Night fell, and Li Qingqiu went to the Dark Hall to find Mo Jiuhong. He gave the order for Mo Jiuhong to lead disciples in infiltrating Tianxuan Mountain to investigate what plans Tianxuan Mountain might be harboring.
Mo Jiuhong was greatly invigorated by this. The Dark Hall finally had a mission.
He had already made up his mind to develop the Dark Hall properly. As long as the merits they established were sufficient, they would become the most reliable hall in Li Qingqiu's eyes.
Mo Jiuhong harbored an ambition.
That was to place the Dark Hall above the Eight Halls and the Sword Sect.
"Don't always hide inside the Dark Hall. You need to go out and walk around more often. True concealment lies in hiding in plain sight. Do you understand?"
Before leaving, Li Qingqiu reminded the Dark Hall disciples.
If people stayed in darkness for too long, psychological issues were likely to arise. Moreover, Li Qingqiu did not want the Dark Hall disciples to become estranged from the sect.
Naturally, all the disciples voiced their agreement. As for what they truly thought in their hearts, only they themselves knew.
After arranging the task, Li Qingqiu departed.
Since he was rarely going down the mountain, he decided to visit his disciples.
As the cultivation atmosphere within Qingxiao Sect grew increasingly strong, the disciples' sense of day and night gradually detached from the mundane world. Even at night, people could be seen moving about all over Qingxiao Mountain, and within every forest, disciples could be seen cultivating.
Li Qingqiu made his way to Zhao Zhen's cave dwelling, where Zhao Zhen was currently cultivating.
At present, the sect had only issued 4 cave dwellings. However, Mingguang had already led people to construct 10 cave dwellings, waiting only for him to distribute them.
Li Qingqiu planned that once the number of cave dwellings was sufficient, he would first allocate them to the higher-ups.
Within a sect, it was impossible for young disciples to receive treatment superior to that of the upper echelons. Managing things that way would lead to trouble. Moreover, the higher-ups also needed the Sect Master to acknowledge their contributions.
"Master, please sit. I'll pour you some tea."
Zhao Zhen stood up and saluted, then walked over to the wooden cabinet at the side.
Looking at thirteen-year-old Zhao Zhen, Li Qingqiu realized that he had grown quite a bit taller.
Without realizing it, Zhao Zhen had grown from a child into a youth. The mischief had faded, replaced by a hint of steady composure. Seeing this filled Li Qingqiu with both emotion and comfort.
Li Qingqiu doted greatly on this disciple and kept the closest watch over him, often sending Yuan Qi to check on Zhao Zhen, fearing that he might disappear.
The reason for this was that Li Qingqiu had always remembered Zhao Zhen's Fate.
[Fragile Destiny: A turbulent fate. Before the age of 16, he will continuously experience hardships. After 16, this Fate will dissipate, and his Comprehension will increase by one level.]
There were only 3 years left until the age of sixteen.
Zhao Zhi was dead, the world was in chaos, and the forces capable of threatening Qingxiao Sect had all been uprooted. Logically speaking, there should be no one left who could threaten Zhao Zhen within Qingxiao Sect. Yet Li Qingqiu still could not feel at ease.
Recently, every time Li Qingqiu faced Zhao Zhen, he felt as though he were contending against fate itself.
In the unseen depths, it was as if a giant hand was reaching out toward Zhao Zhen.
Watching Zhao Zhen pour tea for him, Li Qingqiu smiled and asked, "How long has this tea been sitting? Can it still be drunk?"
Zhao Zhen widened his eyes and said, "Of course it can be drunk, Master. I brew fresh tea every day. Even if you don't come, I still brew tea."
Li Qingqiu accepted the teacup and smiled. "Why did you suddenly start liking tea?"
"I'm learning from Third Senior Brother. I want to calm my temperament. After all, I'm no longer a six- or seven-year-old child," Zhao Zhen replied seriously as he sat down.
Hearing this, Li Qingqiu nearly choked on his tea.
Li Qingqiu said helplessly, "Does your Third Senior Brother even drink tea?"
"Third Senior Brother's temperament is naturally calm. I can't compare to him. I can only rely on external things to suppress my temperament," Zhao Zhen answered.
"Then don't participate in the next martial combat tournament."
"No! Master! You can't do this!"
Zhao Zhen immediately panicked, springing to his feet. His face flushed red in an instant.
Li Qingqiu enjoyed teasing him and continued, "You're already this strong. Why must you insist on participating again?"
"When I participated before, I was too young. It wasn't fair to me," Zhao Zhen said aggrieved.
He simply wanted to prove that he possessed the strength to contend for the position of the strongest disciple.
"Fine. Then I hope that by then, you'll be strong enough—ideally even stronger than your senior sister's previous performance. That way, you can set an example for the younger disciples and let everyone know what the strongest disciple of Qingxiao Sect should look like."
Li Qingqiu reined in his smile and spoke softly.
Zhao Zhen nodded and said, "Master, I'll soon reach the sixth layer of the realm. My goal is to reach the eighth layer before the next martial combat tournament arrives."
Li Qingqiu did not doubt him. Zhao Zhen's diligence was no less than Xu Ning's.
Qin Ye had already gone down the mountain, busy striving for his family.
Ji Ya possessed the Hundred-Refined Demon Body, but his temperament was unstable, and he was always wandering around his companions.
Zhao Zhen was different. He was a pure cultivation fanatic. If he did not have to allocate time to creating supreme techniques, he would already be at the sixth layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm.
"In the next 3 years, you may encounter a tribulation. It's best that you stay within Qingxiao Sect and go nowhere. If anyone approaches you and says things meant to lure you down the mountain, you must inform me immediately. You cannot trust others lightly."
Li Qingqiu stared at Zhao Zhen, his expression solemn as he spoke.
After much thought, he decided to reveal a hint of heavenly secrets to Zhao Zhen.
No matter what, this boy had to make it past the age of sixteen.
After hearing this, Zhao Zhen thought of the letter sent by his mother. His expression became unnatural as he asked, "Master, what are you worried about?"
Li Qingqiu put on an inscrutable air and said, "Your master understands a bit of fortune-telling and occasionally glimpses fragments of the future. There is a tribulation written in your fate. As long as you stay within Qingxiao Sect, you can overcome it."
The cave dwelling Zhao Zhen obtained from the martial combat tournament was on another mountain. For his safety, Li Qingqiu had specifically asked Mingguang to build a new cave dwelling on Qingxiao Mountain and had Zhao Zhen move there. Fortunately, he was obedient and never went down the mountain.
"A tribulation written in fate…"
Zhao Zhen's expression darkened as he fell silent.
Li Qingqiu could understand him. Anyone suddenly facing such news would be unsettled.
Three years were neither short nor long. As long as he endured them, it would be fine.
Afterward, Li Qingqiu continued asking about Zhao Zhen's cultivation, and Zhao Zhen answered truthfully.
Next, Zhao Zhen planned to focus primarily on cultivation. As he grew older, his cultivation speed was increasing. He had only one goal in cultivation—to cross tribulation like Li Qingqiu as early as possible.
After staying in Zhao Zhen's cave dwelling for 30 minutes, Li Qingqiu finally departed.
Zhao Zhen returned from the entrance of the cave dwelling and sat down at the stone table. His expression was unsightly, his eyes flickering.
He had not told his master about the letter from his mother. He feared that his master might act against her. Yet his master's words made it impossible for him to pretend ignorance.
'Is there truly a tribulation written in my fate?
Is Tianxuan Mountain going to target me, or is my mother plotting against me?'
Zhao Zhen suddenly felt a bit envious of the Xiao brothers. When facing familial ties that were disadvantageous to them, they could make decisive choices.
Only when truly facing such a situation did he realize how difficult it was to sever familial bonds.
He took a deep breath and decided to focus wholeheartedly on cultivation. As long as he was strong enough, he would not fear any so-called tribulation.
…
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, it was early June. Spring gave way to summer, and the temperature between heaven and earth steadily rose.
On this day, Li Qingqiu brought Jin Lang to Source Iron Harbor Town. After a year of construction, the harbor town had taken initial shape, with over a hundred pavilions, most of them warehouses used to store Ancient Geng Metal Source Iron.
Li Qingqiu had already opened the Source Iron Blessed Land. At present, more than a hundred True Disciples were cultivating inside it. When resting from cultivation, these disciples would come to Source Iron Harbor Town to recuperate.
Upon hearing that Li Qingqiu had arrived, Yu Lin immediately came to meet him.
As the second among the Seven Sons of Qingxiao, Yu Lin had already become the authority in charge of Source Iron Harbor Town and the Source Iron Blessed Land. Relying on his seniority, the disciples all respected him, and no disturbances had arisen so far.
When Yu Lin arrived, Li Qingqiu was standing inside a great hall. Before him was a pool, within which a vortex churned.
This estate was built on a shallow sandbank, perfectly covering the vortex.
The harbor had been established here specifically to conceal this vortex. Over the past year, strange fish would occasionally surge out of it. At one point, they even damaged the estate, forcing Yu Lin to dispatch disciples to rotate shifts guarding the area.
"Sect Master, for what purpose have you come today?" Yu Lin asked after paying his respects.
In terms of relationship, Li Qingqiu was his senior grand-uncle, but he could only address him that way in private.
Li Qingqiu said, "I intend to investigate the situation beneath this vortex. Leaving it unattended like this isn't ideal."
Hearing this, Yu Lin immediately grew nervous and said, "Sect Master, you must not go down personally. This vortex is extremely sinister. Previously, a fish emerged, and we couldn't catch it no matter what. We watched it wreak havoc before it drilled back inside. We suspect it has already gained intelligence."
Li Qingqiu smiled and said, "I won't rashly go down. I have a method to investigate it clearly."
"What method might that be?" Yu Lin asked curiously.
Li Qingqiu glanced at him and smiled. "I've raised 3 ghost servants. I've already sent them down to investigate the situation."
Ghost servants?
Yu Lin froze, a chill running down his spine.
Having cultivated to this day, he could vaguely sense the existence of souls, but he had never seen a ghost with his own eyes.
Moreover, the term ghost slave itself sounded extremely sinister.
The Sect Master actually raised ghost servants…
Yu Lin felt somewhat uneasy. However, based on his trust in the Sect Master, he believed that there must be a reason for doing so. At present, letting ghost servants scout ahead truly was the better option.
"Sect Master, can ghost servants attack living beings?" Yu Lin asked curiously.
Li Qingqiu replied, "Of course they can. Not only ghost servants—some ferocious ghosts will also injure living people if encountered."
Yu Lin fell silent, a thought suddenly arising in his mind.
'Should I also raise a ghost slave?'
His Cultivation Aptitude was mediocre, and his cultivation had already hit a bottleneck. He had been thinking about how to make himself stronger.
But how should he bring this up to the Sect Master?
Just as Yu Lin was hesitating, the vortex in the pool began to churn violently. Under Li Qingqiu's control, Lin Chuan revealed his ghostly form.
Looking at this small ghost radiating sinister aura all over his body, Yu Lin's eyes widened.
Lin Chuan was frighteningly pale at a glance—clearly unnatural.
Lin Chuan ignored Yu Lin and looked at Li Qingqiu, saying, "Senior Brother, down below is a bottomless sea with many massive fish. I saw a water snake—bigger than Baizhi!"
Li Qingqiu raised an eyebrow.
The surrounding area was all shallow waters, with no access to the deep sea at all. As expected, this vortex possessed a certain spatial teleportation effect.