Chapter 514: Chapter 123: Revisiting Old Haunts

Zhou Xun couldn’t help but think of that old friend,

since meeting once at Wangchuan Lake more than twenty years ago, Song Zhishu had returned to his hometown at Qingyue Square. Although there were exchanges of letters afterward,

they ultimately never met again.

After arriving in Tianhan City, the journey became even longer, and Zhou Xun hadn’t received any news from him for a long time.

Now, Song Zhishu’s sudden letter gave him a bad premonition.

"Brother Zhou, this might be the last time I call you this way," the familiar yet aged voice of Song Zhishu sounded,

"I have survived till now, already over a hundred and thirty years old, which is a rare longevity for a Qi Refining Cultivator!"

"The greatest fortune of my life was meeting you, who could have known the young man renting a house would become today’s Eastern Wilderness’s Number One Cultivator!"

"And I, Song Zhishu, was fortunate enough to become a brother to a Core Formation Cultivator!"

"I’ve lived my life worthily!"

"After this letter, I know my days are numbered, fearing there’s no day to meet again; Brother Zhou, with your heaven-bestowed talents,"

"please take a look at the scenery on the celestial path for me!"

"Brother Song!"

Zhou Xun murmured, recalling the elegant middle-aged man he saw at Qingyang Square in his youth.

"Whoosh!"

Suddenly, a flash of fire appeared,

it was the talisman paper in front of him spontaneously combusting,

Zhou Xun, absorbed in his thoughts, unconsciously stopped the talisman pen he was holding,

thus breaking the spiritual power circuit on the talisman paper, inevitably causing it to combust into ashes!

"I didn’t realize nearly eighty years have passed since then, according to my previous life’s standards, I would be considered a ’centenarian’ now!"

Zhou Xun was only twenty years old when he first entered Qingyang Square.

Now he was already ninety-five!

In those days a Qi Refining Cultivator, now he has become a Core Formation Master!

An old friend is about to pass away; even as a Core Formation Master, Zhou Xun found it hard to calm his mind.

With a sigh, Zhou Xun took the Sound Transmission Talisman and went out, heading to Song Yiqing’s cave mansion.

As Zhou Xun’s only concubine, she now lived right next to his cave mansion, which Zhou Xun had once occupied!

Zhou Xun’s current residence was, of course, the cave mansion exclusive to the Grand Elder of Tianhan City, the one connected to the Secret Vault.

In the hall, Song Yiqing was cultivating in a secret chamber.

Upon hearing Zhou Xun entering, she immediately stopped cultivating and came to the hall.

"Husband has come!"

Song Yiqing was very happy seeing Zhou Xun; at the moment, she wore a white palace skirt, looking extraordinarily dignified.

Now she was at the Fourth-Layer Foundation Establishment Cultivation, and her Lifebound Spirit Beast, the Red Fire Simurgh, was only a short distance from Tier Two High-Grade.

Zhou Xun nodded!

"What’s the matter?"

Seeming to notice Zhou Xun’s low spirits, Song Yiqing asked,

Zhou Xun didn’t answer, took out the Sound Transmission Talisman, and handed it to Song Yiqing,

after taking it, she placed it near her ear and activated it to listen.

After a while, Song Yiqing’s expression also turned somber:

"Seventh Grandpa... is his lifespan coming to an end?"

"What about using a Longevity Pill?"

"Song Zhishu’s physical body is exhausted and his divine soul has weakened to the extreme; using a Longevity Pill is of no use!"

Zhou Xun shook his head.

Song Zhishu living to over a hundred and thirty years old was practically unmatched among Qi Refining Cultivators.

Most reach their limit at a hundred and twenty.

"Should we go back then?" Song Yiqing asked.

"Indeed!" Zhou Xun nodded,

"I’ve been friends with Brother Song for many years; now that his time is drawing to a close, as an old friend, how could I not see him off?"

"You, too, being from the Song family, should accompany me on this trip!"

...

An hour later, two figures flew into the sky over Tianhan City, it was Zhou Xun and Song Yiqing.

As the Grand Elder of Tianhan City, Zhou Xun controlled all the arrays of the city and could leave from anywhere,

unlike other cultivators who had to enter and exit through the city gate,

outside the city, Song Yiqing tapped her Spirit Beast Bag at her waist, and a flash of red light transformed into a majestic Spirit Bird,

it was her Lifebound Spirit Beast, the Crimson Flame Simurgh.

Though it was now only at Tier Two High-Grade Level, its extraordinary bloodline made it extremely fast, comparable to ordinary Foundation Establishment Peak Cultivators,

the two planned to travel on the Crimson Flame Simurgh.

With a light leap, they mounted the Crimson Flame Simurgh’s back. Song Yiqing called out, and they flew towards Xui Country.

...

In the eastern part of Xui Country, there is a Qingyue Lake,

this lake spans several thousand miles, with a mountain range stretching hundreds of miles to its north,

on the mountain’s east and west, there are two Tier Two Middle-Grade Spirit Veins, unmatched in all of Xui Country.

Presiding over this area is the Song family, one of the five great families of Xui Country,

thanks to its close relationship with Zhou Xun, it is on the verge of claiming the top spot.

In a quiet courtyard in the Song family territory, people gathered,

the current Song family patriarch Song Chengyuan, Elder Song Zhiwu, Song Zhide, and other Song Clan Elders all assembled,

Song Chengyuan, a direct brother of Song Yiqing, managed to become the patriarch due to her influence.

Everyone watched the Song Zhishu lying on the bed.

In Song’s generation, besides the Foundation Establishment cultivators Song Zhide and Song Zhiwu, others mostly passed away,

after all, unlike him, none had such a close relationship with Zhou Xun, to receive longevity spiritual objects coveted by even Foundation Establishment cultivators.

"Seventh Brother, will he come?"

"If he could arrange for our Song family descendants to apprentice under Master Zhou, that would be ideal. Zhou Jingsong was once just a Spirit Farmer’s son from our Qingyue Square, yet now stands on par with our Song family...!"

Song Zhide sighed with emotion.

"Third Brother, mind your words!" Song Zhishu mustered his strength and interrupted Song Zhide.

"Our Song family, having risen to one of the five great families by aligning with Brother Zhou, should be content!" Song Zhishu admonished.

He understood what his third brother meant, that if Zhou Xun accepted Song family descendants as disciples, further glory could extend for a century,

after all, Zhou Xun was known for nurturing his disciples wholeheartedly,

which would naturally boost the Song family’s prestige.

Song Zhide nodded, looking at Song Zhishu on the bed with a sigh.

Except for Song Zhishu and Song Yiqing, the Song family’s connection with Zhou Xun was tenuous,

now with Song Zhishu nearing death, though Song Yiqing successfully established her Foundation, the Song family was acutely aware of her qualifications,

being only a Low-Grade Spirit Root,

otherwise, she wouldn’t have been given to Zhou Xun as a concubine.

Another hundred years, when Song Yiqing also passes on, the Song family’s decline will be inevitable!

This was why he continuously expanded, hoping to quickly cultivate a Core Formation cultivator through acquiring resources.

At this moment, a surge of spiritual power ripples from afar, catching everyone’s attention,

soon revealing their delight,

"Master Zhou, has arrived!"