Chapter 81: The Wanderer Returns Home

After breaking through his cultivation base, Song Qingming suddenly dissolved more than a dozen low-grade spirit stones and used this spiritual energy to slowly stabilize his cultivation.

It was not until five days later that Song Qingming completely stabilized his cultivation at the seventh level of Qi Refining. Subsequently, he ended his closed-door cultivation that had lasted for more than half a month and walked out of the gate of his cave dwelling.

Standing at a height of a thousand feet on Mount Guiyun, Song Qingming looked at the market below, which was as small as stars, and the thoughts in his mind surged like a sea of clouds.

Since he went down the mountain to guard Mount Lingyuan at the age of twenty, it has been only ten years. Song Qingming has gone from a bottom-level cultivator who was confused about his path and had just broken through the fourth level of Qi Refining to finally becoming a late-stage Qi Refining cultivator with a mature mind.

Once the cultivation base reaches the late stage of Qi Refining, the cultivator's spiritual sense can be released outside the body. Song Qingming closed his eyes tightly and used his spiritual sense to probe the surroundings, discovering that he could sense every blade of grass and tree within a radius of ten feet around him through his spiritual sense.

After the spiritual sense is released, it is easier for a cultivator to perceive the opponent's moves in advance during a fight. This is also the biggest reason why late-stage Qi Refining cultivators have much stronger fighting abilities than mid-stage Qi Refining cultivators.

Half an hour later, Song Qingming put away his thoughts and slowly walked down Mount Guiyun to the Feiyun Guard station in the market.

In the station, the Xiaoyao Sect cultivator on duty saw that Song Qingming had successfully broken through his cultivation and said with some envy:

"Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Song. You finally successfully broke through your cultivation this time in closed-door cultivation. However, you came at a really bad time. The Eleventh Guard has already received the mission and set off a few days ago. Do you want to wait, or should I introduce you to go to another guard temporarily?"

For this closed-door breakthrough, Song Qingming had already asked for leave from the Feiyun Guard early on. This was the third time in the past two years.

Song Qingming shook his head and replied: "No need to trouble Fellow Daoist Li. I am preparing to leave Guiyun Market for a period of time. This time I want to temporarily resign from the position of Feiyun Guard. Please help me handle the handover matters. When Captain Lu returns, please inform him for me."

Hearing that Song Qingming wanted to resign from the Feiyun Guard position, the Xiaoyao Sect cultivator on duty hurriedly persuaded him a few times. In recent years, the Feiyun Guard has been short of manpower, and the departure of every Feiyun Guard cultivator is a very troublesome thing for them.

"Leaving this time is also because when I left home, I agreed with my family on the date of return. Now that the agreed date is approaching, I am really afraid that I will be late, making my family worry."

Seeing that Song Qingming had made up his mind to leave, the man did not try to persuade him further. He quickly helped Song Qingming exchange his remaining merit points for spirit stones and handed them to him.

After leaving the Flying Cloud Guard, Song Qingming went to the Sky Wind Pavilion, booked a table, and invited Shi Chun and the other two to meet him there to bid them farewell.

In all the years Song Qingming had been at Guiyun Market, he hadn't made many true friends. Shi Chun and the others had all extended a helping hand when he needed it most, a fact Song Qingming had always kept in his heart.

Shi Chun’s cultivation had progressed rapidly over these years and he was not far from the late stage of Qi Refining. After Zhang Tieshan broke through two years ago, his cultivation had reached the eighth layer of Qi Refining. Only Qin Yuniang seemed to have little interest in cultivation, remaining at the fourth layer of Qi Refining.

Although Hu Daozhen of the Sky Wind Pavilion had average talent for cultivation, he had earned plenty of resources through his skills as a spiritual chef. A rogue cultivator by origin, he had reached the fifth layer of Qi Refining before the age of thirty, progressing no slower than those cultivators from small families like the Song family of Mount Funiu.

The group stayed at the Sky Wind Pavilion from daytime until late into the night.

Just as they were about to part ways, Song Qingming suddenly said to Shi Chun and the others, "Fellow Daoists, I have forgotten to explain one thing to you. Actually, my name is not Song San. I am Song Qingming, a family cultivator. If you wish to find me in the future, you can come to Mount Funiu in Qinghe County."

Upon hearing Song Qingming’s words, Shi Chun and the others did not show much surprise. Just as Song Qingming had expected, they were all rogue cultivators who had spent many years in the markets and were long accustomed to cultivators like Song Qingming who did not use their real names.

Qin Yuniang giggled and said, "Actually, we knew all along that you couldn't possibly be named something as ordinary as Song San. But since you, Brother Song, are willing to tell us the truth, it means you truly consider us friends."

"Song San was my name before I began my path of cultivation; it is indeed very ordinary."

After bidding farewell to Shi Chun and the others, Song Qingming packed his belongings and set off to leave Guiyun Market early the next morning.

Before he went into seclusion, Song Qingming had already decided that as soon as he successfully broke through to the late stage of Qi Refining, he would return to Qinghe County immediately.

Having been out training for nearly four years, although Song Qingming had not been able to find precise information regarding a Foundation Establishment Pill, he had broken through to the late stage of Qi Refining, which could be considered the completion of a goal he had set for himself.

Over these years in the Flying Cloud Guard, both his combat ability and his mindset when facing danger had grown significantly. Compared to the person he was four years ago, he had undergone a very obvious transformation.

After leaving Guiyun Market, Song Qingming channeled the Gale Technique he had just learned, his figure turning into a gust of wind as he leaped rapidly through the mountains and forests.

Once his cultivation reached the late stage of Qi Refining, his travel speed was much faster than before. After channeling his spiritual power to lighten his weight, he could even run rapidly across thin branches in the trees, as if gliding through the air.

Just as Song Qingming was rushing back to Qinghe County, at Mount Funiu in Qinghe County, the worried Great Elder of the Song family, Song Gubai, was discussing a major matter concerning the future fate of the Song family with the Clan Leader, Song Gushan.

"Clan Leader, we cannot let Qingze go to the Carefree Sect. He is the person with the highest cultivation talent our Song family has seen in decades, and he is the hope for the family's future prosperity."

Song Gushan looked at the Great Elder who had worked alongside him for decades for the sake of the Song family. After a long while, he nodded and said with some difficulty, "Third Brother, how could I not know what you are saying? You also know that the candidate we had originally selected was Qingyu, but now that Qingze has taken the initiative to propose that he wants to go to the Carefree Sect, and he has come to tell me himself, he has already made up his mind. How can I forcibly obstruct him? After all, this concerns his path of Dao."

"Qingyu is still young, and we don't know if her future path will be smooth. Currently, Qingze is the only one of the 'Qing' generation who can shoulder the burden. If he goes to the Carefree Sect, once Changfeng and the others are gone, if the family's succession of cultivators fails, I fear the family will immediately decline and find it difficult to escape the fate of being swallowed up by surrounding family forces." Song Gubai sighed unwillingly and continued.

Song Gushan gave a bitter smile and said, "Do not be too disheartened. How many setbacks and hardships has the family endured over the past two hundred years? Haven't we survived them all? Qingze chose to take the initiative to join the Carefree Sect, which shows that in his heart, the development of the family is far less important than his own path of Dao. To be honest, if the family were truly handed over to him in the future, Fourth Brother, could you really rest easy?"

"Since he has chosen to go to the Carefree Sect, I have thought it over and decided to let him go. If we force him to stay, it is inevitable that he will harbor resentment toward the family in the future, which may not necessarily be a good thing for the family. It is just that the road to the Carefree Sect is long and arduous, and his future will have to depend on himself. The family has done all it could for him over these many years."

(End of chapter)