Qinghe Immortal Clan.

After saying that, Tang Muyan took out a letter that he was carrying.

After taking the letter and glancing at it, Song Qingming couldn't help but sigh slightly, his originally calm expression softening.

"When did your junior sister and Shaoyu go down the mountain? Does Qingyu know about this?"

"Reporting to Master, Grandmaster Uncle is still in seclusion and unaware of this matter."

It seems that my junior sister and junior brother Song went down the mountain the night before last. After I found the letter left by my junior sister yesterday, I told my second senior brother and the eldest senior brother, and we went down the mountain together to search for them.

No one in the market had seen them, and even the senior brother guarding the teleportation array couldn't find out anything about the two junior sisters.

The eldest brother and the others are still down the mountain and haven't returned yet.

"Alright, let them come back first!"

"Master, it seems that Junior Sister and Junior Brother Song have taken the ancient road south, which is extremely dangerous. May I go with Second Senior Brother to find them?"

"Two living people just disappeared right under our noses and we didn't even know it. It's tens of thousands of miles to the south. How could you possibly find them?"
Since it's their own choice to take this path, let's not interfere anymore.

Your grand-aunt is still in seclusion and shouldn't be disturbed. Give this letter to her after she emerges from seclusion.

After dropping the letter, Song Qingming ignored Tang Muyan and returned to his cave.

Since becoming Song Qingming's disciple, Liu Yue has been lively and clever, and has been well-liked and cared for by her senior brothers. However, she has never taken advantage of their favor and is a person who knows how to behave appropriately.

But now she dares to disobey her master's orders and secretly take Song Shaoyu away from the mountain, which really surprised Song Qingming.

Song Qingming had noticed that his third disciple, Tang Muyan, had always been interested in his junior sister, Liu Yue. He had originally planned to arrange for the two of them to go out and train together, which would also give them some opportunities to improve their relationship.

Unexpectedly, his trip out had backfired so badly, leaving Song Qingming feeling somewhat helpless.

It seems that feelings are something we can't really control.

However, since it was ultimately a matter concerning a few Foundation Establishment disciples, Song Qingming didn't seem to care too much and quickly put the matter out of his mind before entering his secluded cultivation area.

".."

Ten years later, in Qinghe County, "Floating Clouds Mountain Range".

Mujiao Town, located at the foot of Mount Funiu, is the birthplace of the Song clan on the mountain.

Although the Song Clan on Mount Funiu has long since changed and become the leading immortal clan in the cultivation world of the Fuyun Mountains.

However, this ordinary town at the foot of the mountain has not changed much since Song Qingming came down the mountain.

The streets of the town were bustling with vendors, and the people coming and going were mostly ordinary people busy with their own lives. Occasionally, one could see a rich man in fine clothes driving a horse-drawn carriage.

On this day, a man in a black robe slowly walked down the street.

Looking at the bustling scene around him, the man in black robes walked around, stopping and starting, glancing around as if searching for something.

Soon they arrived at a tall mansion located on the west side of the town, outside of which hung two large red lanterns.

These two stone lions are still the same as they were back then, just a bit old.

The gate seems to have been changed. Although it's still the same color, it's much taller than before, and there are a few more steps.

Gazing at the mansion before him, which was both strange and somewhat familiar to him, the man in black robes kept recalling scenes associated with it, and he couldn't help but become somewhat lost in thought.

"Hey kid, where did you come from? What are you doing standing outside my door?"

Just as the man in black robes was reminiscing, a somewhat unfriendly voice suddenly interrupted him from not far away. Immediately afterwards, a round-faced man wearing a silver crown and a robe inlaid with gold and jade walked over with two servants.

Facing the three men who were approaching menacingly, the man in black robes did not show much change in expression, but instead asked directly:

"You say this is your home, and you're from the Song family on West Street?"

"How dare you speak to the young master like that? Get out of here right now! Do you even have the right to ask questions here?"

Seeing that the man in black robes seemed to disregard them as he spoke, a burly servant standing behind the round-faced man immediately stepped forward and tried to push him down.

Unlike his thick right hand, which, upon touching the other person, seemed to have hit a stone wall and could not move forward even an inch.

"This, ah!"

With a scream, the burly man was kicked away by the man in black robes and fell unconscious at the doorway, his fate unknown.

Upon witnessing this sudden and astonishing scene, the round-faced man, who had been smiling, immediately changed his expression and looked at the other party with some shock.

The servant who had just been kicked away by the other party was actually a martial arts master in his own family, and was also a bodyguard specially arranged for him by his grandfather. Ordinary mortals, even three or five of them, would not be a match for him.

However, he couldn't even withstand a single move from the man in black robes before being kicked away and knocked unconscious, showing that the strength of the person in front of him had far exceeded his expectations.

Thinking of this, a bead of sweat immediately appeared on the round-faced man's face.

"Your Excellency, could you perhaps be a celestial master from the mountain?"

"I'll teach a vicious dog a lesson for you. You shouldn't have any objections, right?"

"I dare not. I am Song Yuan. My grandfather is the head of the Song family in West Street. May I ask your esteemed name, Immortal Master?"

Seeing the round-faced man's attitude change drastically, the black-robed man's icy gaze softened slightly.

"Since you are from the Song family in West Street, you must know the name Song Yuecheng. What is your relationship with him?"

“Song Yuecheng, are you perhaps referring to the ancestor Yuecheng in my family genealogy? He is my eighth-generation ancestor. I have seen this name in the ancestral hall genealogy before.”

"It's already passed down to the eighth generation. It seems they haven't returned for quite some time."

After muttering something to himself, the man in black robes quickly turned around and looked at Song Yuan, who was standing to the side with a somewhat respectful expression.

"Take me to your ancestral hall!"

"This... please forgive me, Immortal Master. My family's ancestral lineage was passed down from an old ancestor on the mountain, and outsiders are not allowed to enter or leave the ancestral hall at will."

May I ask?

"lead the way!"

He had intended to use the opportunity of speaking to explain his relationship with the old patriarch of the mountain, but to his surprise, the black-robed man in front of him impatiently revealed a cold glint in his eyes once again.

Completely intimidated by the other party's imposing manner, Song Yuan could only nod somewhat reluctantly and lead the people who came directly into the courtyard.

The servant standing nearby, noticing the look his young master was giving him, quickly turned and left.

Inside the Song family ancestral hall, gazing at the numerous memorial tablets and portraits displayed above, the man in black robes quickly approached a portrait of a kind-faced old man.

Looking at the old man before him, who resembled him so much in his memory, the man in black robes smiled slightly.

A moment later, he reached out and picked up a few sticks of incense from the table next to him, lit them, bowed, and placed them into the incense burner in front of him.

"Father, I never thought that after all these years, I would have the chance to come back and see you again!"

".."

Outside the Song family ancestral hall, Song Yuan stood in front of the entrance with a trembling expression, his eyes constantly gazing into the distance.

At this moment, he was terrified and wanted to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible, but he was also afraid that his actions would be discovered by the people inside, and then his life would be in danger.

He could only stand there, praying that someone would come to save him.

Just as Song Yuan was extremely anxious, a servant in the distance led a person dressed in a Taoist robe quickly toward the ancestral hall.

Not far behind the two, a middle-aged man dressed in fine clothes and a dozen servants followed.

"Yuan'er, don't be afraid, the immortal master is here to save you!"

"Oh, Father, Immortal Master! You've finally arrived."

Upon seeing his father and the immortal master not far away, the pampered Song Yuan finally saw his savior and hurriedly went to greet them, hiding directly next to his father.

Seeing that Song Yuan was quite frightened, Song Shanglong, who was in charge of managing Mujiao Town, immediately shook his head and asked him:

"Young master, do not be afraid. With me here, no one can hurt you."

"I heard you encountered a spiritual practitioner. Tell me quickly, who is this person who came looking for you? Did they come down from the mountain?"

"Yes! With the immortal master here, Yuan'er, you can rest assured. Quickly tell me who that person is and where he is now?"

“Father, I don’t know who that person is either. He didn’t say where he came from, but he kicked Hu Yun into the sky with one kick. He must be an immortal from the mountain.”

He just asked me to bring him here, and then he went into the ancestral hall alone!

"Oh! Are you sure that person was an immortal, young master?"

Looking at the ancestral hall that Song Yuan pointed to, a strange look flashed in Song Shanglong's eyes, and he asked a question with some disbelief.

"this,."

Seeing his son speechless and unable to answer, Song Yuan's father, standing to the side, quickly smiled, cupped his hands, and addressed Song Shanglong, who was standing nearby:

“Immortal Master, regardless of whether Yuan’er’s words are true or false, since he is currently inside the ancestral hall, why don’t we go in and take a look?”

"Never mind, I don't need you. I can go in by myself."

As the town's guardian, Song Shanglong, who has been stationed here for over a decade, has never encountered a situation where other immortal masters have come to the town without his knowledge.

To be honest, even though Song Yuan spoke very seriously, he still didn't quite believe it.

If it weren't for the special relationship between this family and the old ancestor on the mountaintop, he, a dignified immortal master, would never have willingly listened to the orders of these mortals.

There are magic arrays in the town that can suppress demonic cultivators, so they shouldn't be able to easily infiltrate this place.

Could it be that some ignorant rogue cultivator has infiltrated and dared to cause trouble on the Song family's territory? This person is truly audacious. After retrieving a mid-grade flying sword from his person using magic, Song Shanglong secretly pinched a yellow talisman in his right hand, then pushed open the door and walked into the ancestral hall.

The Song family ancestral hall was much larger than the ancestral halls of ordinary families outside. After scanning around, no one was found in the dim light.

"I am Song Shanglong from the Song family of Funiu Mountain."

"May I ask which fellow Daoist has come to visit? Would it be convenient for you to come out and meet me?"

"This is the territory of the Song family's mortals. If you need any help, please feel free to ask. Please do not bother with those mortals."

"Fellow Daoist, are you still here?"

".."

I searched the ancestral hall thoroughly, inside and out, but apart from a few sticks of incense that hadn't burned out yet in the incense burner at the front, there wasn't a soul in sight.

As Song Shanglong emerged from the ancestral hall, a hint of displeasure appeared on his face as he gazed at Song Yuan and his son not far away.

".."
-

At the summit of "Chiyun Mountain".

Wei Yunlong, dressed in a white robe, was sitting cross-legged in a stone pavilion below the mountaintop.

At this moment, he was meditating with his eyes closed, and his body was emitting faint purple spiritual light, which was the "Purple Sun Divine Light" technique that Song Qingming had taught him back then.

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye. Wei Yunlong has not only advanced his cultivation to the eighth level of Foundation Establishment, but he has also cultivated this technique to the Foundation Establishment level.

Although his master did not tell him what was special about the technique when he passed it on.

However, over the years, Wei Yunlong has indeed felt the profundity of this technique, which has greatly improved his cultivation speed, making up for the time lost due to his injuries in previous years.

Just as Wei Yunlong was meditating in seclusion, he suddenly sensed an unusual fluctuation of spiritual energy emanating from his surroundings.

Sensing something amiss, he quickly stopped casting the spell and turned to go to the top of the mountain.

Suddenly, rain and mist rolled in the sky above the summit of "Red Cloud Mountain," and countless streams of spiritual energy rapidly merged into a tightly closed cave in front of them.

"This is... could it be that Master has broken through in cultivation?"

Upon seeing this somewhat familiar "celestial phenomenon," Wei Yunlong immediately recalled the same thing that had happened on the mountaintop more than a decade ago, and couldn't help but make a guess in his heart.

Just as Wei Yunlong was standing there pondering, he didn't expect that the "strange phenomenon in the sky" in mid-air would not last long and would quickly disappear.

The clouds and mist that had been swirling over the mountaintop quickly returned to normal.

".."

At the same time, in the cave below, as Song Qingming stopped casting spells, the surging spiritual energy around him quickly calmed down.

The next moment, he slowly opened his eyes while sitting on a golden futon.

"The bottleneck of the late Nascent Soul stage is indeed not easy to break through. No wonder so few people have been able to advance to this level over the years."

After ten years of secluded cultivation, Song Qingming successfully refined the "Dragon Flame Pill" given to him by Old Ghost Xiao, raising his cultivation to the peak of the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Song Qingming then began to attempt to break through the bottleneck of the late-stage Nascent Soul realm within his body.

Unfortunately, after six months of trying, Song Qingming ultimately failed to break through to the next realm, as expected.

Because he had a premonition that he wasn't very confident in breaking through his cultivation level, he didn't choose to directly take the "Mysterious Spirit Pill" to help him break through the bottleneck, even though he was just trying it out.

Although Song Qingming failed to break through this time, he did not show too much disappointment on his face.

After several attempts to break through his cultivation level, Song Qingming now had a clearer understanding of the bottleneck in the late Nascent Soul stage.

Since breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm, Song Qingming has been cultivating for over two hundred years.

When he was advancing from the first level of the Nascent Soul stage to the sixth level, he experienced some failures and setbacks, and had to rely on some pills and spiritual items to help him break through.

However, during these two hundred years of cultivation, Song Qingming did not feel too much pressure overall, and he steadily raised his cultivation to the peak of the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

It wasn't until he encountered the bottleneck of advancing to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, as if blocked by an incomparably hard barrier, that Song Qingming truly experienced the greatest obstacle he had faced in his cultivation journey.

This is far more powerful than the obstacles he encountered in the first six levels of the Nascent Soul realm; it would probably be difficult to compare even if all of them were added together.

When he tried to forcefully break through the bottleneck of the late Nascent Soul stage, he did trigger a "heavenly phenomenon," but it only slightly touched the bottleneck and did not cause it to loosen in any way.

Having realized the formidable nature of the bottleneck in the late Nascent Soul stage, Song Qingming finally understood.

Why are so many exceptionally talented Nascent Soul cultivators like He Wuyou and Wang Yan trapped at the mid-Nascent Soul stage for their entire lives in the cultivation world?

Very few are fortunate enough to advance to the late Nascent Soul stage and become a great cultivator.

It must be said that without extraordinary opportunities or miraculous elixirs to aid in breaking through realms, even those with exceptionally gifted Heavenly Spirit Roots would find it extremely difficult to advance to the late Nascent Soul stage.

When Xia Mo entered Tongtian Pavilion to compete for the "Mysterious Spirit Pill," Song Qingming initially didn't understand why someone with such talent would take such a risk.

Now that he has reached a bottleneck himself, he can finally understand Xia Mo's choice back then.

After attempting to break through to a higher realm, Song Qingming gained a clearer understanding of the bottleneck in the late Nascent Soul stage.

According to his own estimation, if he were to take the "Mysterious Spirit Pill" he had now, the chances of successfully breaking through to a higher realm would not be very high.

One needs to patiently hone one's magical power for a period of time before breaking through this realm in one fell swoop; one cannot be too impatient.

After all, the "Mysterious Spirit Pill" was an extremely rare and precious medicine for Song Qingming.

If you rashly take the pill and fail to break through your cultivation level, it won't be as easy as it is now to find another pill to help you break through your cultivation level in the future.

In any case, I must be as cautious as possible.

".."

After restoring his magical power with the help of the broken map on his chest, Song Qingming did not rush to get up. Instead, he cast a spell to summon a ball of purple spiritual light from his body once again.

This is the Purple Sun Divine Light that Song Qingming cultivated in the "Purple Sun Heavenly Palace" back then.

During these ten years of seclusion, in addition to his daily cultivation, Song Qingming also spent a lot of time studying the cultivation technique he possessed, and had already cultivated it to the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

Although Song Qingming is not a single-attribute spiritual root cultivator, his cultivation speed for this technique is slower than that of his main cultivation technique, "Azure Jade Refining Treasure Technique".

However, because he possesses the incomplete map, he doesn't need to spend time refining puppets or making spirit talismans, so practicing one or two more techniques won't have any impact on him.

Therefore, during his years of seclusion, Song Qingming also cultivated this technique to the late stage of the Golden Core realm.

The reason Song Qingming chose to continue cultivating "Purple Sun Divine Light" was not because he really wanted to switch to this technique.

Rather, he wanted to comprehend this technique so that he could better deduce the subsequent techniques of the "Azure Jade Refining Treasure Technique" he created in the future.

In the world of cultivation, whether it's cultivation techniques, pill formulas, or array diagrams, if a cultivator wants to create a new one, they will inevitably need to refer to other similar methods.

"Purple Sun Divine Light" was created by the Twin Saints of Purple Sun. It is a powerful cultivation technique that can be cultivated to the Nascent Soul stage. If one can cultivate and master it, it will definitely be of great help to Song Qingming in deducing subsequent cultivation techniques.

The "Azure Jade Refining Technique" he created has now been deduced by Song Qingming to be at the late Nascent Soul stage.

If he can further develop this technique to the Nascent Soul stage, then he shouldn't have to worry about subsequent techniques before ascending to immortality.

Besides cultivating the "Purple Sun Divine Light," Song Qingming has also been practicing the "Heaven-Reaching Myriad Spirits Technique" over the years.

However, the progress of this technique is really too slow. Although Song Qingming has been working hard to cultivate over the years, he is still stuck at the second level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Judging from the current progress, Song Qingming is not yet absolutely certain whether he can cultivate to the late Nascent Soul stage before the next opening of the Tower of Babel.

However, he has now cultivated to the Nascent Soul realm, and his lifespan still has a thousand years left.

Even if he cannot cultivate the "Tongtian Wanling Jue" to the late Nascent Soul stage in two hundred years, it does not mean that he will lose the opportunity to obtain the Tongtian Tower's inheritance, so there is no need to be too anxious.

Just as Song Qingming continued to cultivate his technique, he unexpectedly felt something strange coming from the storage bag at his waist.

Seeing this, Song Qingming quickly withdrew his magic power and took out a "white talisman" from his body.

After glancing at the talisman in his hand, Song Qingming smiled slightly, stood up, and walked out of his secluded stone chamber.

Before long, a streak of light quickly passed through the "mountain-protecting formation" and flew directly westward.

When Song Qingming arrived at a desolate mountain hundreds of miles away from "Red Cloud Mountain", he soon saw a man dressed in black robes, who was none other than Song Xuanfeng, whom he had found in the Qiyun Immortal Cultivation World years ago.

"Xuanfeng greets Third Grand Uncle!"

"Hmm! You look much better; your injuries should be almost healed!"

When Song Qingming left the "Qiyun Immortal Cultivation World" back then, because Song Xuanfeng was still injured, he left him some spiritual items so that he could find a safe place to recuperate.

After he recovers from his injuries, he will return to the cultivation world of the "Floating Cloud Mountains".

Now, more than a decade later, Song Xuanfeng's injuries have clearly healed considerably, and his aura has improved compared to before. It seems that he is not far from breaking through to the second level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Faced with Song Qingming's concerned inquiry, Song Xuanfeng immediately cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your concern, Third Uncle. My injuries are no longer a big problem."

"I've completely controlled the primordial spirit that Chi Yuan left inside me, but I haven't found a way to completely eliminate him yet!"

"Chi Yuan is an ancient true demon, and his primordial spirit has penetrated deep into your body. It is indeed not an easy task for us to completely destroy him."

But don't worry, as long as you can control yourself, you'll find a way to resolve this in the future!

Destroying the incomplete primordial spirit of the Crimson Origin Saint Demon was not a difficult task for Song Qingming in his current state. The main difficulty lay in ensuring that this action did not harm Song Xuanfeng, who was standing before him.

Since returning to "Red Cloud Mountain", Song Qingming has studied many methods, but so far he has not found any clues.

Seeing the helplessness in Song Xuanfeng's tone, he quickly offered a word of comfort. (End of Chapter)