Chapter 1336
A Greedy Man, Cultivating in Seclusion
Half an hour later.
Song Xinyuan, who was meditating in seclusion, suddenly opened her eyes.
Not far away, a pair of beautiful eyes were staring intently at her. Song Xinyuan looked at the other person with some confusion.
"Senior Sister Liu, why are you staring at me like this? Do you not like this place?"
"The scenery of Qingyun Mountain is certainly beautiful, but it seems that I came at a bad time and did not have the opportunity to see the best scenery here."
"Oh! It's all my fault for being so careless. I forgot that this place is actually a good spot for flower viewing, but it's no longer spring."
"Don't be offended, senior sister. I'll take you to another place; I guarantee you won't be disappointed."
After Song Xinyuan finished speaking, he noticed that Liu Yuling, who was standing to the side, did not get up but was just looking at him with a smile.
"If you have anything to do and want to leave, just do as you please. You don't need to worry about me."
There aren't many people here; no one should have seen you abandon me.
"Ah, Fellow Daoist Liu, why do you say that?"
I promised my mother and Senior Chu that I would take good care of you, fellow Daoist. When did I ever say I would abandon you and leave you behind?
Seeing that the other party had seen through her thoughts in one sentence, Song Xinyuan immediately showed a hint of surprise and began to re-examine the person in front of her.
Previously, Liu Yuling was very reserved in the private room and hardly spoke.
When traveling with me, she remained mostly silent, appearing obedient and sensible.
But now that they were in a secluded place, the person in front of him gave him a completely different feeling than before.
Especially the sharp gaze emanating from the other person's eyes, Song Xinyuan felt as if her heart had been pierced through, and it seemed that it was difficult to hide anything from her in front of her.
"Don't worry, Junior Brother Song, I will go down the mountain myself to explain this matter later."
He said he got lost and unfortunately lost his junior brother.
Senior Li loves you so much, he shouldn't blame you, right?
"If Fellow Daoist Liu says so, it seems that I can't leave even if I want to today."
Seeing that Liu Yuling had already seen through her thoughts, Song Xinyuan showed a hint of wariness and instead of leaving, she turned around and sat down in front of her.
Knowing that the other party did not believe her, Liu Yuling smiled slightly and did not explain.
He took out a book from his sleeve and began to read it by himself.
Meanwhile, seeing that the other party did not intend to respond to her, Song Xinyuan's gaze fell on the book in Liu Yuling's hand.
"I didn't expect that Senior Sister Liu would also like the art of puppetry. Could it be that you are also a puppeteer?"
"Hmm! But compared to Senior Li, a level four puppeteer, my puppetry skills are nothing special, so please don't laugh at me."
Upon hearing Song Xinyuan's question, Liu Yuling nodded slightly and immediately closed the book in her hand.
"Wanxiu Mountain does not have any puppetry inheritances above level four. If I could get some guidance from Senior Li, my puppetry skills should be able to improve even further."
Unfortunately, my junior brother seems to have other plans, so I'm afraid I won't have that chance.
"I used to think that my senior sister, like everyone else, was coerced by those self-righteous elders to marry me and curry favor with my father."
Looking back now, it seems I was somewhat wrong.
"Actually, what my junior brother said is not wrong. I was indeed used by the sect as a tool to curry favor with Senior Song. That's what the ancestors told me too."
However, they did not force me; I came to Qingyun Mountain voluntarily.
"With Senior Sister Liu's talent, even if she stays in the Myriad Spirits Sect, she will have a great chance to form a Nascent Soul in the future."
"You came to Qingyun Mountain, is it merely to learn puppetry techniques?"
"Not entirely!"
After gently shaking her head, Liu Yuling continued:
"If I stay in the sect, I will also have the opportunity to form a Nascent Soul, but the competition within the sect is just as fierce."
If I could come to Qingyun Mountain and have Senior Song's protection, my chances of reaching the Nascent Soul stage would increase considerably, which is also very important to me.
Besides puppetry skills, I also have some interest in formations, especially the puppet formations practiced by Senior Song, which I had heard of long ago.
"To form a Nascent Soul and also to cultivate Father's Puppet Array, isn't Senior Sister being a bit too greedy?"
"If I weren't greedy, why would I need to come to Qingyun Mountain!"
Faced with Song Xinyuan's scrutiny, Liu Yuling remained calm and made no attempt to conceal her true feelings.
"Senior Sister Liu, you guessed right. I did have a senior sister in my heart. She took good care of me since I was a child and was injured for me several times."
However, my mother doesn't like Senior Sister Mingyue and doesn't agree to me marrying her.
As Song Xinyuan spoke, his thoughts returned to the figure on Mount Funiu.
Having been sent back to his family to cultivate since childhood, he had always followed behind Song Mingyue, and the two naturally developed a special bond.
However, Song Mingyue's aptitude was average; she was a cultivator with three spiritual roots.
Although he has successfully formed his core, he only reached the third level of the Golden Core stage at the age of 180, so his chances of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage in the future are not great.
It was precisely because of this that Li Xuanyi tried to stop the matter.
He disagreed with his son marrying the other woman, and a few years ago, despite Song Xinyuan's objections, he deliberately found a pretext to transfer Song Mingyue away from "Qingyun Mountain".
“Junior Brother Song, if your mother agrees to you being together, your senior sister will be unable to form a nascent soul in the future.”
After she's gone, will you marry another Daoist partner?
"Well, I can't be sure about things that will happen hundreds of years from now."
"Since you can't be sure, then you probably don't like your senior sister that much either. No wonder Senior Li stopped this."
"What did you say?"
Upon hearing the other person deny their feelings for Song Mingyue, Song Xinyuan was slightly taken aback and looked at them with confusion.
Liu Yuling then looked up and explained to him calmly:
"Junior Brother Song, let me ask you a different question."
If you have two choices right now, and you choose your senior sister, you will never be able to condense a nascent soul in this lifetime.
If you choose me, we can embark on the path to the Nascent Soul stage together.
Would you give up your own path for her?
"Why can't I choose my senior sister and support her in achieving Nascent Soul stage? Why must I abandon my own path?"
Liu Yuling smiled gently in response to Song Xinyuan's answer.
"Didn't Fellow Daoist Song just say that I was a bit greedy? Aren't you the same now?!"
Fellow Daoist, was it your outstanding talent or the greater support from Senior Li and Senior Song that enabled you to cultivate to the Golden Core realm so quickly?
If you truly love that senior sister, and give up your status to be with her, no one in this world can stop you.
But since you can't let go of your own path, it's clear that she might not really be that important to you.
".
Hearing the other party's reasoned and well-founded analysis, Song Xinyuan was indeed unable to refute it for a moment, and stood there staring blankly at the person in front of her.
After a while, Song Xinyuan smiled slightly.
"So, you're saying my feelings for my senior sister aren't that deep? Fellow Daoist Liu, do you think there's a chance?"
"That's hard to say, after all, I'm not the only one who came looking for you!"
"If I were to choose you, could Senior Sister Liu grant me a request?"
".
"Qingyun Mountain" refers to a cave dwelling at the summit.
As the wooden box in Song Qingming's hand slowly opened, three golden short swords flew out quickly and circled in the air in front of him.
The three "Demon-Suppressing Swords" before them all exuded the aura of a high-grade fourth-level magic weapon.
There is still a subtle connection between them.
“My lord, this Demon-Suppressing Sword is so precious, Xuan Yi dares not accept it lightly.”
You should take it back and save it to exchange for other useful spiritual items in the future. Siyuan and I will just take some useful pills, like we did!
Li Xuanyi glanced at the "Demon-Suppressing Sword" floating in front of her. Although she was somewhat tempted, she still declined.
Seeing this, Song Qingming quickly waved his hand at him.
"Now that your cultivation has reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, this set of magic treasures is just what you need to use, so there's no need to refuse me."
The sect currently has few Nascent Soul cultivators and needs reliable manpower in all aspects.
Qingyu has the Myriad Swords Box, and Senior Sister Bai has already refined the Purple Sun Token. Entrusting the Demon Suppressing Sword to you should also greatly enhance your strength.
As for Siyuan, she currently possesses the "Purple Gold Furnace" and the "Ice Scale Pearl," so she doesn't lack any magical treasures for the time being.
"When I meet a suitable spirit companion for her in the future, I will make it up to her; there's no need to worry about it too much."
With Song Qingming advancing to the Nascent Soul realm, the "Free and Unfettered Sect" has officially become a Nascent Soul power.
Several months ago, during the celebration, numerous sects from the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range", "Eastern Sea Immortal Cultivation World", "Heavenly Sea Alliance", and the Southern State of the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom came to participate in the celebration.
They had already publicly announced that they would henceforth be subordinate to the "Xiaoyao Sect" and obey the orders of their ancestor, Song Qingming.
The areas that the sect needs to manage next are far more than just "Qingyun Mountain", "Chiyun Mountain", and Weiguo.
Therefore, whether it is the current "Xiaoyao Sect" or Song Qingming's companions such as Song Qingyu and Li Xuanyi.
They all need to improve their capabilities as soon as possible in order to better assist Song Qingming in integrating and managing so many places.
Both Song Qingyu and Bai Yuxian already possessed a replica of a spiritual treasure, and their magical abilities in combat were already comparable to those of a typical half-step Nascent Soul cultivator.
When Li Xuanyi wields this "Demon-Suppressing Sword," its power is no less than that of a replica of a magical treasure.
With the three of them present, even without considering Song Qingming, the Nascent Soul Ancestor, the strength of the top cultivators of the "Xiaoyao Sect" was already comparable to that of the ten major sects of the Donghuang Kingdom.
Seeing that Song Qingming had already thought this through, Li Xuanyi nodded slightly.
"Husband, since you've said so, I'll listen to you."
However, Sister Siyuan started learning the craft earlier than us, so you can't forget about her while you're busy with me, otherwise I absolutely dare not accept this gift."
"Yes! It's rare that you care about her so much, how could I forget her?"
When Li Xuanyi and Song Qingming became Daoist partners, it was not only because of their own feelings for each other, but also because of Huang Siyuan's generous help that they were able to get together smoothly.
Despite her assertive demeanor in front of others, Li Xuanyi always maintains a degree of respect for Huang Siyuan, her elder sister in the family.
Over the years, the two have maintained a very harmonious relationship on the mountain and have never had any disputes.
Even now, with Song Qingming bestowing treasures upon her, Li Xuanyi still couldn't forget him. Seeing Song Qingming nod earnestly, she finally took the "Demon-Suppressing Sword" into her hands and began to carefully examine the magical treasure before her.
"My husband, there's something else I'd like to ask you."
After putting away the magical artifact in her hand, Li Xuanyi raised her hand and took out several scrolls, placing them in front of Song Qingming.
“Look, Xin Yuan has already formed his core. It’s time to find him a Daoist partner and have children.”
These women were all carefully selected by me; they all have pretty good personal qualities.
"Since I have some free time today, could you help me decide which woman is suitable?"
The portraits that Li Xuanyi took out not only depicted beautiful young women, but also recorded their backgrounds and cultivation levels below them.
These women, like Song Xinyuan, had all reached at least the Golden Core realm in terms of cultivation.
They all came from distinguished backgrounds, from various Nascent Soul factions that were familiar with the "Free and Unfettered Sect".
After only a quick glance, Song Qingming quickly looked away and picked out one of the portraits.
"When I came back just now, I saw the aura of an unfamiliar woman on Crimson Cloud Peak to the west. It must be her."
With his unique spiritual root aptitude, he had already cultivated to the late Golden Core stage at the age of 160. With a little nurturing, he should have a good chance of advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.
The Myriad Spirits Sect is really willing to spend money; they actually sent her here.
"Hehe! I was originally going to let you see it first, but it turns out my husband already knew."
As you know, the Myriad Spirits Sect has not had an easy time these past few years, and its strength is far less than before.
A few years ago, Fellow Daoist Ye broke through to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and now the Starry Sky Sect has already surpassed them.
They were willing to send this child here because they wanted to curry favor with Qingyun Mountain and solidify their position in the west.
Upon seeing the portrait of Liu Yuling in Song Qingming's hand, Li Xuanyi quickly offered an explanation.
Since the deaths of Zhao Wuling and Wang Yan, and the recent turmoil and demonic calamities that have befallen the "Wanling Sect," the sect's strength has significantly weakened compared to several hundred years ago.
Ten years ago, Ye Linyuan, the Supreme Elder of the Star Gate, spent a considerable amount of money to purchase a Grade 4 superior demon core from the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom.
Ye Linyuan, a rogue cultivator who had already formed his Nascent Soul, possessed considerable natural talent, and this was already his second attempt to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage.
With the help of a top-grade level four demon core, Ye Linyuan successfully broke through to the seventh level of the Nascent Soul realm, becoming the first great cultivator of the "Starry Sky Sect".
Thanks to Ye Linyuan's rapid advancement, the status of the "Starry Sky Sect" has risen accordingly.
It also replaced the "Wanling Sect" and became the second sect in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range, second only to the "Xiaoyao Sect".
Now, Chu Lingyun has sent Liu Yuling, a promising young talent from the sect who is expected to reach the Nascent Soul stage, to Qingyun Mountain to arrange a marriage with Song Xinyuan. His purpose is self-evident.
Although Song Qingming understood the other party's thoughts, he didn't care who he married.
"Men should marry when they are of age and women should marry when they are of age. If Xin Yuan agrees, I will have no objection."
“Husband, I quite like this child. If you think she is suitable, let her become a Daoist couple with Xinyuan.”
As for Mingyue, if she's willing to become Xinyuan's concubine, then let them have her way.
If she's unwilling, offering her some spiritual items as compensation is fine; we certainly won't owe her anything.
"She's family, after all. How can she be a concubine? We should compensate her with more spiritual items."
You are Xinyuan's mother, so I'll leave this matter to you. If you need any help, you can ask Siyuan and Senior Sister Bai.
I have a lot on my plate, and I need to focus my energy on improving my spiritual veins.
"Hmm! Since my husband agrees, I will get on it as soon as possible."
Seeing that Song Qingming had no objection to the person she had chosen, Li Xuanyi immediately smiled and nodded.
".
As the two were talking, they suddenly noticed a subtle fluctuation of spiritual energy coming from the doorway.
Upon seeing this, Li Xuanyi quickly put away the many portraits in front of her before stepping forward to open the cave door.
"Qingyu, you've come!"
"Senior Sister Li, I heard Seventh Brother is back. Did he get anything good? Let's take it out and see!"
As soon as she entered, Song Qingyu looked at Li Xuanyi with delight and curiosity in her eyes.
Before Li Xuanyi could reply, Song Qingming's voice came from not far away.
"Qingyu, how's the matter I asked you to handle? It's been so long, have you gathered all the spirit stones yet?"
"Seventh Brother, rest assured, my sister-in-law and I have already taken care of this matter. The eight million spirit stones have been moved into the treasury."
The spirit gathering array is ready, and we can advance our spirit veins at any time!
I came here precisely to discuss this matter with Seventh Brother, to see if we should inform Senior Sister Bai and the others to send someone over for help.
"No need. Since everything is already prepared, the few of us are enough."
".
After making a fortune by holding the "Transformation Celebration", Song Qingyu, Huang Siyuan and others quickly raised the eight million spirit stones needed to advance their spiritual veins.
Seeing this, Song Qingming, who was eager to improve his spiritual veins, immediately gave orders to everyone to gather all the high-level formations at the foot of the mountain to the top of Qingyun Mountain.
Several years ago, when he returned from outer space, Song Qingming had already crafted a high-level "Spirit Gathering Array".
With the help of many high-level array masters, the array was quickly set up and began to refine the "Earth Element Pearl" within the array to transform the surrounding spiritual energy.
At the same time, the millions of spirit stones that had been prepared were all poured into the great formation at Song Qingyu's command.
As the grand formation was activated, "Qingyun Mountain" immediately trembled, and the spiritual energy level rapidly increased to the fifth-grade lower level.
Once the spiritual energy within the formation had gradually stabilized, Song Qingming raised his hand to cast a spell, a look of satisfaction immediately appearing on his face.
After successfully advancing to the "Qingyun Mountain" spiritual vein, the mountain soon welcomed its second joyous event.
With the help of elders like Li Xuanyi, Song Xinyuan and Liu Yuling quickly became a couple.
Liu Yuling comes from the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect". Her spiritual roots and talents are outstanding. She has already successfully formed her core, and her cultivation speed is even faster than Song Xinyuan's.
If it weren't for wanting to curry favor with Song Qingming behind "Qingyun Mountain".
Chu Lingyun of the "Ten Thousand Spirits Sect" would never easily send such a promising talent, who has the potential to reach the Nascent Soul stage, away from the sect to marry an outsider.
The marriage between Song Xinyuan and Liu Yuling, under the deliberate promotion of the "Wanling Sect", quickly caused a sensation in the entire cultivation world of the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range".
Various sects sent representatives to Qingyun Mountain to present congratulatory gifts.
Although Song Xinyuan was only a Golden Core cultivator, the scale of his "dual cultivation celebration" with Liu Yuling was no less than that of an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.
In the blink of an eye, seeing his son Song Xinyuan already married and established in his career, Song Qingming felt very gratified.
On the spot, Song Xinyuan and Liu Yuling were each rewarded with 300,000 sect merit points, enough to exchange for Nascent Soul spirit items.
Li Xuanyi, Song Qingyu, and others also generously donated money, each bestowing tens of thousands of merit points upon them.
This instantly made Song Xinyuan, who had just formed his core, the one with the most merit points among all the Golden Core cultivators in the "Free and Unfettered Sect".
The same applies to Liu Yuling, who had just married into the family.
".
Inside the bridal chamber, Liu Yuling, dressed in a red wedding gown, sat on the edge of the bed.
He was holding a blue jade slip in his hand, carefully examining its contents while trying to control the puppet beside him.
Song Xinyuan used magic to dispel the smell of alcohol from his body before walking towards her.
"Master Liu..."
"Husband, from now on just call me Yuling, so that people won't misunderstand."
Before Song Xinyuan could finish speaking, Liu Yuling stopped her with her hand and then stood up to make way for her.
"Ugh! I'm exhausted after a long day. I should get some rest!"
"Wait a minute. Take this and take a look first."
Just as Song Xinyuan was about to sit down and cultivate, Liu Yuling suddenly handed him the jade slip in her hand, her eyes looking somewhat unnatural.
"What kind of technique is this? It's so late, what's there to see? Let's talk about it tomorrow!"
"No, Mother specifically told me to keep a close eye on it."
".
After more than half a month of bustling activity, Qingyun Mountain finally began to quiet down.
Not long after the celebration ended, Song Xinyuan and Liu Yuling, who had just gotten married, suddenly took the initiative to propose moving out of the "Qingyun Mountain" cave.
Li Xuanyi was unwilling, but she couldn't go against her son Song Xinyuan's insistence, so she had to agree to let them temporarily move to the market town at the foot of the mountain.
".
After handling Song Xinyuan's wedding arrangements.
Having finally begun to have some free time, Song Qingming quickly returned to his secluded cave.
With his spiritual vein advancement complete, he can now properly go into seclusion for a while.
With his eyes closed and legs crossed, Song Qingming took out a white round bead, which immediately emitted a dense spiritual energy.
After reaching the Nascent Soul stage, the spiritual energy of the world in the "Huayang Realm" is scarce, making the normal absorption and exhalation of spiritual energy for cultivation extremely slow.
Most people would find it difficult to break through even one level of cultivation even after a thousand years, relying solely on their own arduous practice.
If a cultivator wants to improve their cultivation level, they can only rely on refining spiritual objects and high-grade elixirs that are useful to Nascent Soul cultivators.
The high-grade deep-sea moon clam inner core in Song Qingming's hand is a rare high-grade spiritual item that, after being refined, can enhance the magical power of a Nascent Soul cultivator.
After carefully examining and confirming that there was nothing wrong with the spiritual object in his hand, Song Qingming slowly swallowed it.
Once the inner core entered his dantian, Song Qingming immediately raised his hand to cast a spell, using the remaining diagram on his body to begin refining the inner core of the deep-sea moon clam within his body.
With the help of the incomplete map, Song Qingming's speed in refining spiritual objects was almost ten times that of an ordinary cultivator.
The deep-sea moon clam inner core, which should have taken several years to refine, was successfully refined by Song Qingming in less than half a year.
A massive surge of magical power quickly erupted from his dantian, causing Song Qingming's cultivation level to rise significantly.
By refining just this high-level "Deep Sea Moon Clam Inner Core," Song Qingming's internal mana increased by at least 20%, saving him seventy or eighty years of arduous cultivation.
Next, Song Qingming took out a high-grade spiritual pill from his person.
".
(PS: Sorry, I accidentally clicked the wrong button yesterday and it couldn't be posted!) (End of Chapter)