Chapter 2694: Mutual Casualties

A blue flood dragon circled in the air before landing.

"Clean up the battlefield, and quickly gather all the spirit herbs. Five Saints Sect reinforcements might already be on their way," Wang Jingfeng ordered. His clansmen carried out their duties, clearing the battlefield and harvesting the spirit herbs.

Jinfeng walked up to Wang Jingfeng. A purple worm, about two fingers thick, crawled out of his mouth. The worm had no eyes, only a small mouth. This was a Purple Soul Corpse-Controlling Worm, ranked 105th on the Myriad Worm List. It possessed the innate ability of assimilation, typically parasitizing other life forms. It would assimilate the host's Nascent Soul or divine soul to control them, and only after the host's death would it seek a new host.

Cultivating the Purple Soul Corpse-Controlling Worm was difficult. Five generations of Wang Jingfeng's ancestors had spent a great deal of time and effort cultivating these worms, but most stopped at the fourth rank. The higher the ranking of a spirit insect, the harder it was to advance. By Wang Jingfeng's generation, with the lessons from his ancestors' failures, he avoided many detours and successfully cultivated a fifth-rank Purple Soul Corpse-Controlling Worm.

The Purple Soul Corpse-Controlling Worm shared similarities with the Seven-Star Spirit-Controlling Talisman. The difference was that as long as the host was alive, the worm could continuously control them, allowing the host to use their divine abilities against enemies. However, the worm could only be controlled by its breeder, whereas any cultivator could use the Seven-Star Spirit-Controlling Talisman. The talisman required the enemy to be wounded before use, and once its power was exhausted, it could no longer control the enemy.

Both the Purple Soul Corpse-Controlling Worm and the Seven-Star Spirit-Controlling Talisman had their advantages and disadvantages. Theoretically, the worm could control cultivators of the same rank or lower ranks without restrictions; a seventh-rank worm could even control Integration-stage cultivators. In contrast, the Seven-Star Spirit-Controlling Talisman could only control cultivators below the Integration stage, and even if an Integration-stage cultivator was wounded, they could not be controlled. If a unique treasure or special divine ability was involved, neither would be effective. However, the Five Saints Sect disciples guarding the Golden Centipede Mountain Range clearly lacked such items or abilities.

"There are over twenty thousand-year spirit herbs, no less than a thousand millennium spirit herbs, and a large quantity of spirit fruits," Zhang Yuge excitedly reported. The Five Saints Sect truly lived up to its reputation as an established Void Refinement force, overflowing with wealth. These spirit herbs were their spoils of war, which could be kept personally or submitted to the clan in exchange for contribution points.

For spirit stone mines or metal ore veins, the conquerors received a certain percentage of the annual output of spirit stones or metal ores. The duration of this profit was not fixed; the higher the value, the greater the profit received, and the longer the duration. This incentivized clansmen to vigorously attack enemy strongholds, paving their own path of cultivation. The Wang family used the Qian family as training, waiting to see which Wang family Soul Transformation cultivator would distinguish themselves.

"If you can take the spirit fruit trees, take them. If not, destroy them," Wang Jingfeng commanded his clansmen.

Less than half an hour later, the Wang family disciples finished clearing the battlefield and successively boarded the blue flood dragon. The Purple Soul Corpse-Controlling Worm burrowed back into Jinfeng's body. Jinfeng transformed into a golden streak of light and sped away. The blue flood dragon pursued, heading to the Five Saints Sect's next stronghold.

Chen Yifan had likely fled back to the Five Saints Sect's main altar to report, probably without time to notify fellow disciples at other strongholds. Wang Jingfeng intended to raid other Five Saints Sect strongholds. The more Five Saints Sect strongholds he captured, the more wealth he would obtain, increasing his chances of advancing to the Void Refinement stage.

The Five Saints Sect had moved to support the Qian family, and the Qian family's in-law allies also provided assistance, attacking strongholds occupied by the Wang, Ning, and Ji families, among others. However, the main focus was still on the Five Saints Sect. The Qian family's in-law allies were providing nominal assistance, doing little actual work. It was clear to everyone that the Wang family intended to make an example of the Qian family. If they didn't participate, they might become the next Qian family. There was no need to fight to the death with the Wang family, as the Wang family had not attacked their territories.

In the Golden Glittering Mountain Range, on an open plain, lay hundreds of corpses. Judging by their attire, they included both Wang family disciples and Five Saints Sect disciples. Remains of puppet beasts were also visible. Dozens of cultivators were engaged in fierce combat. Wang Yier's face was pale, and there was a finger-thick blood hole in his left shoulder, from which black blood flowed.

The Five Saints Sect had dispatched twenty Soul Transformation cultivators and over a hundred Nascent Soul cultivators. They simply couldn't hold them back. The teleportation array was restricted by secret talismans and couldn't be used. "Yimei, Yisheng, Fairy Ji, it's not wise to stay here. Retreat quickly," Wang Yier transmitted anxiously.

A tall, thin young man in a golden robe radiated a brilliant golden light. A black spiderweb descended from the sky, enveloping him. The golden-robed young man hastily waved the golden banner in his hand, releasing a surge of golden flames that held up the black spiderweb. As the void rippled, a furry black giant claw materialized, heading directly for the golden-robed young man. With a muffled thud, the black giant claw was blocked by the golden-robed young man's protective spiritual light. However, several black rays shot forth, piercing his protective spiritual light. After a scream, the golden-robed young man's head was pierced by the black light.

A miniature Nascent Soul flew out of his body, shouting, "You all go quickly! I entrust my son to you!" The miniature Nascent Soul expanded and flew towards a handsome, black-robed young man. The black-robed young man's clothes bore patterns of five venomous insects, including spiders and centipedes—the emblem of the Five Saints Sect. This was Chen Lang, an elite disciple of the Five Saints Sect, at the late Soul Transformation stage.

Chen Lang snorted coldly, about to make a move, when the miniature Nascent Soul suddenly exploded. With a thunderous roar, a dazzling golden light erupted, engulfing an area of several dozen li. The spiritual boots on Wang Yimei's feet shone brightly, transforming into a streak of light that shot away. Wang Yier, Ji Yuwei, and others quickly disengaged from the battle and flew towards the northwest.

"Junior Sister Li, Junior Sister Sun, you four stay here. The rest of you, follow me. They are very weak now; it's a great opportunity to kill them," Chen Lang ordered. With his command, Chen Lang transformed into a streak of light and pursued them. Several Five Saints Sect Soul Transformation cultivators followed, while four others directed their disciples to set up a formation.

In Golden Rainbow Valley, on an open plain, the ground was pitted and scarred with clear corrosive marks. Hundreds of corpses lay scattered, including both Wang family disciples and Five Saints Sect disciples. Numerous severed limbs and broken puppet remains were scattered across the ground. Wang Yuanwei and fifteen other Soul Transformation sound cultivators were divided into three groups of five, playing musical compositions.

Two frenzied Five Saints Sect disciples were attacking a slender young woman in a golden skirt. Her left arm was missing, and her chest was stained with blood. The Five Saints Sect had sent twenty Soul Transformation cultivators to attack Golden Rainbow Valley, intending to reclaim the stronghold. However, they were no match for Wang Yuanwei and her group and suffered significant losses.

The sounds of flutes, vertical flutes, and lutes merged, causing the golden-skirted young woman's expression to blur and her reactions to slow. Her protective spiritual light was shattered by her two opponents, and a large hole appeared in her head. As a miniature Nascent Soul barely left her body, a nine-colored sound wave swept over it, and the miniature Nascent Soul let out a shriek before vanishing. The nine-colored sound wave passed through the bodies of the two Five Saints Sect disciples. They successively collapsed, and as their Nascent Souls barely left their bodies, a giant tower shimmering with blue light descended from the sky, collecting their Nascent Souls.

Wang Yuanwei breathed a sigh of relief. She sent someone to report to Wang Lihe and simultaneously organized her clansmen to clear the battlefield and repair the formation. The Five Saints Sect would definitely not let this go and would surely organize a counterattack. The Five Saints Sect provided aid to the Qian family, resulting in casualties on both sides. Several Soul Transformation cultivators died in the struggle for a single stronghold.