Chapter 666: Plans

Two years passed quickly.

In the Red Algae Sea, a ten-foot-tall blue peacock swiftly soared across the sky. Wang Changsheng sat on its back, his brows deeply furrowed. This Nine-Cloud Peacock had been cultivated to a low-grade second-tier, making its flight speed quite fast.

After escaping from the Nascent Soul cultivator that day, he found a secluded spot to recuperate for over a year. Once his injuries had significantly healed, he returned to the Red Algae Sea.

After defeating a powerful enemy, Wang Changsheng gained a lot: twelve magical artifacts alone, a batch of third-tier water-attribute refining materials, and hundreds of thousands of spirit stones. However, Wang Changsheng couldn't bring himself to be happy. Although the three of them had used a Spirit Transformation Bead to alter their appearances, making it impossible for the Nascent Soul cultivator to discern their true identities, Wang Changsheng had used the Cold Mist Bottle and Nine-Curved Divine Sand during the battle. This meant the Nascent Soul cultivator could trace him through these artifacts.

If the blue-robed young man had merely been an ordinary Core Formation cultivator, it might have been fine. However, he also cultivated the "True Scripture of Gui Water" and possessed a protective spirit talisman, indicating his identity was certainly not low. The Sun Moon Palace would definitely investigate. Ye Lin alone had given Wang Changsheng enough headaches; now there was the Sun Moon Palace to deal with.

The Sun Moon Palace's strength surpassed even that of the Nine Nether Sect. Wang Changsheng felt incredibly unlucky. If the Sun Moon Palace traced the incident back to him, the Wang family would undoubtedly face utter annihilation. Unlike the Nine Nether Sect, the Sun Moon Palace possessed large teleportation arrays that could transport them to the Eastern Barren Lands. With their power, destroying the Wang family would be effortless. Asking the Taiyi Immortal Sect for help? That was unrealistic. Without significant benefits, why would the Taiyi Immortal Sect assist the Wang family? The Wang family didn't pay tribute and, strictly speaking, wasn't even a subordinate force of the Taiyi Immortal Sect.

Wang Changsheng considered leaving the South Sea to lie low for a while, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Firstly, the Sun Moon Palace didn't know his true appearance and would only be able to trace the artifacts used by the culprit. The South Sea cultivation world had dozens of sea regions, each with tens of thousands of islands, so it would take a long time to pinpoint Wang Changsheng. Secondly, very few high-tier cultivators had seen him use those two artifacts. If he left the South Sea now, wouldn't that be akin to "proclaiming one's guilt" and only increase suspicion? Thirdly, the South Sea cultivation world was rich in cultivation resources; even hunting low-tier demonic beasts could amass significant wealth. Returning to the Eastern Barren Lands, the spirit veins of Qinglian Mountain wouldn't be sufficient to support his and Wang Ruyan's cultivation, especially since he was already at the fourth level of Core Formation. Moreover, the Eastern Barren Lands had previously experienced a war between humans and demons, and with Chen Yuhua as a cautionary tale, the seven great immortal sects wouldn't allow various forces to start conflicts.

Without conflicts, merely relying on the family to cultivate low-tier spirit herbs and sell some cultivation resources would be utterly insufficient to sustain Wang Changsheng's and Wang Ruyan's cultivation. Having spent so many years in the South Sea and witnessing the prosperity of its cultivation world, he was deeply unwilling to return to the impoverished backwater of the Eastern Barren Lands. Wang Changsheng was now greatly troubled, as neither the Nine Nether Sect nor the Sun Moon Palace was an enemy he could afford to provoke.

"Never mind," Wang Changsheng sighed, muttering to himself, "I'll retreat to the Eastern Barren Lands and hide for a while. I should disperse the clansmen too. Misfortunes never come singly."

The Nine-Cloud Peacock stopped. Wang Changsheng was startled at first, then his face quickly contorted with rage, his eyes practically spitting fire. Not far ahead, there was an island shaped like a sea cucumber. Most of the buildings on the island had collapsed, and there wasn't a soul in sight. Wang Changsheng had only been away for a few years, and someone had already attacked Sea Cucumber Island?

Wang Changsheng felt his blood churn within him, his eyes filled with murderous intent. He released his divine sense, swiftly scanning the island, but found no sign of life. Sea Cucumber Island had a total of four teleportation arrays: one medium-sized and three small-sized. If attacked, the clansmen could escape.

Wang Changsheng landed on the island and found dozens of incomplete skeletal remains. Based on the state of the bones, Wang Changsheng surmised that the clansmen had been killed by some powerful sharp weapon, and most of the bodies were concentrated near the teleportation arrays. Clearly, the enemy was too strong for the clansmen to resist, which is why they had teleported away. A Core Formation cultivator must have been involved. Although the formations set up by Ye Lin were powerful, they required a Core Formation cultivator to control them. Without one, the formations couldn't withstand an attack for very long.

He suddenly remembered something, put away the Nine-Cloud Peacock, and transformed into a streak of light, flying southeast.

Five hours later, Wang Changsheng appeared above a small, dark island. This island was extremely tiny, only a few li in size. Rather than an island, it was more like a massive reef. Wang Changsheng descended, and a burst of yellow light enveloped his body before he burrowed into the ground and disappeared.

Not long after, Wang Changsheng returned to the surface, his gaze somber. There had originally been a small teleportation array here, capable of transporting to Sea Cucumber Island. He found over a dozen skeletal remains near the array, which had been destroyed, leaving only bleached bones. This was a premeditated massacre, an attack specifically targeting the Wang family.

Whom had the Wang family offended? The Sun Moon Palace? It couldn't have been them, they wouldn't have traced it back to the Wang family so quickly, would they? With dozens of sea regions, each having at least a hundred Core Formation cultivators, could the Sun Moon Palace's efficiency really be that high? If not the Sun Moon Palace, then who could it be? Yellow Dragon Island? Or rogue cultivators killing for treasures? Unable to determine the true culprit, Wang Changsheng stopped pondering and flew towards the sky.

Three days later, Wang Changsheng arrived at Wooden Dragon Pavilion and sent a sound transmission talisman to Chen Yilong. Not long after, Chen Yilong flew out, a hint of joy on his face.

"Fellow Daoist Wang, are you alright?!"

"I'm fine," Wang Changsheng said, his gaze grim and filled with murderous intent. "Fellow Daoist Chen, where are my clansmen? Do you know?! I've only been gone for a few years, and my stronghold has been attacked!"

Chen Yilong gave a wry smile and said, "It was Yellow Dragon Island's doing. We also suffered attacks from Yellow Dragon Island's subordinate forces, but we managed to repel their assaults."

"What exactly happened? Why would Yellow Dragon Island target our Wang family?"

Chen Yilong pointed a finger upwards and explained, "The Cold Flame Sect and Yellow Dragon Island had a conflict. First, Yellow Dragon Island's subordinate forces were wiped out, and then the Cold Flame Sect's subordinate forces were also destroyed. The impact was too great; both sides annihilated several of each other's subordinate forces. However, not long after, both Yellow Dragon Island and the Cold Flame Sect declared it a misunderstanding, and a group of rogue cultivators was put on a wanted list. I suspect some force wanted to instigate a larger conflict between Yellow Dragon Island and the Cold Flame Sect. Yellow Dragon Island and the Cold Flame Sect didn't engage in an all-out war, but we subordinate forces were unlucky. Many of your clansmen were killed or injured, and they are currently all at Spirit Turtle Market."

"What about the Cold Flame Sect then?!" Wang Changsheng asked coldly. "Our Wang family paid them; aren't they going to do anything?"

"How would they intervene? By helping you fight back? Our Wooden Dragon Pavilion, like your family, merely pays rent. The Cold Flame Sect is good for shouting slogans, but without tangible benefits, they won't stick their necks out for you. If you want revenge against Yellow Dragon Island, the Cold Flame Sect might support you, but consider this: if you kill Yellow Dragon Island's people today, they'll kill your Wang family's people tomorrow. Think carefully!"

Chen Yilong sighed softly. Over the years, he had personally witnessed over a dozen forces vanish. But then again, the Wooden Dragon Pavilion was no different. The Wooden Dragon Pavilion also had subordinate forces. If the Wooden Dragon Pavilion had disputes with other powers, they would similarly direct their subordinate forces to fight. When subordinate forces fought, the Wooden Dragon Pavilion wouldn't help without sufficient benefits; they wouldn't personally enter the fray. It was common practice in the South Sea cultivation world for the 'big brothers' to argue while the 'little brothers' did the fighting.

"So, if I go back to Sea Cucumber Island, I'll be attacked again?"

"Not necessarily. It depends on the higher-ups and those who are hostile to the Cold Flame Sect. They don't dare to directly attack the Cold Flame Sect, so they target its subordinate forces instead."

Wang Changsheng was silent for a moment, then said to Chen Yilong, "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Chen. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now."

After speaking, Wang Changsheng transformed into a streak of light and flew into the distance.