Chapter 931: Returning to the South China Sea

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan felt a bit disappointed upon hearing this. They realized that Core-forming spiritual items were not common goods. Even if such items were put up for auction, the quantity would likely be small, and competition would be extremely fierce. Furthermore, if a Core-forming spiritual item were auctioned now, there might be Nascent Soul cultivators among the bidders, making it difficult to leave safely after acquiring it.

Wu Zizai perceived that Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan had no interest in common items. He also knew that if Wang Changsheng had not intervened, he would have perished.

He hesitated for a long moment, then took a deep breath as if having made a difficult decision. With a flip of his hand, a palm-sized yellow jade box appeared, adorned with a shimmering silver talisman.

He peeled off the talisman and opened the jade box. A burst of multicolored light, shimmering with spiritual energy, flew out.

"Fellow Daoist Wang," he said, "I have no way to repay your life-saving kindness. Please accept this piece of Five-Colored Divine Clay as my gratitude." Wu Zizai, with a hint of reluctance, handed the yellow jade box to Wang Changsheng.

The Five-Colored Divine Clay possessed the miraculous abilities of arbitrary transformation and self-repair, making it an excellent material for refining defensive magical treasures. Although this particular piece was a bit small, rendering it unsuitable for refining an entire defensive magical treasure, Wu Zizai had nevertheless made a significant decision to part with it. Other fellow cultivators had offered high prices to buy it from him, but he had always refused.

The cultivation technique he practiced was somewhat unique, placing particular emphasis on one's state of mind. If he failed to properly repay Wang Changsheng and his wife, a flaw might appear in his state of mind, which would be detrimental to his future cultivation path.

"Five-Colored Divine Clay!" Wang Changsheng exclaimed. He glanced into the yellow jade box, seeing a piece of five-colored earth, its vibrant hues constantly shifting.

This piece of Five-Colored Divine Clay was too small to be used for refining a magical treasure, but Wang Ruyan could utilize it to refine talisman soldiers.

Wang Changsheng thanked him and accepted the Five-Colored Divine Clay.

After some pleasantries, Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan bid farewell and departed. Wu Zizai did not try to keep them longer and personally saw them off.

After leaving the market, Wang Changsheng summoned a blue flying boat. It swiftly ascended into the sky, carrying Wang Ruyan and Wang Youshan.

Wang Changsheng and Wang Ruyan intended to return to the South Sea and enter secluded cultivation to break through to the Nascent Soul stage.

This time, their return to the East Wilderness had allowed them to accomplish many tasks: rescuing Wang Mengfen, paying respects to their ancestors, perfecting their Dao hearts, and reassuring clan members from various branches.

In the Golden Toad Sea Region of the South Sea, a hazy gray space was filled with chilling winds and a dim, overcast sky. On a vast, desolate plain, hundreds of skeletal corpses were besieging Wang Qingshan and Wang Mingren. The ground was littered with white bones.

Leading the charge were a massive white bone python and a three-zhang-tall ape skeleton. The white bone python had two pairs of large white bone wings on its back, while the ape skeleton wielded a white bone saber enveloped in a layer of white phosphorescent fire.

A small world had suddenly appeared in the Golden Toad Sea Region, somewhat resembling the Ghost Abyss in the East Wilderness. Unlike the Ghost Abyss, however, this small world was larger, had more ghostly entities, and even contained numerous Nascent Soul stage ghosts. It was rumored that this small world led to the Netherworld. The Ten Great Sects of the South Sea dared not delay. They temporarily set aside other matters, united their forces, and dispatched cultivators into the small world to eradicate the ghosts before sealing it.

Not only the Ten Great Sects but also the Taiyi Immortal Sect participated in clearing out the ghosts, as an additional force meant greater strength. During a sparring match between Wang Qingshan and Zhou Yunxiao, the aftershocks of their battle tore open a seal. Feeling responsible for clearing out the ghosts, Wang Qingshan voluntarily signed up.

Of course, when he went to report, he also notified the clan members on Zhoushan Island, urging them to evacuate as soon as possible. Wang Qingshan's timely notification allowed Wang Youyu to evacuate the clan members overnight to a large market town. When the ghosts surged out of the small world and destroyed many forces, the clan members led by Wang Youyu miraculously escaped harm.

This was an opportunity to earn merit, and Wang Mingren naturally wouldn't miss it, so he signed up to participate in clearing out the ghosts.

The ghosts here were numerous, possessed considerable supernatural abilities, and were skilled in concealment techniques, making them impossible to guard against. Several Core-forming cultivators from the Taiyi Immortal Sect had died at the hands of Core-forming ghost kings. Even with his Golden Flame True Fire, Wang Mingren was no match for the ghost kings; there was simply nothing to be done, as their numbers were overwhelming, with new ones appearing as soon as a batch was killed. Fortunately, he encountered Wang Qingshan.

"Clear Wind Sword Array!" As Wang Qingshan let out a cold shout, nine green flying swords rapidly circled around him. A powerful current of air suddenly appeared, creating fierce winds, and a hundred-zhang-tall green tornado materialized, sweeping towards the attacking ghosts.

Wherever the green tornado passed, whistling sounds intensified. The powerful airflow transformed into invisible large hands, pushing the skeletal corpses into the green tornado. The white bone python and the ape skeleton were no exception; their immense sizes caused them to be immediately swept into the green tornado by the powerful airflow.

Before long, all the skeletal corpses were drawn into the green tornado. A series of explosive sounds erupted, accompanied by muffled clashes of metal, as countless green sword qi flew out, slashing towards the skeletal corpses.

The skeletal corpses were pulverized by the dense green sword qi, vanishing without a trace.

Less than fifteen minutes later, the green tornado gradually shrank, transforming back into nine green flying swords. All the skeletal corpses were gone.

Wang Mingren swallowed hard. Two ninth-layer Core-forming skeletal corpses along with hundreds of second-tier skeletal corpses were thus destroyed by Wang Qingshan. He truly lived up to his reputation as Sword Venerable逍遥's nominal disciple.

The only drawback was that nothing was left behind. This made it difficult to prove that they had killed two Core-forming skeletal corpses and claim contribution points.

"Qingshan," Wang Mingren earnestly advised, "please be a bit more careful next time. At least leave behind the Yin beads so we can exchange them for merit." Having witnessed Wang Qingshan's powerful strength, Wang Mingren no longer dared to be arrogant, and his tone was much more courteous than before.

"That's hard to be careful about," Wang Qingshan retorted. "What if a ghostly entity is attached to the Yin bead? Don't forget how Senior Brother Li and the others died. Our lives are more important than merit, Uncle Mingren."

Wang Qingshan shrugged it off. Having learned his lesson once, he dared not follow Wang Mingren's rash instructions again. Wang Mingren was too eager to earn merit and sometimes made erroneous decisions; last time, he almost got Wang Qingshan killed. This place was full of dangers, and he certainly wouldn't listen to Wang Mingren; one wrong move and he could perish here.

"I know it's dangerous here," Wang Mingren argued, "but I'm asking you to leave the Yin beads while ensuring your own safety. No matter how many skeletal corpses you kill like this, you won't get any credit." Wang Mingren pleaded earnestly. If it weren't for the chance to earn merit, he wouldn't have come here at all.

Wang Qingshan frowned, finding Wang Mingren's excessive utilitarianism beyond his expectations. "The ghosts here are different from those in other places," he stated. "They are skilled in concealment techniques. Master instructed us not to hold back. We are eradicating these ghosts to prevent them from harming the mortal realm, not to earn merit."

Wang Mingren was about to say something when a green streak of light flew in from afar. Soon, the green light stopped, revealing a hazy green flying boat with Sword Venerable逍遥 and several other high-level cultivators standing on it.

"Let's go!" he said. "The ghosts have been almost entirely cleared out. We can leave this place now; the subsequent matters will be handled by the Ten Great Sects of the South Sea."

Wang Qingshan and Wang Mingren agreed in unison and flew onto the green flying boat.

The green flying boat glowed brightly and soared towards the sky.

Above a desolate island roughly a hundred miles wide, a massive black vortex appeared. A green flying boat, carrying Sword Venerable逍遥 and the others, flew out from within it and disappeared into the horizon.