Chapter 3462: Unexpected Discovery

"Has someone been here?" the young man in the golden shirt asked with a frown, looking at the messy ground.

"Yes, two Mahayana cultivators," the young woman in the black dress replied honestly, showing no sign of worry and brimming with confidence in her own strength. "They seemed to know you were coming back and fled beforehand. They discovered the Myriad Spirit Dao Fruit."

"Mahayana cultivators? Good thing they ran fast," the young man in the golden shirt said with a smile. He flipped his right hand, and a green spherical bead appeared in his palm. "I've acquired an eighth-tier Lightning-Absorbing Orb. Surviving the next Grand Heavenly Tribulation won't be an issue for us."

Although they weren't skilled in artifact refining or formation arrangement, the eighth-tier Lightning-Absorbing Orb, even if not utilized to its full potential, could still provide significant assistance.

"Considering the time, the Myriad Spirit Dao Fruit will mature within thirty thousand years," the young woman in the black dress analyzed.

"Mahayana cultivators have entered, so it seems the cultivation grounds have opened again," the young man in the golden shirt said gravely. "To be cautious, we shouldn't leave the cave dwelling, lest someone take advantage of an opportunity."

After transforming into human form, they had obtained the legacy of ancient cultivators, learned cultivation knowledge, practiced secret techniques, and even slain Mahayana cultivators. Through soul-searching, they knew that the cultivation grounds opened periodically.

The young woman in the black dress nodded in agreement, and the two returned to the cave.

More than forty thousand miles away, in a dense forest, Wang Changsheng, Wang Ruyan, and Wang Tunian stood beneath a towering tree, their expressions grave.

"Master, another transformed beast has appeared," Wang Tunian said, his voice heavy. "He was holding a green bead, possibly a Lightning-Absorbing Orb. They've returned to their lair."

"An eighth-tier Lightning-Absorbing Orb? Two transformed beasts! And both possess Asura Spider bloodlines?" Wang Changsheng frowned, muttering to himself.

Fortunately, they had fled quickly; otherwise, there was no telling what might have happened.

"Forget it," Wang Changsheng mused for a moment before making a decision. "Let's mark this location. If we have a chance to enter the cultivation grounds again in the future, we can come back here. If not, then so be it."

If the other transformed beast were in the late Mahayana stage, they wouldn't be able to escape even if they wanted to. Even a mid-Mahayana stage beast would be beyond their capabilities, unless they encountered Chen Yueying and Ye Yuhuan.

The cultivation grounds were vast. After getting separated from their clan members, they had only encountered Yan Zheng so far and no other cultivators.

"If we had a fragment of a Profound Heaven Treasure or even a rudimentary grasp of a spiritual domain, we could take a chance. But for now, let's just leave it," Wang Ruyan agreed deeply. They had acquired many cultivation resources. Among other things, the Glazed Wood could be refined into high-grade transcendent spiritual treasures for defense, which could be traded for other cultivation resources.

Once they assimilated their current gains, their strength would increase significantly.

Wang Changsheng nodded, conjured the Azure Luan Boat, and stepped onto it. Wang Ruyan and Wang Tunian followed close behind.

Wang Changsheng chanted an incantation, and the Azure Luan Boat immediately glowed with a dazzling green light, soaring into the distance. It vanished into the horizon shortly thereafter.

A deafening roar echoed from a dense green bamboo forest, uprooting countless bamboo stalks and spiraling them into the sky.

A massive ball of green lightning shot skyward, highly conspicuous.

A blood-soaked green partridge flew out from deep within the bamboo forest. Its right wing showed exposed bone, and many feathers had fallen off.

The green partridge gently flapped its wings, and countless green electric arcs erupted from its body, making it vanish from its spot.

A man's loud shout rang out, echoing endlessly through the heavens and earth. A thousand miles away, a green light flashed in the void, revealing the green partridge's figure.

A brilliant golden blade aura swept forth, heading directly for the green partridge.

The green partridge opened its mouth and spat out a thick bolt of green lightning, shattering the golden blade aura. The powerful airwave leveled several small mountain peaks.

An enlarged golden vortex flew in. Wherever it passed, numerous cracks appeared in the void.

The green partridge gently flapped its wings, evading the golden vortex.

The golden vortex struck a mountain peak with a dull thud, causing the ground to crack into pieces and some rubble to roll down the mountain.

After a series of "whooshing" sounds, a large expanse of thin green threads shot forward. At the same time, ripples spread in the void above the green partridge's head, and a large green hand materialized, swatting towards it. The green partridge's body erupted with countless green electric arcs, meeting the attack.

With a thunderous crash, the large green hand disintegrated, and a large number of green threads flew backward. Some of the green threads coiled around the green partridge's body.

A vast expanse of white light descended from the sky, enveloping the green partridge. The partridge instantly froze, turning into a massive ice sculpture. A shimmering golden blade light swept forth, cleaving the ice sculpture in half. As soon as a miniature partridge separated from the body, it was enveloped by a white misty light and drawn into a white jade bottle, vanishing from sight.

Wang Yidao and the other three flew from a distance and landed on the ground.

Wang Yibing stepped forward to see if she could find the Lightning-Absorbing Orb.

She cut open the green partridge's abdomen but only found a demon core, her face filled with disappointment.

"There's something wrong with this mountain," Wang Chuanming said with a frown, looking at a towering, cloud-piercing peak. "Grand Ancestor Yidao's attack only shattered some rocks, which is very unusual."

Not to mention Wang Yidao, even he could easily destroy this mountain peak. There was a huge cave halfway up the mountain.

Wang Chuanming raised his right hand, and a miniature golden mountain peak flew out. It instantly expanded and slammed into the mountain.

With a thunderous roar, the mountain peak shook violently, and a large amount of shattered rock rolled down, but the mountain itself remained largely unharmed.

"Is it a mineral vein? Or a formation?" Lan Fukong analyzed.

Wang Yibing conjured a talisman soldier, a wisp of her divine sense attached to its body. The talisman soldier then flew into the cave.

After a while, the talisman soldier flew out, holding a fist-sized ore, the right side of which was black.

Wang Yibing took the ore and examined it carefully. She then conjured a white short blade and struck the ore with a dull clang.

"This is Heaven Soul Divine Crystal!" Wang Yibing exclaimed, overjoyed.

Heaven Soul Divine Crystal was a core material for refining seventh-tier puppet beasts. The Wang family had been sending people to collect this material, finding it extremely difficult to even acquire one piece. Could there be a Heaven Soul Divine Crystal mineral vein here?

She flew into the cave. Not long after, she appeared in a cavern several acres in size. The rock walls were uneven, and some areas were black.

Wang Chuanming and the other two also flew in. Together, they attacked the rock walls, breaking off several pieces of ore, confirming them to be Heaven Soul Divine Crystal.

"Let's not wander around for now," Wang Yibing suggested. "We should mine the Heaven Soul Divine Crystal here. This way, our family can refine more seventh-tier puppet beasts."

Due to the scarcity of Heaven Soul Divine Crystal, seventh-tier puppet beasts were extremely rare on the Xuanling Continent and not commonly seen elsewhere.

Mining one more piece of Heaven Soul Divine Crystal meant the family could refine one more seventh-tier puppet beast. This was a very valuable strategic resource.

Wang Yidao and the other two had no objections. They all began to attack the rock walls, mining the raw Heaven Soul Divine Crystal ore.