The next morning, on a high mountain two hundred miles away from Guiyunfang, the master and apprentice from Li's Grocery Store were sitting in a bamboo pavilion shrouded in mist to rest.
"Master, you may have passed on the Taixu Sword to the wrong person. I saw that kid and he has very poor aptitude. He only has four spiritual roots. How can he practice your Taixu Sword Technique?"
The middle-aged Taoist shop owner stood up and looked at Guiyuanfang, which was a hundred miles away. He then said to his puzzled disciple behind him:
"Xingyun, you are still too young. In the path of cultivation, spiritual root aptitude is certainly important, but you can't dwell on it blindly. In ancient times, spiritual root aptitude was not that important. Even those with five spiritual roots were many who ascended to become immortals. It was nothing more than a matter of chance."
"You've been practicing in the secular world with me for these years, but it's been hard on you. When I return this time, I'll be in seclusion for a while. You should come with me. You're not far from a breakthrough. Prepare yourself well. I'll find some spiritual objects for you when I come out of seclusion."
Upon hearing this, the young cultivator was immediately delighted and said respectfully, "Thank you, Master. Are you planning to return to the sect?"
"I've been out for so long, it's time to go back and take a look."
A gentle breeze blew across the hills, and the mist dissipated. However, the two figures were no longer seen in the bamboo pavilion. The surrounding area, including the entire mountain, was silent as if no one had ever been there.
——
Song Qingming found an inn in the market town yesterday and left Guiyunfang early in the morning. Along the way, Song Qingming traveled during the day and rested at night without wasting a moment.
Song Qingming first went east from Guiyunfang to Pingyang County, then went south through Pingyang County. After walking for more than half a month, he finally returned to Qinghe County.
Between the trip and the return, Song Qingming had been outside for more than two months. He had walked almost several thousand miles and had also seen the vast world outside.
The peak of Funiu Mountain pierces the clouds in the sky, and an artificially carved bluestone staircase is like an extremely long blue dragon, embedded in the entire mountain from the top of the mountain.
On a huge rock in the pavilion halfway up the mountain, a strong man in blue clothes, about forty years old, was sitting upright with his eyes closed, motionless like an old monk in meditation, as if he had merged into one with the mountain.
Not long after, the sturdy man suddenly opened his eyes, then quickly formed seals with his hands. A stream of spiritual energy shot out from between his fingers onto a smooth bluestone in front of him. A lot of blue light suddenly emerged from a circular area in the middle of the bluestone, slowly forming a mirror. A young man in blue clothes appeared in the mirror. He walked through the bluestone archway at the foot of the mountain, quickly jumped over the steps and headed towards the top of the mountain. It was Song Qingming.
This bluestone is also a rare mid-grade spiritual object, called the "Spiritual Mirror". It can project images a hundred feet away in a short period of time. It was obtained by the Song family in Qinghefang a hundred years ago.
The strong man looked at Song Qingming in the mirror, then he relaxed, smiled slightly, dispersed the spiritual energy in his hands, closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged again. The blue light mirror that had lost its spiritual energy slowly disappeared, and the bluestone returned to its original appearance.
After a while, a young man jumped into the pavilion. It was Song Qingming. Looking at the person sitting in front of him, he quickly clasped his hands and bowed his head in greeting.
"Uncle San, I'm back."
"Qingming, you are finally back. If you hadn't come back, the Great Elder and the others would have organized people and gone to the Floating Cloud Mountains to look for you again." The burly man nodded slightly and greeted with a smile.
Third uncle Song Changwu has a calm personality and is also a hardworking person. Because he has practiced the family's body-building exercises, he looks much taller than Song Qingming. Every time Song Qingming talks to him, he always has to look up uncomfortably.
"Fourth Uncle, have the Great Elder and the others returned safely?"
"Well, the Great Elder and the others have been back for almost a month. No one is seriously injured except your Fourteenth Uncle, but it's okay. You are the last one to come back. I'm glad you're back safely. Go up the mountain quickly and report your safety to the clan leaders." Song Changwu waved at Song Qingming. Seeing him bow and quickly leave the pavilion, he closed his eyes and returned to his previous motionless appearance.
After Song Qingming arrived at the conference hall, he found that not only the patriarch was present, but several elders of the family had also gathered here at the same time, which was rare. When everyone saw Song Qingming, they immediately surrounded him.
"Qingming, you are finally back safely! If your name had not yet lost its luster in the family tree, we would have really thought that you were in trouble." Seeing Song Qingming walk into the conference room, the great elder Song Gubai spoke first, his tone was full of concern, and a few tears rolled down his eyes.
The Great Elder Song Gubai is over a hundred years old and is the oldest cultivator in the Song family. He has been responsible for training the young cultivators of the family for almost thirty years. He can be regarded as the mentor of all the young cultivators of Song Qingming's generation. Although he is very strict with them on weekdays, he has long regarded them as his own children in his heart.
Although Song Gubai married and started a family in his early years, and had five or six children, and had dozens of descendants, unfortunately, these were all mortals without spiritual roots. In his later years, he placed all his efforts on these young monks in the family.
That day, at the pond, Song Gubai was helpless against the massive whirlpool created by the black-feathered python. He could only pull up Song Changyun, who was closest to him, and watch as Song Qingming was sucked into the vortex. Later, pursued by the black-feathered python, he had no choice but to follow the Liu family's lead and return to Qinghe County. On his way back, Song Gubai felt deeply guilty about the incident.
It was not until after returning to Funiu Mountain that the clan leader Song Gushan checked the essence, blood and spiritual light left by Song Qingming in the clan tree. Song Gubai then realized that Song Qingming was still alive and wanted to return to Fuyun Mountain alone to pick him up. If Song Gushan had not stopped him for the past month, Song Gubai would have gone to Fuyun Mountain to look for Song Qingming long ago.
Song Gushan patted Song Gubai on the shoulder, comforted him, and then said to Song Qingming:
"Not only did you return safely, but your cultivation has also improved. It's true that those who survive a great disaster will be blessed in the future. Tell me what you have been through in the past two months."
Song Qingming bowed to everyone and explained, "That day, I was sucked into the bottom of the pool by the whirlpool and was injured. When I swam out of the pool, I found that the shore was already deserted. I wanted to look for it, but the monster returning to the pool scared me and I lost my way."
Song Qingming told everyone his prepared speech word for word, of course, except for the fact that he picked up Liu Tianlong's storage bag. He even found an excuse for why he broke through the fifth level of Qi Refining so quickly. He lied that when he was recuperating in the mountains, he accidentally found a few red spiritual fruits. He thought they would be useful for healing, so he took them directly. However, he didn't expect that the spiritual fruits were so effective that he broke through his cultivation level without knowing it.
Everyone was still a little frightened when they heard about the dangerous journey he had, how he happened to meet a group of wandering cultivators, and how he had a fierce battle with a pack of wolves before successfully returning to Qinghe County.
"Anyway, it's a good thing that you returned safely. This time it's all my fault. I didn't expect the Liu family to be so careless in this mission. They didn't even know that there was a monster like the black-feathered python hidden in the pool." Song Gushan said with a deep face.
Song Gushan was a little worried about taking on this mission from the Liu family, but as the clan leader he couldn't leave the family at will, so he could only wait at home. Seeing that all eight members of the Song family returned safely this time, he gradually felt relieved.
"The Liu family suffered heavy losses this time. I heard that Liu Tianlong was also seriously injured and passed away. I don't know whether it is true or not. Clan leader, I'm afraid that the Liu family will lose power in the northeast of Qinghe County." The second elder, Song Changfeng, told the news he had received in the market in the past few days with some concern.
Song Gushan nodded after hearing this. "If anything happens to the Liu family, this area won't be peaceful anymore. We need to be more careful. That old guy Liu Tianlong won't die so easily."
"Qingming, don't rush back to Lingyuan Mountain. Rest for a few more days on the mountain and let the Fourth Elder check if you have any other problems. Don't leave any hidden dangers for your cultivation."
Song Qingming stayed in Funiu Mountain for another two days. He never thought that the red spiritual fruit he had made up two days ago was actually found to have a similar origin by the fourth elder Song Gucai. He found a spiritual fruit similar to the one Song Qingming described that day in a scroll that recorded various natural treasures from an ancient cultivator that he accidentally found in the market.
This spiritual fruit is called "Tianlong Fruit". It is a spiritual fruit that only existed in ancient times and has not been discovered in Wei State. This fruit has a miraculous effect. Even if it is only a hundred years old, a Qi-refining cultivator can increase his cultivation level by one level by taking it raw. It is a spiritual object that has long been extinct.
Hearing this, he was really scared and could only admit it. He lied that he was also lost when he encountered this spiritual fruit in the mountains that day. Now he was asked to look for it again, and he definitely didn't know the way. This dispelled the fiery look in Song Gucai's eyes.
