As the morning sun rose, Li Qingqiu was up early. He stepped out, woke his junior brothers and sisters, and had everyone do morning practice together.
Overnight, the courtyard had piled up with thick snow. Zhang Yuchun and Li Dongyue had already risen early and were sweeping it.
Li Qingqiu told them to put down the shovels and cultivate first.
The seven of them climbed onto the roof, sat shoulder to shoulder, and meditated as they absorbed the purple qi. Gradually, faint wisps of steam began to rise from above their heads.
Li Qingqiu opened one eye and glanced at his juniors, feeling quietly satisfied.
They were still young, but the important thing was that they listened. Teaching them wasn't exhausting—and that made him look forward to Qingxiao Sect's future even more.
This was his startup team.
An hour later, the disciples jumped down from the roof and prepared to get busy with their own tasks. Li Qingqiu called Zhang Yuchun over and told him to come with him.
Zhang Yuchun had no objections, but when he saw Li Qingqiu bring the Tianhong Sword, he raised an eyebrow slightly.
The two senior brothers walked through the mountain forest, chatting casually about the sect's day-to-day chores.
The terrain of the Tai Kun Mountain Range was steep. Even for the two of them, travel required care—especially now, with snow everywhere that could collapse underfoot.
After ten li, Zhang Yuchun finally couldn't help asking, "Senior Brother… where exactly are we going?"
Walking ahead, Li Qingqiu didn't even turn his head. "Last night, I dreamed of an immortal's guidance. He said these mountain ridges hide a treasure. The dream was so vivid that I want to come and try."
The Fortunate Opportunity guidance had etched the route into his memory. It had been an illusion realm—he had truly "walked" it once, and he still remembered it clearly. It was astonishing.
"An immortal's guidance?"
Zhang Yuchun almost broke down. He really wanted to ask, Senior Brother, do you take me for an idiot?
But he never dared to defy Li Qingqiu. He swallowed it and continued accompanying his senior brother in this "nonsense."
Snow blanketed the Tai Kun Mountain Range. No matter how far they walked, it felt like trudging in place. Fortunately, both Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun had already entered the Nourishing Yuan Realm— their strength and stamina had grown greatly, so they didn't feel tired.
After another dozen li or so, Li Qingqiu finally stopped. Ahead, there was no path—only a cliff face. Snowbanks rose on both sides, making the space narrow.
Zhang Yuchun blew into his palms for warmth, looking around in confusion. "Senior Brother, this place doesn't look like it has treasure at all. Seems the immortal's guidance isn't very reliable. Should we just give up?"
Li Qingqiu didn't answer. He walked to the cliff face and began feeling around.
Soon, he seemed to find something. He started hammering at a spot on the rock. After only three strikes, part of the cliff face actually cracked open.
Zhang Yuchun froze, then hurried over.
After a dozen breaths, Li Qingqiu confirmed he couldn't break it any farther and stopped. Staring at the opening—about the size of a dog hole—he fell silent.
The dream had only guided him to this place. In the dream, the opening had been far larger than this.
Zhang Yuchun bent down and peered in. Inside was pitch black, but he could feel hot air rushing outward.
"Let's go."
Li Qingqiu crawled in first. Zhang Yuchun wanted to persuade him, but Li Qingqiu moved too quickly. Grinding his teeth, Zhang Yuchun hurried after him.
The tunnel was dark, slanting downward, with warm airflow moving through it. That warmth made them far more comfortable. And the deeper they went, the wider the tunnel became, easing their tension about being in an enclosed space.
After traveling about five zhang, they finally reached the end.
Following Li Qingqiu, Zhang Yuchun crawled out through the exit. The drop wasn't high, and he landed easily. He looked up—and his eyes widened, his mouth unconsciously falling open.
Before them was a vast underground chamber. Countless blue-silver ores were embedded in the rock walls, varying in size, sharp-edged and crystalline. Below lay a lake nearly ten zhang wide. The surface was blue, shimmering with silver light—dreamlike and breathtaking.
For some reason, the moment Zhang Yuchun arrived here, he felt refreshed and open-hearted, as if his whole body had become more spirited.
"Senior Brother… this place feels like it's full of the heaven-and-earth spiritual qi we usually breathe in. If we cultivate here, will our inner qi grow faster?" Zhang Yuchun asked as he gazed around, unable to hide his excitement.
"That's right. This is indeed a perfect place for cultivation. Looks like heaven truly favors Qingxiao Sect."
Li Qingqiu smiled and spoke with forced calm.
In truth, ever since activating the Fortunate Opportunity, he'd been fantasizing nonstop. He'd already braced himself emotionally for something big.
The two of them began exploring as they observed and discussed.
"Senior Brother, be careful. If there are poisonous insects or fierce beasts hiding here, that'd be bad."
"Senior Brother, did an immortal really send you a dream? Couldn't it be something Master told you before?"
"Too bad this place is so far from Qingxiao Sect. A round trip will take almost half a day."
"Senior Brother, if we cultivate here for ten years… could we become martial masters who shake the entire martial world?"
Faced with Zhang Yuchun's nonstop questions, Li Qingqiu answered casually and vaguely. Zhang Yuchun didn't mind.
Zhang Yuchun was usually steady, but he was still only fifteen. In front of Li Qingqiu, he could drop the mask.
After circling around a few times, they confirmed there was only one entrance and exit, and that there was no danger. Only then did they relax.
"What do you think?" Li Qingqiu asked, eyes on the spirit lake. "How should we arrange for the others to come here and cultivate?"
Zhang Yuchun pondered. "All of us coming together definitely won't work. Someone has to guard Qingxiao Sect, and next I still have to recruit disciples. Senior Brother—this place can't be known to anyone besides the seven of us. I suggest we come in pairs to cultivate for one day at a time, rotating in turns. What do you think?"
Li Qingqiu glanced at him and nodded with satisfaction. "Good. That's an excellent suggestion. You're considering potential risks. I'm very pleased."
Zhang Yuchun scratched his head and smiled shyly. "In Master's jianghu stories, lots of people and sects with insufficient strength got wiped out because they had a divine art or a treasure."
"Exactly. Qingxiao Sect only has us, and we're still too young. We have to act carefully. If we lose even one person, we won't be able to bear it," Li Qingqiu said with a sigh.
Lose one person…
Zhang Yuchun's expression changed. Just imagining Li Qingqiu and the others dying in front of him made him feel terrified.
No.
That must never happen.
Zhang Yuchun was also an orphan—abandoned at six. He'd grown up lonely and insecure. He had long since regarded Li Qingqiu and the others as family, treasuring that bond. That was also why he was willing to work so hard without complaint.
Li Qingqiu picked up a crystal near the lake and could feel dense spiritual qi packed inside it. He originally wanted to take one out, but then he thought: even the little knife's spiritual qi could be sensed by a novice cultivator like him. If he carried a spirit stone like this out, it might invite calamity.
So he set it down again and warned Zhang Yuchun that in the future, no one else was allowed to take any spirit stones from here, either.
They didn't stay long. Having confirmed the place, they prepared to head back and arrange personnel.
After crawling out of the hole, Li Qingqiu pulled over nearby weeds to cover the entrance, then piled snow on top. Only then did he feel at ease enough to leave.
"And don't mention this outside either," Li Qingqiu said seriously to Zhang Yuchun. "If a master passes by and hears from far away, it'll be trouble."
Zhang Yuchun nodded. He understood the importance of that underground spirit lake.
They walked back toward Qingxiao Sect, talking about other matters. Zhang Yuchun planned to wait until the winter snow melted before going down the mountain to recruit disciples. The snowfall had been getting heavier, and he worried something might go wrong bringing village children up the mountain.
Li Qingqiu had no objections. He wasn't in a hurry to expand Qingxiao Sect. First, he needed to raise the strength of his core team, so they wouldn't run into trouble when dealing with outsiders.
The road back was still rough, and their footprints had long since been covered over again by fresh snow.
Halfway back, Li Qingqiu suddenly stopped.
Zhang Yuchun, following behind, asked in confusion, "What is it?"
"Listen carefully," Li Qingqiu said softly.
Zhang Yuchun immediately held his breath and listened. Soon, he heard a faint sound coming from deep within the nearby woods.
"Sa… save me…"
With first-level Nourishing Yuan cultivation, Zhang Yuchun focused his gaze. Looking through the crisscrossing trees, he saw half a face—someone lying behind a large tree, back against a rock, looking toward them from afar.
Zhang Yuchun jumped in fright and pointed. "Senior Brother, that person is calling for help. Do we get involved?"
Li Qingqiu didn't need him to point—he had already spotted the man.
After hesitating a moment, Li Qingqiu said in a low voice, "Let's go take a look. Be careful—don't let him set us up."
Zhang Yuchun nodded. The two of them pushed aside the brush and walked over.
Yang Jueding, whose consciousness was already slipping, saw the two teenage boys approaching, and immense joy surged through him.
When Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun had gone down the mountain earlier, he had seen them from afar. But he hadn't been able to cry out in time. So he'd waited here, hoping they would pass this way again.
Just as he was about to give out, he finally saw their figures.
He used all the strength he had left to call for help, yet it still sounded weak.
Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun cautiously approached to within a safe distance and carefully examined him.
The man was covered in snow. His robe was filthy and in disarray. The stubble on his face was stuck together with blood, and the headband tying up his long hair was about to slip off. Judging by his features, he looked to be in his thirties. His abdomen had suffered a severe wound, and the blood had already frozen stiff.
Zhang Yuchun asked, "Who are you? Why are you here?"
"Give me… water…"
Yang Jueding looked at them weakly, his voice feeble. His right hand tried to lift, but it was hard for him to move.
Zhang Yuchun looked to Li Qingqiu. When Li Qingqiu nodded, Zhang Yuchun pulled a waterskin from his clothes and tossed it to Yang Jueding.
The supposedly weak Yang Jueding suddenly sat up, snatched the waterskin, yanked it open, and gulped it down roughly.
Zhang Yuchun startled and instinctively stepped back.
Li Qingqiu could sense a kind of qi force surging within the man, keeping his body at a certain temperature—no wonder he'd held on this long.
A martial expert who had cultivated inner qi?
After Yang Jueding finished all the hot water in one breath, he lay back down. He looked far more relaxed. He bared his teeth in a grin at Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun.
"Thanks for saving me, little brothers… My name is Yang Jueding."
Li Qingqiu and Zhang Yuchun stared at him intently.
Yang Jueding froze, then asked in surprise, "You've never heard of my title? I'm Yang Jueding—Dragon-Subduing Hero, Top Ten on Guzhou's Heaven-Rank list!"