Chapter 1054
Qingyang Holy Sect, Compromise and Concessions
The Qingyang Holy Sect is located in Pingzhou of the Donghuang Kingdom, and it is also the largest Nascent Soul sect in Pingzhou.
From the founding of the sect by its founder tens of thousands of years ago, the Qingyang Holy Sect now has no fewer than 100,000 disciples, and its strength has consistently ranked among the top ten sects in the cultivation world of the Donghuang Kingdom.
As the restrictions at the entrance of the cave slowly dissipated, a figure dressed in a black Taoist robe slowly walked out, while five or six cultivators were already standing respectfully not far away outside the door.
"Greetings to the headmaster, Senior Brother!"
"Junior Brother Liu, why are you all in such a hurry for me to come out of seclusion? What exactly happened in the sect?" After glancing at the people in front of him, Master Jingyue, the head of the "Qingyang Holy Sect," waved his hand and immediately asked.
Upon hearing this, an elderly man with white hair standing at the front immediately responded:
"Reporting to Senior Brother Sect Leader, a month ago, a disciple from the Ancestral Hall reported that Junior Brother Luo's soul lamp left in the Ancestral Hall had been extinguished."
"What? You mean Junior Brother Luo has perished? How is that possible? What exactly happened?"
The Luo surname cultivator mentioned by True Man Jingyue is a Nascent Soul elder in the "Qingyang Holy Sect" whose cultivation level is second only to the two late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
Moreover, the other party is also the most promising young cultivator among the many Nascent Soul elders in the "Qingyang Holy Sect" to advance to the late Nascent Soul stage.
Upon hearing the news of the sudden demise of such a prodigy of the sect, Master Jingyue, the head of the "Qingyang Holy Sect," looked at the other party with a shocked expression, finding it hard to believe what he had just heard.
Seeing this, the white-haired old man quickly continued to explain: "Half a year ago, Junior Brother Luo and Junior Sister Hu left the sect together, telling the disciples that they were going out to search for some spiritual items."
Not long ago, we suddenly received news that Junior Brother Luo's soul lamp had gone out.
At first, we thought something had gone wrong at the Ancestral Hall, until we received a message from Junior Sister Hu a few days ago confirming that Junior Brother Luo had indeed perished in the Tower of Babel in the Floating Cloud Mountains.
"This matter concerns such a vital matter for the sect that we dare not make a decision, which is why we have no choice but to come and disturb our sect leader's cultivation!"
"The Tower of Heaven Secret Realm in the Floating Cloud Mountains, isn't that a place where only local cultivators can compete for spiritual treasures? Why would they suddenly go there?"
"This... please don't be offended, Senior Brother Sect Leader. Junior Sister Hu has not yet returned to the sect, and we are currently unaware of the details of this matter!"
"Senior brother, Junior Brother Luo died out there so mysteriously. If the Grand Elder finds out, we'll have a hard time explaining ourselves. Do you think we should send someone to the Floating Cloud Mountains to investigate?"
Upon hearing the white-haired old man's suggestion, Master Jingyue's expression gradually fell silent.
After thinking for a moment, he waved to the people in front of him and said:
"Junior Brother Luo and Junior Sister Hu have already mastered the Qingyang True Fire. When the two of them join forces, they are not necessarily at a disadvantage even when facing ordinary late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators."
How could a mere Tower of Babel secret realm possibly cause Junior Brother Luo to perish so easily? This matter is probably not as simple as you think.
We still don't know the details of Junior Brother Luo's demise, so let's not rush things. We'll wait for Junior Sister Hu to return and find out more before making a decision!
"Well, then, Senior Brother Sect Leader, should we... what about the Grand Elder?"
"The Grand Elder is currently in the critical stage of his breakthrough in seclusion, so let's not disturb him for now. Let's wait for Junior Sister Hu to return before discussing anything further!"
"Those sects in the Floating Cloud Mountains are nothing but small sects. If they really harm Junior Brother Hu, our sect will demand an explanation from them sooner or later!" After Master Jingyue finished speaking, a cold glint flashed in his eyes.
".."
-
Three years later, in the cave at the top of "Red Cloud Mountain".
Song Qingming, dressed in a green robe, sat cross-legged in the secluded cultivation room. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead like water, soaking most of his upper body clothes.
Although he seemed somewhat tired, Song Qingming's expression did not appear too bad, and bursts of crimson spiritual light occasionally emanated from above his head.
After a long while, as the crimson aura above Song Qingming's head dissipated, he slowly opened his eyes and exhaled.
After more than three years of hard work and experimentation, Song Qingming has finally gotten used to the cultivation method of the "Tongtian Wanling Jue" and has begun to gradually improve his divine sense.
Unfortunately, the "Heavenly Myriad Spirits Technique" Nascent Soul stage cultivation method is far more difficult than the several spiritual cultivation methods that Song Qingming had previously practiced.
Although Song Qingming felt that his soul was much more solid than before after spending several years, the progress of his cultivation technique was far slower than he had imagined.
Even now, he has only just begun to grasp the basics of the "Heavenly Myriad Spirits Technique" in the early Nascent Soul stage, and is still a long way from reaching the perfect state.
It took Song Qingming three whole years to barely get started. During that time, the incomplete map helped him recover his magic power, saving him a lot of effort. Otherwise, Song Qingming's progress would probably be 30% or 40% slower now.
Having witnessed the difficulty of cultivating this technique, Song Qingming truly understood how challenging it was.
No wonder that over the years, those exceptionally talented individuals chosen by "Xuantian" have failed to cultivate to the late Nascent Soul stage; the difficulty is truly beyond the imagination of ordinary cultivators.
Although the progress of his cultivation technique was slow, Song Qingming had now entered the door and gradually adapted to the cultivation method of the "Tongtian Wanling Jue". He could persist for one or two hours every day to temper his soul.
There are still hundreds of years ahead, so Song Qingming doesn't need to be too anxious. He still has time to slowly find ways to accelerate his cultivation progress.
After removing the "natal infant fire" from his body, Song Qingming, who was sitting in place, used a spell to cleanse himself slightly, and then entered a meditative state to begin cultivating the absorption and exhalation of spiritual energy.
While cultivating the "Heavenly Myriad Spirits Technique" was certainly important to him, improving his own cultivation level was the foundation of Song Qingming's cultivation. During his years of seclusion, Song Qingming never dared to neglect his cultivation in the slightest.
After emerging from the Tower of Babel secret realm, Song Qingming did not make much progress in cultivating the Tower of Babel Myriad Spirits Technique, but in recent years he has made considerable progress in his cultivation.
In just over a decade since breaking through to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm, Song Qingming has already accumulated nearly half of his magical power, and is now not far from reaching the perfection of his realm.
This cultivation speed is almost twice as fast as when he first broke through to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, which is somewhat beyond his expectations.
The reason why Song Qingming's cultivation has progressed so quickly in recent years is largely due to the many spiritual items he obtained from the "Tower of Babel," which allowed him to save a lot of time on arduous cultivation.
During his three years of seclusion, Song Qingming first refined the mid-grade level four spiritual fruit he had brought out from the secret realm. In less than half a year, his internal magical power increased significantly, saving him at least thirty years of arduous cultivation.
With the help of this mid-grade level four spiritual fruit, and the high-level spiritual pills he had previously obtained from the gray-robed man that could assist Nascent Soul cultivators in their cultivation, his cultivation speed was increased several times over.
As a result, in just three years, Song Qingming's cultivation level went from just advancing to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage to a state close to perfection.
At this rate of cultivation, Song Qingming will be able to choose to go into seclusion and attempt to break through to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm in at most another ten or twenty years.
However, due to the excessive amount of spiritual pills he had taken over the past few years, Song Qingming had already felt that a lot of pill toxins had accumulated in his body, and his accumulated magical power was also somewhat weak.
In order to solidify his foundation, Song Qingming needs to control the frequency of taking pills for a period of time to avoid accumulating too much poison in his body and affecting his cultivation.
In the path of cultivation, besides relying on the spiritual objects of heaven and earth, one's own arduous cultivation is equally indispensable. This was something that Song Qingming's family elders had already told him in the academy when he first entered the path of cultivation.
After finishing his meditation, Song Qingming withdrew his magical power, got up, opened the door to the secret chamber, and went to the outer hall.
Just as he stepped out the door and turned around, he saw a crimson figure suddenly running towards him from not far away. When Song Qingming looked up, he realized it was Huang Siyuan's spirit beast, Crimson Flame.
A moment later, a figure strode towards his location; it was Huang Siyuan, who had sensed the commotion on his side.
"I thought the Icefire Dragon had encountered some trouble again, but it turns out it was my husband emerging from seclusion. It seems I made the right decision to return today!"
"Yes! You must have had a hard time during my seclusion!"
After greeting Huang Siyuan, the two turned around and went to another stone chamber not far away.
Song Qingming looked up and peeked through the stone hole in the door. He saw a huge, ice-blue figure lying motionless on the ground in the stone chamber, its body faintly emitting bursts of red and blue spiritual light.
After emerging from the Tower of Babel, the Ice-Fire Flood Dragon returned to Crimson Cloud Mountain and also entered a long period of secluded cultivation. Finally, two years ago, it successfully raised its cultivation to the perfect level of the first stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
Next, just like when it broke through to a higher realm before, the "Ice and Fire Dragon" fell into a deep sleep, only occasionally bursting forth with a powerful spiritual energy.
“I’ve had Chi Yan keep an eye on it for the past few months, but the Icefire Flood Dragon hasn’t made any moves. I estimate it still needs some time before it breaks through to the next realm.” “Master, you mean it’s about to break through again? What good things has this guy eaten? How can it cultivate so fast!”
Hearing Huang Siyuan's words, "Crimson Flame," still perched on her shoulder, couldn't help but mutter something, feeling even more envious of "Ice and Fire Dragon," who was about to break through to the next level.
Upon hearing this, Huang Siyuan shook her head helplessly and said, "The path of cultivation, whether for humans or demons, ultimately depends on individual opportunities, not on what spiritual creatures one consumes."
Besides, over the years, what has the Ice-Fire Dragon had that I haven't given you?
You've consumed far more of the pills I've refined than it, so why are you still envious of it?
You and the Icefire Flood Dragon are not the same type of spirit beast, and your future opportunities will definitely be different. As long as you cultivate diligently, you will be able to catch up with him sooner or later.
Although she tried to comfort the other person verbally, Huang Siyuan knew very well that the cultivation speed of the demon race depended not only on opportunities but also on the bloodline within their bodies.
"Icefire Flood Dragon" is a descendant of the Flood Dragon clan, and its bloodline far surpasses that of "Crimson Flame," who is a spirit rat. Naturally, the cultivation speed of the two cannot compare with that of the Flood Dragon.
Back then, when "Crimson Flame" followed Huang Siyuan, her cultivation had already broken through to the Golden Core realm, while "Icefire Flood Dragon" had only recently established her Foundation Establishment. The difference in their cultivation levels was like heaven and earth.
More than two hundred years have passed in the blink of an eye. With Huang Siyuan's abundant supply of elixirs and spiritual objects, "Chiyan" has finally raised his cultivation level from the second level of the Golden Core stage to the seventh level.
However, the "Ice and Fire Dragon" has transformed from a small Foundation Establishment demon beast into a powerful Nascent Soul demon emperor, with a difference in cultivation speed of several times.
Although the "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon" did encounter many opportunities, even without these opportunities, its cultivation speed was far superior to that of the "Crimson Flame Flood Dragon".
This is the difference in bloodline among demons, which is similar to the difference in spiritual root talent among humans.
After confirming that the "Ice-Fire Dragon" was still in a stable condition, Song Qingming checked on the spirit insects and puppets he was raising. By the time he returned to the main hall outside the cave, Huang Siyuan had already brewed a pot of spirit tea.
Seeing Song Qingming walk over, Huang Siyuan quickly got up, picked up the teapot, and filled his cup.
"Husband, I feel that your aura has changed since you came out of seclusion this time. Could it be that your cultivation has improved again?"
"Yes! Thanks to the pills you helped me appraise last time, it saved me a lot of cultivation time."
By the way, have Senior Sister Li and Qingyu sent any messages recently?
In recent years, Song Qingming has been busy with seclusion and cultivation, while Song Qingyu and Li Xuanyi have made an appointment to go to the East China Sea to search for the "spirit stone mine" they discovered back then.
However, after nearly three years, the two of them did not send back any good news, to the point that Song Qingming and the others felt that they might have made a mistake.
After all, finding a high-grade spirit stone there was not a very certain thing, so it's not surprising that the two of them made a mistake.
Upon hearing Song Qingming's question, Huang Siyuan nodded slightly and said, "Qingyu and Senior Sister Li actually returned last month, but it seems they don't have any good news."
"My lord, please remember not to mention the spirit stone mine to them again, lest Qingyu become unhappy about it."
"Hehe! Just consider it as them going out for a walk. It's not like it's anything shameful. Why are you getting angry with me over something like this?" Faced with Huang Siyuan's reminder, Song Qingming smiled slightly and didn't take it too seriously.
After replying to Huang Siyuan, Song Qingming picked up the spiritual tea on the table, took a sip, and then asked, "By the way, has Junior Brother Zhang replied about Yuan Hao's matter?"
Upon hearing this, Huang Siyuan smiled and nodded, saying, "Husband, that's exactly what I was going to tell you!"
Two months ago, Senior Brother Zhang replied, agreeing to Yuan Hao and Yu Rong's relationship. However, Senior Brother Zhang had one more request: the dual cultivation ceremony between Yuan Hao and Yu Rong must be held at Tie Xian Fort.
I've already discussed this with Qingyu, but I haven't replied to Senior Brother Zhang yet. What do you think? Should we agree to his request?
On the day of Chen Xuanxin's funeral at "Guyang Mountain", Huang Siyuan and Song Qingyu took the initiative to come to Zhang Tieyang and asked him about Zhang Yurong and Song Yuanhao.
As expected by Song Qingming and the others, Zhang Tieyang strongly opposed the marriage of Zhang Yurong to the Song family after learning about it.
They even went so far as to propose the absurd idea of having Song Yuanhao marry into the "Iron Immortal Fortress," which truly surprised Song Qingyu and Huang Siyuan. In the end, the meeting ended unhappily without any useful results.
However, Zhang Yurong was determined to be with Song Yuanhao and, despite Zhang Tieyang's objections, refused to return to "Tiexianbao". The two sides remained deadlocked for several years.
Finally, with the help of the sect leaders Huang Siyuan and Xu Ziyan, it was proposed that Zhang Yurong and Song Yuanhao first join the "Xiaoyao Sect" and then become cultivation partners.
In this way, Zhang Yurong and the other woman were nominally affiliated with the sect, and there was no longer any issue of them marrying out or marrying into the sect. Only then did both sides reach a compromise.
Although Zhang Tieyang's actions put the Song family in a difficult position, Song Qingming understood that he was only thinking about the survival of the Zhang family of "Iron Immortal Fortress".
However, after gaining considerable benefits, Zhang Tieyang was still unwilling to give up and proposed that Song Yuanhao go to "Tiexianbao" to hold a dual cultivation ceremony, which really displeased Song Qingming.
Upon hearing the news from Huang Siyuan, the happy expression on his face suddenly turned cold, and he slammed the teacup he was holding onto the table.
“I’ve already agreed to let Yuan Hao join the sect and promised to give him a generous dowry, but he still wants to take advantage of me and ask for this and that. Does he really think we, Funiu Mountain, have no temper?”
"This matter concerns the dignity of the family, and we must not compromise or give in to it."
You can send a message to Junior Brother Zhang. If he agrees to let Yuan Hao and the others hold a dual cultivation ceremony at Funiu Mountain, I can promise to take care of the Zhang family in the future.
If you still can't agree, then let's not bring this up again. Just say that this is what I meant.
"Hmm! Since my husband disagrees, I'll just go and reply to Tiexianbao in a bit. There's no need to get so angry."
Anyway, Yu Rong is still down the mountain, so there's no need to rush. We can just keep negotiating with him; eventually, we'll find a way to resolve this."
Upon seeing Song Qingming's face suddenly darken, Huang Siyuan didn't say much, but quickly nodded in response, and then smiled as she poured him a cup of spiritual tea.
".."
Several months later, atop the peak of "Funiu Mountain".
As the entire Song family compound was decorated with lanterns and colorful streamers, the Funiu Mountains were transformed into a vibrant and joyful landscape.
Countless cultivators gathered from all directions, just to join the fun at the Song family's residence on Mount Funiu.
In the "Huixian Pavilion" atop the mountain, Song Qingming, Huang Siyuan, Song Qingyu, and Li Xuanyi sat by the window on the third floor, gazing at the bustling scene of people coming and going below.
After Song Qingming suddenly changed his tune and gave a tough response, Zhang Tieyang eventually chose to compromise after receiving the news.
Although he wanted to gain more benefits and prestige for his family, the Zhang family of "Tiexianbao" was indeed too inferior in front of "Funiu Mountain".
Even though Zhang Tieyang was unwilling, he had no choice but to face the fact and compromise with the Song family.
Fortunately, Zhang Yurong has successfully formed her Golden Core and joined the "Xiaoyao Sect". Even if the Zhang family declines in the future, with her as a Golden Core cultivator in the sect, other forces in the surrounding area will still be somewhat wary of her.
Moreover, Zhang Yurong and Song Yuanhao have become cultivation partners, and with the Song family as their powerful backer, they will definitely have influence within the "Xiaoyao Sect" in the future, and can certainly take care of their families to some extent.
After learning that Zhang Tieyang had agreed to the matter, Song Yuanhao and Zhang Yurong, who had been going on about it for several years, breathed a sigh of relief and could finally be together openly.
Soon, under Song Qingming's personal arrangement, lanterns and decorations began to be hung all over Mount Funiu, and a grand dual cultivation ceremony was held for Song Yuanhao and Zhang Yurong.
This dual cultivation celebration was a rare grand event for the Song family in many years. Not only did cultivators from the surrounding areas of Qinghe County come to offer their congratulations, but many cultivators from the sect also came to present a congratulatory gift.
Xu Ziyan, the leader of the "Xiaoyao Sect," even made a special trip to "Funiu Mountain" to act as a matchmaker and witness the marriage between Song Yuanhao and Zhang Yurong.
(Sorry I had to go out today, I'll make up for the missing parts tomorrow!) (End of Chapter)