Chapter 76 076 To My Lifelong Friend
In the book, the Jade Snow Evil-Suppressing Bell that Cui Xue Ruo and her companions obtained was a dead bell that wouldn't ring. This caused a massive invasion of evil spirits when the Flying Immortal Platform was unsealed, nearly wiping out the entire protagonist group. Only Cui Luo Ying's sudden awakening of the ninth level of the Peach Blossom Immortal Technique was enough to suppress the evil spirits. However, Cui Luo Ying's Qi Sea was severely damaged afterward, and the book's outline-like ending mentions that he suffered from this injury incessantly, coughing up blood until his death. His so-called seclusion before his death was actually just him traveling around the continent in his final moments, ultimately closing his beautiful eyes in a crimson mountain forest covered in wild peach blossoms.
In conclusion, it seems that to truly obtain the Jade Snow Evil-Suppressing Bell that unlocks the divine secrets, it is necessary for her, the destined one hidden in the shadows, to obtain the token and activate the opportunity.
To ensure she wouldn't skip the trip, the token was linked to her antidote wine, guaranteeing everything would be foolproof.
These ascendants are truly despicable.
Moreover, this time, it truly is a crucial step, and it cannot be neglected. Not only is the delicate orchid herb the antidote for the poisoned wine, but more importantly, it's the Jade Snow Evil-Suppressing Bell, the key item for finally unlocking the seal on the Flying Immortal Platform and suppressing evil. Once the bell is activated, the evil spirits lurking near the Flying Immortal Platform will be unable to approach her, allowing her to successfully reach it.
She didn't have someone like Cui Luoying to suddenly become powerful and exorcise the evil spirits for her; her mission, from beginning to end, was a lone wolf operation. No one could help her. In fact, even suggesting asking for help would be a betrayal of divine secrets, and she would face being captured and killed by the evil spirits.
Song Chichao lay sprawled on the floor for a while, lingering there.
Even after turning things around, we still have to keep going.
She got up and couldn't help but smile. She then went to the study to grind ink, intending to write a letter to Wen Xiujin.
Coincidentally, Wen Yujiu comes from the Wen family, one of the eight great cultivation families, and is Wen Xiujin's cousin. To infiltrate a powerful family like the Wen family with her limited cultivation level is simply a pipe dream.
Therefore, the only way to get through is with Wen Xiujin.
Shi Yuan'er is also an option; Wen Yujiu dotes on this cousin. However, Song Chi isn't very familiar with her, and Shi Yuan'er is quite devoted, spending all her free time outside the Lotus Hidden Holy Land secretly passing by any paths where the Azure Lotus Venerable might appear.
Of course, according to Dai Jia, this girl is incredibly cowardly. To this day, she only dares to walk along two mountain paths with Venerable Qinglian, separated by at least a small grove of trees. She doesn't even dare to bump into him by chance, and she hides her emotions very well. Apart from Dai Jia, no one else knows that she is in love with her master, Venerable Qinglian.
Song Chi dared not delay this man's love plans. Besides, she worried that this love-struck fool wouldn't be capable of handling things, and she preferred to trust Wen Xiujin, a heartbroken man, who seemed more reliable.
Besides, it's best not to bother two people with the same task. Thanks to Wen Xiujin, we've already successfully tracked down Hua Shalan once. I'm sure Wen Xiujin wouldn't mind doing it again.
"Wouldn't mind? No way!" Thinking of the utterly disgusted look Wen Xiujin gave when he saw those stimulating kissing scenes playing on repeat all day long.
Then, after leaving the secret realm, her act of grabbing Mo Shubai's chest twice was witnessed by Wen Xiujin. The boy took a few deep breaths and abruptly turned his face away under her gaze.
The expression on his face went beyond mere disgust. He felt utterly ashamed to be associated with her!
Honestly. She's really not the kind of person this kid thinks she is! But what can he do? Ever since he followed her for two days and one night for that Ruyi Spirit Fruit, this kid has harbored a deep prejudice against her, and probably doesn't think anything good about her.
However, regardless of anything else, she still considered Wen Xiujin a friend. Especially after he saved her with his sword that time, she had already considered him a friend in her heart. Although he was slightly less than Qi Zhenmo, no, from now on, Wen Xiujin would become the most important friend in her life.
"My most important friend in my life, how have you been?"
Song Chi picked up his brush, dipped it in ink, and shamelessly wrote down this line. He then greeted Wen Xiujin with various warm greetings and asked if he could help her with any problems she might encounter in her cultivation in the future.
That's utter nonsense. Why would she ask a sword cultivator about a problem she has in her sound cultivation, instead of asking her master and fellow disciples right in front of her?
But Song Chi still shamelessly wrote it. She could imagine Wen Xiujin's nose twitching when he saw the letter. He would probably curse her for being shameless in secret.
However, Song Chi felt that Wen Xiujin would still reply. She had a gut feeling that although Wen Xiujin despised her behavior, he did have some degree of appreciation for her. Perhaps it was because of her zither, or perhaps it was something else. In any case, she was certain she would receive a reply.
The letter is likely full of sarcasm and mockery.
But what does it matter? She can simply pretend she doesn't see it. In fact, she finds Wen Xiujin's mocking tone quite amusing and is even looking forward to it.
After writing this letter, Song Chi wrote another one home. Now, his parents, uncles, and aunts had all completed their spiritual root cleansing, and were undoubtedly at the Golden Core stage. Although the family was now well-off, to conceal the fact that their spiritual roots had been cleansed, the whole family diligently tended to the incense and powder shop, and at night they all diligently cultivated. His grandfather had completed Foundation Establishment ten years ago, using the excuse that he had achieved it by chance. After all, his cultivation had always hovered around the ninth level of Qi Refining, and such lucky Foundation Establishment had happened before in the cultivation world, so it didn't arouse suspicion. However, for his parents, with their poor spiritual root aptitude (four spiritual roots), Foundation Establishment was almost impossible. Therefore, Song Yun had recently bought some secret treasures to conceal their cultivation levels, and Song Chi had just obtained a few such treasures from his master… Therefore, after finishing the home letter, he put the treasures into a box and sent them back with the letter.
After finishing these tasks, she released the seal on the garden and flew out to mail a letter, but was stopped by the boy who called after her.
It turned out that her master had sealed off the entire sacred land of Yunhai Songshan, and only those with tokens could enter and exit. Everyone in Yunhai Songshan, including the young attendant, had an entry and exit token, except for her.
Song Chi: "..." This is basically a disguised confinement order from Master. It's really like taking precautions to prevent her from harming any other male disciples!
Song Chi stared at the sky speechlessly for a while. "Master, you're really overthinking it. I'm really not that kind of person."
That's fine. She immediately gave him two spirit stones and sent the boy to deliver the message.
For her, who currently cannot leave Yunhai Songshan, it's not a big deal, as she wants to focus on cultivation and explore the true path of the Nascent Soul.
Master doesn't need to worry at all; she won't go around causing him any more headaches with scandals.
Song Chi returned to her room and began meditating and cultivating. She decided to spend ten years raising her cultivation to the late-stage Golden Core realm. Then, she would spend another twenty years figuring out a unique path of sound cultivation, the righteous path to Nascent Soul.
Ye Qingyu and his group must not make any rapid progress this time, and succeed in the righteous path five or ten years ahead of schedule, or that would be fatal.
Song Chi wasn't very confident in her method of sound cultivation. After all, she... wasn't very emotional.
Next, Song Chi began a frantic cultivation mode to improve his cultivation level, and he almost never went out.
In the path of cultivation, time flies by, and ten years pass in the blink of an eye.
That day, a burst of pure energy surged into the sky from the Crimson Rose Pavilion, breaking the seal.
Venerable Xueqiao was playing the zither in the house when he saw the commotion and came out to take a look.
He then knew that Song Chi had cultivated to the late-stage perfection of the Golden Core realm.
That brat is quite obedient; she diligently cultivated as soon as she returned to the sect. Her rapid improvement in cultivation this time is naturally due to absorbing the medicinal power of that immortal herb.
Ten years ago, on his return journey from Yaochi City, Venerable Xueqiao deliberately requested a separate flying boat. The reasons were twofold: first, to prevent this brat from causing trouble for any of his disciples and creating scandals; and second, because he keenly sensed a faint, ethereal aura emanating from the child, likely due to the ingestion of some rare and precious treasure.
Sure enough, as soon as he boarded the flying boat, Song Chi quietly broke the seal and began to absorb the medicinal power. However, the medicinal power was infinitely mysterious, and a pure aura still quietly dissipated from it.
Therefore, Venerable Xueqiao deliberately sealed the entire flying boat to prevent even a trace of the medicinal power from escaping. This was the first reason. The second reason was that Song Chi was so favored by heaven and earth, and he worried that he would attract jealousy. Naturally, the fewer people who knew about this, the better.
After Song Chi had absorbed the medicinal power, Venerable Xue Qiao called her over and asked her a few questions. This brat was quite frank, saying that this immortal herb was taken at the same time as Hua Sha Lan, and apart from the side effect of being poisoned by love, the ability to cleanse one's spiritual root was an unexpected bonus.
So that explains the unusual spiritual energy bubbles, and that love poison... This brat has really messed with a real tyrant.
Venerable Xueqiao immediately warned Song Chi to keep this matter of cleansing his spiritual roots a secret and never mention it to outsiders. Song Chi nodded vigorously in agreement, his clever appearance suggesting he wouldn't tell anyone. As for Hua Shalan, Venerable Xueqiao was even less worried; such a deep-thinking person would never casually discuss his important opportunity with others.
In fact, Venerable Xueqiao was quite pleased that Song Chi had cleansed his spiritual root to the Heavenly Spiritual Root. In this way, he could follow the path of his senior brother to reach the righteous Nascent Soul stage.
Neither of them has a heart, so they probably only have one or two paths to follow. Even with Shu Bai's comprehension and spiritual root talent, it took her fifty years and a lot of hardship to reach the Nascent Soul stage. As for Song Chi's comprehension... in fact, Venerable Xue Qiao thinks she's only slightly inferior to Shu Bai. This girl just has a few more unorthodox ideas in her head; her sharpness is still far behind Shu Bai's.
Therefore, now that Shu Bai has stepped forward, it seems that Song Chi, as a righteous Nascent Soul cultivator, should be able to avoid decades of detours by following in her senior brother's footsteps.
From any perspective, this child is an incredibly fortunate person.
Having such good fortune, how could he dare to delay? Upon returning to the sect, Venerable Xueqiao immediately ordered Song Chi to cultivate quickly so as to make full use of the remaining medicinal power to improve his cultivation.
Now, it seems that Song Chi has actually reached the late-stage Golden Core realm, making him one of the top tiers of the younger generation.
After a brief sweep of the various mountain peaks, Venerable Xueqiao noticed that the cultivation levels of the golden phoenixes had improved exceptionally rapidly, all reaching the late Golden Core stage, still three to five years away from the Perfection stage. Such speed was astonishing.
Of course, this doesn't count because Crown Prince Su Yu was already at the late-stage Golden Core realm. He achieved this by consuming a spiritual medicine unique to the Dragon Clan in the secret realm. Ultimately, it's somewhat suspicious of cheating.
Therefore, Song Chi is still in the top tier. Of course, it's best to keep this kind of thing a little under wraps.
Venerable Xueqiao swept his sleeve to conceal the pure aura.
Next, he needed to ponder how to achieve the true path to Nascent Soul cultivation. Venerable Xueqiao waited patiently in the Cloud Sea Pine Hall.
He wasn't worried about Song Chi's ambition in recent years. He was just afraid that Song Chi would happily come up the mountain to seek his guidance soon.
However, after waiting and waiting, he did not come. Venerable Xueqiao could not help but use his divine sense to investigate.
Good heavens, this brat just came out of seclusion and took a bath, her body still damp, and she started writing furiously right there.
If it were a letter from home, that would be one thing. But this brat is clearly writing to that brat from the Wen family of the Jade Ruins Holy Sect.
Before she returned to the sect and began cultivating, this brat hurriedly wrote several letters, one of which was sent to the Wen family.
If she were to shower everyone with affection, that would be fine, but besides letters home, she only seems to care about this one person. How can that be acceptable?
Furthermore, during these ten years of cultivation, Song Chi would squeeze in time to write a letter to that brat from the Jade Ruins Holy Sect every year.
Fortunately, apart from the letter Song Chi received at the beginning, the contents of that letter were probably not very kind. That brat sniffed in anger.
To be honest, that Wen family brat is really awkward. The day he left Yaochi City, he even glanced out of the tavern, pretending to be nonchalant. But who goes out drinking so early in the morning? Couldn't he at least put on a more respectable act?
As for Song Chi, that brat, she merely flashed a toothy smile at Wen Xiujin. The smile had a hint of ingratiation, and seeing that Wen Xiujin didn't give her a friendly look, she raised an eyebrow, waved her hand, turned her back, and went into the cabin. She almost got so angry at that Wen family brat that she nearly died.
Xueqiao Venerable felt that the Wen family member was probably interested in Song Chi. Yet, when Song Chi was being so eager to get close to her, she responded with sarcasm and ridicule.
He was truly beyond redemption. This reassured Venerable Xueqiao somewhat.
Moreover, Venerable Xueqiao will soon be in seclusion for the next ten years, and will not care about external affairs at all.
Otherwise, given Song Chi's attitude of sending only one letter a year, Venerable Xueqiao would have already considered forcefully separating the couple. The Wen family resides by the Ice and Snow Lake in the Northern Region, more than a million miles away from the Azure Sword Sect. Wen Xiujin is a legitimate son, and although he ran away from home to study under the Jade Ruins Holy Sect in the Southeast, he is still a member of one of the eight great families. Even if he is just a young son, the rules for marriage would still apply.
Furthermore, it would be fine if this kid stayed in the sect. But if he returned to his family to take charge of the household, how could a lazy girl like Song Chi possibly endure the power struggles between elders and juniors in these large families?
In short, this won't work.
Now that she's finally finished her cultivation, this brat is already eyeing all those flowers and plants she's been bothering. Venerable Xueqiao, sensing something amiss, immediately sent a servant down the mountain to summon Song Chi and give her a good scolding. He also wanted to ask her about matters of the righteous path!
This time, Song Chi was quite respectful. He immediately put down his pen and came up the mountain, happily straightening his white robes and bowing to greet them.
"Master, how have you been lately?"
Venerable Xueqiao thought to himself, "I'm really bad." But for some reason, looking at her neat and well-behaved appearance, he suddenly couldn't bring himself to scold her.
Since it involved romantic relationships, he couldn't really say anything. Fine, he could only secretly try to break up her relationship with her lover. He had to choose the best one for her.
"Now that your cultivation has improved and you're on the right path of the Nascent Soul stage, what are your plans?" he asked bluntly.
"Master, this... I haven't thought about it yet." Song Chi's expression was hesitant.
Based on Xueqiao's understanding of Song Chi, he had a gut feeling that she was up to something. She probably wanted to choose the wood elemental root, but was afraid he wouldn't agree.
“Speak your mind freely, I will not blame you,” said Venerable Xueqiao.
Song Chi glanced at him discreetly, and perhaps seeing his relaxed expression, she stammered, "Or... what does Master think about a wood spirit root?"
"..."
As expected, Venerable Xueqiao was immediately speechless, and even felt a pang of heartache. This brat, she really was going to follow that scoundrel Yun Huai down this path of evil cultivation. Ever since Yun Huai embarked on this path, his temperament had become increasingly outrageous. In recent years, he had become completely absorbed in the pleasure of being tortured. It was to the point that he wanted to close his eyes in disgust.
Venerable Xueqiao was worried that this brat would turn out like this in the future, so he made a tough decision.
“That road is not easy to travel. I think you should take the same road as your senior brother.”
Venerable Xueqiao had long intended for Shu Bai to guide Song Chi's righteous Nascent Soul, but he hesitated. Although this brat was practically heartless, Shu Bai's ethereal appearance and otherworldly temperament were irresistible, easily making women fall in love. Moreover, the fact that these two had almost kissed during the Immortal Alliance competition was likely a constant, lingering thought in their hearts.
If the two of them fall for each other... Song Chi will definitely be the one who gets hurt in the end. After all, Shu Bai's destiny doesn't lie with her.
But at this point, compared to Song Chi going astray later, it would be better to call Shu Bai up the mountain and have him teach Song Chi. But just as he reached out to call the boy, Song Chi stopped him.
But seeing that she looked like a little old man, he sighed.
“Master, I’m afraid I can’t follow the same path as my eldest brother.”
Venerable Xueqiao immediately asked, "Why?"
"Master, you should also know that Senior Brother Zhengdao seems to have used the transformation of the three spiritual roots of metal, water, and wood, with metal and water being more prominent. This proves that Senior Brother has a little more emotion than I do!"
She held up two fingers and compared them slightly.
Venerable Xueqiao nearly fainted from anger. So she didn't even have this much emotion! How could this brat say such a thing? How could she be so self-righteous about having no heart!
But thinking about it again, when Shu Bai was in his Nascent Soul stage, there was indeed a faint water elemental energy surrounding him. Although it wasn't much, it did show a hint of the gentleness of a water elemental root.
Song Chi's side...
Looking at her clean little face and clear, indifferent eyes, although her eyes crinkled when she smiled, making her quite endearing, in reality, this brat's eyes were as frozen as ice, completely devoid of emotion.
How could there be such a heartless person in the world! In fact, he had long suspected that Song Chi was so eager to get close to that Wen family kid, probably with some ulterior motive, and that he didn't need to interfere in their relationship at all.
This one, she really might not have a heart at all.
As for the orthodox path of the Wood Spirit Root, it is indeed a path that her temperament can follow. After all, the mysteries of heaven and earth that the Wood Spirit Root draws upon are related to the seven emotions and six desires. She certainly doesn't have the seven emotions, but the six desires… are not entirely absent.
In terms of desire, this brat is easily aroused. When that brat Ye Qingyu forced a kiss on her against the wall during the Immortal Alliance competition, she licked her lips with a little excitement. Before that secret realm, once poisoned by the love potion, she was easily seduced by that poisonous boy Hua Shalan and almost succumbed… After leaving the secret realm, she even assaulted her senior brother's chest…
In short, this brat's morals in this area are rather questionable. She might actually be capable of achieving enlightenment.
But what if he develops a personality as rotten as Yun Huai's? That would be terrible.
Venerable Xueqiao immediately issued a stern warning: "You may wish to follow the righteous path of the Wood Spirit Root, but if you change your nature, hmph!"
He raised his hand to threaten, but then realized he wasn't trying to scare a three-year-old, so he slammed his hand hard on the table to show his severity.
"Master, I will definitely only walk the righteous path, please rest assured." Song Chi said solemnly as if he were making a vow.
Deep down, Venerable Xueqiao didn't really believe it. This brat was actually a bit reckless; if there was any way to make her stronger, she'd probably happily follow the path of evil cultivation.
But the wood elemental root is indeed the only path this child can take.
Left with no other option, Venerable Xueqiao waved for Song Chi to descend the mountain. He then immediately sent a letter to Yun Huai, instructing him to return to the sect. From now on, Song Chi would be responsible for teaching Yun Huai matters related to the cultivation of the righteous path.
Yun Huai is the only sound cultivator in the past 50,000 years to achieve divine transformation with the Wood Spirit Root, and only she can guide Song Chi.
Moreover, with him watching over me, I'm not afraid of anything going wrong.
This time, Yun Huai didn't delay. Two months later, on a day when heavy snow was falling, he rushed back, covered in snow.
It's clear that Yun Huai really cares about Song Chi. It's likely that when Song Chi took the apprenticeship exam, Yun Huai's name was the first one listed. It's probably fate that brought them together.
However, Venerable Xueqiao believed it was better for him to take on the role of master and disciple, as it would be better for both of them. If he didn't keep a close eye on things, Song Chi would definitely become a womanizer who frequented brothels under Yun Huai's influence.
Venerable Xueqiao sternly warned Yun Huai that he must not take Song Chi to brothels or other filthy places during this cultivation period. He then added another layer of seal to the mountain, preventing Yun Huai from returning to his cave. His cave happened to be on the route where Ye Qingyu and his group were located, and if Song Chi went to Yun Huai's place every day, wouldn't he be seeing those kids every day?
That won't work either.
Venerable Xueqiao told Yun Huai to choose any place to stay in the Cloud Sea Pine Mountain Sacred Land. This kid, however, chose Cloud Sea Pavilion, which was located on the mountain peak opposite his own Cloud Sea Pine Hall. In front was a sea of clouds, and behind was a pine forest; there were few flowers and plants, the scenery was serene and simple. It was unexpected that this kid had changed his temperament. He used to love flowers and plants, wishing he could live among them.
Having grown older, he understood the beauty of letting his heart drift with the carefree white clouds. Therefore, Venerable Xueqiao felt a slight sense of relief; Yun Huai did indeed seem much more mature. Entrusting that girl to him, as long as she remained within the Cloud Sea Pine Mountain, she shouldn't go astray.
After making these arrangements, Venerable Xueqiao planned to keep a close eye on the uncle and nephew. If they dared to engage in any unorthodox cultivation practices, he would see how he dealt with them.
Unexpectedly, within two days, he suddenly had an epiphany, vaguely grasping the gateway to the true path to Immortality. In the past, he could only ponder this insight in his heart, not daring to truly pursue the true path. After all, the true path to Immortality is like walking on a knife's edge; a slight misstep could lead to annihilation, with no chance of survival.
Over the past 100,000 years, apart from Immortal Lord Liuyue and Grandmaster Immortal Lord Qingxiao, countless other Nascent Soul cultivators have perished at this hurdle of the righteous path. This road is already littered with corpses.
However, Venerable Xueqiao dared to venture into the righteous path this time, since he had thirty-five Nine-Leaf Carefree Grasses in his possession. In any case, one Carefree Grass was enough for him to muster the courage to face death and seek life again.
But he was still worried about Yun Huai and his nephew Song Chi. After thinking for a while, he called Shu Bai up the mountain and instructed him to keep an eye on the two. If they dared to go to a brothel, he was to break their legs. Shu Bai might not dare to mess with Yun Huai, his junior uncle, but stopping Song Chi should be more than enough.
Besides, she had also given instructions to Venerable Tonghua: if Yun Huai led Song Chi astray, she would have to use her authority as the second senior sister to discipline Yun Huai properly. Venerable Tonghua naturally agreed without hesitation.
After doing all this, Venerable Xueqiao was still not at ease, so he called Youqin over.
His original intention was for her to keep an eye on Shu Bai and Song Chi, since Venerable Xue Qiao had also asked Shu Bai to guide Song Chi's cultivation, and if the two developed feelings for each other, he hoped You Qin would cause some minor disruptions.
But then I thought about how this brat actually wanted her senior brother and third junior sister to become a couple. According to Song Chi's nonsensical words, he likes to ship them.
He assigned this task to Youqin, which was practically the same as not giving her anything at all, and might even have the opposite effect. So he simply asked her about her cultivation difficulties and gave her some guidance.
Venerable Xueqiao then began to retreat into seclusion to comprehend enlightenment.
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Author's Note: [Dog head with rose in hand][Dog head with rose in hand] First update delivered. To explain earlier, I'll post the 9 AM update first. This time, the secret realm has changed drastically; it won't follow the same pattern anymore. From now on, it'll mostly be outside. Actually, it won't be finished for long; I'll probably finish writing three or four more major plot points. Don't rush.
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