Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

When everyone understands the true rules of this game, the current false appearances will be ruthlessly torn apart, and the real trial will begin.

Wherever the sword light touched, blood-red glints appeared, and not a blade of grass grew.

Song Qingxing, alone with his sword and dressed in black, began his sweep outwards from the floating island where Bai Zhengchun's remains were buried.

Any cultivator illuminated by the light of the [Traceless Sword] will perish on the spot within an hour, without exception.

Now he only pursues efficiency. Once he fully unleashes his power, few cultivators of the same realm will encounter him as an opponent, and in one-on-one situations, the outcome can be decided very quickly.

He was like a Yama walking in the darkness, ruthlessly reaping the lives of the trial participants, and the previously stagnant trial progress suddenly began to increase dramatically.

"Pfft..."

A flash of silver sword light appeared, and a middle-aged cultivator dressed in blue clutched his throat, blood gushing from between his fingers. In the end, he could only fall down, filled with resentment and disbelief.

Despite being a rogue cultivator, he was a seasoned veteran who had spent his life licking blood from the edge of a knife and had never underestimated his opponents. However, he never expected that the person in front of him would be so strong.

Each sword strike was terrifyingly powerful, as if it had reached the limit of this realm.

He was defeated in just a few rounds. As the sword slashed across his throat, the sword energy simultaneously shattered his consciousness and annihilated his soul.

He never imagined that he, who had dominated the world for hundreds of years, would die in such a way.

I've thought about death, but definitely not about ending my life in such a hasty way.

After he collapsed, a barely perceptible wisp of "qi" shot up from his forehead.

Song Qingxing squatted down and carefully examined him. He finally determined that the corpse in front of him was different. It seemed that something was missing from his body at the time of his death.

He searched and killed his way through the corpses, stopping to observe each one for a while. It wasn't because he had any particular fetish, but simply to confirm his suspicions.

The corpses within the Trial Path are all the same, but they are somewhat different from the corpses outside; they have all lost something they shouldn't have lost.

In this way, the underlying logic of the Trial Path becomes clear—raising Gu poison.

He didn't know what these dead had lost, but one thing was certain: every Golden Core cultivator who walked out of this trial path was essentially "cannibalizing people."

Since it involves cannibalism, only a few are destined to emerge victorious.

The deaths of most people merely serve as nourishment for the growth of a small number of people.

Looking at that face full of resentment, Song Qingxing felt no pity in his eyes, but simply covered his body with a layer of loose soil.

Since you've chosen to participate in this "cannibalistic game," it means you're voluntarily accepting the rules of the game.

Therefore, everyone who participates in the path of trials deserves to die, including himself.

The faster he kills, the sooner this farce will end, and the deceased will suffer less torment and pain.

Just as he got up to leave, he saw the [Traceless Sword] rise into the air and hover above his head, its blade trembling and emitting a clear, sharp sword cry.

Song Qingxing slowly turned around and saw a solitary figure standing on a small mound on a floating island not far away.

The other person had an ordinary appearance, the kind of person you wouldn't notice if you threw him into a crowd, but his aura was so striking that he was like a wolf king waiting for his hunting opportunity. Just by standing there quietly, he could make people feel a heavy pressure.

Song Qingxing was not disturbed by the other party's sudden appearance, because he knew exactly when the uninvited guest had arrived.

Since the other party didn't make a move, he ignored them and focused on dealing with the middle-aged man who was skilled with a gun.

"I haven't seen a single living person along the way, only one corpse after another. These dead people have very distinct features, all of them having only one sword wound on their bodies."

It is evident that the killer had extremely precise control over his strength, each sword strike being just enough to take the life of his opponent. After the killing, there was almost no sword energy left at the wound, making it difficult for anyone to track him down.

I've been searching all this way, and now it seems you're the one I've been looking for.

You cultivate the [Path of Slaughter Sword], right?

Given your demonstrated talent and strength, breaking through to the Golden Core stage shouldn't be difficult for you, so you shouldn't be here.

Either there's some kind of flaw, or... we're the same kind of people.

Let me introduce myself. I am Shen Jingchuan from the Northern Desert Demon Blade Sect, but others prefer to call me by another name—Mad Blade.

A bloodthirsty glint flashed in Shen Jingchuan's eyes, like a hunter spotting a rare prey, his blood boiling.

He talked a lot, but Song Qingxing's attention remained focused on the horizontal sword at his waist.

When strong individuals meet, they can sense each other, and sometimes there's no need for many unnecessary words.

In addition, swords and blades will speak for them.

He was facing a swordsman.

Of all the weapons in the world, swords and sabers are the most numerous.

Song Qingxing had seen many skilled swordsmen, but he had only ever seen this one who could truly be called a swordsman.

He had never heard of the Demon Blade Sect, but a sect capable of producing such swordsmen must not be some unknown little sect.

The other party made a very insightful point: with his qualifications, he had absolutely no need to risk coming to the Trial Grounds.

This same argument applies to Shen Jingchuan as well.

Therefore, they are the same type of people.

Of all the trial participants he knew, the one before him was undoubtedly number one.

There is more than one die leading to the Five Elements Trial. In theory, the safest way is for the two to not interfere with each other, separately eliminate their competitors and turn them into nutrients, and then complete their respective trials.

After all, when two tigers fight, one will inevitably be injured.

However, their purpose in coming here was not just to break through to the Golden Core stage; that was merely a secondary objective.

What they really want is to break through their own limits in desperate situations.

The opponents before him were all too weak; they couldn't put any pressure on him in a one-on-one situation, let alone push him to the brink.

To unleash one's potential, finding an opponent who is equal to or even stronger than oneself is undoubtedly the most important thing.

Now, he has a goal!

"I've seen plenty of swordsmen, but I've never seen anyone as rude as you before." Shen Jingchuan's tone was slightly cold, and his hand had already tightened its grip on the hilt of his sword.

At this moment, Song Qingxing finally withdrew his gaze and calmly said, "If you can find me by following the residual sword energy, you can be my opponent."

Shen Jingchuan raised an eyebrow, then belatedly realized, "That sword energy was something you deliberately left behind?"
Hehe, it seems I didn't choose the wrong person after all; you and I are indeed kindred spirits!

This time, Song Qingxing did not answer, but responded in a more direct way.

"Clang!" The [Traceless Sword] slashed down from the sky, its dazzling sword light blooming. An invisible sword aura, concealed by this sword light, crossed space and arrived in an instant!

Shen Jingchuan stood on the small mound, his robes fluttering in the wind, his expression cold and stern, his sharp eyes seemingly seeing through everything.

Just before the sword energy was about to arrive, he suddenly drew the horizontal sword from his waist.

In an instant, a deafening tiger's roar echoed along the path of trials.

A flash of light appeared and disappeared, instantly neutralizing the sword strike.

Seeing this, Song Qingxing felt a growing sense of seriousness.

A man is like a lone wolf, a knife is like a fierce tiger.

Two conflicting traits appeared in the same person, and he was more like a rogue cultivator than a sect cultivator.

With his initial brilliance revealed, Shen Jingchuan showed no fear on his face. Instead, a sinister smile appeared on his face. He gripped his knife in the back of his hand, and endless sword energy gathered behind him, eventually condensing into a black tiger that stood majestically on the floating island, exuding domineering power and seemingly ready to devour anyone who might harm it.

With a slight thought, Song Qingxing caused the [Traceless Sword] in the air to tremble, gathering a massive amount of sword energy that coalesced into a magnificent silver-white dragon with prominent horns and head.

The sword energy was whistling, and the dragon soared into the sky, its momentum no less than that of Shen Jingchuan, and perhaps even greater.

"Roar……"

"hold head high--"

The tiger's roar was long and drawn out, and the dragon's cry pierced the sky.

The two energies of sword and blade soared into the sky at the same time.

The other participants in the trial sensed something and looked up. They then witnessed a scene they would never forget: between the faintly visible floating islands, a tiger and a dragon had appeared out of nowhere, one in the south and one in the north, one black and one white.

The tiger crouches and the dragon coils, its imposing presence as deep as an abyss, standing majestically across the distance.

"How can such a powerful force exist on the Path of Trials? What exactly is it...?"

Some of the trial participants felt their Dao heart become unstable and their faces turned pale just from observing from afar.

And this is not an isolated phenomenon.

The death rate on the Path of Trials has always been high. The reason why these people dare to take this risk is because they all have great confidence in their own strength.

We're all at the Great Perfection of the Purple Mansion realm, so no one can back down.

The mantis catches the cicada, and the oriole is behind.

The outcome is still uncertain; anyone could be the dark horse.

This is the source of their confidence.

But all of this is based on the premise that everyone's strength is not too different. In the face of absolute superior strength, all strategies are useless. Everyone else can only be a mantis, which may be preyed on by the oriole at any time. This is the absolute suppression of the food chain.

Before this, everyone thought they were the ones who would win, but what they saw before them made it impossible for them to maintain their confidence any longer.

Because the real orioles have already appeared, and there are two of them.

They only needed to show a little of their strength to ruthlessly expose the disguise of these mantises posing as orioles.

Some of them don't even qualify as mantises.

Outside, they might have a chance to escape being hunted, but inside this closed "iron box," they have nowhere to escape; they either kill the oriole or become its meal.

Before the duel between Song Qingxing and Shen Jingchuan had even ended, panic had already begun to spread along the path of trials.

But after a brief period of panic, extreme madness took its place.

Those who dare to participate in the trial path are all brave warriors; countless perilous situations have forged their most resilient will.

You may feel fear, you may feel confused, but you will never give up hope!
Despite the lack of any communication, as if by unspoken agreement, the vast majority of cultivators on the entire trial path simultaneously approached the location of the dragon and tiger...

Inside the Wutong Small World, in the fifth year of his third seclusion, Song Changsheng suddenly opened his eyes and flicked his finger towards the empty plain in front of him.

In an instant, a golden lotus flower burst forth from his fingertips.

Then it split into two, then into four, then into eight... until it split into one hundred and eight flowers, densely surrounding him with almost no blind spots, looking quite spectacular.

Song Changsheng casually picked up a lotus flower, examined it carefully, and couldn't help but praise, "As expected of the clan's guardian divine power of the Chen family of the Eastern Heaven, it lives up to its reputation."

He had seen the Reincarnation True Lord use the [Flower Blooms in an Instant] technique in his memories, and his lotus flower was not even a fraction of the opponent's.

It's a very simple principle: the more lotus flowers there are, the stronger their power.

An ordinary Golden Core cultivator would be quite good if he could condense 108 flowers. Song Changsheng reached this level from the beginning, and there is still a lot of room for improvement. So he has nothing to be dissatisfied with.

She slowly finished her practice and dispersed the lotus flowers around her. As if sensing something, she reached out and made some calculations. Suddenly, her face lit up with joy: "Yuechan is about to begin her tribulation?"

Having anticipated this news, he no longer had any intention of continuing his seclusion and immediately left for Cangmang Peak.

At this moment, the sky above Cangmang Peak appears calm, but in reality, signs of something is already beginning to emerge.

"The tribulation energy has already begun to gather, and the minor heavenly tribulation will descend soon. Yuechan is moving so fast."

He had been experiencing ripples in his heart from time to time while cultivating his supernatural powers, which was probably due to the influence of this matter. After all, he and Zhuang Yuechan were of one mind and would influence each other.

After scanning with his divine sense and observing Zhuang Yuechan's condition to confirm that there were no problems, he turned to Song Xianming, who was also in seclusion.

His brows were furrowed, and his internal magical power fluctuated greatly, likely due to the influence of the calamity energy constantly gathering in the air.

Song Changsheng quickly used his magic to move Zhuang Yuechan out of the Ruyun Palace without affecting her, so as to prevent his heavenly tribulation from being triggered prematurely, which would be a catastrophic accident.

As the calamity continued to accumulate, some members of the Song clan began to feel uneasy.

Before they could even begin to speculate, Song Changsheng's gentle and calm voice reached everyone's ears precisely: "The Heavenly Tribulation is imminent. To prevent any accidents, everyone must evacuate Cangmang Peak in an orderly manner. The General Affairs Hall will take charge of maintaining order on site, with the Dharma Protection Hall and the Law Enforcement Hall providing assistance."

"Awaken all the cultivators in seclusion; those who cannot be awakened, I will personally transfer them."

Upon hearing this, the entire Cangmang Peak erupted in excitement. Under the organization of the elders of each hall, they began an orderly evacuation from Cangmang Peak and moved to the temporary gathering place that had been prepared in advance.

Shortly after the Song clan cultivators withdrew, tribulation clouds began to gather in the sky, instantly turning the once clear sky inky black.

"boom--"

With a deafening clap of thunder, the Minor Heavenly Tribulation officially began!

...(End of chapter)