Chapter 307: ghost ship

As the year drew to a close, the Qingxiao Sect had completely cast off the gloom brought by the chaos of the Demonic Beasts, and the School began preparing for the festivities.

The Demonic Beasts across the nine provinces of the world had also vanished, but various regions required disaster relief. To this end, the Qingxiao Sect instructed its Disciples out on experience to assist the common folk. There were no special rewards for this, and the Disciples had no complaints; after all, if they only acted for rewards, the nature of the deed would change.

Ever since Wei Tianxiong learned that Yuan Li had undergone the Awakening of the Indestructible Hegemon Body, the old fellow had begun to exert himself, contributing a vast number of Spells, Formations, and unorthodox methods. At the same time, he visited Yuan Li from time to time and even poured all the resources he had acquired into him.

His enthusiasm was a bit much for Yuan Li to handle, forcing him to go see his Master.

Li Qingqiu, however, told him to accept it.

If someone could establish a closer relationship with Wei Tianxiong, the likelihood of Wei Tianxiong betraying the Qingxiao Sect would be even lower.

As for what Wei Tianxiong was after, Li Qingqiu would not let Yuan Li bear it alone.

After experiencing this demonic calamity, Li Qingqiu clearly felt that the Disciples’ enthusiasm for Cultivation had soared.

Li Qingqiu dispatched more Disciples to various cities, blessed lands, and outposts; post-disaster reconstruction had already been put on the agenda.

It was worth mentioning that Liu Jing issued a proclamation to the world, announcing the news of Yuan Li repelling the world’s Demonic Beasts, allowing Yuan Li’s name to spread throughout the secular world.

With the arrival of the Lunar New Year, the various mountains of the Qingxiao Sect were decorated with lanterns and streamers to welcome the new year.

Jiang Zhaoxia finally returned.

He brought news of the Demon Lord Immortal Palace.

“Senior Brother, the Demon Lord Immortal Palace hides countless treasures, many of which I don’t recognize. Why don’t you have Wei Tianxiong take a trip there?” Jiang Zhaoxia said as he sat down, pouring himself some wine.

Li Qingqiu asked, “Did you encounter any trouble?”

“Although there are traps within the Demon Lord Immortal Palace, they didn’t hurt me,” Jiang Zhaoxia replied.

Hearing this, Li Qingqiu finally felt relieved.

The Demon Lord Immortal Palace was a recently opened fortune. Considering Jiang Zhaoxia’s strength, the value of the Demon Lord Immortal Palace was bound to be higher than previous fortunes; perhaps it contained special Materials needed for Formations.

Li Qingqiu then asked, “How did you and Ninger get separated?”

Xu Ning had gone to the imperial palace to save Ji Ya and subsequently guarded Zhengyang Imperial City alone, only leaving after the demonic calamity ended.

Li Qingqiu had contacted her using the qingxiao token, and she said she had discovered some traces of demons and wanted to investigate.

Jiang Zhaoxia curled his lip and said, “On the way to the Demon Lord Immortal Palace, the two of us felt uneasy, as if we would ruin things. So we decided one of us should leave. Unfortunately, she was the one who drew the lot to leave.”

As expected.

Li Qingqiu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry upon hearing this.

These two really were a pair of rivals.

“I heard Yuan Li has undergone a complete transformation and has become very powerful now. Is it true?” Jiang Zhaoxia asked, raising an eyebrow.

Li Qingqiu smiled and said, “After some time, you can go try him out yourself.”

“Why wait? I’ll go find him today!”

With that, Jiang Zhaoxia stood up and left.

Li Qingqiu did not stop him. Everyone in the School was concerned about Yuan Qi’s death. Under such circumstances, everyone’s kindness toward Yuan Li would instead make him frequently think of Yuan Qi.

Letting Jiang Zhaoxia break this atmosphere would allow Yuan Li to return to a normal pace of life sooner.

After Jiang Zhaoxia left, Li Qingqiu had Xiao Wuqing summon Wei Tianxiong.

When Wei Tianxiong arrived and learned of the Demon Lord Immortal Palace’s existence, he immediately became intensely interested and accepted the task, planning to set off today.

Jiang Zhaoxia had brought back two Disciples specifically to lead the way for Wei Tianxiong.

Once this was settled, Li Qingqiu brought up the dao lineage panel to check the status of the new Disciples.

Yuan Li was the first Disciple to directly turn the tide after fulfilling his destiny talent.

Now, those within the School were both amazed by Yuan Li’s strength and sighing with admiration at the Sect Leader’s ability to recognize talent.

Li Qingqiu’s praise for Yuan Li had lasted over twenty years, leading many to believe he had misjudged him. As it turned out, the Sect Leader was still the Sect Leader and would never be wrong.

This incident caused the loyalty of the Disciples within the School to generally increase.

Such a Disciple brought Li Qingqiu great satisfaction, making him look forward to the appearance of the next Yuan Li.

After looking for a while, Li Qingqiu spotted a new Disciple with excellent Cultivation Aptitude.

If this were in the past, he would have treated them like a treasure, but now he felt they were slightly lacking and didn’t bother giving them special attention.

He stood up and walked toward his Immortal Cave.

His current goal was to achieve a Breakthrough and reach the Heaven-Reaching Sunlight Realm as soon as possible.

He didn’t want the cultivation of his enemies to be higher than his every time; it was too passive.

In fact, his Cultivation speed was already very fast, but the time the Qingxiao Sect had spent cultivating was too short. Compared to those Yao Race forces and Cultivation Schools, their foundation was too thin… The Lunar New Year arrived.

The Lingxiao Courtyard became lively. While other hall masters were busy preparing for the festival, Zhang Yuchun and Li Qingqiu were discussing how to guard against the Demon Land.

The previous casualties were too great, which deeply affected Zhang Yuchun as well.

“Regarding the outposts north of the Northern Border, my thought is to build them as large as possible, preferably building a city. We also need to dispatch powerful Disciples to guard it. If a demonic tide strikes, we can delay for as much time as possible to give the Disciples a chance to relocate.”

Zhang Yuchun spoke seriously. Having experienced the casualties at Zhongtian Immortal City, he was not intimidated. On the contrary, he felt that the guarding forces needed to be increased. Even if ordinary Disciples couldn’t play a role in combat, they could still be effective in other areas.

For example, activating Formations, transmitting intelligence, and so on.

Li Qingqiu nodded; he thought the same. He wouldn’t become timid because of the losses at Zhongtian Immortal City.

Most of the School’s Disciples were very weak, but as long as a Formation was established, even the weakest Disciple could contribute their strength.

“The city lord of this city…” Zhang Yuchun hesitated.

Unlike other cities, this city to be built north of the Northern Border was of interest to no one. Those in power feared it like a tiger and didn’t even dare mention the matter.

“I will arrange it myself,” Li Qingqiu said.

Hearing this, Zhang Yuchun breathed a sigh of relief. With Li Qingqiu’s authority, no one should dare to refuse. Most importantly, he could mobilize the School’s top combat power.

Zhang Yuchun was already equivalent to the second-in-command of the School, but he did not have the power to assign Disciples in the Spiritual Consciousness Realm. This was not only due to the vast difference in cultivation but also because Li Qingqiu had granted these Disciples special privileges.

While the two were chatting, Li Dongyue brought snacks to the table and reminded them, “We agreed not to talk about official business on this day every year. How could you forget?”

Zhang Yuchun looked at her and said, “Isn’t this a special situation? We just went through a trial a short while ago.”

“Even so, there’s no need to rush on this one day. Relaxing for a day might lead to better ideas,” Li Dongyue said seriously.

Hearing this, Zhang Yuchun glanced at Li Qingqiu. Seeing him give a look, Zhang Yuchun could only reply, “Alright, I won’t talk about these things anymore.”

Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun stopped talking about serious business. For the rest of the time, they discussed cultivation matters, interesting life stories, and Jianghu anecdotes with other high-level members, and everyone was very relaxed.

It wasn’t until after noon that Xiao Wuqing found Li Qingqiu and whispered by his side, “A ghost ship has been discovered in the waters outside Yuantie Port Town. Whenever fog rises on the sea, it appears, but the Disciples there cannot make contact with it. As soon as they enter the fog, the ghost ship vanishes without a trace.”