Chapter 1168: Qingshan Leaves the Pass

Qinglian Island, South Sea.

Wang Qingling stood atop a steep, towering peak, a team of Wang family cultivators standing nearby. Dozens of high peaks surrounded the main one, and Wang Qingling could clearly see over a dozen valleys of varying sizes below. Some of these valleys were entirely crimson, others were shrouded in gray mist, some were abundant with exotic flowers and rare herbs, and still others were covered in snow. Each valley housed a second-tier python spirit beast, protected by multiple layers of restrictions.

"Feed them," Wang Qingling commanded in a low voice. Upon her low command, over a dozen Wang family cultivators activated their spirit beast beads. With a flick of their fingers, vibrant multi-colored light emerged, and hundreds of corpulent mountain-pushing beasts appeared in the various valleys.

The Wang family allocated a portion of their spiritual fields to cultivate low-tier spirit grain, which was used to feed the mountain-pushing beasts. These beasts, in turn, served as food for the spirit beasts. The mountain-pushing beasts scurried aimlessly through the valleys, their aggression low, their bellies almost dragging on the ground.

Wang Qingling flipped her hand, revealing a pale green horn. A lifelike miniature flood dragon was carved into its surface. A dragon's roar, echoing through the clouds, resounded.

Roar! Roar!

Over a dozen enormous pythons emerged in the valleys. Some burrowed from underground, others surged from water pools, and still others burst from caves. All shared a common goal: to pounce on the mountain-pushing beasts. The mountain-pushing beasts were no match for these giant pythons. They were swiftly devoured, one after another. Once sated, the pythons either burrowed back underground, crawled into their lairs, rested on the trunks of colossal trees, or retreated into the water pools.

"Have them breed more mountain-pushing beasts and clam demons to feed these pythons," Wang Qingling instructed. During their expedition to the Five Dragons Secret Realm, the Wang family acquired a secret method for cultivating flood dragons. Wang Qingling hoped to raise a batch of them for the family.

It was generally difficult for ordinary snake-type spirit beasts to transform into flood dragons. The Wang family had raised many python-type spirit beasts, and these dozen or so giant pythons were particularly outstanding. Most of them possessed a trace of flood dragon bloodline, making their advancement into flood dragons relatively easier. Besides feeding them with blood meals, they also needed to be regularly given elixirs. When attempting to break through to the third tier, they would require third-tier elixirs to increase the chances of a python-type demon beast advancing into a flood dragon. There were various third-tier elixirs that assisted in the transformation of python spirit beasts into flood dragons, with the Blood Flood Dragon Elixir being one of them, refined primarily from a seven-hundred-year-old Blood Flood Dragon Fruit.

The Wang family did not possess a Blood Flood Dragon Fruit tree, so they had to focus on cultivating python spirit beasts for now, hoping to find an opportunity in the future to assist these python-type spirit beasts in advancing to flood dragons. The cost of cultivating a single third-tier flood dragon could theoretically fund the cultivation of two Core Formation cultivators. However, this was just a theory; it didn't guarantee that sufficient resource investment would definitely result in a third-tier flood dragon.

The Wang family specifically constructed a "Ten Thousand Snake Cave" to house a large number of snake-type spirit beasts, with the most promising ones being selected and raised as pythons for focused cultivation. Whether a third-tier flood dragon could be successfully cultivated would ultimately depend on luck. Even if only one third-tier flood dragon could be cultivated, Wang Qingling believed it would be worthwhile. The thought of every Core Formation cultivator in the Wang family having a third-tier flood dragon as a mount filled her with excitement.

"It's been five years, and Eighth Sister and the others still haven't returned. I hope they're safe," Wang Qingling murmured.

Suddenly, a deafening rumble echoed from high above. Three massive dark clouds materialized in the sky, accompanied by continuous rumbling, flashes of lightning, and peals of thunder. "More clan members are attempting to break through to the Core Formation stage," Wang Qingling muttered, her eyes shining with joy. "I wonder how many new Core Formation cultivators we will gain."

In a certain secret chamber, Wang Qingshan sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his eyes slightly closed. Numerous ethereal blue flying swords hovered around him; upon closer inspection, they were mere illusions, not solid forms. A moment later, Wang Qingshan opened his eyes, and all the blue flying swords vanished. He had been in seclusion for over a decade, but his cultivation remained at the eighth layer of Core Formation. He had encountered a bottleneck.

It was common knowledge in the cultivation world that cultivation methods of Profound and Yellow grades had many bottlenecks. After reaching Core Formation, Wang Qingshan's cultivation had progressed smoothly without any obstacles. He hadn't expected to face a bottleneck now, after reaching the eighth layer of Core Formation. When cultivators encountered a bottleneck, they typically traveled to temper their dao heart, exchange insights with other cultivators, or hunt demon beasts, hoping to break through the bottleneck amidst life-and-death situations.

"Forget it, I'll go travel for a while," Wang Qingshan said to himself as he walked out. He planned to visit the Central Plains Cultivation World. Firstly, the family had business interests there, and secondly, Zhou Yunxiao was also in the Central Plains Cultivation World.

As soon as he stepped out of his residence, he heard a tremendous peal of thunder. "Someone in the clan is attempting to reach the Core Formation stage," Wang Qingshan said, his face beaming with joy as he looked at the dark clouds high above. A sudden flash of blue light appeared beneath his feet, followed by a dazzling blue sword light. With a whoosh, Wang Qingshan soared through the air on his sword light, arriving at the discussion hall shortly after.

Wang Mengfen, Wang Tianwen, and Wang Qingling were chatting when they saw Wang Qingshan, and all three were delighted. "Grandson greets Seventh Grand-Uncle," Wang Tianwen bowed respectfully. He had grown accustomed to the customs of the Central Plains Cultivation World, and nothing could change that.

"Seventh Brother, you're finally out of seclusion! I thought you'd be in there for decades this time!"

Wang Qingshan shook his head. "I've hit a bottleneck in my cultivation, so I plan to travel to the Central Plains Cultivation World. I just came to inform the Patriarch."

"Fourth-Generation Ancestor, your emergence from seclusion couldn't be more timely," Wang Mengfen said with a smile. "The Murong Royal Family of the Great Yan Dynasty has purchased goods worth over two million spirit stones from us, and I was wondering who to send for the escort. Since you're heading to the Central Plains Cultivation World, you could deliver the goods to the Great Yan Dynasty along the way. Tianwen will accompany you, as will Qiuming."

Previously, Wang Ruyan had helped escort the Murong Royal Family to safety, and they had seized this opportunity to cooperate with the Wang family, purchasing cultivation resources worth over two million spirit stones in one go. These resources primarily consisted of demon beast materials such as beast hides, clam pearls, and demon cores. The Murong Royal Family held considerable power in the Great Yan Dynasty, where the Qinglian Commercial Firm was also located. Wang Mengfen hoped to use this opportunity to build strong ties with the Murong Royal Family and facilitate mutual exchange of resources.

While a large-scale teleportation array could save them significant time, they would still need to fly for an extended period, passing through a vast region where unforeseen incidents could occur. Wang Mengfen had originally intended for Wang Qingling to lead the escort. Now that Wang Qingshan had emerged from seclusion and planned to travel to the Central Plains Cultivation World, he could conveniently escort the goods.

Wang Qingshan nodded. "No problem, I'll handle it. Are Eighth Sister and the others still in seclusion?"

Wang Qingling sighed and briefly explained the situation.

"Uncle Mingren is trapped in the Purple Fire Abyss? In that case, Qingling can escort the goods to the Central Plains Cultivation World, and I'll go to the Northern Border."

"No need," Wang Mengfen replied. "Grand-Aunt and the others are enough. Fourth-Generation Ancestor, you don't need to go. It's not as if more people will guarantee Sixth-Generation Ancestor's rescue."

Wang Qingling nodded. "That's right, Seventh Brother. Eighth Sister and the others are sufficient. I hope they return safely. Please escort the goods to the Central Plains Cultivation World. I'll stay here on Qinglian Island."

"Alright then! I'll lead the trip." Wang Qingshan agreed, as it was conveniently on his way.

Wang Mengfen took out a communication disc, activated a spell, and his face lit up with joy. "Aunt Tianmi has advanced to the Core Formation stage! The other two failed."

"Excellent! We have another Core Formation cultivator."

Wang Tianmi had been studying formation spells under Ye Haitang. With her advancement to the Core Formation stage, the Wang family would now have an additional third-tier formation master.

The next day, Wang Qingshan and Wang Tianwen, accompanied by a team of Wang family cultivators, departed Qinglian Island, escorting the goods to the Central Plains Cultivation World. Apart from Wang Tianwen, none of them had ever been to the Central Plains Cultivation World, and they were filled with curiosity about it.