Chapter 1226
The Ancestor Emerges from Seclusion, Returns for the Year
The summit of Qingyun Mountain.
Song Qingming sat cross-legged in the cave, his expression solemn, his eyes closed, and a faint crimson spiritual light emanating from his body.
At this moment, countless crimson spiritual lights were swirling around his soul within his sea of consciousness, constantly refining and forging it.
Since reaching the Nascent Soul stage in cultivating the "Heavenly Myriad Spirits Technique," Song Qingming has spent the most time on this technique in recent years, aside from his daily cultivation.
After thirty years of secluded cultivation, the "Heavenly Myriad Spirits Technique" has reached a critical moment for advancement.
Just one more step forward and you can directly enter the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
Training one's soul is indeed an extremely painful process for cultivators, especially when their cultivation techniques need to be advanced.
Even for a Nascent Soul cultivator like Song Qingming, who has been practicing this technique for hundreds of years.
Even at this crucial step, he still couldn't help but furrow his brow slightly, showing that the pain he was facing was extraordinary.
Despite his dedicated practice, he had been trying for an unknown amount of time, yet he was still firmly blocked by a bottleneck.
In the end, Song Qingming, having failed in his efforts, slowly dispelled his cultivation technique, opened his eyes, and couldn't help but sigh softly.
"Breaking through the bottleneck of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm with this technique is indeed much more difficult than I thought."
Song Qingming had already learned this from the Xuan Tian senior when he chatted with him in the Tower of Babel.
Most of the predecessors who cultivated the "Heavenly Myriad Spirits Technique" were eventually stuck at the early Nascent Soul stage and could not make any further progress.
At the time, he didn't think so.
They thought that those people might have failed because they were eager to break through their cultivation level due to the approaching end of their lifespan and did not spend too much energy on their cultivation techniques.
Only now that Song Qingming himself has reached this level of difficulty has he truly understood the hardships involved.
This left Song Qingming, who had been full of confidence and thought he could fulfill the agreement made by Xuan Tian before the Tower of Babel opened again, with a somewhat helpless expression.
There are only a little over a hundred years left before the next opening of the secret realm.
Now, he is even struggling to reach the mid-Nascent Soul stage, so it's hard to say whether he can cultivate the "Heaven-Reaching Myriad Spirits Technique" to the late-Nascent Soul stage.
It seems that relying solely on one's natural talent and diligently cultivating in the cave is not enough.
Next, I need to find a way to purchase some spiritual items that can help enhance my spiritual awareness and assist my cultivation.
If we fail to fulfill our agreement with Xuan Tian when the Tower of Babel opens next time, and someone else gets there first.
At that time, all my hard work over the past few hundred years will have been in vain.
Although he was somewhat anxious, Song Qingming didn't have any good ideas at the moment, so he could only get up with a helpless expression and push open the door of the secluded stone chamber.
As if sensing that Song Qingming was about to emerge from seclusion, a figure was already waiting in the hall, approaching him with a hint of respect.
"Congratulations on your completion of seclusion, Master!"
"Hey! Little Jin, when did you break through to a higher realm?"
As soon as his gaze fell on the "Ice and Fire Dragon" not far away, Song Qingming noticed the change in its aura and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
Decades ago, the "Ice and Fire Dragon" had already reached the peak of the third level of the Nascent Soul stage.
It was only because the "monster turmoil" urgently needed manpower that Song Qingming pulled him out of seclusion to help deal with the southward-bound demon army.
Only after the turmoil ended was the "Ice and Fire Dragon" able to go into seclusion again to break through to a higher realm.
To help him advance his cultivation, Song Qingming also rewarded him with a level-four demon core that he had captured on the battlefield.
After thirty years of secluded cultivation, the "Ice and Fire Dragon" has emerged from seclusion once again, and its cultivation has finally advanced to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
Although the "Ice and Fire Dragon" had followed Song Qingming in his cultivation for many years, it had never lacked any spiritual objects or resources.
However, for a Nascent Soul spirit beast, after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage, being able to advance to the mid-Nascent Soul stage within two hundred years, the cultivation speed of the "Ice Fire Dragon" far exceeds that of ordinary Nascent Soul demons.
“Master, I broke through my cultivation level half a year ago and only recently came out of seclusion.”
Not daring to disturb their master's seclusion, they did not announce the good news in advance.
"Hmm! I'm not disappointed that you broke through your cultivation level so quickly. Keep up the good work in your future cultivation, and I'll definitely treat you well."
Looking at the excited "Ice and Fire Dragon" in front of him, Song Qingming was also very happy. He immediately took out a bottle of spiritual pills that would help his cultivation and threw them to the other party.
"Thank you for the gift, Master!"
".
After dealing with the "Ice and Fire Dragon" in front of him, Song Qingming, who had been in seclusion for a long time, went to the stone chamber next door and met "Qu Bai" who was busy.
Thirty years have passed, and "Qu Bai" is still the same as before, spending most of his days researching and cultivating "Mysterious Jade Ice Silkworms" and the refining materials that Song Qingming collected for him.
After decades of careful cultivation, and with the addition of numerous high-level spiritual creatures for feeding, it has become a valuable resource.
The "Mysterious Ice Jade Silkworm," which was originally on the verge of death and had suffered a significant drop in cultivation, has now undergone some changes, and its aura has clearly recovered considerably.
After swallowing the life-bound spiritual pill that Song Qingming had previously taken from him, the "Mysterious Jade Ice Silkworm" exhaled a thick cocoon and entered a dormant state.
According to Qu Bai, it is estimated that once he wakes up, the supernatural powers of this "Mysterious Jade Ice Silkworm" will be almost restored to the Nascent Soul realm.
Seeing that "Qu Bai" was busy with a lot of refining materials and had no time to pay attention to him.
Song Qingming quickly took his leave and went to the stone chamber next to him where his avatars and several puppets were in seclusion. He checked on the status of "Golden Wind" and "Silver Armor" who were in seclusion.
In addition to cultivating "Mysterious Jade Ice Silkworms", "Qu Bai" also has a remarkable understanding of the art of puppetry.
Over the years, when Song Qingming was in seclusion, he was the one who basically helped take care of him.
However, Song Qingming did not have many spiritual items to cultivate high-level puppets. Currently, both puppets were still at the second level of the Nascent Soul realm, and there was still a distance to go before they could break through to the third level of the Nascent Soul realm.
As for Song Qingming's avatar, the injuries it sustained during the "monster turmoil" have long since healed after decades of seclusion.
However, he wasted a lot of time healing his injuries, and his cultivation progress during these decades of seclusion was not significant; he was still only at the fourth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
After inspecting the stone chamber, Song Qingming turned around and went to a cave where spirit insects were being cultivated.
In the last hundred years or so, the number of "Seven-Colored Illusionary Butterflies" that follow Song Qingming has increased considerably, and now the number has reached more than two hundred.
However, the conditions required for the evolution of the "Seven-Colored Illusion Butterfly" are indeed quite demanding. Over the years, Song Qingming has tried many methods but has been unable to cultivate it on a large scale.
As a result, as Song Qingming's cultivation level and strength rapidly improved, the assistance these spirit insects provided to his combat abilities became somewhat inadequate.
Two hundred "Seven-Colored Illusionary Butterflies" combined would probably only be able to barely cope with those weaker opponents who had just formed their Nascent Soul stage.
When encountering a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like the "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon," it's impossible to hold them off.
Besides aiding in combat, these "Seven-Colored Illusionary Butterflies" are also very useful for scouting and warning.
Over the years, whenever Song Qingming goes out, he always carries some with him, in case he might need them at any time.
As he poured several bottles of spiritual water into the stone trough, the numerous "Seven-Colored Illusionary Butterflies" that had been hovering around him immediately rushed towards Song Qingming.
"These spiritual waters are still too little of a help to them. If we could find a better cultivation method, we could cultivate several times more mutated seven-colored spiritual insects."
Just as Song Qingming was sighing, his gaze suddenly faltered slightly and stopped on several "Golden Illusion Butterflies" that were fighting for the spiritual water.
"Huh!..."
Although the appearance of these "Seven-Colored Illusion Butterflies" was similar to that of the surrounding spirit insects, Song Qingming did not feel any restrictions he had placed on them.
Besides him, Song Qingyu and the others on the mountain also cultivated spirit insects, but they were not proficient in this art, and the spirit insects on their bodies had basically not mutated or evolved.
The sudden appearance of several "seven-colored illusion butterflies" really surprised Song Qingming, and he raised his hand to cast a spell to catch them.
Just as Song Qingming made his move, the spirit insect reacted just as quickly, immediately turning around and burrowing into a cave in the mountainside.
That place was a crack that Song Qingming deliberately left when he built the stone chamber to facilitate the movement of spirit insects, and it could directly connect to the outside of the cave.
The fact that the other party suddenly entered this place clearly means that they followed their own spirit insect in.
It was only because the "Ice-Fire Dragon" and its own avatar, which were responsible for looking after the spirit insects, could not distinguish these "Seven-Colored Illusionary Butterflies" in detail that they were able to exploit this loophole.
Seeing that the other party had escaped, Song Qingming's expression did not change at all. He flashed and arrived directly outside the cave.
In mid-air, several "colorful butterflies" changed shape and quickly headed down the distant mountain.
Song Qingming locked onto the other party with his divine sense and followed them at a leisurely pace, without trying to forcibly stop them.
Having confirmed that the other party had nothing to do with Song Qingyu and the others on the mountaintop, he was now somewhat curious about who the owner of these "Seven-Colored Illusionary Butterflies" was.
After following the spirit insect over the mountain peak, the "Seven-Colored Illusionary Butterflies" changed their shapes again in mid-air and landed in a cave halfway up the mountain.
After landing, Song Qingming scanned his surroundings.
I just confirmed my location: it was on a spiritual mountain in the "Qingyun Mountain" market that was rented to outside cultivators.
Before Song Qingming went into seclusion, this place was not inhabited by many cultivators.
With the "Trade Conference" about to be held in the market, most of the surrounding cave dwellings have already been rented out, and are occupied by high-level cultivators from outside who are attending the conference.
After a moment's thought, Song Qingming decided to step forward and cast a spell to activate the restrictions at the entrance of the cave.
A moment later, a figure walked out from inside.
She wore an exquisite yellow dress and looked to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, with a petite and charming figure.
Looking at the stranger who had suddenly come to visit, the woman in yellow looked at him with a strange expression and cautiously asked:
"May I ask who you are, and what business do you have with me?"
"I came here simply to ask if you bred those spirit insects?"
"Spirit insect, you mean the Seven-Colored Illusion Butterfly? Why are you asking about this? Does it have anything to do with you?"
Hearing the other party's cautious question, Song Qingming nodded slightly, then cast a spell to summon a seven-colored flying saucer from his "spirit beast bag".
"I have always been somewhat interested in the methods of cultivating spirit insects. If you are willing, could I ask you for some guidance?"
"Seven-Colored Illusionary Butterfly!"
Upon seeing the mutated spirit insect in Song Qingming's hand, the woman in yellow immediately understood and shook her head at him.
"To be honest, this spirit insect was not cultivated by me, so I am truly sorry that I cannot instruct you here."
I need to go into seclusion for further cultivation, so please leave!
Seeing that the woman in yellow directly refused him, Song Qingming glanced at her and asked again, "Since this spirit insect was not cultivated by you, can you tell me who its real owner is?"
If you are willing to tell me, please feel free to state any requests you may have.
When Song Qingming asked for guidance again, the woman in yellow seemed unwilling to answer, shaking her head and turning back to her cave. Seeing this, Song Qingming, who had been directly rejected, looked somewhat surprised.
This woman in yellow, whose cultivation had reached the ninth level of the Golden Core realm, did not recognize him at all as the number one cultivator of the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range".
It is clear that the other party is not a local cultivator, but most likely comes from the East Sea or other cultivation worlds.
Since advancing to the Nascent Soul realm, this was the first time Song Qingming had been rejected like this on his own turf, and to be honest, he was still a little unaccustomed to it.
After standing there pondering for a while, still unwilling to give up, he cast another spell and sent out a telepathic message.
Soon, two figures flew over from a distance; they were Fang Baixuan and Song Siqing.
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
The two had just been on duty in the "Council Hall" of the market when they were surprised to receive Song Qingming's message and hurriedly rushed over.
Seeing their ancestor standing there, the two, who were still unaware of what had happened, both looked on with a hint of confusion.
Seeing this, Song Qingming didn't explain further, but simply pointed to the cave in front of him and gave the order:
"Go and find out for me what the name of the cultivator living here is, and what his background is."
I'll go to the market and find out what's going on, then come back and let me know as soon as you know.
Having said that, Song Qingming took the initiative to leave the spot and returned directly to the mountaintop.
Once Song Qingming had shrunk in size, Fang Baixuan and the other turned to look at the cave ahead, their expressions still somewhat puzzled.
"Junior Sister Song, do you know who lives in here?"
When did Uncle Song emerge from seclusion? And why is he suddenly inquiring about this matter? Could it be that there's something wrong with the people living here?
"Well, to be honest, I only just learned about the Ancestor's emergence from seclusion, so I don't know anything about these things right now."
"Let's call the disciple in charge over and ask him first, then we can decide!"
Watching his ancestor's disappearing figure, Song Siqing could only shake his head. He then quickly cast a spell to retrieve a "sound transmission talisman" from his person.
".
At the foot of the mountain, in the "Qingyun Mountain" market area.
With only a few days left until the start of the "Trade Conference," the streets were crowded with cultivators coming and going.
To maintain order in the market, there were also many members of the "enforcement team" in uniform patrolling the streets.
Looking at the bustling scene before me, it was still orderly and without any mess.
It is evident that Fang Baixuan, Song Siqing, and others responsible for organizing this conference did a good job in terms of logistical support and put in a lot of effort.
Song Qingming was quite satisfied with this.
Nowadays, these Nascent Soul elders often go into seclusion for several years or even more than a decade, managing various trivial matters in the market, the spiritual mountain, and the sect, and have no time to attend to everything.
If his Golden Core elders cannot share his burdens, he will likely find it difficult to cultivate in peace and will waste a lot of his time and energy.
As he walked, Song Qingming, whose features were taller than others, soon smelled a unique fragrance.
The aroma entered his nose and instantly reached the depths of his taste buds, stirring up long-buried memories in Song Qingming's mind.
After stopping, he turned around and crossed the street, arriving at the restaurant located several hundred feet away.
Looking at the tall gate that was still familiar in his memory, Song Qingming couldn't help but think of that figure again, and then stepped into the "Immortal Phoenix Pavilion".
The hall was already packed with people, and even with more than a dozen waiters running around, they were still struggling to keep up.
Upon seeing Song Qingming appear, a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator in charge of managing the shop counter had no choice but to personally step forward to greet him.
"Sir, if you would like, please go up to the second floor."
Before he could finish speaking, Song Qingming had already produced a token representing an elder of the Song family.
Looking surprised, he quickly changed to a respectful attitude and invited Song Qingming to a private room on the second floor.
After years of seclusion, it's a rare opportunity to come down the mountain, so I naturally want to treat myself to something nice.
After rattling off more than a dozen dishes in one go, Song Qingming leaned back in his chair with a hint of satisfaction and waited patiently.
A moment later, several young women dressed in uniform carefully carried delicious spiritual food into the private room.
Just as they were carefully placing the spiritual food and preparing to leave the private room, they were suddenly interrupted by a voice.
"Wait! I don't think I ordered this dish. Who told you to bring it up?"
Seeing Song Qingming point to the plate of "Emerald Cloud Carp" on the table and look at the group with a puzzled expression, the woman in the lead quickly bowed and explained:
"Reporting to you, senior, this was prepared by our manager himself. It is our restaurant's signature dish, and I'm sure you'll enjoy it."
"Why don't you try it first? If you're not satisfied, we can make you a new one."
"Oh! So your manager made it himself. That's very thoughtful of him."
After waving his hand to dismiss the others, Song Qingming stared at the plate of spiritual food in front of him, which he used to love the most, and felt a mix of emotions.
Since Huang Siyuan left, I have rarely come to "Xianfenglou" and haven't tasted this dish for a long time.
For some reason, compared to other people's dishes, this one always felt like something was missing, and the taste wasn't quite right.
Although a long time has passed, his memory of this dish remains unchanged from over a hundred years ago.
The manager of "Xianfenglou" is usually a Foundation Establishment cultivator sent by the Song family.
I don't know how they found out his ancestor's preferences, but they deliberately guessed his wishes and served him this dish.
Little did he know that Song Qingming, upon seeing this dish, was not so pleased at the moment.
That self-righteous "shopkeeper" will probably have a hard time getting the result he wants.
".
He picked up his chopsticks, stepped forward, and put a piece of fish into his mouth.
The next moment, the smooth fish meat passed through my taste buds.
Song Qingming, who had been calm, suddenly felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind, causing the memory buried deep in his heart to explode.
"This taste really doesn't disappoint!"
A moment later, Song Qingming, who had swallowed the fish, had a smile on his face.
He gently tapped the porcelain plate on the table and shouted towards the door.
"Hey buddy, bring the drinks!"
".
A pot of spirit wine was brought in through the door.
A century has passed in the blink of an eye, yet it remains exactly the same as it was back then.
She has light makeup and a pretty, delicate face. She's not stunning, but she's very pleasing to the eye and makes it hard to look away.
After setting down the wine pot, Huang Siyuan noticed that Song Qingming was staring intently at her. She blinked and asked in confusion:
"Have you changed a lot? Could it be that you think I'm ugly?"
"no!"
After uttering two words softly, Song Qingming turned his gaze back to the wine cup on the table, picked up the spirit wine, and drank it all in one gulp.
The strong liquor went down my throat, and I felt an indescribable sense of exhilaration.
"You've changed quite a bit, you're even more beautiful than before. It seems you've been doing much better than I thought these past few years."
The matter I entrusted to Senior Sister Li has not disappointed me.
Seeing Huang Siyuan personally pouring wine for him, Song Qingming grabbed her hand tightly before she could withdraw it.
Immediately afterward, after a dizzying spin, Huang Siyuan found herself leaning against the other person's chest.
Their eyes met, and time seemed to stand still at that moment.
".
On the third floor of "Xianfeng Tower," in a luxurious private room that was blocked by a barrier.
Two figures sat facing each other, with black and white pieces intertwined on the chessboard between them, resembling a fierce battlefield in the midst of a fierce battle.
Holding the black pieces, Li Xuanyi stared at the chessboard in front of her, pondered for a long time, and slowly placed her piece.
As Song Qingyu placed her white piece, Li Xuanyi, who had just grasped the situation on the field, immediately changed her expression and reluctantly put down her piece.
"Qingyu's chess skills have improved a lot; you actually won a game against me today."
"Hehe! With my chess skills, how could I possibly beat my senior sister? You deliberately let me win a game."
After waving her hand, Song Qingyu seemed to sense that the other person was unsettled, and then spoke to comfort her:
"Senior sister, don't worry. Seventh brother is not like junior brothers Zhou and Zhang, who are fickle and womanizing. I believe his feelings for you will never change."
"Who said I was worried about that? Don't talk nonsense!"
"Let's play another round!"
".
Just as Song Qingyu and Li Xuanyi placed their chess pieces again, a knock suddenly came from outside the private room where Song Qingming was.
A moment later, Song Siqing, looking somewhat cautious, carefully entered the private room.
Upon closer inspection, it became apparent that another figure had appeared in front of Song Qingming—Huang Siyuan, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.
Song Siqing, who was unaware that the other party had returned, immediately showed a look of surprise.
"Grand Ancestor Siyuan, is it really you who has returned?"
"Yes, you read that right, I'm back."
After nodding slightly to Song Siqing, Huang Siyuan smiled and asked, "Siqing, did you come to see us for something?" (End of Chapter)