Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

"Master, this is the Void Magic Crystal that needs to be handed over. It weighs a total of one hundred catties. Please check it." The steward respectfully handed a small box about one foot square to Song Changsheng, his face full of smiles, afraid of offending this big spender.

Whether he can go back and report this time, and whether his future hope of breaking through to the Purple Mansion realm rests entirely on Song Changsheng, he has to serve him well.

Song Changsheng reached out and opened the heavily sealed box. Inside was half a box of purplish-black rhomboid crystals, each only as thick as his little finger. The unique aura they emitted made him unconsciously frown.

"Is this the unique demonic energy of the Void Crystal? It is indeed an extremely evil thing, even more troublesome than the bloodthirsty energy."

"Hmm, as expected of a variant of the [Void Crystal], its spatial laws, though somewhat restrained, are still stronger than weaker." Song Changsheng nodded to himself.

If you look closely, you'll notice that after the box was opened, the surrounding space became abnormally distorted, and the power was already beginning to show its signs even before it was fully released.

If all 100 jin of [Void Magic Crystals] were to erupt at this moment, the entire warship would be instantly swallowed up by the suddenly appearing spatial rift. Although it wouldn't kill Song Changsheng, he would certainly be severely injured.

"If we use this to set up a grand formation..." Feeling the terrifying power hidden within the [Void Magic Crystal], a bold idea suddenly popped into Song Changsheng's mind.

"The goods are fine. You may leave. In six months, you will personally transport another batch to the location I designate. Someone will come to collect the goods for you." Song Changsheng casually tossed a storage bag into the steward's arms. Then, yin and yang energies appeared beneath his feet, turning into a wisp of green smoke and disappearing.

"This humble servant respectfully sees off True Person Zixu!" The steward hurriedly bowed and, after confirming that Song Changsheng had left, he opened the storage bag in his arms and glanced inside. It was piled up like a small hill with spirit stones, more than enough to cover the remaining balance.

He immediately breathed a sigh of relief. The Golden Core cultivator was indeed a man of his word. Now he could go back and report.

At this moment, the others who had been waiting outside rushed in and began asking questions all at once.

"Alright, we've received the final payment, and the real person even gave us a tip." The manager waved the storage bag in his hand and said loudly.

Upon hearing this, everyone burst into heartfelt cheers.

They risked their lives to make this trip, and now they're finally seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The profits from this one deal are enough to support their years of arduous training.

Just as everyone was cheering, an untimely voice rang out from the crowd: "Is that really the real person from the [Brocade Banner]?"

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly fell silent.

They are all people who have been living on the edge for a long time, and none of them who have survived to this day are truly fools.

Song Changsheng's identity is shrouded in many doubts.

The manager, however, said nonchalantly, "What does it matter whether it is or not? Our task is to dispose of this batch of stolen goods. The managers of the trading company don't care who we sell to; they only care about whether we make a profit on spirit stones."

We've not only earned spirit stones, but we've also secured a large order for fifty catties every year, which will reward us in return.

Remember this: everyone give the same story. When you get back, say that [Jinxiuqi] breached the contract and that we found another major client to take over. Don't say anything you shouldn't say, understand?

"Yes, sir!" the crowd roared in agreement.

"Let's go, let's head back. If we don't go back soon, it will arouse suspicion."

……

"He is indeed a smart person."

After the warship sailed away from the original sea area, Song Changsheng's figure slowly appeared. He had actually been hiding on the warship all along, just to observe everyone's reaction, and the result was quite satisfactory to him.

He could have avoided paying those spirit stones and let these people go directly to the Embroidered Banner to demand them, which would have been a way to annoy the Embroidered Banner. However, the price would have been that everyone on the ship would have to go into exile.

Compared to the disgusting [Brocade Banner], he still hoped to obtain a long-term trading channel for [Void Magic Crystals]. These things were not easy to obtain; very few forces had signed long-term trade contracts with the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty on the surface, and there were no more than three in the entire Great Qian Dynasty.

This is because of the proximity to the source, and the fact that the Dazhen Immortal Dynasty wanted to ease tensions. Most cultivators only have one or even none, and most of the time they are acquired through auctions. Supply cannot meet demand, and prices remain high.

Profit is a powerful motivator, which is why some people choose to smuggle despite such strict controls.

It's not easy to get on a good side, so this was a matter of chance.

Everything in this world is preordained; if he hadn't intervened to save the warship, he wouldn't have obtained such a rare opportunity.

"Now that things are settled here, it's time to head to the Twin Islands." Song Changsheng stretched, this trip was truly worthwhile...

Song Changsheng did not alert anyone, including Song Qingxing and Song Xianming.

He wanted to see the true potential of the Twin Islands, and the fact that his existence would become known would certainly affect the final outcome, which was something he didn't want to see.

After secretly inspecting the defenses of the Twin Islands and finding no obvious weaknesses, he left satisfied and settled on an inconspicuous spirit island on the outskirts.

In this way, if they are unable to withstand the attack, we can intervene in time to provide assistance.

Take out a Void Crystal from the box. Under the sunlight, its amethyst-like surface reflects a dark light, and one can vaguely see a surging power flowing within it.

"I hope your power won't disappoint me." A soft murmur rang out as Song Changsheng infused a wisp of magic into the [Void Magic Crystal] in his hand, then gently tossed it away.

The Void Crystal flew into the air, and the magic power injected into it reacted with the power inside the Void Crystal, causing it to explode in the blink of an eye.

In an instant, the space within a radius of several tens of feet was distorted and even torn apart. From those torn spatial cracks, countless spatial turbulence burst forth, like sharp blades that could cut through iron like mud. Wherever they passed, all matter was devoured.

Its outbreak was silent; even with Song Changsheng's hearing, he could only hear an extremely faint sound if he closed his eyes, much fainter than the sound of an ant crawling in its nest.

The perception at the spiritual level is also relatively weak. If it were to erupt within ten zhang of a Purple Mansion cultivator, they would basically be unable to react.

However, figuring out how to make him unleash his power within ten zhang of a Purple Mansion cultivator is a very profound skill.

"Its stealth and speed of attack are sufficient, but its power is still slightly lacking."

Overall, Song Changsheng was quite satisfied. With this power, it would be difficult for any cultivator below the Great Perfection of Foundation Establishment to withstand it.

Simply increasing the number to ten is enough to severely injure cultivators below the Great Perfection of the Purple Mansion realm.

Ten [Void Magic Crystals] weigh about ten jin (5 kg), and the standard weight of one crystal is one jin. There are a hundred crystals here, and no cultivator of the Purple Mansion level can survive the power generated by their combined explosion.

Even a Golden Core cultivator would suffer a loss if they didn't react in time.

But what is the cost of doing all this?
One million low-grade spirit stones.

A mere one million low-grade spirit stones can buy a chance to severely injure a Golden Core cultivator. If it were a Purple Mansion cultivator, as long as the distance is close enough, the kill rate would be almost 100%.

There's really no better deal in the world.

It's no wonder the Void Crystal is so popular; it allows you to overcome stronger opponents in a different way. It's said that Purple Mansion cultivators fight fiercely for it at auctions and on the black market, and the reason is self-evident.

"If it is refined into a magic weapon in the same way as the [Thunderbolt], its power should be significantly enhanced, but some concealment will be lost."

However…” Song Changsheng smiled, “As long as there are enough of them, and the power they unleash is strong enough, what does sacrificing a little concealment matter?”

Song Changsheng found a sacred peak and carved out a cave dwelling there. He then began to refine the Void Magic Crystal version of Lei Zhenzi.

He used a very high dosage, refining ten [Void Magic Crystals] into one [Thunderbolt], for a total of ten.

Theoretically speaking, each one has the ability to turn a cultivator from the Purple Mansion realm into nothingness.

“Sea creatures have thick skin and tough flesh; even ten pills might not be effective,” Song Changsheng frowned slightly.

To increase the odds, besides increasing the number of attacks to amplify the power of the burst, the only other option is to rely on the power of the formation.

Song Changsheng has a lot to say about formations. There are many formations that can be used to enhance the power of [Lei Zhenzi].

However, Song Changsheng intends to take an unconventional route this time, and he already has a plan in mind.

After carefully storing these [Lei Zhenzi], he glanced at the intelligence reports Song Jingxiu had given him recently and found that the Sea Yaksha clan had not made any unusual moves, and the Twin Islands were still continuing to strengthen their defenses.

"Just as I initially thought, after the Sea Yaksha clan hit a wall the first time, they were indeed much more cautious the second time."

The challenges that Qingxing and his team face are extremely severe.

"I need to be prepared too," Song Changsheng thought to himself.

Although it's highly unlikely that the demon king of the Sea Yaksha clan will send out his entire force, the matter is of great importance. Since Song Changsheng has come, he has to take this possibility into account, and he also needs to improve himself as much as possible in this limited time.

Of course, he also needed to prepare a backup plan, as the [Thunderbolts] he possessed were not enough to pose a significant threat to a demon king at the fourth-tier Great Perfection level.

He reached into his robes and took out the [Myriad Manifestations Token], sending a message to Sword Heart Master.

A reply came from the other end in less than fifteen minutes, which was incredibly fast.

The first thing the other person said stunned Song Changsheng.

"When did Fellow Daoist Zixu arrive at the East Sea?"

"Is it the intelligence network of the Myriad Elephants Palace, or did she discover something during the thunderstorm?" Song Changsheng frowned slightly. The other party wouldn't say such a thing without reason; she must have discovered something.

"What makes you say that, fellow Daoist?"

“Fellow Daoist Zixu, there’s no need to hide it. I saw you in the thunderstorm that day.”

Our sect's Supreme Elder is very interested in that thunderstorm that appeared and disappeared suddenly. If you have time, you can come and visit Wanxiang Mountain.

There's been new progress on those unidentified runes you asked me to investigate before.

After the words were spoken, there was no further movement from the other end of the [Palace of Myriad Phenomena].

Looking at the [Myriad Manifestations Token] in his hand, Song Changsheng fell into deep thought. Sword Heart Immortal was indeed there that day, but he didn't quite believe what she said.

If she really saw it, she wouldn't be contacting him now. She must have left some traces that she discovered that day, and the other party probably can't be completely sure either.

It was precisely because she lacked confidence that she added that last sentence to increase her leverage.

After a moment's thought, Song Changsheng decided to ignore Jianxin Zhenren for the time being and let them wait for a while, since the other party had not set a fixed time.

He took out the Yin-Yang Spirit-Slaying Gourd and carefully took a drop from it, swallowing it.

In an instant, it felt as if an electric current had flowed through his entire body. Song Changsheng quickly sat down cross-legged, concentrating on comprehending the [Thunder Law] contained within...

Several days later, Song Changsheng suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of lightning in them, and exclaimed in surprise, "There are actually fragments of the Daoist essence of the [Thunder Law] contained within it."

The importance of laws and principles in comprehending laws is self-evident; it can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

However, most of the laws and principles of Tao need to be comprehended by oneself, and the effects vary from person to person.

However, this [Thunder Essence] is different. The fragments of laws and Dao principles contained within it can be directly absorbed. Because of this, just one drop took him several days to refine, and the bottleneck of the [Thunder Law] that had been hindering him for so long was also loosened.

This efficiency is simply astonishing; such a treasure would be considered extremely precious even within the "Creation Codex".

After learning about the effects of [Thunder Essence], Song Changsheng hesitated.

He originally intended to use this as leverage to negotiate with True Monarch Lei Xiang, but now that the leverage is too heavy, he is reluctant to use it.

"It's tough," Song Changsheng sighed softly...

At the summit of White Dragon Peak in the Twin Islands, a figure sat quietly in meditation, dressed in dark robes, with a three-foot-long sword stuck straight in front of him.

He was like a statue, unmoved by wind or rain, by the changing seasons.

This person was none other than Song Qingxing.

He has been sitting here cross-legged for months without ever lifting his eyelids.

He was quite at ease knowing that Song Xianming and Song Yuqing were overseeing the construction of the defense line.

Everyone is working hard for this battle, so naturally he can't be idle.

Long ago, he learned a simple technique from Wu Jie called "Accumulating Sword Momentum".

By concealing all of one's sharpness within the sword, the longer it accumulates, the more astonishing the power it unleashes.

He has used this move more than once, and it is his most powerful trump card.

But now he needs to gather the strongest sword strike he has ever honed to deal with the strongest enemy!

On the eve of the great battle, no one dared to slack off!
...(End of chapter)