Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

"Boom..."

A thunderbolt struck, creating towering waves on the sea.

Under a sky full of dark clouds, a colossal creature plummeted rapidly, turning the air red from friction. From a distance, it looked like a giant fireball, crashing straight into the icy sea and sending up a cloud of water vapor that obscured the view.

Several bolts of purple lightning, thicker than an adult's arm, followed closely behind, tearing through the sea surface and striking the enormous creature precisely. With a mournful cry, a huge black shadow sank into the seabed, finally using the seawater to escape at high speed.

Zhan Tianxia strode forward with lightning speed, his divine eyes scanning back and forth on the sea surface, but he could no longer find any trace of the scaled demon king. He couldn't help but snort coldly and say, "Well, this hairless beast is fast."

"Thank you for your help, Master." Song Qingxing bowed respectfully from afar.

No need for such formalities.

"You've been acting too high-profile lately. I knew these hairless beasts wouldn't be able to hold back. Luckily, you were the first one I targeted. If it had been someone else, it would have been too late. Are you injured?" Zhan Tianxia waved his hand to disperse the thunderclouds in the sky and asked calmly.

Song Qingxing shook his head slightly. He had retreated decisively, and apart from being quite exhausted, he was not injured.

"It's good that you're not injured. You've been targeted by the sea creatures. Let's take a break for now. You've done enough. We'll rethink our plans when we get back."

Zhan Tianxia has never been optimistic about their actions.

During this period of fighting fires everywhere, although many victories have been achieved, they are only local and temporary, at most only slowing down the strategic progress of the sea race. Their impact on the overall situation is negligible. Overall, the current situation is not favorable for the cultivation world of the Great Qian Dynasty.

The timing of the Sea Clan's actions was impeccable. The Myriad Manifestations Palace was preoccupied with too much of its resources due to the Five Academies Grand Competition, and with the Thunder King Palace causing trouble inland, the Myriad Manifestations Palace had very limited resources to devote to the East Sea. If it weren't for the Myriad Manifestations Branch Academy cultivating a group of elite forces, the situation would have been even worse.

"Before I go back, I want to get some [Magic Flower]."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Tianxia frowned and said, "Others avoid this thing like the plague, what do you want it for?"
The Twin Islands cannot withstand further turmoil.

“An elder in my clan often studies this subject, and I want to take some back to him to see if he can find a solution,” Song Qingxing said truthfully.

"Are you talking about that little guy who uses the [Gold-Eating Insects] to mine spirit ore?"

"I think his name is... Song Youping?" Zhan Tianxia said suddenly.

Song Youping's reputation in the East China Sea Alliance has grown increasingly prominent over the years.

His improved Silverwing Gold-Eating Insect has now become the main method for mining metal veins by major forces in the East China Sea Alliance. Even the Wanlong Chamber of Commerce highly approves of it, as it has saved a lot of manpower and increased mining efficiency dramatically after using this method.

Because their reproductive capacity is restricted, the major powers of the East Sea Alliance purchase large quantities of Silver-Winged Gold-Eating Insects from the Song family every year to replenish their supplies, thus opening up a new source of revenue for the Song family.

That's not all. He also improved the Bloodworm, which originally lived by parasitizing sea monsters, and turned it into fertilizer for raising spirit fish, which increased the growth rate of the spirit fish by more than three times, but the cost was almost the same as before.

After selling them inland, they made a fortune. With the expansion of the breeding scale, the breeding of spirit fish will surely become a new source of income for the Song family after the Silver-winged Gold-eating Beetle.

Currently, the Song family is considering whether to open a medicinal cuisine restaurant specializing in spirit fish. They now have abundant food resources from the East China Sea, as well as Zhu Yiqun, a master of medicinal cuisine. It would be a real shame not to make use of them.

After all, with the Song family's population growing day by day, the consumption of resources is also enormous, and the Song family must develop more sources of revenue to meet the ever-increasing resource consumption.

Medicinal cuisine is not common in the cultivation world of Daqi, but like spiritual wine, it is available to everyone from Qi Refining cultivators to Golden Core cultivators, and it truly has great potential.

The most ingenious thing is that the Song family's spirit wine industry has now dominated the entire cultivation world of the Great Qi, and through its channels, it has sold to several other cultivation worlds. The two can be combined to open up new markets.

Besides these, the poisons prepared by the Spirit Insect Hall are even more popular. Rogue cultivators are constantly fighting with others and live a life of constant danger.

Poison is an essential substance for murder and arson, and since it is also a consumable, the demand for it is extremely high.

If it weren't for the deliberate restraint in shipments, it would have long since become a pillar industry for the Song family.

In a short period of time, Song Youping created several sources of revenue for the Song family.

Therefore, after discussion, the Song Clan Elders Council promoted Song Youping to the position of clan elder, and once he breaks through to the Purple Mansion stage, his Spirit Insect Hall will be directly upgraded to the Spirit Insect Palace, gaining greater authority.

These changes in the Song family naturally did not escape the notice of other members of the East China Sea Alliance. Song Youping's name spread like wildfire. Even though Zhan Tianxia had only been in the East China Sea for a short time, he had already heard of Song Youping's name more than once.

"Does this person also have expertise in spiritual plants?"

Because Song Youping had previously demonstrated his mastery of spirit insects, Zhan Tianxia was surprised and thus asked this question.

"How could someone skilled in poisons not be skilled in spiritual plants?"

"It's nothing more than a trial." Song Qingxing had great faith in Song Youping's abilities. Ever since he obtained the Blood Soul Nurturing Scripture, it was as if his Ren and Du meridians had been opened, and his progress could only be described as miraculous.

If we take some [Magic Flower] back, Song Youping might be able to find a solution.

This is a necessary step; the existence of the [Demon Flower] has seriously threatened human interests in the East Sea.

Even if they win this battle, the sea creatures can still frequently use the [Demon Flower] to sabotage them in secret and distract them.

Most importantly, the sea creatures are very likely to destroy the spirit islands in the deep sea that have not yet been occupied by the human race. If all the spirit islands in the East Sea are turned into deserted islands, then the East Sea will no longer be worth the huge cost for the human race to develop.

Humans cannot live without spiritual veins. Once they leave the spiritual veins, the cost of doing anything will increase infinitely.

Therefore, they not only need to find a way to deal with the [Demon Flower] as soon as possible, but also need to find a means of countermeasures to prevent the sea creatures' plan from succeeding.

The Myriad Manifestations Palace is likely also trying to find a solution. If they can gain the upper hand, it will be a great achievement, not only for the cultivation world of the Great Qian Dynasty, but also for all human forces involved with the East Sea.

Zhan Tianxia was somewhat tempted and nodded, saying, "What you say makes sense. I will personally accompany you on this trip."

"other people……"

"Don't worry, after receiving your request for help, I ordered someone to inform Dazhuang and the others to return. There's no need to worry."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Master."

Before long, the two arrived together above a spirit island that had been occupied by the sea race for some time.

This spirit island is quite large. There used to be two second-tier spirit veins on the island, but now they have been completely occupied by white [Demon Pu Flower]. The concentration of spiritual energy has dropped sharply. Most of the [Demon Pu Flower] flowers on the edge have withered and died, and the rest are growing on or near the spirit veins.

When the sea breeze blows, the crested feathers dance in the air like flying snowflakes, gently drifting down in all directions under the force of the wind.

Tens of thousands of seeds are sown in an instant.

The final fate of this spiritual island was to have its spiritual energy drained, turning it into a deserted island that no one would ever visit.

Near the island, a third-tier sea creature was patrolling the area with a group of sea monsters.

Zhan Tianxia was already in a bad mood because he had failed to kill the Scaled Demon King. Seeing this scene made him even more irritable. With a wave of his hand, dozens of lightning bolts struck, turning all the sea monsters in his line of sight into charred remains, which sank into the deep sea.

Song Qingxing took some seeds and even pulled up a few plants intact, carefully sealing them in a jade box.

He did not bring him back rashly, but instead found a small, secluded spiritual island before bringing Song Youping to him.

"I've long heard of the terror of the Demonic Flower, and today I've finally seen it for myself." Song Youping took the Demonic Flower seed from Song Qingxing with a joyful expression, and carefully used his spiritual power to isolate himself from contact before opening the jade box.

His expression remained normal when he saw the seeds, but after carefully examining the [Demon Flower] plant, his expression instantly turned serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Guardian Elder, I now know something about the origin of these [Demon Flowers]."

Upon hearing this, Zhan Tianxia raised an eyebrow. From the moment the [Demon Pu Flower] was discovered, all the major forces had been trying to find out its origin, but there was still no result. Song Youping knew it just by taking a few glances.
He couldn't help but speak in a deep voice, "One should not speak recklessly. Did you really see through it?"

Song Youping remained calm and spoke firmly, "In response to the Second City Lord's question, I am absolutely certain, but..."

He paused slightly at this point. This matter involved some secrets of the Song family, and he was unsure whether he should reveal everything. Before doing so, he needed to consult Song Qingxing's opinion via telepathy.

“The Master is the patriarch and mistress’s uncle, you may speak frankly.”

"As ordered."

"The Dharma Protector Elder should know that I have cultivated the Blood Soul Nurturing Spirit Scripture, and this [Demon Pu Flower] is extremely similar to a spiritual plant described in it called [Spirit Devouring Flower]."

"This is not a naturally occurring product; it must have been modified through a technique called grafting, an extremely unorthodox method. The sea race should not possess the conditions for such modification," Song Youping said with absolute certainty.

"The Blood Soul Nurturing Scripture? This... seems to be the method of the Blood Soul Demon Sect that once ravaged the cultivation world of the Heavenly River. Where did you get it from, and how did you even practice it?" Zhan Tianxia's expression was serious. Practicing demonic methods was a major taboo for righteous sects.

"This is a long story, but it has been approved by the clan leader. I can explain it to you later," Song Qingxing said calmly.

Hearing that it was Song Changsheng's permission, Zhan Tianxia's expression softened slightly, and he said in a deep voice, "You mean these [Demon Lotus Flowers] come from the Blood Soul Demon Sect? Why are you so sure?"

It was no secret to the East Sea Alliance that the Blood Soul Demon Sect had remnants hiding deep in the East Sea. Demonic cultivators were wicked and it was not surprising that they cooperated with the sea race. He was just curious as to why Song Youping was so certain.

"Because this creature's most prominent characteristic is that it is afraid of water; it will die if it is completely submerged in water."

After saying that, Song Youping threw some seeds of the [Magic Pu Flower] into the seawater. Soon, the seeds were completely decomposed and dissolved into the seawater.

"It's... that simple." Zhan Tianxia never expected that the weakness of the [Demon Flower] would be so obvious. No wonder the sea race sends sea monsters to patrol and guard every spirit island they occupy. Besides preventing the spirit island from being taken back, it is probably also to make it easier to make repairs at any time.

Turning the spirit islands into deserted islands with the [Demon Flower] is much simpler than destroying them, since that would require at least a Demon King level expert to do.

"Because it fears seawater, the distance this substance can travel is very limited. If this were inland, the consequences would be unimaginable. We must prevent people with malicious intent from using it."

However, if this substance is discovered, the solution is simple: a thorough rainstorm to saturate the soil will kill all the seeds and effectively prevent regrowth.

For cultivators, a light rain is very simple; a single first-tier [Spring Rain Talisman] can do the trick.

To be honest, this thing isn't actually that much of a deterrent.

However, the current focus is not on cleanup, but on finding a way to protect the other spirit islands located in the far sea from being destroyed by the sea creatures in this way.

Song Youping was also aware of this. After pondering for a long time, he said, "As the saying goes, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Spiritual veins are crucial for the cultivation of the human race, but the sea race also needs the resources derived from the spiritual veins at the bottom of the sea for cultivation. We might as well start from this direction."

"Do you have a way to change the properties of this thing so that it can grow on the spiritual veins at the bottom of the sea?" Zhan Tianxia raised his eyebrows slightly, naturally thinking of this.

"While it is indeed possible to do so, the destruction would be far too great. The underwater spiritual veins are also very valuable resources to us. Although it is revenge, doing it in this way will only result in mutual destruction in the end."

What I'm actually targeting are the spiritual plants derived from the spiritual veins. Back when we were improving the Silver-Winged Gold-Eating Insect, there were actually a few less successful varieties.

One of them can directly target spirit plants. I originally planned to improve it into a variety for harvesting spirit plants, but I failed. However, it is quite good at destroying them.

I can make it smaller so it's harder to spot. If we lift the breeding restrictions, we only need to release a few to make it grow rapidly around the spiritual vein.

Their lifespan is only one month. This one-month period limits their spread and prevents them from flooding the seabed, but it is enough to completely devour the spiritual plants around the spiritual veins.

Dealing with it is much more difficult than dealing with the [Magic Flower].

"Doing this won't damage the spiritual veins. When the resources are exhausted, the sea creatures will have to migrate in order to develop, and we can then naturally mine other resources around these spiritual veins!" Song Youping's tone was full of confidence.

They cannot control the behavior of the sea creatures, but they can use this object to force them to comply.

Of all the seas, the East Sea is now the only sea creature suitable for survival. Therefore, they want to send a signal to the sea creatures: the human race has more than just the East Sea. The land in this world is also vast. If all else fails, we can fight to the death.

Even if no more spiritual veins can be found in the East Sea, the human race can still obtain other resources from the East Sea, but at a higher cost. However, the sea race will lose its last habitat.

Of course, the power of the [Gold-Eating Insects] is not that great. For those stronger sea creatures, it will not have a significant impact in the short term. After all, their territory is well-defended, and powerful demons can easily annihilate these [Gold-Eating Insects].

Therefore, Song Youping mainly targeted the low-level spiritual veins on the seabed. These low-level spiritual veins were mostly inhabited by low-level sea monsters with low intelligence, who had no awareness of such precautions.

Most sirens are nomadic; once the resources around a spiritual vein are exhausted, they will seek out another spiritual vein.

When the resources around these low-level spiritual veins are destroyed by the [Gold-Eating Insects], the resources available to them will decrease. In order to obtain the resources they need, these low-level sea monsters will instinctively migrate to the open sea. The great monsters that feed on these low-level sea monsters will also find it difficult to gain a foothold and will also migrate to the open sea.

This would greatly reduce the pressure on the human race, and they might even be able to advance further.

Sirens are the sharpest claws of the sea creatures. Without their large numbers and fearless nature, they will no longer be able to pose a sufficient threat to the human race.

It seems that the human race is the one that benefits more.

Song Youping originally didn't want to bring out this thing because it had no purpose other than damaging the ecosystem.

But now that the sea creatures have made the first move, they have no choice but to use this failed attempt to retaliate.

Zhan Tianxia glanced at Song Youping with surprise. This man looked ordinary, but he was able to find a way to break the deadlock in a short period of time, which was truly extraordinary.

However, he still had some doubts. Although this thing only targeted spiritual plants, its destructive power was not small at all. It was fine in the ocean, though.

However, if it falls into the hands of the Blood Soul Demon Sect, or is taken back to the mainland by someone with ulterior motives, the consequences would be catastrophic.

After understanding Zhan Tianxia's doubts, Song Youping sighed slightly and said, "Second City Lord, everything has its advantages and disadvantages. Is there anything perfect in this world?"
However, there is one thing I can assure you.

Inland, its destructive power is not as great as you might think. These gold-eating insects have degenerated in their flight ability and can only rely on crawling, making them unable to spread quickly. Moreover, sunlight makes them inert.

As long as it cannot spread rapidly on a large scale, it is no different from ordinary pests.

The herb garden is protected by array formations and spirit plant growers, so these [Gold-Eating Insects] are unlikely to cause major damage. At most, the spiritual veins in the wild will suffer, which is actually not a big deal.

As for the Blood Soul Demon Sect, it is indeed a major hidden danger, but the Blood Soul Nurturing Scripture I cultivate all comes from the Blood Soul Demon Sect. If they can release the [Demon Lotus Flower], they can also release other things. Such worries are actually unnecessary.

At this point, Song Youping suddenly changed the subject, saying, "If the Second City Lord is still worried, I actually have another way."

"You still have a way?" Zhan Tianxia was now truly impressed with Song Youping.

"Speak quickly."

Song Youping grinned, revealing a set of bright white teeth, and said, "Before I came into contact with the Blood Soul Nurturing Scripture, my forte was actually making poisons."

Now, Zhan Tianxia knew what he meant without him having to say anything more; it was indeed a dirty trick to end things once and for all.

However, it's clear that the damage caused by large-scale poisoning far surpasses that of the [Gold-Eating Insects], and cost is also a major issue—how much poison would be needed to achieve the same effect?
"You should just give up on that idea. The cultivation world of Daqian will absolutely never agree to this plan. If you really have that intention, you could at least make more poison and send it to the front lines as a contribution," Zhan Tianxia said irritably.

Upon hearing this, Song Youping touched his nose. Although he was just joking, he still felt a little disappointed.
"Now that you have a plan, get on with it. But whether it will be useful in the end depends on the Wanxiang Palace's decision." Zhan Tianxia gave them a heads-up beforehand. No matter how much they considered, it was useless. In the end, it all depended on the Wanxiang Palace's decision.

"I will complete the improvements as quickly as possible and am ready to serve you at any time," Song Youping said respectfully.

"good."

Zhan Tianxia nodded slightly, took a step forward, and transformed into a bolt of lightning.

He has no direct connection with the Myriad Elephant Palace, and he needs to find someone to act as a bridge for this matter. The Hanhai Chamber of Commerce and Qianren City have benefited a lot from the East Sea Alliance recently. If it weren't for Song Qingxing and others' continuous efforts, they don't know how many spirit islands would have been turned into wasteland. Now is the time when they need to lend a hand.

"Are there any difficulties?"

"There are no difficulties. As long as Wanxiang Palace agrees to this plan, the current problems can be easily solved."

"But what I'm more worried about right now is how we should deal with it if the Blood Soul Demon Sect continues to get involved." Song Youping sighed softly.

He knew that this war was endless, and the Blood Soul Demon Sect could bring out even more destructive spiritual plants if they wanted to. In the end, there would be no winners in this war.

"Does the Blood Soul Demon Sect research these things for the purpose of destruction and annihilation?" Song Qingxing said softly.

Song Youping was immediately shocked. Yes, the Blood Soul Demon Sect was not researching these things to destroy, but to enhance their own strength.

Just like the predecessor of the Demon Flower, the Spirit-Devouring Flower, it was designed to extract spiritual energy from the spiritual veins for its own use, achieving an effect similar to that of a spirit stone.

Any so-called "monster" is not originally intended for destruction, but rather for enhancing strength or some other purpose.

Even at its peak, the Blood Soul Demon Sect was easily wiped out by the righteous path. The few remaining members are merely hiding in the distant sea, barely clinging to life, and can only secretly sabotage others.

Without sufficient incentives, they would never personally engage in this war with them.

If we really push Wanxiang Palace too far, even if the True Lord personally intervenes, they'll have nowhere to turn for help.

Thinking of this, Song Youping felt much calmer.

Shortly after Zhan Tianxia left, Song Youfu, who was located on Bailong Island, suddenly sent an urgent message, saying that a large group of sea monsters had been discovered in the waters surrounding the Twin Islands.

After learning the contents of the message, Song Youping shook his head slightly and said, "What's meant to happen will happen eventually."

The East China Sea Alliance has enjoyed a rare period of peace, but now, this peace is about to end.

Fortunately, they had made thorough preparations long ago.

You don't need to pay attention to it.

Having said that, Song Qingxing transformed into a streak of sword light and fled rapidly into the distance...

On the East Sea, the battle between humans and demons is raging, and the clashes among the contestants in the [Scroll of Mountains and Rivers] are equally fierce.

As the competition progressed past the halfway point, most of the surviving contestants were rushing towards the three red beams of light in the sky.

The temptation to gain a large number of points simply by hunting down any one of them is irresistible to most people.

The fact that two players who were in the top three in points have now joined forces makes the temptation even greater.

In contrast, the cultivators of the Myriad Manifestations Palace were not so optimistic. They knew that one of the two pillars of light was most likely Hua Yan.

Most cultivators are now heading in that direction, so the pressure she faces is greater than she expected.

They could only rush in that direction as fast as they could; every quarter of an hour earlier they arrived, the safer Huayan would be.

Now they can only compete with others in terms of speed.

However, not everyone chooses to act at this moment.
Song Changsheng and others, who were watching from the sidelines, noticed that some people in the center and periphery of the world had hardly moved at all.

"What are the Ji family and the people from the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty planning to do?" Song Jingyuan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"No matter how many tokens these people have, they will eventually head to the finish line. Their plan is to wait for the enemy to come to them and take advantage of their weakness," Song Jingrui said quietly.

"These people are so arrogant," Song Jingyuan said, his eyes wide.

Song Changsheng continued, "They have the right to be arrogant. The Ji family and the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty are stronger overall. With the advantage of waiting for the enemy to tire themselves out, they have a high chance of winning, unless all the other surviving contestants unite, which is almost impossible."

However, Wanxiang Palace currently has a significant lead in points, and if they can break through the blockade, they still have a good chance of entering the top three.

The tactics were all set at the beginning, and no one can take all the variables into account. Now it all depends on how well they perform.

Without a god-like perspective, the contestants naturally had no idea about the changes happening on the field.

Hua Yan is currently engaged in a fierce battle with Hu Tao, the chief disciple of the younger generation of the Beast Taming Sect.

To be precise, it was a chaotic melee, as one member of the Ji clan, two disciples of the Hundred Cauldrons Pavilion, and one disciple of the Beast Taming Sect had already joined in.

Six people, belonging to five different factions, this battle is destined to be extremely fierce.

Among them, Hua Yan faces indescribable pressure. At least Hu Tao has a clansman to help him share the burden, but she can only fight alone at present.

Even so, she remained completely calm and composed, displaying extraordinary composure even when surrounded.

However, her target had shifted from the hidden tiger to the lone member of the Ji clan.

Before anyone could react, Hua Yan, who had been on the defensive, suddenly launched an attack...

……

P.S.: Sorry to keep you all waiting. Here's a 7,000-word chapter today, still 9,000 words to go. (End of Chapter)