Chapter 216: The Most Precious Resource

On the second day of his seclusion merging fragments at the silver stone gate, the Void God Elder who had left a few days prior appeared in Wang Ping's cave dwelling.

This Void God cultivator is named Zhong Peng; he is already over a thousand years old, and within the Hundred Kingdoms Alliance he is considered an undying elder-level cultivator.

Leaving the Black Strange Mountain Range, everything he saw along the way filled him with rage—every city was ruined, countless demon beasts roamed nearby, and wherever he passed he hardly saw any human figures.

Faced with this human tragedy, he couldn't help but unleash a barrage of killings all the way, but even so, what could he do?

But upon reaching the Cloud Net Mountain Range, the bustling human population left him momentarily dazed, as if he had instantly come from hell to the human world.

Zhong Peng deliberately lingered for a while before realizing that these people had all been deliberately gathered by Wang Ping.

Looking at the young man before him, Zhong Peng nodded—this young man he approved of!

Seeing Zhong Peng appear, Wang Ping felt a mix of surprise and joy, asking, 'Senior, are the matters there settled?'

Zhong Peng smiled and nodded, saying, 'Not bad, it's already settled—you did very well this time.'

Wang Ping blinked, then realized what the other meant, and gave an indifferent smile, saying, 'Just as fellow humans, I merely exerted a trifling effort.'

Zhong Peng clasped his hands behind his back, smiling faintly, and said, 'Well said, but some cultivators aren't even willing to exert that trifling effort! Never mind that—I've already notified the Alliance to send cultivators over to help you clear out the demon beasts here! I will personally deal with the demon beasts besieging this place; once you finish handling affairs here, come to the Alliance as soon as possible, where your cultivation speed will be increased!'

Wang Ping bowed in acknowledgment; Zhong Peng nodded, his form flickering slightly, and he appeared just outside the Cloud Net Mountain Range. Wang Ping hurried to follow, for a Void God cultivator's move is rarely seen—he wanted to observe closely.

The disturbance at Longevity Peak naturally alerted Tie Lanshan and the others. Seeing Wang Ping shoot outward at extreme speed, they too flew outward.

Soon they saw a black-clothed elder floating in midair, arms raised to support the heavens; above the Cloud Net Mountain Range, space suddenly undulated, and threads of firelight flickered above the range.

Before they could comprehend what the elder was doing, countless fireballs the size of heads filled the skies over Yunluo!

Rolling waves of heat poured down from the heavens, turning the entire area within hundreds of li of Yunluo Mountain a blazing red!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

One after another, fireballs rained down from the sky before everyone's shocked gaze; looking up, they resembled meteors falling!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Unceasing explosion sounds rang out, filling the whole heaven and earth with crimson red!

Such explosions continued for a full quarter hour; after Wang Ping and the others grew accustomed, the world before them had completely changed—the earth was a sheet of scorched black, countless demon beast limbs lay strewn about, and not a single living demon beast could be seen.

The might of a Void God is like heavenly might—terrifying indeed!

Zhong Peng descended from the sky with casual ease; Tie Lanshan and the others also recognized the person's identity, hastily bowing and saying respectfully, 'We pay our respects, Void God Elder—thank you for your intervention, lifting the siege of Yunluo Mountain!'

The remaining cultivators, shocked by the black-clothed elder's terrifying methods, heard Tie Lanshan and the others' address and stared blankly in astonishment.

But soon some cultivators reacted, shouting, 'We pay our respects, Void God Elder!'

With a leader setting the example, the remaining cultivators likewise snapped to, shouting in succession, 'We pay our respects, Void God Elder—thank you for lifting the siege of Yunluo!'

The sound waves rose and fell, each wave higher than the last!

Zhong Peng nodded at the cultivators below, then vanished before everyone's eyes.

After the Void God cultivator departed, those cultivators finally dared to discuss.

'Hahaha! I actually got to see a Void God cultivator today—I now have material for bragging!'

'A Void God cultivator! He actually appeared before us today—it's simply unbelievable!'

'I am blessed across three lifetimes to have encountered a Void God cultivator who saved my life; upon returning I will surely enshrine this Void God Elder, making sure my descendants offer sacrifices to him every festival.'

'The Void God Elder truly lives up to being the pinnacle cultivator of this world—his methods are hardly different from heavenly might!'

A Foundation Establishment cultivator gazed at the devastation outside and said sorrowfully.

His words resonated with many cultivators, and a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection cultivator said:

'For me to reach Golden Core in this lifetime is already not bad; Void God? Hahaha! Perhaps only cultivators like Wang Tianjiao can enter that realm!'

Tie Lanshan was also shaken to the point of losing composure, but now was not the time for shock, so he flew straight up to high altitude and declared:

'Everyone! The demon threat has been eliminated; now is the time for us to enjoy the spoils. The demon beast materials you obtain outside are yours to keep—you may take eight parts, while the remaining two parts must be handed over to my Cloud Net Mountain Range. If anyone hides anything, kill them. Furthermore, no cultivator may seize or grab.'

Tie Lanshan's words caused an uproar; this time, everyone knew full well how many demon beasts lay outside—so many that even if only a third remained intact, it would still be an astonishing fortune.

Currently, fewer than twenty thousand cultivators remain in the Cloud Net Mountain Range, the rest having perished in the beast tide; this under-ten-thousand cultivators sharing spoils worth possibly tens of billions of low-grade spirit stones in demon beast materials—estimates say each person will profit abundantly.

Tie Lanshan is arranging everything in the Cloud Net Mountain Range item by item, especially for the mortals; he plans to build one to three cities outside the Cloud Net Mountain Range to accommodate these mortals.

After the beast tide, these mortals have wholeheartedly accepted Yunluo and Wang Ping; with so many mortals, spiritual-root geniuses appear at least eighteen thousand every three years, and among so many spiritual roots, one or two supreme spiritual-root geniuses are bound to emerge—even a heavenly spiritual root is not impossible.

The Western Drooping Land, after being ravaged by the beast tide, will for a period of time regard population as the most precious resource.

Various calculations flashed through Tie Lanshan's mind; he stood atop Heavenly Gang Peak, gazing at the other cultivators outside who were eagerly gathering demon beast materials with delighted expressions, a faint smile curling his lips. While they continued gathering materials, he had already ordered the Cloud Net Mountain cultivators to build cities for those mortals—thus, with Fellow Daoist Wang Ping holding the fort, unless they themselves wished to leave, no one could dare to coerce them.

Indeed, as Tie Lanshan had surmised, after the beast tide the Western Drooping Land spanning ten thousand li has a mortal population of no more than fifty million! Within that, Yunluo accounts for one-fifth!

Many sects and clans, with cultivators suffering heavy casualties, wished to recruit some spiritual-root geniuses, but found no one available.

Thus, a ludicrous scramble for people began!

………

One year later, at the summit of Longevity Peak, Tie Lanshan, Master Liaoru, Wang Ye, Zhang Zuo, and Ouyang Hua gathered together.

Over the past year, this is the first time they have assembled like this; behind them stood twenty-five Foundation Establishment cultivators.

The reason they gathered here today is that Wang Ping is departing this place today for the Alliance.

Wang Ping, clad in a greenish-blue long robe, glanced at Moon Sister, then at his several close friends; a faint smile appeared on his face, and he spoke:

'Everyone! I'm leaving!'

Having said that, he flicked his sleeve and boarded the flying vessel sent by the Alliance to fetch him; this time he was heading for the heart of the Alliance, and his master Tie Zhan had been urging him for half a year, sending three jade slips in succession—so urgent that Wang Ping had no choice but to rise and depart.

The flying vessel activated, soon turning into a streak of light that vanished into the horizon; standing on the deck, Wang Ping took one last look at Yunluo, wondering when he would be able to return after this departure.