Chapter 169: Guangdong Ren (Part 1)

Seven months passed quickly.

Inside a secret chamber on Green Lotus Mountain.

Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion. A blue gourd rested in front of him, and his body was enveloped in a layer of blue light. A moment later, the blue light around him dissipated, and he opened his eyes, a hint of joy in their depths. He stood up. His figure blurred, then split into seven identical Wang Changshengs. With a hand seal, six of the Wang Changshengs dissolved into specks of blue light.

"Finally, Foundation Establishment Stage Four," Wang Changsheng murmured to himself, his face beaming with joy.

Half a year ago, Wang Ruyan had sent fifty catties of Dark Yin Spirit Water through an intermediary. Wang Changsheng had successfully advanced to Foundation Establishment Stage Four with the help of this spirit water. In addition, Wang Changsheng had also refined a mid-grade magical artifact: the Green Tiger Bow. It was crafted from the sinews of a second-tier Green Wind Tiger and two-hundred-year-old Green Cloud Bamboo. Besides the bow, there were a dozen arrows, three of which were low-grade magical artifacts.

A few chirps of 'ji ji' came from the spirit beast pouch at Wang Changsheng's waist. He patted the pouch, and the Twin-Pupiled Rat crawled out. During his trip to White Dragon Valley a few years ago, he had exchanged two second-tier puppet beasts for a low-grade second-tier demonic rat's inner core. The Twin-Pupiled Rat had been in a deep slumber ever since consuming it, and now it had finally awakened. Judging by the aura it emitted, it had surprisingly reached low-grade second-tier.

Wang Changsheng was overjoyed that the Twin-Pupiled Rat had reached the second-tier. With its keen sense of smell, it should be able to find spirit herbs of higher age! However, the Twin-Pupiled Rat was now much fatter and round, and he wondered if its movements would be affected. Wang Changsheng fed it two spirit fruits before putting it back into the spirit beast pouch.

He then went to a corner where hundreds of Gold-Devouring Ants were crawling over a pile of broken wooden puppets. All the scrapped materials from artifact refining were given to the Gold-Devouring Ants for food. The Gold-Devouring Ants consumed everything without hesitation. After eating a large quantity of refining materials, the ant queen had advanced to high-grade first-tier, becoming plump and about a foot long. The Gold-Devouring Ants had enormous appetites; over five hundred of them consumed hundreds of catties of refining materials every month. Fortunately, the Wang family's main income came from artifact refining and puppet crafting, which generated a lot of scrapped materials that were then used to feed the ants. Only upon reaching the second-tier would the Gold-Devouring Ants become impervious to weapons.

Leaving the secret chamber, Wang Changsheng went to the Spell Practice Hall, where clan members cultivated their spells. Even before he entered, he heard a series of loud explosions. In the spacious bluestone plaza, a dozen black steles stood, and dozens of clan members were practicing spells: Fireball Technique, Ice Cone Technique, Earth Arrow Technique, and Wind Blade Technique. Spirit light of various colors flashed, accompanied by continuous explosions.

Several elders from the 'Yao' generation were controlling puppet beasts in combat. The puppet beasts either bit with their mouths, tore with their claws, or struck with their fists. These individuals were all clan members preparing for battle. Several elders from the 'Yao' generation were among them, with Wang Yaohuan being the most senior. If the Four Sects of Great Song issued a summons, Wang Changsheng would lead them to the battlefield.

"Changsheng, why are you here? Has the war started?" Wang Yaohuan asked nervously.

Wang Changsheng shook his head and asked with concern, "No, I just came to observe. Twelfth Uncle, how are the clan members' drills progressing?"

Wang Yaohuan let out a sigh of relief and said, "Practicing against stationary targets every day can be a bit dull. Dead targets are always dead targets; it would be even better if we could have real combat experience."

"That's why I came today. I want to take a group of well-performing clan members to hunt demonic beasts. Only through actual combat can their fighting skills improve and their coordination be honed."

"How many people do you need?"

"Fifteen people will suffice. Twelfth Uncle, please select fifteen individuals to depart with me tomorrow."

"Alright, no problem."

Wang Yaohuan then gave Wang Changsheng a detailed overview of the clan members' drills, which were divided into three types: coordination with spiritual artifacts, coordination with spells, and coordination with puppet beasts. Wang Changsheng pointed out several shortcomings, suggesting improvements. He praised those who performed well and encouraged those who did not. Over an hour later, he left the Spell Practice Hall, accompanied by Wang Yaohuan.

Wei Kingdom, Yellow Sage Palace.

Inside the Discussion Hall, six Core Formation cultivators were in discussion. A noticeably corpulent man, whose face exuded an oily sheen, stood out. Layers of fat rippled around his waist, his eyes were squeezed into narrow slits by the flesh on his face, and his neck was completely obscured, making him resemble a giant ball of flesh. This was none other than Guang Dongren, the sect master of Hundred Spirits Sect, a fifth-level Core Formation cultivator.

"Fellow Daoist Li, have you summoned us because the war is about to begin?"

Li Haifeng nodded with a smile and said, "Yes, news from the Tang Kingdom indicates that the Song Kingdom and the Tang Kingdom have allied and plan to invade our Wei Kingdom together on the occasion of the Spirit Vulture Sect Master's birthday. Humph, the Four Sects of Song Kingdom have calculated well. Fortunately, we had already reached a secret agreement with the Tang Kingdom: we would attack the Song Kingdom, and they would attack the Western Qi Kingdom, with neither interfering with the other. Otherwise, the Four Sects of Song Kingdom truly would have exploited a loophole."

Feng Yue smiled faintly and said, "Our Wei Kingdom and the Tang Kingdom have fought many times; we are old adversaries. How could the Four Sects of Song Kingdom have imagined that the Tang Kingdom would cooperate with us? But will the Tang Kingdom play a trick? Deliberately leaking information and setting a trap for us to fall into?"

"Likely not. The Tang Kingdom has coveted the Western Qi Kingdom for a long time; it's only due to our interference that they haven't been able to conquer it. Of course, to prevent the Tang Kingdom from playing any tricks, Junior Martial Sister Zhao has already gone to Western Qi. If the Tang Kingdom does play a trick, we will ally with Western Qi and launch a pincer attack on them. As for the Four Sects of Song Kingdom, we can cede some territory to them if necessary, or even bring the Shu Kingdom into the alliance. However, we must still keep some troops in reserve to guard against the Tang Kingdom."

"This plan is excellent; our years of strategizing have not been in vain. The Song and Tang Kingdoms are preparing to invade our Wei Kingdom on the Spirit Vulture Sect Master's birthday. How about we preempt them and act a month in advance? If we strike first and encounter an ambush, we will immediately ally with the Shu Kingdom and Western Qi to deal with the aggressors."

"Excellent, let's proceed with that. However, large-scale troop movements might alert the Song Kingdom. I plan to hold a disciple recruitment conference to disguise our troop deployment."

All present, including Feng Yue, expressed their agreement.

Li Haifeng looked at Guang Dongren and asked with a smiling gaze, "Fellow Daoist Guang, what do you think?"

Guang Dongren yawned and said indifferently, "This old man has no objections. But it's agreed that once the Song Kingdom is conquered, Yun Prefecture and Ning Prefecture will belong to our Hundred Spirits Sect, and no one shall lay a hand on them."

Though his tone was flat, it carried an undeniable air of authority.

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Guang, these are our agreed terms. However, once the war begins, Fellow Daoist Guang must also contribute significant effort. Great Song has nine prefectures, and your Hundred Spirits Sect will take two of them. Although these two prefectures are not exceptionally rich in resources, their territory is substantial. You'll need to exert considerable effort, won't you?"

"Rest assured, Fellow Daoist Li, this old man will lead the vanguard and ensure a strong start."

Guang Dongren was full of confidence.

"Haha, Fellow Daoist Guang leading the vanguard is truly excellent. Let us now discuss the specific operations: how many troops each family will deploy and how many resources will be provided."

The six of them discussed for an entire day before finally dispersing.