Li Qingqiu and the other 2 traveled while stopping along the way. As the 10-day deadline drew near, they finally began sword flight. By the evening of the 10th day, they at last returned to Qingxiao Mountain.
Shen Yue's face was slightly flushed. Mo Jiuhong, on the other hand, was panting heavily. Maintaining long-distance sword flight with vital energy was extremely taxing for him.
After returning, Li Qingqiu had Yuan Qi strike the bell.
The bell at Lingxiao Courtyard was newly installed. It was meant for quickly summoning the hall masters.
Discussions at Mystic Heart Hall required at least the status of a hall elder, while discussions at Lingxiao Courtyard could only be attended by hall masters.
As night fell, one hall master after another entered the courtyard. Seeing that Li Qingqiu and Shen Yue had returned safely, all of them finally let out a breath of relief.
"Did those demon woods really come from the same demon?"
Yang Jueding sat across from Li Qingqiu and asked curiously.
Li Qingqiu was busy responding to Li Dongyue and Li Sijin, so he answered casually, "Once everyone is here, we'll explain everything together."
Yang Jueding nodded. As long as Li Qingqiu was back, that was already good news.
To be honest, during the days Li Qingqiu was gone, he had truly felt uneasy. Even though nothing had gone wrong in the sect, his heart had not been settled.
At some point, he had also started relying on this kid.
While waiting, Yang Jueding noticed that Shen Yue's aura was slightly unstable, so he asked with concern, "Senior Shen, are you injured?"
Shen Yue glanced at him and said, "The tree demon was dealt with by the Sect Master. I only held off the Qi clan's thousands upon thousands of martial fighters by myself. How could I be injured?"
"Thousands upon thousands? Seriously?"
Yang Jueding widened his eyes and exclaimed.
Li Dongyue, Li Sijin, and even Chai Yunshang in the corner all turned their gazes toward Shen Yue.
Shen Yue kept a straight face, stroked his beard, and did not explain further, quietly hiding his achievements.
Li Qingqiu was amused. This old fellow really knew how to show off.
Once everyone had arrived, Li Qingqiu finally began explaining the trip to Cangzhou. He did not go into detail about the battle itself, but he vividly described the immense size of the Ancient God.
When they heard that Li Qingqiu had torn apart an Ancient God as large as a mountain, everyone looked at him with strange expressions.
True Person Qingxiao could not help but ask, "Could it be that the Nurturing Essence realm has dozens of layers?"
He had voiced the thoughts of Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning. Both of them were at the 8th layer of the Nurturing Essence realm, yet they still could not imagine what realm Li Qingqiu was in now.
"The Nurturing Essence realm only has 9 layers. Don't overthink it," Li Qingqiu said with a shake of his head and a laugh.
Not giving anyone a chance to continue questioning, he immediately said, "The Ancient God has been eliminated, and the Qi clan has been flattened. Although there are still Qi clan members outside, and even some who became regional lords, as long as the Ancient God is destroyed, the Qi clan poses no threat to us. Qingxiao Sect has completely survived this calamity."
Hearing this, smiles appeared on everyone's faces.
The threat posed by the tree demon had been far too great. Even Xu Ning had been seriously injured, plunging the entire Qingxiao Sect into gloom.
"Starting tomorrow, the sect will resume normal operations. Disciples will no longer be stopped from going down the mountain. Hall Master Zhang and Hall Master Zhu, make use of your connections and continue investigating Ling Tian Sect. This will be a long-term task until Ling Tian Sect is completely uprooted."
As Li Qingqiu gave the order, Zhang Yuchun and Zhu Yan both nodded.
After that, Li Qingqiu instructed Zhang Yuchun to write down the events of the Cangzhou trip the next day and announce them to the entire sect. On one hand, it would completely reassure the disciples. On the other, it would boost morale.
"Next, the sect's construction efforts will focus on the Heavenly Works Hall. I want the Heavenly Works Hall to concentrate on formations and artifacts. I allow you to recruit 100 more people, dedicated specifically to researching formations and artifacts. Every disciple may study the Foundational Array Compendium. In addition, I will establish an extra reward system to encourage innovation among Heavenly Works Hall disciples. The demon wood will also belong to the Heavenly Works Hall."
Li Qingqiu looked seriously at Zhu Yan as he spoke. As soon as these words fell, the expressions of the other hall masters subtly changed. They had also set their sights on the demon wood.
That demon wood could withstand attacks from the 8th layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. Whether used to forge weapons or craft armor, it had extremely high value. Before they could even ask for it, Li Qingqiu had already allocated it to the Heavenly Works Hall.
Zhu Yan was naturally overjoyed and immediately bowed in thanks to Li Qingqiu.
Li Qingqiu swept his gaze across everyone and said, "I know what you're thinking, but compared to cutting it into weapons, it's better for the Heavenly Works Hall to refine it into artifacts. You need to understand this: the creations of the Heavenly Works Hall will eventually flow to all halls and benefit the entire sect."
After hearing this, the hall masters felt it made sense and quickly explained that they fully agreed.
Li Qingqiu did not dwell on their little thoughts. He then continued speaking about other development plans.
After the end of the year, the Beast-Taming Hall would be formally established. Li Qingqiu would personally teach beast-taming insights. At the same time, the Source Iron Blessed Land would be opened to disciples. He planned to build a small city centered around the port.
Li Qingqiu had many plans. Everyone firmly memorized them. None of them felt burdened. Instead, they felt highly motivated.
Developing the sect felt solid and reassuring to them. They had originally worried that after destroying the Qi clan, Li Qingqiu might become arrogant. Now it seemed they had been overthinking it.
Unknowingly, the hall masters also began to look forward to the future Li Qingqiu described. They looked forward to Qingxiao Sect becoming a true immortal cultivation sect.
The moon set and the sun rose. Early the next morning, Spirit Management Hall disciples went to post notices at the courtyards of both peaks, exposing the crimes of the Qi clan and the Ancient God.
The news quickly spread throughout Qingxiao Sect, causing all disciples to curse the Qi clan while marveling at the strength of the Sect Master and the Sword Saint.
Li Qingqiu had Zhang Yuchun specifically highlight Shen Yue's battle achievements. Of course, in the end, he still criticized Shen Yue, saying that Shen Yue had failed to fully carry out the sect's orders.
Even so, Shen Yue still stole the spotlight. After reading the notice himself, he was very satisfied. As for the sect's criticism, he did not take it to heart at all.
After Qingxiao Sect resolved the crisis, a large number of disciples began going down the mountain to carry out missions. Some of them even wanted to head into the martial world to spread the Sect Master's battle achievements, afraid that the whole world might not know about it.
Inside a cave abode.
Li Qingqiu sat on a stone bed, holding the Soul-Refining Banner. He was reading the memories of the Ancient God.
The Ancient God had lived for over 1,000 years. Its memories were unimaginably vast, making it difficult for Li Qingqiu to fully absorb them in a short time.
Li Qingqiu withdrew his Awakening Spirit and let out a breath.
From the moment the Qi clan made contact with the Ancient God, there had been no involvement from any stronger force.
Back then, the Qi clan had declined, while the Ancient God had been trapped deep in the mountains. The two sides had helped each other survive.
Seeing Li Qingqiu open his eyes, Nangong E leaned over and asked, "Master, that tree demon doesn't still have some hidden trick, does it?"
That day, after Li Qingqiu killed the Ancient God, the ground had shaken violently. Nangong E and Lin Chuan had quietly investigated and discovered many underground passages, as if something enormous had drilled its way out. They suspected it was caused by the Ancient God's roots.
After investigating for more than half a day, they confirmed that several of the Ancient God's roots had indeed broken off and disappeared.
"It does have some, but there's no need to worry. It's equivalent to giving birth to offspring. It won't resurrect because of this. And for those roots to grow into an Ancient God of that scale and strength, it would take 1,000 years," Li Qingqiu replied.
This was precisely why Ancient Gods could never be completely eradicated. Once they died, their roots would automatically detach and burrow deep underground.
Li Qingqiu had learned this from the Ancient God's memories. Even the Ancient God itself could not control this.
It was also worth mentioning that the reason the Ancient God's soul could take human form was because it was extremely close to the next major realm. It was equivalent to the 9th layer of the Nurturing Essence realm at full completion, just 1 step away from the Awakening Spirit realm.
Yet that single step had stalled it for many years.
Li Qingqiu guessed that its inability to break through was due to lacking the method for突破.
He was different. The Supreme Purity and Primordial Harmony Sutra recorded the breakthrough method. What it needed was merely the right opportunity.
Hearing Li Qingqiu say this, Nangong E was completely reassured.
Chu Jing popped out and said, "Master, can you create some kind of spell so I can also become one of your combat methods, like how Shen Yue uses the Sword Soul?"
As a Sword Soul, he had actually been unable to participate in battle. Thinking back on it afterward made him feel extremely frustrated.
Li Qingqiu glanced at him and said, "Cultivate first. I'll satisfy you later."
"Thank you, Master!" Chu Jing immediately bowed in gratitude.
Nangong E and Lin Chuan also floated over and made their requests. They wanted to shoulder more combat responsibilities as well. Li Qingqiu could only agree to all of them, saying that he would think about creating suitable spells later.
…
A 1,000-year-old tree demon discovered within the Qi clan. Qingxiao Sect's Sect Master heads north to slay the demon!
This piece of news shook Cangzhou, then spread toward Weizhou, Beiliang Province, and Zhongtian Prefecture. Because it involved the Qi clan and Li Qingqiu, it sparked intense curiosity among listeners. Passed from mouth to mouth, it spread like sparks into a wildfire, sweeping across the entire world.
By the end of the year.
Han Lang and the Sword Sect disciples brought Zhou Ya back. Facing Li Qingqiu, Zhou Ya immediately knelt down and tearfully confessed his actions.
Upon hearing that Zhou Ya had not passed on the Supreme Purity and Primordial Harmony Sutra, but rather a self-created cultivation method, Li Qingqiu's expression softened.
No wonder the prompt said this matter had far-reaching significance for the sect. Qingxiao Sect had essentially played the role of the Human Dao Patriarch Yang Xuan.
Li Qingqiu also gave the matter serious thought.
He believed that such things could not be completely prevented. One day, other immortal cultivation sects or families would inevitably rise. For them to threaten Qingxiao Sect's position would be very difficult.
Even if it could not be prevented, Li Qingqiu still hoped to delay the pace of this trend as much as possible.
"Considering your intentions were good, the death penalty is waived, but you won't escape punishment. For the next 3 years, you will be demoted to a menial disciple and are not allowed to leave the sect," Li Qingqiu said as he stared at Zhou Ya.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Ya was instantly overjoyed and hurriedly bowed in thanks to Li Qingqiu.
After thanking him, Zhou Ya cautiously asked, "Then how will my disciples outside be handled?"
Li Qingqiu glared at him and said irritably, "Do you think I'm some bloodthirsty person who insists on exterminating everyone?"
Zhou Ya let out a sigh of relief. He felt deeply moved and once again thanked Li Qingqiu on behalf of his disciples.
Han Lang, standing to the side, also felt admiration for Li Qingqiu. If he were the Sect Master, he felt he might not have been so magnanimous.
"I'll have this matter written up and posted in all courtyards to warn the disciples. After this, you may face criticism. Prepare yourself mentally."
Li Qingqiu stared at Zhou Ya and continued. His reason for doing this was twofold. First, it was a warning. Second, it was to plant a seed. If Qingxia Sect truly developed in the future, disciples would recall this matter and know that Qingxia Sect's immortal cultivation methods originated from Qingxiao Sect.
No matter how the world developed in the future, Qingxiao Sect had to remain the orthodox path of immortal cultivation.
No sect or family in the world was allowed to cultivate the Supreme Purity and Primordial Harmony Sutra. Once discovered, they would be completely exterminated.
Of course, it would be even better if Qingxiao Sect became the only immortal cultivation sect in the Nine Provinces.