Yunmeng Immortal Clan

Apart from Song Linyu, who was taken away by Liu Hanjun alone, the other four members of the Song family were not so lucky. Zhuxi Sect arranged for Foundation Establishment cultivators to teach the remaining members of the Song family.

In the center of the Bamboo Creek Sect, on Golden Bamboo Peak, inside a grand hall, an old man sat cross-legged on a futon, his body inexplicably emanating a strange aura.

This person was none other than the renowned Patriarch of the Zhuxi Sect. Patriarch Zhuxi was the Supreme Elder of the Zhuxi Sect, and he stood as still as a wooden sculpture.

Only when a middle-aged figure slowly walked over did the Old Ancestor of Bamboo Creek open his eyes a crack.

"What do you want to report?"

Upon hearing this, the sect leader of Zhuxi Sect, Zuo Shijie, also known as Master Zuo, bowed slightly to the patriarch: "Master, the cultivators of the four major demonic sects are rampant. Recently, a great battle broke out between our Zhuxi Sect and these demonic forces. Although we barely managed to repel them, our sect suffered heavy losses. Hundreds of Qi Refining cultivators and dozens of Foundation Establishment cultivators perished. In order to preserve the sect's lineage, we had no choice but to forcibly recruit some disciples from various cultivation families..."

"Such a trivial matter requires no reporting to me. Since I entrusted you with the position of sect leader back then, it was a great trust in you. You may handle it as you see fit!"

"Master, that's not what I wanted to talk about. Right after this great battle, demonic branches appeared in many counties of Yunmeng Prefecture, committing acts of murdering mortals in my Zhuxi territory. I suspect that these anomalies might be that the four major demonic sects are planning to make a comeback, or even that the Nascent Soul cultivators behind them are plotting something against us righteous cultivation forces..."

"Just do your job. These Nascent Soul cultivators from the Demonic Sect won't dare to make a move rashly. After all, our righteous cultivation sect, including the one from Yunmeng Market, has a total of six Nascent Soul cultivators."

Upon hearing the Supreme Elder's words, the Sect Master of the Bamboo Creek Sect slowly withdrew.

At this very moment, in the cave atop the Han Hai Peak, a woman in red held a talisman brush, dipped it in some cinnabar, and inscribed something on a yellowish talisman paper.

Just as the inscription was halfway done, the entire talisman flashed with light and exploded into dust.

"Failed again, what a pity. My talent is really limited. I can only refine mid-level first-tier talismans. I have failed to refine even high-level first-tier talismans one after another..." The woman in red was Song Hongshu, the sixth aunt of Song Daoxuan, who was guarding Hanhai Peak.

Although Song Hongshu is the youngest Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Song Clan of Qinglian Island, she is also the poorest Foundation Establishment cultivator in the Song Clan of Qinglian Island.

Foundation Establishment cultivators may seem glamorous, but each time they cultivate, the spiritual energy circulates through their dantian for one full cycle, which consumes dozens of low-grade spirit stones. It can be said that the annual low-grade spirit stone stipend of twenty stones for Foundation Establishment cultivators in cultivation families is really not enough to cover these expenses.

The key issue is that after one round of cultivation, the internal energy has only increased to a limited extent, feeling like a spirit stone thrown into the ocean without making the slightest ripple.

Although Song Hongshu made a profit overall from making talismans, she consumed a lot of cinnabar and damaged a lot of talisman brushes. Usually, after several months, after deducting these costs, she could barely earn less than ten low-grade spirit stones.

Song Hongshu's father, Song Zhiya, was stationed at Chongyun Peak, which is adjacent to Hanhai Peak.

Song Zhiya had no skill whatsoever in the various arts of cultivation, and his Foundation Establishment was only a barely second attempt. So he devoted himself to going to the vicinity of Qinglian Island, leading some cultivators in his family to hunt down some demonic beasts, earning some spirit stones in the process. He even formed the largest demon-hunting team in his family.

Song Daoxuan's father, Song Honghu, was also in this demon-hunting team.

Song Zhiya was skilled at using a golden longbow to shoot down demonic beasts. Therefore, Song Zhiya was also known as the "Armor-Piercing Divine Bow" in the Song Clan of Qinglian Island. This refers to the fact that Song Zhiya once used this longbow to shoot down a second-tier, low-level demonic beast with strong armor, the Earth Armor Turtle.

Song Daoxuan's seclusion for cultivation lasted for three years.

The upper, middle, and lower dantian are full of spiritual energy, as are the three gates of the coccyx, spine, and jade pillow. The spiritual consciousness in the three orifices—yin orifice, yang orifice, and central palace—has also reached the peak of the Qi Refining stage.

Five distinct auras flowed with Song Daoxuan's breath, their light swirling and shifting, a sign that he had reached the ninth level of the Five Elements Revolving Technique.

"It's finally done. I never imagined that this seclusion would actually take me three whole years..."

Song Daoxuan slowly got up from the futon, boiled some water to take a bath, changed into a brand new blue Daoist robe, and then cooked and ate some spirit rice before regaining some of his energy.

After three years of seclusion, unable to easily leave his cultivation state, he prepared some dry rations and well-preserved flatbreads in advance, which he ate for a long time until he got tired of them.

The practice of fasting can only be completed after one has established a foundation. During this time, one will not eat for a long period of time and will not need to consume any grains. When hunger strikes, one only needs to take a pill called the Fasting Pill.

Just outside the cave, on the snow, a woman in a blue dress led a child in a padded jacket, then gazed intently at a man building a snowman in the distance, her eyes filled with tenderness.

"Xu Lang!"

"Yan'er, Lintong, the snowman is finished!" Song Daoxu called out.

The young woman in the blue dress, holding the little boy's hand, walked over with a giggle.

"Lintong, this is the snowman your father built for you..."

Such a heartwarming scene was naturally captured by Song Daoxuan.

"Dao Xu!" Song Daoxuan called out, and the man turned his head to look at Song Daoxuan with a slight look of joy.

"Brother Xuan, you've emerged from seclusion!"

Song Daoxuan, dressed in a green robe, nodded slightly and looked at the young woman and child: "When did this happen?"

"This happened three years ago. You had just gone into seclusion when I met Yan'er outside the island. At first, we both took a liking to a demon beast and even fought over it. However, after several battles, we realized that our strengths were evenly matched and neither of us could defeat the other, so we had to stop fighting in the end."

"After talking for a while, we were surprised to find that Yan'er was actually the daughter of the Xu family. We stopped fighting and roasted the monster's meat together. We took out some fine wine and drank it. We drank so heartily that we forgot to use our magic to resist the effects of the alcohol. It just so happened that it started to rain, so the two of us spent the night in the cave..."

"After returning to her family for some time, news came that Yan'er was pregnant..."

As Song Daoxu finished speaking, the young woman beside him blushed and playfully punched him in the chest with her small fist: "How annoying, you have to tell outsiders about this..."