Chapter 162 : Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art
Chapter 162: Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art
After Zhang Yuchun finished speaking, it was as if he had figured something out.
His expression changed, and he asked, “Senior Brother, don’t tell me something happened to Sifeng? Previously, when Sifeng encountered danger, the Prison Qilin once went down the mountain to look for him.”
Zhu Yan was very curious about the Qilin within the sect.
She had never seen it with her own eyes, mainly in order to avoid suspicion.
She was afraid that getting too close to the Qilin would arouse the Sect Master’s doubts.
Although Li Qingqiu treated others kindly, Zhu Yan always felt that he was a smiling tiger, someone who could change his face at any moment.
“Then let’s see whether the Prison Qilin has gone down the mountain.” Li Qingqiu replied.
His tone was calm, but his heart skipped a beat.
Thinking it through carefully, Lingtian Sect massacring the Jiang Clan, then threatening him by targeting the Li Clan, and then setting its sights on Li Sifeng was not impossible.
However, Li Sifeng possessed the cultivation of the fifth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, and with a thousand-year sword soul assisting him, he should not be easily taken down by Lingtian Sect.
“How about I send someone to take a look?” Zhang Yuchun asked uneasily.
Although Li Sifeng always made him angry and never listened to him, he was still a junior brother he had watched grow up.
Li Qingqiu nodded and said, “Choose true transmission disciples of at least the fourth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.”
“Alright!”
After Zhang Yuchun finished speaking, he got up and left.
Zhu Yan looked at Li Qingqiu and said, “Sect Master, there is one more matter I wish to discuss with you.”
“Go ahead.”
Li Qingqiu picked up a cup of tea, blew away the heat, and then sipped it slowly.
Zhu Yan organized her words and said, “Sect Master, you are twenty-seven this year. Have you considered starting a family and producing offspring to make the sect more stable?”
Upon hearing this, Li Qingqiu glanced at her and retorted, “You should already be thirty-two. Why haven’t you considered starting a family?”
Zhu Yan’s expression froze instantly.
She said awkwardly, “My aspirations do not lie there.”
“Neither do mine.”
“But you are different from me. I am merely a woman of little importance, but you are a man, and moreover the master of a sect. If you have offspring, everyone in the sect will feel more at ease.”
Zhu Yan almost said, what if something were to happen to you.
Li Qingqiu was not angry.
He was thinking about whether he should ask his junior brothers and sisters if they had someone they fancied.
As for himself, he had no intention of marrying at all.
He was someone who sought longevity.
“One day, we will discover more and more treasured lands, and we may even establish branch sects and outposts. You will need people you can absolutely trust to govern one side, and only your own offspring are the most trustworthy,” Zhu Yan continued to persuade.
Li Qingqiu looked at her and asked with a half-smile, “What? Did the Zhu Clan send you to act as a matchmaker?”
Zhu Yan met his gaze directly and said, “Naturally, the Zhu Clan hopes to have a closer relationship with the Sect Master. We do not seek the position of main wife; even a concubine would suffice.”
Li Qingqiu wanted to ask, is it you, is that acceptable?
But he held back.
Zhu Yan was not someone with whom he could joke casually, and making such a joke would easily ruin the atmosphere between them.
Moreover, he was also afraid that Zhu Yan might misunderstand.
Li Qingqiu said seriously, “Since you already know that we are cultivating immortality, you should detach your gaze from the mundane world. What the secular world must do does not necessarily mean that we must do the same.”
After hearing this, something stirred in Zhu Yan’s heart.
Even though she was a renowned scholar, not marrying in this world would still draw much criticism within her clan.
She had come to Clear Sky Mountain precisely to escape these troubles.
As Clear Sky Sect grew stronger, such troubles indeed diminished.
Even if she did not marry, no clan members dared to look down on her.
The more she thought about it, the more she felt that she had indeed been too worldly.
She regarded Li Qingqiu with renewed respect and sighed, “Sect Master, no wonder the immortals chose you. You truly are the most suitable person for cultivating immortality—able to discard worldly desires and not be manipulated by the secular world.”
Discard?
When did he discard them?
He simply did not want them for now!
Li Qingqiu retorted inwardly.
On the surface, however, he merely smiled without speaking, pretending to be profound and detached from worldly passions.
After obtaining her answer, Zhu Yan did not linger.
She stood up and took her leave.
After Li Qingqiu drank tea for a while, he returned to his cave dwelling.
He did not immediately begin cultivating, but instead activated the inheritance reward.
The inheritance reward triggered previously by the disciples establishing a port had yet to be used.
【Claim Inheritance Reward】
【Opening Dao Lineage Inheritance】
【You obtained a body-tempering technique—Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art】
【Do you accept the inheritance】
Eh?
A body-tempering technique, interesting!
Li Qingqiu immediately chose to accept the inheritance, and vast memories surged into his mind.
……
April arrived, and the temperature between heaven and earth began to slowly rise.
The Prison Qilin eventually went down the mountain.
Li Qingqiu also had Little Eight go search for Li Sifeng.
In less than two days, Little Eight sent back news, saying that Li Sifeng was fine for now and was staying in a military camp, already accompanied by ten true transmission disciples arranged by Zhang Yuchun.
These true transmission disciples were all at the fourth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
Even if the Ten Divine Attendants attacked, they should be able to resist when working together.
On this day, early in the morning, Li Qingqiu brought Yuan Li, Zhao Zhen, Ji Ya, and Xiao Wudi to an uninhabited mountain forest.
He stopped, turned to face the four of them, and said solemnly, “Today I will impart a technique to you. This is an ultimate art that has not entered the Scripture Repository. You must cultivate it diligently and set aside time every day to practice it. This technique will allow you to sweep through those of the same realm.”
Hearing this, the eyes of Yuan Li and the others all lit up.
Zhao Zhen asked excitedly, “Really? Then can I improve it?”
Li Qingqiu said irritably, “Learn it first before talking about improvement.”
Zhao Zhen could only modify martial arts into immortal cultivation methods for now, and was temporarily unable to improve cultivation techniques or spells further.
Ji Ya and Xiao Wudi were both very excited.
There were too many geniuses within the sect, and neither of them had confidence in sweeping through the same realm.
Both were battle fanatics and frequent visitors to the martial arena.
Although they had not yet lost within the same realm, they could feel the pressure coming from other disciples.
Yuan Li’s expression was somewhat unnatural.
He was only at the second layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm so far, and he felt that practicing techniques might delay the growth of his cultivation.
However, this was his master’s arrangement, and he did not dare to resist.
After that, Li Qingqiu transmitted the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art to them.
The Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art had a total of five layers.
At the first layer, qi and blood boiled, capable of tearing apart tigers and leopards.
At the second layer, tendons and bones became like iron, and the flesh itself became a weapon.
At the third layer, gang qi condensed, and bodily strength was like that of a dragon.
At the fourth layer, one became indestructible like vajra, able to block spells and magic implements.
At the fifth layer, one returned to simplicity, appearing no different from an ordinary person, yet in truth possessing terrifying strength, with qi and blood able to mobilize the spiritual energy of heaven and earth for one’s own use.
This body-tempering technique was far too overbearing, and Li Qingqiu also planned to cultivate it.
Perhaps due to the effect of the [Hundred-Refinement Demonic Body], his cultivation of this technique was quite smooth.
However, body-tempering techniques could not be mastered overnight.
They relied on long-term accumulation and the consumption of resources.
The longer one cultivated, the stronger it became, with no temporary upper limit.
After Li Qingqiu finished imparting the core principles of the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art, all four of them became excited.
Their comprehension was not simple, and they could all sense how extraordinary this technique was.
Among them, Yuan Li’s comprehension was the highest, even the highest in the entire sect.
Even Shen Yue and Chu Jing could not compare, because his comprehension was of the transcendent and extraordinary grade.
After so many years, Li Qingqiu had not seen a second person whose aptitude or comprehension displayed the four words “transcendent and extraordinary.”
Yuan Li savored the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art, feeling a unique resonance.
In the depths of his mind, he felt that this technique had been tailor-made for him.
This feeling was very wondrous and gave rise to a long-lost sense of confidence.
He felt that he could achieve success in the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art.
Xiao Wudi possessed the fate trait [Innate Body Cultivator].
His feelings were similar to Yuan Li’s.
He was extremely excited and wished he could begin cultivating immediately.
“You may practice first.”
Li Qingqiu stood up, left these words behind, and departed.
The four of them looked at one another, each nodding, and then began cultivating the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art.
Although none of them said it aloud, they all did not want to be weaker than the others.
“Cultivating the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art on the same day, I refuse to believe I’ll be slower than the other three.”
Xiao Wudi thought to himself.
The thought of cultivating the Heavenly Gang Golden Body Art faster than the Sect Master’s three treasured disciples filled him with excitement.
He had always wanted to become Li Qingqiu’s disciple.
He was not satisfied with the present.
It was not for power or status; he simply wanted to prove that he was no worse than anyone else.
……
Days passed one by one.
By mid-May, Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning finally returned with fifty true transmission disciples.
With their large numbers, they were seen by the disciples on the mountain as soon as they returned.
Over the past two months, their battle achievements had continuously been transmitted back to Clear Sky Sect, filling the disciples with excitement and admiration.
Now that they had returned in triumph, the disciples were extremely happy.
The news spread quickly.
After learning of it, Yuan Qi immediately came to Li Qingqiu’s cave dwelling to inform him.
After hearing this, Li Qingqiu let out a sigh of relief and stood up.
Speaking of which, Xu Ning was at the eighth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm, and Jiang Zhaoxia was at the seventh layer.
Either of them alone could hold their own, so why was Li Qingqiu instead somewhat worried when they acted together?
Li Qingqiu arrived at the Lingxiao Courtyard and sat down.
Yuan Qi, being very considerate, went to the kitchen to brew tea.
After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning entered the courtyard.
Behind them followed another person—a black-clothed man with disheveled hair, carrying an exaggeratedly large saber on his back, the blade nearly wider than his head.
The black-clothed man cast his gaze toward Li Qingqiu, curiosity appearing on his filthy face.
Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow slightly.
This person was actually an immortal cultivator!
Fourth layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm!
This was even more formidable than Grandmaster Jiang.
Jiang Zhaoxia sat down at the long table and said, “Senior Brother, let me introduce him first. This person is called Mo Jiuhong. Like us, he is an immortal cultivator. He has been dealing with the Qi Clan and previously even wanted to uproot Lingtian Sect entirely. In the end, he ran into us—no fight, no acquaintance.”
Upon hearing this, Mo Jiuhong’s expression became rather unnatural.
Was that really ‘no fight, no acquaintance’?
He had almost died!
Noticing Li Qingqiu’s gaze on him, he immediately gave a dry cough and said, “I am Mo Jiuhong. I belong to no sect or faction. I happened upon an immortal master’s inheritance. I originally thought I was the only immortal cultivator on this land, never expecting that an immortal cultivation sect would suddenly emerge in this world.”
The only one?
Li Qingqiu inwardly thought that might not be the case.
First there was Grandmaster Jiang, now Mo Jiuhong.
Perhaps there were still others in the mortal world who had obtained ancient immortal cultivation inheritances.
They merely all believed themselves to be the sole cultivators and thus stayed far from the secular world.
“Why are you targeting the Qi Clan?” Li Qingqiu asked.
Mo Jiuhong replied, “Because the Qi Clan is raising demonic creatures and even calling them ancient gods. It’s simply absurd. If not for the fact that I am no match for that demonic creature, I would have long since destroyed them, sparing the world from an impending catastrophe.”
Li Qingqiu asked in a slightly mocking tone, “Since you’re so full of righteousness, why didn’t you deal with the emperor and the demonic Dao earlier?”
Mo Jiuhong said helplessly, “For the past ten years, I was in seclusion in the northern border and knew nothing of this. The reason I came out of seclusion was precisely because that demonic creature caused an earthquake and disturbed me.”