Chapter 216: Fated in the Heavens

The Wang family was the only team to return unscathed. Not long after they arrived back in Myriad Snake City, Li Haifeng sent for Wang Changsheng and Wang Mingjiang to inquire about their engagement with the Poison Gu Sect disciples.

This time, no other Foundation Establishment cultivators were present; only Li Haifeng and Feng Yue were there.

"Senior Li, the Tang family has at least five Foundation Establishment cultivators guarding their stronghold, plus their formation. The two of us simply cannot overcome them. Could you send more people to assist us?" Wang Changsheng asked cautiously.

"I was just thinking the same thing. I'll assign two more Foundation Establishment cultivators to you. Discuss among yourselves how many Qi Condensation cultivators to bring. Operating behind enemy lines, having too many Qi Condensation cultivators can be a burden." Just as Li Haifeng finished speaking, a young man in yellow robes entered and respectfully announced, "Master, Fellow Daoist Wang and their group have arrived."

"Fellow Daoist Wang? Could it be the Wang family?" Wang Changsheng wondered inwardly, knowing that the only cultivation family with the surname Wang, as far as he was aware, was the Wang family of Blue Moon Lake.

"Let them in!" As Wang Changsheng had expected, it was indeed the Wang family. Wang Shuyuan and Wang Ruyan walked in.

"Junior Wang Shuyuan (Wang Ruyan) greets Senior Li and Senior Feng." Wang Shuyuan and Wang Ruyan bowed respectfully to Li Haifeng and Feng Yue.

Upon seeing Wang Ruyan, a hint of joy appeared in Wang Changsheng's eyes.

"You can dispense with the formalities, Young Friends Wang. Your two families will cooperate fully to infiltrate the State of Shu and find your own targets. Don't go back to the previous targets; they will surely have strengthened their defenses, and attacking them again would be suicide. Here is a distribution map of most cultivation families in the State of Shu; choose your own targets. I hope you bring good news back next time. A word of warning: do not be passive or slack off. If discovered, you will be severely punished." Li Haifeng took out a blue jade slip and handed it to Wang Shuyuan.

"Yes, junior understands." The four of them, including Wang Changsheng, replied in unison, bowed, and withdrew.

"The three sects of Shu have indeed calculated well, employing a policy of cleared fields and walls and reinforcing their important strongholds with more disciples. Our probing attacks resulted in heavy losses. We must also send some disciples to infiltrate Shu and achieve some results, otherwise, Western Jin and Western Liang will continue to watch from the sidelines." Li Haifeng was very annoyed, having suffered a minor setback in the first battle.

The three sects of Shu had cleared the fields and walls, temporarily abandoning less important strongholds and consolidating their forces, clearly having prepared for war long ago.

"Hmph, both Western Jin and Western Liang are the type to not release the hawk until they see the rabbit. If we don't make a bigger fuss, they won't send troops. Our five sects should each dispatch ten Foundation Establishment cultivators to seize a few important strongholds first. The strength of the cultivation families is truly too weak."

"Indeed, the war still depends on our five sects. I will arrange for reinforcements immediately."

Inside a private room at a teahouse, the four of them, including Wang Changsheng, were discussing their attack targets.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, I suggest we continue to target the Tang family. I possess a special magic artifact, a Formation-Breaking Pearl, which can shatter any formation below the third tier. When the time comes, we can jointly unleash our artifacts to slay the Tang family cultivators. The spoils will be split 60-40, with us taking 60% and you taking 40%."

"Fellow Daoist Wang, even if you can break the formation, taking 60% directly is too much! The Tang family has at least five Foundation Establishment cultivators; it will take considerable effort to eliminate them. A 60-40 split is acceptable, but we should take 60% and you 40%." Wang Changsheng haggled.

"That's not how it works. The Formation-Breaking Pearl is worth over ten thousand spirit stones and and is priceless, very difficult to acquire. We will also be involved in eliminating those five Foundation Establishment cultivators. On what basis do you claim 60%?" Wang Shuyuan refused to yield.

Wang Changsheng smiled faintly and conjured eight second-tier puppet beasts. He said, "I can control eight second-tier puppet beasts simultaneously. For a 60-40 split, do you still have any objections?" Wang Shuyuan was somewhat surprised. After communicating with Wang Ruyan via spiritual transmission for a few moments, he agreed.

Their continued decision to attack the Tang family was partly due to the three Poison Gu Sect disciples guarding it. The Tang family had been established for over a thousand years and had close ties with the Poison Gu Sect, ensuring they possessed significant wealth. Most importantly, the Tang family would surely not expect them to make a return attack.

Given the circumstances of their last encounter, both families brought five Qi Condensation cultivators each.

After the time it takes to brew a cup of tea, Wang Changsheng and his companions appeared at the city gate, boarded a blue lotus boat, and flew towards the State of Shu.

In the State of Chu, within the Heavenly Cloud Mountain Range, the three sects of Medicine King Valley and the Wang family had formed an alliance. The location of this alliance was in the Heavenly Cloud Mountain Range.

Inside a majestic great hall, Chen Hongtian, Li Shixian, Zhao Yunxiao, and Wang Huashan were discussing something.

"What? The State of Wei has gone to war with the State of Shu? And Shu wants to unite with Chu, Tang, and Han for a four-state attack on Wei?" Wang Huashan's brows furrowed in hesitation. Last time, he had bet on the wrong side, and the Wang family was nearly annihilated. He hadn't expected that after only a few years of peace, war would break out again. Honestly, he didn't want to participate, but since he was now moving in lockstep with the three sects of Medicine King Valley, staying out of it was impossible.

"The five sects of Wei have conscripted many cultivation families and gathered them in Myriad Snake Valley. I hear it's only small-scale skirmishes so far, not full-blown warfare, likely as a precaution against us. A four-state assault on Wei has a high chance of success. The four sects of Chu are concerned about heavy losses and want to bring us in. After all, the State of Song was originally our homeland, and it's only right that we reclaim it." Chen Hongtian stated solemnly.

Zhao Yunxiao looked troubled and said, "But we swore a Heart Demon Oath not to attack Wei for a hundred years. Doing so would make it very difficult to advance to the Nascent Soul stage in the future." Back then, the five sects of Wei used thousands of captives to force the leaders of the three sects of Medicine King Valley to swear a Heart Demon Oath not to attack Wei for a century, only then agreeing to release the captives.

"Even without this Heart Demon, are we guaranteed to reach the Nascent Soul stage? It's incredibly difficult for us to develop while confined to this desolate Heavenly Cloud Mountain. The four sects of Chu are wary of us, fearing we might usurp them. The State of Song is our true root. Besides, we are the ones who swore the Heart Demon Oath; Junior Sister Liu did not. If Junior Sister Liu leads an attack on Wei, I cannot stop her. Strictly speaking, I would not be violating the oath either."

Wang Huashan's eyes lit up. He asked, "Fellow Daoist Chen, do you mean we should let Immortal Liu lead the team, and we shouldn't go?"

Hearing this, Chen Hongtian felt a hint of displeasure. If it weren't for the powerful external enemies and the increased strength a Core Formation cultivator brings, he would have eliminated Wang Huashan long ago.

"Exactly. Last time, we were deceived by the State of Tang. Who knows if we'll be deceived again this time? Human intentions are unpredictable. I plan to have Junior Sister Liu lead the team, representing us in battle, commanding a hundred Foundation Establishment cultivators and three hundred Qi Condensation cultivators. It's best if we win, but even if we lose, as long as Junior Sister Liu returns safely, that will be enough."

Li Shixian frowned and said, "Wei and Shu haven't fully engaged in warfare yet. Invading now would just make us a tool for the four sects of Chu!"

"We worry about being used as a tool by the four sects of Chu, and they also worry about being used by the State of Shu. We've decided that we will only enter the battle once Shu and Wei fully engage. For now, we need to gather our forces, ready to fight at any moment."

"If that's the case, then it's acceptable." Zhao Yunxiao and the other two expressed their agreement. Wang Huashan couldn't really refuse; he agreed verbally, though his heart was heavy with worry.

In this war, who knew how many members of the Wang family would die? He also wondered how Wang Shuyuan and the others were faring and hoped Wang Shuyuan wouldn't encounter them on the front lines. With four states attacking Wei, Wei was in trouble this time, and it was possible they would recall Wang Shuyuan to the front.

A great war was imminent, and a storm was brewing.