Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

Yi Tianzheng arrived with the Imperial Seal of the State, and the vast power of destiny was bestowed upon Lei Xiang Zhenjun, instantly reversing the situation on the battlefield and completely erasing the advantage that Gao Yu had established.

"Grandmaster Uncle, I'm late."

Although both are imperial seals used to suppress the collective fortune, the Thunder King Palace can abuse this power without restraint, but the Myriad Manifestations Palace cannot; they must be responsible for every individual within this collective.

Moreover, the battlefield is ever-changing, and no one knows what will happen next. Once the Imperial Seal is damaged, the power of fortune that carries it will also be lost, which would be a catastrophic disaster for everyone who provided the fortune.

During the time that Yi Tianzheng was stationed at Wanxiang Mountain, he had been making preparations for this.

The Palace of Myriad Manifestations does indeed possess only one supreme treasure of human destiny, but beneath this supreme treasure lie many other treasures capable of suppressing destiny, such as the Golden Lotus of Destiny within the Embroidered Banner.

Just as the Song family used the Heirloom Seal to replace the Chengyuan Sword, Yi Tianzheng also temporarily replaced the Imperial Seal with another treasure, otherwise he would not dare to bring it directly to the battlefield.

There are no small matters when it comes to the collective fortune; he has been working day and night for some time and has barely managed to catch up.

"It's not too late, it's just the right time."

Lei Xiang Zhenjun stretched his muscles and bones, which crackled and popped. Boundless power surged within him, and his aura rose steadily, almost reaching a new level.

At this moment, he understood Gao Yu's previous performance somewhat; such rapid improvement without any burden was indeed captivating.

Cultivation is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind. As your realm increases, no matter how talented you are, your cultivation speed will slow down. This is an ironclad rule that no one can escape.

This is especially evident during the Nascent Soul stage.

Those who can cultivate to this level are not mediocre; in their youth, it would not be an exaggeration to say they progress by leaps and bounds.

However, once they break through to the Nascent Soul stage, their cultivation speed will plummet because there are very few shortcuts left, and if their comprehension is insufficient, it is common for them to stagnate for hundreds or even thousands of years.

Enlightenment through the Great Dao determines everything; it cannot be built up with resources or lifespan.

This is a process of cultivating one's mind.

For a genius cultivator who has completed the four major realms of Qi Refining, Foundation Establishment, Purple Mansion, and Golden Core at the age of three or four hundred, effort and hard work are often proportional. As long as you work hard, you will reap the rewards. The progress may be slower as your realm advances, but you are still moving forward.

This is also the driving force behind cultivators' practice: perseverance leads to progress, and progress leads to hope. This is almost common sense.

However, the Nascent Soul stage breaks this "common sense". Effort is no longer linked to results. You can seclude yourself for hundreds or even thousands of years, but your understanding of the Great Dao remains unchanged. Few people can bear that kind of despair and powerlessness.

In this situation, some people choose to reconcile with themselves, stop being obsessed with cultivation, and begin to enjoy their lives, which sometimes cannot be described as indulgence.

Some people choose to embark on the path of cultivating immortality and mastering various arts, using this method to maintain a sense of accomplishment despite stagnation.

Of course, there was also a bit of a desire to apply the same principles to other situations.

This is the choice of almost everyone, but very few succeed.

These people still have hope and illusions about their future, and they have an almost pathological desire for power. They will stop at nothing to improve themselves.

Although there are countless rare and precious materials or supernatural techniques that can temporarily enhance one's power, they are fake and give people a sense of emptiness.

Its use often brings some indescribable side effects.

But the power of luck is different. The power it brings gives people a very solid feeling, and may even give rise to the illusion that "this is how I should be." Most importantly, there are no side effects.

Besides providing a temporary boost to one's cultivation level, the power of destiny can also be used for cultivation, achieving twice the result with half the effort.

For those whose cultivation has not improved over the years, the attraction is unimaginable.

Once you've experienced it the first time, there will be countless more times until you're completely hooked and can't get out.

Lei Xiang Zhenjun remained at the late Nascent Soul stage for hundreds of years without any progress until he glimpsed the traces of the Great Dao on the ancient bronze fragment brought back by Song Changsheng, at which point he suddenly realized he could take another step forward.

That was undoubtedly a dark time he couldn't bear to look back on, which shook his resolve several times, so he knew all too well how hard-won his power was.

But now, through the Imperial Seal, he has easily obtained the power he has always dreamed of.

"No wonder the founder established palace rules that listed the power of destiny as taboo, and it could not be used except in life-or-death situations. This feeling is indeed too fascinating."

Faced with boundless temptations, True Lord Lei Xiang did not waver in his original intention.

Besides his stable Dao heart, the main reason was that he had just experienced a breakthrough, and there was already a glimmer of hope for his future, so his inner desire was not so strong.

In contrast, Gao Yu's performance was rather poor. He was almost completely immersed in it, and had a morbid, blind worship of the power of destiny.

At this moment, instead of conserving his strength for another day, he used the Imperial Seal and the King of Men to frantically increase his power, almost once again becoming equal to Lei Xiang Zhenjun.

Feeling the immense power within him, Gao Yu burst into wild laughter, "So what if you have the Imperial Seal? You can't unleash its full power. Such a treasure is a waste in your hands. Only a powerhouse like me deserves to possess it!"

"Grandmaster Uncle, this person has probably become a puppet of the power of destiny," Yi Tianzheng secretly transmitted his voice.

As the saying goes, an outsider's perspective is clear, and he immediately noticed that Gao Yu's condition was somewhat off.

“He’s almost there. Let’s give him a push.” A cold glint flashed in Lei Xiang Zhenjun’s eyes.

Yi Tianzheng was taken aback for a moment, then nodded happily and said, "I understand what you mean."

"boom--"

With a wave of his banner, Lei Xiang Zhenjun caused the multicolored thunderclouds behind him to surge wildly, eventually transforming into a towering giant with features similar to his own. Bathed in multicolored lightning, the giant appeared as a master of thunder and lightning.

"call--"

A fierce wind howled, the temperature plummeted, and a sudden blizzard began to fall on the sea, freezing the surging waves in place.

A frost giant, over three hundred feet tall, also appeared behind Yi Tianzheng.

"Today, I will make sure you don't leave alive!"

Holding the [King of Men] sword, Gao Yu let out a long roar, and behind him appeared a thunder giant eight hundred feet tall, holding a spear formed from condensed lightning, surrounded by boundless karmic energy.

With his cultivation level, his divine power and dharma form were at most only six hundred feet tall. He relied on the power of luck to forcefully reach such a height.

"boom--"

Two more towering figures with human bodies and fish tails appeared behind Kongsang Baijue and Kongsang Lifeng respectively. They were both transformed from their true demon lord forms, standing at six hundred feet and four hundred feet tall respectively.

The mirage cloud also manifested its own form, but it was only three hundred feet tall, a head shorter than Yi Tianzheng.

Six Dharma Masters stood simultaneously beneath the vast sky, a sight rarely seen even north of the Tianshan Mountains. The aura they exuded was enough to make the heavens and earth tremble, and their powerful pressure was clearly audible even from tens of thousands of miles away. In the distant Hanhai Islands, Zhuang Yuechan stood on the bow of the ship, her far-reaching gaze seemingly able to traverse tens of thousands of miles of sea, projecting onto the battlefield where the sky and earth changed color.

She couldn't actually see anything, but she knew that a world-shaking battle was taking place in that direction, one that would determine the future of the entire border region.

"May Heaven protect you and grant the two True Lords the power to defeat their formidable enemy."

Some people began to kowtow and pray to the sky. Once the first person took the lead, a large number of people on the deck soon knelt down.

This scene looks rather comical. Human cultivators compare cultivation to going against the heavens. If all races under heaven are children of the heavenly way, then the human race is definitely the most rebellious one, always talking about defying the heavens and changing fate.

And these are the very people who are now praying to heaven and earth; it is utterly ridiculous.

But Zhuang Yuechan and Donghua Zhenren couldn't laugh.

The character “人” (person) represents standing tall and upright, and has always upheld the principle that it is better to rely on oneself than on heaven or earth.

The Way of Heaven is elusive and intangible; if one were not in dire straits, how could one have reached this point?

At that level of battlefield, they had no room to intervene; all they could do was pray for divine protection.

……

"Cough cough cough..."

A dry cough echoed in the room. Song Changsheng felt as if his throat was dry, rough tree bark, and every sound he uttered produced a burning, stinging pain.

Before him lay boundless darkness, and he could hear rustling sounds from time to time—the sound of wind, human voices, cicadas chirping, and dust falling. These sounds were vastly different, and he could distinguish them clearly, yet he couldn't quite make them out.

There were at least several people talking nearby, both men and women, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

He tried to open his eyes, but he couldn't control the muscles around his eyelids at all, and he couldn't use his spiritual sense either.

If it weren't for the sharp pain in his throat, he would have even wondered if he had died again.

Just then, a warm and cool liquid flowed down his throat, like water being replenished in a parched rice paddy, instantly soothing everything. His bodily functions began to recover, and his previously chaotic consciousness gradually became clear.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a ray of dawn pierced the darkness before his eyes and gradually drove it away.

Until the darkness completely dissipated, a familiar yet slightly aged face came into view.

Seeing this, the Medicine King breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Alliance Leader, you've finally woken up."

Upon hearing this, the anxious crowd in the room swarmed around the bed, their eyes filled with concern.

"Qingxi, Wujie, Yuechan... Fellow Daoist Ji?"

Looking at those familiar faces, Song Changsheng felt relieved but also somewhat surprised. He couldn't help but prop himself up on the bed and sit up, asking, "How long have I been asleep? Is the war already over?"

Zhuang Yuechan sat down on the edge of the bed, took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. After a moment of contemplation, she said, "You've only slept for a month. The war... is not over yet."

"Since the war is not over yet, then you..."

Ji Shinian reached out to interrupt him and said, "Alright, I know you have a lot of questions to ask now. I will answer whatever you want to know later. The most important thing right now is to get a medical check-up."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Medicine King and Wu Jie took turns to conduct a comprehensive examination of Song Changsheng.

Half an hour later, Wu Jie wiped away non-existent cold sweat from his forehead and said, "Except for the death aura not being completely dispelled, there is no major problem anywhere else. The clan leader's recovery ability is truly the best I have ever seen in my life."

The Medicine King, standing to the side, nodded in deep agreement upon hearing this.

To recover to this extent in just one month is simply abnormal.

In fact, even Song Changsheng himself was surprised.

He knew his injuries all too well. The only difference between his actions and courting death was that he knew he wouldn't die, but he was certain he would be half-dead. He wouldn't be surprised if he were in a coma for three or five years, but only a month had passed.

Seeing this, Zhuang Yuechan explained softly, "This is all thanks to Senior Medicine King's [Yellow Spring Water], which forced out the poison and stabilized your injuries."

Later, True Lord Tiger Elephant specially went to the Ji Clan of Tianshui to obtain a secret medicine for you, which removed most of the death energy; otherwise, your injuries would still be quite troublesome.

These few words shocked Song Changsheng twice.

The Yellow Spring Water is a legendary item, yet the Medicine King was willing to use it to heal him.

Ji Shinian even went to the Ji family to seek medicine.

Despite his physical limitations, Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan bowed respectfully to the two of them.

Both the Medicine King and Ji Shinian tacitly avoided it.

"Alliance Leader, you are too kind to this old man. If it weren't for your life-risking battle, who knows how many more tragedies would have unfolded in the Southwest Nine Realms. We should be the ones thanking you."

"Yes, if it weren't for you withstanding the pressure, the situation here would probably have changed drastically by now. What would our contribution be then?" Ji Shinian sighed.

Song Changsheng asked in a deep voice, "Did something happen while I was unconscious?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Jie gave the others a look, and they all tacitly withdrew, leaving only Zhuang Yuechan and Ji Shinian behind.

"After that battle, the demon race withdrew to rest for a period of time, and then launched a new round of offensives. They are currently engaged in a war of attrition and have not made any major moves."

In the East China Sea, Thousand Blade City and the Vast Ocean Merchant Guild have both defected to the enemy and were destroyed by the Thunder Elephant Ancestor along with a large sea tribe army. Now, the Tenglong Islands have become the front line of the battlefield, and the Twin Islands are also fighting against the Blood Soul Demon Sect.

Grandmaster Lei Xiang and the Palace Master found the lair of the Kongsang Li Feng and fought a fierce battle, resulting in heavy losses for both sides. They are currently engaged in a protracted war of attrition.

"A lose-lose situation?" Song Changsheng's heart trembled. With Lei Xiang Zhenjun's cultivation, who could possibly hurt him?
"Is this the Thunder King's Palace?"

"Indeed, Gao Yu has gone completely mad by using his Qi Luck without any restraint. Both the Palace Master and Ancestor Lei Xiang have suffered internal injuries."

Kongsang Lifeng and Kongsang Baijue were severely injured, and Shenyun's physical body was severed, with only her true spirit escaping.

After the war, the founder asked me to pass on a message to you.

"please say."

Ji Shinian took a deep breath and said in a deep voice, "The patriarch said that the time has come!"

...(End of this chapter)