Chapter 1075: Battle Comes to an End

More than a year passed quickly, as spring turned to autumn.

Azure Dragon Island, in the Five Dragon Sea Region.

Inside a secret room, Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a futon. A pale blue flame floated before him, surrounded by various artifact refining materials.

Wang Changsheng intently watched the blue flame, his expression grave. He continuously formed hand seals, casting incantations onto the flame.

After a moment, with a final hand seal, the blue flame transformed into a palm-sized blue firebird that flew into his mouth and vanished.

This blue firebird was the new spiritual flame he had acquired by refining an ice-attribute spirit fire, which he named Profound Nether Ice Flame.

The Profound Nether Ice Flame was significantly more powerful than the Profound Nether Black Lotus Fire, offering substantial advantages in artifact refining.

Suspended in mid-air was a pale golden guqin, its body intricately carved with golden lotus flowers, exuding a powerful spiritual aura.

This was the Golden Lotus Guqin, Wang Ruyan's natal artifact, which had officially advanced to a second-tier artifact. Its strings were spun from the silk of a fourth-tier mid-grade Golden Silkworm King.

With the Golden Lotus Guqin now a second-tier artifact, Wang Ruyan's strength would be significantly enhanced.

Wang Changsheng could now refine second-tier artifacts. Honestly, if not for his many responsibilities, he would have been capable of crafting them much sooner.

Fairy Ziyue, dedicated solely to cultivation with no other obligations, naturally saw rapid improvement in her artifact refining skills. In contrast, Wang Changsheng, burdened by participating in battles and protecting his clansmen, experienced slower progress in his refining abilities.

He flicked his sleeve, and a green cauldron, the Azure Lotus Cauldron, shot out to land before him.

Wang Changsheng lifted the lid, revealing over a dozen pieces of snow-white spirit wood inside, translucent and as exquisite as fine jade.

These spirit woods were all five-hundred-year-old Snow Woods, acquired from the Ice Ape clan.

Wang Changsheng intended to refine a set of ice-attribute flying dagger artifacts for Wang Qingjing. Her individual strength wasn't formidable, and during the recent great war, she had been assigned to artifact refining in the rear due to her skills. However, nothing is absolute, and no one can guarantee what the future holds.

Wang Qingjing, Wang Qingling, and Wang Qiuming possessed limited individual combat strength. Wang Qingling primarily relied on her spirit beasts, while Wang Qingjing and Wang Qiuming would be fortunate to merely defend themselves against other Core Formation cultivators. This was partly due to their cultivation techniques, which lacked powerful divine abilities, and partly because the dazzling talents of Wang Qingling and Wang Qingshan made them appear relatively ordinary in comparison.

Wang Ruyan had switched cultivation techniques shortly after forming her core, incurring minimal impact. However, with Wang Qingjing and Wang Qiuming already at the fourth or fifth layer of their cultivation, changing techniques was no longer an option unless they reached the Nascent Soul stage. Even with several Nascent Soul-forming spiritual items on hand, Wang Changsheng couldn't guarantee their successful advancement to the Nascent Soul realm.

Core formation could still be achieved by accumulating resources, but Nascent Soul formation was far more challenging. While it might be possible to force an advancement with an immense quantity of Nascent Soul-forming spiritual items, Wang Changsheng knew he lacked such means, and even the Ten Great Sects of the South Sea didn't possess such vast resources.

To enhance their combat prowess, Wang Changsheng planned to refine complete sets of artifacts for them. He had considerable experience, having crafted multiple sets for Wang Qingshan in the past.

The Wang family had few Core Formation cultivators, each one a precious asset. With the substantial treasure left by the Zhenhai Sect, Wang Changsheng had no shortage of artifact refining materials. This allowed him to unreservedly craft artifacts for his clansmen, thereby boosting their strength.

As he retrieved the Snow Wood, he suddenly sensed something. He pulled out a palm-sized blue conch, infused it with an incantation, and Wang Ruyan’s joyful voice immediately rang out: "Husband, the great war is over! It's time to divide the territories. Fellow Daoist Dai has sent someone to invite us to Golden Dragon Island to discuss the allocation of land."

Wang Changsheng's eyes lit up. After so much effort, their persistence had finally yielded results.

He put away the Azure Lotus Cauldron and his other refining materials, then stepped outside.

Outside, Wang Ruyan sat in a stone pavilion, her face alight with a joyful smile.

"Husband," Wang Ruyan said, "this was sent by Fellow Daoist Dai. It details the war's progress, casualties, and losses incurred by various factions. It was a wise decision for us to cede some of our contribution."

Wang Ruyan produced a green jade slip and handed it to Wang Changsheng.

As Wang Changsheng's spiritual sense permeated the slip, his expression grew solemn.

Following the conclusion of the war in the Eastern Barrens, the six great immortal sects of that region dispatched cultivators to aid the South Sea. The Great Qin Dynasty from the Central Plains cultivation world also sent reinforcements, significantly bolstering human strength. A major counterattack was launched, not only reclaiming five fallen sea regions but also conquering the Myriad Demon Sea Region, expelling the demon race's forces entirely.

The non-human races sought peace, and both sides agreed to determine territorial boundaries through life-and-death duels between Nascent Soul cultivators.

The Myriad Sword Immortal Couple and Gongsun Yang earned widespread fame in the South Sea during this conflict. Naturally, the Twin Saints of Sun and Moon achieved even greater renown, having slain over a dozen Nascent Soul-stage non-human cultivators, marking the most significant combat achievements.

This great war spanned over six years. Statistics indicated that forty-one human Nascent Soul cultivators perished, more than four hundred Core Formation cultivators were killed or injured, and hundreds of thousands below Core Formation suffered casualties. The mortal death toll exceeded ten million.

The non-human races also suffered significant losses: fifty-seven Nascent Soul cultivators perished, over three hundred Core Formation cultivators, with other casualties unspecified. The Demon and Barbarian races bore the brunt of these losses, while the Sea race suffered less due to many of their members returning to reinforce their lines after Wang Changsheng and his group launched deep behind-enemy-lines raids.

Though the jade slip merely presented numbers, in reality, each figure represented a living being. This war had annihilated countless forces, wiping them from existence, yet it also saw the rise of others, like the Wang family. The Ten Great Sects of the South Sea, however, remained intact.

Among the non-human races, the Flood Dragon clan remained the strongest among the demons, and the Golden Scale clan the most powerful among the sea races. The Barbarian race, though weakened, still persisted.

Beyond the South Sea's war reports, the jade slip also detailed the conflict in the Eastern Barrens. The demon race feigned a rout, luring the Seven Great Immortal Sects into pursuit. Exploiting this opening, a large force of elite demon cultivators launched a surprise attack on Myriad Flower Palace. Several Nascent Soul cultivators died instantly, leaving Myriad Flower Palace severely weakened, and its Palace Master succumbed to grievous injuries. Consequently, Tang Yunshang and Lin Siruo separated, reducing the Seven Great Immortal Sects of the Eastern Barrens to six, and the Tang family rose to become the foremost cultivation family in the Eastern Barrens.

Perhaps to appease human cultivators' anger or to avoid fighting on two fronts, the demon race ceded some territory to the six great immortal sects.

With the war concluded, it was time to divide the spoils. Five sea regions previously lost to the enemy were reclaimed by humanity. However, the cultivation forces within these regions had suffered immense losses, and weaker factions naturally couldn't retain their former territories. The law of the jungle was particularly evident during this reshuffling.

This marked a new round of redistribution. How the territories would be reallocated and divided would naturally be decided by the Ten Great Sects. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were merely attending as a formality, as the Ten Great Sects had likely already made their decisions.

When the cultivation world flourished, minor factions struggled; when it declined, they struggled even more. The Wang family had no desire to become cannon fodder and therefore needed to strive for rapid development and expansion. In the cultivation world, strength commanded respect, a principle that held true everywhere.

"I hope we get a good territory," Wang Changsheng murmured. "Let's go! We should head to Golden Dragon Island."

Leaving their residence, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan made directly for Azure Dragon Hall, where the teleportation array was located.

A broad expanse of white light flared, and then they vanished.