Chapter 1020
Five Elements Dao Body, Child of Destiny
"uncle."
Song Qingxi gently knocked on Song Changsheng's door.
"What's the matter?"
"Recently, many people in the alliance have been inquiring about your situation. I have already told them what you instructed me to do. Most of them were just asking casually, but there are two people whose motives I feel are not so pure."
"Oh?" Song Changsheng, who was sitting cross-legged on the soft couch, opened his eyes upon hearing this and raised his eyebrows slightly. "Which two people?"
"It's the Golden Bamboo True Person from the Jade Flower Cultivation World and the Brocade-Clad Marquis from the Great Xiao Immortal Dynasty. They were overly enthusiastic, not only inquiring about your recent condition multiple times, but also personally delivering pills to treat various injuries."
After listening to Song Qingxi's account, Song Changsheng also felt a little strange. His explanation to the outside world was that he was in seclusion to recuperate from his injuries. If Mu Guibai, Peng Siying, and others were doing the same, it would be normal, since they were closer to each other.
However, this Jinzhu Zhenren was a rogue cultivator in the Yuhua cultivation world. He had only met him a few times and had not exchanged more than a few words with him. Yet, he had repeatedly sent pills to him, which was excessively enthusiastic. However, he was not a kind-hearted person and his reputation in the Yuhua cultivation world was very poor.
The same goes for the Marquis of Jinyi; they had almost no interaction, and all that was known was that he was a member of the royal family of the Great Xiao Immortal Dynasty, so his presence was extremely low.
Why is someone who is usually so low-key so eager to show off now?
He had always suspected that there was a mole within the alliance. After all, the demon race's infiltration plan had been going on for so many years, it was inevitable that some would lose their composure and be blinded by self-interest.
The most dangerous enemies are often those within the enemy ranks. If they are not identified before the battle, they may defect on the spot, causing endless trouble.
Previously, there were no clues, but now it seems that these two are highly suspicious.
Song Changsheng's thoughts stirred slightly as he asked, "Have you accepted the pills they sent?"
“Their pills are of dubious origin, and we hadn’t accepted them the previous times. Master Wujie suspected something was amiss with the pills, so he instructed me to accept a batch, which is currently being inspected.”
"That's what I think too. Let me know as soon as there are results."
"Do we need to monitor them?"
After pondering for a moment, Song Changsheng shook his head and said, "After all, they are Golden Core cultivators, and their spiritual senses are extraordinary. Ordinary spies can easily reveal their weaknesses in front of them, so it's better not to alert them."
Locking down the area is enough; even if they don't give themselves away, there's plenty of time to deal with them before the battle.
Just as the two were talking, Wu Jie also came to the outside of the courtyard.
Song Qingxi hurriedly went to greet him and asked, "Master Wujie, is there any result?"
"Just as I suspected, there is a problem with the elixir, but it is not poisoned. Rather, it is infused with a special spiritual material called [Bone-Attaching Fragrance].
This spiritual material has a unique fragrance that, once it enters the body, penetrates deep into the bone marrow. However, ordinary creatures cannot detect it and require a strange insect called the "Fragrance-Seeking Moth," which is generally used for tracking.
This substance is harmless to the body, but precisely because of this, it is not easily detected.
"They're doing this most likely to track your location during wartime, and probably with the intention of decapitating you." Wu Jie slowly voiced his guess.
"Beheading? Heh, that's possible, but their methods are a bit too naive. Who would take pills of unknown origin?" Song Changsheng said calmly.
If some people still harbored wishful thinking before, after the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce incident, almost no one will take such pills of unknown origin anymore.
"Perhaps they're waiting to strike it rich," Wu Jie said with a slight smile.
"Regardless of their intentions, their true colors have already been revealed. Let's not touch them for now, but we can release some false information from time to time to confuse the demon race."
There will be plenty of time to settle scores with them before the war.
News has come from the Myriad Manifestations Palace that the [Mysterious Thunder Soaring Spear] has been behaving strangely lately, and its calamity aura is brewing. The heavenly tribulation will likely descend within the next few years, and you need to prepare."
Song Qingxi replied in a deep voice, "Please rest assured, Uncle, we have long been prepared to face all risks."
"How is the training of the tribal soldiers going?"
"Currently, the clan's army has expanded to five thousand people, all of whom are at least at the late stage of Qi Refining. They are fully equipped with armor, weapons, bows and crossbows, and are training every day according to the 'Ten Absolute Dao Formations' that you brought back from the Array Dao Academy."
In addition, the same applies to the Demon Suppressing Guard, the Blazing Sun Guard, and the Formless Guard.
During wartime, at least 20,000 elite troops could be mobilized to Dingyuan City, and additional manpower could be continuously drawn from the subordinate forces of Jiang, Yang, Ling, and Xiang prefectures, bringing the total to at least 20,000 to 30,000.
"Hmm, that's enough. What about the other forces within the alliance?"
Song Qingxi quickly responded, "They are all very proactive. All resources are being allocated to the war effort, making the defenses along the Canglan River impregnable. Every mile is equipped with an array that can sense demonic energy, and even a demon king would find it difficult to escape the array's detection."
Furthermore, with the spatial teleportation network you meticulously constructed, even if the demon race launches a concentrated attack, support can be obtained in as little as a few quarters of an hour.
Song Changsheng spoke again, emphasizing: "We must take all possible factors into account, and not worry about the consumption of resources. Everything should be based on minimizing casualties."
We must not only win this battle, but win it decisively. We cannot afford to suffer too many losses; if we are weakened, we will lose our ability to survive in this chaotic world.
"Resources can be recycled, but life is only once. Everyone knows which is more important. We've almost given up our life savings, so you can rest assured."
Song Changsheng nodded slightly and said, "Go ahead. I will be focusing on my cultivation for the next period of time. If necessary, I will try to break through to the Nascent Soul stage."
Three years later, the Ascension Ceremony of the Song and Yuan dynasties reminded me that I should go there in person.
“I’ll remember that. Oh, by the way…” At this moment, Song Qingxi seemed to suddenly remember something and said, “Elder Shu Qi of Zhulu Academy sent word a few days ago that Hua Yan has completely filled the gap in the Heavenly Palace and successfully broke through to the Golden Core stage after undergoing the Heavenly Tribulation again half a month ago.”
Chi Li has also made great progress in recent years, and just broke through to the late stage of Zifu three years ago.
Logically speaking, their studies should be considered complete. With a major battle imminent, what do you think about calling them back?
"Hua Yan has broken through to the Golden Core stage?" A look of joy appeared on Song Changsheng's face. He waved his hand vigorously and said, "No need. Let them stay in the academy in peace."
Whether in the southwest or the southeast, it was a large-scale battle, with hundreds of Golden Core cultivators participating on both sides, not to mention thousands of Purple Mansion cultivators.
With their combined cultivation levels, even if they returned, it wouldn't affect the overall situation.
"Elder Shuqi seems to have also heard some rumors. Should we tell him not to tell Huayan and the others about the start of the war, so as not to be affected?"
"Well, it's best not to let them know."
Undoubtedly, if Huayan and the others learned of the war, they would rush back to fight without hesitation, but he felt it was unnecessary; they should always leave some seeds of war behind.
Despite his outward display of confidence, he actually didn't know how much of a chance he had of winning this battle. Nobody's a fool; while they were making their plans, the enemy was making theirs too.
Until the very end, no one knows how many tricks the other side has up their sleeve.
As the saying goes, one should consider defeat before victory. In his position, he always has to consider more than others.
"Master Wujie, the consumption of pills is often the greatest when a great battle begins. I'm sorry to trouble you during this period."
"Since the day we began preparing for the battle, the entire Pill Hall has worked day and night without a moment's rest. Don't worry, there's plenty of pills." Wu Jie smiled slightly, his tone revealing strong confidence.
"good."
……
Cultivation knows no time, and in the mountains, one is unaware of the passing years; three years have flown by in the blink of an eye.
This marks the eighth year since Song Changsheng disappeared from the public eye. These eight years of secluded cultivation have yielded negligible improvements in his strength, meaning that he has truly reached the pinnacle of the Golden Core realm. Unless he breaks through to the Nascent Soul stage, there is no room for further improvement in his strength.
Fortunately, he realized this early on and did not waste his time meaninglessly. Instead, he focused on perfecting his own Five Elements Daoist Rhyme, and after several years, he has reached a state of perfection.
He is now only a thin veil away from reaching the Nascent Soul stage, and he can take that step at any time when necessary.
"Uncle, the Ascension Ceremony is about to begin. Shall we set off now?"
"Yes, let's set off now."
Since the mortal realm moved to the Cangmang Small World, the Ascension Ceremony has always been held locally in various cities. But this time, Song Qingxi gathered all those "Song Yuan" together and brought them to Cangmang Peak for Song Changsheng to personally supervise the spirit testing.
Upon entering the long-sealed Spirit Testing Hall, twelve eligible children were already waiting respectfully inside, led by the stewards of the General Affairs Hall. The atmosphere was somewhat subtle, as they were not only the same age but also shared the same name.
"Greetings, Chieftain!"
Led by the deacon, everyone quickly stood up and bowed. The children's bowing movements were a little clumsy and childish, and their pure eyes were filled with undisguised curiosity.
They grew up hearing legendary tales of Song Changsheng. In their parents' stories, he was an omnipotent figure, like a god. Now that they had seen his true form, they couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. He just had two arms and two legs, and didn't seem to have anything special about him.
Eight years old is an age when one can't hide anything, and all emotions are almost clearly written on their faces. Seeing this, Song Changsheng couldn't help but smile slightly, bent down and looked into their eyes, and said, "What's wrong? Are you a little disappointed?"
Upon hearing this, all the children nodded somewhat shyly.
The steward was immediately alarmed and quickly apologized, saying, "This child was ignorant, please forgive him, clan leader."
Song Changsheng waved his hand dismissively and said, "What crime is there? I am just one of the common people. I am a human being, not the god those people talk about. It is normal for them to feel disappointed when they see me."
Let's begin the spirit test, a comprehensive one, the more detailed the better.
"Yes, ma'am." The deacon replied nervously, then led the first child in line to the spirit-testing platform, grabbed one of his hands, pricked his fingertip with a golden needle, and forced a drop of bright red blood to drip into the groove of the spirit-testing platform.
Then he pressed his hand on it.
The Song family's current method of spirit testing is vastly different from the past. It can not only test spiritual roots and spiritual bodies, but also test special bloodlines, and there is almost no chance of error.
Unfortunately, no cultivator with a special physique or bloodline has been detected so far.
The blood quickly seeped into the spirit-testing platform, but after a moment there was no reaction.
The deacon frowned and said, "No spiritual root, next."
The child undergoing the spirit test had tears welling up in his eyes and forced back his tears as he walked down, where he was led out of the spirit test hall by another steward.
The second child stepped onto the spirit-testing platform. As soon as the blood dripped, the platform reacted, emitting two hazy lights.
The deacon's brows relaxed slightly, and he announced loudly, "Five-inch gold spiritual root, three-inch water spiritual root, no special physique."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" The child who had been testing the spirit almost jumped up in excitement.
They began receiving basic knowledge of cultivation from the age of five. They possess dual spiritual roots, or rather, mutually reinforcing spiritual roots, which is already excellent in terms of spiritual roots alone.
"Good, next one."
One by one, the children stepped forward to be tested. Some were happy, some were sad, but surprisingly, several of them, except for the first one, all had spiritual roots, and they were all quite good, at least three spiritual roots.
As the number of people ahead of him dwindled, Song Yuan's previously calm heart began to race with tension. He silently encouraged himself, "Take a deep breath. My parents said I have spiritual roots."
"Next." The deacon's voice rang in his ears.
Under everyone's gaze, he walked to the spirit testing platform almost instinctively. A slight stinging sensation came from his fingertips, and a drop of blood rolled onto the platform. Then, he subconsciously placed his hand on it.
The moment it was placed on the platform, the spirit-testing device burst forth with a dazzling light.
The five colors—cyan, red, blue, white, and black—were dazzling, making it impossible for him to open his eyes.
Seeing that it was a five-elemental root, the deacon in charge of testing the spirit was not too concerned at first, but when he saw the length of the spiritual root, his pupils suddenly dilated and his voice trembled: "Nine inches... all nine inches, a nine-inch perfect five-elemental spiritual root, heavens, I actually saw the legendary spiritual root!"
Song Changsheng and Song Qingxi, who had been sitting comfortably, also stood up abruptly.
Just as the light from the spirit-testing platform dimmed, a dazzling five-colored glow burst forth, and a strange symbol slowly took shape on the platform's surface.
"This...this is the Innate Five Elements Dao Body?"
Upon seeing this, the deacon in charge of the spirit reading almost broke his voice.
He had only ever seen such a thing in ancient books: a perfect spiritual root of the five elements plus a body of the five elements. Now, it was truly happening right in front of him, and he had even personally determined it.
He wanted to slap himself twice to see if he was dreaming.
A perfect Five Elements spiritual root is already comparable to or even surpasses a Heavenly spiritual root of the same length. Add to that the rare Five Elements Dao Body, and you would be a true prodigy in any era.
At this moment, Song Changsheng was absolutely certain that he was the person he was looking for.
"The Song family will prosper!"
...(End of this chapter)