Chapter 1878: Spirit Realm, Xuanling Continent

"Kinsmen!" The artifact spirit snorted softly and said nothing more.

Wang Changsheng took out a green storage ring and held it with both hands. The artifact spirit grabbed it with one hand, and the storage ring flew directly towards her.

She scanned it with her divine sense, a satisfied expression appearing on her face. With a flick of her wrist, more than a dozen jade slips of various colors flew out, landing in the hands of Wang Changsheng and the others.

"These are some spatial nodes that lead to the Spirit World," the artifact spirit said slowly. "You can try to reach the Spirit World through these nodes. Whether you succeed or not will depend on your luck."

"Spatial nodes? Senior Ye, is the method you're suggesting to sneak through spatial nodes?" Shangguan Tianhong's expression turned grim. Many Deity Transformation cultivators from the Heavenly Ripple Realm had failed in their attempts to cross over, which was why he had united with other Deity Transformation cultivators to unify the realm. He had originally thought the artifact spirit would instruct them on how to set up a grand formation to temporarily open a realm passage together.

"Hmph, do you even know which spatial nodes lead to the Spirit World?" the artifact spirit retorted coldly. "Most of the nodes you tried to sneak through were either dead spiritual spaces or led to other realms. Besides, haven't I already taught you a secret technique? With that technique for protection, your chances will be higher." If she weren't currently unable to leave the Immortal Suppressing Pagoda for extended periods, she would have already turned hostile and wouldn't be bothering to explain to Shangguan Tianhong and the others.

"Senior Ye, did you return to the Spirit World through a spatial node?" Ye Yan asked, bracing himself. The artifact spirit was right; they didn't know which spatial nodes led to the Spirit World. The artifact spirit had already provided them with the node information and taught them a secret technique, which was quite generous. If they angered her, they would likely face severe consequences.

"What? You want to come with me? I can barely take care of myself; I can't take anyone else. You're on your own!" The artifact spirit's gaze quickly swept over Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan, her tone calm.

"Senior Ye, I just remembered, I have some other good items," Shangguan Tianhong said, respectfully taking out a golden storage ring.

The artifact spirit grabbed it with one hand, and the golden storage ring flew into her palm. She scanned it with her divine sense and nodded in satisfaction. "Consider yourself sensible. I can take you."

Shangguan Tianhong was overjoyed upon hearing this. He had, after all, offered fifty percent of the Heavenly Ripple Sect's fifth-tier refining materials. After a slight hesitation, he asked, "Senior Ye, could you also bring along Junior Sister Situ and Junior Brother Sun?"

Situ Qing and Sun Hao quickly took out two storage rings. The artifact spirit accepted both, nodded in satisfaction, and said, "Very well! I'll take you for now." Situ Qing and Sun Hao repeatedly agreed. The three of them had offered ninety percent of the Heavenly Ripple Sect's fifth-tier refining materials, so securing a spot was a good deal.

At this point, it was clear to everyone else that only by offering more rare materials could they get the artifact spirit to take them. They all took out their storage rings, each with their own calculations, either distrusting the artifact spirit or being reluctant to part with their precious materials.

Unfortunately, the artifact spirit was only willing to take Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, Shangguan Tianhong, Situ Qing, and Sun Hao—a total of five people. The others had to find their own way.

"Let me remind you," the artifact spirit's tone grew heavy, "the spatial nodes I've given you are unique; there are no duplicates. There's no guarantee that a node won't get blocked someday. If you wish to ascend to the Spirit World, you should depart early. I cannot guarantee that these spatial nodes will always exist."

Everyone's hearts tightened. Gongsun Yang and Meng Tianzheng were only at the early stage of Deity Transformation and had planned to cultivate until the middle stage before departing. However, the artifact spirit's words undoubtedly threw a bucket of cold water on their plans.

"Senior Ye, is there a safer method? Like a formation?" Lu Dao said through gritted teeth, his face full of anticipation. "Sneaking through is too dangerous. I'm willing to offer fifty percent of my sect's fifth-tier materials from our treasury."

The others quickly voiced their agreement, all willing to offer another batch of fifth-tier materials. Even with knowledge of the spatial nodes leading to the Spirit World, and even with defensive spiritual treasures, it wasn't necessarily safe.

The artifact spirit pondered for a moment, then flicked her sleeve. A pale golden jade slip flew out and landed in Lu Dao's hand. "This contains the method for setting up an ancient grand formation and the refining method for a secret talisman. If you activate this formation near a spatial node, along with the secret talisman, your survival rate will be higher."

Lu Dao scanned it with his divine sense, his eyes brightening considerably as he repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

"Alright, everyone else, you may leave, except for the five, including the Qinglian Immortal Couple!" the artifact spirit instructed. Meng Tianzheng and the others agreed repeatedly and departed.

"Go back and prepare. You will depart in five years. It's best to refine more spiritual treasures or fifth-tier talismans; they will help increase your survival rate. Don't rely solely on me," the artifact spirit instructed.

The five of them, including Wang Changsheng, repeatedly agreed. Even if the artifact spirit hadn't said anything, they would have done so anyway.

"Senior Ye, I have a few questions about spatial nodes that I'd like to ask you," Wang Changsheng asked earnestly, his expression tense. "Would it be convenient for you to answer them?"

The artifact spirit looked at Shangguan Tianhong, who understood immediately. He quickly formed a hand seal, and the Azure Dragon Boat immediately turned around and left the area. "There are no outsiders here now. Ask away!"

Wang Changsheng expressed his gratitude and then recounted the disappearance of Wang Qingshan. He wanted to ask the artifact spirit for guidance to see if there was any way to rescue Wang Qingshan. Given five years, he was willing to try again.

"There's no way!" the artifact spirit stated. "Either you break into the place where he's trapped and use a great divine ability to rescue him, but I don't recommend that; you'd likely get yourself trapped too. If he advances to the Deity Transformation stage, perhaps there's hope for him to escape." There were many spatial nodes where Wang Qingshan could have disappeared, and Wang Changsheng had no idea which one he had entered, making it impossible to search.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan were filled with disappointment. It seemed Qingshan would have to rely on himself to escape.

The artifact spirit flicked her sleeve, and a hundred silver formation flags and several formation plates flew out, landing in front of Wang Changsheng. "This is the Qiankun Sensing Spirit Formation," she said. "If there's a living creature within the spatial node, the formation might react, and you could guide him out using the formation. The prerequisite is that you need an exotic treasure or secret talisman capable of breaking through realm barriers. However, several of these formation flags are severely damaged, and I don't know if there are materials in the lower realm to repair them."

Wang Changsheng's face lit up with joy, and he repeatedly expressed his gratitude. The Sky-Rending Spirit Blade could break through realm barriers, and Ye Haitang was a formation master, so there was hope of rescuing Wang Qingshan.

"Oh, right," the artifact spirit suddenly asked, "has the Northern Border Puppet Emperor's cenotaph been repaired?"

Wang Changsheng was slightly startled, then quickly replied, "It has been repaired. Senior Ye, you know of the Puppet Emperor?"

The artifact spirit nodded, a look of remembrance on her face. "She guided me in artifact refining for a time. It's a pity she couldn't overcome her third grand heavenly tribulation."

"We can send people to notify the various sects in the Northern Border to assign personnel to guard the Puppet Emperor's cenotaph," Wang Ruyan respectfully said. "Our Wang family can also assign guards."

The artifact spirit nodded and said, "I'm helping you because of Old Ghost Lin of Zhenhai Palace. Zhenhai Palace and Zhenhai Sect share the same origin. Before you ascend, take good care of Zhenhai Sect. If you successfully reach the Spirit World, you might be able to attach yourselves to Zhenhai Palace."

Wang Changsheng's heart jolted. He carefully asked, "Senior Ye, is Zhenhai Palace very influential in the Spirit World?"

"Before I descended from the Spirit World, Zhenhai Palace was the largest sect on the Xuanling Continent," the artifact spirit explained. "As for now, I'm not sure."

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan gasped. Zhenhai Palace was that powerful?

"Xuanling Continent?" Wang Changsheng was slightly taken aback. Wasn't the Spirit World a single realm?

"The Spirit World is vast, divided into seven regions," the artifact spirit explained. "The Xuanling Continent is just one of them. Most cultivators who ascend from the lower realms operate within the Xuanling Continent's region. Therefore, for the vast majority of human cultivators, the Xuanling Continent is the Spirit World. As for the other six regions, they are either controlled by foreign races or are extremely distant and difficult to reach. I've only been to the Azure Glass Sea Region and the Xuanling Continent." Her tone then shifted. "We'll discuss it more when you reach the Spirit World. Even with my help, you might not safely reach the Spirit World. Knowing more now is useless. Go back and attend to your affairs! We'll gather here in five years. I won't wait for you any longer."

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan repeatedly affirmed. Wang Changsheng formed a hand seal, and the Green Lotus Daoist Platform transformed into a streak of green light, flying towards Green Lotus Island.