Stealthily cultivating in the chaotic world of demons and martial artists
Chapter 692 - 658: Ascend Again_2

"This..."

Suddenly, his Escape Light came to a halt, as he looked ahead at the vast Mysterious Dark Abyss.

"According to the map, Kong Sang Market should still be ahead... It seems it has now been completely submerged?"

Fang Xi muttered to himself, "The Black Tide’s formidability is this powerful. The urgent matter now is to find another gathering spot for Cultivators and find out the latest news..."

He couldn’t help thinking of the Dragon Controlling Sect, the Mo Sect, Qingyin House, the Profound Mystery Trade Association, and other major forces, as well as the mysterious Returning to Emptiness and the Secret Realm that had appeared previously!

"If the Mysterious Dark Abyss is still in chaos and not suitable for cultivation, then I’ll just move to another place."

"After all, the Earth Immortal Realm is so vast, with just the Star Domain alone being enough for Transcendent God cultivators to roam freely..."

...

At the edge of a pitch-black pool.

Inside this pool, there was indeed Mysterious Dark Heavy Water, emitting an ominous aura.

Several Core Formation cultivators were silently lurking around, each holding Array Flags, Array Disks, and other items for setting up an Array, quietly arranging an Array around the area.

A moment later, a faint fog emerged and enveloped a corner of the pitch-black pool.

"Immortal Xie is truly a master of Arrays. This ’Octal Wilderness Maze Array’ is indeed exquisite; the key is that it was set up almost without a sound, not alerting the monster beasts in the pond!"

An elder dressed in coarse robes with grizzled hair, yet who appeared quite spirited, said with a bow and a smile.

"Elder Wang praises me too highly. I must also thank all of you for providing the materials, or else it would have been difficult to refine so many Array Flags..."

Immortal Xie, tall and with ordinary features, exuding a trace of masculinity, laughed heartily upon hearing this.

"Haha... Without the Black Tide in those years, causing the presence of Mysterious Dark Heavy Water and Mysterious Dark Beasts even in nearby waters, we wouldn’t have this opportunity..."

Two other Core Formation cultivators, who appeared to be brothers, were wearing clothes made from tanned monster beast skins which obviously provided excellent defense.

"Now we can find Mysterious Dark Beasts and some special mineral deposits without having to delve deep into the Mysterious Dark Abyss... It’s quite a fortunate opportunity."

Elder Wang smiled, "This place is well-concealed, thanks to the Mo Family brothers for passing word..."

"Enough talk. In this Blackwater Pool, there is at least one Dragon Newt that has lived for more than five hundred years... Its cultivation is not below that of an ordinary Core Formation cultivator. If this endeavor succeeds, we brothers will claim it!"

The younger of the Mo Family brothers said with a cold face.

Dragon Newts that have lived for five hundred years are extremely precious, being a specialty of the Star Domain. Not only in the Mysterious Dark Abyss but also occasionally, branches of a large rift valley show signs of Mysterious Dark Sea Eyes, naturally attracting plenty of Mysterious Dark Beasts. There are often rumors of Individual Cultivators using these creatures to successfully enter a Sect.

It seems that these Mo Family brothers must have a young descendant they highly value.

"Of course... Now that the Great Array is set up, everything is ready; we just need the beast to fall for it."

Elder Wang let out a hearty laugh, pulling out a doll-like small Puppet from his Storage Bag.

Tossing it casually, he started chanting. The doll burst into spiritual light in mid-air, a faint Spiritual Pressure emanating as it transformed into a giant Winged Tiger Puppet covered in various Spirit Marks, charging into the Blackwater Pool with bared fangs and claws.

"A Core Formation level Puppet is quite precious to us... Could it be, Elder Wang, that you’re a Puppet Master?"

Immortal Xie’s eyes lit up.

"What skills or abilities do I have? This Puppet was bought at an auction back in the day, intended as a life-saving trump card..."

Elder Wang’s face showed a bitter smile.

Only Puppet Masters could manipulate a Puppet Army; it was already impressive for ordinary Cultivators to control one or two Puppets.

From his demeanor, it seemed that this was indeed the extent of his capabilities.

"But I’ve heard, Friend Wang, that you come from an extraordinary background... Perhaps from a Nascent Soul or even a Transcendent God Family."

The elder Mo brother hinted meaningfully.

"Could it be from the Wang family that was once exceedingly prosperous but then suddenly fragmented?"

Immortal Xie’s eyes shone brightly, "I’ve heard that at the height of its power, this Family not only had a Transcendent God ancestor but also controlled Kong Sang Market... It was a Market on par with today’s Qing Sang Market, earning a fortune every day."

Elder Wang’s face showed an even deeper bitter smile.

After the Wang family split up, each branch went on to align with different forces.

To this day, none of the branches fared well; most have declined.

The Cultivation World is too grounded in reality. Without a strong enough leader, no matter whom they allied with, they ended up exploited and used as cannon fodder.

On the contrary, those small family branches that struggled alone, though their lives were harder, managed to survive.

This Elder Wang was one of them, belonging to a small branch that had only one late-stage Core Formation cultivator back in the day, a child fond of Puppetry and trained by the Family as a Puppet Master.

After passing away, this branch, known as the ’Yin Mountain Wang Family,’ inherited a legacy of Puppetry and several Core Formation level Puppets as their foundation.

However, externally, the Yin Mountain Wang Family certainly wouldn’t admit any relation to the Wang family of the past.

In the Earth Immortal Realm, there were far too many Cultivators with the surname Wang, and besides, the Wang family of old had no life or death enemies; the only one, the Black Water Sect, had been wiped out long ago, with no one bothering to pursue their legacy.

Elder Wang often wondered whether the decision made by the Wang family ancestor was right or wrong when he lay awake at night.

"It’s here!"

Suddenly, with a solemn expression, he sensed through his Divine Consciousness that a monster beast was maneuvering the black waters in the pool, battling the Winged Tiger Puppet.