Chapter 2418: After 2400, Second Move

Qinglian Island.

A blue streak of light appeared in the distant sky and quickly flew into Qinglian Island.

The blue streak of light flew into Qinglian Peak, landing in the manor at the mountain's summit.

The light dissipated, revealing Wang Changsheng's figure.

Having dealt with the Void-Refining cultivators from the Deng family and Qingyun Sect, the risk of exposure for the half-page Heavenly Void Jade Scroll obtained by Wang Mengbin was minimized. However, hidden dangers certainly remained, such as Qingyun Palace in the Qinghuan Realm, which was Qingyun Sect's sect in the lower realm.

Unless Qingyun Palace in the lower realm was annihilated, the half-page Heavenly Void Jade Scroll would still be at risk of exposure.

Wang Changsheng had also prepared a backup plan. He arranged for spies controlled by the Wang family to spread rumors, claiming that various cultivation families affiliated with Zhenhai Palace, such as the Song, Zhao, and Qin families, possessed Heavenly Void Jade Scrolls. Mixing truth with falsehood, he aimed to muddy the waters.

To conceal the existence of Profound Heaven treasures, the human race on Xuanling Continent spread rumors, claiming that several major races, such as the Essencefire Race and the Yaksha Race, had obtained complete sets of top-grade Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures or Immortal Artifacts.

Generally, forces with comparable strength would not directly attack based on unverified information. Otherwise, the cultivation world would have long descended into chaos; powerful entities could simply spread rumors about their rivals possessing great treasures and then move to eliminate them.

However, if there was a significant disparity in strength, things would be different. For instance, if the high-ranking members of the Wang family heard that a force with only Nascent Soul cultivators possessed a great treasure, they would certainly send experts to investigate. If they encountered an impulsive Spirit Transformation cultivator, it would be unsurprising for them to simply wipe out that force. An elephant doesn't need to consider stomping on an ant.

Spreading rumors was a temporary solution, not a fundamental one. The best approach was for the Wang family to develop and grow stronger as soon as possible. With sufficient power, it wouldn't matter even if other forces knew the Wang family possessed the Heavenly Void Jade Scroll.

Wang Changsheng had considered handing over the half-page Heavenly Void Jade Scroll, but it recorded methods for refining various sixth-order talismans, especially the Heavenly Thunder Transformation Talisman.

Despite the Wang family having been established for over a thousand years and possessing several Void-Refining cultivators, they lacked anything that could attract cultivators above the Void-Refining stage. Materials for condensing Dharma Idols were either exchanged with Zhenhai Palace or acquired through confiscation.

The Wang family could not always rely on Zhenhai Palace. Zhenhai Palace's assistance was also limited, as Zhenhai Palace itself had many Void-Refining cultivators.

If Wang Ruyan could refine the Heavenly Thunder Transformation Talisman, cultivators below the Integration stage would have an easier time undergoing tribulation. This was very important. To Wang Changsheng's knowledge, major powers all possessed similar items—secret talismans, exotic treasures, formations, or other artifacts—that could make it easier for Void-Refining cultivators to overcome their Grand Heavenly Tribulations. The Essencefire Race could refine an item called the Fiery Sky Orb, which could weaken the power of an Integration stage cultivator's Grand Heavenly Tribulation. It was precisely for this reason that the Essencefire Race was able to develop into one of the five major races on Xuanling Continent within ten thousand years.

Handing over the half-page Heavenly Void Jade Scroll to Zhenhai Palace would only yield a one-time exchange for a quantity of cultivation resources. Given Zhenhai Palace's superior ability to gather cultivation resources compared to the Wang family, this would indirectly increase the difficulty for the Wang family to collect materials, making it even harder for Wang Ruyan to refine the Heavenly Thunder Transformation Talisman.

Zhenhai Palace was a vast and powerful organization. The talisman-making techniques recorded in the half-page Heavenly Void Jade Scroll were not particularly rare for Zhenhai Palace, so they wouldn't offer anything too valuable in return.

Therefore, Wang Changsheng temporarily decided not to hand over the half-page Heavenly Void Jade Scroll to Zhenhai Palace. If the Wang family ever encountered a crisis, the half-page Heavenly Void Jade Scroll might be able to save their lives.

Of course, Wang Changsheng also harbored a glimmer of hope. The outside world knew that the Wang family was an affiliated cultivation family of Zhenhai Palace. Even if the outside world learned that Wang Mengbin had obtained the Heavenly Void Jade Scroll, they might not relentlessly target the Wang family. Perhaps the Wang family had already handed it over to Zhenhai Palace; who could prove that they had not?

This time, by eliminating the Void-Refining cultivators from the Deng family and Qingyun Sect, Wang Changsheng had acquired many valuable items. The Deng family's treasury had been completely plundered by Wang Changsheng, yielding thirty-five Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures, but unfortunately, no mid-grade ones.

The Deng family once possessed a mid-grade Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure, but it had been destroyed by a powerful enemy.

In addition to the Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures, there were fifteen top-grade spirit stones, a batch of artifact-refining materials, over 400 million spirit stones, over three thousand spirit herbs ranging from a thousand to ten thousand years old, over twenty sixth-order demon cores, and over a thousand fifth-order demon cores.

The Deng family and Qingyun Sect were very wealthy during their prime, but they had declined. Most of the treasures left by their ancestors had been used up. Therefore, no matter how long the lineage or how many treasures were inherited, if the descendants were unworthy and spendthrifts, all the treasures would be useless and would eventually be squandered.

In Wang Changsheng's view, the most valuable item was a mid-grade sixth-order Spirit-Devouring Rat demon core. Spirit-Devouring Rats were descendants of the Heaven-Devouring Rat. Spirit-Devouring Rats were different from demon rats that merely possessed a trace of Heaven-Devouring Rat bloodline; the former had pure bloodlines and immense potential.

Strictly speaking, this demon core didn't belong to the Deng family either. The Deng family had acquired it by destroying the Ning family and plundering their treasury, but unexpectedly, it ended up benefiting Wang Changsheng.

This time, by dealing with two forces, Wang Changsheng had made a considerable fortune. This made him consider a sinister thought: if he were to eliminate a few more forces with Void-Refining cultivators, wouldn't he become even richer?

However, he quickly dismissed this sinister thought. He knew that constantly engaging in such activities would inevitably lead to trouble, and he repeatedly warned himself that dealing with the Deng family and Qingyun Sect this time was a last resort. If the secret of the Heavenly Void Jade Scroll were to be exposed, the Wang family would face the risk of annihilation.

It took him a great deal of effort to dispel that sinister thought. Recalling it now, Wang Changsheng's face showed a lingering sense of fear.

He had nearly succumbed to inner demons and become an evil cultivator specializing in killing and plundering treasures.

Some high-level cultivators, stuck at a certain realm for many years or for other reasons, developed greed and were controlled by it, succumbing to inner demons and committing foolish acts driven by self-interest. For instance, some righteous cultivators, unable to break through for a long time, would suddenly undergo a drastic change in character and begin killing and plundering treasures in order to advance to a higher realm or for other reasons.

Demonic cultivation techniques were more aggressive, and cultivators practicing them were more prone to such occurrences. For example, True Monarch Blood Saber, in order to advance to the late Spirit Transformation stage, slaughtered all the high-level cultivators in the Ice Sea Realm and used blood sacrifice to cultivate.

Wang Changsheng took out a communication plate, infused it with a spell, and instructed, "Qingcheng, come to Qinglian Peak. I have something to ask you."

"Understood, Father. I'll be right there."

Wang Qingcheng agreed.

Soon after, Wang Qingcheng appeared before Wang Changsheng. He reported on the family's situation over the past century.

"Yingjie and Mengbin have both advanced to the Void-Refining stage?"

Wang Changsheng was both surprised and delighted. With this, the Wang family would have six Void-Refining combatants.

"Yes, many of our family members have cultivated to the late Spirit Transformation stage," Wang Qingcheng said, somewhat excitedly. Wang Qiuyu and Liu Hongxue were both in seclusion cultivation. If they advanced to the Void-Refining stage, the Wang family would have a sixth-order alchemist.

"Qingcheng, select a group of elites from within the family to develop inland. Support them in establishing their own forces or families, to serve as a contingency. The fewer people who know of their existence, the better," Wang Changsheng instructed, his expression solemn.