Chapter 2429: 2411 The Treasure Left by the Celestial Beast Immortal

A small hillside in the Qingyuan Mountain Range.

Wang Qingshan and Lu Shisan were chatting, while Cao Yihong and others stood nearby.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Lu Shisan remarked, implying something specific, "I heard that True Master Sky Beast, the founding patriarch of Sky Beast Mountain, once entered Venerable Xuanling's spiritual abode. There, he captured a sixth-tier Lightning Falcon, which was said to possess a trace of Thunder Roc bloodline. True Master Sky Beast perished during a major heavenly tribulation, and this Lightning Roc also vanished. I wonder if it left any descendants."

"Who knows?" Wang Qingshan replied, shaking his head. "So many years have passed. What is heard may be false; what is seen is true."

In a sprawling, verdant mountain range, a hidden underground cave lay concealed. A burly youth in a golden robe stood by as a golden spider puppet beast and a red giant ape puppet beast attacked a completely black giant bear. In the lower left corner, a black tree stood over ten *zhang* tall, laden with dozens of dark fruits.

This was Wang Lianghong, a descendant of Wang Qingfeng. A small, completely yellow mouse, clearly a dual-pupil mouse, rested on his shoulder. When Wang Qingxiao ascended to the Xuanyang Realm, he brought some dual-pupil mice with him. Consequently, many members of the Wang family raised these mice to aid in the search for spirit herbs.

With a thunderous roar, the black giant bear was engulfed in a torrent of flames. A shimmering golden spiderweb then descended from above, enveloping the creature. The black giant bear's claws seized the golden spiderweb, and with a powerful tug, the web instantly ripped apart. At that moment, the giant ape puppet charged forward, its right arm erupting with intense flames, smashing into the black bear's head. A high-pitched shriek echoed as the black giant bear's head exploded like a watermelon, dissolving into a mist of blood. A miniature black bear then flew out of its body. Wang Lianghong promptly conjured a cyan gourd and collected the mini-bear.

He harvested the spirit fruits and even uprooted the spirit fruit tree itself. Upon exiting the cave, Wang Lianghong summoned a flying eagle puppet beast, which ascended into the sky.

A series of booming explosions echoed, and a massive cyan lotus materialized high in the sky, strikingly conspicuous. Wang Lianghong's heart jolted; this was a distress signal from his clansmen. He quickly chanted an incantation, and the flying eagle puppet accelerated its flight.

After about a quarter of an hour, Wang Lianghong arrived above a steep peak. More than a dozen Wang family disciples were confronting an equal number of Heavenly Blade Sect disciples, seemingly locked in a dispute over something. Wang Lianghong chanted an incantation, and the flying eagle puppet landed. He then turned to a graceful young woman in a golden dress and asked, "Yiyan, what's happening here?"

"Uncle Lianghong," Wang Yiyan transmitted to him, her voice filled with excitement, "you've arrived at the perfect time. The Cao family cultivators reported that there's something valuable here."

"Something valuable?" Wang Lianghong extended his spiritual sense, scanning the mountain, but found no anomalies.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," a tall, thin elderly man in a golden robe politely suggested, "how about we cooperate to retrieve the treasure?" He explained that after encountering Cao family cultivators and engaging in a bloody battle, they had killed them. Upon soul-searching their Nascent Souls, they discovered that the Cao family had gathered in this location. They had quickly rallied their own forces to come here, not expecting to find Wang family cultivators already present.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," a pale young woman in a green dress transmitted weakly, "there's a valuable treasure here, left by the founding patriarch of Sky Beast Mountain."

"The founding patriarch of Sky Beast Mountain?" Wang Lianghong's eyes lit up. He immediately ordered, "Deploy the puppet formation and prepare for battle!" The moment he spoke, the Wang family disciples each released two fourth-tier puppet beasts, and a battle seemed imminent.

The golden-robed elder's expression turned grim. The Wang family's puppet formation was renowned, and in a fight to the death, his side might not gain any advantage. Wang Lianghong then produced a talisman glowing with continuous red light, which emanated terrifying spiritual energy fluctuations—it was clearly a fifth-tier talisman. Several other Wang family members also took out fifth-tier talismans, signaling their readiness to attack at a moment's notice.

Streaks of light flew in from the distance, revealing more Wang family disciples. They, too, summoned their fourth-tier puppet beasts. The golden-robed elder sighed softly and said, "We'll yield this place to you! Let's go." He was unsure what treasure lay here, and a protracted battle with the Wang family cultivators would likely yield little benefit. It was better to seek cultivation resources elsewhere.

"Yiyan," Wang Lianghong instructed, "immediately set up the formation and seal off this area." He explained that they had come prepared, bringing three sets of fifth-tier formations, and one-fifth of their clansmen carried fifth-tier talismans. This was a family rule: when exploring secret realms or forbidden lands, they were required to carry valuable treasures and high-tier formations. For prudence, it was indeed best to set up the formation. Wang Yiyan acknowledged, then directed her clansmen to deploy the formation.

Wang Lianghong then turned to the young woman in the green dress and transmitted, "Madam Cao, what exactly is here?"

"I don't know," the young woman in the green dress replied, shaking her head. "Our ancestor simply instructed us to gather here, stating that there was a treasure."

Centered around the mountain, the formation covered an area with a hundred-mile radius. They deployed two sets of fifth-tier formations: one for defense and one for attack. While their current strength prevented them from fully maximizing the formations' power, they were more than sufficient to deal with Nascent Soul cultivators. It would be incredibly difficult for any Nascent Soul cultivator to break through them.

A total of twenty-eight cultivators—twenty-five from the Wang family and three from the Cao family—were gathered. They dispersed to investigate the mountain's condition. Two days passed without a single discovery.

Wang Lianghong's brow furrowed. He led his clansmen away from the area and produced a shimmering red banner. Seventeen other clansmen also brought out similar red banners, which glowed with astonishing spiritual energy, clearly indicating they were spirit treasures. The eighteen Nascent Soul cultivators simultaneously waved their red banners. As the flags glowed brightly, each emitted a beam of red light that converged above the peak, forming a colossal crimson fire cloud. After violently churning, the crimson fire cloud unleashed a torrent of red raindrops onto the peak. Immediately, a raging inferno erupted, its flames reaching towards the sky. The remaining seven Nascent Soul cultivators, along with the Cao family cultivators, also deployed their puppet beasts to attack the peak.

A series of deafening explosions shook the ground, sending clouds of dust and smoke billowing upwards. Three days later, they ceased their assault, their faces pale with exhaustion. The mountain had been reduced to scorched earth, barren and spewing black smoke.

After a moment, the scorched mountain abruptly disintegrated and vanished, replaced by a verdant peak. Halfway up this new mountain was a cave entrance several *zhang* wide, blocked by a yellow light screen. The surface of the light screen bore the pattern of seven yellow pythons. Wang Lianghong's face lit up with joy. He quickly consumed a spiritual pill to restore his magic power and began directing his spirit treasures to attack the yellow light screen.

Even after so many years, it still took twenty-eight Nascent Soul cultivators three full days of continuous assault to break through the outer restriction. A full day passed, yet the yellow light screen remained completely unyielding. Wang Lianghong's expression darkened. He then conjured a fifth-tier talisman, the Golden Flame Spirit-Slaying Talisman. With a muffled thud, the talisman transformed into a colossal golden blade over a hundred *zhang* long. Shrouded in golden flames and emanating terrifying heat, it slashed down onto the yellow light screen. A thunderous crash followed, and the entire mountain shook violently as golden flames spread across its surface. The seven yellow pythons depicted on the light screen writhed. Another golden blade, over a hundred *zhang* long, then struck the screen. The yellow light screen instantly shattered into pieces, and an incredibly pure spiritual energy surged forth.

Wang Lianghong's eyes widened, and his expression became one of intense excitement.