Upon hearing that Xu Ning had encountered two malevolent ghosts comparable to the Awakening Spirit realm—killing one and letting the other escape—even Li Qingqiu was astonished, let alone the others.
Faced with the stunned expressions of the crowd, Xu Ning remained calm, even cold.
She continued, "In addition, I discovered that they seem to revere a certain powerful malevolent ghost. This ghost is the source of the ghost soldiers. If we can find it and eliminate it, this calamity should be able to pass."
Li Qingqiu looked at Xu Ning, satisfaction appearing on his face.
The intelligence he had obtained through soul-searching, Xu Ning had managed to uncover on her own. Even if it was not as detailed as his, being able to reach this level was already no small feat.
Jiang Zhaoxia looked at Xu Ning and had to admit that this time, he had lost.
After the leaders of the various sects learned of Xu Ning's achievement in slaying malevolent ghosts, the pressure on them greatly diminished.
With Li Qingqiu and his disciples present, perhaps this calamity was not as terrifying as they had feared.
Afterward, Li Qingqiu revealed the plan of the Great Demon Luo, causing the expressions of the senior leaders to change drastically, including Xu Ning and Jiang Zhaoxia.
"Once we find the location of the Great Demon Luo, Qingxiao Sect must strike. This time, we act as one to prevent any malevolent ghosts from infiltrating the land of Jiuzhou."
Li Qingqiu swept his gaze across the crowd as he spoke. Then he began issuing preparations for battle one by one, setting each hall into motion.
Although the Martial Hall would not participate in the battle, it would take on increased patrol duties. To this, Yan Daozong raised no objections.
Yan Daozong realized that his martial path was still insufficient to threaten ghosts and monsters. This realization brought him pressure he had never felt at Tianxuan Mountain.
After coming to Qingxiao Sect, he seemed to be becoming ordinary.
Yan Daozong disliked this feeling and decided that he would train even more diligently from now on.
He refused to believe that the martial path was inferior to the immortal path—it was only that his own attainment in the martial path was not yet high enough.
After Li Qingqiu finished assigning tasks, he kept Xu Ning behind and dismissed the others.
When only master and disciple remained in the courtyard, he finally said, "For this ghost-slaying operation, I intend to keep you within the sect."
Xu Ning immediately grew anxious and was about to speak when her master raised his hand.
"I'm keeping you because you are the strongest. I cannot rest easy leaving it to others. The journey to the northern border is far too distant. We must be prepared for malevolent ghosts attacking Qingxiao Sect."
Hearing this, Xu Ning fell silent.
She took a deep breath and said, "Alright, Master. Rest assured—I will only die after Qingxiao Sect falls."
Li Qingqiu rolled his eyes at her. "What nonsense are you talking about? Very well, go and rest. Before we receive concrete intelligence, the sect will not act."
Xu Ning nodded, bowed, and withdrew.
Li Qingqiu did not immediately return to his cave dwelling. Instead, he contemplated the next major lecture for the sect. He intended to promote a ghost-path spell throughout the entire sect—one that required no Fortune Opportunity—so that disciples would gain the ability to identify ghosts and monsters.
This spell could not be one from the Scripture Pavilion, otherwise it would shortchange those disciples who had already exchanged for it.
That very day, he summoned Chu Jing, and the two discussed the matter together.
Chu Jing had long discovered that he possessed talent in ghost-path spells. He had even grown confident because of it. Yet he later found that Li Qingqiu's Comprehension in the ghostly Dao was no less than his own, filling his heart with admiration.
The Sect Master was truly versatile in all fields!
…
At the end of June, Qingxiao Sect began promoting the Ghost-Identifying Technique. All Inner Disciples were required to cultivate it and could gather at the Cultivation Hall for concentrated training.
The disciples had no intention of resisting this decision—in fact, they were grateful to the sect.
Many of their views had been shaken. In martial sects and aristocratic families, those in power often feared their subordinates growing stronger, lest they become difficult to control. Yet Li Qingqiu chased after them, forcing them to become stronger, afraid they might be harmed by ghosts outside.
For a time, the loyalty of the vast majority of disciples toward Li Qingqiu increased.
On this day, a Shadow Hall disciple, Qin Yucheng, returned to the sect. He had come to report on his espionage mission. It was a long-term assignment, but he was required to return once every year to ensure he had not betrayed the sect.
The longer Qin Yucheng stayed at Qingxiao Sect, the more fortunate he felt to have joined it. Now he was filled with pity for Qingxia Sect.
Although Qiu Dahuo possessed grand ambitions, his ability was lacking. In Qin Yucheng's view, for Qingxia Sect to truly rise, it would need a heaven-blessed prodigy like Zhao Zhen in the future to have a genuine chance at prominence.
Walking along the mountain path of Qingxiao Mountain, Qin Yucheng heard disciples along the way discussing someone.
Hu Yan—the Sect Master's newly accepted disciple.
After only half a year since entering the sect, he had already reached the 4th layer of the Nurturing Essence realm.
Qin Yucheng was shocked. He felt that every time he left the mountain and returned, another unparalleled genius would be born within the sect. Hu Yan's cultivation speed was astonishing—he felt that even Zhao Zhen and Xu Ning might not necessarily surpass him.
After the shock, he felt pride.
It was his honor to serve such a sect.
Further along, he heard talk of ghosts—of disciples who had been slain by malevolent ghosts—and that the Sect Master was preparing a large northern expedition. A trace of regret stirred in his heart.
He, too, wished to participate in such a campaign. Guarding Qingxia Sect was simply too dull.
Lost in thought, he arrived at the northern side of Qingxiao Mountain and entered an underground palace.
This was the Shadow Hall.
The forest where the Shadow Hall was located was a forbidden zone. Aside from Shadow Hall disciples, no other disciples were permitted to enter.
After entering the Shadow Hall, Qin Yucheng discovered that the underground palace had expanded. There were more disciples as well. In every chamber, Shadow Hall disciples were either cultivating or rehearsing scenarios in which an undercover agent had been exposed.
He walked to the Hall Master's door and knocked lightly.
"Come in."
Mo Jiuhong's voice came from inside.
Qin Yucheng pushed the door open. What came into view was a brightly lit room furnished with numerous classical decorations. Landscape paintings hung upon the walls, giving it an air of refined antiquity.
Mo Jiuhong was cultivating in meditation within the inner chamber. Spiritual stones were arranged around him in blocks, with 4 bamboo-flag markers inserted among them. Spiritual energy continuously swirled around his body, causing his robes to flutter without cease.
He had now reached the 6th layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. Before joining Qingxiao Sect, after cultivating for many years, he had only reached the 4th layer of the Nurturing Essence realm. This clearly showed that the cultivation resources Li Qingqiu had invested in him were by no means few.
After all, Mo Jiuhong was the Hall Master of the Shadow Hall. Li Qingqiu hoped he would shoulder greater responsibilities, which meant he needed powerful cultivation as a foundation.
Qin Yucheng stepped forward and reported the situation of Qingxia Sect.
Qingxia Sect was an immortal cultivation sect. Although not large, it was still a potential threat. Therefore, Qin Yucheng's mission was directly reported to the Hall Master.
After he finished detailing Qingxia Sect's situation, Mo Jiuhong still did not open his eyes. He replied, "You've done well. There's no need to interfere with their development. Let them follow their natural course."
Qin Yucheng nodded and said, "I accompanied the Sect Master of Qingxia Sect to visit Baiyuan Valley and learned that Baiyuan Valley seems to have control over a certain blessed land. Their disciples' cultivation levels are generally higher than those of Qingxia Sect. Should we send someone to keep an eye on them?"
Mo Jiuhong answered, "Someone has already been watching them. As for the blessed land you mentioned, the Shadow Hall has already investigated it thoroughly."
"How do you plan to handle it?"
"Everything in the land of Jiuzhou belongs to Qingxiao Sect. That Qingxiao Sect permits them to cultivate immortality is already a great act of grace. I will give them time to consider. If they refuse to listen to reason, then there will be no need for Baiyuan Valley to continue existing."
Mo Jiuhong spoke lightly, but to Qin Yucheng, his words sounded overbearing.
"Does the Sect Master know of this matter?" Qin Yucheng asked.
He came from the Qin clan. The clan's eldest legitimate son, Qin Ye, was a disciple of the Sect Master. In his heart, he belonged first to the Sect Master and only then to the Shadow Hall.
Mo Jiuhong snorted. "Does such a trivial matter require troubling the Sect Master? Should the Sect Master stop cultivating to handle everything personally?"
Qin Yucheng felt that made sense. He bowed and withdrew.
After leaving the Shadow Hall, he headed toward his own residence.
After pondering for a while, he still felt that he should inform the Sect Master. The matter was indeed small, but in today's world, aside from Qingxiao Sect, there were only 2 immortal cultivation sects. He feared leaving future trouble behind.
…
Southern Chu Prefecture, within the main hall of the provincial government.
Liu Jing sat in the seat of honor. Though he did not wear a dragon robe, his imperial aura had grown increasingly formidable, already bearing the dignity of a Heaven's Son. Civil and military officials stood within the hall—several dozen in number—reporting one by one on the situation across the land.
With Qingxiao Sect's support, Liu Jing's campaign to conquer the realm had become astonishingly smooth. He did not even need to lead troops personally. Strategists, renowned scholars, and fierce generals came flocking to him. The frontlines in each province advanced steadily. What he needed to do was manage the livelihood of the people and place suitable individuals into appropriate positions.
At that moment, an armored soldier hurried into the hall and ran straight to the steps, kneeling on one knee while holding up a scroll.
"Reporting to my lord, a letter has arrived from Cangzhou—and it is urgent!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Jing immediately waved his hand. An attendant standing at the side of the steps stepped forward to receive the scroll. He opened it first to inspect it for abnormalities before ascending the steps and presenting it to Liu Jing.
Liu Jing unfurled the scroll and read the urgent letter carefully.
Very quickly, his expression darkened. The civil and military officials noticed the change in his face and began whispering among themselves.
Although Cangzhou was the farthest from Southern Chu Prefecture, it was controlled by the Li clan. It was only a matter of adjacency before it could be annexed.
An urgent letter from Cangzhou was most likely related to the Northern Barbarians.
Could it be that the Northern Barbarians were preparing to return once more?
After a long while, Liu Jing lowered the scroll and looked at the assembled officials.
"There has been an incident among the Northern Barbarians. The Heaven's Son of the Northern Court has had his body seized by a demonic entity. The Northern Court is now in complete chaos, and the common people are living in misery."
A demonic entity?
A stir rippled through the entire hall. None of them had expected such a situation.
No one rejoiced, for the very words "demonic entity" were enough to send chills down one's spine.
An elderly minister hurriedly asked, "Will this demonic entity move south?"
Liu Jing replied, "The letter also states that there is more than one demonic entity in the Northern Court. Other demonic entities are sweeping through the populace. Increasing numbers of Northern Barbarian commoners are being persecuted and turned into ghost soldiers. Their momentum is advancing southward and may threaten Cangzhou. Cangzhou has written to request reinforcements."
The expressions of the civil and military officials changed drastically. Immortal cultivation sects had already appeared in the world; the emergence of ghosts did not surprise them.
But thinking of the abilities of ghosts made their scalps tingle.
Were their opponents about to change from mortals to malevolent spirits?
"My lord, the realm is not yet unified. How can we spare the effort to head to the northern border?" a general boomed. His words immediately gained the approval of many officials.
Liu Jing frowned, contemplating the matter.
Li Qingqiu had set a deadline for him. Yet he felt that if he was to ascend to that position, he could not concern himself only with immediate affairs.