Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

Outside the deep, dark underwater palace, barriers and restrictions intertwined, and golden array patterns emitted a hazy glow. Song Changsheng stood outside the palace, enveloped by an almost invisible membrane that completely isolated him from the surrounding river water.

The clear sound echoed in the water, passing through the underwater palace, and crashed against the invisible barrier, creating faint ripples.

Quiet.

There was a deathly silence, and no response was received.

Song Changsheng frowned slightly. A hundred years ago, Kong Sang Xiruo already possessed considerable cultivation. She was born with the bloodline of the Merfolk royal family, so even if she slacked off in her cultivation, her cultivation level would not fall too far behind.

If he called out like that, even if the other party was in seclusion, there was no way they wouldn't hear him. In this situation, there are only three possibilities.

One possibility is that she is in seclusion, and although she may have heard his voice, she is unable to respond. This would undoubtedly be the best outcome, and it would also be what he is happy to see.

Secondly, just as her father had hoped, Kong Sang Xi Ruo bravely took that step and left the cage-like underwater palace through the array.

This outcome isn't bad, but she has the token left by Song Changsheng. If she really leaves this place, she can't help but look for him, since she has never seen such an outside world and has no one to rely on.

When faced with a completely unfamiliar environment, people always instinctively seek reliance. As the only person in Kongsang Xiruo's life who could be called a "friend," he was confident that Kongsang Xiruo would come to find him as soon as she got out.

Unless something happened in between that made her give up or stopped her.

Of course, it's also possible that her father or someone else took her away; overall, it's not the worst outcome.

Finally, and this is the last thing Song Changsheng wanted to see, was that something unexpected might happen.

Accidents come in many forms, some caused by human error, others by other reasons, but no matter the cause, the situation is never good.

Without much hesitation, Song Changsheng directly broke through the outer barrier of the underwater palace, but there was still a defensive formation with a grade of fourth-level high quality blocking his way.

The outer barriers and formations are intact, which at least proves that no outsiders have entered this place. As long as Kong Sang Xi Ruo did not run back, she must still be in this palace. It's just unknown what happened.

The person who set up this formation was highly skilled in formations, but the method of setting it up was very crude, and in some places it could even be described as "rudimentary".

Although this is a fourth-order high-grade formation, in Song Changsheng's current view, it is almost at the bottom of the level.

With the blessing of the [Insightful Eye], Song Changsheng discovered several loopholes in the great formation in just one hour.

In the human cultivation world, this would be almost impossible.

It should have been arranged by Kong Sang Xi Ruo's father himself, which is quite rare. Among the various arts of human cultivation, array formations are among the most difficult to master, so it is already very impressive for an alien race to have such skill.

It took nearly three hours to tear a large hole in the existing defensive array, and Song Changsheng flashed into it.

His powerful divine sense spread out in an overwhelming manner. Although the underwater palace was large, the strength of his divine sense was comparable to that of a Golden Core cultivator at the Great Perfection stage, enough to cover the entire underwater palace. Without barriers or formations to block it, everything inside the palace was clearly reflected in his mind.

Compared to a century ago, this place remains unchanged, just as luxurious and just as deserted.

To his relief, he could clearly sense Xi Ruo's presence in her bedchamber, though she seemed to be in poor condition.

Song Changsheng frowned slightly, and in the blink of an eye, he crossed the spatial barrier and appeared in the bedroom.

The familiar dressing table, with a bronze mirror in the center, and a bed made of a huge white clam shell under a pink bed curtain embroidered with lotus patterns.

It was here that he opened his eyes after suffering severe injuries.

The furnishings inside the sleeping quarters are exactly the same as they were a hundred years ago, with no change in even the positions. Time seems to have left no trace here.

The only difference was that the person lying in bed had changed from him to Kong Sang Xiruo.

Reaching out to lift the thin gauze bed curtains, Kong Sang Xiruo, dressed in a colorful dress, curled up with her fishtail and lay quietly on the bed. Her exquisite and beautiful face was tinged with worry, her delicate eyebrows furrowed as if they were an unsolvable knot.

Beside her pillow sat a ceramic pot engraved with orchid patterns. A clump of orchids grew in the dark soil, but they had all withered and turned yellow, perhaps because they had not been watered with spiritual liquid for a long time.

However, it is still clear that they are growing well, and there is still a trace of life remaining in them, so they should not have withered for long.

This is the "Bright Moon Wisdom Orchid" that Song Changsheng gave to Kongsang Xiruo before he left. It's a very ordinary orchid, originally intended to add a touch of spring to this dark and desolate underwater palace.

I never expected that Kong Sang Xiruo would take such good care of it, growing it from a single seed into a full pot, and she even placed it by her pillow.

The Bright Moon Orchid has extremely strong vitality. It can usually be left unattended for three to five years without any problems. Therefore, it can be seen that Kong Sang Xi Ruo has been asleep for at least five years.

"His breathing is disordered, and his soul is unstable. Could it be that there's a problem with his cultivation?" Song Changsheng frowned slightly. Any mishap in cultivation is never a trivial matter. If that's the case, the situation is a bit tricky.

Extending his right hand, he slowly brushed it across Kong Sang Xiruo's body from head to toe, three inches away. Vibrant life force surged in his palm, and a surge of vitality flowed into her body.

For a full quarter of an hour, Kong Sang Xi Ruo's condition remained completely unchanged, which was quite perplexing.

In Song Changsheng's view, Kong Sang Xiruo's current cultivation level is still at the top level of the third rank, and has not yet reached the fourth rank.

He has now reached the minor mastery of the [Law of Life], and can stabilize his injuries in a short time even when facing a demon king like E Lian. However, it had no effect on Kong Sang Xi Ruo.

“It wasn’t caused by injuries.” Song Changsheng frowned. He had originally thought that there was a problem with his cultivation, which caused his magical power to surge back, damaging his life essence and soul, resulting in his coma. Now it seems that this is not the case at all.

Just as he was racking his brains trying to figure it out, his peripheral vision was suddenly drawn to the back of Kong Sang Xiruo's hand. He lifted her hand and saw that the veins under her fair skin were bulging and particularly noticeable.

Moreover, the blood vessels, which should have been dark red, were now an eerie bright red and were even pulsating slightly.

Song Changsheng rolled up her sleeve, and the changes in the blood vessels on her delicate, fair arms became even more obvious; they even felt a little hot to the touch.

His divine sense pierced through her skin and penetrated deep into her body, observing her internal organs, meridians, and dantian. He quickly discovered some details that he had not noticed before.

"That's it. It's not a problem with her cultivation. It's that the bloodline of the merman royal family within her is awakening. This power is too strong, and she can't withstand it in a short time, which is why she fell into a coma." Song Changsheng finally figured out the reason.

Like the demon race, the sea race cultivates and inherits its traditions through bloodlines. Generally, breaking through to the third rank activates all the inheritances within their bloodlines. However, some sea races with powerful bloodlines not only possess their own clan's cultivation inheritances but also contain special bloodline factors. After awakening these factors, they offer numerous benefits, including the ability to comprehend innate divine abilities and assist in breakthroughs at crucial moments.

As a member of the Merfolk royal family, even if Kong Sang Xi Ruo's bloodline is relatively diluted, she is still among the top in the world, comparable to the son of a true dragon.

One can only imagine how powerful the force contained within its bloodline is.

Logically speaking, this power should have awakened after Kong Sang Xi Ruo broke through to the fourth level, because only then would she have enough resources to withstand this power. But for some reason, it awakened ahead of schedule.

The sudden surge of such immense power within her body was naturally too much for Kong Sang Xiruo to bear.

If a fourth-level expert had helped her with the refining process, there wouldn't have been any major problems. However, there was no one to protect her in the Jiangxia Palace, forcing her body into a state of "self-protection."

They would minimize all consumption and focus all their efforts on refining the power of their bloodline.

After figuring out the key to this matter, Song Changsheng felt a mixture of joy and worry.

The good news is that Kong Sang Xi Ruo has fully awakened the power of her royal bloodline. As long as she can refine this power, she will be able to kick open the door to becoming a fourth-tier demon king.

His concern was that he wasn't sure how long it would take Kong Sang Xi Ruo to refine this power; it could take decades, centuries, or even a lifetime.

Given the current situation, Kongsang Xiruo doesn't have much time left.

Song Changsheng's eyes flickered as he stepped forward and helped her sit up on the bed. Then, he channeled his magic power and slapped her back with his palm, forcibly helping her suppress and refine the power of her bloodline.

"Om-"

A faint ripple spread outwards, and the moment Kong Sang Xiruo, who had been looking worried, had her face turn rosy as this vast magical power surged into her body, her ear tips became so red that they looked like they were about to bleed, and her blood vessels emitted a booming sound like surging tides.

His body temperature was also rising rapidly, and quickly reached a very alarming level.

In other words, given Kong Sang Xi Ruo's cultivation level, an ordinary person would likely be fully cooked by now.

As he channeled his magic power, Song Changsheng observed the changes in Kong Sang Xiruo's bloodline. He couldn't help but beam with joy, thinking to himself, "There's hope!"

He had never done this before; he had only learned the method from ancient books and had only intended to try it out. Unexpectedly, the effect was surprisingly good.

Song Changsheng focused his mind and began to control the output speed of his magic power, lest it be too fast and exceed Kong Sang Xiruo's capacity...

Just as Song Changsheng was helping Kong Sang Xiruo refine the power within her body, Song Qingxi sent people to bury some [Thunderbolts] in the Chenxiang River, not far from Xianglu River, and detonate them together. The commotion caused by the explosion attracted the attention of all the surrounding cultivators, including those searching on Xianglu River.

However, to Song Qingxi's surprise, Song Changsheng's departure lasted for a full five days, rendering all her arrangements futile. The group of cultivators who gained nothing in Chenxiang River quickly dispersed again, leaving only a few persistent ones behind.

On this day, the group of cultivators searching on the Xianglu River discovered that the sky had suddenly darkened for some unknown reason, and thick, leaden clouds seemed to have formed out of thin air, quickly filling the entire sky.

"Strange, the sun was blazing just now, how come it's going to rain now?" A Foundation Establishment cultivator who was flying on a sword looked at the dark sky, full of questions.

Upon hearing this, a Foundation Establishment cultivator beside him said, "It looks like it's not just going to rain, it'll probably thunder too. Brother Li, let's lower our altitude a bit, so as not to offend the heavens."

Even the most ordinary lightning bolts are beyond their current cultivation level to withstand; flying too high makes them vulnerable to being struck.

At first, the two thought it was just a normal thunderstorm, but gradually they felt something was wrong. The thunderclouds gathered more and more, and the lightning bolts in them were thousands of feet long. The golden lightning illuminated half of the sky, revealing a terrifying and ferocious power.

"Boom..."

The rumbling thunder, growing louder as it approached, sent a chill down their spines, raising goosebumps all over their bodies.

"Brother Chen, something's not right." The cultivator surnamed Li swallowed hard, feeling a little panicked. The higher one's cultivation level, the stronger one's perception of danger. He had already realized that this was not a simple thunderstorm.

The cultivator surnamed Chen had the same feeling and nodded hurriedly, saying, "There is something strange about this place. We should leave now."

The two hurriedly flew away on their swords, and the other Qi Refining cultivators also sensed this and began to move away from Xianglu River as quickly as possible.

Besides the cultivators in the center of the thunderstorm who sensed it, several other people in the Great Qi cultivation world also felt it.

Mu Guibai of Luoxia City, Bai Zimo of Jinwu Sect, Chen Zhongfang, Shi Potian of Tianmai Sect, and Bai Yan.

At that moment, the same question arose in their minds: "Who is undergoing tribulation?"

They all sensed something, but Song Changsheng, who was in the core area, had no premonition because of the barrier surrounding the palace at the bottom of the river.

He slowly withdrew his hands, let out a long breath, and looked somewhat tired. In five days, his magical power had been consumed at an astonishing rate. If it weren't for the twelve vortexes in his golden core that allowed for rapid recovery, he probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with the consumption.

However, the boiling blood in Kong Sang Xi Ruo's body had completely calmed down, and her delicate eyebrows relaxed.

As she refined the last bit of power, Kong Sang Xi Ruo, who had been asleep for countless years, finally slowly opened her eyes. What came into view was Song Chang Sheng's face, full of concern.

For a moment, I couldn't believe my eyes.

"You're awake. How are you feeling?" Song Changsheng asked gently.

Kong Sangxi didn't answer his question. Instead, she closed her eyes and then opened them again. When she realized that the Song Changsheng in front of her was not an illusion, a look of surprise immediately appeared on her face, and at the same time, tears welled up in her eyes...

……

P.S.: I just got home from my business trip. Sorry to keep you all waiting. I can rest today, and I will arrange extra chapters for you as soon as possible.

good night~

(End of this chapter)