"Though their crimes are unforgivable, the mortal members of the clan were ultimately innocent," Xia Yunxue sighed.
"Hatred is an invisible force," Song Luyao replied coldly. "Before I found solid evidence, who could have predicted that Song Xiandu would harbor such vicious ambition?
Did the clan mistreat him? Even though his talent was mediocre, he still held a high position he even had partial control over the Clan Protection Formation. You and I don't even have that kind of authority.
And yet, he still believed the clan had wronged him. In the end, he colluded with outsiders and sold out our family's interests.
As for those mortal descendants perhaps they are innocent now, but who can guarantee that, decades from now, another Song Xiandu won't rise from among them?
The seed of hatred has already been planted. There can be no room for mercy. The clan's interests come above all else."
She took a small sip of wine, her voice emotionless.
Xia Yunxue let out a soft sigh. In the end, she said nothing more. The world was just that cruel. Even if those people had done nothing wrong and had not even known what was happening for the sake of eliminating future threats... they had no choice.
"The Young Patriarch did well this time. Only someone like him can lead the clan to greater heights. The Elder Council made the right choice."
"Perhaps this is fate. With wolves circling all around us, having Changsheng here to defend the clan is a blessing."
"He's bound to become a clan leader like his uncle one day."
....
After dealing with everything, Song Changsheng returned alone to the courtyard. As he strolled along the edge of the pond, he felt no joy in his heart only a sense of heaviness.
When jealousy takes root in a person's heart, it becomes a truly terrifying thing. Song Xianming had poured his heart and soul into the clan for a lifetime, always fair and impartial, yet there were still those who resented him and maliciously slandered him.
Sometimes, Song Changsheng wanted to ask him, Was it worth it?
"For Grandfather, I'm sure it was," he murmured. "I just don't know if I'll be able to do the same one day."
He sat cross-legged beside the pond and began to meditate. Just moments ago, he had a sudden flash of intuition it felt like the perfect moment to comprehend the Dao Scripture.
The mental technique he had gained upon reaching the Qi Refining Stage had benefited him immensely. Now that he had advanced to the Foundation Establishment Stage, what sort of heaven-defying technique might he comprehend this time?
With high expectations, Song Changsheng slowly activated the jade slip within his mind...
The quiet night reflected a full moon in the pond, clear as a mirror. Occasionally, a few small fish swam by, stirring gentle ripples.
A soft breeze brushed across the surface, ruffling the water and fluttering Song Changsheng's robes. As his garments swayed, a faint glow began to emit from his body green, red, yellow, gold, and blue five shimmering colors surrounded him.
Time flowed on stars turned, the sun rose and set and before long, four days and three nights had passed. The glow around Song Changsheng had faded from brilliance to dim light.
He exhaled a mouthful of murky, grayish air, and a flicker of joy appeared in his eyes.
"It's a body-tempering technique. I've gone through nine stages of body refinement while engraving formation arrays and my physique is already comparable to a physical cultivator's. This technique suits me perfectly.
Every technique I've comprehended so far has matched me almost too well it can't be a coincidence. This Dao Scripture is truly incredible. I wonder which great being created it."
The technique he had just grasped was called the Five Beast Body Refining Art, a method that tempered the body by visualizing five mythical beasts each corresponding to one of the five elements and the five internal organs.
They were:
Wood Element – "Roaring Ape in the Forest": corresponds to the liver
Fire Element – "Bifang Chasing the Sun": corresponds to the heart
Earth Element – "Earth Dragon Turning Over": corresponds to the spleen
Metal Element – "White Tiger Leaping to the Sky": corresponds to the lungs
Water Element – "Flood Dragon Diving into the Sea": corresponds to the kidneys
To cultivate this technique, one must visualize the five beast illustrations and comprehend the body-forging methods hidden within them to temper their internal organs.
Each completed stage would exponentially increase physical strength. Once all five organs were refined, one's body would be powerful enough to directly clash with spiritual artifacts a terrifying feat.
However, though the technique was powerful, the requirements to cultivate it were extremely high. Without exceptional comprehension, one couldn't even attempt it. If not for Song Changsheng's frequent meditations on the Dao Scripture, which had greatly enhanced his insight, he wouldn't even qualify to learn it.
"To cultivate this method, I'll first need to gather the materials associated with the five beasts:
Ape heart, Earth Dragon Pearl, White Tiger Fang, Bifang Feather, and Flood Dragon Scale.
The first three are fairly easy to find, but the last two... those will be a problem," he muttered, frowning.
Bifang was a divine beast of ancient times, as famous as the True Dragon and Vermillion Bird. Purebloods were out of the question even mixed-blood remnants were incredibly rare. Finding suitable materials would be a serious challenge.
Flood Dragons weren't any easier. As dragon-kin, they were all immensely powerful, dominating their respective territories. Rumor had it that in the depths of the Ten-Thousand Mountain Range, there was a great black marsh ruled by a fourth-tier Flood Dragon King an incredibly fearsome creature.
Their rarity and value were beyond imagination.
"Fortunately, I don't need all five ingredients to begin cultivation. I'll start with the ape heart it's easy enough to find. Too bad about that water monkey from before… that probably would've worked," Song Changsheng muttered, feeling a bit of regret.
He glanced at the sky and noticed it was already near noon. With a quick calculation, he figured there were still over two months before the Foundation Establishment Ceremony plenty of time to train in new techniques.
Upon entering the Foundation Establishment Stage, his spiritual power had condensed from gaseous to liquid form, increasing his strength by dozens of times compared to when he was still a Qi Refining cultivator. Naturally, he could now wield far more powerful spells.
Two of the most standard spells for Foundation Establishment cultivators were:
Artifact Flight
Spiritual Body Barrier
Watching other cultivators soar through the air with their flying swords had always stirred envy in him. Now, he could finally cultivate those techniques too.
To Song Changsheng, neither spell posed much difficulty. Within half a month, he had mastered both and fully experienced the joy of riding clouds and watching the sunrise.
However, his flying artifact was rather unusual. It wasn't the common flying sword, nor a flag array like the one Song Xianming used instead, it was a Soul-Slaying Gourd. The sight was admittedly a bit eccentric and mismatched.
With spare time remaining, Song Changsheng headed to the scripture pavilion and exchanged for several more spells to boost his combat ability. He had many enemies, and if he didn't raise his power to its peak, he wouldn't even dare show his face.
Time flew by amid cultivation. In the blink of an eye, more than two months passed.
The atmosphere atop Cangmang Peak was growing increasingly festive. Lanterns and decorations filled every corner, and invitations were being sent out like snowflakes.
As the central figure of the event, Song Changsheng, along with Song Lutong, had begun preparations well in advance. Although they didn't care much about appearances, this kind of grand occasion represented the family's honor it had to be handled with due care.
With the rising sun and a cloudless sky, the entire Lingzhou region was stirred into a frenzy. Leaders of clans, sects, and renowned rogue cultivators all began to converge on one destination…
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