Chapter 382: The Curtain Falls

The battle was still ongoing. Disciples from the Taiyi Immortal Sect were locked in combat with those from the Tianfeng Gate, but the Tianfeng Gate disciples were clearly at a disadvantage.

A tremendous explosion echoed, and the ground shook violently. From his vantage point on the mountaintop, Wang Mingren clearly saw a massive azure seal crash violently into the ground.

"A Talisman Treasure!" He narrowed his eyes, a pensive look crossing his face.

A blinding azure light shot out from the impact site of the massive seal. Immediately, a booming voice bellowed, "Stop her! Don't let her escape!" The voice was so loud Wang Mingren could hear it clearly even from a great distance. Wang Mingren recognized it as Liu Hu's voice. Liu Hu, also a captain, was at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment; he cultivated the Lion Roar technique, which accounted for his immense vocal power.

The azure light was heading directly towards Wang Mingren's position. Wang Mingren, of course, would not allow the enemy to flee. He quickly cast a spell, and countless golden lights materialized in the air behind him. These transformed into myriad golden flying needles, which then densely shot towards the azure light. A low, resonating horn blast rang out, and a vast wave of azure sonic energy swept forth. Upon contact with the azure sonic wave, the golden flying needles were repelled and scattered backward.

Wang Mingren now clearly saw the true identity within the azure light. It was a pretty young woman in a blue dress, with a mole at the corner of her mouth, and she was at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment. The girl in blue held an azure conch in her hand. Her face was pale, and her beautiful eyes were wide with terror.

When his first attack failed, Wang Mingren quickly cast another spell. Countless flames materialized out of thin air, transforming into hundreds of blazing crimson fireballs.

"Go!"

Hundreds of crimson fireballs hurtled towards the girl in the blue dress, creating an astonishing display of power. The girl in blue swiftly brought the azure conch to her lips. A deep horn blast echoed, and a vast wave of azure sonic energy surged forth to meet the hundreds of crimson fireballs.

A series of thunderous explosions! The hundreds of crimson fireballs collided with the azure sonic wave, unleashing a massive concussive blast. Seizing this opportunity, the girl in blue produced a top-grade, Tier-2 Wood Escape Talisman. She slapped it onto her body, and instantly dissolved into points of azure light, vanishing from sight. A top-grade, Tier-2 Wood Escape Talisman could transport someone over ten li (several miles) in a single burst. Given that the girl in blue possessed a Talisman Treasure and had reached the seventh level of Foundation Establishment at such a young age, she was undoubtedly no ordinary person.

Just then, Liu Hu and his group caught up. "Junior Brother Wang," Liu Hu called out, "You and your group stay here to eliminate the remaining stragglers. We'll pursue her." With that, Liu Hu led several disciples and soared away into the distance. Wang Mingren frowned slightly. Liu Hu was clearly aiming to claim all the credit for himself. Over a dozen streaks of light shot out from the island, scattering in various directions.

Wang Mingren's eyes darted, then he loudly shouted, "Villain, where do you think you're going!" He summoned a Tier-2 flying puppet beast, leaped onto it, and gave chase to one of the streaks of light. He gripped a mid-grade spirit stone in each hand, rapidly replenishing his spiritual energy. As he rapidly piloted the flying puppet beast, he pondered where the girl in blue might be fleeing.

On their way to the island, Leng Rumei had provided them with information about Great Conch Island. She mentioned that within a radius of five hundred li, there wasn't another major market town, though there were numerous smaller islands. If he were the girl in blue, with limited spiritual energy remaining, and aiming to evade pursuit, she would either seek refuge in a market town or find a secluded spot to hide. But where would such a secluded spot be? Unless the entire five-hundred-li radius was sealed off and thoroughly searched, it would be genuinely difficult to locate the girl in blue.

Two hours later, Wang Mingren appeared in the skies above a small island. The island had sparse vegetation and thin spiritual energy, giving it a rather desolate appearance. He cast a spell, and a vast expanse of crimson light materialized behind him. These transformed into numerous crimson fireballs, which then rained down upon the island's vegetation, vying to hit first.

A thunderous roar! A tremendous explosion reverberated, and fierce flames erupted across the island. Wang Mingren pondered for a moment, then landed on the island and entered a cave. He didn't hold out much hope. Two hours had already passed; perhaps his target had already fled.

He retrieved all the ancient texts he had looted. Most of them were colorful seashells, a small portion were bamboo slips, and there were very few bound books. Given the South Sea's proximity to the ocean, cultivation methods and classical texts were typically inscribed on jade slips crafted from spiritual shells. Indeed, the colorful shells were all jade slips.

He quickly scanned through them. There were thirty-five cultivation techniques in total: thirteen of them were Profound-grade, mostly water-attribute techniques, and twenty-one were Yellow-grade. Additionally, there was one incomplete technique with no grade indicated. This particular technique was a demonic cultivation method called the "Mighty Ape Technique," but it only contained instructions for the Qi Refining stage. Regrettably, none of the cultivation methods allowed progression to the Core Formation stage.

There were twenty-seven elixir recipes, nine of which were Tier-2. There were also nine formation texts and eighteen artifact refining texts. Beyond these, there were various texts detailing the South Sea's conditions, such as common demonic beasts, hidden secrets, spiritual herbs, insights into cultivating spiritual fish and shrimp, methods for planting spiritual herbs, and even some travelogues compiled by rogue cultivators. While these texts might seem unassuming, they were priceless treasures to the Wang family. If Wang Mingren presented all these items to his clan, they could fetch at least tens of thousands of spirit stones. He had completely emptied the entire scripture repository. Should Leng Rumei and the others inquire, he would have to produce a portion of them.

Wang Mingren made copies of all the texts. Handing these materials over to the clan would be immensely beneficial for their future development. Once the copying was complete, he put away all the texts, exited the cave, and retraced his steps.

Two hours later, he returned to Great Conch Island, where Leng Rumei and her two companions had also rejoined them. Wang Mingren and the other five captains reported the situation to Leng Rumei and her two companions.

"Martial Uncle Yang," Li Xin said, "the spiritual herb garden contains over twenty thousand spiritual herbs, mostly Tier-1, with over a hundred Tier-2 herbs. There are no Tier-3 spiritual herbs. Here is the inventory list." Li Xin presented an azure jade slip and an azure storage bag to Leng Rumei. Upon submitting spiritual herbs, the Taiyi Immortal Sect would award contribution points based on their value. Naturally, Li Xin had undoubtedly kept some for himself; Leng Rumei and her two companions had gone through similar experiences themselves, so they didn't press the matter.

Others submitted various items: refining materials, spiritual beasts, or other treasures. Witnessing this, Wang Mingren also felt it was improper to conceal his gains, so he presented most of the cultivation techniques he had found.

The middle-aged scholar showed a look of approval and said, "You have all done well. Upon our return to the sect, I will report to Martial Uncle Li, and commend you based on your merits. Furthermore, a word of caution: the sect master of Tianfeng Gate and his only daughter managed to escape. They might seek revenge against our Taiyi Immortal Sect. In the future, when you venture out, try to wear plain clothes to avoid assassination attempts."

"Yes, Martial Uncle Yang," they replied.

After clearing the battlefield, they set Great Conch Island ablaze and led the disciples back to the sect. Upon returning to Spirit Turtle Island, True Person Xuanyu distributed rewards based on merit. Wang Mingren, having contributed numerous cultivation methods and ancient texts, was rewarded with five thousand contribution points and one thousand spirit stones. Li Xin, for submitting a large quantity of spiritual herbs, received twenty thousand contribution points and three thousand spirit stones. While everyone gained something from this mission, the Taiyi Immortal Sect also suffered the loss of seven Foundation Establishment cultivators.