Family Cultivation: Evergreen of the Song Family

In the midst of catastrophe, there is destruction as well as opportunity. Powerful forces with deep reserves often prepare an escape route in advance, going to all sorts of strange places, but the essence is to preserve their embers.

A significant portion of them are hidden in small worlds or secret realms.

In the short term, this is undoubtedly the safest option, but there are also many potential risks. Just like the bloodline left behind by the Chen family of Dongtian in the small world, cultivation is extremely difficult even with abundant spiritual energy due to incomplete laws.

If Song Changsheng hadn't opened the spatial portal, their entire lineage would have been trapped in the small world for their entire lives, gradually degenerating over the years until they could no longer cultivate.

This is not alarmist talk, but a fact verified by history.

This gives rise to a second risk hidden in the small world: if there is a problem with the spatial passage to the main world, one will face the predicament of slow death.

Therefore, some forces chose to set up their retreat in remote, sparsely populated places, such as snowy plains and deserts, or even the ends of the earth.

The mysterious and vast open sea is naturally included.

Because of their isolation from the world and lack of communication with the cultivation community, over time, these forces that survived the catastrophe became known as reclusive sects.

The Treasure Bottle Sect is a relatively well-known reclusive sect in the distant sea.

Its lineage is long unknown; people only know that its alchemy tradition is unparalleled, and many of its formulas are groundbreaking, targeting various intractable diseases. Throughout history, many cultivators have traveled overseas to seek medical help.

Unfortunately, very few people can find the location of the Treasure Bottle Sect. Even if they do, they will lose that part of their memory afterward, and only the pills in their hands can prove where they went.

This once-powerful sect of alchemy has completely disappeared in modern times, and all indications suggest that they have been utterly destroyed.

Their vast legacy may lie somewhere in the far east, waiting to be unearthed.

Song Changsheng first came into contact with the Treasure Bottle Sect when he obtained the Star Fruit Tree in the Twin Islands and saw the mark on the bottom of the bottle.

The second time was when he joined forces with Ji Shinian to plunder the treasure vault of the Sea Yaksha clan and obtain a batch of very precious pills.

The incredibly effective [Enlightenment Pill] originated from the Treasure Bottle Sect.

The Heavenly Fire Cauldron also comes from the Treasure Bottle Sect. It contains precious alchemy methods. The fact that it draws upon the pure energy of heaven and earth to refine pills is enough to shock even Wu Jie, a master alchemist who has been immersed in alchemy for many years. Not to mention the various heaven-defying pill formulas recorded inside.

Since the Treasure Bottle Sect still has elixirs left behind, it means that the time since its destruction was not particularly long ago, and that some of its legacy must have been preserved. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain the origin of those elixirs in the Sea Yaksha clan's treasure trove.

If the Song family could obtain the legacy left behind by the Treasure Bottle Sect, and with the addition of Wu Jie, a reborn alchemy master, the Song family might one day dominate the entire border region in the field of elixirs.

This is absolutely not an exaggeration. Looking across the entire border region, including the Myriad Manifestations Palace, there is not a single fifth-order alchemy master.

Of the three Nascent Soul True Monarchs of the Myriad Manifestations Palace, only True Monarch Lei Xiang has made significant achievements in the various arts of cultivation, reaching the level of a fifth-order Grandmaster in both the Dao of Arrays and the Dao of Weapons.

Dragon Elephant True Lord cultivated the Heavenly Craftsmanship Technique, but he never reached the fifth level.

Because the difficulty of reaching the fifth level in the cultivation of all arts is exponentially greater than that of the fourth level, it involves the gate of the Great Dao. Without entering the "Dao", one cannot even touch the threshold of the fifth level.

Golden Core cultivators have a chance to cross realms and reach the fifth rank, but it is extremely difficult.

For the vast majority of cultivators in the world, it is already quite good to be able to cultivate deeply on a single path. Except for those with exceptional talent, people's energy is limited.

The more you study, the more difficult the cultivation becomes.

Looking across the entire border region, there are only a handful of cultivators who can enter the Dao at the Golden Core stage, and even fewer who specialize solely in alchemy.

In this situation, Wu Jie doesn't even need to reach the level of a fifth-order alchemy master. As long as he returns to his former peak level, he can dominate the borderlands with the legacy left by the Treasure Bottle Sect.

Based on this, Song Changsheng began searching for the whereabouts of the Baoping Sect ruins a long time ago, but unfortunately he had no clue.

Now that he has obtained the original Heavenly Fire Cauldron and the Spirit Eye Master and Disciple who are suspected of having ties to the Treasure Bottle Sect, he feels that he is about to get close to the truth.

Lingmou was, after all, a cultivator at the Great Perfection of the Golden Core realm. Even with only three souls and seven spirits remaining, his will to resist was extremely strong. Using the Soul Searching Technique at this moment might cause him to miss crucial information, which was something he could not accept.

Therefore, before searching the soul, it is necessary to first erase the spirit eye's personal will. He is very experienced in this, but it will just take some time.

Therefore, he planned to interrogate Dongyang together with Wu Jie.

He might not know the secrets of the Treasure Bottle Sect, but as its only direct disciple, he must be very clear about Lingmou's plans over the years.

After all, these plans all require a trustworthy executor, and Yu Dongyang is the only candidate.

"Tell me, where are the rest of your branch camps? How did you conspire with the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom? And where is Xu Mei, who invaded Cangmang Peak back then?"

Answering my question can save you some suffering. Have you heard of the "Soul-Beating Whip"? Have you heard of bitter water?
Even the Demon King couldn't withstand it.

I know you're proud, but even the proudest person has to pour out their heart when faced with bitterness and the Soul-Striking Whip.

The so-called master-disciple relationship between you and Lingmou has long been reduced to mere appearances. To be precise, even the pretense of friendship is almost impossible to maintain, otherwise you wouldn't be in such a hurry to get away.

In this situation, what is there left for you to cherish? Pointless persistence will only bring you pain.

Tell me everything you know, and I will allow you to leave this world with dignity; this is the greatest mercy I can bestow upon you.

At this point, Song Changsheng stood up, walked up to Yu Dongyang, and said, "Actually, even if you don't say it, I can use the Soul Searching Technique to get everything I want directly from your mind."

With your cultivation level, you have no chance of being able to contend with me.

However, this method is not very respectable, and I personally don't like using this approach.

"Now, I'm placing the choice in your hands. It's up to you to decide." Looking at the confident man before him who seemed to have everything under control, Yu Dongyang felt a complex mix of emotions. The gap between them was far beyond what could be described as a chasm.

After a fierce internal struggle, he finally extinguished all thoughts of resistance and said with difficulty, "The alliance has three dormant branches located in Mengzhou, Linzhou, and Cangzhou respectively, and each branch is overseen by a Purple Mansion cultivator."

They are unaware of the true nature of the Qingtian Sect and have only a single-line contact with me, so they should still be in the dark. If you are fast enough, you can wipe them out in one fell swoop.

In addition, we have a secret medicinal herb plantation in Bingzhou.

As for the negotiations with the Golden-Eyed Demon Kingdom, I don't know much. I wasn't directly involved in the negotiations, but the location was Cangzhou, not the Demon Realm.

Although I have no evidence, there must be a demon king in the demon realm who has transformed into human form and is hiding in the cultivation world of Daqi and even the surrounding areas.

While you are gathering information, they are doing the same thing. If you can seize this opportunity, you can eliminate several future major enemies in advance.

Master should have the contact information for one of the demon kings; you can try to find out.

As for Xu Mei, she was already dead. She failed to break through to the Golden Core stage after taking the Four-Turn Chaotic Heaven Pill and was killed by heavenly lightning, leaving not even a complete corpse behind.

If I hadn't been lucky, I would be dead by now.

Sometimes I even doubt whether this so-called "Hun Tian Dan" is just a fabrication. Including myself, four people in the alliance have taken the "Fourth-Rank Hun Tian Dan," and not one of them has succeeded in breaking through.

Upon hearing this, Wu Jie, who had not spoken before, immediately sneered: "You've ever doubted that the [Four-Turn Chaos Pill] is fabricated, but you've never doubted that your master's method of refining it was flawed?"
I don't know what your relationship is with the Treasure Bottle Sect. All I know is that human blood and resentment are filthy energies. Apart from those evil demons and heretics, no one would use this stuff to refine pills, let alone the pure energies of heaven and earth that conflict with it.

Although we have always defined you as heretics, the techniques you practice are not heretical. It's a miracle that this kind of pill hasn't killed you.

If this so-called "Hun Tian Dan" is truly a pill formula left behind by the Bao Ping Sect, then it's far too unprofessional. Perhaps your good master took a shortcut during the refining process.

His penchant for opportunism led to this unsurprising and deserved end.

Faced with his sarcasm, Yu Dongyang surprisingly did not refute, but instead nodded and said: "Indeed, this possibility cannot be ruled out. According to Master, one of the main ingredients in the original pill formula can only be obtained from the Nine Heavens, which only a Nascent Soul True Monarch can do."

Its name is "Innate Essence". It is estimated that only the Myriad Manifestations Palace can produce it in the border regions. We have no way to obtain it. After many trials, Master finally decided to use the heart blood of young boys and girls to replace this "Innate Essence".

"You must be an alchemist, right? The effects of [Innate Essence] shouldn't require much explanation from me."

Upon hearing this, Wu Jie nodded thoughtfully and said, "[Innate Splendor] is said to be a product born under the nurturing of innate energy at the beginning of the separation of heaven and earth. It is a rare spiritual material in the world that contains innate energy."

Nowadays, the innate energy is scarce, and the production of [Innate Splendor] is decreasing day by day. Even the Myriad Manifestations Palace may not be able to produce it, so it's no wonder that they would have wicked thoughts.

Humans are the protagonists of heaven and earth, possessing innate Dao bodies. During conception, a trace of innate Qi protects the body. This trace of innate Qi resides in the heart meridian and gradually weakens with age.

The reason why the Spirit Eye takes the heart blood of young boys and girls is probably because of the trace of innate energy remaining in their bodies. Since it is too weak, it plans to use quantity to replace quality.
If I'm not mistaken, her demand for the number of young boys and girls has been steadily increasing.

Ha, what a ruthless scheme, what a cruel heart!

Yu Dongyang said without any hesitation: "That's right, that's the reason. If we hadn't lost the breeding center that we built over many years, the best material would have been unborn fetuses. The innate energy in the bodies of young boys and girls is too thin. Without tens of thousands of them, we simply couldn't meet the requirements."

"You must be bewitched to come up with such a method. Your master must have gone mad long ago." Wu Jie rolled his eyes. He had no liking for such evil and crooked methods.

"Going astray in cultivation? Perhaps." Yu Dongyang smiled bitterly. If that were the case, he would actually feel a little better.

"I know far less than you think. Give me a jade slip, and I'll record it all to save you from wasting any more time."

I have only one request: find me a quiet place to end my life. Don't trouble yourself with that.

His main reason for cooperating was to allow his loved ones to pass away with dignity.

Throughout his life, from the time he could remember, he had always stayed by Lingmou's side. Apart from that pitiful bit of self-esteem, there was really nothing in the world that he could cherish.

After he finished burning the disc, Song Changsheng carefully checked it over. After confirming that there were no problems, he looked at a steward behind him and said, "Burn incense and bathe, change into a new set of clothes, and let him leave with some dignity."

Since Yu Dongyang's cultivation had already been abolished, he wasn't worried about what tricks the other party might play.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something, took out the two glassy eyeballs from his pocket and said, "These are the eyes of the Spirit Eyes, you should be familiar with them."

Even my [Purple Void Divine Fire] couldn't harm it in the slightest. Do you know anything about this?

Looking at the two eyeballs, Yu Dongyang's expression was somewhat complicated. He sighed and said, "I don't know the specifics either, but these are not Master's own eyes. When I was very young, I clearly remembered that Master was blind. She regained her sight by taking other people's eyes."

Song Changsheng nodded and said, "I understand. You can leave now."

Yu Dongyang followed the deacon and left the interrogation room without looking back.

"So she had a history of this, using other people's eyes for her own purposes. How could she even think of that? Bah!" Wu Jie spat, then asked in confusion, "Even though they are other people's eyes, how can these naked eyes withstand divine fire?"

He knew all too well the power of the Purple Void Divine Fire. Even a Nascent Soul True Monarch's body, tempered a hundred times, couldn't withstand it once it came into contact with it, let alone a pair of eyes.
"Only Lingmou herself knows the answer. If we wear her down for a few more days and completely destroy her personal will, we will naturally get the answer we want."

After leaving the interrogation room, Song Changsheng summoned Chi Li, Hua Yan, Song Luzhou, and others, and handed them the addresses of the branch offices provided by Yu Dongyang, saying, "Work in groups of three and eliminate these branch offices one by one. Be quick, and leave no survivors this time."

"As ordered."

After everyone left, Song Changsheng took out the storage bag of the Spirit Eye again and searched for the Demon King's token mentioned by Yu Dongyang.

If there is indeed a demon king lurking in the Great Qi, it will definitely be a major hidden danger for the future, and it must be eliminated as soon as possible!

...(End of chapter)