Chapter 1776: Dinghaizhu Ascends to Spiritual Treasure

"Judging by the direction, it seems Ji Yun is attempting to break through to the Nascent Soul stage!" Wang Mengxuan remarked thoughtfully. After Wang Changsheng advanced to the Soul Transformation stage, it became much easier for the Wang family to acquire spirit materials for Nascent Soul formation. However, most of these were obtained through auctions, as the family still couldn't refine them independently.

A deafening roar echoed from high above as a massive vortex of spiritual energy appeared in the sky. Spiritual energy from hundreds of miles around converged towards the vortex, and strong winds caused the towering trees on the island to sway violently.

In the basement of Qinglian Peak, Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a green futon, his face slightly pale. Before him stood a blue, three-legged cauldron with two handles, a cluster of blue flames burning at its base. Numerous refining materials were scattered around him.

Wang Changsheng chanted an incantation and whispered, "Go!" With a muffled thud, the lid flew open, and eighteen blue lights shot out, circling erratically around him.

The blue lights flashed, revealing eighteen shimmering blue orbs, each engraved with the characters "Dinghai" – the Dinghai Pearls.

For the past thirty years, Wang Changsheng had been dedicated to artifact refining. He had successfully crafted two sets of complete spirit treasures: the Seven-Star Demon-Slaying Nails and the Blazing Sun Banners. Each set contained a small number of items—three nails and two banners, respectively. While the power of a set increases with the number of spirit treasures, these two sets were merely practice pieces for Wang Changsheng.

The Dinghai Pearls had now been upgraded to spirit treasures, though at the cost of exhausting all of Wang Changsheng's spirit treasure refining materials. This achievement was largely thanks to acquiring the storage rings of two Soul Transformation cultivators; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to refine so many. His skill as an artifact refiner was also crucial, as an ordinary Soul Transformation cultivator, even with the same materials, would be incapable of refining such treasures.

Throughout the Dongli Realm, there were few fifth-tier artifact refiners. Lu Dao of the Divine Weapon Palace was considered the most skilled, and the Divine Weapon Palace itself possessed more Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures than any other faction in the entire realm.

"A complete set of spirit treasures! I've finally succeeded," Wang Changsheng murmured to himself, his expression filled with excitement.

Now that all eighteen Dinghai Pearls were spirit treasures, the Kui Water Warriors they summoned were significantly more powerful. While this meant a greater expenditure of Wang Changsheng's magic power and divine sense, he was unconcerned.

Wang Changsheng now possessed a considerable collection of spirit treasures, including the Ice Moon Ring, Seven-Colored Glazed Bowl, Dragon Lock, Flying Dragon in the Sky Map, Sea-Splitting Gauntlets, Soul-Seizing Pearl, Seven-Star Demon-Slaying Blade, and Spirit-Exterminating Needles. He also owned a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure, the Nine Flood Dragon Drum. The Seven-Star Demon-Slaying Nails, in particular, could be preserved as a family heirloom.

The only minor imperfection was the absence of a dedicated defensive spirit treasure. However, with his Sea-Quelling Dark Water Token, Wang Changsheng wasn't truly lacking in defensive capabilities.

With two sets of spirit treasures and a Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure at his disposal, Wang Changsheng would not fear, even if Long Xiaoyao himself came calling.

The Primeval Magnetite Crystal could be refined into a powerful heavy treasure, but it required many rare crafting materials that Wang Changsheng had not yet gathered. Thus, the crystal remained in his storage ring for the time being.

He put away the Dinghai Pearls, then stood up and walked out.

From high above, a deafening thunderclap resounded. A massive black thundercloud appeared in the sky, flashing with lightning and rumbling with thunder.

Points of blue light emerged from the void before Wang Changsheng, forming the shape of a Qilin Turtle. It had already grown to three hundred zhang in size and, though still a fourth-tier low-grade creature, its bulk continued to increase.

The Qilin Turtle was remarkably intelligent; it often ventured out to sea with the Twin-Pupil Rat to hunt demon beasts, the two cooperating seamlessly.

"You've grown again, you fellow," Wang Changsheng chuckled softly. "If you were given a thousand or eight hundred years, I wonder if you could grow to the size of an island."

The Qilin Turtle let out a low roar, and countless blue electric arcs emerged on its body, as if showing off.

"The Qilin Turtle is this big now? In a few more centuries, it might grow to the size of a small island," a familiar female voice suddenly remarked.

Wang Changsheng turned to see Wang Ruyan approaching him. Her aura was noticeably stronger than before, and her magic power had advanced considerably.

"My dear, you've emerged from seclusion?" Wang Changsheng asked with a broad smile. It appeared Wang Ruyan was ready to attempt her breakthrough to the Soul Transformation stage.

Wang Ruyan nodded and said, "I plan to travel for a while and attempt my breakthrough to the Soul Transformation stage."

Her cultivation method differed from others. While most cultivators who reached the pinnacle of the Nascent Soul stage relied on spiritual objects for their breakthrough to Soul Transformation, she had little dependency on such items, prioritizing the tempering of her state of mind instead.

"Good, I'll accompany you," Wang Changsheng said. "By my reckoning, Haitang should have finished setting up the grand formation by now."

Wang Jiyun had obtained a Void Moon Divine Crystal from the Immortal-Suppressing Pagoda, which could be used to establish a grand formation. In the event of a major family crisis, Qinglian Island could then be hidden beneath the sea.

The Zhenhai Sect possessed the blueprint for this type of formation. While other materials were easily collected, the main component, the Void Moon Divine Crystal, was exceptionally difficult to acquire.

Wang Changsheng took out his communication disk and contacted Ye Haitang.

"Haitang, if you're free, come to Qinglian Island. I have something to ask you."

"Understood, I'll be right over," she replied.

Shortly thereafter, Ye Haitang appeared before Wang Changsheng. Still in the mid-Nascent Soul stage, her aura was noticeably stronger than before.

"Haitang, is that formation set up?" Wang Changsheng asked directly.

Ye Haitang nodded. "Thanks to the formation diagram left by the Zhenhai Sect, it's already set up," she explained. "However, I couldn't find some of the original materials, so I used substitutes. The formation can submerge Qinglian Island into the seabed, within a range of ten million miles. The Void Moon Divine Crystal is sufficient for three uses, and each submersion can hide the island for over a century. Unless someone possesses a special secret treasure, it would be extremely difficult to discover."

Setting up formations requires diagrams, refining artifacts requires schematics, alchemy needs pill recipes, and talisman crafting demands specific methods. However, if one's skill reaches a sufficiently high level, these detailed guides become unnecessary.

"Three times! That's impressive. You've worked hard," Wang Changsheng said, his face showing approval. Knowing Ye Haitang's proficiency in formations, he was certain she wouldn't have said it unless she was confident.

"It's nothing, Uncle, it's my duty," Ye Haitang replied with a sweet smile, her face beaming with pride. As a formation master, she was incredibly proud to have been able to establish a fifth-tier formation using only a diagram. She knew that if she could advance to the Soul Transformation stage, she would be able to perfect Qinglian Island's protective family formation.

A well-designed protective family formation could shelter the family for an extended period. Even after a Soul Transformation cultivator eventually passed away, as long as the formation remained operational, it could continue to safeguard the family.

"Haitang, your aunt hasn't chatted with you in a long time. Come, let's talk!" Wang Ruyan said, leading Ye Haitang into the house. Meanwhile, Wang Changsheng walked to a secret chamber about a hundred zhang in size, which contained a teleportation array of similar dimensions. He stepped onto the array, cast an incantation, and a dazzling spiritual light flared, completely engulfing his figure.

As the spiritual light dissipated, Wang Changsheng found himself in a secret chamber of similar size. He then strode out.

Upon entering the main hall, Wang Changsheng saw Immortal Zi Yue speaking with Cheng Zhenyu and his wife.

"Senior Brother Wang, what brings you here?" Immortal Zi Yue asked, surprised, as she quickly rose. Cheng Zhenyu and his wife also stood up.

"I've refined a set of spirit treasures," Wang Changsheng announced. "Let's leave them for the Zhenhai Sect as their sect-suppressing treasure! Without the Grand Elder, I wouldn't be where I am today."

Wang Changsheng flicked his sleeve, and two scarlet command banners flew out, hovering in mid-air and emitting a strong fluctuation of fire spiritual energy. These were indeed the set of spirit treasures, the Blazing Sun Banners, though there were only two of them.

Given that the Zhenhai Sect possessed a Heavenly-grade fire-attribute cultivation method, this set of spirit treasures would be perfectly suitable for them.

"A complete set of spirit treasures!" Immortal Zi Yue exclaimed. This gift was simply too precious. Over the years, the Wang family had already provided immense assistance to the Zhenhai Sect, and now, to receive another set of spirit treasures, Immortal Zi Yue was truly at a loss for words.