Based on Lin Chuan's description, beneath the vortex lay a boundless, bottomless ocean. The other side of the vortex seemed to be located at the surface of a deep-sea region, with no trace of the land beneath their feet in sight.
Chu Jing and Nangong E had him stay behind so that they would not lose their sense of direction.
"The moment I went in, I felt my distance from you, Senior Brother, become unimaginably far. It was extremely uncomfortable," Lin Chuan added at the end. Then he dove back into the vortex to prevent Chu Jing and Nangong E from being unable to sense his ghostly aura.
Li Qingqiu's connection with Lin Chuan and Nangong E was maintained through the Soul-Binding Curse. Once a ghost slave strayed too far from him for too long, the ghost slave would dissipate completely.
Hearing how dangerous Lin Chuan made it sound, Li Qingqiu hesitated over whether he should recall the three ghosts in advance.
After listening to Lin Chuan's intelligence, Yu Lin frowned deeply. In his mind, the threat posed by this vortex had increased by an entire level.
"In the future, the number of disciples stationed here cannot be too small, and their cultivation cannot be too low. There will be more disciples coming here to cultivate later on, and the manpower you can allocate will increase. I allow you to formulate a reward scheme for these disciples and submit it to the Spiritual Treasury Hall. As long as it's not excessive, it will be approved," Li Qingqiu said as he looked at the vortex.
Yu Lin snapped back to his senses and hurriedly bowed in thanks to Li Qingqiu.
Thirteen years of trials and tribulations had already cultivated a certain degree of confidence among Qingxiao Sect disciples. They were not afraid of danger—only of lacking opportunities to earn Dao Fate.
As long as the sect provided stronger support, Yu Lin was confident he could guard this place well.
Li Qingqiu continued to explain his plans for Source Iron Harbor Town. He instructed Yu Lin to establish fishing missions. Later on, ships would transport the catch back to the sect and to the mortal world for sale.
"After that, designate a section of sea. I'll have the Heavenly Works Hall build you a fishery. In the future, if you encounter fish that contain spiritual energy or demonic power, you can raise them there."
Li Qingqiu's ideas one after another immediately invigorated Yu Lin's thinking.
He had never imagined that Source Iron Harbor Town had so many development paths. Previously, he had only regarded it as a future outpost for Qingxiao Sect to venture out to sea.
As expected of the Sect Master!
Yu Lin was filled with admiration. Following Li Qingqiu's line of thought, he realized that if Source Iron Harbor Town were fully developed and the number of disciples stationed here continued to increase, the threat brought by the mysterious vortex would be relatively reduced.
Source Iron Harbor Town was merely one part of the blueprint Li Qingqiu had drawn up. In the future, Qingxiao Sect would establish towns across various Blessed Lands, and the Eight Halls would continuously open branch halls, expanding Qingxiao Sect's sphere of influence outward.
In the future, the Taikun Mountain Range would become the core of Qingxiao Sect's power. For ordinary disciples, coming to the Taikun Mountain Range would no longer be easy.
Of course, such plans required long-term preparation and had to be carried out step by step.
Fortunately, Qingxiao Sect already possessed sufficient scale. It could simultaneously dispatch people to carry out construction at Mount Tianji, the Spirit Copper Mountain Range, the Tianshan Spirit Pool, and Source Iron Harbor Town without any delay.
After some time passed.
Chu Jing, Nangong E, and Lin Chuan emerged from the vortex. When Yu Lin saw Nangong E, his eyes went wide. The Sect Master even raised a female ghost?
"We didn't find any people, nor did we find any demons like Baizhi. But there are indeed many colossal creatures. We advanced over a dozen miles and could not expand the search range any further," Chu Jing said, his expression solemn.
The farther they went from the vortex, the greater his fear became. That was an instinctive reaction to the unknown—especially while immersed in darkness, where he felt he could be swallowed at any moment.
Li Qingqiu nodded and said, "As long as there are no other cultivation sects or demon clan forces, that's fine."
"Demon clan forces?" Yu Lin asked in surprise.
Li Qingqiu smiled and said, "Demons are just as intelligent as humans and will naturally adopt human ways of thinking. I worry that demons might gather together and form forces. Of course, this is only my concern—for now, we haven't encountered anything like that."
Yu Lin let out a sigh of relief. Thankfully, there were none. Otherwise, he did not dare imagine what it would be like to face numerous demons.
Afterward, Li Qingqiu stored the three ghosts back into his body and sword, then turned and left. Yu Lin saw him off.
Only after Li Qingqiu rode his sword and disappeared beyond the mountains did Yu Lin gather the core members he had prepared and begin discussing the future development of Source Iron Harbor Town.
…
Time advanced to September. Qingxiao Sect announced a reward system for the first 10 disciples to break through to the sixth layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm, as there were already more than 10 disciples at the fifth layer.
In the same month, Zhao Zhen, Shen Yue, and Xue Jin successively broke through to the sixth layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm.
These pieces of news were not concealed and quickly spread throughout Qingxiao Sect, once again igniting a wave of fervent cultivation among the disciples.
Li Qingqiu, however, found himself troubled by Xue Jin's severed arm.
Although he had reattached Xue Jin's arm, Xue Jin's use of his right arm was extremely unnatural and far less fluid than before. This was especially apparent when executing sword techniques, which felt very awkward. Xue Jin, on the other hand, took it in stride. He felt that having the arm reattached was already good enough, so he began cultivating sword techniques with his left hand instead.
At noon, in the forest outside Li Qingqiu's cave dwelling, Li Qingqiu watched the three Xiao brothers sitting in meditation and cultivating.
All three brothers possessed Excellent-grade cultivation aptitude, and their cultivation speeds were similar. At present, all of them had reached the fourth layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm. In terms of actual combat strength, the strongest was the eldest, Xiao Wudi, followed by the third brother, Xiao Wuming. Xiao Wuqing ranked last, but the gap was not large.
Li Qingqiu pointed out their shortcomings in absorbing vital energy, doing his best to increase their cultivation speed.
After reaching the fourth layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm, the three brothers clearly felt their cultivation speed slow down. This made them admire Zhao Zhen even more for reaching the sixth layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm.
Zhao Zhen was 7 years younger than them. Such talent was truly despair-inducing.
After instructing them one by one, Li Qingqiu said, "Tomorrow morning, the three of you will each lead a group of disciples to Mount Tianji and drive away the armies stationed around it."
Upon hearing this, all three of them lit up with excitement and immediately accepted. At last, they had an opportunity to fully display their abilities.
Li Qingqiu's arrangement carried deeper intent—it all depended on whether Xiao Wuqing could comprehend it and whether he dared to act on it.
…
One hour later, the three Xiao brothers stood up and took their leave.
Li Qingqiu did not return to his cave dwelling. Instead, he waited where he was. Before long, Yun Cai walked over from the Lingxiao Courtyard.
Yun Cai was one of the few disciples who could come directly to see Li Qingqiu. Her treatment was the same as Li Qingqiu's disciples.
Recently, Yun Cai's momentum had been fierce. On the martial discussion platform, she had already achieved over 100 victories. These were victories in same-realm duels, giving them extremely high value.
Her past connection with the Sect Master also added to her legendary aura.
In these chaotic times, many disciples had been saved by the Sect Master and came to cultivate with hearts full of gratitude. Yun Cai was naturally labeled as belonging to the Sect Master's faction.
She was currently at the fourth layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm. Worth noting was that Xiao Wudi had once narrowly lost to her.
Calling it a narrow loss, Li Qingqiu felt it was more likely that Yun Cai had given him face.
[Myriad-Law Spirit Eyes] could see through the flaws in an opponent's techniques and moves. In same-realm battles, it was practically an unsolvable ability.
Moreover, [Myriad-Law Spirit Eyes] could also nurture its own innate divine ability. This made Li Qingqiu highly anticipate her future.
Yun Cai stepped in front of Li Qingqiu, raised her hand in salute, then opened her right palm and condensed the Soul-Stealing Flying Sword. Immediately afterward, the Soul-Stealing Flying Sword began to split, forming 9 Soul-Stealing Flying Swords.
Li Qingqiu praised, "Not bad. In cultivating the Soul-Stealing Flying Sword, you've already surpassed the others."
This had to be mentioned alongside Yun Cai's other Fate—[Hundredfold Tempering]—which was even more astonishing.
As long as Yun Cai cultivated as diligently as Xu Ning, her future strength would undoubtedly rank within the top 3 of the sect.
Hearing Li Qingqiu's praise, Yun Cai smiled and said, "To live up to your expectations, I will definitely cultivate diligently."
"Yun Cai, are you willing to work for me?" Li Qingqiu's expression turned serious as he asked.
At the fourth layer of the Nurturing Essence Realm, she already stood above the martial world. Even within the sect, she was first-rate and capable of sharing part of his burden.
Yun Cai's face lit up with joy. She had long been waiting for this day.
Especially after seeing the three Xiao brothers begin working for Li Qingqiu, she had felt anxious. Although she had joined later than the Xiao brothers, she had always regarded herself as their peer and competitor and did not want to lose to them.
If Zhao Zhen, Yuan Li, and Li Yang were competing with one another, then Yun Cai and the three Xiao brothers were also competing, each putting pressure on the other to cultivate.
"Please give your orders, Sect Master!" Yun Cai said as if injected with adrenaline, her whole body brimming with excitement.
At 18 years old, she looked only 15 or 16, not particularly tall, causing Li Qingqiu to always treat her like a child.
"I plan to have you supervise the various Blessed Lands on my behalf in the future, conducting regular inspections. Your 7 sisters can also be nurtured. I'll have the Cultivation Hall and the Spiritual Treasury Hall allocate a sum of resources and funds to you for distribution. From now on, they'll work under you," Li Qingqiu said with a smile, his voice gentle.
Hearing this, Yun Cai grew even more excited. She had not expected the Sect Master to also think of her sisters.
She and her sisters had all been saved by Li Qingqiu and had traveled great distances to reach Qingxiao Sect. They still relied closely on one another, and she also hoped her sisters could live better lives.
"Thank you, Sect Master!"
Yun Cai knelt directly before Li Qingqiu, her eyes reddening.
Li Qingqiu hurriedly helped her up and said irritably, "Don't kneel at every turn. Qingxiao Sect doesn't have such vulgar customs."
"I'm just too happy. I don't know how to repay you…" Yun Cai said, looking at Li Qingqiu with deep emotion. Some words nearly slipped from her lips.
"Cultivate well and do your work for me properly. That's enough. All right, go back and prepare. Tomorrow, you can go to the Cultivation Hall and the Spiritual Treasury Hall to apply for resources," Li Qingqiu said, waving his hand.
Yun Cai agreed.
She originally wanted to say more, but Li Qingqiu had already turned and walked toward his cave dwelling. She could only purse her lips, salute toward his back, then turn and head down the mountain.
When she brought the news to her 7 sisters, they were all extremely excited and thanked her one after another. They were not foolish and felt that the Sect Master was giving them special care out of regard for her.
That night, Li Qingqiu told Li Dongyue and Li Sijin about the matter.
"Senior Brother, what do you think of Yun Cai? I feel like she really likes you. Should you get married?" Li Sijin asked with startling bluntness.
Li Qingqiu nearly spat out the wine in his mouth. Li Dongyue shot Li Sijin a glare and said, "What nonsense are you talking about?"
Li Sijin spread her hands and said, "Fourth Senior Sister, can't you tell? She doesn't want to be a disciple, yet she keeps sticking close to Senior Brother. And Senior Brother should get married eventually, right?"
Li Qingqiu quickly interjected, "Stop. What do you mean 'should get married'? We're a cultivation sect. Marrying and having children are not necessary matters. Don't speak nonsense."
Li Sijin pouted and said, "But then again, isn't it a bit of a waste to have Yun Cai running errands for you? Why not transfer her to the Cultivation Hall? I'll make her an elder, and later promote her to deputy hall master."
The strongest disciple in the Cultivation Hall was Yang Chengyu, one of the top 10 disciples of the martial combat tournament. However, with Yun Cai's rise, Li Sijin had gone to watch her battles and felt that Yun Cai's potential surpassed Yang Chengyu's, which made her tempted.
In fact, it wasn't just her who had her eye on Yun Cai. Other hall masters did as well. Some had even approached Yun Cai, but unfortunately, all of them were rejected.