Chapter 237: Taking Stock of the Harvest

Regarding why the Spirit Hidden Sect cultivators suffered such heavy losses, many different speculations have suddenly circulated throughout the Taiyue Lake marketplace. Some say they encountered a formidable Tier 3 spirit beast and suffered the consequences of being careless and underestimating the enemy. Others claim they were besieged by disciples of the Starfall Gate and the Carefree Sect after snatching a precious high-grade spiritual item. There are even more outrageous rumors claiming they encountered non-existent spatial rifts within the secret realm.

As for the truth of the matter, apart from the involved parties from the major sects, Song Qingming is the only one in the entire Taiyue Lake marketplace who knows some of the real reasons.

After emerging from the inner valley that day and parting ways with her, although Song Qingming did not witness what happened afterward with his own eyes, from the fragments of these rumors, he has guessed that the reason for the Spirit Hidden Sect's heavy losses is very likely because they set their sights on the Fire Phoenix later on.

Of course, this is only a guess in Song Qingming's heart. In reality, he does not know what happened afterward. He cannot even confirm whether the Fire Phoenix managed to escape the Spirit Hidden Sect's hands and eventually walked out of the secret realm.

Naturally, it is not that he has no way to contact the Fire Phoenix. When she gave him the five-colored feather, the Fire Phoenix had instructed him on how to use it to initiate contact with her. However, without any reason or pressing matter, Song Qingming truly did not dare to use the item casually.

Upon hearing the rumors about the Spirit Hidden Sect, for a fleeting moment, a thought even crossed Song Qingming's mind: if the Fire Phoenix had truly died in the secret realm, it would actually be a good thing. At the very least, he would never have to worry about being coerced by her again.

But as soon as he thought of the Fire Phoenix's cold gaze, Song Qingming quickly shook his head and cast this thought from his heart. During this trip to the Taiyue Secret Realm, she had actually acted quite decently toward him; not only did she not use him as cannon fodder, but she also gave him quite a few good things. It could be said she did not treat him unfairly.

It is just a pity that she is of the demon race. As a human cultivator, Song Qingming can never view her as a backer. Otherwise, if he could find such a powerful thigh to hug among human cultivators, Song Qingming and the entire Song family would likely wake up laughing in their dreams.

Half a month later, Song Qingming followed the few members of the Huang family and hurried back to Qinghe County. Although they were still a group of four, they were much more cautious on the road compared to when they set out. Fortunately, they returned to their respective territories steadily without any accidents.

When the Clan Head Song Changfeng and the others saw that Song Qingming, whom they had been longing for, had finally returned safely, they all revealed long-lost smiles. The hearts they had been holding in suspense for these past few months were finally set at ease. As the only Foundation Establishment cultivator in the clan, Song Qingming's safety was tied to the future destiny of the entire Song family at every moment; they could not help but be so worried.

Especially since the Song family had already experienced a situation a few years ago where Song Qingming suddenly went missing. That time, the Song family was almost targeted by other immortal cultivation families, becoming fish on a chopping block, waiting to be slaughtered.

The Song family has now become a Foundation Establishment family, and the status of the clan's cultivators in Qinghe County has undergone a heaven-shaking change compared to over a decade ago. Having experienced this, no cultivator of the Song family would want to return to being a small Qi Refining family that had to look at others' faces everywhere.

When they heard that Song Qingming was going to explore the secret realm with the Huang family, Song Changfeng and the others had once tried to persuade Song Qingming not to take the risk.

Although this trip to the secret realm was not Song Qingming's original intention from the start, his prestige within the Song family has grown increasingly high. The opinions of these elders, including Song Changfeng, are now actually very difficult to sway his decisions as the Supreme Elder.

As for the elders, although Song Qingming is still very respectful toward them on the surface, after all, their cultivation bases are different, and there is a great difference in their horizons for viewing things. Many of the ideas held by these people are relatively conservative.

When a cultivator's cultivation realm improves, many things that Qi Refining cultivators feel are important are, in the eyes of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, very likely to be trivial matters.

Having stayed with the Huang family members for so many days, Song Qingming did not dare to reveal even a bit of what he had obtained in the secret realm. Only now, after returning to his own cave dwelling, did Song Qingming have the opportunity to take out all his gains and properly take stock of them.

When acting with the Huang family members, although he was allocated a few spiritual herbs, compared to what he obtained later in the inner valley, these could only be considered minor in comparison.

After he and the Fire Phoenix entered the inner valley, although the higher-grade spiritual items all fell into her hands, Song Qingming, relying on his "take-all" attitude, still managed to pluck quite a few spiritual items within the limited time.

Just the Tier 1 spiritual items numbered over a hundred, and there were more than thirty Tier 2 or higher spiritual herbs and fruits, plus over a dozen types of spiritual fruits that are relatively rare in the marketplace. Adding these things together, they would be enough to exchange for tens of thousands of spirit stones in the marketplace.

His own, plus two others whose contents were clearly not his, should have come from other lone cultivators he intercepted and killed.

In these few storage bags, besides a pile of magic tools and over a dozen spiritual herbs, Song Qingming also found more than two thousand spirit stones, which did not disappoint him.

Apart from these things, the two best spiritual items Song Qingming obtained on this trip to the secret realm were still the Tier 2 high-grade copper bell obtained from the Taiyue Hall and the Earth Spirit Dew given to him by the Fire Phoenix at the end.

The former is a Tier 2 high-grade defensive magic tool, which is the best Tier 2 magic tool Song Qingming has seen so far. With it, Song Qingming has finally filled the gap of not having a suitable defensive magic tool on his person.

As for the Earth Spirit Dew, its value, to be honest, is no worse than the former for Song Qingming, and it is the spiritual item he is most satisfied with from this trip to the secret realm.

Having cultivated for so many years since entering the Dao, because his spirit root aptitude is too ordinary, Song Qingming's cultivation speed has never been very fast. That he was able to successfully reach Foundation Establishment before the age of fifty was entirely the result of forcibly stacking various elixirs.

Although elixirs, these acquired refined spiritual items, can greatly accelerate one's cultivation speed, taking too many will also produce elixir toxins and increase the cultivator's drug resistance. After reaching Foundation Establishment, Song Qingming has deeply felt this point and slowly controlled the quantity of elixirs he takes.

But the Earth Spirit Dew, this innate, original spiritual item, is different. Taking it will not leave these hidden dangers on one's body, and the improvement in cultivation will be more solid than taking elixirs.

However, this kind of innate spiritual item cannot be used indefinitely. For Earth Spirit Dew, a cultivator can only refine one bottle in a lifetime; any more will have no effect. Otherwise, when Song Qingming knew at the time that the Fire Phoenix had Earth Spirit Dew, even if it meant exhausting his family fortune, he would have found a way to exchange for a few more bottles from her.