
“Senior Brother, you’re incredible. We’ve trained together for the same length of time, yet even forming a wisp of sword energy is beyond me.”
“Indeed. Without you, our sword formation would be a complete joke.”
Hearing their words, Xue Jin lifted his head with a wry smile — though inwardly, he was filled with joy.
The Primordial Unity Scripture was truly remarkable!
At that moment, he felt immense gratitude toward Li Qingqiu.
Without that scripture, his martial prowess would not have surpassed that of his fellow disciples by much.
Struggling to his feet, he said, “We still have time. Before the New Year, let’s make sure everyone can manifest sword energy!”
Jiang Zhaoxia had already told them that once the New Year passed, they would descend the mountain for training.
Each of them might face mortal danger, which filled them with both excitement and urgency.
In the distance, Jiang Zhaoxia glanced toward Xue Jin, secretly satisfied.
Once again, he couldn’t help but admire Li Qingqiu.
The twelve disciples he himself had chosen had not impressed him — yet the one recommended by Li Qingqiu had given him pleasant surprises.
He now regarded Xue Jin as a true personal disciple and understood that the future achievements of the Thirteen Sword Fiends would hinge upon Xue Jin’s skill.
He closed his eyes once more, continuing to ponder the way of the sword.
Over the past two months, his sparring sessions with Li Qingqiu had sparked many ideas.
The Heaven Net Sword Formation had been his own creation — but it wasn’t enough.
He wanted to craft even more sword arts for the Clear Sky Sect, to establish a Sword Division worthy of the sect’s name.
Elsewhere —
Within the Lingxiao Courtyard atop the mountain gate, Li Qingqiu was listening to Zhang Yuchun report about recent events down the mountain.
As the Clear Sky Sect expanded, the first three courtyards had been named Lingxiao Courtyard by Li Qingqiu.
Ordinary disciples were forbidden to enter, a rule insisted upon by Yang Jueding and Zhang Yu.
Recently, Zhang Yuchun, who had advanced to the Second Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, had led another expedition down the mountain — not with the Seven Sons of Clear Sky, but with older disciples.
This time, they had recruited eight new members.
“The rebel army in Guzhou has been subdued. I saw the imperial troops in the county — they’re posting notices everywhere, vowing to eradicate the rebels completely. They’ve also issued new relief policies for disaster victims. Senior Brother, it seems peace is finally returning to the land,” Zhang Yuchun said excitedly.
Leaving the Ancient Great Mountain Range, one easily encountered war and chaos.
Thus, most of the disciples Zhang recruited were orphans, and their numbers had remained limited.
Now that the realm was settling into peace, there was no longer fear of conflict.
He could lead disciples far and wide to spread the name of the Clear Sky Sect — and he was confident their numbers would soon double.
Li Qingqiu listened quietly while carving a piece of wood with the Flying Fish Knife.
“Senior Brother, our farms, ranches, fish ponds, and hunting grounds are all running smoothly, but we still lack manpower. Though the rebellion was crushed, bandits and brigands remain everywhere. I propose sending Li Sifeng with a team to eliminate them and spread our sect’s name — that’ll help us attract more disciples,” Zhang Yuchun said earnestly.
Li Sifeng was already fifteen, turning sixteen in half a year.
His cultivation had reached the Third Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm — at that age, Jiang Zhaoxia had already begun fighting enemies.
Li Qingqiu replied, “Let Cheng Canghai accompany him. Though Sifeng has been out several times and gained experience, he’s still not fully grown.”
“Cheng Canghai? That works. He’s been performing well since joining. I’ll also have Man’er go with them,” Zhang Yuchun thought aloud.
Wu Man’er was also at the Third Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, and in terms of sheer strength, Li Sifeng was no match for him.
Li Qingqiu said, “You handle the arrangements. They can start by patrolling the areas around the Ancient Great Mountain Range and return before the New Year.”
“No problem!”
With Li Qingqiu’s approval, Zhang Yuchun immediately stood up to make preparations.
“Wait — have them take Bai Ning’er with them,” Li Qingqiu suddenly said.
Zhang Yuchun paused, surprised.
“You mean that disciple who’s close to Miss Su?”
He didn’t know much about Bai Ning’er but was familiar with Zhu Yan and Su Xiling.
“Yes, that’s him.”
Though puzzled, Zhang Yuchun nodded and quickly departed.
In truth, Li Sifeng had personally requested to go down the mountain.
So when Zhang Yuchun informed him that the senior brother had approved, he was overjoyed.
That very day, the trio began selecting their team and packing their belongings, hurrying down the mountain in excitement.
Li Sifeng, Wu Man’er, and Cheng Canghai led nine disciples to eliminate bandits — a mission that soon became the talk of the Clear Sky Sect.
The disciples were thrilled, each hoping for the day when they too would receive such a task.
To uphold justice and eliminate evil — this was the dream of most martial practitioners.
It was a chance to display their strength and earn a noble reputation.
…
A month passed swiftly.
Within Lingxiao Courtyard, Li Qingqiu was feeding Yuan Li a Thousand Spirit Fruit, while Li Dongyue stood on the roof, gazing into the distance.
Snow fell heavily, blanketing heaven and earth in white.
The flakes that drifted near her melted before touching her.
When Li Qingqiu saw Yuan Li actively take the fruit in his hands, he smiled, then looked up at Li Dongyue and said, “Junior Sister, come down. They’ll be fine.”
Li Dongyue turned to him, frowning.
“Tomorrow is the New Year, and there’s less than an hour before nightfall. If they don’t return by then, should we go down the mountain to search for them?”
Just as Li Qingqiu was about to answer, he sensed something.
Turning his gaze toward the horizon, he said, “They’ve returned.”
Hearing that, Li Dongyue’s eyes lit up with joy.
She didn’t doubt him for a second — leaping from the roof, she vaulted over the courtyard wall and dashed toward the mountain gate.
Li Qingqiu didn’t rise; he simply turned back to watch Yuan Li munching on the Thousand Spirit Fruit.
The boy sat on a small stool, holding the fruit carefully in both hands, behaving very obediently.
Moments later, a lively commotion echoed through the courtyard as Li Sifeng came running in first.
His robe was slightly torn, but his face was radiant with pride.
He rushed up to Li Qingqiu, grabbed his arm, and said excitedly, “Senior Brother, come see our harvest! You’ll never guess what we’ve found!”