Chapter 29 Return to Qinghe County

The next morning, on a high mountain two hundred miles away from Guiyunfang, the master and apprentice of Li's Grocery Store were sitting in a bamboo pavilion on the mountain, resting.

"Master, did you pass on the Taixu Sword to the wrong person? I saw that boy's aptitude is too poor. He is only a four-spiritual root. How can he practice your Taixu Sword Technique?"

The middle-aged Taoist shop owner stood up and looked at Guiyuanfang a hundred miles away, and then said to the puzzled apprentice behind him:

"Xingyun, you are still too young. In the way of cultivation, spiritual root aptitude is important, but you can't just dwell on it. In ancient times, spiritual root aptitude was not that important. Even if it was five-spiritual roots, there were many people who ascended to become immortals. It was nothing more than a chance."

"In recent years, as I have entered the master's "It's hard for you to practice in the world. After I go back this time, I will retreat for a while. You should go back with me. You are not far from breaking through. Prepare yourself well. I will find some spiritual objects for you after I come out of retreat."

When the young cultivator heard this, he was immediately happy and respectful and said, "Thank you, Master. Are you planning to return to the sect?"

"It's been so long since I came out. It's time to go back and take a look."

The breeze blew over the hills, and the mist dissipated. The two figures were no longer seen in the bamboo pavilion. The surroundings and the entire mountain were silent as if no one had ever been there.

——

Song Qingming found an inn in the market yesterday and left Guiyunfang early in the morning. Along the way, Song Qingming traveled during the day and rested at night, without delaying for a moment.

Song Qingming first went east from Guiyunfang to Pingyang County, and then went south through Pingyang County. He walked for more than half a month before finally returning to Qinghe County.

Song Qingming had been out for more than two months, and had walked thousands of miles, and had seen the vast world outside.

The peak of Funiu Mountain passed through the clouds in the sky, and a man-made bluestone staircase was like an extremely long blue dragon, embedded in the entire mountain from the top of the mountain.

On a huge stone in the pavilion on the hillside, a blue-clothed strong man about forty years old was sitting upright, with his eyes closed like an old monk in meditation, as if he had merged with the mountain.

Not long after, the strong man suddenly opened his eyes, and then quickly formed seals with his hands, and a stream of spiritual energy shot from his fingers into a smooth bluestone in front of him. A round area in the middle of the bluestone suddenly emitted many blue lights, and slowly formed a mirror. A blue-clothed boy appeared in the mirror, passing through the bluestone archway at the foot of the mountain, and quickly jumped over the steps to the top of the mountain. It was Song Qingming.

This bluestone is also a rare medium-grade spiritual object, called "Spiritual Mirror". It can project images a hundred feet away in a short time. It was obtained by the Song family in Qinghefang a hundred years ago.

The strong man looked at Song Qingming in the mirror, and then he relaxed. He smiled slightly and dispersed the spiritual energy in his hand. He closed his eyes and sat cross-legged again. The blue light mirror without spiritual energy slowly disappeared, and the bluestone returned to its original appearance.

After a while, a young man jumped into the pavilion. It was Song Qingming. Looking at the person sitting in front of him, he hurriedly raised his hands and bowed his head.

"Uncle San, I'm back."

"Qingming, you are finally back. If you don't come back, the elders will organize people and go to the Floating Cloud Mountains to look for you again." The strong man nodded slightly and greeted with a smile.

Uncle San, Song Changwu, has a calm personality and is also a hard-working person. Because he practiced the family's body-building exercises, his figure looks much taller than Song Qingming. Every time Song Qingming talks to him, he always has to look up uncomfortably.

"Fourth uncle, have the elders all returned safely?"

"Yes, the elders have all returned for almost a month. No one is seriously injured. Only your fourteenth uncle is seriously injured, but it's okay. You are the last one to return. It's good that you are back safely. Go up the mountain and report your safety to the clan leaders." Song Changwu waved at Song Qingming. Seeing him bow and quickly leave the pavilion, he closed his eyes and returned to his previous immovable appearance.

After Song Qingming came to the meeting room, he found that not only the clan leader was present, but also several elders of the family had gathered here at the same time. When everyone saw Song Qingming, they immediately surrounded him.

"Qingming, you are finally back safely! If it weren't for the fact that your name had not faded in the family tree, we would have thought you were in trouble." Seeing Song Qingming walk into the meeting room, the elder Song Gubai spoke first, with a caring tone and a few tears in his eyes.

The elder Song Gubai is over a hundred years old and is the oldest cultivator in the Song family. He has been responsible for training young cultivators in the family for nearly thirty years. He can be regarded as the teacher of all young cultivators of Song Qingming's generation. Although he is very strict with them on weekdays, he has long regarded them as his own children.

Although Song Gubai married and started a family in his early years, and had five or six children, and his descendants have already reached dozens, but unfortunately, they are all mortals without spiritual roots. In his later years, he placed all his efforts on these young cultivators in the family.

On that day, Song Gubai was helpless in the face of the whirlpool created by the black-feathered python. He could only pull up Song Changyun, who was closest to him, and watched Song Qingming being sucked into the whirlpool. After being chased by the black-feathered python, he had no choice but to return to Qinghe County as the Liu family did. On the way back, Song Gubai felt very guilty about this.

It was not until he returned to Funiu Mountain that the clan leader Song Gushan checked the blood and spiritual light left by Song Qingming on the family tree. Song Gubai knew that Song Qingming was still alive, so he wanted to return to Fuyun Mountain alone to pick him up. If Song Gushan had not pressed him to do so, Song Gubai would have gone to Fuyun Mountain to look for Song Qingming long ago.

Song Gushan patted Song Gubai on the shoulder, comforted him, and then said to Song Qingming:

"Not only did you return safely, but your cultivation has also improved. It is true that those who survive a great disaster will have good fortune in the future. Tell me what you have encountered in the past two months."

Song Qingming bowed to everyone and explained: "That day, I was sucked into the bottom of the pool by the whirlpool and suffered some injuries. When I swam out of the pool, I found that the shore was already empty. I wanted to look for it, but was scared by the monster returning to the pool. I got lost."

Song Qingming told everyone the story he had prepared, word for word, minus the fact that he picked up Liu Tianlong's storage bag. He also found a reason for why he broke through the fifth level of Qi Refining so quickly. He lied that he found a few red spiritual fruits by accident while healing in the mountains. He thought they were useful for healing, so he took them directly, but he didn't expect that the spiritual fruits were amazingly effective, and he broke through his cultivation without knowing it.

Everyone was a little scared when they heard that he had a dangerous journey, encountered a team of casual cultivators, and had a big fight with a group of wolves before returning to Qinghe County smoothly.

"Anyway, it's a good thing that you came back safely. This time it's all my fault. I didn't expect the Liu family to be so careless in this mission. They didn't even know that there was a monster like the black-feathered python hidden in the pool." Song Gushan said with a deep face.

Song Gushan was a little worried about taking on this mission from the Liu family, but as the clan leader, he couldn't leave the family at will, so he could only wait at home. Seeing that all eight members of the Song family returned safely this time, he gradually felt relieved.

"The Liu family suffered heavy losses this time. I heard that Liu Tianlong was also seriously injured and passed away. I don't know if it's true or not. Clan leader, the Liu family is afraid that they will lose power in the northeast of Qinghe County." The second elder Song Changfeng told the news he got in the market these days with some concern.

Song Gushan nodded after listening. "If there is a change in the Liu family, this area will not be peaceful in the future. We should also pay more attention. The old guy Liu Tianlong should not die so easily."

"Qingming, don't rush back to Lingyuan Mountain. Rest for two more days on the mountain. Let the fourth elder help you check if there are any other problems with your body. Don't leave any hidden dangers for cultivation."

Song Qingming stayed in Funiu Mountain for another two days. He never thought that the red spiritual fruit he made up two days ago was actually found by the fourth elder Song Gucai. He found a spiritual fruit similar to the one described by Song Qingming in a scroll of various natural treasures recorded by ancient cultivators that he accidentally came from the market.

This spiritual fruit is called "Tianlong Fruit". It is a spiritual fruit that only existed in ancient times. It has not been discovered in Weiguo. The effect of this fruit is strange. Even if it is only a hundred years old, a cultivator of Qi Refining can increase his cultivation by one level. It is a spiritual object that has long been extinct.

Hearing this, he was really scared and could only admit it. He lied that he was also lost when he encountered this spiritual fruit in the mountains that day. Now he was asked to look for it again, and he definitely didn't know the way. This dispelled the fiery look in Song Gucai's eyes.