Qinghe Immortal Clan.

Chen Qingxuan's cultivation has already reached the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm, and there is little possibility of further improvement in this realm.

To advance further in cultivation, one must find a way to ascend to the upper realm.

Several hundred years ago, after the demonic threat on "Jade Profound Island" was quelled.

Chen Qingxuan, the number one expert of the human race in "Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent", had already taken the initiative to mention to Song Qingming that he was planning to smuggle himself into a spatial node.

Seeing that the other party had specially convened the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Gathering" in advance and even specifically asked him to go with them, Song Qingming roughly guessed Chen Qingxuan's intention.

".

Three years later, in Jiangzhou, Donghuang Kingdom, the "Tianyu Sect".

The Donghuang Sword Tournament is held every two hundred years, and more than three hundred years have passed since it was held at Qingyun Mountain.

During this period, Donghuang Immortal Continent also held a grand conference, which was hosted by the "Dangmo Palace", a fellow Nascent Soul cultivator.

However, Song Qingming happened to be in seclusion that time and did not participate in person. He only sent Song Qingyu and Bai Yuxian to represent the sect to attend the conference at the "Demon-Slaying Palace".

After hundreds of years, the right to host the Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament has now returned to the "Tianyu Sect," the number one human sect in the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent.

After the departure of Ancestor Jin Yuan, the cultivation world of "Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent" first suffered a large-scale invasion by the demon race, and then a demonic calamity and turmoil occurred.

The Eastern Phoenix Kingdom suffered repeated heavy blows, losing not only most of Qingzhou, but also a decrease of about 20% in the number of cultivators within its borders.

Fortunately, with Song Qingming's successful transformation into a Nascent Soul cultivator, the human cultivators gradually weathered this crisis.

Since signing a peace treaty with the demon race of the Northern Frontier, the cultivation world of the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom" has enjoyed hundreds of years of stable development, and the number of cultivators has long since recovered.

In addition, the venue for the event is located in Jiangzhou, the most prosperous city on the Donghuang Immortal Continent, making this year's "Donghuang Sword Tournament" significantly more lively than previous ones.

In the market town at the foot of the mountain, there were tens of thousands of cultivators at the Golden Core stage or above coming and going to participate in the conference.

It not only included many elites from the entire "Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent", but also many talented individuals from other cultivation worlds who came to join in the fun after hearing the news.

As the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Tournament" officially began, countless cultivators flocked to the mountaintop venue to begin their duels.

The rules for the sword competition remain the same as before: participants draw lots in pairs to go on stage and compete.

The three Nascent Soul cultivator factions, "Tianyu Sect," "Xiaoyao Sect," and "Dangmo Palace," will jointly decide the outcome.

After the departure of Ancestor Jin Yuan, the "Xian Yuan Sect" was still nominally a Nascent Soul power, and could occupy Yuan State, which ranked second among the thirteen states of Donghuang Kingdom, without having to directly participate in the tournament to compete for territory.

However, having failed to cultivate any new Nascent Soul cultivators in the last few centuries, they have gradually been removed from the ranks of Nascent Soul sects in the minds of cultivators outside the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent.

Before long, once the foundation left by the "Golden Yuan Ancestor" is almost exhausted, the "Golden Yuan Sect" will eventually be reduced to an ordinary Nascent Soul sect.

On the arena, hundreds of Nascent Soul cultivators fought fiercely against each other.

Compared to more than 300 years ago, when Qingyun Mountain held the Donghuang Sword Tournament, only eight half-step Nascent Soul cultivators participated.

This sword tournament has attracted more than a dozen half-step Nascent Soul experts from various sects, making the competition on stage even more intense.

".

In the clouds above the arena, a circular flying car hovers high in the sky.

Inside the main hall, two figures, one in blue and one in white, sat facing each other at a wooden table.

In the middle of the wooden table, there was a transparent bronze mirror, showing the scene of two Nascent Soul cultivators fiercely fighting on the arena below.

One of the young men was dressed in a white robe and had already broken through to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul realm.

The cultivator he was fighting was an old man with a square face, who was holding a strangely shaped coral wooden stick.

Although the old man's cultivation level was only at the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm, he had cultivated a very powerful illusion technique and was a well-known rogue Nascent Soul cultivator in the cultivation world of Donghuang Kingdom.

When combined with the coral wooden staff in his hand, even some late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators found him troublesome.

However, the white-robed man who fought him was also quite powerful, possessing a rare fourth-grade high-quality magic weapon, and his strength far surpassed that of ordinary cultivators of the same level.

The battle was extremely fierce, and after hundreds of rounds, the man in white finally managed to narrowly defeat his opponent and win the qualification to advance to the next round.

Only after the martial arts competition on the arena below ended did Chen Qingxuan, who was sitting at the wooden table, put down his teacup and look at Song Qingming in front of him.

"Xin Yuan has indeed not neglected his cultivation over the years. If he further refines his foundation, he should be able to advance smoothly to the late stage of the Nascent Soul realm."

It is truly a blessing for Daoist Song to have such a talented younger generation to inherit his mantle.

Unfortunately, many of my descendants have also embarked on the path of cultivation, but so far, none have been capable of shouldering great responsibilities.

"Xin Yuan was able to successfully form his Nascent Soul back then thanks to the strong support of his seniors; otherwise, with his talent, he could not have reached this point so quickly."

Speaking of which, Senior Chen was his mentor, so Xinyuan should also be considered your junior.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Song's words are indeed true. In that case, I have one less regret in Huayang Realm."

Chen Qingxuan also married and had children in his early years, leaving behind some descendants in the "Tianyu Sect".

Although many of his direct descendants possessed spiritual roots and entered the world of cultivation, most of them had mediocre talents, and only one of them had reached the Nascent Soul realm.

Moreover, although his descendant received the full support of his ancestor Chen Qingxuan, it took him more than 600 years to barely reach the fifth level of the Nascent Soul realm.

Such a cultivation speed indicates that someone has exhausted their talent and it is almost impossible for them to break through to the late Nascent Soul stage.

In contrast, Song Xinyuan, who cultivated to the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage in just over two hundred years, clearly has a much higher chance of breaking through to the late Nascent Soul stage in the future.

The cultivation technique that Song Xinyuan practiced was the one that Chen Qingxuan had taught him, making him Chen Qingxuan's personal disciple.

Upon hearing Song Qingming's explanation, a smile appeared on Chen Qingxuan's lips.

As the scene shifted to the next martial arts match, Song Qingming and Chen Qingxuan both turned their attention away.

"Fellow Daoist Song, so many talented young people have come to this conference. Can you identify any of them who have the potential to break through to the Nascent Soul realm in the future?"

“In recent years, Donghuang Immortal Continent has produced many talented people, but the path to Nascent Soul depends on individual opportunities and cannot be identified at a glance.”

Compared to your discerning eye back then, which gave me such high regard, I, Song, dare not presume to say who possesses such talent.

"Haha, back then I only thought you had some talent, but I wasn't absolutely certain that you could successfully transform into a god."

Your words make this old man feel somewhat ashamed.

"Fine! Since you can't tell either, there's no need to pick them. Let's just gather them all together."

After the martial arts competition, I will personally give a lecture to you, fellow Daoists. Whether it will be of any help to their breakthrough to the Nascent Soul realm depends on their individual fates.

"Senior Chen is in such a hurry to convene the Eastern Phoenix Sword Gathering, and even invited me to come and give a lecture. Could it be for this reason?"

Upon hearing Song Qingming's question, Chen Qingxuan smiled slightly and immediately nodded in response:

"Fellow Daoist Song and I are not outsiders, so I will not hide anything from you."

You guessed right. The reason I'm convening the sword tournament ahead of schedule is indeed because I'm preparing to leave Huayang Realm.

However, I have already made an agreement with others not to discuss the matter of smuggling into spatial nodes, and I hope you can understand.

"Don't worry, Senior Chen, I understand this matter and will never let anyone know about it."

This matter concerns my smuggling across spatial nodes. If my enemies find out, it will surely bring me annihilation.

Chen Qingxuan's choice to cooperate with others must have been pre-arranged to prevent the information from being leaked, and Song Qingming showed no surprise at this.

After all, he and Ao Xing had previously chosen to cooperate in smuggling across space nodes, and the two had made the same confidentiality agreement.

After nodding to Chen Qingxuan, Song Qingming continued to ask:
"Senior, when do you plan to depart? Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I have made an agreement with someone and will set off within ten years at the earliest. Apart from Fellow Daoist Song, I have only informed a few of my junior disciples about this matter."

After the sword tournament concludes, I will officially announce to the public that I will be in seclusion for a hundred years.

The heavy responsibility of Donghuang Immortal Continent now rests on Fellow Daoist Song's shoulders.

"Please rest assured, senior. I am not very capable, but I will do my best!"

Hearing Song Qingming's earnest reply, Chen Qingxuan nodded slightly, then took out a jade box from his person and presented it to Song Qingming.

"Fellow Daoist Song, this contains half of the spiritual liquid I found in the Falling Star Sea. Judging from your current cultivation level, which is not far from the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm, this item should be of some use to help you break through your cultivation level in the future."

After I leave, I entrust the Heavenly Imperial Sect and my worthless juniors to your care.

"Senior Chen helped me back then, and this matter is simply my duty as a junior. There is no need to be so polite."

"Please rest assured, senior, as long as I remain in this realm, I will ensure the continued existence of the Heavenly Imperial Sect."

The Nascent Soul cultivators of the human race in Donghuang Immortal Continent have always been quite united. Almost every generation of Nascent Soul cultivators, when facing death or leaving this world, will entrust something to their descendants.

Song Qingming was also well-prepared for this trip.

Hearing that the high-grade spiritual liquid Chen Qingxuan had taken out was actually a precious spiritual item that could help him break through to a higher realm, he couldn't help but feel a little surprised.

“I know your intentions, but how can one remember kindness for a lifetime? When your master and fellow Daoist Jin Yuan left, didn’t they also entrust this matter to me?”

"If Fellow Daoist Song doesn't accept this item, how can I leave this realm in peace?"

"In that case, this junior will not stand on ceremony with you, senior!"

In the cultivation world, many cultivators prioritize profit, and it's perfectly normal for people to become indifferent after someone leaves.

Although Chen Qingxuan had provided some support to Song Qingming back then, this kindness would gradually fade away as Song Qingming left this world.

It's hard to say whether the other juniors of the "Heavenly Imperial Sect" will be able to catch Song Qingming's eye.

To ensure the continuation of the sect's lineage, Chen Qingxuan naturally needed to offer something compelling to gain the other party's trust and secure their entrustment. Seeing that the other party's words were straightforward, Song Qingming didn't insist further and accepted the spiritual liquid before him.

Seeing this, a hint of relief appeared on Chen Qingxuan's face.

After chatting for a while, the two quickly turned their attention back to the arena below.

".

After several days of intense martial arts competition, the top ten masters of this tournament were finally determined five days later.

The announcement was made by the elder of the "Tianyu Sect" who was in charge of organizing the conference.

The new top ten sects of Donghuang Immortal Continent have been officially established.

The ten sects that made it into the top ten are: "Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain", "Formless Sect", "Divine Gu Sect", "Dan Yuan Valley", "Azure Cloud Palace", "Hundred Flowers Palace", "Azure Sun Holy Sect", "Bright Yue Sect", "Heavenly Dao Sect" and "Pure Moon Sect".

Compared to hundreds of years ago, although most of the names still seem quite familiar, the rankings among the various sects have changed considerably.

Among the top three sects, the "Formless Sect," which had always held the top spot, lost its leader, Master Qiushui, two hundred years ago.

In the previous conference, they sent other elders to participate in the battle, but they were ultimately defeated by "Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain" and their ranking dropped to second place among the top ten sects.

At this conference, the "Wuxiang Sect" did not choose to challenge its opponent and remained ranked after "Wanshou Mountain".

Since rising to prominence and entering the top three several hundred years ago, the "Divine Gu Sect" has seen its strength increase rapidly in recent years.

Its sect leader, Fairy Moon Spirit, is now one of the most promising people in the "Eastern Phoenix Kingdom" to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, and her fame is no less than that of He Yuliang, who attempted to advance to the Nascent Soul stage a hundred years ago.

The situation of the sects following them, namely "Danyuan Valley", "Bixia Palace", "Baihua Palace" and "Qingyang Holy Sect", is not much different from that of hundreds of years ago.

The only difference is that Yu Mengning, who represents the "Hundred Flowers Palace", and Jing Yue, the Grand Elder of the "Qingyang Holy Sect", have both successfully stepped into the half-step Nascent Soul realm.

Master Jingyue came from a long-established sect like the Qingyang Holy Sect. At the age of eight hundred, he had already advanced to the ninth level of the Nascent Soul realm, demonstrating a cultivation talent far exceeding that of ordinary people.

Yu Mengning is also exceptionally talented, and behind the "Hundred Flowers Palace" is Xia Mo, the Nascent Soul Ancestor, secretly supporting her.

In recent centuries, Xia Mo has mostly cultivated outside the heavens and rarely returned to Huayang Realm, leaving the sect directly under the management of Yu Mengning and others.

However, she did not completely sever ties with the "Hundred Flowers Palace". When major events occurred in the sect, she would occasionally summon them and bestow some spiritual items upon them.

Under Yu Mengning's leadership, the "Hundred Flowers Palace" now has more than a dozen Nascent Soul elders, and its strength has developed rapidly in recent years.

Xia Mo is a low-key person and rarely appears in public. Very few people outside know that there is a Nascent Soul Ancestor behind the "Hundred Flowers Palace".

Although "Baihua Palace" is ranked seventh, their strength is now no less than the top few, they just lack some foundation.

The Mingyue Sect, ranked eighth, is a newly promoted sect in the last conference.

The Mingyue Sect originated from Wuzhou, one of the thirteen states of Donghuang Kingdom. Several hundred years ago, when Song Qingming was searching for the "Precious Flame Pill" for the Fire Phoenix, he had dealt with this sect through Long Ziyun's introduction.

At that time, the Mingyue Sect had eight Nascent Soul cultivators, so the sect was not weak and could be ranked among the top twenty in the Donghuang Kingdom.

Two hundred years ago, Yun Linfeng, the Grand Elder of the Mingyue Sect, successfully broke through to the half-step Nascent Soul stage.

As a result, the strength of the Mingyue Sect has reached a new level, and it successfully entered the ranks of the top ten sects in the last Donghuang Sword Tournament, ranking ninth.

In this sword competition, "Mingyue Sect" successfully defeated its previous opponents and rose to eighth place.

Following the Mingyue Sect is the Tiandao Sect, a major sect in Yunzhou.

Compared to other established sects among the top ten sects, the Heavenly Dao Sect has had a rather bumpy road in recent centuries.

More than three hundred years ago, when the sword tournament was held at Qingyun Mountain, the Tiandao Sect was still ranked sixth among the top ten sects.

The sect's Grand Elder, Lin Tianrong, had a past relationship with Song Qingming and was also one of the most promising experts in Donghuang Immortal Continent to break through to the Nascent Soul realm.

Surprisingly, two hundred years ago, when Lin Tianrong went on an adventure to the Falling Star Sea with others, he tragically perished.

Without Lin Tianrong, a half-step Nascent Soul expert, the Heavenly Dao Sect suffered a great loss of strength, and unexpectedly fell out of the top ten sects in the Upper Realm Sword Tournament.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Dao Sect is an old and established sect, consistently ranking among the top ten sects in the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent. Their sect foundation far surpasses that of ordinary Nascent Soul forces.

Prior to this sword competition, the Heavenly Dao Sect had cultivated a new half-step Nascent Soul cultivator.

The Heavenly Dao Sect, having reclaimed its rightful place in the top ten, managed to salvage some of its reputation.

The "Jingyue Sect," ranked last among the top ten sects, is the only Buddhist force in the top ten.

In recent tournaments, the Jingyue Sect has sent a Nascent Soul Stage 9 expert to participate, and each time the expert has just made it into the top ten.

This has become a tacit understanding between the major Nascent Soul cultivators of Donghuang Immortal Continent and the Buddhist sect.

In any case, the top ten will give them a spot, but they cannot overstep their bounds and thus affect the interests of other sects ranked higher.

Just after the new ranking of the top ten sects was announced, two streaks of light quickly descended from the sky.

Besides Chen Qingxuan, the Supreme Ancestor of the "Tianyu Sect", there was also a young man in a green robe standing in the void, his gaze sweeping over the crowd below.

It was Song Qingming, who had come with Chen Qingxuan to preside over the conference.

"We pay our respects to the two seniors!"

".

In the past, the "Eastern Phoenix Sword Gathering" was usually presided over by only one Nascent Soul cultivator. This time, however, two people appeared at the same time, which immediately surprised many Nascent Soul cultivators below.

Before everyone could figure out why, Chen Qingxuan had already thrown out ten superior magic treasures.

Seeing this, the ten newly selected masters of Donghuang Immortal Continent rushed forward and each seized a magic weapon.

Meanwhile, Song Qingming and Chen Qingxuan glanced at the scene ahead with slightly scrutinizing eyes.

Once everyone had returned to their respective positions, Chen Qingxuan, who was in mid-air, stepped directly to the center of the arena.

"In recent years, many outstanding young talents have emerged from my Donghuang Immortal Continent. This conference is even more full of talents, which makes me very gratified."

It just so happened that Fellow Daoist Song also arrived here, so I, Chen, decided to add a preaching conference here.

Anyone who makes it into this conference, especially the top twenty or those whose cultivation has reached the half-step Nascent Soul stage, can enter for immediate answers to their questions.

Others may also remain in their seats to listen in.

"What? Senior Chen and Senior Song are going to preach here in person? We never expected to have such an opportunity!"

"It's a real pity that my cultivation level is too low to be qualified to enter."

"Alright! Fellow Daoist, your cultivation is only at the second level of the Nascent Soul stage. Even if you go in, how much can you comprehend? It's already good enough that you can listen in here."

".

As soon as Chen Qingxuan finished speaking, it drew gasps of surprise from the many Nascent Soul cultivators below.

Standing in front of them, the ten masters who had just received their prizes all showed signs of excitement.

It should be understood that most Nascent Soul cultivators spend most of their time in seclusion, and rarely have the opportunity to publicly preach and answer questions for younger cultivators.

This opportunity to speak to two Nascent Soul Ancestors is a rare and invaluable chance for those of us who are half-step Nascent Soul masters and have the potential to reach the Nascent Soul realm in the future.

Not only the top ten masters on the arena, but also many other figures from other places below the stage flew out and entered the arena to sit cross-legged.

Among these people were other late-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who had also made it into the top twenty.

There were also half-step Nascent Soul realm experts from other sects such as "Tianyu Sect" and "Xianyuan Sect" participating in the conference.

Including Bai Yuxian, Li Xuanyi, Song Qingyu, and Huang Siyuan, who came with Song Qingming, even Song Xinyuan, whose cultivation was only at the sixth level of the Nascent Soul stage, was brought in by Song Qingyu.

Although Song Xinyuan's cultivation level did not meet the two requirements Chen Qingxuan had just put forward, he should not have been qualified to enter and listen to the Dao.

But because of his father-son relationship with Song Qingming, and the fact that he was also Chen Qingxuan's half-disciple, no one dared to step forward to stop him.

Once everyone was seated, Song Qingming glanced around and saw that forty or fifty cultivators had already arrived at the arena.

These people are almost all at the late Nascent Soul stage or above, and they are all the most promising young talents in the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent to break through to the Divine Transformation stage.

The reason Chen Qingxuan wanted to invite him to preach together was that he wanted to give a final boost to the younger generation before he left.

If someone can truly benefit from it, perhaps the next Nascent Soul cultivator of the Eastern Phoenix Immortal Continent will emerge from among them.

Only when all the cultivators present pricked up their ears and focused their attention on him did Chen Qingxuan reveal a smile and slowly begin to speak:

"Fellow Daoists, I, Chen, have been cultivating for over three thousand two hundred years since I entered the Dao."

".

Chen Qingxuan seemed to have been prepared for this sermon, sharing all the insights he had gained from over three thousand years of cultivation with the cultivators present.

Not only did he explain the process in great detail, but he also patiently answered any questions raised by Song Qingming.

For seven consecutive days, all the cultivators present were completely absorbed in the experience, and not a single one of them left midway.

Only a few Nascent Soul cultivators sitting outside seemed to have had an epiphany during the process of comprehending the teachings, and hurriedly returned to their caves to cultivate in seclusion.

It wasn't until seven days later, when Chen Qingxuan and Song Qingming left one after another, that the group reluctantly bid them farewell.

At this moment, regardless of their cultivation level, all the cultivators present had gained something from hearing the two Nascent Soul cultivators' understanding of the path of cultivation.

In particular, cultivators at the half-step Nascent Soul stage, such as He Yuliang and Yu Mengning, were deeply moved by this.

Even though the two have been gone for a long time, many people are still immersed in their memories.

"..." (End of Chapter)