Chapter 2723: Ximen Family's Scheme

With a gentle flick of Wang Chuanming's wrist, a piercing clang of blades resounded, followed by thousands of shimmering golden blade energies sweeping out in all directions, like a thousand golden pythons.

A thunderous roar erupted as countless red bamboo stalks were severed in half, sending wood chips flying and dust billowing.

A patch of the void shimmered with a green light, revealing a graceful young woman in a green dress. Her skin was a distinct bluish-green, adorned with spiritual patterns of the same hue, and her aura was noticeably stronger than Wang Chuanming's.

"The Spirit Race!" Wang Chuanming frowned. He had heard Wang Changsheng speak of the Spirit Race before and was aware of some of their unique abilities.

Dense golden light surged towards the young woman in the green dress. With a swift hand seal, she radiated a brilliant green glow, and countless green vines erupted from the ground, intertwining to form a tall green wall as a barrier.

The green wall was instantly riddled with holes by the dense golden light, like a sieve. As a wave of golden blade energy swept through, the wall shattered into countless fragments, and the young woman in the green dress dissolved into shimmering green particles, disappearing from sight.

From beneath the earth, countless green thorns, covered in sharp barbs, shot out. With a violent shake, they launched a barrage of dense green spines directly at Wang Chuanming.

A vast number of green thorns wrapped around the giant ape puppet beast, binding it tightly.

One by one, red bamboo stalks burst from the ground, transforming into sharp red spears that lunged at Wang Chuanming.

The void above Wang Chuanming's head rippled, and a shimmering green giant hand materialized, aiming to strike his head.

Wang Chuanming reacted swiftly, slashing his golden longsword upwards to shatter the green hand. He then conjured a small, gleaming golden bell, infused it with a magical incantation, and watched as it rapidly grew in size.

"Clang, clang, clang!" A resounding chime echoed as the giant golden bell unleashed a shimmering golden sound wave, pulverizing the incoming red spears and green spines.

The golden sound wave swept across the ground, causing red bamboo stalks to explode into countless tiny wood chips, stirring up a cloud of smoke and dust.

A green light flared from a red bamboo stalk, revealing the young woman in the green dress.

The giant ape puppet beast radiated a brilliant golden light, causing all the entangling green thorns to snap. It then opened its mouth, spewed a beam of golden light, and blurred out of sight.

The young woman in the green dress seemed to realize something and quickly summoned a shimmering green shield, holding it in front of her.

The void rippled, and a golden light materialized out of thin air, striking the green shield with a muffled thud.

A dazzling golden fist smashed down, causing the green shield to shake violently, leaving a faint fist-shaped indentation on its surface.

A shimmering golden flood dragon descended from the sky, charging directly at the young woman in the green dress. Simultaneously, a spiritual light flared on the ground, and a massive five-colored lizard, the very Five-Colored Lizard itself, suddenly emerged.

It immediately exhaled a pungent stream of five-colored poisonous flames, aiming directly at the young woman in the green dress.

Just as the young woman in the green dress was about to dodge, a loud male roar echoed.

It was the Spirit-Suppressing Roar!

The young woman in the green dress felt a splitting headache, dazed and disoriented. By the time she recovered her senses, the five-colored poisonous flames had already enveloped her.

The golden flood dragon's massive claw slapped the green shield aside, then struck the young woman in the green dress, piercing through her body.

With a flash of green light, the young woman in the green dress transformed into a piece of green wood — the Wood Escape Art!

Dozens of miles away, a red bamboo stalk glowed with a green light, revealing the young woman in the green dress. Her face was pale, and she appeared severely depleted.

Had she not employed a secret art in time, she would have certainly perished.

A rushing sound filled the air as dense golden blade energies swept towards her.

As the young woman in the green dress prepared to dodge, another loud male roar erupted, leaving her dizzy and unable to stand. Helplessly, she watched as the dense golden blade energies engulfed her body.

A shrill female scream tore through the air as the young woman in the green dress was sliced into mincemeat by the dense golden blade energies. The surrounding area for several miles was also pulverized, and shockwaves rippled outwards.

Wang Chuanming descended from the sky, landing in a massive pit where he found a green storage ring and a green crystal.

The Spirit Race was by no means weak, but unfortunately, they crossed paths with Wang Chuanming. Prior to entering the Profound Spirit Grotto-Heaven for treasure hunting, Wang Chuanming had undergone a period of training from his family's Void Refinement cultivators.

Wang Chuanming collected the puppet beast and the green shield, then departed from the area.

In a valley with paths leading in all directions, loud explosions and rumbling sounds echoed periodically.

A massive golden mushroom cloud rose into the sky, visible even from afar.

After a while, the golden mushroom cloud dissipated.

Inside the valley, Jin Ye stood on an open patch of ground, her face pale and her body covered in wounds. More than ten shimmering Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasures lay scattered around, alongside severed limbs and dismembered bodies.

Nearby, three corpses lay, each with a finger-sized bloodied hole in their head, bleeding profusely.

Judging by their attire, they were clearly disciples of the Divine Weapon Sect.

Jin Ye frowned deeply. The human race had dispatched reinforcements, sending over 300 Soul Transformation cultivators into the Profound Spirit Grotto-Heaven for treasure hunting. However, the Flame Spirit, Yaksha, and Spirit races had significantly fewer slots, primarily due to the scarcity of keys.

Four Divine Weapon Sect disciples had ambushed Jin Ye here. Their target wasn't specifically Jin Ye, but rather any non-Divine Weapon Sect cultivators. As Jin Ye was a clone of Yan Ji, she was not easily slain. She managed to kill all four disciples, though she herself sustained minor injuries.

"It seems I need to rendezvous with my clansmen first!" Jin Ye murmured to herself. "The human race sent so many experts this time; could their objective be the same as ours?"

She then took out a shimmering golden spell plate and infused it with a magical incantation.

After collecting the scattered treasures and incinerating the corpses, she departed.

In a damp, dark black forest, continuous explosions rocked the violently shaking ground.

Deep within the dense forest, two men and one woman stood in a clearing. Judging by their attire, they were disciples of the Ximen family. Numerous lifeless golden poisonous bees lay scattered on the ground around them.

Not far away, a middle-aged man lay, his body blackened, clearly a victim of potent poison.

A massive golden bee also lay charred black on the ground.

"We finally dealt with these venomous insects," sighed a tall young man in a green robe with sword-like brows and starry eyes, a hint of regret in his voice. "It's a pity about Uncle Ba."

The young man in the green robe was fair-skinned and appeared quite refined.

This was Ximen Sen, the Ximen family's leader, who possessed late-stage Soul Transformation cultivation.

The Ximen family had sent thirteen Soul Transformation cultivators into the Profound Spirit Grotto-Heaven this time, not because they lacked more slots, but because they couldn't acquire more keys.

"We need to rendezvous with the other clansmen," suggested a beautiful young woman in a white dress, whose skin was like congealed cream and whose figure was graceful. "With just the three of us, we won't be able to obtain that item."

This was Ximen Bing, also at late-stage Soul Transformation and Ximen Sen's clan sister.

From their conversation, it was clear they were on an important mission this time.

Ximen Sen collected the bodies of his deceased clan member and the bee king, then led his two remaining clan members away.