Chapter 2781: Niupan, Snow Princess

The Black Swallow Mountain Range stretches for millions of miles, brimming with spiritual energy and abundant monster beast resources, attracting many high-level cultivators to hunt here.

A tremendous roar echoed from deep within the Black Swallow Mountain Range, as a massive orb of silver lightning ascended into the sky, conspicuously bright.

In a widely accessible valley, barren and riddled with potholes, a pale young woman in a green dress lay in a large, smoke-emitting crater. Her left arm was missing, and a fist-sized bloody hole in her abdomen bled incessantly.

Scattered on the ground were green wooden fragments, faintly glowing, along with two broken green banners.

Not far away, a tall, slender young man in a golden robe stood with a cold expression, gripping a long blade that shimmered with golden light, its surface intricately engraved with beautiful patterns.

A massive silver hawk circled overhead, countless silver electric arcs flickering around its body.

"Who exactly are you, sir?" the young woman in green asked, her voice somewhat weak and brows furrowed. "How have I offended you, fellow Daoist? At least tell me why I'm dying!"

"Go ask the King of Hell!" the golden-robed young man said, his face turning cold as he swung his golden long blade in a horizontal slash.

After a piercing hum of the blade, thousands of shimmering golden blade energies swept forth like a golden torrent, surging directly towards the young woman in green.

Just as the young woman in green was about to cast a spell to defend herself, a loud male roar echoed incessantly through the heavens and earth.

The young woman in green's head swam with dizziness, and her eyes widened in terror.

"Soul Suppressing Roar! You're from the Azure Lotus Wang family?" the young woman in green exclaimed, her face etched with disbelief.

The Soul Suppressing Roar is a unique divine ability of the Wang family, mastered only by core disciples. While its existence is known to the outside world, it is notoriously difficult to defend against.

Treasures and talismans capable of weakening or suppressing spiritual sense attacks are exceedingly rare, possessed by only a select few cultivators.

The dense golden blade energies swept over, engulfing the young woman in green's figure, slicing her into minced flesh amidst a cloud of dust.

A miniature Nascent Soul flew out of her body, but a shimmering golden hand descended from the sky, swiftly grasping it.

The miniature Nascent Soul's expression hardened, and its body swelled rapidly, as if intending to self-detonate. Just then, another loud male roar resounded.

At the sound, the miniature Nascent Soul's body quickly shrank. A silver-glowing talisman shot over, adhering to it, and the Nascent Soul's expression immediately became listless.

The golden-robed young man flew closer, seizing the miniature Nascent Soul as blinding golden light surged from his palm.

"It was indeed you," the golden-robed young man, Wang Chuanming, muttered to himself. "It took nearly a thousand years to bring you to justice."

He had spent nearly a millennium bringing the murderer of the Dark Hall's Deputy Hall Master to justice. Naturally, he hadn't needed to personally supervise; he typically spent his time cultivating, and his subordinates would report to him if the culprit showed any unusual activity.

As the Hall Master of the Dark Hall, Wang Chuanming could now mobilize more personnel and didn't need to handle every matter personally.

He first subtly influenced Chen Yunqing's relationships with other disciples, compelling Chen Yunqing to leave, before seizing an opportunity to deal with the culprit.

During the investigation, the Dark Hall's Deputy Hall Master had traced the culprit, only to be directly killed when it was discovered the other party was a Void Refinement cultivator. After the incident, the murderer had moved through several locations before settling in Xuanqing Valley, where they had hidden for over eight hundred years.

Wang Chuanming collected the scattered valuables from the ground, burned the corpse, and then departed the area.

On Azure Lotus Peak, Azure Lotus Island, Wang Changsheng sat in a blue stone pavilion while the Double-Pupiled Mouse lay on a green stone table.

After consuming a large quantity of spirit herbs and fruits, it had successfully advanced to mid-sixth rank. The Qilin Turtle had also reached mid-sixth rank. The Mirage Dragon and Wood Demon, however, remained at low-sixth rank, though for the Mirage Dragon, given its bloodline, advancing to mid-sixth rank was merely a matter of time.

After years of secluded cultivation, Wang Changsheng's magic power had become significantly purer.

The cultivation manuals and ancient texts Wang Chuanming had brought from the Profound Spirit Grotto-heaven also included methods for crafting seventh-rank talismans. However, the required materials were exceptionally rare, and the Wang family had only managed to collect a portion of them.

Wang Ruyan was currently in secluded cultivation and would attempt to craft seventh-rank talismans once the family had gathered all the necessary materials.

Wang Changsheng took a shimmering green communication disk from his robes. As he infused it with a spell, Wang Moshan's voice sounded: "Old Ancestor, Senior Liu from Zhenhai Palace has arrived, as has Senior Song from the Song family, along with two other seniors."

"Please invite them to the reception hall; I'll be there immediately," Wang Changsheng instructed. Liu Qingfeng and Song Yunlong arriving together surely signified an important matter.

"Understood, Old Ancestor," Wang Moshan acknowledged.

Putting away the communication disk, Wang Changsheng made his way to the reception hall.

Soon after, five streaks of light flew in. Besides Liu Qingfeng, Song Yunlong, and Zhao Yunxiao, there was a slender young woman in a white dress and a tall old man in a silver robe. The young woman in white had skin as pale as snow and white eyes; her physique was more than twice that of a human. The silver-robed old man had silver spirit patterns on his arms and face, and his eyes were also silver.

"The Snow Clan! The Thunder Ox Clan!" Wang Changsheng's expression hardened. The Snow Clan and Thunder Ox Clan were among humanity's allied races. It was said that the Thunder Ox Clan possessed the bloodline of the Kui Niu, and both clans were counted among the Five Kings, boasting countless masters.

"Senior Brother Liu, Fellow Daoist Song, long time no see," Wang Changsheng greeted them, his gaze falling on the young woman in the white dress and the silver-robed old man with an expression of curiosity. "Who are these two fellow Daoists?"

He had never previously interacted with high-level members of these two clans, making them quite unfamiliar to him.

"My name is Xue Ji; greetings, Fellow Daoist Wang," the young woman in white said politely, bowing gracefully.

"I am Niu Pan," the silver-robed old man stated, without much formality.

Xue Ji, Niu Pan, and Song Yunlong were all at the mid-Integration stage, while Wang Changsheng was at the early-Integration stage.

"Junior Brother Wang," Liu Qingfeng began politely, "we've received reliable information that there's a seventh-rank Three-Headed Flood Dragon Turtle in the Barren Land. We plan to go there to eliminate this demon. Since you've been to the Barren Land many times, we'd like you to come with us. After the matter is concluded, we absolutely won't mistreat you. What do you say?"

Liu Qingfeng spoke politely, acknowledging that times had changed; Wang Changsheng had already advanced to the Integration stage, meaning Zhenhai Palace could no longer compel him.

"A seventh-rank Three-Headed Flood Dragon Turtle?" Wang Changsheng suddenly understood. He looked troubled. "Senior Brother Liu, aren't you all enough? My strength is meager; I'm afraid I won't be of much help."

Liu Qingfeng was at the late-Integration stage, and Song Yunlong and the other two were at the mid-Integration stage. Logically, Wang Changsheng wasn't needed at all.

"I heard you possess a sixth-rank spirit mouse, skilled at finding rare treasures," Liu Qingfeng explained. "That's why I wanted to invite you to the Barren Land with us."

"Senior Brother Liu, Zhenhai Palace has a long and storied heritage," Wang Changsheng asked, somewhat perplexed. "I find it hard to believe you don't have a sixth-rank spirit beast for finding rare treasures."

Asking him for help was fine, but he wanted the truth.

"You possess the Soul Suppressing Roar, a powerful divine ability that could be very helpful," Liu Qingfeng said, taking out a green storage ring and handing it to Wang Changsheng. "Here is a sixth-rank Thunder Ray beast hide and five Sea Suppressing Pearls. There will be further significant rewards after the task is completed."

Wang Changsheng's expression remained troubled; he truly did not wish to make a trip to the Barren Land.

"Junior Brother Wang, Master has returned," Zhao Yunxiao transmitted to Wang Changsheng. "They are helping Master; Master is about to undergo a grand heavenly tribulation."

Liu Qingfeng and Song Yunlong were both from the local faction, so Wang Changsheng might not necessarily obey them.

"Undergoing a grand heavenly tribulation?" Wang Changsheng was half-skeptical. However, since Zhao Yunxiao had personally spoken, he found it difficult to refuse again. With Liu Qingfeng leading the group, he figured nothing untoward would happen.

"Alright then! I'll accompany you on this trip!" Wang Changsheng retrieved his communication disk, gave Wang Moshan a few instructions, and returned to Azure Lotus Peak to collect his spirit beasts and insects. He then departed with Liu Qingfeng; Zhao Yunxiao did not accompany them.