Chapter 15: Qingyu Returns

Gao Yuyao,

watching a wisp of pink smoke drift away with the wind, Song Qingming couldn't help but murmur the name he had just heard.

After much difficulty, Song Qingming had obtained a bottle of spirit pills capable of increasing his cultivation. Having hurried back to Mount Lingyuan, he rushed home, eager to test the pill's effects.

The Qi-Nurturing Pill is a mid-grade spirit pill. The spiritual energy it contains is roughly equivalent to the energy a normal mid-stage Qi Mount Mount Lianhua cultivator refines in a month. After refining one Qi-Nurturing Pill, Song Qingming clearly felt the spiritual energy within his body rise by a small margin, which secretly delighted him.

The effect of this Qi-Nurturing Pill truly did not disappoint him. The bottle in his hand could save him nearly a year of bitter cultivation. It was only a pity that one could take at most one such pill per month.

Elixirs are refined from the essence of plants and spirit water or spirit items. Ordinary elixirs all carry a trace of pill poison to some extent and cannot be taken without restraint. For low-tier spirit pills like the Qi-Nurturing Pill, it takes nearly a month for the pill poison to be completely expelled from a cultivator's body.

If one takes elixirs for a long time without restraint, the pill poison will accumulate in the body, bringing great risks to the cultivator's subsequent cultivation.

This bottle of Qi-Nurturing Pills was enough for him to cultivate alone for a year. If there were extra pills, he could take them to the Gold Collection Pavilion to earn a few spirit stones.

With the long-term supply of cultivation pills from Gao Yuyao, Song Qingming finally had a way to increase his cultivation speed. Whether it was the earlier formation refining or the later study of talisman making, Song Qingming's goal in earning spirit stones had always been for his own path of cultivation.

Without reaching Foundation Establishment, a Qi Mount Mount Lianhua cultivator has limited lifespan; after a hundred years, they will eventually turn into a pile of yellow earth.

A Qi Mount Mount Lianhua cultivator's lifespan is only about one hundred and twenty years, while after Foundation Establishment, the lifespan increases by two sixty-year cycles. Added to the fact that they can take some second-tier life-extending spirit medicines, they can generally live to about two hundred and fifty years old.

For a cultivator wanting to reach Foundation Establishment, it is best to cultivate to the ninth layer of Qi Mount Mount Lianhua before the age of sixty. After sixty, a Qi Mount Mount Lianhua cultivator's energy and blood will slowly decline, and the difficulty of Foundation Establishment will become greater and greater.

Although Foundation Establishment was still too far away for him, if he cultivated normally, it would be a question whether Song Qingming could reach the late stage of Qi Mount Mount Lianhua by the age of sixty. He had to accelerate his cultivation speed.

After a night of cultivation, the next morning, Song Qingming was about to head to the mine to patrol. Just as he walked to the edge of Yueya Lake, he suddenly felt a ripple in the mountain-protecting formation. A white sound-transmission talisman slowly passed through the formation and entered Mount Lingyuan.

The four martial artists guarding the formation disk at the village entrance saw the sound-transmission talisman flying in from outside the formation and were about to report to Song Qingming, but they saw that he had already walked over from afar. Song Qingming took the talisman and looked at it carefully; a smile appeared on his face, and he hurriedly ordered the martial artists guarding the formation to open the mountain-protecting formation.

Outside the formation stood more than a dozen figures. The two in the lead had already arrived before Song Qingming.

The leader was a delicate and pretty woman dressed in white, looking to be only about thirty years old. Beside her followed a little girl of about ten.

The delicate woman was a member of the Song family's 'Chang' generation, Song Zhangling, with a cultivation base of the sixth layer of Qi Mount Mount Lianhua. She was also one of the only two top-grade talisman masters in the Song family.

Song Zhangling's cultivation talent was average; she was only a four-spirit-root cultivator, but she had quite a talent for talisman making. Song Qingming had previously studied the path of talisman making and had even specifically gone to ask her for advice.

"The little girl's cultivation has progressed well recently, but she is a bit homesick. The Great Elder allowed her to return home for a visit for one day, and entrusted me to bring her here, and by the way, to collect the black iron ore from this half-year." Song Zhangling finished speaking and pointed to the little girl behind her.

The little girl beside Song Zhangling was exactly Song Qingyu, whom Song Qingming had sent to Mount Funiu a few months ago. At this moment, she had already guided Qi into her body and become a first-layer Qi Mount Mount Lianhua cultivator.

A three-spirit-root cultivator is truly extraordinary. Thinking back, it took Song Qingming half a year to guide Qi into his body and successfully enter the path; this little girl reached this realm in only three or four months. This cultivation speed was not just a little bit faster.

Looking at Song Qingyu behind her, who had an impatient look in her eyes, Song Zhangling nodded slightly at her. Seeing this, the little girl giggled, greeted Song Qingming, and then ran toward her home in two or three steps.

"Fifth Aunt, why are you the only one from the family who came this time?"

Song Qingming was also a bit surprised looking at the two. Transporting black iron ore worth forty spirit stones was enough to arouse the greed of late-stage Qi Mount Mount Lianhua cultivators. In the past, when the Song family came to transport ore, they would at least dispatch three cultivators above the mid-stage of Qi Mount Mount Lianhua, so that even if they encountered ordinary late-stage Qi Mount Mount Lianhua rogue cultivators, they could hold out until the family came to help even if they were not a match.

This time only Song Zhangling came, and she also had to take care of Song Qingyu, who had just stepped onto the path of cultivation. If they encountered the group of bandits from last time, it would inevitably be more ominous than auspicious.

Seeing Song Qingming's worry, Song Zhangling explained with a smile: "Last time the Gao family took the lead in causing trouble, but recently Qinghe County has been much more peaceful. This time the Second Elder also came and is waiting for us at the foot of the mountain. For such an important matter as escorting black iron ore, how could the family feel at ease letting me come alone?"

Song Qingming led Song Zhangling and the others to the warehouse where the ore was stored and collected the black iron ore mined over the past half-year.

The dozen or so family martial artists brought from Mount Funiu this time had all traveled to and from Mount Lingyuan many times to transport ore and were very familiar with this place. Song Qingming called over dozens of miners to help together. Everyone spent half a day first moving the supplies on the carriages down, and then loaded the black iron ore mined during this period onto the carriages.

Mount Lingyuan is located in a valley and is all uneven mountainous land, unlike the flat surroundings of Mujiao Town, where large amounts of farmland can be reclaimed. The family mortals here have always been self-insufficient in food and still need to be subsidized by Mujiao Town every year.

Every time the family comes to collect ore, they will pass by and transport some daily living supplies that the mortals in the mountains here cannot obtain, satisfying the needs of the mortals here. Once it reaches this time, every household in Mount Lingyuan will happily take large and small sacks and bamboo baskets to the grain-drying ground in the village, waiting to receive these living supplies. It is very lively.

Song Qingyu had been cultivating on Mount Funiu for a few months, and there were not many children of the same age on the mountain. She faced boring learning and cultivation all day long. Returning to Mount Lingyuan could be considered as liberating her child's nature.

After seeing her parents at home for a while, Song Qingyu ran out to find the playmates she used to have in the village. While talking about what she had seen and heard on the mountain, she showed off the abilities she had acquired after cultivation that were different from ordinary people, which stunned the children of the same age in the village.

A Qi Mount Mount Lianhua cultivator, just in terms of strength, is several times that of an ordinary mortal. The little girl led this group of children running around in the village, showing off the few small spells she had just learned.

In her hands, there was fire one moment and rain the next, scaring the surrounding villagers into hurriedly grabbing their own children back home, fearing that this little immortal who was still a bit ignorant would accidentally hurt their children.

When the little girl finally looked around and saw that only she was left, she also felt a bit bored and could only return home alone in a somewhat dejected manner.

After Song Qingming came to Mount Lingyuan, the operation of the black iron ore vein had always been relatively smooth, and this year's output was even half a percent higher than last year's. Song Zhangling looked at the account book of the quantity of black iron ore handed over by a martial artist and nodded with satisfaction at Song Qingming.

Mount Lingyuan's black iron ore can produce hundreds of pieces of ore every year. The Song family generally does not take these black iron ores directly to the market for sale, but will first transport them to Mount Funiu, and then after the family's artifact refiners forge them into various magic tools, they will be placed in the family shop in Qinghe Market for sale. This can double the value of the original black iron ore.

Just past noon, after everyone had eaten, they prepared for the return journey. The little girl also left her parents with reluctance.

Song Zhangling led the crowd and walked down Mount Lingyuan slowly.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 16 =====