Chapter 726: Instructing the Junior, Cave Abode Relics (Seeking Monthly Votes)

"I already had a connection with your sect, and back then, I did receive some benefits from Senior Zhao. You don't need to be so overly polite with me; stand up and speak first!"

Seeing Chen Jianghai’s actions, Song Qingming hurriedly waved his hand, signaling Luo Li, who was at the side, to help his master up first.

"Master, your health is poor, you should stand up first!"

With the support of Luo Li and the other, the still-weak Chen Jianghai slowly ceased his gestures of gratitude, gradually stood up, and sat on a wooden chair nearby.

"That you, Senior, could grace us with your presence today is truly the supreme honor of our Profound Heaven Sect. This junior boldly requests that you do not find us lacking and stay on the mountain for a few more days."

Seeing that Chen Jianghai intended to have him stay for a few more days, Song Qingming did not refuse and replied directly: "I came this time specifically to see you and Luo Li, so I am in no rush to leave."

"There is one more thing I must tell you. You are likely all aware that Luo Li was targeted by people from Iron Wind Island today, right?"

"Although these scoundrels died at my hands, it is hard to say whether this matter has leaked. If people from Iron Wind Island come knocking because of this in the future, do you have any countermeasures?"

Upon hearing Song Qingming mention "Iron Wind Island," a look of ugliness immediately appeared on Chen Jianghai’s face; clearly, he had already learned of this from Luo Li.

"Senior, please rest assured. Although Iron Wind Island is a Core Formation power, our Profound Heaven Sect is also a vassal of the High Cloud Gate. No matter how bold they are, they must still show some respect to our superior sect; they likely won't come here to cause trouble with great fanfare."

"It is just that Luo Li must be more careful when going out in the future. It is best not to leave the island casually for now; let’s wait until the storm passes."

The Red Star Sea Area where the "Profound Heaven Sect" is located stretches for tens of thousands of miles. In this vast area, there are tens of thousands of islands of varying sizes, and as long as they have spiritual veins, they are basically inhabited by people or cultivators.

However, although the "Red Star Sea Area" is large, it only contains small and medium-sized spiritual veins below the fourth rank, and there are no Nascent Soul powers present. It is ruled by a dozen or so Core Formation powers of various sizes, and "Iron Wind Island" is one of them.

It is just that "Iron Wind Island" only has one Core Formation cultivator, so among the many Core Formation powers in the "Red Star Sea Area," it can only be ranked near the bottom, not even comparable to the "High Cloud Gate," another Core Formation power that the "Profound Heaven Sect" is a vassal to.

Therefore, although Chen Jianghai and the others fear "Iron Wind Island" somewhat, they are not afraid that they would dare to come to their door to cause trouble openly. While the other party might not take them seriously, the "High Cloud Gate" would not allow them to extend their hands into their territory.

"Hmm! As long as you have a plan in mind, that is fine. I will not be leaving for a while. You can first inquire about the movements of Iron Wind Island. If they truly suspect you, notify me immediately."

"After all, these people died at my hands. I cannot leave all the trouble to you after I leave. I still have some friendship with the Hundred Flower Palace on Ten Thousand Lake Island."

"In the unlikely event—I say unlikely—that they come knocking and you cannot handle it, you can take this item and find Elder He Mengxin of the Hundred Flower Palace. She is a close friend of mine and will certainly not neglect you."

After speaking, Song Qingming directly took out a second-rank communication talisman he had refined himself and handed it to the "Profound Heaven Sect" Sect Master, Chen Jianghai.

Hearing Song Qingming offer to help them deal with the trouble from "Iron Wind Island," Chen Jianghai and the others were inwardly excited. They hurriedly accepted the talisman from Song Qingming and thanked him profusely once again.

Song Qingming is not only a late-stage Core Formation cultivator but also has a good relationship with the "Hundred Flower Palace," a major Nascent Soul sect in the East Sea. Such a backer is something the "Profound Heaven Sect" has dreamed of having.

It is just a pity that Song Qingming’s roots are not in the East Sea, and he cannot stay here for a long time. The "Profound Heaven Sect" can now at most borrow his name to act like a fox pretending to be a tiger.

When Song Qingming first visited to return the remains of Zhao Jibai, Chen Jianghai and the other deliberately invited surrounding Foundation Establishment powers to observe the ceremony, using their familiarity with Song Qingming to greatly improve the declining status of the "Profound Heaven Sect."

It is a pity that Song Qingming did not visit again for the next few decades. As time passed, the surrounding people naturally saw through the reality of the "Profound Heaven Sect," and now their days are returning to how they were before.

Fortunately, Luo Li later successfully reached Foundation Establishment, allowing the entire "Profound Heaven Sect" to see a glimmer of hope for revival.

The current "Profound Heaven Sect" is much better than when Song Qingming first arrived. The number of sect disciples has nearly doubled compared to before, and the trend of continuous decline has slowly been halted.

After giving instructions to Chen Jianghai and the others on this matter, Song Qingming, having nothing else to do, took the opportunity to offer some guidance on their cultivation.

Next, under the personal arrangement of Chen Jianghai, Song Qingming stayed directly in a cave abode on the back mountain of the "Profound Heaven Sect."

Except for returning to the cave abode at night to meditate and cultivate, Song Qingming basically wandered around the foot of the mountain during the day, accompanied by Luo Li, to experience the different customs of the islands in the East Sea.

After inquiries by Chen Jianghai and the others, the situation on "Iron Wind Island" was indeed as Song Qingming and the others had expected. After losing several Foundation Establishment cultivators, they immediately began sending people to investigate everywhere, but in the vast ocean, even the corpses could not be found, making it impossible to find the culprit.

The four white-haired elders were not weak among Foundation Establishment cultivators. Being able to kill them silently already indirectly proved that the culprit was likely a Core Formation cultivator.

Although "Iron Wind Island" suffered a silent loss this time, they also knew that the culprit’s background might be extraordinary, so they did not publicize the matter. Soon, the sudden disappearance of the white-haired elders slowly faded from people’s conversations.

Three days later, in a teahouse in a mortal town on "White Sand Island," Song Qingming sat among a group of mortals, watching the performance on the stage with the ordinary people around him.

With a slight smile on his lips, he, like the many mortals sitting in the teahouse, would occasionally take the initiative to clap and cheer for the wonderful performance on stage.

Since participating in worldly cultivation at the "Grand Void Gate," Song Qingming has found it very easy to quickly integrate into the world of ordinary mortals, no matter where he is.

He can deeply feel their joys, sorrows, separations, and reunions from these ordinary mortals around him—things that cultivators hiding on high immortal mountains find difficult to obtain.

Song Qingming has also slowly come to feel the benefits that worldly cultivation has brought to his own practice, from his initial lack of understanding, to now being able to integrate into a relatively unfamiliar mortal world at will.

In recent years, Song Qingming’s personal state of mind has become much more indifferent than when he was cultivating before. Even when facing some setbacks, he can accept them calmly and will not easily trap himself in the situation as he did before.

Just as Song Qingming was listening to the play intently, two young women suddenly walked to the entrance of the teahouse. Both were dressed in brocade and jade belts with extraordinary temperaments, and as soon as they walked in, they attracted the eyes of everyone in the hall.

After seeing Song Qingming sitting in the crowd not far away, the two women immediately looked happy and walked straight toward him. Ignoring the puzzled looks of the people around them, they bowed slightly to Song Qingming.

"Senior, I hope you are well. Greetings, Senior!"

The people who entered were Luo Li and her close friend Guo Yuting.

Guo Yuting had said when she left last time that she would come to visit in a few days to ask for advice on cultivation. Her arrival here today was not beyond Song Qingming’s expectations.

After nodding slightly, Song Qingming immediately waved his hand and said: "Since you are here, sit down and listen to the play first! You are both practitioners, so you should try to control yourselves in front of mortals and not let them see your differences at a glance. You need to calm your mind to feel the different aspects of this kind of play."

Hearing Song Qingming let them stay and listen to the play together, Guo Yuting and Luo Li immediately nodded, sat down beside him, and patiently focused their eyes on the stage not far away, just like Song Qingming.

"Senior, is listening to plays here also a way of cultivation?" Seeing that a play on stage had just ended and there was a gap in time, Guo Yuting asked Song Qingming beside her with a hint of doubt.

This kind of teahouse stage is very common among mortals in the East Sea cultivation world. Guo Yuting and Luo Li grew up here, so they naturally knew about these things long ago.

It is just that as cultivators, they only looked at these mortal storytelling and singing as a novelty and had never deeply understood these things that were unimportant to them.

From the moment she entered and saw Song Qingming, a Core Formation cultivator standing at the height of the cultivation world, coming here to listen to plays with a group of mortals, she only thought that this senior must rarely come to the East Sea, which is why he was interested in the local characteristic plays for a while.

But after sitting here and watching a whole play, Guo Yuting discovered that the senior in front of her was very serious when watching the play, even more focused than some mortals.

Although Song Qingming rarely spoke when watching the play, he could react quickly to the parts where the stage performers sang well and clap and cheer with the mortals in time. Clearly, he was now somewhat familiar with these plays on stage.

Hearing Guo Yuting’s puzzled inquiry, Song Qingming immediately nodded slightly and said: "There are thousands of ways to cultivate, and it is not just sitting on the mountain and practicing hard that is called cultivation."

"My way of cultivation can be carried out in many places. Listening to these plays can also yield gains. This point is perhaps something you cannot feel yet."

"However, how much one can gain from my way of cultivation depends entirely on personal understanding. You two should not think too much about this matter; just let nature take its course. When it is time to understand, you will naturally understand."

"I understand a little. Senior is cultivating personal character here, not his own cultivation base. That should be correct, right?"

Song Qingming heard this and replied with some satisfaction: "Hmm! You are right. This kind of cultivation is more helpful to one’s personal state of mind and can be beneficial for you to break through cultivation bottlenecks."

"If you can also enter the Dao in the future and experience different aspects, you will naturally be able to get some benefits."

"However, this kind of cultivation emphasizes letting nature take its course and cannot be forced. Not everyone can comprehend it so easily. You should still focus on your own cultivation in your daily life and do not put the cart before the horse, thereby delaying your own cultivation." "Senior’s good words, this junior will remember them!"

"Alright! Having listened to a few plays today, I have gained a lot. Let’s stop here."

Seeing that because Luo Li and Guo Yuting were sitting beside him, many people around were casting curious and strange looks, Song Qingming nodded slightly to the two of them, then took the initiative to stand up and walk out the door.

Seeing this, Luo Li and the other immediately followed carefully behind. The three of them passed through the bustling small town and arrived at the nearby seaside.

After finding a relatively quiet place to sit down, Song Qingming went straight to the point, giving Luo Li and the other the opportunity to ask their own questions about cultivation that they did not understand.

Guo Yuting has been cultivating for many years. Although her talent is not bad and she reached Foundation Establishment early, she comes from a Foundation Establishment family with weak strength and has never had the opportunity to come into contact with Core Formation cultivators.

Seeing Song Qingming take the initiative to guide them in cultivation, Guo Yuting hurriedly kowtowed to thank him with Luo Li, and began to ask Song Qingming about her doubts in cultivation.

To this, Song Qingming answered one by one without any reservation.

For Foundation Establishment cultivators like Guo Yuting and Luo Li who have no background, the personal instruction of a Core Formation cultivator is definitely a rare personal opportunity they have encountered.

Both of them came from small Foundation Establishment powers and practiced step by step from the bottom. Their personal talents are naturally not too bad. Song Qingming only gave a little guidance on some cultivation dilemmas, and they quickly understood.

The three of them sat by the sea, accompanied by the sound of the tide rising and falling not far away, from morning until dusk, before Song Qingming ended this discussion on the Dao.

Although it was only half a day’s work, under Song Qingming’s guidance, Guo Yuting and Luo Li solved many problems that had plagued their cultivation in the past and also had a clear understanding of their future personal paths.

Such gains are definitely difficult to measure with ordinary spirit stones or spiritual objects for them. At this moment, in their hearts, Song Qingming has slowly changed from a senior to half a mentor.

Seeing that the two women had benefited a lot, Song Qingming, who had patiently preached, also felt a sense of relief in his heart.

Having cultivated for so many years, Song Qingming has also received guidance from many seniors, which is why he has been able to reach where he is today step by step. Today, by preaching to Luo Li and the other, Song Qingming is also inheriting the will of these seniors.

The great path of cultivation cannot always just look at one’s own path; sometimes one must also leave some opportunities for future generations. This is also a personal inheritance of cause and effect.

Making things convenient for others is making things convenient for oneself. Today’s matter might just be something Song Qingming did casually, but for Luo Li and the others, it might be a major event that could change their lifelong path.

Seeing that they had no more questions and that he had said everything he should say, Song Qingming took the initiative to stand up, glanced at the sunset not far away, and turned around to prepare to return to the "Profound Heaven Sect."

Just at this moment, Guo Yuting at the side suddenly bowed to Song Qingming and said: "Senior, please wait a moment. This junior has one more thing today and would like to ask Senior Song to help. I don’t know if Senior has any free time recently."

"I came here mainly to visit Luo Li and the others. I estimate I will leave in three to five days. Tell me what you have first. If it is convenient, I can consider it."

Hearing Guo Yuting ask for his help, Song Qingming did not immediately agree. Being away from home, he is not a person who likes to meddle in other people’s business, so he still wanted to hear what the other party had to say before considering it.

Song Qingming’s expression was very calm, but Luo Li at the side had already guessed what Guo Yuting wanted to say and looked at her nervously, appearing as if she wanted to speak but stopped.

Hearing what Song Qingming said, Guo Yuting immediately understood his meaning. Without too much hesitation, she said directly: "Senior Song was able to teach us everything he knew today. This grace of instruction is something Yuting will never forget, so naturally, I dare not hide anything from Senior."

"More than ten years ago, when this junior had just reached Foundation Establishment, I was fortunate enough to discover a cave abode left behind by a senior in the nearby sea area."

"It is just a pity that there are not only many restrictions there but also many high-rank demonic beasts appearing. This junior has tried to enter it several times but has not been able to do so."

"I would like to ask Senior Song to help break the restrictions there. If I am fortunate enough to enter that senior’s cave abode, this junior is willing to share the spiritual objects obtained with Senior."

"A Core Formation cultivator’s cave abode? How did you determine that? It has been more than ten years and you still haven’t succeeded. Logically speaking, a cave abode left by an ordinary Core Formation cultivator shouldn’t be that hard to enter, right?"

Hearing what Chen Yuting said, Song Qingming, who had been very calm, suddenly became interested and asked the other party again.

Although the number of high-rank rogue cultivators in the East Sea cultivation world is more than double that of the Floating Cloud Mountain Range cultivation world, it is not too strange for Chen Yuting to find a Core Formation cultivator’s cave abode outside.

However, what makes Song Qingming somewhat puzzled is that Chen Yuting herself is a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator, and there are other Foundation Establishment cultivators in her family, so it is not as if there is no one to help.

Breaking the restrictions of a cave abode left by a Core Formation cultivator, even if they slowly ground away at it for more than ten years, should have been enough for them to open the restrictions, so there is no need to specifically ask Song Qingming, a Core Formation cultivator, to help.

Hearing what Song Qingming said, Chen Yuting sighed and said directly: "Senior is right. The restrictions inside this cave abode are indeed a bit different and very difficult to remove."

"To tell you the truth, what this junior mainly cultivates is the way of formations, and I am now a second-rank mid-grade formation master. However, facing the restrictions in that cave abode for more than ten years, I still haven’t found any good way."

"Even if I called a few family elders to go together, it would be difficult to break the restrictions inside. The only way now is to find a Core Formation cultivator to help me break the formation, only then will there be a chance to successfully remove the restrictions and enter the cave abode."

"Senior, please rest assured, that cave abode was definitely built by a cultivator above the Core Formation stage. This trip, this junior is confident that I will not let you make a wasted trip."

"Last time, I searched carefully outside the cave abode and accidentally found a third-rank spiritual object in a deserted stone room. The reason why Luo Li and I were targeted by people from Iron Wind Island is actually because of this item."

After Chen Yuting finished speaking, she reached out and wiped her waist, taking out a third-rank low-grade magic treasure that was already somewhat damaged.

The style of this magic treasure was very ordinary, and the spiritual light on it was already very dim. It looked indeed as Chen Yuting said, it should be an item left outside by its owner for a long time.

Chen Yuting obtained this magic treasure several years ago and had never shown it in front of people. Except for the patriarch of the Chen family, no one knew that she had found a Core Formation cave abode outside.

It was not until the last time she went to a nearby market with Luo Li that she happened to see a spiritual object in the market that could help them break through their cultivation.

At that time, the spirit stones in their hands were not enough. Facing the rare opportunity, Chen Yuting did not want to give up, so she wanted to sell this flawed magic treasure in exchange for spirit stones.

Unexpectedly, while inquiring in the market, they were unfortunately targeted by people from "Iron Wind Island." Although the two of them escaped from the market very carefully afterward, they did not know why they were finally caught up by the other party and almost died on the sea with Luo Li.

If they hadn’t happened to meet Song Qingming later, they would have been killed for their treasures and disappeared in the vast ocean by now.

It is precisely because Song Qingming saved Chen Yuting’s life and did not treat her as an outsider, teaching her everything he knew patiently, that Chen Yuting made up her mind to tell Song Qingming about the Core Formation cave abode and wanted to ask him to help explore it together.

Over the years, Chen Yuting had thought about asking experts to help, but those Core Formation cultivators outside were all like wolves and tigers, which really made Chen Yuting dare not try.

She and the entire Chen family are just a small Foundation Establishment family, and they really have no room to bargain in front of Core Formation cultivators. Even if they went to the superior sect "High Cloud Gate," it is estimated that the things inside this Core Formation cave abode would eventually be eaten clean by the other party.

Asking a strange Core Formation cultivator outside for help, if the other party had evil intentions and killed them to silence them, I am afraid the entire Chen family would face the crisis of extermination. These are not things that Chen Yuting, a small Foundation Establishment cultivator, dares to gamble on.

Therefore, for so many years, Chen Yuting has kept this secret tightly in her heart. Except for the Chen family patriarch who supported her all the way to Foundation Establishment, Chen Yuting has never told anyone else about this matter.

Even Chen Yuting’s good sister, Luo Li, was only told by her not long ago when she decided to invite Song Qingming to go.

Hearing Chen Yuting’s explanation, Song Qingming did not answer immediately but picked up the short sword magic treasure in Chen Yuting’s hand and looked at it carefully.

After trying to use the spiritual power in his hand, Song Qingming found that this magic treasure was not damaged too severely, and he could still directly inject spiritual power to drive it. It is estimated that the time it was abandoned should be at most a few hundred years.

Judging that what the other party said did not seem to be false, Song Qingming then nodded slightly and said: "Since that is the case, I will go with you!"

"However, let’s agree beforehand: I can go with you to see the situation first. If the restrictions there are too powerful and I cannot open them, then I can only give up on this matter."

"Although Song is not a benevolent gentleman, I am also not a person who likes to take advantage of juniors."

"No matter whether I can help you on this trip or not, I will not tell others what you have said to me today. You can rest assured about this."

"Then Yuting will thank Senior here first!"