Chapter 2453: Tempering the Tribe Members

"Soulless and Disoriented? You can't stop playing once you start?" Wang Qingshan asked, a little surprised.

"Yes," Lin Buer replied earnestly. "A friend of mine, who is at the mid-Void Refinement stage, tried playing 'Soulless and Disoriented.' He couldn't stop until his magic power was completely depleted, and his soul was also injured. By the way, this piece requires a high level of divine sense from the caster. The other two pieces are also powerful, but they take a long time to cast. This is the biggest drawback for sound cultivators. If sound cultivators could easily trap people in illusions, the human race would have mass-produced them long ago. Even with treasures, it only shortens the casting time a bit. Everything in the world has its strengths and weaknesses."

Wang Qingshan nodded and said with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Lin, Ninth Uncle and Ninth Aunt brought back many exotic birds and beasts from Xuanling Cave. If you have time, you are welcome to visit Qinglian Island as a guest."

"Qinglian Island? If I have time, I will certainly pay a visit." Lin Buer agreed.

After chatting for a while, Lin Buer took his leave.

Seven days later, the celebration officially commenced.

Thousands of cultivators gathered in a ten-thousand-acre bluestone plaza. Ma Baozong and Ma Yulin sat behind a purple jade table, their faces beaming with smiles. Thousands of blue jade tables were arranged on both sides, with Wang Qingshan and others seated behind them. The higher their cultivation, the closer to the front they were.

Wang Qingshan presented a fifth-tier puppet beast and some artifact refining materials as a gesture of goodwill, ensuring that when the Wang family held celebrations in the future, the Ma family would also be invited. Lan Fukong gifted a pair of spirit treasures and ten thousand-year-old spiritual herbs. Su Chenguang presented a low-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasure and some artifact refining materials. Zhang Yuqian gave a bottle of sixth-tier pills and two sixth-tier demon cores. Of course, these gifts were not given for free. When these guests hosted their own celebrations, the Ma family would also be invited, indicating a substantial exchange of courtesies.

"Fellow Daoist Ma, today is a joyous occasion," Wang Qingshan suggested. "Why don't we hold a competition? Let the Nascent Soul juniors also partake in the celebratory atmosphere. Yuanwei, you and your group come forward and spar with the others." Wang Qingshan made this suggestion to give Wang Yuanwei a chance to showcase her skills. It was an old tradition for various factions to bring their younger generations to celebrations, partly so they could make friends and partly to spar with juniors from other forces.

Ma Baozong, feeling invigorated by the festive occasion, readily agreed and even offered some cultivation resources as rewards. One-on-one matches would be too time-consuming, so Wang Qingshan proposed group battles, where each faction would send several Nascent Soul cultivators to form a small team.

Wang Yuanwei and her eight companions held various musical instruments. As soon as the competition began, each of them summoned a shimmering command flag. The flags' surfaces pulsed with runes and exuded astonishing spiritual energy, clearly indicating they were a set of spirit treasures. The nine command flags circled them once, transforming into a dense, nine-colored light barrier that enveloped the nine of them before they activated their instruments to engage the enemy.

Instantly, waves of ethereal music filled the air, and various attacks—fireballs, wind blades, lightning, and sound waves—streaked towards their opponents. Unable to breach their defense, their opponents soon fell into an illusion formation. While a few Nascent Soul cultivators had protective artifacts and were fearless of illusions, the dense sound waves that swept over them were utterly unstoppable, leading to their defeat.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," Zhang Yuqian praised, "I've long heard that your family excels at controlling puppet beasts, and many of your clansmen can form puppet formations with them, coordinating effectively. I never expected your sound cultivators to be so outstanding as well." Zhang Yuqian lauded them, noting that various factions intentionally cultivate such powerful teams, mostly swordsmen and blade practitioners. Sound cultivators are relatively rare, not because they are undesirable, but because their cultivation is slow, and there are few resources to assist their practice. There weren't many sound cultivators above the Void Refinement stage on Xuanling Continent, which made Wang Ruyan quite conspicuous.

"It's all thanks to Ninth Aunt's excellent teaching and their hard work," Wang Qingshan praised in return. "Fairy Zhang's family's Tiger Guards are also very formidable."

Nine Zhang family disciples, each riding a Red Flame Tiger, wore identical red armor and wielded various weapons. Leading them was a handsome young man in a red shirt, his eyes bright and piercing. The Red Flame Tigers, carrying the Zhang family disciples, charged towards Wang Yuanwei and her group. Before they even got close, the tigers began spitting flames at them, and the Zhang family disciples simultaneously unleashed their magic treasures.

Wang Yuanwei and her eight companions remained unfazed. They frequently trained in the Lihuo Demon Refining Pagoda, engaging in battles with demon beasts individually or as a group, making them rich in combat experience. Wang Yuanwei's fingers swept across the zither strings. Amidst a wave of passionate music, a golden sound wave surged forth, shattering the incoming flames. More than a dozen spirit treasures were sent flying by various sound waves before they even touched the nine-colored light barrier.

After half an hour, the Zhang family cultivators were still unable to defeat Wang Yuanwei and her eight companions. Some Zhang family cultivators had already fallen into illusions, and several Red Flame Tigers were also trapped. Seeing that they couldn't break through Wang Yuanwei's group's defenses, and with more Zhang family disciples falling into the illusion, the Zhang family cultivators had no choice but to concede.

"I am Zhang Zhiwei," the red-shirted youth said, cupping his fists. "Fairy Wang's dao cultivation is profound; I am truly impressed."

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, you flatter me," Wang Yuanwei said calmly, showing no pride. "It was merely a spar, not a battle to the death."

Wang Yuanwei and her eight companions defeated Nascent Soul cultivators from multiple factions, drawing the attention of many guests.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, your junior is truly exceptional," Ma Yulin praised, noting that such an outstanding clan member would not be married off easily.

"Madam Ma, you're too kind," Wang Qingshan replied politely. "Yuanwei is still young and has a long way to go; she needs to learn more from others." Wang Qingshan spoke courteously, his gaze at Wang Yuanwei filled with approval. Wang Liangpu had died on the front lines. Wang Yuanwei, with her diligent cultivation and unwavering dedication to the Dao, had distinguished herself among more than seven hundred people. Wang Qingshan had high hopes for her.

After the competition, Wang Yuanwei and her eight companions successfully secured first place, winning a set of spirit treasures.

Two hours later, the celebration concluded, and the guests gradually departed. Wang Qingshan and Lan Fukong left the Ma family with their clansmen.

In Qinglian Valley, a secluded manor.

Wang Yingjie was speaking with Wang Huashuo, his eldest son, who had already advanced to the Soul Transformation stage and was a fifth-tier alchemist. Both of his children were outstanding: Wang Huashuo was a fifth-tier alchemist, and Wang Huayue was a sword cultivator. Besides their own efforts, Wang Yingjie and Liu Hongxue had provided them with considerable assistance.

"Communicate more with other alchemists, don't put on airs. Humility leads to progress, while pride leads to stagnation. Besides alchemy, you mustn't neglect your cultivation either, understand?" Wang Yingjie instructed, feeling genuinely proud of his outstanding children.

"Understood, Father," Wang Huashuo readily agreed. He cultivated diligently, but compared to Wang Yingjie, there was still a considerable gap.

Just as Wang Yingjie was about to say something, he seemed to sense something, pulled out a shimmering spell disk from his robes, and channeled several incantations into it. Wang Qingshan's voice then resounded, "Yingjie, I'm back. I have something to discuss with you."

"Alright, Ancestor Qingshan, I'll be right over." Wang Yingjie agreed, put away the communication disk, left his residence, and went to Wang Qingshan's dwelling.

Wang Qingshan briefly explained the situation. He planned to go with Lan Fukong to Zhulong Mountain to search for sixth-tier Blood Earthworms and intended to bring Wang Yingjie along to temper him and enrich his combat experience. This was how Wang Qingshan had always done things in the lower realm: taking clan members out to hunt demon beasts to expand their combat experience.

Wang Yingjie naturally had no objections. He also wanted to gain some experience and, at the same time, do something for Wang Changsheng, who had given him multiple Dharma Idol materials and helped him refine Five-Element treasures.

Wang Yingjie gave a few instructions to Liu Hongxue, then left Qinglian Valley with Wang Qingshan and Lan Fukong, heading towards Zhulong Mountain.