Chapter 208

After wandering around outside, by the time Song Qingming returned to Mount Funiu, the beautiful morning glow had already appeared on the snow-white horizon.

Looking at the Song family mortals who had been multiplying and living near the family's spiritual mountain for hundreds of years, Song Qingming felt that sometimes he was truly not as carefree as an ordinary mortal.

Back then, he had thought that as long as his cultivation improved and he had some self-preservation ability in the cultivation world, he would have no worries.

Only now did he slowly discover that as his cultivation improved, his needs also grew larger. To successfully improve his cultivation, he often needed to take some risks.

Many times, you couldn't predict these dangers in advance. Just like when he went to the Floating Cloud Mountain Range with the Huang family—although he had guessed there would be some trouble at the time, he never would have imagined that they would provoke a Golden Core-level Demon King on that trip, and that he himself would be targeted by a big figure of the demon clan like Huo Feng.

Over ten days ago, when Huang Shengyue came to Mount Funiu to invite Song Qingming to the Taiyue Secret Realm, Song Qingming had made up his mind not to get involved in such a dangerous place.

The reason he hadn't refused to her face at the time was also out of consideration for the relationship between the Huang family and the Song family; he truly couldn't bring himself to reject Huang Shengyue's face directly.

Having experienced the feeling of having his life controlled by others at any moment in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range, Song Qingming was truly afraid. After returning, he just wanted to live a few years of peaceful life; unless it was absolutely necessary, he wouldn't go to such dangerous places again.

However, heaven did not grant one's wishes. After Song Qingming returned from the Xiaoyao Sect and was just about to write a letter to the Huang family to tactfully decline the matter, Huo Feng's arrival bound him to it completely once again.

Having only lived in peace for five years, he now had to live in fear and hang his head on his belt again. Song Qingming truly had bitterness he couldn't speak of.

Yesterday, when he arrived at the Huang family's Mount Taiyuan, Song Qingming had initially pretended not to want to go when he saw Huang Shengyue. It wasn't until Huang Shengyue had persuaded him earnestly once again that he finally reluctantly agreed to the matter.

Then, Song Qingming took the opportunity to inquire about the Taiyue Lake Secret Realm in detail from Huang Shengyue again, so as to make some preparations for his next actions.

After all, the Huang family was a Foundation Establishment family that had been passed down for nearly a thousand years. They had entered the secret realm many times and rarely made mistakes; their understanding of what was inside was already very familiar.

According to Huang Shengyue's description, the Taiyue Lake Secret Realm was a huge valley, divided into inner and outer sections.

Generally, family cultivators like the Huang family searched for spiritual items in the outer valley. As long as one's luck was good, the rare treasures Huang Shengyue had mentioned could be found in the outer valley.

As for the inner valley, no one from the Huang family had ever entered it in all these years, so naturally, they didn't know what rare spiritual items were inside.

According to what Huang Shengyue told him, only a few nearby large sects like the Xiaoyao Sect had fixed methods for entering the inner valley.

When they went in, they just needed to stay in the outer valley with peace of mind. If they wandered around and accidentally entered the inner valley and encountered those large sect cultivators, even a Foundation Establishment expert like Huang Shengxin would find it very difficult to survive.

After all, this secret realm only opened once every few decades. Every time this happened, large sects like the Xiaoyao Sect would send many Foundation Establishment experts into it. If you accidentally offended them, even if you were a ninth-level Foundation Establishment cultivator, it would be very difficult to survive once inside.

After returning to Mount Funiu, Song Qingming quickly locked himself in his cave dwelling. Fortunately, there were still a few months until the Taiyue Lake Secret Realm opened, so he still had time to make some preparations for himself in advance.

A few months later, in the Taiyue Lake Market, a man in green was sitting by the window on the second floor of a restaurant, looking down at the crowd coming and going below.

"In the past few days, there have been many more unfamiliar Foundation Establishment cultivators in the market. It seems the time for the secret realm to open should be arriving very soon."

The man in green picked up a cup of spiritual tea and was just about to put it to his mouth when, unexpectedly, a beautiful red figure suddenly appeared in the empty seat at his table.

"Fellow Daoist Song, it's been many years. I didn't expect to run into you here. You came here at this time—could it be that you are also here for the secret realm?"

"Fellow Daoist Xu, greetings. I have been to Mount Guyang many times to find you over the past few years, but I never succeeded. So, you had come here."

Song Qingming looked at the familiar red figure, his face full of surprise. He hadn't expected that Xu Ziyan, whom he had specifically gone to find several times but failed to see, would appear before his eyes like this.

"You misunderstood, Fellow Daoist. Over these years, I have often been outside performing sect missions and haven't returned to Mount Guyang much, so it's normal to have missed each other. I also only came here not long ago following the sect's arrangements."

"So that's how it is. Come to think of it, my luck has truly been a bit poor these past few years, to have never run into you even once." Song Qingming nodded in sudden realization.

Xu Ziyan smiled, blinked, and said softly, "Fellow Daoist Song has only been at the Foundation Establishment stage for a dozen years, yet you have already cultivated to the third level. How could you be someone with poor luck? You are being too modest."

"Even so, compared to you, Fellow Daoist Xu, my cultivation is barely worth looking at. Come to think of it, I was able to reach Foundation Establishment back then thanks to your help. I have always wanted to repay you over these years but never had the chance. If you have any needs in the future, Fellow Daoist, I hope you will remember me. As long as it is within my power, I, Song, will certainly not decline." After speaking, Song Qingming lowered his head and bowed to Xu Ziyan again.

"You are too polite, Fellow Daoist Song. We are all people who cultivate the Dao; supporting each other is a normal thing. I have known you for many years, ever since we were in the Qi Refining stage, so there is no need for such formalities." Xu Ziyan smiled and waved her hand at Song Qingming, then asked, "Fellow Daoist Song, did you come here alone this time?"

"With my meager cultivation, how would I dare to come here alone to join in the fun? I came here following the Huang family of Mount Taiyuan this time. It's just that I arrived early, and I was feeling bored these past few days, so I came out for a walk alone. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence to run into you, Fellow Daoist Xu. Since you are here today, the Xiaoyao Sect cultivators should have all arrived, right? I wonder if the time for the secret realm to open is also fast approaching."

Song Qingming knew that Xu Ziyan was probing his background this time, but since he had come under the guise of the Huang family, he wasn't afraid of such things getting out, so he very generously spilled the beans about all the Huang family cultivators.

His main goal in coming here this time was not for any rare spiritual items. Once he entered the secret realm, as long as he could cooperate well with Huo Feng and save his own life, that would be a great success.

As for why Xu Ziyan would appear here, even if she didn't answer, Song Qingming knew that she was representing the Xiaoyao Sect. Although Xu Ziyan's cultivation was only at the fourth level of Foundation Establishment, as a Foundation Establishment cultivator who had not used a Foundation Establishment Pill, her strength would certainly be a cut above cultivators of the same level. Song Qingming was not surprised at all that she would appear in the Xiaoyao Sect's team.

There were many Foundation Establishment cultivators coming to the Taiyue Lake Secret Realm this time. Those with cultivation like Song Qingming's were generally not alone; they were more or less organized. With their relatively low cultivation, they could only use this method to huddle together for warmth in order to survive more easily inside.