Chapter 2688: Dealing with the Qian Family

Jintang Valley, a secluded small courtyard with blue tiles.

Wang Liangyan was seated in a stone pavilion, as Wang Yuanjiang briefed her, with Wang Yimiao standing nearby.

Wang Chuanfeng was tasked with collecting cultivation resources here. He was accompanied by Elder Jin Yue, a guest elder in the late Spirit Transformation stage, so there should have been no inherent danger.

However, both Elder Jin Yue's and Wang Chuanfeng's soul lamps had successively extinguished. The Wang family considered this case extremely serious and sent Wang Liangyan, the head of the Enforcement Hall, to lead a team to apprehend the true culprits.

The Wang family currently boasts over 100,000 cultivators. Over the years, numerous family members have mysteriously disappeared, and the family has consistently made strenuous efforts to locate them. There have also been cases where Spirit Transformation cultivators were attacked and killed.

Unlike other Spirit Transformation cultivators who had perished, Wang Chuanfeng's primary role was to oversee Jintang Valley and collect cultivation resources, a duty that typically involved no risk. Most other deceased Spirit Transformation cultivators had died while seeking treasures in dangerous areas or performing perilous missions.

Wang Chuanfeng was not a particularly prominent figure within the family, although he was close to Wang Chuanming. The primary reason the Wang family attached such significant importance to this case was Wang Changsheng's recent advancement to the Integration stage.

As is customary for new leaders, Wang Changsheng's ascension to the Integration stage marked a new era. Wang Chuanfeng, being the first Spirit Transformation cultivator murdered after this event, was thus seen as a direct provocation to the Wang family.

In recent years, the Wang family had acquired considerable territory inland. However, they still lacked any sixth-tier ore veins or medium-sized spirit stone mines. While they had encountered friction with numerous forces, these conflicts had always been minor.

The Wang family's expansion inland had also faced significant resistance. Previously, without an Integration stage cultivator in the family, Wang Moshan had adhered to the principle of "harmony brings wealth," striving to keep conflicts contained. Even when Void Refinement cultivators became involved, these were merely sparring matches, never battles to the death.

Now, with an Integration stage cultivator, Wang Moshan could act more decisively. He had long intended to deal with several forces that persistently targeted the Wang family, but he hadn't found a suitable pretext. His primary interest lay in these forces' metal and spirit stone mines.

Wang Liangyan's immediate task was to ascertain the cause of Wang Chuanfeng's death. Regardless of the actual killer, the blame had to be pinned squarely on a rival force, thereby providing the necessary pretext to confront them.

“Ancestor Liangyan,” Wang Yuanjiang reported, “I've dispatched a large number of personnel to investigate all markets within a billion-mile radius. Chuanfeng and Elder Jin Yue never returned after leaving Jintang Valley, and no one knows their whereabouts.”

“Has the bounty been issued?” Wang Liangyan pressed, stating that the incident's impact should be magnified as much as possible.

Wang Yuanjiang nodded. “It has been issued. The bounty is 100 million spirit stones. Many have attempted to fraudulently claim the reward, but I've seen through all of them.”

“Seen through? Why would you see through them? Has no one provided any genuine clues? Is this connected to the Qian family?” Wang Liangyan said meaningfully, noting that the Qian family possessed a medium-sized spirit stone mine, three fifth-tier metal mines, and a secret realm.

The Qian family was an affiliated cultivation family of the Five Saints Sect, boasting at least two Void Refinement cultivators. The Five Saints Sect, in turn, was an affiliated force of the Xuanqing Sect.

Before this, the Qian family had clashed with the Ning family, seizing considerable territory and interests. It was the Wang family who eventually intervened, sending Wang Qingfeng to spar with and defeat Qian Ruyue, which helped the Ning family reclaim some of their land.

The Wang family, in turn, acquired the Qinggang Mountain Range from the Ning family and established the Qinggang Market.

Over the years, the Qian family had frequently obstructed the Wang family. Previously, being relatively weaker, the Wang family had always shown forbearance, but now there was no longer any need to tolerate such behavior.

As the saying goes, 'to beat a dog, one must consider its owner.' While destroying the Five Saints Sect would indeed be troublesome, eliminating the Qian family posed no such problem.

The conflict between the Qian, Wang, and Ning families was, at its core, a struggle for interests. There was also competition between Zhenhai Palace and the Xuanqing Sect. However, Integration stage cultivators would not engage in death matches due to the need to guard against foreign races, whereas Void Refinement cultivators were not bound by such concerns.

“Not at the moment!”

Wang Yuanjiang shook his head.

“There will absolutely be witnesses,” Wang Liangyan instructed. “Take more time, and don't solely focus on the Qian family. Other forces are also under suspicion. Chuanfeng cannot have died in vain. If our family member was killed, this debt cannot be settled so easily; blood must have blood.”

Wang Yuanjiang understood implicitly and agreed.

Wang Liangyan gave a few more instructions before dismissing Wang Yuanjiang.

On Qinglian Island, in the council hall, Wang Moshan and over a hundred family elders were engaged in a grave discussion, their expressions somber.

The Wang family did not possess a single sixth-tier ore vein or even a medium-sized spirit stone mine. While Wang Changsheng had sold a batch of puppet beasts, temporarily alleviating some financial pressure, this was merely a stopgap measure.

As the saying goes, 'give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.' Wang Moshan intended to contend for more resources. The family had been developing inland for many years, forging alliances with numerous forces. Over time, the interests of these allied forces had become inextricably linked with the Wang family's, ensuring shared prosperity and mutual decline.

“Lihe, Lihe, Gonghu, Zonglang, Jiye, Zongque,” Wang Moshan instructed, “take the sixth-tier puppet beasts and proceed to Qinggang Market to prepare for action. Lihe will be fully responsible for this matter; there's no need to report every detail to me. Exercise your discretion and adapt to circumstances.”

For this operation, he had mobilized seven Void Refinement cultivators to confront the Qian family, a clear indication of how seriously he took them. This was also intended as a practical training exercise for the family members, using the Qian family as a proving ground.

Prior to this, Wang Lihe and the others had hunted sixth-tier demon beasts and sparred with other Void Refinement cultivators, thus possessing extensive combat experience. However, their experience in life-or-death battles was very limited.

The mainland had teleportation arrays, but teleporting back to Qinglian Island from the mainland would take some time. Given that battles could change instantaneously, Wang Lihe was granted full autonomy to avoid missing tactical opportunities.

“Yes, Patriarch.”

Wang Lihe and the others readily agreed, stood up, and left to attend to their duties.

Wang Moshan took out a shimmering blue disc from his robes, channeled a spell into it, and a hurried male voice echoed, “Patriarch, family members from the lower realm have contacted us. What are your thoughts?”

“Understood, I'll be right there.”

Wang Moshan put away the communication disc and left the council hall.

Since Wang Changsheng had established the communication array in the lower realm, family members there rarely initiated contact. Could something have happened in the lower realm?

Logically, this shouldn't be the case. According to Wang Shiming, who had ascended, there were nearly ten Spirit Transformation cultivators within the Wang family in the lower realm, and with their allied in-laws, they numbered over a dozen Spirit Transformation cultivators in total.

Before Wang Changsheng departed the East Fence Realm, he had left behind a fifth-tier puppet beast and a Heaven-Connecting Spirit Treasure.

Filled with confusion, he went to the East Fence Hall.

Upon entering the hall, Wang Moshan saw a massive formation array. A tall, slender man in a green robe stood nearby, his expression anxious.

The formation array subtly vibrated, its spiritual light flickering.

“Alright, you can contact them now. Let's see what has happened.” Wang Moshan instructed.

The man in green robes took out a glittering array disc and channeled a spell into it.

The formation array began to shake violently. After all the array patterns lit up, the ethereal projection of a gentle young man in green robes appeared above it. The young man's face was pale, and he looked injured. It was indeed Wang Shiwen.

“What major incident has occurred?” Wang Moshan asked, frowning.

“The Ice Sea Realm and the Thousand Gourd Realm have rebelled,” Wang Shiwen reported. “Spirit Transformation cultivators led the uprising, and they possessed considerable divine abilities, having mastered several powerful secret arts. We paid a heavy price to eliminate them.”

Wang Shiwen's tone was somewhat weak.