Chapter 4107: Tianming City

It is well known that True Immortal Taihao and Celestial Maiden Tianqin are the Wang family's ancestors, and by rights, they should make an appearance.

If the family's ancestors had to appear for every matter, what would be the point of the other family members?

Murong Yilong did not come; Murong Tianya led the team. If Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan had come personally, wouldn't it make Wang Qingshan and the others seem incompetent?

"For such a small matter, our presence is sufficient; there's no need to disturb Uncle Ninth and Aunt Ninth. Fellow Daoist Murong, where are your ancestors? Why didn't they come?" Wang Qingshan said calmly. He understood the veiled meaning in Murong Tianya's words and naturally wouldn't fall for it.

"This is not a major event, so there's no need for our ancestors to appear. Our Murong family has a long heritage, unlike your Wang family. It's not a good thing for True Immortal Taihao and Celestial Maiden Tianqin not to lead personally; it shows too much arrogance." Murong Tianya said with a playful smile.

"No need for Fellow Daoist Murong to worry; we can handle it." Wang Qingshan replied flatly, unconcerned.

"Fellow Daoist Murong, it's true that you came in first last time, but I recall your losses were significant, weren't they? Of the five who entered, only two emerged alive." He Wang said with a forced smile.

The Wang family, the Qi family, and the Ghost Spirit Sect were allies, so He Wang naturally spoke in support of Wang Qingshan.

"That's still better than your Ghost Spirit Sect; two entered, and neither came out alive. This time, with the Seven Rainbow Grotto-Heaven opening, it would be better for you to select powerful cultivators to enter. Don't send any Golden Immortals who are too weak; cultivating a Golden Immortal cultivator is not easy." Murong Tianya sneered.

"Indeed! It's truly difficult to build a legacy. Conquering a territory is hard, but defending it is even harder. Encountering a prodigal son will only lead to the ruin of the family fortune, making them a laughingstock." He Wang sneered.

The Murong family controlled five Xuan Cities, possessed formidable strength, and had a renowned reputation. However, during the last Chaos Beast tide, the Murong family suffered heavy losses and now only held onto two Xuan Cities, becoming a source of ridicule.

Some factions did not believe this, but the facts were undeniable: the Murong family only retained two Xuan Cities and parts of Huang Cities. Some said the Murong family was in decline, others speculated about internal issues, but most claimed that the Murong family members were incompetent and unable to preserve the legacy established by their ancestors.

It is hard to offer help in times of need, but easy to kick someone when they are down.

Some factions cast covetous eyes upon the Murong family, waiting for their power to significantly decline so they could seize the two Xuan Cities under the Murong family's control.

As the Murong family relinquished three Xuan Cities, their reputation suffered, and some allies reduced their interactions. The Qian family remained closely aligned with the Murong family. In contrast, the Ghost Spirit Sect seized the opportunity to occupy multiple Xuan Cities, thriving and developing increasingly well.

"A prodigal son feels no pain selling ancestral lands. How could such a person understand the difficulty of conquering a territory? With a prodigal son, it's hard to avoid decline." A plump young woman in a purple dress echoed.

The young woman in the purple dress had a larger build than most human cultivators, with purple eyes and hair.

This was Luo Xuan, a Golden Immortal at the mid-stage cultivation level, from the Purple-Eyed Tribe. The Purple-Eyed Tribe was a subsidiary force of the Cao family, at odds with the Murong family, and currently controlled four Xuan Cities.

The Purple-Eyed Tribe had a heritage of over twenty million years. They originally controlled one Xuan City. During the last Chaos Beast tide, they lost two Golden Immortal cultivators, but the Purple-Eyed Tribe had many Golden Immortal cultivators, quickly transferring more from their rear bases. They now controlled a total of four Xuan Cities and had developed very well in recent years.

Some factions had developed well in the rear, producing many Golden Immortal cultivators. However, the number of Xuan Cities was limited, making it difficult to acquire new ones. During the last Chaos Beast tide, major forces suffered heavy losses, and some factions seized this opportunity to expand their territories, gaining control of multiple Xuan Cities. This was the case for both the Purple-Eyed Tribe and the Ghost Spirit Sect.

"It's still uncertain who will have the last laugh!" Murong Tianya sneered. There were also dissenting voices within the Murong family; some clansmen believed they should not have abandoned the three Xuan Cities, arguing that with many Golden Immortal cultivators, holding onto five Xuan Cities would not have been a major issue.

These were all hindsight comments. No one knew how long the Chaos Beast tide would last. From the perspective of the time, Murong Zhengxian's decision was not wrong; it only appeared to be a mistake when viewed in recent years.

The Murong family's rival factions had seized the opportunity to occupy multiple Xuan Cities and were developing increasingly well. In contrast, the Murong family, relying solely on the resources of two Xuan Cities to support dozens of Golden Immortal cultivators, faced immense pressure.

"Then let's wait and see!" He Wang sneered.

At this moment, Cao Yuanxing also arrived.

"Fellow Daoists participating in the competition, please come forward to draw lots. The competition is a test of skill, and you should stop before causing serious harm." Cao Yuanxing said, taking out a shimmering golden jar. Wang Qingshan and several other Golden Immortal cultivators walked over to draw lots for the competition.

The competition was merely a formality; the highest cultivation level among the participants was mid-stage Golden Immortal.

Wang Qingshan's opponent was a short, stout old man in a golden robe, with a cultivation level of early-stage Golden Immortal.

As the competition began, the old man in the golden robe immediately conjured a red, shimmering banner. After it spun around him once, a large expanse of crimson flames surged forth, enveloping him and rapidly raising the temperature.

Wang Qingshan wasted no words, directly summoning four flying swords of different colors and wielding them against his opponent.

Even without using the Meridian Fusion Art, Wang Qingshan could defeat the old man in the golden robe.

In less than a quarter of an hour, Wang Qingshan defeated the old man in the golden robe and advanced to the next round.

Murong Tianya, He Wang, and Luo Xuan were also formidable, each defeating their opponents and advancing to the next round.

Winners advanced to the next round. In the third round, Wang Qingshan faced a mid-stage Golden Immortal opponent. He immediately summoned two Golden Immortal-stage puppet beasts and defeated the opponent with little effort. After all, it wasn't a life-or-death battle, and neither side used their trump cards.

Puppet beasts were a specialty of the Wang family. Few Golden Immortal cultivators carried several Golden Immortal-stage puppets with them, so other Golden Immortal cultivators were naturally no match.

Luo Xuan drew Murong Tianya as her opponent. She was no match for Murong Tianya and was defeated by Murong Tianya's sword-controlling technique.

Half an hour later, only Murong Tianya, He Wang, and Wang Qingshan remained. The top three would be chosen from among them.

"I forfeit. Third place is fine for me," Wang Qingshan said, as third place came with three slots.

Murong Tianya looked at He Wang and said, "Fellow Daoist He, what about you?"

He Wang had personally witnessed the power of Murong Tianya's transformation technique. After a moment's thought, he also forfeited. As a result, the Murong family received five slots, the Ghost Spirit Sect four slots, the Wang family three slots, while the Purple-Eyed Tribe, Qi family, Hao Yue Alliance, Snow Crystal Tribe, and Hundred Refinements Island each received one slot.

"You all go back and prepare. Assemble here tomorrow at Chenshi (7-9 AM), bringing the fellow daoists who will enter the Seven Rainbow Grotto-Heaven," Cao Yuanxing said.

Wang Qingshan and the others left one by one, while the eliminated factions could only return to their own territories.

The next day at Chenshi, Wang Qingshan and the others appeared punctually at Qingzhi Square, standing in neat formation.

Not long after, Cao Mingjing and Cao Yuanxing flew over and landed before them.

"Greetings, Senior Cao!" Wang Qingshan and the others bowed in unison. Without further ado, Cao Mingjing summoned a shimmering golden dragon boat and stepped onto it, followed closely by Cao Yuanxing and the others. Cao Mingjing activated a spell, and the golden dragon boat immediately burst with brilliant golden light, soaring into the sky and departing from Yunlang City.

Half a day later, the golden dragon boat appeared over a stretch of rolling emerald green mountains. Before long, its speed slowed, revealing a vast city with a plaque bearing three shimmering silver characters: "Tianming City." This was a territorial city controlled by the Tianming Tribe, where a Grand Unity Golden Immortal was stationed year-round.

On the city walls, dozens of Immortal-Slaying Cannons were visible, along with five siege crossbows mounted with mid-grade Immortal-Slaying Arrows.