Qinghe Immortal Clan.

Chapter 1218 Ten Years of Seclusion, Bai Yuxian Advances
Time flies, and another ten years have passed.

The "Floating Clouds Mountain Range" is located on Qingyun Mountain in the north.

After more than ten years of hard work by human cultivators, Qingyun Mountain has undergone tremendous changes compared to when the demon race occupied the place.

Not only have a large number of pavilions and towers appeared on the mountain, but traces of human cultivators have also appeared around Mount Ling.

Especially in the "Qingyunfang" area at the foot of the mountain, many cultivators and mortals live together in the streets, making it a lively place with people coming and going.

With Song Qingming, a late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, personally overseeing the area, Qingyunfang's foundation is far superior to other surrounding establishments.

Since the establishment of Qingyunfang, numerous merchants, including Xiaoyaozong, Tiandanmeng, and Sihaishangmeng, have moved into the market immediately.

There are also numerous vassal states surrounding the State of Wei, as well as various immortal cultivation families.

Anyone with even a little bit of strength didn't easily let go of this rare opportunity to expand their influence, and opened their own shops in "Qingyunfang".

As a market town established just ten years ago, Qingyunfang now boasts over three thousand shops of all sizes, making it comparable in scale to Chiyunfang to the east.

In addition, to facilitate connections between Qingyun Mountain and other places.

The "Free and Unfettered Sect" also built several intermediate-level "teleportation arrays" in the market, connecting "Golden Feather Mountain" to the south and "Red Cloud Mountain" to the east.

This connects all the larger towns and cities in the northern part of the Floating Cloud Mountains.

In this way, it becomes much more convenient for low-level cultivators from many countries in the "Floating Cloud Mountains" in the south to travel to the "Azure Cloud Mountain" market.

Moreover, "Qingyunfang" releases numerous demon-hunting missions every year to attract a large number of independent cultivators from the rear to take the teleportation array to the front line of "Qingyun Mountain" to hunt demons and earn spirit stones.

It not only helped the cultivators stationed on Qingyun Mountain to alleviate some of the pressure from the surrounding demonic beasts, but also indirectly boosted the economy of the entire northern part of the Fuyun Mountain Range.

This gradually made the "Qingyun Mountain" market the most central market in the northern part of the cultivation world of the entire "Fuyun Mountain Range".

In a pavilion atop Qingyun Mountain, two people sat upright, with a chessboard between them, on which black and white forces intertwined.

Looking at the white pieces on the chessboard, which had already fallen into a disadvantageous position, Tang Muyan hesitated to place a piece in his hand for a long time.

After a while, he smiled and chose to concede defeat.

"Second senior brother is a cut above the rest; junior brother has lost to you again."

"Third Junior Brother seems a bit restless lately. Could it be that he's still thinking about forming his core?"

Don't worry, my senior brother and senior sister Lin Yu discussed it with me half a month ago. If Master doesn't come out of seclusion within half a year, the three of us can each lend you some merit points.

With the senior brother speaking up for me, there shouldn't be any problem exchanging a Core Formation spiritual item at the sect's Merit Pavilion.

Just focus on preparing for your seclusion; don't worry about anything else.

Seemingly sensing what Tang Muyan, sitting opposite him, was thinking, Wei Yunlong, as his senior brother, quickly smiled and said something to comfort him.

Upon hearing this, Tang Muyan glanced at the other party with some surprise, his eyes also filled with gratitude.

"Senior brother, you've only recently formed your core. Senior brother and senior sister Lin Yu also need to cultivate. There's no need to worry so much about my core formation."

Master has been in seclusion for so long, he should be emerging soon. Waiting a little longer is fine; it allows me to further refine the cultivators.

When Tang Muyan declined, Wei Yunlong shook his head repeatedly.

"Junior brother, you are mistaken. Master has long told us that the matter of forming the core is related to one's own path to immortality, and it cannot be treated so lightly."

You know Master's temper. If this really delays your Core Formation, he will surely scold us for it.

I've already discussed this with my senior brother. Just listen to him and don't overthink it.

".."

As the two were talking, they suddenly noticed that the sky outside the window had darkened considerably, and the once calm sky was suddenly filled with rolling clouds, creating a spectacular sight.

"Senior brother, is this... a celestial phenomenon?"

"Is it Master or Uncle-Master who has broken through in cultivation?!"

“I don’t know. Junior Brother, go and inform Junior Brother Song to activate the mountaintop formation. I’ll go and see what’s going on.”

Remember, from now until the celestial phenomenon ends, no one is allowed to approach the mountaintop.

Looking at the "strange celestial phenomenon" in the sky, Wei Yunlong hurriedly gave Tang Muyan a word of advice, then turned and left the pavilion, heading straight for the caves near the mountain where the phenomenon was located.

When Wei Yunlong arrived near the cave, he discovered a figure in a green robe already standing there.

Upon seeing this person appear, Wei Yunlong, looking surprised, quickly stepped forward and bowed.

"Disciple greets Uncle Master!"

"It's Yunlong."

After turning around and responding with a smile, Song Qingyu quickly turned her gaze back to the sky, where a burst of colorful light had appeared.

Seeing this scene, Song Qingyu couldn't help but smile.

"It seems it's already done!"

Before long, as the restrictions in front of him quickly dissipated, Song Qingming, dressed in a silver robe, stepped out of the cave first.

"Seventh Brother, I thought it was you who broke through to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm just now. It turns out it was Senior Sister Xuanyi. That surprised me."

Speaking of which, I really envy Senior Sister Xuanyi. With someone's help, her cultivation speed is extraordinary. She caught up with me so quickly.

They are far superior to us who only know how to practice asceticism!

“My cultivation has already reached the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm. It’s not so easy to advance to the next level. You’re thinking too simply.”

The path of cultivation must be taken steadily and surely to ensure a smooth progress.

While elixirs and miraculous medicines can aid in breaking through cultivation levels, how can they compare to the solid power gained through one's own arduous cultivation? Why envy others for that?

Upon hearing what Song Qingyu said, Song Qingming replied with a sentence, but then gently shook his head.

Seventy years have passed since Song Qingming broke through to the eighth level of the Nascent Soul realm.

Although he saved himself decades of arduous cultivation by using many high-level spiritual items and elixirs he purchased in "Zhongyuan Immortal Continent" back then.

However, before he went into seclusion, his internal magical power was still some distance away from the peak of the eighth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

This period of seclusion was mainly for intensive cultivation to condense magical power; I did not attempt to break through the bottleneck of the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

After ten years of secluded cultivation, Song Qingming's internal magical power had been honed to perfection, reaching the peak of the eighth level of the Nascent Soul stage.

Given his current condition, he can attempt to break through to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm at any time.

Although he failed to advance to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage, his Daoist partner, Li Xuanyi, was just at the point of breaking through the bottleneck of the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage during this seclusion.

When Li Xuanyi returned from "Zhongyuan Immortal Continent", her magical power had already been honed to perfection, and she had tried to break through to a higher realm but failed.

After experiencing the "monster turmoil" and fighting the enemy many times, Li Xuanyi also felt that the bottleneck in her body had been touched.

During this ten-year seclusion, with the help of Song Qingming's secret technique, Li Xuanyi was able to break through the bottleneck and successfully raise her cultivation to the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm.

However, he had just broken through to a higher realm and was still consolidating his cultivation in his cave.

"Qingyu, I've been in seclusion for so long. Have you received any news from the Guyang Mountain sect? How is Junior Sister Xu's seclusion going?"

After chatting with Song Qingyu for a few minutes, Song Qingming suddenly thought of Xu Ziyan, who was in seclusion at "Guyang Peak". With concern in his heart, he quickly asked her a question.

Upon hearing this, Song Qingyu shook her head directly.

"Don't worry, Seventh Brother. There hasn't been any definite news from the sect in the past few years. Junior Nephew Ziyan should still be in seclusion. However, there is some good news from the sect that you don't know about."

"Seventh Brother, why don't you try to guess? If you can guess, how about I brew you some tea?"

Seeing Song Qingyu's deliberately mysterious expression, Song Qingming glanced at her, pondered for a moment, and then immediately replied:
"The happy event that makes you so happy must be something significant, something that will have a great impact on the sect."

Since Junior Sister Xu has not yet successfully formed her Nascent Soul, it means that Senior Sister Bai has already emerged from seclusion.

Could it be that she has successfully advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage?

"Hey! Seventh Brother, how did you guess it so quickly? This is so boring."

Upon hearing Song Qingming's reply, Song Qingyu's expression immediately turned somewhat disappointed, and she sighed.

Meanwhile, Song Qingming, standing to the side, felt a surge of excitement and couldn't help but speak:

"Senior Sister Bai really succeeded! Qingyu, why didn't you tell me sooner!"

Bai Yuxian has been at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm for nearly a hundred years, and her cultivation and magical power have long been perfected.

Ten years ago, after the "monster turmoil" ended, I learned that the other party was going into seclusion to break through the bottleneck of the late Nascent Soul stage, and I didn't have any good spiritual items.

Song Qingming gave Bai Yuxian the fourth-grade high-quality demon core he obtained from the "Ice Fox Demon Emperor" to help her break through her cultivation realm.

The late Nascent Soul stage has always been a difficult threshold for cultivators to cross, stumping countless talented individuals in the cultivation world.

Even for Bai Yuxian, a cultivator with a Heavenly Spiritual Root, breaking through this bottleneck was by no means easy.

At the time, he handed over the "Ice Fox Demon King's" demon core to the other party, intending to do his part to help, without thinking too much about it.

Unexpectedly, Bai Yuxian actually managed to break through the bottleneck and reach the late Nascent Soul stage with this top-grade fourth-level demon core.

Upon hearing this news, Song Qingming was truly taken aback.

At this moment, a smile couldn't help but appear on his face; he was genuinely happy for Bai Yuxian.

Back then, Bai Yuxian's cultivation was stuck at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul stage for many years due to problems with her cultivation method, resulting in slow progress.

It wasn't until he switched to cultivating the "Purple Sun Divine Light Technique" given to him by Song Qingming that he was able to successfully break through the obstacles and his path to enlightenment became smooth.

In just over a hundred years, Bai Yuxian has already successfully advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage.

With a lifespan of just over six hundred years, she will surely be able to cultivate to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul stage and break through to the Divine Transformation stage in the future. Her path to enlightenment is bright. "The Purple Sun Divine Light Technique is indeed a cultivation method created by a powerful cultivator. I really did the right thing by teaching her this technique back then."

Bai Yuxian was able to cultivate so quickly and advance smoothly to the late Nascent Soul stage.

Besides the top-grade fourth-level demon core that Song Qingming gave her, the "Purple Sun Divine Light Technique" that she switched to cultivating must have also played a key role.

Thinking about this, Song Qingming couldn't help but feel a little fortunate that he hadn't made the wrong decision back then.

Unfortunately, apart from a very few disciples such as Bai Yuxian, Song Yuanhao, and Wei Yunlong, Song Qingyu, Li Xuanyi, and others in the sect were not suitable for cultivating this technique.

Otherwise, if a few more people around him switched to cultivating the "Purple Sun Divine Light Technique," the sect might be able to produce one or two more late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators.

"Senior Sister Bai emerged from seclusion two years ago. You and Senior Sister Xuanyi are both in seclusion breaking through your cultivation levels. Telling you this news in advance might affect your seclusion cultivation."

When I left Guyang Mountain, Senior Sister Bai specifically instructed me not to inform her in advance.

Currently, within the sect, only Junior Brother Zhou and I know about Senior Sister Bai's advancement; not many others are aware of it.

".."

"Hmm! The turmoil among the demon beasts has just passed, and the northern demon race is still eyeing us covetously and could invade the south at any time. At this time, the sect should not be too high-profile."

"My lord, since Senior Sister Bai doesn't want to publicize this matter, then let's do as she says."

Just as Song Qingming and Song Qingyu were chatting outside, a voice came from inside the cave again. It was Li Xuanyi, who had just broken through to a higher realm.

After consolidating her cultivation, her aura had completely stabilized and remained at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm.

"A tree that stands out in the forest will be felled by the wind. It will not do us cultivators any good if we are too flamboyant."

What you said makes some sense. With the sect developing so rapidly these days, it's best for everyone to keep a low profile to avoid attracting the attention of those with ulterior motives.

Since the end of the "Demon Beast Uprising" ten years ago, the "Xiaoyao Sect" has held a Nascent Soul celebration for both Song Yuanhao and Zhou Ziyang.

In addition, Li Xianyun joined the sect and became a guest elder.

In just over a decade, the "Xiaoyao Sect" suddenly gained three Nascent Soul Ancestors.

For a Nascent Soul sect to increase its strength so rapidly will inevitably attract the attention of many surrounding forces.

Even the Demon-Slaying Palace in the distant Eastern Phoenix Kingdom specially sent people to attend Song Yuanhao's Nascent Soul Ceremony and presented a generous congratulatory gift.

Now that Bai Yuxian has advanced to the late Nascent Soul stage, her influence on the sect is even greater than that of adding one or two Nascent Soul cultivators.

At this time, it is indeed not appropriate for the sect to be too ostentatious.

As someone who has always kept a low profile, Song Qingming wholeheartedly agreed with what Li Xuanyi said.

After saying that, he turned his gaze to Song Qingyu, who had just made the promise, and a smug look appeared on his face.

"It's a rare treat to get together today. Qingyu promised to brew tea for us, so we can really enjoy this delicious meal."

With a somewhat helpless expression, she could only wave her hand and use magic to take out a packet of fragrant spiritual tea from her person.

".."

The three, who had been in seclusion for a long time, finally reunited, just as Li Xuanyi successfully broke through to a higher realm.

Song Qingming then instructed his disciple Wei Yunlong to fetch a large table of delicious spiritual food from the market at the foot of the mountain to celebrate Li Xuanyi's recent emergence from seclusion.

The three chatted for quite a while in the cave, and taking advantage of this rare opportunity, they invited Tang Muyan and the other disciples over and gave them some pointers.

Ten years have passed, and the cultivation levels of the disciples under Song Qingming and his two companions have changed considerably.

Bai Jingyun, the eldest disciple who has successfully formed his core, recently broke through to the seventh level of the Golden Core realm. Although Wei Yunlong and Song Linyu formed their cores later, they have also successfully cultivated to the fourth level of the Golden Core realm.

Song Qingyu's eldest disciple, Song Shaoyu, also successfully formed his core five years ago, reaching the first level of the Golden Core realm.

The remaining two, Tang Muyan and Liu Yue, although they had not yet successfully formed their cores, had already cultivated to the late stage of Foundation Establishment.

There's also Chu Ling, who was under Song Qingyu's command a few years ago. Her cultivation level has also reached the sixth level of Foundation Establishment, and her cultivation speed is no worse than that of other senior brothers and sisters who entered the sect earlier.

Not only Bai Jingyun, Wei Yunlong, and others.

Ten years ago, after the "monster turmoil", the sect lost many cultivators, but also captured a lot of spiritual items and materials in several battles.

In an instant, all the major halls within the sect, including those for "alchemy," "weapon crafting," and "array formations," were filled with various materials.

Furthermore, the cooperation with the "Heavenly Pill Alliance" allowed the "Free and Unfettered Sect" to obtain a large number of high-level spiritual pills, instantly filling its treasury.

Even rare spiritual items such as "Five Elements Core Formation Spiritual Items" and "Foundation Building Pills," which are usually hard to find, can be easily exchanged.

Thanks to the large amount of merit earned on the battlefield, almost all the cultivators in the sect have seen a significant improvement in their cultivation over the past ten years.

In addition, quite a few cultivators have successfully broken through to the Foundation Establishment and Golden Core realms.

Song Shaoyu, who successfully formed his core a few years ago, also obtained a "core-forming spiritual item" with the help of the sect and went into seclusion to form his core, without even relying on the support of his master, Song Qingyu.

Song Qingming's second disciple, Tang Muyan, also exchanged for a Core Formation spiritual item after the battle and went into seclusion to break through to the next realm.

Unfortunately, his talent for cultivation was not as good as Song Shaoyu's.

Tang Muyan's first attempt at forming his core ultimately ended in failure, and he had only recently recovered from his injuries.

Upon learning that Tang Muyan had recovered from his injuries, Song Qingming, who had not previously helped him to reach the Core Formation stage, immediately bestowed upon him 20,000 sect tokens.

In addition, Tang Muyan has accumulated some wealth over the years, so exchanging for a "Core Formation Spiritual Item" is no problem for her.

The fourth disciple, Liu Yue, was injured in a major battle during the turmoil a few years ago, which delayed her cultivation time. Her cultivation level had only recently broken through to the ninth level of the Foundation Establishment stage.

However, in order not to delay the other party's breakthrough to the Core Formation realm, Song Qingming also rewarded her with 20,000 merit points on the spot, which immediately put Liu Yue's slightly anxious heart at ease.

".."

The next morning!

Having finally emerged from seclusion and having nothing pressing to do, Song Qingming didn't rush into closed-door cultivation. Instead, he accompanied Li Xuanyi for a stroll around the vicinity of "Qingyun Mountain."

Ten years have passed, and the scenery around Qingyun Mountain has changed quite a bit.

The two strolled around "Qingyun Mountain" several times, enjoying the scenery along the way, feeling quite at ease.

Unfortunately, this atmosphere of freedom did not last long.

Just two months later, Song Qingming and his companion suddenly received an urgent letter from Song Qingyu from "Qingyun Mountain," and reluctantly returned to Ling Mountain.

Just as he returned to the mountain cave, Song Qingyu walked in with a woman behind him. It was Long Ziyun, the elder of the "Four Seas Merchant Alliance" whom Song Qingming had not seen for many years.

"Fellow Daoist Long, why have you come in person? Could it be that there's news about the spiritual item I mentioned last time?"

"After being entrusted by you, fellow Daoist, I have been inquiring about the Xuanlong Pill for you all these years. In recent years, I have finally succeeded in my mission and learned about this item from a fellow Daoist in Lei Yuanhai."

Since going into seclusion ten years ago, Song Qingming has been searching for spiritual objects to help him break through his cultivation level. Among them, the one Song Qingming wants most is the "Mysterious Dragon Pill" that he once took.

When Song Qingming was invited to explore the Immortal Abode, he was fortunate enough to exchange one of them from the "Tianyu Sect".

Unfortunately, the "Mysterious Dragon Pill" is a high-level spiritual pill that is hard to come by, and even a Nascent Soul power like the "Heavenly Imperial Sect" cannot easily produce it at any time.

Since the "monster turmoil," Song Qingming, who had acquired many valuable items, sent a message to Long Ziyun, requesting the "Four Seas Merchant Alliance" to help inquire about the elixir.

Upon seeing Long Ziyun suddenly appear at "Qingyun Mountain", Song Qingming immediately remembered the matter and asked her a question.

Unexpectedly, Long Ziyun really did bring him news of the "Mysterious Dragon Pill," which instantly brought a look of joy to Song Qingming's face.

Under Long Ziyun's guidance, Song Qingming spent a full six months following her on a trip to the "Thunder Origin Sea" cultivation world, where he met a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator who wanted to trade for the pill.

Because this person was a rogue cultivator, he had no successors or descendants who could use this item.

He then wanted to use the "Mysterious Dragon Pill" in his possession to exchange for a high-grade fourth-level magic weapon.

Upon learning of the other party's request, Song Qingming immediately took out a crimson flying sword from his person and presented it to the other party.

This sword was one of the two high-grade level four magic weapons that Song Qingming obtained from "Xu Gu Zi" after killing him during his exploration of "Bei Ming Xian Zhou".

I haven't used it all these years, and I haven't been willing to sell it to anyone else, so I've kept it all this time.

Exchanging a level-four superior magic weapon for a "Mysterious Dragon Pill" is a fairly fair transaction, as the value of the two is not much different.

Seeing that the magic weapon was of good quality, the other party immediately tossed the "Mysterious Dragon Pill" to Song Qingming.

After successfully obtaining the "Mysterious Dragon Pill," Song Qingming naturally didn't forget to give Long Ziyun, the person who introduced him, some benefits.

Once the transaction was completed, he immediately took out a "storage bag" containing tens of thousands of spirit stones from his person and handed it directly to Long Ziyun.

Having worked together for many years, Long Ziyun did not refuse the spirit stones offered by Song Qingming.

After expressing his gratitude, he took his leave.

After successfully obtaining the "Mysterious Dragon Pill," Song Qingming returned to Qingyun Mountain, adjusted his condition slightly, and immediately entered his secluded cultivation cave.

He also had a bottle of "Taijin Jade Liquid" that he had obtained from the auction at the Donghuang Sword Gathering, which he had never used.

Now, before going into seclusion, Song Qingming has successfully obtained a "Mysterious Dragon Pill".

Breaking through to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm shouldn't be a big problem for him; there's no need to waste time preparing further.

After swallowing the "Mysterious Dragon Pill" in his hand, Song Qingming immediately raised his hand to cast a spell, beginning to dissolve and refine the massive spiritual power surging wildly from his body.

".."

Just as Song Qingming was in seclusion breaking through his cultivation level.

On the ancient Yang Peak, thousands of miles away, Xu Ziyan, who was in seclusion trying to break through to the Nascent Soul realm, had also reached a critical moment in her life.

(P.S.: It suddenly snowed today, the first snow of the new year, it's so cold!)

(End of this chapter)