Chapter 138: Chapter 135: Clan Soldiers

Li Heshan walked over slowly, looking at Pei Zhao with a somewhat evasive glance and clasped hands: “Master Uncle Pei, this nephew…”

Pei Zhao shook his head slightly, knowing what Li Heshan wanted to say.

But now it was no longer important.

Perhaps, for Shen Wen’an, being expelled from the sect was also a good thing.

After all, in the years outside Qiyun Valley, his cultivation had not fallen behind, instead, he was more outstanding than most of the disciples of Qiyun Valley.

The identity of a Qiyun Valley disciple was more like a shackle to him.

After being expelled from the sect, if given the opportunity, he might be able to join the Cyan Ruo Sword Sect through his connection with Lingshan Sword Immortal.

“Heshan, this Qiyun Valley is sick, terminally ill.”

“In the future, it will depend on you.”

Pei Zhao smiled tragically, turned around with his hands behind his back, and slowly walked towards the distant houses.

His back was somewhat hunched, and for a moment, he seemed to have aged considerably.

“Junior Brother Wen’an…”

Watching Pei Zhao’s figure disappear into the distance, Li Heshan looked at Shen Wen’an with a complex expression and said, “Do you blame your senior brother?”

Shen Wen’an remained silent.

With Sword Heart Clarity, he could feel that Li Heshan harbored no malice.

It’s just that distinguishing between good and evil in human nature was easy, weighing pros and cons was too difficult for him.

Therefore, he always disliked overthinking, choosing instead to eliminate threats at their inception, never letting them have a chance to grow.

“Sigh!”

“Let’s go.”

Seeing his silence, Li Heshan sighed heavily.

All these years, he had been trying to keep Shen Wen’an around, planning to cultivate him into the sect’s guardian after he succeeded to the position of the Sect Leader of Qiyun Valley, into a sharp blade to restore Qiyun Valley’s former glory.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned.

…

Shen Family of Black Water Pool.

Father and son Shen Yuan and Shen Wenxing looked at Li Heshan in front of them, remaining silent.

After a long time—

Shen Wenxing clasped his hands and said, “Immortal Li, my younger brother has troubled you over the years.”

“Now that Wen’an is no longer a disciple of Qiyun Valley, I find myself not at all embarrassed to let go of the position of Ascension Pavilion Steward in Anyang County.”

“Younger Brother Shen, this…”

Hearing this, Li Heshan wanted to say something, but ultimately could not voice it.

He knew very well that Luoxia Mountain had already entrusted the entire Yunshui Town to the Shen Family to manage.

Now that Shen Wen’an had been expelled from the sect, there was no reason for the Shen Family to continue working for Qiyun Valley.

The position of Ascension Pavilion Steward hung on Shen Wenxing, even if inactive, would still divide his attention towards the affairs of the Ascension Pavilion.

Now resigning from the position of Ascension Pavilion Steward, allows him to focus wholeheartedly on managing his own affairs.

All of this, from the moment Qiyun Valley chose Fengxian County over Yunzhong County, had already planted the seeds of fate.

“Very well!”

Thinking of these, Li Heshan suddenly felt relieved.

He smiled and looked at Shen Wenxing and Shen Yuan, saying, “Brother Shen, Patriarch Shen.”

“Even though Junior Brother Wen’an has been expelled from the sect, I, Li, still consider the private friendship with the Shen Family intact.”

“Should there be anything Li can assist with in the future, feel free to inform me.”

Shen Yuan repeatedly clasped his hands: “Immortal Li speaks truly.”

He always felt that Li Heshan, like Pei Zhao and his daughter, was someone worth befriending.

It’s just a pity that the Qiyun Valley is not something that Li Heshan and Pei Zhao could control.

“To have Immortal Li as a friend is a blessing for the Shen Family.”

“In the future, should Immortal Li need anything from the Shen Family, do not hesitate to ask.”

Shen Wenxing followed up with his words.

“Certainly, certainly.” Li Heshan stood up and clasped his hands, “In that case, I, Li will take my leave first.”

“Recently, Hundred Beasts Mountain has been restless; I must return to Fengxian County to oversee matters and cannot stay for long.”

“Patriarch Shen, you must also be more vigilant.”

“Hundred Beasts Mountain controls the entire Western Wilderness Barbarian Race and is only separated from Yunzhong by the eight hundred li-wide Hidden Dragon Mountain Range.”

“Now that the spiritual qi of Yangnao Land has already reawakened, it seems this Hidden Dragon Mountain Range is one of the earth vein convergence points of Yangnao Land, and various forces will undoubtedly be covetous.”

Hearing this, Shen Yuan and Shen Wenxing exchanged a glance, both showing solemn expressions.

“Thank you, Immortal Li, for the reminder.”

Li Heshan waved his hand and slowly left the Shen Family.

Watching his figure fade into the distance, Shen Yuan pondered.

“Elder brother, come with me to the Martial Arts Hall.”

Shen Wenxing nodded, and the father and son hurried down the mountain.

At the Martial Arts Arena of the Martial Arts Hall, Huang Lin of the Huang Family was currently instructing many disciples alongside several masters of the Hall in cultivation.

Seeing Shen Yuan and Shen Wenxing, Huang Lin came forward with clasped hands: “Uncle Yuan, Shi Tou.”

Shen Yuan, with his hands behind his back, nodded and asked, “Where is your uncle?”

“In the backyard.”

“Recently, a few disciples broke through to the Postnatal Realm, so uncle and elder brother decided to separate them from the other disciples.”

Shen Yuan nodded and walked with Shen Wenxing to the backyard.

In the backyard of the Martial Arts Hall, there was also a martial arts arena, slightly smaller than the one in the front yard.

At this time, more than twenty young men and women were sitting cross-legged in the arena, with Huang Qi and Huang Qingzhou sitting in the front, cultivating with them.

These were the disciples who had broken through to the Postnatal Realm in the last two years.

Upon hearing movement, Huang Qingzhou and another stood up and came forward.

“Uncle Yuan.”

Huang Qi greeted politely.

Shen Yuan nodded and looked at Huang Qingzhou: “Brother, let’s talk aside.”

The four of them went to a pavilion away from the martial arts arena and sat down, with Huang Qi having the Martial Arts Hall servants bring tea.

Shen Yuan took a sip of tea and spoke directly: “The situation has been getting more chaotic lately, and I plan to form a clan militia for self-defense.”

“Brother, have these kids made any progress in their cultivation lately?”

Huang Qingzhou slightly shook his head and said, “Although there are twenty-seven disciples who have broken through to the Postnatal Realm, none of them have a Spirit Root.”

“They’re practicing Body Tempering and the Breathing Technique simultaneously, and progress is extremely slow.”

“I estimate that it will take one or two years before a cultivator in the Qi Cultivation Realm is born.”

One or two years…

Shen Yuan pondered for a moment and then slightly shook his head, “Too slow…”

The current situation is such that the longer the delay, the less impact the Postnatal Realm martial artists will have.

In one or two years, Postnatal Realm martial artists might not be complete cannon fodder, but their deterrent power will definitely be greatly reduced.

Currently, counting everyone except Shen Wen’an, at most, the Shen Family can only field seven capable fighters.

This is including Shen Wenyan and Lu Zhiyuan.

Their cultivation in the Literary Dao remains arduous, and Shen Yuan estimates that Shen Wenyan’s current cultivation level is roughly equivalent to the Qi Cultivation Second or Third Layer.

As for Lu Zhiyuan, he isn’t very clear, but he guesses it should be about the same as the eldest, Shen Wenxing, with a Qi Cultivation Fourth or Fifth Layer strength.

Regarding Huang Qingzhou and Huang Qi, it has been a year since they broke through to the Qi Cultivation Realm, yet they still haven’t reached Qi Cultivation Second Layer.

“Have there been any people from other villages coming to the Martial Arts Hall to register recently?”

Shen Yuan suddenly asked.

Huang Qi cupped his hands beside him and said, “There are some, but…”

He gave a wry smile and said, “Uncle Yuan should have seen it when he came. Our Martial Arts Hall is just that big, and the Martial Arts Arena in the front courtyard can no longer accommodate them.”

“So those who registered are just left waiting.”

At this moment, Huang Qingzhou also spoke, “Ah Yuan, I feel we should be more proactive.”

“Yunshui Town has nearly ten thousand people. If we screen them one by one, we are bound to find one or two with a Spirit Root, right?”

Shen Yuan looked somewhat puzzled at Shen Wenxing after hearing this.

He remembered he had arranged this matter himself.

Shen Wenxing was momentarily stunned and then opened his mouth awkwardly, “I’ve been running back and forth between home and the Ascension Pavilion lately, and I accidentally forgot about this matter.”

Shen Yuan nodded and did not blame him.

A person’s energy is limited. Now that the Ascension Pavilion task has been resigned, he can devote himself fully to handling family matters.

“Tomorrow, talk to the stewards of each clan and have them send the children between six and fourteen from each village, ensuring no omissions.”

“Tell them, in the future, any child who turns six in the village must be sent over immediately for Spirit Root testing.”

Shen Wenxing nodded in agreement.

“And…”

After pondering for a moment, Shen Yuan said, “Recently, Uncle Zhao told me that villagers found signs of increasing demon beasts in the mountains during their hunts.”

“For those kids without a Spirit Root, you should oversee them. If they have a resilient spirit and can endure the hardships of Body Refining, they can pursue the path of Body Refining.”

Compared to Body Refining, the requirements for Immortal Dao cultivation are still too high.

Although Body Refining becomes harder later on, at least the initial stages have lower requirements, and any improvement can barely suffice for the current situation.

After all, as time goes on, the number of demon beasts in the mountains will only increase, so there’s no worry about resources.

“I have something else too,” Huang Qingzhou suddenly spoke up.

“Ah Yuan, do you remember those two kids from the Huang family in Huangyan Town who raised Blood-Feeding Toads?”

Shen Yuan slightly nodded.

He indeed had an impression of those two youngsters.

One was called Huang Ruoyan, and the other was Huang Chengchi.

The brother and sister truly had some real skills in raising Blood-Feeding Toads.

“Chengchi secretly looked for me a few times. Although he didn’t say it explicitly, between the lines, he seemed to want to learn martial arts.”

Shen Yuan smiled after hearing this.

“This matter is for my brother to decide.”

“They have merits in raising Blood-Feeding Toads. I hadn’t heard them mention wanting to cultivate before, perhaps due to being overly cautious.”

“Brother, you can ask them later. If both are willing to cultivate, you can reward them with some Body Tempering Pills for their training.”

Merits should be rewarded, and faults should be punished.

The Huang siblings have diligently raised Blood-Feeding Toads for years, and their request to cultivate should naturally be satisfied.

“Alright, I’ll ask them later.”

The four chatted for a while longer before Shen Yuan and his son left the Martial Arts Hall.

On the way, Shen Yuan walked ahead with his hands behind his back, and Shen Wenxing quietly followed behind.

“Eldest, what about the Cyan Spirit Stone vein now?”

Shen Wenxing spoke, “Earlier, you said not to rush, so I haven’t let anyone mine it, only filled the cave temporarily.”

Shen Yuan nodded.

Last time, after reporting the discovery of the Cyan Spirit Stone vein to Luoxia Mountain, Wei Qiuling’s response made him realize a problem.

From Luoxia Mountain’s perspective, they seem not to want the Shen Family to develop too quickly.

Perhaps they fear losing control, or they’re afraid of giving the Shen Family too many rewards, leading to some awkwardness of incomparable precedence later.

After all, given Shen Family’s current condition, a few Spirit Crystals and some elixirs are already great favors. If rewards were given according to the Cyan Spirit Stone vein…

Having tasted gourmet food, unless they’re on the brink of starvation, who would feel grateful for some buns and pickles?

For Shen Yuan himself, he doesn’t have such thoughts.

He can only say that Luoxia Mountain is overthinking it, yet they’re not wrong.

“Arrange for it later, and first attempt to mine a part of it.”

“You remember that Immortal Wei said we could keep the Spirit Crystal fragments we dig up?”

Shen Wenxing nodded.

“Let’s do that, we’ll keep ten percent of the mined Cyan Spirit Stones, and the rest will be handed over to Luoxia Mountain.”

“You can inform Immortal Wei that the Shen Family doesn’t have many demands for now. We only hope for Luoxia Mountain’s support when needed in the future.”

After returning from Qiyun Valley, Pei Zhao gave a lot of things to Shen Wen’an.

Among them were some insights on alchemy, array cultivation knowledge, and some common knowledge of the cultivation realm.

For the short term, the Shen Family doesn’t have other needs, so they can accumulate favors from the Cyan Spirit Stones.

When there’s a need in the future, they can ask for help then.

Shen Wenxing nodded.

“After the screening of Spirit Root Immortal Seedlings, I will instruct the clans to mobilize people for mining.”

“Go ahead.” Shen Yuan waved his hand.

The father and son parted ways halfway, and Shen Wenxing went to the ancestral hall, summoning the stewards from various major and minor clans to discuss these matters immediately.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep