Chapter 111: Chapter 110: Collective Breakthrough

Time flew by. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed.

On this day, as Song Changsheng was handling the clan’s daily affairs in the main hall, he suddenly sensed a disturbance. He looked up to see Spiritual Qi from all directions converging on a single point, stirring the very clouds in the sky.

His eyebrow twitched, and a look of elation washed over his face. This was the precursor to someone breaking through to the Foundation Establishment Realm! Song Changquan had been in seclusion for nearly two years—it looked like he was finally making his attempt.

This was no time for carelessness. With a few quick steps, Song Changsheng transformed into a streak of light and shot toward the Seclusion Chamber...

The moment Song Changsheng landed, a squad of Law Enforcement Disciples gathered around him and saluted.

He waved his hand and looked to the one in charge, Song Chang’an. "Chang’an, what’s the situation? Is the Spiritual Qi sufficient?"

Song Chang’an nodded. "Everything is normal so far. The Spirit Gathering Array has been activated, and the Spiritual Qi is very abundant."

"Mm, that’s good."

Song Changsheng nodded, but he didn’t feel the slightest bit of relief.

Although Song Changquan was of the same generation, he was already one of the clan’s veteran Tier Two Alchemists. He was fifty-three this year, and his body was long past its peak. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

While his Divine Soul was far superior to that of cultivators at the same stage, his Physical Body and Spiritual Power were below par. Even with the help of a [Foundation Establishment Pill], his outlook was far from optimistic.

’I hope fortune is on his side and he can make it through this,’ Song Changsheng murmured to himself, silently praying for Song Changquan.

BOOM—

A thunderclap exploded across the sky, its dazzling light illuminating the land for miles. Heavy, lead-gray clouds began to converge, with Thunder Serpents roiling within. Each successive peal of thunder was like the roar of an angry god, a truly heart-stopping sound.

A light drizzle began to fall, but it soon transformed into a torrential downpour, shrouding everything in a fine mist.

What seemed like an ordinary downpour made Song Changsheng’s heart lurch. A bad premonition surfaced, and he subconsciously clenched his fists.

WHOOSH—

A Qi Vortex abruptly condensed in the air, frantically devouring the surrounding Spiritual Power. Everyone’s hearts leaped into their throats. ’This is the final step!’

The Qi Vortex continuously expanded, absorbing as much of the surrounding Spiritual Qi as possible. Suddenly, its expansion halted, and it actually began to shrink.

"Father!" a young man on the scene roared, his eyes locked on the diminishing Qi Vortex, looking like a bull seeing red.

Song Changsheng’s eyes went blank, his knuckles turning white from clenching his fists. He knew. Song Changquan had failed...

Just as he expected, in less than a quarter of an hour, the Qi Vortex vanished completely. A frenzied aura burst forth from the Seclusion Chamber.

"Save him!"

Song Changsheng transformed into a streak of light and shot over. An ordinary person would have likely perished on the spot, but he had taken a Foundation Establishment Pill. If they rescued him in time, they might be able to save his life.

"Don’t come any closer."

But unexpectedly, a loud shout came from the Seclusion Chamber. Song Changsheng’s body froze. He suddenly thought of something and looked up again.

The Qi Vortex was actually starting to form again. Everyone was aghast. Song Changquan was gambling with his own life, fighting for that one last chance.

It was an enormous gamble. If you knew you had a ninety-nine point nine percent chance of losing... would you still take the bet?

Song Changquan took the bet. And he wagered everything he had...

Everyone stared blankly as the Qi Vortex struggled to form, only to disappear once more. A wave of grief washed over them.

Song Qingshi’s eyes were vacant. He collapsed onto the ground, letting the rain beat down on his body and soak into his heart. He knew his father was gone...

Song Changsheng slowly closed his eyes, a storm of emotions raging within him. ’That [Foundation Establishment Pill]... it became his Life-Ending Talisman!’

The rain continued to pour relentlessly from the sky, thunder drumming and lightning snaking across the clouds. But from within the Seclusion Chamber, there was only silence.

In the Soul Lamp Hall on the mountainside, a gentle breeze swept through, and a Soul Lamp with a flickering blue flame quietly went out...

Song Changsheng waved his hand, opening the Seclusion Chamber. He carried out Song Changquan’s emaciated corpse. It was shockingly light, like holding a bundle of cotton.

"Father..." Song Qingshi knelt before the body, his hair disheveled and his eyes red from crying.

Song Changsheng seemed to see a shadow of his former self in the young man. More than a decade ago, he too had lost his father.

A sigh escaped him. "My condolences." Of the thousand words in his heart, only those two came out. He knew no words could truly comfort a child who had just lost his father.

The young man wiped his eyes forcefully and looked up at Song Changsheng. "Young Clan Leader, please allow me to take my father’s body back to the Mortal World for burial."

Song Changsheng frowned. "You don’t want to bury him in the ancestral tomb?"

Song Qingshi slowly shook his head. "My father came from the mortal world. Returning to his roots was his only wish in life. I beg the Young Clan Leader to grant his wish."

This request undoubtedly broke the clan’s rules. After all, a Cultivator’s corpse was a powerful vessel. If it fell into the hands of an Evil Cultivator, it could be turned into a walking corpse or refined into an Evil Artifact to plague humanity.

For this reason, all deceased clan members were interred together in a central location, to prevent their remains from being desecrated by Evil Demons and practitioners of the Evil Dao. Song Qingshi’s request put him in a difficult position.

After a long moment, Song Changsheng let out a quiet sigh. He just couldn’t refuse a son who had just lost his father, especially when the request wasn’t excessive.

"I can agree to your request. However, to prevent Evil Demons from disturbing Brother Changquan’s peace, you must cremate his body and take his ashes back to the Mortal World for burial."

The young man didn’t hesitate. He prostrated himself, weeping with gratitude. "Thank you for your grace, Young Clan Leader!"

...

Song Changquan’s funeral was not a grand affair. He departed quietly, but his death cast a shadow over everyone’s hearts.

When Song Luyou heard the news, his emotions were incredibly complex. ’If I had been the one to get that [Foundation Establishment Pill],’ he wondered, ’would the outcome have been different?’

No one could give him an answer to that question. After all, when it came to breaking through to Foundation Establishment, talent was one factor, but luck was another. No one ever knew what their luck would be like on any given day.

In the second month after Song Changquan’s death, the five Elders in seclusion finally showed some movement. The first to break through was Song Xianyun, advancing from the Late-stage Foundation Establishment to Foundation Establishment Great Perfection.

This made him the second most powerful expert in the Song Clan and the third in all of Ling Province.

Next were Xia Yunxue and Song Luhuai, who both broke through to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. Song Luzhou also advanced, reaching the Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

Unfortunately, due to her imperfect Physical Body and damaged Meridians, Song Luyao failed to break through her bottleneck. She remained at the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, the one slight disappointment in a string of successes.

However, Song Luyao didn’t seem to mind much. To her, in her current state, there was no real difference between the Mid-stage and Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

The Song Clan’s overall strength took a leap, completely overwhelming the Earth Fire Sect. Now, they only needed one Purple Mansion Great Cultivator to appear among their ranks to be able to contend with the Lieyang Sect on equal footing.

After consolidating his Cultivation, Song Xianyun reviewed all the clan affairs Song Changsheng had handled over the past year or so. The results left him very satisfied.

"Sheng’Er, you are far more outstanding than I ever imagined. In the future, you will surely be a worthy Clan Leader," Song Xianyun said with a cheerful laugh.

"You give me too much credit. If it weren’t for the assistance of the Clan Elders, I don’t know how much trouble I would have caused," Song Changsheng said with a self-deprecating smile.

"Excessive modesty is just hypocrisy. Your abilities are clear for all to see," Song Xianyun said with a stern face.

"Indeed. Even if it were one of us old-timers, we couldn’t have done a better job."

Song Changsheng shook his head with a wry smile. He really wasn’t being modest. Although he handled a lot of clan affairs every day, they were all just routine trifles, nothing difficult. Anyone else could have done just as well.

"Alright, alright, that’s enough. Any more praise and the boy will get a big head. Let’s get down to business," Song Luzhou said, rapping his knuckles on the table to interrupt the flattery. His face was stern.

Song Xianyun cleared his throat and looked around at everyone. "Everyone, the clan’s strength has greatly increased, and we now completely suppress the Earth Fire Sect. I think it’s time we re-divided the profits from the Liuyun Marketplace. What does everyone think?"

...