Chapter 699: Keeping Promises

On Sea Cucumber Island, Wang Qingjing was speaking with Wang Qiuling.

"Qiuling, this won't do! We have too few clan members. We must transfer more Foundation Establishment cultivators here. We lost two Foundation Establishment cultivators and five Qi Refining cultivators during our last monster hunt. We can't go out to sea again for a while." Wang Qingjing said with a frown. The previous losses of Foundation Establishment cultivators were too high; the whereabouts of the more talented Wang Qingling were unknown. On Sea Cucumber Island, Wang Qingjing was the sole pillar, as the other clan members were too weak.

"Eighth Aunt, I also want to transfer people, but without Ninth Uncle and Ninth Aunt's orders, the patriarch won't dispatch too many people. The Eastern Barrens also needs personnel." Wang Qiuling looked troubled. Of course, she wished to mobilize more cultivators, but Sea Cucumber Island lacked a Core Formation cultivator, which remained a constant hidden danger, so Wang Qingkai dared not dispatch too many people.

"What's wrong? Is the clan really short on hands?" A clear and pleasant female voice sounded. No sooner had the voice faded than Wang Ruyan walked in, a faint smile on her face, followed by ten Wang clan cultivators.

This time, Wang Ruyan brought many elite clan members, with Wang Changqing, Zhao Ziyu, and Wang Qiujie among them. Wang Changqing had cultivated to the sixth level of Foundation Establishment and was Wang Mingjiang's only descendant to reach this stage. Zhao Ziyu, Wang Qingjing's son, was at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment and specialized in crafting puppet beasts. Wang Qiujie, Wang Qingyun's son, was also at the fifth level of Foundation Establishment and was a second-tier mid-grade formation master. He had studied formations with Wang Changyue for many years and had a solid foundation.

"Mother, you've finally come out of seclusion. Why did you bring Ziyu here? What if something happens to him?" Wang Qingjing said with some worry. The South Sea was too chaotic, and she didn't want anything to happen to Zhao Ziyu.

"Flowers in a greenhouse don't grow big. I didn't bring him; he wanted to come himself.""Mother, I want to avenge Father. His killer and I cannot coexist." Zhao Ziyu said earnestly.

Wang Qingjing sighed lightly and said, "From now on, stay with me. Hunting monsters in the South Sea is quite dangerous. Not long ago, we encountered a group of second-tier demonic birds and also some evil cultivators, losing two Foundation Establishment clan members and five Qi Refining cultivators. The losses were heavy." Even if Wang clan cultivators used puppet beasts for monster hunting, it didn't mean there would be no casualties. Even disciples from major sects could suffer casualties when hunting monsters at sea; this was unavoidable.

"Aunt, we've just developed a new puppet formation. Using puppets to form the array should reduce casualties." Wang Qiujie said with a smile, a hint of pride in his expression.

The Wang clan cultivators were skilled in crafting and controlling puppet beasts. Over the years, they had dedicated considerable effort to puppet beasts. The Thousand Machine Sect was renowned in the Eastern Barrens for its puppetry, excelling at deploying unpredictable puppet formations using puppet beasts. While the Wang clan couldn't match the Thousand Machine Sect's level, they had developed their own set of puppet formations. They had practiced in the Eastern Barrens, and using puppet beasts to set up formations could reduce casualties and increase the success rate of monster hunts.

"A puppet formation? That's wonderful! Since you're new here, train for a while, and then we'll go out to sea to hunt monsters." Wang Qingjing's face lit up with joy. Before this, she had experimented with puppet formations, but without a formation master, she was merely fumbling in the dark.

Powerful puppet formations contained various transformative techniques and required a formation master to activate them. The art of formations had always been a weakness for the Wang clan, a deficiency that only slowly began to be addressed after Ye Lin joined the family.

"Oh, by the way, Qingjing, where's your father? I haven't seen him." Wang Qingjing shook her head and replied, "Father went somewhere unknown. He told me to contact Tianqi if anything urgent came up. I don't know his whereabouts. Mother, do you need him urgently?"

"No urgent matter, just that I've been in seclusion for so many years, and I don't know how your father is doing. Have someone contact Tianqi, and let Tianqi get in touch with your father. Tell him I've come out of seclusion. I already know about Zhao Zheng's matter, and I'll definitely avenge them when I have the chance. Don't worry!" Her son-in-law had been killed, and her daughter had almost died. Naturally, Wang Ruyan wouldn't let it go, but Yellow Dragon Island's power was immense, so she could only swallow her anger. A gentleman's revenge is never too late.

Wang Ruyan gave a few more instructions before returning to her residence to rest.

With Wang Ruyan's arrival, everyone now had a pillar of support and no longer had to live in constant fear.

Red Moon Sea, Green Carp Market.

At the Hundred Weapons Pavilion, Wang Qiuli, Wang Qiuhong, and Cheng Zhenyu were discussing something.

"Fellow Daoist Cheng, here are a Core Formation spirit item and twenty thousand spirit stones. Please check if the amount is correct." Wang Qiuli took out a green storage bead and handed it to Cheng Zhenyu.

Cheng Zhenyu was slightly surprised and asked, "Why are there an extra twenty thousand spirit stones? What does this mean?" Wang Qiuhong smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist Cheng, this is our Seventh Granduncle's intention. If you discover any natural treasures in the future, please give priority to our Wang clan. Also, we hope that our transactions remain confidential. What do you say?"

"Fellow Daoist Wang, rest assured, I am not one to gossip." Cheng Zhenyu agreed, thoroughly inspected the items, and after confirming everything was in order, he quickly departed.

In Green Carp Market, one could rent a cultivation cave. With the extra twenty thousand spirit stones, he could purchase defensive talismans or magical artifacts, significantly increasing his chances of breaking through to the Core Formation stage.

Wang Qiuhong and Wang Qiuli exchanged glances, their faces showing envy.

"Alright, the items have been delivered to Fellow Daoist Cheng. I should head back now. Qiuli, I'm leaving the business matters to you. Seventh Granduncle said this counts as a merit for you. If he comes again, make sure to treat him well and don't neglect him. The same goes for other guests.""Understood, Patriarch. Don't worry, I know what to do." Wang Qiuli nodded in agreement.

Red Lotus Island, Martial Arts Training Ground.

Over twenty Wang clan cultivators were sparring. To encourage cultivation among their members, the Wang clan regularly held clan competitions, divided into minor and major tournaments.

The top ten in the minor tournament received a sum of cultivation resources and an increase in their monthly allocation for three years, after which it would be reset, and new competitions would be held. In the decade-long major tournament, the top three were designated as key family talents, with all necessary cultivation resources provided by the clan. They only needed to focus on cultivating and striving to reach higher realms.

The minor tournament was for Qi Refining cultivators, and the major tournament was for Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Wang Qingjun was in charge of presiding over the clan competitions. Wang Qingling had gained insights and was in seclusion, cultivating to break through to a higher realm.

The Qi Refining stage competitions weren't particularly interesting; Wang Qingjun was merely going through the motions.

The "Qing" generation was generally aging, the "Qiu" generation had become the backbone of the clan, and the "Tian" generation served as reserve forces.

An eighteen or nineteen-year-old woman in a green skirt was controlling two crimson sea lizard beasts, entangled in combat with a blue-robed youth in his early twenties.

The blue-robed youth controlled an ape-like puppet beast that spewed crimson light beams from its mouth. In his hand, he wielded a golden mace, which he continuously smashed towards the sea lizard beasts.