Qinghe Immortal Clan.

Two years later, in the main hall of the market town at the foot of "Red Cloud Mountain".

Song Qingyu sat at the head of the table, looking through several invitations one by one, while Song Linrui and the others stood to the side, carefully observing the expressions on her face.

After a long while, Song Qingyu put down the last few invitations in her hand and looked up at everyone.

"Why weren't there any invitations sent to the Star Gate? And among all the merchants in the market, did you miss quite a few as well?"

"Reporting to the Ancestor, we received news from the Wu Kingdom some time ago that the Starry Sky Sect will also be holding a Starry Sky Conference soon."

If we send them invitations at this point to attend the trade conference, wouldn't that be inappropriate and could cause some unnecessary misunderstandings?

As for the merchants in the market, we have already made arrangements for them all. The only ones we missed are those whose leases are about to expire and who have no intention of renewing them.

It's estimated that they'll have to move out of the market before the trade fair even starts.

Faced with the two questions raised by Song Qingyu, Song Linrui, who was standing below, immediately responded and explained the reasons in an orderly manner.

Upon hearing this, Song Qingyu, who was sitting at the head of the table, pondered for a moment and then nodded slightly.

"What you said makes sense, but our Chiyun Mountain is not holding a trade fair to target other markets, so there is no need to worry about others misunderstanding."

The invitations from the Starry Sky Sect must be sent out, and they should be among the first to be sent out.

You also need to add all the merchants who were missed.

Although they may not be interested in attending the trade conference, we still need to show them the proper courtesy, lest we give others the impression that we've forgotten them after they've left.

"Our ancestor's consideration is very thoughtful. We will go and do it right away!" Upon hearing Song Qingyu's words, Song Linrui and the others quickly cupped their hands and responded in unison.

"Okay! Everything else is fine, let's send it out as soon as possible!"

With less than six months until the conference, you all need to work hard and get things ready. If there's anything I can help you with, please feel free to contact me anytime.

After saying that, Song Qingyu got up and walked out, and behind her, everyone bowed and waved goodbye.

"Farewell to my ancestor!"

".."

Having just returned to the mountaintop, before Song Qingyu could even return to her cave, she suddenly sensed a significant fluctuation of spiritual energy in the surrounding area.

Seeing this, Song Qingyu's expression changed slightly, and she immediately looked up at the sky, where a white cloud was churning violently.

"This is.."

Upon seeing this scene, Song Qingyu immediately transformed into a streak of light and arrived at a cave dwelling not far away.

Not long after, another streak of light descended and arrived beside Song Qingyu.

"Oh! Senior Sister Li, you've already emerged from seclusion?"

Upon seeing Li Xuanyi standing beside her, Song Qingyu immediately smiled and went up to greet her.

"Yes! I ended my seclusion several months ago, but I had nothing to do, so I was practicing my cultivation techniques in my cave. I only came here because I sensed something was wrong outside."

Seeing the doubt on Song Qingyu's face, Li Xuanyi nodded slightly and turned to look at the closed cave not far away.

"Qingyu, this commotion sounds like someone is breaking through their cultivation level. Could it be Junior Brother Song again?"

"My sister-in-law is still in seclusion healing her injuries, and the Icefire Dragon isn't cultivating here either, so it must be Seventh Brother."

Having known for some time that Song Qingming was in seclusion breaking through his cultivation level, Song Qingyu naturally assumed that it was him who had triggered the "heavenly phenomenon".

After the two waited in place for half a day, the clouds in the sky dispersed, and a five-colored ray of light shone down from the clouds.

Not long after, the barrier at the entrance of the cave shook, and then a figure in a green robe appeared at the entrance.

"Seventh Brother, Junior Brother Song!"

Seeing that Song Qingming's aura had changed and he had a smile on his face, Song Qingyu and Li Xuanyi quickly stepped forward to stand in front of him.

"I never expected that my junior brother's cultivation would improve again after I had just finished my seclusion and stabilized my cultivation. It's really enviable."

Your cultivation speed is so fast, we're afraid we'll never be able to catch up with you again!

Seeing that Song Qingming's cultivation had broken through to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm in just two years of seclusion, Li Xuanyi felt a little envious and couldn't help but praise him.

Standing to the side, Song Qingyu shook her head and laughed, somewhat unconvinced, "Hehe! I don't agree with what Senior Sister Li said."

Seventh Brother said long ago that when our cultivation reaches the Nascent Soul stage, it all depends on personal opportunity. As long as the opportunity comes, we can still have a smooth path on our path.

Perhaps Senior Sister Li will find her own opportunity in the future and be able to soar to great heights and catch up with Seventh Brother.

"Qingyu is right. Senior sister has only just formed her Nascent Soul. When you find your own opportunity, you will naturally have a different experience."

To be honest, I wasn't very confident when I broke through during this seclusion. However, my mind was at peace, and my cultivation progressed naturally, which surprised even myself.

Although our cultivation levels differ, it's too early to say who will have the opportunity to advance further in the future.

Although Song Qingming had prepared a "Wood Element Fruit" for himself in advance for this seclusion to break through his cultivation bottleneck, he was not very confident at first.

Therefore, during this period of seclusion, he did not rush to break through the bottleneck, but spent a lot of time in the early stages of slowly refining the bottleneck.

I had hoped that even if I couldn't succeed this time, I would at least loosen the bottleneck and strive to break through the realm in one fell swoop during the next seclusion.

To his surprise, after consuming the "Wood Element Fruit," Song Qingming's internal energy smoothly broke through his cultivation bottleneck and reached the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm.

The process of breaking through the bottleneck was very smooth, without too many obstacles, and it was almost unbelievable, as if it were a natural outcome.

You should know that since he reached the Nascent Soul realm, he has felt the hardship and difficulty of almost every breakthrough.

This was the first time he had ever broken through a bottleneck so easily, which made Song Qingming feel somewhat incredulous afterward.

I don't know if it's because I strengthened my physique through body-refining techniques before, or if it's just that I had a stroke of good luck that made things go so smoothly.

Regardless of the reason, Song Qingming was still very happy that he was able to successfully break through his cultivation level.

After greeting the two women in front of him, Song Qingming invited them into the cave and personally brewed a pot of spiritual tea.

Besides Song Qingming, who had just broken through his cultivation level, Li Xuanyi had also just emerged from seclusion.

She has now stabilized her cultivation and spent a lot of time studying the Taixu Sword Manual left to her by her master, "Lingxu Daoren".

Although Li Xuanyi's cultivation technique had been deduced by her master, "Lingxu Daoren," to the late Nascent Soul stage, there were still many flaws, making it difficult to continue deducing it further.

During her seclusion to study the cultivation technique, she had many questions in her mind, so she discussed them with Song Qingming and Song Qingming, wanting to make some adjustments and improvements to the Nascent Soul stage cultivation technique of "Tai Xu Sword Art".

Meanwhile, Song Qingyu has been busy with her own cultivation over the past two years, as well as organizing the "Trade Conference".

Having finally waited for Song Qingming to emerge from seclusion, there were naturally many things to discuss with him.

The three chatted in the cave for several days before finally departing.

Time flies, and several months have passed again.

As the "Red Cloud Mountain" trade fair approached, cultivators from all over flocked to the market at the foot of the mountain to participate in the fair, making the already bustling market extremely lively.

More than eighty years have passed since the last "Trade Conference" was held at Chiyun Mountain. Upon hearing that the conference was to be held on the mountain again, cultivators from all around, fearing they would miss it, immediately came to attend.

Compared to other cultivation worlds, the "Floating Cloud Mountains" cultivation world is relatively poor in resources. Ordinary cultivators do not have many channels to purchase high-level spiritual items and can only try to go to other places such as the East Sea cultivation world or the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom.

The journey is extremely dangerous; even Golden Core cultivators may perish.

Hearing that the "Red Cloud Mountain" trade fair had seen many level-three spiritual items appear last time, and even level-four spiritual talismans had leaked out from the "auction", it naturally attracted many cultivators to travel from afar.

Compared to the many dangers one must encounter on the way to the cultivation world of the East Sea and the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom, the safety guarantee for going to "Red Cloud Mountain" is much higher.

Even if it requires spending more spirit stones, most cultivators would choose to spend money to avoid disaster rather than risk their own lives.

Moreover, "Red Cloud Mountain" is located in the Floating Cloud Mountain Range. Even if there are any problems with the spiritual items you buy, you can return them here at any time, which is much more convenient than buying spiritual items outside.

With more than a month to go before the "Trade Conference," many cultivators had already flocked to the foot of the mountain, which made the business of the major merchants in the market several times better.

In order to organize this "trade fair", Song Qingming not only joined forces with the "Xiaoyao Sect" and the "Tianji Sect", but also gave up a lot of profits to many merchants in the market to attract them to bring out a lot of high-level spiritual items to attract customers.

Many chambers of commerce, including the "Heavenly Pill Alliance" and the "Four Seas Business Alliance," specially sent Golden Core cultivators to participate in the conference and transported a lot of spiritual items to "Red Cloud Mountain."
-
Located in a mountain range in the northern part of the "Broken Cloud Mountains", a large flying boat, several tens of feet long, is moving rapidly under the cover of white light.

Ahead of the flying boat, dozens of cultivators were carefully observing their surroundings, maneuvering the boat to avoid the towering mountains.

Just as the large airship passed through a narrow pass deep in the mountains ahead, several thick black chains suddenly flew from the mountain walls on both sides and pierced directly into the sides of the airship.

In just a moment, the large airship suddenly lurched and was forcibly brought to a stop by the black chains.

"what happened?"

"Oh no, an enemy attack! Quickly inform Elder Wu!"

"..." Seeing more than a dozen streaks of light suddenly fly from above and to the sides of the flying boat, the cultivators on the deck below immediately reacted and hurriedly shouted to activate the protective array on the flying boat.

Several booming sounds were heard, and the "protective array" first lit up with a burst of fire, then shook violently, causing everyone's faces to change in fright.

"Who dares to attack our flying boat? Haven't you all heard of the Heavenly Pill Alliance?!"

With a furious shout coming from the airship, a gray-robed man wielding a flying sword led several people out from above the airship and directly repelled the cultivators who were besieging the "protective array" in front of him.

Upon seeing someone emerge from inside, the surrounding cultivators immediately gathered around, led by two black-robed, masked men whose cultivation was in no way inferior to their opponents.

Seeing the gray-robed man's angry expression, one of the black-robed men immediately laughed and said, "Hehe! Don't be nervous, sir. We are only here for money and don't want to cause you any trouble."

Once you leave the airship, you may depart on your own; we will not go back on our word.

"Hmph! You bandits dare to plunder the things of my Heavenly Pill Alliance? You are far too bold. Do you not know the power of our alliance?"

If you know what's good for you, leave quickly, and I won't hold this against you.

Otherwise, once the Supreme Elder of this Alliance finds out about this, none of you will escape, and then it will be too late for regrets!

Seeing that there were only two Golden Core cultivators among the group, and that the newcomers seemed to have ill intentions, the gray-robed man could only invoke the name of his elder in an attempt to scare away the people in front of him.

But the many black-robed men standing in front remained unmoved by the gray-robed man's verbal threats, instead letting out some mocking laughter.

"Hahaha, you little brat, you really think we don't know who you are? Let me tell you the truth, we're here for you today."

This is Broken Cloud Mountain, not your East Sea cultivation world. Here, we have the final say.

I'm giving you one last chance. Leave immediately in half an hour, leaving the airship behind, or it will be too late to leave later.

After the masked man finished speaking, he waved his hand and more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators riding flying swords appeared behind him. Then, hundreds of figures holding bows and arrows emerged from the cliffs on both sides.

Upon seeing this, the gray-robed man's expression changed and he frowned.

These people in front of me remained unmoved even after learning the name of the "Heavenly Pill Alliance," clearly indicating that they were bandits who had been hiding in the vicinity for a long time, robbing and plundering.

Even if they were willing to give up the airship now, the other side probably wouldn't let them off easily. The only way to save themselves is to fight to the death.

While the surrounding bandits were focused on him, the gray-robed man pretended to discuss something with the person next to him, and then secretly made a hand gesture to the back.

A moment later, a bright red light suddenly shot out from the flying boat and soared into the sky.

"Hmph! Ungrateful bastards! Kill them all!"

Seeing that the other party still wanted to cast a spell to call for help, the many bandit cultivators surrounding them immediately changed their expressions and then rushed towards the distant flying boat.

The gray-robed man and the others on the flying boat also took out their magical weapons to fight back.

In an instant, the battlefield was filled with the sounds of fierce fighting and shouts of battle.

".."

Although the gray-robed man's side, relying on a level-three "protective array" on the airship, did not allow the enemy to gain much advantage at the beginning.

However, as time went on, under the continuous attacks of numerous bandits, the "protective array" above quickly became shaky and could no longer hold on.

Seeing this, the gray-robed man had no choice but to lead his men out of the formation to forcibly interfere with the enemy's attack on the flying boat.

However, as soon as the gray-robed man appeared, he was entangled by two black-robed men and was powerless to stop them. He could only watch helplessly as the other side further weakened the formation.

Soon, a shattering sound rang out, and the "protective array" above the flying boat seemed to dissipate like ripples on water, exposing the hundreds of cultivators responsible for escorting the goods inside to the fierce gazes of numerous bandit cultivators.

"Haha, what a fat sheep! Everyone, charge and leave no one alive!"

Seeing the flying boat below filled with all sorts of spiritual items, a look of greed immediately appeared on the faces of these bandit cultivators. They raised their magical weapons and rushed into the boat like hungry wolves.

Faced with a number of bandits several times their own, the "Heavenly Pill Alliance" cultivators on the flying boat were powerless to resist, and many of them soon fell to the ground.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the gray-robed man who was being entangled by his opponent immediately showed a somewhat ugly expression.

As a Golden Core cultivator, his choice under these circumstances was also quite decisive. He directly abandoned the many cultivators on the flying boat below and flashed away to escape into the distance.

"Haha, fellow Daoist, it's a bit too late to leave now!"

The gray-robed man had just started to flee when two black-robed men immediately surrounded him, clearly not intending to let him go easily.

In the previous battle, the gray-robed man was already at a disadvantage against two opponents. If he were stopped by the other party, he would certainly not survive.

Seeing that the other party was not willing to let him go, the gray-robed man also became ruthless and directly took out a mid-grade level three spirit talisman and detonated it behind him.

With a deafening "BOOM!", the two people behind were immediately forced to the side by the force of the explosion.

Although he himself had been injured in one arm by the talisman, the gray-robed man still managed to get rid of the other party's entanglement and quickly slipped away from the battlefield, fleeing into the distance.

Before he could get very far, a blue streak of light suddenly appeared in front of him. The gray-robed man's face lit up with joy, and he quickly moved closer.

Before long, the blue light stopped and blocked his way, transforming into a light blue flying boat.

"Was that a distress message sent by you, fellow Daoist?"

Upon seeing the group of people standing on the flying boat in front of him, including two Golden Core cultivators, the gray-robed man was initially surprised, but then immediately showed a look of delight and cupped his hands in greeting to the leading green-robed man.

"I am Wu Wenjie from the Heavenly Pill Alliance. I was just passing by when I was attacked by bandits. I hope you fellow Daoists will lend a helping hand. Our alliance will remember your kindness!"

Just as Wu Wenjie finished speaking, before the people in front of him could reply, two more streaks of light flew from afar and chased after them.

When the two men in black robes saw a flying boat suddenly appear ahead and block Wu Wenjie's way, they initially thought it was just a Foundation Establishment cultivator passing by.

But when they got closer, they realized that the cultivator standing above them had an extraordinary aura, even stronger than the two of them, and their expressions immediately changed.

"Damn it, we've run into a tough opponent. Retreat!"

In just one glance, the two black-robed cultivators sensed danger and, before the people on the flying boat could react, immediately dove to the back and fled.

As they fled, the two did not forget to send a signal to the other bandits who were besieging the flying boat in the distance.

"Heh! You think you can just leave like that? Not so easy."

Seeing this, two streaks of light immediately flew out from the blue flying boat, heading straight for the black-robed cultivator who was trying to escape.

The two people on the blue flying boat were clearly more powerful than the black-clad bandits, and they quickly caught up with them. Soon after, a fierce battle broke out in the air ahead.

Seeing this, Wu Wenjie, who had just been chased, disregarded his injuries and immediately stepped forward to help fight the enemy.

Although they were no match for their opponents, the two men in black robes were very familiar with the surrounding terrain. After a fierce battle, one of them managed to escape the pursuit.

Seeing that the danger had been averted, Wu Wenjie immediately stepped forward and bowed to the two cultivators who had just helped him to express his gratitude!
"Thank you both for your rescue. May I ask your names? Please leave your names so that our alliance can repay this kindness in the future."

“Fellow Daoist Wu, please don’t stand on ceremony. My name is Song Changze. My wife and I are also cultivators from the East Sea. We just happened to encounter such an injustice, so it is only right that we help each other.”

"Oh! So you two are also cultivators from the East Sea. What a coincidence! Are you two also on your way to the Floating Cloud Mountains to attend the trade fair?"

"Fellow Daoist Wu guessed correctly. We did hear the news that we were going to Chiyun Mountain to attend the trade conference."

Upon hearing that the other person shared the same goal, Wu Wenjie immediately became excited and quickly invited them to travel together.

Seeing this, Song Changze and the other man did not refuse and nodded in agreement. Then, led by Wu Wenjie, the group returned to the location of the "Tian Dan Alliance" flying boat.

When they returned, the numerous bandit cultivators who had received advance notice of the retreat had already vanished without a trace.

On the flying boat below, nearly a hundred corpses remained, and the remaining dozens of "Heavenly Pill Alliance" cultivators were almost all wounded, their eyes filled with fear and trepidation.

It wasn't until Wu Wenjie and the others returned that everyone seemed to have found their pillar of support, and they excitedly gathered around him.

Seeing the devastation on the airship and the significant loss of cargo, Wu Wenjie could not hide his anger.

"Those damned bandits! When I get back, I will definitely report this to the Supreme Elder and make them pay the price they deserve!"

".."

With Song Changze and the others joining them, the rest of the journey went smoothly, and the group quickly and safely crossed the relatively dangerous "Broken Cloud Mountain Range".

It took several more days for the airship to pass through several countries to the east and arrive near "Red Cloud Mountain".

Just as the airship arrived safely, Song Changze and the others who were traveling with him took the initiative to say goodbye to Wu Wenjie and left the airship to enter "Red Cloud Mountain".

Meanwhile, Song Qingming and the others, who were on the mountaintop, quickly received the news and sent people to bring Song Changze and the others who had come to participate in the "Trade Conference" to the mountaintop.

Since his travels years ago, Song Qingming has not seen Song Changze and his wife, who live far away in the East China Sea, for decades.

Seeing that the two had not only made a special trip to attend the upcoming "Trade Conference," but also brought along several promising young talents, he couldn't help but show a gratified smile on his face.

"Changze, I heard you were attacked by bandits on the way. What exactly happened?" (End of Chapter)