Chapter 4900

Jinjiao Ridge was once the territory of the Beiming family. After the Beiming family was wiped out, Jinjiao Ridge fell into the hands of other forces. After several transfers, Jinjiao Ridge is now the Wang family's territory.

Jinjiao Ridge is one of the Wang family's strongholds in the interior, stretching for thousands of miles. It possesses a sixth-tier spiritual vein, over a hundred miles long, abundant in spiritual energy. The Wang family's stronghold at Jinjiao Ridge was an expansive estate, featuring exotic flowers and rare plants, waterwheel corridors, and elegant pavilions and towers.

Over a thousand cultivators from the Wang family were stationed here, cultivating ironwood and spiritual herbs. Wang Zonglang and Wang Lihe were in charge of overseeing this location, as the younger generation of the family had matured and begun to take on important responsibilities.

The Tianji Sect, founded by Divine Monarch Tianji, was renowned throughout the Xuanling Continent for its automaton and mechanism techniques. Its legacy stretched back over seventy thousand years, and at its peak, it boasted six Integration Stage cultivators, unmatched in prestige. The Tianji Sect had suffered several great calamities. Its Integration Stage cultivators had either perished under the Grand Heavenly Tribulation or been killed by foreign races. Thousands of years ago, when Reverend Tianji advanced to the Integration Stage, the Tianji Sect revived and has been flourishing ever since.

The Wang family's influence in this region is far less than that of the Tianji Sect. As the saying goes, 'one mountain cannot accommodate two tigers.' By establishing a stronghold here, the Wang family naturally squeezed the living space of other forces. Over time, friction with the Tianji Sect was inevitable. Fortunately, both the Tianji Sect and the Wang family exercised restraint, and disputes among the younger generations were kept within certain limits.

Wang Lihe sat in a stone pavilion, listening to a fair-faced middle-aged man reporting the situation. "Restrain our family members; there's no need to engage in direct conflict with the Tianji Sect unnecessarily," Wang Lihe cautioned, his expression grave.

Wang Youxin is a descendant of Wang Mousen. He possesses dual Golden Fire spirit roots. Previously, he cultivated the 'Blazing Heaven Saber Scripture' but has now switched to the 'Eight Desolations Demon Slaying Spirit Scripture.' The family has over a hundred thousand members. After Liu Hongxue refined the Nine Dragon Pills, the number of well-qualified family members significantly increased. There are no fewer than thirty dual spirit root family members, and among Wang Mousen's descendants alone, there are four dual spirit root individuals. He values Wang Youxin highly.

"By the way, where is Youxin?" Wang Lihe casually asked, recalling something.

"He's been stuck at the Mid-Spirit Transformation stage for many years. He went with Youyun and a few others to the Leijiu Mountain Range to hunt demon beasts, hoping to break through his bottleneck," the middle-aged man explained.

"Understood, you may go and attend to your duties!" Wang Lihe said.

"Yes, Ancestor Lihe," the middle-aged man replied, and then left.

Deep within the Leijiu Mountain Range, which stretches for tens of thousands of miles, a narrow valley echoed with a tremendous explosion, shaking the very ground. Two sixth-tier Golden Thunder Doves once appeared here, wreaking havoc in the area. A Void Refinement cultivator from the Tianji Sect intervened and eliminated them. The rich demon beast resources here attract many high-tier cultivators to hunt.

A mournful cry pierced the air as a giant, entirely green owl flew out of the valley, its body covered in blood, shedding a large number of feathers. It had flown barely ten miles when a golden-red blade qi shot out from the valley, heading straight for the giant green owl. The golden-red blade qi was hundreds of feet long. Wherever it passed, more than a dozen small hilltops were sliced in half, raising clouds of dust.

The golden-red blade qi was incredibly fast, appearing before the giant green owl in just a few blinks. The giant green owl opened its mouth and spat out a beam of green light. At the same time, it fiercely flapped its wings, unleashing a swirling green hurricane to meet the golden-red blade qi. Neither the green light nor the green hurricane could stop the golden-red blade qi. After a mournful cry, the golden-red blade qi sliced the giant green owl in half. As a mini green owl spirit barely left the body, a yellow-glowing gourd descended from the sky. It spewed a stream of yellow mist, enveloped the mini green owl, and pulled it into the yellow gourd, making it vanish.

Five cultivators, four men and one woman, flew out from the valley. Leading them was a tall young man in red robes. The red-robed youth had sharp, sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes. In his hand, he held a golden-red long blade with flame-like spiritual patterns on its surface, constantly shimmering with light.

Wang Youxin, at the Mid-Spirit Transformation stage, was a fifth-tier artifact craftsman and also a saber cultivator. If he hadn't been stuck at a bottleneck, with his talent and status, he wouldn't have needed to come here to hunt demon beasts.

A yellow-skirted girl with a round face and large eyes stood beside Wang Youxin. Her skin was as white as snow, and tens of thousands of silver-sheathed insects flew ceaselessly around her. Wang Youyun, also at the Mid-Spirit Transformation stage, cultivated an earth-attribute cultivation technique.

"We finally dealt with this demon beast; it almost got away," Wang Youyun said with a wide smile.

Wang Youxin nodded, about to speak, when the ground in the distance bulged up, and a small, entirely white mink emerged from underground. The white mink was covered in blood and appeared to be injured.

"A Snow Cloud Mink!"

Wang Youxin became interested. Snow Cloud Minks have keen senses of smell, are skilled at finding spiritual herbs, and have gentle dispositions, making them highly favored by female cultivators—perfect as gifts. The Snow Cloud Mink before them was a lower fifth-tier creature. Sensing something amiss, its body glowed with a bright yellow light, and it burrowed back underground.

"Chase it, don't let it get away!"

Wang Youxin hastily put away the giant green owl's corpse. Wang Youyun then cast an earth-burrowing spell, leading them in pursuit. A thousand zhang beneath the ground, an earthy-yellow light barrier enveloped the five of them. Wang Youxin's divine sense locked onto the Snow Cloud Mink, which was about a hundred miles away.

"Speed up! I want to capture this demon beast alive and give it to Ruyi," Wang Youxin urged them, as he was currently pursuing a female cultivator from an immortal cultivation family.

Wang Youyun quickly performed a hand seal, accelerating their burrowing speed. The Snow Cloud Mink moved deeper underground, moving very fast. Three thousand zhang, five thousand zhang, ten thousand zhang – the five of them, led by Wang Youxin, pursued relentlessly.

More than an hour later, Wang Youxin was surprised to find that the Snow Cloud Mink had vanished into thin air. His divine sense couldn't detect its presence, which was indeed peculiar. Either the Snow Cloud Mink had mastered another escape technique, instantly traveling over a thousand miles, or it had hidden itself within a spatial rift, or perhaps it had been taken by another cultivator into a spirit beast bracelet.

"Is there a secret realm here?" Wang Youxin wondered, then flipped his hand to produce a red-glowing orb and injected spiritual power into it. The red orb emitted dazzling red light. Using this treasure, Wang Youxin observed ahead. He didn't find any secret realm or spatial entrance, but he did discover the Snow Cloud Mink. The Snow Cloud Mink was less than fifty miles from them. It was strange that his divine sense couldn't detect its presence at such a close range.

"Could there be a special metallic ore vein here? Or a formation?"

The Snow Cloud Mink's escape speed increased. After fleeing to a depth of over a hundred thousand zhang underground, it couldn't descend further, as if it had hit a wall of copper and iron. Seizing this opportunity, Wang Youyun accelerated their burrowing speed, and the five of them simultaneously attacked the Snow Cloud Mink. The Snow Cloud Mink, being only a lower fifth-tier creature, was no match for them. Before long, it was captured alive. Wang Youxin placed the Snow Cloud Mink into a Sky Demon Bag, which is specifically designed to hold untamed spiritual beasts and birds.

"There might be a special ore vein or a formation here! Our divine senses are being affected here," Wang Youxin said, frowning.