Chapter 557: The Fat Guy's Decision

Wang Changsheng secretly slipped Xu Zihua 50,000 spirit stones as a rebate. Had Xu Zihua not introduced Zhang Zhanfeng, he might not have reaped such significant rewards. Xu Zihua accepted the spirit stones without hesitation.

"This is the token for Peach Mountain, Fellow Daoist Wang. A team of Taiyi Immortal Sect disciples is currently stationed there. When you arrive at Peach Mountain, show them this token, and they will yield Peach Mountain to you." Xu Zihua handed Wang Changsheng a silver, square token engraved with a peach tree pattern.

"Fellow Daoist Xu, is Uncle Mingren in the sect? I haven't seen him in a long time and would like to talk with him." Wang Changsheng planned to give Wang Mingren a sum of cultivation resources. Having acquired considerable benefits and now being incredibly wealthy, he naturally wouldn't forget his relatives.

"He's been dispatched for an external mission. If he returns, I'll tell him to go back and visit you all."

Wang Changsheng nodded, took out a storage bag, and handed it to Xu Zihua, saying with a smile, "Fellow Daoist Xu, please give these items to my niece, Su Bingbing. It's a small token of my affection as her uncle." He hadn't forgotten about this niece; Su Bingbing's well-being in the Taiyi Immortal Sect also benefited him, though not to the same extent as Wang Mingren.

"No problem, leave it to me." Xu Zihua readily agreed; it was a trivial matter for him.

After leaving the Taiyi Immortal Sect, Wang Changsheng headed straight for Green Lotus Villa.

Red Leaf Ridge, Wei State.

Wang Changyue was chatting with Ye Lin. They were laughing and talking, getting along very well.

Wang Changyue took a bite of fruit and asked curiously, "If you could ever return to the Northern Border, would you still seek revenge?"

"Of course. If it weren't for Shangguan Wei, I wouldn't have fallen to this state today. The position of sect leader rightfully belonged to my father. What right does Shangguan Wei have to contend for it, simply because she's a descendant of the previous sect leader?"

"If your father had become the sect leader, would the position have been passed on to you?"

Ye Lin nodded and said, "Of course. If not to me, would it be passed to an outsider?"

"By your logic, it was also appropriate for the previous sect leader to pass the position to Shangguan Wei. Do immortal cultivation sects always like to contend for the sect leader position? Can't they coexist peacefully? Our family doesn't have so many troubles."

"You are a family, sharing the same lineage. Sects are different from families; every time there's an election for sect leader, there are endless arguments. Anyway, let's not talk about that. I'll continue explaining formations to you! If you happen to see your brother, please tell him I have something very important to discuss with him."

Wang Changyue nodded and said, "Got it. Let's talk about illusion formations then! Last time you mentioned the Seven-Star Phantom Formation, which can conjure all sorts of things, including delicacies and spirit fruits, with identical scents. Is that true?"

Ye Lin smiled and said, "Of course it's true, but this is a third-tier formation and requires a large amount of materials. Since you'd like to hear about it, I'll explain it to you! The key to this formation lies in..."

He explained very seriously, and Wang Changyue listened very attentively.

At Green Lotus Villa, in the meeting hall, Wang Qingkai was speaking with Wang Changyang.

Wang Changyang had already cultivated to the ninth layer of Qi Condensation and had attempted to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage by taking a Foundation Establishment Pill, but unfortunately failed. He is currently responsible for overseeing the cultivation of clan members.

The family now possessed a good number of Foundation Establishment Pills, but there weren't many eligible clan members who had cultivated to the ninth layer of Qi Condensation. Some clan members who failed their Foundation Establishment breakthrough after taking the pill would only receive a second pill after repaying their merit points.

The family's territory had expanded significantly, but there were too few Foundation Establishment cultivators. Wang Qingkai needed to cultivate more Foundation Establishment cultivators to firmly control these territories.

"Patriarch, I'd like to exchange for another Foundation Establishment Pill and attempt to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage again."

"You just failed your breakthrough. Attempting it again so soon carries a very high failure rate. I advise you to wait a few years. It's not easy to accumulate merit points."

Wang Qingkai kindly advised him. Wang Mingjiang had left behind a large sum of merit points, two wives, and several children and grandchildren. Wang Changyang wanted to establish his foundation quickly to inherit the merit points Wang Mingjiang left behind. The reason was simple: Wang Mingjiang and Mo Caiyun's third son, Wang Changqing, had already cultivated to the seventh layer of Qi Condensation, and in less than ten years, he would reach the ninth layer. Whoever could advance to the Foundation Establishment stage faster would receive a larger share of merit points.

"Well... alright then! I'll wait a bit longer."

Hundred Spirit Sect, Earth Fire Hall.

A giant red cauldron was engulfed in raging flames. Inside the cauldron, there was a good amount of food, emitting wafts of inviting aroma.

Guangdong Ren lay on the ground nearby, sound asleep.

A loud clap of thunder rang out, startling Guangdong Ren awake. His aura was significantly stronger than it had been a decade ago; he was now at the eighth layer of Core Formation.

He glanced left and right, and another loud clap of thunder resonated. "Oh no, I overslept!"

Guangdong Ren flew out of the Earth Fire Hall, only to see two massive dark clouds in the distant sky, filled with lightning and thunder. The two immense dark clouds were quite far apart, about fifty to sixty li from each other.

"Damn it, they're attempting Core Formation simultaneously!" Guangdong Ren cursed under his breath. After a moment of hesitation, he flew towards the nearest dark cloud.

Su Cheng and Ye Tong had both cultivated to the ninth layer of Foundation Establishment. Before Guangdong Ren entered seclusion, Su Cheng was in seclusion at the Hundred Spirit Sect's spiritual ground, attempting to break through to the Core Formation stage. Guangdong Ren had told Ye Tong to attempt Core Formation later, as breaking through would invite a minor lightning tribulation, and without a high-tier cultivator protecting them, the chance of perishing was very high.

He hadn't expected Ye Tong to attempt Core Formation without permission, and unluckily, both Ye Tong and Su Cheng had simultaneously attracted lightning tribulations.

Guangdong Ren hastened towards Ye Tong's residence. Guangdong Ren was naturally pleased that the Hundred Spirit Sect might gain two more Core Formation cultivators. If he had to choose between Ye Tong and Su Cheng, he hoped it would be Ye Tong.

While it was true that Su Cheng was Guangdong Ren's second disciple, he was also Wang Changsheng's brother-in-law. If Su Cheng advanced to the Core Formation stage and something happened to Guangdong Ren, the Hundred Spirit Sect might very well be swallowed whole by the Wang family. He had to guard against this possibility.

Guangdong Ren's decision to protect Ye Tong wasn't entirely due to selfish reasons. Ye Tong's residence was the closest to the Earth Fire Hall and lacked significant defensive formations. Su Cheng, on the other hand, was attempting Core Formation in the spiritual ground, which was protected by a third-tier formation and several second-tier formations. If he didn't help Ye Tong, the chances of Ye Tong failing were very high. Su Cheng was protected by a third-tier formation, so even without Guangdong Ren's assistance, Su Cheng should be fine. Both for public and private reasons, Guangdong Ren should assist Ye Tong.

Lightning flashed and thunder roared, as thick silver bolts of lightning streaked out from the dark clouds.

Guangdong Ren conjured a small red umbrella, which emitted a large expanse of red ethereal light, enveloping Ye Tong's residence.

The thick silver lightning bolts struck the red ethereal light, but the light remained perfectly still. As time passed, the red ethereal light began to waver, but it instantly stabilized after Guangdong Ren infused a large amount of spiritual power into it.

Less than half an hour later, the dark cloud had shrunk to only a few zhang in size, and Guangdong Ren retracted his small red umbrella. The dark cloud churned, transforming into over a dozen silver lightning bolts that surged towards Ye Tong's residence.

A deafening roar erupted as a vast expanse of silver lightning engulfed Ye Tong's residence. After three breaths, the lightning dissipated. Ye Tong lay on the ground, his body scorched black, his clothes ragged, and over a dozen damaged defensive artifacts scattered around him. A powerful spiritual pressure emanated from him, indicating he had successfully advanced to the Core Formation stage.

"Junior Brother Ye, are you alright?"

Guangdong Ren flew down beside Ye Tong and fed him a white pill. "Senior Uncle Guang... no, Senior Brother Guang, I'm fine! I've finally reached the Core Formation stage."

"Rest and recover well. I'm going to check on Su Cheng. I can't believe you two attempted Core Formation at the same time."

Guangdong Ren leaped and flew towards the spiritual ground. When he arrived, all the formations there were destroyed. A third-tier formation, without a Core Formation cultivator to direct it, couldn't exert much power. Su Cheng lay on the ground, his body scorched black, with some brown bloodstains at the corners of his mouth. He had not successfully formed his core. Several damaged defensive artifacts were scattered nearby. The minor lightning tribulation was truly terrifying. If he hadn't infused all his true essence into his defensive artifacts, he would likely have died long ago.