As the sun set, the four members of the Song family sat together on the open ground, looking at the corpses of beasts and monsters lying in disorder on the ground in front of them, all of them breathing heavily. The four of them looked at each other's miserable appearance and couldn't help laughing.
"Haha! Our cooperation is getting better and better now. We can kill two mid-level monsters at a time. It seems that our lives will get better and better in the future." Song Changxiong looked at the other three and said jokingly with a smile.
"Uncle Thirteen, have you forgotten that we were almost chased to Funiu Mountain by monsters last time? This time you have attracted so many monsters again. You really think too highly of us." Song Qingrui took over the conversation and complained helplessly.
"You are really not a good kid. The Second Elder always tells me to train you more, and I think I have good intentions."
"Thank you so much for calling this exercise!" Faced with this stubborn Uncle Thirteen, Song Qingming and the other two could only look helpless.
After resting for a while, they gradually recovered some of their magic power. Song Qingshi, the least injured of the four, stood up and said, "Fourth Brother, take care of Qingming. Uncle Thirteen, let's deal with the monster corpse quickly. If those mid-level monsters with sensitive noses come here later, smelling the blood, it will be troublesome. We need to leave here quickly."
As the eldest of the Qing generation, Song Qingshi has always been calm and steady in doing things. Even Song Changxiong, who is of a higher generation and has a higher level of cultivation than him, has never had any objection to Song Qingshi's arrangements.
The monsters in the world of immortal cultivation are all treasures to cultivators. The blood of the green bamboo python can be used to make talismans, the snake gall is an auxiliary elixir for alchemy, and the snake skin and snake fangs are also good materials for refining weapons. Although the value of snake meat is not high, it is also one of the favorite dishes of cultivators, and it can be sold for some spirit stones in the restaurant in the market.
After a skilled dissection, the four men quickly left with their rich spoils.
——
Three days later, in a small pavilion called Moon Watching Pavilion behind Funiu Mountain, Song Qingming was sitting at a stone table in the pavilion, sipping a pot of spiritual wine alone in the beautiful moonlight and cool breeze.
This spiritual wine was the one he had exchanged for from his fourth uncle in Qinghefang a few months ago. Drinking it quietly under the moonlight was one of the few moments of peace and tranquility he had besides cultivation.
Song Qingming had just had a few drinks when a burly man with broad shoulders and body suddenly jumped into the pavilion and sat on the other side of the table. The man was none other than his thirteenth uncle Song Changxiong, who had gone monster hunting with him in Qingzhu Mountain a few days ago.
After seeing the person coming, Song Qingming hurriedly put down the wine glass in his hand.
"Uncle Thirteen, I'm so sorry. I was in such a hurry to leave this time that I forgot to bring a few extra wine glasses. How about we go somewhere else?"
After hearing this, Song Changxiong did not respond, but just smiled slightly. He touched his waist with his right hand, and a white jade wine glass appeared out of thin air in his hand, which he slowly placed on the stone table.
When Song Qingming saw this scene, he looked at the storage bag on Song Changxiong's waist with some envy, then picked up the wine jug and quickly filled his glass.
After a glass of wine, Song Changxiong smiled and said to him, "Don't worry, kid. A storage bag isn't a rare item. It's just that you haven't reached the middle stage of Qi Refining yet, so you can't release your spiritual power and use it. Once you break through to the middle stage of Qi Refining, you'll have this thing right away."
"Well! No rush, no rush. I just feel that it's really convenient for you to have storage bags on you. You can carry anything with you at any time. I don't know when I can use it like you." After Song Qingming finished speaking, he also smiled.
"I came to see you today for a great thing, but you have to let me drink enough first." After Song Changxiong said this, he raised the wine glass in his hand again.
"Of course. It's rare that you come drink with me tonight, Uncle Thirteen. Even if I can't get up tomorrow, I'll be happy."
The two drank and chatted, one cup after another, until the pot of spirit wine was almost empty. Song Changxiong then threw a bag to Song Qingming and said, "The materials of the monsters we hunted together last time have been processed in the market. This is your share."
Song Qingming took the bag with some confusion. Could this be the great thing that Uncle Thirteen mentioned? This pot of spiritual wine of mine is too worthless.
However, when Song Qingming opened the bag, the expression on his face immediately changed, from the joy when he was drinking at the beginning, to the calmness after receiving the bag, and then to the confusion on his face after opening the bag.
There were more than thirty bright spirit stones in this small cloth bag, which really made Song Qingming a little confused.
The monster materials hunted by the four people a few days ago, two mid-level green bamboo pythons and seven low-level ones, were put in the market. Even if they were all sold, they would be worth at most twenty spirit stones.
In addition, Uncle Thirteen also used up two low-level talismans and a pill to restore spiritual energy when he lured the enemy. How could he possibly get so much by himself now?
There are rules for distributing the proceeds when family members go out together to hunt monsters. In the past, the losses caused by the battle had to be deducted, and then the proceeds were distributed according to the level of cultivation and the size of the merits.
Among the four people this time, Song Qingming has the lowest cultivation level, and the one who contributed the most is his thirteenth uncle Song Changxiong. Even if the others take care of him a little, his contribution would not exceed 20% under normal distribution.
Seeing Song Qingming staring at him with a puzzled look on his face, Song Changxiong explained calmly, "We know you're anxious to cultivate, so the three of us discussed it. You've been cultivating to the third level of Qi Refining for almost five years, and your cultivation has long been honed. So, all the spirit stones from the sale of the monster materials this time will belong to you.
I added a little bit in it, which should be enough for you to break through your cultivation. I hope you can cultivate to the middle stage of Qi Refining as soon as possible, so that you can contribute more when we go out to hunt monsters next time.
Don't overthink it. Your eldest brother, the fourth brother, and I all received support from our elders and brothers when we broke through to the middle stage of Qi Refining. This is an old tradition of our Song family."
Looking at the heavy spirit stones in his hand, Song Qingming couldn't help but feel moved. Although he himself had almost saved enough spirit stones for a breakthrough, the sudden heavy affection from several elders and brothers still made him a little overwhelmed. The words of gratitude came to his lips but he didn't know how to say them. He could only nod, put away the spirit stones, picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all.
"Qingming, Uncle Thirteen's talent is average, and he's not as dedicated to cultivation as he used to be. In this life, it might be difficult for him to reach the late stage of Qi Refining, just like the other brothers. I might have to rely on you guys to look after me in the future."
"Uncle Thirteen, don't be ridiculous. With your current level of cultivation, breaking through to the late stage of Qi Refining should be a matter of time. We still have to rely on you to take care of us."
"Then I'll borrow your good words."
After the two men smiled at each other, they drank in the pavilion and chatted about some past experiences of hunting monsters. It was not until the sun rose again in the east that they left the Moon-Watching Pavilion, drunken.
After bidding farewell to Song Changxiong, Song Qingming returned to the cave, meditated for a while to dissolve the spiritual wine in his body, then performed a low-level "raining technique" to wash himself and change into clean clothes.
After smelling and confirming that there was no smell of alcohol on his body, Song Qingming took out the spirit stone he had treasured for many years, walked out of the cave quickly, and headed towards the top of Funiu Mountain.
The east side of the Funiu Mountain summit is an area shrouded in clouds and mist all year round, and is a relatively mysterious place for the Song family.
Song Qingming walked to the center of the clouds and mist, made a gesture with one hand, and a white light flew out from his hand and hit an open space in front of him. After a while, the clouds and mist beside him fluctuated and then gradually dissipated, revealing an exquisite three-story building not far in front of him. Song Qingming walked to the door of the building and pushed it open and walked in.
The space inside the small building is not very big. There are several rows of black shelves against the walls of the first floor, with some green jade slips placed on them. There is a long table in the middle.
An old man with a ruddy face stood beside the table, squinting his eyes and smiling at Song Qingming who pushed the door open. This man was none other than Song Gucai, the fourth elder of the Song family who was guarding the family's gold storage building.
"Greetings, Fourth Elder." When Song Qingming saw him, he quickly put his hands forward and saluted.
"Oh, it's Qingming. Are you here to take on a family mission, or are you looking for some new skills?" Song Gucai touched the beard on his chin and asked with a smile.
"Haha, you understand me the best. But this time I come here to exchange for a Qi Gathering Pill. Do you think I have enough spirit stones?" Song Qingming also answered with a smile, then carefully took out a bag from his arms and handed it over.
Song Gucai slowly took the bag handed to him by Song Qingming, opened it and saw nearly a hundred spirit stones neatly arranged inside. After a while, he slowly opened his half-closed eyes and looked at Song Qingming in front of him with some surprise on his face.
"Hey, didn't you say last month that you were short of twenty spirit stones? How did you get them all now? Tell me honestly where you got these spirit stones." Song Gucai asked a question after carefully confirming the number of spirit stones in the bag.
"Uncle Thirteen and my eldest brother lent me some money, so I was able to make up the difference." Song Qingming, who was watching him nervously from the side, said frankly.
After listening to Song Qingming's answer, Song Gu nodded with satisfaction, motioned Song Qingming to wait on the first floor, and turned around to get a small, quaint yellow box from the second floor.
"You still have 15 points of merit in your merit book, plus the 85 spirit stones you brought, it's just enough. If you are sure you want to exchange it for the Qi Condensation Pill, I will cross out your merit points now."
"Okay, thank you."
After hearing Song Qingming's confirmation, Song Gu picked up the pen and made a few marks on the merit book in his hand, and then handed the small box on the table to Song Qingming.
Although the Song family is just a small Qi-refining family, it still has a strict merit system. Family members can obtain merit points by completing various tasks issued by the family or handing in materials needed by the family.
Then use the merit points or equivalent spirit stones to exchange for various skills, pills, magic tools, and other items in the Gold Storage Building. One merit point is equivalent to one spirit stone.
Although the variety and quantity of items in the Song family's gold storage building are not as complete as those in the market, they still have most of the commonly used first-level talismans and elixirs.
Some of these items were made by family members themselves, and some were purchased from Qinghe Market. The Song family would arrange for personnel to go to Qinghe Market every month to purchase some training materials needed by family members.
Song Qingming took the box and opened it. Inside was a golden round pill, which was exactly the "Qi Gathering Pill" he had been dreaming of. He was very excited and quickly bowed to Song Gucai to express his gratitude.
"Qingming, someone in the family stood up to help you today because we are of the same blood. In the future, when facing family members, we must be more united and support each other." Song Gucai said to the descendant of the family in front of him with a serious face.
"Thank you for the teachings, Fourth Elder. Qingming understands."
"The path to immortality requires not only talent and diligence, but also the opportunities that are destined for us. I have been cultivating for my entire life, nestled in this small Qinghe County. Although I have managed to survive by being cautious and careful, I have never been able to find a single opportunity, and can only waste my entire life in this Qi Refining Realm.
If you have the chance, you must walk out of here and look at the vast sky outside. Maybe you can find the opportunity that belongs to you."
Song Qingming nodded thoughtfully after listening to it. When he was young, he often heard his eighth uncle say these words of encouragement to them in the family school. Now it seemed that he had heard them more often and did not have the same excitement as when he was young. He now had a deep understanding of how difficult the path of cultivation was.
His aptitude is mediocre, and even the bottleneck of the fourth level of Qi Refining has left him helpless for nearly two years. If opportunities in the world of cultivation were so easy to obtain, there wouldn't be so many cultivators spending their entire lives in the Qi Refining stage.
The entire Song family has produced fifty or sixty cultivators in the past two hundred years. Apart from the founding ancestor who was a foundation-building cultivator, there are not many people who have been able to successfully cultivate to the ninth level of Qi Refining in the past two hundred years.