Chapter 151: 214, 215

Reappearance World, Xuanqing Palace, Nantian Pavilion.

Beside an ancient bookshelf, Song Cheng placed the "Spirit Servant Technique" back onto the shelf.

In the world where ink and water flowed, there was no light; even everything seen was merely the result of the perception of yin and yang by existences like the Mountain and River Lord.

Hearing Lian Chanxi's words, Song Cheng knew that once the "Spirit Servant Technique" reached the entry level, one could capture souls into the Yin She.

This was the reason why, although his son and daughter-in-law had died previously, they had been captured and hidden in the Yin She by that She Yitu; even now, they were still passively staying in his Yin She.

This world seemed to be constantly emphasizing that "when one person attains the Dao, their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven."

Ghosts can produce ghost servants.

Aristocratic family descendants can produce medicine men, and can also produce soul-refiners who contemplate them.

The Spirit of Mountains and Rivers can use Flat Peaches to turn "Pseudo-Xuan" into "True Xuan Realm."

The Mountain and River Lord goes a step further; their power permeates, and they can use secret medicines to directly give birth to incomparably powerful Prayer Spirits—and now, there are also spirit servants.

The "Spirit Servant Technique" is clearly a mandatory technique for a Mountain and River Lord.

If a Mountain and River Lord has a powerful background, they must start practicing the "Spirit Servant Technique" the moment they step into this realm, spending decades to reach the entry level before switching to the next spell.

The black and white Qi, like the waves of the Canghai, flowed before Song Cheng's eyes. Song Cheng came back to his senses and, without hesitation, began to Add Points.

If a master could truly share lifespan with a spirit servant, wouldn't that mean he could bring all his loved ones to eternal life?

As the points decreased rapidly, the level of the "Spirit Servant Technique" also improved step by step:

From Not Yet Initiated to entry level, to small accomplishment, Great Accomplishment, and then to Completion.

Countless memories of cultivation also flooded into Song Cheng's mind, allowing him to clearly understand the function of this spell at each stage.

Entry level: capture souls into the Yin She, maintaining the original lifespan of the living soul so that even if the body perishes, the soul does not dissipate.

Small accomplishment: even if the lifespan is exhausted, one can share the lifespan of the Yin She master, but there is an upper limit, which is not to exceed one hundred percent of their own original maximum lifespan. The spirit servant obeys the master completely.

Great accomplishment: the spirit servant can contemplate the master to temporarily borrow the master's height to comprehend cultivation techniques; after the realm improves, the lifespan is increased accordingly.

Completion: use the secret technique of mountains and rivers to directly transform the soul of the spirit servant into a wandering ghost. In this way, the spirit servant transformed into a wandering ghost can possess the master's mountains and rivers, becoming existences such as tree spirits or stone monsters. However, this technique is extremely damaging to the user, and every time it is used, it shortens one's lifespan. It is a technique that is useless to the extreme, and no Mountain and River Lord with even a bit of brains would ever practice it.

In an instant, 15,360 points disappeared, but the "Spirit Servant Technique" was already at Completion.

Song Cheng slowly shook his head.

As expected, directly sharing lifespan for eternal life was him overthinking it.

And indeed, the most cost-effective feature of the "Spirit Servant Technique" was the entry level; for almost all Mountain and River Lords, there was no need to practice it further, but for him, it was simply too good.

"Ling'er, there is hope."

Ling'er is now over ninety years old; Song Cheng plans to return quickly and use the Completion-level Spirit Servant Technique to turn Ling'er into a wandering ghost.

Besides Ling'er, Ying'er, and even Tong Niangzi, An Chenyu, and even Xiao Yu'er, Su Mengzhen, Xiao Cheng, Ling Xue, Huazi, and Ouyang Chuchu could also be included; after all, spirit servants and the previous medicine men are completely different.

Medicine men belong to being given away for free, belonging to being drained of potential once to increase power.

But spirit servants require the user's heart's blood and lifespan, but because of this, they also allow the spirit servant to gain terrifying comprehension.

Problems that were sought after bitterly in the human world but could not be solved were solved easily upon coming to the Xuanqing Palace in this Reappearance World.

This left him with no more worries.

Song Cheng could not help but feel relaxed.

Although one spell consumed 15,360 points, he felt it was worth it.

"Little Song, the 'Forgetting Technique' is over here," Lian Chanxi's voice came.

Song Cheng followed the sound and walked over, raising his hand to look at the jade slip. Upon touching it slightly, the information inside was transmitted. This information only allows you to vaguely know its function, but you cannot understand it as precisely as you would after mastering it.

Upon this touch, Song Cheng understood that as long as the "Forgetting Technique" reaches the entry level, one can clear away the excess information one has mastered.

These spells are very mysterious; once you come into contact with the jade slip, it will turn into many thoughts circling in your mind, rather than being stored in your memory for you to mobilize. Unless you can digest it completely, this spell will always circulate like distracting thoughts. When you practice other techniques, these distracting thoughts will arise at any time, making you unable to find peace of mind, resulting in half the work for twice the result, or even achieving nothing.

Therefore, it is indeed reasonable to practice two spells at the same time; at least this is a lesson learned by a sect with a foundation.

The "Forgetting Technique" is clearly also a mandatory spell.

Song Cheng finished absorbing the information within, and a new line of information appeared on the panel in an instant:

【Combat Technique】

Forgetting Technique (Earth Tier Grade C) (Not Yet Initiated (0/1024)). Without hesitation, he first invested 1,024 points to bring the "Forgetting Technique" to the entry level.

Subsequently, the effect of small accomplishment vaguely emerged in Song Cheng's mind.

He could therefore decide whether to forget the subsequent cultivation method or continue practicing.

After sensing it for a while, Song Cheng understood.

"The 'Forgetting Technique' at small accomplishment can help others forget, but the degree of forgetting... it seems one needs to practice it to know."

Looking at "Entry level (0/2048)," Song Cheng thought for a moment and still invested the points; after all, the approach of "letting others forget" seemed quite good.

In an instant, the cultivation memories settled.

"The 'Forgetting Technique' at small accomplishment can be used on the soul; any existence with a realm lower than mine can have certain memories permanently washed away by me..."

"As for the method of use, it is that I first cast a thought to retrieve all the thoughts in the other party's mind, and then wash them away together... it's just that I cannot see those retrieved thoughts."

"It is still a relatively useless technique; after all, if the existence is lower in realm than me, where is the need to use such a spell?"

"However, the growth potential of this spell is quite good; although it is Earth Tier Grade C, I should still be able to use it even if my realm is higher in the future."

As such, Song Cheng had become completely interested.

He sensed toward the Great Accomplishment of the "Forgetting Technique," and its vague function emerged.

The function of Great Accomplishment is being able to view the retrieved thoughts at will.

A very good use.

Although Song Cheng can now possess bodies to view memories, it is limited to ordinary people.

If he could directly view the memories of anyone with a lower realm than him, that would be simply amazing. Although there were not many points, Song Cheng gritted his teeth and pushed the points up.

In an instant, the "Forgetting Technique" reached Great Accomplishment.

Song Cheng looked curiously at its Completion effect.

At this look, his heartbeat suddenly quickened by a few beats.

The Forgetting Technique, upon reaching Completion, directly transformed into a "control-type spell" that can be used during battle, allowing the opponent to briefly forget the spell they are about to use, or even the action they are about to perform. The greater the difference in cultivation realm, the longer the duration of forgetting; even against someone of the same realm, it can make them briefly "dull" for several breaths. The most critical point is that this is also a growth-type spell; in other words, even if you reach the True Spirit Realm, you can still use it against those of the same realm.

And several breaths, in a battle at the Earth Grade Grade C level, is already a very long time—long enough to determine success or failure, victory or defeat.

The most terrifying thing is that even if the opponent is stronger than you, they will still be affected by the Forgetting Technique; unless they are completely and utterly superior to you, there is no avoiding it.

Song Cheng couldn't help himself and added the points to max it out.

Another 15,360 points fell away.

Forgetting Technique, Completion!

Song Cheng rubbed his head, feeling as if years of savings had vanished like flowing water.

Looking at the remaining "39,953 points," Song Cheng calculated quickly in his mind.

He could actually already deduce the points required for cultivation techniques.

The points required for each realm would double compared to the previous realm, and the points required for cultivation techniques and battle techniques were the same.

The Completion points for Earth Grade Grade C are 15,360, so, the points required for the True Spirit Realm, which is Earth Grade Grade B, would basically be 30,720.

He had to keep these points free, so as not to be unable to reach Completion after learning a True Spirit Realm technique.

Lian Chanxi looked at Song Cheng's troubled expression, thinking he was discouraged because he couldn't practice the Double Cultivation technique, so she comforted him: "Little Song, it's fine. You and I will spend more time together in the future; even if there is no Double Cultivation technique for now, our feelings will inevitably grow deep."

"Do not be impatient because of this; haste makes waste, and it would instead prolong the time spent practicing the Forgetting Technique and Spirit Servant Technique."

Song Cheng said: "Sister Lian, I feel I can still take a look at the Double Cultivation Technique."

Lian Chanxi rolled her eyes and said: "I know you feel fine right now, but do you still want to learn the Water Spirit Illuminating Heaven Scripture? You have to save some energy, don't you?"

Having said that, she took Song Cheng's hand and said softly: "You are still young and have talent; even if you have fallen behind in progress because you have no faction, it doesn't affect anything at all."

Lian Chanxi felt that as a senior, she should guide this young Dao companion.

And this was also something that should be done between Dao companions.

To comfort one another, allowing the other party to always maintain a calm heart to cope with cultivation.

Song Cheng said: "I really can."

"You cannot, oh." Lian Chanxi shook her finger.

Song Cheng said: "Then let me take a look."

Lian Chanxi stared at him with her beautiful eyes, as if keeping watch.

Song Cheng raised his hand to touch the jade slip of the Double Cultivation Technique, pretending to be deep in thought on his face, but his mind had already quickly absorbed the contents of the jade slip.

In an instant, Double Cultivation Technique (Earth Grade Grade C) (Not Yet Initiated (0/1024)) appeared on his panel.

And what the Double Cultivation Technique was also left him somewhat stunned. Double Cultivation, to put it bluntly, is the joy between a man and a woman, the merging of Yin and Yang.

But this actually also has a purpose.

For ordinary people, and even children of noble families, the ultimate goal of intimacy is actually "progeny reproduction," belonging to the category of "continuation."

But at the level of a Mountain and River Lord, the goal of this intimacy is actually "world formation," belonging to the category of "completeness."

Ordinary people often say "who is whose other half"; such words are actually just talk, but for a Mountain and River Lord, it is true.

Mountains and rivers are compatible, embedded within each other, and thus the two are almost one body, an alliance of offense and defense, difficult to destroy. And after compatibility, the two will constantly experience a tremendous sense of comfort; this feeling is far superior to the intimacy of ordinary people by a hundred or a thousand times, just as if they were engaged in that indescribable act every moment.

'Add Points!'

Song Cheng realized that this Double Cultivation Technique might not be simple; at least its effects were far superior to what he had originally thought.

This was not a technique solely for pleasure, but seemed to hide deeper secrets.

Instantly, the Double Cultivation Technique reached Initiation.

Song Cheng also understood its principle.

The two Dao companions bring their main bodies close and use the technique, which can cause the mountains and rivers to tremble and subsequently fuse. He was dumbfounded.

'This is a bit of a pitfall.'

The problem was obvious.

If the mountains and rivers were close, it would be fine, but if they were at opposite ends of the world, separated by a vast distance, then how could one "bring the main bodies close"? Therefore, the Double Cultivation Technique is actually extremely harsh; most Dao companions are only "superficial Dao companions" and cannot achieve the things mentioned in the Double Cultivation Technique.

This belongs to the requirement that when seizing the mountains and rivers at the Mysterious Grade Jiappin level, one must seize them together.

However, this was only the effect mentioned at the Initiation of the Double Cultivation Technique.

Song Cheng quickly sensed toward Great Accomplishment.

Double Cultivation Technique at Great Accomplishment means the mountains and seas attract each other. Even if the two parties are far apart, they can still be pulled by some kind of force to move closer to each other.

Song Cheng glanced at Great Accomplishment and temporarily stopped the thought of continuing to practice.

Without needing to think, he knew that the speed of this "mutual attraction, moving closer to each other" must be slow to the extreme.

He certainly wanted to know what "Great Accomplishment" and "Completion" after "Great Accomplishment" would be like.

But unfortunately, he didn't have many points, so he had to save enough for the True Spirit Realm technique and to deal with other situations.

Song Cheng came back to his senses and looked at Lianchanxi.

The two stared at each other with wide eyes.

Song Cheng suddenly said: "Sister Lian, I have always wanted to ask, where do these spells come from?"

He had temporarily given up on his "self-deducing techniques" because that was simply not something that could be done in a short time; it was something that could only be done on a long time scale.

Then... where did these mysterious Forgetting Technique, Spirit Servant Technique, and Double Cultivation Technique come from? Lianchanxi said: "These spells are just from within Xuanqing Palace."

"So many of them are?" Song Cheng scanned the rows of bookshelves.

Lianchanxi shook her head slightly and said: "The Spirit of Mountains and Rivers, and even the Mountain and River Lord, as well as the True Spirit methods, were originally in Xuanqing Palace."

"But more of the ones here were collected by Xuanqing Palace disciples while outside."

"Are they the Yin She of noble families?"

"Yes."

"Then where did that aristocratic family member Yin She get his cultivation techniques from?"

"Little Song, that question is simple."

"The Yin She contains blank jade slips. After many generations of contemplation, an aristocratic family will merge their insights into one place, thereby summarizing and compiling them into cultivation techniques. Many of those techniques are not complete; they are merely conjectures."

"Sister Lian, then where did the Yin She come from?"

"You will have to ask Aunt about that question."

After Lian Chanxi finished speaking, she said with some regret: "You saw the 'Dual Cultivation Technique', didn't you? Mountains and rivers in harmony, how beautiful. Sigh."

Song Cheng knew that Sister Lian had been "tricked by the superficial information of the 'Dual Cultivation Technique'", so he said: "Why don't we go ask Aunt for advice? Aunt is knowledgeable and experienced; perhaps she will know more."

Lian Chanxi nodded.

Song Cheng did not leave immediately.

Adhering to the principle of understanding, he continued to browse through the spells in this Nantian Pavilion.

After spending the better part of a day, he had roughly flipped through them all.

The cultivation techniques here were mostly Mysterious Grade, likely for the Xuanqing Palace to cultivate outer disciples.

As for Earth Tier techniques, there was not a single one; there were only spells below the True Spirit Realm.

Among them, there were six "Earth Grade Grade D" spells: "Natural Disaster Technique", "Spirit Fruit Harvest Technique", "Nine-Layered Maze Technique", "Demon Beast Cultivation Technique", "Dream Entrustment Technique", and "Soul Extinguishing Technique".

There were also six "Earth Grade Grade C" spells: "Forgetting Technique", "Dual Cultivation Technique", "Spirit Servant Technique", "Water Healing Technique", "Ice Sealing Technique", and "Soldier Imprinting Technique".

Among these, "Water Healing Technique" and "Ice Sealing Technique" required the cultivation of the "Water Spirit Illuminating Heaven Scripture" to be cast, and they belonged to the "officially recommended" complementary spells; these were also the two main spells cultivated by the vast majority of Xuanqing Palace disciples.

Through the "Forgetting Technique", "Spirit Servant Technique", and "Dual Cultivation Technique", Song Cheng knew very clearly that these two spells were by no means simple. And the "Soldier Imprinting Technique" was quite magical; as the name implied, this was a spell that temporarily turned the "Mountain and River Seal" into a "weapon". Seeing this, Song Cheng immediately thought of the "Senior Brother" Huang Taixuan he had seen earlier in Jing Shifei's courtyard.

That pair of fists, thick with black energy and appearing as if covered in metal, must have been because he had practiced the "Soldier Imprinting Technique", and it was not just at the introductory level.

And these twelve spells also allowed Song Cheng to further understand the difference between the "Spirit of Mountains and Rivers" and the "Mountain and River Lord".

The Earth Grade Grade D "Spirit of Mountains and Rivers", to put it bluntly, still remained in the "mortal world", and these spells were all enhancements to their original abilities.

For example, natural disasters; which Spirit of Mountains and Rivers could not cast natural disasters on their own body?

Dream entrustment and soul extinguishing were also nothing more than further control over the "Body and Soul Dream Realm".

However, the Earth Grade Grade C "Mountain and River Lord", because they mastered the Mountain and River Seal, had power that reached deep into the Reappearance World level, and could cast some profound, terrifying spells that ordinary people or even aristocratic family members could no longer imagine.

It truly was one realm, one heaven.

The existence of Dharma Heaven and Earth; it is unimaginable that the body is the mountains and rivers.

The existence of the body being the mountains and rivers; it is also unimaginable how terrifying it is to hold the Mountain and River Seal in one's hand.

However, Song Cheng heard Lian Chanxi say that the seven major forces of the Reappearance World each had their own special spells, and the mutual restraint between them was extremely severe. Sometimes, even if two people had the same strength, because of the restraint of the spells, it would lead to the effect of "one careless move and the whole game is lost".

This made Song Cheng vigilant.

Strength data only objectively indicated a person's power, but it absolutely did not mention these mutual restraints.

For example, a great fire and a tsunami; both have terrifying power, and their destructiveness has its own merits. But if you throw the great fire into the tsunami, the great fire is extinguished instantly.

If one wants to burn the Canghai dry with fire, one does not know how many times more fire than the Canghai would be needed to do it.

Similarly, if the Canghai wants to submerge the earth, one does not know how many times more water than the earth would be needed to do it. 'From now on, strength data can only be used as a reference; unless the difference is too great, it cannot be easily used as a judgment.' Song Cheng silently gave himself an answer.

A moment later.

After Song Cheng carved the "Soldier Imprinting Technique (Earth Grade Grade C) (Not Yet Initiated (0/1024))" into his panel, he returned to Jing Shifei's courtyard with Lian Chanxi, wanting to ask about the "Dual Cultivation Technique".

Unexpectedly, Jing Shifei was not there; the room was locked tight, and they could not enter.

The two returned helplessly.

Lian Chanxi pondered over the "Dual Cultivation Technique", and clearly... the two of them could not dual cultivate for the time being; they could only be a pair of "nominal Daoist companions".

Song Cheng thought for a moment, then suddenly broke the silence and said: "Sister Lian, since my initiation ceremony requires three months, I plan to return to the human world first to handle some worldly affairs."

Lian Chanxi said: "That is fine, but wait until Aunt returns and tell her."

Seeing that her expression was different when she said "that is fine", and thinking back to the anger she had when she just walked out of the main hall of Xuanqing Palace, Song Cheng asked: "Sister Lian, what exactly happened? Is it... related to She Yitu?"

Lian Chanxi said angrily: "It is him."

"What happened? Look, this has made Sister Lian so angry." Song Cheng moved closer and asked with a smile.

Lian Chanxi "hmphed", rested her chin on her hand, and lifted her chin slightly: "You and I both discovered that there are Lost Spirits in his territory. This must have been caused by being infected by Lost Spirits, or even becoming a Lost Spirit oneself.

I brought him back, wanting the Master Sect to send him into reincarnation quickly, so as to avoid him truly turning into a Lost Spirit.

But the result... someone actually disagreed!"

"Why?"

"They said that once one enters reincarnation, one will never have the chance to cultivate the Dao again, but who can be willing? Since Lost Spirits receive their life from heaven and earth, they can survive for who knows how long. In that case, why not explore the possibility of becoming a Lost Spirit?"

The more Lian Chanxi spoke, the angrier she became, and then she said, "When Zhen and the land merge, one can become a Mountain and River Lord. Most of those who say these things are those who successfully merged with Zhen. The origin of those Zhen is ghosts, and ghosts are born from yin energy, so now they want to return to the embrace of yin energy."

"What exactly is a 'Lost'?"

"It is a dead Mountain and River Lord.

If the fusion fails at the beginning, that is a stillbirth.

If one dies when their lifespan is up, that is like a mortal dying of old age."

Song Cheng's expression tightened slightly, and he said: "So, people die and become ghosts, ghosts die and become Zhen, and Zhen die and become Lost?"

Lian Chanxi said: "You could say that? Because you and I are actually Zhen now.

But Zhen possess consciousness and lifespan, while ghosts and Lost do not.

At least, that is what everyone thinks.

But now, some people think that is not necessarily the case... Some people think that Lost Spirits might be like ghosts, also a path to improve one's realm, and sending a Mountain and River Lord whose lifespan has ended into reincarnation is no different from cutting off their path of the Dao.

Therefore, they do not advocate sending them to reincarnation now, but rather letting nature take its course.

But this simply will not do."

Lost Spirits also have distinctions; a Lost Spirit formed from a Mountain and River Lord who died of old age is far stronger than one that died in the womb.

Those that died in the womb are called Small Lost Spirits; they wander the Lost Land unconsciously and are our primary targets for extermination.

As for those who died of old age, or Small Lost Spirits that have persisted for a very, very long time, they are called Great Sang Spirits.

Aunt said that these Great Sang Spirits can enter the Taiyin Illusion Sea and stir up waves within it, which is why there are Ghost Tides in the world; an increase in Ghost Tides will lead the entire world toward destruction."

"Taiyin Illusion Sea?"

"Aunt says it is an ocean of Yin Qi within the Yin-Yang Illusion Realm. The stirring of the Taiyin Illusion Sea will bring about drastic changes to the world; in short, we must never let the number of Great Sang Spirits increase. Little Song, do you understand the severity of the problem?" Lianchanxi said angrily, "These people simply refuse to accept the fact that their time is running out, and instead pin their hopes on Lost Spirits.

Now, they have even come up with a set of rhetoric.

They say that a Mountain and River Lord is seizing heaven to strengthen the body, acting willfully; while a Lost Spirit is returning the body to heaven, achieving Heaven-Man Unity.

A True Spirit is one path, and a Lost Spirit should also be a path."

Song Cheng nodded, saying nothing.

This is neither good nor evil, simply because no one wants their "ten thousand years of Dao cultivation to be washed away."

He understands this point, so he also knows that as long as those people have even a glimmer of hope, they do not want to completely perish in body and soul.

Therefore, how to deal with She Yitu has instead become the point of most intense conflict.

Suddenly, he remembered that "Senior Martial Brother" he saw in the courtyard earlier—silver hair, martial fanatic, time running out—when he first met him, the favorability was only "50".

At the time, he was still wondering where he had offended the Senior Martial Brother; now that he thought about it, it wasn't that he had offended him, but rather "the Senior Martial Brother found him, such a young Mountain and River Lord, very unpleasant to look at."

'It seems that Xuanqing Palace is not a peaceful place either.' Song Cheng's expression flickered. After a long while, the two partners arrived at Jing Shifei's courtyard again.

The short-haired beautiful woman sat in the courtyard with a somewhat cold expression, not knowing what she had just experienced or what she was thinking, but upon seeing Lian Chanxi, the thunderous anger on her pretty face dissipated, revealing a sense of clear and bright weather.

"Chanxi, Little Song, why are you here now?"

Lian Chanxi said: "Aunt, Double Cultivation is so difficult."

The short-haired beautiful woman smiled and said: "Of course it's difficult if you want to use the Dual Cultivation Technique, but isn't it fine to just have a companion without using it?"

Lian Chanxi sighed and said: "Anyway, I intend to learn it."

She made up her mind that she could be the one to initiate the Double Cultivation.

If she led Little Song, it would be the same.

Little Song only needed to accept it passively, and that would be enough.

Jing Shifei smiled: "It's not that easy, and there's no need; you, you should still focus on learning the Water Healing Technique and Ice Sealing Technique well. The same goes for Little Song, don't learn the Dual Cultivation Technique for now."

"Why?" Lian Chanxi was a bit unhappy, "Aunt, I remember you seem to have learned it, before... the prospective uncle..."

As she spoke, she suddenly fell silent.

Even though she had lived for thousands of years, she was not sure if that "prospective uncle" was a wound for her aunt.

Although she had never met that "prospective uncle," she had heard Aunt mention him quite a few times.

Jing Shifei's smile faded slightly, revealing a hint of reminiscence; her expression circled back, and she said: "It's nothing, Brother Shi has been missing for over four thousand years; he should have been gone long ago, he should..."

She lowered her eyes slightly, her long eyelashes casting a faint black-and-white aura on her eyelids, appearing like the softest and most elegant ink-wash beauty: "He should have died at the hands of a Lost Spirit.

As for the Dual Cultivation Technique, I have indeed learned it, but... it is not an easy technique to cultivate, and the improvement to your strength is far less than the effort you put in.

If you have that spare time, it would be better to practice the Water Spirit Illuminating Heaven Scripture, the Water Healing Technique, and the Ice Sealing Technique well; if you still have the mood later, then come back to cultivate this."

"Then Aunt, tell me about it; I see that the Dual Cultivation Technique is the merging of mountains and rivers to form a single entity, which is of great benefit to both parties." Lian Chanxi was not reconciled.

Jing Shifei was not annoyed and explained patiently: "Chanxi, but if you want to merge your mountains and rivers with your partner, you need to cross many distances.

For this, you must learn the Mountain and River Attraction within the Dual Cultivation Technique, and even the technique of moving mountains and shifting seas—this is quite difficult to learn.

If you cannot learn it, then the merging of mountains and rivers is out of the question.

The union of partners will certainly make both sides stronger, but to spend over a thousand years studying this technique for such a small increase—now is not the time."

Song Cheng was also listening silently on the side.

When he heard the "technique of moving mountains and shifting seas," he suddenly understood the effect of the Dual Cultivation Technique at Great Accomplishment or even Completion.

Not bad.

It is worth a try.

However, the problem is that the Dual Cultivation Technique requires both people to know it for them to "merge mountains and rivers and gain improvement."

But Lian Chanxi does not know this method at all.

Suddenly, his heart skipped a beat, and he looked at Jing Shifei, who was talking eloquently opposite him, thinking to himself: 'Since Aunt knows so clearly, she must have learned it.'

But as soon as this thought crossed his mind, he stopped it instantly, then cursed himself inwardly, no longer letting his imagination run wild with such things, while secretly telling himself: "An existence like Aunt who has lived for ten thousand years has perhaps long since performed the Dual Cultivation Technique with someone else and merged into a complete mountain and river."

He calmed his mood and suddenly grasped another key piece of information—"Brother Shi has been missing for over four thousand years."

Over four thousand years, this is an extremely subtle time.

Calculating slightly, this time is very likely when the "Jilei Mountain Mountain God" and the "Wu River River God" obtained the "Earth Tier cultivation method, Wood Spirit Evergreen Scripture."

And the "Ink Plum Token" he dug out from the Yin She of the "Jilei Mountain Mountain God" is nine times out of ten definitely a token of Xuanqing Palace.

Song Cheng glanced at the favorability above the two women's heads.

Lian Chanxi was at 99, clearly because they couldn't perform Double Cultivation and were stuck at the final step.

Jing Shifei was at 95.

His expression flickered, and he suddenly said: "Aunt, I wonder if that Senior Shi you mentioned is also a disciple of my Xuanqing Palace?"

Jing Shifei nodded.

Song Cheng:... "What's wrong, Little Song?" Jing Shifei asked.

Song Cheng hesitated for a moment, but still took the "Ink Plum" token directly out of the Yin She and placed it on the table.

At first glance, Jing Shifei thought it was the temporary token she had given him, but upon a closer look, her beautiful eyes widened, and she said: "This Xuanqing Palace token, where did you get it, Little Song?"

Song Cheng explained the ins and outs of the matter and the origin of this token, and he did not hide the matter of the Wood Spirit Evergreen Scripture either.

It was only by cultivating the Wood Spirit Evergreen Scripture that he was able to break through to "Earth Grade Grade D."

After he confessed all of this, Jing Shifei's favorability rating rose to 97, clearly very satisfied with his actions.

Song Cheng said, "Since Aunt is certain this is a token from Xuanqing Palace, then assuming it belongs to Senior Shi, why is the 'Wood Spirit Evergreen Scripture' also here?"

Jing Shifei gripped the "Ink Plum" token, examining it repeatedly, and after a long while nodded, saying, "This is indeed Brother Shi's token; it still contains his lingering aura. That Mountain God you mentioned clearly hasn't reached a high enough realm to wipe it away."

Song Cheng narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Could it be—"

Jing Shifei let out a delicate sigh, then her expression turned extremely serious as she said, "Little Song, don't you get involved in this matter, and Chanxi, you neither."

"Aunt, what exactly is going on?" Lianchanxi asked.

Jing Shifei's expression shifted, and looking at Song Cheng, she said, "Little Song, you are going to the mortal world to handle worldly affairs, right?"

Song Cheng nodded; he had learned the "Spirit Servant Technique" specifically for his family, so naturally, the sooner he returned, the better.

Jing Shifei said, "Then remember to return by the end of this year; it was supposed to be three months, but now it may have to be delayed. Brother Shi cannot have died in vain; I want to take this opportunity to invite people from Jianmu Palace and other factions to come here together."

"Then Aunt, please take care."

"I will, it is rare that you are so thoughtful."

Jing Shifei smiled kindly at Song Cheng, then said, "Chanxi, accompany Little Song outside."

Lianchanxi swept a glance at the five fingers Jing Shifei was using to tightly grip the token and asked cautiously, "Aunt, are you... alright?"

"I am fine."

Jing Shifei's expression was as usual.

But both Song Cheng and the other could see her anger.

This was not just anger over the disappearance of Brother Shi, but perhaps also because of the matter regarding "She Yitu" just now.

However, now was not the time for Song Cheng to inquire about these things.

The three of them spoke for a little while longer, then Song Cheng and Lianchanxi left the courtyard together.

On the path outside the courtyard, there were more people than before; Yang Teng, Chen Lao, and even Huang Taixuan, whom Song Cheng had seen previously, were all outside.

It was not just these three, but also several other old men or middle-aged men.

These people's gazes fell one after another onto Song Cheng, their faces wearing strange smiles.

"Chanxi, where are you taking our little junior brother?" Huang Taixuan asked with a smile.

Just as Lianchanxi was about to speak, Song Cheng's expression flickered, and he spoke first, "Senior Brother, since Sister Lian and I have become Dao companions, we are naturally returning to our room."

Lianchanxi was stunned, just wanting to ask, "Little Song, didn't you just say you wanted to leave immediately?"

But before the words could leave her mouth, her hand was already grabbed by Song Cheng, who smiled and nodded at the people outside before leaving; even as they walked away, Song Cheng could still feel the sinister, piercing gazes on his back.

And the strength and favorability ratings above these people's heads were very uniform.

Their strength was "Mysterious Grade Bing," and for some reason, their favorability had all dropped below 50; even Chen Lao, whose favorability toward him had previously been 70, now only had 30 left!

Recommending a friend's book: Book title "This Divine Lord is Truly Evil"

Synopsis: Becoming a heretical evil god in the strange world of Great Qi, secretly spreading positive energy; whatever the believers know, I know. What, the believers are slacking off and playing cards? Heaven rewards the diligent, hurry up and cultivate for me! If you don't work hard, how can this deity progress!?

(End of this chapter)