Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

"The Lord of the Canglan River?" A look of surprise also appeared on Zhuang Yuechan's face. It was clear that the Demon Lord of the Demon Clan and the True Lord of the Human Clan were two different concepts.

"Isn't he not in Canglan?"

"The fall of a demon king qualified to undergo the Dragon Transformation Tribulation is no small matter. Judging from the time, the funeral arrangements should have just been completed, so it is reasonable for this demon lord to rush back," Song Changsheng said in a deep voice.

"So they also invited Master, Wutian Zhenren of Tianmai Sect, and Tianjian Zhenren of Jinwu Sect." After reading the contents recorded in the jade slip, Zhuang Yuechan slowly breathed a sigh of relief. The list included the main participants in the previous battle of Canglan River. Perhaps it was because of this matter?
"They might be going there to thank us, but they could also be trying to wipe us out in one fell swoop," Song Changsheng joked.

Zhuang Yuechan rolled her eyes at him and said, "With this demon lord's cultivation, destroying the Great Qi would be a matter of moments. He shouldn't need to use these methods."

The lifespan of dragons cannot be judged by ordinary standards, and the alligator dragon clan is a prime example of longevity. According to records, this demon lord has at least several thousand years of cultivation.

Even if Su Ding were alive, he would only be a slightly larger grasshopper in front of him.

The only thing that could be considered an obstacle was the fifth-order protective formation of the Golden Crow Sect and the Heavenly Vein Sect, but that was all it was. This is the terrifying aspect of a fifth-order expert.

Looking across the entire area south of the Tianshan Mountains, among the human cultivation world, only the True Lords of the Myriad Manifestations Palace are capable of subduing that Demon Lord.

"The meeting place is at the Canglan River. When do you plan to go?"

"We must prepare to depart immediately; it wouldn't be right to keep the Demon Lord waiting." Song Changsheng stood up, hesitated for a moment, and said, "If anything unexpected happens to me on this journey, I will immediately take my people and relocate to the Cangmang Small World."

"I see."

Song Changsheng gently embraced her, and yin and yang energies instantly arose beneath his feet, transforming into a wisp of green smoke that perfectly merged into the space...

"Your mastery of the Dao of Space has truly become increasingly profound." By the Canglan River, Mu Guibai, dressed in white, looked at the empty space beside him and said calmly.

Song Changsheng's figure emerged from the crowd, cupping his hands and smiling slightly, "Disciple greets Master."

"Fellow Daoist Bai and Fellow Daoist Shi haven't arrived yet, we'll have to wait a bit longer. What do you think is the reason this Demon Lord of the Crocodile Clan specifically invited us here?" Mu Guibai looked at the surging Canglan River and asked quietly.

Song Changsheng thought for a moment and said, "It shouldn't be just because of the previous battle. Although we contributed a lot, there was no need for the Water Lord to condescend to receive us personally."

The alligator dragon demon lord has a long lifespan, but that doesn't mean he's idle.

"Perhaps it's related to the previous mass disappearance of the powerful aquatic beings," Mu Guibai thought to himself.

"But what does this have to do with our Great Qi?" Song Changsheng asked, puzzled.

"Then only that demon lord knows."

Soon after, Shi Potian and Bai Zimo arrived one after another. After exchanging greetings, the four of them headed to the Canglan River together.

Upon arriving at the very center of the Canglan River, a whirlpool appeared on the surface of the river. E Kun, now in human form, emerged from it, cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Fellow Daoists, we meet again."

Song Changsheng keenly noticed a white strip of cloth wrapped around E Kun's arm, and returned the greeting with a cupped hand, saying, "Fellow Daoist E, please accept my condolences."

"Please follow me, fellow Daoists."

E Kun pointed to the river surface in front of him, and an underwater passage appeared out of thin air.

The group exchanged glances; this was clearly the road leading to the Jiangxia Water Mansion.

Having come this far, there was no point in backing down now. Shi Potian took the lead and entered the underwater passage, with Song Changsheng and the others following closely behind.

Using the underwater passage created by Ekun, they swam beneath the deep river for a period of time. According to Song Changsheng's perception, they passed through several barriers and formations, and finally entered a special space.

The first thing that catches the eye is a magnificent crystal palace floating on the water, covering an area so vast that it seems to stretch as far as the eye can see.

Song Changsheng could clearly sense a terrifying power lurking within the crystal palace, no less powerful than that of the Palace Master of the Myriad Manifestations Palace.

"This must be the Demon Lord," Song Changsheng thought to himself.

A large number of water demons gathered around the Water Palace, including several third- or even fourth-tier demon kings, who were probably there to attend the funeral.

Besides the Black-Armored Tortoise and E Lian, who had participated in the previous great battle, Song Changsheng also sensed the auras of at least a dozen other demon kings.

There were other aquatic creatures, as well as dragons. During that great battle, if these demon kings had released even a little bit of their aura, the Crimson Flame Demon King and the others would not have had the courage to make a move.

Guided by E Lian, they entered the Crystal Palace through the main gate. Under the watchful eyes of the demon kings, they stepped into the sleeping quarters of the demon lord.

Perhaps because they had been notified in advance, no unpleasant conflict arose when they saw the few human Golden Core cultivators enter.

However, walking among a dozen demon kings who made no attempt to conceal their auras was incredibly oppressive; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that ordinary cultivators at the Purple Mansion level would find it difficult to move an inch.

Mu Guibai and the others were all seasoned veterans, and even after entering the water demon's lair, they remained calm and unaffected.

"His Majesty is inside. Fellow Daoists, please make yourselves at home," said E Kun, bowing.

"Thank you."

After watching E Kun leave, Song Changsheng and the others standing in front of the door adjusted their mindset. Then, Shi Potian reached out and pushed open the tightly closed door. Instantly, an extremely powerful demonic aura rushed out, making everyone's hair stand on end.

Song Changsheng stared ahead and saw a handsome middle-aged man with dragon horns leaning lazily against a large, black chair. His eyes were slightly closed, as if he were taking a nap.

A powerful dragon aura emanated from him, and even without him making any movement, Song Changsheng felt immense pressure.

This sense of oppression far surpasses that of the two True Lords of the Myriad Manifestations Palace.

Even though they had overestimated the demon lord's strength as much as possible, they realized that their previous guesses were just the tip of the iceberg when they actually saw and faced him.

Taking a deep breath, Song Changsheng bowed and said in a deep voice, "Song Changsheng of the Wangyue Song Clan pays respects to the Canglan Water Lord."

As soon as he finished speaking, an eerie silence fell over the hall; you could hear a pin drop.

After a long while, Canglan Shuijun, who had been resting on the large chair, slowly opened his azure eyes and said calmly, "Please take a seat."

After thanking them, everyone found a suitable place to sit, but in their hearts they were trying to guess the other party's intentions and attitude.

Canglan Shuijun slowly looked at them and said, "I have never had any good feelings towards the human race."

These words instantly created a tense atmosphere, which had been relatively harmonious.

"Whether on the mainland or in rivers and oceans, wherever the human race goes, resources are plundered clean."

Over the years, our Canglan River aquatic race has always kept to itself and the human race, even offering assistance when facing beast tides. But you, on the contrary, have wantonly hunted and killed the aquatic creatures in the river and plundered resources. Do you really think our race is helpless? A cold glint flashed in the eyes of the Canglan River Lord as he opened and closed his eyes.

Upon hearing this, Shi Potian lowered his head and said in a deep voice, "Demon Lord, please forgive me. It is true that the Great Qi was at fault in this matter, but we have already done our best to restrain it. The same thing will never happen again."

"Hmph, otherwise you wouldn't be sitting so peacefully in my bedchamber."

Canglan Water Lord unabashedly unleashed his dragon might, stood up from his chair, and said calmly, "I hope that both races can learn from this incident, cease hostilities, and live in harmony."

If this happens again, I will absolutely not tolerate it!

Everyone felt as if a mountain was pressing down on their chests, making it difficult to even breathe. They quickly said, "Please rest assured, Demon Lord, we will remember this."

Although they were given a tough start, the group remained calm, which meant they were in a safer situation.

If the other party really wants to pursue this matter, there's no need to waste words with them; a slap would solve everything.

As expected, Canglan Water Lord then withdrew his leaking aura, and with a wave of his hand, several transparent water bubbles containing something landed in front of everyone, two for each person.

"Previously, I spoke to you all as the Lord of the Canglan River, but now, I merely represent the identity of a father."

Many thanks to all my friends for your past acts of kindness. Regardless of your initial intentions, you truly protected my son's body from the humiliation of the demon race.

This is a small token of my appreciation; please accept it.

At this moment, standing before Song Changsheng and the others were no longer the infamous Canglan Water Lord who ruled over millions of aquatic creatures, but rather fathers who had just experienced the pain of losing their sons.

The change before and after left Shi Potian and the others somewhat bewildered.

It was only then that they learned that Emin, who had failed his tribulation, was actually the son of this Water Lord.

This made them feel fortunate that they hadn't chosen to stand idly by. If E Min's physical body had truly been destroyed by the demon race, they didn't know what would have happened to the demon race, but the Great Qi cultivation world would certainly have faced annihilation.

Unwittingly, they escaped another catastrophe.

Song Changsheng reached out and caught the two bubbles in front of him. One of them contained a black scale with a faint trace of dragon's might. If he was not mistaken, it should have come from the Water Lord in front of him.

The other one was a blood-red diamond-shaped waist tag.

Canglan Water Lord sat back in his chair and said calmly, "As long as you possess my scales, you young friends can obtain assistance or requests that do not violate principles and are not excessive anywhere in the Canglan River or its tributaries."

As for that waist token, it allows you to choose any treasure from our clan's treasury, which can be redeemed at any time.

Song Changsheng was immediately shocked. Putting aside the waist token for the moment, the value of the scales alone was immeasurable.

The Water Lord of Canglan was referring to any place, not just the river basin under the jurisdiction of his water palace.

This means that wherever the Canglan River and its tributaries flow, they can obtain assistance from the local alligator dragon and aquatic tribes, but they don't know where the boundary is.

Shi Potian tentatively asked, "Water Lord must have heard about the hundred-year agreement. If the demon race makes a comeback, should we...?"

Although the words were not finished, the meaning they contained was already self-evident.

"The scales you possess can mobilize up to three demon kings for assistance," Canglan Water Lord directly replied.

With the assistance of three demon kings, this was the highest level of authority granted to this scale armor, and correspondingly, the limit to which they could demand.

As long as it's within this range, their demands are all reasonable.

Don't underestimate them. Three demon kings are a formidable force anywhere. Moreover, each of them possesses one of these scales, allowing them to mobilize up to twelve demon kings to assist them at once.

However, nobody wanted to do that; it would be a complete waste.

Every power has its decline and low points, and these scales are the lifeline in critical moments.

"Thank you for the treasure, Water Lord." Everyone bowed sincerely, as the harvest had far exceeded their expectations.

Canglan Shuijun nodded slightly and said, "You must all have many questions in your hearts. You can ask them now, and I may answer them."

The people present exchanged glances and saw the joy in each other's eyes. They hadn't expected such an unexpected gain.

Shi Potian was the first to ask: "The reason we didn't act immediately was because we considered the strength of the Canglan River and didn't overstep our bounds. However, we didn't expect that Fellow Daoist Ekun and the others would not receive any reinforcements, so we intervened."

"May I ask, Suijun, why is this?"

This was clearly a question involving the secrets of the aquatic tribes. Everyone thought he wouldn't answer, but unexpectedly, the Canglan Water Lord only remained silent for a moment before speaking softly, "This is all because I didn't consider things carefully."

Min'er began his seclusion to break through to the next level a long time ago, and I personally protected him. However, after a hundred years of seclusion, he has gained nothing.

Fifteen years ago, news suddenly came from the South China Sea that the South China Sea had returned to its former state of chaos.

Upon learning of this news, I led my elite troops to the South China Sea to suppress the disturbances in the Ruins of Return.

The South China Sea Ruins have occurred more than once, and we have experience dealing with them. We originally thought we could suppress them quickly, but we did not expect that this time the situation was special and we were unable to suppress them for a long time, and we were held back for fifteen years.

Unexpectedly, Min'er is undergoing her tribulation at this time. "The Water Lord Canglan sighed deeply, his voice filled with countless emotions.

Song Changsheng suddenly realized that E Min had chosen to undergo his tribulation when the clan's strength was at its weakest. No wonder he couldn't get any support; all the powerful members had been transferred to the South China Sea.

But soon a new question arose in their minds.

Bai Zimo asked in a deep voice, "May I ask, Water Lord, what is the meaning of the Ruins of the South Sea?"

Although the cultivation world of the Great Qi is located inland, it is actually not particularly far from the South China Sea. It is just that the islands in the South China Sea are scarce and the spiritual energy is thin, so there is little value in developing them and therefore they rarely pay attention to them.

However, the South China Sea Ruins was indeed a completely new term for them, and it was definitely not a good thing, as it required a powerful demon lord to personally go and suppress it.

Judging from what Canglan Shuijun said, there are probably quite a few powerful aquatic beings involved.

Canglan Shuijun gazed into the distance, and said with a hint of reminiscence, "To the east of the South Sea, for countless billions of miles, there is a great ravine called 'Guixu'. All the waters of the eight directions and nine fields, and the flow of the Milky Way, flow into it, yet it neither increases nor decreases."

...(End of chapter)