Chapter 728: Supplementing Manpower

These were the possessions of the Core Formation cultivator from Cuiyun Sect. Wang Changsheng had already scanned them with his divine sense on the way back and knew they contained many valuable items.

Most of them were materials for refining artifacts and crafting talismans. There were over 500,000 spirit stones, three magic treasures, and a pile of miscellaneous materials. Among them, three glittering golden seashells were particularly striking.

As jade slips in the South Sea were mostly made from seashells, Wang Changsheng was not surprised. He picked up one golden seashell and probed it with his divine sense. A moment later, his eyes lit up, as if he had discovered something truly valuable.

“The Divine Weapon Compendium!” he exclaimed in an astonished voice, an expression of disbelief on his face. “It’s actually the refining methods for the divine weapons listed in the Divine Weapon Compendium!”

Speaking of the Divine Weapon Compendium, one must mention the Soul Transformation grand cultivator, True Monarch Baibao. He hailed from a family of artifact refiners and excelled at crafting various magic treasures, a pursuit he also enjoyed collecting. Believing that the magic treasures in the cultivation world were not powerful enough, he dedicated himself to research for over a hundred years. He compiled the Divine Weapon Compendium, which recorded the refining methods for 360 types of magic treasures, each possessing incredible divine abilities.

The Divine Weapon Palace is one of the ten major sects in the South Sea, boasting profound foundations. It is said that Shen Bing, the founding ancestor of the Divine Weapon Palace, obtained half of the Divine Weapon Compendium. He refined many powerful magic treasures, and with these, he became renowned in the cultivation world before establishing the Divine Weapon Palace.

Of course, this is merely a rumor.

Every magic treasure recorded in the Divine Weapon Compendium possesses incredible divine abilities. Of course, with the passage of time, many of the original materials are now difficult to gather. However, substitutes can be found, and the resulting artifacts are still far more powerful than ordinary magic treasures.

Wang Changsheng put down the golden seashell he was holding and then examined the contents of the other two seashells.

The three seashells contained the refining methods for two magic treasures and a talisman-soldier.

The Profound Ice Ruler: both offensive and defensive, with extremely strong defensive capabilities.

The Ethereal Umbrella is an auxiliary magic treasure used for concealing one’s presence.

The Five-Element Talisman-Soldier is crafted by collecting various Five-Element materials. It can cast Five-Element spells and is very powerful. Once refined, it will be a Nascent Soul-stage talisman-soldier.

The materials for refining the Five-Element Talisman-Soldier are extremely rare; Wang Changsheng hadn't even heard of many of them. If one cannot gather all the Five-Element materials, a single-attribute talisman-soldier can be refined instead, though its power would be inferior to the Five-Element Talisman-Soldier.

The Five-Element Talisman-Soldiers are categorized as Kui Water Talisman-Soldiers, Geng Metal Talisman-Soldiers, Qian Fire Talisman-Soldiers, Xu Earth Talisman-Soldiers, and Yi Wood Talisman-Soldiers. Single-attribute talisman-soldiers are not very powerful, at most exhibiting Core Formation stage strength. The Five-Element Talisman-Soldier, once refined, is a Nascent Soul-stage entity, its strength dependent on the materials used.

It seems the green-robed elder was refining a Qingyuan Talisman-Soldier, which is crafted from various wood-attribute materials and possesses strong regenerative capabilities.

A faint sound of footsteps was heard as Wang Ruyan entered. Seeing a large pile of items on the floor, she appeared a little surprised.

“Husband, what good things did you get?” Wang Ruyan asked with a smile, “You look so happy.” Wang Changsheng never kept anything from her.

“The Divine Weapon Compendium!” Wang Changsheng exclaimed excitedly, holding up the three golden seashells. “My dear, there are three items from the Divine Weapon Compendium! This talisman-soldier is useful for you, and I also just obtained a large batch of talisman crafting materials, which you can use to refine talismans.”

Hearing this, Wang Ruyan’s eyes lit up, and she smiled. “This trip wasn’t in vain,” she said, “but it’s a pity that fifteen clan members were killed or injured. If we continue to develop in the Red Moon Sea, this number of personnel won’t be enough.”

Excluding those guarding shops and gathering information, the Wang family could mobilize fewer than fifty low-level cultivators, most of whom were at the Qi Refining stage. Transferring people from the Eastern Barren Lands would be too costly, as transporting a single cultivator cost 8,000 spirit stones.

On this trip, Wang Changsheng acquired cultivation resources worth several million spirit stones. However, the loss of fifteen clan members deeply pained him. Most of them were native-born members of the Wang family, not those who had joined midway. Had they not died, they could have created more wealth for the family. In Wang Changsheng’s heart, deceased clan members were more precious than wealth.

“I have already considered this,” Wang Changsheng replied. “I have arranged for Qingjun to handle it. We will absorb three small families to replenish our personnel.”

To replenish personnel, annexing small cultivation families is the quickest and most convenient method. However, this approach carries some potential drawbacks.

“That’s a good idea,” Wang Ruyan said. “However, we plundered a large amount of cultivation resources from the Zhou family this time. They will certainly hold a grudge. After all, we killed many of their clan members. If the situation in the Red Moon Sea changes in the future and they get a chance for revenge, the Zhou family will definitely not spare our Wang family.”

Wang Changsheng nodded and said solemnly, “I have already spoken to Fellow Daoist Zhang and asked for his help. We want to rent an island with a third-order spiritual vein, preferably located far from the Zhou family.” To secure Zhang Guangyang’s assistance, Wang Changsheng had even given him two magic treasures as a bribe.

“That would be for the best,” Wang Ruyan said, nodding with a smile. “I hope we can rent a good island.”

On Spirit Clam Island, the Sun family was a small clan. Their patriarch, Sun Jialiang, was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, and the entire clan comprised thirty-five cultivators. At its peak, the Sun family had nine Foundation Establishment cultivators. Their ancestors had left behind several sets of second-order formations and one second-order spirit beast.

As wars erupted across the Red Moon Sea, the Sun family was attacked by a group of rogue cultivators. Relying on their second-order formations and guardian spirit beast, they successfully repelled the enemy’s attack.

In the council hall, Sun Jialiang was discussing clan affairs with his family members. “Patriarch, this is bad!” a Sun clan member exclaimed as they ran in, their face full of panic. “Several Foundation Establishment cultivators have arrived outside. They say they have important matters to discuss with you.”

“Don’t panic,” Sun Jialiang said. “How many people are there? Where are they from?” A loud boom echoed, and the council hall shook violently. Sun Jialiang’s expression changed drastically, and he rushed out. A group of cultivators stood on a massive white cloud formation, led by Wang Qingjun. Over a dozen second-order puppet beasts stood at the forefront of the cloud, their gazes cold.

Seeing over a dozen second-order puppet beasts, Sun Jialiang was startled. He feigned composure and said, neither humbly nor arrogantly, “Seniors, please do not harm our Sun clan members. You can take all our possessions.”

“We have little interest in your possessions,” Wang Qingjun said coldly, his threatening intent clear. “We offer you two choices: first, merge into our Wang family and work for us; second, face annihilation.”

Hearing this, Sun Jialiang’s expression flickered uncertainly. He frowned and asked, “Senior Wang, how will you deal with the female members of our clan?” If the Wang family were to forcibly take their female cultivators, Sun Jialiang would rather die than allow his clan to merge with the Wang family.

“We will not seize wives or daughters,” Wang Qingjun stated. “We are simply asking you to merge into our Wang family. You will have autonomy over marriage matters. My word is my bond.”

Once the Sun clan cultivators arrived at Red Lotus Island, they would not be able to leave easily. After reaching adulthood, Sun clan members would not be able to marry within their own clan; they could only intermarry with Wang family members. In less than thirty years, the Sun family would be completely integrated into the Wang family. The Wang family had done this many times before.