Chapter 2433

The Five Poisons Mountain Range stretches for millions of miles. It is home to numerous venomous insects and beasts, and perennial miasma pervades the air. Low-level cultivators who touch even a small amount of this miasma will perish.

Deep within the Five Poisons Mountain Range, in a dense black forest, two men and one woman were besieging a giant scorpion that was golden all over. The scorpion had four wings on its back, massive pincers, and golden spirit patterns adorning its carapace.

The golden giant scorpion opened its gaping maw and spewed a pungent golden toxic mist, which shot directly towards a tall, thin young man in a yellow shirt with ordinary facial features. He was carrying an exquisite scabbard on his back.

The young man in yellow held a long saber that constantly radiated red light. Fire cloud patterns were etched onto its blade, and it emitted powerful fire spiritual energy fluctuations, clearly indicating it was a spirit treasure.

The red saber in the young man's hand burst forth with dazzling red light. He unleashed a vertical slash towards the void, and hundreds of crimson saber auras swept out like a rushing torrent. They obliterated the golden mist and successively struck the golden giant scorpion, severing its wings.

After a thunderous roar, the crimson saber auras transformed into raging flames, engulfing the golden giant scorpion. The golden giant scorpion let out a series of pained screeches.

The void rippled, and a small four-sided seal, flickering with green light, appeared out of thin air. This was a spirit treasure.

After its spiritual light greatly expanded, the four-sided seal dramatically increased in size and slammed towards the golden giant scorpion.

The golden giant scorpion spewed a pungent golden toxic mist. When the massive green seal touched the mist, a wisp of green smoke immediately rose, and its spiritual light dimmed.

The golden giant scorpion's tail stinger pierced the massive green seal. Simultaneously, dazzling golden light erupted from its body, holding the massive green seal aloft and preventing it from falling.

A colossal golden hand materialized and slapped towards it, striking the golden giant scorpion. The golden giant scorpion was sent flying backward and crashed heavily to the ground.

A massive crimson blade shot forth, carrying an aura of world-shattering destruction, and struck the golden giant scorpion.

After a tragic shriek echoed, the golden giant scorpion was cut in half by the colossal blade.

"We finally dealt with this demon!" a corpulent old man in a golden robe said with a smile. "Fellow Daoist Wang deserves most of the credit. If you hadn't severed its wings, preventing it from using its wind escape technique, we wouldn't have been able to slay it."

"Indeed! From now on, this will be the headquarters of our Guangyuan Sect," a graceful young woman in a green skirt exclaimed excitedly, her face filled with longing.

The young man in yellow smiled faintly and said, "Fellow Daoist Li, Madam Sun, you flatter me. Without you, I alone couldn't have eliminated this demon."

With a flick of his incantation gesture, the massive crimson blade transformed back into a glowing red long saber and flew back into its scabbard.

This young man was Wang Mengshan, a descendant of Wang Qingcheng and one of the secret agents planted by his family. He was at the late Nascent Soul stage. Wang Mengshan outwardly called himself Wang Shan and claimed to be a rogue cultivator. However, initially, no one believed him, considering him an elite disciple from a major power on an outdoor training expedition. The reason was simple: at a young age, Wang Mengshan had already achieved a late Nascent Soul cultivation base and possessed a complete set of spirit treasures, fourth-tier puppet beasts, and fourth-tier talisman soldiers.

When he was with his family, Wang Mengshan didn't think much of it, as many clan members were more outstanding and possessed more treasures than he did. However, after leaving his family, he was surprised to discover that he far surpassed Nascent Soul cultivators from minor forces. For Nascent Soul cultivators from minor forces, possessing a few spirit treasures was already impressive; a complete set of spirit treasures was merely a dream. Even Soul Transformation cultivators rarely had many Heavenly Spirit Treasures, and only a few rogue Soul Transformation cultivators managed to acquire complete sets of spirit treasures.

All along, Wang Mengshan had compared himself to Nascent Soul cultivators from forces like the Liu family, and the gap wasn't significant. However, when compared to forces whose highest cultivation level was only Nascent Soul or Soul Transformation, Wang Mengshan was undoubtedly an elite disciple. With different reference groups, the results were naturally different.

After years of traveling and cultivating outside, he realized his family had protected them too well. Many rogue cultivators, in pursuit of pills to break through major realms or a single spirit treasure, fought to the death against enemies or powerful demonic beasts, truly emerging from a sea of blood. Yet, these very same items were attainable for him with diligent cultivation and a little assistance from his parents. It wasn't exactly easy, but it certainly didn't require him to risk his life.

To better integrate into the rogue cultivator community, he had to travel to smaller places and use secret techniques to disguise his cultivation as mid-Nascent Soul. He also tried his best not to use his complete set of spirit treasures, fourth-tier puppet beasts, or fifth-tier talismans.

The old man in the golden robe was Li Lei, a late Nascent Soul cultivator, and the young woman in the green skirt was Sun Ying, an early Nascent Soul cultivator.

By chance, Wang Mengshan met them. The three made a living by hunting demonic beasts, often collaborating. They had also gathered some low-level cultivators, forming their own force called the Guangyuan Society. Since they now had their own territory, they had changed its name to the Guangyuan Sect.

"Let's go! We should report back to Senior Qin of the Qianyuan Sect," Li Lei said excitedly. "From now on, the Five Poisons Mountain Range belongs to our Guangyuan Sect. We won't have to keep hunting demonic beasts; it's time for us to enjoy some good fortune."

The Qianyuan Sect was one of the seven major forces within a radius of a hundred million miles, boasting eighteen Soul Transformation cultivators. The Qianyuan Sect was expanding its influence, calling on rogue cultivators to develop new territories. They had responded to this call by eliminating the venomous insects and beasts in the Five Poisons Mountain Range and intended to establish the Guangyuan Sect.

"Indeed! With a major sect like the Qianyuan Sect backing us, our Guangyuan Sect is sure to develop splendidly," Sun Ying chimed in with a smile. With their own territory and a powerful backer, they could establish a sect, accept disciples, and send their members to collect cultivation resources.

Wang Mengshan nodded with a smile, but his heart was filled with disdain. "Eighteen Soul Transformation cultivators constitute a major sect?" he thought. The Wang family alone had over fifty Soul Transformation cultivators, as well as several Void Refinement cultivators, and the Zhenhai Palace as their backer. The Wang family's overall strength far surpassed that of the Qianyuan Sect.

The cultivation resources in Xuanyang Realm were abundant, largely due to its vast territory. However, no matter how vast the territory, low-level cultivators still existed. For most, the Nascent Soul stage was likely their ceiling; many struggled to form a Nascent Soul throughout their entire lives. Regardless of the location, low-level cultivators always constituted the largest demographic.

Therefore, for many low-level cultivators, Soul Transformation cultivators could be considered Grand Cultivators. However, Wang Mengshan, hailing from the Wang family during its rapid development period, viewed only Integration cultivators as Grand Cultivators.

For ordinary rogue cultivators, the Qianyuan Sect was indeed a major sect. But for Wang Mengshan, it could not even be considered a major sect, let alone a medium-sized one. This was a matter of perspective: with different starting points, their horizons were naturally different.

If Li Lei and Sun Ying knew that Wang Shan originated from the Wang family of Green Lotus Island, they would certainly be greatly astonished. They might not be able to comprehend why Wang Mengshan, despite his distinguished background, would willingly act as a rogue cultivator.

Wang Mengshan was indeed unaccustomed to it at first. He was quite polite when facing Soul Transformation cultivators, unlike other Nascent Soul cultivators who would act subserviently. Now, Wang Mengshan had adapted and fully integrated into the rogue cultivator community.

They collected the golden giant scorpion's corpse and transformed into three streaks of light, departing from the area.