In a dimly lit secret chamber, a white jade altar stood solemnly at its center, its tiny flame flickering quietly, identical to the one in the general store.
An elder of the Song Clan, his hair and beard as white as snow, sat cross-legged in front of the altar with his eyes closed in quiet meditation.
Suddenly, the altar's flame flared violently, as if hot oil had been poured into it.
The elder's eyes snapped open. Forming a rapid series of hand seals, he waited until the flame settled down, revealing a crystal the size of a clenched fist.
He picked up the crystal and, without delay, hurried toward the Clerical Hall.
Even though it was already deep into the night, Song Xianyun was still buried in paperwork, a frown of worry clouding his brow.
Back during the battle at Fengxi Pass, the Song Clan had clashed with Yu Chengbo and the others. Because Yu Chengbo hadn't brought his top-grade spiritual weapon, Song Xianyun and the others had barely managed to fight them to a draw using their artifacts before retreating.
Shortly after that, they received word of Song Changsheng being placed on a bounty list. But with Lingzhou located tens of thousands of miles from Bianzhou, it was already too late to send help. On top of that, Song Lutong had been seriously injured in the battle, and Song Xianyun and Song Luzhou were also wounded, leaving them powerless to act even if they wanted to.
These days, Song Xianyun made frequent visits to the Soul Lamp Hall and was slightly relieved each time he saw Song Changsheng's soul lamp still burning brightly.
But even the most patient person has their limits. For the Young Clan Leader to be publicly hunted down was a great humiliation. In response, Song Xianyun gave the Lieyang Sect a taste of their own medicine, issuing bounties on several of their top disciples.
He even went so far as to publicly declare that anyone who killed one of them would receive a spiritual artifact as a reward. The rogue cultivators of Ling, Bian, and Yang provinces were immediately stirred into action.
Though the Lieyang Sect still dominated a whole province, it was already a declining tiger. In a world like this, there was never a shortage of desperate people. The moment the Song Clan's bounty was announced, many began moving in the shadows.
Unfortunately, the Lieyang Sect immediately turtled up, sealing off their mountain and forbidding any of their top disciples from going outside.
Their recent losses had been staggering. Under normal circumstances, it would take at least ten or twenty years to recover. If they lost even more talented disciples, it would be a disaster.
So while the Song Clan was lying in wait, the Lieyang Sect was also biding its time.
Currently, one of the Lieyang Sect's Supreme Elders was in seclusion, reaching a critical stage. Once he emerged, it would be the perfect opportunity to launch an all-out assault on the Song Clan. For now, they were just swallowing their pride.
Thus, this round of mutual bounty-posting served more as psychological warfare than anything else.
Still, with no news from Song Changsheng, Song Xianyun remained tense, unable to rest easy.
So when he saw the elder arrive, he immediately jumped up and asked urgently,
"Is there news from the Young Clan Leader?"
The elder handed him the crystal and shook his head,
"All I know is that it came from the direction of Luoxia City."
Song Xianyun crushed the crystal, and a stream of divine sense poured into his mind. After reading the contents, his face lit up with joy.
He took a few hurried steps out of the hall and then soared up the mountain peak on his flying sword.
As he entered a chamber, Song Xianyun couldn't hold back his excitement:
"Big Brother, we've received word from Changsheng!"
Inside the closed-door cultivation room, Song Xianming suddenly opened his eyes, a flash of light shooting through them.
He stepped out and looked at Song Xianyun.
"How is my Sheng'er?"
"He's doing great. He's shaken off the Lieyang Sect's pursuit. Not only that, but he killed three of their disciples, including Liu Yunfeng, as well as rogue cultivator Qian Ming and others!"
Song Xianyun's face was glowing with pride. It had been decades, perhaps even a century, since the Song Clan had such a moment of triumph.
Song Xianming was surprised too. He had only hoped that Changsheng would make it back alive; he hadn't expected his grandson to go this far.
"And that's not all. Changsheng has a bold plan he wants the clan to consider."
"Oh? What crazy idea is he cooking up now?"
Song Xianming asked with a wry smile.
Song Xianyun, visibly excited, replied:
"He wants to persuade the Rong Clan of Xiangzhou to help him ambush Yu Chengbo and the others on their way back, once the City Lord's banquet is over. A classic case of using their methods against them."
"Do you think the Rong Clan will work with us?"
Song Xianming asked calmly, stroking his beard.
Song Xianyun paused for a moment and said,
"I believe it's highly likely.
Though the Rong Clan has never officially allied with us, they've spent the past several years tying up much of the Lieyang Sect's attention, allowing us time to slowly recover.
So while we may not be allies in name, we are in effect.
Right now, the Lieyang Sect is reeling from heavy losses. If we can take out Yu Chengbo or Mao Wuwei, the Rong Clan would have a real shot at overwhelming them in direct conflict.
That benefits both us and them; they have no reason to say no.
Most importantly, they'll need a partner to make this work.
Two late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators are no pushovers."
Song Xianming nodded,
"That's true. Very well, let Changsheng proceed with contacting the Rong Clan."
"Should we start making preparations on our end?"
"You leave that to me," Song Xianming said with a wave of his hand.
Song Xianyun looked up sharply in surprise.
"Big Brother, you're going to act personally?"
"I've already recovered most of my injuries thanks to the Azure Sky White Jade Pill and the Wood Essence Marrow. I'm more than capable of fighting.
The Lieyang Sect has pushed us too far. If we make a move
We must make them bleed!"
A chilling glint flashed in Song Xianming's eyes.
"Understood. I'll send word to Changsheng right away."
...
The banquet lasted until sunset before finally concluding, with the guests all leaving in high spirits.
On the way back to the bamboo lodge, Song Qingluo was still visibly excited. After all, it had been his first time seeing the famed First and Second City Lords in person, figures renowned throughout the realm, and even sitting in the same hall as them. The day felt surreal to the newly of-age youth, like something out of a dream.
Song Changsheng, on the other hand, was much calmer. He'd met them before. Only after returning to the lodge did he finally have time to assess what he'd gained from the recent events.
This battle had come at a cost. The power of the Heaven-Shaking Thunder Talisman had exceeded his expectations. Not only had it destroyed the spiritual tools of Qian Ming and the others, but the entire set of second-grade formation flags and bases used to cast the thunder array had been obliterated; he couldn't even find the fragments.
On top of that, maintaining the array had cost him every last spirit stone he had, leaving him completely broke once again.
To make matters worse, his Xuantian War Armor and Overturned Water Seal had both been severely damaged. The former was now basically beyond repair, which made his heart ache.
After all, aside from the Lu Wu Bell, that war armor was his best defensive artifact. Without it, his overall defense had dropped by a whole tier.
Fortunately, he had looted a low-grade second-tier Golden Thread Robe from Cheng Yufei last time, which could serve as a barely adequate replacement.
Looking at the three Spatial Pouches in front of him, Song Changsheng licked his lips. This was his last hope of "recouping his losses." Still, he wasn't holding out too much hope.
After all, these three were rogue cultivators. Not that he assumed all rogue cultivators were poor, but these three had risked their lives for a reward of just 100,000 spirit stones. If they were wealthy, would they be so desperate?
He emptied the contents of the three pouches. As expected, they were each poorer than the last. Not a single spiritual artifact was found aside from a pair of mid-grade second-tier daggers, a mid-grade second-tier flying sword, and a low-grade second-tier iron staff.
While these were decent quality tools, they were completely useless to Song Changsheng. He'd have to find someone to sell them to.
The number of spirit stones was a pleasant surprise, though: over 40,000 low-grade spirit stones in total. It was a decent windfall and helped replenish his depleted funds.
Beyond that, there were only a few second-tier pills and a handful of spell scrolls that were worth anything.
Being backed by a clan, Song Changsheng wasn't particularly impressed by the spells. But he was intrigued by the stealth technique used by the female cultivator known as Jiao Nu.
Such a technique would be extremely valuable for both ambushes and escapes.
Unfortunately, after rummaging through all the jade slips, books, and any item that might contain writing, he found no trace of that mysterious stealth method, leaving him quite disappointed.
"Rogue cultivators don't have much fat to trim."
Song Changsheng sighed. He had expected this outcome, but it still stung. The loot simply couldn't make up for his losses.
"It's all my fault for overdoing it. Not a single Spatial Pouch from Qian Ming, Liu Yunfeng, or the others survived…"
Just thinking about it made his heart clench.
Qi Feiyun had been a core disciple of the Lieyang Sect. The fact that he could simultaneously control the Formless Sword Array and the Minor Four Symbols Battle Formation was proof of his high status and likely deep pockets.
Those twelve flying swords alone were immensely valuable.
And Liu Yunfeng? Even more so. He'd been tasked with delivering a birthday gift to the First City Lord. Whatever it was, it must have been a third-tier treasure at least. And now? Gone. Just thinking about it made him want to scream.
Qian Ming, though a rogue cultivator, was clearly among the richer ones.
The three fattest wallets had been destroyed by his own hands. He honestly wanted to slap himself.
Fortunately, not all was lost. The Net of Heaven's Restraint, though torn apart, was still a top-grade spiritual artifact. With some re-forging, it could still maintain a low-grade artifact level.
But Song Changsheng's current skill in artifact crafting wasn't up to the task. He'd have to bring it back and let the old master smith handle it.
Then there was Liu Yunfeng's iron ruler, known as the Measuring Heaven Ruler, a low-grade spiritual artifact. Though severely damaged, it could be restored with an infusion of five-elemental essence.
The final item was perhaps the most valuable: the spiritual flame left behind when Qian Ming's low-grade spirit lamp shattered.
To Song Changsheng, this flame was more precious than the Measuring Heaven Ruler or even the Net of Heaven's Restraint.
Spiritual flame was a type of heaven-and-earth-born spiritual essence. According to legend, when the Zi Yu Realm was first forming, a divine fire born of creation came into being the first flame in existence, the ancestor of all fires.
After eons, this primordial fire gained sentience and wrought chaos across the land. The greatest powers from all races united to battle it in the skies. In the end, they managed to shatter it at great cost.
Its fragments rained down in a storm of fire for days, turning much of the Zi Yu Realm into a sea of flames and burying countless lives.
It was the first great catastrophe in the realm's history.
"One flame fell, ten thousand fires rose."
Among the falling fragments, a rare few retained a trace of the ancestral flame's origin essence. After untold years of evolution, these fragments gave birth to what are now known as spiritual flames.
Whether used in combat, artifact forging, or pill refinement, spiritual flame possesses extraordinary effects.
In particular, when used in alchemy or crafting, it not only greatly improves efficiency but can also enhance the quality of the pills or artifacts produced.
Every alchemist and artifact refiner under the heavens dreams of acquiring a spiritual flame, testament to just how rare and precious it is.
Although Qian Ming was neither an alchemist nor an artifact refiner, he had still refined one into a bronze lamp. With minimal effort, it had evolved into a spiritual artifact. His rise to fame among rogue cultivators owed much to this flame.
And now, it had conveniently fallen into Song Changsheng's hands.
The day the bronze lamp was destroyed, the flame had also suffered damage. However, the core spark survived, and Song Changsheng immediately stored it within the Soul-Slaying Gourd, nourishing it with the gourd's yin and yang energies.
Now, two paths lay before him:
Refine the flame directly and take control of it. This would greatly benefit his future in artifact crafting.
Follow Qian Ming's example and refine it into a weapon such as the Soul-Slaying Gourd.
That gourd was already just a step away from evolving into a spiritual artifact. By fusing the spiritual flame into it, he could bypass that final barrier and even wield the flame itself in battle, greatly boosting his combat power.
"Compared to all the auxiliary arts of cultivation, personal strength is what matters most."
Song Changsheng murmured.
"Once you're dead, it's game over. If you're not strong enough, you'll end up like Qian Ming."
Besides, even if the flame was embedded into a weapon, it could still be used for crafting and pill-making, just with slightly less effectiveness.
Having made up his mind, Song Changsheng brought out his bronze cauldron used for artifact refinement and placed the Soul-Slaying Gourd inside to begin the smelting process.
What he didn't know was that the spiritual flame he had acquired was known as the "Earthheart Cold Flame."
Once it attached to something, it would cling like a maggot to flesh, burning it away relentlessly. It was incredibly destructive.
This type of flame was not particularly suitable for alchemy or artifact crafting. However, refining it into a weapon was the ideal choice.
So by sheer coincidence, Song Changsheng had chosen the best possible path.
At present, the Earthheart Cold Flame had been reduced to a spark no larger than a grain of rice. It wasn't hard to refine, especially since its nature was highly compatible with the gourd. Song Changsheng fused it with almost no effort at all.
And finally, after years of nourishment and refinement, the Yin-Yang Soul-Slaying Gourd completed its evolution from magical artifact to mid-grade spiritual artifact!
The newly enhanced black-and-white gourd felt even colder in his hand than before. Song Changsheng could now sense a trace of sentience within it as if the gourd was alive and spiritually connected to him, moving in tandem with his will.
"At last, I've refined my first spiritual artifact... It wasn't easy,"
Song Changsheng said with a faint smile.
Under normal circumstances, the higher a magical tool's grade, the harder it was to evolve into a spiritual artifact.
But his Soul-Slaying Gourd had long been infused with a wisp of Primordial Qi and had absorbed large amounts of solar and lunar essence over the years. That alone made it exceptional.
Now, with the addition of a semi-sentient spiritual flame, it had finally leapt into the ranks of mid-grade spiritual artifacts.
It was a result that would be nearly impossible to replicate.
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