Chapter 89

"Okay, I'll set off in a while. Fourth Uncle, I'll trouble you here for the time being."

Hearing that the Great Elder was looking for him in a hurry, Song Qingming had a bad premonition in his heart.

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

Counting the time, the Great Elder's lifespan was 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 last much longer.

After a cultivator draws Qi into the body, he absorbs spiritual energy from heaven and earth to temper his physical body all year round. Normal cultivators cannot easily get sick like mortals.

The reason why the Great Elder fell ill was because he had reached the maximum moment when his lifespan was insufficient and his blood and energy were decaying. His own vitality had been severely damaged, so he was invaded by the sick body 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 miles away from the Song family. With Song Qingming rushing at full speed, he returned to Funiu Mountain in less than two days.

Although Song Qingming had been in Qinghe Market for a long time in these few years, he still needed to return to Funiu Mountain every few months to transport various spiritual items.

Most of the low-level materials received in the market had to be transported back to the family's Hidden Gold Pavilion on Funiu Mountain and handed over to the Fourth Elder, and then some finished spiritual 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 the past few years, the efficiency of the market shops had improved a lot, and the spirit stones earned for the family every year exceeded the Xuan Iron vein of Spirit Source Mountain.

Song Qingming just arrived at Funiu Mountain and suddenly saw that many white sails had been hung on the mountain road, and he secretly said that it was not good. He was still a step late despite rushing.

After going up the mountain, Song Qingming went directly to the Great Elder's cave dwelling behind the mountain. At this moment, many people surrounded this place. Besides the family cultivators who received the news, there were also many direct descendants of the Great Elder under the mountain.

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

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

Those who came here were all grandchildren and great-grandchildren, and their relationship with the Great Elder was not very close.

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

Fourth Elder Song Gucai was directing the funeral of the Great Elder on the spot. As an elder managing the family's 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 face was already old, his expression was very peaceful, and he looked like he had left very calmly.

"A few days ago, he looked in good spirits and was shouting to see you. I didn't expect this old guy to leave without even saying hello. Even I didn't know until the next day." Clan Leader Song Gushan saw Song Qingming come in and said to him, his tone still complaining about the Great Elder's departure without saying goodbye, and he couldn't help but shed a few more tears in his eyes.

Since the old Clan Leader took over as the Song family leader more than forty years ago, the Great Elder had always been his right-hand man in managing the family. The two 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 came up the mountain, the family foundation was still shallow, squeezed by nearby families, and surrounded by loose cultivators. The cultivation environment was much harder than it is now.

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

Song Qingming was also the first time to see the always strong old Clan Leader reveal the weakest side in his heart, and he was also very shocked in his heart.

He hesitated, but still didn't speak, walked to the Great Elder's bed, 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. He was thinking of seeing Song Qingming the day before, but he didn't expect that he couldn't wake up again after sleeping that night. It was the servant who came to take care of him who discovered his abnormality and hurriedly notified the Clan Leader.

Song Qingming didn't 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 things to entrust to him, but it's a pity that he didn't wait for Song Qingming to return.

The Song family has been established for two hundred years, and there are not many people who can exhaust their lifespan and sit and transform peacefully like the Great Elder. Most people have fallen in various disasters. The Great Elder can live to exhaust his lifespan and leave peacefully in his sleep, which can be considered a blessing for him.

The Great Elder's funeral was held very grandly. Not only did all the Song family cultivators outside return to Funiu Mountain, but the immortal cultivation families who were on good terms with the Song family also sent cultivators from their clans to mourn, and even the main family 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 wasn't until the Great Elder's remains were sent to the funeral that it slowly quieted down.

I didn't want the Song family to be quiet for long, and the mountain welcomed a special person, which stirred up a ripple on the already calm water surface.

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

Like Song Qingming, Song Qingze also returned a bit late.

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

It is thousands of miles away from the Carefree Sect gate to Qinghe County. Song Qingze's trip back was really 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's just that for him, who abandoned the family, he is not welcomed by everyone on Funiu Mountain now.

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, to be honest, was also a very big blow to the Great Elder. Even when Song Qingze left the mountain, the Great Elder didn't come out to send him off.

Now that the Great Elder has passed away, the Song family cultivators saw this Song Qingze who made the Great Elder very sad, and they all had resentment in their hearts, and they didn't even want to tell him the Great Elder's cemetery.

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

The Great Elder's cemetery was chosen in a place with birds singing and flowers fragrant at the foot of Funiu Mountain. 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 in front of the grave, he opened a jar of spiritual wine, poured a cup for the Great Elder, and sat alone in front of the Great Elder's tombstone.

It wasn't until the sun was about to come out the next day that Song Qingze silently got up and left here.

Song Qingze walked slowly down the mountain, but didn't want two people to appear on the road to stop him. It was Song Qingming and Eldest Brother Song Qingshi who had been waiting here long ago.

"Eldest Brother, Qingming." Song Qingze saw the two and rarely squeezed out a smile.

"Third Brother, it's not easy for you to come back once, so anxious to leave, don't you go home and see?"

Song Qingze gave a bitter smile: "It's 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 sadness."

(End of chapter)