From martial arts sects to immortality sects

Chapter 146 The Name of a Great Hero
The Qingxiao Sect officially renamed Contribution Points to Dao Affinity and announced the monthly stipends and Dao Affinity of disciples at all levels. This notice was posted all over the Qingxiao Mountain courtyards, which aroused widespread discussion among the disciples.

Outer disciples receive ten Dao Yuan per month, inner disciples receive twenty Dao Yuan per month, and true disciples receive fifty Dao Yuan per month. Martial arts manuals on the third floor of the Scripture Pavilion are priced at over one hundred Dao Yuan, while magic manuals on the fourth floor start at one thousand Dao Yuan. Overall, such basic treatment satisfies disciples of all levels, allowing them to see hope regardless of their position.

In addition to the basic monthly benefits, you can also gain more Dao affinity by building your sect, making inventions, and undertaking tasks in the Training Hall.

Dao Yuan can be exchanged for secret manuals, weapons, spirit stones, spiritual plants, talismans, etc., and all disciples know that the sect will launch more items in the future.

It's worth mentioning that the Hunyuan Sutra mental cultivation method cannot be exchanged for Dao Fate. As long as your cultivation level is suitable, you can go to the Cultivation Hall to directly receive the next level of the mental cultivation method.

Dao Yuan (a type of spiritual affinity) cannot be transferred, but exchangeable items can be traded privately, which gives hope to scions of aristocratic families and powerful figures.

To prevent trouble, the Enforcement Hall's responsibilities have become heavier, and more regulations have been introduced for Daoist practitioners.

Li Qingqiu wasn't under much pressure. The Qingxiao Sect was essentially still under his control, so if trouble arose, he could make timely adjustments. The Qingxiao Sect was also in the exploratory stage and needed to learn from mistakes.

The balance between spiritual attainment and worldly wealth will gradually take shape over time; there is no fixed rule.

While Qingxiaomen was undergoing drastic reforms, the war at the foot of the mountain intensified.

War broke out in many parts of Guzhou, and the prefecture's control over the counties had collapsed. As the saying goes, troubled times produce heroes, and many people thought they were heroes.

When May arrived, a group of refugees arrived at the foot of the mountain, hoping to be taken in by Qingxiaomen.

Zhang Yuchun did not agree, but only gave them some dry rations and sent them away.

However, these refugees did not go far away, but hid in the Taikun Mountains and would occasionally come to Qingxiao Gate to beg for food.

In early June, the competition began to determine the top 64 finalists.

It wasn't until the end of the month that the top 64 were finalized, and the Yuling Hall posted the list. The disciples on the list had a minimum cultivation level of the third level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm, and each of them had already made a name for themselves.

Everyone could feel that Qingxiao Sect was full of talented people. Each of the top 64 had proven themselves through battles and competitions, and they all made it up through sheer strength.

Many well-known disciples were eliminated.

This day, noon.

One by one, the true disciples entered Lingxiao Academy. Yu Lin, who ranked second among the Seven Masters of Qingxiao, was also there. He looked dejected and walked at the back.

As the earliest disciples of Qingxiao Sect, the Seven Sons of Qingxiao made many contributions to the sect. However, talent is innate. Apart from Huangshan breaking through to the fourth level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm last month, the other six could only reach the third level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm even with the resources of the blessed land.

For them, going from the third floor to the fourth floor was as difficult as climbing to the sky.

Yu Lin was summoned by Li Qingqiu and felt extremely ashamed.

The other disciples were chatting and laughing, all believing that they had performed well and gained the sect leader's approval.

After being admitted to the hospital, they discovered that besides the sect leader, there were two other people in the courtyard, namely Shen Yue and Jiang Zhaoxia.

Upon seeing these two, all the disciples quieted down and dared not make a sound.

Li Qingqiu was satisfied to see the thirty true disciples voluntarily forming their own groups. He then told them about Yuan Tiefu, informing them that they would be sent to guard the Yuan Tiefu land, where the spiritual energy was abundant, equivalent to cultivating in the Thousand Spirit Blessed Land. Upon hearing this, all the disciples, including Yu Lin, became excited.

This is a good thing!

Back then, the disciples responsible for guarding the spirit mines mostly became true disciples, and even those who were later transferred out of the mines still surpassed many other disciples.

Opportunities like this don't come often.

The thirty true disciples immediately bowed and thanked Li Qingqiu.

"Go and prepare. Elder Jiang and Elder Shen will take you there tomorrow. Yu Lin, stay behind."

Li Qingqiu waved his sleeve and said, and all the disciples immediately bowed and thanked him.

After all the disciples left, only Yu Lin remained standing in front of him. Yu Lin was very uneasy and dared not look him in the eye.

"Nephew, why are you so nervous? I'm not going to eat you," Li Qingqiu said with a smile.

The word "junior nephew" struck Yu Lin's heart like a blow, causing him to break down in an instant. He knelt on the ground with a thud, kowtowed to Li Qingqiu, and cried out, "Uncle-Master, I have failed your guidance and have disgraced you and Master!"

The Seven Masters of Qingxiao were born in a village at the foot of the mountain. They were the first disciples of the Qingxiao Sect and all became disciples of Zhang Yuchun. They watched the sect grow step by step.

However, as the number of disciples increased, the Seven Masters of Qingxiao grew further and further away from Li Qingqiu. They could no longer freely enter and leave Lingxiao Academy, and it was difficult for them to see Li Qingqiu on ordinary days.

Yu Lin thought Li Qingqiu had long forgotten them, so when he heard Li Qingqiu call him his junior disciple, he couldn't hide his emotions.

There were touching moments, moments of grievance, and moments of surprise.

Li Qingqiu stood up, walked around the long table, came to him, helped him up, and asked, "What's so shameful about it?"

"I failed to make it into the top 64..."

"What's this? There will always be winners and losers. Qingxiao Sect doesn't just look at strength. Your seniority and contributions mean no one dares to look down on you. If anyone does, I will definitely not let them off the hook."

Li Qingqiu spoke seriously, which made Yu Lin even more excited, his face turning red.

The reason Li Qingqiu kept him was to entrust him with an important task: to supervise the spirit stones and ancient Gengjin source iron within the Yuantie Blessed Land and to prevent any disciple from taking them without authorization.

Although the disciples Li Qingqiu selected were highly loyal, loyalty alone could not guarantee that they were free from ulterior motives.

What if a disciple thinks that he needs to become stronger quickly for the sake of the sect leader and the sect?

Although Jiang Zhaoxia will be stationed at Yuantie Blessed Land, given his personality, he will definitely focus on cultivation and will not pay close attention to the disciples' actions.

That Yuan Tie Fudi is quite large; one cannot see the entire scene at a glance.

Faced with Li Qingqiu's request, Yu Lin naturally agreed and guaranteed that there would be absolutely no mishaps, swearing on his life.

"You silly child, you're exaggerating so much. Go back and get ready."

Li Qingqiu ruffled Yu Lin's hair and said irritably. Yu Lin smiled, bowed respectfully to Li Qingqiu, and then turned and left.

Shen Yue and Jiang Zhaoxia, who were standing not far away, exchanged a glance. For some reason, they both felt awkward and something was wrong.

The next morning, Jiang Zhaoxia and his companion left with thirty disciples.

From Qingxiao Mountain to the eastern coast, it is more than 700 miles away. The entire route is full of high mountains and steep terrain, which is difficult to cross. However, for cultivators, this natural barrier is not so difficult.

A few days later, Shen Yue returned alone to continue teaching the Sword Sect disciples.

Recently, the Sword Sect recruited another fifty disciples who had all signed up for the Combat Tournament. This led the disciples to believe that they were selected because of their outstanding performance in the tournament, which made the tournament even more important to them.

July has arrived.

The top 64 teams competed for the top 10 spots, and the matches were not completed on the same day. Although the number of matches each day was reduced, the excitement of the tournament intensified.

Many disciples have someone they have high hopes for; they want to see if the genius they have chosen can go all the way.

It is worth mentioning that Xu Ning did not participate in any matches; she will directly advance to the final competition in August, and she did not secure a spot in the top ten.

No one thought this was inappropriate; on the contrary, they felt that the sect leader was righteous. If Xu Ning were to start competing from the preliminary rounds, how unlucky would it be to encounter her disciples?

In mid-July, Li Sijin found Li Qingqiu.

"Senior Brother, we must deal with the refugees down the mountain. Some people have already started stealing from my medicinal herb garden, and even if they are caught, they act as if it's their own business," Li Sijin said with dissatisfaction.

With less and less land available on Qingxiao Mountain, the Cultivation Hall had to move down the mountain and to Ziyang Peak to cultivate more medicinal fields and gardens.

Li Qingqiu thought for a moment and said, "Go to the Training Hall and find Xue Jin. He has already entered the top ten. Let him lead the people to resolve this matter."

As he spoke, he handed over his sect leader's token.

This edict is silver-white and engraved with the shape of the Rainbow Sword. It was proposed by Zhang Yu and crafted by the Tiangong Hall, who believed that he could no longer pass on messages verbally, as this would leave hidden dangers.

Upon receiving the sect leader's order, Li Sijin leaped into the air, soaring over the courtyard wall and flying down the mountain, demonstrating just how angry she was.

Li Qingqiu shook his head slightly, then continued writing the spell manual on the long table.

Lately, in his spare time from practicing martial arts, he has been thinking about ghost-related spells, wanting to create a method of controlling ghosts that is not as insidious as the Soul-Binding Spell.

Now that the Qingxiao Sect has developed a path of ghost cultivation, he must explore it further and give his disciples more hope.

If one's aptitude for Qi Refining is insufficient, one can also try the Ghost Path.

If a disciple were to develop the Ghost Path, making the Ghost Slave's aptitude their own, or even sharing cultivation with the Ghost Slave, wouldn't that add many possibilities to the path to immortality?
……

At the foot of the western side of Ziyang Peak, Li Sijin led Xue Jin and a dozen or so disciples from the Training Hall into the woods.

Hundreds of refugees were scattered throughout the woods, some lying on the ground, others sitting against tree trunks, and a foul stench permeated the air.

At that moment, three disciples of the cultivation hall were arguing with several old men.

"somebody is coming!"

A disheveled woman pointed at Li Sijin and the others and shouted in a shrill voice, which drew more and more refugees to turn their heads to look.

Xue Jin frowned slightly when he saw a lot of filth in the forest.

The disciples of the Training Hall behind him were seeing this situation for the first time, and they also frowned deeply.

“If we don’t drive these people away, it will attract even more refugees,” Li Sijin said to Xue Jin, stopping in her tracks, her tone filled with helplessness.

She felt quite regretful.

At first, she saw refugees around the herb garden and, out of sympathy, gave them dry food and drinks, but she didn't expect to attract so many people.

Xue Jin nodded slightly, stepped forward, and asked, "Who's in charge? Let's come out and discuss this."

The leader?
Li Sijin never expected that there would be someone in charge among these refugees.

Just when she thought Xue Jin was overthinking things, a hunchbacked old man came swaying along with a wooden cane, which made her eyes widen and feel absurd.

Seeing the hunchbacked old man approach Xue Jin, many men stood up and surrounded him.

The hunchbacked old man approached Xue Jin and said with a smile, "Young man, please don't blame us. We were starving and had nowhere to go. The world is in chaos now, and apart from the mountains, there is nowhere for us to stay. If your sect leader hadn't killed the emperor, how could the world be in such chaos, and how could we be displaced?"

Li Sijin was furious and retorted, "If it weren't for my senior brother's intervention, and the emperor continued his pursuit of the elixir of immortality, robbing people's children everywhere, wouldn't you be afraid of being robbed instead?"

A burly man snorted, "So what? There are so many people in the world. We are so far away from Zhenyang, it's hard for them to take advantage of us. But now the world is in chaos, and we are all affected. It's all because of your Qingxiao Sect."

Upon hearing this, the other refugees echoed his words, even cursing Li Qingqiu, which made Li Sijin and his disciples turn red with anger.

Xue Jin looked at the hunchbacked old man and asked, "Is there anything else you want to say?"

The hunchbacked old man raised his hand and silenced all the refugees. He stared at Xue Jin and said expressionlessly, "Summon your sect leader to see me. I want to talk to him personally. I want to see if Li Qingqiu is worthy of the name of a great hero."

Clang——

A flash of sword light followed by the sound of the blade being drawn from its sheath startled everyone in the forest.

Immediately afterwards, the refugees and Qingxiao Sect disciples saw the hunchbacked old man's head fall directly to the ground, and blood gushed from his neck like a spring.

Xue Jin used his vital energy to protect himself from the splattering blood. He stared at the refugees in front of him and said, "I will shout ten times, and after that I will go on a killing spree until my sword is rolled up."

　Third update!

　　Sometimes, even after finishing writing, I still find oversights during the proofreading process. I'll correct any typos or grammatical errors immediately, sorry! Please feel free to point them out if you see any.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)