Chapter 2731: Wealth Explosion

A steep peak stood outside the Xuanling Cave.

Yan Ji and dozens of other Fire Essence Clan members stood on the mountaintop, Yan Ji's face ashen.

Her clone had been killed. She had prepared numerous treasures for it, including substitute-calamity artifacts, specifically for this treasure expedition. Yet, the clone had perished within the Xuanling Cave.

She had spent many years preparing for this, and seeing all her hard work go to waste, she was naturally indignant.

What was done was done; no amount of grief would change it.

"Elder Yan, Yan Feng and the others' life-bound soul plaques have shattered."

Jin Huo said with a frown. All Fire Essence Clan members who entered the Xuanling Cave had left their life-bound soul plaques outside, so they would know immediately if anyone perished.

"How many life-bound soul plaques remain intact?"

Yan Ji asked, her face grim.

"Four!"

Jin Huo replied cautiously.

Yan Ji sighed softly, saying nothing further.

Within Xuanguang City stood a magnificent palace.

Wang Changsheng and over twenty Integration-stage cultivators gathered, chatting about a wide array of topics.

"The Void Sky Clan's spatial divine abilities are truly formidable. When battling them, our human cultivators found it hard to gain an advantage. It's fortunate the Void Sky Clan has been annihilated."

Xie Ying remarked with a sigh.

Nangong Gong nodded, "Time brings vast changes. The Xuangling Continent once boasted over ten powerful clans, but now only five remain. Though, it might become six, or even four, in the future."

"Fellow Daoist Nangong, you're referring to the Golden Scale Clan and the Silver Shark Clan, aren't you? I hear there's been considerable friction between the two clans over cultivation resources."

Lin Youxin said with a smile that the fiercer the conflict between these two races, the more beneficial it was for the human race.

"Indeed! The Golden Scale Clan never imagined the Silver Shark Clan would produce a Mahayana cultivator, and one with no small divine abilities at that. Fortunately, both the Silver Shark Clan and the Golden Scale Clan primarily operate in the sea. Frankly, the Golden Scale Clan is to blame for previously oppressing the Silver Shark Clan. If those two clans were to ally, it would not bode well for our human race."

Xie Ying heartily agreed.

"Hmph, it's not that they don't want to ally; it's because Martial Uncle Lin is incredibly powerful. Last time, when a Mahayana cultivator from the Fire Essence Clan came to cause trouble at our Xuanqing Sect, Martial Uncle Lin wounded him."

Lin Sen's face glowed with pride. He took out a cyan magic plate, cast a spell, and his brows furrowed deeply.

With a flick of his right hand, Wang Changsheng produced several shattered crystal fragments.

Wang Jingfeng's and Zhang Yuyun's life-bound soul plaques had shattered, indicating their demise.

They each possessed sixth-tier talismans, fifth-tier puppet beasts, and Zhang Yuyun even had a fifth-tier flood dragon. Could these not be enough to contend with their foes? Even if they encountered a sixth-tier demonic beast, surely they could have escaped!

Had they encountered multiple sixth-tier demonic beasts? Or perhaps a formidable adversary?

Wang Changsheng could only wait quietly, unable to guess the reason.

Within the Xuanling Cave, a hidden underground grotto.

The grotto was damp and dim, with the sound of dripping water echoing within.

A simple stone chamber, bearing clear signs of manual excavation, glowed with a faint yellow light from its walls.

Wang Chuanming sat cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by a multitude of scattered items, including a golden storage bracelet.

The Fire Essence Clan possessed numerous valuable items; there were no less than eighteen keys to the Xuanling Cave alone.

He discovered a golden storage bracelet on Jin Ye's corpse. The space within a storage bracelet far surpassed that of a storage ring; even Integration-stage cultivators might not possess one, with only a select few having access to such an item.

Inside the storage bracelet, Wang Chuanming found four mid-grade Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures: the Sky-Shattering Hammer, the Qianjin Demon-Slaying Blade, and the Five Thunder Halberd. He also found hundreds of jade slips containing various cultivation techniques and secret arts, though none were related to spatial divine abilities.

There were twenty-eight cultivation techniques that allowed advancement to the late Integration stage, and seventy-six for the early Integration stage. Additionally, two techniques, the Su Nu Heavenly Sound and the Illusion Sword Compendium, could lead to the late Mahayana stage. According to the jade slips, these two particular techniques were acquired from the Xuanling Heavenly Venerate's cultivation grounds.

The Su Nu Heavenly Sound was an auditory cultivation technique, while the Illusion Sword Compendium was a sword cultivation method with a strong emphasis on illusion arts.

Over three hundred top-grade spirit stones and a batch of seventh-tier artifact refining materials.

Yet, these were not the most precious findings. The most valuable item was a page from the Heavenly Void Jade Book.

Wang Chuanming was unable to unlock its restrictions and thus could not view its contents. Nevertheless, acquiring these items alone constituted a significant achievement.

In addition to the items from the golden storage bracelet, there were sixty-two low-grade Heaven-Reaching Spirit Treasures, over three hundred million spirit stones, more than three hundred spiritual herbs, including twenty-eight ten-thousand-year-old ones.

It was an overnight fortune. While the spirit stones, treasures, and materials were valuable, the cultivation techniques and the Heavenly Void Jade Book were truly the most precious discoveries.

Having acquired these items, Wang Chuanming decided against further risks, opting instead to simply await the closing of the Xuanling Cave.

Judging by the contents of the jade slips, the owner of the golden storage bracelet likely belonged to the Void Sky Clan, possibly an elder responsible for guarding their scripture repository. Otherwise, they wouldn't have carried so many cultivation techniques and classics.

Curiously, the Void Sky Clan's foundational clan technique was absent. It might have been destroyed, hidden elsewhere, or perhaps obtained by the Fire Essence Clan.

In a narrow valley, two mounds of earth rose from the ground. From beneath them emerged two disheveled figures: Wang Yuanjiang and Long Yufei.

Wang Yuanjiang's face was pale, and his back bore several horrifying blood streaks. Long Yufei was unconscious, her lips black, and her body covered in blood.

They had encountered a sixth-tier demonic beast. While a sixth-tier talisman allowed them to escape, Long Yufei had been afflicted by a strange poison, rendering her unconscious and requiring a place for healing.

Wang Yuanjiang carried Long Yufei and hurried into the distance. An hour later, they appeared inside a hidden mountain cave.

Wang Yuanjiang took out a pale green medicinal pill, placed it in Long Yufei's mouth, and then poured some spirit spring water into her mouth to help her swallow it.

He retrieved a cyan porcelain bottle, poured out some cyan powder, and sprinkled it onto Long Yufei's wounds.

After completing these tasks, Wang Yuanjiang consumed a medicinal pill to treat his own injuries and then began guarding Long Yufei.

In another underground grotto, a yellow-skinned middle-aged man and a blue-skinned woman in a blue dress were conversing, their expressions grave.

"We'll simply wait quietly for the Xuanling Cave to close, then just take out the Primordial Magnetic Stone."

The middle-aged man said gravely, his expression alight with excitement.

"I hope we can safely return the Primordial Magnetic Stone to our clan. Elder Yan Ji will be difficult to deal with, so let's be careful and try to offer as many spiritual herbs as we can."

The woman in the blue dress suggested.

"Hmph, every so often, the Fire Essence Clan orders our Spirit Clan to wage war against other races. Isn't it just because they fear our Spirit Clan growing strong? We're exploited by the Fire Essence Clan just to enter and exit the Xuanling Cave. Once we have a Mahayana cultivator, we certainly won't be so courteous to them."

The middle-aged man snorted coldly, his face revealing a look of yearning.

If the Spirit Clan had a Mahayana cultivator, they wouldn't have to tolerate the Fire Essence Clan's whims; they could stand as equals. However, for many years, no member of the Spirit Clan had managed to reach the Mahayana stage.