Night fell. Su Xiling returned to Zhu Yan's courtyard. She saw Zhu Yan sitting at the stone table, an oil lamp on the table illuminating her veil and eyebrows.
Zhu Yan looked up as Su Xiling approached. "Has Azure Firmament Sect's trouble been resolved?"
Su Xiling sat across from her, her expression somewhat dazed. She picked up the teapot and poured herself a bowl of tea.
Seeing her so listless, Zhu Yan frowned. "What happened?"
Su Xiling took a deep breath. She looked at Zhu Yan and asked, "Miss, do immortals truly exist in this world? The court officials pursue sorcerers, and the world is full of tales about immortal arts..."
The candlelight illuminated the confusion on her face. She couldn't forget the scene of Li Qingqiu killing the Demon Sect Seven Evils, then stepping onto an eagle and soaring into the sky.
She couldn't comprehend Li Qingqiu's martial arts. It completely exceeded the bounds of martial arts. She could only think of immortals from myths and legends.
Zhu Yan answered softly, "The world is vast and full of wonders. Whether cultivators truly exist, I don't know. But the court's sorcerers are all charlatans playing tricks and conjuring spirits. It's these parasites that caused the Great Li to experience years of turmoil, nearly tearing the realm apart."
Su Xiling hesitated for a moment, then recounted everything she had seen and heard during the day.
After hearing this, Zhu Yan fell silent. The two maidservant and mistress looked at each other without words.
Outside the courtyard, noise grew louder. Azure Firmament Sect disciples were returning from the mountain, all very excited, discussing the day's thrilling battle. The name they mentioned most was Xu Ning, not Li Qingqiu.
Zhang Yuchun had instructed the disciples: they could discuss the Sect Master, but only behind closed doors, since there were guests on the mountain.
In another guest courtyard.
Ku Yi stood beside Yan Lan, anxious. He had been urging for a long time, but Yan Lan always refused to go down the mountain.
Hearing the commotion outside the courtyard, Yan Lan spoke. "We'll go down tomorrow. Even if we must leave, we should bid farewell to Sect Master Li. It's only proper."
He hadn't told Ku Yi and Ku Er about the astonishing scene he had witnessed. First, he wasn't sure if he had hallucinated. Second, he felt this matter shouldn't be spread.
If Li Qingqiu truly was a reclusive immortal, once news reached the court, many would come looking for him.
Especially his father.
Hearing the discussions in the courtyard, Ku Yi frowned, suspicion in his heart.
The Demon Sect Seven Evils had appeared, yet Azure Firmament Sect still emerged victorious?
He dared not let his guard down. If the Demon Sect Seven Evils had infiltrated Azure Firmament Sect, he would need to be strictly vigilant tonight.
Inside Lingxiao Courtyard.
Li Qingqiu pushed open the door and stepped out. Humming a tune, he was in an excellent mood. He couldn't help calling up the notification again to savor it.
[Because Azure Firmament Sect has weathered a calamity with no loss of life, you have obtained one Fortune Opportunity.]
He also had two Inheritance opportunities—one triggered by a disciple obtaining an auspicious omen, and one triggered by Jiang Zhaoxia destroying the Azure Cult.
He planned to open them all tomorrow and see if the surprise was substantial.
He walked to the long table in the courtyard and sat down, waiting for Zhang Yuchun and the others to return.
After killing the Demon Sect Seven Evils, he had observed for a while to ensure no one could threaten Xu Ning before leaving.
With Xu Ning's ability, individually, none of the Seven Evils could match her. But if the seven joined forces, Li Qingqiu feared she might be injured. Leaving one expert for her to practice on was enough.
Li Qingqiu wasn't worried about today's events—standing on Xiao Ba and killing enemies—spreading. Even if they did spread, he didn't care. There was no video evidence. Moreover, the world was full of people fabricating legends about themselves. At the edge of the Taikun Mountain Range, there was a faction whose leader claimed to be favored by the river god and able to recognize ghostly bodies.
How many factions and families boasted of mastery esoteric arts, fooling the common people, establishing prestige, and increasing their reputation?
Those who were fake didn't fear spreading. Why should he, with a genuine cultivation sect, be afraid?
Li Qingqiu simply wanted to develop steadily and couldn't recruit disciples blindly—after all, disciples needed to eat.
After sitting in the courtyard for a while, Li Dongyue and Li Sijin hurried in and walked toward him.
"Senior Brother, the trouble down the mountain has been resolved. Second Senior Brother is leading people to bury the bodies. Xu Ning and Elder Yang are accompanying them."
Li Dongyue came to Li Qingqiu's side and spoke softly.
Li Sijin was not so gentle. She came behind Li Qingqiu, grabbed his shoulders with both hands, and shook him vigorously, chattering, "Senior Brother, was that move you used today Third Senior Brother's Sword Control Art, or the Supreme Sword Control Art? And how could you stand on Xiao Ba's back? Teach me quickly! I want Xiao Jiu to become my mount too!"
Li Qingqiu let her shake him and said, unimpressed, "Xiao Jiu isn't as big as Xiao Ba. Aren't you afraid of falling off?"
Li Dongyue smiled, then stopped disturbing their playfulness. She headed to the kitchen to prepare some food for Zhang Yuchun and the others to take down at night.
From Azure Firmament Sect to the mountain base, the journey was rough. But since the mountain path was built, disciples could go up and down much faster. Even delivering food late at night wasn't so troublesome, as long as they brought torches and oil lamps.
Li Qingqiu pulled Li Sijin to sit down and asked her to describe how the disciples performed facing the various sects.
After he left, the Azure Firmament Sect disciples had fought another major battle, routing the motley coalition of factions and killing several hundred enemies.
Without the three major sects as the main force, those factions weren't worth mentioning—just bullies who oppressed the common people.
Li Qingqiu listened attentively and was very satisfied with their performance.
At least the disciples had all gained valuable experience.
After this battle, things should be peaceful for a while.
Once Jiang Zhaoxia, Li Sifeng, and the others returned, Li Qingqiu would keep them at the sect. That would give them even more combat power.
With Jiang Zhaoxia present, Li Qingqiu wouldn't even need to go down the mountain. Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning joined forces would definitely have buried the Demon Sect Seven Evils at the mountain's foot.
And Wu Man'er—though his cultivation hadn't increased much, his martial arts talent was extremely high. Combined with his third-layer cultivation, any single expert from the Demon Sect Seven Evils would be no match for him.
Thinking this way, Li Qingqiu felt Azure Firmament Sect was truly established. Next, he needed to consider cultivating the second-generation disciples.
Besides Xu Ning, he had to nurture several second-generation disciples who could stand on their own. Qin Ye and Xue Jin's abilities weren't enough yet.
Unfortunately, Yuan Li was still young, and awakening his Indestructible Body remained a difficult problem.
After Li Sijin went to help Li Dongyue, Li Qingqiu drank alone, thinking to himself, Heavens, send me another genius comparable to Ning'er.
That night, every courtyard in Azure Firmament Sect was brightly lit. The heavy snow gradually subsided; it seemed winter was coming to an end.
...
The moon set, the sun rose. The next afternoon, Yan Lan arrived at the mountain gate, seeking to visit Li Qingqiu. He waited a while before being informed he could enter Lingxiao Courtyard.
Early that morning, Li Qingqiu had gone to receive his Inheritance rewards, obtaining the Formation Basics Compendium and the Mountain Lord Divine Curse.
The Formation Basics Compendium recorded various methods for cultivating and creating basic formations. It was now firmly imprinted in Li Qingqiu's mind and suited him well. He planned to write it down and see if any disciples were suited to learn it.
The Mountain Lord Divine Curse was a spell that condense a Mountain Lord Divine Body for battle. The so-called Mountain Lord was a tiger that had lived a hundred years in the deep mountains. The spell's power was hard to judge, but from the inheritance memory, the Mountain Lord Divine Body was quite intimidating. Ordinary people would probably be scared weak at the first sight.
These two Inheritances pleased Li Qingqiu greatly, especially the Formation Basics Compendium. What kind of cultivation sect didn't establish formations?
In high spirits, he had Yuan Qi summon Yan Lan and his two attendants, who had been waiting at the mountain gate.
Xu Ning sat to Li Qingqiu's right, Yuan Li to his left. The three waited together for their meal.
Li Qingqiu looked sideways at Yuan Li. This kid's cultivation aptitude truly lived up to its "extremely low" rating. Even after going to the underground spirit lake, he still hadn't reached the first layer of the Nourishing Origin stage.
It seemed that without awakening his Indestructible Body, it would be very difficult for him to become a cultivation genius.
Soon, Yuan Qi led Yan Lan, Ku Yi, and Ku Er over.
Yan Lan approached the table, bowed with clasped hands, and smiled. "Sect Master Li, I've come to bid you farewell."
Seeing Yan Lan bow, Ku Yi and Ku Er frowned, confusion in their hearts.
Though His Highness was friendly to people, he didn't bow to just anyone—let alone bend at the waist.
Li Qingqiu looked at Yan Lan and asked with a smile, "Why not stay a few more days? The New Year is almost here."
"Better not to disturb you. After I leave, I'll first visit the Prefectural Governor's manor. The newly appointed Governor is from my mother's clan. I'll ask him to look after Azure Firmament Sect, as repayment for Sect Master Li saving my life." Yan Lan shook his head.
Saving his life?
Confusion flickered in Xu Ning's eyes. Had the Demon Sect Seven Evils been targeting him?
The strength of the Demon Sect Seven Evils and the Bloodblade Dian Ming was clearly higher than those faction experts, and they weren't on the same path. Those martial artists had all been frightened by Dian Ming's power.
Li Qingqiu understood what he meant and said, "It wasn't saving a life. They merely stepped onto Azure Firmament Sect's territory and attempted to harm my disciples."
Regarding Yan Lan, Li Qingqiu hadn't sought to ingratiate himself. In ordinary times, they rarely even met. Even though he had inadvertently saved Yan Lan's life, he made no special demands.
Of course, if Yan Lan insisted on repaying him, he wouldn't refuse.
In Guzhou, the Prefectural Governor was equivalent to a local emperor. If they could gain his favor, future matters for Azure Firmament Sect would be much smoother.
Many tasks in the future would require sending disciples. Disciples didn't have his cultivation level and would inevitably encounter obstacles.
"Regardless, without your intervention, I would indeed have been doomed. Additionally, I want to ask one more favor."
"What is it?"
"I want to send my son to Azure Firmament Sect to learn martial arts. He's been intelligent since childhood—could recognize characters at two, began martial arts at three. Imperial Protective Guard experts all say he's a peerless genius. Him coming to Azure Firmament Sect won't damage the sect's reputation. Treat him like an ordinary disciple, put him to work as you see fit."
Yan Lan spoke earnestly. He paused, then continued, "When the time comes, I'll have Ku Yi and Ku Er personally deliver him. They'll remain at Azure Firmament Sect afterward. You may dispatch them for any task."
Ku Yi and Ku Er's faces drastically changed. They hastily tried to dissuade Yan Lan, but no matter what, they couldn't change his mind.
Initially, Li Qingqiu also wanted to refuse. But Yan Lan was so insistent, even offering to kneel on his son's behalf, that the matter had to be settled.
After they went down the mountain, Li Qingqiu wondered: if what Yan Lan said was true, was this child truly a peerless genius?
Yan Lan didn't seem like someone prone to boasting.
Two days after Yan Lan and his party departed, Jiang Zhaoxia's group and Li Sifeng's group unexpectedly returned together. Li Qingqiu personally welcomed them. Besides caring for his junior brothers, he also wanted to see what that auspicious omen looked like.