Chapter 677 - 120: 6 Years of Seclusion, Qingyun Descends the Mountain

The only thing that gave Song Changsheng pause was Song Qingluo. She had been in seclusion for over a year, but there was still no news.

"No news is good news."

With this in mind, Song Changsheng held a small Foundation Establishment ceremony for the five of them, inviting only the vassal powers from Ling Province and Yang Province.

Receiving gifts was not the goal; the main purpose was to showcase the prowess of the Song Clan’s younger generation to the outside world.

’Yes, definitely not for the gifts.’

The ceremony was not large in scale, but the shock it delivered was anything but small. After all, this new batch of Foundation Establishment Cultivators was truly too young.

The age of a clan’s Foundation Establishment Cultivators is a fundamental measure of its strength.

Clearly, the Song Clan was currently in a period of ascension. After a period of consolidation, the Song Clan would become even more powerful.

This realization both thrilled the various vassal powers and made them a little melancholic.

The stronger the Song Clan became, the further away their own chances to rise to prominence would be.

After the Foundation Establishment ceremony was over, Song Qingxi and Song Qingxing officially became dao companions.

Their wedding was not a grand affair. This was partly due to Song Qingxing and Song Qingxi’s personalities; they both preferred quiet settings to lively, noisy scenes.

It was also because both of their immediate blood relatives had passed away, so they kept the whole process simple.

They simply announced it to the clan, exchanged keepsakes with Song Changsheng and Xia Yunxue as witnesses, and then headed off hand-in-hand to Little Cyan Mountain for their honeymoon.

It was as simple as could be.

But this sort of thing was common in the Cultivation Realm. Cultivators rarely cared for such formalities—with the exception of those who did it for the gifts.

When Song Changsheng and Zhuang Yuechan become dao companions in the future, it could not be so simple. He represented the face of the Song Clan, so it would have to be a grand celebration.

To be honest, Song Changsheng was a little envious of them. After all, he also disliked such social obligations.

"Fifth Uncle, I’ll be entrusting the clan’s affairs to you for a while. Please pay close attention to our business with the Celestial Sword Sect. Sell them as much Black Gold as they need. As for what they use it for, we don’t need to concern ourselves with that."

"About how long will you be in seclusion this time?"

Song Changsheng shook his head slightly. "Three to five years at the shortest, perhaps seven or eight at the longest. I’m not entering death seclusion, so you can call for me directly if something urgent comes up."

Hearing this, Song Luzhou’s expression remained unchanged. Purple Mansion Cultivators have lifespans of up to five hundred years; a single period of seclusion lasting ten or twenty years was a common occurrence.

After all, the gap between each Small Realm in the Purple Mansion Stage was immense. Without sufficient opportunity or talent, it was quite common to be stuck in a single Small Realm for even a hundred years.

Even though Song Changsheng’s talent was extraordinary, he still had to devote more time and energy to his cultivation.

After Song Changsheng entered seclusion, time seemed to hit a fast-forward button, flying by at an incredible pace.

In the first year of his seclusion, Song Qingluo successfully broke through to the Foundation Establishment stage, becoming the Song Clan’s nineteenth Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

In the second year of his seclusion, the Song Clan passed its five-hundredth year of being established in Ling Province.

In the third year of his seclusion...

Spring turned to autumn, and winter to summer. In the sixth year of Song Changsheng’s seclusion, Song Qingyun turned eighteen and, under the clan’s arrangement, descended the mountain for his first combat trial.

This trial would prove to be a great challenge for Song Qingyun...

"I will now brief you on your mission. Three days ago, the Clan Leader of the Chen Clan, located six hundred li east of the Liuyun Mountain Range, posted a mission at their Foreign Affairs Hall.

They claim that an unidentified Evil Cultivator has been active in their vicinity. Three mortal villages, with a total of over four hundred people, have already fallen victim to him.

This individual’s methods are exceedingly cruel and pose a severe threat to the safety of the mortal towns and villages.

The Chen Clan dispatched two Qi Refining Sixth Layer Cultivators to hunt him down three days ago, but they were unable to find any trace of him. Today at 7:00 AM, the Chen Clan reported that they have lost contact with those two.

The Chen Clan is a minor clan and does not forge Soul Lamps for its members, so it is not yet possible to determine if these two are missing or have already perished.

Your mission for this trial is to find the two missing Chen Clan cultivators and bring the Evil Cultivator who massacred the villages to justice.

Upon completing the trial, each of you will receive two hundred Contribution Points as a reward. If the mission fails, you will be punished with three months of wall-gazing.

To summarize, are there any objections?"

The Steward put away the Jade Scroll and looked at the three people before him, his voice grave.

Song Qingyun bowed respectfully to the Steward and asked in a serious tone, "If I may ask, Steward, what is the Evil Cultivator’s cultivation level? What kind of Magic is he skilled with? What does he look like? Does he have any distinguishing features?"

He was no longer the little sleepyhead who could doze off while hugging Xia Yunxue’s leg. Although this was his first time descending the mountain for a trial, his considerations were remarkably thorough.

"There is very little intelligence on this mission. Based on the traces left at the scenes, the target’s cultivation should be in the Late-stage Qi Refining realm, which is between the Qi Refining Seventh Layer and the Qi Refining Ninth Layer.

His preferred Magic is unknown, no one has gotten a clear look at his face, and we know nothing of his characteristics. We’ve only been able to roughly pinpoint his hiding area. It’s all recorded in this Jade Scroll. You’ll have plenty of time to study it on the way."

With that, the Steward took out another Jade Scroll and handed it to Song Qingyun.

"Is this really a trial? We don’t have a single piece of reliable intelligence. If the target is a Qi Refining Ninth Layer Cultivator, aren’t the few of us just walking to our deaths?"

A cultivator beside Song Qingyun couldn’t help but complain aloud after reading the mission details in the Jade Scroll.

"That’s enough, Qingyuan, stop complaining. The missions are assigned randomly. We can only blame our own bad luck for drawing this one," the only Female Cultivator present said, quickly reaching out to tug on the man’s sleeve.

"Qinghong, I’ll admit that drawing a difficult mission is bad luck, but they can’t just give us zero reliable intelligence, can they?" Song Qingyuan said, his expression sour.

"Don’t worry. Every combat trial mission is carefully selected by the Elders and Stewards. Ours may be difficult, but it’s definitely not beyond our ability to handle.

This is our first real combat mission, after all. No matter how strict the clan is, they wouldn’t joke with our lives. Come on, let’s go meet this scoundrel."

Song Qingyun gave a long, leisurely stretch and, holding the Jade Scroll, was the first to walk toward a nearby Paper Kite.

Song Qingyuan and Qinghong exchanged a glance and hurried to follow Song Qingyun.

The three of them activated the Paper Kite together, speeding toward the area marked on the Jade Scroll...

"To make their first combat trial this difficult—aren’t you afraid they’ll fail?"

From a pavilion, Song Luzhou watched the trio depart on the Paper Kite, then turned to Song Luyun.

"One of them is at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, and the other two are at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer. As long as they coordinate properly, dealing with that Evil Cultivator shouldn’t be a problem.

This trial is mainly a test of their ability to respond to emergencies and their Willpower when facing a powerful enemy. They’ve always coordinated well in the past, so dealing with that fellow will be no problem," Song Luyun said with ease.

"Have you never heard the saying? ’True knowledge comes only from practice.’ Everything they’ve done in the clan before this has just been theory. This time, it’s the real thing.

These three are the cream of the crop among the clan’s younger generation. Losing even one of them would be a tremendous loss."

"You can rest completely assured. I’ve already sent Qingqian ahead of them, so there won’t be any problems. And to take it a step further, even if Qingqian were to somehow miss something, Yun’Er has another layer of insurance on him," Song Luyun said, blinking.

"Oh, you mean..." Song Luzhou’s eyes lit up with understanding, and he was completely put at ease.

Meanwhile, Song Qingyun and his two companions flew the Paper Kite for three days, following the clues recorded in the Jade Scroll, and finally arrived at a small village.

Looking at the peaceful village before them, Song Qingyun reminded them softly, "According to the intelligence we have, the two from the Chen Clan disappeared somewhere in this vicinity. That Evil Cultivator is very likely still around, so we must stay on high alert."

"It’s been several days already. That guy probably took off long ago," Song Qingyuan said, looking completely unconcerned.

"It’s getting late. Let’s find lodging for the night in the village ahead."

...