From martial arts sects to immortality sects

Chapter 209 An existence like a god
The Training Hall acted swiftly. After Xue Jin obtained all the information about the Xuanji Sect from Zhang Yuchun, he dispatched twelve members of the Thirteen Swordsmen with thirty-six disciples down the mountain.

These disciples are at least at the third level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm. In the secular martial arts world, they would be capable of competing for the title of the number one martial artist in a province.

The disciples of the Training Hall descended the mountain in a grand procession. Although it attracted the attention of the disciples along the way, it did not cause any disturbance. After all, Qingxiao Sect had too many things to do, and batches of disciples went up and down the mountain every day.

As the new year begins, the disciples of Qingxiao Mountain are more motivated to cultivate.

It's unclear who started it, but the mention of the next magical duel tournament sparked the disciples' anticipation for it.

The first magical combat tournament was a great success, and there are rumors that the rewards for the next tournament will be even more generous, possibly including elixirs and magical artifacts.

February arrived, and Li Qingqiu reached the second level of the Spiritual Consciousness Realm without anyone knowing.

The advancement of each level of the Spiritual Awareness Realm is naturally greater than that of the Nourishing Essence Realm. The significant increase in vital energy and the enhancement of spiritual awareness brought Li Qingqiu a pleasant mood.

He left the cave and prepared to descend the mountain.

This time, he brought Jinlang with him.

Jinlang cultivated the Hunyuan Scripture, and with the foundation of a hundred years of Qi gathering, it quickly reached the fourth level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm, but its physical appearance did not change at all.

The reason Li Qingqiu brought it along was so that it could integrate into the Qingxiao Sect, instead of staying here to cultivate all day long.

Bai Zhi's other two demons, Yue Shan and Hei Li, were doing very well in the Demon Control Hall and had a great reputation.

……

Inside the dimly lit cave, Elder Lao Daozang of Tianxuan Mountain, wielding a sword, walked forward carrying an oil lamp. The light illuminated the lower half of his face, while his forehead remained in darkness.

He moved forward at a leisurely pace, the sound of dripping water echoing in the cave, quiet and eerie.

for a long time.

Hua Daozang arrived at a cave room, hung an oil lamp on the wall, and then turned to look at a figure in front of the cave wall.

It was an old man who was as thin as a rake, with hair as disheveled as withered grass, robes torn into long strips, and long, black fingernails and toenails, making him look like a vengeful ghost.

"Are you sure the people from Qingxiao Sect have left?" Hua Daozang asked.

For months, he had not come here because the old ancestor told him that someone had infiltrated Tianxuan Mountain and that he should not act rashly.

"They've gone down the mountain for now, but they might come back. The people of Qingxiao Sect are very persistent..."

The gaunt old man spoke, his voice hoarse and chilling.

Hua Daozang frowned and cursed, "The people of Qingxiao Sect are truly treacherous and cunning. My good-for-nothing senior brother went to Qingxiao Sect, and they still refuse to give up."

"If your senior brother hadn't joined the Qingxiao Sect, I'm afraid I would have already been exposed. Without this connection, do you think the Qingxiao Sect would only be investigating Tianxuan Mountain in secret?"

The words of the gaunt old man silenced Hua Daozang.

He understood the reasoning, but the thought of the Yandao Sect made him furious. His senior brother was too lazy and unwilling to take charge. If the position of sect leader had been passed on to him earlier, Tianxuan Mountain would not be in this state.

"My days are numbered, I cannot wait any longer, I must find a way to lure Zhao Zhen out..." the gaunt old man continued.

Hua Daozang frowned even more deeply and gritted his teeth, saying, "My senior brother has defected to the enemy. How am I supposed to lure him out?"

"I overheard your disciples talking about the Xuanji Sect. Has the Xuanji Sect moved south again?"

"They haven't even headed south yet, but the news has already spread. Cangzhou is almost completely occupied by the Northern Barbarians. What? You want to use the Xuanji Sect?"

“Send Zhao Zhen’s mother to Cangzhou.”

"You...she's my own sister!"

"Let's fight for a chance to survive, otherwise we'll both die. Sending her there might save her life. As long as Zhao Zhen comes down the mountain, I will personally take action."

Hua Daozang's expression shifted between light and dark as he faced a difficult decision.

The gaunt old man continued, "The Qingxiao Sect cultivates immortality. Only if I recover my cultivation can I overthrow their rule. At that time, Tianxuan Mountain will replace the Qingxiao Sect, and you will become the sect leader. Everything that the Qingxiao Sect owns will belong to you, and I will have to return to the west after I finish preaching..."

Hua Daozang took a deep breath and said, "Alright, I will do it. But what if Zhao Zhen tells Li Qingqiu about this, and Li Qingqiu follows him down the mountain?"

"I have my own methods, and you won't need to interfere then. I am not afraid of Qingxiao Sect, but this body is too weak to support me in a long battle."

The gaunt old man's answer made Hua Daozang's eyes harden, and he decided to take a gamble.

"Ancestor, please don't disappoint me..."

"I am the Ancestor of the Star Constellation, a being like a god on another land. Why would I lie to you? Over the years, without my help, how could you have become the Sword-Holding Elder?"

As he spoke, the gaunt old man began to cough violently, as if aggravating his internal injuries.

Hua Daozang's eyes flickered, his hands clenched tightly in his sleeves.

……

The northern barbarians marched south and occupied Cangzhou. Several cities in Cangzhou were massacred, and rivers of blood flowed. The news spread like wildfire throughout the land, making the chaotic world even more severe.

Early April.

Li Sifeng, clad in armor, returned to his military tent, where several strategists and generals awaited him. Qin Ye, Li Qingqiu's second apprentice, was also among them. "How is the situation?" Li Da, Li Yang's second uncle, asked first.

Li Sifeng said with a frustrated expression, "Our lord has decided to make peace with the Liu family and prepare to march north with the army to join other lords in attacking the Northern Barbarians."

"Foolish! We are the furthest from Cangzhou, and this trip to Cangzhou will be the most costly for us. Whether we succeed or fail, we will suffer heavy losses. How could he be so reckless?"

Li Da was furious, and the others in the military tent also changed color.

They had finally managed to capture Dongling Prefecture and were about to reach the prefectural capital. Before they could even enjoy the fruits of their victory, they were about to head north.
Qin Ye, however, developed a sense of admiration for Zhu Xian. He felt that Zhu Xian had done the right thing, and that such a person was worthy of being the ruler of the Nine Provinces.

"General, what should we do?" a general asked.

Li Sifeng sat in his chair and said in a deep voice, "What else can we do but obey orders? Besides, when the world is in trouble, we really can't stand idly by. It's a matter of principle!"

If Zhu Xian had ignored this matter, he could have convinced himself that he was too far away to intervene. But Zhu Xian had already given the order, and with Li Qingqiu's guidance, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and head north.

He is currently burning with rage, mainly directed at the northern barbarians.

Since ancient times, the northern barbarians have repeatedly invaded the south, plundering the people of the nine provinces, and he hated the northern barbarians to the extreme.

Li Da looked at Li Sifeng, opened his mouth, but could only sigh in the end.

"Perhaps Zhu Xian is not the true Son of Heaven..."

Li Da looked at Li Sifeng, his eyes flickering.

……

On the northern border of Taikun Mountain, Ku Yi and Ku Er stood in the woods. Ku Yi leaned against a big tree, while Ku Er hesitated.

"Alright, stop walking around, you're making me dizzy!" Ku Yi said in a deep voice.

Ku Er turned to look at him, gritted his teeth and asked, "Aren't you being too cautious? Sect Leader Li may not be keeping an eye on Zhao Zhen all the time. If we only leave a letter, what if Zhao Zhen doesn't see it, or if he reads it and hands it to Sect Leader Li? How will Sect Leader Li view us then? Will we ever be able to return to Qingxiao Sect?"

Having spent so many years in Qingxiao Sect, he had developed a deep affection for the sect and felt that staying there for the rest of his life would be quite nice. He also greatly respected Li Qingqiu. If it weren't for the fact that the matter involved Zhao Zhen, he truly wouldn't want to leave the mountain.

“Sect Leader Li is incredibly powerful and has ghost servants by his side. If he sends ghost servants to keep an eye on us, once we are discovered, he will definitely not allow Zhao Zhen to leave the mountain,” Ku Yi said with a gloomy face.

Ku Er asked, "What if this is a scheme by Tianxuan Mountain?"

Ku Yi took a deep breath and said, "We must protect Zhao Zhen with our lives. This is our only chance to restore the Great Li Dynasty. You know what Qingxiao Sect is thinking. Li Sifeng wants to be emperor, and Yuling Hall is still supporting Zhu Xian. Anyone can become emperor, but the Zhao family cannot. We can only force Zhao Zhen to be led to the throne and gamble on whether Sect Leader Li will be soft-hearted."

"But this is related to what His Highness left behind back then..."

"When we reach the underworld, I will apologize to His Highness. If this matter is exposed and discovered by Sect Leader Li, we will commit suicide together, as if we had bewitched Zhao Zhen and it had nothing to do with him."

"..."

When Ku Er saw that Ku Yi had closed his eyes and was still saying such things, he immediately fell silent.

He and Ku Yi depended on each other for survival and were not afraid of death at all, so he had no complaints about Ku Yi's plan, only feeling a little annoyed.

He always felt that things were not that simple.

Just as the two fell silent, a whooshing sound came from the air, startling them into turning around.

Zhao Zhen, dressed in blue, rode in on his sword, scattering leaves along the way.

Upon seeing Zhao Zhen, Ku Yi and Ku Er were overjoyed.

Zhao Zhen stopped in front of them and said, "My purpose in going to the Northern Border is twofold: first, to rescue my mother, and second, to destroy the Northern Barbarians and the Xuanji Sect. Be prepared."

Upon hearing this, both Ku Yi and Ku Er were invigorated. They sensed a domineering aura emanating from Zhao Zhen, an imperial presence that Zhao Lan had never possessed. This brought tears to their eyes, as if they were witnessing the imminent revival of the Great Li Dynasty.

……

Inside the cave, Li Qingqiu was meditating and cultivating.

He opened his eyes and said, "Lin Chuan, go check on Zhen'er's condition."

Now, every few days, he asks Lin Chuan to check on Zhao Zhen, and this has been going on for more than half a year, just in case something changes. After all, Lin Chuan had overheard what Ku Yi and Ku Er were talking about with Zhao Zhen.

Zhao Zhen's mother kept calling for Zhao Zhen, and Li Qingqiu, fearing that Zhao Zhen would not be able to resist the urge of family affection, quietly went down the mountain.

Upon hearing this, Lin Chuan, who was practicing his skills in a corner, immediately disappeared into the cave wall.

Li Qingqiu stood up and walked to the spirit pool next to him. There were spirit plants planted in the pool, which he had Li Sijin plant when he had nothing else to do.

These spiritual plants, planted for only a few months, already exude a faint spiritual aura.

Not long after, Li Qingqiu heard Lin Chuan's thoughts. His expression changed, and he used the Extreme Movement Technique to teleport out of his cave.

He quickly arrived at Zhao Zhen's cave, forcibly broke through the restrictions, causing the stone door to shatter, and then rushed inside.

He arrived at the stone table inside the cave. Lin Chuan squatted on the table and pointed to a piece of paper in front of him. He immediately picked it up.

The paper was written in Zhao Zhen's handwriting. He told Li Qingqiu why he had come down the mountain and told Li Qingqiu not to worry about him. He also planned to take the opportunity to resolve the chaos in the northern border and enhance the prestige of Qingxiao Sect.

　The third update is a few minutes late QAQ
　　
　
(End of this chapter)