Chapter 1991: Five Years and Rejection

Five years quickly passed, like the turning of seasons.

In a private chamber, Wang Changsheng sat cross-legged on a blue futon, surrounded by various artifact crafting materials. A blue shark, over ten zhang in size, floated in mid-air.

The blue shark's body was covered in blue scales, its gaping maw revealed a row of sharp fangs, and its deep blue eyes constantly swiveled, as if it were a living creature.

This was a low-grade fifth-tier puppet beast. Wang Changsheng had consumed a large amount of crafting materials and finally managed to refine his first fifth-tier puppet beast.

He had been in Tianjiao City for over five years. Jiaoyao seemed to have forgotten about them, as she hadn't contacted them. However, Jiao Qing'er had visited them twice.

Jiao Qing'er had assured them they could reside peacefully in Tianjiao City, explaining that Jiaoyao was recuperating from injuries and thus unavailable to meet them.

With time on his hands, Wang Changsheng bought materials to craft fifth-tier puppet beasts. After extensive practice and the expenditure of considerable resources, he successfully refined a fifth-tier puppet beast.

This shark puppet beast was primarily crafted from Sky Sea Sand. Sky Sea Sand can be found on seabeds over ten thousand years old; its hard texture makes it ideal for refining Sky-Reaching Spirit Treasures such as swords and blades.

In addition to this fifth-tier puppet beast, he also upgraded the Jiao Cloud Pendant to a low-grade Sky-Reaching Spirit Treasure.

Wang Changsheng cast a spell, and the shark puppet beast emitted a low growl. Outwardly, this puppet beast was indistinguishable from a fifth-tier demonic beast; even a spiritual sense scan would reveal no abnormality.

Operating underwater, this shark puppet beast could prove quite effective.

Wang Changsheng changed his spell, and countless spiritual runes illuminated the shark puppet beast's body. With a mechanical whir, it transformed into a shimmering blue metallic sphere that flew into his hand.

His eyes were filled with delight; if he could refine one fifth-tier puppet beast, he could refine another.

To craft this fifth-tier puppet beast, the materials alone cost over ten million spirit stones. Fortunately, he had previously acquired the wealth of three Soul Transformation cultivators, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to afford such extensive practice.

As his puppet crafting skills improved, the cost would decrease.

Wang Changsheng flipped his palm, and the blue sphere vanished. He collected the items on the ground and walked out.

He suddenly sensed something and took out a shimmering blue seashell. Runes flickered on it, clearly indicating it was a magical artifact.

He cast a spell, and Jiao Qing'er's voice suddenly rang out: "Senior, Grandma has emerged from seclusion today and specifically sent me to invite you over."

"Alright, we'll be right over."

Putting away the blue seashell, Wang Changsheng went to Wang Ruyan's private chamber and sent a sound transmission talisman.

Time passed, but Wang Ruyan did not emerge.

Through a secret technique enabled by the Heart-Linking Worm, Wang Changsheng knew that Wang Ruyan was currently crafting talismans.

He pondered for a moment, then turned and walked out.

Wang Ruyan's emergence could take some time, so he decided to go meet Jiaoyao first.

Stepping out of his residence, Wang Changsheng saw Jiao Qing'er standing at the entrance.

"Let's go, Qing'er. My wife is currently occupied, so I'll go with you." Wang Changsheng explained. Over the past few years, he had developed a good impression of Jiao Qing'er.

Jiao Qing'er was quite simple-minded, a chatterbox, but with no malicious intent.

Less than a quarter of an hour later, Wang Changsheng followed Jiao Qing'er to Jiao Cloud Tower.

Jiaoyao sat in the main seat, her complexion rosy and her spirits high. A gaunt, elderly man in a green robe sat beside her.

"Madam Jiao, this must be Fellow Daoist Gui, right?" Wang Changsheng's gaze fell on the green-robed elder, and he said with a smile.

"I am Gui Shisan, greetings, Fellow Daoist." The green-robed elder introduced himself, his tone somewhat aloof.

"Fellow Daoists, thanks to your assistance, Qing'er was able to return safely to me. This old woman is immensely grateful. This is a small token of my appreciation, nothing more." As Jiaoyao spoke, she took out an exquisite blue jade box. With a flick of her wrist, the jade box flew from her hand towards Wang Changsheng.

Wang Changsheng caught the blue jade box and opened it. Inside were a deep blue crystal and a blue storage ring. The crystal was translucent, like amber.

He reached out and grasped the blue crystal. It felt soft to the touch, leaving several fingerprints. Shortly after, the fingerprints vanished, and the blue crystal returned to its original state.

"This is Water Glaze Divine Crystal! A sixth-tier artifact crafting material!" Wang Changsheng exclaimed in surprise. Water Glaze Divine Crystal was a unique material to the sea race, highly malleable with strong regenerative properties. It was commonly used to refine defensive Sky-Reaching Spirit Treasures and could also be used to craft puppet beasts.

The Water Glaze Divine Crystal in the jade box, if sold on the market, could fetch at least a million spirit stones.

"Indeed, it is Water Glaze Divine Crystal. Besides that, there are also some fifth-tier artifact crafting materials. Thank you, Fellow Daoist, for saving Qing'er's life," Jiaoyao said politely.

Wang Changsheng accepted it and said, "It was merely a small effort. My wife and I wish to go to Profound Turtle Island. Might Fellow Daoist Gui be able to assist us? We would be immensely grateful."

"My apologies, this old man is unable to help. Fellow Daoist Jin has already lost influence. Even if I were to go to Profound Turtle Island, I would encounter trouble with the Golden Scale race," Gui Shisan politely refused.

Wang Changsheng let out a soft sigh and nodded. Whether Gui Shisan's words were true or false, they would have to rely on themselves. Fortunately, he had made two sets of preparations.

"The storage ring contains a sea chart that details the area around Profound Turtle Island. If Fellow Daoist truly wishes to go to Profound Turtle Island, you might consider passing through the Blood Shark Sea. It is quite dangerous due to the frequent presence of Blood Shark Beasts, but the Golden Scale race rarely appears there, making the chance of encountering them on the way to Profound Turtle Island relatively low from that route," Jiaoyao explained in detail.

"Thank you for your guidance, Madam Jiao. I still have matters to attend to, so I won't impose any longer. Farewell." Wang Changsheng expressed his thanks and turned to leave.

Jiaoyao did not try to keep him, instead instructing Jiao Qing'er to see Wang Changsheng out.

Back at his residence, Wang Changsheng took out a blue storage ring, from which he retrieved a blue seashell. He then extended his spiritual sense into it.

After a moment, he withdrew his spiritual sense, a thoughtful expression on his face.

According to the jade slip, Blood Shark Beasts were highly aggressive and vengeful, typically appearing in small groups of a few to a dozen. The Blood Shark Sea was quite dangerous, even having sixth-tier Blood Sharks present. For this very reason, the Golden Scale race rarely appeared in the Blood Shark Sea.

If one were not to pass through the Blood Shark Sea but instead directly through the Golden Scale race's territory, encountering a high-tier Golden Scale member would lead to serious trouble.

"Husband, Madam Jiao isn't willing to help?" Wang Ruyan's voice suddenly broke Wang Changsheng's train of thought.

Wang Changsheng turned his head to look behind him. Wang Ruyan was walking towards him, her face beaming with joy.

Wang Changsheng nodded and said, "Indeed. A forced melon isn't sweet. Since they're unwilling to help, we'll rely on ourselves. Besides, I didn't put all my hopes on them. Oh, by the way, my dear, is there any good news?"