Chapter 241: Wang Qingshan's Secret

"Indeed, my husband, when do you plan to set off?"

Wang Changsheng smiled faintly and said, "There's no hurry. It's not too late to leave after everything has been properly arranged."

"Oh, husband, Qingshan has come back seriously injured again. This child just won't listen; he insists on hunting demonic beasts. If he hadn't been accompanied by fellow clansmen, he probably wouldn't have made it back." Wang Ruyan spoke with reproach.

Wang Qingshan was now at the seventh level of Qi Refinement. He didn't like to stay quietly in Wang Family Fort to cultivate; every so often, he would go out to hunt demonic beasts. In his words, only real combat could hone true skills; no matter how well one practiced normally, it was useless. Only with strong power could he protect his clansmen. The deaths of Wang Yaozu and others had greatly impacted Wang Qingshan. Wang Qingshan cultivated very diligently and was already at the sixth level of Qi Refinement. He practiced the "Azure Wind Sword Art," and with the aid of puppet beasts, no cultivator of the same level was his match in single combat.

"This child is stubborn; let him be! I'll go see him."

"Wait, husband, take the Earth Escape Talisman and Wood Escape Talisman to him! With these two escape talismans, they could save his life at a critical moment. I'll go check on Qingjing and Qingzhi." Wang Ruyan took out two second-tier talismans and handed them to Wang Changsheng.

Second-tier talismans were expensive, especially escape-type talismans, which were in short supply and commanded high prices, usually requiring pre-orders.

A short while later, Wang Changsheng arrived at a secluded courtyard. As soon as he entered, he heard two men talking. Inside the room, Wang Qingshan lay on the bed, his face pale, with his left hand bandaged.

"Sixth brother, it's not that I'm scolding you, but our family is developing so well now, is it really necessary for you to hunt demonic beasts? How many times have I told you to just stay in Qinglian Mountain and cultivate honestly? There's no need to put yourself in danger." Wang Qingyuan sat by the bed and tried to persuade him. Wang Qingyuan was one year older than Wang Qingshan and cultivated the Thick Earth Art, already reaching the fifth level of Qi Refinement.

Wang Qingshan was unimpressed and retorted, "Cultivating immortality is inherently defying the heavens; what's the point of always cooping up at home? If war breaks out and our family lacks strong military power, we'll be lambs to the slaughter. Besides, the cultivation speed of the 'Azure Wind Sword Art' isn't fast to begin with, and the monthly resources provided by the family are far from enough for my cultivation. If I didn't go out to hunt demonic beasts, I might still be at the fourth level of Qi Refinement! Although I was severely injured this time, I feel I'm not far from the seventh level of Qi Refinement. Once I reach the seventh level, as long as I don't encounter a second-tier demonic beast, I won't return severely injured again." His tone was full of confidence.

Wang Qingyuan sighed. Wang Qingshan's temper was notoriously stubborn; once he set his mind on something, nothing could change it. Several elders within the clan had taken turns advising him, but he still hadn't changed his mind. This was already the third time he had returned seriously injured; if not for his clansmen accompanying him, he would have long since failed to return.

"Fine, I can't argue with you. I'll visit you another day! Twenty-first Uncle asked me to give you this bottle of Purple Ginseng Pills; they'll help with your injuries." Wang Qingyuan took out a blue porcelain bottle and handed it to Wang Qingshan.

After saying that, he stood up and walked out, just as Wang Changsheng entered.

"Ninth Uncle." Wang Qingyuan greeted Wang Changsheng when he saw him.

Wang Qingshan saw Wang Changsheng and was about to get out of bed, but Wang Changsheng stopped him.

"Qingyuan, you go about your business! Qingshan, you stay put on the bed." Wang Qingyuan acknowledged him and turned to leave.

Wang Changsheng walked to the bedside, sat down, and asked with concern, "How are you? Are your injuries better?"

To be honest, Wang Changsheng thought highly of Wang Qingshan. Unlike others, he approved of Wang Qingshan hunting demonic beasts, but insisted that he do so with fellow clansmen for mutual assistance.

"Ninth Uncle, I'm fine. Thank you for your concern."

Wang Changsheng patted his storage bag, and a green light flew out from it, revealing an azure brocade box about two feet long, with an azure lotus carved on its surface. He opened the brocade box, revealing six gleaming azure flying swords, each with a lotus pattern on its hilt.

"This set of complete spirit artifacts, the Azure Lotus Mother-Child Swords, was personally forged for you by me. Each sword is a high-grade spirit artifact. By holding the mother sword, you can control the five child swords. With this set of spirit artifacts, hunting demonic beasts will be easier for you. Also, these are the Earth Escape Talisman and Wood Escape Talisman from your Ninth Aunt. These two second-tier talismans can save your life at a crucial moment. It's good to be independent and strive for self-improvement, but you must not act recklessly. Think twice before doing anything, understand?" Wang Changsheng earnestly admonished him, taking out the Wood Escape Talisman and Earth Escape Talisman.

"Ninth Uncle, second-tier escape talismans are too precious; I can't accept them." Wang Qingshan shook his head, refusing.

Talismans required only a small amount of magic power to activate and were highly popular among cultivators, especially second-tier escape talismans, which were in great demand, difficult to acquire, and often required pre-ordering months in advance.

"Your Ninth Aunt gave them to you, so just take them. What's with being polite among family? Who knows, one day your Ninth Uncle might even have to rely on you! Rest well and recover. You are not allowed to go out and hunt demonic beasts until you've reached the seventh level of Qi Refinement. It's quite dangerous for you to hunt demonic beasts at the sixth level of Qi Refinement; if you hadn't had clansmen looking out for you, you wouldn't have made it back." As he finished speaking, Wang Changsheng's expression became serious.

Wang Qingshan was strong-willed, and his ideas weren't wrong. The Wang family now had six Foundation Establishment cultivators. Although Wang Changxue was married, she still received a sum of resources annually. Supporting six Foundation Establishment cultivators was somewhat difficult for the Wang family in its current situation, and clansmen at the Qi Refinement stage received limited resources. Wang Qingshan cultivated the "Azure Wind Sword Art," which followed the path of the sword. Cultivating it was not easy, and relying entirely on the family, it would be difficult for him to reach higher levels. Wang Changsheng had to caution Wang Qingshan, lest he get carried away and think his luck would always hold out.

"Understood, Ninth Uncle." Wang Qingshan nodded in agreement. He understood that Wang Changsheng was looking out for him, and that hunting demonic beasts at his sixth-level Qi Refinement strength was indeed somewhat dangerous.

Wang Changsheng gave a few more instructions and then left.

"Safe travels, Ninth Uncle."

After Wang Changsheng left, Wang Qingshan took out a yellowed parchment scroll, which was clearly a topographical map. Perhaps due to its age, many areas were blurry. On one mountain peak, several large characters were written, and a "Pine" character could vaguely be seen. While hunting demonic beasts in the wild, he inevitably encountered other cultivators. Once, to contend for spirit herbs, he allied with a few clansmen and eliminated a group of cultivators. This topographical map was something he had found on one of their bodies. He had not told anyone else about the existence of this map.

He had it appraised by someone who confirmed that the parchment scroll was made from the hide of a second-tier demonic beast, and was originally a magic artifact, but it was very old and severely damaged. For a magic artifact to record a location, that place must be extraordinary. It could be an ancient cultivator's meditation cave, an unknown secret realm, or even the ruins of a sect.

"This mountain has the character 'Pine' written on it, and the recorded place might have many pine trees. I'll go check the Scripture Repository another day; maybe I can find some clues." Wang Qingshan muttered to himself.

Everyone has selfish motives. If it were an ancient cultivator's cave, he would break the restrictions himself if he could. If he gained benefits, he would give a portion to the family. If he couldn't break the restrictions, it wouldn't be too late to ask Wang Changsheng and other Foundation Establishment cultivators for help. If it were a secret realm, he could explore it first, ascertain its conditions, and then report to the family. When Wang Changsheng brought out the second-tier talismans and the complete set of spirit artifacts, Wang Qingshan had actually thought of handing over the parchment scroll. However, after careful consideration, his personal desires outweighed his sense of duty. He did not hand over the scroll, intending to search for the depicted location himself. If he reported it to the family, he would only receive a small portion of cultivation resources, as the clan needed to support six Foundation Establishment cultivators and could not allocate too many resources to him.

He pursued the path of the sword. Sword cultivators were said to be invincible among those of the same level; correspondingly, sword cultivators required a large amount of cultivation resources to aid their practice, otherwise, sword cultivators would be commonplace. Of course, if he found the location depicted on the map, he would leave clues for the family. In case something happened to him, the family could still follow the clues to find that place.