Chapter 1706: Preparation to Break into the Huashen Stage

“Qiuming, you and a few others will guard the east. Wang Xin will guard the south. My wife and I will remain here.”

Wang Changsheng assigned tasks to his clansmen. With two spiritual treasures and the Water of Grand Yin, he had a high probability of advancing to the Soul Transformation stage. When cultivators reach this stage, their physical body undergoes a transformation process that is quite lengthy and prone to attracting other demonic beasts.

Therefore, cultivators attempting to break through to the Soul Transformation stage require protectors.

Wang Ruyan and the others naturally had no objections. Wang Qiuming led his clansmen to the blue ice lake in the east, where they began setting up formations near the lake.

Wang Yingjie used magic to construct a white ice palace, which would serve as their cave dwelling.

Although the environment here was not ideal for their cultivation, it was indeed a safe location.

Both the Wood Demon and the Kylin Turtle had fallen into slumber and were likely to advance to the Fourth Rank upon awakening. Wang Changsheng placed them fifty miles away from the snowy mountain, instructing Wang Yingjie and others to build cave dwellings for them. This was to prevent them from simultaneously attracting heavenly lightning tribulations, which would amplify the tribulation's power.

Cultivators breaking through to the Soul Transformation stage would face the Five-Nine Heavenly Lightning Tribulation, which is immensely powerful. If another cultivator or demonic beast also attracted a lightning tribulation at the same time, the power of the Five-Nine Heavenly Lightning Tribulation would increase even further.

Wang Changsheng reviewed the insights of his Zhenhai Sect predecessors regarding their breakthroughs to the Soul Transformation stage and gained some inspiration.

Wang Ruyan's Lion Kylin Beast had also fallen into slumber and was placed fifty miles away from the snowy mountain. She resided at the foot of the mountain, acting as Wang Changsheng's protector while also cultivating in seclusion.

Wang Changsheng used his Seven-Star Demon-Slaying Blade to carve out a simple stone chamber over a hundred *zhang* in size. In one go, he set up five sets of Fourth Rank formations.

He sat cross-legged, taking out a batch of refining materials and eighteen Sea-Calming Beads. He intended to repair the beads, as they might not withstand the upcoming tribulation otherwise.

By his estimation, since arriving in the Heavenly Azure Realm, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan had slain over ten Nascent Soul cultivators, at least at the Mid-Nascent Soul stage, acquiring a significant amount of wealth and refining materials.

Wang Changsheng chanted a spell, and the eighteen Sea-Calming Beads flew up, circling around him erratically.

He opened his mouth and spewed out a sheet of blue flames, engulfing the eighteen Sea-Calming Beads.

At the foot of the mountain lay a simple stone grotto, over a hundred *zhang* in size.

Wang Ruyan sat cross-legged on a blue futon, her eyes closed.

Their journey to the Heavenly Azure Realm had been eventful for her and Wang Changsheng. The most significant event was killing Shangguan Wei, the enemy who had murdered her son, thus settling a long-standing regret in her heart.

Points of blue light emerged around Wang Ruyan, transforming into mystical musical notes, and a pleasant celestial melody began to play.

Huang Fugui stood on the snowy ground, gazing at the distant white mountain range, a contemplative expression on his face.

The Demonic Burial Ice Plains, one of the three great dangerous areas in the Heavenly Azure Realm, was a place even Soul Transformation cultivators dared not venture deep into. Huang Fugui, however, harbored a desire to explore it. His cultivation technique was rather unique, resulting in a slower cultivation speed. However, with consistent practice, advancing to higher realms was only a matter of time. Yet, his divine abilities were not strong, so he required powerful magic treasures.

Huang Fugui dared not engage in life-or-death battles with cultivators of the same rank, but he certainly had the courage for treasure hunting, which was his old profession.

“I'll observe for a while first. There’s no rush,” Huang Fugui murmured to himself. He mused, understanding that his progress to this point was due to prudence, not recklessness.

In the northeastern part of the Heavenly Azure Realm lay the Myriad Horse Grasslands.

The Myriad Horse Grasslands possessed a unique geographical environment suitable for raising spirit horses. It served as the Heavenly Azure Sect's largest horse farm, where tens of thousands of spirit horses were bred.

Across a stretch of rolling grasslands, the ground was a mess of large pits, with over a dozen corpses strewn about.

Fang Mu was panting, his face pale, with a fist-sized blood-hole in his left chest and his right leg a bloody mess. His expression was fanatic as his nine Nascent Soul stage Corpse Puppets surrounded a tall, handsome youth in a golden robe. The youth wore a golden jade crown and a white jade belt, resembling a wealthy young master.

This was Shangguan Ming, a descendant of Shangguan Tianhong.

Shangguan Ming's face was pale, and his clothes were stained with blood, making him appear somewhat disheveled.

The nine Corpse Puppets were gruesome, their bodies a mix of human and beast forms, their cold eyes fixed on Shangguan Ming.

“Heh heh, several spiritual treasures—what immense wealth! You must be a descendant of some old Soul Transformation monster, aren’t you?” Fang Mu chuckled, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

His cultivation technique was unique; after his nine Heavenly Corpse Puppets advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, Fang Mu utilized their corpse aura to successfully cultivate to the late Nascent Soul stage. In the decades he had been in the Heavenly Azure Realm, he had killed over twenty Nascent Soul cultivators. In terms of combat achievements, he was undeniably formidable.

Nine Heavenly Corpse Puppets capable of casting Daoist magic and divine abilities were equivalent to nine Nascent Soul cultivators. Including Fang Mu, that made ten Nascent Soul cultivators, leaving few Nascent Soul cultivators capable of matching him.

Had Shangguan Ming not possessed several spiritual treasures, Fang Mu would have killed him long ago.

“Hmph, raising Corpse Puppets and harming mortals—I shall act on behalf of heaven to eliminate you, a demonic fiend!” Shangguan Ming sneered, his face filled with murderous intent.

“Harming mortals, huh? Hmph, compared to hypocrites like you, I hardly deserve the title of a demonic fiend. If your Heavenly Azure Realm hadn't invaded, would I have come here? What skill is there in relying on your ancestors' might? Without those spiritual treasures, you'd have been dead long ago.”

Fang Mu scoffed, then formed a spell. One of the Corpse Puppets stomped heavily on the ground.

The ground shook violently, and within a radius of several miles, the earth turned to sand. A sudden gale swept through, lifting countless yellow grains of sand and sending them directly towards Shangguan Ming.

Shangguan Ming dared not be careless. He lightly waved the green feather fan in his hand, conjuring strong winds. A green wind wall, several hundred *zhang* tall, appeared out of nowhere, blocking his path.

The dense yellow sand battered against the green wind wall, producing dull thuds like popping beans.

The dense yellow sand gathered, forming a massive yellow sand curtain that trapped Shangguan Ming inside.

“Break for me!”

Shangguan Ming roared, then formed a spell. The three-legged cauldron before him glowed intensely red, and the red flood dragon carved on its body let out a resonant dragon roar. A vast sheet of crimson flames swept out, expanding to several miles in size within three breaths, meeting the yellow sand curtain.

Boom!

After an earth-shattering roar, the yellow sand curtain vanished, and Fang Mu along with his nine Corpse Puppets also disappeared.

“He escaped again, damn it!”

Shangguan Ming said in frustration. Generally, a cultivator could only master a limited number of divine abilities, with most specializing in two or three elemental attributes. However, Fang Mu's Heavenly Corpse Puppets had mastered a total of nine different elemental divine abilities, integrating offense, defense, and escape.

His spiritual treasures could only injure Fang Mu's Corpse Puppets but could not destroy them, as Fang Mu's Heavenly Corpse Puppets were adept at defensive divine abilities.

He glanced at the corpses of his fellow disciples on the ground, his brows furrowed, and his murderous intent intensified. The longer Fang Mu remained, the greater the threat.

If Fang Mu managed to cultivate all his Heavenly Corpse Puppets to the Soul Transformation stage, no one in the Heavenly Azure Realm would be able to stop him.

Shangguan Ming collected the bodies of his fellow disciples and transformed into a streak of light, soaring away. His current state was also very weak, and continuing to pursue Fang Mu risked his own demise.