Chapter 2657: Heroic Journey Through the Wilderness

Seeing this scene, the purple-shirted young man and the golden-skirted woman were utterly terrified. They had never expected Wang Qingshan to possess a mid-grade Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasure. Spiritual light erupted from their bodies as they attempted to use their escape techniques, but just then, Wang Qingshan let out a loud roar: the Soul Suppressing Roar.

Wang Qingshan had only cultivated the Grand Void Forging Spirit Art to the fourth level and did not have the assistance of the Soul Devouring Golden Cicada, so his divine sense was not as powerful as Wang Changsheng's. However, it was still capable of affecting the reaction speed of Void Refinement cultivators. Upon hearing the sound, the purple-shirted young man and the golden-skirted woman trembled. By the time they recovered, tens of thousands of golden and silver lightning bolts descended from the sky, striking them consecutively and engulfing their figures. Dense green threads plunged into the lightning, followed by muffled thudding sounds. A colossal, hazy green sword pierced into the lightning, and a man's shrill scream echoed from within.

"Escape technique! Are you faster than me?" Wang Mengbin sneered, a pair of shimmering silver feathered wings emerging from his back, and with a burst of lightning from his body, he vanished.

As the lightning dissipated, the purple-shirted young man was split in two, and his nascent soul failed to escape. Wang Qingshan performed a hand seal, and the colossal sword transformed into the Azure Lotus Sword and an Azure Glazed Sword, flying towards him. He did not unleash all nine Azure Glazed Swords as that would be too conspicuous. While Integration cultivators might not target Wang Qingshan if they knew he possessed a single mid-grade Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasure, out of respect for Zhenhai Palace, it would be a different story if news got out that he had a complete set of mid-grade Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasures.

Wang Qingshan conjured a small, shimmering green cauldron and collected the sixth-tier spiritual flame. The stone human had done well this time; if it hadn't alerted them, they would have fallen into an ambush.

"Fellow Daoist Wang's sword control technique is becoming increasingly formidable. In time, he will be a second River Sword Venerable," Lan Fukong flattered, a hint of envy in his eyes. Wang Qingshan possessed a mid-grade Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasure, a privilege likely only afforded to the successors of major powers. If Lan Fukong knew Wang Qingshan had a set of nine mid-grade Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasures, he wondered what his reaction would be.

"Fellow Daoist Lan, you flatter me. Without your cooperation, eliminating them wouldn't have been easy either," Wang Qingshan said modestly. They found three storage rings on the bodies. Lan Fukong knew his place and dared not check the contents of the storage rings. It would be troublesome if he discovered any valuable treasures or rare materials. He only requested one low-grade Heaven-reaching Spirit Treasure, but Wang Qingshan gave him two. Wang Qingshan obtained a fifth-tier spiritual flame and a sixth-tier spiritual flame. After being refined by the Azure Lotus Karmic Fire, promoting them to a sixth-tier spiritual flame should pose no problem. In addition, there were many other valuable possessions.

A moment later, a cluster of silver lightning flashed, revealing Wang Mengbin's figure. "She escaped, but I wounded her, and she fled into the depths of Myriad Spirit Abyss," Wang Mengbin truthfully reported. The power of the Five-Colored Divine Lightning and the Heavenly Fiend Yin Lightning, combined with the Thunder Roc Wings, made him unafraid of late-stage Void Refinement cultivators, though this did not include the elites of major powers. Generally, elites from major powers didn't need to risk venturing into dangerous places like Myriad Spirit Abyss. Gongsun Yang was an example; he lived a secluded life, focusing on cultivation to break through to the Integration stage. Just as earlier generations plant trees for later generations to enjoy the shade, if the Wang family possessed the strength of Zhenhai Palace, their elites would also not need to risk venturing into perilous places like Myriad Spirit Abyss.

"Never mind her. Let's leave this place quickly! We should send the Nine-Leaf Golden Sandalwood back to Hongxue for alchemy as soon as possible." Wang Qingshan put away the Golden Horned Thunder-Scaled Beast and the stone human, released the green dragon boat, and boarded it. Wang Mengbin and the other two also boarded. Wang Qingshan performed a hand seal, and the green dragon boat transformed into a streak of green light, tearing through the air and vanishing into the horizon.

In the Barren Lands, within a dense green bamboo forest, loud explosions occasionally echoed, shaking the ground. In an open area, Wang Yingjie, Wang Qingxiao, Wang Xiao, and Wang Zongyun were battling millions of crimson armored beetles. These red beetles had small heads and large tails, with a pair of scythe-like fangs exposed and a pair of thin red wings on their backs. One red beetle was over a hundred zhang long, with golden eyes, a pair of golden fangs exposed, and golden wings—this was a mid-grade sixth-tier demonic insect. They attacked by either spitting demonic fire or condensing into weapon-like forms. Wang Yingjie and the other three each summoned their Dharma Idols to attack the red beetles. The red beetles were impervious to water and fire, and difficult to harm with spirit treasures, making them truly challenging opponents.

Wang Qingxiao frowned, performed a hand seal, and an earth-shattering dragon's roar resounded. A colossal five-clawed true dragon phantom appeared high above his head. The true dragon phantom spewed out a vast expanse of white cold air. Upon contact with the white cold air, the crimson beetles instantly froze and plummeted from mid-air. Wang Xiao performed a hand seal, and the giant owl phantom above his head emitted a golden light that transformed into a hazy golden tornado, swirling into the insect swarm. Large numbers of low-tier beetles were shredded by the tornado. Wang Zongyun performed a hand seal, and a gigantic golden spider puppet spewed dense golden spider silk, piercing through the bodies of many low-tier beetles. Wang Yingjie was also not idle. He activated his Dharma Idol, crushing large numbers of red beetles into paste, while tens of thousands of blood dragon ants fiercely attacked the red beetles.

With a flash of white light, a massive white dragon claw materialized out of thin air and slammed onto the insect king. The insect king fell from the sky, creating a huge crater upon impact with the ground. Countless green thorns drilled out of the ground, entangling the insect king's body. The insect king sharply swung its sharp claws, breaking all the green thorns. A white light flew towards it. Just as the insect king was about to dodge, Wang Yingjie's eyes glowed with dazzling golden light—the Qianyang Illusion Eye. The insect king met his gaze, its eyes becoming dull. The white light struck the insect king, and its body rapidly froze, transforming into a colossal ice sculpture. With a flash of spiritual light, a shimmering five-colored jade seal appeared out of nowhere, instantly expanding in size and smashing down. With a thunderous roar, the ground shook violently as the five-colored jade seal crushed the insect king's head. Wang Yingjie performed a hand seal, and the five-colored jade seal flew up. The blood dragon ants swarmed forward, devouring the insect king's body, leaving behind its shell, which could be used to refine defensive treasures. With the insect king dead, the remaining red beetles were no match for them and scattered in all directions. In less than a quarter of an hour, more than half of the red beetles were killed.

Wang Yingjie and the other three simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief and began to clear the battlefield. They had received reliable intelligence that there was a small Kun Earth ore vein somewhere in the Barren Lands. Kun Earth Stone was a seventh-tier refining material that could be refined into Kun Earth Sand, used for setting up earth-attributed formations with excellent defensive effects. Upon learning this news, Wang Mo Shan had intended to send Wang Qingshan to lead the expedition, but Wang Qingshan was already in Myriad Spirit Abyss. Wang Yingjie volunteered to lead the team, emphasizing his role as a family member. Wang Qingxiao, Wang Xiao, and Wang Zongyun voluntarily asked to accompany Wang Yingjie to the Barren Lands. The Barren Lands had many high-tier demonic beasts and insects. Along the way, they encountered a lot of trouble, but fortunately, they did not encounter any seventh-tier demonic beasts, making their journey perilous but ultimately safe.

"We haven't reached our destination yet, so be careful. There are seventh-tier demonic beasts roaming the Barren Lands," Wang Yingjie cautioned. After clearing the battlefield, they rested for over half an hour before continuing their journey, disappearing into the vast mountains.