Chapter 93

Ten years passed, the West Drooping region grew increasingly chaotic; after Wang Ping emerged from the barren lands, having flown no more than three hundred li, five incidents of two waves of cultivators battling appeared.

Finally, he could no longer contain his curiosity; after encountering another clash of two waves of cultivators, he descended from the sky.

Those two waves of cultivators had already noticed Wang Ping when he appeared in their field of view, and upon seeing his astonishing flight speed, both waves were instantly startled.

Foundation Establishment Senior!

Again seeing that escape light descending toward them, all cultivators panicked!

Before Wang Ping had landed, the thirteen male and female cultivators of both waves, young and old, hurriedly bowed in salute.

Greetings, Foundation Establishment Senior!

Wang Ping, having landed, wore a calm expression, not aloof, and calmly asked:

"Who is the leader cultivator?"

"Lou Yang greets the Senior!"

"Yang Dong greets the Senior!"

Wang Ping gazed at the two elderly Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivators before him, his tone gently inquiring:

"Who can tell me what has happened in the West Drooping region over these ten years? Why, as I have traveled, do I find that the once relatively peaceful West Drooping region now has many fronts of war?"

Lou Yang and Yang Dong exchanged a glance, then Lou Yang hurriedly replied:

"Senior must have just left seclusion and is not fully aware of the current situation in West Drooping; I am honored to dispel your doubts, Senior!"

Hearing Lou Yang's words, Wang Ping couldn't help but frown; this person's nonsense is endless.

Yang Dong, too, is accustomed to reading expressions; seeing this, he immediately replied:

"Senior, you may not know: since the Commerce City battle ten years ago, after which Gather Treasure Pavilion flew into a rage and posted a bounty—slay five Qi Refining Great Perfection cultivators of Soul Refining Hall to earn a Foundation Establishment spiritual treasure, slay ten to earn a Foundation Establishment Pill—and the alliance also established a merit list! Under the lure of these two lists, the Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment cultivators of Soul Refining Hall have been repeatedly defeated and driven back."

"Soul Refining Hall is that trash?"

Wang Ping did not believe it; he had cultivated the Soul Refining Heart Classic and knew how terrifying practitioners of this method are.

How could they possibly be defeated so easily?

Thus he endured and listened to Yang Dong speaking:

"At that time Soul Refining Hall had almost abandoned two-thirds of Gold State's territory; all cultivators in West Drooping, including Gather Treasure Pavilion, thought Soul Refining Hall would lose! Who would have thought that, just three months after Soul Refining Hall retreated to defend its stronghold, a cultivator calling himself Hunyan emerged from within Soul Refining Hall and, in a single day, swept through Gather Treasure Pavilion and the four Golden Core cultivators of the Three Origins Alliance!"

Saying this, Yang Dong swallowed and continued: "Among them, Gather Treasure Pavilion's True Person Song and the Three Origins Alliance's Heavenly Sword True Person died in battle, Azure Moon True Person suffered grave injuries and has been in seclusion for ten years without news."

"You say the two True Persons died in battle?"

Wang Ping's eyes, unbeknownst when, became deep and serene; Yang Dong's account did not surprise him, for he fully understood how aberrant cultivators of the Soul Refining Heart Classic are.

Yang Dong wiped a cold sweat from his forehead, muttering to himself:

"Why has this senior become so terrifying?"

Though muttering, he dared not delay answering Wang Ping's question, and hastily replied:

"Indeed, afterward Gather Treasure Pavilion flew into a rage, dispatching five mid-stage Golden Core True Persons, one late-stage Golden Core True Person; the Hundred Nations Alliance sent ten Golden Core True Persons, among whom one is a Great True Person of Golden Core Perfection—the very True Person who initially blocked Soul Refining Hall's attack—now descending once more upon West Drooping! Moreover, there are three additional late-stage Golden Core True Persons."

"On that day, sixteen Golden Core cultivators rose with golden light, marching mightily toward Soul Refining Hall's stronghold. Everyone thought Soul Refining Hall would be finished this time, but…"

Saying this, Yang Dong could not help but sigh, then said:

"Who would have thought Soul Refining Hall actually possessed ten Golden Core True Persons, three of them at Great Perfection! That day, twenty-six Golden Core cultivators clashed at Gold State's Azure Cloud Mountain Range; it is said the fighting was so fierce that over a hundred mountain peaks in the range vanished outright. Within a thousand-li radius, the land was either barren red earth, sealed in ice for hundreds of li, or riddled with huge pits!"

"Soul Refining Hall, despite being outnumbered, managed to fight to a standstill against Gather Treasure Pavilion and the Hundred Nations Alliance cultivators, shocking the Hundred Nations Alliance for a time!"

Wang Ping calmly asked: "What happened afterward?"

Later, it was said as their fight grew more intense, they inadvertently shattered an unknown ancient formation in the Cangyun Mountain Range; that day, the Cangyun Mountain Range spewed out countless strands of pure spiritual qi.

At that time, we were tens of thousands of li away from the Cangyun Mountain Range, yet even so we felt a shocking surge of spiritual qi.

Hearing this, Wang Ping fell into thought; could it be that some great formation had been shattered?

Yang Dong glanced at Wang Ping warily, then continued: "That very day, a Divine Transformation elder ancestor—almost a legend—appeared in the skies above the Cangyun Mountain Range."

"Even a Divine Transformation elder ancestor has appeared!"

Now Wang Ping was truly shocked—Divine Transformation is the pinnacle of cultivation in this world!

Such cultivators are truly as rare as a dragon showing its head but not its tail; I never expected one to appear in the Cangyun Mountain Range!

"What's the deal with that great formation?" Wang Ping asked.

Yang Dong gave a bitter smile and said: "From the moment that Divine Transformation elder ancestor appeared, all news was cut off; we don't know either!"

Wang Ping fell silent; he himself was dazed—if even a Divine Transformation elder ancestor would take this matter seriously, how could a Qi Refining cultivator know? Not to mention Qi Refining, even Foundation Establishment or Golden Core cultivators probably wouldn't know!

"What does that have to do with your great battle?" Wang Ping asked again.

At that moment, Lou Yang finally gathered his courage and spoke again: "Since the Cangyun Mountain Range burst forth with astonishing spiritual qi, centered on the Cangyun Mountain Range, sporadic first-tier spirit veins began to appear; at first they attracted no notice, but when large numbers of first-tier spirit veins emerged, and even second-tier spirit veins showed up, the cultivators of the Refining Soul Palace realized something was off!"

"They once tried to seal the news, but unfortunately it eventually leaked; once the news spread throughout the Xichui region, within the Cangyun Mountain Range and its surrounding thousand-li area, over a hundred first-tier spirit veins and fifteen second-tier spirit veins had already appeared."

"This isn't even the most terrifying part!" Lou Yang gulped, a flicker of greed appearing in his eyes; fortunately he realized his situation, restrained his unsightly demeanor, and continued:

"From the onset of these changes until now, a full five years have passed, with spirit veins continually appearing; the battles back then were even more chaotic than now, later the alliance stepped in and enacted a series of regulations—basically, whoever discovers a spirit vein owns it, and no other cultivator may seize it!"

"After these regulations were established, although they did curb some disputes, they were not completely eradicated; for example, when two or three parties simultaneously discover a spirit vein, what then? Everyone wants the spirit vein, so naturally they settle it by duel!"

"That's why the Xichui region is in such chaos now!"

"What about the Refining Soul Palace then?" Wang Ping asked; Lou Yang and Yang Dong shook their heads in unison; finally Yang Dong replied: "I don't know why, but after the Cangyun battle, the Refining Soul Palace has been holed up in the Cangyun Mountain Range, never leaving; strangely, the sixteen True Persons from that time have also remained there year-round."

"Everyone is spreading the rumor that the Cangyun Mountain Range possesses a heaven-defying treasure."

Wang Ping nodded; he wasn't very interested in the so-called treasure, which was clearly beyond his reach.

Having understood the matter, a green light flashed on Wang Ping's body, and he already appeared in the sky.

Lou Yang and Yang Dong each had a bottle of medicine appear in their hands; upon opening it, their faces lit up with delight, and in unison they bowed toward the direction Wang Ping had left, expressing their thanks.