Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

Without saying much, Blood Soul Venerable and Blood Gu Venerable each summoned a rusty metal compass and a three-foot-long, jet-black cone.

As the two sacred artifacts rose into the sky, they instantly burst forth with a crimson light, and an invisible force enveloped the entire battlefield site.

Then, an astonishing scene unfolded. Under the influence of this force, wisps of dark red, viscous liquid began to emerge from the ground. These liquids, like threads, converged from all directions, forming a chilling crimson net in the air.

Faintly, one could still hear bursts of shrill laughter, like those of a vengeful ghost.

Blood Soul and Blood Gu seemed not to hear, each occupying a corner of the long battle line, driving their sacred artifacts to greedily absorb the liquid.

These liquids are none other than the blood left behind from the battles between the human and demon races.

Almost a day has passed since the end of the great battle. The blood had already seeped deep into the soil, and in theory, the extraction process would be extremely difficult, but the sheer quantity made it all worthwhile.

On this long battlefront stretching thousands of miles, nearly 300,000 demonic beasts of various ranks were killed, while the human side suffered as many as 30,000 casualties.

Monsters are generally quite large, and the blood flowing through their bodies is naturally far greater than that of human cultivators.

The blood of 300,000 demonic beasts, when gathered together, is enough to form a small river. In addition, due to their cultivation, the density of their blood far exceeds that of ordinary wild beasts. The rate at which it seeps into the soil is very slow, and most of it remains on the surface. With just a little force, you can squeeze dark red blood out of the soil with a single step.

This is practically paradise for cultivators who practice the Blood Demon Path.

Thanks to the tireless efforts of Blood Soul and Blood Gu, more than 30% of the blood was extracted and re-extracted, restoring some of the original red soil on the battlefield to its original color.

The two Blood Demon Cult artifacts, which had already exhausted their power, unleashed terrifying power anew after drinking their fill of blood.

"Once fully refined, it will restore at least 50% of its peak power. It is indeed a great gift." The Blood Gu Venerable's palm slowly stroked the rough surface of the black cone, his previous disdain replaced by a look of joy.

They were once powerful True Monarchs who dominated their respective regions. Although the Blood Demon Sect had already declined, the names of the Twelve Venerables of the Holy Sect still instilled fear in countless prestigious sects.

Unfortunately, in that massive battle between good and evil, one miscalculation led to a complete defeat.

Of the once-renowned Twelve Venerables, only the two of them remained, and the Holy Lord had fallen into an eternal slumber.

Although they have miraculously awakened, their strength is vastly different from that of previous years. Even the ants of yesteryear can now threaten their lives, forcing them to do everything in secret, like stinking rats in a sewer, unable to see the light of day.

But now, the power of the sacred artifact is beginning to revive, and the long-lost sense of security is returning, as if one has regained control of their own destiny.

"Having received benefits from them, it's time for us to stretch our muscles and get some exercise."

"Now that the Golden Core cultivators of the Southwest Alliance are scattered, Song Changsheng is likely also seriously injured, which is a good opportunity," Blood Soul Venerable said slowly.

The Blood Gu Venerable nodded and said, "Yes, I have already observed the surrounding area some time ago. The defenses of the cultivation world in Lu Kingdom are the weakest. The demon race has also planted many spies in their infiltration plan. With the help of both inside and outside, we can take it down in no time."

“The longer we wait, the more things can go wrong. We need to speed up the construction of the Blood Refining Array. Our current cultivation levels are far from our peak. If those people realize this, we will be in a very passive position,” the Blood Soul Venerable said in a deep voice.

"The demon race will send people to assist us. The Southwest Alliance is currently unsure of the demon race's strength and will not make any major moves for the time being."

"Hmph, the Thunder King Palace is quite patient. The demon race has already suffered a great defeat, yet they are still lying low. If it weren't for us, the demon race would probably have already retreated by now."

The mere mention of this matter made Blood Soul Venerable feel as if he had swallowed a fly.

According to the original plan, the demon race was responsible for providing the essence blood of demon beasts to help them recover and restore some of their cultivation in the early stages, while the remaining human essence blood should be provided by the Thunder King Palace.

Lei Wang Palace operates in the shadows, allowing them to catch righteous forces off guard no matter where they choose to act.

They slaughtered most of the Tianqin cultivation world back then, and now that the Thunder King Palace has grown so powerful, conquering a cultivation world before the Myriad Manifestations Palace can react is not a difficult task for them.

Once this essence blood arrives, they can quickly restore their cultivation to the early Nascent Soul stage. At that time, they can directly annihilate the Nine Realms of the Southwest, break the restrictions of the ancient oath, and let the demon race's iron hooves sweep across the entire borderland.

During this period, the southwest and the east sea were locked in a fierce battle, but the Thunder King Palace delayed its attack as planned. If it had strictly followed the plan, the demon race might not have suffered such a crushing defeat.

To make up for this, the demon race had to abandon its 300,000 surviving troops and help them restore the power of the sacred artifact.

However, this is not without cost. In return, they need to personally conquer and successfully sacrifice a cultivation world to refine enough essence blood to restore their strength.

This would put them in a very dangerous situation, and one wrong move could lead to total defeat, just like back then.

This risk should not have been borne by them, and all of this is due to the inaction of the Thunder King Palace.

The Blood Gu Venerable sneered and said, "No one is a fool. Even allies need to calculate to maximize their benefits and minimize their risks."

If I were in their shoes, I would have done the same.

Upon hearing this, the Blood Soul Venerable did not respond; in fact, he shared the same thought.

He used to be the one scheming against others, but now that it's suddenly his turn, he still feels a bit aggrieved...

With the complete annihilation of the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom and the Soaring Dragon Demon Kingdom, the other four demon kingdoms also suspended their offensives, taking a break while awaiting further orders to attack.

Under these circumstances, the Southwest also ushered in a brief period of peace, and all the major forces in the Nine Realms of the Southwest were racing against time to accumulate strength.

Although the battle lasted only a short time, both sides skipped the probing phase and went straight into a bloody melee from the start, making the fighting far more brutal than in the East China Sea, where the battle had begun earlier.

In just a few days, casualties on the major battlefields of the Southwest Nine Realms had soared to 100,000. And this was only the casualties on the front lines. The rear areas of the major cultivation worlds had all been attacked by the Demon King to varying degrees, but the casualties were not as severe as those on the Great Qi cultivation world.

To this day, no specific figures have been compiled for this part, but according to the elders in charge, the casualties caused by these attacks are probably still on the front lines.

This is just a cultivator.

The losses in the mortal world are too numerous to count; a rough estimate puts them at over ten million, a truly alarming figure.

The vast majority of these came from the cultivation world of the Great Qi.

They did win this battle, and it was a resounding victory, but they were also complete losers.

After this battle, it's unknown how long it will take to recover. At times like these, the Song clan cultivators feel genuinely fortunate, grateful for the foresight of their patriarch and the elders of the family throughout the ages.

The Song family paid a heavy price to relocate to the mortal realm. The Cangmang Small World was a gold-devouring behemoth that was constantly burning resources.

During those years, the Song family was on the rise, with its territory, population, and industries experiencing explosive growth.

Otherwise, the cost of transforming the desolate small world would not be enough to support it.

At that time, many people wondered if it was really worth paying such a high price.
Today, the stark reality is telling them that their initial investment was absolutely worthwhile.

It is precisely because of the existence of the vast small world that they have the courage to disregard everything on the battlefield.

After news of the attack on their rear spread, the Song clan soldiers were among the few who were able to maintain their morale; otherwise, the Qixia County fortress would probably have already fallen.

During the period of truce and reorganization between the two sides, Song Qingxi compiled the battle reports from various places and ordered someone to personally deliver them to Wanxiang Palace.

She did this for two reasons: first, to use a major victory to demoralize the sea tribe; and second, to ask if there was any way to help Song Changsheng wake up sooner.

With Song Changsheng gone, the entire Southwest lost its backbone.

Moreover, as long as he hasn't woken up, she doesn't consider him truly out of danger.

The Medicine King's skill level was limited, and Wu Jie had not yet recovered to his peak condition, so they were willing but unable to do so.

She can only place her hopes on the ancient and powerful Wanxiang Palace.

What Song Qingxi didn't know was that after nearly a month of probing each other, the battle in the East China Sea had now entered a fierce stage.

Every battlefield is like a meat grinder, devouring countless lives every day.

Although the Nascent Soul True Monarchs of both sides have not yet clashed, there have been over a hundred battles at the Golden Core level, with casualties on both sides.

Compared to the southwestern battlefield, both sides were relatively restrained. Except for a few isolated incidents, Golden Core cultivators and Demon Kings mostly fought one-on-one. Situations like those in the southwest, where dozens of Demon Kings and Golden Core cultivators would engage in concentrated battles, were rarely seen.

After all, both sides have strategic forces like Nascent Soul True Monarchs stationed there. If they are too concentrated, they could be wiped out in one fell swoop. They can only rely on the island to divide it into small battlefields.

Although the main attack of the sea tribes was directed at the territory belonging to the Myriad Palaces, the fighting on the peripheral battlefields such as the Tenglong Islands was actually more intense.

The Twin Islands were ultimately unable to remain uninvolved. Shortly after the war began, a fleet bearing the banner of the Blood Soul Demon Sect appeared in the nearby waters. The two sides are currently in a stalemate, with only a few sporadic skirmishes and minimal losses.

Although the war has not yet officially begun, it poses a considerable threat to the East China Sea Alliance, as this fleet is positioned between the Twin Islands and the Tenglong Islands, directly severing the connection between the two island groups.

Zhuang Yuechan dared not act rashly, because the Hanhai Chamber of Commerce was still surrounded by the sea race army. Qianren City, which was supposed to provide support and rescue, was like a broken spine after the ambush and had not offered any assistance to the Hanhai Chamber of Commerce since.

She wanted to help the Hanhai Chamber of Commerce out of its predicament, but she was also somewhat overwhelmed by the sea creatures. Several of her attacks were repelled by the sea creatures, but fortunately, her command was effective and the damage was not too great.

Since that was the case, she never thought of giving up and kept looking for opportunities.

Because she clearly understood that as long as she attacked, the sea tribe would have to divide their forces. Dividing their forces would alleviate the pressure on the Hanhai Chamber of Commerce and also show them that they had not been abandoned by their allies, thus strengthening their will to resist.

So ever since the Hanhai Chamber of Commerce was besieged, she has been leading people to harass the sea tribes from time to time, and the Hanhai Chamber of Commerce has stubbornly held on.

But a sudden turn of events forced Zhuang Yuechan to give up...

"What? We can't contact Thousand Blade City?"

Inside the Tenglong Islands Garrison, upon hearing the news from the Foreign Affairs Office, Zhuang Yuechan felt a sense of foreboding.

On the battlefield, losing contact is always a major issue, no matter the circumstances.

An elder from the Foreign Affairs Hall said with a grim expression, "We initially thought they had been intercepted by the sea creatures, but after sending someone on a risky trip, we discovered that the Thousand Blade Islands were deserted."

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the Song family elders in the hall changed drastically.

Although they were very dissatisfied with Thousand Blade City's performance during this period, they never expected that they would dare to defy the world and abandon their defenses to become deserters.

This news was absolutely terrible for them.

Even if Thousand Blade City remains entrenched and does not move, the sea tribes cannot completely let them go; they will eventually have to send troops to monitor them.

Now that Thousand Blade City has deserted, these personnel can be recalled.

This will inevitably increase the pressure on the Hanhai Chamber of Commerce. No matter how much they harass them, it will be to no avail, and the risk of being ambushed will also increase.

In this situation, the best option is to shrink the defenses, completely abandon the Han Hai Chamber of Commerce, and leave the sea creatures with no opportunity to take advantage.

If the Hanhai Chamber of Commerce falls, the Tenglong Islands will be in a situation of being attacked from both sides, and the pressure will be unprecedented.

"Pass down the order: abandon the outer islands and consolidate defenses."

Without my order, no one may move about at will, let alone step out of their respective defense zone. Anyone who disobeys will be executed without mercy.

"Furthermore, send someone to the Myriad Elephant Islands to report the news of Thousand Blade City's desertion to the True Lords. Such a terrible situation must not be tolerated!" Zhuang Yuechan said in an icy tone.

“It’s probably a bit too late to hold people accountable now,” Song Yuqing said, her brows furrowed.

"Yes, Thousand Blade City couldn't possibly be unaware of the consequences of desertion in the face of battle, yet they still did it, which suggests they had prepared a foolproof escape route long ago."

"If they really just fled, that would be fine, but I'm afraid they might defect to the enemy," an elder of the [Brocade Banner] said worriedly.

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Yuechan couldn't help but sigh deeply; this was also her biggest worry...

...(End of this chapter)