Chapter 879: Seeking Treasure

Northern Border, Fire Crow Market.

In a secret chamber, Wang Mingren sat cross-legged on a meditation cushion, his eyes slightly closed. Countless specks of reddish-gold light appeared around his body.

The reddish-gold specks of light flowed into his body through his mouth and nose. Under his guidance, they slowly gathered in his dantian.

In his dantian, a red and gold sphere slowly rotated. Wisps of reddish-gold spiritual energy gradually surged into his Golden Core.

After a while, all the reddish-gold light around Wang Mingren's body disappeared into him. He opened his eyes, a faint golden gleam discernible within them.

“I've finally reached the sixth level of Core Formation,” Wang Mingren murmured to himself, a look of joy on his face.

His duties were relatively light, allowing him ample time for artifact refining. Fire Crow Market had several third-rank artifact refiners, and Wang Mingren had befriended many of them. Through extensive practice, he had already become a third-rank artifact refiner. Had he stayed with his clan, he might not have achieved this level.

Firstly, his clan's financial resources were limited, preventing them from acquiring large quantities of refining materials for his practice. Secondly, without peer interaction or guidance from master refiners, his progress would have been slow. The Taiyi Immortal Sect, however, boasted several fourth-rank artifact refiners, which allowed Wang Mingren to progress very quickly and rapidly improve his refining skills.

After becoming a third-rank artifact refiner, Wang Mingren earned spirit stones by crafting magical treasures, which he then used to purchase cultivation resources.

The Northern Border was rich in fire spiritual energy and fire-attributed spiritual objects. With little else to do, Wang Mingren's entire life revolved around cultivation, making friends, and artifact refining.

A series of strange croaking sounds broke the silence. Wang Mingren took out a palm-sized red jade disk, activated it with a hand seal, and a male voice suddenly rang out: “Senior Brother Wang, this is Junior Brother Zhao. Are you free to come to Tianyue Tower?”

“Ah, Junior Brother Zhao. Yes, I’m free. I’ll be right over.” Wang Mingren agreed, put away the red jade disk, and left his residence.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Wang Mingren arrived at a quiet private room. Across from him sat a young man in a red python robe.

The young man in red was none other than Zhao Wuji. Wang Mingjiang, Wang Mingren, and Wang Changsheng had all hunted demonic beasts with Zhao Wuji. Zhao Wuji had already formed his Core and was at the fourth level of Core Formation. He had been transferred to the Northern Border over twenty years ago, and during that time, he had frequently interacted with Wang Mingren.

Zhao Wuji was a task fanatic: escorting goods, slaying third-tier demonic beasts, and battling enemies. If his magical treasures were damaged, he would ask Wang Mingren to help repair them.

Wang Mingren never charged for repairing magical treasures. Zhao Wuji was also considerate, occasionally sending Wang Mingren some fire-attributed refining materials as compensation.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zhao Wuji got straight to the point: “Senior Brother Wang, Senior Sister Liu and I discovered an ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling. However, the restrictions are too powerful. We consulted a third-rank formation master, who said that five Core Formation cultivators must work together to break the formation. I'd like to ask for your help. When we acquire the treasures, you'll also receive some.”

“An ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling?” Wang Mingren felt a stir of interest. To be honest, in all his years in the cultivation world, he had never discovered such a place.

Stories of struggling cultivators discovering ancient cave dwellings, acquiring legacies and magical treasures, and subsequently rising to prominence were recorded in many ancient texts. Wang Mingren, however, had never explored one himself.

“Can't break the restriction? It requires five Core Formation cultivators working together to break the formation?” Wang Mingren furrowed his brow, half-believing, half-doubting.

He had never explored an ancient cultivator’s cave dwelling and was unaware that some restrictions required multiple cultivators to break them.

During his last escort mission, they were ambushed by cultivators suspected to be from the Nine Nether Sect. Wang Mingren was specifically targeted by the enemies. He worried that the enemies who destroyed his clan were seeking to eliminate him root and branch.

Therefore, after returning from the escort mission, he had not left Fire Crow Market.

Of course, the Taiyi Immortal Sect had also investigated, but found no evidence that the Nine Nether Sect was responsible. It was too obvious. If the Nine Nether Sect intended to confront the Taiyi Immortal Sect, they would certainly not use Blackwing Sand Pythons, as that would be tantamount to declaring war. Any Nine Nether Sect cultivator with a modicum of sense would not act in such a way, especially since the Nine Nether Sect had experienced internal strife, losing many high-level cultivators and some territories. In contrast, the Taiyi Immortal Sect, with its base in the Eastern Barrens, had branches in the Central Plains, Northern Border, and Southern Sea, indicating its vast power.

He had sent someone to contact Wang Changsheng to inquire about the perpetrators. Wang Changsheng was vague, only advising Wang Mingren to be more cautious and protect himself.

Wang Changsheng had no evidence either, so he naturally wouldn't speak carelessly.

“Exactly. The restriction is the Five-Spirit Guarding Light Formation. It requires five Core Formation cultivators to combine their strength to break it. If there are too few people, not only will the formation remain unbroken, but they will also be annihilated by it. Senior Sister Liu and I tried to break the restriction and were almost killed by it.” By the end of his explanation, a hint of fear appeared in Zhao Wuji’s eyes.

Wang Mingren pondered for a moment, then said, “Alright! I’ll accompany Junior Brother Zhao on this trip.”

Hearing this, Zhao Wuji beamed with joy and said, “Excellent, Senior Brother Wang! With you joining us, we’ll definitely be able to break the restriction. If you’re free, let’s depart now! It’s quite a distance.”

Wang Mingren nodded in agreement.

He took out his communication disk, greeted his fellow disciples, and then left the market with Zhao Wuji.

Outside the market, Wang Mingren summoned a glowing red flying shuttle. The shuttle, adorned with red spirit patterns, carried him and Zhao Wuji high into the sky, disappearing into the horizon.

The Fire Cloud Mountain Range consisted of over ten thousand peaks of varying sizes. It once contained a large metal ore vein of Fire Cloud Stone, a second-tier artifact refining material commonly used for crafting fire-attributed flying daggers and swords.

This ore vein was controlled by the Heavenly Flame Sect. After thousands of years of excavation, the Fire Cloud Stone had been completely depleted. While some Fire Cloud Stone occasionally remained in hidden spots, the cost of extraction was too high, so the Heavenly Flame Sect withdrew its stationed cultivators and handed it over to affiliated smaller clans for development.

On a low mountain peak in the outer reaches of the Fire Cloud Mountain Range, two women and one man were gathered at the summit. All of them were Core Formation cultivators.

“Senior Sister Liu? Why haven't the people you arranged arrived yet? They're not going to back out, are they?” A yellow-robed man, thin as a bamboo pole, glanced at the sky and frowned.

A young woman in a green skirt looked at a red-skirted woman beside her and said with a smile, “Junior Brother Li, please wait a bit longer. Perhaps Junior Brother Zhao was delayed. Senior Sister Ximen and I aren't in a hurry, so why are you so anxious? Haste makes waste. Just wait a little longer.”

The woman in the red skirt was none other than Ximen Feng.

“Senior Sister Liu, which senior or junior brother did Senior Brother Zhao invite?” Ximen Feng asked casually.

“I'm not sure about that. Junior Brother Zhao and I discovered the ancient cultivator's cave dwelling, but we couldn't break the restrictions, so we consulted Junior Brother Li. Then we each invited one Core Formation cultivator. I assume it's one of our fellow disciples! Junior Brother Zhao is quite popular and has made many friends.”

As soon as she finished speaking, a red light appeared on the horizon. Soon after, the red light landed in front of them, revealing Zhao Wuji and Wang Mingren.

Upon seeing Wang Mingren, Ximen Feng's delicate brows furrowed slightly. How could it be such a coincidence that she encountered Wang Mingren again?