Chapter 280 - 277: Reply
Regarding the matter of Shen Zhengming,
he naturally wanted an explanation.
The main reason he had come to Dawan Village
was for this very matter.
It was unwise to send such a High-Level Communication Talisman from within the Sect, lest it cause some misunderstanding.
Sending it from Dawan Village was perfect.
This action was not merely about seeking justice for himself.
It was mainly about this body’s mother in Tian Nan City...
’Since Madam Yu dared to make a move against me,’
’what about this body’s mother?’
’Since the Ancestor arranged for me to join the Dragon Cloud Sect, he must have his own plans. There shouldn’t be any problems... Besides, Shen Chong’s three-year agreement is almost up. Madam Yu’s attention will probably be diverted soon,’ Shen Changchuan comforted himself, feeling his heart relax slightly.
In the Tian Nan Shen Clan,
as long as the Ancestor spoke, his word was basically an undeniable final decision.
In fact,
no matter how much internal strife plagued the clan,
as long as the one with the highest Cultivation was still presiding, the clan would basically never fall.
Therefore, a clan’s Ancestor was an existence whose every word was law.
The Ancestor had already given his orders back then.
’There shouldn’t be a major issue.’
’Hmph! That venomous woman! It would be best if my supposed brother, Shen Chong, puts in some effort and finishes her off once and for all!’
’Otherwise, when I become stronger in the future, I will definitely get my revenge for this!’
Although his heart had relaxed a little,
the thought of Madam Yu still made Shen Changchuan snort coldly, his expression turning sour.
In the past, she had been a huge threat to him, forcing him to live a suppressed life for three years.
And now, she had blatantly sent people to ambush and kill him!
If he didn’t have some skills to protect himself,
plus a bit of luck,
he would have died there for sure!
’Whatever. That venomous woman’s future probably won’t be easy anyway...’
’Shen Chong’s older brother and mother died either directly or indirectly at her hands. His blood feud is much greater than mine.’
’Messing with a Child of Fortune? You might as well just wait for death!’
Thinking of Shen Chong, that guy who seemed like a heaven-sent protagonist,
the anger in Shen Changchuan’s heart dissipated a little.
Don’t be fooled by how happily that venomous woman was dancing now.
Before long,
she would have to taste the bitter fruit of the seeds she had sown!
Composing his Heart Spirit,
Shen Changchuan stopped thinking.
With a flip of his palm, he took out the Storage Bags of Shen Zhengming and the others.
Gazing at these spoils of war,
the last of the anger in Shen Changchuan’s heart gradually faded away.
’The loot from a Cultivator at the Soul Emergence Second Layer Realm should be pretty good.’
Shen Changchuan murmured to himself,
and began to take stock of his haul.
However,
after a long moment,
Shen Changchuan’s expression froze.
He slapped his thigh, a look of annoyance on his face.
"Damn it, what a waste of time!"
The inside was practically empty, worth only a few thousand Spirit Stones at most, with almost nothing else.
’Could it be that Shen Zhengming was so overconfident that he didn’t bring anything with him?’
Shaking his head,
whatever the reason,
this trip was a total loss.
He tossed the few Storage Bags aside.
Shen Changchuan let out a long sigh.
The battle with Shen Zhengming was, without a doubt, his least profitable one ever.
’Forget it.’
’Gain, my fortune; lose, my fate.’
’If there’s nothing, there’s nothing.’
Shen Changchuan then closed his eyes, sat cross-legged on the White Jade Meditation Mat, and cleared his mind of all thoughts.
He began to meditate and cultivate in the secret chamber.
He needed to spend a few days refining the Magical Power in his body and digesting the gains from this battle.
However,
perhaps because his Cultivation had greatly increased,
the Spiritual Qi in the Spiritual Spring Secret Chamber in the mountain was already completely insufficient for him.
In just half an hour, the Spiritual Qi, which had been so dense it was almost condensing into mist, was completely consumed.
As a result,
the concentration of Spiritual Qi in the air was only slightly better than outside,
but it was far worse than the environment within the Sect!
’Damn it,’
’if I wasn’t waiting for the Ancestor’s reply, I would have gone straight back to the Sect to cultivate...’
Fortunately, Shen Changchuan was not someone who lacked Spirit Stones now.
He took out Spirit Stones from his Storage Bag and began cultivating with them in his hands.
Over the next few days,
Shen Changchuan spent all his time in the Cultivation Secret Chamber.
He also quickly digested the gains from the battle with Shen Zhengming.
In his pursuit of perfection,
he vaguely felt his foundation had become even more solid.
But even so,
Shen Changchuan did not continue to cultivate and refine it.
His Cultivation Realm had long reached the limit of the Qi Introduction Realm.
Spending too much more effort on it would not yield great benefits; the cost-to-benefit ratio was too low.
Thus,
he then turned his focus to the Cultivation of the Divine Skill Sanqing Forest Sword Array.
Perhaps due to the gains from his battle with Shen Zhengming,
the progress bar for this Divine Technique on his status panel had already risen to 35%.
It seemed that,
perhaps within two or three years, he could grind it all the way to Perfection!
’But I should first try to practice it with my own strength. Carefully comprehending the operational changes of this Divine Technique’s power will also bring me considerable benefits.’
’According to the records, during the state of Celestial-Human Communication while advancing to Soul Emergence, one can deduce a Divine Technique at the Perfection Level to an even higher plane, transforming it into one’s own Innate Divine Technique...’
’While the experience from the traits gained by grinding a Magic to Perfection via the progress bar is good, and it significantly lowers the cultivation threshold for this Divine Technique, the lack of personal comprehension might affect the future condensation of my Innate Divine Technique...’
Shen Changchuan pondered.
He then began to carefully study this Divine Technique, practicing and comprehending it diligently.
Time flew.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
During these ten days,
through his own efforts,
Shen Changchuan pushed the progress bar of the Divine Skill Sanqing Forest Sword Array to 37%, which counted as a small gain.
And just then,
the Clan Ancestor’s Communication Talisman arrived!
With a wave of Shen Changchuan’s hand,
a yellow light leaped out of the void and landed in his palm.
Shen Changchuan carefully examined the message within.
Regarding Madam Yu colluding with Shen Zhengming to ambush and kill him, the Ancestor indicated that he was already aware.
The Ancestor was furious that someone so disregardful of the bigger picture and the clan’s interests had appeared in the clan. He immediately issued an order declaring that Shen Zhengming had defied a prohibition and dared to harm his own kin, and was thus publicly expelled from the Shen Clan!
At the same time, the entire lineages of all participants—including Shen Zhengming and Shen Shiyin—along with their parents, relatives, and other immediate blood kin, would be demoted and exiled to the border regions for twenty years of hard labor as punishment!
As for the confiscated goods found during the raid on Shen Zhengming’s home,
a portion would be sent over soon as compensation for Shen Changchuan’s ordeal.
Also, at the end of the message,
the Ancestor praised Shen Changchuan for his excellent performance, saying he had greatly enhanced the prestige of their Tian Nan Shen Clan, and was very pleased with him.
But after reading the entire message,
Shen Changchuan’s brow furrowed slightly.
The ones who had actively made a move against him had paid the price,
but what about Madam Yu, who had been hiding behind the scenes all along?
It seemed
there was no mention of that Madam Yu anywhere in the message.