Chapter 1272
Establishing a Sect, A Clash of Titans
As a melodious, light voice drifted from afar, several figures quickly emerged from the crowd.
The woman in white walking at the front had an outstanding temperament, sharp eyes, and a thin veil covering her face, giving her a somewhat mysterious air.
It was Xia Mo, the Grand Elder of the "Hundred Flowers Palace," who was on good terms with Song Qingming.
"Fellow Daoist Xia, it's you all!"
"Sister Xia, Fellow Daoist Yu, I hadn't heard from you in the city. I thought you weren't coming to this conference again."
Upon seeing that it was Xia Mo, Song Qingyu was overjoyed and quickly went forward to greet her.
Upon hearing this, Xia Mo continued, "I unfortunately encountered some trouble before coming here, which delayed me for a while. I only arrived near Xianyuan City about half a month ago."
When the last Donghuang Sword Tournament was held, neither the "Hundred Flowers Palace" nor the "Yunyang Sect" sent any cultivators to participate because they were vying for control of the East Sea.
This time, the "Hundred Flowers Palace" is much stronger than before, and quite a few people have come to the conference.
Besides Xia Mo, there was also Yu Mengning and two elders whose faces were relatively unfamiliar, all of whom were at the Nascent Soul stage.
After answering Song Qingyu, Xia Mo's gaze quickly fell on Song Qingming beside her.
"I never expected that after so many years, Fellow Daoist Song would be able to detect the anomaly in the crowd so quickly."
It seems that not only has your cultivation advanced further, but your divine sense is also far superior to what it was back then.
"Fellow Daoist Xia has also advanced to the half-step Nascent Soul stage. Whether in terms of cultivation or divine sense, he is no weaker than me. I am not worthy of such praise from you."
Since their parting at the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" secret realm, Song Qingming had not seen Xia Mo for decades.
All I heard was that after returning from the "Floating Cloud Mountains," the other party went on a journey soon after.
Upon meeting again, they were surprised to find that the other party had also advanced to the half-step Nascent Soul realm, catching up with Song Qingming's pace.
Moreover, Xia Mo's spiritual sense, which she had just displayed in the crowd, was in no way inferior to Song Qingming's, which was quite unexpected.
Although with Xia Mo's unparalleled talent, breaking through to the half-step Nascent Soul realm was not an impossible thing for her.
But in just a few decades, Xia Mo was able to advance to a higher realm, which is something that ordinary people cannot do.
It's unclear whether the other party's cultivation talent was simply too strong.
It was only during her travels over the years that Xia Mo encountered some special opportunity that led to this change.
Since he met Xia Mo, he had always felt that she was somewhat unfathomable.
He thought that he had finally broken through to the half-step Nascent Soul realm and surpassed his opponent in cultivation.
Unexpectedly, Xia Mo caught up with them again so quickly.
It should be noted that Song Qingming's rapid advancement to the half-step Nascent Soul stage was partly due to Chen Qingxuan's secret support.
Xia Mo, however, managed to catch up with Song Qingming on her own merits, and her performance was indeed superior.
Besides, what puzzled Song Qingming the most was that Xia Mo not only made such great progress in her cultivation, but also made astonishing progress in her spiritual sense.
When exploring the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" secret realm back then, Song Qingming could feel that his divine sense was clearly superior to his opponent's.
Until just now, the other party was secretly observing him.
Song Qingming could clearly sense that Xia Mo's spiritual sense was no weaker than his own, and was even stronger.
This result was even harder for him to accept.
Despite years of arduous cultivation, supported by Chen Qingxuan and aided by secret treasures like the incomplete map and the Heavenly Book, he was still caught up by the other party so easily.
However, in the world of cultivation, there are countless extraordinary people and events, and there are more than one or two peerless geniuses like Xia Mo in Donghuang Immortal Continent.
In contrast, Song Qingming had little natural talent from a young age and did not possess many outstanding qualities.
To have come this far is, in the eyes of others, even more remarkable.
"It's a rare opportunity to meet you today. If you have time, Fellow Daoist Song, why don't we take a walk together? I can ask you some questions about the cultivation of divine sense techniques!"
"Fellow Daoist Xia, you are too kind. Let's all join together then!"
This wasn't the first time the two had exchanged cultivation experiences since they met Xia Mo.
Without much thought, Song Qingming readily agreed to the invitation.
The two groups of people quickly met up and continued walking along the rows of shops around them.
Similar to the previous two conferences, the "Immortal Origin Sect" invited many merchants to set up shop at the venue this time. Many high-level spiritual items that are rarely seen outside quickly attracted the attention of Song Qingyu and others.
The group strolled leisurely through the shops, walking slowly forward.
Besides purchasing spiritual items, Song Qingming also chatted with Xia Mo as they walked.
Although the two were discussing their experiences in cultivating spiritual sense, they surprisingly found many commonalities, which greatly surprised Song Qingming.
Moreover, Xia Mo offered some novel ideas that Song Qingming had never seen before.
This also made perfect sense to him, and it was very much in line with the "Heavenly Myriad Spirits Technique" Nascent Soul stage cultivation method that he was currently practicing.
Song Qingming had been in seclusion for a long time, and his cultivation technique had not made much progress.
After chatting with Xia Mo, he was suddenly given a lot of inspiration, which surprised and delighted him.
After the group had toured around for a long time, several hours had passed quickly.
At this moment, the number of cultivators on the street was several times greater than before, making it somewhat crowded.
Having already acquired quite a few spiritual items, the group finally entered a nearby teahouse, completely satisfied.
After enjoying tea and chatting for a while, Song Qingming bid farewell to Xia Mo and led his fellow disciples back to their respective residences on the second floor.
Compared to the previous two conferences, the accommodations arranged by "Xianyuan Palace" for Song Qingming and his group this time were much more thoughtful.
Its size alone is several tens of feet wide, no less than the cave dwelling that Song Qingming and others opened up in "Qingyun Mountain".
There are more than twenty separate rooms inside, each decorated extremely luxuriously, complete with tables, chairs, benches, musical instruments, chess sets, calligraphy and paintings.
Moreover, the room was specially staffed with more than a dozen maids who were proficient in music.
Don't be fooled by their mere Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining stages of cultivation.
Besides helping Song Qingming and his group find out about various matters related to the Sword Gathering.
While Song Qingming and Li Xuanyi were enjoying tea and chatting, the maids would spontaneously play songs and dances to help cultivators cleanse their minds and calm their anxieties during cultivation.
Accompanied by the melodious sound of a flute playing amidst flowing water and towering mountains, Song Qingming, with his eyes closed, felt as if a gentle breeze was blowing through his heart.
For a moment, it seemed as if the troubles of cultivation had been forgotten, and one was drawn into another scene.
Just as Song Qingming was enjoying the music, his second disciple, Wei Yunlong, came to report from outside.
It turned out to be Chen Yunxiao, the Grand Elder of the Jade Cloud Sect, who had come with him. He took the initiative to come to his door, wanting to pay him a visit so he could discuss something.
Having his good mood ruined, Song Qingming sighed helplessly and got up to go to the outer hall.
"Fellow Daoist Chen!"
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Song!"
Upon seeing Song Qingming appear, Chen Yunxiao, who was sitting in a chair, quickly stood up with a smile and bowed.
After raising his hand to return the greeting, Song Qingming noticed that there were two other people sitting not far from Chen Yunxiao, who seemed to have come with him.
The aura emanating from these two individuals was in no way inferior to that of Chen Yunxiao; they were also mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
When his gaze swept over one of them, Song Qingming couldn't help but show a slight hint of surprise on his face.
"Fellow Daoist Song, these two are Cui Liang and Qin Fengyang."
"Fellow Daoist Cui and Fellow Daoist Qin are both old friends of mine. It just so happens that we meet here."
They had long heard of Brother Song's esteemed name and wished to pay him a visit, so they asked me to help introduce them.
"It has been a long time since I heard of Alliance Leader Song's name. In the past, I, Cui, was ignorant and offended him in many ways."
I hope you will be magnanimous and not hold a grudge against a rough man like me.
Consider this my apology; please accept it, Fellow Daoist Song.
When the man surnamed Cui took out a wooden box, Song Qingming did not reach out to take it, but instead waved it back to him.
"I was wondering why Fellow Daoist Cui looked so familiar. It turns out he's an old friend from Baimeng Mountain."
We became acquainted through a series of misunderstandings. Although I am not a gentleman, I am not a petty person either. Fellow Daoist, you are overthinking this.
There's no need to apologize for this; please take this item back.
"I wonder if you two came all this way specifically to see me? Is there anything else you wish to discuss?"
The man surnamed Cui, who was wearing a straw hat, had dealt with Song Qingming hundreds of years ago.
Back when Chen Yunxiao led many forces from the Lu Kingdom to destroy the "Lingyin Sect," the unfamiliar Nascent Soul expert who helped Chen Yunxiao hold off Song Qingming was none other than Cui Liang.
Centuries have passed, and Cui Liang has only barely managed to cultivate to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm.
Song Qingming, whose cultivation level was not as high as his in the past, had already stepped into the half-step Nascent Soul realm and become a top cultivator among the many Nascent Soul experts in the cultivation world.
When the two met again, the youthful vigor of yesteryear was long gone from Cui Liang's eyes.
Looking at the person in front of him, his eyes instinctively held a hint of respect.
When Cui Liang intervened to stop him back then, it was only because he was asked to do so; he didn't actually fight Song Qingming to the death.
Even if the other party doesn't explain, Song Qingming is fully aware of these things.
Of course, he wouldn't really hold it against him.
But since Cui Liang and the other man had come to visit him so suddenly, it was definitely not just to apologize. After returning the wooden box, Song Qingming asked another question.
Seeing that Song Qingming did not accept his gift, Cui Liang seemed hesitant, unsure of how to speak.
It was Chen Yunxiao who stood up and took the initiative to persuade them:
"Brother Cui, I know Alliance Leader Song's character well. He didn't hold a grudge against me for what happened back then, so he certainly won't really blame you, fellow Daoist."
"If you have something to say, just say it directly. Don't waste time!"
Hearing Chen Yunxiao urge him, Cui Liang finally relaxed slightly and spoke seriously to Song Qingming:
"Fellow Daoist Song, to be honest, my two companions have taken a liking to the spiritual vein of Bai Meng Mountain and wish to acquire it from Fellow Daoist Chen."
Although Fellow Daoist Chen has already discussed this matter with us, we are, after all, outsiders. We still need Alliance Leader Song's approval before we can draw up a contract. We hope Fellow Daoist can lend us some assistance.
Mr. Cui promised that if he could make this happen, he would become a part of the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.
"If Leader Song has any instructions, please just say the word, and we two will certainly not dare to refuse."
"You want Bai Meng Mountain, has Fellow Daoist Chen agreed to this?"
Upon hearing what the other party said, Song Qingming finally understood the purpose of Cui Liang and the other person coming to find him, and couldn't help but look at Chen Yunxiao beside him.
According to what Cui Liang just said, they wanted to take over the Bai Meng Mountain spiritual vein from the "Yu Xiao Sect" and use it to establish their own sect.
It was only because of the immense influence of the "Free and Unfettered Sect" in the Floating Cloud Mountains that they took the initiative to visit Song Qingming, hoping to get his approval for this matter.
Seeing Song Qingming looking at him, Chen Yunxiao quickly smiled and nodded, saying:
"As Brother Song knows, our sect is no longer able to take care of the current situation of Bai Meng Mountain. I would be more than happy to accept Fellow Daoist Cui's request to take over."
Please rest assured, Brother Song, I am quite familiar with the situation of Fellow Daoist Cui and his companion.
Although he came from a humble background, he did not have many grudges with others.
Their intention to establish a sect in the Floating Cloud Mountains is sincere. If Brother Song has any concerns, I, Chen, can vouch for them.
The great battle with the "Tianhai Alliance" back then wrecked the Southern Lu Kingdom, and even the Bai Meng Mountain spiritual vein was destroyed by the Yu Xiao Sect and fell to the third-grade upper level.
In the last hundred years or so, the Jade Cloud Sect followed the Free and Unfettered Sect on its northern expedition and obtained a fourth-level spiritual vein, the White Crane Valley, in the northern part of the Floating Cloud Mountains.
Now, after more than a hundred years of operation, the Jade Cloud Sect has moved most of its assets and cultivators to the north, and "White Crane Valley" has become the core of the sect.
On the southern "White Meng Mountain", the Jade Cloud Sect left only a small number of cultivators to guard it.
Chen Yunxiao no longer valued this place, which was located on the front line of the conflict with the "Tianhai Alliance," and was eager to get rid of it and exchange it for spirit stone resources.
Chen Yunxiao brought Cui Liang and the other person here specifically because they had already discussed it with them.
Seeing this, Song Qingming nodded slightly and then said, "Since Fellow Daoist Chen agrees to this matter, then I have nothing more to say."
However, if the two of you want to join the Floating Cloud Mountain Range, it's not something that can be resolved simply by me nodding in agreement.
To avoid any unforeseen circumstances in the future, it's best to inform the other Daoists about this matter after returning to the Floating Cloud Mountains.
If everyone agrees, how about we inform you two then?
"Well! That's fine too."
"Then thank you very much for your help, Fellow Daoist Song. This is just a small token of my appreciation, and I hope you won't refuse it."
Seeing that Song Qingming did not seem to object to the matter, Cui Liang and his companion were relieved and quickly stepped forward with their wooden boxes, bowing in gratitude.
Despite some initial refusals, the two remained adamant, so Song Qingming had no choice but to leave the wooden box and personally see them out.
As soon as they returned to the back hall, Song Qingyu and the others, who already knew about the matter, immediately surrounded them.
"I'd heard long ago that Chen Yunxiao wanted to sell Bai Mengshan, but I didn't expect him to find a buyer so quickly."
"Seventh Brother, what do you think of these two? Should we agree to their offer?"
"There are quite a few vacant high-level spiritual veins in the Floating Cloud Mountains now. Since Chen Yunxiao has no intention of taking care of the Lu Kingdom, it is not a bad thing for someone to take over the White Meng Mountain."
Anyway, this is a matter between their two families. As long as they don't cause us trouble, we'll let them be.
Although Song Qingming was somewhat surprised by the sudden visit of Chen Yunxiao and his two companions, he did not object to it.
The Jade Cloud Sect now focuses most of its energy on the White Crane Valley in the north, while the southern Lu Kingdom has no one to take over, and in recent years it has begun to fall into some chaos.
Many bandit cultivators and demonic cultivators also took the opportunity to hide around the Lu Kingdom and stir up trouble.
Since Cui Liang and his companion were willing to establish their own sect here, Song Qingming, who wanted to bring stability to the State of Lu, had no reason to object.
Moreover, there are still many vacant spiritual veins in the north of the "Floating Cloud Mountains" that are left unmanaged.
The addition of another Nascent Soul cultivator will not have a significant impact on the current cultivation world of the Floating Cloud Mountains; in fact, it can indirectly add to the strength of the region.
"I'll send someone to investigate their background later. As long as they're innocent, this won't affect us much, so it's fine."
After Song Qingming finished speaking, Bai Yuxian, who was sitting to the side, nodded slightly and did not object to the matter.
Li Xuanyi's gaze had already been fixed on the wooden box that Song Qingming had brought. She opened it directly, revealing a golden talisman inside.
"A mid-grade level four spirit talisman, these two are quite generous with their gifts!"
".
The following morning, the long-awaited "Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament" was finally officially announced to begin.
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, three late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators representing "Tianyu Sect", "Xianyuan Sect" and "Dangmo Palace" flashed onto the arena below.
As in previous years, the rules of the competition were read aloud to the public, and then the ring competition began.
Of the five Nascent Soul elders of the "Free and Unfettered Sect," only Zhou Ziyang, whose cultivation level was relatively low, did not choose to sign up; the other four chose to participate in the martial arts competition.
In addition, four other people from the Floating Cloud Mountains participated in the martial arts competition: Liu Heyuan of the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect", Ye Linyuan of the "Starry Sky Sect", Liu Qingyin of the "Hun Yuan Sect", and Yang Fengyu of the "Heavenly Extreme Sect".
After a fierce battle on the first day, Song Qingming, Bai Yuxian, and Song Qingyu all successfully advanced to the next round, as expected.
Li Xuanyi was the only one who was unlucky; she encountered a powerful Nascent Soul level nine expert right away.
Although she managed to hold her own against her opponent for a while using the late-stage Nascent Soul puppet on her body, Li Xuanyi was still defeated as expected.
Bai Yuxian and Song Qingyu encountered relatively weak opponents, and both of them dealt with their opponents swiftly and decisively.
Song Qingming won the most easily.
Upon hearing that his opponent was a renowned cultivator from the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent, who had been selected as one of the top ten experts in the previous competition, he was immediately struck by the news.
The Nascent Soul cultivator who was assigned to him stood on the arena with a bitter expression on his face and decisively chose to concede defeat before the fight even started.
In the following days, Song Qingming unsurprisingly entered the top twenty of this competition very smoothly.
On Song Qingyu's side, in the third round, she encountered a rogue cultivator at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage.
Although his cultivation level was inferior to his opponent's, Song Qingyu was skilled in sword cultivation and his combat abilities were not weak. He also possessed a fourth-grade high-quality magic weapon, the "Four Symbols Azure Ruler".
The battle was quite spectacular.
In the end, Song Qingyu and her opponent fought to a standstill, and Song Qingyu was only judged to have narrowly lost to her opponent when time ran out.
Although she lost to her opponent, Song Qingyu proved that her combat skills were not much inferior to those of a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator.
Now, if she were to face an opponent with slightly weaker supernatural powers like the "Iron Wall Demon Emperor," she would be able to put up a fight.
After passing the third round, Bai Yuxian finally encountered a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator of similar cultivation level in the fourth round.
Song Qingming also recognized this person; he was Xiao Haoran from the Qingyang Sect of the "Tianhai Alliance".
Back when he fought the "Tianhai Alliance", Xiao Haoran's cultivation level was only at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
Unexpectedly, more than two hundred years later, this person has also successfully advanced to the late stage of Nascent Soul and become a great cultivator.
In previous Donghuang Sword Gatherings, it was always Elder Yuan Luohua of the Qingyang Sect who led the team.
However, Yuan Luohua was a cultivator from around the same era as Fu Yungui, and his lifespan was at most one or two hundred years left.
This time, he did not appear; instead, Xiao Haoran came instead.
It's unclear whether the other party stayed behind at the sect to attempt a final breakthrough in their cultivation, or if they had other important matters to attend to.
In terms of combat skills alone, Bai Yuxian is not particularly outstanding among cultivators of the same level.
However, Xiao Haoran's cultivation had only reached the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, and he had not been in the late Nascent Soul stage for long. Compared to Bai Yuxian, who was already at the eighth level of the Nascent Soul stage, he was still at a slight disadvantage.
After a fierce battle, Bai Yuxian narrowly defeated her opponent and successfully entered the top twenty.
Meanwhile, the other cultivators in the "Floating Cloud Mountains" cultivation world...
As expected, Liu Heyuan, Liu Qingyin, and Yang Fengyu were all eliminated in the first two rounds.
Only Ye Linyuan was lucky enough to make it to the fourth round.
But in this round, the opponents they will face are all powerful late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.
Ultimately, it came from Lin Tianrong, the Grand Elder of the Heavenly Dao Sect, one of the top ten sects in the previous competition.
This top expert, who had already reached the half-step Nascent Soul realm, easily defeated Ye Linyuan in less than ten rounds, thus ending the opponent's good luck.
Besides Song Qingming and Bai Yuxian, Xia Mo, representing "Baihua Palace", also unexpectedly made it into the top twenty.
Moreover, almost none of Xia Mo's opponents posed any threat to her.
After four major battles, he easily defeated his opponents in less than ten rounds each time, making him the most amazing newcomer in this tournament.
The fourth day of the competition had just ended, and Song Qingming had already heard many rumors that Xia Mo would undoubtedly be among the top ten masters of the new generation.
Apart from Xia Mo, no one else in the cultivation world of the East Sea made it into the top twenty.
In terms of overall performance, "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" is slightly better.
However, compared to the previous four rounds of combat, the final battle for the top ten will be the most intense battle of the entire sword tournament.
With great anticipation, everyone soon arrived at the final day of the decisive battle.
In the first match, Song Qingming of the "Xiaoyao Sect" faced off against Tang Yuchuan of the "Sanyuan Sect".
"No way! This is only the first match, and it's already a duel between two of the top ten masters from last year."
"Haha, after watching for so long, we've finally got a truly exciting match."
"Song Qingming is facing off against Tang Yuchuan, the Grand Elder of the Sanyuan Sect. Both of them are top experts, so it's really a difficult choice."
In your opinion, who has a better chance of winning?
"Hehe! That's obvious. The Free and Unfettered Sect is just a small sect from the Floating Cloud Mountain Range. Its foundation is clearly not as good as that of the Three Yuan Sect."
They were lucky in the last tournament because the Grand Elder of the Qingyang Holy Sect didn't attend, which allowed them to win by sheer luck.
This time, however, we weren't so lucky!
"Hmm! Fellow Daoist is right, then I'll bet on the Three Elements Sect to win!"
"I'll gamble 100,000 spirit stones. If I win, I can use the money to find a suitable magic weapon at the auction."
"..." (End of Chapter)