Chapter 309: Benevolence and Hegemony

Regarding the name list provided by his Master, Yuan Li did not question it. Any Disciple his Master favored was undoubtedly a Genius among ten thousand. However, if he were to take on Disciples himself, he would still need to feel a personal connection.

After Yuan Li withdrew, Li Qingqiu got up and went to take a stroll around the Sword Sect.

Recently, several more geniuses had emerged in the Sword Sect, and he had to go see for himself.

Although no Disciple with a special destiny that truly caught his eye had appeared within the sect for the time being, every single Disciple represented the future of the Qingxiao Sect. It was still his duty to go and observe them.

Several days later.

Wei Tianxiong returned.

He was extremely excited, taking down two high-grade Storage Pouches from his waist. These two high-grade Storage Pouches could hold two small mountains; he had poured his heart into crafting them. Due to scarce Materials, mass production was not possible for now.

“That Demon Lord Immortal Palace is truly extraordinary, actually hiding so many Heaven And Earth Treasures. Where on earth did you get the information about it? I observed that the palace was very deeply concealed, difficult for ordinary people to discover,” Wei Tianxiong asked excitedly after sitting down.

Li Qingqiu countered with a question instead of answering: “Can we advance the teleportation Formation project?”

“Yes. We expect to be able to construct eight teleportation Formations. While we can’t completely blanket the world with them, using them for long-distance teleportation to the borders won’t be difficult.”

A smile appeared on Wei Tianxiong’s face. Ever since he devoted himself wholeheartedly to the development of the Qingxiao Sect, his mindset had also been transforming.

In the past, he only wanted to nurture the Qingxiao Sect to seek revenge for the Shenyuan Cult. Now, he was starting to treat the Qingxiao Sect as his own child.

Any progress made by the Qingxiao Sect, as long as he was personally involved, gave him a sense of accomplishment.

“Besides the teleportation Formations, the progress on the Heaven Mending Grand Array can also be advanced. I’ll also study the qingxiao token further; I feel some of its abilities can be preliminarily realized,” Wei Tianxiong continued.

Li Qingqiu sighed with emotion, “Your joining is truly a blessing for the Qingxiao Sect. For millennia to come, future Disciples will surely remember your contributions.”

These words made Wei Tianxiong feel very comfortable inside. He was originally Li Qingqiu’s prisoner; to receive such treatment and status exceeded his expectations, which made him increasingly recognize Li Qingqiu.

Wei Tianxiong also began to envision the future of the Qingxiao Sect. Li Qingqiu loved discussing this topic because the stronger the Qingxiao Sect became in the future, the more face he would have.

After a long while.

Li Qingqiu once again assigned a task to Wei Tianxiong, concerning the matter of the ghost ship outside Yuantie Port Town.

Wei Tianxiong became interested upon hearing this and said, “Actually, the seas are not only home to Cultivation Schools but also many unknown things. Perhaps that ghost ship might not necessarily be a calamity. I’ll make the arrangements for the Formation tasks in the next few days and then go investigate.”

Li Qingqiu nodded; he wasn’t in a hurry about this matter… Following Li Yang and Lu Qing, the Qingxiao Sect seemed to be experiencing a major explosion of Spiritual Consciousness Realm Breakthroughs, with Disciples successively stepping into the Spiritual Consciousness Realm.

Within the following three months, Yang Dong, Zhu Xunyang, Invincible Xiao, Xiao Wuming, Yang Xuan, and Han Lang successively entered the Spiritual Consciousness Realm. Their tribulations occurring close together made the Disciples feel like someone was Undergoing Tribulation every few days. Even the new Disciples witnessed the majestic heavenly might of the Heavenly Tribulation.

Against this backdrop, the Cultivation fighting spirit of the Qingxiao Sect Disciples grew even higher.

With more and more Spiritual Consciousness Realm Disciples, Li Qingqiu also felt more at ease. At least when mobilizing Spiritual Consciousness Realm experts, he didn’t need to be as cautious as before.

Time arrived at May.

Li Qingqiu finally reached the Spiritual Consciousness Realm seventh layer. Having just made the Breakthrough, he was in a pleasant mood. And on this very day, Wei Tianxiong happened to return.

Li Qingqiu arrived at the Lingxiao Courtyard. Wei Tianxiong, who had been waiting for a long time, impatiently waved him over.

“Good news?” Li Qingqiu asked with a smile, then walked over and sat down in his own chair.

Wei Tianxiong said, “That ghost ship indeed has a background. It should be a Magical Artifact. The reason it cannot be contacted is because the ship shadows around Yuantie Port Town are merely projections. This ghost ship should be trapped in a certain sea area. This ship is not simple. I observed it carefully; it’s a top-grade Dharma ship. If we can obtain it, never mind the treasures left on board, its inherent Restrictions and Formations are worth studying. Moreover, possessing such a ship would give the Qingxiao Sect a good start for how to campaign across the Tianming Sea.”

The vast sea is endless; Cultivators cannot maintain flight indefinitely and must land to recover their Origin Qi. Therefore, maritime tools like Dharma ships and Spirit Vessels are essential.

The waves of the Tianming Sea are terrifying and hide countless demons and monsters. Secular vessels are insufficient to cross it, so Li Qingqiu had already instructed the Tiangong Hall to assign some Disciples to research such ships.

“Trapped? Then it probably won’t be easy to obtain, right?” Li Qingqiu asked hesitantly.

Wei Tianxiong hurriedly explained, “Since its projection can appear near Yuantie Port Town, its true body shouldn’t be far from Yuantie Port Town either. As for danger, that’s hard to say. But Opportunities in this world rely on seizing them; it’s impossible to be completely without danger.”

After hearing this, Li Qingqiu fell into contemplation.

“I can lead a team to search for the ghost ship, but I need you to assign five Spiritual Consciousness Realm Disciples to assist me,” Wei Tianxiong continued.

Five?

That many?

Li Qingqiu grew even more hesitant.

Wei Tianxiong explained, “If we encounter special natural Restrictions, I’ll need manpower to help overcome them. Also, activating that ghost ship requires a massive amount of Origin Qi. Trying to control it alone wouldn’t be easy.”

“Alright then, I’ll make the arrangements. When do you plan to set off?”

“Three days from now. I need to go back to the Tiangong Hall to check on the situation. I hope those Disciples haven’t made any mistakes.”

“Good.”

After finalizing the plan, Wei Tianxiong stood up, bowed, and left.

Li Qingqiu watched him, thinking of the past Yang Jueding. Now, Wei Tianxiong was truly diligent, never giving himself any rest time.

As for whether there was any trickery in this matter, Li Qingqiu chose to trust Wei Tianxiong, mainly because Wei Tianxiong’s loyalty level had not dropped.

This time, they still needed to have Yuan Li go along. The 【Indestructible Hegemon Body】 could ignore natural Restrictions. With him present, this matter would be much easier to handle.

Speaking of Yuan Li, that kid had already taken on seven Disciples in the last few months. Three of them were from the list of geniuses Li Qingqiu provided, with excellent Cultivation Aptitude. The other four he chose himself from within the sect had average Aptitude. Li Qingqiu did not point this out.

He needed to let Yuan Li understand that his Master’s discerning eye was not just empty talk.

Three days later, Wei Tianxiong set off for Yuantie Port Town with Cloud Color, Yuan Li, Invincible Xiao, Lu Qing, and Yang Dong.

This lineup alone was enough to show how seriously Li Qingqiu regarded this matter.

They moved quickly, arriving at Yuantie Port Town in less than half an hour, finally setting off aboard a Spirit ship.

Calling it a Spirit ship was actually a larger Spirit Vessel, with only two layers of Restrictions: one for acceleration and one for a protective shield.

Cloud Color, Invincible Xiao, Lu Qing, and Yang Dong stood at the stern, watching Wei Tianxiong being extremely attentive to Yuan Li at the bow. They all fell into silence.

Wei Tianxiong was usually so arrogant, never putting these geniuses in his eyes. The key point was that Wei Tianxiong was very strong; they were no match for him, so they could understand his arrogance.

It’s just… this scene before them was quite disheartening. Clearly, in Wei Tianxiong’s eyes, they and Yuan Li were not on the same level of Genius.

“Senior Brother Yuan Li’s blood and Qi are truly terrifying. Just standing there gives me immense pressure,” Invincible Xiao suddenly sighed.

Upon hearing this, Lu Qing and Yang Dong also sighed in agreement. Having entered the sect earlier, they were more familiar with Yuan Li. They couldn’t comprehend Yuan Li’s transformation, but they had to admit that the current Yuan Li was visibly powerful.

Cloud Color remained silent. She looked at Yuan Li, pondering her own Cultivation.

If she continued to diligently study the Hunyuan Scripture, could she make her Origin Qi and blood and Qi reach a powerful level like Yuan Li’s?

“No, this isn’t caused by a Cultivation Technique at all. It seems more innate. Whether it’s him or the Sect Leader, their Physical Bodies are completely different from others.”

Cloud Color rejected her own idea in her heart.

A bold thought suddenly occurred to her.

Could Yuan Li be the Sect Leader’s illegitimate son?

The Sect Leader knew how strong his own Bloodline was, so he had always held expectations for Yuan Li. No matter how many people doubted, he remained steadfast in his belief.

The more she thought about it, the more plausible it seemed.

The way she looked at Yuan Li changed.

Although Wei Tianxiong was busy attending to Yuan Li, he had been piloting the Spirit ship the whole time. The Spirit ship advanced swiftly, and before long, mist appeared on the sea ahead.

Cloud Color stopped her wild thoughts. Opening her Myriad Laws Spirit Eyes, she carefully looked ahead to guard against any enemy ambush… “Eldest Martial Uncle! Eldest Martial Uncle!”

A voice clamored outside Li Qingqiu’s Immortal Cave. It was Li Shoumin.

Li Qingqiu opened the stone door of the cave, and Li Shoumin quickly rushed in.

Li Qingqiu looked at him, feeling somewhat dazed.

The thirteen-year-old Li Shoumin looked too much like Li Sifeng, practically identical.

“Eldest Martial Uncle, you have to support me! I want to join the Experience Hall, but my father disagrees!” Li Shoumin said indignantly.

Don’t let his age of thirteen fool you. Relying on his outstanding Cultivation Aptitude, he was already at the Nourishing Origin Realm Seventh Layer. His existence made all the current geniuses pale in comparison, just like Zhao Zhen in the past.

Li Qingqiu looked at him and asked with a smile, “Why do you want to join the Experience Hall?”

Li Shoumin replied, “I want to go down the mountain for experience. I want to expand the Qingxiao Sect’s map. I feel the Nine Provinces Land is a bit too small.”

Li Qingqiu said, “When you come of age, or when you reach the Spiritual Consciousness Realm, I will agree to let you join the Experience Hall and go down the mountain for experience.”

Upon hearing this, Li Shoumin didn’t throw a tantrum. Instead, his eyes lit up, and he asked, “Really?”

“Really.”

“Thank you, Eldest Martial Uncle. You’re still the best to me.”

“You want to join the Experience Hall. What about your older brother?”

Li Qingqiu noticed that Li Shoumin hadn’t been clinging to Li Shouzheng these past two years. The two seemed to be deliberately distancing themselves from each other.

Sure enough.

Hearing Li Qingqiu mention Li Shouzheng, Li Shoumin’s smile vanished. He pouted and said, “How would I know what he thinks?”

Li Qingqiu asked, “Did you two have a falling out?”

“No. We just talked about the future and realized our philosophies were different. We made a bet to proceed according to our own ideas and see who is right and who is wrong later,” Li Shoumin answered.

Li Qingqiu became interested and asked, “What future?”

Li Shoumin hesitated for a moment, then said, “We plan to go to the west, each to establish a Dynasty. He wants to govern with benevolence and righteousness. I want to govern with hegemony. Then we’ll see whose Dynasty is stronger.”

Hearing this, Li Qingqiu was stunned.

How old were these two kids, to dare think so far ahead?