Chapter 3117: Blue Sky News 3099

He sat down in a blue stone pavilion. Before long, Wang Yidao and Wang Yihong arrived.

"Greetings, Patriarch."

Wang Yihong and Wang Yidao bowed respectfully.

Wang Changsheng looked Wang Yidao up and down, nodded, and praised, "Excellent. You've reached the late Void Refinement stage. You are the fastest cultivating family member in our history."

Wang Yidao, just over five thousand years old, had already reached the late Void Refinement stage. Wang Changsheng himself had only been in the mid-Void Refinement stage at that age. With substantial resource support, cultivators with spiritual bodies progressed at a comparatively faster rate. While a cultivator's aptitude is important, resources are even more critical. With immense resource backing, even those with five spiritual roots could reach the Mahayana stage. The Wang family had invested heavily in Wang Yidao; if he still hadn't reached the late Void Refinement stage, he wouldn't truly be a spiritual body holder.

"Yes," Wang Yidao replied.

"I hear you're quite close with young friend Du from Hundred Blossom Villa," Wang Changsheng said gently. "If you like her, have Yihong send someone to propose marriage."

Wang Yidao was a man of few words, and perhaps marriage would help him open up.

"I've also mentioned it to him," Wang Yihong said with a smile. "He said he has his own plans."

Wang Changsheng nodded. "Alright then, suit yourself!"

"Thank you, Patriarch," Wang Yidao said gratefully.

Wang Yihong took out a communication disk, which shimmered with blue light. He input a spell, and a respectful male voice sounded, "Patriarch Yihong, True Monarch Kuangchui has arrived. He claims to have important intelligence and wishes to report it to the Patriarch in person."

Wang Yihong looked at Wang Changsheng, awaiting his instructions.

"Important intelligence? Bring him to Azure Lotus Peak then." It had been a long time since Wang Changsheng had seen Lan Fukong.

"Take him to Azure Lotus Peak immediately. The Patriarch wants to see him," Wang Yihong instructed, then put away the communication disk.

"Yidao, you may go," Wang Changsheng said, waving his hand to dismiss Wang Yidao.

A moment later, Lan Fukong appeared before Wang Changsheng. He was currently in the mid-Void Refinement stage, having already survived three Great Heavenly Tribulations. Lan Fukong was about to bow when Wang Changsheng stopped him. "Dispense with the formalities. Get to the point."

"Senior Wang," Lan Fukong said excitedly, "I've found the whereabouts of a Jade Nether Python." He took out a blue jade slip and handed it to Wang Changsheng.

The Lan family currently had five Void Refinement cultivators, with Lan Fukong being the highest-ranked. He had encountered a bottleneck and had gone to the Barren Lands to hunt demonic beasts, hoping to break through during life-or-death battles. By chance, he discovered a seventh-tier Jade Nether Python. Coincidentally, the Wang family had issued a bounty for a seventh-tier Jade Nether Python in the Barren Lands.

"A Jade Nether Python!" Wang Changsheng took the jade slip, scanned it with his divine sense, and an pensive expression appeared on his face.

He and Monk Yuanxiao had teamed up to acquire a true spirit origin, which was guarded by a seventh-tier Jade Nether Python. Fortunately, the python had just passed its Great Heavenly Tribulation, giving them an opportunity. That Jade Nether Python had inherited Qilin bloodline and was quite powerful. There were many seventh-tier demonic beasts in the Barren Lands, so the Jade Nether Python Lan Fukong found might not be the one Wang Changsheng was looking for.

"How did you discover it? And how did you escape?" Wang Changsheng asked.

Lan Fukong dared not conceal anything and reported truthfully. At the time, the Jade Nether Python was fiercely battling a seventh-tier Blazing Fire Hawk. Lan Fukong observed from a distance. The Jade Nether Python summoned a Qilin manifestation, quickly dispatching the Blazing Fire Hawk, and Lan Fukong made an early escape.

"Qilin manifestation!" Wang Changsheng nodded. He would have to go to the Barren Lands himself. "You haven't mentioned this to anyone else, have you?" Wang Changsheng asked gravely.

"No, I came straight to report to Senior Wang as soon as possible," Lan Fukong stated seriously.

"Yihong, take him down. If his request isn't too excessive, grant it," Wang Changsheng instructed.

Wang Yihong acknowledged, then led Lan Fukong away.

"It's been many years," Wang Changsheng murmured to himself. "It has already reached the mid-seventh tier. If I don't eliminate it soon, it will become even harder later." Years had passed, and the Jade Nether Python was now a mid-seventh-tier beast. Possessing Qilin bloodline, it was far superior to ordinary seventh-tier demonic beasts and would be excellent for artifact refining. Furthermore, Wang Changsheng had previously seized a true spirit origin from it. If he didn't eliminate this beast, it might seek trouble for the Wang family once it transformed into human form, posing a hidden danger.

Wang Qingshan and Duan Tongtian were both absent from the Profound Spirit Continent. Azure Lotus Island required a Body Integration cultivator to guard it, so Wang Changsheng decided to make the trip himself. He brought Wang Chan, Wang Lin, and Wang Mengli with him, leaving Azure Lotus Island and heading for the Barren Lands.

Deep within the Barren Lands, in a secluded underground cave, a tall, slender old man in a green robe and a graceful young woman in a red dress were conversing. The green-robed elder was Bu Hao, a mid-Body Integration cultivator and one of the remnants of the Lizard Clan. He primarily operated in the Barren Lands, where hundreds of Lizard Clan members were scattered across different locations to avoid being wiped out.

"Within the next four thousand years, I must face my fifth Great Heavenly Tribulation," Bu Hao instructed. "I don't expect to survive it. If I'm gone, Zhuer, you and Feng'er will be responsible for overseeing the other clan members."

"You're overthinking it," the young woman in the red dress, Bu Zhu, comforted. Bu Zhu, an early Body Integration cultivator, was a descendant of Bu Hao. "If you have a seventh-tier Lightning Absorbing Orb, you'll surely pass the fifth Great Heavenly Tribulation."

"I hope so," Bu Hao sighed. "If it weren't for the Human, Fiery, and Yaksha races, we wouldn't have fallen to this state."

"Someday, we will rise again," Bu Zhu said, her face filled with murderous intent. "And when that happens, we'll make them pay a heavy price."

Bu Hao shook his head. "Forget it. Without a Mahayana cultivator, we should remain in the Barren Lands. A gentleman's revenge is never too late, even after ten years. We are no gentlemen; we can wait for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. You are the future of the Lizard Clan; nothing must happen to you."

Bu Zhu took out a light blue spell disk from her robe, input a spell, and excitedly said, "My husband and his companions have found a seventh-tier Azure Lightning Lion! It might have a seventh-tier Lightning Absorbing Orb."

"A seventh-tier Azure Lightning Lion!" Bu Hao's heart stirred. After a moment's thought, he instructed, "Contact Fellow Daoist Yi and his group. Hopefully, we can acquire a seventh-tier Lightning Absorbing Orb; it would make our tribulation easier." Without a seventh-tier Lightning Absorbing Orb, he would surely die during the fifth Great Heavenly Tribulation. The Lizard Clan's high-grade tribulation-transcending treasures were not in their possession but with Yi Xin, due to differing relationships.

"Yes, Patriarch," Bu Zhu replied.

Several days later, Bu Hao set out with three Body Integration cultivators to hunt the seventh-tier Azure Lightning Lion.

A narrow, long canyon lay ahead, with many scattered loose rocks on the ground. Wang Changsheng and Wang Lin slowly advanced, their faces filled with vigilance. Lan Fukong dared not get too close. Not knowing the Jade Nether Python's lair, disturbing it would make escape impossible for him. Therefore, Wang Changsheng could only search in the areas where the Jade Nether Python had been seen. Unfortunately, Wang Tunian wasn't present, which would have made things much easier.