Chapter 179

Qinghe County, Song family on Mount Funiu.

It had been more than a month since Song Qingming left Mount Funiu. Almost all Song family cultivators only knew that Song Qingming, the family's Supreme Elder, did not seem to be on the mountain, but they did not know where he went. Only the patriarch Song Changfeng knew Song Qingming's whereabouts this time.

At this moment, a Song family cultivator who had just broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining quietly avoided the crowd on the mountain and came to Song Changfeng's cave dwelling on the side of the mountain top.

"Qingshi, how is it? Have the few Huang family ancestors really all returned?" Seeing the person coming, Song Changfeng, who was a bit anxious, hurriedly asked.

Song Qingshi caught his breath and replied: "Sixth Uncle, I went to the market to ask a friend from the Xiaoyao Sect. It is indeed correct. The few Huang family ancestors have all returned, but it is a bit strange. After the Huang family ancestors returned this time, they all seemed to have gone into closed-door cultivation. I don't know if something happened. I also asked Siyuan about it. She also seems to know nothing."

"The genealogy shows that Qingming is indeed still alive. Why hasn't he returned yet? It's really worrying." Song Changfeng paced back and forth in the cave dwelling while speaking, which also showed the anxiety in his heart at this moment.

"Sixth Uncle, why don't you go to the Huang family and ask directly? I don't know what happened. Waiting for news here is not a way. If the Supreme Elder really encounters danger, we can also make a response earlier."

After listening, Song Changfeng nodded and said: "You are right. Qingshi, when you get to the Huang family, don't look for others. Go directly to Ancestor Shengyue. After seeing her, you say that I asked you to go. No matter what, Qingming went to help their Huang family this time. They should at least give us an explanation."

Song Qingshi nodded. After leaving Mount Funiu, he walked west for a few days and arrived at the Huang family's Mount Taiyuan. After reporting the Song family's name, Song Qingshi was invited to Mount Taiyuan, and it was not until two days later that he saw Huang Shengyue, whose face was a bit pale.

On the day they encountered the Qingluan demonic king, Song Qingming and the Huang family crowd finally chose to break out separately. Except for Song Qingming being captured, the other four Huang family members almost didn't come back.

Patriarch Huang Shengxin and Huang Shengyue were fine, just suffering minor injuries. Huang Chengliang, the oldest Huang family ancestor, was already on the verge of death after being hit by Qingluan. After being rescued back to Mount Taiyuan by Huang Shengyue, he passed away in his cave dwelling not many days later.

Another Huang Chengding, who had joined the Xiaoyao Sect, was also seriously injured in the pursuit of Qingluan and has now returned to the Xiaoyao Sect for closed-door healing. If it weren't for the Qingluan demonic king stopping the pursuit after Song Qingming was captured, this one would probably also have been difficult to return alive.

After Huang Shengxin returned, he soon chose closed-door cultivation. Although they lost Huang Chengliang, the family's Foundation Establishment ancestor, this time, they still brought back the third-tier spirit object Tianmang Flower. Relying on this, Huang Shengxin exchanged for a Yuchen Pill from the Xiaoyao Sect that could help cultivators increase the probability of Core Formation by half a percent.

This pill, in the entire Wei Kingdom, on the surface, only the third-tier alchemist of the Xiaoyao Sect can refine it. Basically, it is digested within the sect. Huang Shengxin can catch up to exchange for one, and Song Qingming also has a share of the credit.

Seeing Song Qingshi, Huang Shengyue soon guessed his intention and repeated the situation of that day to him. Hearing that his family's Supreme Elder encountered a third-tier demonic king and went missing, Song Qingshi was also stunned at once, not knowing what to do. If he really fell into the hands of a third-tier demonic king, it would be really too difficult for Song Qingming, a Foundation Establishment cultivator, to survive.

The current Song family, setting aside the deterrent power of Song Qingming, the Foundation Establishment Supreme Ancestor, has a strength almost similar to a larger Qi Refining family. Now the family has a second-tier spirit vein but doesn't even have a second-tier formation. At this level, if they encounter a powerful Foundation Establishment rogue cultivator, the entire Song family will be someone else's possession.

"Little Friend Song, please go back and tell your patriarch to be at ease. Even if Fellow Daoist Qingming really can't come back, as long as our Huang family is still here, your Song family will definitely not be left without anyone to look after." Seeing Song Qingshi's dejected look after learning the truth, Huang Shengyue couldn't help but comfort him.

In the Huang family, Song Qingshi couldn't be too out of character in front of others, so he hurriedly adjusted his state, got up, and left Mount Taiyuan.

Qinghe Market, in the secret room of the Gao family restaurant, Gao Jinhe, who was happy, said to Lu Xingde on the side: "The Huang family suffered a big loss in the Fuyun Mountain Range this time. Even Huang Chengliang, that old thing, died in the hands of demonic beasts. The Song family's kid seems to have followed him and died outside.

Fellow Daoist Lu, now that Huang Shengxin has gone into closed-door cultivation for Core Formation, only Huang Shengyue is left in the Huang family. This is already their weakest time. If we don't take action now, when they recover, we won't have any chance."

"Fellow Daoist Gao, I am still a bit worried. If Huang Shengxin really succeeds in Core Formation, will what we two do today be digging our own graves for the future?" After listening to what Gao Jinhe said, Lu Xingde was very moved internally, but still cautiously put forward his own views.

Gao Jinhe shook his head upon hearing this and laughed loudly: "Fellow Daoist Lu doesn't know that Core Formation is not such an easy thing. Qinghe County has been established for a thousand years, and there are at least five or six people recorded in Core Formation. Among them, there is no lack of genius cultivators like Huang Shengxin, but the final result is without exception, all failed.

Huang Shengxin is really too naive this time, thinking that he can succeed in Core Formation by exchanging a Yuchen Pill from the Xiaoyao Sect. Little does he know that he is just wasting the Huang family's resources. If he used the Yuchen Pill in his hand to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill, maybe he could cultivate another Foundation Establishment cultivator to take over for their Huang family. By then, we would really have a headache. Fellow Daoist Lu, am I right?"

Lu Xingde smiled and did not answer, picked up the tea beside him, and drank a big mouthful.

On the second day after Song Qingshi brought back the news that Song Qingming was missing, a group of rogue cultivators suddenly attacked a small refined copper mine that the Huang family had recently brought under control, breaking the ten years of peace after the demonic beast chaos in Qinghe County.

This refined copper mine is located at the junction of the Huang family and Lu family's sphere of influence. It is a mine that has just been developed not long ago. The reserves of ore inside are enough to be mined for three or four hundred years, and every year it can bring the Huang family a stable income of more than two hundred spirit stones.

Subsequently, the Gao family and Lu family jointly took action to drive away this group of rogue cultivators. Afterward, they did not return the mine to the Huang family, but jointly occupied this spirit mine. For a time, the situation in Qinghe County was also a bit surging.

However, what made all the cultivators in Qinghe County strange was that after the Huang family learned the news, they performed very calmly and did not choose to make a big move immediately. They only sent a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator to discuss the matter of returning the mine with the two families. The result was naturally that they were forcibly dismissed by the cultivators of the Gao and Lu families.

After Song Changfeng learned of this, he hurriedly notified all Song family cultivators to temporarily withdraw to Mount Funiu. Even the Fourth Uncle's family was left at Qinghe Market, and everyone else withdrew to Mount Funiu. The shops in Qinghe Market were not only the Song family's; most of the industries of other cultivation families also closed down. Only Huang Siyuan's restaurant seemed to be unaffected and was still operating as usual.

(End of this chapter)