Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

"Congratulations to the master on reshaping his physical body. The legend of the past will surely continue in this era."

At the summit of Cangmang Peak, inside the cold pool, Song Changsheng smiled and cupped his hands in greeting as he watched Wujie slowly emerge from the altar's spiritual pool.

Wu Jie had been a spirit of the artifact for a long time, and had just reconstructed his physical body. He was still not used to it, and his steps and movements were not very coordinated. He staggered down the steps of the altar.

Looking down at the crystal-clear ice surface of the cold pool beneath my feet, I could see my own reflection clearly.

He looks exactly the same as he did back then, only he looks younger and more handsome.

Looking at that once so familiar face, he was momentarily dazed.

too long.

He hadn't seen that face in so long.

Back then, he was a renowned alchemy master, possessing a powerful soul that was one in a billion. A fifth-level alchemy grandmaster once said that he had the potential to break through to the fifth level.

Unfortunately, before he could reach that point, his soul was extracted and he was turned into a spirit, spending half his life trapped by that small bronze mirror.

Now, he was finally able to breathe in the fresh air of nature again and feel the temperature of the wind, all of which he found so captivating.

When the cold wind lashed against his face, his eyes couldn't help but well up with tears.

He originally thought he would spend the rest of his life inside that dark and sunless mirror, but he never expected that he would be able to rebuild his physical body one day.

And all of this is thanks to one person.

He looked up at Song Changsheng in front of him, knelt on one knee, and solemnly said, "Thank you, Master, for reshaping my physical body, allowing me to break free from my shackles and see the light of day again. I have no way to repay this kindness. I am willing to serve you with all my might."

Song Changsheng accepted the bow without any hesitation.

To rebuild Wu Jie's physical body, the Song family invested an enormous amount of resources; to put it bluntly, his body was built from rare and precious materials.

If it weren't for his expertise in alchemy and his past help to Song Qingxing, the Song family would never have made such a huge investment in an outsider.

Every resource of the Song family is extremely valuable, and every bit of it needs to be put to good use; it's not for charity.

Wu Jie was well aware of this. The reason why the Song family was willing to rebuild his physical body was because they valued the existence of him. Therefore, he did not hesitate to reaffirm his loyalty to Song Changsheng.

For him, this was a life-saving grace, and serving the Song family was far more satisfying than being in that mirror.

Having known Song Changsheng for so many years, he knew Song Changsheng's character very well, and with Song Qingxing's connection, the treatment he received would definitely be good.

After he finished expressing his loyalty, Song Changsheng reached out to help him up, patted him on the shoulder, and asked, "Master, how do you feel about your new body?"

Wu Jie thumped his thigh and said, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, Master. I've been a spirit for too long and have long forgotten what it feels like to walk on two legs. I'm not quite used to it yet."

"The master has already reached the late stage of the Purple Mansion realm after reshaping his physical body. It seems that it is only a matter of time before he returns to his former peak state."

This is another great potential of Wu Jie besides his alchemy skills.

He was once a Golden Core cultivator at the Great Perfection stage, only one step away from the Nascent Soul stage. This body is also comparable to a spiritual body, so his cultivation will recover very quickly, and the probability of breaking through to the Golden Core stage is extremely high, much faster than the Song family cultivating a Golden Core cultivator themselves.

The biggest problem for the Song family right now is the small number of cultivators, which makes the chances of producing geniuses too low. The number of Purple Mansion seeds is very limited, let alone Golden Core seeds.

Moreover, the Golden Core seed also needs time to grow. To cultivate a Golden Core cultivator, it takes at least three hundred years.

He, Zhuang Yuechan, and even Song Qingxing all had extraordinary opportunities, which are irreplaceable.

Most cultivators in the world are like Song Xianming, steadily building their strength, accumulating experience for over three hundred years, and waiting for an opportunity to soar to great heights.

But with the current situation turbulent and the shadow of a cataclysmic disaster looming over them, what they lack most right now is time.

In comparison, Wu Jie's growth cycle is much shorter, so the Song family is guaranteed to make a profit from this investment.

Wu Jie naturally understood the hidden meaning in Song Changsheng's words and immediately stated, "Cultivation requires accumulation over time and cannot be achieved overnight, but the skill of alchemy has not been neglected. Now that we have a physical body, the clan leader's [Minor Creation Pill] should be able to be refined soon."

If this elixir is truly as miraculous as recorded, capable of seizing the power of heaven and earth, the clan leader can likely use it to break through to the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm in one fell swoop.

"The matter of refining the Lesser Creation Pill is not urgent. The most important thing right now is to save the cultivators who were plagued by inner demons after failing to break through to the Purple Mansion stage last time. What level of pills can you refine now, Master?"

During the last collective breakthrough, although the Song family gained many new Purple Mansion cultivators, the losses were also extremely heavy. Fortunately, there were still a few survivors.

They are also an extremely valuable asset to the Song family.

Based on experience, the success rate of a second breakthrough is generally higher.

Wu Jie pondered for a moment and said, "Although I haven't tried it yet, with the magical power of this body, refining a third-grade top-quality pill shouldn't be a problem. As for what medicine to use, we'll have to see it before we can make a decision."

An excellent alchemist is bound to be an excellent physician. He had encountered many cases of people suffering from inner demons due to failed breakthroughs before. However, the problem was that the era he lived in was too far removed from the present. All arts of cultivation were constantly progressing, and he was worried that he was falling behind the times. Therefore, he dared not draw any conclusions at this moment.

"In that case, I will trouble you, Master. At the next family meeting, I will personally appoint you as the chief guest elder of the Hall of Hundred Arts."

Wu Jie was clearly not interested in this so-called chief guest elder, and instead asked a different question: "I heard from Qingxi that the clan leader killed Lingmou, the leader of the Haoran Alliance, but did not find the location of the [Heavenly Fire Cauldron]?"

"That's right. She chose to detonate her own golden core at that time. The speed was too fast. It was difficult for us to protect ourselves. There was no time to stop her. The Heavenly Fire Cauldron was very likely destroyed along with her self-destruction of her golden core."

Speaking of this matter, Song Changsheng still felt some regret. After all, the biggest reason for dealing with Lingmou was for the [Heavenly Fire Cauldron], which was very likely to contain the inheritance or secrets of the Treasure Bottle Sect. With her death, all the clues were cut off.

Wu Jie frowned slightly and said, "Clan leader, I don't think this matter is that simple. Since the Heavenly Fire Cauldron can record the alchemy inheritance of the Heaven-Seizing Creation Pill, it means that it is not an ordinary spiritual treasure. Otherwise, it would be impossible to inscribe such an important inheritance on it."

The materials and techniques used to make it must have been extraordinary to have been able to survive for so long. If it had just self-destructed, it might not have been able to be completely destroyed.

The spirit eye went to great lengths, even risking exposing its own existence, to take the Heavenly Fire Cauldron from the Hundred Herbs Hall, so it must know its secrets.

Because she knew its value, before her death, she would have either properly disposed of it or completely destroyed it; neither ending would have been like this. "May I ask, Clan Chief, has the Haoran Alliance been completely eradicated? Does that Spirit Eye have no disciples left?"

Upon hearing this, the image of someone he had clashed with many times immediately came to mind for Song Changsheng.

Yu Dongyang.

This is the only known disciple of Lingmou. He has not been found in any of the previous operations against the Haoran Alliance, so he has most likely escaped far away.

As Lingmou's personal disciple, is it possible that the Heavenly Fire Cauldron is on him?

They had made this guess at the time, but ruled it out after careful analysis.

Given the importance of the Heavenly Fire Cauldron, Lingmou would definitely carry it with him at all times. Their operation was a surprise attack, and they had joined forces to seal off the surrounding space in advance to ensure that not even a fly could escape.

Even if Lingmou didn't want to destroy the Heavenly Fire Cauldron, no one else could take it away.

If Yu Dongyang had also participated in that battle and ultimately taken the Heavenly Fire Cauldron, it would mean that they possessed an escape route that could bypass the spatial blockade without alerting them.

Since such a passage exists, why didn't Lingmou abandon the pawn to save the king and escape through the passage, instead of leading the Haoran Alliance's high-ranking members to fight them to the death?
This doesn't make sense.

Therefore, their unanimous conclusion at the time was that Yu Dongyang did not participate in that battle but was in another branch, and fled immediately after the incident to avoid their search.

Wu Jie's suspicions are not valid from a common-sense perspective.

But if you step outside this established framework and think outside the box, you'll discover that there are actually many other possibilities for this matter.

"Lingmou died too peacefully, as if it had been expected."

Moreover, the exact location of the Haoran Alliance's hideout was obtained through torture at the hands of remnants of the Blood Demon Cult. If you were in their shoes, would you reveal your final stronghold to others?

"Absolutely not." Wu Jie's answer was very decisive.

"Clan leader, I come from a rogue cultivator background. Although these people are not rogue cultivators, their ways of doing things are not much different."

Although we independent cultivators make our homes wherever we go, we often leave behind a secluded place to hide from pursuers, heal our wounds, or break through to a higher level.

This place is top secret, and I will not tell anyone, because it concerns my life and fortune, and I don't trust anyone.

This is a common sense principle; I don't believe they would be so rash.

Song Changsheng sighed and said, "Yes, that's where the problem lies. Everything went too smoothly, as if it had been planned in advance."

"Is it possible that Lingmou didn't actually die, and that her death was just a smokescreen to mislead us?"

Not to mention him, even Shi Potian and others had always had this suspicion in their hearts, but they had never had any evidence.

After all, when they fought, Lingmou did indeed display strength far exceeding that of a typical late-stage Golden Core cultivator.

If what died was just an avatar or something else, then the power of the Spirit Eye is simply too terrifying.

With such formidable strength, she could completely unify the entire cultivation world of Lu Kingdom.

"Clan leader, she went to great lengths to steal the Heavenly Fire Cauldron, surely for the sake of the Treasure Bottle Sect's inheritance. Since she's a scholar of pharmacology, she must have left something behind, right?"

At this moment, Song Changsheng remembered the strange spiritual plants they had obtained when they cleaned up the battlefield. He rummaged through his storage bag, took out one, and handed it to Wu Jie, saying, "They are cultivating this on a large scale."

It was completely destroyed; not a single one remained intact.

Looking at the charred spirit plant, Wu Jie sneered and said, "The situation was so urgent at the time, it was no exaggeration to say it was a battle for survival. They even took the time to destroy the spirit field completely. Isn't that just trying to cover up the truth?"
They were clearly worried that we would discover something.

I think this spirit eye isn't necessarily truly dead. I was able to reshape my physical body and live a second life, so why can't she?

The Heavenly Fire Cauldron definitely still exists in the world.

"We've certainly considered this possibility, but the main problem now is that there's not a single clue left. How do we search for them?"

Song Changsheng knew all too well the value of the Heavenly Fire Cauldron and had never given up searching for it all these years, but unfortunately, he had found nothing.

"Clan leader, you are mistaken. Since Lingmou obtained the Heavenly Fire Cauldron, he can naturally also obtain the Treasure Bottle Sect's inheritance recorded inside."

Based on my years of research into that tradition, the foundation of the Treasure Bottle Sect's alchemy tradition lies in drawing upon the pure energy of heaven and earth to refine pills on the night of New Year's Eve, when the old year gives way to the new. No pill formula can bypass this point.

The pure energy of heaven and earth is not something ordinary people can access. If the clan leader can find a master who is proficient in observing energy or astrology to observe heaven and earth on New Year's Eve, she might gain something, unless she has indeed escaped the four realms.

Personally, I'm more inclined to believe she hasn't gone far.

If she wanted to leave, she would have left long ago. Ultimately, it's because cultivating these spiritual plants requires a lot of resources, and a solid foundation is necessary to meet the requirements.

Once she left the Four Realms, she would have nothing left. With her cultivation level, starting from scratch wouldn't be difficult, but it would still take time. Moreover, the current situation is turbulent, and all cultivation worlds are on high alert. Apart from places like the cultivation world of Lu Kingdom, there is no room for her to maneuver.

I think we could try it out on New Year's Eve, but I don't know if the clan leader can find the right people.

Upon hearing this, Song Changsheng raised an eyebrow. If that was the case, then it was indeed worth a try.

His [Insightful Eyes] already possess the ability to observe qi, and in addition, he has been studying the [Primordial Star Record] given to him by True Lord Lingji during this time. Although he has only just begun to understand it, it should be sufficient to use it in conjunction with the ability of his [Insightful Eyes] to observe qi.

In addition, the Wanxiang Palace has a highly respected master of aura observation; it would be even safer to ask him for help.

"With less than four months until New Year's Eve, it's worth a try. There's no harm in doing so, so I might as well treat it as practice in astrology."

Thinking of this, Song Changsheng said with certainty, "Then let's do as the master says and observe the situation on New Year's Eve."

...(End of chapter)