Chapter 17: Same Clan Arrives

His mother, through frugality and saving, had used most of her accumulated spirit stones to buy him cultivation resources. His father had given him a spiritual artifact he had used for many years for self-defense, and his clan uncles had gifted him pills and talismans.

Now that he had discovered a metal ore vein, he actually thought of keeping it all to himself – that was truly inconsiderate.

Reporting it to the clan was a certainty, but before doing so, he wanted to extract a piece of profound gold ore to sell for spirit stones, which he could then use to acquire immortal cultivation resources.

Wang Changsheng manipulated his Gold Coin Sword, forcefully cleaving off a piece of profound gold ore the size of a millstone. If he was lucky, this single piece of ore should yield over a catty of profound gold, valued at more than thirty spirit stones.

To conceal the fact that profound gold ore had been extracted, Wang Changsheng gathered some dry firewood, lit it, and placed it near the newly cleaved rock face.

Under the smoke, the previously pristine rock face turned black, making it indistinguishable from the surrounding stone.

Only after confirming that there was no noticeable abnormality did Wang Changsheng feel relieved, placing the profound gold ore into his storage bag.

Just then, a streak of green spiritual light appeared in the distant sky, approaching from afar until it hovered directly above Wang Changsheng, slowly descending.

The green spiritual light was, in fact, a green flying boat, about two zhang long. Its hull was engraved with numerous green spiritual patterns, emitting a faint ripple of spiritual power.

Two men and one woman stood on the green flying boat. At the front of the boat stood an elder with thin cheeks and a wisp of a long goatee. He was draped in a green robe that fluttered in the wind, exuding an air of otherworldly cultivation and venerable wisdom.

The other man was tall with an honest face. The woman was around twenty years old, with delicate features, dressed in a sky-blue gown, and possessed a pair of beautiful, clear, and flawless eyes.

"Fifth Uncle-Grandmaster, Fourth Brother, Seventh Sister, why are you only just arriving now?" Wang Changsheng asked, his face beaming with joy as he saw the three.

The members of the Wang clan were divided into generations based on seniority: Yao, Ming, Chang, Qing, Qiu, Tian, and You. Currently, the lowest-ranking cultivators were from the Qing generation, and the highest were from the Yao generation. Most of the Yao generation were already elderly, with only Wang Yaozong having reached the Foundation Establishment stage of cultivation.

The two men and one woman, in order of seniority, were Wang Yaojing, Wang Changge, and Wang Changyu.

Wang Changge was the son of his second paternal uncle, Wang Mingcai. He possessed a three-spirit root, was at the sixth level of Qi Condensation, and was twenty-two years old this year. Wang Changyu was the granddaughter of his ninth paternal grand-uncle, Wang Yaoliang. Her father, Wang Mingxiao, had died in battle while escorting goods when he encountered evil cultivators, sacrificing himself to protect the clan's assets. Wang Changyu was twenty years old this year, possessed a three-spirit root, and was at the fifth level of Qi Condensation.

"It's all because our seventeenth brother neglected his duty," Wang Changge explained with a wry smile. "He was assigned to manage the clan's correspondence and contact the Heavenly Masters in the three counties. But because there hadn't been any letters for a while, he actually shut himself in his room for secluded cultivation. If Fourth Aunt hadn't gone to check on him, we probably wouldn't have even known about the zombies appearing in Ping'an County. As soon as Third Uncle saw the letter's contents, he immediately sent Fifth Uncle-Grandmaster with me and Seventh Sister to rush over."

Wang Changsheng's expression shifted to understanding, then he asked, puzzled, "I see, that explains why you only arrived a day later. But speaking of which, wasn't Third Paternal Grand-Uncle in charge of looking after the carrier pigeons?"

Wang Changsheng's Third Paternal Grand-Uncle had a five-spirit root, was over eighty years old, and was responsible for sending and receiving correspondence.

Wang Yaojing sighed, his expression grim. "Your Third Brother passed away half a month ago. Our little seventeenth, having turned sixteen, should have been sent out to do tasks. However, there wasn't a suitable job for him at the moment. Your Fourth Uncle Mingliang recommended our little seventeenth to handle the correspondence, and your father thought it quite suitable, so he agreed. Who would have thought that our little seventeenth would shut himself in for secluded cultivation, almost causing a huge disaster? Mingliang has already given him a severe scolding and punished him to face the wall in the ancestral hall for a month to reflect. Oh, and Changsheng, we understand that the zombies have been eliminated, but we also heard that more clan members were killed at the quarry. Are there still zombies?"

"It's hard to say," Wang Changsheng replied. "A clan member named Wang You'en has gone missing and might have turned into a zombie. It's unclear whether the deceased Wang Youliang was killed by Wang Qingyan or Wang You'en. We can't rule out the possibility of other zombies still being present. But those aren't the main points, Fifth Uncle-Grandmaster. There's actually profound gold ore here! We just don't know the extent of the reserves."

"Profound gold ore!"

A glimmer of light flashed in Wang Yaojing's cloudy eyes. He looked in the direction Wang Changsheng pointed and saw faint specks of light emanating from the dark rock face.

He saw him flick his sleeve, and a massive fireball, about a zhang in diameter, shot out, smashing into the black rock face.

"Boom!"

With a loud roar, rolling flames engulfed the rock face.

A moment later, the flames dissipated, revealing that the spot hit by the massive fireball had not changed significantly.

"Fifth Uncle-Grandmaster, let me give it a try," Wang Changyu volunteered.

She raised both hands simultaneously, and several transparent water arrows, about a chi long, flew from her sleeves, striking the spot where the large fireball had hit in a fleeting instant.

With two muffled thuds, the transparent water arrows shattered without piercing the rock face, and a wisp of green smoke rose from the stone.

In recent years, the Wang clan had been living beyond its means, enduring a very difficult existence. Young clan members capable of cultivation were fortunate to possess even a single spiritual artifact. As for consumable items like attack talismans, very few clan members owned them, and even those who did rarely had more than five, most of which were low-grade first-tier talismans.

Due to their poverty, the Wang clan's cultivators could only devote more energy and time to cultivating spells, in order to strengthen their own abilities.

Wang Changge summoned a yellow short sword, about a chi long, and struck the black rock face. The sharp blade only penetrated a fraction of an inch before being stopped.

Manipulating his yellow short sword, he chipped off a fist-sized piece of stone from the black rock face. Its surface glimmered with faint golden light.

"Fifth Uncle-Grandmaster, you are well-experienced and knowledgeable. Please see if this is profound gold," Wang Changge said, picking up the ore and handing it to Wang Yaojing.

Cultivation materials in the immortal cultivation world were as numerous as ox hairs. Wang Changge's aptitude was better than Wang Changsheng's, and he usually stayed within the clan to cultivate, so he didn't know much about refining materials. However, Liu Qing'er, an artifact refining apprentice, had consciously taught Wang Changsheng about refining materials since childhood, which was how Wang Changsheng recognized the ore as profound gold.

In terms of experience, Wang Yaojing was naturally the most knowledgeable.

Wang Yaojing took the ore and examined it carefully.

"Poof!"

A massive crimson fireball suddenly appeared in his palm, and rolling flames instantly enveloped the ore.

Ten breaths passed, and the ore showed no sign of melting.

Wang Yaojing was instantly ecstatic, speaking with great excitement, "That's right! This is absolutely profound gold, a commonly used low-grade first-tier artifact refining material in the cultivation world! Profound gold is known for its extreme hardness and high melting point, and spiritual artifacts like swords and blades are often refined using it. Changsheng, you've rendered a great service this time!"

"It's all thanks to the ancestors' blessings. This grandson wouldn't dare claim all the credit," Wang Changsheng humbly replied. "By the way, Fifth Uncle-Grandmaster, many of the clan members working at the quarry know about the profound gold mine. I've already issued a gag order and gathered them together, strictly prohibiting them from contacting the outside world to prevent the news from leaking."

Qingshi Town was located right next to Guanglin County in Pingyang Commandery. If the immortal cultivation families in Pingyang Commandery knew about the profound gold mine in Qingshi Town, there was no telling what kind of trouble they might cause. Even if they only sent people to secretly mine the profound gold, it would still result in significant losses for the Wang clan.

"Well done, Changsheng," Wang Yaojing commended. "Return to town immediately and keep a close eye on the clan members who were mining. Tell them that the zombies haven't been eliminated yet and strictly forbid any clan member from stepping into the deep mountains. Those who violate this will be severely punished. Changge, Changyu, you two immediately return to the clan and inform Mingyuan of this news. Tell him to send more people here to excavate the profound gold ore. This matter is of immense importance. Remember, besides Mingyuan, you are not to reveal a single word to anyone else, understood?"

By the end, Wang Yaojing's expression had turned extremely serious.

Wang Changge and Wang Changyu also understood the gravity of the matter and repeatedly affirmed their understanding.

"Fifth Uncle-Grandmaster, we don't have flying spiritual artifacts. The Azure Cloud Boat is your flying artifact. At our walking speed, it would take too long to travel back and forth to the clan," Wang Changge suggested with a slight hesitation. "How about you use the Azure Cloud Boat to return to the clan, and Seventh Sister and I stay here to guard?"

Wang Yaojing shook his head. "No, that won't do. You are too young. This place is only a little over three hundred li from Qingzhu Market in Pingyang Commandery. What if a cultivator from Pingyang Commandery passes by and sees you two guarding this place? Wouldn't they become suspicious? You can't just keep casting invisibility spells to hide yourselves! I haven't even used a second-tier 'Hundred Li Sound Transmission Talisman' because I'm worried it might be intercepted, leading to the secret of the profound gold mine being exposed and attracting greedy opportunists. Ten years ago, the Huang clan's Yutian County discovered a small profound iron mine. Because the news leaked, it attracted many cultivators who secretly mined and even openly plundered it. The Huang clan lost several Qi Condensation cultivators just to repel those thieves. In the end, the Huang clan had to invite a second-tier formation master to set up a low-grade second-tier formation, the 'Yellow Heaven Thick Earth Formation,' and assigned two ninth-level Qi Condensation cultivators and more than a dozen other Qi Condensation cultivators to guard it. Although there were no more instances of secret mining, a significant amount of profound iron ore had already been plundered, resulting in heavy losses. That's a lesson from the past! Taking a bit more time isn't an issue; the key is secrecy. The fewer people who know, the better."

"Yes, Fifth Uncle-Grandmaster."

Hearing this, Wang Changge no longer insisted and put away the piece of profound gold ore he had cleaved off.

Wang Changyu's delicate lips moved slightly, and a white cloud coalesced beneath her feet, carrying her and Wang Changge slowly upward, ascending into the sky.

"Changsheng, hurry back to town, and ensure the news is completely suppressed. You absolutely must not let this information leak out," Wang Yaojing solemnly instructed.

Wang Changsheng affirmed, then immediately performed a Cloud Soaring spell and departed.