Chapter 1271
Changes in Various Sects, Quiet Cultivation
In the cultivation world of Donghuang Kingdom, there is "Xianyuan City" in Ningzhou.
As one of the three major Nascent Soul cultivation forces in the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom, the city controlled by the "Immortal Origin Sect" was originally the most prosperous place in the entire continent.
But today's "Xianyuan City" is even more bustling than before.
Not only were there many cultivators queuing outside the city wanting to enter, but the host sect, "Xianyuan Sect," also sent thousands of disciples to guard the city gate entrance.
Even the Golden Core Ancestor, who is rarely seen in the city on ordinary days.
At this moment, a dozen or so people appeared at the entrance, all standing in front of the city gate, carefully scanning the visitors from afar.
The reason for this change is that this place is about to host the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament," a once-in-two-hundred-years event that is sure to cause a sensation throughout the entire Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent.
The "Xianyuan Sect" is the organizer of this conference.
Besides not daring to neglect the many distinguished guests who came to attend the conference, we must also be wary of those who may want to sneak into the conference and cause trouble.
They dared not slacken their efforts.
Suddenly, several streaks of light appeared in the distance, flying towards them from mid-air.
Sensing that the other party was no ordinary person, the Golden Core cultivators standing at the door quickly put on smiles and stepped forward.
As the light dissipated, more than a dozen figures emerged, the leader being Song Qingming, dressed in a green robe.
Beside him were four Nascent Soul cultivators: Bai Yuxian, Song Qingyu, Li Xuanyi, and Zhou Ziyang, as well as many Golden Core disciples who had come with him, including Su Mo, Wei Yunlong, and Song Shaoyu.
Looking at the crowd ahead, the leader, an elder in the late Golden Core stage, quickly fixed his gaze on Song Qingming.
With a hint of surprise on his face, he quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.
"Junior Chen Mude of the Immortal Origin Sect pays respects to Senior Song!"
"Huh! You've seen me before?"
When Song Qingming saw that the person who came recognized him standing in the crowd at a glance, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
Upon hearing this, Chen Mude quickly explained:
"Senior, you may not know this, but two hundred years ago I went to the Demon-Slaying Palace with my master and was fortunate enough to witness Senior Song displaying his supernatural powers and defeating all the heroes."
Over the years, the illustrious names of our predecessors have been etched in our hearts.
It is truly an honor to host you today.
"Hehe! Fellow Daoist Song is one of the top ten experts in the Upper Realm Conference, and he is already a peerless talent in my Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent."
With such renown, how could anyone in Immortal Origin City not recognize you, fellow Daoist?
Just as Chen Mude finished speaking, another figure approached from a distance behind them.
He was a thin-faced old man wearing a gray robe and a silver crown. His aura seemed to be at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm. As he spoke, he smiled and raised his hand to look at everyone.
"I am Li Benyuan of the Immortal Origin Sect. I greet you fellow Daoists!"
"Gentlemen, you have come from afar. Please come into the city for a chat and to settle in."
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Li."
Please wait a moment, fellow Daoist. We have several friends traveling with us, and they will be there shortly.
Just as Song Qingming finished explaining, several more streaks of light sped towards them from the distant horizon, attracting the attention of many cultivators present.
Before long, dozens more figures descended from the sky.
"Look, it seems that more Nascent Soul cultivators have arrived. There are so many people. I wonder which sect's patriarch has come?"
"Didn't you see? That's Patriarch Song from the Free and Unfettered Sect. These people must all be from the Floating Cloud Mountain Range."
Upon hearing the explanation from the person beside him, a Golden Core cultivator in the crowd quickly and cautiously asked:
"The Song Ancestor that this fellow Daoist is talking about, could it be the one who became famous in the last Sword Tournament?"
The one who defeated Master Jingyue, the leader of the Qingyang Holy Sect, was Senior Song Qingming, the Grand Elder of the Xiaoyao Sect.
"Besides this Ancestor Song, who else in the Floating Cloud Mountains could receive such courtesy from the Immortal Origin Sect, who would send a Nascent Soul cultivator to personally receive them?"
"I heard that this Old Ancestor Song has already advanced to the half-step Nascent Soul realm, but I didn't expect him to look so young."
Could this person truly be as legendary as they say, with the potential to advance to the Godhood realm in the future?
"Hehe! In the last few decades, at least a dozen people from our Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent have attempted to break through to the Nascent Soul realm."
Which of them doesn't have the potential to become a deity?
Even the most outstanding talents of our time, such as Elder Qin of the Heavenly Imperial Sect and True Person Mingyue of the Demon-Slaying Palace, ultimately failed to break through to the next realm, let alone others.
This senior Song, though somewhat talented.
But after all, it came from a small place in the Fuyun Mountains, and it wasn't something that could be considered respectable.
In my opinion, he's unlikely to amount to much.
Seemingly afraid that others around would hear, this person deliberately used magic to transmit a telepathic reply to the other party in secret.
Upon hearing this, the other person also showed a knowing look on their face.
"That's true. The demon race is powerful now. I wonder when our Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent will produce another Nascent Soul Ancestor to change the situation."
".
As they were talking, a sharp gaze suddenly swept over them. Only then did they realize that someone had noticed them, and they quickly looked down to the side.
Not far ahead, Song Qingming and his group were already walking towards them.
As soon as the group passed by the two people who had just been talking, the two suddenly felt an invisible pressure enveloping them and both fell to the ground.
This immediately drew puzzled looks from many cultivators around them, who wondered what had happened to them.
"Junior Brother Song, what's wrong?"
"It's alright, let's go!"
More than a decade ago, Song Qingming had already cultivated the "Tongtian Wanling Jue" to the peak of the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and his own divine sense was also much higher than that of other cultivators of the same level.
Although the two people were speaking in a somewhat discreet manner, their conversation did not escape his ears in the slightest.
Seeing that Bai Yuxian beside him seemed to have noticed something amiss, Song Qingming smiled slightly and then withdrew his powerful divine sense.
Not far away, two Golden Core cultivators were already covered in sweat.
The pressure on him finally dissipated, and he hurriedly stood up and respectfully bowed towards the group of people not far away.
".
Hundreds of years ago, when Song Qingming was still a Golden Core cultivator, he first came to the cultivation world of Donghuang Kingdom and stayed in "Xianyuan City" for a period of time.
Even now, so much time has passed.
The surrounding streets were not much different from what Song Qingming remembered; he could still see the familiar storefronts, buildings, and shops and restaurants selling various spiritual items.
However, compared to hundreds of years ago...
The city of Xianyuan is now several times more bustling than usual because of the approaching "Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament".
Aside from some local cultivators, the streets were mostly filled with people like Song Qingming, who had come from other places specifically to attend the conference.
Following behind Song Qingming and the others, Su Mo and the others were seeing such a prosperous and large immortal city for the first time, and their eyes were already filled with excitement.
However, with his master Bai Yuxian right beside him, Su Mo, though already distracted by the novel things around him, dared not stop moving forward.
Under Li Benyuan's personal guidance, the group soon arrived near the spiritual mountain west of "Xianyuan City".
This place is the highest-grade cave dwelling in "Immortal Origin City", which is usually used to entertain cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage.
When Song Qingming first came here, even though he had enough spirit stones, he wasn't qualified to rent a place like this.
Now, they don't have to worry about anything at all, as the "Immortal Origin Sect" has taken the initiative to cover all the accommodation costs for the group.
This is also due to the special care given to "Xiaoyao Sect" as one of the top ten sects in the previous term.
The other sects who came with them, such as the "Starry Sky Sect" and the "Myriad Spirits Sect," all had to pay for their own spirit stones, which made me quite envious.
This is Song Qingming's third time participating in the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament" since he reached the Nascent Soul stage.
Besides him, the "Free and Unfettered Sect" also had four Nascent Soul elders who came with them: Bai Yuxian, Song Qingyu, Li Xuanyi, and Zhou Ziyang.
Having already voluntarily relinquished his position as Grand Elder, Li Mufeng was nearing the end of his life and would naturally not venture out easily again.
Xu Ziyan, however, was unable to leave due to the management of her sect and did not choose to travel with them.
On the Qingyun Mountain side, Huang Siyuan also chose to stay and oversee the Ling Mountain because she still had a lot of alchemy matters to attend to.
Song Yuanhao, who had returned from the East China Sea, originally planned to come to the conference with the others to purchase spiritual items needed for his cultivation.
Just before his departure, Song Yuanhao had a sudden realization about his own cultivation.
Having been stuck at the third level of the Nascent Soul realm for many years, after some thought, he decided to stay and go into seclusion to break through his cultivation level, giving up his trip to the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom.
He entrusted his Daoist partner, Zhang Yurong, to help him purchase spiritual items.
The other sects that came with Song Qingming and his group have also changed drastically in the past two hundred years.
Yang Fengyu, the Grand Elder of the Tianji Sect, also has little time left to live and can no longer easily fight with others.
In recent years, Yang Fengyu, like Li Mufeng, has rarely appeared in public, handing over the power of the sect to the new Nascent Soul cultivator, Wei Dongcheng.
The one representing the "Tianji Sect" this time was also Wei Dongcheng, a Nascent Soul Stage 2 ancestor who personally led the team.
The Star Gate sent two Nascent Soul Stage 6 elders, Zheng Zitong and Ye Linyuan.
In recent years, Zheng Zitong, the Grand Elder of the Starry Sky Sect, has stopped managing affairs and handed over the sect to Ye Linyuan and Liu Zongping.
One of them was in charge of the newly occupied territories in the north, and the other was in charge of the Wu Kingdom's homeland in the south.
Zheng Zitong himself was focused on cultivation, wanting to break through the bottleneck of the late Nascent Soul stage.
Unfortunately, like the former Grand Elder He Wuyou, Zheng Zitong lacked any opportunity and failed to break through his cultivation level several times during his seclusion.
In the past hundred years, the "Starry Sky Sect" has followed the "Free and Unfettered Sect" in their northern expeditions against the demon race and has profited greatly, accumulating a considerable amount of spirit stones in its treasury.
Zheng Zitong made a rare trip out this time because he wanted to see if he could purchase spiritual items at the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Gathering" that could help him break through to a higher realm.
The Jade Cloud Sect was still led by Chen Yunxiao.
Two hundred years have passed, and the Yunxiao Sect, which had experienced a low point, has recovered its strength considerably. Chen Yunxiao's cultivation has also broken through to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
However, Chen Yunxiao achieved Nascent Soul formation earlier than Song Qingming.
Among the Nascent Soul cultivators in the Floating Cloud Mountains, Chen Yunxiao was considered to have already exhausted most of his natural talent. However, even so, he had never given up on his path of cultivation over the years, and still frequently went out to participate in trade fairs to purchase spiritual items and pills to aid his cultivation.
However, he didn't find any particularly good opportunities, and his cultivation speed was somewhat unsatisfactory.
Without a stroke of luck that defies the heavens, Chen Yunxiao would almost never have had the chance to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage.
The upper limit that can be reached should be similar to that of Li Mufeng and Yang Fengyu.
The "Wanling Sect" has suffered greatly in recent years due to two "monster turmoil".
The former Grand Elder Wang Yan also perished in the turmoil, and the sect's power declined considerably. Now, the sect only has two Nascent Soul elders.
The First Elder, Chu Lingyun, had just broken through to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm a few years ago and remained in seclusion within the sect, so he did not come.
Representing the "Wanling Sect" at the Donghuang Sword Tournament was another Nascent Soul ancestor, Liu Heyuan, who brought many younger disciples with him.
Liu Heyuan has been in the Nascent Soul stage for three hundred years, but his cultivation level is still at the peak of the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, and he has not yet broken through the bottleneck of the middle stage of the Nascent Soul stage.
His cultivation speed is relatively slow among Nascent Soul cultivators.
They are already far behind Li Xuanyi, Liu Qingyin and others who reached the Nascent Soul stage around the same time.
However, the strength of the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect" has declined considerably in recent years.
However, as the former number one sect in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range, its sect foundation is still stronger than that of other sects in the surrounding area, and in recent years, the sect has cultivated many promising young successors.
Among the many juniors that Liu Heyuan brought this time, there were several Nascent Soul seeds who were expected to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.
Moreover, according to some secret information obtained by the "Xiaoyao Sect", Wanxiu Mountain has seen several unusual celestial phenomena in recent years, which seem to indicate that someone has formed a Nascent Soul.
There is currently no clear news that the "Wanling Sect" has produced a new Nascent Soul cultivator.
The "Thundercloud Sect," which borders the Qin State, is a Nascent Soul sect that has emerged in the last hundred years.
Although the overall strength of the "Thundercloud Sect" is the weakest among the eight Nascent Soul forces in the Floating Cloud Mountains.
However, Luo Qianshan, the Nascent Soul Elder who led the team, was quite talented in cultivation.
In just over a hundred years, Luo Qianshan had already reached the peak of the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, catching up with Liu Heyuan, who had reached the Nascent Soul stage even earlier.
Being in an environment suppressed by the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect," they still have to spend a lot of energy developing their sect.
Luo Qianshan's cultivation speed demonstrates that his talent for cultivation is definitely among the top in the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.
If he were in a sect with a better cultivation environment, such as the "Free and Unfettered Sect" or the "Starry Sky Sect," Luo Qianshan's talent would have allowed him to break through the bottleneck of the mid-stage Nascent Soul realm long ago.
Although his cultivation speed has been somewhat affected, Luo Qianshan's lifespan is still quite sufficient.
If things go smoothly in the future, there may be an opportunity to advance to the late Nascent Soul stage and become a great cultivator.
The Huoyang Sect and the Hunyuan Sect have not changed much; Fu Yungui and Liu Qingyin are still leading the teams.
However, the two individuals' physical condition is quite different from that of two hundred years ago.
Two hundred years ago, Fu Yungui still had a good chance of reaching the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. The Fire Sun Sect also had a Nascent Soul ancestor whose strength was also rising steadily.
Now, having come to participate in the Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament again, Fu Yungui, who has failed to break through his cultivation level several times and whose lifespan is running out, has long lost his will to fight.
Moreover, another sect's Nascent Soul ancestor, Han Yu, perished in the monster turmoil a hundred years ago.
The entire "Fire Yang Sect" is in a state of transition, lacking capable successors.
If Fu Yungui is unable to cultivate new Nascent Soul cultivators in the next one or two hundred years, the "Fire Yang Sect" will inevitably decline.
Many of the Nascent Soul cultivators who came to participate in the conference were quite excited and had joyful expressions on their way there.
Only Fu Yungui remained silent, his usual spirit gone.
Compared to the "Fire Yang Sect", the "Hun Yuan Sect" led by Liu Qingyin has developed quite well in recent years.
Because of the peace agreement reached with the demons of Taiyue Lake to the east, the pressure on the Song Kingdom's surrounding areas has decreased significantly in the last hundred years.
Taking this opportunity, the "Hun Yuan Sect" has ushered in a rare period of development.
Not only did they successfully extend their influence to the north while cooperating with the "Xiaoyao Sect" in its northern expedition, but they also managed to extend their own influence there.
In the last hundred years or so, the Hunyuan Sect has also annexed two small neighboring countries, and its strength has significantly improved compared to a hundred years ago.
In addition, Liu Qingyin, the Grand Elder of the Hunyuan Sect, also recently broke through to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
Today, the "Hun Yuan Sect" has gradually surpassed the "Huo Yang Sect" in the east in overall strength, becoming the second strongest sect in the western part of the Fu Yun Mountains.
Compared to when Song Qingming had just formed his Nascent Soul, although the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" still had eight Nascent Soul forces, the situation of the major sects had undergone tremendous changes.
The original established powers, "Lingyin Sect" and "Jiuyuan Sect", have perished and been reduced to ordinary Golden Core forces.
They were replaced by the newly emerging "Jade Cloud Sect" and "Thunder Cloud Sect".
The "Xiaoyao Sect" has long since replaced the "Wanling Sect" and become the number one sect in the cultivation world of the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range".
Now, Song Qingming's illustrious reputation has spread throughout the entire Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent.
Having just settled in the city, Song Qingyu, who had been traveling for days and was already unable to contain her excitement, pulled Bai Yuxian, Li Xuanyi, and others to stroll around the market.
Song Qingming, however, did not want to join in the fun and chose to stay at his residence alone to meditate and cultivate.
He has now reached the half-step Nascent Soul realm in his cultivation.
Even in a major market city like "Xianyuan City," which is one of the most prominent in the entire continent, it is already difficult to find spiritual items that can help Song Qingming's cultivation.
Instead of wasting time wandering around, it's better to stay and study your own cultivation techniques.
As Song Qingming activated the "Heaven-Reaching Myriad Spirits Technique" within his body, his divine sense quickly spread out, covering more than a dozen cave dwellings in the vicinity.
Immediately afterwards, the three "Heavenly Books from Beyond the Boundary" quickly floated up and landed beside Song Qingming, beginning to assist him in cultivating his techniques.
More than 260 years have passed since the Tower of Babel was last opened.
Although Song Qingming has never relaxed his cultivation of the "Tongtian Wanling Jue" over the years, his progress has not been as smooth as he had expected, and he is still at the peak of the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
With only about thirty years left, Song Qingming wasn't really confident about whether he could advance this technique to the late Nascent Soul stage.
Although Song Qingming is only a little over seven hundred years old, his lifespan is still quite long.
Even if it doesn't work this time, there will be another chance to enter the Tower of Babel.
However, having experienced the Tower of Babel last time and learned from Xuan Tian that he had potential rivals, he couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Judging from Xuan Tian's tone at the time, the other party who chose to inherit the cultivation method must be exceptionally talented and not have the cultivation speed of him.
If this person is truly a genius, one in a million, let him complete the agreement first.
All the suffering I've endured over the past few hundred years has been for nothing.
Although he knew in his heart that the possibility was not high, Song Qingming still dared not relax.
In any case, I still need to find a way to cultivate my technique to the late Nascent Soul stage before the next Tower of Babel descends.
There are about two months left until the Sword Tournament officially begins.
Song Qingming also wanted to take this opportunity to quietly cultivate in seclusion for a period of time.
During this period, apart from occasionally dealing with Li Xuanyi and Bai Yuxian who came to him for tea and casual conversation, Song Qingming basically did not go out on his own initiative.
He single-mindedly rejected external distractions and cultivated himself alone.
And so it went on for more than two months until the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament" officially began.
Song Qingming then took the initiative to leave his residence and led Song Qingyu and the others to a teleportation hall on the west side of "Xianyuan City".
Inside the main hall, there are three identical "teleportation arrays," all leading to the official venue of the conference.
Led by the cultivators of the "Immortal Origin Sect", the group arrived at one of the teleportation arrays.
As a familiar white light appeared, Song Qingming and the others who had entered the teleportation array platform quickly arrived at a stone platform.
Looking up, they saw lights shining all around them and realized that they were in a huge stone palace.
This stone hall is hundreds of feet tall, as if it had hollowed out the entire sacred mountain.
The surrounding mountain walls and the mountaintop are illuminated by countless lights, making the entire hall as bright as the outside world.
There were many cultivators coming and going around, heading towards the passage below the stone hall, suggesting that there was more than one level below.
"This is... could it be underground?"
After glancing around at the surrounding scenery, Song Qingming looked slightly surprised.
Unexpectedly, the "Immortal Origin Sect" held the conference in a giant underground palace.
Before anyone could think too much, several women dressed as maids quickly came forward to greet them.
After checking the identity tokens in Song Qingming and the others' hands, several maids led them to the second level below the stone hall.
This place seems to have been specially arranged for many cultivators to rest, with wooden houses embedded in the surrounding mountain walls, appearing to float in mid-air.
There are about two or three hundred on each floor, and a total of five floors of wooden houses, totaling over a thousand.
After finding the private room I had reserved, I could clearly see the entire stone palace below from inside.
Only then did everyone notice that at the very bottom of the many wooden houses, there was a huge stone platform, which seemed to be for the upcoming sword competition.
The area around the arena, close to the mountain wall, is surrounded by rows of houses, with many signs hanging above their doors.
With just a quick glance, Song Qingming spotted a series of somewhat familiar names, immediately piquing the interest of everyone present.
"Seventh Brother, while there aren't many people around yet, let's go see what good stuff they have."
So we don't get late.
"Yes! Now that we're here, we can't leave empty-handed; we should go and take a look."
Upon hearing Song Qingyu's suggestion, Bai Yuxian and Li Xuanyi's eyes already gleamed with a sharp light.
Seeing this, Song Qingming nodded slightly and led everyone out, preparing to first check out the shops below.
Having just reached the bottom floor, Song Qingming looked around when he suddenly sensed something.
He stopped in his tracks and turned to look behind him.
"Fellow Daoist Song!" (End of Chapter)