Chapter 16: Ghost-Immortal Rejuvenation Needle

'The first time achieving a milestone in sect development can trigger a reward?'

Li Qingqiu stared at the prompt before him, falling into deep thought. He realized that in the future, he could plan around this aspect to accelerate the growth of the Clear Firmament Sect.

He turned and walked back toward the inner sect grounds, unable to wait to see what kind of inheritance reward he would receive.

Meanwhile, Qin Jue, who had entered the mountain forest, turned to look at Yang Jueding and sighed with emotion. "Your Sect Leader may be young, but his thoughts run incredibly deep. That boy named Li Sifeng striking so ruthlessly must have been arranged by him."

Yang Jueding laughed. "I wouldn't know about that. Regardless, you weren't injured, were you? Actually, this was the most efficient way to save time and let you personally experience the power of the Clear Firmament Sect."

Qin Jue nodded. He was a man of grand ambitions and did not hold a grudge over Li Qingqiu’s methods; on the contrary, before coming here, he had worried that the Clear Firmament Sect might not last long, fearing the Qin family’s investment would go to waste.

It was precisely for this reason that his father had not come in person.

The Clear Firmament Sect possessed considerable prestige in the martial world, as its previous two leaders had both been world-renowned experts; after Lin Xunfeng announced his retirement, the sect was bound to face the covetous eyes of many other factions.

Now, he was not worried at all, and he even began to look forward to what kind of brilliant legend the Clear Firmament Sect would leave behind in the martial world.

"Young Master Qin, let me tell you, the most powerful person in the Clear Firmament Sect isn't even here today. That kid is even more terrifying; to be honest, even I am afraid of offending him. I recommended your Qin family precisely because of my friendship with your father. With the capabilities of these geniuses in the Clear Firmament Sect, once their fame spreads, countless noble families and high officials will flock to win them over. At that time, your Qin family wouldn't even be able to get in line."

Yang Jueding spoke seriously. He truly wasn't showing favoritism toward anyone; in his view, this was a win-win situation.

Qin Jue nodded, as he understood this logic perfectly. He thought for a moment and said, "Aside from what we just discussed, I plan to provide more gold and supplies from my private funds. I want my son to be that personal disciple."

Yang Jueding was amused and laughed. "Are you trying to leave a fallback path for yourself?"

"With many brothers, it is inevitable that there will be many troubles," Qin Jue said calmly.

Hearing this, Yang Jueding seemed to recall some of his own past, and he fell into a momentary silence.

The two figures soon disappeared into the depths of the mountain forest.

...

Just after seeing off Qin Jue and the other man, Li Qingqiu walked quickly back to the courtyard, went straight into his room, and closed the door.

The other disciples had already gone about their business and did not notice anything unusual about him.

Li Qingqiu sat cross-legged on his bed and directly opened the inheritance reward.

[Claiming Inheritance Reward...]

[Opening Sacred Heritage...]

[You have obtained a Secret Art—Ghost-Immortal Rejuvenation Needle.]

[Do you accept the inheritance?]

'A Secret Art?'

A look of curiosity flashed in Li Qingqiu’s eyes as he immediately chose to accept the inheritance.

A massive amount of memory quickly flooded into his mind. This long-lost feeling left him somewhat mesmerized, and he closed his eyes, immersing himself in it.

When he finally woke up and opened his eyes, he saw that twilight had already arrived outside the window.

As he recalled the profound mysteries of the Ghost-Immortal Rejuvenation Needle, a look of joyful surprise appeared on his face.

The Ghost-Immortal Rejuvenation Needle could stop bleeding, drive out poison, and stimulate the internal organs; its medical uses were incredibly diverse, making it practically all-purpose. Not only that, but the Ghost-Immortal Rejuvenation Needle could also kill enemies—the needles were as fast as lightning and as unpredictable as a ghost-immortal.

This needle technique relied on Spirit Essence. The amount of essence consumed during treatment was determined by the specific situation, but the essence required to face an enemy was not much.

This was far more practical than the Supreme Absolute Sword Art.

His current Spirit Essence was not suitable for performing grand, wide-ranging spells like the Supreme Absolute Sword Art, but flicking needles was perfect for him—it consumed little essence while possessing immeasurable lethality.

The more Li Qingqiu thought about it, the more he liked it.

Although the Sacred Heritage inheritance did not allow him to master the spell immediately, he could keep it firmly in mind without forgetting a single word; such a memory would make it much easier for him to practice the inherited spell.

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and then went out to eat.

Although the second level of the Essence Nurturing Realm could reduce his sleep time, he could not yet achieve inedia; he still had to eat.

By the time he reached the courtyard, the disciples were preparing the dishes. He walked to his chair and sat down as Li Sijin, Xu Ning, and the other disciples were discussing the Qin family.

The boldest of them, Li Sijin, asked Li Qingqiu directly: "Eldest Brother, are we about to get a new batch of disciples?"

The other disciples also showed curious and expectant looks; for children, making new friends was a very exciting thing.

"Mhm. The person who visited today will send six juniors. Not only that, but over the next half year, the Clear Firmament Sect will recruit even more disciples. My plan is to have the number of disciples in the Clear Firmament Sect reach fifty by the end of the year."

Li Qingqiu nodded, and his words made the disciples even more excited, as they began to talk all at once.

Yang Jueding sat at the end of the long table with a smile on his face, remaining silent and hiding his contribution and fame.

He felt that today’s achievement definitely counted as a major contribution!

What he was looking forward to now was for Li Qingqiu to pass him the unique internal art of the Clear Firmament Sect; he wanted to see exactly what kind of internal art could make these children so formidable.

Night gradually descended, and oil lamps were lit in the courtyard. Even after the meal ended, there were still disciples lingering and playing in the yard.

Li Qingqiu and Li Dongyue sat together using small knives to carve a large bundle of wooden skewers. Although the Clear Firmament Sect already had a batch of weapons, they did not have silver needles, so he could only make do for now.

"Thank you for your hard work. Go and rest early."

Li Qingqiu picked up the wooden skewers, tossed out these words, and walked toward his room. It was already dark, making it unsuitable to practice the Ghost-Immortal Rejuvenation Needle; he planned to practice it tomorrow morning after absorbing the purple qi.

Li Dongyue sat on the stool, watching her Eldest Brother’s back with eyes filled with confusion.

That night, Zhang Yuchun came to Li Qingqiu’s room. He was somewhat worried about Li Qingqiu absorbing the Qin family children, as having six people come at once made it easy for them to form a clique, especially since one of them was to be Li Qingqiu’s disciple.

Li Qingqiu spent a good while comforting him before sending him away.

He already had plans for the Qin family children; he would not allow them to enjoy the same treatment as the other disciples as soon as they arrived.

Within the Clear Firmament Sect, the distinction between seniors and juniors had to be established.

Not only that, but the distinction between immortal cultivation and martial arts also needed to be set.

Unless their aptitude was extraordinary, disciples would have to practice martial arts first and then earn the true transmission of immortal cultivation through their contributions.

As for the specific details, he still had to think more about them; right now, his mind was only on the Ghost-Immortal Rejuvenation Needle.

Although he could not practice the needle technique tonight, he could constantly consolidate the key points in his mind to prepare for his practice.

Over the next two days, Li Qingqiu spent most of his time practicing the Ghost-Immortal Rejuvenation Needle.

Progress was not particularly fast, which made him miss the feeling of practicing sword techniques; he wondered when he would be able to copy a second Fate Token.

On the third day after Qin Jue’s departure, Jiang Zhaoxia and the other two finally returned with a tailor. The mountain path was rugged, leaving the tailor drenched in sweat; he collapsed onto the ground as soon as he entered the courtyard.

Zhang Yuchun hurried to pour him some water.

Li Qingqiu was in no hurry to make the sect robes and pulled Jiang Zhaoxia into his room to talk, with Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue following.

Only the younger disciples remained in the yard, circling around the tailor, while Yang Jueding was currently obsessed with the Primordial Scripture and unable to extricate himself.

After entering the room, Jiang Zhaoxia recounted their experiences on the road in detail. Aside from finding a tailor and purchasing cloth, he had scouted around and finally found a way to make money.

"There are many bounty notices posted in the city. There are investigations into mysterious cases to find culprits and bandit suppressions, and the rewards are not low. We can take these on. We can even take escort missions for merchant caravans near the Taikun Mountain Range."

Jiang Zhaoxia sat on a stool and laughed; he was very confident about these matters and felt he could help the Clear Firmament Sect accumulate wealth quickly.

Zhang Yuchun asked about the specific bounty amounts, and after comparing them, he remained silent for a moment before saying, "It's too little. There's no need to do it. Even if you worked yourself to death, it wouldn't compare to the gold and silver the Qin family will gift us every year."

"The Qin family?" Jiang Zhaoxia frowned and asked in surprise.

Zhang Yuchun immediately recounted the matters Li Qingqiu had negotiated with Qin Jue.

After hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxia was not happy. He stared at Li Qingqiu and said, "Brother, there is no need for us to lower ourselves like this, rushing to beg others. We have skills; earning money isn't difficult."

Li Qingqiu said irritably, "If you spend all your time on making money, how will you practice? Remember, you are all high-level members of the Clear Firmament Sect. Your role is not these trivial matters—especially you. You must spend most of your time practicing. When you become the number one in the martial world, countless people will be begging to send us money."

Li Dongyue nodded and said, "Eldest Brother is right. Third Brother, don't forget that the Seven Peaks Alliance and the Azure Cult could attack at any time. We don't know how many experts they will bring next time."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Zhaoxia’s brow smoothed out.

It was true.

There were still fierce battles destined to break out; how could he spend his time on making money?

"As long as you are strong enough, no one can threaten our position," Li Qingqiu said earnestly.

Jiang Zhaoxia nodded and said, "Next, besides my usual practice, I will spend my time on the Supreme Absolute Sword Art."

Both Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue revealed looks of envy. Li Qingqiu had also shown them the Supreme Absolute Sword Art, but forget practicing it—they got a headache just looking at it and felt it would be incredibly difficult to master.

Li Qingqiu and Jiang Zhaoxia’s comprehension was something they could only look up to.

"Next, Third Brother will focus on practice, while Yuchun will handle the large and small affairs within the sect. I plan to take the time to properly teach Dongyue and nurture her as well."

Li Qingqiu continued, causing Li Dongyue to feel somewhat apprehensive, fearing she might let her Eldest Brother down. However, her nature was such that she would not refuse any arrangement he made, regardless of how many worries she had.

Zhang Yuchun did not feel it was too much work; instead, he was very excited. The more disciples there were, the more room he had to display his skills, and Li Qingqiu had even told him to prepare to continue recruiting disciples.

Jiang Zhaoxia added, "When those six juniors from the Qin family arrive, I must personally inspect them."

Li Qingqiu was amused and nodded with a smile.

The four of them chatted for a while before leaving the room together. They would let the tailor rest today and start rushing the sect robes tomorrow.

Early the next morning, Li Qingqiu handed the sketches he had prepared in advance to the tailor. On them were design drawings he had personally made; because there was only black ink, he had to tell the tailor which colors to use for specific parts.

After giving clear instructions, he took Li Dongyue down the mountain, planning to teach her the Ghost-Immortal Rejuvenation Needle.

He hadn't mastered it himself yet, so it was perfect to have Li Dongyue practice with him, allowing them to exchange insights.

In his vision, his six siblings should master different spells, practicing each until they were expert to create a complementary effect.