Chapter 177: Chapter 168: Roles Reversed in Offense and Defense

During this period, although those who knew the truth within the Shen Family tried their best to conceal the news of He Zishi’s death, Shen Wenping was no fool.

On the contrary, she was very smart.

“Father, please tell me, what really happened to Zishi?”

That night, after He Zhongyi fell asleep, Shen Wenping came to the courtyard and, holding back the urge to cry out loud, asked.

Shen Yuan turned around and initially thought to fabricate another reason, but seeing the tears in his daughter’s eyes, he realized there was no need to hide it anymore.

“Zishi… was attacked on the way to Yunshui Town with Elder He.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Wenping felt as if a bolt of lightning had struck her ears!

She staggered, nearly fainting.

Shen Yuan hurriedly reached out to support her.

Feeling his daughter’s trembling body, he could only sigh, not knowing how to comfort her.

They had been married for more than two years, and their relationship had always been good. Now they had just had a child, yet… they were separated by death.

How could one accept such a blow?

Shen Wenping collapsed into her father’s arms, biting her lip hard, until it bled, not daring to cry out loud.

Shen Yuan clenched his fist and then waved his hand to cast a Spiritual Power Shield.

“Child, if you want to cry, cry out loud.”

He spoke with a trembling voice.

Upon hearing this, Shen Wenping could no longer hold back and began to cry bitterly.

After crying for a moment, she suddenly stopped and hastily wiped the tears from her face.

“Zhongyi is crying…”

“Father, did you hear Zhongyi crying?”

“Is Zhongyi hungry?”

She murmured blankly and rushed towards the house, only to slam into the Spiritual Power Shield and fall to the ground.

“Zhongyi, don’t cry, mother is here.”

Climbing up from the ground, Shen Wenping, ignoring everything, prepared to rush back into the room again.

Seeing this, Shen Yuan’s face revealed a trace of sorrow, and he reached out to cast a ray of spiritual power.

This spiritual power entered Shen Wenping’s body, softening her, and she fainted.

Supporting his unconscious daughter, Shen Yuan’s hands trembled as he wiped off the blood at the corner of her mouth and tears on her face, carrying her into the room.

Hu Yufen came face-to-face and was shocked to see this.

“What happened to Wenping?”

Shen Yuan shook his head slightly.

“She knows about Zishi’s death, overwhelmed by grief, lost her heart spirit. I used spiritual power to comfort her, allowing her to sleep temporarily.”

Hu Yufen sighed slightly, looking at her daughter with bitten lips, her eyes filled with sudden tears.

“Oh, my poor child…”

Since knowing about He Zishi’s death, Hu Yufen had been both grieving and worrying inside.

She couldn’t imagine how her daughter would face the news after knowing.

“Let this child sleep with you for the next two days.” After laying Shen Wenping on the bed, Shen Yuan sighed and left the room for Black Water Pavilion.

Sitting cross-legged on the mat, he gazed at the bright moon in the sky, lost in thought.

Logically, having lived for over a hundred years across past and present lives, aided by the pursuit of Immortal Cultivation, he should have become indifferent to life and death.

But whether it was Huang Qingzhou’s death or He Zishi’s death, it felt like a sharp knife stabbing his heart.

This feeling caused the spiritual power within him to be agitated, with a vague sense of losing control.

“Ah Die.”

Shen Wen’an came down from upstairs and softly called.

Shen Yuan turned around, a trace of a bitter smile on his face.

Shen Wen’an sat down beside him, quietly observing him for a moment and said, “If Ah Die doesn’t control the spiritual power within, it will be very dangerous.”

Shen Yuan nodded.

He also understood the current situation, knowing he couldn’t continue immersing himself in grief.

“I’m fine, go and cultivate.”

Shen Wen’an nodded and got up, returning to the second floor of Black Water Pavilion, but his Divine Sense continued to keep an eye on his father downstairs.

September, another year of Spirit Rice harvest.

Over the past few years, with the emergence of several new Qi Cultivation cultivators in the clan, some Spirit Fields in the villages were planted with Spirit Rice.

This harvest yielded a total of five hundred and fifty pounds of Spirit Rice.

After the two hundred pounds handed over to Luoxia Mountain, the remaining three hundred and fifty pounds were divided, ten pounds for each of the three major clans, five pounds for each minor clan, with still more than three hundred pounds remaining.

In the front courtyard, meeting Shen Yuan who came from outside, Shen Wenxing said, “In the past two months, several conflicts erupted between Luoxia Mountain and Suihuo Sect, with disciples from both Immortal Sects taking action, reportedly with many casualties.”

“The elder patriarch of the Yingchuan Zhang Family seems to have been killed.”

Shen Yuan nodded slightly and said, “This year’s Spirit Rice harvest is good. When you go to Yunzhong County City to offer tribute, bring an extra hundred pounds of Spirit Rice.”

“Our Shen Family cannot engage in the battle with Suihuo Sect, but should help where we can.”

“Take another fifty pounds of remaining Spirit Rice, along with the spring water from Spiritual Spring and Spirit Crystal Fragments, to the mountains for Chongming and the others with ten pounds each, distribute the rest among clan disciples.”

“Chonghong and You’Er have reached the Qi Cultivation Realm, and two kids from Dayan Village are now at the Peak of Body Tempering.”

“In the future, the resources of our Shen Family should be allocated based on merit. If we cannot promptly enhance our strength, we will eventually become bullied by others.”

Shen Wenxing nodded: “Sister-in-law came to me the other day, saying Chongxu is already three years old and wants to start cultivation.”

Shen Yuan nodded: “I will go see. You go about your business.”

After the father and son parted, Shen Yuan came to the gates of Shen Wenyan’s courtyard.

“Grandfather?”

Shen Chongxuan, who was studying in the garden, saw him and hurriedly came to greet.

“Where’s your mother?”

As Shen Yuan spoke, Zhao Xuan walked out of the house, followed by a small tiger-like child.

Seeing Shen Yuan, the little child smiled, and with a whoosh ran over!

“Grandfather, hug!”

Shen Yuan squatted down to hug him.

“Chongxu…”

“It’s okay.”

Zhao Xuan was about to speak, but Shen Yuan interrupted with a smile, “Did my eldest say you went to see him?”

Somewhat nervously, Zhao Xuan nodded, “The daughter-in-law feels Chongxu is already three years old, at the age to start cultivation…”

Shen Yuan smiled mildly at her, “You can directly talk to father about this.”

“Aren’t those boys all being cultivated under father’s guidance?”

Zhao Xuan lowered her head, not saying anything.

“Alright, I’m taking Chongxu with me.”

Shen Yuan also knew that the restraint his daughter-in-law had developed from her inferiority complex was irreversible, and she would never be like the eldest son’s wife.

“Chongxu, how about grandpa teaching you cultivation?”

“Okay! Chongxu wants to cultivate, not study with brother!”

“Cultivation is cultivation, but you must also study. You can’t become an Immortal in the future and not even recognize words, can you?”

…

The figures of the grandfather and grandson gradually walked away.

Hidden Dragon Mountain.

Shen Chongming, already eleven years old, had reached the Peak of Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer.

The remaining Chen Youran and Shi Miao had also broken through to the Early Stage of Qi Cultivation Third Layer.

As for Zhao Tuan, he was still at the Peak of Qi Cultivation First Layer, unable to break through.

At this point, the difference between having a Spirit Root and not having one was already evident.

Among the four, Zhao Tuan was more diligent in cultivation than any of them, but the gap was only growing wider.

Yet even so, Zhao Tuan was not at all impatient.

He had long known that he could not compare to the three of them in terms of talent for cultivation, and had already prepared for this when he first decided to take the Path of Cultivation.

“Brother Tuan.”

Outside the wooden hut, he heard Shen Chongming’s voice.

Zhao Tuan awoke from cultivation, got up, opened the wooden door, and cupped his hands: “Young Clan Leader.”

Shen Chongming chuckled, “There’s no need for formality when they’re not around, Brother Tuan.”

Zhao Tuan simply shook his head with a smile, “Can’t break the rules.”

“Is the Young Clan Leader going out hunting?”

What he referred to as hunting was not killing wild beasts or demons in the mountains, but seeking out cultivators from the Barbarian Race who had infiltrated.

In Fengxian County, Qiyun Valley was rarely reliable, often sending people to attack He County controlled by Hundred Beasts Mountain, stealing their Spirit Rice and burning their Spirit Fields, severely restraining the forces of Hundred Beasts Mountain and the Western Wilderness Barbarian Race.

This gave the Shen Family’s mountain defenses more breathing room.

Now that the initiative was in the hands of the Shen Family, Shen Chongming and the other three often chose to take the initiative, hunting those Western Wilderness cultivators who entered the mountains to search for Spirit Medicine and ore veins.

“We’ll discuss this later, first let me give you something.”

Shen Chongming stepped into the wooden hut, pulled out a cloth bag from his bosom, and tossed it to Zhao Tuan.

Curious, Zhao Tuan opened it, and quickly closed it again, bowing as he returned the cloth bag to Shen Chongming, “Young Clan Leader, I cannot accept this!”

The cloth bag was filled with Spirit Crystal Fragments, at least seven or eight pieces.

Shen Chongming did not reach out to take it, but instead said earnestly, “Brother Tuan.”

Zhao Tuan looked up at him.

“My father often says, our families are related by marriage, my grandfather and your grandfather were sworn brothers, my father and your father were comrades who lived and died together.”

“Now that we’re fighting the Barbarian Race together, we can be considered brothers, right?”

Zhao Tuan didn’t dare to respond.

Shen Chongming continued, “I have a Spirit Root, my cultivation speed is fast, I don’t need this stuff.”

“If Brother Tuan wants to help me more, your cultivation certainly can’t fall too far behind, can it?”

Hearing this, Zhao Tuan hesitated a bit.

He didn’t have a Spirit Root, and could only rely on breathing in spiritual energy from the air, so his cultivation was indeed slow.

The Zhao Family was a small clan, and they could get a little cultivation resources every year.

These resources were now all spent on him alone, but his cultivation was still advancing slowly.

Zhao Tuan estimated that if he accepted the Spirit Crystal Fragments in this bag, he had a high probability of breaking through to the Qi Cultivation Second Layer.

The remaining Spirit Crystal Fragments, along with this year’s resources, might even allow him to touch the threshold of Qi Cultivation Third Layer after a year of cultivation.

“Take it.”

“You’re not like Shi Miao and the others.”

Shen Chongming pushed back the bag Zhao Tuan had handed over.

This time, Zhao Tuan did not insist.

After a moment of hesitation, he tucked the bag into his bosom, took a step back, and bowed deeply to Shen Chongming.

“Thank you, Young Clan Leader!”

Shen Chongming happily helped him up, saying, “Brother Tuan, cultivate well. Recently, the clan’s scouts reported that they may have found a Barbarian Race ore vein.”

“Once you break through, we can sneak a look.”

An ore vein!?

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tuan’s eyes instantly brightened.

If there was an ore vein, there would surely be cultivators from the Barbarian Race guarding it.

In that case, they wouldn’t have to search aimlessly for Barbarian Race cultivators in the vast mountains.

Moreover, if they managed to kill some, they might be able to seize some Spirit Ores.

“Rest assured, Young Clan Leader, I will break through as soon as possible.”

Shen Chongming nodded, “Then I won’t disturb you any longer.”

After leaving Zhao Tuan’s wooden hut, Shen Chongming thought for a while and then turned towards Shi Miao’s wooden hut.

When he arrived at the door of the wooden hut, Shi Miao happened to be stretching and coming out.

It was unclear whether he had just finished cultivating or just woken up.

“Young Clan Leader!?”

Upon seeing Shen Chongming, Shi Miao ran over excitedly and asked, “Are we going out?”

Shen Chongming nodded.

Seeing this, Shi Miao immediately said, “Then I’ll go call Brother Tuan and Youran.”

“Wait,” Shen Chongming called to him, “No need to call them, it’s just the two of us this time.”

“Just… the two of us?” Shi Miao was a bit surprised, a hint of fear in his eyes, “Isn’t that too dangerous for just the two of us?”

Shen Chongming looked at him with a half-smile, “Scared?”

Upon hearing this, Shi Miao immediately puffed out his chest, “Scare… scared of nothing!”

Seeing his lack of conviction, Shen Chongming laughed, “Alright, I won’t tease you anymore, I’m taking you to do something big.”

“Not going to hunt the Barbarian Race?” Shi Miao moved closer to ask.

Shen Chongming nodded, “No, let’s go.”

The two of them left the camp, heading deeper into the forest.

After a long trek, they appeared at the edge of a poisonous miasma.

Shen Chongming stopped and shouted into the miasma, “Giant Centipede, come out and meet me.”

The sound echoed through the woods, and soon, the miasma before them roiled, and a giant centipede’s head emerged from the miasma.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep