Chapter 615: Farewell, Qingyu

Compared to Song Qingming, the master who had "meticulously cared" for it for over ten years, this "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon" seemed to be closer to Fire Phoenix, who had just helped it hatch. It arched its small flood dragon head and kept rubbing against Fire Phoenix's feet.

Seeing this little fellow so close to Fire Phoenix, Song Qingming guessed that it might be because Fire Phoenix had enlightened the "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon" bloodline when she helped it hatch earlier.

When he first met Long Feng, Song Qingming had once heard him mention that Fire Phoenix had the ability to help low-tier spirit beasts enlighten their bloodline divine abilities in advance.

The reason why the two demons, Long Feng and Qingluan, could speak human language at the early stage of Core Formation and had intelligence far exceeding ordinary demon kings was because Fire Phoenix had enlightened their bloodlines in advance.

His own "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon" now also had this opportunity. Just as Fire Phoenix said, as long as it was cultivated properly, it would be no problem for it to reach the Core Formation realm in the future, not to mention breaking through to the fourth tier to become a Soul Transformation demon beast.

Like the Foundation Establishment-level spirit beast, the Heavenly Fire Peng, most Foundation Establishment families with a history of three to five hundred years, such as the Huang family and the Gao family in the cultivation world, would raise one to guard the family's spirit mountain.

However, the cultivation of such spirit beasts generally could only stay at the Foundation Establishment realm and it was very difficult to raise them to the Core Formation stage. In the cultivation world, except for those few large sects that focused on beast taming, it was very rare to see spirit beasts above the Core Formation stage elsewhere.

In the entire Wei State, there was only one Core Formation-level spirit beast, which existed in the Spirit Beast Hall behind the Xiaoyao Sect.

Because the sect had always guarded it quite strictly, most people in the Wei State cultivation world did not know about this matter. Even Song Qingming, a Core Formation cultivator, only slowly learned of the existence of this spirit beast after joining the sect and becoming a guest elder.

This Core Formation spirit beast was left behind after a Core Formation senior of the Xiaoyao Sect passed away several hundred years ago. It is said that its cultivation had already reached the peak of the mid-stage of Core Formation, only one step away from advancing to the late-stage of Core Formation.

However, after its master passed away, no beast tamer above the third tier had appeared in the Xiaoyao Sect for several hundred years. Although many people had tried to tame this Core Formation spirit beast again during this period, none had succeeded.

For this reason, the Xiaoyao Sect could only place it in the Spirit Beast Hall behind the mountain, supplying it with good food and drink.

Although there was no way to tame this powerful Core Formation spirit beast for the sect's use, once Mount Guyang encountered an invasion by foreign enemies, it was still willing to come out to help guard the sect.

Facing the "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon's" intentional closeness, Fire Phoenix did not refuse. She reached out and took it onto her arm, tapping its small head lightly.

"The Ice-Fire Flood Dragon is a demon beast that can perfectly fuse water and fire attributes. As long as they are spirit items of these two types, they are what they like the most."

"You must remember, try to let it appear less in front of strangers. Never let people know that its bloodline has been enlightened; otherwise, I fear it will bring you unnecessary trouble."

After Fire Phoenix finished speaking, she lifted the "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon," which was still somewhat reluctant to part with her, back to Song Qingming's hand with a light lift of her magic power.

"Many thanks for your guidance, Your Highness!"

After Song Qingming nodded slightly, he took out a spirit beast bag, put this "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon" directly into the bag, and then threw it onto the stone table in the cave dwelling to the side.

After dealing with the "Ice-Fire Flood Dragon," just as Song Qingming turned around, Fire Phoenix threw a bamboo scroll and a small porcelain bottle toward him.

"Last time I heard Long Feng say that you were very interested in his transformation technique. This cultivation method is one that you human cultivators can also practice. I happened to bring it, so I will hand it to you on his behalf."

"This bottle of thousand-year spirit milk is what I just collected. Since you prepared so many things for me this time, consider it a thank you gift for you."

After receiving these two spirit items and taking a slight look, Song Qingming immediately revealed a hint of a smile and happily put them into his storage magic tool.

The value of thousand-year spirit milk goes without saying; it had long been the spirit item Song Qingming wanted most in his heart. Previously, Song Qingming had begged Fire Phoenix several times, but she had pushed him off, saying she had none left. That she could take out a bottle this time was indeed something Song Qingming had not expected.

The transformation secret technique in the other bamboo scroll was something Song Qingming had been curious about after seeing Long Feng perform it several times before. He had even questioned Long Feng about it a few times when they were in the "Heaven-Reaching Tower."

Song Qingming also did not expect that Long Feng would inform Fire Phoenix of this matter afterward.

This transformation cultivation method could not only change one's figure at any time, but after reaching great success, it could almost deceive the spiritual sense exploration of cultivators of the same tier. This was much more convenient than the masks and bamboo hats Song Qingming often wore to conceal his identity when going out.

However, wanting to cultivate to the point where one could change into a high-tier cultivator at will like Long Feng, and not let others notice for a short time, was not so easy. It would certainly require putting in some hard work.

"The person we encountered in the mountain cave last time should be your friend, right!"

Song Qingming, who had just put away these two spirit items, heard the words spoken by Fire Phoenix. He was stunned for a moment before reacting; she seemed to be talking about Feng He, whom the two had encountered in the "Heaven-Reaching Tower."

Fire Phoenix was inherently a very intelligent person. After encountering Feng He in the mountain cave that day, although she was unable to move due to healing, her spiritual sense could still be released. She was naturally very clear about the game of wits and entanglement between Song Qingming and Feng He.

After Feng He pretended to be defeated and left that day, although Fire Phoenix was focused on healing at the time and did not take the initiative to ask about this matter, Song Qingming also knew in his heart that there was a high probability this matter could not be hidden from her.

At this moment, seeing her ask about it face-to-face, Song Qingming did not intend to conceal the relationship he already had with Feng He. After thinking for a moment, he nodded directly.

Seeing Song Qingming admit his relationship with Feng He, Fire Phoenix frowned slightly and said cautiously:

"This person's spiritual sense is already no less than that of a Soul Transformation cultivator. He should not be as simple as he appears on the surface. Regardless of what relationship you have with this person, you still need to be careful when you encounter him in the future."

"The higher the cultivation of you human cultivators, the more schemes you tend to have. I am also kindly reminding you not to trust others too easily. Whether you listen or not is up to you."

Sure enough, as Song Qingming had thought, although Fire Phoenix did not say it explicitly, she had already guessed that Feng He might be a person who had been possessed by a Soul Transformation cultivator, which was why she kindly opened her mouth to remind him to be careful in dealing with him.

However, what Fire Phoenix did not know was that not only did Song Qingming know Feng He's identity long ago, but he even had a "share of the credit" in his possession and re-cultivation back then.

Over these many years, although Feng He's possession had not been exposed, Song Qingming, who had done some guilty things, was often still fearful in his heart, fearing that one day the matter would be exposed and he, along with the entire family, would be implicated.

The reason Song Qingming and Feng He chose to cooperate when they first met back then was, in fact, the same as when she first met Fire Phoenix; it was not a voluntary move on his part, but a helpless one.

At that time, Song Qingming was only a small Foundation Establishment cultivator. Facing the calculations of these two Soul Transformation cultivators, besides nodding and agreeing, he had no other choice. In the end, it was still for the sake of self-preservation.

Fortunately, looking at it now, Song Qingming's luck was not too bad. Whether it was Fire Phoenix or Feng He, although these two both had their own purposes and styles of doing things, they were still people who kept their word and had not done anything to Song Qingming that returned evil for good.

Hearing the words of concern from Fire Phoenix, Song Qingming nodded with a smile and said: "Don't worry. I have known him for many years. Although we are not very familiar, this is not the first time we have dealt with each other. I still know some things about him."

"Hmm! It is good that you have a count in your heart. It is about time for me to leave. I hope you will take care of yourself." After Fire Phoenix exhorted Song Qingming, she turned around and walked directly out of his cave dwelling.

Seeing this, Song Qingming also followed her out immediately. Afterward, under his gaze, Fire Phoenix transformed into a streak of white light and vanished from the spot.

Standing on the mountaintop, Song Qingming looked at the direction in which Fire Phoenix had left, and a hint of complexity couldn't help but emerge in his heart.

When he first saw Fire Phoenix back then, Song Qingming's cultivation was only at the second layer of Foundation Establishment. Facing Fire Phoenix, a high-tier cultivator of the demon race, he was once so frightened that he thought his Dao path could only stop there.

In the blink of an eye, over a hundred years had passed. Song Qingming, who had succeeded in Core Formation and broken through to the Core Formation realm, also did not expect that the relationship between him and Fire Phoenix would have such a big change.

From the initial being used, to being able to cooperate and take what each needed, to now having developed a few more bonds that only companions or friends have.

It must be said that on Song Qingming's cultivation path of over a hundred years, Fire Phoenix had played a very important role. Without her several sincere helps, Song Qingming's Dao path would certainly not have been so smooth.

As an ordinary cultivator who had experienced the helplessness and cruelty of the cultivation world and struggled from the bottom step-by-step to the Core Formation stage.

The gratitude in Song Qingming's heart toward Fire Phoenix naturally goes without saying. Even knowing she was a demon race cultivator, Song Qingming had never regarded her as an outsider.

Back then in the mountain cave on the eighth floor of the "Heaven-Reaching Tower," when facing the "threat" from Feng He, who had not yet revealed his identity.

Song Qingming knew clearly that he was no match for the other party, but for the sake of Fire Phoenix's safety, he still did not hesitate to refuse Feng He's proposal to betray Fire Phoenix, choosing to deal with the other party to the end.

Just as he had said sincerely to Feng He at the time, even if Song Qingming was not a person of high moral character, he still had his own bottom line for conduct and would never easily betray his companions in the face of battle.

After the two experienced a life-and-death crisis together in the "Heaven-Reaching Tower," the cooperative relationship between Song Qingming and Fire Phoenix had now drawn much closer and had undergone no small subtle changes.

Hearing the news that Fire Phoenix was suddenly leaving, it indeed made Song Qingming somewhat unexpected, to the point that at this moment, he felt as if he had lost many things.

"A backing that can be relied upon in secret, a friend who can cooperate with each other... these, for Song Qingming, will probably not exist in the future."

Although he was still somewhat reluctant to part with her in his heart, Song Qingming also knew that Fire Phoenix was right. She could not be his backing forever. If he wanted to control his own destiny, Song Qingming still needed to cultivate diligently and rely on his own cultivation.

The cultivation world is so vast. Even if Fire Phoenix is a Soul Transformation cultivator, she would have words of helplessness about her own destiny.

Song Qingming's current cultivation is still far from enough to be seen. He can only barely protect this small place of the Song family. Even if he has the heart to help Fire Phoenix, he does not yet have the qualifications with his current ability.

If one day, Song Qingming truly breaks through to the Soul Transformation stage, and meets Fire Phoenix again at that time, perhaps the two of them could become true friends.

"The scenery of the world is so beautiful; one still needs to cultivate diligently to see further!"

Seeing that the sunset in the sky had slowly fallen, Song Qingming, standing on the mountaintop, looked at this rare sunset beauty, sighed with emotion with a smile, and turned to walk slowly back to his cave dwelling.

——

Several thousand miles northeast of Mount Tuoyun, on a high mountain.

Following a streak of white light flying over, Fire Phoenix's figure appeared out of thin air above a giant rock on the side of the mountaintop.

"Your Highness, you have finally returned. You saw that kid Song Qingming, right?" After seeing Fire Phoenix's figure, Long Feng and Qingluan immediately came to her side from not far away.

Fire Phoenix waved her hand and said: "Hmm! I have met with him. This fellow's cultivation has just broken through to the fourth layer of Core Formation. His cultivation speed can be considered quite good."

"What! This kid broke through to the mid-stage of Core Formation so quickly? The cultivation speed of human cultivators is truly somewhat unbelievable. It seems I underestimated this kid a bit back then." Long Feng heard the news of Song Qingming breaking through to the fourth layer of Core Formation, and his tone immediately revealed a hint of surprise.

Qingluan, standing beside Long Feng, heard Long Feng's words and was immediately somewhat displeased:

"Hmph! This fellow's aptitude is so poor. If it weren't for the fact that he was lucky enough to meet me back then, and only then had the good fortune to receive Your Highness's strong support, I fear he wouldn't even be able to form a core in his life. What is there to brag about?"

Thinking of Song Qingming, who was still submissive before her back then, and whose cultivation had now actually surpassed her own, Qingluan also felt a hint of depression for no reason in her heart.

Fire Phoenix shook her head and said: "If he didn't cultivate diligently himself, even with my support, he wouldn't have today's cultivation. Don't underestimate him too much on this point."

"Last time he went to the Heaven-Reaching Tower, Song Qingming also obtained some opportunities after entering the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion. If there are no accidents, he should be able to cultivate to the ninth layer of Core Formation in the future and impact the Soul Transformation realm. Perhaps we and he will still have a day to meet again."

"Your Highness! Can this kid really have a chance to break through to the Soul Transformation realm?" Hearing Fire Phoenix actually think so highly of Song Qingming, Long Feng and Qingluan also revealed a hint of confusion on their faces.

Whether it is human or demon race cultivators, with sufficient cultivation resources and good luck, there is a high possibility of cultivating to the Core Formation realm. But those who can break through to the Soul Transformation realm must all be heaven-defying geniuses with great opportunities.

Even Long Feng, a great demon king whose cultivation has already reached the late-stage of Core Formation, and who has Fire Phoenix as a great backing, does not dare to say that he has too much certainty of breaking through to the Soul Transformation realm in the future.

The two of them also found it somewhat hard to imagine that Song Qingming, this human kid with mediocre aptitude, would truly, as Fire Phoenix said, be able to touch this cultivation realm that all Core Formation cultivators in the cultivation world dream of.

Seeing that the two, Long Feng and his companion, were somewhat puzzled by her words, Fire Phoenix did not explain too much. She waved her hand directly at the two and said:

"Alright! No matter how things develop here, it has nothing to do with us anymore. Let's see what fate brings in the future. Next, you will follow me to bid farewell to Uncle Jin Yu. We also need to prepare to return to the Northern Frontier."

"Hehe! Your Highness is right. Staying in a place like the Floating Yunshan Range all these years, I have always been somewhat fearful. After returning to the Northern Frontier, we should not need to worry about these problems."

"Your Highness has already broken through to the Soul Transformation stage. If the Holy Emperor knew, he would definitely be very happy. Perhaps Long Feng and I could even get some rewards after returning this time."

Seeing Qingluan becoming happier the more she spoke, Fire Phoenix shook her head slightly and said: "Don't think of things too simply. Those old fellows in the clan have never been at peace. Father is still somewhat unable to control the situation even now. We still need to be careful on the way back."

"Although I have already broken through to the Soul Transformation realm, those people might not dare to act directly against us on the surface, but it is very possible that they will play some schemes and tricks behind our backs. It is still too early for us to be happy now."

Long Feng nodded slightly and replied: "Your Highness is right. Qingluan, you are truly too anxious. If Your Highness were as careless as you all day long, I fear we would have long since not lived until today."

Hearing the reprimand from Fire Phoenix and Long Feng, Qingluan, who had always had a somewhat big temper, could only close her mouth somewhat aggrievedly and follow obediently behind them.

Following Fire Phoenix, who transformed into a streak of white light first, the figures of the three soon vanished from this high mountain.

——

After seeing Fire Phoenix off, Song Qingming, who was at Mount Tuoyun, also fell back into tranquility in his life.

Besides daily cultivation, he would feed the spirit beasts and practice the several new cultivation methods he had obtained. Nearly two years passed quickly.

On this day, white clouds suddenly rolled on the mountaintop of Mount Tuoyun, and a large cluster of white mist soon gathered.

Following that, in the part of the entire spirit mountain near the mountaintop, spiritual energy began to madly surge into a cave dwelling on the mountaintop that had been quiet for a long time.

Song Yuanli, who was cultivating in his cave dwelling, felt the change in the surrounding spiritual energy and hurriedly walked out of the cave dwelling to the outside of the cave dwelling where Song Qingyu was in seclusion on the mountaintop.

Just as he approached, Song Yuanli saw from afar that two figures had already arrived outside the cave dwelling before him, looking at the rolling white clouds above the sky with a serious expression.

Song Yuanli came to the side of the two, bowed slightly, and asked softly: "Seventh Granduncle, is this heavenly phenomenon because Ancestor Qingyu has already begun Core Formation?"

Song Qingming turned around, nodded at Song Yuanli with a smile, and said: "Calculating the time, it should be about right. Yuanli, you go down and arrange for Lin Yutang and the others to open all the mountain-protecting formations. Do not be stingy with those spirit stones; I will compensate them later."

"Also, tell the law enforcement team that during the period when the mountain-protecting formation is activated, all strange cultivators can go down the mountain, but they are not allowed to go up. From now on, no matter what affairs they have, they must wait until after Qingyu's Core Formation."

"Seventh Granduncle, rest assured, I will go and arrange it!" Song Yuanli replied happily and hurried away from here.

Huang Siyuan, standing beside Song Qingming, looked at the heavenly phenomenon constantly rolling in the sky and said with some worry: "Husband, the Core Formation Great Dao is so difficult. Do you think Qingyu can succeed in Core Formation this time?"

Huang Siyuan had been in seclusion for Core Formation for three years. Although she also triggered a heavenly phenomenon, she ultimately fell short of success as expected and failed to form a core in one go. She had already come out of seclusion half a year early.

Having already impacted the Core Formation realm once, Huang Siyuan naturally also experienced the difficulty of Core Formation, which was why she had an extra bit of worry for Song Qingyu, who was also impacting the Core Formation realm.

"Hmm! Qingyu's Core Formation this time looks relatively smooth. Although I don't have one hundred percent certainty for her, judging from the current situation, there is still a seven or eight percent confidence. You don't need to worry too much for her."

"Although your Core Formation this time did not succeed, you have already reached the critical step of condensing the core, which is much better than I was back then."

"Moreover, the backlash injuries from your Core Formation this time are not that severe. As long as you heal with peace of mind for a period of time, and wait until the Hidden Origin Technique is re-cultivated well, you can impact the Core Formation realm again. At most, it will only delay a few years of time."

Although Huang Siyuan's seclusion for Core Formation this time did not produce the miracle expected and succeed in one go, Song Qingming was basically satisfied with the result.

Seeing the worried look in her tone, Song Qingming hurriedly comforted her with a smile.

Huang Siyuan heard this and revealed a look of joy: "Oh! Husband has such confidence in Qingyu. It seems she can truly succeed this time."

"Having reached this step, she should have already succeeded in condensing the core. Next, as long as she grasps the opportunity, at most ten or so days, she will be able to temper the Jin Dan and step into the Core Formation Great Dao."

Breaking through to the Core Formation realm is the most difficult step of condensing the core. Although after condensing the core, a cultivator can be considered to have stepped half a foot into the Core Formation realm.

However, once this step is not taken well, even if a heavenly phenomenon is triggered, the Jin Dan within the body that has not yet solidified and is still somewhat fragile will shatter due to being unable to withstand the madly surging spiritual energy, thereby falling back to the Foundation Establishment realm.

Over eighty percent of cultivators in the cultivation world who fail to impact the Core Formation realm fall at this step. Huang Siyuan's previous failure in Core Formation was also the same.

After hearing Song Qingming's explanation, Huang Siyuan also nodded slightly, having a bit more confidence in Song Qingyu's success in Core Formation.

While the two, Song Qingming and his companion, were chatting outside, in the cave dwelling in seclusion, Song Qingyu, who was radiating a thin golden light and was madly devouring the surrounding heavenly spiritual energy, had also reached the most critical moment of impacting the Core Formation realm.

Feeling that the Jin Dan within her body was already somewhat unable to withstand this massive spiritual energy, Song Qingyu moved her magic power and drew a streak of emerald green spiritual energy from the small jade bottle before her, which quickly entered her body.

What was contained in this small jade bottle was the "Jade True Water," an auxiliary Core Formation spirit item she had prepared long ago when she was in seclusion impacting the Core Formation realm. (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 616 =====