Chapter 3085

Everything has a natural counter; finding a weakness makes them easier to deal with.

True Master Chiyang suffered greatly because he was unaware the spiritual flame was attached to the Blazing Lion. In contrast, Wang Zongque and his three companions were well-prepared, making it much easier to handle the sixth-grade spiritual flame.

They activated a formation to attack the golden flame, unleashing a barrage of water arrows, water blades, water spears, and other spells directly at it. However, as these attacks approached within thirty meters of the golden flame, they instantly turned into a white mist and vanished without a trace.

The golden flame then retreated back into the Blazing Lion's body. The lion's massive form crashed against the blue water barrier, causing only ripples on its surface with no significant effect. As time passed, the Blazing Lion's reactions grew increasingly sluggish.

Wang Yong'an and his three companions changed their hand seals, causing the formation disk to emit a dazzling blue light. The seawater within the blue barrier churned violently, forming a giant, hazy blue hand that slammed into the Blazing Lion. The Blazing Lion was sent flying backward, crashing heavily onto the ground.

Wang Yibing raised his right hand, and a spherical bead shimmering with white light flew out. He struck a hand seal, and the bead erupted in blinding white light, transforming into an entirely white phoenix. With a spread of its wings, the phoenix flew towards the blue water barrier. The blue water barrier rippled, opening a gap several meters wide, through which the white phoenix soared.

Wherever the white phoenix flew, the air filled with white ice shards, and the seawater instantly froze. The white phoenix collided with the Blazing Lion, unleashing a powerful shockwave. As mist enveloped the area, the Blazing Lion's body visibly froze, transforming into a massive ice sculpture.

A wisp of green smoke rose from the ice sculpture as the ice rapidly melted, revealing a golden fire phoenix that flew out. The white phoenix fiercely flapped its wings, sending forth a volley of white feathers that transformed into meter-long white ice arrows. These arrows pierced the golden fire phoenix, causing it to disperse into a large expanse of golden flames.

Wang Zongque then conjured a shimmering red jade bottle. He struck a hand seal, and the bottle emitted a crimson glow that enveloped the golden flames, drawing them inside. This Qianhuo Bottle, incorporating black marrow clay, was perfectly suited for collecting spiritual flames. With the golden flame contained, Wang Zongque's face lit up with joy. He formed a hand seal, and the Qianhuo Bottle flew towards him, disappearing into his sleeve.

Wang Yong'an then deactivated the formation, and the seawater rapidly vaporized in the high temperatures, disappearing without a trace.

Wang Yier approached the Blazing Lion's corpse. He drew a golden saber and cut open the lion's abdomen, intending to retrieve its inner core. "Oh, what's this?" Wang Yier let out a soft exclamation as he unearthed a light cyan token from the Blazing Lion's abdomen. The token's surface was engraved with nine miniature sword patterns of varying designs, constantly flickering with spiritual light, clearly indicating it was a Heavenly Spiritual Treasure.

Wang Zongque approached, took the cyan token, and examined it carefully, but he couldn't identify it. The Ten Thousand Volcano Mountain Range has existed for many years. Before the Lizard Clan's demise, only a small number of human cultivators ventured there to hunt demonic beasts, deterred by the presence of the Lizard Clan and seventh-rank demonic beasts. Now that the Lizard Clan has been eradicated and human Fusion stage cultivators have cleared out the seventh-rank demonic beasts, a large number of human cultivators now flock to the Ten Thousand Volcano Mountain Range to seek herbs and hunt creatures. This token might have belonged to another cultivator whom the Blazing Lion killed and swallowed along with their body. The lion itself was then killed shortly after, allowing the token to be preserved.

"Yier, you're the head of the Treasure Hunting Hall. Do you recognize what this is?" Wang Zongque inquired.

"It looks like an identity token. Could it be from the Nine Sword Sect? Or related to True Monarch Nine Sword?" Wang Yier seemed both surprised and uncertain.

The Nine Sword Sect was once a renowned major sect on the Profound Spirit Continent, having even produced Grand Ascension stage cultivators. However, after facing a series of calamities, it rapidly declined and vanished into the annals of history. True Monarch Nine Sword was a cultivator from the same era as Sword Venerable Tianhe, who was once defeated by him. However, True Monarch Nine Sword has not appeared in public for many years. Besides the Nine Sword Sect and True Monarch Nine Sword, there's also the possibility that the token itself is a treasure.

"Let's investigate it thoroughly back at the family. It might even be a key to a secret realm," Wang Yibing suggested.

Wang Zongque nodded, put away the token, and they dismantled their formation. They then left the area to report back to the family.

***

Green Lotus Island, Scripture Repository.

The door to a certain secluded chamber opened, and Wang Chuanlin emerged. He was responsible for deducing saber cultivation techniques, a complex and extensive undertaking. Generally, cultivators would deduce techniques aligning with their own elemental attributes to minimize errors, rather than attempting to deduce just any technique. For instance, if Wang Changsheng were to deduce cultivation techniques, he would be better suited for water-attribute ones. It would not be appropriate for him to deduce sword arts, beast-taming, or musical cultivation methods. The Myriad Law Spiritual Body is naturally adept at deducing all types of cultivation techniques. However, such a spiritual body is only mentioned in ancient texts, and those texts don't specify where individuals with this body type might appear.

The Scripture Repository housed several departments, each overseeing different responsibilities. Many clan elders were dedicated to deducing cultivation techniques, specializing in areas such as beast taming, sword arts, Daoist methods, cultivation, and musical arts. When Wang Chuanlin first joined the Scripture Repository, most of the original elders had already passed away, and their descendants had taken up the mantle, continuing the work of technique deduction. This was a demanding and arduous task, often taking a long time to yield results, unlike departments such as the Treasure Hunting Hall or the Trade Hall, where earning merits was relatively easier.

To ensure the clan elders could focus on deducing cultivation techniques without worry, those involved in this work received substantial merit points. For cultivators attempting to break through to the Void Refinement stage, they could apply to use the Sky Thunder Spirit Transformation Talisman or a sixth-rank formation free of charge. Furthermore, their descendants enjoyed significantly better treatment than ordinary clan members, and significant achievements in deduction were met with generous rewards. In addition to deducing cultivation techniques, the elders of the Scripture Repository also organized the family's collected ancient texts, making them useful for clan members engaged in treasure hunting or exploration.

The Trade Hall supervised multiple merchant caravans that gathered cultivation resources from both overseas and inland territories. They also incidentally collected ancient texts, which were then transported back to the family and handed over to the Scripture Repository.

Wang Chuanlin took out a pale golden Dharma disk and formed a hand seal. Wang Yihong's voice resonated from it: "Chuanlin, please come to the council hall. There's something I need to ask you."

"Yes, Ancestor Yihong."

Wang Chuanlin put away the Dharma disk, left the Scripture Repository, and proceeded to the council hall. Wang Yihong sat in the main seat, holding a cyan token. The front of the token was engraved with nine distinct flying sword patterns. After repeated examination by Wang Jiye and Wang Zongque, it was determined that this token was not an offensive artifact but more likely a key—perhaps to unlock a secret realm or to gain access to an ancient cultivator's dwelling. Wang Zongque and his three companions stood nearby, their expressions solemn.

"Chuanlin, take a look at this token. Can you identify it?" Wang Yihong handed the token to Wang Chuanlin and asked.

Wang Chuanlin was intimately familiar with the ancient texts stored in the Scripture Repository, so he might be able to identify the token's origin. Wang Chuanlin examined it closely and inquired about its origin. Wang Yier recounted the details truthfully.

"It should be related to either True Monarch Nine Sword or the Nine Sword Sect. If it pertains to True Monarch Nine Sword, it could be the key to his former dwelling. If it's from the Nine Sword Sect, it likely leads to a secret realm," Wang Chuanlin analyzed.