Chapter 247: Establishment of Zhongtian Immortal City |
After refining Vital Energy and stepping into the First Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, Hu Yan formally embarked upon the path of immortal cultivation. At the same time, the Righteous Qi of Vast Integrity within his body was awakening.
He clearly felt his senses strengthening, his mind entering an unprecedented state of clarity.
All troubles and pressures dissipated entirely, as though a heavy burden had been lifted.
This feeling was difficult to describe. It caused him to immerse himself even more deeply in his cultivation, and he even sensed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth around him becoming more active.
And in Ji Ya’s eyes, wisps of white vapor began to appear around Hu Yan’s body. This white vapor inexplicably inspired a sense of awe within him.
“This is…”
Ji Ya widened his eyes. He could determine that this white vapor had nothing to do with the Primordial Unity Scripture. Could it be that this junior brother possessed some hidden special power, similar to the Gang Essence created by Third Senior Brother?
After the shock passed, his expectations toward Hu Yan grew boundless.
Thus, Hu Yan began cultivating under Ji Ya’s guidance.
Three days later, at noon, the Lingxiao Bell rang, and all the Hall Masters arrived.
At first, they thought the discussion would concern Zhongtian Immortal City. Zhang Yuchun, who was responsible for this matter, had already begun issuing instructions. In a few days, the main force would head north toward Zhongtian Province.
When Li Qingqiu recounted the troubles of the Northern Court, everyone frowned, their expressions turning grave.
Lingxiao Courtyard fell into silence.
After quite some time, Yang Jueding swept his gaze across the crowd and said, “We must intervene in this matter. If it were merely demonic disturbances, we could ignore it, but now it involves ghost soldiers. Clearly, ghost soldiers are formed from living people. If we let them continue to develop, once the ghost soldiers gain momentum, no one knows what will happen.”
Clear Sky Daoist followed up, saying, “The Nine Provinces are already under our command. We cannot think using old problems anymore. This current trouble is equivalent to demonic entities harming people near the Ancient Great Mountain Range. Should we intervene or not?”
Others expressed their agreement one after another.
Zhu Yan voiced a different opinion, saying, “We still need to investigate clearly first. The Northern Court is crafty, and it may not be the truth. Even if it is true, the actual situation may not have been witnessed personally by that person.”
Xue Jin, Chai Yunshang, and Yan Daozong expressed their agreement.
Xu Ning looked at Li Qingqiu and said, “Master, I can make a trip to the Northern Border. I also want to test my spells.”
Jiang Zhaoxia raised his brow and said, “My divine art may not be incapable of exterminating ghosts.”
This was Zhao Zhen’s first time participating in such a discussion. Although he held no specific authority, no one objected, because Zhao Zhen was already ranked among the top five experts within the sect.
Li Qingqiu, Xu Ning, Jiang Zhaoxia, Shen Yue, and then him—perhaps the facts might not be exact, but at least the vast majority of disciples would think of him when mentioning the sect’s top five.
Zhao Zhen also wanted to speak up and volunteer, but recalling his past experiences, he felt he should not act rashly.
His top priority was to achieve the Spirit Perception Realm.
The sect did not lack Nourishing Vital Energy Realm combat strength; what it lacked was Spirit Perception Realm combat power.
Li Qingqiu pondered and said, “Ning’er, Third Junior Brother, you two head north to investi—”
“No!”
“Absolutely not!”
Xu Ning and Jiang Zhaoxia spoke in unison. The two looked at each other, their gazes clashing sharply.
Everyone’s expressions turned strange, and they more or less understood why the two resisted being paired together.
Separately, each of them was invincible under heaven; together, the mission would fail.
In fact, everyone could understand. Any task that required the two of them to act together was bound to be extremely difficult. No matter who went, failure would be likely. It was just that when spoken aloud, it inevitably felt rather theatrical.
Li Qingqiu smiled and said, “I’m not asking you two to work together. You’ll investigate separately and must not act on your own. I only need to know whether this matter is true and whether the ghost soldiers are indeed gaining momentum.”
Hearing this, Xu Ning and Jiang Zhaoxia looked at each other again, then silently nodded.
Thus, the matter was settled. Aside from this, Li Qingqiu also expressed concern over Zhongtian Immortal City. No matter what, development could not stop. He instructed all halls and sects to cooperate fully with the Zhongtian Immortal City project—those who needed to release personnel should do so, those who needed to delegate authority should delegate it. Anyone who obstructed the grand plan of development would not be shown mercy.
Li Qingqiu was not speaking without cause. Obstructing sect development did not necessarily mean betrayal; it could also be for the sake of gaining greater personal benefit by delaying the process. Such situations had already appeared in other matters. Completely eradicating them was difficult, so his approach was to extinguish any sign of it the moment it appeared.
The upper echelons all gave repeated assurances. Some looked slightly guilty—not because they themselves had done such things, but because some of their subordinates had.
As the sect developed to this point, no one was truly alone anymore. They married, had children, took in disciples, and had clans backing them. Emotional ties bound them, sometimes putting them in difficult positions.
After the meeting ended, Li Qingqiu had Xu Ning and Jiang Zhaoxia stay behind. He recounted all the intelligence he had extracted from the Silent Nether Ghost King’s memories, so that they would not know nothing about the evil ghosts of Ghost King Ridge.
After learning this, both Xu Ning and Jiang Zhaoxia felt pressure. Different evil ghosts possessed different Ghostly Path spells, and their cultivation levels had very likely reached the Spirit Perception Realm.
Although they felt pressure, they harbored no fear. They were the sect’s strongest combatants, confident in completing any task.
……
Xu Ning and Jiang Zhaoxia quietly descended the mountain. Yuan Qi led several hundred disciples and three thousand menial disciples on a long journey to Zhongtian Immortal City. The scale was massive, drawing much discussion among the disciples.
Clear Sky Sect did not fear the news of city construction spreading. Within the Nine Provinces, no one could stop Clear Sky Sect, and no one dared to do so.
With his outstanding cultivation aptitude, Hu Yan reached the Third Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm in just three months. His Righteous Qi of Vast Integrity had also begun to take shape, allowing him to apply it in Dao Duels.
At present, Hu Yan had only learned the Mountain Lord Divine Incantation from Li Qingqiu. Because of his Righteous Qi of Vast Integrity, his Mountain Lord Divine Incantation had become different, possessing even greater might.
Mid-March.
Zhongtian Immortal City sent word that the city had already been completed, and only the transportation of various cultivation resources remained.
From now on, sect disciples traveling outside for tempering could all rest and stay at Zhongtian Immortal City.
That afternoon.
Hu Yan arrived at Ziyang Peak to visit Duan Xiaojuan.
On the way, he encountered Zhu Qingling.
Hu Yan had nearly forgotten this woman, but upon seeing her, he still recalled the goodwill she had once shown him. He hesitated for a moment, then ultimately chose to greet her.
When Zhu Qingling saw him, she neither became excited nor frowned. Her expression was calm.
The two exchanged a few simple words before passing by each other, which made Hu Yan let out a sigh of relief.
Although his status was no longer ordinary, and even Zhu Yan—the most powerful figure of the Zhu Clan—treated him kindly, he had never become inflated. He felt it was best not to grow too close to Zhu Qingling, lest unnecessary trouble arise.
hings as they were now were quite good—like the friendship of gentlemen, as plain as water.
A smile appeared on Hu Yan’s face as he walked up the mountain.
Zhu Qingling turned back to look, her gaze complex. In just three short months, she already had to look up to Hu Yan. This feeling made her very uncomfortable.
She could tell that Hu Yan’s cultivation was higher than hers. Compared to three months ago, he was like a completely different person.
No wonder Zhu Yan said that once Hu Yan became the Sect Master’s disciple, he would soar into the heavens.
Zhu Qingling was also a proud person. She began to treat Hu Yan as her goal. She did not want to lose to him, even though she greatly admired him.
……
Sunlight filtered through the forest and spilled into Azure Cloud Sect. After several years of development, Azure Cloud Sect had begun to take shape, with over a dozen buildings and more than forty disciples. They had also started to gain a reputation at the foot of the mountain.
Sect Master Qiu Dahu sat cross-legged on the eaves, cultivating. He practiced the Pure Yang Art created by his master Zhou Ya. He was now at the Second Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
“Sect Master, the County Magistrate of Ningyuan County has heard of your deeds and wishes to invite you as a guest. He will host a banquet, inviting nearby aristocratic clans and powerful martial figures to jointly admire your spells.”
A voice came from below. Qiu Dahu opened his eyes and looked down, seeing Qin Yucheng, the deputy sect master he had appointed, standing in the courtyard and looking up at him.
Qin Yucheng stood tall with handsome features. Compared to Qiu Dahu, he looked even more like an immortal cultivator.
Hearing this, Qiu Dahu frowned and said in a deep voice, “What does he mean? Does he take me for some street performer?”
Qin Yucheng said helplessly, “He truly does not trust Azure Cloud Sect. Of course, I think what he fears more is Clear Sky Sect. He wants to befriend you together with others so that Clear Sky Sect will not hold a grudge against him.”
At the mention of Clear Sky Sect, Qiu Dahu felt pressure like a mountain.
He had already grown up, and after going down the mountain many times, he came to understand the colossal existence of Clear Sky Sect, towering above dynasties and the martial world.
His master was merely an ordinary disciple of Clear Sky Sect. When he learned of this, it felt as though the sky had collapsed.
He had also once blamed his master for placing such a burden upon him.
Yet without his master, he and his junior brothers and sisters would all have died. He could have dissolved Azure Cloud Sect and left with them, but he could not bear to part with this foundation.
Li Qingqiu could create such a grand achievement with six junior brothers and sisters—why couldn’t he?
“We truly cannot compare ourselves to Clear Sky Sect, but the path Clear Sky Sect walks is one we can also follow. Let us maintain our previous way of doing things, perform more good deeds, and wait for the sect to grow.”
Qiu Dahu thought this through and chose to swallow the pent-up frustration.
Qin Yucheng asked, “Then we won’t go to Ningyuan County?”
“We won’t.”
Qiu Dahu closed his eyes again.
Qin Yucheng thought for a moment and said, “Recently, another immortal cultivation sect has appeared in the martial world, called White Abyss Valley. The origins of White Abyss Valley are extremely similar to Azure Cloud Sect. Its founder is a disciple of some Clear Sky Sect disciple. What do you think—should we befriend White Abyss Valley? Perhaps there will be more and more small immortal cultivation sects like ours in the future.”
Qiu Dahu opened his eyes, his brows tightly knit.
He did not feel joy, but anxiety.
If immortal cultivation sects across the world increased in number, how would Azure Cloud Sect rise?
Qiu Dahu asked, “What do you think we should do?”
Qin Yucheng replied, “Let’s go meet them. The earlier we understand them, the better. Perhaps we can exchange Dao insights and also prepare for the future martial world landscape. If we can form an alliance, even better—we could advance and retreat together.”
Qiu Dahu felt his words made sense and nodded in agreement.
“Then in three days, the two of us depart?”
“No problem.”
Qin Yucheng agreed. The two chatted a bit more before Qin Yucheng saluted and withdrew.
He returned to his own courtyard, took out a paper crane from his sleeve, ignited it with Vital Energy, muttered a few words, and then the paper crane turned to ashes, forming a streak of light that shot into the forest and vanished.