Chapter 733

After leaving the "Grand Void Gate," Song Qingming did not return directly to the Fuyun Mountain Range cultivation world, but chose to stroll around Nanzhou and the two nearby large states again.

Ever since the demon beast chaos, Song Qingming had not only harvested many demon beast materials in the chaos but also obtained many high-tier spiritual herbs with Huang Siyuan in the "Tianyuan Sect" secret realm.

Not long ago, when visiting Luo Li in the East Sea cultivation world, he found the "Heavenly Corpse Daoist" cave dwelling and made a small fortune.

Song Qingming, who was not short of spirit stones and high-tier materials, had finally come to the "Donghuang State" cultivation world, so it was naturally impossible for him to go back empty-handed.

Spending more than half a year, Song Qingming went to many large-scale markets no less than "Tian Dan City," using the spiritual items in his hand to exchange for many cultivation pills and other spiritual items he needed.

It was just a pity that the only thing that made him a bit disappointed was that he wanted to find a high-tier fire-attribute material to repair the "Yin-Yang Eight Extremes Formation" in his hand, but he had not been able to get his wish after more than half a year.

In the "Donghuang State" cultivation world, although materials with a quality reaching the third-tier top-grade are not particularly rare spiritual items, they are not something that can be seen everywhere in the market.

Song Qingming searched so many large markets and only saw a few third-tier mid-grade fire-attribute materials with lower quality.

If he used such materials of insufficient quality to repair the "Yin-Yang Eight Extremes Formation," it would definitely damage the power of the formation and make it impossible to restore it to its original level. Song Qingming thought about it and still did not settle.

After arriving in the territory of Liangzhou, Song Qingming's storage magic tool at his waist was already filled with many spiritual items, and the spirit stones he brought were not much left, so he took the initiative to embark on the return journey and returned to the Fuyun Mountain Range cultivation world.

Although he was alone on the return journey, Song Qingming had traveled back and forth several times and was already very familiar with the route, so he did not encounter any danger and crossed the "Huanhai Desert" to return to Wei.

Song Qingming, who successfully returned to "Mount Funiu," brought back many high-tier cultivation pills and also shared many with Song Qingyu and Huang Siyuan.

The three of them soon entered closed-door cultivation one after another and returned to their usual days of diligent cultivation.

Time flies, and years pass like a shuttle.

In a blink of an eye, another ten years of peaceful days passed. — Ten years later, in a cave dwelling in the territory of the State of Wu in the southern part of the Fuyun Mountain Range.

A young man dressed in green clothes was concentrating his magic power with a focused expression, and his body was also emitting a faint golden light, clearly trying to attempt to break through to the Jin Dan realm.

A moment later, the young man, who was trying hard to control his magic power to condense the Jin Dan, suddenly had his magic power dissipate, spat out a mouthful of blood, and then the golden light covering his body gradually dissipated slowly.

Feeling the Jin Dan in his body that had just been condensed slowly dissipate and melt back into pill liquid, the green-clothed man who failed to form the core could not help but sigh with some regret.

"Seventh Great Uncle's words are not false; this step of forming the core is indeed not so easy to break through. Even if my spiritual root aptitude is better, this first attempt at forming the core did not allow me to go further than them."

The green-clothed man sat in place and pondered for a long time, and after recalling the process of his failure, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

Afterward, he picked up a healing pill he had already prepared and placed to the side, threw it directly into his mouth, and began to refine the pill to regulate the injuries on his body.

Half a month later, feeling that the injuries on his body had improved a lot, the green-clothed man walked out of the cave dwelling door. After taking a look at the long-lost sunlight outside, he turned and came to another cave dwelling not far away.

"The injuries on your body haven't been regulated yet; why did you come out so quickly? Could it be that you don't want to form the core anymore?"

Before the green-clothed man could release the sound transmission talisman he had just held in his hand, a voice suddenly came from the cave dwelling, and immediately afterward, a figure wearing a green robe that covered most of his face appeared out of thin air in front of him.

Seeing the green-robed person in front of him, the green-clothed man hurriedly stepped forward and saluted: "The junior is incompetent and failed to form the core, disappointing the senior."

The green-robed person waved his hand indifferently upon hearing this: "I already told you that the matter of forming the core is not so easy. Your failure was already within the old man's expectations."

"Don't worry; I said I would let you succeed in forming the core, and I will definitely be able to do it."

"However, don't forget the things you promised the old man before; otherwise, even if you succeed in forming the core in the future, the old man still has a way to make you return to the Foundation Establishment realm."

"Senior, don't worry. Although my cultivation is low, I am not an ungrateful person. My life was saved by you, Senior, back then; otherwise, I would have already died. Even if you asked me to risk my life to repay you, Senior, I wouldn't frown."

Seeing the green-clothed man in front of him, who spoke with a firm expression, the green-robed person was unmoved and chuckled: "Hehe! There are many ungrateful people in this world; it's not something the old man will believe just because of a few words from you, kid."

"If you want to repay the old man, you must first have this qualification."

"Alright! I still have things to go out for. You should go back to the cave dwelling to heal your injuries. Take these pills first; when your injuries are almost healed, come find me again!"

After the green-robed person finished speaking, he threw two white porcelain bottles to the green-clothed man, then ignored the other party and turned to walk back to his cave dwelling.

The green-clothed man who received the porcelain bottles looked at the green-robed person who was walking away and said nothing more, just cupped his hands at the other party's departing back, then turned and left. — Wei, Qinghe County, Mount Funiu.

On this day, a crimson sound transmission talisman representing an emergency message flew directly toward the towering "Mount Funiu" and landed in the hands of a Song family cultivator guarding the Law Enforcement Hall.

The Song family disciple who received the sound transmission talisman saw that the spiritual talisman in his hand was an emergency sound transmission talisman, so he hurriedly dropped his work and went straight to the inner room where the family elder was located.

Soon, this sound transmission talisman came into the hands of Song Yuanfang, who was busy in the family "Discussion Hall."

"Husband, where did something happen? Why would such an urgent request for help be sent suddenly?"

Huang Leqing, who was sitting to the side helping Song Yuanfang manage affairs, saw the red sound transmission talisman in her husband's hand and asked curiously.

After the Song family became a Jin Dan immortal clan, it had dominated the northeast of Wei for more than a hundred years. Since the demon beast chaos, the family territory had been very peaceful and nothing major had happened; in recent years, such urgent sound transmission talismans had rarely been seen.

Song Yuanfang, who opened the sound transmission talisman, scanned the contents inside and replied with a slightly solemn expression: "It's a request for help from Jin Shan Market. A third-tier demon king suddenly appeared near the market and is attacking the mountain-protecting formation."

"The situation is a bit urgent; I must hurry and inform the ancestor first. I'll trouble you with the matters here, Wife!" After Song Yuanfang finished speaking, he left the "Discussion Hall" directly and walked quickly toward the location of the mountain peak.

Before long, Song Yuanfang arrived outside Song Qingming's cave dwelling on the mountain peak. Seeing that the cave dwelling in closed-door cultivation seemed to have no changes, Song Yuanfang thought about it and turned to come to Song Qingyu's cave dwelling not far away, sending the sound transmission talisman in his hand inside.

Half an hour later, outside "Jin Shan Market" in Pingyang County.

A white rhinoceros, several zhang tall and covered in sturdy armor, was leading hundreds of low-tier demon beasts outside the market, constantly attacking the market formation that was blocking their advance.

The leading white rhinoceros was emitting a pressure that had already reached the mid-stage of the Jin Dan, and its every attack caused the "Jin Shan Market" mountain-protecting formation to emit a violent vibration.

The hundreds of cultivators hiding in the market saw the leading "Bai Xi Demon King" outside, and each of them had a bit of fear on their faces. They did not dare to go out to block it and could only hide in the formation to organize the cultivators to operate the formation to resist.

Because "Jin Shan Market" is located in the relatively remote northeast direction, since its creation, except for the demon beast chaos once every hundred years, it has rarely been attacked by demon kings above the third tier.

This "Bai Xi Demon King" did not know where it suddenly popped out from. A few days ago, it first killed several teams of rogue cultivators hunting demons nearby, and now it actually led its demon beast army south to attack "Jin Shan Market."

On the city wall of the market, several Foundation Establishment cultivators stationed here were looking at everything happening in front of them with worry, but they were helpless.

"Brother Cao, this demon king is so powerful; I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on for long. If the formation is broken, neither of us will be able to escape. Should we use the spiritual talisman to block the demon king first and win some time?"

"No! This spiritual talisman can only be used in a desperate situation; now is not the time. Hold the formation first; when the ancestor from Mount Funiu comes, we will be safe."

A middle-aged man standing in front, named Cao Linglong, is the current head of the Cao family in Pingyang County and is also the cultivator with the highest cultivation in "Jin Shan Market," having already reached the ninth layer of the Foundation Establishment stage.

Hearing the suggestion from a Foundation Establishment cultivator beside him to use the third-tier low-grade spiritual talisman stored in the market, Cao Linglong thought about it slightly and shook his head directly to refuse the other party's proposal.

This third-tier spiritual talisman stored in the market is a spiritual item bestowed by the Jin Dan ancestor of "Mount Funiu" back then, and he had instructed that it could only be used at a critical moment.

Even though he knew that the mountain-protecting formation outside was already a bit dangerous, Cao Linglong still gritted his teeth and shook his head, not choosing to rashly use this important trump card.

"Fellow Daoist Cao, now is not the time to be impulsive. I hope you can think more about the other cultivators in the market and don't hesitate anymore."

Just as the other party was desperately trying to persuade him, a sword light suddenly appeared in the south of "Jin Shan Market" and flew toward this side quickly. Seeing this scene, Cao Linglong's face immediately showed a look of joy.

"Haha! Reinforcements have arrived. I wonder which Jin Dan ancestor from Mount Funiu came this time?"

Seeing that the speed of this golden light clearly exceeded the category that a Foundation Establishment cultivator should have, it was definitely a Jin Dan ancestor who had come. Before Cao Linglong could speak, a Foundation Establishment cultivator beside him shouted happily. Hearing the other party's words, Cao Linglong reached out and touched the beard at the corner of his mouth, replying confidently: "This sword light is so sharp; it must be an expert who cultivates the sword path. The person who came should be Ancestor Qingyu from Mount Funiu."

"It is rumored that Ancestor Qingyu's cultivation has already reached the peak of the fifth layer of the Jin Dan, and she is only one step away from breaking through to the sixth layer of the Jin Dan. Moreover, she cultivates the sword path, and even facing a late-stage Jin Dan Great Demon King, she can hold her own."

"Today, the ancestor came to reinforce us in person. This demon king is afraid it is seeking its own death. Fellow Daoists, don't miss such a good opportunity. Hurry and prepare to fight; we will take this opportunity to perform in front of the ancestor."

Hearing Cao Linglong's encouragement, the several Foundation Establishment cultivators standing beside him were refreshed and hurriedly ordered the numerous Qi Condensation cultivators stationed in the market to prepare to counterattack the demon beast army outside.

Seeing Song Qingyu, who was stepping on a flying sword, attacking from a distance with a sharp sword light, the "Bai Xi Demon King," which had not been able to break the "Jin Shan Market" mountain-protecting formation, immediately turned its direction and used its hard horn to block the other party's sword light.

"You beast! How dare you offend my Song family's territory."

Song Qingyu, who had just arrived and was holding the "Xuanming Jin Guang Sword," glanced at the "Bai Xi Demon King" in front of her, scolded angrily, and the natal flying sword in her hand split into five again, slashing toward the other party from five different directions.

Facing Song Qingyu's sharp attack, the "Bai Xi Demon King" was also unhurried. A five-colored spiritual light shot out from above its horn, turning into a protective cover to block its surroundings, wanting to forcefully take Song Qingyu's blow.

However, what it didn't expect was that Song Qingyu's cultivation was clearly higher than its own. This five-colored shield did not completely block the other party's attack, and after the sword light penetrated the shield, it left several wounds on the "Bai Xi Demon King."

Seeing that the other party's flying sword was so sharp that it broke through its proud defensive shield so easily, the "Bai Xi Demon King" was startled, dropped the demon beast army behind it, and turned to flee north quickly.

Seeing that the other party retreated directly after only a few rounds of fighting with her, it was also beyond Song Qingyu's expectations, so she hurriedly stepped on her flying sword and chased after it.

The two ran and fought, chasing for nearly a hundred miles. Seeing that they were about to go deep into the Fuyun Mountain Range ahead, Song Qingyu stopped her pursuit with some unwillingness.

Although the "Bai Xi Demon King's" supernatural means were average, it had a defensive magic treasure hidden on its body that was quite powerful.

Plus, the demon king's physical body was also very strong, so even after taking dozens of Song Qingyu's swords, it only suffered some non-fatal minor injuries, and in the end, it still managed to escape successfully.

Failing to kill her opponent successfully, Song Qingyu showed a hint of regret on her face, but she did not stay too long and immediately controlled the flying sword under her feet to return to "Jin Shan Market."

By the time Song Qingyu returned, Cao Linglong and the others stationed in the market had already led the cultivator side to repel the attack of those low-tier demon beasts and drove them all back to the northern Fuyun Mountain Range.

Seeing Song Qingyu return alone on her flying sword, several people hurriedly stepped forward and bowed to her.

"Greetings, Ancestor!"

Song Qingyu scanned the battlefield below and asked Cao Linglong directly: "You should be from the Cao family, right? How are the casualties this time?"

Cao Linglong replied upon hearing this:

"Reporting to the Senior, this demon king came a bit suddenly. Although we activated the mountain-protecting formation in time, there were still many cultivators and mortals nearby who could not retreat into the market in time and died tragically at the hands of the demon beasts."

"Including the subsequent battle with the demon beasts, a total of seventy-nine cultivators and more than two hundred and sixty mortals were killed or injured this time. The injured have all been sent to the rear treasury for treatment."

"All cultivators who died in battle, whether they are family cultivators nearby or rogue cultivators living in the market, will be compensated according to the market rules, and the injured should also be issued healing pills in time."

"After you have handled this, remember to submit a copy of the list and accounts to Mount Funiu for backup and filing. This matter must not be delayed or neglected."

"Jin Shan Market is after all the front line of the Fuyun Mountain Range. From now on, you must send more cultivators to investigate the movements of the demon beasts and make preparations in time. You must not be as careless as this time."

While Song Qingyu was speaking, her gaze toward Cao Linglong also carried a hint of coldness, making this Cao family head feel an invisible pressure on his back, and he nodded repeatedly: "Ancestor, don't worry. From now on, we will definitely strengthen our guard and will not let the demon beasts succeed so easily again."

Seeing this, Song Qingyu glanced at the several people and said no more. Her magic power moved, and she turned into an escape light and disappeared directly on the spot.

After Song Qingyu left, Cao Linglong and the others, whose foreheads were already slightly sweating, breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at each other and hurriedly turned to walk toward the market treasury.

After Song Qingyu left "Jin Shan Market," she rushed back to Qinghe County. Just as she passed through the "Mount Funiu" mountain-protecting formation, she suddenly saw a five-colored glow rising from the mountain peak.

"Could this be Seventh Brother breaking through his cultivation!" Seeing the abnormal celestial phenomenon on the mountain peak, Song Qingyu hurriedly controlled the flying sword under her feet and approached the location of the glow.

After returning from the "Donghuang State" cultivation world, Song Qingming brought back many pills and spiritual items needed for cultivation. The three Jin Dan ancestors of the Song family each had a significant increase in their cultivation in these ten years.

Among them, the cultivation of Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan had both successfully reached the peak bottleneck, and they had already closed-door cultivated to attempt to break through their own cultivation realm one year ago.

Although they were both in closed-door cultivation to break through, Song Qingming was only breaking through from the seventh layer of the Jin Dan to the eighth layer, a small realm breakthrough, which was relatively easier than Huang Siyuan breaking through from the third layer of the Jin Dan to the fourth layer, directly crossing into the mid-stage of the Jin Dan.

Therefore, after seeing the five-colored glow on the mountain peak, Song Qingyu's first reaction was that the person who triggered this celestial phenomenon should be Song Qingming, who chose to close-door cultivate earlier.

However, when she arrived under the glow, Song Qingyu discovered that her previous guess was a bit wrong. This glow did not come from the cave dwelling where Song Qingming was closed-door cultivating, but from another cave dwelling not far away.

Seeing a green-clothed back standing not far from the front of the cave dwelling, Song Qingyu, who had just arrived here, immediately showed a smile and walked over quickly.

"Seventh Brother! I thought this movement was caused by you just now. I didn't expect it was actually Sister-in-law who broke through her cultivation a step earlier. It seems that we two still need to work harder in our cultivation; otherwise, we will be caught up by Sister-in-law sooner or later."

Song Qingming, who was looking at the glow in the sky, shook his head and smiled upon hearing this: "When cultivation reaches the Jin Dan realm, many times breaking through cultivation also requires looking at one's own understanding of cultivation."

"Otherwise, if the opportunity has not arrived, even if you cultivate diligently, it is impossible to be a step ahead of others."

"Don't look at how I am not far from breaking through my cultivation; but a miss is as good as a mile. If I can't find the opportunity to break through my cultivation, even if I close-door cultivate for another ten years, it will be difficult to achieve anything."

"It's Siyuan's closed-door cultivation this time that we didn't look favorably upon at first. I didn't expect that she would obtain an opportunity and realize the opportunity to break through the bottleneck, succeeding in one go."

"You are right; if the opportunity really arrives in the future, it wouldn't be strange if Siyuan's cultivation exceeds yours and mine."

After Song Qingming finished speaking, seeing that there was nothing going on here, he turned and patted Song Qingyu, who was still thoughtful, on the shoulder, and the two walked toward the "Hui Xian Pavilion" not far away together.

"Yuanfang came up just now. I heard him say you went to Jin Shan Market. How is the situation there?"

Hearing Song Qingming ask about "Jin Shan Market," Song Qingyu's expression changed slightly and she said slowly: "I don't know where a mid-stage Jin Dan demon king came from to besiege the market, scaring those people in the Cao family to death."

"I fought with it, but I didn't expect that guy to be very cunning. As soon as it fought with me, it immediately fled toward the Fuyun Mountain Range. I chased it all the way but couldn't do anything to it."

"Although this demon king's strength is average, its intelligence is no less than the Cloud Crane Demon King back then. It knows that if it can't win, it will decisively flee. Although it was driven away by me this time, I'm afraid it will come again next time."

Song Qingming thought for a moment upon hearing this and said directly: "This demon hasn't appeared before; it should be a demon king from outside with no background."

"When Siyuan comes out of closed-door cultivation, we will find an opportunity to go north together to see if we can find its lair and kill this demon. Otherwise, with this hidden danger, it will be difficult for us to feel at ease at home next time we go out."

"Although Jin Shan Market is a place easy to defend and hard to attack, it is still too close to Pingyang County. Every time it encounters a demon beast attack, it will affect the cultivators and mortals nearby."

"Now that we have enough manpower, we should find a way to set up several more defensive lines to block the demon beast army in the north and solve this problem. Otherwise, next time there is a demon beast chaos, Pingyang County will fall into crisis again."

"Seventh Brother, do you mean we should take the initiative to attack north?" Hearing what Song Qingming said, Song Qingyu asked with some surprise.

Ever since the Wei cultivation world was unified by the "Xiaoyao Sect," for thousands of years, facing the threat of demon beasts in the north, except for a very small amount of time when they occupied some advantages, most of the time they were clearly at a disadvantage.

Under the leadership of the "Xiaoyao Sect," the cultivators of Wei have basically only been able to defend passively these years and rarely take the initiative to go deep into the Fuyun Mountain Range to compete with demon beasts for territory.

Seeing that Song Qingyu understood his meaning, Song Qingming nodded slightly: "During the last demon beast chaos, the sect severely damaged the demon clan forces of Golden Feather Mountain. Right now, their strength has not fully recovered, which is the best time for us to develop north."

"Senior Sister Bai has been in closed-door cultivation for so long; it is estimated that she is not far from breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm. If she can successfully advance to the Nascent Soul realm this time, the sect will inevitably begin to expand its territory, and we must also make preparations in advance."

Song Qingyu asked with some confusion: "Seventh Brother, is Senior Sister Bai really breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm after being in closed-door cultivation for so long?"

"Last time I went to the sect, I specifically asked Junior Brother Fang, but he stammered and didn't explain it clearly. I thought I guessed wrong." (End of chapter)