From martial arts sects to immortality sects

Chapter 252 The Possessed Emperor
Hearing that Xu Ning had encountered two evil spirits comparable to the Spirit Realm, and that she had killed one and escaped the other, Li Qingqiu was astonished, let alone the others.

Despite the astonished expressions on everyone's faces, Xu Ning remained calm, even indifferent.

She continued, "Besides that, I've learned that they seem to worship a powerful evil spirit, which is the source of the ghost soldiers. If we can find him and destroy him, this calamity should be over."

Li Qingqiu looked at Xu Ning with a satisfied expression.

The information he obtained through soul searching was something Xu Ning was able to uncover on her own. Even if it wasn't as detailed as his, it was still quite remarkable that she could do this.

Jiang Zhaoxia looked at Xu Ning and had to admit that he had lost this time.

After learning of Xu Ning's achievement in slaying the evil spirits, the pressure on the leaders of the various sects was greatly reduced.

With Li Qingqiu and his disciples around, this calamity might not be so terrible.

Subsequently, Li Qingqiu revealed the Great Demon Luo's plan, causing the high-ranking officials, including Xu Ning and Jiang Zhaoxia, to change color.

"Once we find the location of the Great Demon Luo, the Qingxiao Sect will strike. This time, we will act in unison to prevent any evil spirits from infiltrating the Nine Provinces."

Li Qingqiu scanned the crowd and then issued preparation tasks to each of them, urging all the halls to get moving.

Although the Martial Sect did not participate in the battle, it had to take on more patrol duties, for which the Yandao Sect had no objection.

Yan Daozong realized that his martial arts were not enough to threaten the ghosts and monsters, which made him feel pressured, a feeling he had never experienced before in Tianxuan Mountain.

After coming to Qingxiao Sect, he seemed to become ordinary.

Yan Daozong didn't like this feeling, and he decided to practice even harder from now on.

He doesn't believe that martial arts are inferior to immortality; it's just that his current martial arts skills are not high enough.

After Li Qingqiu finished assigning tasks, he kept Xu Ning behind and told the others to leave.

Once only the two of them remained in the courtyard, he spoke, "For this ghost-slaying operation, I plan to keep you in the sect."

Xu Ning immediately became anxious and was about to speak when she heard her master raise his hand and say, "I left you here because you are the strongest. I don't trust anyone else with you. The journey to the Northern Border is too far. We must be prepared for the evil spirits to attack Qingxiao Sect."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ning fell silent.

She took a deep breath and said, "Okay, Master, don't worry, I will only die before the Qingxiao Sect is destroyed."

Li Qingqiu rolled his eyes at her and said, "What nonsense are you talking about? Alright, you can go and rest now. The sect will not take any action until we have specific information."

Xu Ning nodded, then bowed and took her leave.

Li Qingqiu did not return to his cave immediately. He was thinking about the upcoming major lesson for the sect. He planned to promote a ghost magic technique that did not require Dao affinity to the entire sect, so that the sect's disciples would have the ability to identify ghosts and monsters.

This spell cannot be one from the Scripture Pavilion, otherwise it would be unfair to the disciples who have already exchanged for it.

That day, he summoned Chu Jing, and the two discussed it together.

Chu Jing had long discovered his talent in ghost magic, and he even developed confidence in it. However, he found that Li Qingqiu's comprehension in ghost magic was no less than his own, which filled him with admiration.

The sect leader is truly a genius!
……

At the end of June, Qingxiao Sect will implement the Ghost Detection Technique, and all inner disciples will be required to practice it. They can go to the Cultivation Hall for centralized training.

The disciples showed no reluctance to resist and were even grateful to the sect.

Many people's views were challenged. In martial arts sects and aristocratic families, those in power were afraid that their subordinates would become stronger, so that they would be difficult to control. But Li Qingqiu was pushing them to become stronger, fearing that they would be harmed by ghosts and monsters outside.

In a short time, the loyalty of the vast majority of disciples to Li Qingqiu increased.

On this day, Qin Yucheng, a disciple of the Dark Hall, returned to the sect. He was going to hand over his spy mission, which was a long-term mission, but he had to return every year to ensure that he had not betrayed the sect.

The longer Qin Yucheng stayed in Qingxia Sect, the more grateful he became to have joined Qingxiao Sect. He now felt a deep sense of pity for Qingxia Sect.

Although Qiu Dahu has great ambitions, he lacks the ability. In Qin Yucheng's view, if Qingxia Sect wants to grow bigger, it can only have a chance to truly rise if a prodigy like Zhao Zhen is born in the future.

Walking along the mountain path of Qingxiao Mountain, Qin Yucheng overheard the disciples along the way discussing someone.

Hu Yan, the sect leader's newly accepted disciple.

After only half a year of training, he has already reached the fourth level of the Nourishing Essence Realm.

Qin Yu was shocked. He felt that every time he went down the mountain and came back, the sect would produce an unparalleled genius. Hu Yan's cultivation speed was too exaggerated. He felt that Zhao Zhen and Xu Ning might not be able to compare.

After the initial shock, he felt proud.

It was an honor for him to serve such a sect.

Later, he heard about ghosts and monsters, and that some disciples had been killed by them. He also heard that the sect leader was preparing to march north in a large-scale campaign, which made him feel somewhat regretful.

He also wanted to participate in such a campaign, since guarding the Qingxia Sect was too boring.

As he pondered this, he arrived at the north side of Qingxiao Mountain and entered an underground palace.

This is the secret hall.

The mountain forest where the Dark Hall is located is a forbidden area; no other disciples are allowed to enter without permission.

After entering the Dark Hall, Qin Yucheng discovered that the Dark Hall's underground palace had become larger, and there were more disciples. In every room, Dark Hall disciples were either cultivating or practicing how to be discovered as spies.

He arrived at the hall master's door and knocked gently. "Come in."

Mo Jiuhong's voice came from within.

Qin Yucheng pushed open the door and entered. What came into his eyes was a bright room, furnished with many antique items, and landscape paintings hung on the walls.

Mo Jiuhong was meditating and practicing in the inner room. Around him were pieces of spirit stones with four bamboo flags stuck in them. A continuous stream of spiritual energy surrounded him, causing his robes to flutter.

He has now reached the sixth level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm. Before joining the Qingxiao Sect, he had cultivated for so many years and only reached the fourth level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm. It can be seen that the cultivation resources invested by Li Qingqiu were by no means small.

After all, Mo Jiuhong is the head of the Dark Hall, and Li Qingqiu hopes that he can take on more responsibilities, which means that he must have strong cultivation as a foundation.

Qin Yucheng walked over and reported the situation of Qingxia Sect to Mo Jiuhong.

The Qingxia Sect is a cultivation sect. Although it is not large, it is still a potential threat. Therefore, Qin Yucheng's mission is to directly contact the hall master.

After he finished explaining the situation of Qingxia Sect, Mo Jiuhong still did not open his eyes. He replied, "You did a good job. You don't need to interfere with their development. Let them take their natural course."

Qin Yucheng nodded and said, "I accompanied the Qingxia Sect Master to visit Baiyuan Valley and learned that Baiyuan Valley seems to have control of a blessed land. Their disciples' cultivation levels are generally higher than those of the Qingxia Sect. Do you want to send someone to keep an eye on them?"

Mo Jiuhong replied, "Someone has been keeping an eye on it for a long time. The Dark Hall has already investigated the blessed land you mentioned."

"How do you plan to handle this?"

"Everything in the Nine Provinces belongs to Qingxiao Sect. Qingxiao Sect has already shown great kindness by allowing them to cultivate immortality. I will give them time to consider. If they cannot reach an agreement, then there is no need for Baiyuan Valley to continue to exist."

Mo Jiuhong spoke casually, but to Qin Yucheng it sounded so domineering.

"Is the sect leader aware of this matter?" Qin Yucheng followed up with a question.

He came from the Qin family, and Qin Ye, the eldest son of the clan, was also the sect leader's disciple. Therefore, in his heart, he belonged to the sect leader and only secondarily to the Dark Hall.

Mo Jiuhong snorted, "Does the sect leader need to concern himself with such a trivial matter? Does that mean the sect leader is no longer capable of cultivating?"

Qin Yucheng agreed with the reasoning, then bowed and took his leave.

After leaving the dark hall, he headed towards his mansion.

After much thought, he still felt he should tell the sect leader that although the matter was indeed minor, there were only two other immortal cultivation sects in the world besides Qingxiao Sect, and he was afraid of leaving behind future troubles.

……

In the main hall of the prefectural government in Nanchu Prefecture.

Liu Jing sat on the throne. Although he was not wearing a python robe, his imperial aura was even more powerful. He looked every bit the emperor. There were dozens of civil and military officials standing in the hall, reporting to him on the situation in various parts of the country.

With the help of Qingxiaomen, Liu Jing conquered the world with ease. He didn't need to personally take action; strategists, scholars, and fierce generals flocked to him, and the battle lines in various states steadily advanced. All he had to do was manage the people's livelihood and put the right people in the right positions.

Just then, a soldier in armor rushed in, knelt down on one knee in front of the steps, and held up a scroll in his hand.

"Reporting to my lord, a letter has arrived from Cangzhou, and it is urgent!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Jing immediately waved his hand, and the eunuch standing on one side below the steps immediately went to take the scroll. He opened it and looked at it first, and after confirming that there was nothing unusual, he walked up the steps and presented it to Liu Jing.

Liu Jing unrolled the scroll and carefully read the urgent letter.

Soon, his face darkened, and the civil and military officials in the hall noticed the change in his expression and began to whisper among themselves.

Although Cangzhou is the farthest from Nanchuzhou, it is controlled by the Li family and is just one step away from being annexed.

The urgent messages coming from Cangzhou were most likely related to the northern barbarians.

Is the Northern Barbarians about to make a comeback?

After a long while, Liu Jing finally put down the scroll, looked at the civil and military officials in the hall, and said, "Something has happened to the Northern Barbarians. The Emperor of the Northern Court has been possessed by a demon, and the Northern Court is now in complete chaos, with the people suffering terribly."

Evil spirits?

wow——

Everyone in the hall was shocked; they never expected things to turn out this way.

No one was happy, because the words "demon" and "evil" sounded terrifying.

An old minister hurriedly asked, "Will the evil spirits head south?"

Liu Jing replied, "The letter also said that there is more than one evil spirit in Beiting. Other evil spirits are sweeping through the people, and more and more northern barbarian people are being persecuted and turned into ghost soldiers. Their momentum is moving south and may threaten Cangzhou. Cangzhou wrote to ask for help."

The faces of all the civil and military officials in the hall changed drastically. Since there were already immortal cultivation sects in the world, they were not surprised by the appearance of ghosts and monsters.

Just thinking about the abilities of ghosts and monsters made their scalps tingle.

Could it be that their adversary is about to transform from mortal to evil spirit?
“My lord, the world is not yet at peace, how can we have the time to go to the northern border?” a general said, his voice booming like a bell, and his words immediately won the approval of many civil and military officials.

Liu Jing frowned; he was thinking about the matter.

Li Qingqiu set a deadline for him, but he felt that since he was going to take this position, he couldn't just think about the immediate issues.

　Thank you Kong Erxian for the 500 Qidian coins!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)