Chapter 1293
Newly Advancing to the Nascent Soul Stage, Breaking Through the Bottleneck
Since he began cultivating, Song Qingming has witnessed many Nascent Soul cultivators attempting to break through to the Divine Transformation realm.
But in the end, without exception, they all failed to achieve success.
To escape the pursuit of the woman in white, Song Qingming hid in the "Listening to the Rain Pavilion" at the foot of the mountain, where he happened to witness someone advance to the Nascent Soul realm.
At that time, however, he did not know who that cultivator who had advanced to the Nascent Soul stage was.
Later, when Song Qingming received a message from "Old Ancestor Jinluo" and rushed to pay his respects, he met another old acquaintance, Ling Zhentian.
Sensing the unfathomable aura emanating from Ling Zhentian, Song Qingyu realized that her master had actually successfully reached the Nascent Soul realm.
The two had been trapped together in the Nine Heavens for many years, and they also had a relationship with Song Qingyu.
Although Ling Zhentian had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, he still regarded Song Qingming as a close friend.
Not only did he personally impart a great deal of experience in advancing to the Nascent Soul stage, but he also personally escorted him all the way away from "Xihua Immortal Continent".
The "storage artifact" in Song Qingyu's hand was given to her by Ling Zhentian when they parted, and he asked Song Qingming to bring it to her.
After successfully forming his Nascent Soul in his early years, Ling Zhentian left the Heavenly Sword Pavilion to travel around in pursuit of the Dao, leaving no direct disciples in the sect.
He still values Song Qingyu, who is capable of inheriting his legacy, quite a bit.
In addition to preparing some spiritual items for Song Qingyu, he also specially asked Song Qingming to bring her a copy of his cultivation experience after breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage.
The cultivation insights of a newly promoted Nascent Soul cultivator are a rare treasure for a Nascent Soul cultivator.
Upon seeing the spiritual item sent by Ling Zhentian, Song Qingyu was deeply moved.
Since Song Qingyu had just emerged from seclusion, everyone naturally wanted to celebrate for him, so a banquet was set up in the "Huixian Pavilion" on the mountain.
Even Bai Yuxian and her master Su Mo made a special trip from "Guyang Mountain" to welcome Song Qingyu out of seclusion.
Previously, when Song Qingyu broke through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, it happened to coincide with the chaos of the "Heavenly Fox Clan" heading south, and the sect did not arrange time to hold a celebration for her.
Since Song Qingming had returned safely and everyone happened to have time, Bai Yuxian discussed with everyone the possibility of holding a celebration for Song Qingyu at "Guyang Mountain".
Song Qingming, Li Xuanyi, and others also expressed their agreement.
After all, when Song Qingming and Bai Yuxian advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage, the sect held special celebrations for them. They couldn't afford to treat Song Qingyu unfairly.
Although Song Qingyu himself didn't care too much about the celebration, he only thought that a small gathering within the Qingyun Mountain sect would suffice, and there was no need to hold a grand event and waste spiritual resources.
However, at Bai Yuxian's insistence, her opinion was eventually accepted, and the venue for the celebration was changed to "Guyang Mountain".
Previously, Song Qingming mysteriously disappeared, and with the sudden outbreak of the "monster turmoil," all the major sects suffered considerable losses.
In recent years, the "Xiaoyao Sect" and other major sects in the surrounding area have been plagued by a constant stream of funerals, making the atmosphere somewhat somber.
The celebration held by Song Qingyu is a rare joyous occasion for the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" in recent years.
Bai Yuxian also wanted to take this opportunity to promote the celebration and dispel the gloom brought about by the previous turmoil in the sect.
Upon learning that the "Xiaoyao Sect" was holding a celebration, various sects in the Fuyun Mountains quickly sent people to Guyang Mountain to offer their congratulations, making this sacred mountain lively in no time.
Song Qingming, who had officially succeeded to the position of Grand Elder of the sect, also made a public appearance at Song Qingyu's celebration, which helped to stabilize morale.
Although everyone had heard about Song Qingming's return, only those close to him who lived on Qingyun Mountain had actually seen him.
Now I can witness firsthand this Grand Elder taking over the sect.
Whether they were cultivators from the "Free and Unfettered Sect" or other cultivators from the Floating Cloud Mountains who came to participate in the celebration, everyone felt much more at ease.
The commotion lasted for more than half a month before Song Qingming and his companions finally returned to "Qingyun Mountain".
Unexpectedly, another piece of news, which surprised them, reached Song Qingming and the others.
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On Black Cloud Island, in the cultivation world of the East Sea.
As several streaks of light pierced through the black mist on the outer edge of the island, two figures suddenly appeared ahead. They were none other than the Golden Core Elders Song Siliang and Song Chengyue, who had just arrived to greet them.
"Greetings, Ancestor!"
"Take me to see Yuxin!"
Led by the two elders of the Song family, Song Qingyu and Song Yuanhao quickly arrived at the mountaintop cave and met Liu Yuxin, who had been waiting there for a long time.
"Yuxin, where is the Changze person?"
"Great-aunt, my husband is inside!"
Led by Liu Yuxin, Song Qingyu and Song Yuanhao soon arrived in front of a wall.
As soon as Liu Yuxin activated the restriction, the wall that had been blocking the three of them instantly turned into a phantom.
Passing through the wall, the group instantly arrived at a secret room hidden inside.
As Liu Yuxin pointed ahead, Song Qingyu noticed a figure with white hair sitting in the middle of the secret room.
He was Song Changze, the patriarch of the "Black Cloud Island" branch of the Song family.
At this moment, Song Changze had already lost all his breath and had passed away peacefully in this place. There were still many array flags stuck in his body, forming a special restriction.
"Nine Yin Soul-Locking Formation!"
"Yu Xin, who set up this magic array here? And where is Chang Ze's primordial spirit and soul now?"
Upon seeing the restrictive array beside Song Changze, Song Qingyu, who instantly recognized it, frowned and looked at Liu Yuxin beside him, a hint of coldness flashing in her eyes.
Upon seeing this, the latter knew he couldn't hide it any longer, so he immediately knelt down and took out a jade bottle from his person.
“Grandmother, my husband’s soul is right here. It was I who took it upon myself to set up the Nine Yin Soul Locking Array, forcibly leaving my husband’s primordial spirit and soul in this world.”
Please have pity on us and don't blame us.
Seeing the jade bottle that Liu Yuxin took out, Song Qingyu couldn't help but sigh.
"Yuxin, I know you and Changze have had a relationship for so many years, and you can't let him go!"
"But the cycle of life and death is ordained by Heaven!"
Why are you doing this to yourself?
“Grandmother, I know that one cannot go against the will of Heaven, but my husband is unwilling to leave me, and I cannot bear to see him go alone.”
I beg my great-aunt to grant my request and let my husband stay.
Even if her husband falls into the path of demons, Yu Xin is willing to follow him for the rest of her life and never betray him!
“Grandmother, Changze told me back then that if his soul did not wish to dissipate after his death, we should take him to Funiu Mountain to find Changyue to cultivate the path of ghosts.”
It seems this can't be blamed on Yuxin; it must have been Changze's own idea.
Seeing Liu Yuxin kneeling on the ground with tears streaming down her face, Song Yuanhao, who was standing to the side, couldn't bear it and spoke up to comfort her.
Song Changze and Liu Yuxin have been married for hundreds of years, and the entire Song family leadership is well aware of the depth of their relationship.
Previously, Liu Yuxin had successfully formed her Nascent Soul first, but Song Changze failed to do so three times in succession, eventually stopping at the Golden Core stage and passing away when his lifespan was exhausted.
Before his death, Song Changze was reluctant to leave Liu Yuxin and asked her to seal his primordial spirit and soul.
She wanted to follow Song Changyue's example and cultivate the ghost path, hoping to continue staying by Liu Yuxin's side.
However, even though Song Changze was a peak Golden Core cultivator in his previous life, he still had to start cultivating from scratch and could only awaken his intelligence after forming his Golden Core.
The hardships involved need no further explanation.
Moreover, once a cultivator's primordial spirit and soul switch to the ghost path, they will be rejected by the Heavenly Dao of this world and lose the opportunity to be reincarnated.
Once one dies and one's spiritual essence dissipates, one will completely disappear from the world.
As a family elder, Song Qingyu naturally did not want Song Changze to take this path.
But seeing Liu Yuxin's desperate pleas, Song Qingyu ultimately couldn't bring herself to do it and used magic to open the jade bottle in her hand.
A moment later, a cold wind rose, and Song Changze's soul appeared in mid-air.
At this moment, Song Changze only possessed a soul and spiritual energy, and could not speak on his own. Upon seeing Song Qingyu and Song Yuanhao, he could only bow and pay his respects.
"Changze, you have just passed away, so you still have a chance to regret it."
Otherwise, if you fall into the realm of ghosts, you will be unable to reincarnate in this life. Are you aware of all these things?
Faced with Song Qingyu's earnest question, "Song Changze's" soul did not hesitate for a moment and nodded directly, clearly having already made up its mind.
Seeing this, Song Qingyu didn't say anything more and immediately took it back.
However, after Song Qingyu carefully collected Song Changze's primordial spirit, she did not return the jade bottle to Liu Yuxin. Instead, she said to her with a serious expression:
"Yuxin, I still need to bring Changze's soul back to Funiu Mountain, so you don't need to worry about it."
Just stay on Black Cloud Island and focus on handling things here.
As for his switch to the Ghost Path, I will ask Changyue for help then; it should help Changze avoid some detours.
Seeing that Song Qingyu had finally relented, Liu Yuxin's tense expression relaxed slightly, and she immediately bowed in greeting.
"On behalf of my husband, Yu Xin thanks my great-aunt for her kindness!"
"Remember this: you must calm your mind and cultivate diligently. You are not to return to Funiu Mountain for the next hundred years without my and Seventh Brother's permission!"
After leaving behind a word of advice, Song Qingyu departed with the soul of "Song Changze".
On Black Cloud Island, Song Yuanhao volunteered to stay and help with Song Changze's funeral arrangements.
After all, Song Changze's conversion to the path of ghosts could not be known to outsiders.
Since the clan leader has passed away, Black Cloud Island will naturally hold a formal funeral for him, and many cultivators from outside the island will come to attend.
With Song Yuanhao staying behind to help, they can be of assistance should any emergency arise.
Soon after Song Qingyu left, cries of anguish echoed across Black Cloud Island as the Song family officially announced the passing of their patriarch, Song Changze.
As the only Nascent Soul ancestor in the family, Liu Yuxin naturally needs to control the core of power on the entire "Black Cloud Island".
Many members of the Black Cloud Island branch are descendants of Liu Yuxin and Song Changze.
With Song Yuanhao's help and witnessing, Song Chengyue, a direct descendant of Song Changze, was finally recognized by the two ancestors and succeeded as the clan leader to manage the family.
Although the Song family of "Black Cloud Island" lost a patriarch, they did not stop their pace of development.
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Once Song Qingyu brought back the soul of "Song Changze," Song Qingming, upon learning of this, did not make things difficult for him and nodded in agreement to let him go to Funiu Mountain to follow Song Changyue in cultivating the ghost path.
When Song Qingming killed the "Netherworld Ancestor" in the open sea, he obtained a lot of cultivation manuals from him. Apart from some that were too insidious to cultivate and were disposed of on the spot, he also left behind several high-level ghost path cultivation techniques that could be cultivated to the late Nascent Soul stage.
Now that Song Changze has switched to cultivating the Ghost Path, these things come in handy, and Song Qingming was able to take them out and hand them over to him on the spot.
Song Changyue, who was brought back to "Funiu Mountain" by Song Qingming, was transformed into a spirit by a ghost cultivator, and the ghost core in his body shattered, causing his cultivation level to drop to the Foundation Establishment stage.
A few years ago, Song Changyue received the "Ice Soul Pill" from Song Yuanli by chance, and with his help, he has reconstituted the Ghost Pill.
With her help as the Golden Core Ghost King, Song Changze's conversion to the Ghost Path proceeded very smoothly.
Although the cultivation of ghost cultivators is far more difficult than that of righteous cultivators, it will be no easy task for Song Changze to condense a ghost core in the future.
With his family backing him and no shortage of resources, plus a senior in the Ghost Path guiding his cultivation, his path will definitely be much easier than Song Changyue's back then.
If things go smoothly, it could take two or three hundred years to condense a ghost pill.
For "Song Changze", there is no doubt that he will meet Liu Yuxin again someday.
Of the younger generation that Song Qingming had the highest hopes for back then, Song Yuanfang had already passed away, Song Changze had switched to the Ghost Path, and Song Xuanfeng, who had been practicing demonic arts, had disappeared without a trace in recent years.
Now, only Song Yuanhao and Song Yuanli, who is far away in the Tianhai Immortal Cultivation World, remain by his side.
After dealing with Song Changze's matter, Song Qingming summoned Song Qingyu, Li Xuanyi, and others, gave them a brief explanation, and said that he would be going into seclusion to try to break through to a higher realm.
Now that Song Qingyu has emerged from seclusion, she can fully manage many affairs on "Qingyun Mountain".
On "Guyang Mountain", there were also Bai Yuxian, Xu Ziyan, Su Mo and others, so Song Qingming didn't need to worry too much about sect affairs.
After obtaining the "Mysterious Spirit Pill", Huang Siyuan and Li Xuanyi also began planning to go into seclusion to break through the bottleneck of the late Nascent Soul stage.
After settling all the affairs, Song Qingming returned to his cave dwelling and began to adjust his condition using the "Mysterious Jade Bed".
Previously, at the "Heavenly Sword Pavilion," I personally witnessed Ling Zhentian's breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm.
Song Qingming has already successfully taken the first step, drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within his body. The next step is to attempt to fuse with his "natal nascent soul" to break through his cultivation bottleneck.
However, at that time he was outside, and with a powerful enemy watching him with predatory eyes, Song Qingming was unable to concentrate on his seclusion.
After a few unsuccessful attempts, they quickly gave up on the idea.
Now that he's back at "Qingyun Mountain," with safe and suitable conditions, Song Qingming can finally take the second step with peace of mind.
However, before proceeding, it's best to be on the safe side.
Song Qingming did not rush to try to break through to the next realm. Instead, he took out the tips on breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage that Chen Qingxuan and Ling Zhentian had given him and studied them carefully once again.
Although Song Qingming had read these two manuscripts countless times since he obtained them.
But at that time, he was still some distance away from the final breakthrough. Just reading the text descriptions, there were some things that he couldn't truly experience, and there would be some oversights.
Now that he had adjusted himself, Song Qingming examined the two handwritten notes in his hands once more.
After slowly savoring each word, he truly gained a wealth of profound insights that he had not previously experienced, leading to a sudden realization.
It took several years until Song Qingming felt that he had no omissions in these insights.
Only then did he feel at ease activating his "natal nascent soul" and drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within his body.
Having learned from his previous experience, Song Qingming's ability to draw upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was significantly smoother this time. He instantly felt the surrounding spiritual energy surging wildly into his dantian.
In a short while, his dantian was filled with the primordial energy of heaven and earth.
Next, under Song Qingming's control, the "Nascent Soul" immediately began to cast a spell to gather the surrounding天地元气 (heaven and earth energy) and concentrate it on its own body, attempting to merge with it.
The process of successfully integrating the primordial energy of heaven and earth is extremely long and cannot be achieved easily all at once.
Moreover, when the "Nascent Soul" casts spells to manipulate the primordial energy within his body, Song Qingming's dantian meridians are also undergoing a great test.
One careless spell could undo all your previous efforts and force you to start all over again.
On his first attempt at casting the spell, Song Qingming clearly underestimated the difficulty of fusing the energy of heaven and earth.
He could only hold on for a few months before his efforts were in vain due to the loss of control over his internal energy, causing the primordial energy gathered by his nascent soul to instantly dissipate.
However, this did not dampen his confidence.
After only a few days of adjustment, Song Qingming quickly resumed a new round of spellcasting.
On his second spellcasting attempt, Song Qingming performed significantly better, persisting for nearly half a year. The spiritual energy gathered on his "natal nascent soul" had already exceeded half of the original amount.
The third spellcasting had already gathered seventy percent of the primordial energy of heaven and earth.
The fourth time, the fifth time!
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After failing five times in a row, Song Qingming, who had been in seclusion for an unknown period of time, finally succeeded in integrating all the vital energy in his dantian into his "natal nascent soul".
At this moment, Song Qingming's face was filled with undisguised joy.
He simply raised his hand, took out a bottle of "Jade Purity Elixir" from his body, and decisively poured it into his mouth. A refreshing spiritual energy instantly surged into his body and into every part of his body.
Within the magic circle already prepared in front of him, the purple crystal emitted bursts of dazzling spiritual light at this moment.
Once he had adjusted his own state, Song Qingming suppressed a trace of excitement and devoted himself wholeheartedly to casting the spell.
He has now completed the fusion of his "natal nascent soul" with the primordial energy of heaven and earth.
Next comes the final step: breaking through the bottleneck of the Nascent Soul stage.
Only by transforming the "natal nascent soul" that has merged with the primordial energy of heaven and earth into a primordial spirit state and completely integrating it into one's physical body can one successfully break through the realm and transform into a nascent soul to become a god.
This realm is the ultimate goal of the cultivation of hundreds of millions of cultivators in this world.
After eight hundred years of cultivation, Song Qingming has finally reached this final step.
Once you successfully cross that threshold, the road ahead will be wide open, and you can try to ascend to the upper realm to witness the true path to immortality.
If it fails, then we will be like the many predecessors who fell at this juncture.
He spent his entire life sitting in his cave, waiting for the day his lifespan would end.
Now that we've come this far, there's no reason for us to turn back.
Recalling the hardships he had endured on his path of cultivation, a resolute look gradually appeared in Song Qingming's eyes.
With the help of the magic array, he quickly refined the "Purple Heaven Jade" in front of him.
Once the spiritual energy within his body was replenished, Song Qingming closed his eyes and instantly unleashed a powerful aura far surpassing that of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
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"Qingyun Mountain" is located in the market town at the foot of the mountain.
Song Linyu and Chu Ling, who were sitting in the backyard of the teahouse, had just finished brewing a pot of spiritual tea when they heard a gasp from a customer in the shop not far away.
The two suddenly realized what was happening and looked up at the sky.
The once clear sky was now enveloped in a cluster of colorful rays of light, which almost completely encompassed the entire "Qingyun Mountain".
"Hey, this is an unusual phenomenon of heaven and earth."
"Senior Sister Song, could it be that Senior Brother Bai is attempting to break through to a higher realm?"
"Something's not right here. It seems to be caused by the Ancestor. The Ancestor is the one who started it."
"Ancestor! You mean..."
Having lived on Qingyun Mountain for many years, Song Linyu and Chu Ling had witnessed extraordinary phenomena before and knew that someone on the mountaintop was attempting to break through to a higher realm.
However, this time the celestial phenomenon was far too great, and the two couldn't help but think of the ancestor who had been in seclusion for a long time.
At this moment, their faces were filled with undisguised shock.
"Could it be that we're really going to succeed so soon?"
".
Just as Chu Ling returned to the mountaintop, she saw a man and a woman standing in mid-air, their eyes fixed on the strange phenomenon in the sky ahead.
One of them was Chu Ling's master, Song Qingyu, who quickly stepped forward to greet her.
The other person was someone she was meeting for the first time, and whose appearance was completely unfamiliar.
Just as Chu Ling was wondering how to address her, Song Qingyu immediately pointed at her and introduced her:
"This is one of my disciples, Chu Ling. Quickly greet your grandmaster!"
"Greetings, Grandmaster!"
Upon hearing Song Qingyu's introduction, Chu Ling was surprised for a moment before remembering the man's identity. She quickly stepped forward and bowed.
"Chu Ling, go and inform Lin Yu and the others to immediately close the market's teleportation array and forbid anyone from leaving or discussing this matter."
Those who disobey orders will be severely punished!
"Disciple obeys!"
Only after Chu Ling acknowledged and withdrew did Song Qingyu ask with a hint of excitement:
"Master, do you think Seventh Brother will succeed this time?"
"It's only just begun to cause unusual phenomena in the heavens and earth; it's a bit too early to talk about success or failure."
After Ling Zhentian finished speaking, he suddenly looked up in the northwest direction and then smiled.
"It seems someone is coming over there. I'll go check it out. You stay here for now."
After uttering those words, Ling Zhentian vanished into thin air. By the time Song Qingming could discern the location of his aura, he was already dozens of miles away.
In the northwest direction, a burly man wearing a golden crown stood in mid-air, gazing at the location of "Qingyun Mountain".
His gaze still held a hint of doubt.
Just as the golden-crowned giant was about to move closer, a powerful aura suddenly appeared beside him, instantly locking onto his surroundings.
"Huh! This old ghost came really fast. I guess his cultivation has improved a lot again."
"Never mind, I was just looking, why be so petty?"
After muttering something to himself, the golden-crowned giant glanced warily at the distant void before his figure quickly vanished from the spot.
After the golden-crowned giant left, Ling Zhentian, who was still in mid-air, seemed to have noticed that the other party had left.
He immediately stopped and turned back to "Qingyun Mountain". (End of Chapter)