Qingyu Returns

Gao Yuyao.

Watching a wisp of pink smoke drift away on the wind, Song Qingming could not help murmuring the name he had just heard.

Having finally obtained a bottle of spiritual pills capable of increasing his cultivation, Song Qingming hurried back to Lingyuan Mountain and immediately returned home, eager to test their effects.

Qi Nurturing Pills were mid-grade spiritual pills. The Spiritual Energy they contained was roughly equal to the amount a Mid Qi Refining Stage Cultivator could refine in a month. After refining one Qi Nurturing Pill, Song Qingming clearly felt the Spiritual Energy within him increase by a small amount, secretly delighting him.

The Qi Nurturing Pills had indeed not disappointed him. The bottle of spiritual pills in his hands could save him nearly a year of Arduous Cultivation. Unfortunately, such pills could only be taken once a month at most.

Pills were refined from the essences of plants, spiritual water, and spiritual materials. Ordinary pills all contained at least a trace of Pill Toxin and could not be consumed without restraint. For low-grade spiritual pills such as Qi Nurturing Pills, it took roughly a month for the Pill Toxin to be completely expelled from a cultivator's body.

If pills were taken without restraint for a long time, Pill Toxin would accumulate within the body, bringing great risks to a cultivator's future cultivation.

This bottle of Qi Nurturing Pills was already enough for him to cultivate for a year. Any extra pills could also be taken to the Treasury Pavilion and exchanged for a few Spirit Stones.

With Gao Yuyao supplying him with cultivation pills over the long term, Song Qingming finally had a way to increase his cultivation speed. Whether it had been learning to refine formations before or studying Talisman Making afterward, Song Qingming's purpose in earning Spirit Stones had always been for his own path of cultivation.

Without reaching Foundation Establishment, a Qi Refining Cultivator had a limited Lifespan and would ultimately become a pile of yellow earth after a hundred years.

Qi Refining Cultivators only lived for around one hundred and twenty years, while after Foundation Establishment, their Lifespan could increase by two sixty-year cycles. Combined with taking certain second-grade life-extending spiritual medicines, they could generally live to around two hundred and fifty years old.

If a cultivator wished to achieve Foundation Establishment, it was best to reach the Ninth Level of Qi Refining before Sixty years old. After Qi Refining Cultivators turned sixty, their vigor and blood would slowly decline, and the difficulty of Foundation Establishment would grow ever greater.

Although Foundation Establishment was still far too distant for him, if he cultivated normally, whether Song Qingming could even reach the Late Qi Refining Stage by sixty was a question. He had to speed up his cultivation.

After cultivating through the night, Song Qingming was preparing to inspect the mine tunnels the next morning. Just as he reached Crescent Moon Lake, he suddenly sensed a slight fluctuation in the mountain-protecting formation. A white communication Spirit Talisman slowly passed through the formation and entered Lingyuan Mountain.

The four Martial Masters guarding the formation disk at the village entrance saw the communication Spirit Talisman fly in from beyond the formation and were about to report it to Song Qingming when they saw him already approaching from afar. Song Qingming caught the talisman and examined it closely, a smile appearing on his face. He quickly ordered the Martial Masters guarding the formation to open the mountain-protecting formation.

More than a dozen figures stood outside the formation. The two at the front had already arrived before Song Qingming.

The leader was a graceful woman dressed in white, appearing to be around thirty years old. Beside her stood a little girl of about ten.

The graceful woman was Song Changling, a cultivator of the Song Family's Chang Generation. She possessed Sixth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation and was also one of the Song Family's only two high-grade talisman makers.

Song Changling's cultivation talent was average; she was merely a cultivator with Four Spiritual Roots. Yet she possessed considerable talent in Talisman Making. When Song Qingming had first begun studying Talisman Making, he had specifically gone to seek her guidance.

"The little girl has made good progress in cultivation lately, but she has been missing home badly. The First Elder permitted her to return home for one day and entrusted me with bringing her here. I also came to collect the Mysterious Iron ore from the past half year." After speaking, Song Changling pointed at the little girl behind her.

The little girl beside Song Changling was Song Qingyu, whom Song Qingming had sent to Funiu Mountain several months ago. She had now completed Qi Induction and become a Qi Refining First Layer cultivator.

Cultivators with Three Spirit Roots truly were extraordinary. Back then, it had taken Song Qingming half a year to complete Qi Induction and enter the path, while this little girl had reached this realm in merely three or four months. Her cultivation speed was faster by no small margin.

Seeing the eager look in Song Qingyu's eyes, Song Changling gave her a slight nod. The little girl giggled, greeted Song Qingming, then dashed toward her home in three strides that covered two.

"Fifth Aunt, why have you come alone this time?"

Song Qingming was somewhat surprised as he looked at the two of them. Transporting Mysterious Iron ore worth forty Spirit Stones was enough to arouse the greed of Late Qi Refining Stage Cultivators. In the past, whenever the Song Family came to transport ore, they would assign at least three Mid Qi Refining Stage or higher cultivators. That way, even if they encountered ordinary Late Qi Refining Stage Rogue Cultivators, they could hold out for family reinforcements even if they could not win.

This time, only Song Changling had come, and she also had to look after Song Qingyu, who had just stepped onto the path of cultivation. If they encountered the same bandits from last time, the odds would be stacked heavily against them.

Seeing Song Qingming's concern, Song Changling smiled and explained, "After the Gao Family took the lead in causing trouble last time, Qinghe County has been much more peaceful recently. The Second Elder came this time as well and is waiting for us at the foot of the mountain. How could the family dare entrust something as important as escorting Mysterious Iron ore to me alone?"

Song Qingming led Song Changling and the others to the warehouse where the ore was stored and handed over the Mysterious Iron ore mined during the past half year.

The dozen or so family Martial Masters brought from Funiu Mountain had traveled to and from Lingyuan Mountain many times to transport ore and were very familiar with the place. Song Qingming called over dozens of miners to help. Everyone spent half a day first unloading the supplies from several horse carts, then loading the Mysterious Iron ore collected during this period onto the carts.

Lingyuan Mountain lay in a valley filled with uneven mountain terrain. Unlike the flat land surrounding Mujiao Town, where large swathes of farmland could be cultivated, the family mortals here had always lacked sufficient grain and needed annual subsidies from Mujiao Town.

Whenever the family came to collect ore, they would also bring along daily necessities that the mortals in these mountains could not normally obtain, fulfilling their needs. Whenever this happened, every household in Lingyuan Mountain would happily carry sacks and bamboo baskets of all sizes to the village threshing ground to wait for their supplies. It was a lively scene indeed.

Song Qingyu had cultivated at Funiu Mountain for several months. There were not many children her age on the mountain, and every day she faced nothing but tedious study and cultivation. Returning to Lingyuan Mountain finally set her childish nature free.

Not long after returning home to see her parents, Song Qingyu ran out to find her old companions from the village. As she recounted what she had seen and heard in the mountains, she displayed the abilities that set her apart from ordinary people after cultivation, leaving the children her age in the village staring wide-eyed in amazement.

The strength of a Qi Refining Cultivator alone was several times that of an ordinary mortal. The little girl led the group of children running all around the village, showing off the few minor spells she had just learned.

Flames appeared in her hands one moment and rain the next, frightening the surrounding villagers into quickly dragging their own children home. They were deeply afraid that this still somewhat ignorant little immortal might accidentally hurt their children.

In the end, the little girl looked around and found herself alone. Feeling somewhat bored, she could only return home by herself in disappointment.

Ever since Song Qingming arrived at Lingyuan Mountain, the Mysterious Iron Ore Vein had operated smoothly. This year's output was even half again as much as last year's. Song Changling looked over the ledger recording the quantity of Mysterious Iron ore handed to her by a Martial Master, then nodded at Song Qingming in satisfaction.

Lingyuan Mountain's Mysterious Iron Mine produced several hundred pieces of ore each year. The Song Family generally did not sell this Mysterious Iron ore directly in the Marketplace. Instead, they first transported it to Funiu Mountain, where the family's artifact refiners forged it into various magical artifacts before placing them for sale in the family shop at Qinghe Market. This doubled the value of the original Mysterious Iron ore.

Just past noon, after everyone had eaten, they prepared for the return journey. The little girl also reluctantly bid farewell to her parents.

Song Changling led everyone slowly down Lingyuan Mountain.