Rise of the Wang Clan: Starting with a Portable Farm

Chapter 184: Master Canghai

Sha Dingshan offered a contemptuous sneer. He slapped the Spirit Beast Bag at his waist, and a massive shadow erupted into the sky—a Two-Headed Python.

“A Tier 3 High-Grade Demon Beast? When did the Blazing Heaven Sect’s python advance to such a level?” True Monarch Baili’s face drained of color.

“Alas…”

A heavy sigh drifted down from the heavens. A gray-robed old man, possessing an ethereal, transcendent demeanor, materialized from the clouds.

This was Master Canghai, a notorious Rogue Cultivator of the Golden Core realm who roamed the South Sea. He belonged to no sect and held no allegiances, yet his strength was tyrannical, having reached the late Golden Core stage, his reputation was formidable.

He had struck a deal with the Qingyuan Sect and was forced to intervene. He had intended to launch a surprise attack halfway through the battle, but with the balance of power tipping, he had no choice but to reveal himself early.

“Fellow Daoist Canghai,” Sha Dingshan called out, his voice tight. “Do you truly intend to intervene today? Do you wish to make an enemy of my Blazing Heaven Sect?”

“Fellow Daoist Sha, this old man has his reasons. Say no more,” Master Canghai replied calmly. He had survived the treacherous South Sea for centuries; the threats of a mere Golden Core sect held no weight for him.

Sha Dingshan gritted his teeth in fury, but he was helpless to stop him.

BOOM!

At that moment, the Heavenly Thunder above finally finished condensing. A pillar of blinding lightning, thick as a temple column, crashed down toward the main peak of the Qingyuan Sect.

The explosion was deafening. Buildings on the peak were instantly reduced to rubble. Through the choking dust, Du Guangchao could be faintly seen sitting cross-legged in the center of the crater. He held a formation disk above his head with both hands, intercepting the brunt of the lightning’s fury. Only a fraction of the electricity filtered through the barrier, coursing into his body to temper his flesh and True Essence.

He now possessed power that transcended the Golden Core realm. As long as his True Essence survived the tempering of the Heavenly Thunder, he would emerge as a true Nascent Soul ancestor.

“Attack!” Sha Dingshan roared, seizing the moment. A Nascent Soul Tribulation typically involved between five and ten strikes. The more strikes Du Guangchao endured, the stronger he would become.

Master Canghai moved first, intercepting the troublesome Two-Headed Python. He had no intention of fighting to the death; instead, he fought a retreating engagement, slowly luring the beast away from the main battlefield.

Sha Dingshan shot a glance at Wen Ruixin. Wen Ruixin gave an imperceptible nod.

In the next heartbeat, both factions moved in unison. Ten streaks of light tore through the sky.

Sha Dingshan appeared to charge at True Monarch Baili, but halfway through his flight, he executed a violent turn, his momentum shifting entirely toward the Black Feather Eagle.

Simultaneously, Wen Ruixin abandoned his target, Jin Heng. He produced a pair of shimmering golden shears and dove at the eagle.

Their strategy was ruthless: clip the wings first.

The Black Feather Eagle was already engaged with one Golden Core cultivator. Now, facing a surprise pincer attack from a late-stage and a mid-stage Golden Core expert, it was doomed. Despite its natural speed, it could not evade such a coordinated blitz.

“No!” True Monarch Baili’s expression twisted in horror. He surged forward, desperate to intervene.

Whoosh!

A streak of fire cut across his path. True Monarch Baili was forced to halt and defend.

Zhu Neng stood in the void before him, gripping a long spear wreathed in fierce flames. He stared at Baili coldly, an immovable wall.

The delay was fatal.

It was a calculated massacre against an unsuspecting target. The Black Feather Eagle never stood a chance.

In a single exchange, accompanied by a miserable shriek, the eagle’s protective spiritual light shattered. The three enemy Golden Cores struck as one, their violent True Essence tearing the massive beast to shreds.

Blood rained down from the sky.

The entire engagement lasted only a split second—a flash of lightning, a breath of time.

The Black Feather Eagle, a beast with power comparable to a mid-stage Golden Core cultivator, was obliterated.

True Monarch Baili watched with eyes that threatened to split from rage. Fire attacked his heart. Without the eagle, their defensive line was shattered.

He crushed a secret pill between his teeth and swallowed it. His aura surged violently as he launched a frenzied assault against Sha Dingshan and Wen Ruixin.

“The struggle of a trapped beast!” Sha Dingshan sneered, meeting the attack head-on.

The sky became a cauldron of chaotic energy. Shockwaves rippled outward from the center of the clash, visible to the naked eye. The terrifying spiritual pressure of the Golden Core experts distorted the air itself, creating a mirage-like warping effect that left the low-level cultivators below frozen in terror.

Inside the transport airship, Wang Hao and the other Foundation Establishment cultivators were deathly silent. The Qingyuan Sect Elders piloting the vessels had stopped their advance. No one wanted to fly into a meat grinder.

“So this… is the might of the Golden Core realm…”

Even inside the shielded hull, Wang Hao felt a primal panic radiating from his soul. Initially, he could follow the battle, but as the Golden Core experts accelerated, the sky became a blur of blinding lights and sonic booms.

BOOM!

Another bolt of Heavenly Thunder crashed down. The formation disk in Du Guangchao’s hands shattered completely. Having endured two strikes, his aura climbed another step.

Just then, two massive warships breached the horizon. Hundreds of Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Blazing Heaven Sect poured out, launching a swarm of attacks against the Qingyuan Sect’s Grand Formation. The warships opened fire, their main cannons blasting pillars of light into the defensive barrier.

The Qingyuan Sect defenders retaliated, firing spells from within the array. Casualties mounted on both sides instantly.

“Not good! Retreat!” someone screamed, pointing at a warship cannon swiveling toward them.

It was too late. A beam of blinding light struck their airship. The protective shield flickered for a fraction of a second before shattering.

CRACK!

Alarm bells screamed in Wang Hao’s mind. He grabbed Wang Longyou and Li Derong, dragging them backward with frantic speed. In his rush, he slammed into several other cultivators, blasting them out of his way without a second thought.

Explosions tore the vessel apart. The airship disintegrated, sending Wang Hao and the others plummeting toward the earth like meteors.

Wang Hao’s brain rattled in his skull, but his superior Divine Sense kept him conscious. He scanned the chaos mid-fall, locating Wang Longyou and Li Derong nearby. He adjusted his trajectory, swooping down to grab them before crashing into the forest below.

Thud.

Dust billowed. Before they could recover, a Blazing Heaven Sect cultivator landed in front of them—a late-stage Foundation Establishment expert.

Nearby, a Qingyuan ally named Qian Jiatao was shouting, trying to rally the survivors. Wang Hao knew Qian Jiatao; he was a decent man from a vassal family.

The situation was chaotic, but it wasn’t time to flee blindly yet. Wang Hao injected two bursts of spiritual power into Li Derong and Wang Longyou to wake them, then flashed to Qian Jiatao’s side.

“Kill him!”

Seeing more enemies approaching from the distance, Wang Hao didn’t hesitate. He summoned his Magical Artifact and unleashed a torrent of attacks on the lone late-stage interceptor blocking their path.

The man never stood a chance. A late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator was not a Golden Core. Facing a concentrated barrage from Wang Hao and his allies, his defensive shields popped like bubbles.

In an instant, his body was blasted into several pieces.

The man had been arrogant, likely assuming the crash survivors were easy pickings. Greed for their Storage Bags had cost him his life.

“Move!”

Wang Hao led the group into the dense wilderness, relying on his “Virtue-Deficient Map” to navigate toward the most remote areas. The map was a lifesaver, allowing them to avoid high-level Demon Beasts, though it unfortunately couldn’t track cultivators.

Not long after, an eight-man squad piloting a small flying boat intercepted them.

“Take them down!” the Blazing Heaven Sect leader commanded.

Wang Hao scanned the surroundings. Aside from this squad, there were no other enemies nearby. If they didn’t end this quickly, they would be bogged down and surrounded.

He stopped holding back.

With a wave of his hand, a swarm of Magical Artifacts and Spirit Beasts flooded out.

Locking onto a mid-stage Foundation Establishment enemy, Wang Hao unleashed a mental spike.

“Soul-Splitting Awl!”

“Die!”