Chapter 393: The Heavenly Soldiers Conference Ends

In Wei State, White Dragon Valley.

Wang Qingjing and over thirty other artifact refiners were fully engrossed in their work. Soundproof arrays were set up on every bluestone platform, allowing Wang Qingjing and the others to refine artifacts undisturbed. Hundreds of cultivators watched nearby. Wang Changyue looked at Wang Qingjing with a hint of nervousness in her eyes.

Wang Qingjing sat cross-legged on a futon, her face slightly pale. Six pale golden flying needles, each about a foot long, hovered in front of her, with faint spiritual patterns visible on their surfaces. She continuously cast incantations, channeling spiritual formulas onto the six golden flying needles. As time passed, the six golden flying needles shrunk by a third, becoming increasingly slender and hard to notice without careful observation.

Wang Qingjing's face also paled. She took out a white porcelain bottle, poured out a blue pill, and swallowed it. Soon after, a touch of color returned to her pale face. She changed her incantation, casting a formula onto a cyan porcelain bottle. A large stream of cyan liquid flew out from the bottle. As Wang Qingjing's incantations changed, the cyan liquid divided into six clusters, each enveloping a golden flying needle. Time ticked by, and the golden flying needles slowly turned cyan, becoming smaller and imperceptibly fine.

A quarter of an hour later, Wang Qingjing's face paled again, and the six cyan flying needles became even more minute. She changed her incantation, and the six cyan flying needles instantly glowed brightly. Moments later, the light faded, and the six flying needles dropped to the ground. Wang Qingjing let out a long sigh of relief, a hint of joy appearing on her pale cheeks.

She glanced at Tang Jinghong's bluestone platform. Tang Jinghong was refining a set of artifacts: seven cyan flying darts, each an upper-grade artifact. A trace of astonishment flashed in Wang Qingjing's eyes; truly, a descendant from a major cultivation clan possessed high artifact refining skill. Other artifact refiners were also nearing completion. Of course, some had failed and departed early. She put away the six cyan flying needles into a wooden box, closed her eyes, and meditated to recover.

Early the next morning, Li Hang sent people to collect the artifacts refined by Wang Qingjing and the other refiners. Three second-tier artifact refiners from the Heavenly Armory Sect would score them. Wang Qingjing looked a little nervous, yet also excited; this was her first time participating in an artifact refining competition. Less than half an hour later, Li Hang announced the competition results. Tang Jinghong secured first place with his seven upper-grade artifacts, while Wang Qingjing fortunately ranked among the top ten. Refining flying needle artifacts was already difficult, let alone a complete set. This didn't mean her refining skill was superior to others; rather, some refiners, aiming for higher ranks, attempted to refine more challenging artifacts like bells or mirrors. Some made errors, and with only one set of materials, they were regretfully eliminated. Wang Qingjing received a five-foot-long Azure Spirit Wood, three hundred years old, while Tang Jinghong obtained a Talisman Treasure, which drew envious gazes from others.

After Li Hang announced the end of the artifact refining competition, Wang Qingjing quickly ran to Wang Changyue and excitedly said, "Aunt, I won a ranking! Tenth place!" Wang Changyue smiled and said, "That's good. But don't get arrogant. Many refiners failed while attempting more difficult artifacts for a higher rank. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made it to tenth place." At that moment, Tang Jinghong walked over and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Fairy Wang! I'm hosting a banquet tonight to invite fellow Daoists; you must come!" Wang Qingjing was about to agree, but Wang Changyue spoke first, saying with an apologetic expression, "My apologies, Fellow Daoist Tang, but we have an urgent matter today and may not be able to attend. Thank you for your kind invitation; I apologize." Tang Jinghong looked a little disappointed, then smiled and said, "No matter, then next time." "Certainly."

Wang Changyue led Wang Qingjing away. Wang Qingjing was full of questions, but she didn't ask further. Back at their lodging, Wang Qingjing asked, "Aunt, Fellow Daoist Tang was being kind; why didn't we go to the banquet?" "You are still too young!" Wang Changyue said meaningfully. "Think about it, why did the Heavenly Armory Sect reward Tang Jinghong with a Talisman Treasure? You know, the Heavenly Armory Sect never specified the prize; they could have easily given spirit stones, but a Talisman Treasure is much more precious than spirit stones." Wang Qingjing thought carefully and said, "Aunt, are you saying that the Heavenly Armory Sect's major auction is likely connected to Tang Jinghong?" "Exactly. I recall the Heavenly Armory Sect's sect master has a granddaughter. If I'm not mistaken, the Tang family must be forming a marriage alliance with the Heavenly Armory Sect's sect master; otherwise, the Heavenly Armory Sect wouldn't create such a grand spectacle. You should interact less with descendants of major cultivation clans. Our Wang family is just a small clan; if we try to curry favor, we'll just be ignored, and our family won't even be in line for such opportunities." Wang Qingjing nodded and said, "Understood, Aunt. I hope to bid for a Foundation Establishment Pill at the auction the day after tomorrow." "Let's hope so."

Soon, the day of the auction arrived, and the auction hall was packed with cultivators. Wang Changyue and Wang Qingjing sat in a forward position, where they could clearly see the auction items. Clang! Clang! Clang! After three heavy chimes rang out, the auction began. Li Hang walked swiftly to the central circular platform and announced loudly, "I am Li Hang, presiding over this auction. The highest bidder wins. The first item is a set of five Purple Moon Darts, each a lower-grade artifact. The starting bid is one thousand spirit stones, with each subsequent bid not less than one thousand." Item after item appeared at the auction, with each selling for several thousand spirit stones. The atmosphere in the hall gradually grew livelier.

"Three Foundation Establishment Pills!" Li Hang took out three blue porcelain bottles and announced loudly. "Starting bid: ten thousand spirit stones, with each subsequent bid not less than one thousand spirit stones." "Ten thousand!" "Eleven thousand!" "Twelve thousand!" The competition for the Foundation Establishment Pills was fierce. Wang Changyue participated in the bidding, but unfortunately, she failed to secure one. There were too many cultivators bidding. The three Foundation Establishment Pills sold for high prices of fifty-seven thousand, fifty-nine thousand, and sixty-two thousand respectively. After the Foundation Establishment Pills were sold, Li Hang auctioned several more items. Wang Changyue purchased an inner core from a second-tier mid-grade demon bee.

The final three highlight items were a Talisman Treasure, a nascent magic treasure, and a third-tier talisman scroll. The nascent magic treasure fetched an astronomical price of two hundred seventy thousand. As Wang Changyue had expected, after the auction concluded, Sun Junyan, the sect master of the Heavenly Armory Sect, appeared and formally announced that his great-granddaughter would marry Tang Jinghong of the Tang family, signifying a marriage alliance between the Heavenly Armory Sect and the Tang family. Sun Junyan was the leader of a sect, and his willingness to marry his great-granddaughter to Tang Jinghong indicated the significant power of the Tang family. Of course, this had no bearing on the Wang family. After the auction, Wang Changyue and Wang Qingjing left White Dragon Valley. Wang Changyue returned to Wang Family Fortress, while Wang Qingjing headed back to Qingyue Market City.

In Wu State, Sky Spring Mountain. Wang Changhao and Wang Qingshan arrived at Wang's General Store, where a young woman in a green dress greeted them. "Young Friend Wang, is your grandfather in? We have something to discuss with him," Wang Qingshan said politely. "Seniors, Grandpa is in seclusion and is not receiving visitors. My apologies." Wang Changhao looked a little disappointed and nodded, "Alright then! We'll come another day." He had originally intended to purchase a set of second-tier formations from Wang Lin, but since Wang Lin was in seclusion, he had no choice but to give up.

Half a quarter of an hour later, Wang Changhao and ten others appeared at the foot of the mountain. Wang Qingshan reluctantly cast one last glance at Sky Spring Mountain, then released a cyan flying boat and stepped aboard. Once everyone was aboard, Wang Qingshan cast an incantation, and the cyan flying boat glowed brightly, carrying them high into the sky.