Don't underestimate these over a thousand people; the lowest among them are Spirit King level, and the highest even reach Spirit Douluo level.
Moreover, their Spirits have mutated due to prolonged absorption of Death Qi.
Their strength is definitely top-tier among their peers.
This team is no worse than Spirit Hall's elite Spirit Master legion, the Pope Knights; in fact, under equal numbers, they might even be superior.
As for Title Douluo Li Qing, after subjugating all the living dead in the outer area, he visited the core region once.
There, all he found were bones scattered everywhere and an aura that even he found terrifying.
Because he feared death, Li Qing did not truly enter it, only learning about it from the numerous living dead.
Although they had achieved a form of immortality, once they stepped into the core region, they would instantly die.
This kind of death was different from the sudden death experienced upon leaving Death Canyon.
As soon as they stepped into the core region, they would instantly be converted into Death Qi, leaving only a skeleton behind.
Through this information, Li Qing could almost determine that there should be no Title Douluo inside; any Title Douluo who entered had likely been converted into Death Qi.
The reason the Death Qi in Death Canyon is so dense might be their contribution.
However, Li Qing had a premonition that once his refined Death Qi reached a certain level, he would be able to safely enter the core region and uncover the true secret of Death Canyon.
Because as time passed, the aura that had once terrified him was gradually weakening.
Now, he should be able to delve a certain distance into the core region, but he had not yet taken that step to try.
Additionally, there was his spirit power level.
Two and a half years after the Heaven Dou battle, Li Qing's spirit power level successfully reached sixty, and after absorbing the Blue Silver King's spirit ring, it rose again to sixty-five.
Now, another year and a half has passed, and his spirit power level has reached sixty-eight, not far from Spirit Saint.
"Hoo!"
As the black mist churned, it all surged into Li Qing's body.
He opened his eyes and heavily exhaled a turbid breath.
"The Soul Master Competition should be starting soon, right?"
"Sect Master!"
The sitting living dead quickly rose, and everyone bowed to Li Qing in unison.
Li Qing asked, "How are the preparations coming along?"
Don't underestimate these old-timers, especially those above Spirit Saint.
Most who can cultivate to Spirit Saint and above are from noble or influential backgrounds.
Commoner geniuses are, after all, a minority.
Furthermore, the lowest among them are the grandfathers or grandmothers of the current family heads, or even older, so Li Qing naturally wouldn't let go of their families or factions.
After all, if these forces were to be gathered, not to mention Title Douluo, even Spirit Hall might not be enough to contend with them.
Li Qing plans to gather them and establish a Sect, but currently, only the Sect's name has been decided, and it is still in the recruitment preparation phase.
"My descendant is still good; she still remembers me, her great-grandmother, and has already agreed to join the Underworld Sect, awaiting only the Sect Master's command."
From the voice, it could be determined that the speaker was a woman, the same living dead who had fought the Yin Yang Twin-Headed Serpent, and she had now entered the Spirit Douluo level.
Her name is Cathy, and she is the great-grandmother of the current patriarch of the Raven family in the Star Luo Empire.
However, their family is not large.
The entire family consists of only a few hundred people, with the highest strength being only Spirit Saint, and they are not involved in military or political affairs, just a middle-tier noble with an empty title.
"I didn't bring it up on my side, because they have pledged allegiance to Spirit Hall, which could easily expose the Sect Master's plan."
Feng Lingtian stepped out from the group.
He is also a Spirit Douluo, and his strength ranks among the top three among the many living dead, and his identity is also extraordinary.
He is the grandfather of the Sect Master of the Wind Sword Sect, one of the Lower Four Sects.
"However, we'll know their attitude towards an old man like me by seeing if they relay my message to Spirit Hall.
We'll decide based on the situation then."
Li Qing nodded upon hearing this.
Others also spoke one after another; some had descendants who were unfilial and wanted to kill them, while others, like Cathy's descendant, directly chose to agree.
However, most agreed, because although they did not expose Li Qing, they were operating under the banner of a Title Douluo.
How many forces in the entire Douluo Continent can boast a Title Douluo?
Moreover, it was a Sect formed by the joint efforts of so many families and forces; they had no reason not to agree.
Those who disagreed were mostly greedy for power and unwilling to be subservient.
There were also cases like the Wind Sword Sect, which had already secretly pledged allegiance to Spirit Hall, making direct invitations inconvenient, requiring observation before making a decision.
For example, the Elephant Armored Academy, also one of the Lower Four Sects.
There was even a former cardinal of Spirit Hall, but to prevent the intelligence that the living dead could leave the canyon from being exposed and triggering a purge by Spirit Hall, he simply did not return.
Li Qing stood up and said, "Then let's proceed according to the original plan."
"Yes!"
Everyone responded in unison, then turned and left.
After they left, Li Qing looked towards the depths of Death Canyon.
The Soul Master Competition was about to begin, and he had to go back, but before that, he could try testing the waters.
He wanted to see if he could now reach the potentially existing divine inheritance.
Not only the numerous living dead, but now all the Spirit Beasts in Death Canyon fear him immensely; they will flee at the first sensation of his aura.
Li Qing had even thought about subjugating the Spirit Beasts as well.
Unfortunately, whether due to intelligence or species reasons, they would rather die than submit to Li Qing; he spent a great deal of effort, but only managed to make them not dare to provoke him.
Shaking his head, Li Qing went straight to the core region.
If viewed from above, the core region is a circular area within Death Canyon, but this circular area is not large, only a few miles in diameter.
However, the Death Qi inside is so dense that it has materialized; the churning black mist only allows one to see the general situation within a hundred meters.
The barren, black-yellow land is devoid of vegetation; all that can be seen are white bones.
Li Qing even saw Spirit Bones, and quite a few of them.
He saw four within his visible range.
That might also be one of the reasons why there are so many bones here; after all, seeing so many Spirit Bones, few Spirit Masters can resist the urge to pick them up.
Last time, Li Qing felt an inexplicable fear just by standing here, as if another step would lead to death.
And now, that fear is still present, but it is not as intense, and the current fear originates from the depths of the core region, not from directly in front of him.
"Hoo!"
Li Qing adjusted his mindset by taking a deep breath, then carefully extended his right leg into it, and then closed his eyes to carefully sense if there was any abnormality.
The moment his right leg entered it,
the black mist-like Death Qi seemed to find its destination, frantically drilling into Li Qing's body, scaring him into immediately retracting his leg.
However, a lot of Death Qi still managed to enter his body.