Chapter 211: The Gathering Storm

Wang Yaozu chuckled heartily, saying, "It's fine, I can just boil another bowl; Grandpa isn't hungry yet."

Wang Changyue smiled awkwardly and looked at Wang Changsheng, "Brother, should I make a bowl for you too?"

"No need," Wang Changsheng replied. "I just came to check on Grandpa. Changyue, you really need to work harder on your cultivation. How are you only at the fifth level of Qi Refining?"

Hearing this, Wang Changyue pouted, dismissively saying, "My aptitude isn't great to begin with, and I have to spend a lot of time learning array formations, so I don't have much time for cultivation. The only reason I'm at the fifth level of Qi Refining is because I've taken a lot of elixirs. My cultivation speed isn't slow; which family member reaches the sixth level of Qi Refining by age twenty?"

Wang Mingyuan and Liu Qing'er were already quite old, and their chances of establishing a foundation were low. Although Wang Changyue's aptitude was ordinary, she showed considerable talent in array formations. Therefore, for both personal and familial reasons, Wang Changsheng intended to help Wang Changyue establish her foundation.

"You're already twenty, which is the prime age for cultivation. You should dedicate more time to it. Constantly relying on elixirs isn't good; consuming too many can lead to elixir toxins. Cultivation level is what truly matters. Once you enter the Foundation Establishment stage, you'll have more time to study array formations. If you miss the optimal age for Foundation Establishment, it'll be too late for regrets." Wang Changsheng admonished her earnestly, his tone somewhat stern. With his parents having stopped at the Qi Refining stage, he didn't want Wang Changyue to do the same.

"Changshan is right, Changyue," Wang Yaozu chimed in, his tone gentler. "Listen to your brother. Spend more time on cultivation and don't always depend on elixirs. Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, you'll have plenty of time to delve into array formations."

"Alright, I understand." With both Wang Yaozu and Wang Changsheng advising her, Wang Changyue could hardly object and agreed.

After chatting with Wang Yaozong for about fifteen minutes, Wang Changsheng left and headed to the Wine Brewing Courtyard.

After Lu Yang joined the Wang family, he began instructing the family members on brewing wine. While others handled the routine procedures, he was responsible for the most crucial steps, never allowing Wang family members to observe. This was quite normal; his primary value lay in his brewing skill, and if he taught the family all his secrets, he would lose his utility.

Wang Changfeng didn't pressure Lu Yang, knowing that with time, Lu Yang would eventually share all his knowledge.

Lu Yang was currently capable of brewing three types of first-grade mid-tier spirit wines. This was Wang Changsheng's first time seeing Lu Yang.

Lu Yang was tall and slender, unkempt, and appeared somewhat disheveled, reeking of alcohol.

"Senior Wang, what brings you here?" As any Foundation Establishment cultivator appearing in the Wine Brewing Courtyard would naturally be a member of the Wang family, Lu Yang dared not be disrespectful. He quickly approached, a wide smile on his face.

"How many vats of spirit wine can be brewed annually now?"

"Currently, we can brew two hundred vats of Jade Spring Brew, two hundred vats of Plum Blossom Wine, and one hundred vats of Pure Essence Dew per year. All three are first-grade mid-tier spirit wines, suitable for cultivators below the seventh level of Qi Refining. Regular consumption can enhance cultivation." Lu Yang replied truthfully. With over thirty people at his disposal, he could continuously brew spirit wines as long as abundant materials were provided.

"Keep up the good work; our Wang family won't treat you unfairly," Wang Changsheng encouraged. Lu Yang then thoroughly explained the brewing process to Wang Changsheng and poured him two cups of the finished spirit wine, which tasted quite good.

After leaving the Wine Brewing Courtyard, Wang Changsheng visited the Talisman Creation Courtyard and the Puppet Crafting Courtyard, conducting inspections.

The number of talisman masters remained unchanged at four. What surprised Wang Changsheng was that Li Qiwen was actually able to craft first-grade low-tier flying talisman soldiers. According to Wang Changyu, Li Qiwen's ancestors included a second-grade high-tier talisman master who left behind valuable insights on talisman crafting. After his family declined, Li Qiwen lacked the large quantities of spirit stones needed to purchase talisman paper for practice. It was only after joining the Wang family through marriage that he had the opportunity to practice extensively.

Li Qiwen's daughter, Li Yuehua, possessed a four-spirit root and showed no particular talent in talisman crafting, nor was she interested in it. However, her younger sister, Wang Qingyun, had a three-spirit root, a better aptitude than Li Yuehua, and was quite interested in the art of talisman crafting.

As both Wang Changyu and Li Qiwen were talisman masters, they planned to focus on training Wang Qingyun, hoping she would inherit their mantle.

The number of first-grade artifact forgers had increased by three. Among the first-grade forgers, Wang Mingmei had the highest forging skill, capable of crafting first-grade high-tier puppet beasts with a relatively high success rate. Wang Mingcan and Wang Mingdong could also forge first-grade high-tier puppet beasts, though their success rate was not as high, while Wang Changhuan could craft first-grade mid-tier puppet beasts.

Wang Mingmei was already quite old, so her chances of establishing a foundation were low. Wang Changhuan and Wang Mingdong were both at the eighth level of Qi Refining, but Wang Changhuan was younger. Wang Changsheng pondered helping Wang Changhuan establish his foundation, as the Wang family needed to cultivate several second-grade artifact forgers. This would not only allow them to earn more spirit stones but also alleviate some of Wang Changsheng's burden, giving him more time for his own cultivation.

Wang Changfeng had also begun learning artifact forging, but his skill level was relatively low, currently only a first-grade low-tier forger.

After Wang Mingjiang switched to cultivating the "True Scripture of Gui Water," he was busy searching for natural spirit water. He attended two auctions but failed to acquire any.

After completing his inspection, Wang Changsheng went to his mother's residence and chatted with her for a while.

In the evening, the family of five happily gathered together for dinner.

After dinner, Wang Changsheng chatted with his parents. Both Liu Qing'er and Wang Yaozu hoped he would marry soon, especially Wang Yaozu, who was advanced in age with not much lifespan left and wished to hold a great-grandson before he died.

Wang Changsheng could only give an awkward smile and say he would do so as soon as possible.

This trip had yielded considerable gains. Unfortunately, when he and Wang Mingjiang visited the Wang family fortress, Wang Ruyan happened to be out.

Upon returning to his residence, Wang Changsheng took out his artifact forging materials, intending to craft a long-range offensive magical artifact.

Bailing Mountain Range, Bailing Hall.

Guangdong Ren sat on the main seat, with Li Haifeng and three others seated on either side below him.

"Fellow Daoist Li, I have personally inspected it. That spirit stone mine is indeed a medium-sized one. With proper extraction, it can be mined for three to four hundred years without issue, with a value exceeding several million spirit stones. The problem is that the mine is located in the Myriad Snake Valley, at the border of three countries. The Li family of the Shu Kingdom was the first to discover it, and if I'm not mistaken, they must have already reported it to the cultivation sects of the Shu Kingdom. What are your thoughts?" Guangdong Ren slowly stated.

They had previously allied with the Shu Kingdom to deal with the four sects of the Song Kingdom. Now, for the sake of a medium-sized spirit stone mine, they were preparing to turn on their former allies.

Li Haifeng and the other three frowned. If it were a small spirit stone mine, they would still be willing to negotiate with the three sects of the Shu Kingdom. However, a medium-sized spirit stone mine, valued at over several million spirit stones, could even help them breakthrough to the Nascent Soul stage.

Li Haifeng was already at the ninth level of Core Formation, one step away from Nascent Soul. This medium-sized spirit stone mine was like a huge pie falling right onto his lap.

Hearing Guangdong Ren's words, the eyes of Feng Yue and the other two became fervent.

Millions of spirit stones—what kind of concept was that? The spirit stone reserves of none of their five sects necessarily amounted to several millions. With this medium-sized spirit stone mine, they could cultivate at least a few more Core Formation cultivators.

"Fellow Daoist Guang, are you certain it's a medium-sized spirit stone mine?" Sun Junyan's tone was heavy, his gaze fixed on Guangdong Ren.

Guangdong Ren smiled slightly and looked at Li Haifeng, "Fellow Daoist Li Qingshan from the Huangsheng Palace is stationed in Myriad Snake Market City. I invited him to inspect it with me. Brother Haifeng can attest to this."

"That's right, Junior Brother Li personally visited Myriad Snake Valley, and the information is accurate."

Sun Junyan's eyes lit up. He stated in a deep voice, "Heaven helps our five sects of the Wei Kingdom! This medium-sized spirit stone mine must not fall into anyone else's hands. We must strike first. Let's immediately dispatch troops to take Myriad Snake Valley."

"The three sects of the Shu Kingdom won't easily surrender a medium-sized spirit stone mine. This war is unavoidable, but it cannot drag on for too long. The Tang and Chu Kingdoms have been eyeing us covetously. If the war is prolonged and they seize the opportunity to bite us, the losses would be considerable. I suggest we immediately conscript cultivation families and swiftly take Myriad Snake Valley." Tong Tianqi proposed.

Feng Yue considered carefully and said, "The three sects of the Shu Kingdom will not idly watch us take Myriad Snake Valley. My suggestion is to unite with Northern Liang and Western Jin to jointly attack the three sects of the Shu Kingdom. We only need the two provinces of the former Song Kingdom and Myriad Snake Valley; we can cede the other areas to Northern Liang and Western Jin. They would have no reason to refuse. My recommendation is to primarily conscript cultivation families, with each of our five sects dispatching a portion of disciples to supervise the battle, while retaining the majority of our forces to guard against the Chu and Tang Kingdoms."

"I agree with Madam Feng's suggestion. However, we must seize Myriad Snake Valley first. This way, while we dispatch people to occupy Myriad Snake Valley and launch the initial attack on the Shu Kingdom, it would be best to eliminate one or two Core Formation cultivators from Shu. This would make it easier to persuade Northern Liang and Western Jin. At the same time, we must strengthen border defenses, especially against Chu. The Tang Kingdom hasn't long annexed Western Qi, so they won't launch a large-scale invasion. The Chu Kingdom, however, is harder to predict. The three sects of Medicine King Valley are all in Chu, so to be cautious, we should extensively conscript cultivation families from the former Song Kingdom to prevent the Medicine King Valley's three sects from colluding with them."

They deliberated for over two hours and unanimously decided to conscript cultivation families to invade the Shu Kingdom. The cultivation families from the former Song Kingdom would lead the charge to prevent them from colluding with the three sects of Medicine King Valley.