Chapter 3439: Wang Chuanming's Scheme

A towering peak, covered in dense vegetation, stood with a large cave at its base. Deafening roars emanated from within the cave, causing the entire peak to tremble slightly, and massive rocks tumbled down the mountainside.

With a thunderous crash, the mountain split in two, and a brilliant golden saber qi, reaching for the heavens, flashed out and soared towards the sky.

A shrill bird cry pierced the air as a large, teal Ji bird flew out. Many of its feathers had fallen off, its body was covered in blood, and bone was visible, indicating severe injury.

Flapping its wings, it ascended towards the sky. After flying just over ten miles, the void rippled, and a colossal, misty white hand appeared. Even before it descended, large amounts of white ice chips materialized in the void, as if the entire area was about to be frozen solid.

The white hand struck the teal Ji bird, which plummeted from mid-air, its body beginning to freeze as the ice spread rapidly.

The teal Ji bird’s speed drastically reduced just as a brilliant golden saber light shot forth and severed its head.

The saber light shattered more than a dozen mountain peaks, sending dust and smoke swirling.

Wang Yidao, Wang Chuanming, Wang Yibing, and Lan Fukong stood on an open patch of ground, each with a different expression. In a corner were over a dozen small, teal-colored grasses. These grasses glowed with a faint green light, their leaves were round, and they were encased within an earthen-yellow light barrier.

They had been separated from the main group and couldn't contact other clan members, so they could only proceed step by step, adapting as they went.

“Fellow Daoist Wang’s saber techniques are exquisite; even a seventh-rank, high-grade demonic bird was no match for you. Given time, you will surely surpass Senior Wang,” Lan Fukong praised.

“Oh,” Wang Yidao replied, his face expressionless, revealing neither joy nor anger.

“Fellow Daoist Lan, you flatter us. If not for you and Ancestor Yibing jointly wounding this demon, we wouldn't have defeated it so easily,” Wang Chuanming said with a smile.

“I only provided a small, negligible help. Without Fellow Daoist Wang, we couldn’t have killed this demon at all. Those few Wind Spirit Grasses are yours; I didn’t help much, so I won’t take any,” Lan Fukong said sincerely.

Wang Yidao's strength was too great, instilling fear in Lan Fukong, who wisely declined the spiritual herbs.

“Fellow Daoist Lan, you jest. This was a collective effort, not just Yidao's alone. Let’s divide these Wind Spirit Grasses equally!” Wang Yibing said with a smile. Lan Fukong was a relative by marriage to the Wang family, so sharing some spiritual herbs with him was acceptable; they weren't so overbearing as to refuse.

Wang Chuanming performed a hand seal, and the yellow light barrier dissipated, transforming into a yellow-glowing command banner that vanished into his sleeve.

He carefully dug out the dozen or so Wind Spirit Grasses, and the four of them divided them, with Wang Yidao taking the largest share.

The Wind Spirit Grasses ranged from over ten thousand years old to more than thirty thousand years old. Demonic birds could benefit from consuming Wind Spirit Grass to aid their advancement, and when refined into pills, it was also suitable for cultivators practicing wind-attribute techniques, as it enhanced magical power.

Lan Fukong received three Wind Spirit Grasses, each over twenty thousand years old, and was content. The demonic bird's corpse belonged to the Wang family. After resting for a quarter of an hour, they headed towards a red bamboo forest not far away.

Along the way, they encountered many demonic insects. Fortunately, their rank was not high, and their numbers were few, so they were all dealt with.

A day later, they passed through the bamboo forest. An overgrown valley appeared before them, with a turbulent stream flowing through it.

Wang Chuanming and the other three wore expressions of vigilance and moved slowly.

Suddenly, a deafening explosion resounded, and a huge mass of crimson fire light appeared high in the sky, highly conspicuous.

Wang Yidao and the other three stopped. Wang Chuanming took out a brilliant golden orb, which, judging by its spiritual energy fluctuations, was only a low-grade Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasure.

This was a Spirit-Seeking Orb, a treasure refined from the eyes of a Multieye Tribe member in the Refinement Void stage. It bore similarities to Wang Tun Tian's spiritual eyes, though its detection range was inferior.

The Wang family had brought many treasures for searching, but items similar to the Spirit-Seeking Orb were scarce. There were only three mid-grade Heaven-reaching Spiritual Treasures, and none were currently in their possession.

“Fifty thousand miles away, there are seven Essence Fire Tribe members, their cultivation unknown,” Wang Chuanming said with a frown. His divine sense was restricted, allowing him to only see the number of enemies, not their cultivation.

“Yan Zheng isn’t among them? Should we pursue and eliminate them?” Lan Fukong suggested.

“Yan Zheng isn’t among them, but I don’t think it’s necessary to eliminate them, at least not right now,” Wang Chuanming stated his view.

Wang Yidao remained silent. He would act when needed, but usually kept to himself, a trait his clan members were accustomed to.

“Why?” Wang Yibing asked curiously.

“If we eliminate them now, regardless of whether we can, even if we succeed, it would be a one-time gain. We still need to travel. Keeping them alive means letting them scout ahead for us. When the time comes to kill them, it won't be too late, and all the spiritual herbs and fruits they collect will be ours,” Wang Chuanming said slowly.

There were many seventh-rank demonic beasts here, along with powerful restrictions. Having the Essence Fire Tribe cultivators scout ahead, with them following behind, would be much safer.

“What if they rejoin their main force?” Lan Fukong asked with a frown.

“Senior Ye said that the Dao field is vast. Even if the entire Essence Fire Tribe entered to search for treasures, they wouldn’t all be together. If I were a high-ranking member of the Essence Fire Tribe, I would only bring a select few elites to maximize efficiency in treasure hunting, definitely splitting them into several small teams. I estimate this is just a small detachment of the Essence Fire Tribe,” Wang Chuanming analyzed.

“This is a good suggestion. Yidao, Fellow Daoist Lan, what do you think?” Wang Yibing asked, looking at Wang Yidao and Lan Fukong.

“Good,” Wang Yidao nodded.

With that, Lan Fukong found it even harder to refuse and also agreed. They then followed behind the Essence Fire Tribe cultivators, disappearing into the mountains.

On a vast, boundless grassland, a golden light appeared on the distant horizon. Before it had flown much farther, a sharp bird cry rang out, and a colossal, red-glowing bird claw appeared without warning, striking the golden light.

With a muffled thud, the golden light fell from high in the sky and landed on the ground. It was Jin Lei.

His right arm bore several horrifying bloody gashes, his face was pale, and his eyes were filled with terror.

They had been attacked by two eighth-rank Lihuo Ji birds, and their clan members had scattered to escape. The eighth-rank Lihuo Ji bird relentlessly pursued Jin Lei.

Jin Lei performed a hand seal, and a dazzling yellow light radiated from his body. The ground turned from earth to sand, transforming an area of a thousand miles into a desert, with yellow sand filling the sky.

The void vibrated and distorted, and tens of thousands of house-sized crimson fireballs appeared high in the sky, tearing through the firmament and relentlessly smashing towards Jin Lei.

Innumerable yellow sand particles flew up, forming a yellow earth wall over a thousand zhang tall, blocking Jin Lei.

The dense crimson fireballs slammed into the yellow earth wall, producing a loud explosion. Blazing flames engulfed the yellow earth wall, which then collapsed with a roar, filling the air with dust and smoke.

As the dust settled, Jin Lei was no longer there; he had escaped using an Earth Escape technique.

Two colossal Lihuo Ji birds appeared high in the sky, one an eighth-rank mid-grade and the other an eighth-rank low-grade. Unable to find Jin Lei, they vented their frustration and then departed.