Chapter 1469: Mysterious Cold Flame

A short while later, Wang Changsheng returned to Qinglian Peak.

As he opened the door to a secret chamber, a handsome, tall young man in a golden robe emerged. This was Wang Xin, Wang Changsheng's external incarnation.

Over forty years ago, before Wang Changsheng left Qinglian Island, he had ordered Wang Xin to cultivate Buddhist techniques. Wang Xin had been cultivating these techniques all these years.

Wang Xin exuded a peaceful Buddhist aura. He had already cultivated to the late Core Formation stage. He only needed to continue cultivating systematically, and advancing to the Nascent Soul stage would be a matter of time, as he already possessed a Nascent Soul within his body.

Wang Changsheng flipped his palm, and with a flash of green light, three constantly shimmering magical treasures appeared in his hand.

There was a half-zhang long Buddhist staff, a foot-long wooden ruler, and a light green alms bowl. All three magical treasures were crafted from Six Purity Bamboo, specifically designed to counter demons, devils, and ghosts.

Since Wang Xin cultivated Buddhist techniques, wielding Buddhist magical treasures could enhance his strength.

With a thought, Wang Changsheng's right fist glowed with blue light, and he struck towards Wang Xin. Wang Xin's body surged with golden light, and he met Wang Changsheng's fist with his own.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, a powerful wave of air suddenly appeared, spreading in all directions. The entire stone chamber violently shook, and Wang Xin stumbled back three steps before regaining his balance.

A hint of surprise flashed in Wang Changsheng's eyes. He hadn't used his full strength, but with his current power, ordinary Core Formation cultivators couldn't withstand a single punch from him. Yet, Wang Xin only retreated three steps. If Wang Xin were to advance to the Nascent Soul stage, his physical strength would not be much weaker than Wang Changsheng's.

"Go back to your cultivation! Strive to reach the Nascent Soul stage as soon as possible."

Wang Changsheng instructed, and the door to the secret chamber abruptly closed.

He sat down cross-legged and took out Ao Qing's corpse.

The corpse of a high-grade fourth-tier Flood Dragon was no less valuable than a fourth-tier puppet beast. Over a hundred years ago, when the Golden Blade Sect obtained the skeleton of a fourth-tier Flood Dragon from the Five Dragon Secret Realm, it aroused the covetousness of other forces. The Golden Blade Sect was brutally besieged by other forces and was almost annihilated.

If news of Ao Qing's corpse being in the Wang family's possession leaked out, it would undoubtedly cause a huge uproar. Even if the Flood Dragon clan didn't pursue the matter, other human forces would still be covetous.

Wang Changsheng planned to refine Ao Qing's skeleton into a puppet beast to serve as the family's treasured artifact, enhancing the family's foundation. The ten great immortal cultivation families in the South Sea all possessed treasured family artifacts, and the ten great sects all had treasured sect artifacts. The Divine Weapon Palace, having obtained the Blood Demon Blade, now possessed a total of five treasured sect artifacts.

Calculating the time, the Wang family had been established for nearly a thousand years. Their guardian spirit beast, the Thunder Phoenix, was a high-grade third-tier beast, but they lacked a treasured family artifact.

Treasured family artifacts primarily served as deterrents and were not easily used. A puppet beast refined from a high-grade fourth-tier Flood Dragon skeleton would be second only to a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure in value.

The Wang family currently had five Nascent Soul cultivators. Nascent Soul cultivators closely related to the Wang family included Guangdong Ren, as well as the Ouyang and Zhang families through marriage. The number of cultivators in the Wang family exceeded ten thousand, signifying their entry into the ranks of major cultivation families.

What the Wang family currently lacked was foundation, such as a treasured family artifact. Ordinary magical treasures were not sufficient to serve as a family's treasured artifact. No force could remain prosperous forever. For example, the sixth generation grand elder of the Zhenhai Sect led most of their elites into the Heavenly Void Grotto-heaven, suffering heavy losses. However, the grand elder also used this opportunity to advance to the Deity Transformation stage. From then on, the Zhenhai Sect began to decline. Despite having three treasured sect artifacts and having been passed down for several millennia, if not for the Sun and Moon Palace targeting the Zhenhai Sect, the Zhenhai Sect could have continued its legacy.

The Nine Nether Sect suffered internal strife, and other forces ganged up to attack it. Shangguan Wei used the sect's treasured artifact to repel the invading enemies.

These were all excellent examples. Having a powerful magical treasure as a treasured family artifact meant that even if the Wang family faced a period of decline in talent or encountered a major calamity, they would have a greater chance of overcoming the crisis.

A third-tier Flood Dragon could also be considered a foundation, but it couldn't change the overall situation unless the Wang family could cultivate a fourth-tier Flood Dragon. Throughout the entire South Sea immortal cultivation world, forces possessing fourth-tier Flood Dragons were few and far between. The vice island master of Myriad Beast Island had indeed cultivated a fourth-tier Flood Dragon.

Even with Ao Qing's core, the Ice Wind Flood Dragon might not necessarily advance to the fourth tier. After all, it evolved from an Ice Wind Python into a Flood Dragon, and its Flood Dragon bloodline was diluted, making advancement more difficult. However, if it were to advance to the fourth tier, its divine abilities would be much stronger than those of ordinary fourth-tier Flood Dragons.

Wang Changsheng took out a shimmering blue short blade and began to strip off the Flood Dragon's flesh. The flesh of a high-grade fourth-tier Flood Dragon was a great tonic, and Wang Changsheng naturally wouldn't waste it.

Besides the flesh and skeleton, there were also two shimmering green scales and a shimmering green bone. The two scales were Ao Qing's vital scales, and the spirit bone was its vital spirit bone.

Vital scales and vital spirit bones were things Flood Dragons were born with, and their number was not fixed. Vital scales were imbued with a large amount of a Flood Dragon's vital essence and magic power, making them second only to the demon core.

The vital spirit bone was similar to the vital scales; it was the hardest bone in a Flood Dragon's body. The vital spirit bone of a high-grade fourth-tier Flood Dragon, if slightly refined, could become a powerful magical treasure.

Wang Changsheng planned to use Ao Qing's corpse to refine three treasured family artifacts. He had spent over forty years in the Immortal Burial Sea, diligently studying artifact refining techniques. Coupled with his ability to draw inspiration from Spirit Realm refining techniques, his artifact refining skills had improved rapidly. He intended to first refine a fourth-tier puppet beast. Once he had refined a fourth-tier puppet beast, it wouldn't be too late to refine the treasured family artifacts.

A Flood Dragon's entire body was a treasure. Ao Qing was a wind-attribute Flood Dragon, and its dragon sinews were excellent materials for crafting bow and arrow magical treasures.

Wang Changsheng was not in a hurry. He planned to gather more materials, striving to refine a spirit treasure. With the family's thriving development, the family's foundation also needed to be strengthened.

He put away Ao Qing's corpse, took out a two-foot-long piece of Millennium Ironwood, tossed it into mid-air, and with an open mouth, a ball of snowy white flame suddenly flew out, enveloping the ironwood.

The moment the white flame appeared, the temperature inside the chamber plummeted.

After Wang Changsheng refined the Cold Flame left by the Stone Roar, he cultivated a new spirit flame. He named it Profound Nether Cold Flame. Its power was much greater than before; not only could it shorten the artifact refining time, but it could also serve as a trump card.

The longer he nurtured it, the greater the power of the Profound Nether Cold Flame would become.

Before long, the Millennium Ironwood showed signs of softening. Wang Changsheng picked up a light silver porcelain bottle, struck a hand seal into it, and some light silver liquid flew out. With a swirl, the silver liquid transformed into mysterious runes, which flew towards the softened Millennium Ironwood.

Dense silver runes enveloped the Millennium Ironwood. As time passed, the silver runes seemed to engrave themselves onto the Millennium Ironwood, shimmering continuously.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Wang Changsheng picked up two light golden ores, tossed them into mid-air, and separated a small ball of Profound Nether Cold Flame to envelop them.

The golden ores slowly softened, and impurities were gradually expelled...