Chapter 853
Fall
"This day was bound to come eventually."
Watching the messenger from Luoxia City enter Song Qingxing's main hall, Song Youfu couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Could there be some special meaning behind this message from Luoxia City?" A handsome young man with delicate features asked curiously beside him.
"You may not know this, but Luoxia City has some connection with the Nascent Soul level power [Wuliang Sword Sect]. Every sixty years, they hold a sword dao trial, and everyone who survives that trial eventually breaks through to the Golden Core stage."
One of the Great City Lord's junior brothers set off to participate in the trial years ago, before the clan leader had even broken through to the Golden Core stage. It's almost been sixty years since then.
The message from Luoxia City this time must be about this matter.
A hint of surprise flashed in the boy's eyes. In his eyes, the Golden Core stage was already an extremely important figure. The number of Golden Core cultivators in the entire Great Qi cultivation world could be counted on two hands. This was the ultimate dream for almost everyone.
Now someone was telling him that he could break through to the Golden Core stage simply by passing a trial, which was unbelievable, but he knew in his heart that Song Youfu would not lie to him.
However, he still had a question in his mind: "What does this have to do with the Dharma Protector Elder?"
"The clan leader has made connections for the Dharma Protector Elder in Luoxia City. The Dharma Protector Elder will also participate in the next trial. Do you think that's a good thing?"
"what--"
Just as the boy was about to press for more information, a deafening roar suddenly erupted from Black Dragon Island on the opposite shore, like a thunderclap from a clear sky. Birds flying above the island fell in droves, and the surrounding seawater began to violently tremble, instantly creating a raging storm with waves thousands of feet high.
Song Youfu and his companion felt a ringing in their ears. Before they could figure out what was happening, a towering, majestic figure shot into the sky from Black Dragon Island, transforming into a dazzling bolt of lightning and hurtling into the distance.
Before long, a thick thundercloud rose out of nowhere on the sea surface, and fierce lightning indiscriminately bombarded the sea. The dense lightning was enough to make anyone's scalp tingle, and countless unfortunate water monsters perished as a result.
“That…that’s the Second City Lord, he…” The young man was dumbfounded. He recognized at a glance that the madman was Zhan Tianxia, the Second City Lord of Luoxia City.
Song Youfu's eyes dimmed, and he let out a long, soft sigh. He had a rough idea of the reason.
At this moment, Song Qingxing walked out of the dimly lit hall and said in a deep voice, "The Great City Lord's junior brother, Elder Bai Zhengchun, has been confirmed to have perished in the Wuliang Sword Sect's trial grounds, and no one has even returned his remains."
Upon hearing this, everyone present couldn't help but feel a little sad.
Bai Zhengchun, the Blood-Clad Asura, is a legendary figure in the southwest of the Great Qi and even the entire cultivation world of the Great Qi. In his youth, he single-handedly slaughtered mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Later, he was swallowed up by a beast tide. Just when everyone was about to forget him, he miraculously reappeared in the public eye.
Bai Zhengchun's tireless efforts in maintaining relative stability despite the rapid expansion of Luoxia City over the years are largely due to his dedication.
He disappeared for decades, and when I heard news of him again, it was news of his death.
For Luoxia City, this was not just a weakening of their strength. The brothers, who had been fellow disciples for hundreds of years, were no different from blood relatives. It is not hard to understand why Zhan Tianxia lost control of his emotions upon his sudden death.
It would be difficult for anyone to face this with a calm mind.
“Senior Bai is the mistress’s aunt, and she helped our grandmaster a lot in the early years. Shouldn’t we inform her?” Song Youfu hesitated for a moment before asking.
He knew that Song Changsheng and his wife had important business to attend to at the Array Dao Academy and that it was not appropriate to disturb them at this time. However, this was no small matter, and as juniors, they should not make the decision for their elders. The choice should be left to them.
"You take responsibility." Song Qingxing withdrew his gaze from the distant thunderclouds and turned back into the main hall.
Seeing this, Song Youfu patted the shoulder of the boy who was still a little dazed and said, "Did you hear that? You're in charge personally."
"what?"
Before he could speak, Song Youfu hurriedly caught up with Song Qingxing: "Uncle Xing, now that the last trial is over, shouldn't you be preparing to set off as well?"
“There are still some days left. We should be able to wait for your uncle and aunt to return. What do you want to say?” Song Qingxing turned to look at him, his calm and deep eyes seeming to see through all his thoughts.
“Hmm…” Song Youfu carefully considered his words and tentatively said, “My great-uncle won first place in the Five Academies Grand Competition. According to the agreement between him and the Myriad Manifestations Palace, he will receive a generous reward. In addition, with the family’s original [Six Aperture Golden Lotus], the three main ingredients for refining the [Golden Elixir] will definitely be available.”
Each batch can produce at least three pills, and most likely five. At that time, whether it's you, your aunt, or the Supreme Elder, everyone will get a share.
The trials of the Boundless Sword Sect are still too risky. Now the situation is different. Do you think we should slightly change our plans?
Few people within the Song family knew about the Star Fruit Tree, and Song Youfu happened to be one of them.
He knew that after the Star Fruit Tree ripened, Song Changsheng immediately sent someone to deliver it to Song Qingxing, but Song Qingxing refused it outright.
In his view, Song Qingxing did this to give Song Qingxi a chance. Their relationship is a well-known fact, so this is a very reasonable guess.
It was precisely because he gave up the Star Fruit that Song Qingxing decided to participate in the extremely risky Wuliang Sword Sect trial, which seemed to be a choice he had no other choice but to make.
The situation is different now. Resources are plentiful, so from his perspective, there is no need to take that risk on the Path of Trials anymore; it's really not a good choice.
Bai Zhengchun, the Blood-Clad Asura, was a renowned genius cultivator in the Great Qi Dynasty. Yet, he died mysteriously in the Trial Grounds, without even his remains returning to his sect.
Although Song Qingxing was also a person of exceptional talent, there are always people more capable than him, and there is always something higher than the next mountain. The risks of participating in the trial were simply too great.
As the most promising candidate in the Song family after Song Changsheng to break through to the Golden Core stage, Song Qingxing's success or failure involves far too many factors.
Song Youfu has always been a person who values his life and seeks stability, so this kind of action is perfectly normal for him.
But he was not Song Qingxing after all. They were essentially two completely different people with different pursuits.
Song Qingxing said calmly, "I know what you want to say. If you miss this opportunity to break through your own limits, you will have to wait another 60 years."
Resources are never enough; if we can save this resource, the family will have more hope for the future.
"Don't say similar things again in the future." After the lesson he learned last time, Song Qingxing had a deep understanding of the responsibilities he bore. He would not take unnecessary risks again, but this time was different. Participating in the Trial Path was not just for breaking through to the Golden Core stage. He had never worried about breaking through to the Golden Core stage.
As he said before, he had many opportunities to break through, but he didn't choose any of them.
The path of trials is a place to push one's own limits.
Song Qingxing chose the [One Yuan Golden Elixir Path], rather than the [Five Elements Golden Elixir Path] chosen by the general public.
[The One Yuan Golden Elixir Path] does not require refining other Five Elements spiritual objects, but it requires pushing the Wind Path to its extreme. The Wind Path represents speed. Song Qingxing needs to integrate his own Killing Sword Path into it and finally achieve ultimate sublimation.
It's not just about breaking through to the Golden Core stage, but more importantly, about breaking through the limits.
He had been working on this for a long time, but he soon discovered that it was difficult to do so on his own and that he needed a lot of external stimulation.
The environment of the Great Qi cultivation world and even the East Sea could hardly provide him with such stimulation and pressure, so the path of trials was the best choice.
Although it will take sixty years, the Song family has already established itself based on Song Changsheng's formidable reputation in the Five Academies Grand Competition, which undoubtedly buys him a lot of time.
Seeing that he had made up his mind, Song Youfu sighed inwardly and finally bowed to bid farewell to Song Qingxing.
At this moment, a steward from the Song family stepped forward and said, "Now that the Sea Yaksha clan has deployed troops on the border, and the Second City Lord is currently out of control, is he in any danger?"
“Master Chengming will be watching over him in secret. Right now, the Second City Lord needs an outlet for his emotions. No one should disturb him.”
After saying that, Song Qingxing walked into the main hall without looking back. He couldn't understand Zhan Tianxia's emotions before. When he was young, apart from the sword in his arms and Song Qingxi, there was nothing else in his world.
After each major battle, Song Changsheng, Song Xianming, and the others looked very heavy-hearted. Sometimes they would stand on the edge of the cliff, staring blankly at the setting sun. At that time, he couldn't understand it at all, and rarely paid attention to it.
Later, after he overcame his inner demons and regained his complete self, he gradually developed "emotions" in his interactions with his family.
From then on, the departure of every familiar person would stir a ripple in his heart.
Over the years, he has witnessed the passing of too many people. Although he has never experienced the heart-wrenching pain of fighting the world, he did feel a pang of sadness when Song Luyun passed away.
Now, he can completely understand how Song Changsheng and the others felt back then...
"If that's the case, then there's no problem. Fellow Daoist, your words have opened up new avenues of thought for all of us."
Inside a palace in the northeast corner of the Array Dao Academy, more than ten fourth-order array masters, including Song Changsheng, gathered together to discuss the various possibilities for the future of "Carving Arrays with One's Body." So far, they have finalized several different directions.
Sometimes, even Song Changsheng couldn't help but feel sincere admiration for their wildly imaginative and ingenious ideas.
Although the possibility of simultaneously inscribing several different arrays into a chain array within the human body has not yet been verified, they have provided several different array combinations through a rigorous attitude and solid theoretical knowledge.
Some of these are geared towards combat, some towards survival, some towards team buffs, and so on...
In short, each solution has its own characteristics.
Of course, not everyone's design is balanced.
One of the academy instructors, who specialized in killing formations, even offered a very extreme solution: abandon all other types of formations and simultaneously inscribe several identical killing formations into one person's body, keeping them dormant until a critical moment arrives to strike and defeat the enemy.
His thinking is the same as Song Changsheng's current approach: a one-off deal, which is extremely extreme.
Originally, Song Changsheng thought that this plan would be opposed by the vast majority of people. After all, it was precisely because the existing plan was too extreme and too limited that True Monarch Yingyue ordered them to optimize it. Wouldn't this lead them astray again?
Unexpectedly, more than half of the array masters present thought the plan was extremely feasible. Some even thought that ordinary killing arrays were too weak and that wanting to incorporate the incomplete "Third Killing Array in the World" into it was simply insane.
At first, Song Changsheng couldn't understand it, but he quickly figured it out. While being able to fight continuously was good, it was difficult to bring about a qualitative improvement.
The art of formations possesses infinite possibilities; formation masters can use formations to defeat one powerful enemy after another whose cultivation surpasses their own.
Therefore, this group is actually the most fond of "subordinates defying superiors," and their minds are constantly occupied with figuring out how to enhance the power of the formation.
The same power, when used repeatedly, has a vastly different destructive force than when unleashed in a single burst. To turn the tide and reverse the tide of battle, one must utilize limited power to its fullest extent.
He Yunxuan had thought of it that way, but the reason why his plan was not favored by True Monarch Yingyue was that the power of a single formation was too limited, and the requirements for formation mastery were too demanding if he wanted to improve it.
Take Song Changsheng as an example. He is currently at the mid-stage of the Golden Core realm and is also a mid-grade fourth-order array master. Therefore, the [Impermanent Killing Array] in his body is also at the mid-grade fourth-order level. However, after years of nurturing and accumulation, its power is comparable to a high-grade fourth-order array.
Normally there would be no problem with this, but it is an extreme solution, and if it is too normal, it loses its value.
Song Changsheng's actual strength far exceeds his current cultivation level. The enemies who can put pressure on him must be at least late-stage Golden Core cultivators like Zhao Yin, or even Great Perfection Golden Core cultivators.
Faced with such an enemy, the power of the [Impermanent Killing Formation] was simply insufficient. Last time, he only managed to win by using the essence of the sun and moon accumulated over many years.
If the power of one formation is not enough, then add a few more to achieve a synergistic effect, making it the last trump card to win in desperate situations.
However, the issue of long-term effects still requires further optimization.
After a month of discussions, they finally finalized a preliminary experimental plan.
But just as they were preparing to implement it, a message from the Song family of Wangyue, carrying the devastating news of Bai Zhengchun's demise, was delivered to Song Changsheng through the Wanxiang Palace...
...(End of chapter)