Chapter 1703: Meeting with the Clan Members

Northwest of the Tianlan Realm lay Jinling City, in Ningyuan County.

In a secluded small courtyard with green tiles, deep in the basement, Huang Fugui sat cross-legged on a prayer mat. His body was enveloped in a layer of yellow light, and a gentle breeze encircled him. The stone walls were covered with mysterious runes, clearly protective enchantments. Behind Huang Fugui was a spirit spring, over ten zhang in size, constantly gushing water, rich in spiritual energy.

A sound transmission talisman flew in. Huang Fugui immediately opened his eyes, grabbed the talisman with his plump hand, and crushed it. Wang Qiuming's joyful voice instantly sounded: "Fellow Daoist Huang, Grandfather and Grandmother have rejoined us."

Huang Fugui was filled with surprise and joy. He put away the spirit spring and walked out. He came outside and saw Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, a wide smile spreading across his face.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, Madam Wang, long time no see. Where is Senior Fu?" Huang Fugui asked expectantly. He had been living in fear for years, worried that cultivators from the Tianlan Sect would suddenly appear.

"We've lost contact with Senior Fu; we don't know his situation," Wang Changsheng said with a light chuckle. Previously, he had planned to find a branch of the Tianlan Sect, conceal his identity, and cultivate in seclusion. However, the Tianlan Sect intensified its efforts to apprehend cultivators from the Dongli Realm, searching everywhere. As a result, Wang Changsheng had to abandon this idea. After much thought, the only undisturbed places would be the three major perilous lands of the Tianlan Realm. The Myriad Thunder Sea Region was out of the question, as they had just left it. The Immortal Burial Ruins had numerous spatial cracks. The Demonic Burial Icefield, however, seemed like a good option. The Demonic Burial Icefield was located in the northwestern part of the Tianlan Realm. On his way there, Wang Changsheng sensed the presence of his avatar and immediately rushed over. He had previously instructed his avatar to protect Wang Qiuming's safety; the avatar would continue to protect him unless it was destroyed. Breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage would cause too great a disturbance. Relying solely on Wang Ruyan would not be enough. With Wang Qiuming and others, Wang Changsheng would have a much better chance.

"You don't know Senior Fu's whereabouts? What are your next steps then? The situation outside is very tense; Tianlan Sect cultivators are searching for us everywhere," Huang Fugui said, sounding a bit nervous. If Fu Min wasn't there, he naturally wouldn't follow Wang Changsheng to harass the Tianlan Sect's branches; he still wanted to live!

"We plan to find a place to lay low for a while. Oh, and Fellow Daoist Huang, thank you for helping look after our clan members." Wang Ruyan took out a small yellow umbrella and a yellow shield, handing them to Huang Fugui. Zhao Hengbin's self-destruction, combined with Shangguan Wei's self-detonation, affected his belongings. Wang Changsheng had killed several Nascent Soul cultivators but only obtained one spirit treasure and dozens of magic treasures. If Shangguan Wei hadn't self-detonated, he could have acquired several more spirit treasures. During their journey, they encountered many Tianlan Sect cultivators. After capturing and soul-searching some of them, they discovered that many cultivators from the Dongli Realm had been captured. Huang Fugui's ability to hide here for decades without being discovered by Tianlan Sect cultivators was quite impressive.

"Madam Wang, you are too polite. We are acquaintances; I am not after anything from you. Of course, since it's your kind intention, I can't refuse it either." Huang Fugui feigned modesty before accepting the items. Wang Qiuming didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Huang Fugui was truly a character; if he wanted to take it, why pretend?

"Fellow Daoist Huang, what are your plans? Will you come with us, or continue to hide here?" Wang Changsheng asked casually. To be honest, he didn't want Huang Fugui to follow them, as the man was quick to flee when trouble arose. However, Huang Fugui's ability to hide in the mortal world for decades without being discovered still indicated some skill.

Huang Fugui showed hesitation. After a moment's thought, he said, "There's nowhere else for me to go right now, so I'll follow you. Of course, as you know, my strength is low, and I'm really no match for fellow Daoists of the same cultivation level." If he were alone and encountered danger, no one would help him share the pressure. The Azure Lotus Immortal Couple were very strong; if they ran into Tianlan Sect cultivators, they could help hold them off, giving Huang Fugui a good chance to escape. Furthermore, he had come to the Tianlan Realm to attempt to break through to the Soul Transformation stage, and the Azure Lotus Immortal Couple possessed great fortune, so Huang Fugui might be able to benefit from some of that luck.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan smiled faintly and nodded in agreement. They didn't expect Huang Fugui to fight against cultivators of the same level; Huang Fugui was notoriously cowardly.

"Very well. We'll depart in an hour, Fellow Daoist Huang. You should go back and pack," Wang Changsheng said in a deep voice.

Huang Fugui discreetly left, knowing that Wang Changsheng had something to discuss with his clan members. Wang Changsheng called a meeting with his clan members and distributed magic treasures to them. They had killed many Nascent Soul cultivators and had more magic treasures than they could use. Distributing them to the Core Formation stage clan members would enhance their strength. Wang Yingjie received one defensive and one offensive magic treasure, Wang Qiuming received two defensive magic treasures, and Wang Rongting and others each received several magic treasures.

"The situation outside is too tense; we need to find a place to lie low. I plan to attempt a breakthrough to the Soul Transformation stage, and I will need you all to guard me." As soon as Wang Changsheng spoke, Wang Qiuming and the others were momentarily stunned. They quickly reacted, saying excitedly, "Your grandchildren are willing to guard you, Grandfather (or Ancestor)." Wang Changsheng nodded with satisfaction, informed them about the external situation, and discussed the travel route and how to handle various contingencies.

An hour later, Wang Changsheng and his group left the small courtyard, blending into the crowd as they departed Jinling City.

In the northwestern corner of the Tianlan Realm lay a continuous verdant mountain range, stretching for tens of thousands of miles. Inside a hidden underground cave, a hundred-zhang-long golden python lay coiled on the ground. After a while, a dazzling green light emanated from the golden python's body, and it began to move.

"Shangguan Tianhong, this debt, I will remember," the golden python spoke in a cold voice. It was none other than Ancestor Qinghua. Shangguan Tianhong was too powerful, possessing three Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures. Ancestor Qinghua was no match at all; her physical body was destroyed, and her primordial spirit escaped using a secret technique. Ancestor Qinghua's true form was an Azure-patterned Python. By chance, she had consumed the corpse of a fourth-tier demonic python with the Blood Devouring Python lineage, and it took her eight hundred years of arduous cultivation to transform into human form. Now that her physical body was destroyed, her primordial spirit had taken over a third-tier demonic python. It would take at least several hundred years to recover her cultivation. As for transforming into human form again, the difficulty was extremely high. Generally, only demonic beasts with powerful bloodlines could transform into human form. Ordinary demonic beasts might not even be able to transform into human form even after cultivating to the fifth tier. Demonic beasts capable of human transformation either possessed a powerful bloodline or a special opportunity. Ancestor Qinghua didn't have much lifespan left. Forget transforming into human form, whether she could even recover her cultivation was uncertain. She was now merely a third-tier demonic python, and even a Core Formation cultivator could kill her. To put it bluntly, Shangguan Tianhong's actions had effectively cut off Ancestor Qinghua's path of cultivation.

The golden python quickly writhed its body and slithered into a hidden crack.