Chapter 1332
Advancement to Spiritual Vein, Celebration of Nascent Soul Transformation
"Donghuang Kingdom" is located in the southeast of Liangzhou.
Two beams of light flew out from the Illusionary Sea Desert, followed closely by a golden figure that chased after them, stirring up clouds of yellow sand.
Seeing that the golden sandworm had caught up with the two of them, a woman in yellow in the spiritual light immediately raised her hand and threw out a silver talisman.
Under its activation, the talisman quickly transformed into a silver sword net, which instantly pierced through the golden sandworm behind it.
Golden blood gushed out from the yellow sand, instantly reducing its speed.
Just as the woman in yellow was about to breathe a sigh of relief, an even bigger sandstorm suddenly swept up from the ground in front of them and surrounded them again.
"This is bad, it's a mid-stage Golden Core sandworm."
"Junior Brother Song, I'll hold it off, you go first."
The woman in yellow had just finished speaking when she noticed that the young man in white standing beside her now had a cyan flying sword in front of him.
Although the white-robed youth was only at the first level of the Golden Core realm, the sword intent emanating from him at this moment had already surpassed that of the woman at the third level of the Golden Core realm standing beside him.
"go with!"
As the flying sword in the white-robed youth's hand shot out, its light cleaved through the void, directly splitting the sandstorm that was sweeping towards them.
Below, the "golden sandworm" seemed to sense a danger and, disregarding the severed part of its body, hurriedly burrowed into the ground below.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, the woman in yellow quickly maneuvered the flying boat beneath her feet, passing through the sandstorm ahead.
As the airship moved further and further away from the battlefield, the sandworms behind them stopped their movements and ceased their pursuit, which relieved the two of them.
The young man in white withdrew his sword intent and plopped down on the flying boat, panting heavily.
"Junior Brother Song, you're injured! Quickly take some medicine!"
Upon seeing the young man in white, his handsome face was already pale, and blood was trickling from the corner of his mouth.
The woman in yellow hurriedly stepped forward to check and quickly took out a jade bottle from her person.
Seeing this, the young man in white waved his hand and then forced a smile onto his face.
"Senior sister, don't worry. I just forcibly activated the magic weapon, and the excessive consumption of magic power is nothing serious."
"These damn sandworms are relentless! I really underestimated them. I should have brought more talismans to deal with them."
"Junior Brother Song, I advised you not to come back then, but you wouldn't listen. Now you know that things aren't so simple outside!"
I'm genuinely worried you might encounter some danger. If the elders hold you accountable, who knows how many people on Qingyun Mountain will suffer the consequences.
"Senior sister, we agreed that we came out to train along the way. If there is no danger at all, we might as well stay on the mountain."
Besides, we were on the battlefield back then, so what's a little danger to us?
Don't worry, senior sister. Once we arrive in Donghuang Kingdom, I will do whatever you say.
"When the time comes, we'll first go to Nanzhou to find Mother and Aunt Qingyu. They'll be overjoyed to see me achieve Golden Core; they won't be truly angry."
Upon hearing what the other party said, the woman in yellow nodded slightly and handed over the pill in her hand.
"Junior brother, since you're listening to me, take the medicine to heal your injuries first."
Otherwise, if we encounter the enemy again, we don't know if we'll even be able to get out of the desert!
The young man in white nodded slightly, took the pill, and swallowed it.
Just as he was about to adjust his breathing and cast a spell, a hint of joy suddenly flashed in his eyes.
"Senior sister, look! It seems we've made it out of the desert!"
The woman in yellow looked up and discovered a huge black dot in the distance of the sand dunes, resembling a small market town.
The fact that they could see a market town here indicates that the two had reached the edge of the desert.
"Junior Brother Song, great news! We've finally arrived in Donghuang Kingdom."
The woman in yellow, her face beaming with excitement, quickly steered the flying boat beneath her feet to increase its speed, carrying the two of them straight towards the market town.
".
In the middle of the desert battlefield.
Several golden sandworm corpses lay motionless on the ground, emitting bursts of golden liquid, attracting several low-level demonic beasts from the vicinity to come and devour them.
A figure dressed in black, wearing a bamboo hat, stood in the air, his gaze fixed on the direction where the two people had disappeared.
Only after confirming that they had headed in the direction of the market did the figure in black disappear from the spot.
At this moment, the powerful pressure emanating from the opponent far surpassed that of the Golden Core stage sandworms below.
The monsters below, which were devouring the corpses, were instantly terrified and fled in panic.
In the middle of the desert, peace was restored after a short while.
".
The "Floating Clouds Mountain Range" is the immortal cultivation world, specifically Qingyun Mountain.
Ten years have passed since the demonic calamity, and Qingyun Mountain, the core area in the northern part of the Floating Cloud Mountains, has gradually returned to its former prosperity.
At the foot of the mountain, countless cultivators came and went in the bustling market, creating quite a lively scene.
Dozens of figures appeared out of thin air in the "teleportation array" in front of the market.
The two Foundation Establishment disciples of the "Free and Unfettered Sect" standing to the side were startled when they saw the figures standing in front of them. They quickly stepped forward and bowed.
"Greetings, Sect Leader, Supreme Elder!"
"No need for formalities!"
".
Only after everyone left did the two of them recover from their surprise.
"Senior Brother Chen, what day is it today? Why have the sect leader and several elders come to Qingyun Mountain in person?"
I haven't heard of any senior disciples on the mountain recently undergoing tribulation and forming their Nascent Soul stage!
"If a Nascent Soul Tribulation were to occur at Qingyun Mountain, how could we not know? Junior Brother, you must not speak recklessly."
We are currently only at the Foundation Establishment stage; all we need to do is guard the teleportation hall.
As for the matter of the old ancestor on the mountain, it's best not to inquire about it, lest the Law Enforcement Hall hold you accountable in the future!
You haven't forgotten what Uncle Liu said while drunk a few years ago, have you? I don't want to be sent to Xuanjing Valley to spend my days with the mines.
"Uh, Senior Brother Chen is absolutely right. I was just wondering for a moment. How could I dare to really inquire about things on the mountain!"
Upon hearing his senior brother's reminder, the young man, who had just been looking curious, immediately changed his expression and shut his mouth.
In recent centuries, the "Xiaoyao Sect" has developed rapidly, attracting many disciples from outside.
With the sudden surge in the number of disciples in the sect, the internal management of the "Free and Unfettered Sect" inevitably became somewhat lax.
A few years ago, Bai Yuxian and Song Qingming went to the Nine Heavens for seclusion, leaving the important task of managing the sect to Song Qingyu, Xu Ziyan and others. However, they encountered a demonic calamity and could not concentrate on their duties.
Some sect disciples took the opportunity to collude with outside merchants to secretly hoard supplies and make a fortune.
It wasn't until Bai Yuxian returned to the sect ten years ago that she began to vigorously rectify the sect's atmosphere and punished a large number of sect disciples.
Even the Golden Core elders who were involved were severely punished by the Enforcement Hall.
Bai Yuxian not only dealt with these lawless and corrupt individuals, but also established many strict rules in the sect's law enforcement hall to rectify various bad practices within the sect.
Several years ago, an elder surnamed Liu from a sect got drunk at a banquet and talked with others about rumors about the sect's patriarch and the "Four Seas Business Alliance".
As a result, in just three days, this Elder Liu was taken away in public by the "Hall of Law Enforcement".
Not only was he stripped of his position as elder, but he was also sent to work in the mines for a hundred years.
Such severe punishment is practically tantamount to ruining one's path.
As disciples of the "Free and Unfettered Sect," their status was far higher than that of other rogue cultivators of the same level, and neither of them wanted to end up like this.
".
"Qingyun Mountain" refers to the mountaintop.
Suddenly, several figures appeared in the distance. Song Qingyu, who had been waiting there, quickly smiled and went forward to greet them.
"Senior Sister Bai, you've arrived!"
"Qingyu!"
"Greetings, Senior Sister Song. When did you return?"
"Hehe! We just returned to Qingyun Mountain a couple of days ago. Seventh Brother is upstairs. Let's all come up together!"
Led by Song Qingyu, the group had just arrived at the third floor of the "Huixian Pavilion" when they saw a figure get up and walk over.
"We pay our respects to the Grand Elder!"
"Senior Sister Bai, fellow disciples, please don't stand on ceremony, please have a seat!"
After waving to everyone, Song Qingming turned around and returned to his seat.
They then discovered that many Nascent Soul elders from various sects below were still standing in place, none of them daring to sit down.
Seeing the slight confusion on Song Qingming's face, Xu Ziyan, who was standing below, immediately stepped forward and cupped her hands in greeting:
"Now that the Grand Elder has advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, according to the rules of the cultivation world, we are all juniors in front of you. How can we be on equal footing with you?"
The dozen or so chairs in the "Huixian Pavilion" were all randomly arranged in two rows, with no distinction between upper and lower seats.
Now that Song Qingming is a Nascent Soul cultivator, according to the rules of the cultivation world, Xu Ziyan and the others are all juniors, so they naturally dare not sit with him.
Upon hearing this, Yao Muling, who was standing to the side, also cupped her hands and said:
"What Senior Sister Xu said is correct. The Grand Elder is already our senior uncle. No matter what, the internal etiquette of the sect should still follow the rules of the cultivation world."
Furthermore, the way we address you should now be changed.
From now on, Uncle Song, you no longer need to address us as your peers; simply call us junior nephew.
"Yes! I understand what you're saying. The rules of the cultivation world cannot be ignored."
However, we have just returned from Donghuang Kingdom, and there are no outsiders present today, so let's not go through these formalities for now.
Next time, I'll just have someone set up one more chair.
"Everyone, stop staring at me, please sit down!"
"Thank you, Uncle-Master!"
Seeing that Song Qingming still insisted that everyone take their seats, Xu Ziyan, Yao Muling, and the others did not insist any further and stepped forward to take their seats in order of seniority from the sect elders.
Apart from Song Qingming, Song Qingyu, Li Xuanyi, and Huang Siyuan, who had just returned from the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom" not long ago.
Also present in the hall were Bai Yuxian, Li Xianyun, Song Yuanhao, Xu Ziyan, Zhou Ziyang, Yao Muling, and Bai Jingyun.
All of the dozen or so Nascent Soul elders from the "Free and Unfettered Sect," except for Su Mo who was away and had not yet returned, and "Wind Ape" who was still in seclusion, had arrived at the pavilion.
Only after everyone was seated did Song Qingming continue, "In previous years, I was unable to leave Donghuang Kingdom. Now that I have finally returned, it is only right that I gather with everyone."
There are also a few things I'd like to discuss with you all regarding the future development of the sect.
"Whatever your instructions are, Uncle Song, we will do our best to fulfill them."
".
After successfully sealing the spatial passage of "Yu Xuan Island", Song Qingming quickly led Li Xuanyi and others away from "Donghuang Kingdom" and returned to Qingyun Mountain.
He had just returned to the mountain when he received a message from Bai Yuxian, who wanted to discuss many matters with him.
Upon learning of this, Song Qingming simply summoned all the sect elders, including Xu Ziyan and Zhou Ziyang, to Qingyun Mountain.
After all, these are matters concerning the development of the sect, and it can't always be just him and Bai Yuxian discussing them; they should occasionally listen to everyone's opinions.
After Song Qingming greeted everyone, Bai Yuxian, as the sect leader, began to speak about the first matter.
This involved the "Xiaoyao Sect" collaborating with the "Four Seas Merchant Alliance" to restore the many damaged spiritual mountain markets in the north.
In previous years, the demonic calamity destroyed many spiritual mountains in the north of the "Floating Cloud Mountains". To date, only 20% to 30% have been restored, and many places are still in ruins.
When Sect Leader Bai Yuxian proposed to collaborate with others to rebuild Lingshan Market, many elders present echoed her sentiments, and no one voiced any objection.
Although this move requires the sect to relinquish a portion of the future market profits to the other party.
However, in this way, the "Free and Unfettered Sect" can rebuild the Lingshan Market more quickly with the help of others, and can also save a large amount of spirit stones for other places.
This is definitely a win-win solution for the "Free and Unfettered Sect," which is currently eager to restore its strength.
Having cooperated with "Sihai Business Alliance" for many years, the two sides were already very familiar with each other.
Song Qingming readily agreed to Bai Yuxian's suggestion and made the decision on the spot.
The other elders nodded in agreement, but Li Xuanyi and Song Qingyu, who were sitting next to Song Qingming, suddenly showed a complicated expression.
After agreeing on the cooperation with "Sihai Business Alliance".
Bai Yuxian then took the initiative to suggest that the sect should further enhance the spiritual veins of Qingyun Mountain to facilitate the cultivation of Song Qingming, the Nascent Soul Ancestor.
As Song Qingming's cultivation reached the Nascent Soul stage, the fourth-grade superior spiritual vein of "Qingyun Mountain" was clearly no longer sufficient for his cultivation.
However, there are no higher-level fifth-grade spiritual veins in other parts of the "Floating Cloud Mountains".
If the "Free and Unfettered Sect" wanted to provide Song Qingming with a safe place to cultivate, they could only try to improve the spiritual vein grade of Qingyun Mountain.
"Qingyun Mountain" was originally a fifth-level sacred mountain of the Nanyue Sect.
It was only during the great battle in the Floating Cloud Mountains tens of thousands of years ago that the foundation of the earth's veins was damaged, which is why the grade of spiritual energy was reduced to the fourth-level high-grade realm.
As long as a high-level "Earth Element Pearl" that can repair the earth veins can be found, and a level 5 "Spirit Gathering Array" can be set up, the spiritual veins can be restored to level 5, low grade.
Song Qingming's array formation skills have now reached the fifth-grade low level, and he can now set up the "Spirit Gathering Array" on his own.
As for the "Earth Element Pearl," it is an even rarer type of primordial material than the "Earth Vein Pearl," and it is generally only found in certain super-large mineral veins.
Song Qingming was initially quite troubled about how to find out about this matter.
Unexpectedly, Bai Yuxian had already found a "Earthly Elemental Pearl" and solved the problem for him.
Ten years ago, after returning from the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom", Bai Yuxian began to inquire about the "Earthly Elemental Pearl".
Not long after, Xiao Haoran, the new leader of the "Tianhai Alliance", personally visited and presented a "Diyuan Pearl".
Since Yuan Luohua's passing, the "Tianhai Alliance" has been trying to ease tensions with the Fuyun Mountains in recent years.
A few years ago, after learning that Song Qingming had advanced to the Nascent Soul realm.
Xiao Haoran and the others couldn't sit still either, so they sent many people north to inquire about the matter, which led him to learn about the "Xiaoyao Sect's" search for the Earth Origin Pearl.
Xiao Haoran, who happened to possess this item, immediately brought the "Earthly Elemental Pearl" to the door in person, using it as a link to ease tensions between the two parties.
Seeing that Xiao Haoran had come with great sincerity, Bai Yuxian naturally did not refuse him and generously accepted the treasure.
Upon learning that Bai Yuxian had found the "Earthly Elemental Pearl," everyone was overjoyed and immediately began discussing the matter of repairing the spiritual veins.
Besides the "Earth Element Pearl" and the Level 5 "Spirit Gathering Array".
To restore the "Qingyun Mountain" spiritual vein to the fifth grade, at least eight million spirit stones would be needed, which is also a considerable sum.
Previously, the "Free and Unfettered Sect" had experienced a demonic calamity, and the sect's treasury was almost completely depleted by the great battle, with the remaining balance now less than a million spirit stones.
Otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to specifically seek cooperation with the "Four Seas Business Alliance" to rebuild the Northern Lingshan Market.
Providing eight million spirit stones all at once is still a headache for the sect.
Seeing that everyone present had fallen silent in the face of this scene, Xu Ziyan, who was in charge of the sect's Merit Pavilion, immediately stood up and spoke:
"Uncle-Master Song, I discussed it with Senior Sister Bai and the others. We found that the remaining spiritual items in the sect's treasury can be exchanged for one million spirit stones."
There are still 500,000 spirit stones in the spirit stone mines in the East China Sea that have not yet been transported over.
Including other shops and markets in Donghuang Kingdom, we can probably scrape together about two million spirit stones.
"There should be six or seven hundred thousand spirit stones in the Qingyun Mountain Treasury, so we are only four million spirit stones short."
Everyone's trying to scrape together the money; it shouldn't take too long to save up enough.
"Yes! Senior Sister Song is right. We all have a responsibility to advance the spiritual veins of Qingyun Mountain. With so many people in the sect, we should be able to raise a few million spirit stones."
As a Nascent Soul elder of the sect, I will first donate 100,000 spirit stones.
"I'd like to too."
".
Although they had just survived a demonic calamity, none of the people present had been wealthy in recent years.
However, when it came to the sect's advancement to the "Qingyun Mountain" spiritual vein, everyone was very enthusiastic and offered to donate spirit stones.
Just as everyone was generously donating, Song Qingyu, who was sitting to the side, suddenly spoke up: "Seventh Brother, Senior Sister Bai."
I've thought of a great way to gather spirit stones quickly!
"Oh! Do you have any good ideas on how to exchange for spirit stones? Tell me."
Seeing Song Qingyu's confident expression, Song Qingming looked somewhat surprised and immediately asked her what she thought.
"Now that Seventh Brother has advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, according to the rules, a celebration should be held. If we spread the news in advance, many people will surely come to congratulate him."
The missing few million spirit stones were soon all available.
After saying that, Song Qingyu couldn't help but show a hint of smugness on her face, clearly quite satisfied with her idea.
Meanwhile, Song Qingming and the others, upon hearing her suggestion, exchanged glances with varying expressions.
After a long while, Li Xuanyi finally nodded.
“Holding a ceremony to celebrate the transformation of our husband into a god is indeed a good idea. How could we have forgotten about it?”
"Back in the day, when I held a Nascent Soul celebration, my sect received hundreds of thousands of spirit stones as gifts. The number of people attending the Deity Transformation celebration will definitely be more than ten times that, which should be enough for our needs."
"Hmm! However, we don't have much experience in holding a Nascent Soul Ceremony, so we need to prepare well."
".
Seeing that everyone thought it was feasible, Song Qingming, who was sitting in front, suddenly spoke up: "We have no experience in holding a Nascent Soul Ceremony."
It's hard to say how many will come!
"If people found out that our Free and Unfettered Sect relies on this method to collect spirit stones, it wouldn't sound good."
"Since we're going to hold a celebration anyway, why is it wrong for us to accept gifts openly and honestly!"
"Your method, while having some merit, isn't exactly aesthetically pleasing."
Let's think of other solutions first!
Seeing that Song Qingyu still sounded indignant, Song Qingming waved his hand seriously.
".
A year later, the market town at the foot of Qingyun Mountain.
Countless cultivators from all directions came upon hearing the news, flocking into the western square of the market.
This place was originally used to host the once-in-a-century "Qingyun Mountain" conference, but now it is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations, as if a grand event is being prepared.
In the hall, Song Qingming sat at the head of the table.
Bai Yuxian, Li Xuanyi, and Huang Siyuan sat on either side of him.
In the main hall below, there were over a hundred wooden tables, most of which were already occupied by cultivators who had come from all directions to offer their congratulations.
These cultivators who can sit in the main hall are all at least at the Nascent Soul stage, and are all renowned sect elders.
The reason why so many Nascent Soul cultivators gathered here was that they came to Qingyun Mountain specifically to congratulate the Nascent Soul ancestor who was sitting in the head seat.
As native forces of the "Floating Cloud Mountains", there are Nascent Soul sects such as "Wanling Sect", "Star Gate", and "Heavenly Pole Sect".
We arrived at Qingyun Mountain quite early.
Being in a convenient location, they naturally sat in seats closer to the front.
Further back were the sects that had come specifically from the "East Sea" and the "Heavenly Sea Cultivation World".
These two places are closest to the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range," so they naturally received news of the "Free and Unfettered Sect" holding a Nascent Soul Ceremony very quickly.
Both the "East Sea" and the "Heavenly Sea Immortal Cultivation Realm" have existed for tens of thousands of years and there are no Nascent Soul cultivators within their borders.
Now that a Nascent Soul Ancestor has appeared in the Floating Cloud Mountains, they can only bow down and submit, and from now on they must respect the Free and Unfettered Sect.
Upon receiving the invitation from Qingyun Mountain, the Tianhai Alliance and many Nascent Soul forces in the East China Sea immediately dispatched their patriarchs to offer their congratulations.
At this moment, Song Qingyu and Xu Ziyan were personally standing at the door to greet the guests.
Seeing the mountain of congratulatory gifts piled up beside her, her face was already beaming.
Suddenly, another person walked in from outside the main hall. When he saw Song Qingyu standing at the door, the person looked somewhat embarrassed.
"The East Sea Immortal Alliance, the Iron Sword Sect, and Nangong Jianchen have come to offer their congratulations."
"Congratulations on Senior Song's attainment of divinity and enlightenment."
"Ah, so it's Fellow Daoist Nangong. I've been wanting to spar with you for years, and today I'm so glad to finally meet you."
"Fellow Daoist Song is now a great cultivator. How dare I humiliate myself in front of you and presumptuously offer to exchange skills?"
"This is just a small gift, nothing more. I hope Fellow Daoist Song won't hold it against me."
Faced with Song Qingyu, who wanted to spar with him, Nangong Jianchen quickly took out the congratulatory gift in his hand, which finally drew the other party's attention. (End of this chapter)