Chapter 89: The Great Elder Sits and Transforms

"Good, I will set off in a while. Fourth Uncle, I will trouble you to look after this side for now."

As soon as he heard that the Great Elder was urgently looking for him, Song Qingming had a bad premonition in his heart.

Ever since the Great Elder stepped down from his position a few years ago, he had been living in his own cave dwelling in the back mountain and rarely took the initiative to go out.

Calculating the time, the Great Elder's lifespan was already running out. Song Qingming returned to Funiu Mountain half a year ago and heard the news that the Great Elder had fallen ill. At that time, he already knew in his heart that the Great Elder's lifespan could not persist for much longer.

After a cultivator draws Qi into the body, they absorb spiritual energy from heaven and earth all year round to temper their flesh. Normal cultivators cannot easily get sick like mortals.

The reason the Great Elder fell ill was because he had reached the greatest moment of insufficient lifespan and decaying essence and blood. His own vitality had already been severely damaged, which was why he was invaded by the illness and lingered on the sickbed.

After a simple handover with Fourth Uncle, Song Qingming hurriedly left Qinghe Market.

Qinghe Market is only a few hundred li away from the Song family. With Song Qingming going all out, he returned to Funiu Mountain in less than two days.

In these few years, although Song Qingming was in Qinghe Market for a long time, he still needed to return to Funiu Mountain once every few months to transport various spirit items back and forth.

Most of the low-tier materials collected in the market had to be transported back to the Hidden Gold Pavilion of the family and handed over to the Fourth Elder, and then some finished spirit items were transported from the Hidden Gold Pavilion to Qinghe Market for sale.

These two shops in Qinghe Market were a very important industry for the family. In these few years, the efficiency of the market shops had improved quite a bit, and the spirit stones earned for the family every year even exceeded the Xuan Iron vein of Lingyuan Mountain.

Just as Song Qingming arrived at Funiu Mountain, he suddenly saw that many white sails had been hung on the mountain road, and he secretly said "not good" in his heart. Even though he rushed, he was still a step late.

After going up the mountain, Song Qingming walked quickly to the Great Elder's cave dwelling behind the mountain. At this moment, many people surrounded this place. Apart from the family cultivators who received the news, there were also many direct descendants of the Great Elder down the mountain.

These people, whether they were cultivators or mortals, were all in plain white clothes, and from time to time, bursts of sad crying and shouting came.

The Great Elder had also married and had children early in his life. However, his wife and children were all ordinary mortals and had long since exhausted their lifespans and left the world.

Those who came here were all people of his grandson and great-grandson generation, and their relationship with the Great Elder was no longer very close.

"Qingming, you are back. Hurry in, the Clan Leader is also inside."

Fourth Elder, Song Gucai, was directing the funeral arrangements for the Great Elder on the spot. As the elder managing the family's miscellaneous affairs, he was already busy at this moment. Seeing that Song Qingming finally rushed back, he hurriedly greeted him to go in and pay homage to the Great Elder's remains first.

After entering the Great Elder's cave dwelling, Song Qingming saw the Great Elder lying peacefully on the bed in the cave dwelling. Although his appearance was already aged, his expression was very peaceful, and it looked like he had left very calmly.

"A few days ago, his spirit was still quite good, and he was clamoring to see you. I didn't expect this old fellow to leave without saying a word, and even I only knew about it the next day." Clan Leader Song Gushan saw Song Qingming come in and said to him. His tone still had some complaints about the Great Elder's departure without saying goodbye, and he could not help but shed a few more tears in his eyes.

Ever since the old Clan Leader took over as the Song Clan Leader forty years ago, the Great Elder had always been his right-hand man in managing the family. The two had supported each other for decades, and their feelings were naturally deeper than others.

The Song family had only been in Qinghe County for two hundred years. When their generation of cultivators first went up the mountain, the family foundation was still shallow, the nearby families squeezed them out, and the loose cultivators around them watched them like tigers. The cultivation environment was much harder than it is now.

It was precisely by relying on the tireless accumulation of several generations of cultivators that they exchanged for the relatively stable cultivation environment of the Song family today.

This was also the first time Song Qingming saw the old Clan Leader, who was always strong, reveal the weakest side in his heart, which also shocked him very much.

He hesitated for a moment, but still did not open his mouth. He walked to the bed of the Great Elder, lit a stick of clear incense, knelt down and kowtowed respectfully a few times, then inserted the incense into the incense burner in front of the bed, bowed to the old Clan Leader, and quietly exited the cave dwelling, leaving the little peace at this moment to the two old people inside.

Just as the Clan Leader said, the Great Elder sat and transformed very suddenly. The day before, he was still thinking about seeing Song Qingming, but he did not expect that he would not be able to wake up again after sleeping that night. It was still the servant who came to take care of him who discovered his abnormality and hurriedly notified the Clan Leader.

Song Qingming did not know why the Great Elder suddenly wanted to see him before sitting and transforming. He just felt in his heart that the Great Elder might have very important matters to entrust to him, but it was a pity that he did not wait for Song Qingming to return.

The Song family had been established for two hundred years. There were not many who could exhaust their lifespans like the Great Elder and sit and transform peacefully. Most people fell in various disasters. The Great Elder being able to live until his lifespan was exhausted and leave peacefully in his sleep could also be considered a blessing for him.

The Great Elder's funeral was held very grandly. Not only did all the Song family cultivators outside rush back to Funiu Mountain, but the cultivation families that were on good terms with the Song family also sent cultivators from their clans to mourn. Even the main branch of the Song family, the Huang family, specifically sent people over.

Funiu Mountain was lively for four or five days in a row, and it was only after the Great Elder's remains were sent to the funeral that it slowly quieted down.

Unexpectedly, not long after the Song family quieted down, the mountain welcomed another special person, which caused a ripple on the already calm water surface.

Third Brother, Song Qingze, who had already joined the Xiaoyao Sect, returned to Funiu Mountain from thousands of miles away, wanting to pay homage to the Great Elder who had already passed away.

Like Song Qingming, Song Qingze also returned somewhat late.

It was just that he missed the last side with the Great Elder, while Song Qingze missed the Great Elder's funeral.

Returning from the Xiaoyao Sect mountain gate to Qinghe County was thousands of li away. This trip of Song Qingze was truly not easy. Judging from the time, he should have rushed on the road as soon as he received the news of the Great Elder's passing.

It was just that for him, who had abandoned the family, he was not welcomed by everyone on Funiu Mountain today.

Especially since the Great Elder had high hopes for him, and the old Clan Leader had spent all his efforts to cultivate him over the years, Song Qingze's choice to leave Funiu Mountain back then was truly a very big blow to the Great Elder. Even when Song Qingze left the mountain, the Great Elder did not come out to send him off.

Now that the Great Elder had passed away, the Song family cultivators saw this Song Qingze who made the Great Elder very sad, and they all had some resentment in their hearts. They were not even willing to inform him of the Great Elder's burial ground.

In the end, it was Second Uncle, Song Changwu, and Twelfth Aunt, Song Changyun, who had relatively simple personalities who pointed him in a direction, and Song Qingze found the Great Elder's burial ground.

The Great Elder's burial ground was chosen at the foot of Funiu Mountain, a place where birds sang and flowers were fragrant. The scenery was quite beautiful, and it was not too far from Mujiao Town, which was also convenient for his descendants to pay homage.

After Song Qingze paid homage at the grave, he opened a jar of spirit wine, poured a cup for the Great Elder, and sat alone in front of the Great Elder's tombstone.

It was not until the sun was about to come out the next day that Song Qingze silently stood up and left here.

Song Qingze walked slowly down the mountain, but two people appeared on the road and stopped his footsteps. They were Song Qingming and Big Brother, Song Qingshi, who had been waiting here long ago.

"Big Brother, Qingming." Song Qingze saw the two and barely squeezed out a smiling face.

"Third Brother, it was not easy for you to come back once. Leaving in such a hurry, don't you want to go home and see?"

Song Qingze gave a bitter smile: "It is rare that you still call me Third Brother. My parents at home have already passed away a few years ago, and there are not many ties left. Going back is just adding to the sadness."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 90 =====