Chapter 1405: The Murderer Appears

An azure escape light appeared in the sky, swiftly flying towards this location. Trailing behind it was a black escape light, moving at a remarkably fast pace.

"Trying to run? Leave your life behind!"

A resonant male voice suddenly rang out. The void twisted, and a massive black hand, over ten zhang in size, abruptly materialized above the azure escape light. The black hand was enveloped in a layer of black flames, emanating a chilling aura. Like plucking the moon from the sea, the black hand swiftly descended.

A piercing female shriek echoed as the azure escape light plummeted, crashing to the ground. The azure light revealed itself to be a strikingly beautiful young woman in a green dress. Her eyes were wide with terror, and her aura was severely weakened.

"Nine Nether Palm! That's a unique technique of the Nine Nether Sect. Are you from the Nine Nether Sect?" the young woman in the green dress exclaimed, biting her red lips.

The black escape light halted, revealing a handsome and elegant young man in black robes, holding a black paper fan in his right hand.

"Heh heh, I didn't expect you to know about the Nine Nether Sect. All the more reason I can't let you live," the young man in black chuckled, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

He raised a hand, and three streaks of dark light shot forth, blurring before vanishing instantly. The next moment, three gleaming dark darts appeared above the young woman's head. Having anticipated this, she swiftly conjured countless azure spiritual runes that formed a thick, azure light barrier, blocking the three darts.

A muffled thud came from underground, and a mound of earth rose. A black giant python, as thick as a water vat, burst from the ground, opening its bloodied maw and lunging at the young woman in the green dress. With another scream, her protective spiritual light was shattered, and her head was bitten clean off by the black python.

The young man in black collected the materials from the young woman's body, then casually tossed a black fireball, burning the corpse. He recalled the black python and departed from the area.

Half an hour later, a yellow light flickered in the void, and Wang Tianwen appeared, a thoughtful expression on his face. He had previously accompanied Chen Hongguang to the Eastern Barren Lands to congratulate on the reconstruction of Azure Lotus Manor. Wang Qingshan had asked him to look out for information about Nine Nether Sect cultivators in the Central Plains cultivation world. He had mobilized his resources but found nothing, as Nine Nether Sect disciples rarely operated openly in the Great Yan Dynasty. Strictly speaking, Nine Nether Sect disciples did not act under the sect's banner, and in the vast sea of people, Wang Tianwen had no way to investigate.

Unexpectedly, through a twist of fate, he had encountered a Nine Nether Sect cultivator. From the young woman's words, it seemed this person usually didn't reveal their Nine Nether Sect identity, which explained her surprise. After all, the Nine Nether Sect was the largest sect in the Northern Border. This person not revealing their identity likely meant they were a covert agent, responsible for gathering intelligence. The Wang family's intelligence hall also had many members who concealed their identities for intelligence gathering.

"It seems I need to thoroughly investigate this person. From his accent, he's from Yunyou Prefecture, and he likely operates there frequently," Wang Tianwen mused.

Having served in the Myriad Immortals Bureau for many years, Wang Tianwen was meticulous. Operating in Yunyou Prefecture and having a Tier 3 demonic python as a spirit beast—these two points alone were enough for Wang Tianwen to uncover the person's true identity. To be cautious, Wang Tianwen stayed in the cave for a day, meditating and recuperating, before leaving the next day.

***

In the Eastern Barren Lands, at Azure Lotus Manor.

In the meeting hall, Wang Qingshan sat on the main seat, with a dozen clan elders seated on either side, their expressions varied. Many of them were seeing Wang Qingshan for the first time; before Azure Lotus Manor's reconstruction, they had been scattered across different regions.

"Ancestor, our clan has 2,735 members in the Eastern Barren Lands: one Nascent Soul cultivator, five Core Formation cultivators, and 235 Foundation Establishment cultivators."

This was only the superficial information. In fact, the Wang family had over 3,000 cultivators in the Eastern Barren Lands. Most members were gathered in Azure Lotus Manor in Wei State, while others were scattered to prevent being wiped out in one fell swoop. These clan members had been independent for too long, weakening their sense of belonging. Wang Qingshan aimed to strengthen this sense of belonging, starting with the younger generation, then moving on to the older clan members. With a Nascent Soul cultivator as their backing, they were overjoyed and showed no signs of resistance. After all, they had only developed separately, and the clan still provided them with a substantial amount of cultivation resources annually.

The total number of Wang family cultivators in the South Sea reached 20,000. This large number was partly due to cultivators of other surnames. Additionally, the South Sea was rich in cultivation resources, providing ample sustenance, and the clan members there multiplied quickly. This was unlike the clan members in the Eastern Barren Lands, where the Wang family controlled few cultivation resources, only a small territory and some shops, making it very difficult to support several thousand cultivators.

"Ancestor, we have 52 shops, mainly concentrated in Azure Lotus Market. We don't have shops in other large markets."

"We currently have 500 Azure Scale Horses, 78 of which are Tier 2. We also have 1,375 Dual-Eyed Mice."

"Ancestor, our clan currently produces 1,356 puppet beasts annually, mostly Tier 2. We are not yet able to refine Tier 3 puppet beasts."

Few artificers within the clan could refine Tier 3 puppet beasts. Besides Wang Qingjing and Wang Qiuxin, other clan members could not, making it difficult to supply the South Sea, let alone the Eastern Barren Lands. Wang Qingshan was currently only integrating the Wang family's forces in the Eastern Barren Lands. With Azure Lotus Manor's reconstruction, many things were just beginning. The vast cultivation resources needed for Azure Lotus Manor's development were mainly supplied by Azure Lotus Island. The clan's power in the Northern Border was even weaker, and they could not spare attention for it for now.

Wang Qingshan's gaze swept over the cultivators present, and he solemnly said, "Azure Lotus Manor was recently rebuilt and requires your diligent efforts. Ninth Uncle has already stated that he will send people to transport a batch of cultivation supplies. With the clan's support, Azure Lotus Manor will undoubtedly develop even better."

"Yes, Ancestor!" The dozen clan members responded in unison, their eyes filled with fervor.

"You-shan, I'm leaving this place to you. If you encounter anything you can't resolve, you can seek help from the Hundred Flowers Sect. The Hundred Flowers Sect is an outpost of the Myriad Flowers Sect. If that doesn't work, teleport to Spirit Turtle Island and seek help from the Grand Unity Immortal Sect," Wang Qingshan instructed Wang You-shan. Although the chances of the culprit attacking the Wang family again were low, the Wang family still needed to be prepared. With the Grand Unity Immortal Sect, Myriad Flowers Sect, and Tang family providing patronage, the culprit would likely be hesitant if they truly intended to strike.

"Yes, Ancestor!" Wang You-shan repeatedly agreed, her expression resolute. She understood very well what it meant to serve as the Manor Lord of Azure Lotus Manor: it involved both risks and opportunities. If she performed well, the clan would surely reward her generously. If her luck was bad, it could mean her death and the dissolution of her cultivation.

Wang Qingshan gave a few more instructions, then left the meeting hall and arrived at a spacious bluestone plaza. Over a hundred cultivators had been waiting for a long time, and Wang Yingjie was among the crowd. Wang Qingshan conjured a palm-sized azure flying boat, infused it with a magic art, and it expanded to over thirty zhang long, glowing with an azure mist. It carried Wang Yingjie and over a hundred other cultivators, departing from Azure Lotus Manor and disappearing into the horizon.