Rise of the Wang Clan: Starting with a Portable Farm

After a mere two hours of respite, the cultivators of Maple Leaf Market returned to the front lines, launching yet another assault on the Grand Formation.

For cultivators, darkness was no hindrance; night and day were one and the same. Moreover, the brilliant flashes of exploding spells illuminated the battlefield, casting a stark, flickering glare over the mountainside that rivaled the noon sun.

The loss of a Foundation Establishment expert in the previous round had taught Maple Leaf Market a painful lesson. They abandoned their strategy of attacking from all four cardinal directions. Instead, they reorganized into three distinct assault teams, each bolstered by five or six Foundation Establishment experts and over two hundred Qi Refining disciples.

They intended to repeat their old trick—using an Array Breaking Talisman to tear open a breach.

As soon as the gap opened, cultivators from the other two teams split off to reinforce the breakthrough point. In the blink of an eye, eight Foundation Establishment experts surged into the perimeter of the Grand Formation.

But they had walked right into a trap.

The Wang and Li families were waiting. Wang Hao had gathered every single Foundation Establishment cultivator to this one spot, leaving the other directions completely undefended. It was a desperate gamble: even if the enemy broke the formation elsewhere, Wang Hao intended to crush this specific group first. Once this vanguard was decimated, the remaining enemy forces would lack the strength to wipe out the defenders.

The moment the Grand Formation shuddered violently and the breach appeared, Wang Hao sat cross-legged on the ground. With a calm expression, he retrieved the Talisman Treasure engraved with a small golden sword.

Wang Longyou immediately activated the Five Elements Entrapment Formation, raising a barrier to separate the eight intruders from their main force outside, buying Wang Hao the precious seconds he needed. The other defenders formed a tight protective circle around Wang Hao, guarding against any sudden interruptions.

Wang Hao was no longer the novice he had been. Now at the mid-stage of Foundation Establishment, his True Essence was far more robust than when he had first activated a Talisman Treasure.

He poured his spiritual power into the parchment. In an instant, a blindingly brilliant golden longsword shot out from the talisman, locking onto its target with terrifying precision: Ji Shuguang.

The envoy from the Burning Heaven Sect had just rushed through the breach when the lock took hold.

The speed of the golden sword was beyond comprehension. A sonic boom tore through the clouds, the screech of parting air instantly suppressing the chaotic sounds of battle. Every cultivator from Maple Leaf Market who had entered the formation froze, their souls trembling under the pressure.

Ji Shuguang, a man of broad horizons and deep experience, recognized the aura immediately. His face twisted in horror.

“Not good! It’s a Talisman Treasure! Retreat!”

He screamed the warning and didn’t wait for a reply, immediately channeling his escape light to flee back the way he came.

The other Foundation Establishment cultivators were not slow to react. Facing a Talisman Treasure—an item containing the strike of a Golden Core ancestor—who would dare to stand their ground? They all wished they had grown an extra pair of legs, burning their blood essence to flee desperately toward the exit.

But how could a strike at the Golden Core level be so easily evaded?

Ji Shuguang had barely turned his body when the golden sword arrived. In a panic, he summoned a defensive Magical Artifact, but it was futile. Before the artifact could even expand to its full size, the golden sword shattered it into dust.

Ji Shuguang had no time for a second move.

Thwack!

The golden light pierced through his chest as if he were made of paper. He froze, his eyes losing their light, his body charred black by the residual energy. He plummeted from the sky, thoroughly dead.

The golden sword did not stop.

Under Wang Hao’s relentless control, the weapon swerved and locked onto Ye Jingshan.

Wang Hao had fought Ye Jingshan before and knew the man was slippery. If he wasn’t eliminated now, the morale of the Maple Leaf Market forces wouldn’t break.

Sensing the Talisman Treasure turning toward him, Ye Jingshan felt his soul fleeing his body in terror. He threw up every defensive measure he possessed, but against the crushing power of the golden sword, they were as fragile as eggshells.

In his final moments, his desperate eyes were filled with confusion and bitterness.

Why? Why does Wang Hao have so many treasures?

It was one thing to have more Spirit Weapons. But Puppets? Spirit Beasts? And now a Talisman Treasure? If Ye Jingshan had known the Wang family possessed such a deep foundation, he would never have come to court his own death.

The sword flashed, and Ye Jingshan was erased from the world.

After claiming two lives, the golden radiance of the sword dimmed significantly. It could not last much longer. Wang Hao gritted his teeth and directed the fading blade toward the nearest Foundation Establishment cultivator from the Cui family.

This man had slaughtered several Wang clan members during the day. It was time for retribution.

The Cui cultivator’s strength was far inferior to Ji Shuguang or Ye Jingshan. Even though the golden sword’s power was nearly spent, he could not escape its judgment.

With a final flash, the sword pierced him, claiming a third life.

Its energy finally exhausted, the golden projection dissipated into motes of light in the night sky. Simultaneously, the parchment talisman in Wang Hao’s hand let out a soft pfft and ignited, burning to ash in his palm.

In a matter of seconds, the invaders had lost two late-stage and one mid-stage Foundation Establishment expert. The remaining five intruders were now hopelessly outmatched.

Although Wang Hao had drained most of his True Essence to power the Talisman Treasure and could barely fight, his arsenal was far from empty. His Spirit Beasts and Puppets were fresh, ready to coordinate with Wang Longyou and the others to slaughter the survivors.

“Don’t panic! The Wang family’s Talisman Treasure is spent!”

Xu Minglang, the only remaining late-stage Foundation Establishment expert on the field, stepped forward to stem the rout. His voice boomed over the chaos. “Stabilize your positions! Support from our fellow Daoists is coming!”

Hearing Xu Minglang’s shout, the panic in the enemy ranks subsided slightly. They saw that Wang Hao’s hands were indeed empty. A collective sigh of relief washed over them. It wasn’t that they were cowards; they simply had no way to counter a Golden Core-level attack. To charge into certain death was not bravery, but stupidity.

But now that the ultimate weapon was gone, their courage returned. They began barking orders, commanding their Qi Refining clansmen to form battle arrays.

Li Derong didn’t give them a moment to breathe. She locked onto an early-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator from Maple Leaf Market.

Over the years, she had followed Wang Hao on countless hunts for demonic beasts. Her combat instincts were razor-sharp, and her natural talent was formidable. Though only at the third layer of Foundation Establishment, she had no fear of mid-stage opponents.

She thrust her sword forward, forcing her target into a hasty defense.

But this was war, not a duel. There was no honor here.

With a thought from Wang Hao, Yaya and the Phantom Moon Butterfly launched a synchronized ambush on Li Derong’s opponent.

The enemy cultivator had barely steadied himself. His formation wasn’t set, his position was exposed, and suddenly he was beset on all sides. How could he possibly defend?

A momentary lapse in concentration allowed the Phantom Moon Butterfly’s scales to take effect. He plunged into an illusion, his eyes glazing over.

Li Derong did not hesitate. Abandoning any pretense of gentlemanly conduct, she swept her flying sword across his neck.

A head flew into the air.

This rapid succession of deaths stunned the remaining Maple Leaf Market cultivators. They had ascended the mountain expecting to slaughter the defenders, but before they could even warm up, half their leadership lay dead.

The balance of power had violently shifted. The Wang family now fielded ten Foundation Establishment experts and over a hundred Qi Refining disciples. The attackers were reduced to four experts and two hundred disciples.

Reinforcements from the other two teams were struggling to break through the obstacles. Would they arrive in time to save anyone?

It was a massacre. Li Derong and the others each picked a target. Wang Hao stood at the back, recovering his Qi while micromanaging his beasts and puppets to launch vicious sneak attacks. The Wang family’s Qi Refining disciples utilized the defensive arrays to rain spells upon the exposed enemy infantry.

Shouts of killing and screams of agony filled the night.

A quarter of an hour later, the Five Elements Entrapment Formation finally collapsed. The remaining enemy forces from outside surged in, but they were too late.

On the field, only Xu Minglang and a handful of shell-shocked Qi Refining disciples remained standing. Every survivor was wounded, their spiritual power exhausted, their morale shattered. They were like lamps with no oil left to burn.

Even with the reinforcements, Maple Leaf Market now had only twelve Foundation Establishment cultivators left in total. The Wang and Li alliance still had ten, supported by Second-Rank Spirit Beasts and Puppets. In terms of high-end combat power, the defenders were no longer at a disadvantage.

Sure, the invaders still had double the number of Qi Refining fodder, and the defenders had lost their formation advantage. But to win now? Maple Leaf Market would have to pay a price in blood that no family could afford.

Half of them would likely die here. Was it worth it?

The surviving Foundation Establishment cultivators exchanged glances. The realization hit them hard: in the span of a single incense stick, they had lost seven experts—nearly forty percent of their total strength. The advantage was gone.

Xu Minglang retreated rapidly into the center of his formation. He swallowed a healing pill to suppress his internal injuries and gritted his teeth.

“Withdraw,” he rasped, his voice heavy with defeat. “Elder Ji is dead. Are we going to sacrifice our entire families for a ghost?”

The question silenced the group. They had come for profit, for resources. How had it turned into a meat grinder?

Wang Hao, riding atop the giant multicolor bat Yaya, flew to the front lines. The Green Light Sword in his hand pulsed with spiritual energy, and his gaze was as sharp as a hawk’s.

“If you want to fight, then fight!” Wang Hao’s voice rang out, cold and unyielding. “My Wang family will accompany you to the bitter end! But if you Fellow Daoists wish to retreat… I will not stop you.”

The cultivators of Maple Leaf Market looked ugly. Their faces flushed with humiliation and rage, but their feet did not move forward.

They knew that continuing this battle would yield no victory, only mutual destruction. And with the Lei, Zhao, and Cheng families watching from the sidelines like tigers stalking prey, a pyrrhic victory was as good as suicide.