Rise of the Wang Clan: Starting with a Portable Farm

Chapter 275: Yang Lu of the Setting Sun Sect

Wang Hao concluded his trade and stepped back. Liao Chengzong immediately rose, striding to the center table to display a dozen items—Demon Beast materials, demon cores, Pills, talismans, and Magical Artifacts.

“I require the essence blood of a Flood Dragon or a Rank Two High Grade demon python. Rank Two spirit wine is also acceptable!” Liao announced, shooting an expectant glance at the Sun family cultivator who had just traded with Wang Hao.

Silence answered him.

A green-robed cultivator from the Setting Sun Sect stood up. “Fellow Daoist Liao, I have my eye on that fang. I do not possess the specific items you request; might we negotiate an alternative exchange?”

“I lack for nothing else,” Liao Chengzong refused flatly, waving a dismissive hand. “Essence blood or spirit wine. Nothing less.”

Wang Hao retrieved two jars of Purple Crystal Grape Wine, setting them onto the table with a heavy thud. “Fellow Daoist Liao, I came across this Rank Two spirit wine by chance. See if it suits your palate. A Rank Two talisman and that ice-attribute demon core will suffice.”

Liao Chengzong unsealed a jar and took a shallow sniff. The stern lines of his face instantly melted into a greedy smile. “Not bad. A fifty-year vintage, at the very least. The grade is slightly lacking, however. Throw in another half-jar, Fellow Daoist Wang, and the core is yours.”

The ice-attribute core in Liao’s possession was only Rank Two Middle Grade, but its market value eclipsed ordinary cores. More importantly, Little White needed it. Pragmatic as always, Wang Hao gave a curt nod and sealed the deal.

When no one else stepped forward, Liao Chengzong snatched up the wine jars and retreated to his seat. Abandoning all pretense of cultivator dignity, he greedily poured the vintage down his throat, thoroughly enamored with the spirit wine.

The exchange meeting continued. Cultivators took the floor one by one, presenting a dizzying array of goods: rare alchemy and forging materials, esoteric talismans, and peculiar oddities that broadened the horizons of the Wang clan.

Success and failure flowed in equal measure. Wang Hao watched with a calculating eye, though nothing else tempted him to open his purse. Beside him, Wang Wenyan and the others managed to secure a few useful talismans and Magical Artifacts.

A quarter of an hour later, a green-robed cultivator from the Setting Sun Sect stepped forward. He arranged over a dozen items before him. “I am seeking high-grade spirit water. Rank Three is ideal; Rank Two will suffice. In return, I offer the eggs of various rare spirit insects. Several rank quite highly on the Heaven and Earth Rare Insect Ranking. Maturing even one would provide considerable martial assistance.”

The Setting Sun Sect was infamous for its mastery over insect taming; a single disciple often controlled swarms of them.

Wang Hao’s gaze locked onto a specific cluster of eggs—the Earth-Devouring Spirit Earthworm. These insects were notoriously easy to breed, feeding purely on withered leaves and rotting roots. Their waste produced high-quality spirit soil, and their burrowing naturally aerated spirit fields.

The Wang clan was in desperate need of fertile spirit soil. This was a perfect opportunity.

However, Rank Three spirit water was exceptionally rare. Several cultivators approached the man, attempting to barter with alternative treasures, but all were unceremoniously turned away. Wang Hao remained seated, his expression impassive. If he were willing to accept other goods, he wouldn’t be standing up there now, Wang Hao mused, waiting for the murmurs of the crowd to die down.

Only when the stage remained empty did Wang Hao finally rise. He retrieved a small vial of heavily diluted Rank Three spirit water. The original source, plundered from the Dan Ding Sect, was an astonishing Rank Three High Grade. Wang Hao always diluted it for his own use, and he certainly wasn’t about to hand over the pure essence for a handful of mundane insect eggs.

“Fellow Daoist,” Wang Hao said, his voice even. “This is spirit water I use for alchemy. I offer it for ten Earth-Devouring Spirit Earthworm eggs. Does this meet your standard?”

He flicked the stopper off the vial. A dense, pure wave of spiritual energy instantly saturated the air, drawing sharp intakes of breath from the surrounding cultivators.

The man’s eyes ignited with naked hunger. “I am Yang Lu. Dare I ask, Fellow Daoist, what exact type of spirit water is this?”

Wang Hao shook his head, feigning mild ignorance. “I couldn’t say. I acquired it from a Rogue Cultivator in Wanxiang City. Once diluted, it serves as an excellent catalyst for alchemy.”

Rank Three spirit water rivaled Rank Three Spirit Pills in value. Even heavily diluted, this tiny vial commanded a price of at least four or five thousand Spirit Stones.

“Fellow Daoist Wang!” a voice barked from the crowd. “I have a four-hundred-year-old Fulong Vine! Trade the water to me!”

“Fellow Daoist Wang, I offer a Rank Two Pill formula! Surely your esteemed clan requires such heritage. Give the water to me!”

Greed flared within the hall as cultivators lunged at the opportunity, their polite facades cracking.

Panic flashed across Yang Lu’s face. He immediately fired off a frantic telepathic transmission. “Fellow Daoist Wang, do you possess more of this water? I will give you as many of these eggs as you desire!”

Wang Hao kept his face expressionless, replying via transmission. “There are too many eyes and ears in this hall, Fellow Daoist Yang. Let us speak in private once the meeting concludes.”

The eggs Yang Lu displayed were merely functional; Wang Hao had no real desire for them. If the Setting Sun Sect cultivator didn’t possess a truly hidden treasure, Wang Hao had zero intention of wasting further resources on him.

“Excellent. I shall await your summons!” Yang Lu replied, his relief palpable. Eager to secure Wang Hao’s goodwill, he completely abandoned any haggling. He handed over the requested eggs, tossed in two extra Earth-Devouring Spirit Earthworm eggs as a ‘gift,’ and rapidly detailed their incubation requirements.

Seeing the transaction finalize, the surrounding cultivators groaned in disappointment. One man, unwilling to let it go, pressed, “Fellow Daoist Wang, do you truly have no more Rank Three spirit water? I am willing to pay an exorbitant sum!”

Wang Hao offered a practiced, apologetic bow, perfectly masking his true intentions. “My deepest apologies, everyone. As I said, I acquired that vial entirely by chance. Our Wang clan is new to these waters, and our reserves of spirit soil are severely lacking. The Earth-Devouring Spirit Earthworms were a necessity we could not pass up. My hands are tied today.”

The crowd sighed, accepting the lie. Rank Three spirit water was a legendary commodity; it would be far more suspicious if a newly arrived clan leader possessed it in bulk.

After Yang Lu stepped down, a few stragglers took the stage. Once the flow of items ceased, Wang Hao formally closed the gathering.

“Do not forget the welcoming banquet the day after tomorrow, Fellow Daoists! Use these next two days to explore Giant Turtle Island and enjoy the scenery!”

Sending one final, covert transmission to Yang Lu, Wang Hao swept out of the great hall and returned to his private quarters.

An hour later, Zou Yu escorted Yang Lu to the summit of Haoran Peak.

Yang Lu was a cultivator at the seventh layer of Foundation Establishment, holding a respectable degree of authority within the Setting Sun Sect. His true wealth, however, was a secret. Years ago, while exploring the collapsed cave dwelling of a fallen senior expert, he had unearthed two incredibly rare insect eggs: the Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada.

Ranking eighth on the Heaven and Earth Rare Insect Ranking, the Soul-Devouring Golden Cicada possessed terrifying lethal potential. As its name suggested, it specialized in obliterating the souls of its enemies. Crucially, it did not risk its own spiritual essence to do so; it weaponized sound waves. Even if a target successfully defended against the attack, the cicada suffered zero backlash.

It was a devastating trump card—the kind of supreme treasure that even Nascent Soul cultivators would slaughter each other to obtain.

Yang Lu intimately understood the idiom ‘harboring a treasure is a death sentence.’ He had kept the eggs a total secret, hiding them even from his own Sect elders.

He had spent years attempting to incubate the cicadas, failing at every turn. The more heaven-defying a spirit insect’s combat prowess, the more agonizingly difficult it was to hatch. Poring over ancient, forbidden texts, Yang Lu eventually discovered that soaking the eggs in high-grade spirit water drastically stimulated their dormant vitality. Thus began his desperate, years-long hunt for the resource.

The diluted vial he had just purchased from Wang Hao was simply not enough. He was terrified that a partial dosage would ruin the incubation of both eggs. He needed more, and he was willing to gamble his hidden reserves to get it.

He knew Wang Hao hadn’t been genuinely impressed by the mundane insects at the exchange meeting. But Yang Lu was confident. He had true treasures hidden in his robes, and he knew a pragmatic man like Wang Hao would be unable to resist the bait.