Chapter 804: Changing His Mind, Exchanging Dao Insights

"Upgrade the Mount Funiu Mountain spirit vein!"

"At the last family meeting, didn't you say, husband, that the matter of the spirit vein shouldn't be rushed, and that we should wait until Song Song Yuanfang and the others had gathered enough spirit stones? Why have you changed your mind now?"

"Besides, the spiritual energy on the mountain is still sufficient. If we use all our spirit stones on this, what if we encounter some spiritual object truly suitable for you later? Wouldn't we miss out on a great opportunity?"

Song Song Qingming's cultivation had already reached the eighth layer of the Jin Dan realm, and he was not far from breaking through to the ninth layer. Cultivators who reached this realm generally needed to prepare for condensing their Nascent Soul in advance.

This time, Song Song Qingming and his group had scavenged spiritual objects worth hundreds of thousands of spirit stones from Ma Ma Wuchen's cave dwelling, which could be used to exchange for one or two spiritual objects to assist in Core Formation.

Hearing Song Song Qingming suddenly propose using these spirit stones to upgrade the family spirit vein first, a look of confusion immediately appeared on Huang Huang Siyuan's face.

Just as Huang Huang Siyuan said, Song Song Qingming had actually long had a plan in mind regarding the upgrade of the family spirit vein.

The reason he had suddenly changed his mind was that his trip to Song Guo had resulted in him being targeted by the "Old Demon of Red Blood" due to the killing of Ma Ma Wuchen.

To deal with the crises that might arise in the future, Song Song Qingming had to make preparations in advance, the first of which was to strengthen the family's defensive forces.

Although the mountain-protecting formation of the Song family's ancestral land, "Mount Funiu Mountain," was currently third-tier top-quality, it could only exert seventy to eighty percent of its power because the spirit vein grade was slightly lower, at only third-tier mid-quality.

Such defensive spiritual power was not a problem for dealing with attacks from Jin Dan cultivators, but it appeared somewhat inadequate if they encountered a Nascent Soul powerhouse like the "Old Demon of Red Blood."

To strengthen the "Mount Funiu Mountain" mountain-protecting formation, the family first had to upgrade the spirit vein grade. This was an urgent matter that Song Song Qingming had to address immediately upon his return.

Just as Song Song Qingming was about to explain this to Huang Huang Siyuan, Song Song Qingyu, who was to the side, spoke up first to help him: "Sister-in-law, upgrading the family spirit vein is beneficial to our cultivation. This matter should be done sooner rather than later. Seventh Brother considering it this way is also for the sake of all of us."

"Song Song Yuanfang also tallied it last time; there are still quite a few spirit stones stored in the family treasury. Upgrading the spirit vein doesn't actually require us to subsidize much."

"Please rest assured, Sister-in-law. If we truly encounter a Core Formation spiritual object useful to Seventh Brother, even if we have to sell everything we own, we certainly cannot let it slip away easily."

"After all, this is a major matter concerning the family's fate. How could we not support it with all our might!"

Hearing what Song Song Qingyu said, Song Song Qingming also followed up: "Song Qingyu is right. Although my personal Dao path is important, the overall development of the family is something we cannot ignore."

"Upgrading the spirit vein is beneficial to us and other clansmen alike. By increasing the spiritual energy on the mountain sooner, everyone can benefit from it earlier."

My cultivation base is currently only at the eighth layer of Jin Dan; I still need at least another ten or twenty years to attempt a breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm, so there is no need to be overly anxious about this matter.

"Moreover, rare spiritual objects of the level required to assist in Core Formation are things that major sects do not easily pass on, nor are they things we can find everywhere."

After hearing their explanation, Huang Huang Siyuan pondered for a moment and felt that what they said made sense, so she said no more and nodded slightly in agreement.

All of them came from a small family background and had cultivated step by step with caution to reach their current level of cultivation.

Huang Huang Siyuan naturally understood that high-tier spiritual objects in the cultivation world were basically held by those major sects, and spiritual objects to assist in Core Formation were not something their small Jin Dan family could easily find.

Even if they held so many spirit stones in their hands, enough to exchange for one spiritual object to assist in Core Formation, whether they had the opportunity depended on whether they could find this fortune in the future.

After they had agreed, Song Song Qingming sent a message to summon Song Song Yuanfang and informed him of the news that the family was about to upgrade the spirit vein.

Upon hearing the proposal from Song Song Qingming and the others, Song Song Yuanfang was somewhat surprised but did not think too much about it, hurriedly nodding in agreement.

Subsequently, under the personal execution of Song Song Yuanfang, the family's chief steward, the entire Song family immediately went into motion, beginning to clear out family assets and gather spirit stones to be sent to the family's spiritual land, "Mount Funiu Mountain."

In addition, family elders like Song Song Yuanfang also took the lead in voluntarily donating spirit stones within the clan, prompting a large number of cultivators in the clan to donate their surplus spirit stones to the family for the upcoming spirit vein upgrade.

This time, because Song Song Qingming, the clan leader, had spoken first, the family did not adopt a method of forced apportionment; all clansmen who donated spirit stones did so on a voluntary basis.

Regardless of their cultivation level or status in the clan, the amount of spirit stones donated by everyone depended solely on their own willingness and ability.

The family's Treasury Pavilion would also tally the number of spirit stones donated by all clansmen and issue them family merit points equivalent to the spirit stones.

When the family was better off in the future, these family merit points could be exchanged back for spirit stones or other spiritual objects useful for their cultivation.

The major matter of upgrading the family spirit vein was closely related to every cultivator in the entire Song family.

Faced with this opportunity to make a contribution within their power to the family and also to show themselves before the clan elders, almost all the Song family cultivators were very active.

Especially Foundation Establishment elders like Song Song Yuanfang and Song Song Yuanxue, who had been relatively well-off in recent years, each took out thousands of spirit stones at once during the family mobilization meeting.

Other Foundation Establishment elders, although donating fewer spirit stones, still contributed at least several hundred each.

Driven by the numerous family elders, in less than half a month, the family Treasury Pavilion had collected a total of nearly forty thousand voluntarily donated spirit stones, far exceeding the expectations Song Song Qingming and the others had initially held for this matter.

After several months of preparation, the family Treasury Pavilion had also gathered over ninety thousand spirit stones; combined, the gap to the two hundred thousand spirit stones required for upgrading the spirit vein was no longer large.

While the family was gathering spirit stones, Song Song Qingming was also preparing to refine the third-tier top-quality "Spirit Gathering Formation" required for upgrading the spirit vein.

Song Song Qingming's formation level had long approached third-tier top-quality over the years; refining a third-tier top-quality "Spirit Gathering Formation" was not too difficult a task for him now.

However, to be more secure and avoid wasting too much of his own time and the high-tier materials for refining the formation,

before going into seclusion to refine the formation, Song Song Qingming personally ran to the nearby "Mount Guyang Mountain," intending to consult face-to-face with Bai Bai Yuxian, the elder with the highest formation level in the "Xiaoyao Sect."

Since breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, Bai Bai Yuxian's formation level had also made rapid progress, now advancing further to the fourth-tier low-quality level.

A few years ago, when the "Xiaoyao Sect" launched a northern expedition against the demon race, the two sides fought a great battle outside "Bai Yun Valley" for nearly two years.

Because she was injured while fighting the Demon King, Bai Bai Yuxian immediately began seclusion to heal after the war; in these few years, she had almost never left her cave dwelling.

Upon learning that Song Song Qingming had come to visit, Bai Bai Yuxian, who had just ended her seclusion, immediately had her disciples invite him into her cave dwelling.

"Disciple pays respects to Uncle-Master Bai!"

Song Song Qingming, who had just walked into the cave dwelling, saw Bai Bai Yuxian sitting in the seat of honor with a smile on her face and immediately stepped forward to bow and pay his respects.

Bai Bai Yuxian, dressed in plain clothes, waved her hand hurriedly upon seeing this: "There are no outsiders in my cave dwelling, so you don't need to be too restrained."

"Since you are here today to discuss formations with me, let us be as we were in the past and just sip tea and talk."

After Bai Bai Yuxian finished speaking, she reached out and pointed with a smile to the seat opposite her, inviting Song Song Qingming to sit and sip tea with her.

As the two people with the highest formation skills in the entire sect, Song Song Qingming had often taken the initiative to visit Bai Bai Yuxian to consult on formation skills even before she had condensed her Nascent Soul.

At that time, because both were Jin Dan cultivators and had known each other for many years, they were quite familiar, and Song Song Qingming naturally acted quite casually in Bai Bai Yuxian's cave dwelling.

Now that Bai Bai Yuxian had broken through to the Nascent Soul realm, their statuses were worlds apart; Song Song Qingming could only refer to himself as a junior here and naturally did not dare to sit and sip tea with her as he had in the past.

He had intended to stand up and find a chair to sit on, but seeing Bai Bai Yuxian beckoning to him with an expectant look, he felt somewhat troubled.

Seeing Song Song Qingming's hesitant expression, not daring to take a step forward, the smile on Bai Bai Yuxian's face immediately faded, and she asked with some confusion: "Junior Brother Song, what is the matter with you?"

Song Song Qingming, who was still dazed on the spot, reacted immediately upon hearing Bai Bai Yuxian's voice and replied with a respectful bow: "Many thanks to Uncle-Master Bai for your favor!"

After carefully glancing around, Song Song Qingming finally made up his mind and walked over, sitting down properly in front of Bai Bai Yuxian.

Seeing this, Bai Bai Yuxian's face recovered somewhat; she smiled and took the initiative to pour a cup of fragrant spirit tea for Song Song Qingming, then reached out and placed it in front of him.

"Many thanks, Uncle-Master!"

Bai Bai Yuxian, who had just put down the teacup, saw Song Song Qingming bowing slightly to thank her again, and her expression, which had just improved, immediately became somewhat unpleasant again. She sighed at Song Song Qingming:

"Junior Brother Song, since I call you Junior Brother today, it is only because I know you have come to sip tea and discuss the Dao with me, and to exchange formation skills. I naturally welcome you as a Senior Sister."

"If you have any sect-related business to find that Uncle-Master Bai, she still needs to be in seclusion for cultivation and likely won't have much time to receive you."

"I wonder if you have come today to find Uncle-Master Bai or Senior Sister Bai?"

Seeing Bai Bai Yuxian's sudden change in expression, looking at him seriously, Song Song Qingming immediately understood her meaning and nodded to her with a smile: "Senior Sister Bai, please do not blame me. I have come less often these years, and indeed I have become somewhat unnatural. Today's visit is only to consult with you on some formation skills; there is no other business."

"If there is anything inappropriate, please point it out, Senior Sister; do not stand on ceremony with me."

Hearing the slight change in Song Song Qingming's tone this time, as if he had returned to the days when he sipped tea and discussed the Dao with her, a smile finally appeared on Bai Bai Yuxian's face.

"Junior Brother Song, I also know the rules of the cultivation world, but for us cultivators, apart from cultivation, it is rare to find a few true friends to sip tea and chat with."

"I have known you for many years, which is also quite rare. I hope you will not let these old, broken rules of the cultivation world make you distant from me." "Senior Sister Bai's lesson is correct. Song Qingming has cultivated for so many years; although I know many friends of the same tier, there are indeed few with whom I can speak my heart and sit and discuss the Dao."

"But as long as Senior Sister does not mind, I will certainly come often to consult with you in the future."

"Hmm! Hearing you say this, I feel much more at ease."

"Alright, there is no need for so many rules here. If you have anything to say, just tell me directly!"

Seeing the smiles gradually increasing on Bai Bai Yuxian's face, Song Song Qingming felt a slight sense of relief and began to consult Bai Bai Yuxian on formation skills.

Because of Bai Bai Yuxian's prior instructions, the few disciples who remained in the cave dwelling to take care of her daily life did not dare to enter the hall where the two were talking to disturb them.

Song Song Qingming and Bai Bai Yuxian chatted from day until night, and then until the morning sun rose the next day, when a look of satisfaction finally appeared on Song Song Qingming's face.

It must be said that apart from her outstanding cultivation talent, Bai Bai Yuxian was also gifted in the way of formations, possessing many unique insights.

After exchanging formation skills with Bai Bai Yuxian for a day, many of the doubts Song Song Qingming had encountered over the years were instantly cleared up, and his understanding of formation skills instantly improved significantly.

And Bai Bai Yuxian also gained quite a lot while exchanging formation skills with Song Song Qingming.

In the entire "Xiaoyao Sect" and the Wei Guo cultivation world, the total number of formation masters above the third tier did not exceed the number of fingers on one hand.

Apart from Song Song Qingming, the formation levels of the other few third-tier formation masters were only third-tier low-quality, which was too far from Bai Bai Yuxian's formation skills.

It was only when exchanging formation insights with Song Song Qingming that Bai Bai Yuxian could gain some different perspectives, allowing her to have some different realizations regarding formation skills.

Seeing that the purpose of his trip had basically been achieved, Song Song Qingming stood up, preparing to say goodbye and leave.

"Senior Sister Bai, Song Qingming has benefited greatly this time and needs to return to slowly comprehend it. I won't disturb you too much here today! I have another matter unrelated to formation skills that I would like to ask you about; I wonder if it is convenient for you to tell me?"

"What you want to ask about should be the Lei Lei Yuanhai trading assembly, right!"

Seeing Bai Bai Yuxian immediately state what was in his heart upon hearing his words, Song Song Qingming was surprised, then nodded to her with an awkward smile.

Seeing this, Bai Bai Yuxian smiled beautifully, stood up, and replied:

"Junior Sister Cheng Ziyan came to ask me last time as well. I know she has already told you, and you were certainly going to ask me about this matter today."

Hearing what Bai Bai Yuxian said, Song Song Qingming felt a sense of admiration for her ability to perceive others' minds, and he couldn't help but reveal a sense of respect from the bottom of his heart.

"The Lei Lei Yuanhai trading assembly is held about once every hundred years. Its scale is much larger than the trading assemblies we have here; it is indeed a good place for you to broaden your horizons."

"I once followed Senior Brother Yao there once, but my cultivation was still shallow at the time, and I didn't buy anything good. I don't know if we will have some good luck this time."

"Rest assured! The news I have is that the Lei Lei Yuanhai trading assembly won't be that soon; I estimate there is at least another year or two. When the time comes, I will naturally have the Affairs Hall send a message to inform you in advance."

"This time, it is not just our Xiaoyao Sect that will have people going; the Star Sect, the Grand Void Gate, and other surrounding sects will also send people to accompany us. I fear there won't be few people going."

"In the past, we always had to take the Du Yuchen Sect's teleportation array to Lei Lei Yuanhai, but recently their teleportation array has had problems, so we might have to go to the East Sea to transfer to a treasure ship and set off a little earlier."

"Oh! Senior Sister Bai means that we will have to take a treasure ship to Lei Lei Yuanhai."

Bai Bai Yuxian nodded slightly upon hearing this: "Correct! I have already made an appointment with Fellow Daoist Zheng of the Star Sect."

"If the Du Yuchen Sect's teleportation array cannot be repaired in time, everyone will go together by treasure ship."

"Anyway, with so many people going together, there won't be any major problems regarding safety; it will just take more time."

"If we take the treasure ship, the requirements won't be that high. If you have any juniors you want to bring along to broaden their horizons, you can also go together."

From the Donghuangxianzhou continent to the "Lei Lei Yuanhai" cultivation world, which is hundreds of thousands of miles away, there are two commonly used passages.

One is to go directly west to the "Donghuang Guo" cultivation world and borrow the large teleportation array of a Nascent Soul sect, the "Du Yuchen Sect," which can directly teleport to the "Lei Lei Yuanhai" cultivation world; it is also the safest road for cultivators.

However, the cost of a single teleportation via a large teleportation array is very expensive; generally, it requires at least a hundred people to gather before it can be opened once. Apart from high-tier cultivators above the Jin Dan stage with rich family backgrounds, very few low-tier cultivators can afford it.

Except for special circumstances, it usually takes at least half a year to gather enough people.

The other is to go east to the "East Sea cultivation world" and take a treasure ship. This road should pass through some demon beast territories in the outer sea; not only does it take longer, but it is also relatively more dangerous.

However, if you take a treasure ship, the cost for cultivators is relatively much lower. Even if you are a Foundation Establishment cultivator who wants to go to the "Lei Lei Yuanhai" cultivation world, it is not that difficult to do.

After learning about this from Bai Bai Yuxian, Song Song Qingming nodded immediately. On the way back, he began to ponder whether he should bring others from his family along to broaden their horizons this time.

After leaving the spiritual mountain where Bai Bai Yuxian's cave dwelling was located, Song Song Qingming made another trip to the sect's "Merit Pavilion" and exchanged for a few materials needed for setting up the formation.

After handling these matters, Song Song Qingming did not rush to leave "Mount Guyang Mountain" but turned and came to the spiritual mountain where Song Song Xinyu cultivated.

Just as Song Song Qingming arrived on the mountain, a sword light flew over first, revealing the figure of a white-clothed man who had just achieved Foundation Establishment.

Upon seeing Song Song Qingming, the white-clothed man was slightly startled, then hurriedly stepped forward to bow and pay his respects.

"Disciple Zhao Ruoxu pays respects to Uncle-Master Song!"

Seeing this person, Song Song Qingming nodded slightly with a smile and was just about to ask him to lead the way when a blue-clothed woman appeared in front, stepping forward quickly to bow and pay her respects to Song Song Qingming.

"Song Linxi pays respects to Chen Chen Laozu!"

In a flash, more than thirty years had passed. Song Song Linxi, whose cultivation was only at the late stage of Qi Condensation in the past, had now successfully achieved Foundation Establishment and become a third-layer Foundation Establishment cultivator.

Her cultivation speed was not a bit worse than the other juniors of the "Mount Funiu Mountain" Song family.

After scanning Song Song Linxi's cultivation with his spiritual sense, Song Song Qingming nodded with satisfaction and asked directly: "Is Song Xinyu on the mountain? You haven't had any trouble lately, have you!"

Song Song Linxi replied to Song Song Qingming immediately:

"Reporting to Chen Chen Laozu, Master is teaching a few Junior Brothers above. His health has been good lately; he even took me to travel through Pei Guo last year!"

Song Song Linxi led the way forward while speaking, and soon brought Song Song Qingming to an open space on the mountain top, where they saw Song Song Xinyu sitting on a giant rock, teaching a few disciples cultivation.

Song Song Xinyu, who already had a head full of white hair, saw Song Song Linxi leading Song Song Qingming over from afar, hurriedly waved his hand to dismiss the disciples in front of him, and walked quickly to Song Song Qingming.

"Seventh Uncle, how did you find the time to come today?"

Since his last failure in Core Formation, Song Song Xinyu had spent more than ten years just healing his injuries.

After his injuries had healed, he spent some merit points not long after to exchange for a "Jade Dust Pill" at the sect, entering seclusion once again to attempt a breakthrough to the Jin Dan realm.

But the result this time was no surprise; in the end, Song Song Xinyu still failed and could not advance to the Jin Dan realm.

After his second failure in Core Formation, seeing that he had no hope of Core Formation, Song Song Xinyu gradually accepted this reality and slowly gave up on his own Dao path.

Over the years, he had spent his main energy on his disciples, not only supporting Song Song Linxi's successful Foundation Establishment but also cultivating a Foundation Establishment disciple under his tutelage, which was the Zhao Ruoxu that Song Song Qingming had just met.

Seeing Song Song Xinyu, who already showed signs of old age, bowing to him, Song Song Qingming, who had seen many juniors pass away before him, felt a somewhat unpleasant sensation in his heart and hurriedly waved his hand to help Song Song Xinyu up.

"I wanted to come see you last time I came to Mount Guyang Mountain, but it just so happened that you had taken Song Linxi traveling. This time, I just happened to have some business at the sect, so I stopped by on the way."

Song Song Xinyu nodded with a smile: "Many thanks to Seventh Uncle for your concern. I am already a person of leisure with nothing to do; I should have often gone back to see you and Aunt Song Qingyu."

"Now, I still always make you worry and come here; nephew is truly ashamed!"

"We are all family; why always say these useless things? You can come back to see us whenever you have time; there is no need to rush."

"Seventh Uncle is right. I don't know why, but once a person gets old, they can't help but nag about useless things."

"Song Linxi, go quickly and fetch the jar of spirit tea I placed in the cave dwelling."

Hearing Song Song Qingming's comfort, Song Song Xinyu nodded gently and then gave an instruction to Song Song Linxi, who was to the side.

After Song Song Linxi left, Song Song Xinyu turned and led Song Song Qingming to sit at a stone table nearby.

"Seventh Uncle, since you are here today, there is a matter I would like to discuss with you." (End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 805 =====