Chapter 443: Seven Years

Time flew by, and seven years passed in the blink of an eye.

At a certain entirely red mountain peak within the Taiyi Immortal Sect, a streak of white light flew from the distant horizon, landing at the entrance of a courtyard. The white light was a lotus artifact, and Su Bingbing stood atop it.

She cultivated the Earth-grade technique, "Qianbing Scripture," and in seven years, she successfully advanced to the fourth layer of Foundation Establishment.

“The sect competition has been underway for five days already,” Su Bingbing murmured to herself. “Senior Disciple Wang still hasn't come out of seclusion. He wouldn't have missed it, would he?” She took out a sound-transmitting paper crane, whispered a few words, and tossed it into the courtyard.

Soon after, the courtyard gate swung open, and Wang Mingjiang emerged, a broad smile on his face.

After seven years in seclusion, he had successfully advanced to the sixth layer of Foundation Establishment. The seven-hundred-year-old Golden Flame Fruit he consumed had, of course, played an indispensable role. He had consumed all three Golden Flame Fruits that Wang Changsheng had given him.

“Senior Disciple Wang, you've come out of seclusion!” Su Bingbing exclaimed. “The sect competition has been underway for five days already. If you hadn't emerged soon, you would have missed it.”

The Taiyi Immortal Sect holds these competitions to select elite disciples for entry into the Taiyi Secret Realm to gather spirit herbs and gain experience. Foundation Establishment disciples who achieve a ranking in the sect competition and safely return from the secret realm will receive intensified cultivation support from the Taiyi Immortal Sect.

“No matter,” Wang Mingjiang replied. “I'll go see my master, then I'll participate in the sect competition. Junior Disciple Su, did you also participate?”

The sect competition was a grand event for the Taiyi Immortal Sect, attracting a large number of disciples. Participants had to enter a spiritual treasure called the Myriad Demon Pagoda to clear its stages. The Myriad Demon Pagoda could conjure various demonic beasts, up to Fourth-tier High-grade. Rankings were determined by the number of stages cleared and the time taken; the more stages cleared in less time, the higher the ranking.

Su Bingbing nodded, a wry smile on her face. “I participated, but I stopped at the seventh stage. That stage had three Second-tier Mid-grade demonic beasts—flying, fierce, and venomous insects. I was no match for them. Senior Disciple Wang, it's all up to you now. I hope you can make it into the top hundred.”

Wang Mingjiang smiled confidently. “Top hundred? My goal is the top ten. I'll go pay my respects to my master first, Junior Disciple Su. You can go back now.”

He summoned a pair of red fire wheels and flew towards the sky.

***

Wu State, Tianquan Mountain.

In a quiet courtyard, inside the house, Mo Caiyun lay on the bed, her face pale and covered in sweat, but her beautiful eyes were full of joy. Wang Mingjiang held an infant in his arms, his face also beaming with joy. Beside him stood two young children, a boy and a girl.

Wang Mingjiang and Mo Caiyun had been married for seven years and already had two sons and a daughter. The infant he held was their third child. Their eldest son was Wang Changxin, who possessed a Three-Spirit Root. Their second daughter, Wang Changxin, had a Four-Spirit Root. Wang Mingjiang was already one hundred and twenty-three years old. If they had enough spirit stones, he and Mo Caiyun could indeed establish a family.

“Caiyun, you've gone through so much,” Wang Mingjiang said tenderly.

Mo Caiyun smiled contentedly. “It's no trouble; this is my duty,” she replied. “Have you thought of a name for our third child yet?”

“He's of the 'Chang' generation, so let's call him Wang Changqing!” Wang Mingjiang said. “I hope he has spirit roots.”

Mo Caiyun nodded, pondering for a moment before speaking. “Brother Jiang, Changxin and our other children are of your Wang family's bloodline. Have you considered sending them back? We can afford to raise them now, but as they grow, they'll need more and more cultivation resources. Will we be able to afford them then? In another dozen years, Changxin will be of marriageable age, and there's also their daughter, Changxin. Besides providing for them, cultivation techniques are also a problem. The techniques sold on the market are all Yellow-grade, at most allowing cultivation to the Foundation Establishment stage. Your family should have better techniques, right? Can you bear to let them cultivate only Yellow-grade techniques?”

Wang Mingjiang's expression darkened. He pondered for a moment before saying, “When they're a bit older, I'll send them home. After all, Wang family blood flows in their veins; I hope they can go further on the path of cultivation.”

He deeply wished to keep his children by his side, but for their future, he had to send them back to the clan. After many years away, it was time for him to return home for a visit as well.

***

At a continuous mountain range bordering the Wei and Tang States, in a somewhat desolate valley, ten cultivators were surrounding and attacking a gigantic yellow scorpion. This demonic beast was a Second-tier Low-grade.

All ten cultivators wore clothes adorned with lotus patterns, clearly indicating they were disciples of the Wang family from Qinglian Mountain Manor. Leading the group was Wang Qingshan. After seven years in seclusion, he had successfully advanced to the fifth layer of Foundation Establishment. It had taken him over twenty years to progress from the fourth to the fifth layer, primarily because he had changed his cultivation technique. He had cultivated the "Azure Nether Sword Scripture" to its fifth layer, matching his current cultivation.

Wang Qingjun was already at the second layer of Foundation Establishment, cultivating the fire-attribute technique "Heavenly Flame Scripture." Wang Qiuming was at the seventh layer of Qi Refinement. Under Wang Qingshan's guidance, his experience in hunting demonic beasts had grown increasingly rich.

The yellow scorpion's attack methods were simple, and it was no match for them. Its body was covered in wounds, with two foot-long bloody gashes on its back. Wang Qiuming controlled a Second-tier Low-grade spider puppet beast, which furiously attacked the yellow scorpion.

Seemingly aware of its dire situation, it opened its mouth and shot out dozens of yellow earth arrows and a cloud of yellow poisonous mist, rushing towards Wang Qiuming and the others.

“Careful! It's poisonous! Retreat!” Wang Qingshan's brows furrowed slightly as he issued the warning.

Wang Qiuming and the others quickly retreated, either casting spells or wielding spiritual artifacts to shatter the earth arrows. When the yellow poisonous mist touched their protective spiritual shields, it emitted a dull sizzling sound, and a wisp of green smoke rose from the shields.

Seizing this opportunity, the yellow scorpion let out a strange cry, its body glowing with yellow light, and burrowed into the ground, disappearing from sight.

Had Wang Qingshan not been using the yellow scorpion to give Wang Qiuming and the others some combat practice, it would have had no chance of escaping.

“Seventh Uncle, what should we do?” Wang Qiuming asked eagerly. “Should we pursue it?” The yellow scorpion's demonic power was almost exhausted; it surely couldn't have gone far.

“Seventh Brother,” Wang Qingjun suggested, adding that Tang State and Wei State were old rivals, with cultivators from both sides disliking each other and frequently engaging in minor private conflicts. “This is the border between the two states. If we pursue it, we'll enter Tang State territory. We should change into casual clothes if we chase it; our current attire is too conspicuous and could easily provoke hostility from Tang State cultivators.”

“Everyone change into casual clothes and pursue it,” Wang Qingshan decided after a moment of hesitation. “Once we kill this Second-tier demonic scorpion, we'll return to Wei State. Try to avoid direct conflict with Tang State cultivators.”

“Yes, Seventh Brother (Seventh Uncle),” they replied.

Wang Qiuming and the others quickly changed into casual clothes. This way, Tang State cultivators would be less likely to discover their true identities, thereby reducing the chance of direct conflict.

Wang Qingshan patted his spirit beast pouch, and a yellow spirit mouse crawled out, its eyes darting around, displaying considerable intelligence. It was a Second-tier Low-grade Double-Eyed Rat, specifically trained by Wang Qingshan. The Double-Eyed Rat trained by Wang Changsheng was already Second-tier High-grade. The one Wang Qingshan possessed was its offspring, as was the one Wang Qiuming had. The Wang family bred dozens of Double-Eyed Rats, all descendants of Wang Changsheng's original one.

Wang Qingshan fed the Double-Eyed Rat a small green jujube. The rat jumped to the ground, sniffed the air a few times, then its body glowed with yellow light, and it burrowed into the ground, disappearing from sight.

“Let's go, follow it,” Wang Qingshan said. “That demonic scorpion couldn't have gone far.”

Wang Qingshan led his clansmen rushing out of the valley. Before long, they disappeared into the vast mountains.