Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

"Rumors? What are they about?" Song Changsheng frowned slightly, knowing that there must be something special about them, otherwise Song Qingxi wouldn't have brought them up.

"Some say that there is a royal family of merfolk hiding within the territory of the Great Qi. Capturing her would influence the war situation in the East China Sea. As long as there is definite information, people will be willing to pay a high price for her even without capturing her."

Although it is a rumor, it sounds quite convincing and doesn't seem like it came out of nowhere.

Many cultivators believed it to be true, and nowadays, rogue cultivators and even sect cultivators are searching everywhere in the waters, digging three feet into the ground. Many other cultivators from the cultivation world have also come to investigate.

Many people from the subordinate forces have also come to inquire, but I haven't given a reply yet.

Song Changsheng's face darkened. This was no mere rumor; it was clearly a veiled attack.

"What do you think about this?"

Without much hesitation, Song Qingxi said, "Someone must be deliberately causing trouble. In my opinion, it is very likely that they are people sent by the [Jinxiu Banner]."

Her conjecture was not unfounded; she was one of the few remaining cultivators of the Song Clan who knew about the information related to Kong Sang Xi Ruo.

Kong Sang Xi Ruo's hiding place is extremely well hidden, with powerful formations and restrictions as its foundation. Song Changsheng had searched for it before he broke through to the Golden Core stage, but found no trace of it.

In other words, it's impossible that Kong Sang Xi Ruo revealed her location herself; rather, someone in the know deliberately spread the information, and since they didn't have any concrete information, they could only use this method to "stir up trouble."

[Jinxiuqi] was an insider who had once sent Song Zhexuan to win over and pressure the Song family in order to find Kongsang Xiruo and use her to influence the East China Sea war.

Therefore, they are undoubtedly the most suspicious. The reason they chose to spread the information in secret is most likely because they were considering the Song family's situation and dared not intervene directly.

Song Changsheng nodded slightly and said, "That's what I think too. What do you think should be done about this?"

"I have already ordered the Wind Whisper Palace to activate its intelligence network to find the source of the rumors. This person is very well hidden. We are currently tracing the source. As long as he is still in Daqi, we will definitely have results in half a month at most."

Every year, a large sum of real money is poured in to build this intelligence network, with tens of millions of spirit stones thrown in. The intelligence personnel have been replaced once or twice. The Song family certainly has the right to say this now.

Unless the Golden Crow Sect or the Heavenly Vein Sect deliberately conceals it, no movement within the Great Qi territory can escape the ears and eyes of the Wind Whisper Palace.

Song Changsheng shook his head and said, "It's too slow. Contact Luoxia City and ask them to use the 'Spider Web' to search. I need the results as soon as possible."

On a grander scale, if Kong Sangxi is his savior, the [Cold Pool Coral] she gave him saved the lives of Song Luzhou and Song Chang'an, and will save even more lives in the future.

No matter what, he had to ensure Kong Sang Xi Ruo's safety.

On a smaller scale, Kong Sangxi was an important link he used to stabilize the Tuolong Clan and the East Sea Clan, while the [Brocade Banner] was their enemy. No matter what, there was no reason for them to succeed.

"If the city lord were to ask..."

"Find someone first. I'll find time to explain to Master," Song Changsheng said in a deep voice.

"As ordered."

Song Qingxi thought for a moment and said, "Why don't you take some time to go and check on Fairy Kongsang? Xianglu River is a famous river in Daqi, attracting a lot of attention. Although the underwater palace is hidden, there are still many people and eyes, so it's not very safe."

In her view, Song Changsheng is now a Golden Core cultivator and enjoys a certain reputation both inside and outside the Great Qi. If he takes Kong Sang Xiruo away without anyone noticing, nothing will happen.

Even if someone with ulterior motives discovers this later, they probably won't make an enemy of the Song family over a mermaid.

"I will go. Do you have the Myriad Manifestations Token on you?" Song Changsheng asked in a deep voice.

"Here I am."

No matter how anxious you are, there's no rush. Acting rashly might play right into their hands. It's important to understand the situation.

After receiving the Myriad Manifestations Token, Song Changsheng sent a message inquiring about the current situation in the East China Sea. There had been no rumors before or after this, so there must be a reason why the [Brocade Banner] suddenly made such a move.

This was his first time trying to contact someone using the Myriad Manifestations Token, and the response speed was surprisingly fast, taking less than a quarter of an hour, which was no different from an instant reply. This surprised him quite a bit, as even the communication compass that Zhan Tianxia had given him was not this fast.

This sparked his considerable interest in the principles behind the Myriad Manifestations Order.

Of course, now is not the time to focus on these things; the focus is on the reply from the Vientiane Palace.

Judging from the tone of the text, the reply should be from Master Jianxin. She said that the situation in the East Sea has recently undergone significant changes. A merman royal family member has gathered a large number of sea creatures and sea monsters with his influence, and a great war is about to break out.

The main focus will most likely be on the [Jinxiuqi] and [Hanhai Chamber of Commerce] front lines.

Among them, the [Jinxiu Banner] is under great pressure. Song Tianyuan and Song Daoling are both half-crippled. The last counterattack by the Cailin Clan caused them heavy losses, forcing them to abandon most of the outer spirit islands and only barely be able to hold onto the core archipelago.

Now facing the military might of a mermaid royal, the pressure is immense, so it's understandable that they would resort to unconventional tactics.

Having learned the whole story, Song Changsheng understood the situation.

He then inquired about the secret inscription on the "Heavenly Fire Cauldron." Although he was completely baffled, he believed that with the resources of the Myriad Manifestations Palace, they might be able to discern something.

This time, Kenshin didn't give him a definite answer, but said he would check it out first, and there was still a good chance.

Finally, he casually asked the name of the mermaid royal family's ruler, and the answer he received was: "Kong Sang Li Feng".

A standard surname of the merfolk royal family.

……

Following Song Changsheng's instructions, Song Qingxi contacted Luoxia City, and the long-dormant "Spider Web" was activated again, beginning a comprehensive search throughout the Great Qi territory.

The so-called "Spider Web" is actually the "Demon Web" of the Blood Demon Cult. Ever since Shen Yin, or more precisely Yin Sheng, fell into the hands of Luoxia City, it is unknown what agreement was reached between the two parties. This once most powerful intelligence network in the Great Qi cultivation world now belongs to Luoxia City and has been renamed "Spider Web".

The name comes from the intelligence network's methods of gathering information, and it is said to be related to a strange spider.

The once most powerful intelligence network in the cultivation world of the Great Qi, combined with the intelligence network of Luoxia City itself, creates an intelligence gathering capability that far surpasses any existing intelligence agency in the Great Qi.

Of course, activating it at full power once also consumes a lot of resources.

They usually remain silent, passively gathering intelligence, and haven't been awakened for a long time.

The terrifying power of the spider web was quickly demonstrated; it successfully located the source in just one day.

“Uncle, we’ve found out. The source of the rumors is the loose cultivator city in Xiangzhou, but the initial direction of the rumors was Xuzhou and Yunzhou. This person is very clever.”

Although part of Xiangzhou also belongs to the Song family, their control is no match for Yangzhou. The situation has only improved slightly after the establishment of the Jade Talisman Sect and the Wuxiang Guard, but it is still not enough.

Furthermore, the other party deliberately chose a chaotic place like the City of Loose Cultivators, which maximized the degree of tracing the source.

But he didn't know what he was facing. The "spider web" was all-pervasive, and these clumsy tricks were useless. "The other party is a Purple Mansion cultivator. Should we notify Zhang Ming and Master Jiang to arrest him?" Song Qingxi asked softly.

Song Changsheng stood up and said slowly, "I'll go myself, so as not to alert the enemy."

"You're going in person?" Song Qingxi was somewhat surprised. Wasn't this overkill?

"After I take care of him, I'm going to go check out Xianglu River."

"Understood, I'll find a way to minimize the attention Xianglujiang receives," Song Qingxi said with a sudden realization.

It's very simple. Just make some noise in other large rivers nearby, and those people will naturally be attracted away.

Song Changsheng nodded, took a step, and disappeared into the void.

"Uncle has made further progress in the field of spatial manipulation." A glint flashed in Song Qingxi's eyes.

When Song Changsheng reappeared, he was already in the sky above the city of rogue cultivators. He had also stopped in this city when he led Song Qingxing and the others to the Heavenly Sword Sect.

It was here that he, still a bachelor, had a son.

A hundred years have passed in a flash, and when I returned to this place, everything had changed.

Song Changsheng's vast divine sense spread out and quickly locked onto a highly suspicious middle-aged cultivator within the city.

The only drawback of the "Spider Web" is that it cannot directly determine the target's cultivation level; it can only be estimated based on the target's behavior and performance.

The person Song Changsheng had targeted was a cultivator at the mid-stage of the Purple Mansion realm. In Xiangzhou, especially in cities frequented by rogue cultivators, great cultivators at the Purple Mansion realm were extremely rare, which immediately narrowed down the search area.

Besides, unless someone has a guilty conscience, who would hide themselves so well?

With a flash, he crossed several defensive formations and layers of restrictions on the outer perimeter and entered the other party's room in the inn without making a sound.

At that time, the other party was sitting cross-legged on the soft couch cultivating and was completely unaware of Song Changsheng's arrival.

As soon as Song Changsheng reached out, the other party was instantly pulled into his hand by a huge suction force without any resistance. He was awakened in an instant, and when he saw the attacker's face clearly, his heart skipped a beat.

"Senior... what is the reason for this?" he asked, trying to appear calm.

"Even at this point, you're still putting on airs in front of me." Song Changsheng sneered, and with a flick of his sleeve, a waist token fell off the middle-aged cultivator's body.

The front of the waist tag is engraved with a large character "Song".

"Heh, you dare to come to Daqi and stir up trouble, you've got some guts." Song Changsheng's gaze was icy, looking at him as if he were a dead man.

"Song Changsheng, please don't..."

Before the middle-aged cultivator could finish speaking, he was stunned by a wisp of magic power output by Song Changsheng.

The reason he didn't kill him outright was because he still needed to obtain some information from him.

Without any intention of interrogation, he directly used the Soul Searching Technique. Soon, the middle-aged cultivator named Song Zhejiu collapsed to the ground like a dead dog, his breath weak and foaming at the mouth.

Song Changsheng closed his eyes and digested the information for a moment, then breathed a sigh of relief.

As he had expected, although the [Jinxiu Banner] knew that Kongsang Xiruo was hiding in the cultivation world of Daqi, they did not have much information on her, and did not even know whether she was male or female.

They had already given up the search because of what had happened before.

Song Zhejiu came here purely because he was forced into a corner and wanted to try his luck. In fact, they didn't even know the name of the merman royal they were facing.

As things stand, Kong Sang Xi Ruo's situation is still safe.

Instead of killing Song Zhejiu, he sealed his acupoints and imprisoned him before setting off for Xianglu River.

The rumors had spread far too far this time, so he finally decided to try to take her away, whether he kept her hidden in the Song family or sent her to the East China Sea to reunite with her clan, at least her safety could be guaranteed.

Arriving at Xianglu River, he relied on the memories deep in his mind to find the place where he was besieged by He Tai and others. Back then, he detonated his magic weapon, was seriously injured, fell into the river, and was swept into the river's lower water palace by the undercurrent.

Later, when they came out of the Jiangxia Water Mansion through the formation, they were not far from this place. All signs indicate that Kong Sang Xiruo's Jiangxia Water Mansion should be in this vicinity.

Looking out, two Foundation Establishment cultivators could be clearly seen skimming across the vast river, scanning back and forth on their swords.

Without any clear indication of where the news was coming from, there were two Foundation Establishment cultivators in this single stretch of the river, and numerous Qi Refining cultivators on the riverbank and boats on the river. This shows how fast the news spread and how many cultivators were involved.

If it weren't for the martial law along the Canglan River, it would probably be packed with people right now.

Using his newly acquired supernatural power, Song Changsheng concealed himself in the void. He first scanned the area below the river with his divine sense, but found nothing. It must be that the water palace's barrier blocked his divine sense from being detected.

He thought for a moment, then closed and opened his eyes, activating the [Eye of Illusion].

Soon, the barrier and formation below the river were directly exposed in front of him, less than a hundred miles away from his location.

"found it."

Song Changsheng sank into the river and arrived at the first layer of the barrier, where he began to search for the loophole that had allowed him to enter earlier.

With his current abilities, he could easily break through these barriers and restrictions, but that would expose the Jiangxia Water Mansion. For Kongsang Xiruo's safety, he was willing to put in the extra effort.

Previously, when he was in the Water Mansion, he and Kong Sang Xiruo had tried to find a loophole in the barrier, but they failed because the barrier was constantly changing and his cultivation was insufficient to support it.

However, his current divine sense was powerful enough to cover the entire barrier, and he quickly discovered the loophole from before.

Passing through layers of barriers and restrictions, a luxurious underwater palace situated at the bottom of the river came into view. In terms of both scale and luxury, it was only slightly inferior to the Alligator Dragon Clan's Water Palace.

But this place is even darker and more desolate, with no warmth to be felt.

Song Changsheng arrived outside the palace and called out Kong Sang Xiruo's name loudly, but no one answered for a long time.

A sense of foreboding suddenly began to grow in my heart...

……

(End of this chapter)