Chapter 749: The Secret of the Formation Disk, Bai Jingyun (Seeking Monthly Votes)

Seeing the look of hesitation on Bai Yunhua's face, Song Qingming was momentarily puzzled, not knowing what matter could be causing him such distress.

Just as he was about to continue speaking, Huang Siyuan, who was at his side, stood up first and said with a smile, "Since Fellow Daoist Bai has important matters, Husband, you should go inside with him to talk. I happen to be brewing another pot of tea for you both."

Hearing this, Song Qingming nodded slightly. Without saying anything more, he took the initiative to walk toward a partition nearby.

Seeing this, Bai Yunhua gave a brief instruction to his grandson, telling him to wait where he was, and then immediately followed behind Song Qingming. The two of them quickly arrived in a private room inside.

After signaling for Bai Yunhua to sit down, Song Qingming raised his hand and gave a light wave, setting up a sound-insulation barrier between them before asking, "It's just the two of us here now, Fellow Daoist Bai. Speak your mind. If you have truly encountered some difficulty, or if someone is making things hard for you, you need only tell me."

"My Song family has been established for many years; while I wouldn't claim our reputation is the best, we do have our rules. If there is truly someone who has 'mixed sand into my eyes,' I certainly will not tolerate them."

Seeing that Song Qingming still assumed he had suffered some grievance and was unable to speak plainly, Bai Yunhua shook his head repeatedly and said, "Senior Song, you have misunderstood. Everything I said just now was the truth; I did not mean to be overly polite with you."

"The reason this junior requested a private meeting with you, Senior, is that there is a matter of great importance I wish to discuss with you. I hope you will not take offense, Senior."

After speaking, Bai Yunhua reached out and gave a light tap to the storage bag at his waist, taking out a set of second-tier top-grade formation flags, which he then placed before Song Qingming.

"I wonder, Senior Song, if you still remember this formation?"

"Is this not the ancient formation that Fellow Daoist Hu and I helped you repair all those years ago? What is your intention in showing me this, Fellow Daoist Bai?"

Although over a hundred years had passed, upon seeing the formation Bai Yunhua brought out, Song Qingming recognized it at a glance. This second-tier top-grade formation was indeed the ancient formation that Bai Yunhua had invited him and several others to help repair back then.

At that time, Song Qingming had asked Bai Yunhua to help him exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill, and later, to repay the favor, he had agreed to help repair this formation.

Back then, Song Qingming's formation skills were only at the second-tier mid-grade, and it had taken the group a full two months to restore the power of this ancient formation to the second-tier top-grade. Song Qingming remembered this quite vividly.

Seeing that Song Qingming recognized the ancient formation in his hands, Bai Yunhua nodded hurriedly and said, "Senior is correct. This is indeed the ancient formation we repaired together."

"When I first obtained this formation, I thought it was merely an ancient formation. After repairing it, it helped me escape danger many times."

"It wasn't until forty years ago, when I was lucky enough to buy a third-tier low-grade water-attribute mineral at Yangshan Market, that I wanted to refine that mineral into the formation disk to enhance its power."

"Unexpectedly, while refining the formation disk, I inadvertently discovered a secret inside. Hidden within this disk were actually the runes of an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling."

"An ancient cultivator's cave dwelling? There is such a thing? Could this cave dwelling be located in the Fuyun Mountain Range?" Hearing Bai Yunhua say that the formation disk in his hand contained a secret regarding an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling, a look of shock immediately appeared on Song Qingming's face.

This regional cultivation world had already existed for a hundred thousand years. Those so-called ancient cultivator cave dwellings had long since disappeared from the cultivation world as time passed and later cultivators explored them.

In the current cultivation world, it was not rare to find a spiritual object passed down from ancient times like the one in Bai Yunhua's hand, but finding an actual ancient cultivator's cave dwelling was not something one could encounter with mere luck.

Song Qingming had been cultivating for over two hundred years and had gone out to explore many cave dwellings and secret realms.

But apart from the Tongtian Tower, a secret realm of unknown age, the other cave dwellings of senior cultivators dated back at most a few thousand years; they could not be considered ancient cave dwellings that had existed for tens of thousands of years.

Unexpectedly, the unremarkable Bai Yunhua before him actually had such good luck. While shocked, Song Qingming's gaze toward him also held a hint of envy.

Bai Yunhua nodded directly and said, "That is correct! Senior, you need only extend your spiritual sense into the tortoise shell at the very center of the formation disk, and you will naturally see the runes depicting that cave dwelling."

Hearing Bai Yunhua's explanation, Song Qingming immediately closed his eyes and covered the formation disk with his spiritual sense. Before long, beneath the tortoise shell Bai Yunhua had described, he discovered a cluster of runes that only an ancient cultivator would have written.

"It truly is the handiwork of an ancient cultivator. However, I cannot quite understand what is written on these runes. Have you already studied them?"

These rune styles were very archaic and indeed seemed to describe a location. Although Song Qingming was a formation master and could roughly see some of the logic, he had not spent time studying these specific runes in detail, so he could not immediately determine where the place described was located.

Bai Yunhua, who stood before Song Qingming, was also a formation master. Furthermore, when he had repaired this formation back then, he had already conducted quite a bit of research on the ancient runes upon it. In terms of understanding these runes, Song Qingming feared he was currently not as knowledgeable as the other man.

Hearing this, Bai Yunhua smiled and nodded, "Senior guessed correctly. As a formation master, I have always done some research on these ancient runes."

"After I discovered this secret within the formation disk, I didn't pay much attention to it at first. Unexpectedly, after spending several years, I actually managed to find that cave dwelling."

"It is just a pity that I arrived a bit too late; someone had already beaten me to it, and I did not find anything of value."

"Moreover, it was extremely dangerous inside, filled with powerful formation restrictions everywhere. If I hadn't been cautious during my first entry, I would have nearly died inside."

"Senior Song, please look. These few items are what I brought out from that cave dwelling. They are all exquisite ancient spiritual objects, though too much time has passed, and they no longer have much spiritual energy left."

After speaking, Bai Yunhua took out several broken magic treasure fragments from his storage bag and presented them to Song Qingming.

Song Qingming picked up the magic treasure fragments Bai Yunhua had produced and looked at them for a while before slowly putting them down. He then asked directly, "Since the cave dwelling you found was merely an empty one with no spiritual objects, why are you telling me all this?"

At first, Song Qingming had assumed that after finding the cave dwelling, Bai Yunhua had obtained something good and was coming to him to sell it. Finding that the items he produced were merely useless fragments, he couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed.

Bai Yunhua, sitting to the side, saw Song Qingming ask this so suddenly and seemed to lose interest. He hurriedly explained with an anxious look:

"Senior Song, you may not know this, but although that ancient cultivator's cave dwelling had been visited by others, the space inside is very large, and there are some places protected by extremely powerful restrictions."

"After searching inside for a long time over these years, I discovered a place covered by restrictions. Judging by the situation on the outside, it seems no one has entered it yet. This junior guesses that there must still be some spiritual objects hidden inside."

"It is just a pity that the restriction there is very powerful. My abilities are limited. Although I have tried many times over the years to break the restriction, I have never succeeded. Perhaps this junior is simply not fated for this opportunity!"

Speaking to this point, Bai Yunhua sighed with regret, seemingly feeling sorry that he could not obtain this unknown opportunity himself.

After a pause, Bai Yunhua continued, "After trying painstakingly for decades without success, I now have little lifespan left and no ability to enter again."

"Coming here today, this junior wishes to transfer this secret to you, Senior, hoping to ask for a favor. After I pass away in the future, I hope you, Senior, can provide some care for my relatives and descendants in Bai Shiling."

After speaking, Bai Yunhua knelt directly before Song Qingming, his eyes and tone filled with sincerity, as if he were intentionally entrusting his final affairs.

Seeing this, Song Qingming hurriedly stepped forward to help him up, sighing slightly, "Fellow Daoist Bai, you speak too heavily. You and the Bai family are already a cultivation family attached to my 'Mount Funiu' command; it is only right that I should provide care."

"Regardless of whether there is a favor between us, as long as they can cultivate with peace of mind and not cross the bottom line, I can guarantee to you, Fellow Daoist, that I will absolutely not intentionally suppress the Bai family in the future. Please rest assured on this point."

"Senior Song, this junior naturally believes what you say. However, you also know that I am not far from my limit. I just want to secure a path for these juniors before I pass away, and seek some peace of mind for myself."

"If you, Senior, can agree to one request from this junior, I am willing to inform you of the location of this ancient cave dwelling and can personally lead you inside once."

"Tell me what your request is first. If it is convenient for me to agree, I will not be unreasonable."

Hearing this, Bai Yunhua stood up immediately and replied, "Apart from myself, there are only seven or eight people in my family who can cultivate, and all are of mediocre talent. I fear they have no hope of Foundation Establishment in this life."

"Only one grandson has decent aptitude; he is a rare dual-spirit root talent."

"It is just a pity that he is still young, and I do not have much time left; I will not live to see the day he reaches Foundation Establishment. This junior wishes for him to be accepted as a disciple under you, Senior Song, in the future. I hope you can provide him some care; it would be a glimmer of hope for my Bai family."

"Accepted as a disciple under me? This..."

"To be honest, although I have cultivated for many years, I have never taken on a disciple, nor am I skilled at teaching others. I fear I might fail your heavy trust, Fellow Daoist. Would it be better if you changed your request?"

Hearing the request Bai Yunhua proposed, Song Qingming immediately understood. The grandson with dual-spirit root aptitude he spoke of must be the youth sitting outside whom he had brought along.

Bai Yunhua had gone to such great lengths to seek him out today, mostly to pave the way for his descendant.

With dual-spirit root aptitude, if one could have the care of a Jin Dan cultivator as a master, as long as one's luck was not too poor, reaching Foundation Establishment would certainly not be difficult.

If one's luck were better in the future, there might even be a chance to successfully form a Core, walking ahead of Bai Yunhua.

However, Song Qingming had so many juniors in his family that he rarely had time to teach them, and he truly had no interest in taking on disciples. After knowing Bai Yunhua's purpose, he pondered for a moment and still shook his head gently.

"This junior knows that you, Senior, have many affairs and cannot personally teach him cultivation. This junior naturally dares not hope for that. I only ask that you, Senior, can provide some support when he reaches Foundation Establishment in the future; that would fulfill my wish."

"Otherwise, once I pass away, these few people in the Bai family will likely struggle to even hold onto this small foundation, let alone think of Foundation Establishment in the future. Even if I were down below, I would find it hard to be at peace."

"With this child's dual-spirit root aptitude, if he were to be accepted directly into a sect, his achievements would certainly not be worse than yours." Hearing the suggestion Song Qingming made, Bai Yunhua shook his head directly, "This junior has been accepted into a sect since I was young. In this life, I have seen through all the deceit and infighting within large sects."

"That is why I thought of establishing a family foundation in Bai Shiling and bringing them all out. I just want to let them stay far away from places of trouble and live a few peaceful days."

"This junior truly does not want this child to walk the path I walked back then. That is why I brought him to seek you out, Senior Song, today. I hope you, Senior, can let me fulfill this wish."

Although being accepted into a sect can provide more cultivation resources, and the chance of reaching the Dao is greater than for family cultivators or rogue cultivators.

But in places like sects, there are simply too many geniuses. Even if you are a dual-spirit root cultivator with extraordinary talent, in a Nascent Soul sect like the "Xiaoyao Sect," that counts for nothing.

In the future, wanting to reach Foundation Establishment or form a Core requires facing fierce competition with peers, and naturally, there is no lack of deceit and infighting.

Seeing Bai Yunhua, who had already deeply experienced this, speak with such sincerity, Song Qingming nodded slowly in agreement.

"Although the prospects of the path are better when accepted into a sect, places with many people are bound to have strife. It is rare for you, Fellow Daoist, to see things so clearly."

"I can agree to this matter and help you look after this child in the future. However, before that, I have a question I wish to ask you."

"You have discovered the secret of this cave dwelling for so many years, Fellow Daoist; why have you never thought of informing the sect and asking other elders to help break the restriction you mentioned?"

"If there really is something inside, I think they would not treat you unfairly!" After speaking, Song Qingming stared intently at the other man, waiting for Bai Yunhua's answer.

Bai Yunhua sighed and replied, "To be honest with you, Senior, what you said is indeed something this junior has considered."

"It is just that this cave dwelling was not only visited by senior cultivators long ago, but there are also many dangerous restrictions inside. Asking other elders in the sect to help is indeed not an easy matter."

"If there is nothing inside, and some bad things happen, it would be very difficult for this junior to explain. After thinking it over, I ultimately gave up on this idea."

Ever since discovering the secret in the formation disk, Bai Yunhua had indeed thought about finding someone to help break the restrictions inside.

It is just that those restrictions also involved ancient formation runes. Even a top-tier second-tier top-grade formation master like him could not break them; ordinary cultivators could not help at all. At the very least, a Jin Dan cultivator or a third-tier formation master would be needed.

And there were not many third-tier formation masters in the "Xiaoyao Sect," all of whom were key targets for the sect to cultivate and would not easily go out to take risks.

Not to mention Jin Dan elders; to invite them, Bai Yunhua's words alone would certainly not be enough. At the very least, a significant price would have to be paid.

Otherwise, if someone spent great effort and found nothing good inside, who would be willing to accompany you on a risky, fruitless trip? Unless you could first produce spiritual objects that would move them, it would be impossible to persuade the other party.

Although the secret of the ancient cultivator's cave dwelling in Bai Yunhua's possession sounded somewhat tempting, to put it bluntly, it was an unknown variable. No one knew whether going there would be a blessing or a curse.

Moreover, places like this, which had likely been visited by countless cultivators, were nine times out of ten unlikely to have anything good left. It was precisely because he understood this point that Bai Yunhua wanted to use this unknown opportunity to exchange for a future favor from Song Qingming.

Although Bai Yunhua took this matter very seriously, Song Qingming did not pay too much attention to it.

The reason Song Qingming asked Bai Yunhua why he didn't ask for help in the sect was actually to confirm whether the other party had told anyone else about this secret.

If others in the sect knew about it, in order to prevent future complications, Song Qingming would certainly not be willing to risk getting involved in this muddy water.

Bai Yunhua coming to seek help today was nothing more than wanting him to look after his descendants in the future. To Song Qingming, this was merely a matter of convenience and not a difficult task.

As long as the other party cultivated properly in the future and didn't cause trouble to bring him any problems, taking on a nominal disciple would have no great impact on Song Qingming.

After receiving confirmation from Bai Yunhua, Song Qingming nodded slightly, "What you said, Fellow Daoist Bai, is also correct. Such places are too dangerous, and it is uncertain whether anything useful can be found. Rashly bringing others along is not necessarily a good thing."

"Since I have already agreed to you today, I will accept this object."

"As for that child outside, I will give you two choices, Fellow Daoist. If he wants to be my disciple, it must be stated beforehand that it can only be a nominal master-disciple relationship; it is impossible for me to spend too much energy teaching him."

"If you feel this is inappropriate, Fellow Daoist, I can also choose a suitable person among the many elders of the Song family to accept him. In that case, he would also have someone to teach him and could cultivate on Mount Funiu in the future."

"Regardless of which one you choose, the matter I promised you earlier—to provide some support when he reaches Foundation Establishment in the future—still holds true."

"After we go out in a moment, Fellow Daoist Bai, you take that child back first. I will give you three days to consider. In a few days, I will have Yuanfang prepare, and then I will notify you to come over. At that time, you can inform me of your choice. Does that work for you, Fellow Daoist?"

"That is excellent! Then many thanks, Senior."

After agreeing with the other party, Song Qingming put away Bai Yunhua's second-tier top-grade formation disk.

Since this object had the markings of that cave dwelling on it, Song Qingming naturally would not let others see it easily. Bai Yunhua had no objections to this and nodded hurriedly in agreement.

His purpose in coming today was to obtain a promise from Song Qingming to pave the way for his descendants. Compared to this, the value of this set of second-tier top-grade formation flags seemed less important.

After the two had finished talking, Song Qingming directly removed the sound-insulation barrier and walked out with Bai Yunhua.

At this moment in the main hall, Huang Siyuan was smiling and talking to the youth. To ease the youth's nervousness, she had even specially had someone bring over a plate of spiritual fruits for him.

Seeing Song Qingming and Bai Yunhua walk over, the youth hurriedly stood up and walked over, carefully following behind Bai Yunhua.

"Two Seniors, Fellow Daoist Song, if there are no further instructions, I shall take my leave!"

After coming out from inside, Bai Yunhua sat for a while, then bowed to everyone to greet them before, under the guidance of Song Yuanfang, taking the youth beside him and leaving.

After the other party had left, Huang Siyuan asked with some curiosity, "This Fellow Daoist Bai came to find you; it couldn't be for the sake of this child's path, could it?"

"Oh! How did you see that?"

Seeing that she had indeed guessed correctly, Huang Siyuan smiled and explained, "The child is only fifteen, and his cultivation has already reached the fourth layer of Qi Condensation. I see he is at least a dual-spirit root, if not a triple-spirit root talent."

"Fellow Daoist Bai does not have much lifespan left, and his path is already hopeless. Bringing him here specially today, isn't the purpose already very obvious?"

"Seeing his relaxed expression when he left, it is mostly likely that you, Husband, agreed. Could it be that you have already accepted this child?"

Facing the doubt on Huang Siyuan's face, Song Qingming nodded directly and admitted, "Fellow Daoist Bai is merely seeking peace of mind. I did agree to him, but how they choose is up to them."

"After all, I often go into long-term seclusion for cultivation; where would I have the time to teach a disciple? If he insists, it can only be a nominal master-disciple relationship."

After Song Qingming answered, he told Huang Siyuan about the agreement he had just reached with Bai Yunhua inside.

Hearing that Bai Yunhua, to achieve his goal, had even presented Song Qingming with an ancient cultivator's cave dwelling, Huang Siyuan was also somewhat surprised at first.

But upon hearing that it had already been visited by others, Huang Siyuan showed a hint of disappointment, "Just a restriction where one doesn't know if there is anything inside; it is mostly likely that nothing good can be obtained."

"In that case, Husband, this transaction was a loss for you!"

"Fellow Daoist Bai and I had some friendship back then. The reason I agreed to him is mainly out of consideration for our past acquaintance. This matter is merely a matter of lifting a hand for me; it doesn't matter whether it is a loss or not."

"I only agreed to provide some care for this child in the future. As for how far he can go on his path in the future, it still depends on himself."

Three days passed quickly. Bai Yunhua, having received the message from "Mount Funiu," kept his appointment and brought his grandson, Bai Jingyun, to the Song family once again.

In the end, he still insisted on choosing to have Bai Jingyun be accepted under Song Qingming's tutelage, becoming the first disciple of his cultivation career.

Song Qingming had long expected this. Without saying much, he directly had Song Yuanfang arrange a simple apprenticeship ceremony and accepted Bai Jingyun under his tutelage.

After waiting for Bai Jingyun to perform the kowtow ceremony, Song Qingming, sitting in the seat of honor, stood up and took out a low-tier magic tool as a gift for his disciple.

Just as the apprenticeship ceremony ended, taking advantage of the fact that there was no one around Song Qingming, Bai Yunhua took the initiative to walk toward him.

"Senior Song, this is the map of the cave dwelling's location that this junior has drawn." (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 750 =====