Chapter 1275
The Struggle for the Path, Fate Plays a Trick
In a bamboo forest behind the "Xianyuan Sect".
Two cultivators sat upright at a stone table, with a pot of spiritual tea placed between them.
"This sword competition has seen quite a few rising stars. I wonder how many of them have caught your eye, fellow Daoist?"
"This conference was originally hosted by you, fellow Daoist. I, Chen, merely came to Xianyuan City to join in the fun and visit you, fellow Daoist!"
When asked by the white-robed elder in front of him, Chen Qingxuan smiled slightly but did not give a direct answer.
Upon hearing this, the old man in white nodded slightly, and then spoke again:
"A few days ago, Fellow Daoist Yuquan from Zhongyuan Prefecture sent me a message, saying that he wanted to invite me to explore a spatial node together."
"I will be leaving the sect for a while soon, and I hope you will be lenient with me in the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom."
"Old Daoist Yuquan's cultivation has only just advanced to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and he doesn't possess any powerful spiritual treasures."
"Isn't it a bit too reckless to rush to smuggle ourselves into the spatial node so quickly?"
"Alas, Fellow Daoist Chen, you are unaware that Fellow Daoist Yuquan is indeed a bit younger than me."
However, when he was traveling in the Dragon Abyss Sea, he fought a fierce battle with the True Dragon Clan for spiritual treasures. He was chased and killed by them, and lost a lot of his vital essence before he was able to escape.
If we cannot find a high-level spiritual item to replenish your true essence and blood, I estimate that Fellow Daoist Yuquan's remaining lifespan will not be much better than mine."
After saying this, the "Golden Profound Ancestor," whose own lifespan was also running out, couldn't help but let out a slight sigh.
Chen Qingxuan nodded thoughtfully.
"So that's how it is. No wonder this old Taoist was in such a hurry to ask you to join me in planning this matter."
Smuggling across spatial nodes is extremely dangerous; few fellow cultivators have dared to take this step in recent years. Have you thought it through, brother?
"The spiritual energy in the human realm is far inferior to that of ancient times. Now that I have reached this level, even if I put in a lot of effort, it is already very difficult to improve my cultivation and find useful spiritual treasures."
Even if I don't want to do this, I have no other choice but to take the risk.
Unfortunately, to this day, I have yet to cultivate a successor to replace me. It seems that the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent will have to rely on you alone in the future.”
"The descendants will have their own blessings. We only need to do our best. Brother, don't worry too much."
Despite the hint of worry on the face of "Old Ancestor Jin Xuan," Chen Qingxuan remained calm and offered words of comfort.
"Ancestor Jin Xuan" nodded slightly, picked up a cup of spiritual tea from the table, took a sip, and then took out a jade box from his person and placed it on the stone table.
"May I ask, brother, what is this?"
"Yin-Yang Creation Pill! When Old Ghost Yuquan came to me that day, I made a deal with him and obtained this spiritual pill."
Over the years, I have been willing to support them, but unfortunately, the younger generation of the sect lacks opportunities, and so far, I have not seen anyone who can take on this legacy.
I am giving it to you today so that you can make the best use of it.
"I hope that after I leave, fellow Daoist can help look after the Immortal Origin Sect."
".
West side of "Xianyuan City".
Although the conference had ended almost half a month ago, cultivators were still coming and going on the streets, and many cultivators were not in a hurry to leave the place immediately.
Above the restaurant located on the street, Song Qingming and Xia Mo stood on either side, their eyes scanning the crowds coming and going below.
"Fellow Daoist Song, are you serious? Are you really going to cede Liangzhou to our Hundred Flowers Palace?"
"Fellow Daoist Xia, rest assured, I have already discussed this matter with the Immortal Origin Sect. They have also agreed to witness the exchange of territories between our two sects."
I would never dare to deceive you, fellow Daoist; all I need is your consent, Fellow Daoist Xia.”
Previously, at the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament," Song Qingming helped the "Free and Unfettered Sect" win sixth place, which also gave them a priority in choosing their territory for the next two hundred years.
The territories of the first five major sects are fixed, leaving only Liangzhou, Yuezhou, Huangzhou, Nanzhou, and Wuzhou as options.
Wuzhou and Huangzhou are the territories of the "Shen Gu Sect" and the "Xuan Mu Sect" respectively, with the mountain gates of both sects located within them.
The sword tournament had just ended when the two sects took the initiative to visit with generous gifts and promised many benefits, which made Song Qingming give up his idea of vying for the other's territory.
After all, as one of the top ten sects, the "Free and Unfettered Sect" is not much stronger than the other.
Forcibly choosing the other party's mountain territory will inevitably lead to many conflicts in the future, which is something Song Qingming does not want to see.
I decided to do them a favor and generously accepted their gift as a token of my gratitude.
Of the remaining three continents, Yuezhou is relatively prosperous, but it is also the front line of conflict with the "Falling Star Sea" demon race, which is very unstable and not conducive to the operation of the sect.
Liangzhou was originally the territory of the "Taiyi Immortal Sect".
Although it appears to be much larger than Nanzhou in area, its territory is mostly Gobi Desert with sand and gravel, so the number of cultivators is only about 10% to 20% more.
Although Nanzhou has fewer cultivators, it has been managed by the Xiaoyao Sect for many years and has the help of the Li family of Yunlong Mountain to take care of it, making it more worry-free.
After some deliberation, Song Qingming decided to continue taking over the territory of Nanzhou.
His preferred option was to first take Liangzhou and then exchange it for "Baihua Palace," which could be considered making the best use of the resources and indirectly doing Xia Mo a favor.
"Liangzhou is much larger than Nanzhou. Our two sects exchanging territories has allowed my sect to gain some advantage over you, fellow Daoist."
How about this? From now on, one-tenth of the profits from Liangzhou territory will be given to you, fellow Daoist. This way, our sect will repay this favor to you.
When Song Qingming offered to help her exchange for a better territory, Xia Mo did not refuse him, but she did not want to take advantage of her friend for nothing.
After some discussion, the two decided that "Baihua Palace" would privately give Song Qingming 10% of the profits, and both parties agreed.
After the two successfully reached an agreement, Song Qingming immediately changed the subject and asked:
"Fellow Daoist Xia, last time I asked you about Fellow Daoist Long. I wonder if you've heard anything about him in recent years?"
"I'm sorry, Fellow Daoist Long has not visited the Hundred Flowers Palace in recent years."
Upon hearing Song Qingming ask about Long Ziyun, Xia Mo shook her head directly, and then said, "After you asked about this matter, I also sent a message to the Four Seas Merchant Alliance to inquire about it."
Unfortunately, I don't know many people in the Four Seas Merchant Alliance, and after asking around, I didn't get any useful information.
It seems that something has happened to Fellow Daoist Long; he has been expelled from the Four Seas Business Alliance.
However, I am still not very clear about the specific reasons. I can only guess that it was the result of internal strife within the Four Seas Merchant Alliance, and perhaps it was related to Jin Chen Dao Ren's failure to break through.
Fellow Daoist Song, I know you have a good relationship with Fellow Daoist Long.
But these are ultimately internal matters of the Four Seas Business Alliance, and even if we wanted to, it would be difficult for us to directly intervene.
Previously, when people from the "Four Seas Business Alliance" suddenly came to his door, Song Qingming had already broken off relations with them and knew that Long Ziyun, Qi Rong, and others had gotten into trouble.
Only then did they send a message to the Hundred Flowers Palace, attempting to inquire about the matter with Xia Mo.
Even the "Hundred Flowers Palace," which has a deep partnership with the other party, is unaware of this matter. Hearing Xia Mo's advice, Song Qingming could only nod slightly and reply:
"How could I not understand what Fellow Daoist Xia said? Although I have no intention of interfering in the internal affairs of the Four Seas Merchant Alliance, I still feel a little reluctant to do so because I have been friends with Fellow Daoist Long for hundreds of years."
If you ever hear of Fellow Daoist Long, please send me a message.
After speaking, Song Qingming raised his hand and bowed to the other party.
"Fellow Daoist Song, wait!"
Just as Song Qingming was about to get up and leave, Xia Mo, who was sitting opposite him, suddenly stopped him.
Seeing this, Song Qingming, who didn't know what else the other party wanted, looked at Xia Mo with a puzzled expression.
"Fellow Daoist Xia, is there anything else?"
"I will be leaving Immortal Origin City in a few days. Before I leave, I would like to perform a divination for you, fellow Daoist. I wonder if Fellow Daoist Song would be willing to grant my request!"
"!"
Although Song Qingming had witnessed Xia Mo's "divine arts" long ago, he had even taken Huang Siyuan to her for divination to find her destiny of forming an infant.
But at this moment he had no desires, and when he heard Xia Mo suddenly offer to tell his fortune, Song Qingming was also taken aback.
I don't know why the other person would suddenly ask to have their fortune told.
"I have nothing to ask of you at the moment, how could I dare to trouble Fellow Daoist Xia to expend his magical power to calculate the secrets of heaven!"
"Fellow Daoist Song, rest assured, I will not accept your spirit stones for this divination. It is just a prediction of something that is about to happen, and this matter may be related to both of us."
But before I can make the calculations, I cannot tell you too many details. I hope you can trust me this once.
"Something related to you and me?"
"Alright, then I'll trouble you, fellow Daoist."
Upon hearing Xia Mo mention that the matter of the deduction was related to both of them, Song Qingming hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing.
Xia Mo gently raised her hand, and the doors and windows around the room immediately closed, plunging the entire private room into darkness.
The next moment, as Xia Mo cast a spell to summon a bronze jade plate from her body, sixteen night lamps suddenly lit up beside the two of them, illuminating the dim surroundings.
Seeing this, Song Qingming finally realized what was happening.
It seems that the other party had been prepared before coming to see me today, and it was not a spur-of-the-moment decision for them to perform the "divine art" for me.
"Fellow Daoist Song, please calm your mind and give me a drop of your essence blood."
Having come this far, Song Qingming stopped thinking about it and closed his eyes to cast a spell, taking out a drop of essence blood from his body and placing it into the jade plate in front of Xia Mo.
At the very moment the essence blood fell into the jade plate, Song Qingming felt a strange connection between himself and the other party.
Meanwhile, Xia Mo also took out a drop of her own blood essence and put it into the jade plate, and the two of them were quickly surrounded by a crimson blood color.
In the crimson sea of blood, Song Qingming suddenly saw countless images floating by rapidly, as well as figures whose faces he could not make out.
Although he couldn't see these scenes clearly at all, Song Qingming felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had been here before and knew these people.
Just as Song Qingming was observing all of this, he suddenly saw the shadow of a tall tower flash by, which made his heart tremble slightly.
"Could this be...?"
Just as Song Qingming was having some guesses, he suddenly saw countless streams of blood rushing in from all around, instantly engulfing the tower and disappearing from his sight.
Immediately afterwards, the surrounding scenes flashed by and disappeared before his eyes.
Song Qingming, who was sitting in the same spot, opened his eyes.
But not far away, Xia Mo was covered in blood, which looked rather eerie.
"Fellow Daoist Xia, are you alright?"
Just as Song Qingming opened his mouth to ask a question, he saw the bloody light on the other party's body quickly dissipate.
Xia Mo took out a spirit pill from her person and swallowed it. She then raised her hand and explained to him, "Fellow Daoist, don't worry. I was just accidentally attacked by a secret technique while deducing heavenly secrets. I'm fine!"
After closing her eyes and casting a spell for a moment, Xia Mo's aura quickly returned to normal, seemingly no different from before.
Seeing that the other party did not seem to be injured, Song Qingming was slightly relieved.
At this moment, a hint of doubt appeared in his eyes as he looked at the other person.
"Fellow Daoist Xia, have you found the answer you seek from the heavenly secrets you just deduced?"
Faced with Song Qingming's question, Xia Mo remained silent for a moment before slowly saying, "I did get some answers. But these answers are not what I wanted."
After Xia Mo finished speaking, she suddenly looked at Song Qingming with a serious expression.
"Fellow Daoist Song, I would like to ask you, do you consider me a true friend, or do you think we are just ordinary fellow Daoists?"
"Fellow Daoist Xia and I have known each other for many years. We are close friends, unlike anyone else."
"If one day we face a conflict on the path of cultivation, will you still consider me your friend?"
".
“Fellow Daoist Xia, we have known each other for hundreds of years, why did it come to this?”
The path to immortality is filled with countless opportunities. If there is a real struggle for the path, then the capable will win. Even if the opportunity falls into Fellow Daoist Xia's hands, I, Song, will not hold a grudge against you.
After all, the word "friend" is also very precious to me.
Faced with Song Qingming's sincere answer, Xia Mo's eyes flickered slightly, revealing a hint of excitement.
"I didn't expect Fellow Daoist Song to be so sincere. I was a bit stingy with my questions."
"Then it's settled with you, fellow Daoist. No matter what happens in the future, we will remain friends."
"A word is settled!"
".
After leaving the restaurant, Song Qingming walked alone on the street, but his heart remained unsettled for a long time.
Although the two did not explicitly say it in the private room, Song Qingming already had the answer in his heart and knew why Xia Mo would suddenly take the initiative to predict the future for him.
When Song Qingming left the Tower of Babel, he learned that Xuan Tian had chosen other successors, and he had already speculated about many of them.
This naturally includes Xia Mo, who also entered it.
However, out of a desire to keep this secret, and because Song Qingming didn't want to treat Xia Mo, whom he had known for many years, as his rival, he was reluctant to do so.
Therefore, he has not tried to test whether the other party has accepted the "Tower of Babel" inheritance over the years.
Unexpectedly, he received the answer he had been somewhat reluctant to face from Xia Mo today.
No wonder, when I went to the East China Sea to find her, Xia Mo was hiding near an underwater volcano to cultivate.
In recent years, not only her physical body, but also her spiritual consciousness has progressed so rapidly.
".
Reflecting on the changes that had taken place in Xia Mo over the years, Song Qingming felt that he should have guessed it was her long ago.
He simply didn't want to face this opponent, which made him instinctively neglect these things.
Xia Mo, being such a clever person, had probably already discovered his secret long ago.
Today, unable to contain himself any longer, he used his "divine art" to deduce the result.
When Song Qingming received the "Heavenly Myriad Spirits Technique" back then, it took him six hundred years to cultivate the technique to the peak of the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage, just one step away from his final goal.
According to his own speculation, even if someone else had also received the inheritance, it would be very difficult for them to catch up with him.
Unexpectedly, Xia Mo had already achieved this feat in just three hundred years.
Hundreds of years have passed in the blink of an eye, and in about thirty years, the Tower of Babel will be born again.
"The struggle between different paths was something I never expected to be unavoidable in the end; it truly is a cruel twist of fate."
".
After wandering aimlessly on the street for a while, two familiar figures suddenly appeared not far in front of Song Qingming.
"Senior Brother Song!"
"Junior Brother Zhou, Fellow Daoist Zhou, where are you two headed?"
The two people who happened to meet Song Qingming on the street were none other than his junior brother Zhou Ziyang and Zhou Daoping from the Li family of "Yunlong Mountain".
More than a hundred years have passed, and Zhou Daoping's cultivation has broken through to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage.
Since arriving in "Xianyuan City" to participate in the conference on behalf of Yunlong Mountain, Zhou Daoping has often taken the initiative to visit him, and he has known Zhou Ziyang and others for a long time.
The two often met up for drinks and chats, and had invited Song Qingming several times as well.
At that time, however, he was focused on his secluded cultivation and did not pay any attention to the two of them.
Upon hearing Song Qingming's question, Zhou Ziyang seemed hesitant, but Zhou Daoping stepped forward and answered:
"Fellow Daoist Song, Fellow Daoist Zhou and I would like to go to Wuxianglou to enjoy wine and appreciate paintings. If you are free, why not join us?"
"I, Zhou, have created quite a few masterpieces over the years, and I'd like to share them with you, fellow Daoist?"
".
One month later, outside "Xianyuan City".
"Fellow Daoist Song! These paintings are works I created in the past few days when I was in the mood. Consider them a parting gift for you."
"Fellow Daoist Zhou, you're too kind!"
Upon seeing Zhou Daoping off, Song Qingming quickly stepped forward and bowed.
Ultimately, unable to resist the other party's hospitality, he accepted the paintings that Zhou Daoping had sent.
"When Fellow Daoist Zhou has some free time, please come visit me at the Floating Cloud Mountain Range. I, Song, will certainly treat you well!"
"Hehe! Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I, Zhou, will certainly keep the appointment another day."
Faced with Song Qingming's invitation, Zhou Daoping nodded repeatedly, then bowed to Zhou Ziyang beside him to say goodbye, and the three of them reluctantly turned and left.
Just as the flying car took off, Li Xuanyi, who was sitting to the side, suddenly came to Song Qingming's side with a look of curiosity.
"Husband, what did Fellow Daoist Zhou just give you?"
"It's nothing, just a few paintings!"
Song Qingming replied and was about to leave when Li Xuanyi stopped him again.
"What painting? Show it to me right now!"
"If you like it, then take it!"
Without much thought, Song Qingming took out two paintings and calligraphies from his "storage bag" and placed them in Li Xuanyi's hands.
Upon opening it, I found paintings of towering mountains and flowing water, birds singing and flowers blooming.
There was also a woman dressed in bright pink, with a beautiful figure, dancing gracefully on the ground, surrounded by countless flowers and butterflies.
"Huh! Who's this?"
".
"Fuyun Mountain Range", Qinghe County, Huangjia Taiyuan Mountain.
On this day, the sound of gongs and drums filled the air on Mount Taiyuan, and countless cultivators came from all directions.
Huang Mengde, the patriarch of the Huang family, sat at the head of the family hall with a smile on his face, constantly greeting the many guests in the hall.
Huang Mengde was slightly younger than Song Yuanfang, but he was already six hundred years old.
However, since he mainly cultivates wood-attribute techniques and is also skilled in health preservation, his lifespan is slightly longer than that of other cultivators of the same level, and he can still sustain himself for a while.
Not far from Huang Mengde, there was a young man dressed in a magnificent brocade robe.
This person was Huang Wanxiang, an ancestor of the Huang family who had recently successfully formed his core.
Huang Wanxiang is the second cultivator with a unique spiritual root in the Huang family's more than a thousand years of history. He successfully formed his core at the age of 120, and the Huang family is holding a core-forming celebration for him today.
Just as the main hall was bustling with activity, a streak of light flew in from the distant horizon and landed outside Mount Taiyuan.
"Could it be another Golden Core cultivator?"
"Ancestor!"
"Wan Xiang, come with me quickly to greet our distinguished guest!"
".
Just as everyone was looking on in surprise, Huang Mengde quickly called Huang Wanxiang, who was sitting to the side, and led everyone to get up and go out to greet them.
Two figures in white robes landed slowly outside the hall, and everyone hurriedly stepped forward to bow and pay their respects.
"We are Chu Ling and Song Chengyu from Qingyun Mountain. We have come to Taiyuan Mountain to offer our congratulations on the orders of our ancestor."
"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Huang, on your great success in achieving the Golden Elixir!"
"Thank you, Great-Grandmother. Please, fellow Daoists, enter the hall!"
Upon hearing that the two were from "Qingyun Mountain," Huang Mengde's face immediately lit up with excitement, knowing that the two in front of him had been personally assigned by Huang Siyuan.
Since Huang Siyuan left the Huang family, the old friends of "Taiyuan Mountain" have gradually passed away, and Huang Siyuan rarely goes back and hardly cares about the Huang family's affairs.
However, even though Huang Siyuan had already severed ties with this family in her heart, it was still her maternal family, and she could not completely cut off the connection with them.
Previously, Huang Mengde's formation of the Golden Core had consumed a great deal of the Huang family's resources and incurred external debts, mortgaging a significant portion of the family's assets.
As a result, the Huang family faced some difficulties for a period of time afterward.
In previous years, in order to gather enough spiritual items for Huang Wanxiang to form the Core Formation stage, Huang Mengde even swallowed his pride and went to Qingyun Mountain to beg for help.
In the end, Huang Siyuan took the initiative to speak and bestowed many more spiritual items upon him.
This allowed Huang Mengde to successfully obtain the Core Formation Spiritual Object from the sect, thus helping Huang Wanxiang successfully form his Core.
The Huang family of Taiyuan Mountain was thus truly promoted to a Golden Core Immortal Clan.
Although Huang Siyuan did not attend the Golden Core Ceremony in person, she sent Chu Ling to represent her, which was a great honor for the Huang family.
Overjoyed, Huang Mengde quickly invited the two to the prepared seats of honor before announcing the official start of the celebration.
After several hours of excitement, seeing that it was getting late, Chu Ling and her companion were about to get up and leave.
Unexpectedly, Huang Mengde stood up and stopped them, and specially pulled the two of them to a side hall.
Then Huang Mengde took out a wooden box that he had prepared beforehand and carefully handed it to Chu Ling.
"Fellow Daoist Chu, this is a gift that I prepared for my great-aunt. It also contains some specialties from Taiyuan Mountain."
Please help me take this back; it's a small token of my appreciation.
"Rest assured, fellow Daoist, I will personally deliver it to my martial uncle!"
Looking at the wooden box in Huang Mengde's hand, Chu Ling didn't think much of it and nodded slightly as she took it.
Before long, under Huang Mengde's personal escort, the two transformed into a streak of light and left "Taiyuan Mountain". (End of this chapter)