Chapter 435: Plans

Purple Night Island is named after the abundant Purple Night Spiritwood growing there. It is one of the four large market cities in the Purple Algae Sea region.

In a quiet courtyard, there stood a two-story cyan pavilion.

Wang Ruyan sat cross-legged on a wooden bed, her eyes slightly closed, her body enveloped in a faint blue glow.

Inside the room, mysterious musical notes floated, faintly forming a melody.

After a while, the musical notes scattered into specks of spiritual light and vanished. Wang Ruyan opened her eyes.

Wang Changsheng had been gone for over half a year and had not yet returned. She was deeply worried and couldn't focus on her cultivation.

Just then, a low howl came from her embrace.

Wang Ruyan took out a pale blue seashell from her sleeve. She struck it with a magical incantation, and countless runes appeared on its surface. Immediately, Wang Changsheng's voice rang out: "My dear wife, I'm back. Please open the door for me."

Wang Ruyan sighed in relief, walked quickly to the door, opened it, and invited Wang Changsheng inside.

"Husband, you must be tired. Nothing went wrong, did it?"

Wang Ruyan closed the door and asked with concern.

Wang Changsheng naturally didn't hide anything and recounted the entire incident in detail.

This trip, Wang Changsheng's gains were considerable. Besides a large piece of beast meat, he also acquired a beast hide three *zhang* by three *zhang*, five sharp teeth from a Tiger-Headed Shark, and a bottle of vital blood.

The beast hide was a third-tier material, three *zhang* by three *zhang*, more than enough to craft several magic treasures. The Tiger-Headed Shark's teeth were also third-tier materials. Along with the forty thousand spirit stones as payment, these items combined were worth no less than one hundred thousand spirit stones.

Of course, the most precious item was the Tiger-Headed Shark's demonic core. Wang Changsheng only took a small portion, and his ability to receive so much was partly due to his acquaintance with a Core Formation cultivator from the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

"Husband, your gains this time are considerable, but you lack defensive divine abilities and defensive magic treasures. You absolutely must not frequently go out to sea with Core Formation cultivators to hunt demonic beasts. After all, your strength is too weak. You can't keep tempting fate; it's inevitable that something will go wrong. I think it's better if you wait until you've cultivated a divine ability and raised your cultivation by two more layers before going out to sea to hunt demonic beasts again."

Wang Ruyan advised earnestly. Earning over one hundred thousand spirit stones from a single trip to sea meant the wealth came too quickly. She worried Wang Changsheng might be blinded by greed and go out to sea again with other Core Formation cultivators to hunt demonic beasts. Wang Changsheng was only at the first layer of Core Formation, his strength not high. If he were to encounter high-level evil cultivators, he would be in trouble.

"I understand that point, my dear wife. These are some pills I bought for you. Focus on your cultivation and strive to reach the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment as soon as possible."

Wang Changsheng took out two cyan porcelain bottles and handed them to Wang Ruyan.

"Husband, if you insist on going out to hunt demonic beasts with other Core Formation cultivators again, at least buy two third-tier talismans so I can feel at ease."

"Don't worry, my dear wife! Your husband knows his limits. Just focus on your cultivation."

The South Sea was rich in cultivation resources. Wang Changsheng didn't have much time during his current visit, so the chances of finding Heavenly and Earthly Spirit Water were low. If he couldn't find Heavenly and Earthly Spirit Water, purchasing a few third-tier talismans would also be a good alternative.

There weren't many large market cities in the Eastern Wilderness, and it took a long time to organize large-scale auctions there. However, the South Sea, with its rich cultivation resources, held a large-scale auction every ten to fifteen years.

Wang Changsheng had inquired and learned that a large-scale auction would be held on Purple Night Island three years later. At that time, numerous treasures would appear, and there should be third-tier talismans. As for magic treasures, he dared not hope for them for now.

Wang Ruyan nodded. After chatting for a while, Wang Changsheng exited the room, allowing Wang Ruyan to cultivate in peace.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Wang Changsheng appeared at the entrance of a five-story purple pavilion. A plaque above read "Purple Cloud Pavilion" in large, shimmering characters.

Purple Cloud Pavilion was Purple Night Island's largest raw material store, stocking materials for artifact refining, demonic beasts, alchemy, and array formations.

As soon as Wang Changsheng entered, a middle-aged woman resembling a steward, sensing his powerful spiritual pressure, quickly walked over, her expression respectful. "Senior, how may I assist you?"

Wang Changsheng didn't waste words. He took out a cyan jade slip and handed it to the middle-aged woman.

The middle-aged woman swept her divine sense over it, nodded, and said: "We have all these materials, Senior. Please wait a moment."

She invited Wang Changsheng to a side room and offered him tea.

A quarter of an hour later, Wang Changsheng walked out of Purple Cloud Pavilion. His storage pearl had twenty thousand fewer spirit stones, but now contained a batch of materials for crafting puppet beasts.

Wang Changsheng planned to craft a batch of puppet beasts to hunt demonic beasts at sea, earn some spirit stones, and simultaneously accumulate experience for his family's future development in the South Sea.

Of course, he would disguise himself as a Foundation Establishment cultivator to hunt those second-tier demonic beasts.

Back at his residence, Wang Changsheng immediately began refining second-tier puppet beasts. Alchemy fire artifact refining had shortened the refining time. Now, refining a single high-grade second-tier puppet beast only took three months, halving the time.

He threw a piece of cyan spiritwood in front of him, opened his mouth, and sprayed out blue alchemy fire, enveloping the spiritwood...

---

Wu State, Sky Spring Mountain.

In a quiet courtyard, inside the pavilion.

Wang Mingjiang and Mo Caiyun wore festive clothes, their faces beaming with joy.

During a demonic beast hunt, Mo Caiyun was accidentally afflicted by an aphrodisiac toxin, leading to her intimate relations with Wang Mingjiang.

Wang Mingjiang, unable to return home, drifted alone, his homesickness growing stronger each year. Over the years, he had observed Mo Caiyun's character and conduct.

Mo Caiyun was somewhat attractive and already at the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment, making her a good candidate for a Dao Companion. However, her reputation was poor. She had had three dual cultivation Dao Companions, but all of them had died. Many people said she brought bad luck to her husbands, and since her surname was Mo, some gossips gave her the nickname "Black Widow."

Mo Caiyun also had a good impression of Wang Mingjiang. After their intimate encounter, Wang Mingjiang proactively confessed his feelings. Mo Caiyun initially refused, but Wang Mingjiang, unable to return home and yearning deeply for a family of his own, persisted repeatedly. Mo Caiyun couldn't resist Wang Mingjiang's persistence, and they became dual cultivation Dao Companions.

"Husband, do you truly not mind me? My reputation isn't good."

Mo Caiyun leaned into Wang Mingjiang's embrace and said with some worry.

"Let them say what they will; we'll live our own lives."

Wang Mingjiang dismissed it. He married Mo Caiyun partly because he longed for a small family, and partly so they could support each other as husband and wife, making their future path easier.

This situation was not uncommon. No one could guarantee they would reach the very end alone. Finding a cultivation Dao Companion to support each other was the long-term solution.

Mo Caiyun felt a warmth in her heart upon hearing this. She hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Husband, I've known you for so long, yet I still don't know your background! I'm from Southern Liang; both my parents were cultivators, and since childhood..."

She recounted her origins, background, and past, to show her sincerity.

Wang Mingjiang hesitated for a moment, then sighed and said: "I come from a cultivation family in Wei State. I can't return home because I made a mistake."

"Can't return home? What mistake did you make?"

Wang Mingjiang shook his head and said: "It's nothing, don't ask. I'm afraid I won't be able to return home in my lifetime. Let's just live our lives well from now on! When husband and wife are of one mind, their combined strength can cut through metal."

Mo Caiyun originally wanted to press further, but seeing Wang Mingjiang's reluctance to say more, she swallowed the words that were on the tip of her tongue.

"It's getting late; we should rest. If we're fortunate enough to have children, we could create a family and rebuild the Wang family name."

Wang Mingjiang picked up Mo Caiyun and walked towards the bed.

The precious moments of the night began. After a while, the soft gasps of a woman could be heard from within the room.