After confirming that he had inherited an immortal-cultivation method, Li Qingqiu instinctively thought of his master, Lin Xunfeng, and wanted to go look for him.
But on second thought, he decided it wasn't appropriate.
Leaving aside the fact that an entire night had passed and Lin Xunfeng could have gone in any direction, once a cultivation method like this spread, it would inevitably invite disaster.
In the jianghu, how many sects and noble clans had been wiped out simply because they possessed a peerless art?
He couldn't expose the existence of the Dao Lineage panel. It was the foundation of his survival. He couldn't tell anyone—no one at all, not even his junior brothers and sisters.
Hearts were separated by flesh. And loyalty wasn't something that only rose and never fell.
Li Qingqiu stood up and prepared to find a place to cultivate.
According to the Taiqing Hunyuan Scripture, dawn was the best time for cultivation. When purple qi arrived from the east and the essences of sun and moon converged, it was the golden window of daily practice.
Bang!
The door opened. Jiang Zhaoxia, who was practicing boxing in the courtyard, turned his head. Seeing Li Qingqiu come out, he couldn't help letting out a breath of relief.
Li Qingqiu's eyes were bright—he looked energetic and clearly hadn't been knocked down by the blow.
"What are you doing with boxing? Don't you like swords? Go into my room and take the Tianhong Sword to practice. I'm only lending it to you for now—don't you dare 'forget' to return it."
Li Qingqiu tossed the words to Jiang Zhaoxia, then headed toward the back mountain.
Jiang Zhaoxia froze. In the past, Li Qingqiu never let him even touch the sword. Why the sudden change today?
He could feel that Li Qingqiu had changed—his mindset had changed. With their master gone, senior brother had no choice but to grow up.
If it were the old Jiang Zhaoxia being allowed to hold a sword, he would've been ecstatic. But now, he didn't feel joy—only a dull ache.
He felt sorry for his senior brother.
Maybe… he should take martial training seriously too.
Qingxiao Sect sat halfway up the mountain. Behind it was a dense forest. Mountains surrounded them on all sides, steep and treacherous. Even the nearest village took at least an hour on foot. There were wild animals in the forest, but no wolves, jackals, tigers, or leopards. The things you truly had to watch out for were snakes, ants, and spiders.
Li Qingqiu made his way to the mountaintop with practiced ease. He sat cross-legged at the edge of a cliff facing the rising sun, hands resting on his knees, and began breathing in and out according to the mental method.
Sensing the spiritual yuan qi of heaven and earth took time. Only through repeated practice could one eventually reach the point of opening one's mouth and swallowing spiritual yuan qi naturally.
In the courtyard, Jiang Zhaoxia happened to glance up and saw Li Qingqiu meditating by the cliff. The sight left him puzzled.
When Wu Man'er, Li Sifeng, and Li Sijin woke up, they saw it too. They were astonished and started chattering nonstop. Li Sijin even called out to Li Qingqiu, but Li Qingqiu had already entered deep focus and didn't respond.
Unfortunately, an entire morning passed and Li Qingqiu still failed to condense even a trace of yuan qi. He wasn't disappointed—if anything, it only sharpened his fighting spirit.
After coming back down, when his juniors asked him about it, he put on a mysterious air and said, "Actually, I have an internal skill manual. I already had it before I came up the mountain. Now that Master's gone, I have no choice but to cultivate. When I master it, I'll teach you all."
"So you have a family inheritance too?" Jiang Zhaoxia couldn't help asking.
Li Qingqiu glanced at him. "What do you mean, too? You have one as well?"
Jiang Zhaoxia snorted and didn't answer.
Li Qingqiu didn't really care. Your martial inheritance can't possibly compare to my immortal-cultivation method.
Over the next few days, Zhang Yuchun led everyone in busy work—expanding the vegetable garden, chopping firewood. Even the youngest, Li Sijin, found it fun. Laughter and cheerful voices circled Qingxiao Sect without end.
Li Qingqiu, meanwhile, devoted himself fully to cultivation, striving to condense yuan qi as soon as possible.
Seven full days later, Li Qingqiu finally produced a single wisp of yuan qi. In the hazy depths of perception, he felt as if he had stepped into a brand-new realm.
First level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm!
He was thrilled beyond words. Hiding in the forest, he faced a tree and expelled the yuan qi from his abdomen.
Whoosh—
That stream of yuan qi pierced straight through the trunk like an arrow—razor-sharp and fierce. After releasing it, Li Qingqiu stepped closer to look. A tree that took two people to wrap their arms around now had a finger-thick hole punched clean through it, revealing the scenery behind.
How domineering!
This was far stronger than that wandering swordsman's "qi force" from back then!
Li Qingqiu clenched his fists, exhilarated. The only pity was that once he used that strand of yuan qi, it was gone—he had to refine more.
He decided that starting tomorrow, he would bring his junior brothers and sisters into cultivation too.
The sooner everyone grew stronger, the better. If Lin Xunfeng had enemies who came knocking—or if bandits climbed the mountain—one person alone wouldn't be enough.
Besides, in this period he had studied the attribute panels. Fate selection and inheritance rewards were tied to the sect's evaluation: the stronger the Dao Lineage, the more Fates he could copy and the more inheritances he could obtain.
He planned to tell them once everyone gathered today.
He sat in meditation within the forest and continued cultivating, striving to refine another wisp of yuan qi.
It wasn't until evening that Zhang Yuchun, Wu Man'er, and Li Sifeng returned. They carried bamboo baskets on their backs, drenched in sweat.
Li Qingqiu, Jiang Zhaoxia, Li Dongyue, and Li Sijin crowded in to help take the baskets.
Zhang Yuchun looked at Li Qingqiu, excitement bubbling in his voice. "Senior Brother, I told the villagers about our situation, and I helped them with some farm work. We traded for three hens, one big rooster, and lots of vegetables, flowers, and fruit!"
The broadest-built Wu Man'er added in a thick voice, "And two jin of meat!"
Normally talkative, Li Sifeng collapsed onto the ground, panting hard, tongue lolling out like a dog.
"The villagers treated us well," Li Qingqiu said with a smile. "We should help them more in the future."
He decided that later, he'd recruit disciples from the village at the foot of the mountain first—consider it repayment.
Everyone chatted and laughed as they carried everything back into the courtyard, then tidied up.
Half an hour later, they gathered around the long table in the courtyard again. Li Dongyue poured water for each of them.
Li Qingqiu swept his gaze around and said, "Tomorrow morning, I'll transmit the method to you. You'll cultivate with me."
The disciples instantly lit up, peppering him with questions about what technique it was.
"This method is called the Hunyuan Scripture. From now on, it will be Qingxiao Sect's signature legacy art. Without my permission, none of you are allowed to pass it on to outsiders," Li Qingqiu said seriously. In the future, he planned to teach the Taiqing Hunyuan Scripture layer by layer.
In truth, he himself hadn't fully absorbed all of the inheritance yet—some of the inherited memories were still blurry, and he needed to reach certain realms before he could recall them completely.
"Hunyuan Scripture… can it cultivate inner qi?" Jiang Zhaoxia asked skeptically.
Li Qingqiu replied casually, "Practice it and you'll find out."
That attitude left Jiang Zhaoxia a little frustrated. He missed the old days when they bickered back and forth.
"Senior Brother, honestly, we need more martial arts. We can't just train internal cultivation. And we don't need everyone training the same art," Jiang Zhaoxia couldn't help saying.
Zhang Yuchun sighed. "But we don't have more martial arts."
Jiang Zhaoxia continued, "As for the others, I won't argue. Let Fifth Junior Brother train with me. I'll teach him an external technique—paired with his natural strength, he'll become one of Qingxiao Sect's pillars."
Li Qingqiu felt a bit moved and said with emotion, "Third Junior Brother, are you finally going to 'drop loot'? I'm really happy. You've grown up—you're starting to contribute to the sect."
"Drop loot? What loot do I have?" Jiang Zhaoxia asked, confused.
"It's fine. Man'er is yours from now on. I'll inspect the results. If you teach him well, I'll give you a treasured sword in the future."
Li Qingqiu waved a hand. Among the disciples, aside from Jiang Zhaoxia's strongest aptitude and Fate, Wu Man'er—with his incomplete maturity—looked even more likely to become a high-combat powerhouse.
In the jianghu, strength was everything. Qingxiao Sect had to possess formidable fighting power.
Jiang Zhaoxia snorted. "I'll teach him well. Just you wait!"
Wu Man'er only grinned foolishly, understanding nothing.
Li Sifeng and Li Sijin joined in the commotion, begging Third Senior Brother to teach them too, but Jiang Zhaoxia couldn't be bothered to coax them.
…
At dawn, Li Qingqiu led his juniors to meditate at the sect gate. With so many people, he didn't dare bring them to the cliff's edge.
Seven people sat in a row—an impressive sight. Li Qingqiu sat in the very middle and began explaining the Taiqing Hunyuan Scripture.
At first, Jiang Zhaoxia didn't care. But after practicing along once, his expression changed drastically, and he immediately became serious.
Teaching Wu Man'er, Li Sifeng, and Li Sijin was a headache—Wu Man'er wasn't sharp enough, and the two younger ones were too little and didn't understand much. Li Qingqiu spent an entire day just to get them to grasp the basic qi-gathering breathing method.
By evening, Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue began cooking. Li Qingqiu sat beneath the old tree, holding the three martial manuals Lin Xunfeng had left behind.
Suddenly, Jiang Zhaoxia strode up to Li Qingqiu, eyes blazing, voice firm and resonant:
"Senior Brother—I cultivated inner qi!"
Li Qingqiu looked up at him and frowned. "Don't mess with me."
It had taken him seven full days—Jiang Zhaoxia only needed half a day?
No way.
Jiang Zhaoxia didn't bother arguing. He raised his right hand and pointed toward the air above a nearby room. A stream of yuan qi burst from his fingertip and shot out, slicing off a tree branch.
Li Qingqiu's eyes widened. Nearby, Li Sifeng—who was gnawing on a roasted sweet potato—also stared in shock.
From start to finish, Jiang Zhaoxia never even looked toward the direction he pointed. When he saw Li Qingqiu's expression, he lifted his chin, wearing an arrogant posture.
After a brief moment of astonishment, Li Qingqiu looked at Jiang Zhaoxia again. His gaze turned burning-hot, which made Jiang Zhaoxia feel awkward.
"Third Junior Brother… I didn't expect you to be an SSR card," Li Qingqiu said with heartfelt amazement.
"An… what card?" Jiang Zhaoxia was baffled. Senior Brother always blurted out words he couldn't understand.
Li Qingqiu set the manuals down and stood up. He placed both hands on Jiang Zhaoxia's shoulders, staring at him intently.
"Third Junior Brother, with a genius like you here, I'm even more confident about Qingxiao Sect's future. Having you is really—really good."
Jiang Zhaoxia's cheeks reddened. He was only fourteen, after all. It was the first time Li Qingqiu had praised him so seriously, and he couldn't help feeling shy.
He turned his head away, curling his lip. "I've always been confident in myself…"
Li Qingqiu was in a fantastic mood. He pulled Jiang Zhaoxia down to sit and discussed cultivation insights for the first layer of the Taiqing Hunyuan Scripture.
Jiang Zhaoxia didn't hide anything, speaking with him earnestly.
After a while, Li Qingqiu gained a lot. He had to admit it—Jiang Zhaoxia's cultivation aptitude truly deserved the word "excellent," and his comprehension was outstanding.
Days passed one by one. Ten days later, Li Dongyue became the third disciple to condense yuan qi. That finally comforted Li Qingqiu: it wasn't that his aptitude was too poor—Jiang Zhaoxia's was simply too strong.
After fifteen days of cultivation, Zhang Yuchun also finally refined yuan qi.
Before Zhang Yuchun could even report the good news, Li Qingqiu already knew a fourth person had refined yuan qi—because a prompt appeared before his eyes:
[As over half of your Dao Lineage's disciples have entered the first level of the Nourishing Yuan Realm, Qingxiao Sect can be considered to have truly stepped onto the path of immortal cultivation. You gain one Fortunate Opportunity.]