Yuan Li's creation of the Body Cultivation Dao made many disciples curious. Even the Hall Masters grew curious.
As a result, people kept coming to ask him what body cultivation really was.
With Yuan Li demonstrating again and again, the name Gang Yuan spread. More and more disciples began to believe in him, and some even started to admire him.
Yuan Li was only twelve years old. Being able to create the Body Cultivation Dao at that age was enough to prove his talent. Some disciples even believed that the reason his cultivation progressed slowly was simply because of his age.
Some people grow tall quickly when they are young, but stop growing after sixteen. Others grow slowly at first, yet shoot up rapidly after sixteen. This was enough to show that everyone's growth path was different, with no fixed pattern.
Yuan Li's success once again proved that the Sect Master's judgment was extraordinary. Of course, there were still people who clung to conspiracy theories. They believed the Sect Master was deliberately promoting Yuan Li, and that the so-called Gang Yuan was actually something the Sect Master had personally taught him.
Regardless of whether the disciples believed it or not, Yuan Li's achievement was already engraved along the Forging Path. It would be remembered by future generations of disciples.
After several months of spreading, the existence of the Qi Clan's demonic creatures had completely spread across the world. Li Qingqiu's act of slaying demons was also widely discussed by people everywhere.
Over these years, Li Qingqiu had slain the Demon Emperor and exterminated demonic beings. Now, he had wiped out the demonic monsters again. His reputation had reached its peak. More and more people believed he was an immortal walking among mortals, and that Qingxiao Sect was a place for cultivating immortality.
More and more people came to Qingxiao Sect to seek apprenticeship.
Qingxiao Sect moved the disciple assessment site to Ziyang Peak, and construction on the third mountain peak also began.
At present, the busiest people in Qingxiao Sect were the menial disciples and registered disciples. The sect also hired over ten thousand craftsmen. The daily grain consumption was enormous. Fortunately, many great families were continuously supplying resources.
At the end of April, endless carriages arrived one after another, escorted by large numbers of guards. This caused many disciples on the mountain to look on in surprise.
"Another great family delivering money and grain?"
"The world is in such chaos, yet these families can still take out so much food. Tsk tsk. This world is truly unfair."
"Throughout history, has there ever been a martial sect as prosperous as our Qingxiao Sect?"
"I heard the Sect Master sent people down the mountain again to distribute grain. And he did it openly. Those great families just watched and didn't dare say a word."
"What could they say? All they need to do is send their goodwill to Qingxiao Sect. As for how we use it, they can't control it, and they don't care."
On a cliff of Qingxiao Mountain, Zhang Yuchun and Zhu Yan stood side by side, looking down at the convoy below, which stretched like a long dragon.
Zhu Yan sighed. "The Li clan of Linchuan is truly wealthy."
Zhang Yuchun said calmly, "The current Qingxiao Sect is no longer what it used to be. No matter how many gifts they send, we don't need to give them much face."
Zhu Yan glanced at him and asked, "Do you know how the Sect Master plans to cultivate Li Yang in the future?"
"That I don't know. But Li Yang will definitely shoulder important responsibilities in the future. The Li clan won't be able to block that," Zhang Yuchun replied.
Hearing this, Zhu Yan narrowed her eyes.
She felt pressure.
Zhu Xunyang was strong, but compared to Li Yang, there was still a gap.
At this moment, it was not only them watching the generous gifts sent by the Li clan. Other Hall Masters, Deputy Hall Masters, elders, and disciples were also watching from afar.
With its overwhelming wealth, the Li clan forcefully pushed itself into the view of everyone within Qingxiao Sect.
Li Qingqiu, however, was not watching at all.
Elsewhere, inside an underground palace on the northern side of Qingxiao Mountain, the structure was not very large and had little decoration. Oil lamps stood one after another along the walls.
Li Qingqiu stood side by side with Mo Jiuhong. Mo Jiuhong looked extremely excited as he gazed at the twenty disciples standing in front of them, his eyes filled with anticipation.
"From today onward, the Dark Hall is established. Mo Jiuhong will serve as the Hall Master. You are the first batch of Dark Hall disciples. Your identities are known only to me. You are forbidden from revealing your existence to anyone, including Hall Masters, or your own family and friends."
Li Qingqiu swept his gaze across the twenty disciples and spoke seriously.
These disciples all had loyalty toward Li Qingqiu above ninety-five, making them worthy of trust.
Upon hearing Li Qingqiu's words, the disciples were equally excited.
The Dark Hall!
Directly controlled by the Sect Master. No matter how one looked at it, this was clearly a group of trusted confidants.
Li Qingqiu continued, "Hall Master Mo will train you. In the future, your duty will be to infiltrate various factions. Your reward will be two times that of the Eight Halls' disciples. Based on the intelligence you provide, there will also be additional rewards. However, if anyone submits false information, they will be severely punished. In the future, I may send you into martial sects, or have you placed by the emperor's side. I may even require you to monitor the sect's own Hall Masters."
"From today onward, each of you must come up with a codename for yourselves. Hall Master Mo will record them into a register. This register will be personally kept by me."
The twenty disciples listened intently to Li Qingqiu's instructions. They could all feel how heavy the responsibility of being a Dark Hall disciple was.
Mo Jiuhong also gradually grew serious.
He had been entrusted with an important role, but this task would not be easy. It would certainly involve danger.
Even so, he did not retreat.
After spending several months by True Person Qingxiao's side, serving tea and running errands, he had done all kinds of dirty and exhausting work. Yet True Person Qingxiao never promoted him. That experience made him see things clearly.
Within Qingxiao Sect, serving only one person was the safest choice.
That person was the Sect Master.
Li Qingqiu had high expectations for the Dark Hall. He planned to build two intelligence systems. The first would be the sect's intelligence network, handled by Zhang Yuchun. The second would be his personal intelligence system, the Dark Hall, which would serve him alone.
He was not guarding against the Hall Masters. He was simply taking precautions before problems arose.
As more and more mountain peaks were developed for the sect, the division of the Eight Halls was inevitable. As authority at every level became more complete, future struggles over利益 would only grow more intense. As the Sect Master, he could not possibly resolve everyone's conflicts. What he needed to do was restrain all factions while ensuring his own eyes could see farther.
He did not feel annoyed or tired at all. Instead, it even felt like playing a strategy game in his previous life.
After staying in the Dark Hall for one hour, Li Qingqiu finally left. He handed the remaining matters over to Mo Jiuhong.
…
At the training grounds of the Spiritual Treasury Hall, Yang Xuan sat cross-legged beneath a tree. He held a spirit herb in his hand, lost in thought.
After coming to Qingxiao Sect, Li Dongyue tilted cultivation resources toward him, causing his cultivation to soar rapidly. With dual Excellent talent, he had already reached the Nurturing Essence Realm, fourth layer.
Although in the current Qingxiao Sect, the Nurturing Essence Realm, fourth layer was no longer considered top-tier, Yang Xuan's potential made everyone in the Spiritual Treasury Hall full of expectation for him.
A young man walked into the courtyard and quickly approached Yang Xuan.
It was Ye Nan, who possessed the Fate of Born Hero and Sudden Enlightenment.
Back then, the Qi Clan had sent Ye Nan's master, the Overbearing Saber Mo Li, up Qingxiao Mountain to capture the Qilin. After being discovered, Mo Li committed suicide before Li Qingqiu. Later, Ye Nan was invited up the mountain and eventually chose to join Qingxiao Sect.
At first, Ye Nan had his doubts. He feared that Li Qingqiu might have been deceiving him. But after staying in Qingxiao Sect for a long time, he discovered that no one monitored him, nor was he treated coldly. This made his sense of belonging to Qingxiao Sect grow stronger and stronger.
Later, when the Sect Master slew the Qi Clan's demonic creatures, and the corpse of the tree demon was delivered to Qingxiao Sect by Xiao Ba, Ye Nan completely believed Li Qingqiu's words. The last trace of unease in his heart finally dissipated.
Now, Ye Nan had let go of past grudges and only wanted to cultivate diligently.
"Senior Brother Yang, the sect is preparing to open a Body Cultivation school for Senior Brother Yuan Li. Do you want to go listen?" Ye Nan walked up to Yang Xuan and asked curiously.
On ordinary days, his relationship with Yang Xuan was the closest. First, because they were the same age. Second, because their temperaments matched well.
Yang Xuan raised his eyes and looked at him.
"I won't go. I'm not interested in body cultivation. You go ahead."
Ye Nan squatted down and asked curiously, "Senior Brother Yang, what are you thinking about?"
Yang Xuan replied, "You know that I can sense the emotions of plants. Lately, I've been thinking about whether I can create a cultivation path based on this trait, similar to body cultivation or sword cultivation."
"Seriously? Senior Brother Yang, if you succeed, our Spiritual Treasury Hall will benefit a lot," Ye Nan said excitedly, even happier than Yang Xuan himself.
Yang Xuan shook his head and smiled.
"It's just a hypothesis. It won't be that easy."
Ye Nan chuckled.
"Skipping the Body Cultivation Dao lecture is fine, but I'm having a duel tomorrow. You have to come to the Martial Arena to watch and boost my momentum."
"Who's your opponent?"
"Ning Shu."
"What cultivation level?"
"Nurturing Essence Realm, second layer. Don't worry. Anyone I can challenge will definitely be around my level. It's just that this Ning Shu comes from the Ning clan of South Chu Prefecture. He's a noble family disciple with a lot of lackeys around him."
"Alright. I'll go with you tomorrow."
"Senior Brother really looks after me."
Ye Nan was very happy. He sat down beside Yang Xuan and began talking about some sect news he had heard that day.
Qingxiao Sect was undergoing bold and sweeping construction. It was changing with each passing day. New things appeared daily, and new people joined constantly. There was never a lack of stories here.
…
With the Qi Clan threat gone, Li Qingqiu's days became more leisurely. Busy cultivating, he felt time pass extremely quickly.
Before he realized it, time had reached early July.
That day, shortly after noon, Zhu Yan came to Li Qingqiu's cave dwelling.
"Sect Master, Hall Master Li Sifeng has broken with the Pei clan," Zhu Yan walked up to Li Qingqiu and reported.
Li Qingqiu opened his eyes.
"For what reason?"
"It seems to be due to a power struggle. The Pei clan appointed a direct heir as Grand Marshal of the three armies, which angered Hall Master Li Sifeng. In a fit of rage, he took Pei Miao'er and left the Pei clan, heading north."
"Heading north?"
"Yes. It's said that Hall Master Li Sifeng declared he would rely on himself to raise an army and contend with the Pei clan for the world."
Hearing this, Li Qingqiu understood Zhu Yan's purpose. He asked, "Does the Zhu clan have thoughts of its own?"
Zhu Yan answered, "Now that the world is already divided among feudal lords, if Hall Master Li Sifeng wants to rise, he will definitely need assistance. If the Zhu clan does not step in, others will naturally help him. After all, he stands behind Qingxiao Sect. Rather than letting unknown great families influence Hall Master Li Sifeng, why not let our Zhu clan assist him?"
Li Qingqiu looked at her without speaking.
Zhu Yan was frightened by his gaze. She lowered her head. Her heartbeat quickened, and unease filled her heart.
Had she overstepped?
"You may handle it as you see fit. Remember, you must not mobilize Qingxiao Sect disciples to assist him, including disciples with the Zhu surname," Li Qingqiu's voice finally sounded.
Hearing this, Zhu Yan lifted her head in delight and immediately promised that only secular forces would be used to assist Li Sifeng.