Inside the mountain cave.
Zhao Zhen lay on the ground, staring blankly at the cave wall.
His injuries were far more severe than Jiang Zhaoxia's. His internal organs had suffered catastrophic damage, with large areas of torn flesh inside his body. When Qiao Dingbei had examined his wounds earlier, he had been utterly shocked, unable to comprehend how Zhao Zhen was still alive.
Zhao Zhen did not wallow in self-pity. Instead, he replayed the battle with Ancestor Su Xing in his mind, searching for a way to kill Ancestor Su Xing head-on.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps.
He immediately became alert. Qiao Dingbei had only left a few hours ago, and he feared that someone else might have stumbled into this place.
"Yo, Zhao Zhen, how did you end up in such a miserable state?"
A teasing voice rang out. Before Zhao Zhen even saw who it was, he let out a sigh of relief, because he was very familiar with that voice.
Sword God Shen Yue!
The two often discussed martial arts back in the sect, and their relationship was fairly good.
Moreover, Zhao Zhen knew just how strong Shen Yue was. If Ancestor Su Xing still had accomplices, or if the Xuanji Sect attacked, Shen Yue would be able to handle it.
He looked toward the cave passage and soon saw the figures of Shen Yue, Xu Ning, and Qiao Dingbei.
Seeing that Xu Ning had also arrived, Zhao Zhen finally relaxed completely.
Xu Ning walked over to his side, frowning deeply as she asked, "How did you get yourself into this state?"
Although she did not interact much with her junior brothers, their relationship was still there. Seeing Zhao Zhen injured so badly, her gaze turned icy.
"I ran into an immortal cultivator. I was completely no match for him," Zhao Zhen said frankly.
Shen Yue said, "On the way here, we already heard everything from Qiao Dingbei. I'll go check on that kid Jiang first."
With that, he walked deeper into the cave passage.
Xu Ning looked at Zhao Zhen and asked, "That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking why you pushed yourself to this extent. If you weren't his match, why risk your life?"
Zhao Zhen clenched his teeth and said, "I'm not a coward. Even if I can't win, I still have to fight. And I couldn't just watch Uncle-Master Jiang die for my sake…"
"At least you have some awareness. If Uncle-Master Jiang had died, your guilt would have been immense. Remember this well—we are fellow disciples. No matter what happens, you must discuss it with me and with Master. Don't be blindly confident and end up implicating others. We can't even die for ourselves, because that would betray Master's and the sect's nurturing."
Xu Ning spoke solemnly. After a pause, she added, "Our lives no longer belong solely to ourselves. You must understand this."
Zhao Zhen took a deep breath and said, "I'll remember. When I return, I'll confess to Master. From now on, I won't hide anything. I'm no longer Zhao Zhen of the Zhao clan—I'm Zhao Zhen of Qingxiao Sect."
Xu Ning looked at him deeply, then raised her hand and pointed at Zhao Zhen's chest, sending vital energy across the air to treat him.
Zhao Zhen clearly felt the pain inside his body lessen. He looked gratefully at his senior sister.
He had always thought that Senior Sister was cold and difficult to approach. Only today did he realize that she was cold on the outside but warm at heart.
"You're not alone. You still have Master, you have me, you have your other junior brothers, and you have the entire Qingxiao Sect accompanying you," Xu Ning suddenly said.
Zhao Zhen's heart was struck at once. His eyes immediately reddened, and he hurriedly closed them.
He was, after all, only a fifteen-year-old youth. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that he was not close to his mother, once he thought about her tragic death, his heart still trembled.
Who could truly sever familial bonds? Moreover, the reason he and his mother had not been together was not because she did not want him, but because of his father's arrangements—sending them to different places to live in peace.
Xu Ning did not continue comforting him. Instead, her thoughts drifted to the past.
She recalled the scene of her father dying before her eyes, remembered those days of wandering and hardship. Those experiences felt as though they belonged to a previous lifetime.
On the other side.
Shen Yue arrived before the Divine Ability Wall and found Jiang Zhaoxia standing motionless, his gaze fixed tightly on the wall.
"He's accepting the inheritance," Chu Jing spoke up to remind him.
Shen Yue nodded. He had already realized this, which was why he had not disturbed him.
He turned to look at the Divine Ability Wall, curious about what kind of divine ability was recorded within it.
Chu Jing manipulated the Tianhong Sword to fly before Shen Yue and said, "Since you're all here, I'll head back first. I need to personally report the situation to the Sect Master."
"Go ahead. With Xu Ning and me here, no one will be able to harm the two of them," Shen Yue said softly.
Chu Jing nodded, then turned and left with the Tianhong Sword.
The cave chamber fell into silence. Shen Yue glanced at Jiang Zhaoxia, curiosity evident on his face.
Just what kind of inheritance did this kid obtain?
He wasn't afraid of being surpassed by Jiang Zhaoxia. He was simply very curious about such encounters.
…
By the time it was May, the matter of Jiang Zhaoxia and Zhao Zhen being injured had not spread within Qingxiao Sect. The disciples remained busy, and the sect continued to develop according to plan.
On this day, at noon.
Inside a cave dwelling.
Chu Jing floated before Li Qingqiu, occasionally glancing at him.
At this moment, Li Qingqiu was searching through Ancestor Su Xing's soul memories. Chu Jing was also very curious about Ancestor Su Xing's origins, but unfortunately, as a ghost, he could not cast a soul-binding spell. At most, he could only confine Ancestor Su Xing within the Tianhong Sword.
Ancestor Su Xing had actually lived for two hundred years. Before he was injured, his experiences had been extremely rich. Through him, Li Qingqiu was peering into the place he came from.
After searching for a full two hours, Li Qingqiu finally opened his eyes.
"Master, how was it? Is there an immortal cultivation sect behind him?" Chu Jing asked anxiously.
After becoming Lord Jing, Chu Jing had grown even more concerned about Qingxiao Sect, beginning to put himself in the sect's position when considering matters.
Li Qingqiu replied, "He did once join an immortal cultivation sect in the past, but he had already severed ties long ago. He is a rogue cultivator. Together with three close friends, he came to the Jiuzhou lands in search of the Supreme Sword Alliance's inheritance. He was betrayed by those friends and nearly died, then hid in Tianxuan Mountain for several decades."
Hearing this, Chu Jing finally let out a breath of relief. He had been most afraid that this incident would draw even more enemies.
Now that he had become a ghost cultivator and still harbored hopes of relying on Li Qingqiu to ascend to immortality, he naturally did not wish to see Qingxiao Sect destroyed.
"So that means immortal cultivation sects really do exist? Where are they?" Chu Jing asked again.
Li Qingqiu said, "Very far away. You must head west, cross the boundless Western Desert, then traverse mountain after mountain. The place he came from is called the Azure Dragon Domain. The Azure Dragon Domain is even larger than the Jiuzhou lands. That is the true land of immortal cultivation, where sects stand everywhere. Compared to them, Qingxiao Sect doesn't even count for much."
At these words, Chu Jing's brows knitted together again.
A large number of immortal cultivation sects meant that cultivation in the Azure Dragon Domain had already reached a flourishing stage, unlike Qingxiao Sect, which was still in an exploratory phase.
Li Qingqiu continued, "There's no need to worry too much. In the eyes of cultivators from the Azure Dragon Domain, the Jiuzhou lands are extremely remote. The so-called Supreme Sword Alliance inheritance is nothing more than an illusory legend to them. The reason Ancestor Su Xing and the other three came here was not only to seek that inheritance, but also because he were being hunted by enemies. For now, it's very unlikely that Qingxiao Sect will run into any immortal cultivation sects from the Azure Dragon Domain. Compared to the spiritual energy there, this place is barren land—and moreover…"
"And moreover what?" Chu Jing pressed.
"And moreover, north of the Jiuzhou lands lies the land of demons and monsters. Because of that, the sects of the Azure Dragon Domain have no interest in this place. Whatever resources Jiuzhou has, the Azure Dragon Domain also possesses."
"The land of demons and monsters? Could it be that the disappearance of immortal cultivators from this land was because of that place? And the calamities spoken of in the Great Yan Dynasty's legends—could they also be related to the demons in the north?" Chu Jing asked rapidly, growing more nervous with each question.
He thought of the towering figure of the ancient Qi Clan god.
Although that ancient god had been forcefully suppressed by Li Qingqiu, he could not deny how terrifyingly powerful it was.
If there were many demons and monsters in the north as frightening as that ancient god, then the Jiuzhou lands would become extremely dangerous.
"Very likely. This may also be why the Northern Barbarians have always coveted the Jiuzhou lands. The demonic legends among the Northern Barbarians are real," Li Qingqiu said calmly.
Through Ancestor Su Xing's memories, he had obtained both good news and bad news.
The good news was that, for the time being, there were no immortal cultivation sects that could threaten them.
The bad news was that they might face invasions from the land of demons and monsters.
However, Li Qingqiu was not flustered. Even before this, he had already speculated about the many possible reasons for the disappearance of immortal cultivators. This result was within his expectations.
The only remaining uncertainties were how far the land of demons and monsters was from the Jiuzhou lands, and just how powerful those demons were.
Ancestor Su Xing was only at the initial Awakening Spirit realm, yet even someone like him yearned for the Supreme Sword Alliance. This meant that the Supreme Sword Alliance had once produced cultivators even stronger than the Awakening Spirit realm.
If such a powerful immortal cultivation sect had been wiped out, Li Qingqiu felt that the current Qingxiao Sect would definitely be unable to withstand an invasion from the land of demons and monsters.
"Does his memory contain any understanding of the land of demons and monsters?" Chu Jing thought for a moment, then asked.
Li Qingqiu shook his head and said, "He had only heard of it and didn't understand it. Regardless, the north truly must be guarded against."
He stood up, took out the Soul-Refining Banner, and moved Ancestor Su Xing's soul out of the Tianhong Sword.
Ancestor Su Xing stared at Li Qingqiu in terror and said in a trembling voice, "You… you actually dared to search my soul…"
His gaze was drawn to the Soul-Refining Banner in Li Qingqiu's hand, and his eyes widened violently.
"A demonic cultivator… you're a demonic cultivator…"
Ancestor Su Xing's ghostly form trembled uncontrollably, filled with fear.
Li Qingqiu couldn't be bothered to respond and directly threw him into the Soul-Refining Banner.
This man raised poisonous creatures, yet dared to curse him as a demonic cultivator?
The reason Li Qingqiu had not directly destroyed Ancestor Su Xing was to squeeze out every last bit of his remaining value. Ancestor Su Xing was never going to receive treatment like Chu Jing's.
"Pass the word to all hall masters. Tell them to come to Lingxiao Courtyard this evening to discuss matters," Li Qingqiu instructed Chu Jing.
Chu Jing accepted the order, solidified his soul body, and put on Lord Jing's garments.
Li Qingqiu watched him leave, feeling rather emotional.
He had the distinct feeling that he was about to leave the beginner stage.
Before this, he had been afraid of encountering immortal cultivation sects, which was why he had driven Qingxiao Sect to develop rapidly. Even when Zhang Yuchun, Li Dongyue, and the others hoped he would slow down, he refused to listen.
Although the Azure Dragon Domain was far from Qingxiao Sect, since it existed, they would eventually encounter it.
Not only the Azure Dragon Domain, but also the land of demons and monsters to the north was a hidden danger.
Li Qingqiu even suspected that immortal cultivation sects might exist overseas to the south. After all, the two cultivators who had taken Baizhi to cultivate had flown off toward the southern seas.
Perhaps this was truly the world of immortal cultivation—only the civilization of cultivation in the Jiuzhou lands had declined.
Li Qingqiu felt both pressure and surging fighting spirit.
It reminded him of the territory-building and conquest games he had played in his previous life: manage diligently, develop steadily, and once the domain was strong enough, expansion was inevitable.
Of course, Qingxiao Sect was not yet at the stage of expansion.
In Li Qingqiu's mind, an entire series of hundred-year plans had already taken shape.