Wang Yaoliang

Wang Yaoliang was sixty years old this year. He had a Triple Spirit Root and had been a key member of the Lineage's cultivation efforts in his youth. Among his peers, he ranked ninth.

Unfortunately, he had failed to reach the Ninth Level of Qi Refining before the age of forty, missing the best time for Foundation Establishment.

At the time, Wang Yaozong had already cultivated to the Ninth Level of Qi Refining and was the most gifted member of the Yao generation.

The Lineage's resources were insufficient to support two members in attempting Foundation Establishment. After the Clan Elders deliberated, they decided to let Wang Yaozong attempt Foundation Establishment first.

To everyone's surprise, Wang Yaozong handed the Foundation Establishment Pill to Wang Yaoliang before everyone's eyes. Wang Yaoliang was deeply moved.

Wang Yaozong's aptitude was even better than Wang Yaoliang's, and he had a greater chance of Foundation Establishment. Wang Yaoliang tossed and turned all night before finally returning the Foundation Establishment Pill to Wang Yaozong.

The Foundation Establishment Pill, which the Lineage had spent a fortune to acquire at auction, was then given to Wang Yaozong.

Wang Yaozong did not disappoint his clansmen either, successfully advancing into the Foundation Establishment Realm.

Later, even better seedlings emerged within the Lineage. Knowing that his own chances of Foundation Establishment were slim, and seeing that his grandson had decent aptitude, Wang Yaoliang gave up all hope of Foundation Establishment and saved the cultivation resources distributed by the Lineage for his grandson.

Wang Yaoliang had three grandsons. The most talented was Wang Changping. Wang Changping was fifteen this year, and his Wood Spirit Root had a sensitivity of sixty-five. Among the Chang generation of the Wang Family, his aptitude was above average. He had already reached the Fifth Level of Qi Refining and ranked fourteenth.

When Wang Changping was eight, his father was killed while escorting goods home. Wang Yaoliang brought Wang Changping to live with him and carefully raised him.

Wang Yaoliang loved Wang Changping dearly. He usually pinched pennies and would not spend a single Spirit Stone on himself, but whenever Wang Changping needed Cultivation Resources, so long as Wang Yaoliang could afford them, he would not so much as furrow his brow before immediately taking out Spirit Stones to buy the resources Wang Changping needed.

Because the Profound Gold Mine was extremely important, Wang Yaozong had Wang Yaoliang personally escort the mined Mystic Gold Ore.

Wang Yaoliang received somewhat more Cultivation Resources each month for escorting the Mystic Gold Ore. He was a cautious man. Although Peaceful County was their own territory, every time he escorted Mystic Gold Ore back to Azure Lotus Mountain, he remained extremely careful. His departure times were irregular, and his routes were never fixed, all to prevent anyone from lying in ambush along the way.

Early one morning, while the sky was still a gray haze, Wang Yaoliang quietly left the Quarry with three clansmen.

He did not use the Cloud Soaring Technique, as that would have drawn too much attention.

The Quarry was not far from Guanglin County. Guangling County was Song Family territory in Pingyang Prefecture. According to reports from clansmen in Green Stone Town, many unfamiliar faces had appeared in town recently. They were all asking about the Quarry, clearly indicating that the Song Family had discovered something unusual about it.

There was no helping it. The Profound Gold Mine was too important. If they did not set up a Formation and mine it, someone would inevitably dig there in secret, causing even greater losses.

Wang Yaoliang had already notified Wang Mingyuan to send reinforcements as soon as possible.

After leaving the Quarry, Wang Yaoliang and the other three clansmen joined hands and began chanting under their breaths.

Before long, yellow light lit up around their bodies. The four spun rapidly and vanished into the earth.

Upper Grade Elementary Spell, Earth Escape Technique. It could descend as deep as fifty zhang underground.

More than a hundred zhang from the Quarry, yellow light suddenly flashed behind a Yellow Giant Stone, revealing a Middle-Aged Man in a yellow robe.

The Middle-Aged Man's yellow robe looked ordinary, but if anyone swept it with divine sense, they would absolutely fail to discover his presence.

"They've finally escorted the ore away?"

The Middle-Aged Man muttered to himself, pulling a palm-sized Yellow Toad from his robes.

The Yellow Toad was covered in pustules and looked exceedingly ugly.

He curled his five fingers inward and gripped the Yellow Toad.

The Yellow Toad let out a strange cry as its body rapidly expanded.

He put away the Yellow Toad. Yellow light gleamed around his body as he sank into the ground and disappeared.

Less than half an hour later, in a dense forest, a patch of ground abruptly bulged upward. Bursts of yellow light flickered from it, as though something were about to bore out from underground.

With a muffled boom, Wang Yaoliang and three clansmen emerged from the earth.

"Rest for a while, then continue onward."

Wang Yaoliang waved his hand and gave the order.

For the sake of safety, Wang Yaoliang planned to use the Earth Escape Technique all the way back to Azure Lotus Mountain. It would take longer, but it was safer.

Wang Yaoliang walked beneath a Sky-Reaching Tree, took out some dry rations, and began to eat.

Suddenly, his brows furrowed. He turned toward a distant tree and shouted, "Who's hiding there? Get the hell out here!"

After saying that, his lips moved several times. A hazy blue light screen appeared tightly around him, while the other three clansmen also cast protective barriers around themselves.

"Haha, I never expected that merely using a trace of spiritual power would let Fellow Daoist Wang discover me. No wonder they had Fellow Daoist Wang escort the ore."

A somewhat mocking voice suddenly rang out.

As the voice fell, five men dressed in black stepped out from behind several trees.

The five wore identical black clothing, their faces covered with black cloth. Their eyes were filled with ruthless malice.

One was at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer, while four were at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining.

Wang Yaoliang inwardly cried out in alarm, but his expression remained calm as he said, "What do you five fellow Daoists mean by this? I am a member of the Azure Lotus Mountain Wang Family. Might I ask how I have offended you?"

"Hehe, offense is not the word for it. But Fellow Daoist Wang has something we want. If you know what's good for you, hand it over obediently."

The leading man in black chuckled.

Wang Yaoliang's brows creased slightly as he sneered, "Just the lot of you? What a joke. Do you truly think Wang fears you?"

"Hmph, what if you add us to the count?"

A somewhat hoarse voice sounded.

A huge White Cloud descended from the sky, and ten masked cultivators dressed in black stepped down from it.

There were fifteen Qi Refining Stage cultivators in total: three at the Qi Refining Eighth Layer and twelve at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining. On Wang Yaoliang's side, aside from Wang Yaoliang at the Ninth Level of Qi Refining, the remaining three clansmen were only at the Fifth Level of Qi Refining. The disparity in strength was immense.

"Stop wasting words with them. Attack. We have important business to attend to!"

A cold female voice rang out.

Wang Yaoliang inwardly cried out in alarm. He hurriedly took out a Silver Talisman, muttered several words under his breath, and threw it toward Azure Lotus Mountain.

"Not good! Stop that Sound Transmission Talisman!"

A tall man in black urgently shouted the order, but it was already too late.

The instant the Silver Talisman left his hand, it transformed into a dazzling Silver Light and shot toward the horizon at incredible speed.

"End this quickly. Kill them."

The men in black all brought out Spirit Tools and charged toward Wang Yaoliang's group of four.

Wang Yaoliang reacted quickly. At the same time the men in black brought out their Spirit Tools, he took out seven blue Talismans and tossed them in every direction.

The seven blue Talismans exploded as soon as they left his hand. A vast amount of White Mist surged forth, shrouding an area of a hundred zhang around them.

Double updates will resume on Sunday.