As for whether Qingfeng's strength in reality would grow to the point of rivaling a mid-Core Formation cultivator, He Song wasn't entirely sure.
However, according to He Song's true thoughts, this guess was likely not far off.
Even if Qingfeng's strength hadn't rapidly reached the mid-Core Formation stage during subsequent improvements,
It definitely wouldn't be far behind.
Furthermore.
Regarding his other puppet, Mingyue's strength.
Since He Song hadn't paid much attention to Mingyue and hadn't provided any precious materials,
Mingyue's strength was quite inferior compared to Qingfeng's.
However, during the time He Song spent in seclusion, Mingyue's strength also continuously improved, just like Qingfeng's.
But due to He Song not incorporating any precious materials, Mingyue's strength increase couldn't keep up with Qingfeng's.
According to He Song's previous assumptions,
Among his Core Formation puppets, one would definitely need special treatment.
After all, a mid or even late Core Formation puppet would provide more assistance than two early Core Formation ones.
And Qingfeng, as He Song's first Core Formation puppet,
Naturally received this honor.
Under He Song's continuous investment, Qingfeng's strength would improve faster than Mingyue's.
Perhaps by the end, Qingfeng's strength would reach the peak Core Formation stage.
While Mingyue's strength might still be at the mid-Core Formation stage.
In this way, the gap between the two would naturally become quite large.
Glancing over at Qingfeng and Mingyue before him,
He Song decided in his heart that he must begin to rapidly boost Qingfeng's strength afterward.
Otherwise, an early Core Formation puppet wouldn't provide much help to He Song now.
After making this decision, He Song quickly left the meditation chamber.
And after harvesting the mature medicinal herbs in the cave and replanting those that were not yet mature, He Song's figure also departed from his hidden cave.
Outside the cave.
In He Song's residence.
When He Song saw this residence again after many years,
Everything inside seemed unchanged.
The formation that had enveloped the entire residence before He Song entered seclusion was still operational.
Before entering seclusion, He Song had estimated how long this period of seclusion would take.
Therefore, before He Song went into seclusion, he had left enough spirit stones for this formation.
However.
When He Song's divine sense swept over the formation in the residence and checked the remaining spirit stones within the formation,
A trace of bewilderment flashed across He Song's brows in an instant.
Judging from the consumption rate of spirit stones in the formation,
This time, He Song had upgraded his Six Paths Talisman Treasure and fully refined his three medium-grade spiritual artifacts.
The time consumed was actually a full twenty years.
Twenty whole years.
In He Song's perception, it felt like only a moment had passed.
During the process of upgrading his Six Paths Talisman Treasure and refining his three medium-grade spiritual artifacts,
The passage of time had become almost imperceptible to He Song.
But before he entered seclusion, he knew that the time spent on this seclusion would likely be no less than fifteen years, possibly even longer.
However, when He Song finished all this and emerged from seclusion, understanding exactly how much time he had spent,
A flicker of bewilderment appeared in He Song's eyes upon receiving this news.
Without him realizing,
A full twenty years had passed in the outside world.
Twenty years.
That's a third of the lifespan of many ordinary people.
If they had a shorter life span or encountered misfortune, it might be half or even their entire life.
Yet during these twenty years, He Song didn't feel much passage of time.
It was as if he had only experienced a brief moment, yet twenty years had already passed in the outside world.
After finally digesting this news,
He Song slowly exhaled and sighed inwardly.
The reason he occasionally went out for leisurely strolls every few days during previous seclusions was to avoid situations like this.
Back then, in Luofengzhou, He Song once secluded himself for a full twenty years.
Not knowing any external situation for twenty years led to He Song feeling extremely indifferent towards the outside world when he emerged.
Later, He Song realized this situation.
He quickly adjusted his strategy, deciding that during future seclusions, he needed to go out from time to time to explore external news.
Only then could he prevent himself from becoming extremely indifferent after years of seclusion.
This situation is quite common among cultivators, especially high-level ones.
Growth in strength.
The indisputable nature of their words.
The passing away of many familiar people.
After years of seclusion, there are no longer any familiar people or events in the outside world.
In such cases, cultivators will naturally become indifferent to external affairs and people.
Once a cultivator adopts an uncaring attitude towards external people and matters,
It creates a vast chasm between them and other cultivators and mortals.
This is why high-level cultivators generally appear emotionally detached.
The people and things they were familiar with have gradually passed away and dissipated during their long periods of seclusion.
Years later,
Upon opening their eyes again,
They find no familiar faces in the outside world, and various matters are no longer as they remembered.
Showing indifference to external people and matters becomes a perfectly normal situation.
Thus, during his seclusions, He Song chose to leave periodically to explore various news.
He even befriended some weaker cultivators whose strength was vastly different from his own.
These occurrences allowed He Song to experience various novel events each time he emerged from seclusion.
At the same time, numerous weaker cultivators, whose strength was vastly different from his own, would send him messages.
These were He Song's efforts to prevent himself from falling into the same emotional detachment as other high-level cultivators.
Unfortunately,
When He Song secluded himself for another twenty years this time, without venturing out to check external news during this period,
The sense of alienation he had experienced once before erupted immediately upon learning that he had secluded himself for a full twenty years.
This led to He Song flashing a look of bewilderment in his eyes upon realizing that he had secluded himself for twenty years.
Fortunately, He Song had experienced this situation once before.
Thus, he quickly adjusted his mindset and calmed down swiftly.
The occurrence of this situation was mainly because He Song had secluded himself for too long in one stretch.
The solution was relatively simple.
It involved rapidly reconnecting with the outside world.
Once external information continuously flowed into his mind, over time, this situation would significantly alleviate until it eventually disappeared.
Having experienced this before, He Song naturally understood this point.
Thus, after managing his emotions, He Song immediately lifted the formation covering the residence.
With a flash of his figure, he quickly headed towards the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
Not long after.
Inside the Treasure Gathering Pavilion.
He Song and True Lord Luo Jing sat facing each other, strands of tea fragrance wafting in the room.
Smelling the tea fragrance reaching his nose, although He Song wanted to quickly inquire about everything from True Lord Luo Jing,
Years of cultivation allowed him to control his emotions well, preventing him from hastily expressing his thoughts.
Since True Lord Luo Jing didn't speak, he naturally wouldn't either.
Thus, after they drank several cups consecutively,
In the end, it was True Lord Luo Jing who gave in.
After drinking another cup of tea, True Lord Luo Jing cast a reproachful glance at He Song.
Then she spoke.
"Fellow Daoist has been in seclusion for many years, it seems you've polished your temperament well."
"But I wonder,"
"What brings Fellow Daoist here today?"
True Lord Luo Jing found it quite pleasing that He Song came to see her immediately after emerging from seclusion.
Thus, without saying much, she simply asked what brought He Song here.
In response to True Lord Luo Jing's inquiry,
He Song didn't conceal anything.
Casually speaking, he mentioned that he had secluded himself for twenty years and had no knowledge of external affairs.
Thus, his visit was to inquire about various major events that occurred in the outside world over the past twenty years from True Lord Luo Jing.
For example,
Had any great opportunities appeared around the One Yang Sect?
Had the war between the righteous and demonic paths begun during this period?
What was True Lord Luo Jing's progress in cultivation during the twenty years He Song was in seclusion?
These were all things He Song wanted to know.
Upon hearing He Song's response,
A look of realization and a hint of joy flashed in True Lord Luo Jing's eyes.
In True Lord Luo Jing's view,
Everyone knew that the Treasure Gathering Pavilion had excellent control over information.
In this situation, He Song coming to seek her immediately after emerging from seclusion was indeed an excellent channel to obtain various pieces of news from the past twenty years.
However, seeing that He Song also wanted to know about her progress in cultivation over the past twenty years, True Lord Luo Jing didn't harbor any ill feelings toward He Song's actions.
On the contrary, when she heard that He Song wanted to know about her cultivation progress over the past twenty years,
True Lord Luo Jing felt a bit pleased at He Song's words.
It seemed that He Song still held a place for her in his heart.
Otherwise, He Song wouldn't have inquired about these things immediately after emerging from seclusion.
With such thoughts, True Lord Luo Jing didn't conceal anything. She began recounting to He Song starting from when he first entered seclusion.
According to True Lord Luo Jing,
During the twenty years of He Song's seclusion, everything around the One Yang Sect remained quite peaceful.
Initially,
He Song bid farewell to True Lord Luo Jing, mentioning he was about to enter seclusion.
True Lord Luo Jing, at that time, promised to ensure He Song's safety during his seclusion.
Subsequently, He Song entered seclusion and stayed in his hidden cave for a full twenty years.
During these twenty years, the righteous-demonic war did not suddenly break out as He Song and True Lord Luo Jing had anticipated.
Whether it was the northern demonic sects
Or the righteous sects like the One Yang Sect,
In the first few years of He Song's seclusion, there was essentially no action.
It wasn't until later, after He Song had been in seclusion for several years, that both sides gradually began to have some friction in the territory of the Wind and Snow Palace.
According to True Lord Luo Jing,
The Twin Evil Sect, located directly north of the Wind and Snow Palace, occasionally sent some demonic cultivators to raid and plunder the immortal cities and markets bordering the Wind and Snow Palace.
However, when the Wind and Snow Palace contacted the Twin Evil Sect through some familiar wandering Foundation Establishment cultivators, demanding an explanation,
The Twin Evil Sect responded harshly. Not only did they kill the wandering Foundation Establishment cultivator, but they also issued a statement.
Claiming that the Twin Evil Sect disdainfully performed such despicable acts.
They told the Wind and Snow Palace to open their eyes wider. If someone else did it, go find them; don't come bothering within the Twin Evil Sect's territory.
Otherwise, since the Wind and Snow Palace claimed that Twin Evil Sect disciples were raiding and plundering their immortal cities and markets,
Then the Twin Evil Sect would truly show the Wind and Snow Palace what it feels like to be raided and plundered.
Demonic cultivators,
By nature, were unruly.
If they were really falsely accused and confronted for explanations,
Such reactions were quite normal.
Upon receiving this news,
Although the Wind and Snow Palace was undoubtedly enraged, ultimately, they took no further action.
However, Elder Huanxue ordered a thorough investigation into the matter.
Unexpectedly,
Just as Elder Huanxue ordered the thorough investigation,
More Twin Evil Sect disciples came to raid the borders of the Wind and Snow Palace.
Moreover, this time, a Core Formation cultivator from the Wind and Snow Palace happened to be investigating the matter there.
Thus, the Twin Evil Sect disciple was quickly subdued by the Core Formation elder.
After interrogation,
Subsequently,
The Wind and Snow Palace no longer sought explanations from the Twin Evil Sect whenever their disciples came to raid.
Instead, they sent people to conduct raids within the Twin Evil Sect's territory in the same manner.
Hearing this, He Song exclaimed that he had broadened his horizons.
Righteous cultivators raiding within demonic territories,
This was something He Song had never seen since he began cultivating.
The last time he witnessed something so rebellious,
Was when the righteous alliance led by the Thick Earth Sect directly ambushed the demonic alliance.
Thus, it became a clash of needle against wheat awn. The Wind and Snow Palace and the Twin Evil Sect immediately started fighting each other.
However,
Since this was a matter between the Twin Evil Sect and the Wind and Snow Palace,
The other two demonic sects did not participate.
End of Chapter