Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

Beneath the deep, silent ocean, the crystal-clear remains of a true dragon shimmered faintly with a fluorescent glow.

It has been buried here for countless years, losing its sturdy scales and claws, its flesh and blood, its proud dragon horns, and even its skeleton is incomplete and unrecognizable.

If you were to record this and tell others that it is the skeleton of a real dragon, you would probably be spitting at him, because he is now so destitute that he is not even as good as a mudfish.

But once you stand truly before him, you'll realize that a true dragon is a true dragon. No matter what he has been through, when you are truly facing him, the awe that comes from the heart is genuine and irrepressible.

When the sea monsters passed by, most of them were cautious and trembling. Only a very few third-tier great monsters were able to move freely within this area.

Song Changsheng took a deep breath and slowly withdrew his gaze from the skeleton.

The time since its fall has been too long. During this period, countless sea monsters have lingered in this place. This corpse has long been drained dry by these sea monsters, leaving only a small skeleton.

Even these skeletons showed signs of being gnawed on everywhere, their essence completely sucked out.

Human weapon refiners are exemplary in making the most of waste, but even so, there aren't many uses for this skeleton for Song Changsheng.

Of course, if you have enough confidence in your digestive abilities, you can still extract the last bit of essence by swallowing the remaining skeleton.

Judging from this, it seems to be underway. Originally, this dragon was at least a thousand feet long, but now only its head and the area below it remain.

For a high and mighty dragon, this was undoubtedly a great humiliation. If any of his kind were to pass by, it wouldn't be surprising if, in a fit of rage, he were to slap these sea yakshas to death.

Clearly, the most precious dragon remains are now almost worthless.

However, this was something they had foreseen beforehand, since the Sea Yaksha clan had been entrenched here for over a decade, and it was impossible for anything of value to have survived until now.

His and Ji Shinian's goal was the byproducts that emerged after the fall of the true dragon.

The fall of a true dragon often brings about tremendous changes in the environment. In this world, most of the spiritual plants or materials related to "dragons" were actually formed after the fall of a true dragon, which altered the surrounding environment.

An ordinary weed, after being contaminated with the blood of a true dragon, may undergo a tremendous transformation.

A true dragon descended to the mortal realm, and all things came to life.

The Dragon Blood Ginseng, one of the three main ingredients for refining the Foundation Establishment Pill, is a wild ginseng that has been enhanced by being soaked in the blood of a true dragon, directly advancing from an ungraded wild ginseng to a fifth-grade spiritual herb.

Even after so many years of continuous differentiation, its seed can still remain at the second level, which is entirely due to the trace of the Daoist principles bestowed upon it by the true dragon's essence blood.

There are many similar examples.

Song Changsheng lowered his gaze and, sure enough, found a large area of ​​bright red soil covered by a layer of silt around the dragon skeleton, spreading outwards from the dragon skeleton.

The scarlet spots of light he had previously seen through the trench barrier with his "Insight of Truth" were emanating from this soil.

Nourished by the essence of the true dragon, the silt found everywhere on the seabed has been transformed into the rare "Dragon Blood Mud," one of the most precious spiritual soils in the world.

In order to develop its spiritual plant industry, the Song family once purchased large quantities of various spiritual soils. At that time, a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Qi Yuanli, in order to join the Song family, offered a jar of [Dragon Blood Mud] as a pledge of allegiance, which greatly promoted the growth of [Dragon Blood Ginseng]. (See Chapter 24 of Volume 5 for details)
However, Xiao Jiu had corrected him at that time, saying that the true dragon's essence blood, if condensed and not dispersed, could not be integrated into the soil to form [Dragon Blood Mud].

The so-called "dragon blood mud" is mostly made by irrigating with the blood of a dragon.

But I later learned that this was a difference in understanding between the two.

Human cultivators are accustomed to referring to dragons that have survived two or more Dragon Transformation Tribulations as "True Dragons".

In the "Creation Codex", only the first batch of "Dragon Clan" at the beginning of the creation of heaven and earth, as well as those dragons who have passed all the "Dragon Transformation Tribulations", crossed the Dragon Gate, and reached the realm of True Immortals of the human race, can be called "True Dragons".

Apart from these, they can only be considered "Jiao".

The one before us certainly doesn't meet the standard recorded in the "Creation Manual," but it has at least survived two "Dragon Transformation Tribulations," making it worthy of being ranked alongside the supreme beings of the human race.

The spiritual soil nourished by the essence and blood of someone with such cultivation is far more precious than the jar that Qi Yuanli sent back then.

And these [Dragon Blood Mud] did not disappoint him. They grew a large number of spiritual plants that were rarely seen in the outside world, and some had never even been seen before. Moreover, their quality was not low, all of them were above the third rank, and the fourth rank was also common.

Each plant was slightly reddish, carrying a faint aura of a true dragon.

"Unfortunately, it has differentiated too many times, and its dragon might has become very weak." Song Changsheng sighed with a slight regret.

Below the bottomless sea, ordinary spiritual plants can hardly survive. Those that can grow on this fourth-order water spiritual vein are at least third-order, with fourth-order being the norm.

With an already good foundation, Song Changsheng dared not imagine how much change would occur to the first batch of spiritual plants that received the True Dragon Blood irrigation.

It is estimated that even a Nascent Soul True Monarch would go crazy for it.

Even so, the value of these spiritual plants and the Dragon Blood Mud is immense.

These sea monsters even chewed up and swallowed the bones that had been drained of their essence, but they didn't touch the [Dragon Blood Mud], which shows that they also knew the true value of this mud.

However, Song Changsheng was not going to be polite to them.

"The Great Divine Power [Universe Within a Sleeve]"

His sleeves suddenly expanded dozens of times, taking away all the spiritual plants within his line of sight, including the [Dragon Blood Mud].

Ji Shinian held the strongest fighter of the Sea Yaksha clan firmly in check, while Song Changsheng moved freely through the clan's territory, taking anything of value without hesitation.

During this time, many sea monsters foolishly attacked him, but they were all slapped into a bloody mist by him, which could be considered an eye for an eye.

Those who stepped forward were all third-tier sea monsters; the demon king who had fought him earlier had vanished without a trace.

Fortunately, this group of sea yakshas had fled, and their territory's defenses were not yet fully developed; otherwise, Song Changsheng wouldn't have been able to escape so easily.

In less than an hour, Song Changsheng had completely looted the entire plot of land.

On the other side, the battle between Ji Shinian and the old man had also entered a fierce stage. The two sides were evenly matched, and neither could do anything to the other. It was impossible to determine a winner in a short period of time.

Song Changsheng's eyes darted around, directly targeting the palace with a distinctly sea-tribe style located above the corpse's head.

This is the only structure in the trench, and the treasure trove of the Sea Yaksha clan is most likely located here.

"There's even an array." Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow.

The Demon King can already transform into human form. As long as he has the inheritance, he can naturally become a formation master if he has enough talent.

However, such a prodigy should not exist in the Sea Yaksha clan, otherwise the battle in the Twin Islands would not have gone so smoothly.

From the restrictions covering the trench to the array surrounding the palace, Song Changsheng vaguely sensed something unusual.

"So it's the [Mysterious Water Heavenly Fiend Array]." This is a fairly common water-attribute array, ranked in the middle of the fourth tier, and it seems to have been set up in recent years.

Judging from the method used, this was most likely the work of a human formation master.

Clearly, there are human cultivators cooperating with these sea yakshas.

Such things are common in the East China Sea, and they are even more common closer to the human territory. For example, the Cailin Clan and the East China Sea Alliance have trade dealings in private.

Conversely, the farther away from human territory, the rarer this phenomenon becomes.

This trench is located in the open ocean, and the human race has not yet ventured into this area. Even the nearest Twin Islands are still a long way away.

In this context, their partners become somewhat intriguing.

To be able to set up a mid-grade fourth-order array, one must be at least a Golden Core cultivator. Looking across the entire Great Qian cultivation world, there are very few who meet this requirement, and most of them are gathered in the Myriad Manifestations Palace.

The rest are all relatively well-known entities.

However, these people can be ruled out directly. First, there is no opportunity for contact, and second, if the Sea Yaksha were cooperating with the forces of the Great Qian cultivation world, it would be impossible for them not to obtain information about the East Sea Alliance from the other party.

If it's a Golden Core cultivator living in seclusion nearby, then there's not much to worry about; such people generally don't get involved in power struggles.

Otherwise, then it's something to be wary of.

There are sects and forces in the deep sea. Song Changsheng knew that there was a demonic sect, and he even planted a spy in it.

However, he did not know the exact location of the Blood Soul Demon Sect, and that branch was not in this direction, so Song Changsheng could not be sure whether the two had colluded.

Secretly on high alert, Song Changsheng broke the great formation as quickly as possible.

Without a fourth-tier array master in charge, a mid-grade fourth-tier array would be utterly vulnerable in the face of Song Changsheng.

The moment the great formation broke, a figure suddenly appeared, none other than Ye Minghong, who had not shown himself until now.

In fact, he had been watching Song Changsheng's actions all along, but he had already been traumatized by the previous beatings, so he could only turn a blind eye and pray that Song would leave as soon as he finished looting.

Who knew that Song Changsheng would go even further and set his sights on the treasure vault, and even easily broke the great formation. There was no way to escape, so he had no choice but to take a gamble.

So you were hiding inside!

As soon as Song Changsheng finished speaking, he turned into a wisp of green smoke and disappeared, leaving Song Changsheng empty-handed.

When it reappeared, it was already directly above Ye Minghong.

"So fast!" Ye Minghong's pupils shrank. Only now did he truly realize how terrifying Song Changsheng was.

I initially thought that since the other party was also seriously injured, there would be a chance to launch a sneak attack, but I didn't expect that the two sides were not even on the same level.

Song Changsheng had previously used this as a lure, but now, seeking a swift victory, he made no attempt to conceal his formidable strength.

"【Five Thunder Seal】"

"Boom"

A bolt of cyan lightning struck, instantly shattering Ye Minghong's protective demonic aura, leaving his broad back charred.

"Roar--"

Ye Minghong roared and slammed his hands out, unleashing a torrent of lightning that transformed into countless chains that surged toward Song Changsheng. Then, his trident shot out like a meteor from outer space, instantly traversing the barriers of space.

"Great Divine Power [One Finger to Dust]"

"Om..."

A powerful spatial force swept out, freezing the surrounding space as if it were frozen. Not only did the seawater stop flowing, but even the chains formed by lightning, the trident in the air, and Ye Minghong were all frozen in place.

"This... how is this possible?" Ye Minghong was shocked. This feeling of losing control of everything terrified and suffocated him.

"Duang..."

Song Changsheng directly rang the [Void Bell], and spatial ripples spread out. The originally still space instantly became like an ice surface hit by a boulder, spreading out countless spatial cracks. The trident was immediately twisted beyond recognition.

"Ah—" Ye Minghong let out a shrill scream.

Already severely injured, he was no match for the force that erupted from him; the demon king's true form was torn apart by the power that burst forth.

"Wow"

Waves surged forth, and his massive body instantly softened, merging directly with the surrounding seawater as he sped away into the distance.

He couldn't care less about anything else now; all he wanted was to escape this place as quickly as possible.

This opponent is truly terrifying.

Having come this far, Song Changsheng naturally couldn't let him go so easily. He traversed thousands of miles in a few steps, and with [Four Seas Peace], he slashed at what seemed to be nothing, cutting through the turbulent seawater. A scream was heard, and crimson blood gushed out. Ye Minghong was actually cut in half at the waist by this sword.

Having landed a successful blow, he gave Ye Minghong no chance whatsoever, swiftly unleashing several sword strikes while simultaneously summoning dozens of bolts of lightning to indiscriminately bombard the area.

Despair gripped Ye Minghong's heart. He could only bitterly abandon his physical body and entrust his soul to his inner core to continue his escape.

How could Song Changsheng possibly give up this most important trophy? He stretched out his hand and gently drew a circle.

"Great Supernatural Power: Drawing a Circle on the Ground as a Prison"

After trapping the escaped inner core, he quickly summoned the [Hundred Fiends Qiongqi Cauldron] to cover the inner core and collect it along with the remaining flesh and blood.

"Bastard!"

A furious roar came from afar, and the surrounding seawater seemed to boil.

"Hahaha, well done, fellow Daoist. There's no need to worry about this old Yaksha. Fellow Daoist, go ahead and do as you please." Ji Shinian was full of heroic spirit and directly stopped the enraged Yaksha Demon King.

Song Changsheng nodded slightly to him, then without saying anything more, he charged directly into the palace, his vast divine sense spreading out to quickly search for the location of the Sea Yaksha clan's treasure vault.

At this moment, he was like a tiger among sheep; no one could stand in his way anymore...

...(End of chapter)