Chapter 3578: Return Damage for Damage

There was another Spirit-Crossing Treasure Ship carrying over twenty Integration-stage cultivators. Liu Hongxue easily annihilated them using the Soul Suppressing Roar, capturing their Nascent Souls and preventing them from self-destructing.

Wang Changsheng and the others performed soul-searching on the enemies' Nascent Souls, uncovering much useful information.

"The Bang Race! Soul Aperture Opening Secret Arts!"

Wang Changsheng frowned. He hadn't expected this group of enemies to be here at the Bang Race's invitation, especially with the Bang Race offering Soul Aperture Opening Secret Arts as payment.

"An array-breaking treasure! They came for this treasure."

Wang Ruyan suddenly understood. It was likely when Wang Qingshan used the Spirit-Breaking Blade to break an array while dealing with the Xie Race that he attracted the enemies' attention.

They obtained ten storage bracelets in total. A brief tally revealed seven pages of the Heavenly Void Jade Book, with four pages from the Goldscale Race and three from the Yaksha Race.

The loot included seventy-five high-grade Sky-reaching Spirit Treasures (three flying, eleven auxiliary, three defensive), two realm-breaking treasures, over 300,000 top-grade spirit stones, and a batch of eighth-tier materials, notably an eighth-tier Golden Glazed Beast hide from Huoyunzi.

The most precious item was the Soul Aperture Opening Secret Art, "Aperture Opening Art," which could only open a single aperture.

While the "Profound Nascent Aperture Opening Grand Art" could open ten apertures, far exceeding the "Aperture Opening Art" in value, the "Aperture Opening Art" was still considered the lowest-grade Soul Aperture Opening Secret Art based on the number of apertures it could open. Nevertheless, it remained highly valuable to forces lacking such secret arts; otherwise, the Gold Chii Race and the Heavenly Fire Palace would not have sent multiple Mahayana cultivators.

The "Aperture Opening Art" required Xuan-light Sand, Golden Rain Stone, and Seven-Glow Jade to open an aperture, whereas the "Profound Nascent Aperture Opening Grand Art" did not need any of these three materials.

Huoyunzi had previously inquired about the materials for the Soul Aperture Opening Secret Art from a Bang Race Mahayana cultivator. According to Tong Yao, aperture-opening materials were categorized into nine grades.

First-grade materials could only open the first aperture, with only the specific materials differing. Second-grade materials opened the second aperture. This system was similar to elixir recipes; for instance, a seventh-tier elixir with the same effect might require spirit herbs with different names and general age ranges.

This raised a question: Would opening ten apertures require ten-grade materials? And what exactly would constitute a ten-grade material?

In Qin Qianqian's storage bracelet was a box of Star River Divine Sand, which was the material required for the "Profound Nascent Aperture Opening Grand Art" to open the first aperture. She had been using it as a refining material.

The Heavenly Fire Palace still had two early Mahayana cultivators, while the Gold Chii Race had three. The Heavenly Fire Palace possessed a medium-sized eighth-tier Golden Radiance Jade ore vein, which enhances the toughness of treasures and is often refined into flying daggers and swords to boost their power. The Gold Chii Race had a medium-sized Heavenly Gang Crystal ore vein; Heavenly Gang Crystal is typically used to refine heavy-duty treasures.

"Immediately contact the Ye Family," Wang Changsheng instructed, "and find out if there are any spatial nodes on Xuanling Continent leading to the Guangyun Realm and Qianguang Realm. We must root them out. They dared to attack us at the Bang Race's invitation; if we don't eliminate them, we'll face significant problems."

Given the deep foundations of the Heavenly Fire Palace and the Gold Chii Race, Wang Changsheng planned to dispatch forces to destroy them both and retrieve the two eighth-tier ore veins.

"Patriarch," Liu Hongxue asked for instructions, "if the Ye Family asks about your condition, how should we reply?"

"Just say we're seriously injured and need to recuperate thoroughly," Wang Changsheng instructed. "Tell them to heighten their vigilance."

Wang Changsheng gave his instructions. Like a prominent tree in a forest that invites the wind's wrath, it was fortunate that Wang Changsheng had concealed their true strength. If the Bang Race had known the Wang family possessed so many Mahayana cultivators, they would undoubtedly have dispatched even more, and by then, even if the enemies were eliminated, the losses would have been substantial. His divine soul was indeed injured and required some time to recuperate. However, with the Purple Jade Primordial Soul Fruit, he would recover quickly, so it wasn't a major concern.

Liu Hongxue acknowledged and departed to carry out the order.

"This time, we owe it to you all," Wang Changsheng praised, his gaze falling upon Wang Chan and Wang Chan, "otherwise, we wouldn't have eliminated the enemy so easily."

Their divine soul attacks were indeed a major trump card; once struck by the Soul Extinguishing Forbidden Light, the divine soul would be severely damaged, leading to considerable trouble.

"This is what we should do," Wang Chan humbly replied.

"You all did very well too," Wang Ruyan praised, her gaze falling upon Wang Xiuluo and Wang Naluo, "tying down a mid-Mahayana cultivator."

Qin Qianqian, even with a Profound Sky Broken Treasure, was so entangled by them that she couldn't escape, preventing significant losses for the Wang family. The enemies had clearly taken the Wang family very seriously, deploying two Profound Sky Broken Treasures and three mid-Mahayana cultivators, with Huoyunzi even cultivating his spiritual domain to minor completion.

"This was what we should do," Wang Xiuluo said with a hint of regret, "If she hadn't possessed a Profound Sky Broken Treasure, we would have eliminated her long ago."

Two streaks of light flew from afar, landing before Wang Changsheng. They were Wang Mengli and Wang Huanyu, their auras weak and faces pale. They had been in seclusion at the inland stronghold, striving to break through to the Mahayana stage and had only recently succeeded. Upon learning of the attack on Green Lotus Island, they had rushed over immediately.

"You've entered the Mahayana stage! That's wonderful!" Wang Changsheng exclaimed with delight. If they had entered the Mahayana stage earlier, eliminating Huoyunzi and the others would have been much easier, especially with Wang Huanyu, who commanded spatial divine abilities.

"Master, we returned too late," Wang Mengli said, her face filled with guilt.

"This has nothing to do with you," Wang Changsheng said, smiling to comfort them. "I'll have something for you to do later!"

Liu Hongxue returned and reported, "Patriarch, we contacted the Ye Family. They said there's a spatial node in the Myriad Spirit Abyss leading to the Guangyun Realm, but the destination is a dangerous area with many ghosts and spatial restrictions, making it difficult to traverse."

"Ghosts! Spatial restrictions!"

Wang Changsheng smiled calmly; this wasn't a major problem for them.

"Hongxue, Yidao," Wang Changsheng instructed, "take the Green Lotus and Heavenly Fire ships to the Guangyun Realm. First, eliminate the Gold Chii Race, then proceed to the Qianguang Realm to destroy the Heavenly Fire Palace and bring back the eighth-tier ore veins. Take these two Profound Sky Broken Treasures with you, and Tun Tian, you will accompany them." He then took out the Golden Crow Bead and the Qianjin Spirit Suppressing Peak, handing them to Liu Hongxue and Wang Yidao.

Wang Xiuluo, Wang Naluo, Wang Huanyu, Wang Chan, Wang Chan, Wang Tun Tian, Wang Shen, and others would all participate to destroy the Gold Chii Race and the Heavenly Fire Palace, seize their cultivation resources, and retaliate in kind.

"Patriarch, I'll go too!" Wang Yulan volunteered for battle. Although her strength was inferior to Wang Yidao's, tying down a Mahayana cultivator would not be an issue for her.

"Alright! You all go together," Wang Changsheng cautioned. "Be careful, and if it becomes too dangerous, retreat."

"Oh, and make sure to do it cleanly," Wang Ruyan cautioned. "Don't use our Wang family's name, understand?" Openly destroying these two forces might provoke the Bang Race, whom they could not afford to offend.

"Yes, Patriarch," Liu Hongxue and Wang Yidao replied. They agreed and departed to carry out the order, taking the realm-breaking treasures and boarding the Green Lotus ship, heading towards the Myriad Spirit Abyss.

Even with the Spirit-Crossing Treasure Ship, it would take them several centuries to reach the Gold Chii Race's base. As long as Wang Changsheng hadn't destroyed the Nascent Souls of Huoyunzi and the others, the high-ranking members of the Heavenly Fire Palace and the Gold Chii Race wouldn't be overly vigilant.

"Husband," Wang Ruyan suggested, "you should first take the Purple Jade Primordial Soul Fruit to heal your injuries. With me guarding Green Lotus Island, there won't be any issues."

Wang Changsheng nodded, then entered a secret chamber. He took out a Purple Jade Primordial Soul Fruit and quickly consumed it. The fruit pulp melted upon entering his mouth, and his divine soul felt profoundly comfortable.