Chapter 772: Mysterious Stone, Meeting a Kind Soul

"Senior, it was my fault! I beg you, please do not hold this against me. It was my eyes that were blind just now, and I offended you. Please, with your great magnanimity, spare this junior!"

Seeing this sudden turn of events, Song Qingming’s expression remained unchanged; he stared at the man as if looking at a dead person.

"Judging by how loudly you were speaking just a moment ago, I thought you had some guts. How disappointing that you’re so useless when given a chance!"

After Song Qingming uttered these cold words, the Ice-Fire Flood Dragon, which had been unable to restrain itself any longer, immediately transformed into an ice arrow and shot straight toward the location of the fat-faced cultivator.

"Senior, spare me!"

The fat-faced cultivator, who had been kowtowing and begging for mercy, saw this and hurriedly and helplessly cast a spell to retrieve his magic treasure, leaping up in an attempt to block the Ice-Fire Flood Dragon’s attack.

Unexpectedly, the moment his golden blade magic treasure collided with the Ice-Fire Flood Dragon, it was instantly encased in a thick layer of ice and fell from mid-air to the ground.

Seeing his magic treasure suddenly frozen and rendered uncontrollable, the fat-faced cultivator’s expression changed drastically. Lacking the courage to face the Ice-Fire Flood Dragon again, he turned and fled toward the rear.

Seeing the fat-faced cultivator turn to flee at the very first encounter, the Ice-Fire Flood Dragon, which had just begun to engage him, was instantly enraged. Its form shifted into a blue streak of spiritual light, and it gave chase rapidly.

Song Qingming remained standing where he was, watching from afar without any intention of giving chase, leaving the man entirely to the Ice-Fire Flood Dragon.

Taking advantage of the fact that Song Qingming’s attention was fixed on the fleeing fat-faced cultivator, the other three cultivators from the Golden Blade Sect exchanged glances and began to slowly retreat.

"Did I say you could leave?"

But to their surprise, they had only retreated a dozen steps when a cold voice reached their ears, forcing them to stop in helpless resignation.

The middle-aged scholar with the highest cultivation base, hearing Song Qingming’s icy words, could only bow helplessly and say, "Senior, Brother Hu spoke wildly just now and deserved to be taught a lesson by you; he brought this upon himself."

"We have not offended you in the slightest since arriving here. We beg you to let us leave."

"Senior, rest assured, the three of us will keep our mouths shut about today’s events and will never tell another soul. We are willing to swear an oath here to put your mind at ease."

"Swear an oath? I think that’s too much trouble! It’s actually quite simple to put my mind at ease—as long as you..."

Before Song Qingming could finish his sentence, the three Golden Blade Sect cultivators, led by the middle-aged scholar, suddenly turned and fled rapidly.

Knowing that Song Qingming did not even care about their master, True Person Yufeng, the three of them knew he would not let them off easily. They stopped begging and decisively turned to flee.

The gap in strength between a Foundation Establishment cultivator and a Jin Dan cultivator was too vast; the three of them understood that no matter which direction they ran, they would inevitably be caught.

They could only scatter and hope for the best.

Seeing them run so fast, a hint of anger appeared on Song Qingming’s face. He waved his hand, summoned a large swarm of spirit insects, and commanded them to pursue the three scattering cultivators.

After years of cultivation and consuming a significant amount of Ten Thousand Spirit Dew, many of Song Qingming’s Golden Illusion Butterflies had broken through to the third rank, and their strength had improved greatly compared to before.

Dealing with a few Foundation Establishment cultivators required almost no effort from these Golden Illusion Butterflies.

Having fled only a few hundred feet, the three Golden Blade Sect cultivators were overtaken and entangled by the Golden Illusion Butterflies behind them. Except for the middle-aged scholar at the late Foundation Establishment stage who held out a little longer, the other two died at the hands of the spirit insects in less than half a quarter of an hour.

Once the three were dealt with by the Golden Illusion Butterflies, the Ice-Fire Flood Dragon, which had not chased far, returned, shaking its head and wagging its tail happily with a storage bag in its mouth.

After collecting the storage bags of the few people on the ground, Song Qingming recalled his spirit pet into his Spirit Beast Bag before turning to approach the still-stunned old man in yellow robes.

From the moment the four Golden Blade Sect cultivators fled to their total demise, only a quarter of an hour had passed.

During this time, Song Qingming had not even moved a finger himself, relying solely on his spirit pets to slaughter all four Foundation Establishment cultivators. The strength he displayed left the old man in yellow robes dumbfounded.

Knowing that Song Qingming’s strength was unfathomable, the old man, despite his immense fear, no longer had the courage to flee and looked at the approaching Song Qingming with a trace of terror.

"Many thanks to you, Senior, for saving my life. I was indeed being pursued by them without cause and had no choice but to flee here; I did not intend to disturb you, and I hope you will forgive me."

"Those people slandered me, claiming I had stolen their items, but in truth, they only wanted to take this object from me. Senior, if you do not mind, please accept this item as a token of my gratitude for saving my life."

After speaking, the old man in yellow robes produced a palm-sized, glowing cyan gourd and cast a spell to send it directly to Song Qingming.

Facing the third-rank low-grade spiritual item the old man offered as thanks, Song Qingming merely glanced at it before waving his hand to return it. He then said, "I have no interest in knowing the affairs between you and them. I did not kill them just now to covet your trinkets, so you need not take these matters to heart."

"I have a question for you. As long as you answer honestly, you may leave in a moment."

"If your answer does not satisfy me, what happens next will be hard to say. You have cultivated for many years, so you should understand what I mean."

Facing Song Qingming’s deliberate intimidation, the old man in yellow robes hurriedly nodded like a chick pecking at grain and replied respectfully, "Senior, please ask whatever you wish. This junior will tell you everything I know without reservation. If I dare to deceive you in the slightest, it would be my own fault if I were to die at your hands."

Hearing the old man’s reply, Song Qingming nodded with a smile and continued, "My question is actually very simple. You only need to tell me how you discovered my hiding place when you arrived just now."

"Let me remind you: I am not some ignorant, ordinary cultivator. If you intend to say it was just a coincidence, then you need not answer."

The cave where Song Qingming was in seclusion was located in a remote valley, and there were usually few cultivators passing through the sky above.

Furthermore, there was a third-rank concealment array he had specifically set up outside the cave; even if a Jin Dan cultivator passed over the valley, it would be difficult to notice anything amiss below.

The old man in yellow robes before him was only at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment; logically, even if he had passed by by chance, it would have been difficult for him to find Song Qingming’s location so quickly.

Yet the man had not only arrived accurately outside the cave but had also discovered the concealment array set up outside. This was clearly not a coincidence, and it piqued Song Qingming’s interest, making him eager to know what was going on.

"This... Senior, you may not know, but I am actually a third-rank low-grade array master. Although my knowledge of arrays is not as profound as yours, I do have some unique insights of my own."

"When I was evading their pursuit just now, it was precisely because of my keen sensitivity to arrays that I happened to discover your hiding place upon arriving here."

"I dare not deceive you, Senior. This is a classic on array formations that I have compiled over many years of study. You will know the truth at a glance!" After speaking, the old man in yellow robes moved his spiritual light, and a book on arrays instantly appeared in his hand, which he respectfully handed to Song Qingming.

When mentioning his level of array mastery, a hint of confidence appeared on the old man’s face; the skill of being a third-rank array master was his proudest achievement besides his cultivation base.

In the world of immortal cultivation, although there were some gifted cultivators who could transcend their own cultivation level to raise their skills to a higher rank...

...such cultivators were extremely rare. Especially for high-level skills like array formation, which were difficult to cultivate, very few Foundation Establishment cultivators had the talent to become third-rank low-grade array masters.

In the entire cultivation world of the Wei Kingdom, besides Jin Dan cultivators like Song Qingming and Bai Yu, there were at most two or three Foundation Establishment cultivators who could match this old man in array mastery.

Ever since his array mastery broke through to the third rank, the old man had gained some reputation outside, and even when encountering Jin Dan cultivators, they would treat him with some courtesy once they knew his identity.

Sure enough, after hearing the old man’s explanation, a subtle change appeared in Song Qingming’s eyes, and he said with some surprise:

"Oh! You are actually a third-rank array master? I truly underestimated you."

After taking the array book handed over by the old man and glancing at it, Song Qingming quickly saw many records of various high-level array setups and methods for breaking them.

It had to be said that the old man did indeed have some talent in arrays. Some of the personal insights noted in the book even made Song Qingming, a third-rank mid-grade array master, feel like praising them after reading.

If this book was truly written by the old man, then it was indeed highly probable that his array level had broken through to the third rank.

Seeing that Song Qingming seemed somewhat engrossed, the old man in yellow robes hurriedly smiled and said, "Senior, this book was originally passed down by my ancestors. Over the years, after I broke through to become a third-rank array master, I re-edited and improved it significantly."

"I still have the original copy at home. If you like it, Senior, you may take this one; it will not affect me in any way."

"Hehe! You are quite thoughtful."

"However, although you are a third-rank low-grade array master, the array I set up just now is not an ordinary third-rank grand array. You being able to discover the clues within should not be just because of that, right?"

After praising the man, Song Qingming’s tone shifted, and he shook his head slightly at the old man, clearly still unsatisfied with the answer. Seeing Song Qingming, who was holding the array book, shoot another displeased look at him, the old man’s expression changed, and he hurriedly knelt on the ground in terror.

"Senior, forgive me! I discovered this place just now not only because I am an array master, but also because I had the help of this object, which is how I luckily found this place."

"This junior just didn't have time to finish speaking; I did not intend to deceive you, Senior. I hope you will not hold it against me."

After speaking, the old man in yellow robes lightly brushed his storage bag, and a third-rank array disk appeared in his hand.

Holding the array disk, the old man poured his spiritual power into it, and a thumb-sized black stone suddenly emerged rapidly from the disk, then slowly flew toward Song Qingming under the old man’s control.

"What is this thing? Where did you find it?"

Seeing the black stone before him, Song Qingming scanned it with his spiritual sense and found no spiritual energy on it; it was clearly not an ordinary magic treasure or artifact, which added a touch of confusion to his face.

Hearing Song Qingming’s inquiry, the old man in yellow robes hurriedly shook his head honestly and replied, "This stone was found by my ancestor in a damaged magic treasure that had circulated into the marketplace. I am not clear on its specific origin."

"For so many years, I have also visited various places to search for classics to find its origin, but to my shame, I have never gained anything and still do not know what this thing is."

"Although this stone is not a powerful magic artifact, it does have a unique ability to identify arrays. Especially when used in conjunction with an array disk, as long as there is a hidden array within a few miles, it will show special spiritual energy fluctuations, and it rarely makes mistakes."

"When I passed by here just now, it was precisely because this object suddenly reacted that I suspected someone had set up an array below, and thus I searched for it."

Song Qingming heard this, took the mysterious black stone, and slowly covered it with his own spiritual power.

As Song Qingming cast his spell, the black stone suddenly began to emit a burst of spiritual light.

Before long, Song Qingming, holding the black stone, felt a special spiritual energy coming from afar, and the direction was exactly where the cave he had just come out of was located.

Unexpectedly, this inconspicuous-looking black stone actually had the ability to sense the spiritual energy of arrays. Song Qingming had never heard of such a strange object in all his years of cultivation.

After confirming that the old man in yellow robes had not lied, the displeasure on Song Qingming’s face eased slightly, and he turned to say:

"Just because of a suspicion, you dared to come here? What if it wasn't an array I set up, but other forbidden arrays inherent to this secret realm? What would you have done then?"

"This..."

Facing Song Qingming’s careful questioning, the old man in yellow robes could only sigh with an ugly expression before explaining helplessly, "To tell you the truth, I had been pursued by those people all the way here, and I couldn't even use a teleportation token to leave the secret realm in advance; I was already at a dead end."

"If I had gone further, even if I had luckily escaped into the inner palace, with my Foundation Establishment cultivation, I fear I would not have lived to come out."

"Except for coming down to gamble on my luck, there was really no better choice for me."

"Fortunately, the heavens favored me, allowing me to meet you, Senior, and thus I saved my life. No matter what you think, Senior, I must repay this life-saving grace."

"If you have any orders, Senior, please speak directly. This junior is willing to follow by your side and do whatever is within my power to repay your life-saving grace."

Hearing the old man in yellow robes becoming more and more enthusiastic, actually wanting to follow him to pick up some benefits in the secret realm, Song Qingming felt helpless and hurriedly waved his hand to dispel the man's thoughts.

"I intend to enter the inner palace next, and I fear you do not have the courage to go in with me, so you need not think about this matter."

"This object is of some use to me. If you want to repay the favor, then just let me have this stone."

"Rest assured, I will not take your things for nothing. These spirit stones will be considered as me buying this item from you. Are you willing?"

After Song Qingming finished speaking, a flash of white light appeared in his hand, and another spirit stone bag appeared, which he threw to the old man in yellow robes.

Taking the spirit stone bag and opening it to look, the old man saw dozens of shimmering mid-grade spirit stones, totaling five or six thousand. Seeing so many spirit stones, a look of surprise appeared on the old man’s face, and he hurriedly nodded in agreement to Song Qingming.

The reason he did not take it out immediately at the beginning was not because the item was of great importance to the old man in yellow, but simply because he wanted to show off his mastery of the Dao of arrays in front of Song Qingming.

Being able to exchange this item for several thousand spirit stones was not a losing deal for him.

Moreover, in front of Song Qingming, a Core Formation cultivator who had just saved his life, the old man in yellow did not have much of a choice, even if he was somewhat unwilling in his heart.

If he were to speak out of turn and annoy Song Qingming, his fate would likely be no better than those "Golden Blade Sect" cultivators lying nearby; it would merely add another corpse to this place.

Seeing that the other party was still worried that he would not let him go afterward, Song Qingming smiled and spoke directly to explain: "I am not someone who likes to take advantage of the younger generation; giving you spirit stones is merely to trade for this item.

Rest assured, since I am satisfied with your answer, I naturally will not look for trouble with you again.

However, there is one thing you must remember: you must keep your mouth shut about what happened today. Otherwise, not only will I have some trouble, but it will also not be a good thing for you."

"Senior, please rest assured. The junior naturally knows this. The people of the 'Golden Blade Sect' are known for being vengeful; even if not for anything else, for the sake of my own life, I would never dare to spread word of this matter."

Hearing Song Qingming's reminder, the old man in yellow hurriedly nodded and agreed.

Song Qingming was not a cultivator from the "Tianhai Cultivation World" to begin with, so for him, offending a Core Formation power like the "Golden Blade Sect" was not something he needed to take to heart.

The reason he spoke to remind the old man in yellow was merely out of habitual caution.

Seeing that the other party had cautiously agreed, Song Qingming nodded with satisfaction, picked up the array manual in his hand, and said to him: "I am also somewhat interested in this thing. If it is convenient for you, I will take it directly."

"Convenient, of course it is convenient. I originally intended to offer this array manual to you, Senior. It is the junior's honor that you like it."

Hearing that Song Qingming was interested in the array manual he had written, the old man in yellow hurriedly agreed with a happy face.

Seeing that the old man was so sensible, Song Qingming did not treat him unfairly; he took out a second-tier high-grade magic tool from his person and tossed it to the old man in yellow as a spirit item in exchange for the array manual in his hand.

This time, the old man in yellow did not stand on ceremony with Song Qingming and accepted it directly and generously.

After completing this transaction, Song Qingming was also very satisfied and said to him: "I have nothing else here; you may go about your own business now. There are dangers everywhere in this secret realm; you still need to be careful while traveling alone."

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior. The junior originally entered the secret realm with several fellow Daoists, but we were forced to scatter after encountering people from the 'Golden Blade Sect' along the way.

Now that I am alone, it is difficult to face the dangers here. I do not wish to continue risking exploration of the secret realm and intend to find a suitable teleportation location to leave early."

Every cultivator who enters the secret realm receives a token for teleporting out in advance.

However, although this teleportation token can be used at any time, it takes a certain amount of time to cast the spell to activate it, and the movement when using it is also very large, making it easy for surrounding cultivators to discover one's location.

Cultivators like the old man in yellow who want to leave the secret realm early must first find a relatively hidden place to cast the spell and activate the teleportation token, so that they can be safer.

Seeing that the other party wanted to leave the secret realm, Song Qingming did not say much more, nodded slightly at him, and said: "Hmm! You have obtained so many things, which counts as some good fortune. Being able to know when to advance and when to retreat is not a bad thing. Then, take care of yourself!"

After Song Qingming finished speaking, he turned around, retracted the array he had set up at the entrance of the cave, then took out the "Phantom Boat," transformed into a white streak of light, and left the valley directly.

Looking at the streak of light that had already disappeared in the sky in the distance, the old man in yellow finally confirmed the fact that Song Qingming had left, and he slowly let out a breath.

Having cultivated for so many years, the old man in yellow had encountered many Core Formation cultivators, but most of them were high and mighty, looking down on small Foundation Establishment cultivators like them.

A Core Formation cultivator like Song Qingming, who took a fancy to the things on him but was still willing to use spirit stones for a fair exchange and did not want to take advantage of him, was indeed the first he had ever seen.

If it weren't for the several thousand spirit stones and a second-tier high-grade magic tool in his hand, he might have thought that what had just happened was like a dream.

"Although this person acts a bit strangely, there is quite a bit of righteousness about him. Who would have thought that I really met a good person today!"