Chapter 526: The Return to the Altar (Patreon)
Content
Immortal Path Space : Table of Content/Chapter List
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After a brief period of rest, the Revival Battle Team regained their vigor, and it became easier to make breakthroughs after the great battle.
Some individuals had long been stuck at bottlenecks, unable to make progress for a considerable time. However, after the life-and-death battle, they naturally broke through.
Furthermore, after the great battle, a substantial amount of resources was distributed as rewards. This not only boosted the morale of the troops but also strengthened the power of their subordinates.
Since he possessed a significant amount of resources that couldn't be distributed directly, whenever his subordinates achieved merit, he generously rewarded them.
In these few days, the strength of most people had improved slightly.
Previously, only Wang Hong and Sloppy Old Daoist could shoulder the heavy responsibilities, but now there were finally several subordinates who had reached the Golden Core Middle Stage.
Among the Foundation Building Cultivators, there were also many at the pinnacle of the Foundation Building Stage. In the future, when there was an opportunity, they could advance to the Golden Core Stage.
The next day, Wang Hong led the Revival Battle Team toward Azure Void City.
Wen Lan, on the other hand, received Wang Hong's orders and took ten Golden Core Cultivators to the lair of the Purple Flame Scorpion King.
The lair of the Purple Flame Scorpion King was situated above a massive Spirit Vein, and its concentration of Spirit Qi was no weaker than that of the Qingxu Sect. Spirit Qi condensed into mist floated within.
At the entrance of the lair, ten Golden Core Cultivators stood, and there were several unidentified Demonic Beasts lying dead at their feet.
"Hahaha! I never thought that in my lifetime, I'd have the opportunity to raid the lair of a fourth-tier Demonic Beast."
Some Cultivators appeared excited and eager to try.
"Come on, Li Datou, what's got you so excited? I've already raided the lair of a fourth-tier Demonic Beast for the second time."
"Wen Captain, should we charge directly inside?" one Cultivator asked Wen Lan with some uncertainty, considering that this was the lair of a fourth-tier Demonic Beast.
"Yes, let's go in directly. The Demon Clan's main forces have already been wiped out, and even the Purple Flame Scorpion King is dead. There shouldn't be too much danger inside," Wen Lan replied.
With that, Wen Lan led the group straight through the main entrance.
This place had once been the residence of a large Cultivation Clan but had fallen into the hands of the Purple Flame Scorpion King.
The layout inside remained mostly the same, albeit slightly rundown.
Upon their intrusion, some Demonic Beasts scattered in fear, causing chaos.
They easily captured a Human Clan slave and interrogated him to learn about the layout and structure of the place.
"Let's go! First, we'll head to Purple Flame Scorpion King's cave mansion."
Once Wen Lan had gathered information, he headed straight for a grand cave mansion ahead.
"I never expected the Demon Clan to set up such a powerful formation. Our team only has Chang Wei who understands formations, and even he can't do anything about it now. We won't be able to open it," one of them remarked, as they found themselves blocked by the formation outside the cave mansion.
"Regardless of what kind of formation it is, let's join forces and attack it directly. We must break through it one way or another."
Wen Lan set the tone, as he had a mission to fulfill, and there were many other lairs waiting for him to plunder. They couldn't afford to waste too much time.
Every formation had its limit of endurance. As long as they continued to attack relentlessly, it would eventually be broken.
Over the next two days and nights, the ten Golden Core Cultivators unleashed their magic weapons and consumed countless Spirit Wines, continuously bombarding the formation until they finally shattered it.
Inside Purple Flame Scorpion King's cave mansion, the Spirit Qi was even denser. Taking a deep breath here was more effective than consuming an ordinary Spiritual Herb.
The cave mansion was vast, containing numerous rooms, each serving different purposes.
"Don't bother checking! There's nothing in here that's ordinary. Take everything that can be taken, leave nothing behind, not even a strand of hair," Wen Lan declared. He began prying up the floorboards, which were made of a special Spirit Stone Refinement that automatically absorbed nearby Spirit Qi.
Another Cultivator removed a lantern hanging on the wall, clearly of Human Clan origin, with a calming effect on the mind.
They didn't discriminate between good and bad or valuable and inexpensive. Starting from the entrance, they plundered their way inside, leaving no stone unturned.
Their looting spirit was in full swing.
When Li Datou directly removed the door panel of a room, a stronger surge of Spirit Qi rushed out. It turned out that this door had the function of sealing Spirit Qi inside. The Spirit Qi inside this room was at least several times denser than in the other rooms.
Everyone was momentarily startled by the overwhelming Spirit Qi that rushed out. It took a while for them to relax and realize that nothing seemed amiss before they cautiously entered the room.
Inside, the room was empty except for a peculiar altar.
"High-Quality Spirit Stone!"
"We've struck gold! There's actually a high-quality Spirit Stone here."
At this moment, everyone was drawn to a brilliant Spirit Stone on the altar. This Spirit Stone was unlike any they had seen before, fist-sized and radiating an extremely dense Spirit Qi.
"Wen Captain, I've read about this in the records. This is definitely a high-quality Spirit Stone," someone exclaimed. However, what piqued Wen Lan's curiosity even more was the peculiar altar.
In the Cultivation World, places where altars were used were rare. Generally, altars were employed to perform large-scale spells, but there were few who knew how to use them.
The Demon Clan intended to use the altar for a specific purpose, likely involving a large-scale spell that required a high-quality Spirit Stone. Additionally, Wen Lan noticed that the altar was relatively new, as there was a corner that seemed to be under construction and not yet completed.
If Wang Hong were present, he would surely recognize that the altar was identical to the one he had seen beneath the Qing Fox Clan's warehouse.
Wen Lan approached the high-quality Spirit Stone on the altar, placed it into a wooden box, and sealed it with several restraining talismans.
"Today's events must not be disclosed to anyone. After I report to the East Master, he will decide how to proceed."
Everyone nodded in agreement, as they were well-trained Cultivators who understood the importance of maintaining secrecy.
Moreover, they realized their advantage in working with their East Master. Unlike some other Immortal Cultivator teams that might engage in conflict over valuable treasures during explorations, their team remained calm and disciplined.
Years of training and discipline had molded them into a highly efficient and cooperative unit. They knew what to do and what not to do.
Furthermore, by turning in the items they found, they would receive substantial rewards. Their East Master was not stingy and always generously rewarded contributions, sometimes even more generously than the contributions warranted.
For example, their ability to reach the Golden Core stage and attain their current cultivation levels was largely thanks to their East Master's support, far exceeding their individual contributions.
In summary, they needed to strictly adhere to discipline, and the outcomes were usually in their favor. Their loyalty to their East Master was their strength, and their future depended on him.
Wen Lan took the high-quality Spirit Stone but didn't damage the altar. He preserved it intact because he didn't know if Wang Hong would need it in the future.
After leaving the room, their excitement waned as they had seen a treasure as rare as a high-quality Spirit Stone. Other treasures couldn't quite capture their interest anymore.
Only when they stumbled upon the treasure trove of the Purple Flame Scorpion King did their excitement surge once more.
The treasures collected by the Purple Flame Scorpion King were no less than those of the Qing Fox Clan. Accumulated over more than a thousand years, they were not to be underestimated.
Wen Lan's team of ten Golden Core Cultivators spent an entire day thoroughly looting the lair of the Purple Flame Scorpion King, filling their storage bags to the brim.
When they entered, their hands were empty, but when they emerged, each of them was laden with storage bags, giving them the appearance of newly rich individuals. They also carried large boxes, which were filled with even more storage bags, all of them bulging with items.
In reality, the truly valuable items were stored in their personal storage bags. The items hanging on their bodies and filling the boxes were lower-tier spiritual objects.
Thinking ahead to the fact that the Demon Clan would eventually occupy this place, Wen Lan decided not to leave anything valuable for them, not even tables and chairs, which they dismantled and carried away.
Although he was now at the Golden Core cultivation level and might not need these items personally, his team trained new recruits every year, and these items could come in handy.
For their organization, which had a large population and many low-tier Cultivators, any spiritual objects they could acquire would not go to waste.
After leaving the Purple Flame Scorpion King's lair, they walked to a secluded spot and activated a transmission talisman.
Soon, a black-robed cultivator with a cold and indifferent expression emerged from the dense forest nearby.
"What do you want with me?" Black-robed cultivators mostly had a haughty demeanor and liked to act as though others owed them Spirit Stones.
"I need you to help me send a message, and also, assist us in transporting these goods back," Wen Lan pointed to the ten large wooden boxes on the ground and produced a jade scroll.
When dealing with members of the Immortal Way Trading Company, it was best to be direct and not waste time on polite pleasantries. They didn't expect or appreciate long expressions of gratitude; they simply got down to business.
After some experience, everyone had learned to keep interactions straightforward. Wen Lan needed to inform Wang Hong of their findings and the situation with the altar, leaving it to Wang Hong to decide. Furthermore, they had more lairs to raid in the future, and it was inconvenient to carry all this wealth, so having the assistance of the Immortal Way Trading Company's information specialists was valuable.
Since the previous major battle, they had entered into a comprehensive cooperative relationship with the Immortal Way Trading Company, and everyone admired the company's loyalty and strong sense of justice, as they would go to great lengths for their friends.
Once Wen Lan's team arrived at a location, the Immortal Way Trading Company's information specialists followed suit, taking on the responsibility of transmitting messages.
The black-robed cultivator accepted Wen Lan's jade scroll and glanced at the ten wooden boxes on the ground before responding briefly, "Understood."
With a positive response from the black-robed cultivator, Wen Lan gave a nod to his team members, and they left without worrying about how the single cultivator would manage to transport ten boxes. They trusted that the Immortal Way Trading Company's black-robed cultivators would always deliver on their promises, making them highly reliable.
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