Chapter 366: Gao Jinhe Passes Away

Mount Funiu, in the Song family's council hall.

Song Qingming, sitting at the head, looked at a letter from the Gao family in his hand, pondered with a serious expression for a moment, then slowly folded the letter and stood up to walk to the side of Song Qingshi.

"Big Brother, please go to the Gold Treasury Pavilion and help me retrieve the second-tier spirit herbs collected from the market over the past few years. I need to make a personal trip to Mount Lianhua."

Seeing that Song Qingming's expression seemed a bit off and that he was talking about going to Mount Lianhua, Song Qingshi, who was still in the dark, asked with a puzzled look: "Qingming! What exactly did the Gao family's letter say, and why do you need to go to Mount Lianhua yourself?"

This letter had been sent by the Gao family earlier. Because the other party specified that it must be handed to the Song family patriarch, and it just so happened that Song Qingming had gone to Qinghe Market and was not on the mountain today, Song Qingshi had taken the initiative to accept the letter and presented it to Song Qingming after he returned. He himself had not read the contents of the letter.

"Gao Jinhe passed away a few days ago. This letter was sent by the Gao family to inform us. In three days, the Gao family will hold a funeral at Mount Lianhua. Gao Jinhe can be considered an old acquaintance; it wouldn't be appropriate to just send anyone. I'd better make the trip myself!" Song Qingming handed the letter in his hand to Song Qingshi, whose face still held a hint of shock, with a calm expression.

"What! Gao Jinhe is dead? Calculating his age, he should have had at least a few more years of lifespan left. How could he pass away so quickly? Did something happen to the Gao family?"

Song Qingming shook his head lightly and said: "After returning from the Taiyue Lake secret realm a few years ago, Gao Jinhe seemed to have been seriously injured. It's not strange that he lost some lifespan. Moreover, the Gao family's next-generation successor, Gao Yubai, is no mediocre person either; there shouldn't be any unexpected situations."

"Senior Gao was also a hero of his generation in our Qinghe County. It really wouldn't be appropriate to let others go. In a while, I will go to the Gold Treasury Pavilion and tell Qingsi to have her prepare the necessary gifts for the Gao family as soon as possible and send them to you." After Song Qingshi finished speaking, he left the council hall first.

Three days later, early in the morning, Song Qingming arrived at Mount Lianhua, located in the southeast of Qinghe County.

This time, besides himself, his big brother Song Qingshi had specifically asked him to bring along a younger member of the Song family, Song Xinhe, so that these juniors could follow Song Qingming out to broaden their horizons.

Standing on Song Qingming's flying sword, Song Xinhe saw the scene of Mount Lianhua from afar, and a look of novelty instantly appeared on his face.

Song Xinhe was also a three-spirit-root cultivator with a relatively loyal character. He was the one with the best spirit root talent among the Song family's 'Xin' generation, besides Song Xinyu who had joined the Xiaoyao Sect. In recent years, his big brother Song Qingshi had been intentionally cultivating him, hoping that Song Xinhe could take over his duties in the future.

The spirit vein of Mount Lianhua was a second-tier mid-quality spirit vein, which had been managed by the Gao family for hundreds of years. The spiritual energy on the mountain was dense, and there were five or six hundred mu of spirit fields. Although it was not yet as good as the Huang family's Mount Taiyuan, it was far beyond what the Song family's Mount Funiu could compare to.

After the two arrived at Mount Lianhua and saw that the Gao family had already activated the mountain-protecting formation, Song Qingming stopped his flying sword and sent a sound transmission spirit talisman into the formation.

After waiting for a moment, a woman in yellow wearing a white belt flew out from the formation and came directly before Song Qingming and his companion.

"Fellow Daoist Song, it's been many years. Yuyao greets you!"

Seeing Gao Yuyao bowing to him, Song Qingming hurriedly returned the salute: "Fellow Daoist Gao, greetings. I didn't expect that today I would be fortunate enough to be welcomed personally by the Fairy. We two are truly a bit overwhelmed."

Song Qingming also didn't expect that the one coming to welcome him would be Gao Yuyao, a former friend he hadn't seen in many years, and an expression of surprise appeared on his face.

Gao Yuyao had reached Foundation Establishment even earlier than Song Qingming and was an inner-sect disciple of the Xiaoyao Sect; her cultivation resources were naturally incomparable to those of family cultivators like them. Her current cultivation base had long since broken through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment, and it was estimated that she was not far from the eighth layer of Foundation Establishment.

Compared to Song Qingming's lack of surprise at her cultivation base, Gao Yuyao was still somewhat shocked that Song Qingming, who had come from a small Qi Refining family back then, could now cultivate to a level not far from her own.

"Hearing that Patriarch Gao passed away a few days ago, I have come specifically to pay my respects. A mere trifle of a gift, please do not take offense!"

"Patriarch Song, you must be tired from your long journey. Please follow me up the mountain first." After the two exchanged a few pleasantries, Gao Yuyao raised her hand and cast a spell, quickly opening a small gap in the Mount Lianhua mountain-protecting formation.

After entering Mount Lianhua with Gao Yuyao, Song Qingming soon arrived at a hall that the Gao family had already prepared.

"Fellow Daoist Song, I didn't expect you to come personally. I thought it would be Fellow Daoist Qingyu coming here today?" Seeing Song Qingming walk in, Huang Sipo, who had arrived a step ahead of him, hurriedly stepped forward to greet him.

"I was also an acquaintance of Patriarch Gao for many years, a friend who fought side-by-side with him many times. How could I not come to see him off on his final journey today? It's just that I arrived a step later than Fellow Daoist Huang, which makes me somewhat ashamed!"

In recent years, the several Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Huang family had all been very busy. The patriarch, Huang Shengxin, didn't have much lifespan left and was basically either in seclusion or out looking for opportunities. Another elder, Huang Shengyue, was wholeheartedly in seclusion, trying to break through to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

Therefore, those who appeared outside on behalf of the Huang family were basically Huang Sipo, whose cultivation base was only at the third layer of Foundation Establishment. Because the relationship between the Song family and the Huang family had always been relatively close, Song Qingming was also very familiar with this future manager of the Huang family.

"Patriarch Song, what a coincidence. This junior beside you should also be someone you brought specifically to broaden their horizons, right? Why don't we switch seats so the two juniors can get to know each other."

Hearing Huang Sipo say this, Song Qingming only then noticed a young woman in Huang family attire sitting not far from Huang Sipo. Although this woman didn't look very old, her cultivation base had already reached the late stage of Qi Refining. It seemed she was also a standout among the Huang family's new generation of young cultivators, brought out by Huang Sipo this time to see the world.

"That would be excellent. Xinhe, switch seats with Senior Huang, and make sure not to bully others."

"Ah!"

Hearing Song Qingming ask him to switch seats as soon as he entered, Song Xinhe, who was attending such an occasion for the first time, instantly showed a look of panic on his face. He braced himself, glanced at Huang Sipo beside Song Qingming, bowed, and slowly moved his feet to walk over.

Compared to Song Xinhe, who was still somewhat unaccustomed to such occasions, the Huang family's junior appeared very calm. After naturally standing up to greet Song Qingming, her elder, she took the initiative to invite Song Xinhe to taste the spirit fruits on the table.

Seeing the huge gap between his own junior and the other party's performance, Song Qingming could only shake his head helplessly. It seemed that in the future, he would still need to let the family juniors go out more often.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 367 =====