Chapter 1299
Special Relationship, Returning to Zhangling Mountain
"Four Seas Business Alliance" refers to the location of the mountaintop cave.
Suddenly, a beam of light descended, revealing a figure in a green robe. Two maids who had been waiting there quickly stepped forward and bowed.
"Greetings, Elder Song!"
"No need for formalities."
He waved for the two to stand up, and Song Qingming followed behind them, soon arriving at a pavilion not far away.
The place was deserted, with only a white light barrier silently floating in front of them, seemingly a teleportation array leading to some place.
After bringing Song Qingming here, the two did not continue forward, but turned around and said:
"Elder Song, the First Elder is waiting for you inside."
She gave instructions that no one should disturb us without her permission, so we took our leave.
"Okay, go down!"
Song Qingming nodded slightly, glanced at the restrictive formation on the mountain wall ahead, and strode inside.
After passing through the magic array, the scenery in front of him changed, and Song Qingming's figure appeared in a very spacious cave hall.
The surrounding area was lavishly decorated with artificial mountains and waters, beaded curtains and murals.
Not far ahead, separated by a half-rolled purple gauze curtain, was a long tea table with green lotus cushions on both sides, and a figure slowly approached.
It was Long Ziyun, who had already succeeded to the position of Grand Elder of the "Four Seas Business Alliance".
Unlike before, Long Ziyun was wearing a plain white lotus dress today.
Her graceful and slender figure, though seemingly light and airy, lacked the wisdom and heroic spirit she once possessed as the Grand Elder of the Merchant Alliance.
It made her seem to transform back into the pure and innocent fairy she was when she first entered the Daoist path.
"Fellow Daoist Song, Ziyun has been waiting for you for a long time, please come in!"
"Oh!"
Upon hearing this, Song Qingming smiled slightly and immediately followed the other person to the prayer mat.
Before long, with delicate hands gently stirring the tea, a cup of fragrant spiritual tea was presented to Song Qingming.
"This is Yanyu Immortal Tea, which Elder Qin of the Merchant Alliance brought back from Nanling Prefecture half a year ago. Ziyun's tea-making skills are not very good, so I hope Fellow Daoist Song will not be disgusted and will give some comments on its shortcomings."
After drinking a cup of spiritual tea, Song Qingming closed his eyes and contemplated it for a long time before finally opening them.
"Hmm! Good tea."
"anything else?"
Under Long Ziyun's expectant gaze, Song Qingming simply uttered a few words and then fell silent.
This immediately caused a hint of doubt to flash across Long Ziyun's face as she sat opposite her.
Seeing this, Song Qingming smiled and shook his head.
"To my shame, although I enjoy drinking tea, I am just an ordinary person and do not have much profound knowledge of the art of tea. I am sorry to disappoint you, fellow Daoist."
For me, as long as the tea is good and I like it, that's all that matters.
It's not necessary to distinguish between high and low, noble and base.
".
Despite having prepared so meticulously for so long, Long Ziyun did not appear too disappointed when she received such a gloomy evaluation; instead, a smile appeared on her face.
"So Fellow Daoist Song likes any good tea. Ziyun is a bit overthinking, and is worried that Fellow Daoist will look down on my crude tea-making skills."
"Fellow Daoist Long is joking. I didn't mean that at all."
Seeing this, Song Qingming smiled calmly.
The two seemed to have returned to the time when they first met and drank tea at Lei Yuanhai.
".
After exchanging a few casual words, Song Qingming put down his teacup and changed the subject, revealing the purpose of his trip.
"I, Song, have come today to bid farewell to Fellow Daoist Long in person."
If you have nothing else to attend to, I plan to depart in a couple of days.
"Yes! It was agreed before that Fellow Daoist Song would only serve as a guest elder and would not need to stay in the Merchant Alliance. He can leave at any time."
However, before you leave, Fellow Daoist, Zi Yun has one more request.
If Fellow Daoist Song is willing to help, consider this a token of my gratitude.
After speaking, Long Ziyun gently raised her hand and took out a jade box that had been prepared in advance, and handed it to Song Qingming.
After opening the jade box and glancing inside, Song Qingming saw that it contained a valuable "Nurture Pill." He did not immediately accept the spiritual item and looked at the other party with some doubt in his eyes again.
"Fellow Daoist Long, please feel free to speak frankly about what you need me to do."
Now that Song is at least a guest elder of the Merchant Alliance, he will do his best even without the necessary item, as long as the matter is not difficult to accomplish.
When he was serving as a "guest elder," Song Qingming had accepted a large sum of spirit stones and spiritual items from Long Ziyun without doing anything.
Now that he was about to leave the business alliance, he felt a little embarrassed to accept too many things from Long Ziyun when he heard that she needed help.
Anyway, he's just hanging around here, and when he returns to "Floating Cloud Mountain Range," the affairs of the Four Seas Business Alliance shouldn't affect him.
As long as this matter is not difficult to accomplish, I'll consider it one last act before I leave.
Just as Song Qingming was secretly wondering what kind of help Long Ziyun needed from him, what she said next was beyond his expectations.
"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Song, this matter is not difficult for you. Just stay here for a few days before you leave."
"What? You live here?"
"This is Fellow Daoist Long's cave dwelling. I must have misheard you to ask me, Song, to stay here for a few days!"
When Song Qingming heard Long Ziyun ask him for another favor, he assumed that she had some trouble that was difficult to resolve and that was why she needed his help.
But the last request Long Ziyun made was something he hadn't expected at all. He couldn't help but laugh, thinking that she was joking with him.
Despite Song Qingming's apparent confusion, Long Ziyun remained calm as she looked at the person before her.
"Fellow Daoist, you heard me right. Zi Yun's request for your help is nothing more than staying here for a few days."
I think this matter shouldn't be too difficult for you, fellow Daoist!
“Fellow Daoist Long, this matter is indeed not difficult for me.”
"Fellow Daoist has now successfully reclaimed the Four Seas Merchant Alliance, and there shouldn't be any more trouble for you. Why do you still need to do this? I, Song, am somewhat puzzled!"
When he first came, Song Qingming only intended to say goodbye in person before leaving.
Unexpectedly, Long Ziyun would choose her cave dwelling as the meeting place.
Now, upon hearing her request, he finally understood why Long Ziyun had specially invited him, and couldn't help but ask her a question.
It should be noted that when Song Qingming joined the "Four Seas Business Alliance" as a guest elder...
Many within the business alliance had already privately speculated that his relationship with Long Ziyun was unusual.
Otherwise, Long Ziyun wouldn't have been able to suddenly invite such a powerful half-step Nascent Soul expert from outside to help her easily regain the position of Grand Elder of the Merchant Alliance.
Some people even included a dual cultivation technique in their congratulatory gifts, leaving him somewhat amused and exasperated.
Song Qingming didn't pay much attention to this, since his transactions with Long Ziyun were all done in secret.
There's no way to make it public or explain it to others.
On the way here, countless eyes from the "Four Seas Business Alliance" had already seen Song Qingming coming to Long Ziyun's place.
Knowing that this place was her cave dwelling, she was afraid that staying too long would cause misunderstandings.
Song Qingming had barely tasted a few sips of tea before he immediately announced that he was leaving.
However, Long Ziyun did not mind this matter at all. Instead, she asked him to stay in her cave for a few days before leaving, and her true intentions were obvious.
The goal was to solidify their "special" relationship in front of certain people within the business alliance.
As for Song Qingming, whatever happens to the "Four Seas Business Alliance" after he leaves is none of his business and won't have any impact on him.
However, despite having cultivated for many years, Long Ziyun had never had a cultivation partner.
If their relationship were confirmed and the news got out, it would inevitably have a negative impact on their reputation, which is why Song Qingming offered a word of advice.
Upon hearing this, Long Ziyun was already prepared, and looked firmly at the person in front of her.
"The business alliance has just experienced such a major change, and the morale within the alliance is still unstable."
Moreover, as the Grand Elder of the Merchant Alliance, Zi Yun's cultivation has not yet advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage, so there are still some limitations in her actions.
There's not much else to do right now, so just in case, we can only borrow your name again.
However, Fellow Daoist Song, rest assured, Zi Yun did this mainly for the stability of the Merchant Alliance, not out of greed to curry favor with you, and she will not make this public.
If any misunderstanding arises in the future and affects you, I will personally visit you to apologize and explain the matter.
Long Ziyun's idea was very simple; she did not really want to become a Daoist couple with Song Qingming.
The reason they were willing to sacrifice their reputations was simply to create the illusion within the business alliance that their "private relationship" was unusual.
Even if Song Qingming leaves, due to this special relationship, the other elders of the "Four Seas Business Alliance" will definitely still have to take his existence into consideration.
In the short term, this will definitely help Long Ziyun manage the Merchant Alliance and stabilize her position. As long as Long Ziyun successfully advances to the late Nascent Soul stage in the future, she will no longer need to rely on this relationship to secure her position in the Merchant Alliance.
Then she can come forward to explain the matter and dispel the rumors.
After hearing Long Ziyun's explanation, Song Qingming pondered for a moment, but for the time being, he didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
"This matter has no impact on me. Since Fellow Daoist Long has already thought it through, then so be it."
"It was nothing, no need to be so polite. You can take this Infant Nourishing Pill back!"
"We agreed on a fair trade long ago, how can I let you do this favor for nothing?"
"Perhaps you don't find this item appealing? If you have anything in my cave that you like, please just say so."
Seeing Song Qingming decline the spiritual items on the table again, Long Ziyun smiled slightly, then looked at him again with seductive eyes.
"this.."
".
Half a month later, a figure in a green robe quietly emerged from the mountaintop cave.
The newcomer looked around, then quietly transformed into a streak of light and headed down the mountain, returning to the cave on the other side.
Before long, a streak of light passed through the protective mountain array and left the headquarters of the "Four Seas Business Alliance".
Shortly after the escape light left, several figures quietly appeared outside the mountain-protecting formation.
"Senior Brother Luo, could it be him who just came down from the mountaintop?"
When Senior Brother Luo first told me, I didn't quite believe it, but I never expected it to be true—the Grand Elder…
"Uh, I'm telling you, Junior Sister Lin, there are some things that are best left between you and me. Don't go around telling others about them in the future!"
If word gets out in the future and the Grand Elder and that person find out, neither of us will be able to explain ourselves.”
"Yes! Senior Brother Luo is right. We are all cultivators, so there's nothing strange about this."
The Grand Elder is doing this ultimately for the sake of the Merchant Alliance; how can you and I possibly criticize him?
".
After talking to themselves for a while, the group quickly dispersed and disappeared into the air.
At the mountaintop behind them, there was another figure gazing into the direction where Song Qingming had left.
".
One year later, on Qingming Island in Donghuang Immortal Continent.
As the giant teleportation platform flashed with white light, dozens of figures appeared above it.
"Fellow Daoists, welcome to the East Sea!"
".
Just as I followed the crowd to the market on the island, two figures suddenly appeared in front of me.
"Fellow Daoist Song, I thought I was seeing things, but it really is you who has returned!"
"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Wang!"
The Wang Lingji before us has changed considerably since hundreds of years ago, now resembling a middle-aged scholar.
Wang Lingji was much older than Song Qingming, and his lifespan had exceeded 1,200 years.
Having long since abandoned his own path of cultivation, his current cultivation level remains at the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and his personal strength has not improved much.
There was another person following Wang Lingji, and Song Qingming was somewhat surprised to see him.
"Senior Song, Luo Li greets you!"
"I was a little worried when I heard that you left the East Sea after you formed your Nascent Soul and went on a journey. I never expected to see you here."
"I don't know when you returned, and why you're waiting for me here?"
Accompanying Wang Lingji was none other than Luo Li, the former head of the Tianxuan Sect.
However, she is no longer the cautious Golden Core cultivator she once was; her aura has now reached the Nascent Soul realm.
"Back then, thanks to the help of the senior, Luo Li was able to successfully form his Nascent Soul. He originally wanted to go to Qingyun Mountain to thank the senior."
Later, I unfortunately heard that my senior was not around, so I took the opportunity to go out for a walk. I had just returned a few years ago.
"Fellow Daoist Song may not know this, but Fellow Daoist Luo has now also joined the East Sea Immortal Alliance and is stationed here with me."
"I see?"
Luo Li's "Tianxuan Sect" was originally under the command of the East Sea Immortal Alliance, so Song Qingming wasn't too surprised to hear that Luo Li had joined the alliance.
Soon, led by Wang Lingji, the three of them arrived at his cave dwelling.
Song Qingming also learned about the things that had happened to Luo Li over the years.
Luo Li had successfully condensed his nascent soul a hundred years ago, and then left the East Sea alone to travel to the cultivation world of "Thunder Origin Sea".
It wasn't until several years ago that Luo Li returned to the East Sea and joined the East Sea Immortal Alliance on behalf of the "Tianxuan Sect".
Having heard the news of Luo Li's travels, Song Qingming was still somewhat concerned about him and specially sent someone to the Tianxuan Sect to inquire about the matter.
Seeing that Luo Li had not only returned safely but had also broken through to the second level of the Nascent Soul realm, I felt a sense of relief.
“Those who cultivate themselves should go out and see more of the world. Over the years, you must have gained a lot and encountered many opportunities.”
"If it weren't for the support of the senior back then, Luo Li probably wouldn't have been able to condense his nascent soul in this lifetime, let alone have any opportunities."
However, over the years, I have not been able to thank you in person, and I feel guilty about it.
Fortunately, heaven has not forsaken me; today I finally get to meet the senior, and Luo Li's wish has finally been fulfilled.
Before Song Qingming was trapped in the Tower of Babel, he met the monk Jin Yun who asked him for help. Jin Yun gave Song Changze and Luo Li two Thunder Infant Fruits.
However, Song Changze was unlucky and failed to condense his nascent soul.
Luo Li was lucky enough to successfully break through to the Nascent Soul realm. Her achievements today are inseparable from Song Qingming's help back then.
At this moment, Luo Li couldn't help but stand up again and bow to Song Qingming once more.
"Our acquaintance back then was a matter of fate, there's no need for such formalities."
Qingyu and I are both on Qingyun Mountain now. If you want to find me in the future, you can do so anytime.
".
After exchanging pleasantries, Song Qingming inquired about the situation of the cultivation world in the East Sea over the years.
Previously, Elder Xia Mo had suddenly disappeared, and the "Hundred Flowers Palace," the overlord of the cultivation world in the East Sea, had also experienced some turmoil.
Several elders, led by Shen Bingling and Yu Mengning, sent people to search for Xia Mo.
The other Nascent Soul elders, however, wanted to recruit a few Nascent Soul cultivators from the Immortal Alliance outside to stabilize the situation within their sect.
As a result, the two sides argued endlessly, and the entire sect almost faced the risk of splitting up.
Fortunately, Song Qingming brought back news of Xia Mo in time, along with the spiritual object she possessed.
With the intervention of this half-step Nascent Soul expert, the "Hundred Flowers Palace" was able to stabilize again from the brink of collapse.
Yu Mengning has now officially taken over the position of Grand Elder of the "Hundred Flowers Palace" and become the new leader of the East Sea Immortal Alliance. Not long ago, she successfully advanced to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, stabilizing the situation in the East Sea.
Upon hearing this news, Song Qingming was quite relieved and then left the East China Sea to return directly to Qingyun Mountain.
Almost four years have passed since I followed Long Ziyun to "Lei Yuan Hai" and returned.
As soon as they returned to Qingyun Mountain, Song Qingyu and Li Xuanyi came out to greet them with their entourage.
"Hey! Seventh Brother, didn't you go to Lei Yuanhai? Why didn't your wife come back with you?"
"Could it be that your sister-in-law is angry with you and doesn't want to come back?"
"You silly girl, you're always making wild guesses!"
Unfortunately, when I went to Golden Moon Island, Siyuan and Grandma Golden Moon had gone out to sea on some business, so I didn't get to see her.
After leaving the "Four Seas Business Alliance", Song Qingming made a detour to Golden Moon Island, hoping to meet Huang Siyuan, who was away.
Unexpectedly, this trip turned out to be a wasted one.
When they arrived at Jin Yue Island, they learned that Huang Siyuan and Grandma Jin Yue had gone to the open sea.
Upon learning that they still didn't know when they would return, Song Qingming had no choice but to give up and return to "Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent" first.
Upon learning that Song Qingming had returned safely, Li Xuanyi quickly arranged a special meal to welcome him back.
To Song Qingming's surprise, in addition to Song Qingyu and Li Xuanyi, there was another distinguished guest in the "Huixian Pavilion," none other than Li Xianyun, who had recently returned from his travels.
More than a hundred years ago, Li Xianyun, who served as a "guest elder" of the sect, went on a solo journey and never returned.
Unexpectedly, just a few months before Song Qingming returned, Li Xianyun also returned to the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range" from another place.
After some questioning, Song Qingming learned that after Li Xianyun left the sect, he went to the "Black Wind Sea" where he had stayed before.
Not only did he kill many of his old enemies, but he also successfully broke through to the late Nascent Soul stage during his seclusion there a few years ago.
Li Xianyun's cultivation has now advanced to the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage.
His aura was slightly more stable than Song Qingyu's, who had only broken through a few years ago. (End of Chapter)