From martial arts sects to immortality sects

Chapter 251 The Actions of Qingxiao Sect
Li Qingqiu opened her eyes, her brows furrowing.

The Great Demon Lord and his grand plan for the Ghost Dynasty became a major concern for him.

However, the most urgent task is to deal with the Soul-Stealing Black Demon to prevent him from making a comeback.

Li Qingqiu stood up, turned to look at Huangshan, and said, "You guys keep guarding, I'll go and take care of that guy first."

Through the memories of the split soul, Li Qingqiu learned some clues that made him feel he had a chance to find the Soul-Stealing Black Demon.

Although these evil spirits are powerful and possess bizarre magic, they have no experience in the cultivation world, at least not the Netherworld Ghost King and the Soul-Stealing Black Demon.

Perhaps the Soul-Stealing Black Demon never expected that Li Qingqiu would steal his memories.

After giving his instructions, Li Qingqiu picked up the Soul Refining Flag, leaped into the air, and transformed into a streak of sword light, disappearing into the horizon.

The hundreds of disciples looked at each other in surprise, not expecting things to go so smoothly.

"Did you see it clearly beforehand?"

"No, I only saw the sect leader waving a flag. What kind of magical artifact is that flag?"

"It has to be the sect leader, he's truly amazing. What do you think he was doing while he was meditating there just now?"

"Our sect leader is proficient in ghost magic; how could we possibly fathom his abilities?"

The disciples discussed amongst themselves, and many made up their minds to cultivate ghost magic in the future. Even if they didn't become ghost cultivators, they would at least master magic that targeted ghosts.

Gu Changping gazed in the direction Li Qingqiu had left, his eyes resolute.

He is determined to become a cultivator like the sect leader.

……

Early morning hours.

In a village nestled in the mountains, miasma permeated the air, and the houses appeared and disappeared amidst the miasma, like demons and monsters.

A black fox leaped out of the miasma; it was none other than the Soul-Stealing Black Demon.

With agile movements, he quickly leaped over bamboo fences and jumped into a courtyard, landing in front of a bamboo pole.

The bamboo pole was stuck in the soil, with a hand bone hanging from the top. The middle and ring fingers were missing, and the entire hand bone was shaped like a claw, which looked terrifying.

The Soul-Stealing Black Demon circled the bamboo pole, its eyes filled with anticipation.

Sudden.

A series of footsteps approached, and four teenagers pushed open the courtyard gate, each carrying flowers and fruits, and carefully entered the courtyard.

When they saw the Soul-Stealing Black Demon, their expressions changed drastically. They rushed forward, put down the flowers and fruits in their hands, and then knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

The Soul-Stealing Black Demon glanced at them, his eyes cold.

"I sent you to guide the way here, but you failed. I didn't sense any new souls," the Soul-Stealing Black Demon asked casually.

His words terrified the four boys and girls even more, and they all begged him to spare their lives.

"I originally wanted to give you a chance to become my ghost servants, but unfortunately, you are too soft-hearted and too cowardly. Since you can't seize the opportunity, then become a part of the power of the immortal bones."

The Soul-Stealing Black Demon spoke coldly, and ghostly energy began to emanate from his body, quickly spreading out, as if a giant black fox was slowly standing up.

The two girls burst into tears, while the two boys were so frightened that they kept kowtowing, making loud thuds.

The Soul-Stealing Black Demon let out a sharp, piercing laugh, becoming increasingly arrogant. He reveled in the despair and struggle of the living, considering it the most wonderful moment.

The souls of those who die in despair are the most beautiful.

"Even if I am to die, I cannot die in a way that allows the enemy to have his way."

A voice entered the courtyard, startling the Soul-Stealing Black Demon, who turned around abruptly, but saw nothing.

The four teenagers looked up instinctively and were stunned when they saw Li Qingqiu's figure.

Li Qingqiu stood behind the Soul-Stealing Black Demon, her eyes icy cold.

The Soul-Stealing Black Demon subconsciously turned around, and caught a glimpse of Li Qingqiu out of the corner of his eye. He was so frightened that he immediately lost his soul, and a rolling ghostly aura spread out and surged endlessly.

Li Qingqiu took out the Soul Refining Flag and poured his Yuan Qi into it. The Soul Refining Flag then emitted a powerful suction force, pulling the ghostly energy of the Soul-Stealing Black Demon into it.

Even though Qingxiao Sect is developing its own magic weapon system, no magic weapon can compare to the Soul Refining Flag. The stronger the Yuan Qi, the stronger the power that the Soul Refining Flag can unleash. Moreover, the Soul Refining Flag is a growth-type magic weapon, and its upper limit is not yet visible.

Li Qingqiu had seen many evil spirits, but none of them were as terrifying as the sleeping evil spirit inside the Soul Refining Flag.

"Do not--"

The Soul-Stealing Black Demon let out a miserable cry; he was no match for the power of the Soul-Refining Flag.

Compared to when he dealt with the Ghost King of the Netherworld, Li Qingqiu is much stronger now, not to mention that the Soul-Stealing Black Demon is not as strong as the Ghost King of the Netherworld.

As Li Qingqiu, holding the Soul Refining Flag, devoured the Soul-Stealing Black Demon, his silhouette fell into the eyes of the four teenagers. They all stared wide-eyed, their eyes sparkling with surprise, as if they were beholding a deity.

Soon, the Soul-Snatching Black Demon was suppressed within the Soul-Refining Flag. He arrived at a magical artifact space filled with ghosts, seemingly floating in the sky. Looking around, he saw ghosts darting about in all directions. He was horrified to find that he could not move, a feeling that filled him with fear and unease.

Then, his gaze was drawn to a sun in the distance, within which a mysterious demon was curled up and asleep.

His eyes widened, and he muttered in a trembling voice, "This...how is this possible..."

In reality, when Li Qingqiu put down the flag, he took out some dry food from his storage bag and placed it on the ground. Then he removed the hand bone from the bamboo pole and threw it into his storage bag.

Before the four boys and girls could speak, Li Qingqiu leaped into the air, disappearing into the miasma like a flying immortal.

……

After suppressing the Soul-Snatching Black Demon, Li Qingqiu flew back to the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool at full speed. In front of all his disciples, he released the Soul-Snatching Black Demon, allowing them to see it clearly before he put it back into the Soul Refining Flag.

"Have someone send the deceased back to Qingxiao Sect. I'll go back first to prepare for the exorcism."

Li Qingqiu gave instructions to Huang Shan, who immediately accepted the order and then watched Li Qingqiu leave.

The sect leader was swift and decisive, inspiring both admiration and aspiration among his disciples.

The psychological pressure from the Soul-Stealing Black Demon dissipated, but they could no longer be as carefree as before.

As noon approached, Li Qingqiu had already taken his seat in Lingxiao Courtyard, with Zhang Yuchun, Zhu Yan, Shen Yue, Xue Jin, and Qingxiao Zhenren sitting opposite him.

He had already recounted all the information about the Soul-Stealing Black Demon, leaving everyone silent.

There are still fifteen evil spirits active, all of whom covet the land of Kyushu.

Everyone felt the pressure; these evil spirits were clearly only manageable by experts at the Spiritual Awareness Realm, and Qingxiao Sect currently only had three such experts.

Li Qingqiu said directly, "Send disciples to investigate the places where the flowers and plants have withered. Remember, once you find them, retreat immediately and do not go deep."

Zhang Yuchun and Xue Jin nodded; they would arrange the matter.

"The Great Demon Lord wants to establish a Ghost Dynasty, which will bring disaster to the entire Nine Provinces. He must be destroyed. We must prepare for war in advance and select a thousand disciples. I will personally lead them north to annihilate the Great Demon Lord and his Ghost Army!"

Li Qingqiu then gave the order, and everyone accepted it without objection.

This matter cannot be rushed. Li Qingqiu only let them choose their own people first. He will wait for Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning to return before making any further considerations.

In any case, Qingxiao Sect must have a Spiritual Awareness Realm expert in charge.

In the days that followed, news of the attack on the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool by demons reached the sect. As the corpses were brought back, the entire sect was shaken.

One evening, Yun Cai found Li Qingqiu.

"Sect Master, if you are going north, you must take me with you." Yun Cai stood in front of Li Qingqiu and said earnestly, though her heart was not as calm as she appeared.

She had previously recommended that Bo Zhao and the other two go to the Heavenly Mountain Spirit Pool, intending to provide them with a better environment for cultivation. However, the list of the dead included two of Bo Zhao's constables, which made her feel very upset and guilty.

Li Qingqiu had discovered this matter before, but he did not show special concern for Bo Zhao, who had survived, at the Tianshan Spirit Pool. In his eyes, these disciples were all equal.

“Okay.” Li Qingqiu agreed immediately. He knew that if he didn’t give Yun Cai a chance to take revenge, she might remain obsessed.

Yun Cai bowed and took her leave, while Li Qingqiu continued to cultivate his supernatural powers in the woods.

News of the sect's impending large-scale operation spread like wildfire. Although the sect did not post any notices, the disciples learned through their connections that the operation was very dangerous, and only disciples at the fourth level of the Nourishing Essence Realm were eligible to apply, and even then, approval was not guaranteed.

This caused much discussion among the disciples, who were unsure of who the sect was targeting. It also made various powerful families nervous, fearing that their disciples might do something foolish at this critical juncture.

It's mid-June now.

Jiang Zhaoxia and Xu Ning have finally returned.

The two entered Lingxiao Courtyard together. Li Qingqiu asked Xiao Wuqing to ring the Lingxiao Bell. After all the high-ranking officials had gathered, the two began to recount the intelligence they had gathered.

“I encountered a demon on the border of Cangzhou. No one in the Yangyuan realm was a match for it. It was good at putting people into illusions and making them lose their sense of the surrounding environment. I could only barely repel it and did not kill it.”

Jiang Zhaoxia spoke first, his expression grave as he brought up the matter.

Only by truly facing those evil spirits can one know how terrifying they are. Every time Jiang Zhaoxia thinks of this, she thinks of Li Qingqiu.

I wonder how my senior brother managed to so easily slay such a powerful evil spirit.

Everyone frowned when they heard that Jiang Zhaoxia was unable to slay the evil spirit, including Shen Yue and Yan Daozong.

Jiang Zhaoxia continued, "The matter of the ghost soldiers is true. I encountered them one night. Because there were two extremely strong ghostly auras among the ghost army, I held back. As soon as it was dawn, they disappeared."

"I have seen more than a thousand ghost soldiers. I don't know if there are more, but this ghost army is already a threat to our Qingxiao Sect."

He looked at Xu Ning, as these were two important pieces of information he had gathered. He wanted to know if Xu Ning had also encountered the evil spirit.

Although the two returned along the same route, they exchanged fewer than five sentences on the way.

Xu Ning said, "I also encountered two evil spirits. They both possessed power comparable to those at the Spirit Consciousness Realm. One of them was incredibly strong, capable of shaking the earth and altering the environment. The other was extremely fast, with claws as sharp as blades. I only managed to kill the incredibly strong evil spirit; the other was too fast, and it escaped."

Upon hearing this, everyone's expression changed, and they looked at her with awe, while Jiang Zhaoxia's expression clearly froze.

(End of this chapter)