Chapter 1537: Lei Feng's Training

Five Dragons Sea, Green Lotus Island.

In the northwestern corner of the island, a towering peak rises straight into the clouds. At its summit is a vast thousand-mu bluestone plaza. Ninety-nine bluestone steps ascend from the plaza, leading to a palace over thirty zhang high. Two three-zhang tall azure stone lions guard the palace entrance.

A lacquered gold plaque displayed three large silver characters: "Five Elements Hall." The plaque shimmered with spiritual light, clearly indicating it was a magical artifact.

Many members of the Wang family moved in and out of the hall. This was the Wang clan's cultivation spiritual ground, where the spiritual energy was two to five times denser than the outside world. However, maintaining the formation required a significant consumption of spirit stones. Therefore, Wang family members needed to spend contribution points to enter the Five Elements Hall for cultivation.

Cultivating in the Five Elements Hall yielded twice the results with half the effort. Clan members had to undertake various tasks to earn contribution points, which they could then use to cultivate in the Five Elements Hall, thus forming a virtuous cycle.

Inside a secret chamber, the stone walls were inscribed with colorful runes that shimmered incessantly, as if alive.

Wang Yingjie sat cross-legged on a five-colored meditation cushion, his eyes closed, his body enveloped in a five-colored spiritual light.

After a while, Wang Yingjie opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

Feeling the powerful aura radiating from himself, a look of joy appeared on his face.

“I’ve finally reached the sixth layer of Core Formation,” he murmured.

Wang Yingjie spoke to himself, his eyes brimming with delight.

Heaven rewards diligence. Though not as naturally gifted as others, Wang Yingjie could only cultivate harder. He rarely socialized; even upon reaching the Core Formation stage, he didn't throw a grand celebration, opting instead for a small gathering with clan members from his own lineage for a day.

Apart from cultivation, Wang Yingjie had little leisure time, which was the main reason he was able to advance to the Core Formation stage.

“My contribution points are almost used up; I can't stay much longer,” Wang Yingjie sighed. This Five Elements Chamber was specifically built for him by the clan, designed to gather Five Elements spiritual energy and accelerate his cultivation speed.

Wang Yingjie cultivated the *Five Elements True Spirit Treasure Manual*. This cultivation technique was acquired by Wang Tianwen at a large auction and allowed cultivation from the Qi Refining stage all the way to the Nascent Soul stage. The *Five Elements True Spirit Treasure Manual* was also the only five-spirit-root cultivation method in the entire clan that could reach the Nascent Soul stage, and Wang Yingjie was the only one in the clan who cultivated this technique.

Stepping out of the secret chamber, Wang Yingjie walked outwards as a tall young man in a golden robe approached him.

The golden-robed youth had a square face, fair skin, and sharp eyes, and he carried a light gold sword case on his back.

“Yingjie, you’ve emerged from seclusion,” the golden-robed youth greeted him with a smile.

Wang Yingjie bowed respectfully and politely asked, “Fifth Ancestor, are you here to cultivate?”

The golden-robed youth was Wang Mengxuan, son of Wang Youwei and Ouyang Mingyue. Although he was younger than Wang Yingjie, there was a five-generation gap between them. Such situations were not uncommon in cultivation families; many 500-year-old Core Formation cultivators would refer to Qi Refining cultivators as Great-Grand-Uncle.

Generally, such ceremonial titles were observed at the individual's discretion. With the ever-increasing number of Wang family members, it was already a feat to recognize everyone within one's own branch of the family.

Had Wang Yingjie not known Wang Mengxuan, he wouldn't have greeted him; otherwise, he would constantly have to perform junior courtesies to elders, which would be highly inconvenient for his activities.

Among the Wang family's sword cultivators, excluding Ouyang Mingyue, Wang Qingshan had the highest mastery of the sword dao, followed by Wang Jiyun, and then Wang Changjie. Wang Mengxuan studied sword dao under Wang Changjie and Wang Jiyun and was expected to become the clan's third Core Formation sword cultivator. Wang Youwei and Ouyang Mingyue had high hopes for Wang Mengxuan.

“I consulted with Ancestor Changjie on the sword dao and had some insights. I plan to seclude myself for a period. Once I emerge, we should have a good gathering,” Wang Mengxuan said, his tone warm. He greatly admired Wang Yingjie, whose diligence was renowned within the clan. Wang Yingjie was also a prime example for Wang family members when educating their descendants; if Wang Yingjie, with his five spiritual roots, could diligently cultivate to Core Formation, then others had no excuse for laxity.

Wang Yingjie nodded, “Alright. I've brewed a few jars of Green Lotus Drunk; we can enjoy them together when you emerge from seclusion.”

After a brief chat, the two parted ways, and Wang Yingjie continued his walk outside.

Upon exiting the Five Elements Hall, Wang Yingjie released a giant azure eagle. With a wingspan of five zhang, this Wind-Chasing Eagle had been gifted to him by Wang Qingling and was quite suitable for travel.

Wang Yingjie leaped onto the azure eagle's back. The eagle flapped its powerful wings, stirring up a gust of wind, and carried Wang Yingjie high into the sky.

At this moment, the hazy sky was turning a pale white, like the belly of a fish. Looking down, numerous structures could be seen: simple stone houses perched on cliffs, small courtyards with green tiles nestled in valleys, azure bamboo buildings constructed within bamboo forests, and exquisite pavilions and palaces towering on mountain peaks. Multi-colored streaks of light darted across the sky, and a flock of snow-white mystical cranes flew high overhead.

“Dong! Dong! Dong!”

A loud series of chimes rang out, five times in total.

Large numbers of Wang family members, men, women, old, and young, rushed out of their residences. They either rode on artifacts or released spiritual birds, flying towards a certain direction.

Wang Yingjie smiled faintly as he saw the bustling clan members. These members were heading to the Dao Discussion Peak to listen to the clan elders lecture. He had once been among them. Time flew by; he recalled that back then he was merely in the Qi Refining stage, but now he was in the Core Formation stage and could answer questions for the younger generation.

Watching these busy clan members, he secretly resolved to cultivate even harder, determined not to be surpassed by the younger generation.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, the azure eagle stopped above a massive valley surrounded on three sides by mountains. Thick white mist hung over the valley. Through the mist, tall structures could be faintly seen, and periodic loud roars of beasts, subtly interspersed with bird calls, echoed from within.

Outside the valley stood an over ten-zhang tall azure stone tablet. Etched on it in large golden characters were the words "Myriad Beasts Valley," with four smaller golden characters next to them reading "No Entry for Idlers." This was where the Wang family bred spiritual beasts. The Myriad Beasts Valley housed a large number of spiritual beasts, insects, and birds.

After Wang Qingling advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, the Myriad Beasts Valley was entrusted to Wang Yingjie. His primary responsibility was to care for the clan's guardian spiritual bird, the Thunder Phoenix; other spiritual beasts and birds were looked after by other clan members.

Wang Yingjie flipped his hand and retrieved a round golden token. Engraved on its front were the characters "Myriad Beasts," and on its back was a miniature silver phoenix pattern.

A clear, resounding bird cry rang out, and the silver phoenix sprayed a silver light that merged into the Myriad Beasts Valley.

The white mist shrouding the Myriad Beasts Valley dissipated, revealing a dense azure forest.

Beside an azure stone pillar ten zhang in diameter, a massive azure elephant, as large as a small hill, lay prone. Numerous azure runes could be faintly seen on the stone pillar. The elephant's thick trunk curled around a bundle of small azure grass and brought it to its mouth.

In a lake over a hundred mu in size, the calm surface churned violently. A thirty-zhang long blue whale surfaced, spraying a water column over a hundred zhang high.

In a vast azure bamboo forest, azure mantises perched motionless on the tips of spiritual bamboo, making them almost impossible to spot without careful observation.

On a hundred-zhang tall crimson mountain peak, a more than ten-zhang wide subterranean fire pool at the summit continuously spewed forth fierce flames. The mountain was covered with numerous hundred-zhang tall red spiritual trees. These trees were lush with round, verdant leaves, and dozens of entirely red peacocks perched on their trunks.

Upon closer inspection, dozens of crimson centipedes could be seen crawling through the trees.

At the center of the Myriad Beasts Valley was a steep peak. From above, the peak resembled a cylindrical stone pillar, towering upright from the ground.

On the peak's surface, the three large characters "Myriad Beasts Peak" could be faintly discerned, shimmering with spiritual light and exceptionally eye-catching.

The summit of Myriad Beasts Peak featured a thousand-mu bluestone plaza. On both the left and right sides of the plaza were several exquisite azure pavilions. Directly ahead stood an over thirty-zhang tall azure palace, with a shimmering plaque bearing the three large silver characters "Myriad Beasts Hall."

Many Wang family members were active in the bluestone plaza, primarily responsible for nurturing other spiritual beasts.

The azure eagle flapped its wings and flew towards the Myriad Beasts Hall.

The grand hall was spacious and brightly lit. Directly ahead stood a massive silver phoenix statue. Beneath the statue was an azure wooden table about a zhang long, covered with numerous ancient texts and books. Two men and one woman sat behind the table, chatting idly. Guarding spiritual beasts was a leisurely duty; one only needed to feed them regularly.

“Ancestor, you’ve arrived,” the two men and one woman said, rising, their expressions respectful. The three Foundation Establishment cultivators were all from the 'Cai' generation, and thus, appropriately addressed Wang Yingjie as 'Ancestor'.

“How have things been? No trouble while I was away, I hope? Has the number of third-tier flood dragons increased?” Wang Yingjie casually asked, picking up a thick ledger and flipping through it. Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan considered the third-tier flood dragons as the clan's representative spiritual beasts and had instructed Wang Yingjie to cultivate more of them.

“Replying to Ancestor, another third-tier flood dragon has been cultivated within the clan,” one of them reported. Wang Qiuming, upon entering the Nascent Soul stage, acquired a third-tier flood dragon for travel, and Wang Qingling also possessed one. Including these two, the Wang family now had a total of eleven third-tier flood dragons. Cultivating a single third-tier flood dragon required a massive investment of resources; at times, only one out of twenty carefully selected and meticulously nurtured python-type spiritual beasts would successfully transform into a flood dragon.

The cost of cultivating one third-tier flood dragon could fund the cultivation of three Core Formation cultivators, assuming absolute success in advancement. However, this didn't mean that the cultivation resources used for a third-tier flood dragon would guarantee the cultivation of three Core Formation cultivators.

While the cost of cultivating third-tier flood dragons was high, once successfully raised, their power far surpassed that of ordinary Core Formation cultivators, making them well worth the investment. Had the clan's influence not been continuously growing, they wouldn't have been able to pour such vast amounts of spirit stones into spiritual beasts. To some extent, the number of third-tier flood dragons represented the Wang family's strength: the more flood dragons they possessed, the stronger the Wang family became.

Wang Yingjie frowned after flipping through a dozen pages. “Why have all the new spiritual beast cultivation attempts that Ancestor instructed failed? Are there no detailed records of the failure processes?”

Besides cultivating third-tier flood dragons, the Wang family was also breeding new spiritual beasts, aiming to create new species by combining different ones. These could be powerful exotic beasts possessing the abilities of two spiritual beasts, or they could be failures. Cultivating a new spiritual beast required a significant investment of cultivation resources.

The Ouyang family's representative spiritual beast was the Tiger-Kirin Beast, a descendant born from the union of a tiger-type demonic beast and a Kirin. However, such offspring were difficult to sustain through generations. Taking the Wang family's third-tier flood dragons as an example: the Wang family selected python-type spiritual beasts for cultivation, and after much effort, they successfully transformed into flood dragons. Yet, when third-tier flood dragons mated with each other, their offspring were either pythons or there were no offspring at all.

If the descendants of third-tier flood dragons could consistently be flood dragons, the Wang family wouldn't need to expend so much effort cultivating them. They could simply let third-tier flood dragons mate with each other, saving time, effort, and vast amounts of cultivation resources.

Unfortunately, despite massive investment, the Wang family had seen little progress so far. Wang Qingling was quite supportive of this plan, viewing it as a long-term benefit. Even if this generation couldn't achieve it, it didn't mean the next couldn't. Success would allow the Wang family to cultivate hundreds of flood dragons without issue, further solidifying their position in the South Sea.

This was a matter of immense, lasting benefit, but it required the efforts of multiple generations. Whether research would yield results was still a question. Since third-tier flood dragons were difficult to cultivate, the Wang family was currently experimenting with other spiritual beasts to see how offspring from different spiritual pairings could stably inherit traits.

“Ancestor, the detailed records are here,” a fair-faced young woman in a green skirt quickly said, picking up a thick volume and handing it to Wang Yingjie.

Wang Yingjie glanced through a few pages and asked, “How many copies have been made? Have they been sent to the Ancestor?”

“Three copies were made,” she replied. “One is stored in the Scripture Repository, one was sent to the Ancestor, and the other remains here.”

A loud phoenix cry echoed, subtly mixed with a tremendous peal of thunder.

“The Thunder Phoenix hasn’t been out for fresh air in a long time, Ancestor. Your timing is perfect.”

The Thunder Phoenix was the Wang clan's guardian spiritual bird. Apart from Wang Qingling, only Wang Yingjie could command it; strictly speaking, it was the Thunder Phoenix that recognized Wang Qingling and Wang Yingjie.

“I understand. You all do a good job,” Wang Yingjie said.

Wang Yingjie strode towards an azure stone pathway on his left. Soon, he emerged into a courtyard spanning over ten mu. Within it stood a more than hundred-zhang tall Thunder Apricot Spiritual Fruit Tree, lush with pale silver leaves and robust branches. Silver electric arcs pulsed along its thick trunk.

A five-zhang silver phoenix perched on the crown of the Thunder Apricot Spiritual Fruit Tree. Its entire body was enveloped in a silver glow, its surface covered by countless silver electric arcs.

The Wang family had nurtured the Thunder Phoenix for over two hundred years, expending vast amounts of cultivation resources, feeding it numerous demonic cores and spiritual herbs. It was currently a high-grade third-tier beast.

If the cultivation resources used for the Thunder Phoenix were instead used to cultivate clan members, it would be enough to train ten Core Formation cultivators. However, this didn't guarantee that the resources spent on the Thunder Phoenix would actually produce ten Core Formation cultivators.

To gain the Thunder Phoenix's recognition, Wang Yingjie, under Wang Qingling's guidance, ate and slept alongside the phoenix, taking a full year to earn its acknowledgment.

A resounding phoenix cry pierced the air as the Thunder Phoenix swooped down from the treetop, landing before Wang Yingjie and stirring up a powerful gust of wind.

The Thunder Phoenix let out a series of urgent cries, appearing somewhat agitated.

Just as cultivators couldn't remain in seclusion indefinitely, spiritual birds also needed breaks. The Wang family regularly allowed the Thunder Phoenix to stretch its wings, lest its wild nature be diminished.

Wang Yingjie walked up to the Thunder Phoenix, affectionately stroked its head, and said, “Come on, let’s go for a spin.”

He leaped onto the Thunder Phoenix’s back and used his token to remove the courtyard's restrictions.

With a resounding phoenix cry, the Thunder Phoenix flapped its wings, kicking up a furious gust of wind, and soared into the sky.