Chapter 767: Meeting at the Cliff

Southwest of "Qinghefang," on the edge of a cliff atop a high mountain, stood a massive white boulder five or six zhang wide.

Most of the boulder was already shrouded by the tall trees nearby, with only a small half visible from the sky, and a dozen birds were perched atop the stone, chirping leisurely and incessantly.

On the other half of the stone, hidden from view, a young man in green robes sat motionless, eyes closed in meditation; there was not a stir from his entire body, as if he had merged into one with the stone.

Before long, the man in green robes suddenly opened his eyes, and a powerful aura radiated from him, startling the nearby birds into scattering away from the top of the boulder.

The man in green robes paid no heed to the changes around him, slowly stood up, left the shade of the trees, and walked out into the sunlight, his gaze fixed on a white streak of light in the distant sky.

This white streak of light approached from afar, heading straight for the mountain, and soon landed on the boulder beside the man in green robes.

Seeing the man in blue robes emerge from the white light, a smile immediately appeared on the face of the man in green robes, and he walked toward where he stood.

"Senior Feng He, it has been a long time!"

"Haha! Brother Song, you have arrived quite quickly; I thought I would have to wait a while longer for you."

Hearing this, Song Qingming cupped his hands with a calm expression and said: "Senior, rest assured. I have always liked to make preparations in advance, and matters at home have long been arranged."

"I naturally will not be negligent regarding what I promised you, Senior, but before we depart, there is one more thing I would like to confirm with you in advance."

"If you have something to say, Brother, just ask directly. The friendship between us is one that has weathered life and death; there is no need to be so polite."

Seeing Feng He's expression suddenly turn serious, Song Qingming hurriedly continued to ask: "Some time ago, the sect mentioned that I should go to Lei Yuanhai to attend a trading assembly, and I have already agreed to this matter."

"Regardless of whether this trip to the Tianhai cultivation world goes smoothly, I must return in two years. I hope you can understand this, Senior."

Hearing the request suddenly raised by Song Qingming, Feng He immediately nodded and replied: "I know of that trading assembly at Lei Yuanhai; it will not be held for at least another five years."

"Rest assured, I have already made proper preparations this time. I estimate that this matter will be concluded in at most half a year, and it will not delay your departure for Lei Yuanhai in the future."

"In that case, I have no further questions!"

After learning from Xu Ziyan that the sect was about to send people to attend the "Lei Yuanhai" trading assembly, Song Qingming had already made up his mind not to miss this large-scale event.

To prevent any unexpected situations after following Feng He to the Tianhai cultivation world, Song Qingming thought about it and decided to tell him about this matter in advance.

Seeing Feng He agree to his request so readily, Song Qingming smiled and said no more, immediately turning to stand beside Feng He, ready to leave this place with him.

"Brother Song, please wait a moment; I still need to wait for one more person!"

"There is someone else? Could the person you are waiting for, Senior, also be a nearby cultivator?" Hearing what Feng He said, a look of surprise immediately appeared on Song Qingming's face.

Feng He smiled upon hearing this and did not answer Song Qingming's question directly, instead speaking in riddles: "What you said is correct, Brother Song. This person has some history with me; you will naturally know when he arrives in a moment."

"I didn't expect you to have such a big matter hidden from me, Senior; this really surprises me."

Seeing that Feng He did not want to answer directly, Song Qingming did not continue to press him. After a sigh, he took out a bronze mask he had prepared long ago from his storage bag and put it on his face.

The relationship between Song Qingming and Feng He had always been unknown to others. This time, responding to the invitation to help, he also did not want to easily reveal his identity in front of others, so as not to bring trouble to himself and his family in the future.

Regarding this cautious behavior of Song Qingming, Feng He only glanced at him lightly and did not pay much attention, his gaze returning to the distant horizon.

The two waited on the spot for about half a stick of incense's time when a streak of light suddenly appeared on the horizon again. Seeing this, Feng He's expression changed, and a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

Seeing this situation, Song Qingming also understood that this must be the person Feng He was waiting for. Song Qingming, who had always wanted to know the identity of this person, could not help but feel a bit of curiosity in his eyes.

Before long, the streak of light landed beside the two, revealing a person wearing a bamboo hat.

This person glanced at Song Qingming, who was wearing a mask, and then shifted his gaze to Feng He on the side, immediately stepping forward quickly to bow to him.

"Greetings, Senior!"

Hearing this extremely familiar voice, combined with the cultivation base of the person before him who had just broken through to the Jin Dan realm not long ago, Song Qingming, behind the mask, immediately showed a look of shock.

"Yuanli, how could it be you!"

After Song Qingming shouted this, he directly took off the mask on his face and walked quickly to the man in the bamboo hat.

Hearing Song Qingming's words, the man in the bamboo hat was also shocked. After seeing Song Qingming's face clearly, he hurriedly took off the bamboo hat on his head; it was none other than Song Yuanli, who had recently returned to the family after successfully forming his Jin Dan abroad.

"Seventh Grand-Uncle, why... could it be that you also know Senior Feng He?"

Song Yuanli clearly had not expected to meet Song Qingming here. At this moment, he looked at Song Qingming before him, then turned his gaze to Feng He on the side, and for a moment, he did not know why the two of them would suddenly be standing together.

Regarding the sudden appearance of Song Yuanli, Song Qingming, in addition to his shock, immediately reacted and turned to ask Feng He, who still had a hint of a smile on his face.

"Senior Feng He, what is going on here? Could it be that you are the senior who supported Yuanli in forming his Jin Dan?"

Hearing this, Feng He had no intention of hiding the matter and nodded directly, generously admitting it.

"Brother Song, do not overthink it. My acquaintance with this junior of your family is indeed just fate, not something I did intentionally. You can ask him about this in a moment, and you will know."

"I have been searching for helpers everywhere these years and haven't found many people I can trust. It just so happened that he successfully formed his Jin Dan and could barely be of help, so I called him over as well."

"It is indeed my negligence not to have informed you in advance, Brother. I hope you will not mind, Brother Song."

After Feng He finished speaking, his gaze turned to Song Yuanli on the side. Seeing this, Song Yuanli also nodded immediately, actively admitting that what Feng He had just said was true.

Facing this sudden unexpected situation, Song Qingming felt a trace of displeasure in his heart and wanted to question Feng He why he had deliberately kept it from him, but the words reached his lips and were quickly swallowed back.

If what Feng He said was all true, then his two life-saving graces to Song Yuanli, and supporting him all the way to break through to the Jin Dan realm, this kindness could already be considered that of a second parent.

Moreover, the matter of repaying the kindness was insisted upon by Song Yuanli himself. Although Song Qingming was unhappy, what reason did he have to question it?

Furthermore, Feng He was now a Nascent Soul cultivator; for such a small matter as finding a Jin Dan cultivator to help, he indeed did not need to explain too much to Song Qingming.

Seeing the change on Song Qingming's face, Feng He also understood what he was thinking and sighed slightly: "Brother Song, I am indeed fated with this child; there is nothing else to explain to you."

"Rest assured, after this matter, the grievances between him and me will be cleared, and I will no longer ask him to do anything for me."

"Although this matter is somewhat dangerous, I have prepared for so many years and am not without a shred of certainty. As long as you help me wholeheartedly, there will certainly be no major problems."

"I understand what you said, Senior. However, Yuanli has only just formed his Jin Dan, and his cultivation base is truly too low. I am also worried that he will not be able to help much and instead will fall into danger himself and cause trouble for us."

Hearing Song Qingming's worries, Feng He immediately shook his head and said: "Brother, rest assured about this. I called him to go, naturally not expecting him to exert much effort for me."

"I just want to borrow the spiritual power on him to help control the formation, and help us defeat the enemy when the time comes. I will not let him take too much risk."

"Hmm! I am relieved to hear that from you, Senior."

Song Yuanli had only just broken through to the Jin Dan realm, and he hadn't even had time to refine his natal magic treasure. His ability to fight enemies on the battlefield was likely only at the bottom among Jin Dan cultivators, similar to a False Core cultivator like Zhang Rong.

And Feng He's enemy was at least a Nascent Soul cultivator with no weak strength. This great battle was simply not something someone like Song Yuanli, who had just formed his Jin Dan, could intervene in.

Seeing that Feng He wanted to take him along to the Tianhai cultivation world, Song Qingming was also secretly worried at first.

However, upon hearing that Feng He only wanted him to help control the formation, Song Qingming felt slightly relieved and let go of his worries, nodding in agreement without saying anything more.

Seeing this, Feng He smiled softly, took out a high-tier flying carriage, and jumped on it.

After Song Qingming and Song Yuanli looked at each other, they did not hesitate too much and followed. The three soon turned into a streak of light and disappeared from the spot. — After leaving "Qinghe County," the flying carriage headed south, crossed the border of Wei, and entered the territory of Youyun in the south.

Continuing south from here for a few days and crossing a few small countries would lead to the territory of Lu, which bordered the "Tianhai Alliance" in the south. This was also the closest road from the Fuyun Mountain Range cultivation world to the Tianhai cultivation world. However, after Feng He's flying carriage entered "Youyun," it did not continue south, but turned east and soon arrived in the territory of "Shangyang" in the southeast.

"Shangyang" was the largest country in the southeast corner of the Fuyun Mountain Range cultivation world. This place was adjacent to the East Sea cultivation world and was the country with the most developed commerce in the entire east of the Fuyun Mountain Range.

After the three arrived in "Shangyang," Feng He steered the flying boat to stop in a small marketplace, and soon a young man holding a folding fan came to the flying carriage as agreed.

"I am Ye Linyuan; greetings to you fellow Daoists!"

Although this young man looked like a gentle and weak scholar, his cultivation base was not much worse than Song Qingming's; he was also a late-stage Jin Dan cultivator who had already broken through to the seventh layer of Jin Dan.

"Brother Song, this is a descendant of a good friend of mine. I have already discussed the matter of revenge with him. Rest assured, there will be no problems on his side; he can be trusted."

Hearing Feng He's explanation, Song Qingming nodded slightly, and he and Song Yuanli also stepped forward to return the greeting, and the two sides exchanged greetings.

According to Ye Linyuan's own introduction, he was originally a family cultivator from "Wu." Later, his family suffered a sudden change, and he became a rogue cultivator who had been mixing in the East Sea cultivation world, only managing to form his Jin Dan by sheer luck after much hardship.

Ye Linyuan's ancestors had some relationship with Feng He's past life. This time, responding to the invitation, he was repaying a kindness Feng He had shown his ancestors back then.

However, such ancestral kindness from hundreds of years ago is usually long forgotten by ordinary people in the cultivation world; it is rare for anyone to truly risk their own life for it.

Although Ye Linyuan did not say it explicitly, Song Qingming could guess that this person would respond to the invitation, likely because Feng He had promised the other party some benefits, which finally brought him here.

After picking up Ye Linyuan, Feng He quickly steered the flying carriage to continue on his way. After crossing a mountain range eastward from "Shangyang," they entered the adjacent East Sea cultivation world.

Then, flying along the southern coast of the East Sea cultivation world, after the group took a large circle in the south on the flying carriage and passed through the entire southeast corner of the Donghuangxianzhou continent, they finally turned west two months later and entered the Tianhai cultivation world.

The "Tianhai cultivation world" is located in the southeast corner of Donghuangxianzhou. To the south is the boundless Lei Yuanhai, to the east it connects to the East Sea cultivation world with its dense islands, and to the north and west are the Fuyun Mountain Range cultivation world.

Although it calls itself a cultivation world, the overall strength of the "Tianhai cultivation world" is slightly weaker than the two adjacent cultivation worlds, with only six Nascent Soul sects within its borders.

Whether in terms of the number of cultivators and mortals or the territory, the "Tianhai cultivation world" is not as good as the Fuyun Mountain Range side.

It is just that the sects here are relatively more united, unlike the Fuyun Mountain Range side, where many sects on both sides of "Taiyue Lake" occasionally attack each other and have constant friction.

In the past few hundred years, the leading Nascent Soul sects of the Tianhai cultivation world have even taken the lead in establishing the powerful "Tianhai Alliance," starting to expand their territory northward and having already occupied quite a few places around Lu.

If it weren't for the cultivators of the Fuyun Mountain Range cultivation world being forced to unite to block the "Tianhai Alliance's" offensive, their sphere of influence would likely have already extended to the north.

Although they chose to detour from the East Sea cultivation world, the group was very cautious along the way, basically taking those remote small paths and rarely stopping in marketplaces.

Because there was no war between the "Tianhai Alliance" and the East Sea cultivation world, cultivators from both sides still had exchanges, and Song Qingming and the others saw many cultivators coming and going along the way.

These people basically traveled by sea in ships, and there were also some Foundation Establishment cultivators with successful cultivation who chose to fly on swords, crossing the cliffs along the coast.

After entering the "Tianhai cultivation world," the number of cultivators coming and going around them gradually increased. In order not to attract attention, Feng He also put away his flying carriage and changed to a relatively ordinary flying boat to continue moving forward with the group.

The "Tianhai cultivation world" is the same as the Fuyun Mountain Range side, also composed of several large countries and more than a dozen small countries around them.

However, they also have many islands in the offshore waters, which are controlled by major cultivation sects.

It is just that in recent years, because the demon race in the sea is powerful, human cultivators have gradually lost control of these offshore islands and have been oppressed by the demon race to the land. Very few cultivators dare to go into the sea to hunt demons and search for spiritual objects.

It is precisely because they are forced year after year by the demon race in the sea that the cultivators of the "Tianhai cultivation world" have lost most of the resource territory that originally belonged to human cultivators.

Only then did they gradually shift their attention to the north, wanting to extend their influence to the Fuyun Mountain Range side to strive for more living territory and cultivation resources for themselves.

After the four followed Feng He into the "Tianhai cultivation world," they passed through several surrounding countries and did not stop until they entered the territory of a coastal country called "Xuancang," staying in a small marketplace about the same size as "Qinghefang."

This "Xuancang" is just a small country in the Tianhai cultivation world. There is no Nascent Soul sect within its borders, and the cultivators in the marketplace are not many, not as prosperous as "Qinghefang."

After Song Qingming and the others entered the marketplace, they all hid their own cultivation bases and disguised themselves as Qi Refining rogue cultivators from out of town. In such a small marketplace with many people and mixed crowds, they did not attract anyone's attention.

After staying here for about ten days, a young woman took the initiative to come to the door, and only then did Feng He gather Song Qingming and the others together.

After some introductions, Song Qingming learned that the woman who came was named Chen Shutian, and she was also a descendant of an old friend of Feng He.

It is just that this woman is deeply trusted by Feng He, and the two seem to have been in contact all these years. Her relationship with this senior is clearly much closer than Ye Linyuan's.

According to the news brought by Chen Shutian, the secret realm that Feng He had mentioned to Song Qingming before was about to open in a little over a month.

The secret realm Feng He spoke of is located in the far south of the Tianhai cultivation world, on an offshore island called "Fenglei Island," which is not too far from the marketplace where Song Qingming and the others are located.

This island does not have any high-tier spiritual veins, nor does it belong to the sphere of influence of any sect in the surrounding area. It is a desert island that all cultivators in the entire Tianhai cultivation world tacitly acknowledge. Usually, no matter where you are a cultivator from, you can approach it at will.

Many low-tier cultivators living nearby do not know that there is an ancient secret realm hidden on this "Fenglei Island" that would make even Nascent Soul cultivators' hearts beat faster.

Every hundred years, the originally uninhabited "Fenglei Island" would suddenly welcome some cultivators who came to stay here, and the island would slowly become lively.

Until the time when the "Fenglei Island" secret realm opens, high-tier cultivators from major sects in the Tianhai cultivation world will gather here. Even those high-and-mighty Nascent Soul ancestors who are rarely seen will appear to preside over the opening of the entire secret realm.

When the "Fenglei Island" secret realm was first discovered, many sects nearby wanted to take it as their own, and the "Tianhai cultivation world" therefore experienced a relatively large turmoil, with countless cultivators falling on "Fenglei Island."

Later, this matter became bigger and bigger, and even those major Nascent Soul sects fought over it one after another.

As a result, no matter which sect occupied this island, it would be attacked by other sects. After fighting for hundreds of years, no sect could stably occupy this island, and the entire "Tianhai cultivation world" was therefore severely damaged.

Finally, everyone knew that they did not have the ability to contend with the entire "Tianhai cultivation world" to occupy this place, so under the joint consultation of several major Nascent Soul sects, they stopped the war and ended this turmoil that had lasted for hundreds of years.

According to the joint agreement of all major sects in the "Tianhai cultivation world," "Fenglei Island" does not belong to any sect, and all cultivators can participate in entering the secret realm to compete for spiritual objects.

In order to control this ancient secret realm from being damaged by cultivators competing for spiritual objects, everyone also set a hard rule: cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage are not allowed to enter the secret realm to search for treasures.

Every time the secret realm opens, major sects will send Nascent Soul cultivators to sit on the island to maintain order, and all cultivators entering the secret realm also need to hand over an extra sum of spirit stones to them as a passage fee for entering and leaving the secret realm.

After learning the news that the "Fenglei Island" secret realm was about to open, Feng He immediately took the group to the opening and said to Song Qingming on the side: "Brother Song, since this secret realm is about to open, we don't have much time left."

"I have written the target of this mission in here. You just need to kill him and bring out the storage bag on this person. I will be waiting for you on the coast when the time comes."

After Feng He finished speaking, he directly threw out a white scroll and sent it into Song Qingming's hands.

Song Qingming opened it and saw that it clearly depicted a young man with a rather handsome appearance, and his name and origin were written on the side: Luofeng Valley, Qiu Wuxin.

"Luofeng Valley! It seems that the enemy Feng He wants to take revenge on this time mostly comes from this sect."

Because of the hostile relationship between the "Tianhai Alliance" and the Fuyun Mountain Range cultivation world, Song Qingming did not know much about the many sects on the Tianhai cultivation world side.

He only knew that "Luofeng Valley" is a Nascent Soul sect that has been passed down for more than a thousand years, and the Supreme Elder Qiu Daoping in the sect is also one of the few Nascent Soul cultivators who mainly manage the "Tianhai Alliance."

It is rumored that this person is a Nascent Soul cultivator who has been famous in the Tianhai cultivation world for many years, and his cultivation base is even higher than Li Mufeng of the "Xiaoyao Sect," having already reached the fifth layer of the Nascent Soul realm.

If Song Qingming did not guess wrong, the person Feng He finally wanted to deal with should be him.

After thinking for a moment, Song Qingming put away the portrait in his hand and asked with a calm expression: "With just this portrait, I am afraid it will be very difficult to find the target after I go in. I wonder if you have any other arrangements, Senior?"

Feng He smiled and nodded upon hearing this: "These are naturally there. Shutian will go in with this person when the time comes. You just need to keep this portrait well. She will contact you inside when the time comes. You will certainly find this person if you find her."

"However, Shutian's cultivation base is too low now, and I am afraid she will not be able to help you much in the secret realm. Killing this person will still require you to put in some effort, Brother."

Seeing this, Song Qingming nodded slightly: "That is natural. Since I have agreed to you, Senior, I certainly will not expect others to help me complete this matter. As long as Fellow Daoist Chen can help me find the target, you don't need to worry about other things." (End of chapter)