Chapter 180: The First Body Cultivator

With the arrival of the Lunar New Year, Qingxiao Mountain and Ziyang Peak were decorated with lanterns and streamers, bustling with excitement.

Zhou Ya’s act of founding a private sect caused quite a stir within the sect. Many Disciples felt that if Zhou Ya hadn’t been doing it for a good cause, his punishment would likely have been more severe than just being demoted to a Utility Disciple. At the same time, this showed that the Sect Leader still held chivalry in his heart.

On the day of the festival, Li Yang returned.

With the Qi Clan wiped out and the Lingtian Sect gone, Li Yang naturally had no reason to keep guarding the Li Clan.

He came to the Lingxiao Courtyard and spoke with Li Qingqiu in private.

“Sect Leader, thank you for saving my cousin’s wife and child.”

Li Yang said as he observed Li Qingqiu’s expression.

After Li Qingqiu and the other two brought Monk, Madam Xu, and her son to the city, they parted ways. The Li Clan’s followers were spread across every city in the world; as long as they didn’t enter a hostile city, they would surely return safely.

Li Qingqiu didn’t care much about this and replied casually, “I just happened to run into them.”

He saved Madam Xu and her son not for the sake of the Li Clan’s Face; if he had encountered any other unrelated person, he would have stepped in as well.

He wouldn’t even hate the Li Clan for being abandoned by his parents; after all, his parents had also deceived the Li Clan.

Li Yang lamented, “During these days following the Li Clan, I’ve seen the chaos of this world. The foundations of the aristocratic families are deeper than I imagined. I even suspect they anticipated the chaotic times long ago, preparing armaments and provisions in advance. By the way, my cousin Li Yuzhong is quite remarkable. At such a young age, he has already become a Great General, commanding thirty thousand troops. I feel that if he were to Cultivate, his talent might not be inferior to mine.”

Noticing his gaze, Li Qingqiu said irritably, “Spit it out already. Stop beating around the bush.”

Li Yang hesitated for a moment before saying, “Actually, Li Yuzhong is your biological younger brother. You saved your sister-in-law and nephew.”

He felt that Li Qingqiu already knew about his background, which was why he spoke directly.

Li Qingqiu said calmly, “I didn’t. Don’t go getting any ideas, and certainly don’t speak on behalf of others.”

Li Yang quickly explained, “I naturally won’t say anything, but some elders in the clan have guessed this. I’m afraid they might come to bother you in the future.”

“You’d better stop them for me. If I get angry, I wouldn’t mind making the Li Clan disappear,” Li Qingqiu said seriously.

Li Yang was embarrassed and somewhat at a loss.

Li Qingqiu continued, “The fact that I can tolerate you shows I’ve moved past the past. In the future, if there are promising talents among the Li Clan’s Disciples, they can also come to the Qingxiao Sect to Cultivate. But if anyone tries to use severed ties to lobby me, I will personally snuff out their hopes.”

“Li Yang, since you already know about this, it’s your responsibility to keep the Li Clan’s greed in check. If you can’t do that and the Li Clan is destroyed by me one day, that will be your fault.”

Seeing that Li Qingqiu had laid things out so clearly, Li Yang took a deep breath and said, “I know what to do.”

Afterward, Li Qingqiu changed the subject and asked about his cultivation progress.

Li Yang had already given up his status as the top scholar in martial arts and his ideal of fighting on the battlefield to focus entirely on cultivation. This pleased Li Qingqiu, who hoped he would grow quickly and take on more responsibility in the future.

After Li Yang left, Li Qingqiu looked at a sprout in the corner of the courtyard wall.

“I hope the days ahead can be a bit more peaceful.”

Li Qingqiu murmured to himself. The Qingxiao Sect needed time. Give him another ten years, and he was confident he could lead the Qingxiao Sect to a brand-new stage… The first major event of the new year was the official establishment of the Demon Taming Hall. With this, the Qingxiao Sect went from Seven Halls to Eight Halls.

In early February, the Disciples of the Demon Taming Hall had all arrived and gathered on the hall’s practice field.

The hundred Disciples chatted in small groups. Today, the Sect Leader and the Hall Master were arriving, and every Disciple was very excited.

The siblings Cheng Xiu and her brother, who had once saved Li Sifeng, were also there. They were equally thrilled, feeling as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun.

“The Sect Leader is here!”

A Disciple of the Demon Taming Hall ran from the main gate and said excitedly.

The Demon Taming Hall Disciples immediately began to line up. Even without anyone leading them, they stood in good formation, as if they had rehearsed.

Soon, Li Qingqiu and Cheng Canghai walked through the courtyard gate toward the practice field. The moment they saw Li Qingqiu, the Disciples became excited. They tried hard to restrain their emotions, only now truly believing that the Demon Taming Hall had been established.

Cheng Canghai was also very excited. He had rushed back from Tianji Mountain and only arrived today. Over the past few months, the Qingxiao Sect had established communication routes with the lower-tier Demon Realms, with specific Disciples responsible for delivering messages.

He was sharing his insights on demon taming with Li Qingqiu. He had already established emotional bonds with several Yao Beasts. Although he couldn’t yet command them like Li Qingqiu did with Little Eight, he saw hope in the path of demon taming.

Controlling Yao Beasts for battle was definitely a shortcut with a bright future.

“You’re thinking too simply. A demon Cultivator shouldn’t just order Yao Beasts to do things; they can also Cultivate Spells and techniques together. You can think in that direction in the future.”

Li Qingqiu spoke, and his words left Cheng Canghai stunned.

Cultivating Spells together?

It sounded absurd, but upon careful thought, it wasn’t necessarily impossible.

Li Qingqiu walked all the way to the front of the Demon Taming Hall Disciples, while Cheng Canghai stood to the side, a step behind him.

Li Qingqiu scanned all the Disciples, his gaze not lingering on the Cheng siblings. After scanning the crowd, he raised his hand and blew a whistle.

Immediately after, series of screeches echoed through the sky, causing all the Disciples to look up. Two black shadows appeared high in the air and dived down, creating a powerful wind pressure that kicked up dust on the practice field. The Disciples raised their hands to shield themselves, their bodies bent by the pressure.

Once the wind subsided, Little Eight and Little Nine appeared on the roof of the palace behind Li Qingqiu. Even with their wings folded, the two black eagles looked massive. Little Eight was nearly six zhang tall, and Little Nine was also three zhang tall. Beneath their talons, the Demon Taming Hall’s assembly hall looked small.

Looking at these two magnificent Yao Beasts, the Disciples of the Demon Taming Hall all breathed heavily.

They all knew what the Sect Leader meant.

The thought that they would also have such magnificent and massive demon pets in the future made it hard for them to contain their emotions.

Li Qingqiu was satisfied with the Disciples’ expressions. He said, “As you can see, in the future, you will also have such Yao Beast partners. Remember, I said partners, not pets, and certainly not slaves. Yao Beasts have hearts just like humans. When they reach a certain Realm, they can even communicate with us.”

He began to lay down the principles of the Demon Taming Hall.

Having spent so much time with Little Eight, Li Qingqiu truly treated it like a younger brother. Furthermore, he planned to bring Angelica into the Demon Taming Hall in the future, so he first had to establish the correct concept of demon taming.

The Disciples listened intently, especially when Li Qingqiu shared his experience of raising Little Eight. They listened with even more focus, trying not to even blink.

In the time that followed, Disciples passing by the Demon Taming Hall would occasionally hear cheers and shouts coming from inside. They were very loud, letting the Disciples feel the fighting spirit of the Demon Taming Hall.

Ming Guang and Wu Xingyue from the Tiangong Hall returned from the Source Iron Blessed Land. As they happened to pass by the Demon Taming Hall, they saw the figures of Little Eight and Little Nine and found it hard to look away.

Wu Xingyue was lost in thought. She had successfully refined her second Magical Artifact. As long as there were good Materials, she felt that refining Magical Artifacts wasn’t difficult.

What was difficult was the innovation of Magical Artifacts. The second artifact she had crafted was not fundamentally different from the profound fire mirror; both were just containers holding Restrictions that made it easy to cast Spells.

She thought of the Storage Pouch the Sect Leader had given her previously. The spatial Restriction on the Storage Pouch was too exquisite, and she hadn’t yet fully grasped it.

“If Yao Beasts could be put into bags, it would be much more convenient for the Disciples of the Demon Taming Hall. In the future, Yao Beasts could even play a greater tactical role.”

Wu Xingyue thought to herself. At Ming Guang’s urging, she snapped out of it and quickened her pace up the mountain.

They first had to return to the Tiangong Hall to see Zhu Yan.

After a full hour had passed, Li Qingqiu finally walked out of the Demon Taming Hall’s main gate alone. Little Eight and Little Nine also took flight. Little Nine returned to the Thousand Spirit Blessed Land to Cultivate, while Little Eight had to head to the Northern Border to transport demon wood.

There was no other way; the Ancient God’s corpse was too massive. Little Eight had been moving it for two months and still hadn’t finished.

For the Qingxiao Sect, that demon wood was very precious and couldn’t be wasted. Occasionally, Mo Jiuhong and Shen Yue would follow Little Eight to prevent any accidents.

Of course, as long as no Cultivators appeared, people of the Martial Forest couldn’t do anything to Little Eight. The current Little Eight no longer feared arrows… Day after day passed quickly, and the Qingxiao Sect was bustling with construction. Some were building towns, some were crafting courtyards and pavilions, and some were clearing fields. Everywhere was busy.

Li Qingqiu still spent most of his time on his own cultivation. Even though the Ancient God had been eliminated, he was still eager to reach the Spiritual Consciousness Realm.

It wasn’t that he had discovered some catastrophe; he simply wanted to become stronger.

Time reached the middle of March.

While staying in his Immortal Cave, a notification suddenly popped up before Li Qingqiu’s eyes:

【Given that a Disciple of the Qingxiao Sect has achieved the status of Body Cultivator for the first time, adding more possibilities to the development of the dao lineage, you have gained one opportunity for a fortune.】

Li Qingqiu opened his eyes. Someone had become a Body Cultivator?

He was instantly pleasantly surprised.

Shen Yue had become a Sword Cultivator and created a sword soul, significantly increasing his strength and even making him stronger than Xu Ning. It was clear that different titles for Cultivators represented higher Realms in their respective paths.

What kind of power was this so-called Body Cultivator?

It surely wasn’t just a simple enhancement of the physical body.

Li Qingqiu was in no hurry to go see them; after all, that person would take the initiative to come before him.

He even considered not using the fortune opportunity. He was still holding onto the one he had gained from killing the tree demon’s Clone.

Because he had a theory.

fortunes chose an appropriate place based on his current cultivation. If he opened it after reaching the Spiritual Consciousness Realm, the value of the encounter would surely be higher.

If he were far from the Spiritual Consciousness Realm, it would be one thing, but he had already reached the Ninth Layer of the Nourishing Origin Realm and could definitely afford to wait.

Furthermore, the sect had not yet fully explored the various blessed lands it currently controlled.

Li Qingqiu closed his eyes and continued to Cultivate.

It wasn’t until evening that he returned to the Lingxiao Courtyard.

Someone was waiting for him in the courtyard, and this person surprised him.

It wasn’t Zhao Zhen, nor Ji Ya, and certainly not Invincible Xiao, but Yuan Li.

Yuan Li, who hadn’t even awakened the Indestructible Hegemon Body yet, had actually taken the first step to become a Body Cultivator?

“Master, I’ve had a small achievement with the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art. Would you like to take a look?” Yuan Li asked cautiously while looking at Li Qingqiu.