The Qingchi Demonic Sect

The old Daoist's Qi Refinement spiritual sense and reaction speed saved his life. With merely a subconscious sidestep, the Taiyin Mysterious Light only vaporized his left shoulder and entire left arm, leaving behind an upper body frosted over with ice and a face turned purple from the freezing chill. "Cough, cough." The old Daoist spat out a mouthful of dark-red blood, which crystallized into frost midair before pattering onto the soft earth. "Good, very good." A stiff smile pulled at his aged face as his remaining right hand raised a pale-white shield, deflecting the barrage of attacks Li Xiangping unleashed upon him. This small movement caused him to spit out another mouthful of frost-crusted dark blood. Feeling wave after wave of bone-chilling, frigid qi coursing through his body, the old Daoist hurriedly formed an incantation gesture to guard his heart vessels and preserve his life. Seeing that his onslaught could not even shake the old Daoist's shield, and knowing the talismans Li Chijing had given him were meant primarily for self-preservation and escape, Li Xiangping gritted his teeth and abandoned the old Daoist. Slapping a talisman onto his leg, he rode the wind and continued fleeing north. He could not go west, where the Li family lay. To the east gathered the ten Qi Refinement cultivators besieging the Wan family, which would be walking straight into a trap. To the south lay the rugged, undulating terrain of Mount Dali, where climbing would never outpace flight. His only option was to keep heading north. *** Ji Dengqi looked coldly down at Wan Xiaohua, who had been cut in two at the waist yet still propped up his upper body from the ground. Ji Dengqi's long saber pinned the lower half of Wan Xiaohua's body to the earth some distance away as he spoke impassively: "When your Wan family stormed Mount Huazhong, you should have prepared yourself for this day." The vitality of a peak Embryonic Breathing cultivator kept Wan Xiaohua from dying immediately. The excruciating agony widened his eyes as guttural groans tore from his throat. Spitting blood, he choked out a few words: "Wh... ah... why...?" Before Ji Dengqi's eyes, the image of that proud, splendidly dressed youth from years ago slowly surfaced. He leaned down quietly and whispered: "What do you think we are? We are nothing more than dogs and pigs raised by these two sects, trifling weights tossed onto the scales of their bargains. They don't even care about your stance or the tribute you offer year after year. They are merely waiting for us to grow fat with flesh and blood. Once fattened, we are pigs and cattle to be traded and butchered." Watching Wan Xiaohua struggle until his eyes closed, Ji Dengqi shed a solitary tear. He closed his eyes, tilted his head upward, and said in a heavy voice: "Now, I will drive your Wan family's entire bloodline along with the eight thousand mortals under your rule to sacrifice their blood to that lord's blade. Afterward, that lord will sweep southward toward the Xunlin Plain, where not a single Qingchi Sect cultivator remains stationed, to slaughter fifty to seventy percent of the mortals and cultivators there to gather resentment and blood qi." The corners of Ji Dengqi's mouth curled into a mocking smile. Looking at Wan Xiaohua's cooling corpse, he murmured: "Meanwhile, the Qingchi Sect whose rescue you so desperately hoped for is currently sending troops across the Tangjin Sect border, carrying out the exact same sickening business. "When the pigs and cattle grow too clever, it's time to trade and slaughter them." Gently closing Wan Xiaohua's eyes, Ji Dengqi let out hoarse laughs from the depths of his throat. He looked up coldly, gazing at the high-spirited figure of the golden-robed man standing in the sky. *** "Senior Xiao!" Li Tongya respectfully clasped his hands in salute. Seeing Xiao Chuting, the Foundation Establishment ancestor of the Xiao family before him, sipping tea with narrowed eyes, he heard him say softly: "Little friend Tongya, why not stay a few more days here in my Xiao family?" Li Tongya froze for a moment, a cloud of suspicion rising in his heart. Lowering his gaze in silence for a breath, he asked respectfully: "May I ask..." Xiao Chuting waved a hand, cutting Li Tongya off, and said quietly: "The Wan family did not come this year. It must be that the Tangjin Sect moved south as agreed. Counting the hours, they have likely already reached the Xunlin Plain. Your Li family currently sits isolated in the mountains, and a storm of blood is sweeping across the Xunlin Plain. Best delay your return by a few days and wait until the Tangjin Sect withdraws." Xiao Chuting's words revealed a great deal of information. Li Tongya was taken aback. His mind raced for several breaths before he cupped his hands in gratitude: "Thank you, Senior Xiao!" Xiao Chuting nodded slightly and closed his eyes in contemplation. Li Tongya took the hint at once and took his leave. Once Li Tongya had exited the courtyard, a brocade-clad youth emerged from behind a spiritual-gauze screen in the courtyard. It was Xiao Yongling, whom Wan Yuankai and Li Tongya had encountered at the tavern years ago. Sitting down respectfully, he asked in confusion: "Grandfather, is this Li family truly worthy of our clan befriending them like this?" Xiao Chuting drank his tea in silence, then looked at his proudest direct descendant and murmured: "Li Chijing has emerged from seclusion, having mastered the *Moon Lake Autumn Reflection Formula*. The sect was utterly shaken." Xiao Yongling's eyes widened in sheer shock. He blurted out: "The *Moon Lake Autumn Reflection Formula*? Where did he get Taiyin moon essence?!" "Never mind where he got it." Xiao Chuting waved his hand dismissively and said in a low voice: "Maintain good relations with the Li family, but do not appear overly eager, lest it look unseemly." Seeing the pensive look on Xiao Yongling's face, Xiao Chuting shifted the topic and said coldly: "Do you know why the Three Sects and Seven Gates have never stopped the clans under their rule from slaughtering and annexing one another—why they even encourage blood feuds between clans along the borders?" Xiao Yongling pondered for several breaths and replied: "What the Qingchi Sect needs has never been tributes of a few spirit stones. What they need is to cultivate great clans like our Xiao family—clans that can organize large numbers of mortals and cultivators to nurture spiritual treasures that aid Foundation Establishment or even Purple Palace cultivators..." "Could the Qingchi Sect truly not spare enough Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment cultivators of their own? Must they rely on our clans and even share a portion of the gains with us? Look at how many spiritual items and magical artifacts our Xiao family has amassed here in Lixia Commandery over hundreds of years. Do you think the Qingchi Sect doesn't know?" Xiao Chuting took a sip of tea and asked slowly. Xiao Yongling froze, grasping something in his heart yet not daring to speak it aloud. "I'll say it for you. We great clans are nothing more than medicinal herbs the Qingchi Sect planted in the dirt." Xiao Chuting sneered and said in a grave voice: "They spend centuries growing a great clan, and then devour it clean, down to the bones and flesh. After that, they enlighten and elevate dozens of small clans, leaving them to slaughter and consume one another until the next crop of great clans is ripe." Lowering his head, Xiao Yongling shuddered and stammered: "How could this be... the conduct of immortals...?" "The war between immortals and demons ended thousands of years ago. Who still plays by those outdated rules? Which of the Three Sects and Seven Gates hasn't whitewashed its sect gates while standing atop flesh and bone?" Xiao Chuting chuckled, then asked: "How do you think the Moonlit Glaze Tree on Qingchi Peak was grown? It was planted in the flesh and bone of Li Jiangqun, nourished by his blood! Which corner of the Qingchi Sect from top to bottom isn't drenched in blood? "The Qingchi Immortal Sect, the Qingchi Immortal Sect... what a pleasant name!" Xiao Chuting sneered as he rose to his feet. Facing Xiao Yongling, he asked: "Do you know what the Qingchi Immortal Sect was called five or six hundred years ago, before it rose to become one of the Three Sects?" "I do not." Seeing Xiao Yongling shake his head, Xiao Chuting leaned close to his ear and said coldly: "The Qingchi Demonic Sect." "The Qingchi Demonic Sect?!"