Chapter 4068: Taoist Requiem

Deep within the Hulan Mountains, at the foot of a steep peak, lay a massive cave. Inside, over a dozen seven-colored Chaos Beasts, all at the Golden Immortal stage, were gathered.

"Call them all back. If the items are lost, so be it. Just guard this place, or else when Priest Xiang returns, we will all suffer."

A seven-colored Chaos Beast, resembling an ape, spoke.

The Grand Unity Golden Immortal Chaos Beasts had gone out and not yet returned. With immortals currently intruding deep into the Hulan Mountains, their primary mission was to guard the items within their lair.

"Why did Priest Xiang suddenly leave the Hulan Mountains? Were there any instructions from above?"

A seven-colored Chaos Beast, resembling a mouse, asked.

"Don't ask what you shouldn't. This isn't for us to know. Until Priest Xiang returns, we must guard this place. If anything inside is lost, we will all suffer greatly."

The giant ape-like seven-colored Chaos Beast's tone was grave.

From its words, it was clear that the items within the cave were exceptionally important, requiring more than ten Golden Immortal stage seven-colored Chaos Beasts to guard them.

"I'll go send the message and call them all back!"

A seven-colored Chaos Beast, resembling a falcon, said, then flapped its wings gently and flew into the distance.

Soon after, a series of roars echoed from deep within the Hulan Mountains as the pursuing Chaos Beasts gradually returned. The Hulan Mountains then fell silent once more.

In Xuanyu City, Lan Fukong stood on the city wall, gazing at the distant horizon.

A streak of azure light appeared on the distant horizon. It flickered and came to a halt, revealing an azure-glowing flying boat with Wang Qingshan and three others standing aboard.

During their escape, they had encountered numerous Chaos Beasts. They had barely managed to break through the encirclement, sacrificing their second Golden Immortal stage puppet beast in the process. Fortunately, they sustained no serious injuries.

"Senior Wang, you're back."

Lan Fukong's face lit up with joy upon seeing Wang Qingshan and his companions. "Why are you personally guarding here? Have Chaos Beasts appeared nearby again?" Wang Qingshan asked.

"A late True Immortal four-colored Chaos Beast appeared near Xuanyu City. Fellow Daoist Gongsun and his team led the effort to eliminate it," Lan Fukong replied.

The Wang family's Immortal Armor Army had expanded to fifty members, with Lan Fukong, Chen Yueying, Ni Tianlong, Gongsun Yang, Li Tianhe, Four Seasons Sword Sovereign, and others serving as vice-captains.

The Wang family's Immortal Armor Army drew its recruits from two sources: the Wang family itself and its allied forces. Regardless of origin, all who joined the Immortal Armor Army received equal treatment and resources.

Both Wang family members and those from allied forces had to undergo rigorous multi-stage selection to ensure only the elite were chosen.

Gongsun Yang and others, clad in low-grade Chaos Armor, heading out to eliminate the Chaos Beast near Xuanyu City was also a form of training. Should a Chaos Beast appear near Huang City, the True Immortals stationed there would form a team to eliminate it; if they couldn't resolve the situation, they would request support from Xuanyu City.

Chen Yueying, Lan Fukong, Ni Tianlong, Cheng Zhenyu, and others primarily resided in Xuanyu City. They largely delegated the management of their affiliated forces to younger generations, as their roles in the Wang family's Immortal Armor Army afforded them superior benefits and more cultivation resources.

Should they host a birthday or other celebration, it would naturally take place within their respective forces. The Wang family would also send representatives to attend and present a generous gift.

Wang Qingshan nodded. He formed a hand seal, and the azure flying boat soared into Xuanyu City, landing in a secluded manor. The four disembarked, and Wang Qingshan put away the boat. "Young friend Yang," Wang Qingshan said, "you've rendered meritorious service this time. Once you cultivate to the True Immortal Grand Completion stage, we will provide you with the Nine Marvelous Profound Essence Pill to assist you in breaking through to the Golden Immortal stage. Should you succeed in advancing, mid-grade immortal artifacts and resources for opening the sixth aperture will also be within your reach."

Opportunities like this were unpredictable, and he couldn't be sure if the ancient tomb they found was truly Yang Chunqiu's destiny. However, both out of sentiment and reason, he would generously reward Yang Chunqiu.

"Thank you, Senior Wang."

Yang Chunqiu replied gratefully, his expression filled with excitement.

"In addition, I will allocate a substantial amount of merit points to you. However, regarding this matter, you know what to do."

Wang Yingjie said meaningfully.

Yang Chunqiu looked bewildered and asked, "What matter? I don't know."

Wang Qingshan nodded in satisfaction, took out a golden porcelain bottle, and handed it to Yang Chunqiu. "I heard you're stuck at a bottleneck. This Golden Sun Jade Essence Pill is for you. Later, I'll grant you a substantial amount of merit points, which you can use to exchange for any cultivation resources you desire."

"Thank you, Senior Wang."

Yang Chunqiu expressed his gratitude. He had spent a significant amount of merit points to request divination assistance from Wang Qiulin, embarked on a journey to the Hulan Mountains, and gained a considerable amount of merit points, along with resources to break through to the Golden Immortal stage. With even greater rewards promised upon reaching the Golden Immortal stage, he was already thoroughly content.

Wang Qingshan waved his hand, dismissing him.

Ye Haitang turned her right hand, revealing an azure storage bracelet. With a gentle flick of her wrist, a flash of azure light swept across, and a large pile of items appeared on the ground.

Among the items were three mid-grade immortal artifacts: a small yellow hammer, a yellow shield with several cracks, and a crimson orb. There were also over 400,000 immortal essence stones, more than a thousand Chaos Beast cores (including over thirty Golden Immortal stage cores and one seven-colored core), the corpse of a seven-colored Chaos Beast, and numerous refining materials and jade slips.

They carefully examined the contents of the jade slips, hoping to uncover the identity and origin of the cave's owner.

"True Monarch Qianlei! Xuanyuezi!"

Wang Qingshan's face showed a pensive expression.

The cave's former owner was True Monarch Qianlei, a cultivator at the Golden Immortal Grand Completion stage. He had entered the Qiankun Ruins with a friend to search for treasures and discovered the secluded cave of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal named Xuanyuezi. Xuanyuezi's storage bracelet contained a damaged high-grade immortal artifact, a treasure alluring enough to incite treachery. True Monarch Qianlei was ambushed by his friend, suffering severe injuries from the Laws of Poison and Death. He self-detonated his natal immortal artifact to escape. After fleeing the Qiankun Ruins, he dared not return to any immortal-inhabited cities. Instead, he escaped to the Hulan Mountains, where he established a formation in a secluded corner and consumed immortal pills to treat his wounds.

However, his injuries were too severe, and his soul had been critically damaged, ultimately leading to his demise.

"Heaven-Fighting Immortal Scripture!"

Ye Haitang held a silver jade slip in her hand.

The Heaven-Fighting Immortal Scripture was Xuanyuezi's primary cultivation method. He was a lightning cultivator, and the scripture, divided into twelve layers, could only be cultivated by True Immortal stage cultivators. It was highly suitable for Wang Mengbin.

"Daoist Art: Soul Suppressing Melody!"

Wang Yingjie gasped sharply.

Xuanyuezi hailed from the Nine-Star Immortal Realm and was traveling through the North Sea Immortal Realm when he was invited by a friend to seek treasures in the Qiankun Ruins. There, he was severely wounded by a restriction and later encountered a mutated Grand Unity Golden Immortal Chaos Beast. He fought desperately to break free, sustaining critical injuries in the process, and ultimately perished within the Qiankun Ruins. Xuanyuezi had acquired a Daoist Art called the Soul Suppressing Melody, but to wield this art, one needed to master the Law of Soul. It was ideally suited for sound cultivators.

He, however, had not mastered the Law of Soul nor possessed a source item, thus he could not cultivate this particular Daoist Art.

"A Daoist Art!"

Wang Qingshan and Ye Haitang were both utterly astonished.

Compared to all the other items in the storage bracelet, the Daoist Art was by far the most valuable.