Chapter 1256: Again Taking Action

The Jinming Mountain Range is located in the northwestern part of the Northern Borders and is named after a large Jinming Stone mineral vein, which is controlled by the Nine Nether Sect.

Jinming Stone is a commonly used Tier-3 material for refining artifacts, essential for crafting flying daggers, flying swords, and other magical artifacts. This Jinming Stone mineral vein has been mined for several centuries and can continue to be exploited for over a hundred more years. To guard it, the Nine Nether Sect dispatched a Nascent Soul cultivator and several Core Formation cultivators.

Jin Yue grew up in the Nine Nether Sect since childhood. He was Shangguan Wei's disciple and trusted confidant, possessing an early Nascent Soul cultivation. He was ordered to be stationed in the Jinming Mountain Range to oversee the mine.

Deep within the Jinming Mountain Range was a vast, interconnected valley. A dozen or so buildings were scattered across the open ground, and not far away were over a dozen mine shafts of varying sizes, with teams of miners entering and exiting.

Inside a three-story golden pavilion, a broad-browed, large-eyed young man in a green robe and a plump, graceful young woman in a red dress were reporting to Jin Yue.

"Be very careful on your journey," Jin Yue instructed. "You must transport the items back to the main headquarters. If it comes down to it, prioritize your own lives. In recent years, our sect's high-ranking cultivators have successively gone missing or been killed; even two Nascent Soul cultivators have disappeared."

Jin Yue's expression was solemn. In recent years, many high-ranking cultivators of the Nine Nether Sect had gone missing or been killed. The Nine Nether Sect was overbearing and ruthless in its actions, offending many factions. The Three Flame Palace, Northern Profound Palace, and Sacred Talisman Palace all had grievances with the Nine Nether Sect. Furthermore, the Great Zhou Dynasty in the Central Plains also had friction with the Nine Nether Sect. However, the Nine Nether Sect also had many allies. Cultivation itself defies the heavens; to grow and strengthen, offending other factions is inevitable.

The Nine Nether Sect was unable to identify the true culprit and did not dare to wage full-scale war with the Three Flame Palace or Northern Profound Palace. While strengthening its defenses, it also dispatched a large number of disciples to thoroughly investigate the matter. Most of the Nine Nether Sect's high-ranking cultivators were ambushed in the wilderness. The perpetrators erased all traces and left no survivors, making it impossible to identify the culprits.

"Yes, Senior Jin," the two quickly agreed in unison, bowed, and withdrew.

Leaving the green pavilion, the young man in green and the young woman in red transformed into two streaks of light and shot away through the air. Half a day later, they left the Jinming Mountain Range.

Just then, a piercing whoosh came from below, as hundreds of thin red lights shot up from the ground.

"Oh no! Enemy attack!"

Their expressions changed. The young man in green quickly conjured a palm-sized green command flag. With a gentle flick, a vast expanse of green flames appeared around them, sweeping in all directions to form a green fire wall several zhang high. The young woman in red conjured a red short ruler, releasing a sheet of red light that enveloped them both.

Boom!

With a loud bang, the green fire wall was shattered by the dense red lights, but the red light shield held.

A short, stout young man in a green robe and an ordinary-looking young woman in a red dress emerged from underground. They were Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, disguised and altered in appearance.

In recent years, they had frequently attacked high-ranking cultivators of the Nine Nether Sect, killing nine Core Formation cultivators and destroying the physical bodies of two Nascent Soul cultivators while seizing their nascent souls. What perplexed them was that none of these individuals had participated in the attack on the Wang family, nor did they have any knowledge of it.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan had always suspected the Nine Nether Sect. However, despite attacking over a dozen high-ranking Nine Nether Sect cultivators, they found no information regarding the Wang family. Could it be that the participants had their memories erased? Logically, this shouldn't be the case; back when the Wang family's three strongholds were attacked, the Wang family was still very weak. Was the Nine Nether Sect truly that cautious, erasing the memories of all involved?

As long as the culprit remained unconfirmed, the cloud hanging over Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan's hearts would not dissipate. The perpetrators had destroyed three of the Wang family's strongholds back then—who knew if they wouldn't strike again? Without knowing the culprits' identities, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were not only unable to seek revenge but also had to be constantly on guard. Their departure from Qinglian Island had to be silent, and when traveling to other places, they needed to remain anonymous. Otherwise, if their whereabouts were revealed and the culprits seized the opportunity to attack the Wang family, what would they do? It's impossible to maintain vigilance against a thief indefinitely.

The frequent disappearances of high-ranking cultivators from the Nine Nether Sect had attracted widespread attention. For safety, Wang Changsheng had Wang Qingling and Wang Qiuming leave the Northern Borders to travel in the Central Plains cultivation world, while he and Wang Ruyan remained in the Northern Borders cultivation world, continuing to pursue the true culprits. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan both understood that constant exposure to danger inevitably leads to consequences. However, judging by the clues left by the perpetrators, the Nine Nether Sect was highly suspicious. They planned to attack another high-ranking Nine Nether Sect cultivator; if that still didn't confirm the Nine Nether Sect as the culprit, they would leave the Northern Borders cultivation world.

The Nine Nether Sect controlled fifteen large metal mineral veins, seven major market cities, and its main headquarters. It was impossible for them to assign two Nascent Soul cultivators to guard a single critical location. They meticulously selected and decided to target the Nine Nether Sect cultivators stationed at the Jinming Mountain Range.

The young woman in red felt the powerful aura emanating from Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, and her beautiful face changed drastically. She quickly took out a light blue talisman and threw it towards Jin Yue's location. Before the talisman could fly far, a large expanse of crimson flames suddenly erupted from the ground, transforming into a giant crimson fire net that instantly enveloped the blue talisman.

Wang Changsheng raised his right hand, and a golden light shot out, revealing a palm-sized golden gourd. He cast a spell into it, and countless runes lit up on the gourd's surface. Its size rapidly expanded, and a loud whistling sound filled the air. A large swath of pale golden sand flew out, transforming into hundreds of golden arrows that surged towards the young man in green and the young woman in red. Wang Ruyan conjured a long red silk ribbon. With a gentle flick, points of fire light appeared, transforming into giant fireballs the size of water vats, which hurtled towards their opponents. To conceal their identities, they did not use their innate divine abilities but relied on the power of their artifacts to fight.

The spiritual light on the bodies of the two Core Formation cultivators intensified greatly. Their green and red lights intertwined, forming a bi-colored green and red light barrier that enveloped them both. A series of thunderous roars erupted as they barely managed to block Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan's attacks.

The void above their heads distorted, and countless fire lights appeared out of nowhere, forming a colossal red fire brick. The red fire brick descended with a whistling sound. This was the spiritual technique, Fiery Cloud Brick, which Wang Ruyan had specifically cultivated for their journey to the Northern Borders.

Feeling the immense power of the giant red brick, the two tried to evade it, but points of blue light suddenly appeared around them, and an irresistible gravitational force surged from all directions, making it difficult for them to move even a single step. The young woman in red quickly conjured two gleaming red flying daggers and hurled them at the giant red brick.

Thud! Thud!

With two dull thuds, the red brick's descent slowed slightly. However, soon after, the red brick's light intensified greatly, and it smashed down fiercely.

Boom!

With a colossal crash, the red brick slammed into the ground, crushing both cultivators into a bloody pulp.

A golden light flew in from a distance. It was Jin Yue.