Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

"This person is named Zong Tianli. He has excellent aptitude and possesses the rare [Spirit Devouring Body]. He can devour the cultivation of living beings to help him cultivate. From the perspective of ordinary people, he is a born demon seed."

Indeed, this was the case. Not only did his own cultivation advance by leaps and bounds, but the Blood Soul Demon Sect's sphere of influence also expanded several times over under his control.

They had received news about the ruins of the Treasure Bottle Sect a long time ago, but they didn't have a specific location.

The source of the information was the Sea Yaksha clan. The Sea Yaksha clan had cooperated with them before, and the reward they received was several bottles of extremely precious elixirs. On the inner wall of the jade bottle containing the elixirs, they discovered the unique mark of the Treasure Bottle Sect.

They repeatedly inquired with the Sea Yaksha clan about the origin of these elixirs, but each time the other party made exorbitant demands and had no intention of negotiating.

Later, the Sea Yaksha clan was wiped out by Changsheng. They then sent people to rescue the clan leader, forcibly extract his true spirit to read his memories, and eventually found this sea area.

At first, the Blood Soul Demon Sect, like us, searched aimlessly in this sea area for several months without finding anything.

It wasn't until a massive thunderstorm at sea that the Spirit Island, where the ruins of the Treasure Bottle Sect were located, came into view. He witnessed it all up close, and in his perception, the island seemed to come from another dimension, appearing and disappearing silently each time.

At this point, Ancestor Xuanlei paused, then pointed to the gap in the southern part of the island below and said, "They couldn't break through the barrier by force, so they had no choice but to enter through that gap."

That gap was caused by a heavenly tribulation. Entering through it means facing the densest tribulation energy in the entire ruins. But it's not without its advantages. It's a pill workshop specially set up by the Treasure Bottle Sect, from which the pills obtained by the Sea Yaksha clan flowed.

The Blood Soul Demon Sect paid a heavy price on their first expedition, losing over a hundred cultivators at the Foundation Establishment stage or above, and only obtaining three bottles of spirit pills, which were of little use.

After the thunderstorm disappeared, the island also vanished, and they entered a strange, chaotic space together, only managing to escape that space when the next thunderstorm struck.

They tried to simulate thunderstorms using supernatural powers, but failed. Only naturally occurring thunderstorms could make the islands appear, and they didn't know why.

The Blood Soul Demon Sect has never given up exploring the ruins of the Treasure Bottle Sect over the years, but each time it has come at a heavy price, with each bottle of pills requiring human lives to be sacrificed.

He was quite lucky, obtaining a bottle of the [Clear Mind Pill], which had a certain auxiliary effect in overcoming the inner demon tribulation. Although it was not as good as the [Nascent Soul Pill], it still had six or seven tenths of the effect. It was with the help of this pill and the fifth-order spiritual vein on the island that he was able to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

If you think about it, the day you break through is not far off.

He was afraid of the calamity energy and never went to explore it himself, while the others had a limited time to survive in the calamity energy.

Therefore, apart from the area surrounding the gap in the Southern Pill Workshop, the Blood Soul Demon Sect hasn't had a chance to touch the rest of this ruin, which has now benefited us.

Song Changsheng's heart stirred slightly, based on the information he had obtained from Lingmou.

The Treasure Bottle Sect is an orthodox alchemy lineage that has been passed down for tens of thousands of years. Its alchemy skills have reached the pinnacle. Judging from the scale of the alchemy workshop below, it probably has thousands or even more alchemists.

These alchemists delved into every aspect of alchemy to the extreme and dared to innovate. They even created a unique method of body tempering using a furnace based on the principles of alchemy.

It is not a technique of replenishing yang by absorbing yin, but rather a true process of throwing people into a furnace to refine them, like elixirs.

If you are still alive when the furnace is opened, your physique will undergo a qualitative leap. If you do not persevere, you will be refined into pills along with the body-refining materials.

In this situation, even pills with similar effects can have several or even a dozen different versions.

Take, for example, the pills that can help break through to the Nascent Soul stage. He knows of several, including the [Nascent Soul Pill], the [Six-Turn Heaven-Clearing Pill], the [Spirit-Clearing Pill], and the [Upper Demon-Clearing Pill].

The most effective one is said to be the [Upper Clearing Demon Pill], but because the ingredients are precious, only nine bottles were made, and there is probably no stock left.

However, both the [Qing Shen Dan] and the [Liu Zhuan Hun Tian Dan] are pill formulas created in the last ten thousand years, and the materials are relatively abundant, with most still in stock. Zhong Tianli's experience is the best example of this.

Even without any stock, he could be satisfied if he could find some [Innate Essence]. After all, the Song family possessed the complete formula for the [Hun Tian Dan], but without [Innate Essence], it was just a piece of waste paper.

After pondering for a moment, Lei Xiang Zhenjun said, "Since the calamity energy is so fierce, is it possible that Cai Die and the others will not need to intervene in this exploration?"

Or rather, break through this barrier and create another opening outside the southern breach.

Ancestor Xuanlei said in a deep voice, "The longer we stay, the more things may go wrong. Since we're here, it's best to complete the full exploration before this thunderstorm ends, otherwise it will take several more months."

"I will go in first to investigate and see if there is any way to dispel the calamity energy. If not, I will break the barrier."

The Xuanlei Sky-Piercing Spear has undergone countless Golden Core Tribulations over the past ten thousand years, making Ancestor Xuanlei exceptionally sensitive to tribulation energy. As the strongest on this journey, he was indeed the best candidate to scout ahead. Therefore, neither Song Changsheng nor Lei Xiang Zhenjun expressed any opinion.

Ancestor Xuanlei's figure gracefully descended and quickly arrived at the gap in the southern part of the island. There was a hole in the barrier with a diameter of more than 10 feet, directly below which was surging seawater, and the land had vanished.

This shows that the heavenly tribulation broke through the barrier from this location, directly erasing the alchemy chamber below along with part of the land.

Compared to the vast area of ​​the island, the damage caused by the heavenly tribulation was not significant. Apart from the part that destroyed the barrier, any casual strike from any Nascent Soul cultivator could have caused the same amount of damage.

Because the overall structure was not affected and a fifth-order spiritual vein provided continuous power, the barrier was able to continue operating even after so many years since the destruction of the Treasure Bottle Sect. It was clearly visible that the edge of the barrier's breach was tainted with a dense aura of calamity, constantly eroding the barrier's power.

It is precisely because of the presence of these calamities that this breach has never healed.

The calamity energy has been continuously leaking out through this breach, and over the years, the effect has been quite significant; otherwise, the Blood Soul Demon Sect wouldn't have had to sacrifice lives to fill the gap.

He reached out and captured a wisp of tribulation energy that was escaping outwards. After pondering for a moment, he actually absorbed this wisp of tribulation energy directly.

"Hmm... it really works well, just as I expected. It's a rare and good opportunity."

Stepping into the barrier and immersing myself in the dense aura of calamity, I quietly sensed it for a moment. Feeling no discomfort, I immediately felt completely at ease.

Amidst the puzzled gazes of Song Changsheng and Lei Xiang Zhenjun, he used the power of laws to condense a cloud of thunder beneath him and sat down cross-legged.

With his eyes closed, lightning surged from his body, and all 365 acupoints on his body appeared simultaneously. Each acupoint was like a small black hole, constantly devouring the surrounding tribulation energy.

He is a spirit of an artifact. Even though he now has a physical body, apart from his appearance being the same as that of a human, his internal structure is completely different.

There are no internal organs, nor real flesh and blood, only the dantian, meridians, and acupoints.

Therefore, he was not worried that the invasion of the calamity energy would affect his internal organs.

Absorbing the tribulation energy of the heavenly tribulation was to him the same as human cultivators absorbing spiritual energy; both were external energies needed for cultivation. This was his Dao, the Dao of Destruction by Heavenly Tribulation!
Evolved from the [Thunder Avenue], the calamity energy is the best tonic for him.

He had only intended to give it a try, but he never expected that the residual calamity energy in the ruins of the Treasure Bottle Sect could actually be used to his advantage.

For him, this was far more valuable than those elixirs.

Upon seeing this, Song Changsheng's pupils suddenly contracted, and the shock in his heart was indescribable.

He once read an article written by an ancient author in an ancient book. The gist of the article was that there is nothing useless in the world, and anything can become an aid to one's own cultivation. The key is how one uses it.

This viewpoint shares similarities with the "Boundless Great Dao," so he acknowledges it, but only acknowledges it without putting it into practice.

This is the safest strategy, and no one can question it.

But the choice of Ancestor Xuanlei suddenly awakened him. If he did not have the spirit of embracing all things in the world, how could he achieve the name of "Boundless"?
The term "limitless" refers to much more than just laws.

If one cannot attain the Great Dao, how can one ascend to immortality?
Thinking of this, he landed in front of the breach in the barrier and captured a wisp of the dissipating calamity energy.

Lei Xiang Zhenjun instantly understood his thoughts and said in a deep voice, "No! The Ancestral Master's spirit body was tempered in the Heavenly Tribulation and he also had a cultivation level comparable to the Nascent Soul Supreme, which is why he was able to absorb the tribulation energy to cultivate."

You are but a mortal being; you must never imitate this!

Song Changsheng said confidently, "Thank you for the reminder, fellow Daoist. I have always valued my life and would never joke with it. I would be grateful if you could protect me!"

After saying that, he closed his eyes, and the Boundless Dao Tree instantly rose from the ground behind him.

Its crown, like a canopy, stretched for thousands of feet, and its entire body was filled with golden light.

The Taoist trees, flowers, and fruits are all integrated into one.

With a thought, the stamen of the Dao Flower representing the [Thunder Dao] slowly bloomed, absorbing the wisp of tribulation energy he had captured.

Before long, the flowers began to show signs of withering.

Song Changsheng was not surprised but delighted, and instead tried to absorb more of the tribulation energy.

Upon witnessing this scene, Lei Xiang Zhenjun felt as if a thunderclap had exploded in his ears, and his mind went blank.

He wasn't surprised that Ancestor Xuanlei could absorb calamity energy to cultivate, so why could Song Changsheng do the same?

"I also cultivate the [Heavenly Tribulation Thunder Path], why don't you give it a try?"

Once the idea popped into my head, it grew like wildfire, completely unstoppable...

……

P.S.: I got stood up, so I'm adding an extra 3,000 words. (End of Chapter)