Qinghe Immortal Clan.

"Fellow Daoist Long misunderstands. The reason I am looking for ice-attribute magic treasures is not for anyone else, but for my own use in searching for treasures in a dangerous place."

That place is shrouded in eternal cold, and ordinary magical artifacts are simply no match for its chilling aura. That's why I wanted to try using an ice-attribute magical artifact to assimilate the energy and break through the barrier.

Faced with the other party's somewhat curious question, Song Qingming remained silent for a moment before gently shaking his head.

Upon hearing this, Long Ziyun pondered for a moment, then revealed a hint of surprise.

"Even a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator like Fellow Daoist Song couldn't get through. The coldness of that place must be extraordinary. I wonder where else in the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent there are such dangerous places."

After muttering something, Long Ziyun slowly spoke again: "Fellow Daoist Song, to be honest, I have been here for some time now, and I have not yet heard of any fourth-grade high-quality ice-attribute magic treasures at the auction."

As for the shops outside, level four or higher spiritual items are already rare, let alone level four high-grade magic treasures.

However, I will do my best to inquire about this matter for you, fellow Daoist. As soon as I have any news about this item, I will send you a message immediately.

A fourth-grade superior magic weapon is already the most top-tier magic weapon in the cultivation world. Normally, those who possess such magic weapons are all late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

Even at the highest-level auction on the continent, such as the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Gathering," only two or three such items would appear at most.

Song Qingming also knew that the probability of finding a high-grade level four ice-attribute magic weapon was not high.

Therefore, upon hearing what Long Ziyun said, he did not show too much disappointment on his face, but simply nodded slightly.

"Then I, Song, will entrust this matter to Fellow Daoist Long. If things go as planned, I will certainly not forget your help!"

Although he didn't get the information he wanted from Long Ziyun, Song Qingming was still grateful that she was willing to help him inquire about the matter.

After all, the influence of the "Four Seas Business Alliance" is undeniable, and Long Ziyun's access to information is far greater than Song Qingming's in the cultivation world of the "Floating Cloud Mountains".

After bowing and expressing his gratitude, Song Qingming asked about the "Nurture Pill" and other high-level spiritual items.

At each Donghuang Kingdom trade fair, a certain amount of "Ningying Pills" would be auctioned off.

At the last auction, Tianyu Sect not only offered six "Nurturing Pills" at once, but also two "Transforming Pills" at the last moment to exchange for spiritual items, which really excited the cultivators who participated in the auction.

Upon hearing Song Qingming inquire about the "Nurture Pill," Long Ziyun immediately nodded in agreement:

"Fellow Daoist Song, rest assured, there will definitely be Infant Nourishing Pills at this auction, and there will be more than last time. With your financial resources, I think it shouldn't be difficult for you to bid for one or two pills."

In addition, I also heard that the Demon-Slaying Palace brought out some Cold Jade Spirit Water this time.

Although this item is not as effective as the Nascent Soul Pill, it is still a rare item to aid in the formation of the Nascent Soul. If Fellow Daoist Song is interested, he might consider auctioning some.

"Oh! The auction also features Cold Jade Spirit Water. That's quite unexpected. Thank you for your guidance, Fellow Daoist Long."

When Huang Siyuan formed her nascent soul, she had consumed a bottle of "Cold Jade Spirit Water" given to her by the Heavenly Dao Sect, so Song Qingming was naturally very familiar with this substance.

Although "Cold Jade Spirit Water" only has a half-full effect in assisting with Nascent Soul formation, it belongs to the lowest level among all Nascent Soul formation spiritual items.

However, since it does have the effect of assisting in the formation of the Nascent Soul stage, even if the effect is low, it is still a spiritual item that many Golden Core cultivators dream of.

Upon hearing the news of "Cold Jade Spirit Water," Song Qingming was somewhat delighted and planned to discuss with Bai Yuxian about how to auction off a few pieces.

Currently, there are more than thirty Golden Core cultivators in the entire "Free and Unfettered Sect," and the competition for Nascent Soul spiritual objects will definitely become more and more intense in the future.

Song Qingming and the other Nascent Soul elders who manage their sects will inevitably have these kinds of headaches in the future.

Even if the effects of "Cold Jade Spirit Water" are far inferior to "Nurture Pill", being able to obtain a few items here and take them back will give more disciples in the sect a glimmer of hope for forming their Nascent Soul.

As the three chatted, another noise came from outside the door. The manager of "Qingxin Pavilion," who had left not long ago, had brought over the materials and spiritual items that Song Qingming needed.

As a large merchant alliance spanning several continents and the cultivation world, the "Four Seas Merchant Alliance" naturally possesses a resource collection capability far superior to that of ordinary Nascent Soul sects.

Even a top-tier power like the "Demon-Slaying Palace" cannot compare in this respect.

Apart from a few high-level materials, Song Qingming had already provided all the spiritual items listed on his inventory, which made both him and Li Xuanyi look quite satisfied.

Although he spent hundreds of thousands of spirit stones in one go at "Qingxin Pavilion", Song Qingming did not feel the slightest bit of heartache.

As long as these materials are brought back to the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range," they can quickly be transformed into finished spiritual objects such as talismans, magical artifacts, and puppets by him and Li Xuanyi, relying on their advanced cultivation techniques.

The spirit stones I spend will not only earn me more, but will also indirectly enhance the overall strength of the sect and the cultivators of "Red Cloud Mountain".

For Song Qingming, this was a win-win situation.

After accepting the spirit stones handed over by Song Qingming, Long Ziyun took an exquisite wooden box from the shopkeeper and handed it to Li Xuanyi.

"Fellow Daoist Li and Fellow Daoist Song are happily married. I was unable to personally go to Chiyun Mountain to offer my congratulations, so I can only present this as a gift. I hope you will not find it offensive."

During their casual conversation, Long Ziyun had already discerned the relationship between Li Xuanyi and Song Qingming, and immediately instructed her manager to prepare a special congratulatory gift.

Upon opening the wooden box, Li Xuanyi was immediately drawn to a very rare jade hairpin magic weapon inside.

As a female cultivator who frequently interacts with cultivators from all walks of life, Long Ziyun is naturally well-versed in the ways of human relationships.

Although this type of "jade hairpin magic weapon" is only of the third-grade mid-level and its power is average, it is not very practical for Nascent Soul cultivators.

However, its exquisite appearance was irresistible to those beauty-loving cultivators. Li Xuanyi, upon seeing this item, also showed delight and couldn't help but say:

"Thank you for the treasure, Fellow Daoist Long. I would like to invite you to visit Chiyun Mountain another day when you have time, so that I can fulfill my duty as a host."

"Hehe! Chiyun Mountain is a partner of our alliance. Ziyun will definitely have to visit you two again in the future. I hope Fairy Xuanyi will not find me bothering you."

In recent years, due to Song Qingming's advancement to the late Nascent Soul stage, the influence of "Red Cloud Mountain" has expanded to the entire cultivation world of the Floating Cloud Mountain Range.

This also made the "Sihai Business Alliance," which originally cooperated with them, smell a considerable business opportunity.

In recent years, the manager of the Four Seas Business Alliance in charge of "Chiyun Mountain" has taken the initiative to approach Zhang Yurong and others to cooperate in opening branches in neighboring countries such as Wei and Wu.

Song Qingming did not refuse the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two companies and agreed to Zhang Yurong and others' proposal to open a branch together.

It is estimated that before long, "Sihai Business Alliance" branches will be spread throughout the entire Fuyun Mountain Range.

"Chiyun Mountain" can acquire a share in the deal and receive substantial benefits annually, so the cooperation between the two companies will not be affected.

After saying goodbye to Long Ziyun, Song Qingming had no more interest in wandering around, so he and Li Xuanyi headed back home.

The two had just walked a short distance from their residence when Song Qingming, who was walking ahead, suddenly sensed a gaze fixed on him. He abruptly turned around and looked at the sky not far away.

Just as Song Qingming noticed the other party, the divine sense that had been following him immediately disappeared.

"What's the matter, husband?"

"It's nothing, just a fellow Daoist we know. Let's go back first!"

After responding, Song Qingming smiled slightly and quickly turned and left with Li Xuanyi.

Just after Song Qingming and his companion left, a middle-aged man dressed in a gray Taoist robe in the pavilion ahead showed a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"He has only broken through to the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage in just twenty years, yet he was able to detect me ahead of time. This child's divine sense is truly extraordinary. He must have cultivated some powerful divine soul technique."

It seems his advancement to the late Nascent Soul stage was no accident; his strength is likely not to be underestimated.

“Cultivating a powerful spiritual technique can only give you a slight advantage in terms of spiritual awareness during battles, and it doesn’t have much impact on a cultivator’s supernatural abilities.”

Song Qingming has only been at the late Nascent Soul stage for twenty years, and he probably doesn't even have a high-grade fourth-level magic weapon. The sect leader's words are a bit too much of an exaggeration.

I've already signed up for the sword-testing tournament, so this is a good opportunity to test his skills and maybe even avenge Junior Sister Hu."

"Song Qingming is at least a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, so Junior Brother Liu must not be careless."

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Sect Leader, I know what I'm doing!"

".."

After a full day of sightseeing, Bai Yuxian, Song Qingyu, and the others finally returned to their lodgings, completely satisfied. Even Song Yuanhao and the others who followed behind them were quite exhausted.

Seeing that Bai Yuxian and the others had been wandering around for so long, Song Qingming thought that everyone must have made a lot of progress today.

After some questioning, it turned out that Bai Yuxian and Song Qingyu had only managed to buy some of the level-three spiritual items they needed, without any unexpected gains.

Bai Yuxian also brought over a million spirit stones from the sect's treasury this time, intending to purchase some Nascent Soul spiritual items for the sect, as well as cultivation pills she needed.

Upon hearing Song Qingming say that the auction would not only feature "Nurture Pills" but also "Cold Jade Spirit Water," she was overjoyed and immediately decided to save her spirit stones to purchase several more items.

".."

The next morning, as the sun shone through the clouds, the entire mountaintop palace immediately came alive with activity.

Besides the trade fair being held in the Heavenly Palace, the theme of this "Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament" is to determine the top ten sects of the "Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent" through martial arts competitions for the next two hundred years. As the time drew near, a golden sphere of light suddenly descended from the sky above the mountaintop and stopped above several palaces.

At the same time, on each of the eight surrounding palaces, a Nascent Soul cultivator began to cast spells and set up formations, with beams of spiritual light shooting out and quickly gathering above the golden sphere.

The next moment, as the golden sphere of light began to grow larger, a spherical shield that was hundreds of feet long and wide appeared in everyone's sight.

Seeing such an astonishing scene, even the high-level cultivators present, all of whom were at the Golden Core or Nascent Soul stage, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

"This seems to be the Eight Gates Golden Light Formation of the Demon-Slaying Palace. It is said that this formation can withstand a full-force attack from a Nascent Soul cultivator. I never expected that they would use it to set up a martial arts arena. They really have a grand plan."

"Hehe! The Demon-Slaying Palace is one of the three top sects of our Eastern Phoenix Kingdom. Even without the Nascent Soul Ancestor in charge, it certainly still has no shortage of level-five magic arrays."

Rumor has it that a level-five spirit beast guards the back mountain of the Demon-Slaying Palace, meaning their sect's foundation is not much inferior to that of the Heavenly Imperial Sect and the Immortal Origin Sect.

"What? A level five spirit beast? How could such a Nascent Soul level spirit beast be controlled by a sect? Is what you're saying true, fellow Daoist?"

"Hahaha, I won't say anymore. It's just a rumor. How can I be sure if it's true? If you have the guts, go ask the fellow Daoists in the Demon-Slaying Palace and you'll know for sure."

".."

Amidst the discussions of the surrounding cultivators, three figures had already flown into the air, with the one in the lead being He Yuliang, the head of the "Demon-Slaying Palace".

Standing beside He Yuliang were two people: one was Elder Lü Yue, whom Song Qingming knew, and the other was a short old man, who was also at the late Nascent Soul stage.

Judging from the fact that this person's aura was slightly stronger than Lü Yue's, he should be Hu Canghai, who ranked second among the many elders of the "Demon Suppression Palace".

"I am He Yuliang, the leader of the Demon-Slaying Palace. I welcome all fellow Daoists to grace us with their presence at this Sword Trial and Martial Arts Tournament."

".."

As before, He Yuliang first introduced the rules of the sword trial to everyone, and then began to draw lots to determine the opponents of the next participating cultivators.

Besides Song Qingming, Bai Yuxian and Li Xuanyi did not want to participate. However, Song Qingyu also signed up because she did not want to miss the opportunity to compete with others.

Song Qingyu has now broken through to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul realm. With the guidance of her master Ling Zhentian, she has mastered the path of sword cultivation and her combat strength is no less than that of an ordinary sixth-level Nascent Soul cultivator.

Song Qingming did not stop him from signing up for the competition, but only gave him a few words of advice.

Because there were more cultivators at this conference than last time, the number of Nascent Soul cultivators who signed up to participate also increased significantly, totaling more than 300.

Most of these cultivators came from various Nascent Soul sects within the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom," while some, like Song Qingming and his group, came from places such as the Floating Cloud Mountains and the Qiyun Immortal Cultivation World.

Furthermore, Nascent Soul cultivators within the territory of the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom" can also register to participate in the Sword Trial Tournament.

In relatively barren small cultivation worlds like the "Floating Cloud Mountains," cultivation resources are mostly controlled by large sects and cultivation families.

Among the cultivators who came from the Floating Cloud Mountains, those who could cultivate to the Foundation Establishment or Golden Core realms were already extremely rare, let alone those who could successfully form a Nascent Soul.

Even if an ordinary rogue cultivator is lucky enough to form a Golden Core, if they want to break through to the Nascent Soul stage, they either have to go to other cultivation worlds like Ye Linyuan to seek opportunities to form a Nascent Soul.

Alternatively, like Song Qingming and Song Qingyu, they could choose to integrate into a sect after forming their core in order to gain a chance to form their nascent soul.

In the entire cultivation world of the "Floating Cloud Mountain Range," all of the dozen or so Nascent Soul cultivators, including Song Qingming and others, are from the seven major Nascent Soul sects; there are no rogue Nascent Soul cultivators among them.

The situation in the cultivation world of "Donghuang Kingdom" is different. Although the status of rogue cultivators here is still not as high as that of cultivators from cultivation families and sects.

However, because the cultivation resources in the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom" are relatively abundant, even cultivators who come from a humble background can achieve Foundation Establishment and Core Formation as long as they have some talent and some good fortune.

Even cultivators attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul realm can find spiritual items that assist in forming their Nascent Soul in large market auctions or underground black markets.

As long as you provide the Spirit Stones, finding a place to form your Nascent Soul or asking someone to help protect you is not difficult.

Back when Feng He was forming his Nascent Soul, he also brought Song Qingming with him to the cultivation world of "Donghuang Kingdom" to seek help from an underground black market organization.

Therefore, compared to other parts of the mainland, the number of rogue cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage in the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom" is also quite large, and there are even great cultivators at the late Nascent Soul stage.

Among the more than 300 Nascent Soul cultivators who signed up for the competition, Song Qingming glanced at them and immediately spotted at least 20 or 30 Nascent Soul cultivators who were originally independent cultivators.

As He Yuliang, the leader of the "Dangmo Palace," announced the start of the competition, two Nascent Soul cultivators whose names were called soon flew into the golden array.

Because the two sides in the battle are randomly selected, the type of opponent each person will encounter is entirely up to luck.

The first cultivator to take the stage was a Nascent Soul cultivator from the Eastern Phoenix Kingdom.

This person only had the cultivation of the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, and this was his first time participating in the martial arts tournament. He had come up to find a worthy opponent to spar with.

Unexpectedly, this person had really bad luck, drawing a late-stage Nascent Soul expert right away.

It should be noted that among the more than 300 Nascent Soul cultivators who signed up, the majority were mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, and there were not many late-Nascent Soul cultivators.

To encounter a late-stage Nascent Soul expert in the very first match, this person's luck is truly terrible.

As a result, the two fought for only twenty-odd rounds before the magic weapon in the hands of the rogue cultivator was shattered by his opponent's attack. He could only bow and admit defeat in front of everyone with a livid face.

The difference in strength between late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators and early-stage Nascent Soul cultivators is enormous.

The reason this person was able to fight his opponent for over twenty rounds on the stage was because the sword-testing tournament imposed certain restrictions on both sides, preventing them from taking lives.

Otherwise, if it were a real fight outside, the opponent would probably have a hard time lasting even ten rounds.

The very first match featured a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, which truly put the many cultivators below the late-stage Nascent Soul level who had registered to participate in the competition to a shock, and they all began to pray that they would not encounter such a powerful opponent.

Soon, two more cultivators were called out and took the stage. Both of them happened to be mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, and they both breathed a sigh of relief.

As the two evenly matched opponents began to fight, various colorful lights immediately lit up on the arena once again.

".."

As one cultivator after another appeared in the martial arts tournament, Song Qingming also saw many familiar faces among them.

Among them, Zhao Mengyang, the elder of the Five Thunder Sect, who had met Song Qingming several times, Lin Tianrong and Yang Lingkong of the Heavenly Dao Sect, Qingyu Zhenren and Huang Gucheng of the Jade Spirit Sect, and others all participated in the martial arts competition.

Experts like Lin Tianrong and Qingyu Zhenren, who are at the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm, generally do not encounter powerful opponents.

The competition was naturally one-sided; they barely showed any signs of giving their all before their opponents conceded defeat.

Of course, there are also those like Zhao Mengyang, who happen to encounter opponents of similar cultivation levels, and the two fight for hundreds of rounds without a clear winner.

In order to prevent the spectators from waiting too long, the Sword Trial Tournament also stipulated the time for the two sides to fight.

If a situation arises where the outcome remains uncertain after hundreds of rounds, the three high-ranking monks acting as referees will terminate the match and announce the final winner based on their unanimous judgment.

Although Zhao Mengyang did not lose the competition, he was judged to have lost to the opponent by the three great cultivators because his performance was relatively poor. He was quite unhappy when he left the arena.

Unfortunately, faced with a decision made by the three major Nascent Soul sects, no one dared to publicly object, even if they were dissatisfied.

As the cultivators took to the stage one by one, it was soon Song Qingming's turn to watch the battle from the pavilion on the side.

Song Qingming's opponent was a Nascent Soul elder from the "Heavenly Puppet Sect," a Nascent Soul sect from Qingzhou in the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom."

When Song Qingming first visited the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom", he went to Qingzhou and participated in the trade fair held by the "Heavenly Puppet Sect". It was there that he met his senior sister, Li Xuanyi.

Later, the two teamed up to search for treasure, but were tricked by several Golden Core cultivators from the "Heavenly Puppet Sect" and almost died in the Sealed Demon Valley. They had some history with each other.

That elder of the "Heavenly Puppet Sect" was at the peak of the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage, and he also had a Nascent Soul early stage corpse puppet on his body. Among the group of mid-Nascent Soul cultivators, he was not considered weak.

I thought that as long as I didn't draw a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, I would most likely be able to pass the first round.

Upon hearing the somewhat unfamiliar name Song Qingming, I felt a sense of relief, thinking that I was lucky to have encountered those unknown rogue cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage.

When Song Qingming appeared on the arena and displayed the imposing aura befitting a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, the "Heavenly Puppet Sect" elder's face instantly turned from joy to ashen.

Although he knew he was unlikely to defeat his opponent, he still felt a sliver of hope when he saw that Song Qingming's cultivation was only at the seventh level of the Nascent Soul stage, and that he seemed to have only recently advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage.

In less than thirty rounds, not only was the natal magic weapon of the "Heavenly Puppet Sect" elder severely injured by Song Qingming's attack, but even his Nascent Soul Corpse Puppet was directly cut in two.

Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the elder of the "Heavenly Puppet Sect" immediately bowed and admitted defeat. With his magical treasures and puppets destroyed by his opponent, he could only flee the arena with a grim face.

Besides Song Qingming's decisive victory over his opponent, Song Qingyu also had good luck on the first day, matching with a cultivator at the fourth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Song Qingyu's supernatural abilities were already comparable to those of a sixth-level Nascent Soul cultivator, and he also possessed several mid-grade level four magic treasures, making him quite formidable among the mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators participating in the competition.

Her opponent was a Nascent Soul cultivator from the "Qiyun Immortal Cultivation World," whose strength was not particularly formidable.

After fighting for over a hundred rounds, knowing he was no match for Song Qingyu, he simply and decisively surrendered.

Song Qingyu felt unsatisfied and could only leave the arena somewhat disappointed. (End of Chapter)