Chapter 153: Chapter 147: Demon Bai Ze

Shen Wenyan had no choice but to follow her towards the city gate.

Once they exited the city gate, Tang Qingyue pointed at the road ahead and spoke, “After leaving, follow this road, and you might find some villages before nightfall.”

“Hope your luck hasn’t run out, so you can find a village untouched by demon calamities to take shelter.”

After saying this, Tang Qingyue headed towards the city gate without looking back.

Shen Wenyan looked at the winding road leading into the distance and then at Tang Qingyue’s departing figure, slightly bowing and shouting, “Thank you, Miss Tang, for the meal!”

Tang Qingyue’s steps paused slightly, and a faint smile appeared beneath her veil.

“The story is interesting, and the person… is quite interesting too.”

As Tang Qingyue’s figure vanished, Shen Wenyan also hurriedly walked towards the distance.

At dusk, the road through the forest was deserted.

Along the way, he indeed came across many villages, but they were all in ruins, not a single intact house in sight.

Rotting corpses were scattered throughout the villages, resembling a human purgatory.

Shen Wenyan had no choice but to keep moving forward.

Looking at the familiar path through the woods ahead, his expression was somewhat dazed.

Back then, he was determined to travel far, and after leaving Yunzhong County, he headed north, wanting to see the vast snowfields.

He walked the Northern Snowfield for months, witnessing its boundless expanse, but also got lost unexpectedly.

Desperately searching with no results, on the brink of death, fortunately, he encountered disciples of the Celestial Talisman Sect of the Twelve Immortal Sects on their way back to Danzhou.

Learning that Shen Wenyan was from the Yunzhong Shen Family, the Celestial Talisman Sect disciples initially planned to detour and send him back to the Yunzhong Shen Family.

However, a thought of wanting to go to the Danzhou Cultivation Realm arose in his heart.

The Celestial Talisman Sect disciples did not refuse and brought him to Qishan.

After arriving in Danzhou, Shen Wenyan declined the Celestial Talisman Sect’s offer to stay and ventured alone to explore the world filled with immortals.

Leaving the Celestial Talisman Sect’s mountain gate, he traversed mountains and rivers.

Whether because the Celestial Talisman Sect was on the outskirts of Qishan or due to his good luck,

he only encountered a few demon beasts that had just transformed.

Once they were intimidated and scared off by his Literary Courage, he arrived safely at Cang Mang City.

As for the places he mentioned, like “Tingqin Peak” and “Fallen Immortal Lake,” they were merely names he heard from the Celestial Talisman Sect disciples.

“It’s been four years…”

“Father, Mother… Elder Brother.”

Shen Wenyan murmured softly, with the images of Zhao Xuan and her children appearing in his mind as they parted.

But just as a ripple of tenderness arose in his heart, he forcibly suppressed it.

After four years of trials and tribulations, and an inner journey of honing, he could clearly feel that his mind had greatly elevated.

He could now clearly sense that his Divine Spirit was just a step away from further transformation.

If this time he could break through the cocoon and become a butterfly, it would be a tremendous leap in his cultivation in the Literary Dao.

If he were to fail… he might die in this foreign land.

As he looked at the sky that had completely darkened, Shen Wenyan’s eyes became resolute.

The heart seeking the Dao is born facing death!

The winding path before him was both the road beneath his feet and the path he pursued in the Literary Dao.

As the sky grew darker, and night fell completely, Shen Wenyan did not know how long he had walked. Just as he felt utterly exhausted, he suddenly saw a faint light ahead.

He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn’t seeing things, then joyfully ran towards the light.

It was a village with a dozen or so households.

The night was deep, and everything was silent.

Although the village looked desolate, the candlelit house ahead gave him a sense of unusual warmth.

He slowly walked to the house with the light on.

Shen Wenyan hesitated for a moment and gently knocked on the courtyard door.

After a short wait, he heard the sound of a door opening from inside the courtyard.

Then an old voice filled with suspicion and vigilance came.

“Who is it?”

Shen Wenyan, clasping his hands through the door, said, “Old man, I was on my way to Cang Mang City, but I lost track of time. I’d like to ask if I could stay overnight, I beg your convenience.”

After a moment of silence in the courtyard, he heard shuffling footsteps.

Shen Wenyan stepped back and waited silently.

Moments later, the courtyard door opened, and a girl with a fair complexion, eyes like autumn water, and a flower wreath atop her head peeked out curiously at him.

Shen Wenyan felt somewhat puzzled.

The voice responding just now was clearly from an elderly person, this…

“Grandmaster Bai, it’s a person!”

While he was pondering, the girl swung open the courtyard door, revealing behind her an old man wearing a strange beast skin skirt, holding a cane.

The old man had white hair and beard, appearing very aged, emitting a faint aura of impending decay.

He looked at Shen Wenyan suspiciously, his eyes as if stars passed within, seemingly able to penetrate into the heart of others.

Shen Wenyan didn’t notice these details.

He only felt that since the old man appeared, there was a strange, refreshing aura around.

Once this aura appeared, the fatigue he’d experienced from traveling instantly vanished.

“So, it’s a scholar.”

The old man chuckled, then extended a hand, “Young man, please come in.”

“Our humble abode is simple; please do not mind.”

Shen Wenyan clasped his hands repeatedly and followed them inside the courtyard.

Along the way, the girl supporting the old man kept glancing over curiously.

Upon entering the room, Shen Wenyan noticed many unknown herbs and some medicine pots and tools scattered around.

The girl poured a bowl of clear tea and handed it to him.

“Thank you.” Shen Wenyan expressed his gratitude.

The old man beside him timely spoke again:

“Young man, you haven’t eaten, have you?”

Shen Wenyan nodded awkwardly.

Since eating a few steamed buns in Cang Mang City and traveling for a few hours, he hadn’t eaten, nor had he seen any living creature.

The old man chuckled, looking at the girl beside him, “Lass, go prepare something for the young man to eat.”

The girl nodded and left.

“Young man, please have a seat. I will go lend the girl a helping hand.”

Shen Wenyan got up, clasped his hands, and said, “Much obliged.”

The old man waved his hand and left the room, heading to the kitchen next door.

The girl quickly peeked towards the room’s direction, seeing Shen Wenyan sipping tea at the table, then softly whispered, “Grandmaster Bai Ze, how could this human see through your illusion skill and find this place?”

The old man dropped his old demeanor, his expression turning quirky as he pondered, “This person is not an Immortal Dao cultivator, but he carries an unusual aura, vast and righteous…”

“His eyes are bright and restrained. His Divine Spirit must have been repeatedly tempered… How strange, when did the Human Race start cultivating only the Divine Spirit, not Spiritual Power?”

The girl nodded, “I agree, he has a very pleasant scent too!”

“But Grandmaster Bai Ze, we just came here to avoid the prying eyes of those guys, and immediately encountered such a strange human. Could it be a ploy?”

“A ploy?” The old man chuckled, “I’ve lived for 800 years. Even if a Human Golden Core Realm cultivator had ill intentions in front of me, they couldn’t escape my eyes.”

“Alright, let’s get him something to eat, and discuss tomorrow.”

The girl responded with an “Oh,” then seemed troubled, “Grandmaster Bai Ze, we’ve been living on dew and mist, there’s nothing to feed a human with.”

The old man was momentarily at a loss.

He waved his hand, “Go into the mountain and catch an undeveloped beast to stew for him.”

The girl nodded, transformed into a snow-white little fox, and disappeared from the kitchen.

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