Chapter 324 : Li Qingqiu, Unfathomably Profound
Chapter 324: Li Qingqiu, Unfathomably Profound
With the arrival of the New Year, Li Qingqiu was about to turn forty-six. Having cultivated immortality for thirty years, he had already reached the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Perception Realm.
He was the one whose cultivation had grown the fastest within the Clear Sky Sect. It was just that everyone in the sect had long grown accustomed to his strength, and no one thought deeply about it anymore.
Standing atop a cliff, Li Qingqiu frowned as he looked down at the scenery below, contemplating the Dharma Form of the Sunlight Realm.
How exactly did a Dharma Form manifest?
At first, Li Qingqiu had thought it was a manifestation of power appearing outside the body. But after studying the Supreme Purity Primordial Unity Scripture, he discovered that this was not the case.
The Dharma Form was hidden within the body, existing between the flesh and the soul. It was more like an outer garment of the soul, capable of protecting it.
Although Li Qingqiu’s cultivation was still increasing, what he now needed was to comprehend and create his Dharma Form in order to advance further.
Once he understood the Dharma Form, he would be able to directly step into the Sunlight Realm.
Since the Dharma Form was related to the power of heaven and earth, Li Qingqiu left his cave dwelling and immersed himself in nature.
He stood within the natural world, attempting to sense the power of heaven and earth. Yet despite being surrounded by it, he felt as though he had nowhere to begin.
He forced himself to calm down. With his Righteous Qi of Vast Integrity, his mind was already tranquil, allowing him to easily enter a meditative state.
However, not everything could be comprehended through meditation alone. Even though the Undying Overlord Body allowed him to mobilize a certain degree of the power of heaven and earth, he still could not grasp the connection he sought.
Thus, Li Qingqiu stood there for two hours, yet gained no insight.
Suddenly, he thought of someone. Without hesitation, he leapt down from the cliff and stepped through the air.
As he flew, he summoned the Dao Lineage Panel and opened Yang Xuan’s personal panel, focusing on one of his Fate Traits.
【Heart of Heaven and Earth: Possesses an extraordinary perception of all things in heaven and earth, able to sense the consciousness of plants and trees, and communicate with unawakened living beings】
This future Mortal Dao Ancestor seemed to be innately capable of sensing heaven and earth. Perhaps he could provide Li Qingqiu with some inspiration.
Recently, Yang Xuan had been staying in the Spirit Finance Hall. As a disciple of Li Dongyue, and possessing dual “Good”-level aptitudes, he had already become the strongest disciple of the Spirit Finance Hall. His reputation had begun to rise.
Li Qingqiu descended directly into the main courtyard of the Spirit Finance Hall, startling the nearby disciples, who immediately drew their Clear Sky Swords. But upon recognizing the Sect Master, they all breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly bowed in salute.
Li Qingqiu nodded and stepped forward.
Extending his spiritual sense, he quickly located Yang Xuan.
Yang Xuan was not busy with administrative duties. Instead, he was meditating in the forest behind the Spirit Finance Hall.
Before Li Qingqiu even approached, Yang Xuan sensed the disturbance. He immediately stood up, turned around, and upon seeing Li Qingqiu walking out from the forest, he quickly bowed.
“Why are you meditating here?” Li Qingqiu asked with a smile as he approached.
He had not sensed any fluctuation of spiritual energy around Yang Xuan, indicating that Yang Xuan was not cultivating by absorbing energy, but simply sitting in quiet contemplation.
Yang Xuan replied, “Occasionally stopping to feel the natural world helps calm my mind. It also allows me to gain clearer thoughts about my own path of cultivation.”
Li Qingqiu came before him and sat down cross-legged, gesturing for him to sit as well.
Yang Xuan was not reserved. After all, he was already familiar with Li Qingqiu. Back when he had been alone and helpless at Silent Heaven Mountain, it was Li Qingqiu and Li Dongyue who had invited him to join the Clear Sky Sect. In his heart, the two of them held equal status.
Normally, when Li Qingqiu visited Li Dongyue, he would also chat with Yang Xuan if he encountered him. It made Yang Xuan feel the same as his first impression—he truly liked this way of interacting.
“What does heaven and earth look like in your eyes?” Li Qingqiu asked curiously.
Upon hearing this, Yang Xuan thought his Martial Uncle was testing him. After careful consideration, he answered,
“Heaven and earth are everything. If one removes their mind from themselves and truly observes the world that exists independently, they can feel its vitality. Heaven and earth are both a whole and can also be seen as individuals…”
Li Qingqiu listened, finding his perspective novel and increasingly intriguing.
It seemed he had found the right person.
Seeing that his Martial Uncle did not refute him, Yang Xuan grew bolder and continued. The more he spoke, the more excited he became, his words flowing endlessly.
He enjoyed quietly observing mountains, watching water, feeling the wind, and sensing the rain. Yet he had never found a kindred spirit—no one had ever been interested in such things. Thus, he had always immersed himself alone in his perception of nature.
Now that someone had finally asked him about it—and that someone was the Sect Master—how could he not be excited?
Whether it was merely Li Qingqiu’s illusion or not, as Yang Xuan spoke of the heaven and earth in his eyes, Li Qingqiu felt as though the surrounding forest had become more lively.
The flowers, plants, and trees seemed to possess greater vitality, as if they were cheering and agreeing with Yang Xuan.
Interesting.
Li Qingqiu did not merely listen—he began to imagine his own vision of heaven and earth.
……
After the New Year, the entire Clear Sky Sect began operating around the Grand Dao Tournament. Every day, a large number of disciples and pilgrims entered the Ancient Great Mountain Range. Within its vast expanse, every mountain peak was occupied.
Some disciples practiced spells, nobles wandered the mountains, and scholars composed poetry and painted landscapes amidst nature.
Li Qingqiu did not interfere with the Grand Dao Tournament. Instead, he frequently sought out Yang Xuan to discuss heaven and earth. Over time, this matter spread throughout the sect.
The disciples of the Spirit Finance Hall were thrilled, believing that the Sect Master intended to nurture Yang Xuan.
The news quickly spread to the various halls and great clans.
Every time Yang Xuan returned to his cave dwelling, he would be stopped by others trying to curry favor with him. Some even attempted to arrange marriage ties for him, leaving him quite helpless.
After learning the reason, he gained a clearer understanding of the Sect Master’s influence.
Li Dongyue mentioned this matter to Li Qingqiu, but he did not care and continued doing as he pleased.
In his eyes, breaking through was the most important matter—he had no time to concern himself with such trivial affairs.
Time passed into February, and registration for the Grand Dao Tournament began. The threshold of the Hall of Vast Fate was nearly trampled flat.
On this day, Li Qingqiu summoned Wei Tianxiong. Wei Tianxiong had thought there was some major task awaiting him, but to his surprise, Li Qingqiu only asked about the Dharma Form.
“You’ve already reached the Ninth Layer of the Spirit Perception Realm?” Wei Tianxiong asked in shock, his eyes wide.
Li Qingqiu’s Hundred-Refinement Demonic Body allowed him to conceal his aura, making his cultivation unclear. Wei Tianxiong could only tell that he was still in the Spirit Perception Realm, but not his exact level.
Wei Tianxiong was still recovering from his injuries, and regaining his former cultivation was still a distant prospect.
He had not expected that before he could recover, Li Qingqiu would already be catching up.
Did that mean he would forever be suppressed by Li Qingqiu in the future?
A trace of bitterness arose in his heart, yet he did not feel fear. After so many years together, Li Qingqiu had never used the Life-Control Talisman to torment him. On the contrary, he had treated him well, acknowledging and respecting his contributions—something even the former Sect Master of the Divine Origin Sect had never done.
In his heart, he had long been convinced and devoted to Li Qingqiu. He merely maintained the demeanor of an elder of the Divine Origin Sect, unwilling to show it outwardly.
“Yes. I plan to complete my breakthrough this year, and afterward head to the Relic Palace of the Supreme Sword Sect to search for the Supreme Sword,” Li Qingqiu stated his plan.
Wei Tianxiong was even more astonished. “The Supreme Sword? I only mentioned it in passing, and you’ve already set your sights on it?”
Li Qingqiu shook his head and recounted how Bai Ning’er had obtained the Sword Champion trial, explaining that he had already gained the recognition of the Supreme Sword.
Wei Tianxiong was completely stunned.
He knew better than anyone how terrifying the power of the Supreme Sword was.
Without his knowledge, Li Qingqiu had actually obtained such a great opportunity.
He had heard of the Sword Champion of the Supreme Sword—rumor had it that in the last five hundred years of the Supreme Sword Sect, no one had been able to pass the trial. Until the sect’s destruction, no one had been able to wield the Supreme Sword.
It was said that the Sword Champion placed extremely high demands on a cultivator’s aptitude, adjusting its own cultivation to match that of the challenger.
No wonder he had lost to Li Qingqiu—this man simply could not be judged by common sense.
Wei Tianxiong took a deep breath and said, “If you want to create a Dharma Form, you must first understand your own spiritual root. Speaking of which, I’ve noticed that our sect has never conducted spiritual root tests. Logically speaking, once one reaches the Spirit Perception Realm, they should already know their spiritual root attributes. You should be able to identify your disciples’ spiritual roots—so why not have Spirit Perception Realm disciples participate in the entrance assessment?”
Li Qingqiu had long realized the extraordinary nature of the Primordial Unity Scripture. No matter how poor one’s aptitude was, as long as they were willing to work hard, they would eventually step into the First Layer of the Nourishing Vital Energy Realm.
From the cultivation texts he had obtained, he also knew that other immortal sects conducted spiritual root tests—but he did not dare to establish one.
If such tests were implemented and some disciples showed no spiritual roots, would he abandon them outright?
If he did not abandon them and continued nurturing them, once those disciples cultivated Vital Energy, the power of the Primordial Unity Scripture would inevitably be exposed.
Looking at Wei Tianxiong, Li Qingqiu asked, “Are you certain that you—or I—can truly detect every single person’s spiritual root?”
Wei Tianxiong frowned. “What do you mean?”
He had not cultivated the Primordial Unity Scripture and thus did not understand its profundity. As an elder of the Divine Origin Sect and a true Sunlight Realm expert, how could he possibly switch to a minor sect’s technique?
Li Qingqiu said seriously, “I’ve read some ancient texts. Sects like the Supreme Sword Sect and the Myriad Yin Sect conduct spiritual root tests for new disciples. But I think that approach is flawed—it’s too absolute. The human body is incredibly profound. Who can truly understand it completely? In my view, every person—even every living being—possesses a spiritual root. It’s just that some are too faint to detect.”
This inference was based on the power of the Primordial Unity Scripture.
Spiritual roots were the source of Vital Energy attributes. Since one could cultivate Vital Energy, it meant they must possess a spiritual root.
Wei Tianxiong was shaken by his words. He instinctively wanted to refute them, yet found them reasonable.
The cultivation world was filled with stories of underdogs rising to greatness—those with inferior or even nonexistent spiritual roots who, through fortuitous encounters, became powerful figures.
But such opportunities were exceedingly rare. For cultivation sects, it was not worth the gamble. With limited resources, they preferred to nurture disciples with visible potential rather than stake everything on uncertain chances.
A few such disciples might be acceptable, but no matter how powerful a sect was, it could not accept everyone indiscriminately while distributing resources equally.
After thinking carefully, Wei Tianxiong realized that the proportion of Clear Sky Sect disciples stepping onto the path of cultivation was astonishing.
Under normal circumstances, only one out of ten people possessed a spiritual root. Yet in the Clear Sky Sect, the number of registered disciples far exceeded one-tenth of the menial disciples.
With this realization, he discovered that the Clear Sky Sect still held mysteries beyond his understanding.
Looking again at Li Qingqiu, he suddenly felt that Li Qingqiu was truly unfathomably profound.