[Master, your disciple truly cannot overcome the hurdle in my heart. My mother is in danger, and I must save her. She has called out to me many times, and now she has been abducted by the Xuanji Sect. There must be schemes behind this. In this world today, there are very few who would still dare to scheme against Qingxiao Sect. I am already at the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. If I cannot resolve this calamity, then it means Qingxiao Sect is facing a tribulation no less severe than the Qi Clan's Tree Demon. At that time, Master may make further plans.]
[Qingxiao Sect's growth to this day is inseparable from your wise guidance. Forgive your disciple for secretly descending the mountain alone. I fear that the true target of those behind the scenes is you. I already owe you too much and do not wish to place you in danger, so I have taken matters into my own hands and gone to face this alone. Of course, I am confident I can resolve this calamity and, along the way, drive out the Northern Barbarians and spread the divine might of our Qingxiao Sect.]
Li Qingqiu read Zhao Zhen's letter over and over, an indescribably complicated feeling welling up in his heart.
Was Zhao Zhen too foolish?
Yet everyone had their own pride. Zhao Zhen did not want his personal matters to implicate the sect or implicate him. That was understandable. Moreover, Zhao Zhen was already at the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm—how could he lack confidence?
Only, Li Qingqiu knew that this matter might be Zhao Zhen's destined calamity, and it would not be so easy to overcome.
What Zhao Zhen said made sense. In the present world, anyone who still dared to scheme against him must not truly fear Qingxiao Sect, nor Li Qingqiu.
This was both Zhao Zhen's tribulation and a latent crisis for Qingxiao Sect.
For the first time, Li Qingqiu felt reverence toward destiny. He had done his utmost to keep Zhao Zhen, yet still gave him an opening.
Although his divine sense could cover the area, he could not watch Zhao Zhen day and night without pause. If he did, he would be unable to cultivate in peace and would eventually exhaust his mind.
"Perhaps some things truly cannot be avoided. If, from the beginning, I had not suppressed him but instead discussed countermeasures with him, or if I had brought his mother here earlier, would there have been a different outcome?"
Li Qingqiu pondered silently.
Objectively speaking, Zhao Zhen descending the mountain alone would add trouble for him, yet he was not angry. People were not chess pieces. Everyone had their own temperament and thoughts, and Zhao Zhen also did not truly know how strong he was.
In truth, Li Qingqiu did not dare claim that he was absolutely invincible now. Since Qingxiao Sect began developing, whenever a great calamity arose, he never charged to the front immediately. He always investigated the enemy first before making a move.
Although it was later proven that the enemies were not his match, he did not feel his caution was excessive. After all, one only had a single life, and Qingxiao Sect would not have another chance to start over.
Setting emotions aside, allowing Zhao Zhen—a disciple at the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm—to probe Tianxuan Mountain and the Xuanji Sect was, in fact, more beneficial for Li Qingqiu to act afterward.
Li Qingqiu placed Zhao Zhen's letter into his storage pouch, then turned and walked out of the cave dwelling. Lin Chuan leapt up and landed on his shoulder.
Zhao Zhen's cave dwelling was located near the Law Enforcement Hall, a deliberate arrangement by Li Qingqiu to prevent assassination attempts. When Li Qingqiu shattered the stone door, it immediately alarmed the Law Enforcement Hall.
Lu Qing of the Law Enforcement Hall arrived first. When he saw Li Qingqiu's figure within the passageway, he immediately stopped.
By the time the two of them walked out of the cave dwelling together, the other Law Enforcement Hall disciples had also rushed over.
"It's nothing. You may disperse," Li Qingqiu said. Upon hearing this, the disciples could only salute and withdraw.
Lu Qing hesitated for a moment. After the others left, he asked in a low voice, "Sect Master, is there anything you need me to do?"
Li Qingqiu glanced at him and said, "Zhao Zhen is at the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. Do you think you can help with his trouble?"
Hearing this, Lu Qing revealed a look of shame.
He had already received many resources, yet he was only at the fifth layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. The distance to the seventh layer was unimaginably vast.
Li Qingqiu patted his shoulder, then vanished from the spot.
Lu Qing took a deep breath, feeling that he needed to work even harder, so as not to betray the Sect Master's cultivation and trust.
...
At dusk.
Zhang Yuchun, Jiang Zhaoxia, and Li Dongyue arrived at Lingxiao Courtyard. Li Qingqiu had summoned only the three of them.
"You already understand the matter. What are your views?" Li Qingqiu asked.
He had already sent Xiao Ba north to search for Zhao Zhen's whereabouts, and he himself had circled the Taikun Mountain Range once, yet still failed to find Zhao Zhen.
With cultivation at the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm, Zhao Zhen's speed was far beyond that of ordinary people.
Although Qingxiao Sect had grown powerful, Li Qingqiu would not fully trust everyone. No matter how high the other hall masters' loyalty was, the only ones he could entrust Qingxiao Sect to were Zhang Yuchun and the other two.
Wu Man'er was not clever enough, and Li Sijin was not steady enough, so Li Qingqiu would not cast such troubles onto them most of the time.
"I'll go," Jiang Zhaoxia said. "Zhao Zhen is right. There may be a great conspiracy hidden behind this. Unless absolutely necessary, you must not move. Qingxiao Sect may seem powerful, but it cannot do without you. You must not suffer any mishap, and you must not become arrogant because of your own strength."
Although he wanted to race against time to surpass Xu Ning, if the sect encountered trouble and needed him, he would never hesitate.
Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue both nodded.
"If even Third Junior Brother cannot handle it, then only you, Eldest Senior Brother, can step in. At that point, there will be no other choice," Zhang Yuchun said solemnly.
Li Dongyue suggested, "Let Third Senior Brother go first to track Zhao Zhen, then dispatch a group of true disciples to follow closely. How about that?"
Li Qingqiu fell into deep thought. He was also considering whether he should personally descend the mountain this time.
It was not fear—he wanted to temper the sect.
This was merely Zhao Zhen's destined calamity; it did not mean Qingxiao Sect would be overturned.
If every time one of his disciples encountered trouble, he, as the master, had to personally intervene, would his disciples not become a vulnerability that enemies could exploit against him in the future?
Moreover, having someone at the ninth layer of the Nurturing Essence realm resolve the calamity of the seventh layer was by no means courting death.
If the enemy behind the scenes truly possessed Awakening Spirit realm strength, Qingxiao Sect would have run into trouble long ago, and the world would already have changed hands—it would not have been suppressed until now.
Seeing Li Qingqiu remain silent, Zhang Yuchun suggested, "Should we also call Xu Ning?"
"No!"
Jiang Zhaoxia said at once, his tone somewhat urgent, causing Zhang Yuchun to look at him in surprise.
In Zhang Yuchun's view, sending out two cultivators at the ninth layer of the Nurturing Essence realm would be absolutely foolproof.
Jiang Zhaoxia, however, felt that he and Xu Ning were fated to clash and were not suited to act together.
"Alright, stop hesitating. I'll depart now and head north immediately. Along the way, I'll leave sword qi marks so the disciples following behind can take extra care," Jiang Zhaoxia said as he stood up, preparing to leave at once.
Li Qingqiu spoke up, "Your primary task is to keep Zhao Zhen safe. If you can't, don't risk your life. Compared to Zhao Zhen, you are more important to me."
Jiang Zhaoxia was taken aback. He hadn't expected Li Qingqiu to still say such words. He had thought that as the sect grew larger, Eldest Senior Brother's heart might have changed somewhat.
He looked deeply at his eldest senior brother, then nodded. Leaping into the air, he transformed into a streak of sword light and shot northward.
Li Qingqiu turned to Zhang Yuchun and said, "Send additional manpower to Tianxuan Mountain. Keep it under close watch. If this matter truly involves Tianxuan Mountain scheming behind the scenes, they are absolutely not to be allowed to escape like the Sword Extremity Sect did before."
Zhang Yuchun nodded and immediately rose to assign the task.
Li Dongyue looked at Li Qingqiu and said, "Eldest Senior Brother, don't worry too much. Zhao Zhen is at the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm, and with his long years of sparring at the Martial Debate Platform, perhaps he can rescue his mother on his own."
In her view, this crisis was not that severe. There was no force in the world capable of threatening Qingxiao Sect—not because she underestimated the world, but because she knew exactly how strong Qingxiao Sect was.
Li Qingqiu nodded and said, "That's what I think as well."
Everyone had their own destiny. He had already done his utmost to protect Zhao Zhen. If Zhao Zhen could not survive this calamity, then it could only mean that his fate was thus.
As for whether someone would use Zhao Zhen to deal with him, Li Qingqiu had considered all sorts of possibilities.
He had even thought that a cultivator might attempt to seize Zhao Zhen's body.
Yet Zhao Zhen was only at the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. Even if someone seized his body, it would not threaten Qingxiao Sect.
Li Qingqiu was first and foremost the Sect Master of Qingxiao Sect, and only after that Zhao Zhen's master.
...
Ku Yi and Ku Er were now cultivators as well. Following Zhao Zhen, their pace was even faster than horses.
After several days, they had already arrived in Zhongtian Prefecture.
Once the central prefecture of the world, it had now become desolate.
At dusk, Zhao Zhen arrived at a cliff. Looking down at Martial God Pass, his mood was complicated.
This was the second time he had seen Martial God Pass. The first time was when he had been sent to Qingxiao Sect and passed by this place.
Ku Yi and Ku Er came to his side, also gazing down at Martial God Pass.
"This is the peerless stronghold built by the Founding Emperor. Now the city gates stand wide open, with no one guarding them. What a pity," Ku Yi sighed.
Though they had sworn loyalty to Zhao Lan, deep down, their loyalty was to the Great Li Dynasty.
Zhao Zhi's death had delighted them, but with the realm usurped, they could not feel joy.
At their age, they had witnessed the founding, prosperity, and decline of the Great Li Dynasty. Their hearts were filled with confusion, unable to understand how someone like the Founding Emperor could have given birth to a treacherous man like Zhao Zhi.
"When will that person arrive?" Zhao Zhen asked.
At fifteen years old, he was no longer the child he once was. His posture was upright, and cultivation at the seventh layer of the Nurturing Essence realm endowed him with a powerful presence.
Ku Er replied, "It should be soon. He told us to wait here. He must have eyes planted nearby."
Ku Yi added, "We've already checked. There are no traps in the vicinity."
Zhao Zhen snorted. "If he truly wanted to ambush me, how could it be something you two could see through?"
Ku Yi and Ku Er fell silent. They could feel Zhao Zhen's resentment toward them, yet they harbored no regret.
The sun gradually sank.
As night approached, someone finally emerged from the forest behind them—it was Hua Daozang.
Hua Daozang looked at Zhao Zhen's back, his eyes burning with fervor. He steadied his emotions and walked toward Zhao Zhen.
He did not notice that, on a tree branch more than ten zhang behind him, a paper effigy was watching him.
At the same time.
In a forest on a neighboring mountain, three Qingxiao Sect disciples were hiding among the bushes. One of them sat cross-legged, eyes closed, casting a spell.
The spell-casting disciple suddenly frowned and whispered in surprise, "Why is Senior Brother Zhao Zhen here? And Hua Daozang of Tianxuan Mountain is actually here to meet him."