The Lunar New Year arrived. Qingxiao Mountain and Ziyang Peak were decorated with lanterns and banners, lively and festive.
The matter of Zhou Ya privately founding a sect caused quite a stir within the sect. Many disciples felt that if Zhou Ya had not been doing good deeds, his punishment would not have been limited to being demoted to a menial disciple. At the same time, it showed that the Sect Master still carried chivalry in his heart.
On the day of the festival, Li Yang returned.
With the Qi clan destroyed and Ling Tian Sect gone, Li Yang naturally no longer needed to guard the Li clan.
He came to Lingxiao Courtyard and spoke privately with Li Qingqiu.
"Sect Master, thank you for saving my clansman's wife and child," Li Yang said, while observing Li Qingqiu's expression.
After Li Qingqiu and the others brought Xu Hong and Madam Xu with her child to the city, they parted ways. The Li clan had members spread across cities all over the world. As long as they did not enter enemy-controlled cities, they would safely return home.
Li Qingqiu did not care much about this and replied casually, "I just happened to run into them."
He had saved Madam Xu and her child not because of the Li clan. Even if they had been strangers, he would have acted the same.
He would not harbor hatred toward the Li clan just because his parents had abandoned him. After all, his parents had also deceived the Li clan.
Li Yang sighed and said, "These past days, following the Li clan, I've seen how chaotic the world is. The foundations of great families are deeper than I imagined. I even suspect they foresaw the age of chaos long ago and prepared weapons and supplies in advance. Oh right, that clansman of mine, Li Yuzhong, is no ordinary person. At such a young age, he's already a Great General, commanding 30,000 troops. I think if he cultivated immortality, his talent might not be inferior to mine."
Li Qingqiu noticed his look and said impatiently, "Stop beating around the bush. Say what you want."
Li Yang hesitated for a moment, then said, "Actually, Li Yuzhong is your real younger brother. The ones you saved were your sister-in-law and nephew."
He believed Li Qingqiu had long known his own background, which was why he said it directly.
Li Qingqiu said calmly, "No. Don't start getting ideas, and don't speak for others."
Li Yang quickly explained, "I definitely won't spread it. But some elders in the clan have already guessed this. In the future, they might come bother you."
"You'd better block them for me. If I get angry, I don't mind making the Li clan disappear," Li Qingqiu said seriously.
Li Yang felt awkward and did not know what to say.
Li Qingqiu continued, "I can tolerate you, which means I've already let go of the past. In the future, if there are good seedlings among the Li clan disciples, they can come to Qingxiao Sect to cultivate immortality. But if anyone wants to use ties that have already been severed to persuade me, I'll personally extinguish their hope."
"Li Yang, now that you know this, restraining the Li clan's greed is your responsibility. If you fail, and one day the Li clan is destroyed by me, that will be your fault."
Seeing Li Qingqiu speak so clearly, Li Yang took a deep breath and said, "I know what I have to do."
After that, Li Qingqiu changed the topic and asked about his cultivation.
Li Yang had already given up his Martial Champion status and his dream of fighting on the battlefield, devoting himself fully to immortal cultivation. This made Li Qingqiu very satisfied. He hoped Li Yang could grow quickly and shoulder more responsibility in the future.
After Li Yang left, Li Qingqiu looked toward a tender blade of grass in the corner of the courtyard.
"I hope the days ahead can be more peaceful."
Li Qingqiu muttered to himself. Qingxiao Sect needed time. Give him another 10 years, and he was confident he could lead Qingxiao Sect into an entirely new stage.
…
The first major event of the new year was the official establishment of the Beast-Taming Hall. From that day on, Qingxiao Sect expanded from 7 halls to 8 halls.
At the beginning of the 2nd month, all Beast-Taming Hall disciples had arrived and gathered at the training ground.
100 disciples stood around in small groups, chatting. With the Sect Master and Hall Masters arriving today, every disciple was extremely excited.
The Cheng Xiu siblings, whom Li Sifeng had once saved, were also present. They were just as excited, feeling as if clouds had parted to reveal the sky.
"The Sect Master is here!"
A Beast-Taming Hall disciple ran in from the gate, shouting excitedly.
The disciples immediately lined up. With no one directing them, they still stood neatly, as if they had rehearsed it before.
Very soon, Li Qingqiu and Cheng Canghai entered through the courtyard gate and walked toward the training ground. The moment the disciples saw Li Qingqiu, their emotions surged. They struggled to restrain themselves. Only now did they truly believe that the Beast-Taming Hall had really been established.
Cheng Canghai was just as excited. He had rushed back from Mount Tianji and only arrived today. Over the past few months, Qingxiao Sect had already established communication routes with low-level demon realms, with dedicated disciples handling transmissions.
He was currently explaining his beast-taming insights to Li Qingqiu. He had already formed emotional bonds with several demon beasts. Although he still could not command them as freely as Li Qingqiu commanded Xiao Ba, he had seen hope in the path of beast taming.
Using demon beasts in battle was absolutely a shortcut, with limitless potential in the future.
"You're thinking too simply," Li Qingqiu said. "Beast tamers shouldn't just command demon beasts to act. You can also cultivate spells and techniques together. You can think in that direction in the future."
These words stunned Cheng Canghai.
Cultivating spells together?
It sounded absurd, but thinking carefully, it might not be impossible.
Li Qingqiu walked up to the Beast-Taming Hall disciples, while Cheng Canghai stood to the side, half a step behind him.
Li Qingqiu swept his gaze over all the disciples. He did not linger on the Cheng Xiu siblings. After scanning everyone, he raised his hand and let out a sharp whistle.
Immediately, piercing cries echoed across the sky. All the disciples looked up to see 2 black shadows appear high above. They dove straight down, stirring up terrifying wind pressure. Dust exploded across the training ground. The disciples raised their arms to shield themselves, their bodies bent under the overwhelming force.
After the raging winds died down, Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu appeared on the palace rooftop behind Li Qingqiu. Even with their wings folded, the 2 black eagles still looked enormous. Xiao Ba stood nearly 6 zhang tall, while Xiao Jiu was about 3 zhang tall. Beneath their talons, the Beast-Taming Hall's discussion palace looked short and small.
Looking at these 2 majestic demon beasts, every Beast-Taming Hall disciple was breathing rapidly.
They all understood what the Sect Master meant.
Just imagining that they would one day have such mighty and massive demon partners of their own made it hard for them to control their emotions.
Li Qingqiu was very satisfied with their reactions. He spoke, saying, "As you can see, in the future you will also have demon beasts like these. Remember, I said partners, not pets, and definitely not slaves. Demon beasts are like humans. They have hearts. When they reach a certain realm, they can even communicate with us."
He began laying down the core principles of the Beast-Taming Hall.
Having spent so long with Xiao Ba, Li Qingqiu truly treated it like a younger brother. In the future, he also planned to bring Bai Zhi into the Beast-Taming Hall. Because of that, he first had to establish the correct concept of beast taming.
The disciples listened intently. Especially when Li Qingqiu talked about his experience raising Xiao Ba, they listened even more carefully, barely daring to blink.
Over the following period of time, disciples passing by the Beast-Taming Hall would occasionally hear cheers and shouts coming from inside. They were loud and spirited, letting everyone feel the fighting spirit of the Beast-Taming Hall.
Mingguang and Wu Xingyue from the Heavenly Works Hall returned from the Source Iron Blessed Land and happened to pass by the Beast-Taming Hall. When they saw Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu, they found it hard to look away.
Wu Xingyue fell into thought. She had already successfully refined her 2nd artifact. As long as she had good materials, she felt that refining artifacts was not difficult.
What was difficult was innovation.
The 2nd artifact she created was not fundamentally different from the Mystic Flame Mirror. It was still just a container filled with restrictions that made it easier to cast spells.
She thought about the storage bag the Sect Master had given her before. The spatial restrictions inside that storage bag were far too exquisite. She had still not fully understood them.
"If demon beasts could be stored inside a bag, Beast-Taming Hall disciples would have it much easier. In the future, demon beasts could even play a much bigger tactical role."
Thinking this, Wu Xingyue snapped back to her senses after Mingguang urged her and quickened her pace up the mountain.
They first needed to return to the Heavenly Works Hall to meet Zhu Yan.
After a full 1 hour passed, Li Qingqiu finally walked out of the Beast-Taming Hall gate alone. Xiao Ba and Xiao Jiu also flapped their wings and flew into the sky. Xiao Jiu returned to the Thousand Spirits Blessed Land to cultivate, while Xiao Ba still had to head to the northern region to transport demon wood.
There was no helping it. The Ancient God's corpse was simply too massive. Even after 2 months of hauling, Xiao Ba had not finished moving it all.
For Qingxiao Sect, those demon woods were extremely precious and could not be wasted. Occasionally, Mo Jiuhong and Shen Yue would also go along with Xiao Ba to prevent any accidents.
Of course, as long as no immortal cultivators appeared, martial world experts could not do anything to Xiao Ba. The current Xiao Ba was no longer afraid of arrows.
…
Day after day passed quickly. Qingxiao Sect was bustling with construction. Some were building towns. Some were constructing courtyards and pavilions. Others were reclaiming farmland. Everywhere was busy.
Li Qingqiu still spent most of his time on his own cultivation. Even after eliminating the Ancient God, he was still eager to reach the Awakening Spirit realm as soon as possible.
It was not because he sensed some looming calamity. He simply wanted to become stronger.
Time reached the middle of the 3rd month.
While staying inside his cave abode, a notification suddenly popped up before Li Qingqiu's eyes:
[Given that Qingxiao Sect has produced its first body cultivator, adding more possibilities to Dao Lineage Inheritance development, you have obtained 1 Fortune Opportunity]
Li Qingqiu opened his eyes. A body cultivator?
He immediately felt pleasantly surprised.
Shen Yue had become a sword cultivator and created a Sword Soul. His strength had skyrocketed, even surpassing Xu Ning. This showed that different cultivation identities represented higher realms within different paths.
Then what kind of power was a body cultivator?
It should not be something as simple as merely strengthening the physical body.
Li Qingqiu was not in a hurry to go see them. That person would come to him on their own.
He did not even plan to open the Fortune Opportunity. The Fortune Opportunity he obtained from destroying the tree demon's clone earlier was also still being saved.
Because he had an idea.
Fortune Opportunities were chosen based on his current cultivation realm. If he waited until reaching the Awakening Spirit realm before opening them, the value of the Fortune Opportunity would definitely be higher.
If he were still far from the Awakening Spirit realm, that would be one thing. But he was already at the 9th layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. Waiting a bit longer was completely reasonable.
Besides, the sect had not yet fully absorbed and utilized all the Blessed Lands it currently possessed.
Li Qingqiu closed his eyes and continued cultivating.
It was not until evening that he returned to Lingxiao Courtyard.
Someone was already waiting for him inside. This person surprised him.
It was not Zhao Zhen. Not Ji Ya. And not Xiao Wudi.
It was Yuan Li.
Before even awakening the Indestructible Tyrant Body, Yuan Li had actually taken the lead and become a body cultivator?
"Master, I've had a small bit of success with the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art. Would you like to take a look?" Yuan Li asked, looking at Li Qingqiu cautiously.