Chapter 504: The Great Dao of Longevity, The Star Assembly (Long Chapter)

Seeing Song Song Qingming also looking at him, Chu Chu Fengping showed a trace of regret and spoke softly: "Junior Brother Song may not know, but I only have third-tier low-grade pills on me now. The only White Dew Pill you know of was already refined by me two years ago."

"If I am not mistaken, you should still have one left. This Old Monster Mo is bringing out so many good things to exchange for this item; this is a good opportunity. Junior Brother should hurry and send a voice transmission to try; don't let others get there first."

Song Song Qingming nodded slightly upon seeing this and directly cast a spell to send a secret voice transmission to Old Monster Mo on the stage, which only he could hear.

Song Song Qingming had already taken one "White Dew Pill" before, and the remaining one was of little use to him. The reason he carried this pill with him when coming to the State of Wu was actually because he had long intended to see if he could exchange it for other spiritual items here.

Besides Song Song Qingming, five or six other people at the scene had also sent voice transmissions to Old Monster Mo. After hearing these transmissions, Old Monster Mo's expression remained unchanged until the transmission sent by Song Song Qingming entered his ears. Only then did he slowly raise his head and look toward the location of the Xiaoyao Sect group.

"Which one is Fellow Daoist Song? Please come up and talk to me in detail."

Hearing Old Monster Mo's words, Song Song Qingming felt a surge of joy and hurriedly stood up, walking quickly to Old Monster Mo's side under the watchful eyes of the crowd.

"Fellow Daoist Mo, greetings!"

After glancing lightly at Song Song Qingming, Old Monster Mo waved his large hand and directly cast a spell to release a circular barrier, isolating Song Song Qingming and himself from the crowd sitting outside.

Seeing Song Song Qingming nod to confirm his choice, Old Monster Mo's expression slowly returned to calm, and he beckoned to put away the other spiritual items in front of him.

At such an exchange, although most people were acquaintances, to prevent being targeted by others after leaving, most cultivators tried to be as discreet as possible when trading valuable spiritual items.

In previous years, because the Xiaoyao Sect had to deal with monster unrest, such spiritual items had long since disappeared from the Merit Pavilion. It was not until the monster unrest ended that Song Song Qingming used some spiritual items to exchange for a third-tier low-grade defensive talisman from Li Mu for self-protection.

A third-tier mid-grade defensive talisman is worth about eight thousand spirit stones. Although its value is slightly inferior to a third-tier low-grade defensive magic treasure, the ability to help oneself easily block a powerful strike from a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator at any time was still quite important for Song Song Qingming at present.

As Old Monster Mo expected, after Song Song Qingming walked up, he decisively picked out the flying sword magic treasure with the highest value among the many spiritual items first.

Seeing Old Monster Mo's misunderstanding, Song Song Qingming hurriedly cupped his hands and smiled: "Fellow Daoist Mo has misunderstood. I just learned that you once traveled through other cultivation worlds, so I have a matter I would like to ask you about. It has nothing to do with this transaction; please do not worry."

Hearing Old Monster Mo's words, Song Song Qingming lightly brushed the jade pendant at his waist with his left hand, took out a purple wooden box, and threw it directly to Old Monster Mo in front of him.

The value of this third-tier mid-grade flying sword alone was nearly twenty thousand spirit stones, which was not much lower than the "White Dew Pill" Song Song Qingming brought out. Regardless of which spiritual item he chose next, this transaction would certainly not be a loss for Song Song Qingming.

Song Song Qingming, who had been carefully observing Old Monster Mo, saw that he had confirmed there were no problems with his spiritual item, and only then did he feel at ease to cast his gaze upon the seven or eight spiritual items beside him.

A moment later, Old Monster Mo, having confirmed there were no problems with the pills in the box, nodded slightly at Song Song Qingming, tucked the "White Dew Pill" into his pocket, and then pointed to the many spiritual items in front of him with a light smile: "Fellow Daoist, just say what you want. I will warn you in advance: once you have chosen, you cannot go back on your word!"

Being able to exchange for a third-tier mid-grade defensive talisman directly this time, even if he suffered a slight loss in spirit stones, Song Song Qingming was willing.

"Seeing that you didn't try to take advantage of me just now, you can go ahead and ask about the matter. As for whether I can answer you, hehe, that depends on whether I actually know about the matter you are asking."

"Fellow Daoist Song, let me see the White Dew Pill you mentioned in your voice transmission just now! As long as the quality of the pill is fine, you may choose any two of these spiritual items to take away."

Subsequently, after hesitating for a moment, Song Song Qingming did not directly choose the third-tier low-grade defensive magic treasure, which was of higher value, but instead picked a third-tier mid-grade defensive talisman that seemed to have a good effect.

"Fellow Daoist Song, you have already inspected the items just now. Could it be that there is still a problem?" Hearing that Song Song Qingming still had questions, Old Monster Mo frowned and turned to reply.

The defensive ability of Song Song Qingming's own natal magic treasure, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," already exceeded that of an ordinary third-tier low-grade defensive magic treasure. Having one more defensive magic treasure would not significantly increase his capabilities in a fight.

Among the seven or eight spiritual items Old Monster Mo brought out, the quality was all third-tier mid or low-grade. The one with the highest value was the third-tier mid-grade flying sword magic treasure.

"Correct, I only want these two spiritual items. Fellow Daoist Mo can put away the others."

Seeing that Song Song Qingming had chosen a third-tier mid-grade defensive talisman of lower value, Old Monster Mo showed a trace of surprise in his eyes, then asked: "Has Fellow Daoist already made your choice?"

Since forming his core, Song Song Qingming had always wanted to equip himself with two high-tier defensive talismans for emergencies, but he was troubled by the fact that his talisman-making level had not yet broken through to the third tier, making it impossible for him to draw such talismans.

"Fellow Daoist Mo, wait! I have one more thing I would like to ask you." Just as Old Monster Mo was preparing to remove the barrier around them, Song Song Qingming suddenly spoke up to interrupt him.

"Naturally. I just wanted to ask you about a place. This place might be located in another cultivation world. I don't know if you have heard of it during your travels?"

A moment later, as Old Monster Mo removed the barrier, Song Song Qingming cupped his hands at him, stepped back, and returned to his seat.

After completing the transaction with Song Song Qingming, Old Monster Mo did not choose to stay and continue participating in the Dao-discussion exchange. After greeting Cheng Cheng Bufan, he left the hall and walked down the Dengyun Tower.

"Junior Brother Song, how was it? What good things did you exchange for just now?" As soon as Song Song Qingming sat back down, a voice transmission reached his ears. It was Chu Chu Fengping, who had encouraged him to go trade with Old Monster Mo earlier.

Seeing the curious gazes of several senior brothers, Song Song Qingming informed them of the spiritual items he had chosen inside.

Hearing his choice, the group from the Xiaoyao Sect was not very surprised. They were familiar with the techniques Song Song Qingming cultivated and naturally knew the function of his natal magic treasure, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror."

Choosing a higher-tier defensive talisman, for Song Song Qingming, a Golden Core cultivator who had been cultivating for over a hundred years, although it might be a slight loss in spirit stones, gaining a powerful life-saving means was something that could not be fully measured by spirit stones.

The reason why high-tier talismans of third-tier or higher are not as easily bought in the market as second-tier talismans is mainly because the materials required to draw them are extremely difficult to obtain. They require the fur of a third-tier monster king and spiritual herbs over a thousand years old as the main materials. These spiritual items are not something a sect can easily find in a short period of time.

Even though the Xiaoyao Sect has a third-tier mid-grade talisman master like Li Mu, he does not always have the materials to draw high-tier talismans. In the two hundred years since Li Mu's talisman-making skills broke through to the third tier, he has drawn a total of only twenty-some third-tier talismans. The many Golden Core elders in the Xiaoyao Sect can only be allocated at most two each on average.

This is not only the case in the State of Wei, where spiritual resources are relatively scarce, but the situation is not much better in the dozens of countries of various sizes around the Fuyun Mountain Range, even in a large country with abundant resources like the State of Wu. In the Seven Stars Market, aside from a few auxiliary talismans with limited functions that can be bought, other talismans with greater utility are very difficult to exchange for with spirit stones.

After the exchange ended, under Cheng Cheng Bufan's organization, the many Golden Core cultivators present began to gather in small groups to discuss the Dao.

During this period, Song Song Qingming not only met many cultivators of the same tier from outside the State of Wei but also gained many different insights while exchanging cultivation experiences with everyone. Participating in such a Dao-discussion gathering of peers was also quite helpful for Song Song Qingming, who was accustomed to cultivating alone.

This Dao-discussion exchange lasted from the evening until the next morning before ending. Only then did the many Golden Core cultivators who came to participate reluctantly disperse and leave.

Returning to his residence, Song Song Qingming first took out the flying sword magic treasure he had exchanged from Old Monster Mo and examined it carefully. This flying sword magic treasure was named "Mo Bai" and was refined by Old Monster Mo himself in his early years by finding materials and entrusting others to refine it.

The quality of the "Mo Bai Sword" was even higher than the "Qingliu Sword" Song Song Qingming was currently refining; it was already a third-tier mid-grade magic treasure. After obtaining this magic treasure, Song Song Qingming's combat ability would immediately improve by a notch.

Because he cultivated the "Five Elements Shield Light Needle," Song Song Qingming could also use this divine ability to enhance the power of the magic treasure in his hand at any time during battle. With the "Mo Bai Sword" to assist him, Song Song Qingming, who had already broken through to the second layer of Golden Core, should be able to easily defeat opponents like the White Lion Monster King, who were at the early stage of Golden Core and lacked powerful divine abilities.

After putting away the "Mo Bai Sword," Song Song Qingming sat down to rest for a while, then took out a slip of paper with the two large characters "Mo Xuan" written on it. This was the real name of Old Monster Mo, the person who traded with Song Song Qingming at the exchange, and it was written by him personally for Song Song Qingming.

Hearing Li Mu say at the exchange that this Old Monster Mo had left the Fuyun Mountain Range cultivation world to travel for two hundred years, Song Song Qingming immediately thought that this person must be knowledgeable and aware of many places in the cultivation world.

When completing the transaction with Old Monster Mo at the end, Song Song Qingming casually asked him about the two place names he had obtained in the "Jade Profound Scripture" earlier.

"Jade Profound Mountain, Grand Void Palace."

However, it was a pity that although Old Monster Mo had traveled to many places in the Donghuang Immortal Continent over the years, he had also never heard of these two place names. At the last moment, perhaps because he still had a good impression of Song Song Qingming, Old Monster Mo picked up a pen and wrote him a note.

He claimed that there was a place in the Donghuang State cultivation world where one might be able to find the news Song Song Qingming wanted to know. If Song Song Qingming truly wanted to go there and take a look in the future, he could bring the note in his hand, which might be of some help to him then.

Song Song Qingming was very grateful for Old Monster Mo's kindness. Since obtaining these two place names in the "Jade Profound Scripture," Song Song Qingming had also asked several Golden Core elders in the Xiaoyao Sect who were more familiar with such matters over the years, but without exception, none of them had heard of these places.

Even Chen Chen Xuanxin, who loved to travel and had made friends with various fellow Daoists, had no impression of the two place names Song Song Qingming gave. According to them, it was estimated that these two places either did not exist at all or were perhaps not in the Donghuang Immortal Continent but far away in the cultivation worlds of other large continents.

The cultivation world where Song Song Qingming was located was named the Jade Star Realm.

Besides the continent of the Donghuang Immortal Continent where the Fuyun Mountain Range was located, there were other large landmasses and islands in the Jade Star Realm, totaling nine relatively large cultivation worlds. Because the distances between them were extremely far, it was almost impossible for the cultivation worlds of each state to have direct contact, and they could only rely on giant cross-state teleportation arrays to connect with each other.

There were several cross-state teleportation arrays that could directly connect the Donghuang Immortal Continent with the nearest Wind Spirit Sea and the Southern Peak Immortal Continent. Cultivators from other cultivation worlds would often take teleportation arrays to travel to the Donghuang Immortal Continent.

However, such large-scale long-distance teleportation arrays within the Donghuang Immortal Continent were basically controlled by the few major sects of the Donghuang State. Wanting to use one required a significant amount of spirit stones, which was basically impossible for ordinary Qi Condensation or Foundation Establishment cultivators to afford. Only high-tier cultivators at the Golden Core stage or above had the ability to take teleportation arrays to travel between the various cultivation worlds.

The reason Song Song Qingming was so interested in these two places was mainly because of the incomplete technique "Jade Profound Scripture" in his hands. Since he accidentally obtained this technique in the Mount Guiyun Market over a hundred years ago, as Song Song Qingming's cultivation base gradually increased, he felt more and more the profoundness of this technique.

That he could reach where he was today and become a Golden Core cultivator, aside from the personal opportunities he encountered during his cultivation over the years, the greatest help to Song Song Qingming was the "Jade Profound Scripture" technique.

Even though he no longer had the subsequent Golden Core stage technique of the "Jade Profound Scripture," Song Song Qingming had already switched to cultivating the "Five Elements Profound Gang Art." However, the few divine abilities he had cultivated for many years within his body using the "Jade Profound Scripture" could still be of help to him now.

It was just that without the subsequent Golden Core stage technique, the current effect of the "Jade Profound Scripture" would certainly become more and more limited as Song Song Qingming's cultivation base increased. This made Song Song Qingming, who was now a Golden Core cultivator, urgently want to go out and find the answer to the last few words left to him in the "Jade Profound Scripture."

Having cultivated for a hundred years, Song Song Qingming had gone from a small Qi Condensation cultivator with ordinary aptitude to successfully forming his Foundation and eventually stepping into the Golden Core Great Dao. Over these hundred-plus years, the goals pursued in Song Song Qingming's heart had also undergone significant changes.

When he was still in the Qi Condensation stage, a small bandit cultivator at the Eagle Nest Ridge almost took Song Song Qingming's life. At that time, Song Song Qingming's cultivation pursuit was nothing more than having a bit more self-protection ability to allow himself to walk through this dangerous cultivation world.

After Foundation Establishment, because he suddenly became the person carrying all the hopes for the development of the entire family, his goal was no longer limited to protecting himself, but to find ways to protect the entire family and strive for its development and growth. Even though Song Song Qingming had to walk a difficult path and encounter many dangers for this, the goal in his heart had always remained very firm over the years.

After more than a hundred years of hard work by several generations of cultivators on Mount Mount Funiu, the Song family had now been promoted to a Golden Core Immortal Clan. There were five Foundation Establishment cultivators in the family, and it was steadily moving forward, no longer the weak cultivation family that could only rely on Song Song Qingming alone.

Now that Song Song Qingming had become a Golden Core ancestor in the mouths of others, if he only kept his gaze on a small place like Jiangling County in the State of Wei, his current cultivation base would have been enough for him to live comfortably for several hundred years. There was no need for him to go out and take risks to seek opportunities for the Dao.

But as his cultivation realm increased, the Dao heart and goals in Song Song Qingming's heart gradually began to shift toward his own Dao path.

Since he was a child and was tested for spiritual roots by the family and brought to Mount Mount Funiu to cultivate, Song Song Qingming, like most children who had just stepped onto the path of cultivation, also longed for the colorful world outside, dreaming that he could become an immortal who could fly and escape the earth, walking freely between heaven and earth.

Even though Song Song Qingming was now a Golden Core cultivator, his lifespan was only a mere five or six hundred years. The cultivation world was so vast, and how many beautiful sceneries in the world did Song Song Qingming want to see? He did not want to cultivate for a lifetime, only to end up huddled in this small place in the State of Wei.

Even though he was still very far from this step, unknowingly, the Dao heart in Song Song Qingming's heart had begun to turn toward the legendary Great Dao of Longevity.

Since his spiritual root talent was far inferior to others at the beginning, and he could still surpass those genius cultivators and successfully form his core, then no matter how difficult the Great Dao of Longevity was, he would certainly have a chance to touch it.

All living beings have spirits. Whether it is human cultivators or monster beasts, even those demon cultivators who practice evil arts, as long as they can eventually cultivate the Dao, they all have a chance to ascend to the upper realm. In the long history of the Jade Star Realm spanning over a hundred thousand years, not all of the cultivators who could ascend to the upper realm and enjoy longevity were geniuses.

After participating in the exchange at Dengyun Tower, Song Song Qingming used the "White Dew Pill" in his hand to exchange for two spiritual items that were very useful to him, and he felt very happy in his heart.

It was a pity that Song Song Qingming did not encounter such a good opportunity in the following ten days. Participating in the exchange for cultivators of the same tier, he could only go to the Seven Stars Market alone to stroll around and purchase some spiritual items unique to the State of Wu.

——

Half a month later, as several crisp bell sounds rang out in the market, the guardian array of the Seven Stars Market immediately began to activate. The Star Assembly, which everyone in the market had been waiting for, finally began.

This Star Assembly was an exchange hosted by the Star Sect of the State of Wu, inviting cultivators from sects in more than a dozen surrounding countries to come to the Seven Stars Market to participate. During this time, many rogue cultivators who lingered near the State of Wu would also come for the reputation.

The Star Assembly was held for a total of ten days. The first seven days were for free trading in the market. To attract the cultivators participating in the Star Assembly, all shops in the Seven Stars Market would specially release some rare and precious materials that were rarely seen in the market, as well as many specialty spiritual items they had transported from other surrounding countries.

From the moment the Star Sect released the news of the assembly a few months ago, ten thousand cultivators had already come to the Seven Stars Market. With the appearance of many rare and precious spiritual items, the entire market immediately became lively.

Whether it was rogue cultivators or foreign cultivators from other countries, as long as they paid ten spirit stones at the market entrance, they could enter to buy and sell the spiritual items they needed. During this period, all spiritual items sold in shops and stalls in the Seven Stars Market would be supervised by law enforcement cultivators arranged by the Star Sect to prevent all acts of fraud and deception during the assembly.

During the Star Assembly, a Nascent Soul Supreme Elder of the Star Sect would also sit in the Seven Stars Market. Anyone who dared to come out and cause trouble during this period, no matter who they were, would be directly expelled from the market, and those who were serious would even face severe punishment from the Star Sect.

Hosting such a Star Assembly, the Star Sect alone could earn tens of thousands of spirit stones a day just by collecting the entry fees from these cultivators. Added to the earnings of these shops in the market, if things went smoothly, the Star Sect could easily earn hundreds of thousands of spirit stones by relying on hosting such an assembly.

However, since the Star Sect invited cultivators from so many major sects in the surrounding area to come and show their support, they naturally had to bring out many good things. Otherwise, if so many high-tier cultivators arrived here only to return empty-handed, the next Star Assembly would certainly not have such a good effect.

During the first few days of the exchange, the "Mount Guyang Pavilion" opened by the Xiaoyao Sect was also very busy. Most of those low-tier disciples of the Xiaoyao Sect were arranged to go out and purchase low-tier spiritual items needed by the sect, preparing to transport them back to the sect after the assembly ended.

Golden Core elders of the Xiaoyao Sect like Yao Yao Ganshu had no interest in such low-tier spiritual items and stayed in the Mount Guyang Pavilion, basically not showing their faces. Only Song Song Qingming was somewhat unlucky and was grabbed by Bai Bai Yuxian to go out and stroll around together.

Fortunately, Song Song Qingming had some experience this time. Facing this Senior Sister Bai with an active mind, he was able to deal with her at any time. After the two strolled around the market, they did not expect that Bai Bai Yuxian, who was extremely lucky, would pick up a third-tier array disk that had been buried by someone at a small stall.

The person selling this item was an elderly rogue cultivator in the Qi Condensation stage. Because this third-tier array disk was already somewhat worn out, and a part of it was damaged, its spiritual energy had long since been lost, making it look like an inconspicuous high-tier material.

Even for a Foundation Establishment cultivator with some success, as long as they were not a high-tier array master, it was very difficult to identify the value of this item at a glance. A Qi Condensation cultivator with low cultivation like the stall owner could not possibly know the true value of this array disk.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 505 =====