The news that Jiang Zhaoxia and Li Sifeng had gone to participate in the Martial Arts Tournament excited all the Azure Firmament Sect disciples. While working in the fields, their enthusiasm for practicing martial arts increased significantly.
Yang Jueding, regretting that he couldn't attend the tournament, channeled his fighting spirit onto the Seven Sons of Azure Firmament.
As the earliest batch of disciples, both Li Qingqiu and Yang Jueding hoped they would become the sect's pillars, capable of shouldering certain management responsibilities in the future.
The reason Yang Jueding wasn't sent to the Martial Arts Tournament was twofold: consideration of the Azure Cult threat, and the fact that this wasn't Jiang Zhaoxia's first time down the mountain. He had some experience, and the tournament would serve as an opportunity to temper him further.
This spring and summer, without Li Sifeng around, Li Qingqiu unexpectedly found the sect feeling somewhat quiet, even though the number of disciples kept increasing.
Every month, Zhang Yuchun would go down the mountain. Besides recruiting several new disciples, he would also hire craftsmen to come up. He planned to build a main hall, to be used for gathering all the disciples in the future. Li Qingqiu had no objection; the sect's buildings indeed needed improvement.
The gold ingots Li Yang left behind were no ordinary thing. They were a specialty of Linchuan. Though not pure gold, they were exquisitely made. Zhang Yuchun went down the mountain to the city and sold one for a full three hundred strings of cash. Added to the remaining funds of Azure Firmament Sect, building a main hall wasn't difficult. They weren't pursuing opulence anyway.
During this process, Zhang Yuchun encountered some minor troubles, but fortunately, Yang Jueding accompanied him.
In the Great Li Dynasty, one string of cash equaled one thousand copper coins. Thirty copper coins were enough to buy a dou of rice, and one dou was about six kilograms.
With the annual financial and material contributions from the Qin family, Azure Firmament Sect, after covering expenses, still had a surplus. However, the sect had yet to develop its own industries, so its income was insufficient. There was no helping it—the disciples were too young, still in the stage of learning martial arts, so they couldn't generate income for the sect. Li Qingqiu was already gratified that they could help with some farm work and manual labor.
Even martial arts sects needed to pursue wealth. People needed to eat, weapons cost money, and practicing martial arts required significant investment.
One summer day, Li Qingqiu and Li Sijin were cultivating in the underground spirit lake.
Li Qingqiu sat cross-legged by the lakeshore. Across the lake was a patch of grassland where Li Sijin was carefully observing the plants.
This grassland was no ordinary plot. The plants growing there were all medicinal herbs. Li Qingqiu wanted to see if the spiritual energy of the underground spirit lake could transform these medicinal herbs into spirit plants—that is, vegetation imbued with spiritual energy. He had entrusted this task to Li Sijin.
"Senior Brother, it worked!"
Li Sijin's delighted cry made Li Qingqiu open his eyes. He immediately rose, leaped across the lake, and landed beside her.
Li Sijin crouched before a medicinal herb, saying excitedly, "Senior Brother, focus your senses! There's spiritual energy inside it. It's even emitting faint spiritual energy. Is this what you call a spirit plant?"
Li Qingqiu crouched down and focused his senses. Finding that it was indeed true, he was pleasantly surprised.
When Azure Firmament Sect eventually transitioned into a cultivation sect, secular currency would inevitably be phased out. Spirit stones and spirit plants would become the most important hard currency, as disciples could rely on them for cultivation. That was why he placed such importance on cultivating spirit plants.
"Truly excellent work, Sijin. You've made a great contribution!"
Li Qingqiu praised her. Since after the New Year, aside from cultivating the Earth Talisman Codex, Li Sijin had spent all her remaining time on cultivating spirit plants. The process had gone smoothly—at least faster than he had anticipated.
He suddenly realized something.
Inherited techniques weren't actually the key to the Daoist Legacy's development. Fortune Opportunities were.
A single underground spirit lake had laid the foundation for Azure Firmament Sect's current prosperity. If they found a few more, wouldn't the sect truly take off?
The Taikun Mountain Range was vast and rich in resources. Perhaps other underground spirit lakes existed.
"Really? Then I'll remember that. I want to be an Elder in the future!" Li Sijin said with a proud smile. A tremendous sense of achievement welled up inside her. She suddenly realized that cultivating spirit plants wasn't boring at all—it was quite meaningful.
Li Qingqiu said earnestly, "If you excel at this, combined with your Earth Talisman Codex, you will become the most important person in Azure Firmament Sect."
"Hehe, that's exaggerating too much. Senior Brother, you're the most important. Azure Firmament Sect can do without anyone else, but it cannot do without you."
"Hahaha, it should be that it cannot do without the seven of us."
The two began complimenting each other, in high spirits. After chatting for a bit, they continued inspecting the other medicinal herbs, checking if there was a second spirit plant.
Unfortunately, there was no second one. But they weren't disappointed. Having one spirit plant proved that the endeavor was possible.
...
The success of cultivating spirit plants wasn't widely announced within Azure Firmament Sect, but Li Qingqiu's mood had improved considerably. For several days afterward, he greeted everyone he met with a smile, leaving the disciples flattered and curious about what happy event had befallen him.
One noon, the weather was gradually turning hot.
Li Qingqiu stood in the forest, watching the disciples practice. On an open patch of ground ahead stood dozens of wooden stakes of varying heights. Cheng Canghai was nimbly leaping across the stakes, his movements agile, drawing occasional exclamations from the eight waiting disciples at the edge.
This was the lightness skill training ground Cheng Canghai had built with his own hands. He was responsible for teaching the disciples lightness skills. This was his first class, and Li Qingqiu had come to observe personally. So far, the results were good.
The King of Thieves still had some genuine skill.
After missing the Crown Prince's hunting expedition, Cheng Canghai had abandoned that ambition. Coupled with his intense curiosity about Azure Firmament Sect, he had formally pledged himself to the sect.
His aptitude and comprehension were decent—both rated as "good"—but he possessed no special Destiny.
Having aptitude and comprehension reach the "good" level proved that Cheng Canghai had the qualifications for cultivation. For now, Li Qingqiu was still evaluating him.
Though Cheng Canghai appeared confident on the surface, he was actually quite nervous inside. Joining Azure Firmament Sect, he harbored ambitions. He wanted to become a figure with real power, on equal footing with Yang Jueding. Therefore, he held nothing back and taught the disciples diligently.
After demonstrating several times, Cheng Canghai had the disciples try one by one, staying close behind, ready to catch them at any moment.
This attitude made Li Qingqiu nod involuntarily. Cheng Canghai's peripheral vision just happened to catch this, greatly boosting his confidence.
Just then.
A line of text appeared before Li Qingqiu's eyes:
[Because the Azure Firmament Sect under your leadership has, for the first time, shaken the martial world and established its name, the Daoist Legacy has embarked on the path of renown. You have obtained one Destiny selection opportunity.]
Oh?
Jiang Zhaoxia and Li Sifeng succeeded?
A smile appeared on Li Qingqiu's face. It seemed sending his disciples out to explore was the right path. Simply living in seclusion would actually limit the Daoist Legacy's development.
This time, he had obtained what he wanted most—a Destiny selection opportunity. He had already decided; this opportunity would be reserved for little Yuan Li.
The words "Indestructible Body" were thrilling just to think about. Moreover, none of the other disciples possessed particularly special Destinies. He wasn't interested in Wu Man'er's Elephantine Strength.
Wu Man'er was formidable now, but if it truly came to a life-or-death battle, Li Qingqiu could kill such an opponent instantly with the Resurrection Ghost Immortal Needle.
Li Qingqiu smiled and nodded toward Cheng Canghai, then turned and left. His attitude greatly encouraged Cheng Canghai, filling him with even more motivation.
After watching Cheng Canghai's teaching, Li Qingqiu still needed to check on the other training grounds. The fish pond, horse ranch, farmland, and other developed areas were also waiting for his inspection.
People all had a tendency toward laziness. As Sect Master, Li Qingqiu's presence not only supervised the disciples but also motivated them, making them believe their efforts were being noticed by the Sect Master.
The more disciples there were, Li Qingqiu found, the busier he became. The disciples' loyalty to him and to the sect would fluctuate, and his appearances also affected their loyalty. This made him increasingly interested in the art of governance.
For now, Azure Firmament Sect as a whole was thriving, with no major problems.
...
A month passed quickly. The season reached late summer.
Jiang Zhaoxia and Li Sifeng had finally returned, but Jiang Zhaoxia was severely injured. He had been carried up the mountain on a wooden stretcher by Li Sifeng and a yellow-clad woman.
By the time Li Qingqiu arrived at the courtyard, Li Dongyue was already treating Jiang Zhaoxia with the Resurrection Ghost Immortal Needle.
Seeing Li Qingqiu's grim expression, the other disciples quickly made way.
Li Sifeng turned his head to look at Li Qingqiu, his face showing his grievance, the corners of his eyes reddening.
"What happened?" Li Qingqiu asked.
Jiang Zhaoxia was at the third layer of the Nourishing Origin stage. How could he be severely injured and unconscious?
Had they been surrounded and attacked again?
Li Sifeng clenched his teeth and said, "On our way back, we were ambushed by the Heavenly Knife Sect. Their Sect Master was defeated by Third Senior Brother and held a grudge, so he gathered a large number of disciples to intercept us in the Taikun Mountain Range."
Heavenly Knife Sect?
Li Qingqiu glanced at Yang Jueding. Upon hearing the words "Heavenly Knife Sect," Yang Jueding's expression shifted slightly.
Yang Jueding immediately explained, "The Heavenly Knife Sect is one of the seven great sects of Guzhou, with two hundred years of history. Its ultimate art, the Heavenly Knife, is the most lethal blade technique in the current age. The Heavenly Knife Sect operates among the common people; towns along river systems all have their strongholds. Their number of disciples is incalculable. They fight with other martial factions year-round—they're even more overbearing than the Seven Peaks Alliance."
"Wait, you said that Jiang lad defeated the Heavenly Knife Sect Master?"
Yang Jueding looked at Li Sifeng in shock, his eyes wide.
Cheng Canghai, standing outside the crowd, was secretly alarmed. Even the Heavenly Knife Sect Master was no match for Jiang Zhaoxia?
King of Thieves or not, to him, the Heavenly Knife Sect Master was a legendary figure not to be provoked.
Li Sifeng lifted his chin. "Of course. Third Senior Brother defeated the Heavenly Knife Sect Master within thirty moves. Not only that, he also overcame over a dozen martial arts experts, finally losing only to the number one in the martial world. If he hadn't been fighting continuously and running low on internal energy, he might not have lost to that number one. Even so, my Third Senior Brother has made a name for himself. Many sects actively sought to befriend us; we got to know quite a few experts."
Yang Jueding pressed further, "Who became number one in the martial world?"
"An old man named Yu Zhiyi."
"So it's the old senior Yu. He actually came out of seclusion. No wonder."
Yang Jueding's expression cleared, a look of respect appearing on his face.
Li Qingqiu could sense that Jiang Zhaoxia's aura was stable; his life wasn't in danger. He frowned at Li Sifeng. "Don't change the subject. How exactly was he injured?"
If even the Heavenly Knife Sect Master was no match for Jiang Zhaoxia, there had to be more to the story.
Li Sifeng hesitated, unsure whether to tell the truth.
Just then, the yellow-clad woman who had accompanied them up the mountain spoke, her face filled with misery. "It's because of me that he was injured. That old villain Cheng kidnapped my younger brother and forced me to find an opportunity to poison him. That's how the Heavenly Knife Sect got their chance. I had no choice. I'm just an ordinary woman who knows no martial arts. I ran an inn with my father. After he died, only my brother and I were left, depending on each other for survival. Now my brother has been killed by Old Villain Cheng. I have neither the face nor the will to live in this world."
Having said this, she suddenly turned and charged toward a wooden pillar behind her, attempting to take her own life.