Qinghe Immortal Clan.

When the gray-robed old man turned around, he realized that the person who had spoken was the green-robed man who had been sitting silently in the chair next to him.

At this moment, the other person was staring at him calmly, with a faint smile that seemed a little strange on the corner of his mouth.

"Fellow Daoist You, do you also desire this Nine Tribulation Jade Lotus?"

"What do you mean by that, fellow Daoist? Are you suggesting that you give this item to me?"

Upon hearing the question, the gray-robed elder immediately retorted with a puzzled look, unsure of what Song Qingming was trying to say.

Seeing this, Song Qingming gently tapped his hand on the wooden table, then stood up and said:

"Having cultivated for many years, my greatest pleasure is to be kind to others and make friends with like-minded people. If Fellow Daoist You really needs this Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus, it is not impossible to discuss it."

"Oh! I'd like to hear how you'd like to discuss this, fellow Daoist."

If you need spirit stones, please just name your number. As long as you're not being too unreasonable, I will definitely find a way to provide them with both hands.

"If you are willing to give me this item, you will be a friend of Crimson Moon Island. In the future, if you need anything, you are welcome to come to Crimson Moon Island and ask me for help."

After the gray-robed old man finished speaking, his gaze toward Song Qingming was full of anticipation, hoping to see something he wanted from the other man.

However, Song Qingming, who was standing to the side, did not give him the answer he wanted, but instead shook his head slightly.

"Fellow Daoist You misunderstands. I don't lack spirit stones, nor do I need any friends. My only interest is to spar with you."

If Fellow Daoist You can defeat me, I will give you both the Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus and the Nascent Soul Pill in my hand, and I will leave this place immediately without fail!

"But if you lose, then I'm afraid I can't help you. You must hand over the Nascent Soul Pill you possess."

"Hehe! This fellow Daoist has really made a good plan. Your cultivation is obviously much higher than mine. Wouldn't it be advantageous for you to fight me?"

To tell you the truth, I don't have any Nascent Soul Pills on hand right now, but I do have a contract that I can exchange for Nascent Soul Pills at the Yunyang Sect.

"If you truly wish to compete, I can invite another friend in the mid-Nascent Soul stage to accept the challenge, using this contract as a wager."

Although Song Qingming intended to conceal his cultivation level, the gray-robed elder could still tell that Song Qingming's cultivation level was roughly at the fourth or fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage, given the close proximity and the fact that they were all Nascent Soul cultivators.

Seeing that Song Qingming wanted to compete with him, the gray-robed old man thought about it but still didn't dare to agree. He then proposed a new bet.

As for Song Qingming, when he first saw that the other party wanted to compete for the "Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus", he thought that the gray-robed old man also brought the "Nurture Pill".

I intended to use this opportunity to give the other party a warning, and also see if I could gain anything extra.

Unexpectedly, the other party only offered empty words and a contract that could be used to exchange for spirit pills, which greatly disappointed Song Qingming.

No wonder that after seeing the "Nurture Pill" in Luo Li's hand, Nangong Jianchen chose to stand on his side without much hesitation, even though it might offend Luo Li.

Seeing that Song Qingming had fallen silent with some disappointment on his face, seemingly not interested in his bet, the gray-robed elder was not willing to let this opportunity slip away.

After thinking for a moment, he gritted his teeth and said, "If you think the stakes are too low, we can each contribute another 100,000 spirit stones and have Sect Master Nangong as a witness!"
Fellow Daoist, rest assured, this contract in my hand was established by the Supreme Elder of the Yunyang Sect, and I obtained it by doing a lot of favors.

When I made the contract, I had already inquired about the matter. The Yunyang Sect already had a mature Immortal Spirit Mushroom, and they would gather all the necessary herbs to start refining pills within ten years at most.

When the time comes, as long as you can come up with 300,000 spirit stones, you can go and exchange them for the Nascent Soul Pill at any time.

Every word I've spoken is true; otherwise, I wouldn't have come here empty-handed today. You should trust Sect Leader Nangong, right?

Nangong Jianchen, who had been standing aside not wanting to say anything, could only smile and nod in response when the gray-robed elder mentioned him again.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist You is right. I have already reviewed this contract before, and there are no problems with it."

Yunyang Sect is the number one sect in the cultivation world of the East Sea. Its reputation goes without saying; I certainly trust it.

After speaking, Nangong Jianchen put away his smile and glanced at Song Qingming standing to the side.

But he remained silent until he had thought for a long time before he seemed to have made up his mind and slowly raised his eyes to look at the two people in front of him.

"Since you've said so, fellow Daoist, then I'll grant your wish!"
However, I have other matters to attend to and cannot stay here for long. I can only give you three days at most; after that, I will not wait.

“Alright! Three days will suffice. If I cannot return on time, the bet will be void, and both the spirit stones and this contract will belong to you.”

"Then it's a deal!"

Seeing that Song Qingming had finally agreed, the gray-robed old man seemed a little afraid that the other party would go back on his word, so he immediately took out a contract and 100,000 spirit stones from his body and made an agreement with Song Qingming on the spot.

The two then each took a copy of the contract and handed over all the spirit stones to Nangong Jianchen, who acted as the witness. Only then did the gray-robed elder turn and leave "Northern Spirit Island".

After the other party left, Nangong Jianchen stepped forward and bowed apologetically to Song Qingming, saying, "Fellow Daoist Song, I am truly sorry about what happened today."

When Junior Nephew Wu and Young Friend Luo made their agreement, I didn't expect Fellow Daoist You to visit so suddenly. I had some past friendship with him, and I really couldn't persuade him otherwise.

"If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have revealed the news of the Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus in the first place, and there wouldn't be this misunderstanding today."

"Hehe! When we Nascent Soul cultivators encounter something we like, we naturally won't let it go easily. This is nothing unusual."

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Nangong, as long as the person Fellow Daoist You brings can defeat me, the item will naturally be given to him. I, Song, will never go back on my word, nor will I hold a grudge against anyone else because of this."

Upon hearing Nangong Jianchen's explanation, Song Qingming immediately waved to him, then turned and left with Luo Li beside him.

Seeing that Song Qingming didn't seem to care about the matter or suspect him, Nangong Jianchen breathed a slight sigh of relief and quickly stepped forward to see him out of the main hall.

Although there were some ups and downs, and he had not yet managed to get the "Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus" into his own hands, Song Qingming's face remained very natural as he left the main hall, without any sign of disappointment.

On the contrary, Luo Li, who was standing beside him, had a hint of worry on her face.

However, ever since they met, Song Qingming has always been a very reliable figure in her heart. Although she was a little worried, Luo Li still chose to trust her feelings.

Seeing this, Song Qingming didn't explain too much to her. He simply asked her to show him around the market, which quickly distracted her from her worries.

Having cultivated for so many years, this wasn't the first time Song Qingming had encountered such a situation of competing with others for spiritual objects.

He agreed to the bet because he was very confident and had no worries about losing.

Since breaking through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage, Song Qingming's supernatural abilities have become almost as powerful as those of a late-Nascent Soul cultivator. Over the years, he has never been easily defeated by opponents of the same level.

As long as the other party doesn't bring a late-stage Nascent Soul expert, this bet is unlikely to encounter any unexpected situations for him.

The two strolled around the market for quite a while before Song Qingming returned to his mountain cave, completely satisfied.

Three days later, on a deserted island a thousand miles west of "Beiling Island".

Two streaks of light flew swiftly through the sky and soon stopped not far above the island, transforming into two figures, one tall and one short.

After glancing at the deserted island not far ahead, the shorter, gray-robed elder of the two immediately nodded to the person beside him.

"Brother Yuan, this should be the place Nangong Jianchen arranged to meet. I'll send a message to inform them first, and we'll be relying on your help later."

"Rest assured, brother. Regardless of the outcome of the competition, I will keep my promise to you. I hope you can lend me a hand."

The speaker was the gray-robed old man who had made a three-day agreement with Song Qingming.

The other person standing next to him was a middle-aged man in a golden robe. This man's cultivation was even higher than Song Qingming's, having already broken through to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm. He was also the person that the old man surnamed You had specially invited to help him keep the appointment.

Upon hearing what the old man surnamed You said, the man in the golden robe immediately nodded and replied, "Brother You and I are not like others. Since I have promised to come and help, I will do my best. Fellow Daoist, please rest assured."

By the way, have you found out who that person is?

"I'm just here to help with the martial arts competition. Fighting is ruthless; if any misunderstanding arises and someone gets hurt, I don't care which sect's cultivator they are."

"Hehe, please rest assured, Brother Yuan. I have been a Nascent Soul cultivator for so many years, I know at least a little about every Nascent Soul cultivator with a name in the East Sea cultivation world."
Although that person had the cultivation level of the mid-Nascent Soul stage, his appearance was completely unfamiliar. I couldn't tell where he came from for the time being, but I was certain that he was probably not from our East Sea cultivation world.

If I'm not mistaken, they are probably wandering cultivators from Lei Yuanhai or other cultivation worlds.

"If Brother Yuan can help me win this competition, I only need to exchange it for the Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus; everything else, including the 100,000 spirit stones, will belong to you."

"Good! I'm relieved to hear that."

After making arrangements with the man in the golden robe, the old man surnamed You immediately took out a communication talisman from his person and then cast a spell to throw it out.

Before long, seven or eight streaks of light shot out from the island and landed in mid-air.

The two people standing at the front were Nangong Jianchen and Song Qingming, whose faces were covered.

"Fellow Daoist You, could this be the person you made the bet with?"

Upon seeing Song Qingming standing beside Nangong Jianchen, whose cultivation level was indeed only at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm as the other party had said, the golden-robed man's expression immediately relaxed a bit.

The elderly man surnamed You immediately nodded and replied, "That's right, it's him."

Compared to the two confident men on this side, Song Qingming, standing on the other side, looked completely surprised after seeing the reinforcements they had brought.

"It's him again? What a coincidence!"

The man in the golden robe who was specially invited by the old man surnamed You was none other than Yuan Yushan, the Supreme Elder of the "Huayuan Sect" who had met Song Qingming years ago.

Years ago, the two sides had a martial arts contest to compete for the immortal lingzhi mushroom belonging to the Zhou family on "White Jade Island." Unexpectedly, decades later, they found themselves standing here again for the same reason.

The connection between the two is truly quite deep.

Although he was somewhat surprised, upon closer reflection, although the number of Nascent Soul cultivators in the East Sea cultivation world was much greater than that in the Floating Cloud Mountains, the total number was still less than thirty.

Among them, those who have cultivated to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm like Yuan Yushan are probably few and far between, so it's not too strange that the other party would invite him.

Back when Song Qingming fought against Yuan Yushan, Yuan Yushan's cultivation was still at the peak of the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage. Now, decades later, he has successfully cultivated to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage. It has to be said that this person's talent for cultivation is not bad.

Seeing that Song Qingming's gaze was fixed on Yuan Yushan beside him, the old man surnamed You, who was still unaware of the situation, thought that the other party was somewhat wary of the helper he had specially invited, and a smug look appeared on his face.

"Everyone, this is Fellow Daoist Yuan from the Huayuan Sect of the Haoyue Sea Region, who has come to help me with the challenge."

Martial arts duels and sword fights are indiscriminate and could easily damage our harmony. So, I would like to remind Fellow Daoist Song that if you wish to withdraw from the competition now, we can discuss canceling it.

"You can take back the 100,000 spirit stones directly, just leave the Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus to me. What do you think?" "Oh! Thank you for the reminder, but I have no such intention at the moment. I would appreciate any guidance from Fellow Daoist Yuan."

Faced with the old man surnamed You's "kind reminder," Song Qingming didn't think much of it and directly refused. Then he raised his hand to Yuan Yushan, who was not far away.

But when Song Qingming casually uttered those words, they struck Yuan Yushan like a thunderbolt, causing him to tremble slightly.

"Why does this voice sound so familiar? Could it really be him?"

Back then, in the battle with Song Qingming on "White Jade Island," Yuan Yushan, whose cultivation was far superior to Song Qingming's, was easily defeated and forced to beg for mercy repeatedly.

Undoubtedly, this was the most humiliating defeat he had ever suffered since advancing to the Nascent Soul stage.

Although decades have passed, Song Qingming's image remains an unforgettable nightmare in Yuan Yushan's heart.

Upon suddenly hearing that familiar voice, so deeply etched in his memory yet one he dared not easily recall, Yuan Yushan froze on the spot, staring at the person before him in disbelief.

Although Yuan Yushan didn't know Song Qingming's real name back then, he did hear Bai Yuxian call him Junior Brother Song. The old man surnamed You had just called him Fellow Daoist Song as well, which made Yuan Yushan even more certain of his belief.

Thinking of this, Yuan Yushan immediately released his divine sense and carefully covered Song Qingming.

Sure enough, as soon as his divine sense touched the other person's face, it was blocked by an inexplicable restriction, obviously Song Qingming had some special magic treasure to cover his face.

Song Qingming, who was standing to the side, seemed to sense Yuan Yushan's probing with his divine sense and immediately looked up at him with a faint smile.

At this moment, the elderly man surnamed You, who was standing to the side, had not yet noticed the change in Yuan Yushan's expression.

Seeing that Song Qingming didn't appreciate his words, he immediately wiped the last trace of a smile off his face and raised his hand towards Song Qingming's location.

"Since we've come this far, and you still insist on the duel, I won't say anything more. Let's see how much skill you can bring out next."

"You two have already entered into a contract, and the ownership of the spiritual object will be determined by a contest of magic. I, your humble servant, will serve as your witness today."

"Uh, wait a minute!"

Just as Nangong Jianchen, who was the witness to the contract, stepped forward to announce the start of the duel, Yuan Yushan, who was standing to the side, suddenly interrupted him.

Then, amidst the slightly puzzled gazes of the crowd, Yuan Yushan immediately turned around and spoke solemnly to the elderly man surnamed You beside him:

"Brother You, I suddenly remembered that I have an urgent matter to attend to, so I won't bother you any longer. I'll invite you all to Tianyun Island for tea another day when I have time."

"Ah! What do you mean by that, Brother Yuan?"

"We already agreed to this before, how can you say you have something to do now?"

Just as the martial arts contest was about to begin, Yuan Yushan suddenly announced his departure, leaving the elderly man surnamed You, caught off guard, looking at him in surprise.

Faced with the doubt on the old man's face, Yuan Yushan, who was wary of him, did not want to explain too much. He just glanced at Song Qingming in front of him.

Seeing that the other party remained calm and did not express his opinion, Yuan Yushan immediately turned around and cupped his hands to Nangong Jianchen and the others beside him. Then he immediately turned around and transformed into a streak of light, leaving the spot directly.

"Eh! Fellow Daoist Yuan?"

"Brother Yuan. Brother Yuan."

Seeing Yuan Yushan, who had just appeared, suddenly disappear without a word before the fight even started.

Not only was the elderly man surnamed You standing to the side filled with shock and disbelief, but even Nangong Jianchen and the others who came to witness the event were also filled with doubt.

When Yuan Yushan came with the old man surnamed You, he was full of confidence and there was nothing unusual about him. But in just a few words, no one expected that this Nascent Soul Level 6 cultivator would actually withdraw from the battle on his own initiative.

Moreover, Yuan Yushan's reason for leaving was so lame that almost every cultivator present could see at a glance that he was obviously making excuses to escape from this place.

Of all the people present, only Song Qingming, who knew the inside story, did not show much change in expression after the other party left.

Back in the battle on "White Jade Island," Song Qingming, whose cultivation was only at the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, easily defeated Yuan Yushan, who had already broken through to the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

Now, his cultivation has also advanced to the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, and the gap in strength between him and Yuan Yushan is widening.

Therefore, it was not surprising to Song Qingming that the other party would choose to flee without a fight after recognizing him.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist Yuan is busy today, so it seems I won't have the chance to spar with him. I can only learn a thing or two from Fellow Daoist You."

Just as Yuan Yushan's figure had already disappeared into the horizon, the old man surnamed You, who was still in shock, was immediately struck by another voice.

When he looked up, he found that Song Qingming had already come to stand in front of him.

Looking at Song Qingming, whose eyes were fixed on him, the old man surnamed You hesitated for a moment, and then, to everyone's surprise, he directly bowed and admitted defeat.

"I miscalculated today and trusted the wrong person. Fellow Daoist Song, I have lost this battle!"

"Oh! Fellow Daoist You, are you sure you don't want to fight?"

"If you admit defeat now, this contract and the spirit stones will all belong to me. You should think this through carefully, because it will be too late to regret it after you leave here."

"Hmph! Fellow Daoist Song, rest assured. Although my cultivation strength is not as good as yours, I am still a Nascent Soul cultivator. I can afford to lose this little bit."

Although I was blind today, I accept my defeat wholeheartedly and have no complaints.

"Everyone, farewell!"

Although the old man surnamed You had been in the Nascent Soul stage for hundreds of years, his fighting skills were average and not particularly outstanding even among cultivators of the same level.

If Song Qingming were a Nascent Soul cultivator in the early stages, he might have chosen to fight back, but facing an opponent who even Yuan Yushan had chosen to flee without a fight, he simply did not have the slightest courage to stay and fight.

Fortunately, the loss was only a few hundred thousand spirit stones, which was still within an acceptable range for an old man surnamed You, a Nascent Soul cultivator.

Knowing he had little chance of winning, the elderly man surnamed You did not linger after deciding to concede defeat. He bowed to the crowd and turned to leave.

Seeing a battle between Nascent Soul cultivators that was about to take place end so inexplicably, a hint of disappointment flashed across the faces of Nangong Jianchen and the others who had been standing by expecting it.

However, witnessing this amazing scene today broadened the horizons of the cultivators present, and their gazes toward Song Qingming now held a more complex expression.

Just as the old man surnamed You left, Nangong Jianchen immediately approached with a very polite smile.

"Hehe! Fellow Daoist Song, please keep this contract for the Nascent Soul Pill and the spirit stones for now. Also, the Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus in Junior Nephew Wu's hands now belongs to you as well."

Seeing Nangong Jianchen's enthusiastic expression, Song Qingming didn't stand on ceremony and directly took all the spiritual items that belonged to him.

Then he completed a transaction with Wu Long, who was following him, and exchanged the "Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus" in Wu Long's hands for his own.

After the transaction was successfully completed, Nangong Jianchen originally wanted Song Qingming to stay on the island for a few more days.

However, having just obtained the "Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus," Song Qingming had no intention of staying any longer and quickly bid farewell to the other party, leaving the vicinity of "Northern Spirit Island."

When Song Qingming left this time, although he did not say it outright, he admitted to Nangong Jianchen that he had some connections with the "Tianxuan Sect" back then.

Having confirmed that the "Tianxuan Sect" had such a powerful Nascent Soul cultivator as a backer, Nan Kong Jianchen naturally held Luo Li and the others in higher regard.

After successfully finding the "Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus", Song Qingming and Huang Siyuan went to "Black Cloud Island" for a few days before bidding farewell to Song Changze and Luo Li and setting off back to "Floating Cloud Mountain Range".

After returning to "Red Cloud Mountain", Song Qingming, who now possessed the main spiritual object "Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus", immediately began to go into seclusion to prepare for cultivating the secret technique he had prepared.

This secret technique that Song Qingming brought out from the "Tongtian Pavilion" is called the "Azure Lotus Calamity Transformation Technique".

Once the cultivation is successful, one can summon a green lotus puppet to take the fatal damage in place of a Nascent Soul cultivator when the latter encounters a crisis. It is a very good life-saving divine power.

However, the "Azure Lotus Calamity Transformation Technique" cannot be used indefinitely. Each time the Azure Lotus puppet inside the body is used, it must be nurtured for at least ten years before it can be used again.

In addition to the fact that the required "Nine Tribulations Jade Lotus" is difficult to find, this secret technique is also not easy to cultivate.

For an ordinary cultivator to master it, it would normally take about twenty years.

With only a little over a decade left before the "Tower of Babel" opens, Song Qingming is also somewhat anxious, which is why he is in such a hurry to go into seclusion to cultivate this secret technique.

Although Song Qingming is no longer the weak Golden Core cultivator he once was, he is no longer afraid of the mechanisms and restrictions in the tower, even without anyone accompanying him.

However, this time the opening of the "Tower of Babel" is somewhat different from the past. The appearance of so many "Tower of Babel Tokens" means that more Nascent Soul cultivators will enter to compete for spiritual treasures.

Compared to the mechanisms and restrictions within the tower, Song Qingming was more worried about the many cultivators who had gone in to compete for the treasures.

If I can successfully cultivate the "Azure Lotus Calamity Transformation Technique" to perfection before the "Tower of Babel" opens, I will have an extra means of survival when competing with others for spiritual treasures.

After entering the secluded cave, Song Qingming made some preparations before taking out a three-inch-long "blue jade lotus" from his storage bag and placing it in front of him.

After taking a deep breath, Song Qingming closed his eyes and began to cast a spell quickly. A blue spiritual energy immediately appeared on his body and enveloped the "blue jade lotus" in front of him.

As the spiritual energy above the "Azure Jade Lotus" gathered more and more, Song Qingming suddenly opened his eyes and opened his mouth wide.

As the surrounding spiritual energy was rapidly drawn into its mouth, the "Azure Jade Lotus" that had been standing beside it began to sway, and soon it was swallowed whole.

After swallowing the "Azure Jade Lotus," a dazzling azure spiritual light emanated from Song Qingming's body, illuminating the entire cave in a verdant hue.

After doing all this, Song Qingming closed his eyes and began to manipulate his magic power to continuously refine the "Azure Jade Lotus" within his body.

After attempting to refine it continuously for more than a month, Song Qingming discovered that the "Azure Jade Lotus" within his body had shrunk considerably. A relieved smile appeared on his face, and he once again increased the intensity of his control over his magical power.

Spring came and autumn went, and three years passed quickly.

After continuous refinement and polishing, the "Azure Jade Lotus" within Song Qingming's body had long since dwindled to a tiny, thin piece, barely the size of a fingertip.

It then quickly transformed into several drops of azure spiritual liquid, which fell into Song Qingming's dantian below.

Seeing that his years of hard work had finally paid off and he had successfully refined all the "Azure Jade Lotuses" in his body, completing the first step, Song Qingming's face lit up with joy.

Next, the jade lotus root needs to be refined.

"The liquid coalesces into form, and the Azure Lotus transforms into a calamity!" (End of Chapter)