Rise of the Wang Clan: Starting with a Portable Farm

Chapter 183: Golden Core Verbal Battle

Wang Hao and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators watched the sky in stunned silence. The Qi Refining clansmen were faring far worse; several were trembling uncontrollably, their spirits crushed by the terrifying might of the brewing Heavenly Thunder.

The power of this Tribulation was simply too vast for them to comprehend, even from a thousand miles away.

Deep within a cave in the Broken Origin Mountain Range, the six Golden Core True Monarchs froze as they sensed the disturbance. They looked up in unison toward the direction of the Qingyuan Sect.

“The Tribulation has arrived,” Sha Dingshan said gravely. “Du Guangchao has reached the final step!”

As he spoke, his eyes burned with naked jealousy.

“The first Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Leizhou Peninsula… How could we not go and offer our congratulations?”

With that, he shot into the sky, transforming into a streak of light that tore toward the Qingyuan Sect. The three other Golden Core experts from the Blazing Heaven Sect followed close behind.

The two Golden Cores from the Infinite Palace exchanged a glance. They certainly did not wish for a Nascent Soul monster to appear right next door. War was inevitable. They nodded to each other. “As close neighbors, it is only proper that we attend.”

In an instant, six streaks of high-speed escape light pierced the horizon, followed by two massive warplanes carrying hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Inside a secluded cave dwelling at the peak of Qingyuan Mountain.

An old man in a cyan Daoist robe sat cross-legged. He possessed an air of transcendent immortality, yet his face was twisted in pain, as if he were battling an invisible nightmare.

This was Du Guangchao. He was currently fighting through the final and most dangerous phase of the breakthrough: the Inner Demon Tribulation.

If he survived this, the lightning above would finish condensing. After the baptism of thunder, he would emerge as a Nascent Soul ancestor. However, the path to heaven was paved with bones; most cultivators who attempted this step died right here, consumed by their own minds.

Suddenly, Du Guangchao’s body convulsed. His eyes snapped open, blazing with light.

At that exact moment, the Heavenly Thunder in the clouds finished brewing. A mysterious, heavenly lock clamped down on Du Guangchao’s position.

BOOM!

A thunderclap shattered the silence of the world.

The lightning did not strike immediately. The Heavens were cruel, but they followed rules; the tribulation gave the cultivator a brief window to prepare. Without this pause, a cultivator fresh from the Inner Demon trial—still mentally disoriented—would be instantly vaporized.

However, the locking mechanism released a shockwave of irresistible Heavenly Pressure that swept out in all directions. It weakened as it traveled, but its speed was blinding.

Even Wang Hao didn’t have time to react.

Thrum!

Fortunately, they were far enough away. Wang Hao gritted his teeth and barely withstood the impact.

His Qi Refining clansmen were not so lucky. Several of them vomited blood instantly and collapsed to the ground. Their faces were paper-white, their internal organs rattled by the shock.

Wang Hao rushed forward, channeling his spiritual power into their bodies to stabilize their chaotic Qi.

“Damn it!” Li Derong gazed into the distance, her eyes furious. “The Qingyuan Sect must have known the shockwave was coming. Why didn’t they warn us to defend ourselves?”

Wang Hao followed her gaze. He saw that the disciples of the Qingyuan Sect had already erected defensive barriers and were largely unaffected. In stark contrast, the Rogue Cultivators and vassal families lay scattered across the ground, groaning in pain.

Wang Hao’s expression turned cold. The Qingyuan Sect is practically begging for its own destruction.

They had paid a fortune to recruit these auxiliaries, only to cripple half of them through sheer negligence before the battle even began. But more than the physical damage, it was the message it sent that was truly chilling.

To the arrogant Qingyuan Sect, these people were just ants. Disposable fodder.

If such a sect produces a Nascent Soul cultivator, then the Heavens are truly blind.

Fortunately, the Pressure came and went quickly. Its primary target was Du Guangchao; after the initial wave, the lock was set. If it had pulsed two or three more times, even Wang Hao wouldn’t have been able to protect his people.

Just as Wang Hao was treating the injured, several streaks of light appeared on the horizon, screaming toward the mountain.

“They’re here.”

Wang Hao felt a perverse sense of relief. With the Blazing Heaven Sect arriving to crash the party, the Qingyuan Sect’s arrogant calculations were about to fall apart. As for whether the invaders would spare them later—that was a problem for later. A trash organization like the Qingyuan Sect, which treated its subordinates like garbage, didn’t deserve to exist.

He quietly sent a voice transmission to his clan and Li Derong: Protect yourselves first. Do not throw your lives away for them.

“All Foundation Establishment cultivators! Rally to me! Support the Sect!” A Qingyuan Sect Elder shouted from a floating warship.

Li Derong looked at Wang Hao, conflicted. “We have to go. We can’t openly defy an order.”

Wang Hao nodded. Even if the Qingyuan Sect’s Golden Core patriarchs died today, they still had hundreds of Foundation Establishment disciples. The Wang family couldn’t afford to offend them yet. On the surface, they had to play the loyal vassal.

The Foundation Establishment cultivators gathered quickly, boarding the Elder’s flying boat. They sped toward the main peak. At this distance, it would take them about half an hour to arrive.

High above the mountain, True Monarch Baili and True Monarch Jin Heng stood in the void, their gazes sharp as they faced the six incoming enemies.

“Fellow Daoist Sha,” True Monarch Baili called out, his voice projecting across the sky. “Although our two sects have had grievances, those are in the past. If the Leizhou Peninsula births a Nascent Soul cultivator, the status of our entire region will rise. This benefits you as well. Why must we fight?”

Sha Dingshan snorted coldly. “Pretty words. The benefits will belong to your Qingyuan Sect, while we will be reduced to running dogs. Who wants their fate held in another man’s hand?”

He paused, his eyes narrowing. “If Fellow Daoist Baili truly wants peace, tell Du Guangchao to stop his breakthrough. Then, we can sit down and talk.”

True Monarch Baili did not give up. Although he had prepared trump cards, his old injuries hadn’t fully healed. He wasn’t strong enough to fight six Golden Core experts at once.

“I can guarantee it,” Baili pressed. “If you withdraw now, the Qingyuan Sect will never wage war against you. We will even overlook the territories you seized from us previously. I give you my word!”

“Old Man Baili, stop stalling,” Sha Dingshan sneered. “How can one allow another to snore beside one’s own bed? Today, I will not let Du Guangchao succeed.”

“You have some nerve!” Baili roared, his facade cracking. “Sha Dingshan, do you truly want a fight to the death? A fish dies and the net breaks? Fine! I will grant your wish!”

However, he still tried to buy time, turning his desperate gaze to the two cultivators from the Infinite Palace. “Wen Ruixin! For centuries, our sects have kept to our own paths. If you withdraw today, I will pretend this never happened.”

His voice boomed like thunder, audible even to Wang Hao on the approaching flying boat.

“Hmph.” Wen Ruixin’s expression remained flat. “Your Qingyuan Sect acts like a tyrant. You monopolize trade routes, bully your neighbors, and exploit your subordinates. It is against the laws of Heaven. I am merely acting on Heaven’s behalf to liberate tens of thousands of suffering cultivators. If you surrender now and force Old Man Du to stop, we might spare your life.”

Listening from the deck, Wang Hao couldn’t help but nod in agreement. The hypocrite actually makes a good point. The Qingyuan Sect needs a lesson.

“Hahahaha!” True Monarch Baili laughed, his beard and hair dancing wildly in the wind. “Inverting black and white! Despicable! I have never seen such brazen shamelessness!”

“A dying man doesn’t need to get angry, Fellow Daoist Wen,” Sha Dingshan laughed coldly. “Once we take down the Qingyuan Sect, won’t he be at your mercy to torture as you please?”

“Let’s see if you have the ability!”

True Monarch Baili’s face twisted with hatred. He slapped the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist.

Flash!

Two beams of golden light shot into the air, manifesting as a giant black eagle and a massive green turtle.

They were both Tier 3 Spirit Beasts!

The creatures expanded rapidly, growing until they were the size of small hills, casting vast shadows over the mountain.

“A Tier 3 Black Feather Eagle? And a Mystic Water Turtle?” Wen Ruixin identified them immediately, his brow furrowing.

They had expected resistance, but two Tier 3 Middle-Grade Spirit Beasts were a nasty surprise. Beasts at this level possessed human-like intelligence and bodies far tougher than cultivators. They were often harder to kill than a Golden Core human of the same rank.

It was now six against four. The invaders still held the advantage, but breaking through this defense line before Du Guangchao finished his breakthrough would be far more difficult than they anticipated.