Chapter 193

After chasing for dozens of miles, just as Huang Shengyue and Song Qingming were about to catch up to Gao Yubai, a black light appeared on the horizon in the distance, flying rapidly toward them. Gao Yubai was overjoyed at the sight and hurriedly increased his escape speed.

Seeing that the person arriving was Lu Xingde, Huang Shengyue and Song Qingming couldn't help but sigh, voluntarily stopping their pursuit and turning back the way they came.

In fact, they hadn't really intended to kill Gao Yubai from the start. It was just that as they fought, they realized this kid was quite formidable, and both got a bit carried away, wanting to solve this future trouble right there. It wasn't until they saw Lu Xingde coming that they finally sobered up and voluntarily retreated.

By the time they returned, Duanliu Mountain had already been jointly breached by the Huang and Song family cultivators below. Except for four or five higher-level cultivators who fought their way out, the rest of the Gao and Lu family members had died there.

Because the Huang and Song families were well-prepared and joined forces to outnumber the enemy, they didn't suffer many losses after the battle, with only a few cultivators suffering minor injuries.

After killing the Gao family cultivators who had occupied their territory, the Huang family members, who had been suppressed for months, cheered for a while before immediately starting to take over the Duanliu Mountain mine.

Because the Gao family had also been mining here during this time, they had maintained the original mine very well and hadn't made things difficult for the Huang family mortals who were mining here. Everything at the Duanliu Mountain refined copper mine was well-preserved, and it wouldn't be long before it could operate normally again.

After taking the Duanliu Mountain mine, Song Qingming specifically left Ninth Uncle Song Changxin with eight cultivators to help the Huang family guard the mine.

Duanliu Mountain is located at the border between the Huang and Lu families. Having a piece of territory here symbolizes that the Song family must also stand up and share this pressure with the Huang family.

Huang Shengyue initially gave 40% of the shares of Duanliu Mountain to the Song family for this very purpose: to pull the Song family in to share some of the pressure on the front line.

Song Qingming had already understood this when he decided to get involved. Their joint action with the Huang family this time could be considered a painful blow to the Gao family. The Song family was now firmly tied to the Huang family's chariot, and it was impossible to withdraw for the time being.

After discussing the joint development of Duanliu Mountain with Huang Shengyue, Song Qingming took the remaining Song family cultivators and returned to Funiu Mountain.

Next, Song Qingming didn't choose to go to Qinghe Market to see Gao Jinhe either. Instead, he replied to his letter, directly rejecting the Gao family's request to exchange shops with the Song family.

Since he already knew the situation on the Huang family's side, Song Qingming naturally wouldn't worry about the Gao family daring to continue attacking the Song family. After the battle of Duanliu Mountain, the Huang family and the Song family were completely tied together. If the Gao family wanted to attack the Song family, the Huang family naturally wouldn't sit idly by.

For these cultivation families, if they want to seize more cultivation resources, they have to rely on strength. When Song Qingming disappeared, the Song family lost the protection of a Foundation Establishment cultivator and naturally lost the qualification to occupy more resources.

Even if the Gao family didn't target them, other Foundation Establishment families would eventually attack them. This is the iron rule of the cultivation world: resources are in the hands of high-level cultivators.

After this letter was delivered to Qinghe Market, Gao Jinhe didn't reply, nor did he make any reaction or send cultivators to Funiu Mountain again, as if the previous events had never happened. The Gao and Song families no longer had any interaction.

After the Huang family recaptured Duanliu Mountain, it caused a huge stir in Qinghe County. Overnight, the Huang family restored most of its former prestige, stabilized the morale of the many subordinate cultivation families, and broke the rumors that had been circulating for months that the Huang family patriarch was dead.

However, apart from recapturing Duanliu Mountain, the Huang family didn't continue to take action. The Gao and Lu families also returned to the calm of a few months ago, also making no moves. Neither side took any further action, making Qinghe County seem to have suddenly fallen into an eerie calm.

Just in this hard-won calm, less than two months later, Song Qingming, who was in seclusion, unexpectedly received news from Mujiao Town at the foot of the mountain that his mother was seriously ill.

Since reaching Foundation Establishment, Song Qingming had rarely returned to his home at the foot of the mountain, but his mother remained a worldly tie he could not let go of.

Song's mother was over seventy years old, which was already a rare advanced age in the secular world. Hearing the news that she was seriously ill, Song Qingming knew that the old lady's time was likely running out.

Putting aside his cultivation, Song Qingming went directly to Mujiao Town.

Over the years, the Song family had developed relatively rapidly, constantly expanding existing mortal villages, which also increased the number of family mortals. Before Song Qingming went down the mountain, the entire Song family had only twenty thousand mortals; now it had almost doubled.

Just as he arrived in Mujiao Town, Song Qingming saw his Fifth Brother, Song Qingyuan, already waiting there.

"Greetings, Supreme Elder!"

Song Qingming nodded and said: "Fifth Brother, there's no need for such formalities here. You go attend to your business first. If I need anything, I will come find you."

For the 'Qing' generation, cultivators older than Song Qingming basically had no room for progress in their Dao path. Most had already started families and went out to take on relatively easy positions.

Eldest Brother Song Qingshi, Fourth Brother Song Qingrui, and Sixth Brother Song Qinghe had all started families over the years. Fourth Brother, who married earliest, now had a bunch of children. Half a year ago, one of his children was tested and found to have spiritual roots, which made him overjoyed. He, who had already stopped paying attention to cultivation, was now focused on paving the way for his child's future.

These people had no hope for their Dao path in this life. Being able to enjoy the remaining days and add a few children with spiritual roots to the family, placing their hopes on the next generation, was also killing two birds with one stone.

Just as he walked into the house, Song Qingming saw his Fourth Brother and his wife sitting in the main hall.

They were both over fifty years old. Although they had lived a life of wealth and luxury without suffering, they were now starting to walk with a limp.

Seeing Song Qingming walk in, Fourth Brother was so excited that he almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, his eldest nephew, Yunshan, who was already the head of the household, supported his father in time, and they led Song Qingming to the backyard together.

Seeing his mother, who was bedridden and had become much thinner, Song Qingming couldn't help but shed a few tears.

"Mother hasn't been able to eat anything for half a month, only taking some soup. A few days ago, she called your name a few times and then suddenly fell asleep. She hasn't woken up for several days, so we had no choice but to entrust someone to go up the mountain to notify you." His Second Sister, who was taking care of her by the bed, also had a head full of white hair. Her eyes were red as she spoke, and she must have shed many tears over the past few days.

"Second Sister, I have a spiritual elixir here that should be able to wake Mother up first. You can take care of her and have her take it later." After Song Qingming finished speaking, he left a pill by the bed and turned to walk out, feeling lonely.