Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

“Jing Xiao’s spiritual energy vortex has actually generated lightning power. Could this also be a kind of true meaning?” Xu Yunhe frowned as he looked at the lightning spreading in the vortex.

Although he started from humble beginnings, he had witnessed many cultivators break through over the years and had seen dozens of different kinds of true meanings and strange phenomena. But this was the first time he had seen something like Song Jingxiao's situation.

Song Changsheng shook his head slightly and said, "It shouldn't be. The breakthrough has only just begun, and the [Thunderous True Meaning] couldn't have emerged so quickly."

This was the first time he had ever seen such a situation, and it was difficult to say whether it was a blessing or a curse at the moment.

"boom--"

A dazzling bolt of lightning suddenly struck down, instantly activating the defensive array of White Dragon Peak and blocking the fierce lightning bolt.

Although this bolt of lightning only caused faint ripples on the protective shield of the defensive array, even this inconspicuous ripple was enough to blast a Qi Refining stage cultivator into ashes.

"This...this is a tribulation of lightning?" All the Song clan cultivators watching were dumbfounded.

These words were immediately refuted by Song Youlin: "Absurd! It's just a Qi Refining cultivator breaking through, how could there be a Heavenly Tribulation? Someone is secretly tampering with this; it's a deliberate act!"

Song Youfu wholeheartedly agreed: "Exactly, do you really think that God has nothing better to do than send down a heavenly tribulation to punish a Qi Refining cultivator? There must be someone pulling strings behind the scenes."

"This feeling... seems to be... a curse." Song Changsheng frowned slightly, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, yet he wasn't entirely sure.

"A curse? You mean someone is trying to harm Jing Xiao? But he's just a Qi Refining cultivator who rarely goes out to train. How could he possibly have offended such a powerful enemy?" Xu Yunhe said incredulously.

It wasn't that he didn't believe Song Changsheng's judgment, but he felt that it was somewhat illogical. Spellcasters were extremely rare, and the threshold for cultivation was extremely high. If the lightning bolt just now was a spell, then the person who cast it must have been at least a Purple Mansion stage cultivator.

Such a person could easily have cursed Song Jingxiao and killed him, but he chose this particular method, which is truly puzzling.

Unless the other party has some strange fetish and enjoys the feeling of torture.

Song Changsheng shook his head slightly and said, "It's hard to say. I've never seen a real sorcerer. I've only learned about them from ancient books. I just think this kind of performance is very similar."

I couldn't have missed such a common curse, so it's unlikely that it was planted during the Five Academies Grand Competition. The problem most likely occurred during the period between their return from the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty and their breakthrough in seclusion.

"Lin'er, do you know where Jingxiao has been all this time?"

Spellcasters don't cast spells without leaving a trace, and spellcasters at the Purple Mansion stage only have a superficial understanding of them. It's hard for them to hide from cultivators with keen senses. It must have been Song Jingxiao who picked it up during his training trip.

Fortunately, Song Jingxiao was a promising talent of the family. He had to report and register before going out for training, and he was also secretly followed and protected by the hidden guards of the Fengyu Palace. The route was very clear.

Spellcasters also pay a price for casting spells. They can't just cast a spell on a Qi Refining cultivator for no reason. There must be a reason. We just need to follow the clues to find the root of the problem.

A sorcerer has appeared in the territory of the East China Sea Alliance and even attacked the Song family's promising players. Such a dangerous individual cannot be left unpunished.

As the Grand Commander of the Wind and Rain Palace, Xu Yunhe had direct control over the Hidden Guards, so he directly summoned the Hidden Guard responsible for guarding the outside.

I learned from him that after Song Jingxiao returned from the Great Zhen Immortal Dynasty, he went on a training trip with Xu Miaoyin.

Actually, calling it a training or experience isn't entirely accurate.

They were actually visiting the Bloodworm breeding farm that Song Youping had built. Their activities hadn't even left the Twin Islands, and they had only been there for a few days. During that time, they didn't have any conflicts with anyone, and the hidden guards didn't notice any suspicious people deliberately approaching them.

Things seemed to have suddenly reached a dead end.

Song Youfu quickly grasped the crux of the matter and rationally analyzed, "If it wasn't a conflict during the training that led to retaliation, then it was a premeditated murder."

By the way, it seems that the [bloodworm] farm employs many independent cultivators to feed the worms. Is it possible that the murderer is mixed in with them?

By listing the people who left in the two years prior, and with the current intelligence capabilities of the Wind Whisper Palace, there is still a chance to find the murderer.

Finding the culprit not only resolves potential threats, but most importantly, it helps to figure out who is behind all this.

In fact, Jing Xiao has kept a low profile since arriving at the Twin Islands, and he has mostly used an alias when going out for training.

Therefore, not many people outside the community know his identity and qualifications. If we can't find the murderer, we can start our investigation from this angle; it should yield some results.

“That’s right, let’s do it that way.” Song Changsheng nodded slightly, expressing his approval of his argument.

Actually, he had other ways to find the murderer, but it wouldn't be bad to take this opportunity to test the capabilities of the East Sea Garrison and the Wind Whisper Palace.

"Grandson will order someone to do it immediately. However, shouldn't we stop Jingxiao and Miaoyin from breaking through immediately? It would be troublesome if they were affected by the curse."

"It's alright. I just checked carefully with my divine sense. The curse on Jing Xiao's body dissipated after it was activated, and there are no traces of curses on Miao Yin's body. Don't worry."

He said the last half of the sentence specifically to Xu Yunhe beside him; he was definitely more anxious than anyone else at that moment.

Just as Song Changsheng said, after the lightning struck, the vortex of spiritual energy in the air returned to normal, and abundant spiritual energy surged in from all directions, pouring into Song Jingxiao's body and vigorously cleansing his meridians and physical body.

Song Jingxiao had a solid foundation, and the previous tribulation lightning was blocked by the protective array. He was unaware of what was happening to him, so he was not affected and passed through the three stages of Foundation Establishment in an orderly manner, with basically no ups and downs.

Unfortunately, the [True Meaning of Thunder] did not appear in the sky at the final moment of the breakthrough.

If he can comprehend the true meaning during the Foundation Establishment stage, his path to breaking through to the Purple Mansion stage will surely be smooth sailing and unstoppable, just like Song Changsheng and Song Youlin.

This shows that Song Jingxiao is not particularly outstanding in terms of comprehension. Below the Purple Mansion stage, it does not have a great impact, as his spiritual root is enough to make up for this. However, as he progresses, the importance of comprehension will gradually become apparent. If he cannot overcome this hurdle, the Purple Mansion stage may be the upper limit of his life.

"It's better to go through more hardships."

The cultivators of the "Jing" generation were born before he broke through to the Golden Core stage, which was the starting point of the Song family's rapid development. They fully enjoyed the benefits of the family's development, especially promising talents like Song Jingxiao, who almost never had to worry about resources.

It has both advantages and disadvantages.

With Song Jingxiao and Xu Miaoyin's talent, they should have gone much further at this age. Although their steady progress is one factor, the bigger reason is that they haven't experienced enough trials and tribulations.

Even though he made an exception and sent the two who had not yet broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage to the Twin Islands for training, it still seems a bit insufficient now.

In terms of qualifications, Song Qingxing was slightly inferior to them, and in the early stages, he even had a huge personality flaw.

However, the potential that the other party is currently showing is perhaps only comparable to that of Zhuang Yuechan in the entire Song family.

This is all potential squeezed out by constantly teetering between life and death. Song Jingxiao lacks this element. He was born a hunter and cultivates a brutal thunder technique. He should have been a fierce tiger, but he hasn't grown fangs yet.

"Having broken through to the Foundation Establishment stage, I can be considered to have some ability to protect myself. It's time for a change." A thought flashed through Song Changsheng's mind.

Shortly after Song Jingxiao's breakthrough, Xu Miaoyin followed suit, and the process went even more smoothly, eventually even triggering a "spiritual tide".

Similar to Song Changsheng's "Qi Separation of Yin and Yang" and Song Youlin's "Earth Vein Resonance" during his breakthrough, this is also a strange phenomenon caused by the manifestation of true essence, namely [Divine Soul True Meaning].

Although she was only a Qi Refining cultivator, her spiritual power was stronger than that of an average Foundation Establishment cultivator. In her childhood, she received too many gifts.

After breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage, her mental power experienced a surge, triggering a large-scale "mental tide," with powerful mental energy resembling a tide.

When the tide recedes, all the spiritual energy will converge, and when the tide rises, it will suddenly burst out, which is a very powerful large-scale group spiritual attack, but it is still passive at present.

If Xu Miaoyin were to one day be able to control this power, she might be able to transform it into her own innate supernatural ability.

The power that "Mental Tide" can unleash depends entirely on the mental strength of Xu Miaoyin, the caster. Theoretically, there is no upper limit to its potential, and it has extremely strong growth potential. It all depends on whether she can control it.

"Now you can finally rest assured. With Yin'er's talent, breaking through to the Foundation Establishment stage is just a natural thing. Why worry?"

Once the cyclone in the sky had completely dissipated, Song Changsheng turned to look at Xu Yunhe, who couldn't suppress his joy, and teased him.

Xu Yunhe laughed upon hearing this, "Based on my understanding of you, when Qingyun broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, your performance was not necessarily much better than mine."

The simple joke made Song Changsheng momentarily dazed. Back then, when he learned that Song Qingyun was about to break through, he specially rushed from Cangmang Peak to Dingyuan City to protect him.

From the moment he officially broke through to the end, it took a full thirty-six hours, and during that time his heart was constantly on edge. (See Chapter 164 of Volume 5 for details)
As fathers, no one is any better than the other.

Xu Yunhe lost the first twenty years of his life with Xu Miaoyin, but he still has plenty of time to make up for it and spend time with her for the rest of his life.

He didn't spend enough time with Qingyun when she was a child, and they spent very little time together after she grew up.

More than a hundred years have passed, and it's unknown whether the father and son will ever have the chance to reunite.

Seeing the subtle change in Song Changsheng's emotions, he immediately realized how inappropriate his words had been.

Song Changsheng saw his old friend's self-blame and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Alright, don't take it to heart. It's a good thing that someone still remembers Qingyun."

Over the years, Song Qingyun's name seemed to have become a taboo. Those who knew him tried their best to avoid mentioning it in front of him, even Zhuang Yuechan was no exception. He didn't actually like it because he felt that traces of Qingyun's existence were slowly fading away.

"Yin'er has emerged from seclusion. The person she wants to see most right now is definitely you. Why aren't you going?"

"Have you forgotten that you are not only Yin'er's master, but also his godfather?"

"My daughter is your daughter. What she wants to see most right now, besides me, is definitely you. Come along, come along." Without saying another word, Xu Yunhe pulled Song Changsheng down from the mountain peak.

"Jing Xiao greets the clan chief and uncle."

"Miaoyin greets Father, Father."

Inside the main hall, the two who had just completed their breakthrough and were still unable to control their auras well bowed respectfully to the two people on the left and right.

In front of outsiders, Xu Miaoyin always addressed Song Changsheng and his wife as "Master" and "Master's Wife," but in private, she always called them "Father" and "Mother."

She truly respected the couple as if they were her own parents, and in return, the love they gave her was no different from that given to their own daughter.

In fact, Xu Miaoyin spent much more time with Xu Yunhe and his wife than with Xu Yunhe and his wife.

That one word, "Father," stirred up many memories for Song Changsheng. Looking at his adopted daughter, who had grown into an increasingly graceful young woman, he felt immense joy.

In a sense, Xu Miaoyin's appearance did indeed fill a void in his heart to a large extent.

The baby who once struggled to survive has now grown into a Foundation Establishment cultivator. Fate is truly unpredictable.

He reached into his sleeve and took out two sword talismans, handing them to the two men. Xu Yunhe had also prepared gifts for them.

Xu Yunhe then recounted what happened during Song Jingxiao's breakthrough, but unfortunately, neither of them could recall any useful information.

"You've just broken through, and your cultivation is still somewhat unstable. In the coming period, you should focus on consolidating your cultivation. Before the murderer is caught, do not go out casually," Song Changsheng solemnly instructed.

After seeing the two juniors off, Xu Yunhe's smile gradually faded, and he sighed, "Time really flies. Miaoyin is already a Foundation Establishment cultivator."

"What, are you starting to admit you're getting old?" Song Changsheng asked with a smile.

"Of course not, I just feel... I've wasted my time."

Over the years, it's less about helping you and more about seeking refuge here.

Song Changsheng sighed slightly and said, "As the saying goes, isn't it better to have a wife, children, and a warm bed, and live a peaceful life?"

"Once you're strong enough, I'll naturally support you in avenging your defeat, but now is not the time."

Xu Yunhe said with a desolate expression, "Longevity."

Do you know what kind of person I am? I am a blade of grass struggling to survive in the mire. I can wait until I have the strength to take revenge.

But Wan Yun couldn't wait any longer. She had lost all her cultivation and didn't have much lifespan left. Ordinary medicines would be ineffective in curing her.

But I know there's someone who can do it. No matter what, I have to find him.

Forgive me, it's time to say goodbye again.

……

P.S.: I was stuck on this chapter for a long time, sorry everyone.

Updates will be as usual tonight. (End of this chapter)