Chapter 288: The Power of Qingxiao

During the Lunar New Year festival, the Taikun Mountain Range was exceptionally lively.

Li Qingqiu stood on a cliff, drinking wine while overlooking the beautiful mountain scenery. Even the heavy snow could not hide the figures of Disciples, Spirit Vessels, and flying birds coming and going.

Li Dongyue came up from behind him and stood side by side with him.

“I’ve noticed you enjoy standing here alone to admire the scenery more and more lately. What, are you enjoying the feeling of ‘it’s lonely at the top’?”

Li Dongyue looked at the scenery below the mountain and asked with a soft laugh.

Li Qingqiu smiled and said, “Of course not. It’s just that from here, I can clearly see the evolution of the sect. Every time I come up, I can see changes. Only these tangible changes allow me to feel that the sect is moving forward.”

Although he had the dao lineage panel, Li Qingqiu still preferred to observe with his own eyes. His own perceptions allowed him to know that all of this was real; he wasn’t playing a management game, but was truly alive.

“The sect’s development is already fast enough; I even feel it’s a bit too fast,” Li Dongyue remarked with emotion.

She was now at the Nourishing Origin Realm Eighth Layer. She was usually quite diligent in her cultivation, putting all her time into it except for the affairs of the Spiritual Wealth Hall, yet she still couldn’t keep up with the sect’s first-tier group.

Even within the Spiritual Wealth Hall, her cultivation couldn’t break into the top three.

She would occasionally reflect that without their Senior Brother, people like them would likely have had a hard time managing the Qingxiao Sect well.

“Actually, it’s not that fast. You don’t need to be too anxious. As long as I am here, no one can threaten you in your position,” Li Qingqiu said softly.

The larger the sect became, the greater the pressure Li Dongyue faced.

Genius Disciples were arrogant, and Aristocratic Families held great power. Various voices would always reach her ears, making her hesitate with every decision, fearing she was being unfair or offending someone.

It wasn’t just Li Dongyue; the other Hall Masters were the same.

In Li Qingqiu’s view, the reason they felt pressure was that they weren’t greedy enough and were too soft-hearted. Of course, this was also a good thing—at least for the sect’s development.

Li Dongyue asked, “Many people want to climb higher, but there are only so many Hall Master positions. Have you considered this?”

Li Qingqiu looked into the distance and said, “Precisely because of this, the Qingxiao Sect must develop even faster. The power of a Deputy Hall Master now is already greater than that of a Hall Master ten years ago, isn’t it?”

Li Dongyue found this reasonable and couldn’t help but nod.

“You only need to worry about your own affairs. Thinking too much won’t do you any good, and you can’t control that much anyway. What, do you want to usurp the position of Sect Leader?” Li Qingqiu teased.

Li Dongyue couldn’t help but laugh. She followed with a smile, “Speaking of which, some Aristocratic Families have already started placing bets, guessing which of your Disciples will succeed you as Sect Leader.”

Li Qingqiu’s Disciples were currently treated like stars surrounding the moon. Even the youngest, Hu Yan, was pursued by many powerful nobles, frightening him so much that he didn’t dare show his face in public.

“We are an immortal cultivation sect. Our lives will be very long. Within several hundred years, the position of Sect Leader will not change—unless I die,” Li Qingqiu snorted.

No matter how strong he was, he couldn’t stop the growth of ambition.

“True. Then I must pass those words down to prevent those with ulterior motives from acting recklessly,” Li Dongyue nodded.

Li Qingqiu did not stop her. He looked at the Taikun Mountain Range, his eyes reflecting his fantasies for the future.

The current Qingxiao Sect had become prosperous, but it was far from enough… As the new year arrived, Li Qingqiu convened a meeting in Xuanxin Hall, gathering those at the Elder level and above, totaling over a hundred people.

They discussed the plan for the coming year together. The leaders of the Qingxiao Sect felt both pressure and excitement regarding the goals Li Qingqiu set.

After the meeting ended, the Spirit Control Hall posted notices on every peak and main courtyard, displaying the current number of Disciples at each level in the Qingxiao Sect.

The number of registered Disciples exceeded forty thousand. There were over twenty thousand Outer Sect Disciples who had reached the Nourishing Origin Realm, First Layer, and over a thousand True Disciples who had reached the Nourishing Origin Realm, Fifth Layer.

These numbers invigorated the entire sect, and the news spread toward the Nine Provinces World.

By now, the Martial Forest had some understanding of the strength of the Qingxiao Sect Discipless. The Nourishing Origin Realm, Fifth Layer could definitely sweep through the world’s Martial Forest and even hold back thousands of troops alone. And the Qingxiao Sect had over a thousand such people. Such strength was enough to terrify not only the Martial Forest sects but also the princes and generals of the Great Yan Dynasty.

Li Qingqiu only revealed the sect’s strength up to the True Disciples to deter the Nine Provinces World, while keeping the number of those at higher Realms a secret to guard against enemies from outside the Nine Provinces.

What he valued most right now was Spiritual Consciousness Realm combat power.

To this end, he announced heavy rewards within the True Disciple circle: the first hundred Disciples to reach the Spiritual Consciousness Realm would receive massive cultivation resources and even an increase in status.

The fighting spirit of the True Disciples was ignited. They realized that in the Qingxiao Sect, the faster one cultivated, the wider the gap between them and others would become—a gap in resources and treatment.

In February, the Qingxiao Sect announced that Cloud Color had been promoted to a Divine Ability Disciple. She was the second Disciple to master a Divine Ability after Zhao Zhen, and her fame was unparalleled for a time.

During the spring season, heaven and earth were full of vitality.

After noon.

Li Qingqiu went to Tiangong Hall and sat in Zhu Yan’s chair, while Zhu Yan and Wei Tianxiong stood before the table, studying the Heaven Mending Grand Array together.

The Heaven Mending Grand Array was a Secret Manual obtained by Chu Jing over a hundred years ago. He had wanted to enclose the imperial city within the array to increase the Spiritual Qi in the city and push his martial arts to a higher level.

In reality, the Heaven Mending Grand Array was an immortal cultivation Formation, incredibly sophisticated. Li Qingqiu had possessed it for many years without being able to crack it. Fortunately, Wei Tianxiong’s arrival gave him hope.

Wei Tianxiong frowned deeply and said, “I have studied this Formation for a long time and have finally sorted it out. Ultimately, the Heaven Mending Grand Array is actually a high-grade Spirit Gathering Array. It was likely left behind by the Taijue Sect. To cover the entire Taikun Mountain Range, we need a special Spirit Stone called the earth guiding spirit stone. Currently, the sect has no such stones.”

Upon hearing this, Li Qingqiu said, “Can you draw the earth guiding spirit stone and note its characteristics? I will mobilize the sect’s power to search for it. The Nine Provinces Land is so large; perhaps we can find some.”

Wei Tianxiong nodded. In his view, the earth guiding spirit stone was not a high-grade rare material; it was truly possible that the Nine Provinces Land contained some.

The Nine Provinces Land was called a barren land only when compared to the Tianming Sea and the Azure Dragon Domain.

Heaven and earth have their own creation. After the Taijue Sect exhausted the high-grade resources in the Nine Provinces Land, the world would continue to produce various resources until it reached its peak again.

“In addition to the Heaven Mending Grand Array, we must also set up a mountain-protecting array. Study both Formations together. If you need any resources, just ask.”

Li Qingqiu instructed, and both Zhu Yan and Wei Tianxiong accepted the order.

After leaving Tiangong Hall, Li Qingqiu frowned.

The Qingxiao Sect’s demand for Spirit Stones was growing larger and larger. The largest reserve was spirit copper, but spirit copper was not a Spirit Stone and could only be used for Artifact Refining.

Excavating Spirit Mines became a top priority for the development of the Qingxiao Sect.

That day, Li Qingqiu had Xiao Wuqing summon Zhang Yuchun, Chu Jing, and Xue Jin. One task was to find earth guiding spirit stones, and the other was to mobilize Disciples to find Spirit Mines. Both matters were urgent.

Once the Qingxiao Sect mobilized its power, the results were significant.

Only three months had passed when an earth guiding spirit stone was delivered to Li Qingqiu.

Li Qingqiu called for Wei Tianxiong, who confirmed it was indeed an earth guiding spirit stone. However, the Heaven Mending Grand Array required a massive number of them. To this, Li Qingqiu was not worried; if they could find one, they could find more.

In early June, news about a Spirit Mine also reached Li Qingqiu’s ears… In the Central Heaven Province, deep in the mountains.

The forest was filled with mist, and sunlight pierced through it, revealing beams of light. A temple was faintly visible under these beams.

A plaque hung above the main gate of the temple, with three large characters carved on it.

Wenxian Temple.

In a main hall, Bai Ninger had his hands behind his back and was examining the statue in front of him. This was a deity with three heads and six arms, sitting cross-legged with a bare upper body. Two hands were held in a gesture in front of his chest, while the other four arms were spread out, each holding a weapon. His hair was fluttering like burning flames, and his eyes were wide open, like a glaring Vajra.

“What kind of immortal do you worship here at Wenxian Temple? He looks very fierce.”

Bai Ninger asked curiously. To his right stood a man in Taoist robes with delicate features, even somewhat feminine, appearing only sixteen or seventeen years old.

This man in Taoist robes was the temple master of Wenxian Temple, named Stone Difference Immortal.

Stone Difference Immortal revealed a smile that was actually somewhat stunningly beautiful. He replied, “This is the compassionate world-saving immortal, with the face of a Vajra and a compassionate heart.”

“Oh? Based on what? Why haven’t I heard of him?”

Faced with Bai Ninger’s confusion, Stone Difference Immortal’s face still beamed with a smile.

“The compassionate world-saving immortal is an ancient deity who was later erased by the Great Yan Dynasty. Naturally, you haven’t heard of him. I discovered his deeds in an ancient cave. Legend has it that the compassionate world-saving immortal was the Crown Prince of a Dynasty. At that time, disasters were frequent, the people were destitute, and they even resorted to eating their own children. After learning of this, he was heartbroken and offered a sacrifice to heaven. In front of the common people, he cut off his own flesh—a total of nine hundred and ninety-nine pieces—and distributed them to the people. He himself died suddenly because of this. Heaven took pity and granted him Karma, turning his bones into a golden body. Later, he became the compassionate world-saving immortal.”

“Whenever a great disaster appears in the human world, the compassionate world-saving immortal will take the form of an Incarnation of a Mortal and walk the earth. He uses his own will to move the heavens, bringing peace and praying for wind and rain for the world.”

After speaking, Stone Difference Immortal pressed his palms together and bowed devoutly toward the statue of the compassionate world-saving immortal.

For some reason, this scene made Bai Ninger feel very uncomfortable.

He looked back at the statue. Sunlight poured down through a hole in the roof, yet even in the light, this statue still made him feel uneasy.

He changed the subject and asked, “I see there aren’t many Disciples in your temple. If you want to cultivate immortality, why not go to the Qingxiao Sect?”

Stone Difference Immortal looked at Bai Ninger and asked with a smile, “If there were only one path to immortality in the world, don’t you think that would be a bad thing? Today, Sect Leader Li Qingqiu is benevolent and kind, caring for all living beings. But if the next Sect Leader were as tyrannical as Zhao Zhi of the Great Li Dynasty, with the power of the Qingxiao Sect, what kind of darkness would this world fall into?”