Qinghe Immortal Clan.

Inside the "Qinghe Cave," Song Qingming was already standing in front of that familiar mural.

Because of the Song family's immense power in Qinghe County, in recent years, almost no one has dared to disturb the surrounding areas of Lingshan, any territory controlled by the family.

In order to better arrange the family members to guard the vicinity of Qinghe, Song Yuanfang not only built a new market town downstream, but also enclosed a lot of land upstream specifically for raising spirit fish.

As a result, the area within dozens of miles upstream and downstream of the "Qinghe Cave" became the territory controlled by the Song family, and many cultivators and mortals in the vicinity had already moved to other places.

With the Song family stationed here, even if demonic beasts occasionally attacked, they were quickly defeated by the city's defenders and could not easily invade the area.

Even though he hadn't returned for decades, the restrictions Song Qingming had set up outside the "Qinghe Cave" showed no signs of abnormality, which put him at ease.

After a series of skillful spellcasting, a vortex of magical power reappeared above the mural.

The next moment, Song Qingming strode forward and stepped directly into the vortex.

After walking through that familiar passage, a giant bronze cauldron appeared before Song Qingming once again.

Upon seeing the cauldron, an unpleasant memory immediately surfaced in Song Qingming's mind, reminding him of his experience inside it.

The last time Song Qingming entered the "Bronze Cauldron", his cultivation had just broken through to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage. He tried dozens of times, but his magic power was still slightly inferior.

After spending more than a month there, he could only leave disappointed and empty-handed.

Decades have passed since then, and Song Qingming, who now feels that his cultivation and strength have improved considerably, once again stands in front of the "Bronze Cauldron".

I'm going to try again and see if I can get through this level now.

After putting on the "Fire-Repelling Robe" again, Song Qingming was covered with a thin layer of blue spiritual light. Then, he flashed to the front of the "Bronze Cauldron".

Before Song Qingming could make a further move, several beams of light immediately flew out from the "bronze cauldron" and directly engulfed him inside.

After regaining his footing, Song Qingming immediately felt waves of flames rushing towards him from all around, but he stood in the flames without flinching or dodging.

Compared to when he first entered the "Bronze Cauldron" decades ago, Song Qingming, who has now enhanced his physical strength with the "Golden Relic," felt significantly better when facing the flames penetrating his protective spiritual light.

Seeing that his physical body could indeed withstand the surrounding flames, Song Qingming was overjoyed and began to try to remove the spiritual light shield in front of him.

The reason why Song Qingming was unable to pass through the "Bronze Cauldron" before was mainly because he needed to consume a lot of his internal mana to maintain the "spiritual light shield" in order to stay in the cauldron while facing the constant attacks of the surrounding flames.

It was because most of his magical power was consumed on this that he lacked the magical power to pass the level, which made it difficult for him to catch up with the "red vortex" above his head.

Now that his physical body has been refined into the "Golden Relic," Song Qingming's physical strength has been greatly enhanced, giving him a greater resistance to the flames in the "Bronze Cauldron."

In this way, it is equivalent to his current magical power suddenly increasing significantly, and the pressure is immediately reduced.

In addition, Song Qingming's cultivation has improved over the past few decades. Although he has not yet reached the peak of the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage, he is not far from it.

With this addition and subtraction, he now feels even more confident in overcoming this challenge as he re-enters the "Bronze Cauldron."

After removing about half of the "spiritual light shield" around him, Song Qingming felt that he had reached a critical point and slowly stopped what he was doing.

The next moment, after glancing up at the familiar "red vortex" above, Song Qingming had another flash of inspiration and quickly headed straight upwards.

As before, as soon as Song Qingming made a move, the "crimson vortex" above immediately lit up with spiritual light and then disappeared from its original spot.

"Want to leave!"

Having anticipated this, Song Qingming was not surprised at all when he saw this scene. White light immediately appeared beneath his feet as he used the "Nine Palaces Meteor Escape" technique to change his form and give chase.

Compared to when he first entered the "Bronze Cauldron" decades ago, Song Qingming, who can now use more magic power, has increased his escape speed by about 30%.

In just two or three rounds, Song Qingming caught up to a spot not far behind "Crimson Vortex".

Just as he was about to charge into the vortex in one go, a blue flame suddenly emerged from the vortex and blocked Song Qingming's way.

Sensing something strange about the blue flame in front of him, Song Qingming, who was in pursuit, quickly cast a spell to retrieve the "Black Tortoise Spirit Light Shield" to protect himself.

Just as the blue flames shone on the protective shield in front of him, Song Qingming felt a strange chill suddenly strike him, causing him to pause in mid-air as if the surrounding space had been frozen.

However, this strange phenomenon only lasted for a moment; the "blue flame" quickly went out and disappeared.

Meanwhile, the "Crimson Vortex," which had been caught up by Song Qingming, seized the opportunity to escape from the spot and successfully hid to the side.

Seeing victory slip through his fingers so close, Song Qingming's face showed a hint of helplessness as he began to re-examine the "red vortex" before him.

"It seems that we not only need to catch up with them, but also find a way to avoid that strange flame."

After standing still and pondering for a moment, Song Qingming's eyes sharpened, and the light beneath his feet began to flash again. Before long, he caught up with the "Crimson Vortex" once more.

Just as before, as soon as Song Qingming got close to a short distance behind him, a blue flame flew out of the "crimson vortex" with a flash of blue light.

This time, Song Qingming, who was already on guard, tried to dodge the "blue flame" by flashing his feet to the side before it could get close.

However, this "blue flame" also changed direction mid-air and chased after Song Qingming's location, as if it were being controlled by someone.

Seeing this, Song Qingming's expression changed slightly. He quickly activated his magic power and released five bronze mirrors to block in front of him.

After the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" appeared, it immediately emitted five beams of spiritual light, forming a circular light shield that surrounded the "blue flames".

After refining the "Silver Gang Star Stone", Song Qingming's natal magic weapon "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" not only became much more powerful than before, but also gained a restriction power.

Previously, when facing the "Xuanwu Spiritual Light Escape", the "blue flames" that displayed great power were immediately weakened by three points after being sealed by the circular light shield, and failed to break through the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" blockade.

Seeing that his natal magic weapon blocked the attack, Song Qingming was overjoyed and quickly dodged around the opponent.

Unfortunately, he had wasted a lot of time dealing with the "blue flames," and by the time Song Qingming caught up again, the "crimson vortex" had once again escaped from the spot, brushing past Song Qingming.

Looking at the "red vortex" that appeared in the distance, Song Qingming, who had tried to succeed several times in a row, did not show too much disappointment on his face.

After standing still and looking around, he flashed backward and withdrew from the "giant bronze cauldron".

Although Song Qingming failed to pass the previous tests, he has proven that he is capable of overcoming this challenge.

With a little more time, I should be able to get through this stage without any unexpected problems.

Upon returning outside, Song Qingming immediately sat cross-legged, took out several mid-grade spirit stones from his storage bag at his waist, and began meditating to recover his mana.

With the speed-up provided by the incomplete map, Song Qingming refined all the spirit stones in his hand in less than half an hour, and his internal mana quickly returned to its perfect state.

After adjusting his own condition, Song Qingming gazed firmly at the "giant bronze cauldron" in front of him, and soon entered it again.

Having learned from his previous experience of outwitting and outmaneuvering the enemy, Song Qingming, after seeing the situation clearly, did not hesitate for long and immediately rushed towards the "red vortex" in front of him.

This time, as soon as he caught up with the other party, Song Qingming activated the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" and waited on the side.

As expected, the "blue flame" was immediately trapped inside the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" it controlled as soon as it appeared.

Song Qingming, without any delay, bypassed the "blue flames" and appeared in front of the vortex.

Before the "Crimson Vortex" could escape, Song Qingming's feet flashed and he directly entered the vortex, simultaneously retrieving his natal magic weapon from a short distance away.

After a flash of crimson light, Song Qingming saw a flash of white light and he had flown out of the giant cauldron filled with flames.

Looking at the "giant bronze cauldron" not far behind him, a smile flashed across Song Qingming's face as he was still in mid-air.

"All that effort was worth it; we've finally made it through this hurdle!"

After landing, Song Qingming summoned a low-level "puppet beast" with a flash of spiritual light in his hand, and then continued to walk forward in the passage under its guidance.

After walking another hundred feet or so, a faint light appeared at the entrance of the passage ahead.

Seeing this, Song Qingming was not in a hurry. He remained cautious and slowly moved forward. Before long, he entered a stone chamber.

Like the previous stone chambers, this one was about ten feet in diameter and long.

The only difference was that this stone chamber was inlaid with many glowing white spheres, making the entire chamber very bright, unlike the other stone chambers that Song Qingming had seen before, which were so dark.

In addition to the numerous white spheres above, there are three stone tiger statues carved in the center of the lower part of the stone chamber.

The three tigers had different expressions and movements, but their gazes were all fixed on Song Qingming's location, their eyes filled with a fierce look.

Not far behind the three tigers was a circular stone platform about half a zhang high, with nothing on it except a seemingly ordinary "black stone box". Based on his previous experience entering the stone chamber, Song Qingming was certain at first glance that the "black stone box" was the spiritual object he was looking for.

However, although he has already seen the "black stone box", he is still some distance away from obtaining it.

If I'm not mistaken, the three stone tiger statues staring intently at me are the last barrier protecting this place.

After scanning the area a few more times and finding nothing else unusual, Song Qingming raised one hand and the "puppet beast" in front of him immediately strode towards the stone platform.

Just as the "puppet beast" approached about three zhang in front of the stone platform, a burst of spiritual light suddenly shone from the stone tiger statue located to the left front of the platform.

Immediately afterwards, a beam of white light shot out from the top of the stone statue, instantly piercing through the "puppet beast" not far in front of it and destroying it directly in front of Song Qingming.

After annihilating the invading "puppet beasts," the spiritual light on the "stone tiger" did not disappear. As if sensing some aura, it turned around again to look at Song Qingming's location.

Seeing that the other party had discovered him, Song Qingming, who was standing still, did not choose to back down. With a wave of his hand, he released a black figure, wanting to go forward and test the other party's supernatural power.

The moment the "shadow" was summoned, the "stone tiger" in the distance charged towards Song Qingming.

Upon seeing this, a black aura suddenly appeared on the "shadow," and it took the initiative to step forward and block the other party.

The two sides fought like sworn enemies, without exchanging greetings.

Since being repaired and joining Song Qingming's side, "Black Shadow's" cultivation has been raised to the second level of the Nascent Soul stage, while the "Stone Tiger" in front of them also exudes an aura that is no less than its opponent's.

Moreover, compared to the "Shadow" which has a relatively simple offensive capability as a puppet, the "Stone Tiger" with its suddenly appearing third eye can unleash a powerful white light during battle.

With this powerful supernatural ability, he actually gained a significant advantage in his fight against the "shadow," and after only a hundred or so rounds, he firmly suppressed his opponent.

Seeing that the "shadow" seemed to be no match for the opponent, Song Qingming, who had been observing from the sidelines for a while, finally began to take action.

Just as the "Stone Tiger" emitted a white light to repel the "black shadow" in front of it, five bronze mirrors suddenly appeared beside it, blocking its path.

Under Song Qingming's control, several beams of spiritual light immediately shot out from the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," attempting to trap the "Stone Tiger" within it.

But just as Song Qingming made his move, the "Stone Tiger" also sensed it and once again activated its third eye on its head to shoot out white light to block the incoming "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror".

However, while his supernatural power was very effective against the "shadow," it was not as powerful against the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" personally controlled by Song Qingming, and it failed to help it successfully repel the attack.

After their inspirations collided, they seemed evenly matched and remained locked in a stalemate in mid-air.

Not long after, just as the "Stone Tiger" was desperately trying to stop Song Qingming, the "black shadow" that had just been knocked away by him reappeared behind him.

This time, with Song Qingming's help to restrain it, the "shadow" that had been suppressed for so long was finally able to take revenge, and with a powerful punch, it knocked the "stone tiger" directly down from the air.

The next moment, before the opponent could regain his footing, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" immediately followed and trapped him in the five-colored spiritual light.

Once the "stone tiger" in front of him was unable to break free, Song Qingming produced another "white ring" in his hand, which then transformed into a white light blade that pierced through the opponent's body.

The supernatural power displayed by this "stone tiger" should only be at the peak of the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, not as powerful as Song Qingming had initially expected.

Facing Song Qingming, who had a higher cultivation level, and with the cooperation of the "shadow" beside him, the trapped "stone tiger" did not struggle for long before its spiritual light dissipated and it turned into a pile of rubble scattered on the ground.

Having defeated one opponent so easily, Song Qingming turned his attention to the remaining two seemingly similar "stone tigers," his apprehension noticeably lessening.

Without probing further, Song Qingming's hand flashed with spiritual light once more, and five figures appeared again, forming a magic array with the "black shadow" that had come to his side.

As Song Qingming's aura continued to rise, he strode forward.

"Bang, bang, bang."

After a fierce fight, a pile of rubble appeared next to Song Qingming not long afterward.

This time, Song Qingming, who had already raised his strength to the peak of the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage, showed a strong advantage in the face of the second "Stone Tiger".

In just a few dozen rounds, he decisively defeated his opponent without suffering any impact whatsoever.

After defeating the second opponent, Song Qingming was about to turn around and destroy the third "stone tiger" when he was surprised to find that it had already flown into the air before he could even get close.

Just as Song Qingming was feeling a bit confused, the third "stone tiger" in mid-air suddenly opened its huge mouth and shot out several beams of white light towards the ground, directly picking up the broken stones on the ground and then swallowing them all into its mouth.

The next moment, the "stone tiger" in mid-air suddenly doubled in size, and two very similar heads grew on its neck.

"No wonder this level was so easy, it turns out the three of you had this trick up your sleeve!"

Sensing that the "stone tiger" that had merged into one in mid-air had risen to a level not much different from his own, Song Qingming's gaze began to become somewhat serious.

Before Song Qingming below could make any move, the stone statue that had already transformed into a "three-headed tiger" shot out three beams of white light from its three white spiritual eyes.

This time, the combined power of the three beams of white light was more than three times greater than before.

Even Song Qingming, who had already unleashed the "Myriad Spirits Puppet Array," dared not underestimate this powerful attack and hurriedly cast a spell to release a magical artifact to block it in front of him.

As the "Xuanwu Spirit Light Shield" that had been with him for many years, it was already considered a top-tier level four mid-grade defensive magic weapon in Song Qingming's eyes.

But this time, when faced with the white light attack of the "three-headed tiger," its spiritual light was scattered and it swayed, almost flying out of Song Qingming's hand.

Sensing the formidable power of his opponent's supernatural ability, Song Qingming immediately retracted his "Xuanwu Spiritual Light Shield," which had already been damaged by spiritual energy, and dodged to the side.

We can't just fight head-on like this, otherwise even if we get through this challenge, we'll damage several of our important magical treasures, which would be a huge loss.

After all, we haven't gotten our hands on that "black stone box" yet, so who knows what might be inside?

If all that effort were to result in nothing more than a "mysterious green bean" of unknown use, just like last time, Song Qingming would probably be so angry he'd vomit blood on the spot.

Nearly a century has passed since the "mysterious green bean" was found in the previous stone chamber, and Song Qingming has still not been able to figure out its use.

So much so that he had long since abandoned this item in the herb garden, no longer bothering to study it. Only when he occasionally found some unusual spiritual water would he instruct his third disciple, Tang Muyan, to take care of it.

Seeing that the opponent's three white lights were quite powerful, Song Qingming put away his shield and immediately dodged to the side to avoid its attack.

The "three-headed tiger" was extremely arrogant. As soon as it saw Song Qingming retreat, it immediately chased after him, sending several more streaks of white light after him.

Fortunately, Song Qingming, who possessed the "Nine Palaces Meteor Escape" technique, was still faster than his opponent in terms of movement. After dozens of rounds, he still managed not to injure his opponent in the slightest.

It wasn't until the opponent unleashed dozens of beams of white light that Song Qingming finally found an opening in the tug-of-war. Before the opponent could regain his footing, he used his natal magic weapon, the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," to block the opponent's path.

Next, several beams of five-colored spiritual light flew out rapidly from the surrounding area, blocking the "three-headed tiger" that was casting a spell, attempting to trap it inside.

However, before Song Qingming could complete the encirclement, the white light on the heads of the "Three-Headed Tiger" merged into one and shot out quickly, repelling a bronze mirror blocking its path.

Then it flew out directly from the front and rushed towards Song Qingming.

Seeing that the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror" had failed to stop the opponent, Song Qingming frowned slightly, having missed a good opportunity, and could only throw out the "White Jade Halo" again.

Originally, Song Qingming only wanted to use this magic weapon to slow down the opponent for a short while, but he did not expect that the "three-headed tiger" would rush too fast and actually plunge into the white halo.

Despite its magical power being suddenly restricted, it failed to stop and continued to rush towards Song Qingming like a white light.

"boom!"

After a loud bang, Song Qingming was sent flying by the opponent's attack and fell to the side.

Fortunately, Song Qingming's physical body was no longer what it used to be. Although he was somewhat disheveled from the impact, he was not seriously injured and quickly stood up from the ruins beside him.

At this moment, the "three-headed tiger" was trapped by the white halo and was trying to break free of control when five bronze mirrors flew down from the sky again.

Several beams of spiritual light shot out from the "Five Elements Divine Light Mirror," quickly encircling and trapping the opponent within the ball of light.

"That's about enough, it's time to end this!"

Song Qingming raised his hand and waved it, and another magic array appeared in front of him. Then, seven powerful sword beams emerged in front of him one after another.

"Seven Star Sword Light, Annihilate!"

As Song Qingming lowered his hand, seven sharp sword beams landed directly on the "Three-Headed Tiger".

Soon, the once-mighty beast fell silent. (End of Chapter)