Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit

Chapter 319: Siege

But after the joy receded, Lu Ping suddenly thought of something and smiled bitterly.

When the Primordial Stars were first forged, Lu Ping couldn’t use them for too long due to his lack of arcane energy, This issue was resolved after he advanced to the Core Forging Realm. However, after upgrading them into mystic treasures, that same issue had returned.

In the heartspace, the Golden Core was in the center, followed by the Primordial Stars, then the River Inclusion Cauldron, and finally the Golden Scale Sword. Although the Golden Scale Sword had been upgraded with two Mystical Inscriptions, it still couldn’t challenge the River Inclusion Cauldron’s importance.

Once everything was done, Lu Ping left the cave-dwelling and a message sword glowing with golden light flew directly into his hands. He perused its contents, then returned to the cave-dwelling to send out several message swords.

Two hours later, Hong Ying hurried to the cave-dwelling, then Ye Bu-Qi and Wu Yan arrived together shortly after.

…

Recently, Enlightened Master Wang Hua seemed to have more bad days than not. His illegitimate son that he’d held high hopes for had been killed; the Land of Hundred Flowers that the Wang Clan discovered first was forcibly taken away by Crystal Palace; their defeat in the Alchemy Conference which meant a two percent stake in the spirit stone mine’s production; the Northern League putting the clan in a difficult position because of its collusion with the Crystal Palace.

And now, a petty rogue cultivator by the name of Hong Ying had become a threat to the Wang Clan’s position in Fallen Rift’s Three Clans Alliance. Not only did Hong Ying secure a third of the Three Clans Alliance’s mini islands, but he also stopped paying tribute to the three clans!

During the meeting, Enlightened Master Wang Hua noticed that Zhang Feng and Li Mao-Lin were neither uncomfortable nor threatened by Hong Ying’s existence. This led him to speculating.

Why do they not feel threatened by Hong Ying’s existence? Did they learn about him already, because they know he’s with them, no… they’re with him? If they’re all on the same side, that means their target can only be the Wang Clan… what are they trying to do? Who is this Hong Ying, how did he make them comply? Is he powerful enough to… No, it’s not him… it’s the Northern League, it can only be the Northern League!

Enlightened Master Wang Hua felt a chill run down his spine. The Northern League was behind the scenes, Zhang Clan and Li Clan planned this, and Hong Ying was just the executioner!

Enlightened Master Wang Hua couldn’t stay still anymore, he had to report his suspicions to the clan as soon as possible. If his suspicion was correct, the Wang Clan’s only hope was to seek Crystal Palace’s help. After all, their clan was an important pawn for the Crystal Palace to expand into the Northern League’s sphere of influence in the East Ocean’s northern territory.

On his journey back to the Wang Clan, Enlightened Master Wang Hua suddenly stopped in mid-air and stared at the brawny man blocking his path.

"So, you must be Crimson Shadow Island’s Hong Ying?"

Since Lu Ping was hiding behind the scene, he had pushed Hong Ying as the nominal head. Wang Clan naturally thought it was Hong Ying who was expanding his power as the Crimson Shadow Island Master.

"Haha, Hong Ying greets Enlightened Master Wang Hua!"

Hong Ying smilingly stood in front of Enlightened Master Wang Hua with confidence, not the least concerned about the disparity in prowess.

"You have a lot of guts to block my path. Is there anything you wish to say?"

Unaffected by the other’s arrogance, Hong Ying replied indifferently, "I do, actually. I’d like to ask Enlightened Master Wang to take your people and leave Fallen Rift. Crimson Shadow Island is running out of space, so I do wish that the Wang Clan will be generous enough to let us have their spot in Fallen Rift."

Unexpectedly, it was Enlightened Master Wang Hua who reacted to Hong Ying’s arrogance. Laughing out of extreme anger, he said, "A newly-advanced Core Forging Realm, weak and irrelevant, but talks louder than anyone else. I know you’re not alone, so show me who’s backing you. I’d like to know who gave you the confidence to provoke the Wang Clan!"

Enlightened Master Wang Hua then immediately unleashed his Third Layer Core Forging Realm aura, suppressing Hong Ying on the spot. Although Hong Ying was also in the Core Forging Realm, he had only advanced just recently and his foundation was not as strong in the first place.

Hong Ying’s joy of advancing to the Core Forging Realm was shattered, and he quickly clasped his hands, pointing a finger at Enlightened Master Wang Hua. A pestle mystic instrument appeared in his hands and flew directly towards the other man

"A mystic treasure? You may be a capable rogue cultivator, but that’s not enough!"

The pestle mystic treasure was naturally something Lu Ping had given to Hong Ying. However, Enlightened Master Wang Hua only had to cast a spell on a top-grade mystic instrument and he quickly struck off the pestle mystic treasure with ease.

While he was casting the top-grade mystic instrument, two small daggers suddenly appeared behind him and lunged towards his back. The timing and angle of the strike was precise—it was a killing blow!

Except that Enlightened Master Wang Hua seemed to anticipate this attack. A green aegis energy covered his body, hindering the daggers. Twisting his body to the left, the daggers missed him by a narrow margin.

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The daggers returned to Qiao Wei-Ying’s hands. To the side, Chilian Ying waved her sleeves like snakes to wrap around Enlightened Master Wang Hua’s body.

Enlightened Master Wang Hua snorted coldly; a wooden ruler appeared in his hand and he slapped the sleeves almost simultaneously. Like snakes that were hit on their heads, the sleeves recoiled backwards.

Suddenly, Enlightened Master Wang Hua sensed something, and a wooden shield miraculously appeared on his back. He heard a loud explosion and his face turned pale. Looking back, he saw a ball of orange fire burning the wooden shield.

The wooden shield was a defensive mystic treasure that could put out almost any fire, but this strange fire somehow continued to burn. Enlightened Master Wang Hua could tell the fire was gradually burning down the Mystical Inscriptions in the shield.

He quickly placed his hand on the back of the wooden shield and injected his true energy into it, helping the shield to eradicate the fire. Then, he quickly swung the wooden ruler towards the fire, but the fire suddenly disappeared, and the ruler missed its target.

Caught by surprise, Enlightened Master Wang Hua saw another young man walking in the air with the strange orange fire in his hands. Strangely enough, the young man’s expression was shy, apologetic, and awkward.

Enlightened Master Wang Hua then looked at the owner of the sleeves and saw a young lady who seemed familiar. He looked at the pair of sleeves that had been upgraded into mystic treasures, and he suddenly laughed, "Chilian Ying! You changed your appearance, but I can recognize those sleeves anywhere. Your prowess may have improved greatly, but you’re still no match for me!"

Chilian Ying rolled her eyes and said, "I didn’t hide my looks, you just never saw my real face before!"

Enlightened Master Wang Hua sneered and didn’t reply. He looked at the other two and asked, "And who are the two of you? How dare you try to mess with the Wang Clan? Trust me, you won’t survive what’s about to come after you!"

"Are you referring to the Crystal Palace?" Chilian Ying laughed coldly. "I exposed your collisions, and even killed Hong Shi-Kui. Yet I’m still here, alive and well. Crystal Palace can’t do anything to me!"

Enlightened Master Wang Hua snorted coldly and just as he was about to speak, he heard the young man with the double daggers laugh sarcastically. "Crystal Palace can’t do anything to me either!"

The shy-looking young man thought about it and added, "I don’t like them too, many of my people died at the hands of the Crystal Palace!"

Enlightened Master Wang Hua looked at Hong Ying with a cold smile and said, "Are they who gave you the confidence to provoke Wang Clan? A group of desperate and petty cultivators who have just advanced to Core Forging Realm. You all have no chance against me, you will learn today that numbers don’t matter in the Core Forging Realm!"

Enlightened Master Wang Hua had a ruthless look on his face, and he struck Hong Ying first, because Hong Ying was the weakest link in between them!

Editor: MilkBiscuit