Mysterious mirror hanging high

The cultivators in the hall looked at each other in confusion for a moment, and then Sun Baiyuan coughed lightly and said slowly:

"It's true that the time it takes for a cultivator to achieve Dan can be long or short, but it takes quite a while to regulate the spiritual energy within the body and resonate with the spiritual energy around it. If one is restless, one needs to burn incense, bathe, and concentrate one's mind..."

"Not to mention that forming an elixir with an immortal foundation is a very risky matter. It requires a slow and steady approach. If you want to be sure, you can't even think of forming an elixir in a month or two!"

Jing Yu shook his head. "Why would we need to go to all this trouble... Well, let's take advantage of the fact that the Zhang and Wang families' spies haven't heard about the Master's death yet..."

Before Jing Yu finished speaking, his ears suddenly moved slightly, and bursts of noisy sounds came from outside the hall. The next moment, more than ten foundation-building monks rushed into the meeting hall, followed by a large number of Qi-cultivating monks.

All the Song cultivators, whether from the direct or branch branches of the Song family, wore specially made robes. However, the group of cultivators who had intruded into the hall were dressed in a variety of clothing. They were obviously cultivators from outside the Song family. Some were from the Song family's wives' families who had married into the family, some were guest officials from outside the family, and there were even cultivators from small foundation-building clans who were affiliated with the Song family...

The leading cultivator was a middle-aged cultivator with a mustache named Tian Qi, the brother of one of Sun Baiyuan's concubines. When he led this group of cultivators from other families into the hall, the nerves of all the cultivators from the direct and branch lines in the hall immediately became tense.

"Congratulations, Master! Congratulations, Master! Now the Song family is in our hands!" Tian Qi strode in, laughing loudly, and bowed deeply to Sun Baiyuan first.

Sun Baiyuan's expression suddenly turned gloomy. He turned around and glared at the monks in the hall: "Who leaked the news?"

Jing Yu was also a little surprised. After all, Sun Baiyuan was also a Jindan cultivator. If someone in the hall secretly released a communication talisman, how could it escape his eyes and ears? He even had some doubts now, could it be that Sun Baiyuan deliberately released the news?

"Master, now that Song Jianxu is dead, you are the only Jindan Master left in the clan. What are you waiting for? Capture Song Jinghong first and execute him on the spot. The Song family will change its name today!" Tian Qi said earnestly, and in front of everyone, he directly and openly persuaded Sun Baiyuan to take his place!

"Tian Qi! You are such a heartless person. The Song family treats you well on normal days, yet you dare to bite your master!" A cultivator of the Song family with white hair and beard pointed at Tian Qi and shouted angrily.

"I bother!"

Tian Qi spat and sneered, "You old man are so shameless! When did you, the Song family, take us cultivators from other families seriously?"

"You treat me well? A cultivator in the early stage of foundation building from the direct line of the Song family doesn't have to do anything all year round. He just lies at home and practices, and he has already earned 300 spirit stones."

"With the same cultivation level as the initial stage of foundation building, a cultivator from another family works tirelessly all year round, and still only gets an annual salary of eighty spirit stones!"

"Damn it! I'm a steward in the market town and I get an annual salary of 100 spirit stones. How dare you, the Song family, give me such a small fortune!"

"Stop talking nonsense!" The old cultivator of the direct lineage blushed as he argued, "Xingluo Island is, after all, a Jindan Daochang. The spiritual energy there is far richer than that of ordinary sea markets. With such a superior cultivation environment, isn't it normal for the annual salary to be lower?"

"Fuck your motherfucker!"

Tian Qi pointed at the nose of the old cultivator from the direct lineage and cursed, "Speaking of this makes me angry. The real Golden Elixir Dojo is just Guachou Mountain. How can we cultivators from other families get the chance to practice here? On the other hand, the direct lineage cultivators, whether they are building their foundation or cultivating their Qi, or even ordinary people, can live in the mountains..."

"I'm completely baffled. Isn't the distinction between immortals and mortals the most important thing in the world of immortal cultivation? How come after the Song family came into being, the mortals of the direct lineage can even ride on the heads of us Foundation Establishment cultivators from other families and do whatever we want?"

"Master! Why don't you take action?" Tian Qi said, "Master, you haven't suffered enough injustice over the years!"

"As a dignified Golden Core Master, you are a distinguished person who should be treated as a distinguished guest. Yet, you keep complaining to these useless people from your direct lineage all day long. I see it all and am furious! I wish I could kill all these useless people one day!"

"Back then, Song Jianxu originally wanted you to go to the Dinggu Secret Realm to seek an opportunity to prosper the Song family, but Song Wangshan got there first and ended up dying there. The direct lineage hates you to the core because of this incident!"

Tian Qi continued to fan the flames, saying, "Song Jianxu, that old fellow, has always been wary of you. Anyone with a discerning eye can see that..."

Sun Baiyuan lowered his head slightly, making it impossible to see his expression. He only spoke softly from the shadows:

"Tian Qi, how did you know about the death of the real person?"

Tian Qi's heart skipped a beat, and just as he was about to speak, he heard a voice say:

"I told him."

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and were all shocked. The person who had just spoken was actually the most outstanding cultivator of the Song family branch, Song Yuze!

"Yu Ze, what are you talking about?" An old cultivator of a very senior generation in the branch stomped his feet, looking quite sad and angry.

Song Jinghong was also a little bit unbelievable. Song Yu had always been known in the clan as a straightforward, old-fashioned man who was inflexible, devoted to spiritual practice but loyal to the family. He didn't expect that he was hiding so deeply.

Song Yuze simply bowed and said, "Master White Ape, I took the initiative, please forgive me."

"Song Yuze, it's understandable that Tian Qi, a cultivator from another family, would rebel, but your surname is Song!"

The elder of the direct lineage was so angry that he almost fainted. He rubbed his swollen temples and said in despair, "How can I be an accomplice to the evil and help outsiders occupy the magpie's nest?"

Jing Yu rolled his eyes inwardly when he heard this. Sun Baiyuan's attitude was still unclear, and whether he would replace him was still a matter of debate. However, this elder of the direct lineage was so old that he was confused. He just came up and spoke without thinking, spewing out such hurtful words as "being an accomplice to the tiger" and "occupying the magpie's nest". Was he afraid that the other party would not rebel?

"Song? Do the Song family really think my surname is Song?"

Song Yu sneered and said, "In my opinion, the Song family is the only branch cultivator stuck in the middle, neither up nor down, which is the most embarrassing!"

"Normally, the majority of the clan's resources are taken by the direct lineage cultivators. The branch lineage cultivators only get a small portion, and their treatment is not necessarily much better than that of the non-branch cultivators. Yet, they are also cursed by the non-branch cultivators in their hearts. They are really in a difficult situation."

"Elder, I'd like to ask you, since we all share the surname Song, why are there distinctions between direct and branch lines? Why is there such a huge disparity in treatment within the clan?"

"Just because our branch cultivators' bloodline is distant from our ancestor, does that mean we deserve to be shorter than others for the rest of our lives?"