Chapter 312: Myriad Yin Cult

Azure Dragon Domain, Tianqing Immortal Sect.

On a mountain path between the peaks, the immortal-like Lin Xunfeng and Lin Lingzhou, carrying a travel pack, walked one after another, both looking dispirited.

Lin Lingzhou stopped, a smile on his face, and turned to look at his Master, asking with a laugh, “Master, this is far enough. Do you have anything you’d like me to tell the Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters?”

Today, he would leave the Tianqing Immortal Sect and head east to the Nine Provinces Land.

The reason he was going to the Nine Provinces Land was that he had nowhere else to go; the Tianqing Immortal Sect would not tolerate him, and the Nine Provinces Land was the only place he could think of.

Lin Xunfeng looked at his smile, his heart filled with self-reproach.

At this moment, he recalled the scene of Li Qingqiu calling out to him from behind when he left Qingxiao Mountain.

He truly wasn’t a competent Master, always disappointing his Disciples.

Lin Xunfeng opened his mouth, wanting to speak but hesitating, finally only managing to utter two words: “I’m sorry.”

Lin Lingzhou looked at his Master, scratched his head, and chuckled, “Master, why are you apologizing to me? You saved my life. Blame me for not having a Spiritual Root. These years, thanks to your care, otherwise I would have been expelled from the Tianqing Immortal Sect long ago. Actually, you don’t have to blame yourself; leaving might be better for me.”

The more he spoke this way, the more Lin Xunfeng’s heart ached.

As if seeing through Lin Xunfeng’s emotional burden, Lin Lingzhou clenched his fist and said, “Master, you must achieve Immortal Ascension!”

Seeing his Disciple’s usual cheerfulness, Lin Xunfeng felt encouraged.

“Remember, when you go to Kyushu, avoid fog, do not approach sounds heard late at night, and the human heart is more terrifying than Demonic Beasts and ghosts,” Lin Xunfeng said earnestly.

Lin Lingzhou nodded, then asked, “Master, do you really have no message you want me to relay?”

Li Qingqiu’s seven faces appeared in Lin Xunfeng’s mind. It had been almost thirty years since they last met, and his memories were somewhat blurry. He wondered if those little ones still resented him.

“I hope they are all well.”

Lin Xunfeng sighed, then stepped forward to straighten Lin Lingzhou’s clothes.

Looking at the grown-up Lin Lingzhou, Lin Xunfeng’s heart was filled with bitterness. He secretly swore that he would never experience such a thing again. The scorching summer arrived, and more than three months had passed since Shen Yue went down the mountain.

Lin Lingzhou also felt unwell inside. He grinned: “I’m leaving now, Master, please stay!”

With that, he turned and jogged away.

Lin Xunfeng stood rooted to the spot, watching Lin Lingzhou run into the distant forest.

This lasted for half a day.

At dusk.

Lin Xunfeng turned, his expression becoming exceptionally resolute.

He had given up too many people and things. He had to see this path of Cultivation through to the end. Only by achieving eternal life and becoming an Immortal could he justify the hardships along the way… The scorching summer arrived, and more than three months had passed since Shen Yue went down the mountain.

Within the Thousand Spirit Blessed Land in the Taikun Mountain Range.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the thousand spirit tree’s leaves. Li Qingqiu looked up at the mountain-sized Little Eight, a relieved smile on his face.

Little Eight was nearly ten zhang tall just standing, let alone how vast it would be with its wings spread.

Over the years, Little Eight’s size had actually shrunk somewhat. It was now about to enter the Spiritual Consciousness Realm, filling Li Qingqiu with anticipation.

Facing its Master’s gaze, Little Eight held its head high and puffed out its chest, looking rather proud.

“Master, why hasn’t Gold Lad returned yet?”

A soft female voice came from the side. Li Qingqiu turned his head to see a massive snake Demonic Beast crawling out of the nearby forest.

It was Angelica.

Angelica’s snake body was also over ten zhang long, but it seemed insignificant compared to Little Eight.

After coming to Qingxiao Sect, it found the Demon Taming Hall too small, so Li Qingqiu had it move to the Thousand Spirit Blessed Land. Here, it had Little Eight, Little Nine, and other Demonic Beasts for company, making it quickly fall in love with the place.

“I’m not sure yet. The mission it’s on is long-term and will play a crucial role in Qingxiao Sect’s future. Don’t worry, if anything happened to it, I would sense it,” Li Qingqiu replied.

Over the years, Gold Lad had occasionally sent him intelligence. It was following a fox demon and heading to the Demon Land.

Since those great demons were slain, the Demonic Beasts in the Nine Provinces Land either hid or fled, but Li Qingqiu never gave up his attention to the north, to prevent a tragedy like that of Zhongtian Immortal City from happening again.

“This mission cannot be revealed at all?” Angelica asked, unwilling to give up.

“Do you know Karma?”

“No.”

“It’s just that some words, once spoken, the other party can sense them, and even deduce things with their fingers. This is Cultivation; the Spells in the world can be truly bizarre.”

Li Qingqiu pretended to be profound, frightening Angelica’s snake body to shrink back, not daring to ask further.

Little Eight seized the opportunity and asked, “Master, when I undergo Tribulation, can you help me?”

Its voice sounded like a boy, only twelve or thirteen years old.

Li Qingqiu looked at it and smiled, “If I interfere with your Heavenly Tribulation, it will be terrifying. Trust your own strength, and the School already has a complete Undergoing Tribulation Formation, so you don’t need to worry.”

“Alright, then I’ll do my best.”

Little Eight said with a wronged expression. It was hard to imagine such a majestic divine eagle making such a sound.

Li Qingqiu was very much looking forward to Little Eight’s Undergoing Tribulation.

The shapeshifting stage of demons is not fixed, but upon reaching the Spiritual Consciousness Realm, a part of the body can shapeshift. Of course, many demons don’t like human form, thinking their true form is the most beautiful, while Little Eight wants to transform into human form so it can enter the Qingxiao Sect.

Afterward, Li Qingqiu shifted his gaze to the thousand spirit tree.

The thousand spirit tree was actually a tree demon, but it was naturally aloof and didn’t like to talk. Li Qingqiu had always been curious about how strong it was; such a massive demonic body must contain unimaginable power.

Li Qingqiu decided that he would have to find an opportunity to be alone with the thousand spirit tree, have a heart-to-heart talk, and deepen their relationship.

He chatted with Little Eight and Angelica for a few more moments, then turned and left.

He still had many things to attend to; being able to spare time to visit Little Eight was already quite rare.

He leaped up and disappeared from Little Eight and Angelica’s sight.

Under the sunlight, the thousand spirit tree, towering over the entire forest and competing with the mountains, swayed slightly, as if green waves were surging… Li Qingqiu quickly returned to Lingxiao Courtyard, where Zhang Yuchun was already waiting.

With the increasing number of Disciples, the Spirit Control Hall’s pressure grew. Even with all his energy focused on the Spirit Control Hall, Zhang Yuchun often felt exhausted.

However, relying on his status and Li Qingqiu’s favoritism, his Cultivation was still pushed to Nourishing Origin Realm Seventh Layer, making him currently the lowest cultivated among the seven Senior Brothers.

As soon as Li Qingqiu sat down, Zhang Yuchun began to report the situation.

“The number of registered Disciples today exceeded fifty thousand. I’ll also report the number of Disciples at each Realm.”

Zhang Yuchun paused, then continued, “Currently, there are nine thousand seven hundred sixty-four True Disciples. Those at Nourishing Origin Realm Seventh Layer, Eighth Layer, and Ninth Layer, which we focus on, number three hundred forty-two, eighty-seven, and thirty-four respectively. The number of Spiritual Consciousness Realm Disciples has reached nineteen.”

He glanced at Li Qingqiu, and seeing no change in his expression, he proceeded to report the numbers for each Realm in detail.

Li Qingqiu was not indifferent; in fact, his heart was filled with emotion.

Qingxiao Sect made great strides every year, progressing extremely rapidly. As Wei Tianxiong put it, even if Qingxiao Sect were placed in the Tianming Sea, it could survive, though it couldn’t compare to large Schools like Ziyang Island.

The Spirit Control Hall was primarily responsible for the Disciple roster and personnel management, so Zhang Yuchun only reported the number and Cultivation of Qingxiao Sect Disciples. Just this alone conveyed the strength of Qingxiao Sect.

Afterward, he brought up the Third Dharma Battle Assembly.

Even though the Dharma Battle Assembly would restrict some Disciples from participating each time, the number of participants would still be much higher than the previous session. The Third Dharma Battle Assembly was still two years away, but Zhang Yuchun had to prepare in advance to avoid chaos.

To prepare for the Dharma Battle Assembly, a venue, Spirit Stones, funds, and personnel for supervision were needed. This required cooperation from other halls, but each hall also had its own affairs, so Zhang Yuchun could only approach Li Qingqiu to make arrangements.

The two chatted for a full half an hour before finalizing all matters concerning the Dharma Battle Assembly.

Zhang Yuchun quipped, “This Dharma Battle Assembly’s first place won’t be your Disciple again, will it?”

The first Dharma Battle Assembly’s top spot went to Xu Ning, and the second’s to Cloud Color, both Geniuses personally cultivated by Li Qingqiu.

Even though the Third Dharma Battle Assembly hadn’t started yet, Hu Yan was already considered the favorite for first place, despite rarely appearing on the Martial Arts Stage or showcasing his true strength.

“Who knows?”

Li Qingqiu answered casually; he no longer cared about the first place in the Dharma Battle Assembly.

When he restricted the Dharma Battle Assembly to those below the Spiritual Consciousness Realm, it became a grand event for the lower-level Disciples. He wouldn’t demand that his Disciples win first place, but he wouldn’t stop them either. Everyone had vanity and things they wanted to strive for; he just needed to watch.

Just then.

Chu Jing hurried into the courtyard, quickly came to the long table, bowed, and said, “Sect Leader, news has come from the Ghost City mission. The Disciples have broken through the Ghost City.”

Upon hearing this news, Li Qingqiu smiled.

Zhang Yuchun exclaimed, “With Xu Ning, Yuan Li, and Sword Solitary leading the team, it’s truly different.”

A total of twenty Disciples, all elites of the School, were dispatched for this mission.

Because it was a Ghost City, Li Qingqiu specifically sent Xu Ning and Yuan Li, plus Bai Ninger, the Lucky One. He didn’t believe they couldn’t conquer it.

So, Li Qingqiu was not surprised by this news.

Chu Jing continued, “They discovered some intelligence in that Ghost City, learning that this Ghost City was left behind by a Cultivation School called the Myriad Yin Cult. The specific age is still unclear, and Xu Ning hopes Wei Tianxiong can go there.”

Upon hearing that it involved another Cultivation School, Li Qingqiu immediately transmitted a message to Xiao Wuqing, who was meditating outside the courtyard, asking him to summon Wei Tianxiong.

Zhang Yuchun asked in surprise, “Is there really a vast land beyond the Western Treacherous Lands?”

Li Qingqiu recalled the route he took to find Yin Jingxing; he had indeed seen many prosperous Dynasty cities.

“There certainly is, but the Western Treacherous Lands are a natural barrier. That Ghost City has no traces of living people. Xu Ning is just worried that if they tamper with the Restrictions, it might disturb the distant Myriad Yin Cult,” Chu Jing interjected.

His tone was solemn when he mentioned this.

Qingxiao Sect had encountered attacks from Demonic Beasts and ghosts, but it had never truly clashed with other Cultivation Schools.

In his heart, he both longed for and feared encountering other Cultivation Schools.

If they encountered one, annexing a Cultivation School would be a faster way to develop. Of course, they could also be annexed by another School.