Chapter 1236
The Ghost Cultivator, an Old Acquaintance, Returns Safely
Chapter 1236 The Ghost Cultivator, an Old Acquaintance, Returns Safely
To the north of the Fuyun Mountains lies Qingyun Mountain.
It is located in the "Huixian Pavilion" on the mountaintop.
Bai Yuxian, Song Qingyu, Li Xuanyi, and Huang Siyuan sat around a wooden table, while Su Mo, Song Shangyun, and several other disciples watched cautiously as a fair hand reached out to touch a card.
"Oh! My dear junior sisters, I'm so sorry."
"what."
Bai Yuxian unfolded the jade tablet she had arranged, and Song Qingyu, Li Xuanyi, and the others beside her immediately changed their expressions and couldn't help but shout out in front of everyone.
"My estate, two hundred spirit stones per person."
Seeing Bai Yuxian looking at her excitedly, Song Qingyu, whose spirit stones on the table were almost gone, immediately put on a pitiful look.
"Senior Sister Bai, your luck is too good! In less than two hours, you've lost all your spirit stones again today."
"Please forgive me this time, Senior Sister. I'll remember the spirit stones and give them to you next time."
Seeing that Song Qingyu was trying to renege on her debt again, just like last time, Bai Yuxian immediately waved her hand and said, "Qingyu, I didn't see you admit to owing spirit stones to Junior Sister Xuanyi last time."
As the saying goes, you have to accept the consequences of your bet; I can't let you cheat every time.
Besides, I'm not your sister-in-law, I'm not so easy for you to fool.
No credit is available here.
Faced with Bai Yuxian's serious expression, Song Qingyu, unable to avoid the situation, sighed and could only wave to his disciple Song Shangyan beside him.
He took two hundred spirit stones from the other person and placed them on the table.
Seeing Song Qingyu's embarrassed expression, Huang Siyuan and Li Xuanyi couldn't help but chuckle to themselves before getting up and leaving the spot.
"Senior Sister Bai, if you bully me like this now, what will you do if you really become my sister-in-law in the future? Won't you kick your little sister out of Qingyun Mountain?"
Just as Huang Siyuan and Li Xuanyi left, Bai Yuxian, who was happily counting spirit stones, suddenly heard Song Qingyu whisper something in her ear.
Upon hearing this, Bai Yuxian, caught off guard, blushed slightly and looked away.
Fortunately, Huang Siyuan and Li Xuanyi were still instructing their disciples to brew tea in the distance, seemingly unaware of Song Qingyu's secret telepathic communication.
Bai Yuxian's expression softened slightly, and she immediately glared at Song Qingyu beside her, a hint of displeasure on her face.
"Junior Sister Qingyu, what nonsense are you talking about? How can you joke about such things?"
If Junior Sister Huang and Junior Sister Li hear this, Senior Sister won't be able to explain it to Junior Brother Song.
Remember not to talk nonsense in the future!
"Otherwise, if I hear this again, when Junior Brother Song returns, Senior Sister will definitely demand justice from him."
"Hehe! Senior Sister Bai, please don't be offended. Qingyu knows she was wrong."
Seeing that Bai Yuxian looked somewhat angry, Song Qingyu quickly apologized and admitted defeat, then continued:
"Senior Sister Bai, I saw how good Seventh Brother is to you, giving you cultivation techniques, pills, and magic treasures. He must like you."
That's when I thought that having another sister-in-law to play with jade pendants would make it easier to have a table together.
Since Senior Sister Bai doesn't think much of Seventh Brother, then I'll just consider myself a nosy little sister.
Just as Song Qingyu finished speaking, Bai Yuxian in front of her suddenly blurted out, "When did I ever say I looked down on Junior Brother Song? How could you be talking nonsense today?"
As soon as Bai Yuxian finished speaking, she saw Song Qingyu looking at her with a strange expression.
After pausing for a moment, he continued to explain, "Qingyu! Junior Brother Song previously gave me cultivation techniques and spiritual items, which helped me advance smoothly to the late Nascent Soul stage."
I will always remember this great kindness and never dare to forget it.
But now that Junior Brother Song has Junior Sister Huang and Junior Sister Li, such a perfect couple, how could he easily be interested in anyone else? I think you're overthinking it.
Those of us who cultivate the Tao should prioritize our own spiritual practice and not be overly attached to other matters, lest we disturb our resolve to pursue the Tao.
After Bai Yuxian finished speaking, she secretly glanced at Huang Siyuan not far away and quickly put away the spirit stones in her hand.
Just as Bai Yuxian was about to get up and leave, she heard Song Qingyu say to her, "Senior Sister Bai, of course I know that you are devoted to cultivation and have a firm Dao heart."
"When my senior sister asked me about cultivation techniques last time, I thought you really needed them, but now it seems I was overthinking it."
"Gong method?"
".
Southeast of Qinghe County lies Yinfeng Ridge.
A streak of light flew swiftly from afar and landed directly in the valley behind "Yinfeng Ridge".
After passing through the barrier below the canyon, Song Qingming quickly arrived at a very familiar cave.
Two figures were already waiting there: Song Yuanfang, the eldest elder of the Song family, and Song Yushan.
Upon seeing the appearance of Ancestor Song Qingming, Song Yuanfang and the other person quickly stepped forward to pay their respects.
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
"You all come in with me first."
With a gentle wave of his hand, Song Qingming cast several spells, quickly opening the barrier at the entrance and leading the two behind him into the cave.
A wave of yin energy swept in from ahead, and the surrounding temperature dropped significantly in an instant.
After passing through the cave for dozens of feet, the three arrived at a pool filled with yin energy. In the pool was a black spirit tree that was only half left, emitting a chilling aura.
After carefully examining the black spirit tree in front of him, Song Qingming then used magic to take out a black banner from his body.
As black mist billowed, a transparent figure quickly appeared before him.
After carefully looking around, the transparent figure quickly bowed to Song Qingming in front of it.
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
"No need for formalities, please rise!"
"You are, Changyue?"
Just as Song Qingming waved to him, Song Yuanfang, who was standing to the side, saw the transparent figure in front of him and exclaimed in shock.
The ghost bowing to Song Qingming was none other than Song Changyue, the daughter of Song Yuanxue, who had left her family alone to seek the opportunity to form her core years ago.
Two hundred years ago, Song Changyue failed to form his core twice.
With her lifespan already nearing its end, she left her family to seek an opportunity in order to find the last glimmer of hope for achieving the Golden Core stage.
However, the opportunity to form a golden core is not so easy to find.
Only a little over a decade after Song Changyue left the family, the soul lamp she left in the family's "ancestral hall" went out on its own.
Upon receiving the report from Song Yuanfang, almost all members of the Song family, including Song Qingming, believed that Song Changyue had encountered a calamity while away from home.
They have long since died and been reincarnated.
Unexpectedly, half a year ago, when Song Qingming was helping the "Four Seas Business Alliance" deal with the ghost cultivators from the outer sea, he suddenly obtained news of Song Changyue from Xia Mo and brought her soul back.
On the day Xia Mo was tracking the "Netherworld Ancestor," she happened to encounter a Golden Core ghost cultivator who was fleeing.
Although this ghost cultivator had reached the late Golden Core stage, he was powerless to resist Xia Mo, a great cultivator.
When they were killing their opponent, they unexpectedly found a family token in the opponent's "storage bag," a token that only the elders of the Song family possessed.
When Xia Mo was still in the Golden Core stage, she visited Mount Funiu with He Mengxin twice and stayed there for quite some time.
For their convenience, Song Qingyu had once lent them the same token.
With just one glance, Xia Mo recognized the token, which led her to find Song Changyue's soul, which had been imprisoned in the magic artifact by the ghost cultivator, and returned it to Song Qingming.
Later, Song Qingming learned that after Song Changyue left the family, she traveled to various places and eventually went to the cultivation world in the East Sea.
In a market town, Song Changyue learned that high-grade spiritual herbs had appeared on an island in the outer sea.
At that time, she had little time left to live, and although she knew that the outer sea was extremely dangerous, she still chose to risk going out to search for treasure with others.
What they didn't expect was that the place was actually a trap set up in advance by a late-stage Golden Core ghost cultivator.
After Song Changyue and his group arrived on the island, they were quickly surrounded by the ghost cultivator army.
After a fierce battle, they were ultimately no match for the enemy and were completely wiped out; the entire group perished on the island.
In her dazed state, Song Changyue had no idea how she had been coerced and seduced by the other party, and her soul had failed to be reincarnated.
Instead, with the help of that Golden Core Ghost King, he switched to the path of ghost cultivation, which is impossible to reincarnate.
The die was cast, and Song Changyue had no choice but to take the initiative to become the other party's disciple and completely integrate into the Ghost Path.
After becoming the other party's disciple, the Ghost King treated Song Changyue well and even spent a lot of effort to help her condense her Ghost Core and break through to the Golden Core realm.
Just when Song Changyue thought the other party was sincere and that her path in this life still held promise.
Just as Song Changyue had stabilized her cultivation, the late-stage Golden Core Ghost King suddenly turned on her, subdued her, and refined her soul into one of his magic treasures.
It wasn't until this moment that Song Changyue understood.
The reason the other party helped her condense the ghost core was simply because Song Changyue had previously cultivated a divine sense technique in her family, making her divine soul stronger than that of ordinary ghosts.
That's why the Ghost King took a liking to it and used it to refine magical artifacts to enhance his own strength.
Ghost cultivators have long lost their right to reincarnation, and their style of doing things is mostly no different from that of demonic cultivators. They are all people who will do anything for cultivation.
Poor Song Changyue finally managed to condense the Ghost Core, only to have it used by her own master as a consumable for refining a magic weapon, her soul imprisoned in the "Soul Control Banner" for decades.
It wasn't until the day her master was coincidentally killed by Xia Mo that Song Changyue's soul regained its freedom and was taken back to Qinghe County by Song Qingming, returning to her hometown.
When Song Yuanxue passed away, he personally entrusted his daughter, Song Changyue, to him.
Looking at her, who had undergone many trials and tribulations and was now a ghost who was no longer subject to reincarnation, Song Qingming was filled with emotion and couldn't help but feel a little sorry for his junior.
Then there were Song Yuanfang and the other two standing to the side.
They had received a message from Song Qingming telling them to come here and wait, and they thought that their ancestor had something particularly important to tell them.
Unexpectedly, when they arrived here, they saw the spirit of Song Changyue, who had been away from home for many years.
"Seventh Uncle, it's all my fault for not taking good care of Changyue back then, that's why she's turned out this way." "Yuanfang is incompetent."
Song Yuanfang was a cultivator of the same generation as Song Yuanxue. The two had helped Song Qingming and others manage their family together back then, and their friendship was very deep.
Seeing Song Changyue end up in such a state, Song Yuanfang was naturally heartbroken.
He couldn't help but regret that he hadn't been able to stop the other person from leaving.
Seeing Elder Song Yuanfang filled with self-reproach, Song Changyue, who was in mid-air nearby, quickly spoke up to comfort him:
"Elder, Ancestor! When Changyue left, it was to seek the Dao against the heavens. He had already thought about the consequences. You don't need to be sad for me."
Now, thanks to the help of the ancestor, Changyue has the opportunity to return to the family's old home and visit everyone and her mother.
Even if my soul were to vanish into nothingness right now, I would have no regrets in this life.
“Yuanfang, what happened back then is in the past, there’s no need to say more.”
Although Changyue has now entered the path of the ghosts, she is still a member of my Song family, and the family will do its best to protect her in the future.”
"This is the back mountain of the family's Yinfeng Ridge mine. There happens to be a place of Yin spirits here that can help Changyue restore her soul."
First, entrust your soul to the Soul-Nourishing Wood, and do not leave this place casually.
Once your spirit has recovered sufficiently, I will try to find some suitable spiritual objects to help you re-condense your ghost core.
You should be able to restore your cultivation by then, so it won't matter if you have to leave this place for a short time.
The path of ghost cultivation is indeed very difficult to traverse.
But the world of cultivation is full of wonders, so don't despair too much about the path of cultivation. Cultivate diligently, and you will find your own opportunity in the future.
After Song Changyue was refined into the magic weapon by her master, her newly formed ghost core was also forcibly extracted and attached to the magic weapon.
After being brought back by Song Qingming, she regained her freedom, but the Ghost Core in her body had shattered and her soul had suffered severe damage.
However, ghost cultivators have a much longer lifespan than normal cultivators. As long as his soul can recover, Song Changyue still has a chance to re-condense the ghost core in the future.
Although Song Changyue has entered the ghost path, she is no longer subject to reincarnation and has no possibility of being reborn.
However, as long as she can condense a ghost core and restore her Golden Core cultivation in the future, she will still have a chance to advance further on her path as a ghost cultivator.
I wouldn't dare say I'd reach the Nascent Soul stage, but living for at least a few hundred or a thousand more years shouldn't be a problem.
However, ghost cultivators are not favored by the Heavenly Dao, and if they want to cultivate, they can only hide in the cold underground to cultivate. In this life, Song Changyue will not be able to move around freely like normal cultivators.
However, having reached this point, Song Changyue was aware of her current situation, and her face did not show much distress.
"Don't worry, Ancestor, Changyue knows what to do."
Although her remnant soul is not favored by Heaven, she can at least enjoy some peace and tranquility. Even if she can never leave this place again, Changyue will not regret it.
"Seventh Uncle, now that Yushan and the others are taking care of things at home, I don't have much to do right now."
"You can leave Changyue to me. I'll keep an eye on this area and make sure no one disturbs her cultivation."
"Okay! Yuanfang, I'll leave Changyue to you."
".
In recent years, three Core Formation cultivators have emerged from the "Yu" generation of the Song family, helping Song Yuanfang share most of the heavy responsibility of managing the family.
Having gradually relinquished control of the family's management, Song Yuanfang is now much more relaxed than before.
Upon hearing what Song Yuanfang said, Song Qingming nodded slightly and entrusted Song Changyue to him with peace of mind.
After giving them a few more instructions, Song Qingming bid farewell to the group and turned to leave "Yinfeng Ridge".
".
Half a day later, as a streak of light flashed through the market, Song Qingming's figure quickly appeared above the "Qingyun Mountain" teleportation array platform.
Nearly five years have passed since he left.
Seeing that "Qingyunfang" was still exactly the same as before, the slight worry that Song Qingming had in his heart immediately disappeared.
Decades have passed, and the "Heavenly Fox Clan" of the north still shows no sign of migrating south.
It seems that the enemy's morale has been severely dampened by the human cultivators' army, and they will not be able to launch a counterattack on the "Floating Cloud Mountains" in the short term.
The next great war will probably have to wait at least a hundred years until the "monster turmoil".
After strolling around the market for a while, Song Qingming quickly arrived at the top of the mountain.
Just as they passed through the array's restrictions, a flash of light appeared ahead, revealing a familiar figure.
"Junior Brother Song, you're back!"
"Senior Sister Bai!"
".
Half an hour later, upon learning that Song Qingming had returned safely, Song Qingyu, Li Xuanyi, Zhou Ziyang, and the others left their cave dwellings to welcome him back.
Huang Siyuan even personally prepared a delicious spiritual meal to reward Song Qingming, who had just returned.
Song Qingming had been gone for several years without any news, and no one knew where he had gone or what had happened to him.
It wasn't until Song Qingming returned that he slowly told them about his trip to help out in the outer sea.
Upon hearing that Song Qingming had gone to the outer sea to help others break through to the Nascent Soul realm, Bai Yuxian, Song Qingyu, and the others all showed surprise.
Like Song Qingming, although everyone else had cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage, they had rarely heard of anyone attempting to break through to the Divine Transformation stage, let alone witnessed it firsthand.
Due to a previous agreement with Long Ziyun, Song Qingming did not directly reveal the identity of "Jin Chen Dao Ren" to everyone.
However, Song Qingming could still recount in detail the process of the other party's breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm, including the matter of Jin Chen Daoist using "Yin Spirit Qi" to set up an array.
At first, I heard that "Taoist Jin Chen" was well prepared and had found a suitable "Yin Spirit Land" to set up an array for his breakthrough.
Bai Yuxian and the others were still full of confidence in their opponent's breakthrough, believing that "Jin Chen Daoren" could successfully break through.
However, when Song Qingming announced the final result, it exceeded Bai Yuxian and the others' expectations, causing them to show some regret and confusion.
Another reason is the regret for "Jin Chen Dao Ren," the Grand Elder of the Four Seas Merchant Alliance.
Thinking that the opponent was so well prepared yet still failed, and comparing their own current cultivation level, Song Qingyu and the others couldn't help but sigh, just like Song Qingming had before.
The Nascent Soul realm may seem close, but it is difficult to grasp.
After chatting for a whole day, Zhou Ziyang and Song Qingyu bid farewell to everyone and returned to their cave to cultivate.
Bai Yuxian, who had successfully handed over the duties of guarding Lingshan to Song Qingming, also took her leave and prepared to return to her cave in "Guyang Mountain" to cultivate.
Having finally managed to get Bai Yuxian to come and help oversee things for so long, Song Qingming originally wanted her to stay a few more days to fulfill his duty as a host.
However, Bai Yuxian was worried about the sect and insisted on returning as soon as possible.
Seeing this, Song Qingming couldn't persuade them to stay, so he took the initiative to escort them to the magic array at the top of the mountain.
Seeing that the two had already left the mountaintop formation, Bai Yuxian immediately waved her hand to stop Song Qingming, and then took out a crimson Changling magic treasure from her body.
"Junior Brother Song, let's stop here!"
Now that you've returned, this Purple Flame Divine Fire Silk should be returned to its rightful owner, so I'm handing it back to you.
When Bai Yuxian offered him the "Purple Flame Divine Fire Silk," Song Qingming did not accept it but waved his hand at her.
"Senior Sister Bai, there's no use for the Purple Flame Divine Fire Silk on my person. I'd better hand it over to you for now."
We are all from the same sect; there's no need to be so particular about a single magical artifact.
"I have already been fortunate enough to advance to the late Nascent Soul stage thanks to my junior brother's care, teaching me cultivation techniques and elixirs. I am already ashamed."
"Now I'm receiving undeserved rewards. If people find out, they'll say I, the Supreme Elder, have no real ability and only know how to take advantage of my junior brother."
"I voluntarily handed this magic weapon over to Senior Sister Bai, and it does not belong to the sect. Who dares to speak recklessly and stir up trouble!"
Senior Sister Bai, could it be that while I was away, someone in the sect spread some rumors? What were those people in the Enforcement Hall doing?
"Senior sister, there's no need to worry. I'll send a message to the sect tomorrow to invite Junior Nephew Bai Xuan over. We'll definitely investigate this matter thoroughly."
“Junior Brother Song, you misunderstood me. Only a few of us know about the Purple Flame Divine Fire Silk. How could rumors spread so quickly within the sect?”
Seeing that Song Qingming's expression had become somewhat unpleasant, Bai Yuxian quickly shook her head and offered an explanation.
"If that's not the case, then why is Senior Sister Bai suddenly being so polite to me? Is there some other reason?"
Looking at Song Qingming, whose face still held a hint of doubt, Bai Yuxian suddenly smiled slightly and sighed:
"Junior Brother Song, don't worry, there's no other reason."
However, I think it would be appropriate to entrust this Purple Flame Divine Fire Silk to Junior Sister Xuan Yi.
"Junior Sister Xuanyi is both a Supreme Elder of the sect and your Daoist partner. It is only natural that she would wield the Purple Flame Divine Fire Silk."
Facing Bai Yuxian's serious expression, Song Qingming seemed to have caught a hint of meaning in her words.
His expression immediately fell silent.
After a while, a smile appeared on Song Qingming's face, and he nodded to Bai Yuxian.
"Senior Sister Bai, I understand what you mean!"
Seeing that Song Qingming had retrieved his magic weapon, Bai Yuxian also showed a relaxed smile on her face and turned to leave the mountaintop.
Gazing at the figure that had already disappeared into the distance, Song Qingming stood still for a long time without moving.
He didn't know how much time had passed, but when he turned around, he realized that there was another figure not far ahead, which was Huang Siyuan who had just walked over.
The two did not speak, but walked side by side in perfect harmony, and soon arrived at Song Qingming's cave.
After brewing a cup of spiritual tea and serving it to him, Huang Siyuan slowly said, "Husband, after my seclusion some time ago, I feel that my magical power has been honed to a high level."
I plan to go into seclusion in a month to break through my cultivation bottleneck.
"Hmm! I accidentally obtained a treasure during my trip to the outer sea, which might be of some help to you."
Just as Song Qingming finished speaking, Huang Siyuan shook her head and then said directly:
"We don't know how long this seclusion will last, so my husband should spend more time with Senior Sister Li these next few days!"
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(End of this chapter)