Chapter 2432: Gold Family Seeks Help

The Duan Cloud Mountain Range stretches for millions of miles. With its towering mountains, dense forests, and countless birds, it serves as the Jin family's long-established stronghold.

The Jin family boasts a legacy spanning over 20,000 years. During its peak, the clan had three Void Refinement cultivators. However, after enduring several major calamities, all three Void Refinement cultivators met their demise. Currently, the clan only has three Soul Transformation cultivators, and Jin Nianjiao is one of them, presently at the Mid Soul Transformation stage.

In the deliberation hall, Jin Yilie, the Jin family patriarch, was reporting to Jin Nianjiao.

"Ancestral Elder," Jin Yilie said respectfully, "by my reckoning, the Wang family's Soul Transformation cultivator should arrive soon and be able to eliminate that fifth-tier Fiery Rhinoceros." A fifth-tier Fiery Rhinoceros had appeared in a mine controlled by the Jin family, resulting in the deaths of several Jin family disciples and injuries to one Soul Transformation cultivator.

After the Wang family expanded into the mainland, the Jin family quickly established a connection and pledged allegiance. They regularly supplied smithing materials for the Wang family cultivators to use in crafting artifacts.

This was the Jin family's first time seeking assistance from the Wang family, hoping they could resolve this issue.

"I hope so!" Jin Nianjiao sighed, her face filled with shame. "If it weren't for the passing of Seventh Uncle, we wouldn't need to trouble the Wang family. I feel ashamed before our ancestors, seeing the family decline to this point."

Just as Jin Yilie was about to speak, he took out a golden, shimmering communication disk from his pocket. He cast several incantations into it, and a respectful male voice suddenly rang out: "Patriarch, someone from the Wang family of Qinglian Island has arrived."

"Quickly, invite them in! No, I'll go out to greet them myself." Jin Yilie put away the communication disk and soared out.

Not long after, Jin Yilie returned, followed by a portly young man in a yellow robe.

The yellow-robed youth had a round face, small eyes, and rolls of fat around his waist. His complexion was fair, and his clothes were embroidered with a blue lotus pattern.

This was Wang Qinglei, a descendant of Wang Qingfeng, currently at the early Soul Transformation stage.

Wang Qinglei excelled in combat. When he was in the Outer Seas, he frequently went out to hunt demon beasts. After the family established a foothold in the mainland, Wang Qinglei followed Wang Qingshan to develop there.

A mine belonging to the Jin family had been attacked by a mid-grade fifth-tier Fiery Rhinoceros, suffering heavy losses. When they sought assistance from the Wang family, Wang Qinglei was dispatched.

"I, Jin Nianjiao, greet Fellow Daoist Wang," Jin Nianjiao said politely, bowing gracefully.

"I am Wang Qinglei," he stated, going straight to the point. "Madam Jin, there's no need for formalities. Where is that Fiery Rhinoceros? Please lead the way!"

"Fellow Daoist Wang, you must be tired from your journey. Perhaps you should rest for a while first," Jin Nianjiao suggested cautiously, as she dared not neglect a cultivator from the Wang family.

"No need to trouble yourselves; I'm not tired," Wang Qinglei replied, unmoved. "The sooner this demon is dealt with, the sooner you can rest easy, and I can return to my cultivation." He had no interest in lingering at the Jin family's residence for too long.

"Then we'll trouble Fellow Daoist Wang," Jin Nianjiao said politely. "My grandnephew was injured by the Fiery Rhinoceros, and currently, I am the only Soul Transformation cultivator available. I will accompany Fellow Daoist Wang on this trip!" She then summoned a golden, shimmering flying boat and leaped aboard.

Wang Qinglei nodded and followed her onto the boat.

Jin Nianjiao performed an incantation, and the golden flying boat immediately glowed brightly, soaring out of the deliberation hall and departing from the Jin family.

Seven days later, the golden flying boat appeared over a desolate black mountain range. The spiritual energy here was sparse, not appearing to be a place where a fifth-tier demon beast would reside.

Wang Qinglei stood on the golden flying boat, his expression calm.

Jin Nianjiao had already reported to him the full story of the fifth-tier Fiery Rhinoceros's appearance, as well as its divine abilities.

Not long after, the golden flying boat stopped over a vast, accessible valley. Inside the valley was a massive mine shaft, and on the ground lay scattered some excavated Fiery Iron ore.

According to Jin Nianjiao's report, this location housed a medium-sized Fiery Iron mine. Fiery Iron ore was a fourth-tier smithing material that could be refined into Fiery Iron Sand, used for forging fire-attribute magical artifacts.

After the Fiery Rhinoceros killed several Jin family disciples, it occupied the mine. One Soul Transformation cultivator from the Jin family had also been injured by this beast.

There was a certain restriction on divine sense here; when probing into the mine shaft for ten thousand zhang, one would encounter resistance.

Wang Qinglei flipped his right hand, and a yellow light flashed. A pigeon-egg-sized yellow spherical pearl, its surface covered with profound runes and emanating astonishing spiritual energy, appeared in his hand. It was clearly a Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasure.

With his parents being fifth-tier formation masters, he had no need to worry about cultivation resources and possessed many treasures.

Wang Qinglei infused spiritual power into it, and the yellow spherical pearl immediately burst forth with dazzling yellow light. He used this treasure to observe the situation inside the mine shaft.

Jin Nianjiao was secretly astonished, and an envious expression appeared on her face. The Jin family had already declined; if they wanted Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures, they could only purchase them at great expense, and most were of ordinary quality.

"That Fiery Rhinoceros is indeed inside," Wang Qinglei stated. "I'll first set up a formation to prevent it from escaping."

Wang Qinglei flicked his sleeve, and over a thousand yellow-glowing formation flags flew out. He performed an incantation, and the thousand yellow formation flags immediately glowed brightly, transforming into a thousand streaks of yellow light that successively disappeared into the ground.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, I'll go in and lure out this demon!" Jin Nianjiao volunteered. "I've tried before; ordinary methods won't draw it out."

"No need," Wang Qinglei replied. "I'll just use a puppet beast to lure it out." He flicked his sleeve, and a continuously glowing yellow metal sphere flew out. Its surface was covered with profound spiritual patterns. He cast an incantation into it, and the metal sphere immediately glowed brightly, transforming into a pangolin puppet beast.

The pangolin puppet beast rotated in place, then burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

A moment later, a huge roar echoed from within the mine shaft. The ground shook violently, and large quantities of rubble rolled down from the rock walls.

The pangolin puppet beast flew out from the mine shaft. Not long after, an entirely red rhinoceros charged out. This red rhinoceros had a red horn on its head and some golden spiritual patterns on its body.

As soon as it burst out of the mine shaft, it saw Wang Qinglei and Jin Nianjiao.

Realizing something, it immediately tried to charge back into the mine shaft.

Just then, the ground began to shake violently, turning grayish-white at a visible speed. Over a thousand streaks of yellow light flew up from the ground, forming a massive yellow light barrier that enveloped the entire valley, trapping the Fiery Rhinoceros within it.

Wang Qinglei activated the formation, attacking the Fiery Rhinoceros.

Countless yellow lights surged from the void, and after blurring, transformed into massive yellow boulders floating high in the air, smashing down towards the Fiery Rhinoceros.

The Fiery Rhinoceros let out an angry roar, then spewed out a hazy red sonic wave. Specks of crimson fire light emerged from the nearby void, and after blurring, transformed into crimson fireballs that met the incoming boulders.

The dense crimson fireballs collided with the yellow boulders, erupting in a series of huge roars as the yellow boulders successively exploded.

Wang Qinglei changed his incantation, and a massive thunderous sound echoed. A huge yellow thundercloud appeared high in the sky, with lightning flashing and thunder roaring as thick yellow lightning bolts struck down, heading straight for the Fiery Rhinoceros.

Jin Nianjiao held a shimmering yellow formation plate in her hand and cast incantations into it.

The Fiery Rhinoceros was struck by the yellow lightning, letting out a series of miserable roars.

Its horn shot out a red light, striking the yellow light barrier, but the yellow light barrier remained completely still.

Crimson flames surged from the Fiery Rhinoceros's body, and its massive body crashed against the yellow light barrier, but the yellow light barrier remained unharmed.

As time passed, the Fiery Rhinoceros was unable to break through the formation and was eventually annihilated by the dense yellow lightning.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, what kind of formation is this? It's so powerful!" Jin Nianjiao asked curiously, her face filled with envy.

"The Kunlei Spirit Annihilation Formation," Wang Qinglei said, his face filled with pride. "My parents improved it based on a sixth-tier formation. Even a high-grade fifth-tier demon beast, once trapped by this formation, would not escape death."

He put away the formation flags and plate, and also collected the Fiery Rhinoceros's corpse.

It was unusual for the Fiery Rhinoceros to nest here; perhaps there was some spiritual treasure within the mine shaft.

Wang Qinglei leaped into the mine shaft. Over an hour later, he appeared in a mine chamber about an *mu* in size, where the stone wall on the left glowed with a reddish hue.

"Fiery Rock! It's this item," Wang Qinglei exclaimed, "no wonder."

Wang Qinglei suddenly realized. Fiery Rock was a fifth-tier smithing material, much higher in grade than Fiery Iron ore. This was a huge windfall for him.

He flicked his sleeve, and nine yellow-glowing flying daggers shot out. They instantly merged, forming a towering giant blade that sliced into the stone wall.

Half a day later, Wang Qinglei emerged, his face full of smiles.

There was actually a considerable amount of Fiery Rock here. He had mined a significant quantity of Fiery Rock ore, worth tens of millions of spirit stones, making a huge profit.

Jin Nianjiao also guessed what had happened but did not ask further.

"There's Fiery Rock here," Wang Qinglei stated. "I've extracted some Fiery Rock as my compensation. The Fiery Rhinoceros has been eliminated, so you can send your clan members to continue mining. In the future, regularly offer some Fiery Rock as tribute."

After saying this, Wang Qinglei transformed into a streak of yellow light and soared through the air, disappearing into the horizon.