From martial arts sects to immortality sects

Chapter 104 The world is shocked
In Li Qingqiu's view, an unawakened physique must need some kind of stimulation, either physical or mental, but it is difficult to judge the degree of stimulation.

However, seeing that Yuanli was still young, he couldn't bear to do it.

That's it.

The current setback is also a test of his mindset. Li Qingqiu believes that his master's heart and resilient destiny will help him stay on the right path and not go astray.

Li Qingqiu closed his eyes and continued his cultivation.

The eighth level is getting closer and closer.

……

As night fell, Li Sifeng returned to Lingxiao Courtyard carrying the Emperor Xuan Sword. He was exhausted, as today's cultivation had depleted his vital energy and strength.

Although he was exhausted, he felt quite fulfilled; the feeling of getting stronger every day was wonderful.

Why didn't he appreciate it before?
Do we have to experience despair to wake up?
Li Sifeng felt a sense of accomplishment when he thought about Cheng Xiu watching him practice swordsmanship this afternoon with an expression of admiration on her face.

If Yu Qilin hadn't arrived in time, not only would he have died, but Cheng Xiu and her brother would have died as well. He shuddered at the thought.

He looked up and saw his senior brother sitting at the long table.

"Senior Brother, it's so late, why aren't you resting yet?"

Li Sifeng walked over and asked with a smile.

Li Qingqiu put down the book in her hand, looked at him, and said, "I've been waiting for you. I want to assign you a task."

Upon hearing this, Li Sifeng couldn't help but ask curiously, "What kind of mission?"

"Reach the fifth level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm as quickly as possible, then go and destroy the Pei Clan." Li Qingqiu's tone was very calm.

Upon hearing the name Pei, Li Sifeng's expression immediately changed.

He hated the Pei family to the core, and even without Li Qingqiu's prompting, he would fight them to the death sooner or later.

"Okay!" Li Sifeng agreed.

Li Qingqiu looked at him and said seriously, "We originally had no connection with the Pei family, but because you set your sights on the Emperor Xuan Sword that they wanted, after a struggle, we became mortal enemies with them. We lost many disciples because of this. I'm not criticizing you. Treasures belong to the capable. The Emperor Xuan Sword never belonged to the Pei family. I just hope that in the future, you will consider the pros and cons before doing anything. You've grown up, it's time to mature."

Li Sifeng felt ashamed after hearing this, and this time, he did not defend himself.

"Go and rest," Li Qingqiu said, picking up the book on the table again.

Li Sifeng took a deep breath, nodded seriously to him, and then turned and went back into the house.

……

Twenty days after Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning left, they finally returned. However, Li Qingqiu did not see Yan Lan. He noticed that the two looked somber and began to suspect something.

Li Qingqiu discharged Zhao Zhen, Yuan Li, and others from the hospital, as he wanted to speak with Jiang Zhaoxia and the other person alone.

After the others left, Li Qingqiu asked Jiang Zhaoxia and the other person to sit down and talk.

"The prince is dead."

Jiang Zhaoxia's first words made Li Qingqiu frown. Although he had guessed it, he still felt somewhat complicated upon learning the truth.

Seeing that Jiang Zhaoxia and the other person were not injured, he couldn't help but ask, "You didn't make it in time?"

"We made it in time. We even rescued him from the palace, but on the way out of the city, he suddenly succumbed to the poison. The poison had been lurking in his body for at least half a month, which means that someone had poisoned him before he started his rebellion. This poison was extremely insidious, and even with the power of the Hunyuan Scripture, we could not expel it from him. He chose to stay and die, letting the two of us escape."

Jiang Zhaoxia said with a gloomy face. This was his first mission failure, and he was in a very bad mood.

Xu Ning was the same; the two barely spoke a word to each other on the way back.

Li Qingqiu asked in surprise, "So you just let him go?"

Jiang Zhaoxia frowned and said, "Of course not. We wanted to bring him back for you to treat, but he refused no matter what. He said he couldn't escape. If he escaped, Zhao Zhen and Qingxiao Sect would be in trouble. He had to die in the capital. He died of poisoning after saying only a few words. We had no choice but to abandon his body."

Xu Ning nodded and said, "He's right, that's exactly it."

Li Qingqiu remained silent.

He hadn't known Yan Lan for long and their relationship wasn't very deep, but Yan Lan was Zhao Zhen's father, and he feared that Yan Lan's death would cause Zhao Zhen's personality to change drastically.

"In addition, the experts in the palace are not simple. There is a man named Xuan Gong whose martial arts are no weaker than Shen Yue's. Although the two of us are confident that we can kill him together, he has many experts under his command, each of whom is highly skilled and works in perfect harmony. We also have to protect the Crown Prince, so we have no choice but to run away."

Jiang Zhaoxia continued, his expression turning solemn as he mentioned Xuan Gong.

Xu Ning added, "Xuan Gong's skill far surpasses that of the Sword God. However, the Sword God, with his own sword intent, may not be weaker than him. We are worried that this is just the tip of the iceberg in the palace, because Xuan Gong's ability to hunt us down indicates that there may be someone no less capable than him left in the palace to protect the emperor."

"There's another possibility: the emperor is stronger than Xuan Gong, otherwise he wouldn't have kept Xuan Gong in the palace. Plus, the emperor has consumed the inner elixir of a martial arts legend..."

She didn't continue speaking, but Li Qingqiu understood.

This emperor's abilities are now unfathomable and should not be underestimated.

Li Qingqiu looked up and saw that dark clouds had appeared in the sky sometime earlier. He muttered to himself, "Looks like it's going to rain." ...

The news that the Crown Prince had rebelled and was killed by the Imperial Guards under the Emperor's command swept across the land like a hurricane, shaking the entire nation and causing widespread discussion among the common people and the martial arts world.

Many ministers and noble families were ordered by the emperor to be thoroughly investigated. Every day, hundreds of heads were chopped off in the Zhenyang Imperial City, and blood flowed like a river under the execution platform.

When this news reached Qingxiaomen, it was right during the Spring Festival.

The disciples were celebrating when they heard that a pilgrim who had come up the mountain had contacted them about this matter. The news spread by word of mouth among the disciples, and soon it became a topic of discussion among all the disciples.

Ku Yi and Ku Er found Zhao Zhen, fearing he might act impulsively.

But they found Zhao Zhen sitting on the mountaintop, surrounded by spiritual energy.

The two men exchanged a glance, not wanting to disturb Zhao Zhen, but they didn't leave either, fearing that Zhao Zhen might do something rash.

Inside Lingxiao Courtyard, Li Qingqiu summoned the hall masters to discuss the matter.

"From now on, Zhao Zhen's identity is a secret of our sect and must not be revealed to anyone," Li Qingqiu said seriously, scanning everyone around him.

Zhu Yan looked unwell. Li Qingqiu noticed her expression and asked, "Hall Master Zhu, what's wrong?"

Everyone else looked at Zhu Yan. The death of the crown prince put them under pressure, and they had a premonition that the emperor was about to cause trouble again.

She took a deep breath and said, "My family hasn't sent me any messages lately, and I'm worried they might be implicated."

Li Qingqiu pressed further, "Do you and Miss Su need to go back and take a look?"

Zhu Yan shook her head and said, "If something really happens, there's no point in us going back. We might as well stay at Qingxiao Sect and observe the situation. Even if our Zhu family has chosen the wrong side, our bloodline will still survive. What I need to do is protect that bloodline."

She paused for a moment, then said, "If the sect leader requires us to avoid suspicion, we can leave the mountain immediately."

Li Qingqiu said helplessly, "We dare to take in even the Crown Prince's son, so why would we be afraid to take you in?"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Yan smiled.

Li Qingqiu brought up the Daoist chart panel to check her loyalty level.

Hmm, a slight increase of 1 point is not bad.

"Senior Brother, how should we deal with the changes in the world next?" Li Dongyue asked Li Qingqiu.

Zhang Yuchun spoke first, saying, "This is a struggle for imperial power, and it has nothing to do with us. As long as Third Junior Brother and Junior Nephew Xu do not reveal their identities, we only need to keep an eye on the situation at Guzhou Pass. I have already made arrangements, and if there is any news, it will be sent to me immediately."

The crown prince's death actually brought him a sense of relief.

If Jiang Zhaoxia and the other person really bring the Crown Prince back to Qingxiao Gate, he really doesn't know what to do. One thing is certain: the Emperor will definitely not let it go. No matter how hard they try to hide it, there will eventually come a day when they can't keep it a secret.

He admitted that his thoughts were selfish, but in his eyes, Qingxiao Sect was the most important thing.

Zhao Zhen was not a disciple he recruited. Qingxiao Sect had no reason to sacrifice the entire sect for Zhao Zhen's father.

Others followed suit, all adopting the same attitude: to remain inactive, develop themselves, and observe the evolution of the world situation.

After listening, Li Qingqiu didn't say much about the matter. He changed the subject and said, "A new year has arrived. This is my eighth year as the sect leader. This year's goal is to have more than three thousand disciples in the sect, excluding the miscellaneous disciples, and more than four hundred true disciples. I want steady development and cannot be impatient for quick success in order to achieve this goal."

He went on to state his grand goals for the Seven Halls and the Sword Sect, and the hall masters said they had taken note.

As evening fell, Li Qingqiu arrived at the cliff where Zhao Zhen was. He told Ku Yi and Ku Er to step back, and then walked alone to Zhao Zhen's side.

"Why are you practicing here alone?" Li Qingqiu asked.

Zhao Zhen opened his eyes, turned to look at his master, and said, "Master, you don't need to worry about me or comfort me. Actually, my father had already told me before he sent me to Qingxiao Sect that he was doomed to die, either from illness or at the hands of my grandfather."

Li Qingqiu was surprised. He didn't expect that Yan Lan had already told Zhao Zhen about it. At that time, Zhao Zhen was only a few years old, yet he was not overwhelmed by this matter.

Zhao Zhen is only eight years old now. When he heard the news of his father's death, he did not cry, which left Li Qingqiu at a loss for how to comfort him.

Zhao Zhen said earnestly, "My father once said that rather than dying of illness, he would prefer to make his death meaningful. If he died at the hands of my grandfather, the world would surely be shaken, and the people would condemn my grandfather's incompetence. No matter how strong the imperial power is, it will eventually fall to the hearts of the people."

Li Qingqiu raised his hand and rubbed his head, saying, "I sent your third uncle and eldest sister to rescue your father, but he had already been poisoned and we were unable to bring him back. Before he died, his last wish was to die in the capital city to avoid bringing trouble to you and the Qingxiao Sect."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zhen smiled and asked, "Master, although my father is physically weak, wouldn't you say he did something truly heroic?"

Li Qingqiu smiled and said, "Of course he is, and he is a first-rate man in the world. He is also a good father."

Zhao Zhen smiled even more brightly, clasping his hands together, his smile even bearing a resemblance to Yan Lan's.

"I will practice martial arts diligently and not let my father down."

Seeing Zhao Zhen's fighting spirit, Li Qingqiu suddenly thought of his own fate of being easily killed.

Will the emperor eliminate this grandson completely?

　First update at midnight!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)