Chapter 826

Half a year later, in "Qinghe County" of the Wei Kingdom, Floating Yunshan range cultivation world.

As one of the main marketplaces controlled by the Song family, "Red Flame Square," through the efforts of several generations of family cultivators, had become the largest marketplace near "Mount Yunwu."

Every day, cultivators coming and going from the east of the Wei Kingdom to enter and exit "Mount Yunwu" were endless, which also brought quite a bit of popularity to "Red Flame Square."

However, compared to the Floating Yunshan range, which had numerous demonic beasts, the number of demonic beasts on the "Mount Yunwu" side was clearly much smaller, and there was quite a bit of miasma in the mountain forests, which had a certain impact on searching for spiritual items.

Generally, the cultivators who entered and exited "Mount Yunwu" to hunt demons were mostly young cultivators with little experience in hunting demons. Those old-school cultivators with higher cultivation and rich experience in hunting demons would be directly teleported from here to the "White Lion Square" front line, where there were more demonic beasts.

On this day, a Song family Qi Condensation mid-stage cultivator guarding the marketplace entrance had just let a cultivator whose identity had been verified into the marketplace.

Looking up, he saw a young woman wearing a bamboo hat and dressed in purple robes walking slowly from the "Mount Yunwu" direction in the east toward the marketplace.

Seeing this woman coming alone from the dangerous "Mount Yunwu," a look of curiosity appeared on the Song family cultivator's face.

Looking closer, he discovered that the woman had suddenly closed the distance from more than a dozen zhang away to arrive before him, making him rub his eyes, thinking he had just seen wrong.

"This Fellow Daoist, may I ask if this is Red Flame Square?"

The purple-clad woman's crisp voice brought the Song family cultivator, who was lost in doubt, back to his senses, and he hurriedly replied, "Fellow Daoist is correct; this is indeed Red Flame Square.

May I ask where you are coming from, Fellow Daoist? Please state your identity first before entering or leaving the marketplace."

Hearing the Song family cultivator's explanation, the purple-clad woman immediately took off the bamboo hat on her head with a smile, revealing an exquisite jade face.

"I am Zilan, a loose cultivator from Guiyun Square. I have an appointment to meet my companion at Red Flame Square; I hope you can make it convenient for me!" After speaking, the purple-clad woman handed over a spirit stone.

"Coming from Guiyun Square? No wonder you dare to go to Mount Yunwu alone. Many demonic beasts have appeared in the east recently, and it's not very peaceful; you must be careful.

Your identity has been registered. Take this jade token; you can enter and exit the marketplace for free within half a year.

We do not accept spirit stones here. If you want to stay for a long time, you can take spirit stones and go directly to the marketplace's Law Enforcement Hall to rent a cave dwelling. Go in first!"

After writing down the purple-clad woman's name, the Song family cultivator threw a token with her name on it to the other party, then waved his hand at her.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist!"

Seeing this, the purple-clad woman hurriedly put away the spirit stone, took the token, and walked into the marketplace.

Watching the purple-clad woman's figure pass through the formation at the marketplace entrance and disappear for a good while, the Song family cultivator reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

"Strange... this person clearly only has Qi Condensation fifth-layer cultivation like me; why did she make me feel a trace of unease? Staying in the marketplace for too long, I'm really becoming more and more timid.

We haven't been allowed to enter the mountains for more than half a year; I don't know when the Elder will take us to hunt demonic beasts again."

After muttering to himself, the Song family cultivator slowly closed the register he had just finished recording and looked into the distance again, somewhat bored.

After the purple-clad woman entered the marketplace, she first strolled around the street, finally arrived outside the "Law Enforcement Hall" in the middle of the marketplace, looked up at the sign above, and strode inside.

"This Fellow Daoist, may I ask what business you have?"

"I want to rent a cave dwelling here."

"Oh! Follow me in!... Uncle Xuanlong, someone else is here to rent a cave dwelling."

The Law Enforcement Hall cultivator guarding the entrance, hearing that the other party was here to rent a cave dwelling, hurriedly nodded to her, then shouted inside and brought the purple-clad woman before an old man with white hair and beard.

Knowing the other party's intention, the old man hurriedly greeted her to sit down and took out a sheepskin map filled with cave dwelling locations, placing it before the purple-clad woman.

"Fellow Daoist has truly come to the right place. Our Red Flame Square just opened quite a few B-grade cave dwellings with nice scenery in the back mountain, which are just right for a cultivator with Qi Condensation mid-stage cultivation like you.

Fellow Daoist, rest assured, our Song family marketplace absolutely does not cheat customers. If you think it's not good, just go out and inquire, and you will know.

I don't know what kind of cave dwelling you want to rent, Fellow Daoist? Please take a look first, and I will help you find one together, ensuring you are satisfied."

Hearing the white-haired old man's boastful introduction, the purple-clad woman did not look at the sheepskin map in his hand at all, but directly said to the old man with a smile, "I want to rent the A-grade No. 1 cave dwelling!"

"Fellow Daoist, you may not know, but those A-grade cave dwellings are all rented by cultivators at the Qi Condensation late-stage or above. With your cultivation now only at the Qi Condensation mid-stage, where would you use it? I think...

Wait, which cave dwelling did you just say?"

When the white-haired old man was explaining, he suddenly thought of something and looked up to ask the other party carefully again.

And the purple-clad woman, still smiling, gently spat out six big words to him.

"A-grade No. 1 cave dwelling"

"..."

Half an hour later, a streak of azure sword light suddenly descended from the sky and landed outside "Red Flame Square."

The Song family cultivator guarding the entrance, seeing the azure figure not far away, was first stunned on the spot in full surprise! Afterward, he rubbed his eyes again. After confirming he hadn't seen wrong, he hurriedly stepped forward respectfully and bowed.

"Greetings, Chen Chen Laozu!"

Song Qingyu, who had just arrived, waved her hand lightly at the person and didn't pay attention to him, striding directly into the marketplace.

After Song Qingyu's figure disappeared, he finally came back to his senses, somewhat nervously.

"My eyes and reactions are truly getting slower and slower. I didn't hear that there was anything going on in the marketplace today; how could the Chen Chen Laozu be alarmed to come here!"

After entering the marketplace, Song Qingyu soon arrived at the marketplace's "Law Enforcement Hall." Seeing the two Song family cultivators who hurried up to salute, she immediately asked:

"What kind of person rented the cave dwelling? Tell me again!"

"Reporting to Chen Chen Laozu, it is a woman who came here alone. Her cultivation seems to be only at the Qi Condensation fifth layer... By the way, she said her name is Zilan!"

Hearing the old man beside her explain the situation carefully, Song Qingyu nodded slightly and said, "Alright, I know. You must remember this matter; you cannot reveal it to anyone!

Also, if anyone asks you about that person's identity in the future, you must send a message to inform me immediately."

After cautioning the two people present, Song Qingyu left the "Law Enforcement Hall" and arrived outside a cave dwelling at the peak of the back mountain of the marketplace.

After glancing at the restriction that had just been set up not long ago at the entrance of the cave dwelling, Song Qingming's spiritual power shifted, and he was about to cast a spell to transmit sound, but he saw a streak of flight light suddenly flash out from the cave dwelling.

"Hmm! You didn't come slowly. It seems those people are quite fast at sending messages!"

Seeing the purple-clad woman suddenly appear beside her, Song Qingyu hurriedly put away the spell in her hand and asked softly, "Fellow Daoist, why do you need to set up so many restrictions outside the cave dwelling? You wouldn't be planning to stay here for a long time, would you!"

Hearing this, the purple-clad woman hurriedly waved her hand:

"That's not it. It's just that after following Master outside for so many years, I've become accustomed to being cautious. That's why I was a bit careful; I hope you don't misunderstand, Fellow Daoist! Master is almost about to come out of seclusion; she asked me to notify you that in three months, you will go with us to that place you mentioned."

"That place... didn't I tell you everything from beginning to end? Why do you still need me to go with you?"

Facing the look of confusion on Song Qingyu's face, the purple-clad woman smiled and replied, "I came this time just to pass on a message for Master; I have no way to answer this question for the time being. Why not wait until you see Master in the future and ask her in person!

Rest assured, if we had ill will toward you, you wouldn't be alive today.

You must have comprehended quite a bit of the mental cultivation method Master gave you; you shouldn't be unable to distinguish whether we are good or bad by now, right!"

"I understand everything you said, but you also know that I am just a cultivator from a small Jin Dan family; I truly do not want to get too involved in the affairs between Nascent Soul cultivators."

After Song Qingyu finished speaking, a look of helplessness could not help but appear on her face.

"Some things, once they have chosen you, are not something you can easily avoid. I have told you everything that should be said, so I won't linger here.

This is the subsequent Jin Dan stage mental cultivation method Master asked me to pass on to you. Take it first!"

After the purple-clad woman finished speaking, she threw a bamboo slip to Song Qingyu not far away, and then her figure flashed and soon disappeared from the spot.

Looking at the bamboo slip in her hand, a look of surprise also appeared on Song Qingyu's face. She hurriedly picked up the bamboo slip and placed it on her forehead.

The purple-clad woman who had just left was the purple-clad Sword Cultivator Song Qingyu had encountered half a year ago while patrolling "Mount Yunwu."

And her master was an expert whose cultivation had already broken through to the Nascent Soul realm.

At that time, after Song Qingyu was captured by the purple-clad woman, she followed her to see the white-clad woman who was hiding in a cave to heal her injuries.

Upon seeing the powerful Sword Cultivator aura emanating from the white-clad woman, Song Qingyu immediately guessed that she must be the person who created the enormous battlefield deep within "Mount Yunwu," and she felt very shocked in her heart.

What Song Qingyu did not expect was that the white-clad woman actually saw through the Sword Cultivator inheritance Song Qingyu practiced at a glance and informed Song Qingyu that the person who taught her the Sword Cultivator Dao was a Nascent Soul expert who had attained the Dao for many years.

However, the white-clad woman did not explain too much to her about that Nascent Soul expert, nor did she reveal the connection between them. After asking about the process of how Song Qingyu obtained the inheritance, she let her go and also bestowed upon Song Qingyu a mental cultivation method that could be practiced in conjunction with the Sword Cultivator inheritance in her body.

It was only before Song Qingyu left that the white-clad woman still required her to take an oath not to reveal anything between them to anyone.

After returning to the family, Song Qingyu carefully comprehended the mental cultivation method the white-clad woman gave her. After discovering the mysteries within, she felt even more shocked.

The mental cultivation method the white-clad woman gave her could actually be practiced in conjunction with the Sword Cultivator inheritance in her body, allowing her to feel that her cultivation speed had clearly improved during cultivation, which truly made Song Qingyu feel somewhat unbelievable.

Being both Sword Cultivators and being able to recognize the Sword Cultivator inheritance Song Qingyu had obtained meant that the white-clad woman should know where the inheritance she obtained came from.

Plus, the mental cultivation method bamboo slip the white-clad woman bestowed upon Song Qingyu could help her cultivate; there might be some connection between the two.

It was just that the other party refused to tell the truth and insisted that she take them to find the predecessor's cave dwelling that had been almost emptied by them, which left Song Qingyu feeling unable to fathom what they were intending to do.

Moreover, the white-clad woman looked like she was not lightly injured in the battle of "Mount Yunwu." She did not know what kind of formidable opponent she had provoked. Song Qingyu truly did not want to be too involved with them.

But hindered by the fact that the other party's strength was truly too powerful, Song Qingyu had no way to directly refuse the other party for a time and could only take it one step at a time.

Fortunately, looking at it now, the white-clad woman and the others did not harm her and were even willing to bestow a mental cultivation method upon Song Qingyu, which indeed did not look like they had any ill will.

Otherwise, just based on the white-clad woman's such formidable Sword Cultivator aura, let alone Song Qingyu, a small Jin Dan cultivator, even if the "Xiaoyao Sect" Supreme Elder Li Mufeng took action, he might not necessarily be able to fight the other party.

"I clearly told them there was nothing inside; why do they still need me to take them there? Could it be that there was something missed back then!"

After putting down the bamboo slip on her forehead, Song Qingyu stood on the spot and pondered for a moment, then shook her head and turned to leave the spot. — The "Donghuang Kingdom" cultivation world.

In the blink of an eye, winter passed and spring came. Song Qingming had been on "Yuxuan Island" for more than half a year.

In a paddy field outside "Yanhu Village," Song Qingming walked barefoot in the muddy paddy field, seriously scattering the rice seeds in his hand evenly beneath his feet.

The spring sun shone on the faces of every hard worker in the valley, adding a trace of golden color, as if predicting the scene of another harvest year.

Accompanied by the laughter of numerous companions around him, Song Qingming, with a few beads of sweat flowing down his face, finally scattered the rice seeds in his hand over the entire paddy field and slowly walked back to the field dam.

"Immortal Master, the dumplings wrapped by Mother and Aunt have been sent over. Father is calling you to go eat together."

Hearing the shout from a strong young man with somewhat dark skin on the field dam not far away, Song Qingming hurriedly responded, then walked to the ditch beside the paddy field.

With the help of the flowing stream water, he cleaned the mud and dirt off his body, scooped up stream water to wipe the sweat from his forehead, and then came to a cool place barefoot.

Seeing Song Qingming walk over, an elderly woman nearby hurriedly brought him a bowl of steaming dumplings.

"Thank you!"

After simply greeting everyone, Song Qingming picked up the bowl and slowly put the dumplings with a trace of fragrance into his mouth.

As someone who loved to taste all kinds of delicacies, no matter what good things he ate, Song Qingming would habitually slow down his speed, letting himself feel more of the satisfaction brought by the delicious food in his mouth.

This habit, even though his cultivation had reached the Jin Dan stage where he had long since practiced Grain Bigu, still accompanied him from time to time.

By the time Song Qingming had finished a large bowl of dumplings, the woman had long since collected the bowls and chopsticks that everyone had put down nearby and carefully came before Song Qingming.

"Immortal Master, I made a pair of shoes for Yun'er. This child has been busy cultivating on the mountain for the past few years and hasn't been home. I trouble you, Immortal Master, to bring them along to him next time you go back."

The Yun'er the woman spoke of was her son, named Wang Qingyun, who was the child with spiritual roots that Song Qingming had discovered at Wang Qin's home in "Yanhu Village" back then.

Decades later, the elderly Wang Qin couple had long since passed away, and their son and daughter-in-law had also become the elderly appearance they were back then.

The only thing that remained unchanged standing here was Song Qingming, this Immortal Master who only came once every few decades, still with that relatively young appearance.

After the eldest son Wang Qingyun was tested and found to have spiritual roots, he was taken to the mountain to cultivate not many years later, gathering little and parting much from his parents at home.

Seeing the look of anticipation on the woman's face, Song Qingming also remembered his mother's gaze back then. He was stunned for a moment before taking a pair of brand-new cloth shoes from her somewhat rough hands.

"Rest assured, I should be returning to the mountain in a few days; I will definitely help you bring them to Qingyun."

Even on "Yuxuan Island," which was far away from the secular world, there was a distinction between immortals and mortals.

Cultivators like Wang Qingyun who grew up on the island, apart from the few fixed days when they could return home, even "entering the world to cultivate" required separate arrangements to go to other mortal villages and could not stay directly in their own homes.

That her own son could have spiritual roots and become an immortal naturally made the woman happy, but it was a pity that he could not stay by her side often.

Although there were regrets, they could only be placed in her heart.

Seeing Song Qingming agree, carefully putting away the cloth shoes in his hand, a look of joy appeared on the woman's face, and she hurriedly nodded to thank him.

After the sun set behind the western mountains, Song Qingming, who had been busy all day, returned to the small hut where he lived.

After lighting the oil lamp and sitting cross-legged, Song Qingming's spiritual power shifted, and he immediately took out a thick manual and began to flip through it lightly.

Having been on "Yuxuan Island" for more than half a year, apart from occasionally returning to the mountain to help fellow disciples in the sect engrave runes for the sealing formation, Song Qingming spent most of his time in "Yanhu Village" at the foot of the mountain.

While experiencing the "entering the world to cultivate" task set up by the sect, he was also studying these bamboo slips he had borrowed from the "Tai Xu Hall" on the mountain.

These precious bamboo slips contained various insights on forming the Nascent Soul left by predecessor cultivators of the "Tai Xu Gate." Having studied them for only half a year, Song Qingming had benefited a lot.

Besides this, Song Qingming also took advantage of the gaps in his cultivation to often visit and ask for advice from the Fourth Senior Brother Zheng Xingyun, who lived in the same village.

Although he was an outer sect disciple, Zheng Xingyun did not treat Song Qingming, this Junior Brother, as an outsider and taught Song Qingming in detail the experience he had gained from several attempts at forming the Nascent Soul.

Like Bai Yuxian, Zheng Xingyun had also impacted the Nascent Soul realm twice before finally succeeding in forming the Nascent Soul.

However, as an inner sect disciple of the "Tai Xu Gate" and a personal disciple of his master, the Soul Transformation cultivator "Daoist Lingxu," the advice and resources he could obtain were naturally incomparable to those of the ordinary Nascent Soul sect where Bai Yuxian was.

Although his aptitude and talent were not as good as a Heaven Spiritual Root cultivator like Bai Yuxian, Zheng Xingyun's time for forming the Nascent Soul was no later than Bai Yuxian's; both successfully advanced to the Nascent Soul realm at the age of less than three hundred.

In just over half a year, through continuous study and asking for advice in the "Tai Xu Gate," Song Qingming clearly felt that the Nascent Soul realm, which had been very blurry before his eyes, gradually became much clearer.

Now, his confidence in his own future condensation of the Nascent Soul had also increased quite a bit.

Although he dared not say he had absolute certainty of successfully forming the Nascent Soul, Song Qingming had cultivated for so many years, and his heart had long been firm about his future Dao path; he would not easily give up because of a temporary setback in the future.

After returning, he would slowly digest these insights on forming the Nascent Soul he had recorded, and after accumulating spiritual power for another ten or twenty years, Song Qingming would have the confidence to return to the "Tai Xu Gate" to impact the Nascent Soul realm.

The moon set and the sun rose. When the morning sun rose, Song Qingming slowly put down the bamboo slip in his hand, stood up, opened the door, and walked out of the house.

Just as he picked up the wooden basin outside the house to fetch cold water, preparing to wash himself, Song Qingming saw the figure of the Fourth Senior Brother Zheng Xingyun walking in from outside the courtyard and hurriedly put down the things in his hand to bow and salute.

"Junior Brother Song, Master has summoned us to return to the sect. Pack up and hurry back; I still have to go greet other Junior Brothers!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother, for passing the message!"

Hearing that it was his master's summons, Song Qingming naturally dared not delay. He hurriedly returned to his residence to organize his belongings, then transformed into a streak of flight light and returned to the "Tai Xu Gate" on the mountain.

Just as he arrived at the mountain gate great hall, Song Qingming saw Liu Yang standing in the crowd greeting him and hurriedly walked quickly toward his position.

"Senior Brother Liu, summoning so many fellow disciples in such a hurry this time... could it be that you are preparing to set up the Demon-Exterminating Formation?"

Hearing Song Qingming's low inquiry, Liu Yang nodded and said, "Senior Brother Song is correct. I just asked the First Senior Brother; I estimate that the formation will be set up very soon.

Hehe! After preparing for such a long time, Master is finally about to take action.

If we can exterminate that upper-realm True Demon in one fell swoop this time, we will all be meritorious ministers, and I estimate we can be allocated quite a bit of Heavenly Dao merit.

At the very least, we won't have to worry about this hidden danger all the time in the future. Perhaps the sect won't have to keep living in seclusion like this."

Speaking of this, a trace of excitement also appeared on Liu Yang's face.

Hearing this, Song Qingming's heart was about the same as Liu Yang's.

Demonic cultivators inherited from outside are not favored by the Heavenly Dao in this realm. Cultivators of this realm who kill those who practice demonic cultivation inheritances can all obtain some Heavenly Dao merit to a greater or lesser extent.

And accumulating too much Heavenly Dao merit can also invisibly remove the baleful energy formed on a cultivator because of killing other living beings, adding a few more points of luck favored by the Heavenly Dao on the cultivator's Dao path.

Exterminating an upper-realm True Demon naturally goes without saying; the Heavenly Dao merit that can be obtained certainly won't be little. Song Qingming also had a few expectations for this in his heart.

Just as the two were talking, the number of "Tai Xu Gate" disciples gathered in the great hall was increasing.

By the time everyone had almost arrived, "Daoist Lingxu," who had changed into a clean Daoist robe, walked in from outside with a calm expression. (End of chapter)