Chapter 1348: Significant Increase in Strength

Qinglian Island, Five Dragons Sea.

Over a dozen streaks of light appeared on the distant horizon, swiftly approaching Qinglian Island. Soon after, the streaks of light came to a halt, revealing themselves to be a dozen gleaming lotus artifacts. These lotus artifacts were the symbol of the Wang family, with each member possessing one.

Wang Yingjie looked at the dense blue mist ahead and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Finally, I'm back," he murmured. "Time really flies."

Wang Yingjie muttered to himself. He had already cultivated to the eighth level of Foundation Establishment, but he was stuck at a bottleneck. His five-spirit-root cultivation speed was not fast; for each level he advanced, he had to put in three or even four times the effort of other Foundation Establishment cultivators. Yet, he wasn't disheartened. Most of his clansmen who had entered the Foundation Establishment stage at the same time as him had already reached the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. A few even achieved Core Formation, while he remained at the eighth level. His main purpose for returning this time was to hand over his current responsibilities and embark on a journey of cultivation.

He took out a greenish-blue square token and lightly waved it towards the blue mist ahead. A beam of green light shot out and disappeared into the blue mist. The blue mist churned violently. A blue cloud ladder, over a hundred zhang long, flew out and landed before them. They stepped onto the blue cloud ladder, which then gently rolled up, enveloping them and vanishing into the blue mist.

Wang Yingjie and the others felt a blur before their eyes and suddenly found themselves on a lush, verdant island.

In the northeast corner of the island, vast spirit fields were segmented into plots, where large quantities of spiritual herbs grew. Dozens of Wang family cultivators stood in the fields, each holding a blue banner about a zhang in length. A massive white cloud floated above the spirit fields, showering down large raindrops. Small serpent puppet beasts slithered through the spirit fields, devouring any pests they encountered.

On a desolate peak over a thousand zhang high, dozens of cultivators stood among piles of rocks, controlling puppet beasts to construct buildings. Turtle puppet beasts carried large square-cut green stones up the mountain, while ape puppet beasts lifted and stacked them. Wang family cultivators inscribed formation patterns on the walls. It was a scene of great activity.

Inside a courtyard spanning over a hundred mu, dozens of Wang family cultivators stood beside refining furnaces. Piles of colorful ores were stacked like mountains. Ape puppet beasts picked up the ores and, under the control of the cultivators, dropped them into the furnaces for refinement.

In an open area covered with gray rubble, dozens of Wang family cultivators were attacking three gigantic spider puppet beasts. These spider puppet beasts were impervious to weapons and immune to fire and water.

A giant blue lotus, a thousand mu in size, reflected a metallic luster under the sunlight; it was clearly an artifact, not a real lotus. The giant lotus had 108 lotus seeds: one golden seed at its center, surrounded by 107 blue ones. Each seed was five to six mu in size. Hundreds of cultivators were gathered on the golden lotus seed, listening to a high-level cultivator deliver a sermon.

A group of young Wang family children rode small horse puppet beasts, chasing each other across the plains. Some children rode on spider puppet beasts, which were very fast.

"I haven't been back for so many years," he exclaimed, "the family has changed so much!" Wang Yingjie said, somewhat surprised, that the last time he returned, the family did not have so many puppet beasts. This time, puppet beasts were visible everywhere. Wang family cultivators used them for various tasks, greatly saving manpower.

*Boom!*

A deafening clap of thunder echoed. Above a massive valley, dark clouds gathered, and streaks of lightning twisted wildly, as if the end of the world had come. Another deafening dragon roar sounded. A golden flood dragon, over twenty zhang long, flew from a distance, with Wang Qiuming sitting cross-legged on its back, his expression indifferent.

The golden flood dragon flew past Wang Yingjie and the others, and Wang Qiuming said nothing. Upon seeing Wang Qiuming, Wang Yingjie and the others quickly saluted.

"Ancestor Qiuming actually has a third-tier flood dragon as his spirit beast!" Wang Yingjie said with an envious tone. "Including Ancestor Qingling, that makes two people with third-tier flood dragons."

Just then, another deafening dragon roar sounded. A blue flood dragon, over thirty zhang long, flew from a distance, with Wang Qingqing sitting on its back.

"A third third-tier flood dragon!" Wang Yingjie was dumbfounded, his mouth wide open. He suspected he had come to the wrong place, wondering when the family had acquired two more third-tier flood dragons.

"Uncle Yingjie, look, a fourth third-tier flood dragon," a clansman pointed out from a distance. Following his clansman's gaze, Wang Yingjie saw a yellow flood dragon, over thirty zhang long, flying across the sky. An expression of disbelief appeared on his face, and he rubbed his eyes, seemingly unable to believe what he was seeing. They exchanged glances, their faces full of shock. These people had been cultivating at the Zhenhai Sect ruins—some had even grown up there—and had no idea about the Wang family's current situation.

"Uncle Yingjie, our family has so many third-tier flood dragons!" a clan member exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell us clearly? We thought the family was still weak!"

It took a while for Wang Yingjie to calm his excited feelings. It seemed the family had developed well over the years, undergoing earth-shattering changes.

In the main hall, Wang Mengfen sat in the main seat, listening to the elders report on the situation. Everyone's face was filled with joy. After sixty years of conflict, the Wang family had secured peace. No short-sighted forces dared to provoke them.

"Family, our family currently has 7,347 cultivators," an elder reported. "This includes three Nascent Soul cultivators, thirty-two Core Formation cultivators, and 1,215 Foundation Establishment cultivators, of whom 175 have reached the ninth level of Foundation Establishment. We also have five third-tier flood dragons."

In sixty years, the Wang family's mid-level fighting strength had more than doubled. This figure referred only to Wang family cultivators in the Five Dragons Sea, not counting those at the Zhenhai Sect ruins or other locations. The Wang family was now strong and prosperous. The family's treasury held vast quantities of cultivation resources, and there were more puppet beasts than they could use, as the Artifact Forging Institute worked day and night, constantly refining new ones.

"This year's profit is 6,353,751 spirit stones, a 30% increase from the last report," an elder continued. "Expenditure is 4,474,300 spirit stones, a 20% increase from the last report."

The Wang family compiled statistics every ten years; a single year was not enough for the caravans to complete a round trip. With the increase in Core Formation cultivators, the Wang family's caravans were escorting more and more goods, leading to increasing profits and income.

"Oh, by the way, Patriarch," another elder chimed in, "the Xue family on Qingya Island has gained another Core Formation cultivator. They've invited us to attend their Core Formation celebration. Who do you think would be best to send?"

Xue Qingzhong had firmly latched onto the Wang family's coattails. To present a respectable gift for Wang Qingshan's Nascent Soul formation, the Xue family had almost sold everything they owned, and their reward had been immense. The Wang family had strongly supported the Xue family, and the number of Core Formation cultivators in the Xue family had steadily increased, now numbering three. When Wang family cultivators went to congratulate the Xue family, the Xue family would always provide lavish hospitality, making attending their celebrations a lucrative assignment.

Wang Mengfen pondered for a moment, then said, "Send Youwei. The Twin Beauties of Qingya are his concubines, so it's most appropriate for him to go."

"Patriarch, speaking of which," another elder added, "there have been recent disturbances in the Fire Dolphin Sea and Golden Clam Sea. Several major powers are attacking each other. Do you think we should intervene?"

"For now, we should not intervene," Wang Mengfen replied. "Pay close attention to the movements of other forces. I will go and ask the ancestors for instructions."

The major powers the elders spoke of were all forces with Nascent Soul cultivators guarding them. Since Nascent Soul cultivators were involved, Wang Mengfen dared not act on his own initiative. It would be troublesome if Nascent Soul cultivators became involved.