Chapter 4398: Bottleneck

She had taken a bottle of Nine-Revolving Essence Expansion Pills, which were refined with seven-colored crystal cores. The pills were highly effective in enhancing immortal elemental power.

Wang Mengbin nodded, knowing full well that without a bottle of Azure Aura Primordial Pills, refined with eight-colored crystal cores, he would likely have needed millions of years of secluded cultivation to advance to the mid-Taiyi Golden Immortal stage.

"Thank you for your guidance, Fellow Daoist Wang," Ye Xuanji said. "We won't trouble you any further. We'll go back and rest now."

Ye Xuanji said that her purpose in coming this time was to consult Wang Changsheng on the refining method for high-grade Chaos Armor.

Wang Changsheng could refine high-grade Chaos Armor. He used a piece of it to exchange with the Nangong Immortal Clan for a batch of Immortal Ganoderma Jade Dew Pills, which were refined with seven-colored crystal cores and had similar effects to the Azure Aura Primordial Pills.

The Wang family held a large-scale auction, offering Taiyi Golden Immortal-stage puppet beasts for exchange. News also spread that Wang Changsheng had exchanged Immortal Ganoderma Jade Dew Pills with the Nangong Immortal Clan.

If he hadn't exchanged high-grade Chaos Armor for Immortal Ganoderma Jade Dew Pills with the Nangong Immortal Clan, Wang Changsheng couldn't explain the rapid cultivation speed of his clansmen. While Cao Yuanxing, Ye Xuanji, and Qin Zhaoming were still only at the early Taiyi Golden Immortal stage, it would be plausible for one clan member to have a fortuitous encounter, but highly unlikely for four to have such encounters.

Wang Changsheng's explanation to the Nangong Immortal Clan was that he achieved one success from six sets of materials. Even without the Azure Lotus Creation Cauldron, he claimed he could refine a high-grade Chaos Armor from six sets of materials.

Ye Xuanji and Cao Yuanxing stood up, bid farewell, and left Azure Lotus Peak.

"Have Yingjie and Hongxue returned to the Sky Dawn Sea Region?" Wang Changsheng asked.

Wang Qingbai refined eight-colored crystal cores into Azure Aura Primordial Pills and distributed them to the Taiyi Golden Immortals in the clan, significantly increasing their cultivation speed. Wang Yingjie and Liu Hongxue had returned to the Sky Dawn Sea Region specifically to take the Azure Aura Primordial Pills and enter secluded cultivation.

"They have returned," Wang Mengbin said. "Ruyi and Yongqian have also advanced to the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage."

It had been over a million years since Wang Changsheng advanced to the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage, and many outstanding clan members had also reached this stage.

With Wang Ruyi's advancement to the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage, the Wang family gained another third-tier immortal artifact master. Wang Yongqian, as the family head, also brought honor to the family by reaching the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage.

Nangong Dezhi had slain a Grand Luo Golden Immortal from the Chahar tribe, severely weakening them, and they had been quiet for many years. The Ye family, Cao family, Chu family, Five Immortals Sect, and other forces had all seen an increase in their Taiyi Golden Immortal numbers. The Ye family had the highest growth among them, adding three, but naturally, the Wang family's Taiyi Golden Immortal count had increased even more.

Ostensibly, the Wang family nurtured so many Taiyi Golden Immortals by selling mid-grade Chaos Armor, high-grade immortal artifacts, and mid-grade Immortal Slaying Arrows in exchange for cultivation resources. In reality, Wang Qingbai and Liu Hongxue had refined seven-colored crystal cores into Two-Form Golden Amber Pills, significantly increasing the probability of clan members advancing to the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage.

Upon reaching the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage, the ability to purify high-grade Chaos Beast crystal cores becomes crucial. Many established forces, like the Five Immortals Sect, the Cao family, and the Jin-Chen clan, struggled to purify seven-colored crystal cores, leading to slow development. The Wang family, however, did not face this issue.

To allay external suspicions, Wang Changsheng had to regularly sell high-grade immortal artifacts. This time, selling a puppet beast at the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage served the same purpose.

Of course, the Wang family's excessively rapid growth in Taiyi Golden Immortals still aroused suspicion among some forces. However, with the Nangong Immortal Clan and Kunlun Dao Ancestor as formidable patrons, these forces could at most harbor suspicions but dared not confront the Wang family directly.

The Wang family had also formed alliances with multiple forces through marriage, establishing their own interest group. However, one must be strong oneself; despite Wang Changsheng taking multiple Azure Aura Primordial Pills refined with eight-colored crystal cores, he remained at the mid-Taiyi Golden Immortal stage.

With years of cultivation experience, Wang Changsheng knew he was stuck at a bottleneck that arduous cultivation alone would not resolve. He planned to travel for a period, hoping to break through it and collect cultivation resources along the way.

Wang Qingshan, Wang Qingbai, Wang Qingling, and Wang Mengbin had all advanced to the mid-Taiyi Golden Immortal stage. Wang Qingling had mastered soul laws, and Wang Qingbai had mastered Dao techniques. Additionally, they had taken many Blood Infant Jade Apricot Pills refined with eight-colored crystal cores, making their physical bodies exceptionally strong, though still a considerable distance from becoming true immortal bodies.

Gongsun Yang, Li Qinghuan, and Li Tianhe had successively advanced to the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage. Chen Yueying and Lan Fukong's physical bodies were destroyed, and their reincarnation through possession and re-cultivation had taken a lot of time. They were currently at the Grand Perfection Golden Immortal stage, undergoing secluded cultivation to break through to Taiyi Golden Immortal, and had not yet emerged.

Wang Chan, Wang Mengli, Wang Lin, Wang Yang, Wang Huanyu, and Wang Chan had successively advanced to the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage. With the family's strength growing steadily, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan could now travel without worry to resolve their bottlenecks.

Wang Changsheng nodded and said with a smile, "Excellent. Once the auction concludes, we'll go on our travels. Azure Lotus City will be in your hands."

"Ancestor, you're going to travel?" Wang Mengbin asked, surprised.

If Chaos Beasts attacked the city, they might not be able to defend it. The Chahar tribe had previously sent nine-colored Chaos Beasts to attack Azure Lotus City, and if another wave erupted, the scale would likely be even larger.

"Yes, I'm stuck at a bottleneck," Wang Changsheng replied. "If I continue to stay in Azure Lotus City, I don't know when I'll be able to overcome it. Don't worry, I've made all the arrangements. Full defense shouldn't pose a major problem."

Currently, the Wang family possessed ten pieces of high-grade Chaos Armor, fifteen Taiyi Golden Immortal-stage Bean Soldiers, ten Taiyi Golden Immortal-stage puppet beasts, fifteen high-grade Immortal Slaying Arrows, and eighteen high-grade Immortal Slaying Cannons. These were all trump cards, never revealed publicly, waiting to be deployed in a major conflict.

Frankly speaking, this level of strength was among the top in most of Kunlun Immortal City's subsidiary cities. Only Heavenly Cities like the Nangong Immortal Clan, Myriad Treasures Sect, and Star Moon Palace could surpass the Wang family. This was based on their development over the past few hundred thousand years; if it were millions of years, the Wang family's accumulated foundation would be even deeper, and its strength even greater.

"Stuck at a bottleneck!" Wang Mengbin's brows furrowed deeply. Many Taiyi Golden Immortals encountered this difficult hurdle; some remained stagnant after millions of years of secluded cultivation, and a very few were even stuck for tens of millions of years.

"Indeed!" Wang Changsheng said. "It's not easy for a Taiyi Golden Immortal to break through a bottleneck. I've discussed this with two Taiyi Golden Immortals from the Nangong Immortal Clan, and they also advised me to travel, not to continue arduous cultivation in Azure Lotus City, as that wouldn't resolve the bottleneck."

"Ancestor, please rest assured, we will guard Azure Lotus City well," Wang Mengbin promised.

"You've had a long journey; go back and rest first!" Wang Changsheng said. "Oh, and don't spread the word about my travels. It would be troublesome if the Chahar tribe found out."

"Yes, Ancestor," Wang Mengbin agreed, stood up, and left.

No sooner had he left than Wang Ruyan returned, a joyous expression on her face.

"Husband," Wang Ruyan said with a smile, "Rumeng has also advanced to the Taiyi Golden Immortal stage, and Yulan and Zongyun can now jointly refine high-grade Immortal Slaying Arrows."

This way, their burden would be much lighter, allowing them to travel with peace of mind.

Wang Changsheng also showed a joyous expression upon hearing this.