Qinghe Immortal Clan.

Several years later, beyond the Nine Heavens, in the void beyond the boundary.

A middle-aged man sat cross-legged on a circular stone platform, his eyes closed in meditation.

Suddenly, a flash of spiritual light appeared beside the man, instantly startling him into stopping his cultivation and opening his eyes.

He stood up and left the stone platform, then cast a spell to activate a magic seal above his head.

The next moment, a white light flashed above the stone platform, and a figure in white suddenly emerged from it.

"You're back! How have you been? Any good news lately?"

Upon hearing the middle-aged man's question, the woman in white did not rush to answer. Instead, she sat down cross-legged and began to cast a spell to restore her magical power.

It wasn't until quite a while later that she slowly withdrew her hand.

"We have found another spatial node in the Black Wind Sea. It is relatively stable at present and may be useful in the future!"
Unfortunately, we no longer have the Ancestral Wood of Boundary Breaking, so we cannot conduct the test for the time being.

The woman in white recalled the figure who had stolen the spirit wood, and a hint of resentment flashed in her eyes.

Seeing this, the middle-aged man also sighed softly.

"Alas, over the years, although we have found many spatial nodes, we still do not have a good way to break through the boundary and smuggle across."

Even if this node is temporarily stable, the main body is unlikely to take any risks easily.

"I understand what you mean, but how will we know the answer if we don't try!"

Now that the Ancestral Tree of Breaking Boundaries has disappeared, we don't have many options left!

Following the gaze of the woman in white, a huge, pitch-black iron coffin hung silently in mid-air above their heads.

Around the iron coffin, there were more than a dozen jet-black iron chains emitting a black spiritual light, firmly securing it.

"Fine, since you insist on trying, then so be it."

Seeing the determination in the white-clad woman's eyes, the middle-aged man didn't hesitate for long and quickly cast a spell to summon a palm-sized jade tablet.

As the spiritual light above the jade tablet shone, the previously calm black iron coffin suddenly began to emit bursts of black flames.

Black flames rapidly spread across the surrounding iron chains, causing the entire hall to shake violently.

".."

"Floating Cloud Mountain Range", Red Cloud Mountain, in the cave at the top of the mountain.

Li Xuanyi, dressed in plain clothes, sat beside the bronze mirror.

Song Qingming held a slender eyebrow pencil and carefully traced the shape between the eyebrows, his movements appearing very light.

Looking at Song Qingming's serious expression, Li Xuanyi's eyes were also full of satisfaction, and a smile inexplicably appeared on her face.

Noticing the strange expression on Li Xuanyi's face, Song Qingming immediately stopped what he was doing.

"What's wrong? Is something the problem?"

"No, my husband draws very well. Have you drawn like this for Sister Siyuan before?"

Upon hearing Li Xuanyi suddenly mention Huang Siyuan, Song Qingming's expression suddenly fell silent, and he shook his head at her.

Just as Song Qingming was about to continue what he was doing, Li Xuanyi reached out and stopped him.

"Husband, don't worry, I believe she will be alright."

"This time we're going to Zhongyuan Continent, where there are even more cultivators. We can take this opportunity to inquire about Sister Siyuan's whereabouts."

As the saying goes, "Where there's a will, there's a way." The world of cultivation is vast, but as long as we're willing to invest more time, this matter will eventually yield a result.

"Yes! You're right, some things always have to have a result."

Huang Siyuan and Song Qingming have been separated for more than eighty years since their parting at "Dangmo Mountain".

To this day, there has been no news of him, and he has not returned.

Huang Siyuan left suddenly because of her own opportunity to form her Nascent Soul. Song Qingming did not know where she went, nor did he choose to go out and search for her.

It wasn't until later, when they found a porcelain bowl left behind by the "Monk Bukong," that they finally obtained a clue about Huang Siyuan's departure.

Unfortunately, the information left on the porcelain bowl is not detailed.

In recent years, Song Qingming asked Long Ziyun and the "Four Seas Business Alliance" to investigate, and they found dozens of similar place names and sects in Donghuang Immortal Continent alone.

After investigation, no useful information was obtained.

It is estimated that Huang Siyuan is no longer in "Donghuang Immortal Continent" and has most likely gone to other cultivation worlds.

Finding her won't be an easy task.

It was assumed that Huang Siyuan would return to "Chiyun Mountain" soon after successfully forming a nascent soul outside.

Unexpectedly, after so many years, there is still no news of her, and Song Qingming couldn't help but feel a little worried.

In recent years, she has rarely mentioned anything about herself.

Fortunately, Huang Siyuan's soul lamps in her family and sect did not suddenly go out, so it seems that she has not perished outside.

Hearing what Li Xuanyi said, Song Qingming nodded slightly and forced a smile.

Regardless of her current situation, it's time for me to find her again.

While Song Qingming was still diligently drawing his eyebrows, a sudden fluctuation of spiritual energy outside the cave interrupted the two of them.

A telepathic message flew swiftly into the cave and landed in Li Xuanyi's hand.

"My lord, Qingyu has returned!"

".."

A moment later, Li Xuanyi, having tidied herself up, opened the cave's protective barrier, and a figure in cyan quickly appeared before the two of them.

"Qingyu, you're back!"

Looking at Song Qingming standing next to Li Xuanyi, Song Qingyu's expression shifted, and she suddenly feigned surprise, saying:

"Oh! Seventh Brother, what are you doing here? I was in such a hurry to get back that I didn't expect to disturb your cultivation. I'm so sorry!"

Seeing Song Qingyu's mischievous grin, Song Qingming couldn't help but shake his head.

"You've been in the East China Sea for so long, and you've even learned to apologize. It seems that place is quite suitable for you."

The sect is short-handed everywhere right now, and Xuan Yi and I are going out again. I think you should stay in the East Sea.

"No way, Seventh Brother, you've only just returned, and you're already sending me to the East China Sea again."

I was genuinely apologizing just now, please don't misunderstand!

Hearing the displeasure in Song Qingming's tone, Song Qingyu quickly smiled and admitted defeat, then sat down with the two of them.

After taking a sip of the spiritual tea, Song Qingyu looked up and asked again:
"Seventh Brother, you specifically asked Senior Brother Li to bring me back early this time, is there something you need to tell me?"

“A few days ago, Fellow Daoist Long sent me a message saying that there will be a large-scale trade fair in Zhongyuan Prefecture soon, and I plan to take Xuanyi with me.”

Let's see if we can buy some useful things, and also go out for a walk while we're at it.

Upon hearing that Song Qingming was going on a long trip with Li Xuanyi, Song Qingyu immediately responded with some excitement:
"Oh! Seventh Brother, are you taking me with you to Zhongyuan Prefecture when you and Senior Sister go?"

Seeing Song Qingyu looking at him expectantly, Song Qingming remained silent for a moment before shaking his head at her.

"Qingyu, Xuanyi and I are going to Zhongyuan Prefecture. This time, it's not just for sightseeing; we also need to find Siyuan's whereabouts. We definitely won't be back for a while."

Now that the sect needs manpower in various places, and Senior Brother Li has gone to the East Sea, Senior Sister Bai will probably have to take care of everything by herself.

"Why don't you stay? We'll feel more at ease out there."

"Seventh Brother, things have stabilized in the East China Sea now, and with Sister Xia and the others helping out, nothing will happen."

Here at Chiyun Mountain, there's Xiao Jin who can stay and help, so why do I have to stay?

"Don't worry, I promise I won't cause you any trouble. Please take me with you."

".."

Despite Song Qingyu's sincere plea, Song Qingming still seemed unwilling to agree and did not budge.

Seeing that she couldn't reason with Song Qingming, Song Qingyu changed to a pitiful look and looked at Li Xuanyi beside her.

"Senior Sister Li!"

"sister in law!"

".."

Several days later, in the "Cloud and Mist Mountain" in the southeast of Qinghe County.

A streak of light flew over and stopped near a high mountain. Then, the light turned sharply and fell into a nearby canyon.

Song Qingming, dressed in silver-white clothes, had not yet reached the bottom of the valley when a white mist suddenly surged rapidly towards his location.

Seeing this, a hint of doubt flashed across Song Qingming's face.

Just as he was about to cast a spell to break the restriction in front of him, the white mist beside him quickly dissipated on its own, and a figure swiftly appeared in front of him.

"Yu Shan pays respects to the Ancestor!"

"When did you get here? Did you set up this magic array just now?"

Upon seeing Song Yushan suddenly appear before him, Song Qingming was slightly surprised and asked him a question.

"Reporting to the Ancestor, I arrived at Yinfeng Ridge half a year ago. I have some questions about the formations, so I have come here specifically to ask Senior Qu for guidance."

This formation was set up by the disciple under the guidance of the senior.

Yu Shan was unaware of the clan leader's arrival and was unable to retrieve the magic array. He hopes the clan leader will forgive him!

Hearing Song Yushan's somewhat nervous reply, Song Qingming scolded him, but a hint of relief appeared on his face.

"Your skill in formations is no less than mine back then. I estimate it won't be long before you advance to a mid-level third-grade formation master."

This contains records of some level-three formations I crafted back in the day. You can take a look; it should be of some help to you.

Having said that, Song Qingming waved his hand and tossed a bamboo scroll to Song Yushan in front of him. This scroll had been there since thirty years ago, when Song Yu'an and Song Yushan had both successfully formed their cores.

For the past twenty years or so, the Song family's overall fortunes have been rather average, and no new Golden Core cultivators have emerged.

Song Yushan has been in the Core Formation stage for thirty years, but his cultivation level is still at the peak of the second level of the Golden Core stage. His cultivation speed is relatively slow, far behind that of Song Yu'an, who has already advanced to the middle stage of the Golden Core stage among his peers.

However, compared to others, although Song Yushan's cultivation level improved more slowly, his array formation skills were outstanding.

He can now barely set up a mid-grade level three array, and his mastery of array formations is second only to his ancestor in the family.

If Song Qingming, a fourth-level array master, provides guidance in the future, Song Yushan's array skills will likely improve to the upper-level third grade in due time.

In the entire "Free and Unfettered Sect", he is the most outstanding formation master besides a few Nascent Soul elders.

Now that the family's eldest elder, Song Yuanfang, is nearing the end of his life, Song Yushan and Song Yu'an, along with a few others, will have to shoulder the heavy responsibility of the family sooner or later.

Although Song Qingming has rarely returned to Chiyun Mountain in recent years, he still pays close attention to the situation of the younger generation of his family.

"Cultivating the Great Dao is not easy; you should strive diligently!"

"Yu Shan, thank you for the treasure bestowed upon me, Ancestor!"

Upon receiving the array diagram from Song Qingming, Song Yushan was immediately excited and hurriedly stepped forward to express his gratitude!

After giving Song Yushan a few pointers, Song Qingming waved for him to leave and then went to the cave where Qu Bai lived.

Before Song Qingming could even cast a spell or transmit a message, the cave entrance barrier automatically dissipated, and a figure with his hands behind his back quickly stepped out to greet him.

"Greetings, Senior Qu!"

"I was just about to send that kid to Chiyun Mountain to find you, but I didn't expect you to come here. Come in with me!"

After greeting Song Qingming with a smile, Qu Bai led him into the cave and brought them to a bronze cauldron emitting blue flames.

This bronze cauldron was over ten feet tall, surrounded by blue flames, and exuded a strange, chilling aura.

Beneath "Yinfeng Ridge" lies a Grade 3 superior Yin-attribute earth vein. Qu Bai had his eye on this earth vein, which is why he chose to live here.

In order to use the Yin Fire of this place to refine high-level magical artifacts, Qu Bai not only opened up a high-level Yin Fire vein here, but also installed a refining furnace with the help of Song Qingming.

After his primordial spirit recovered, he moved back to this place to live alone, and occasionally he would make some magical artifacts or puppets.

Qu Bai raised his hand and waved it, causing the lid of the bronze cauldron to flip up, revealing a circular array plate which he then presented to Song Qingming.

"I thought it would take some more time, but I didn't expect you to have finished refining it so quickly, senior."

Looking at the high-level array plate in his hand, which was already of the fourth-grade upper quality, Song Qingming's face immediately showed a satisfied expression.

Having previously obtained a high-level array formation manual in the "Ancient Immortal Abode," Song Qingming began to truly break through his array formation skills.

However, he was currently lacking a high-grade level four array plate for setting up the array, so he collected materials and entrusted Qu Bai to help him refine one.

Now that he has finally obtained the item, it has saved him a lot of trouble.

"Thank you so much for your help, senior. I am deeply grateful!"

"Alright, I am now a spirit of the artifact, and my fate is intertwined with yours. Helping you is also helping myself, so you don't need to be so polite."

If you truly wish to express your gratitude to this old man, I urge you to advance to the Nascent Soul stage as soon as possible.

"If he ascends to the upper realm one day, I will be eternally grateful!"

Upon hearing this, Song Qingming nodded slightly.

"What you say is true, senior. I will certainly work hard to cultivate and strive to ascend to the upper realm one day to repay your great kindness!"
"I have come here today to seek opportunities through travel, and I have come to inquire whether you would like to accompany me, senior."

"The spiritual energy in this world is far inferior to that of ancient times. Breaking through to the Nascent Soul realm is by no means easy, and it is unlikely that a solitary cultivator will have this opportunity."

Now that your cultivation has reached the eighth level of the Nascent Soul stage, you are not far from the peak of the Nascent Soul stage. You should indeed go out and travel more.

I've been free of trouble these past few years, so I can travel with you.

In case you encounter any trouble outside, I can lend a hand!

Seeing that Qu Bai was willing to travel with him, Song Qingming was overjoyed and quickly cupped his hands in response, "Senior is very knowledgeable and experienced. Having you along will definitely be of great help."

After raising his hand in thanks, Song Qingming paused for a moment and then asked:
"By the way! I remember Senior Qu once told me that if you could find a level 5 spirit wood, you would have a way to refine a real spirit treasure."

"I wonder what materials, besides level-five spirit wood, are needed to refine such a spiritual item? Could you please tell me, senior?"

"Hey! Why are you asking this? Did you actually stumble upon some good fortune and find out about a level-five spirit tree?"

Upon suddenly hearing Song Qingming inquire about refining spiritual treasures, Qu Bai looked at him with a strange expression and a puzzled tone.

Faced with Qu Bai's questioning, Song Qingming hesitated for a moment before using magic to take out a wooden box from his person.

He raised his hand and opened the wooden box, revealing a seven- or eight-inch-sized piece of black spirit wood inside.

Qu Bai, who was standing not far in front of him, suddenly looked shocked when he saw the black spirit wood, revealing an incredulous expression.

"This is the Ancestral Wood of the Realm Breaker! How did you, brat, get this in your hands?!"

"Tell me quickly, how did you find this thing?"

Seeing Qu Bai's excited expression as he suddenly stepped forward and stared intently at him, asking where the item came from, Song Qingming was also somewhat surprised.

Since they met, he had never seen such an expression on Qu Bai's face.

Although the sudden appearance of the item was somewhat unexpected, the other party was, after all, a high-level cultivator from the Upper Realm. It shouldn't be that he would get so excited just because he saw a piece of fifth-grade spirit wood!
"Senior, you may not know this, but this item was something I collected when I was wiping out a group of demonic cultivators in another region..."

After listening to Song Qingming's detailed explanation, he began to carefully explain the origin of the spirit wood in his hand.

Meanwhile, Qu Bai listened to Song Qingming's explanation while gazing at the black spirit wood in his hand, his expression gradually falling into deep thought.

"Senior, this should be the level-five spirit wood you mentioned. May I ask if this material can be used to refine a true spirit treasure?"

Upon hearing Song Qingming's question, Qu Bai immediately replied, "With this, of course you can refine a level 5 spiritual treasure."

But its value goes far beyond that.

If I'm not mistaken, this should be a Boundary-Breaking Ancestral Tree, containing the divine power to tear apart interfaces. It is a very rare spiritual object that can resist spatial storms.

If used properly, it will definitely be a great help to you in the future when you're smuggling yourself across borders.

"What? Senior, you mean this spirit wood can help resist spatial storms? This thing actually has such powerful supernatural abilities."

Upon hearing from Qu Bai that the "Boundary-Breaking Ancestral Tree" could actually help cultivators resist spatial storms, Song Qingming's face also flashed with surprise.

When he first obtained this spiritual wood, he only thought that he could refine it into a level 5 spiritual treasure in the future. He never expected that this thing in his hand would have such a use.

Luckily, I took it out and asked Qu Bai beforehand; otherwise, if I had used it as ordinary level-five spirit wood, I would have regretted it too late.

Seeing that Song Qingming also looked surprised and didn't recognize the spirit wood in his hand, Qu Bai quickly nodded and said:

"Although this is the first time I've seen this thing, I've at least heard of it. This spirit wood is undoubtedly the Ancestral Wood of the Realm Breaking."

This item is of great importance. Once it is recognized, it will definitely attract the covetous eyes of those Nascent Soul stage monsters. You must keep it safe from now on.

As for how to use it, don't rush, let me think about it first.

If we can refine this item into a defensive magical artifact, with its help, our chances of sneaking into the upper realm will definitely increase significantly.

As Qu Bai spoke, he paced back and forth, soon falling into deep thought once again.

Seeing this, Song Qingming immediately put the "Boundary-Breaking Ancestral Wood" back into the wooden box.

He never expected that he would unintentionally obtain a treasure that could help him smuggle himself to the upper realm, which truly surprised him.

Seeing that Qu Bai, a former powerful figure from the upper realm, was also so excited, further solidified Song Qingming's belief in the value of this item.

If what Qu Bai said is true, then the spiritual treasures made from this item can withstand spatial storms.

Thinking that he would be of great help when he sneaked into the upper realm in the future, Song Qingming couldn't help but feel excited.

"Senior Qu, I have already planned to depart in three months. I will send a message to inform you in advance."

Seeing that Qu Bai simply waved his hand and didn't pay much attention to him, Song Qingming nodded slightly, turned around, and left the cave.

".."

Several months later, on a small mountain dozens of miles west of "Chiyun Mountain".

Song Qingyu, Li Xuanyi, and Bai Yuxian stood in an open space above the mountaintop, seemingly waiting for something.

Before long, a streak of light flew swiftly from the horizon, and soon two figures appeared beside the group.

Besides Song Qingming, who had rushed over, there was also a black-robed man who looked somewhat similar to him and had been cultivating his avatar for many years.

Since creating this avatar, Song Qingming has spent a lot of effort nurturing it over the years. Now, its cultivation has reached the peak of the third level of the Nascent Soul stage, and it is not far from breaking through to the middle stage of the Nascent Soul stage.

Upon seeing Bai Yuxian, who had come specifically to see him off, Song Qingming quickly waved to his avatar beside him, then stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"Junior Brother Song, where did you go just now? Why did it take you so long to come back?"

"I was a little worried because I didn't know when I would return from this trip, so I went back to Funiu Mountain to give some instructions to the younger generation."

"Thank you for coming all this way, Senior Sister Bai. From now on, I entrust the sect and Crimson Cloud Mountain to your care!"

"Don't worry, Junior Brother Song. With me here, everything will be taken care of at Chiyun Mountain. You don't need to worry while you're away."

"These spirit stones are from the treasury, accumulated by the sect over the years. Junior brother, please take them."

After speaking, Bai Yuxian took out a large bag of spirit stones and personally handed it to Song Qingming.

Seeing that it contained over a million spirit stones, Song Qingming didn't refuse and directly put it into his storage bag.

Since the "Xiaoyao Sect" became one of the top ten sects, it has been able to collect a large amount of spirit stones from the Donghuang Kingdom every year for the past twenty years.

Moreover, the large "spirit stone mine" in the East China Sea has now begun to operate steadily.

Bai Yuxian just pulled out such a large sum of spirit stones all at once, which might be difficult for other Nascent Soul sects to do so easily.

But now the "Free and Unfettered Sect" is no longer what it used to be, and this amount of spirit stones is no longer a huge sum of money in their eyes.

"Thank you so much, Senior Sister Bai!"

"Junior Brother Song, I wish you a safe journey and a speedy return!" (End of Chapter)