Chapter 279 - 276: Handling and Harvest
Dragon Cloud Sect,
External Affairs Hall,
"Whoa, kid! Don’t tell me you raided some Demon Beast’s lair?"
Looking at the Demon Beasts Shen Changchuan was pulling from his Storage Bag, Hong Yang, the Hall Master of the External Affairs Hall, gave him a surprised look and joked.
"Senior Brother Hong, you must be joking. I’d love to find a Demon Beast lair to raid, but I couldn’t find one!"
"This is the result of over a month of work, practically day and night."
Shen Changchuan said with a wry smile.
This burly young man before him, Hong Yang, was the Hall Master in charge of the External Affairs Hall and also one of Master Wandering Dragon’s Direct Disciples.
His personality was enthusiastic and straightforward.
Shen Changchuan had approached him several times with questions about Cultivation, and the man had never brushed him off, always answering without holding anything back.
"Heh, of course I know that."
Hong Yang chuckled.
Ever since the Dragon Cloud Sect was founded, the nearby Immortal Cultivation Forces naturally started paying tribute to it, automatically becoming subordinate powers under its jurisdiction.
This was why the Sect issued demon-slaying missions.
To the Dragon Cloud Sect,
the subordinate forces within its sphere of influence were like the farmers in a Mortal Realm who paid taxes to the state and could even be conscripted in times of war.
Naturally, they had to be properly managed and protected.
Otherwise, did people really think the Dragon Cloud Sect had nothing better to do than send its Disciples out to slay demons and uphold justice for fun?
And because of this,
after Shen Changchuan finished killing the troublesome Demon Beasts, the people below would report back.
So, Hong Yang was well aware of whether Shen Changchuan had been dealing with the Demon Beasts plaguing the villages and towns below.
"I just didn’t expect you to be so efficient... Sigh, I really hope you break through to Soul Emergence soon."
"As soon as you reach Soul Emergence, I’ll definitely ask Master to give my position as Hall Master of the External Affairs Hall to you!"
"You should know, the position of Hall Master of the External Affairs Hall is a rare seat of real power with plenty of perks. Countless senior and junior brothers would kill for the opportunity, but they’ll never get it. Your senior brother here has taken a liking to you, which is why I plan to give the position to you..."
Hong Yang said with a sigh, wearing a look that suggested he was doing Shen Changchuan a huge favor.
"*Cough cough*, thank you for the kind offer, Senior Brother, but please don’t include me in such matters..."
After a few coughs, Shen Changchuan refused flatly.
’You’ve got to be kidding me.’
’This Hall Master of the External Affairs Hall position is obviously a ton of work for little reward.’
’I’d have to be crazy to accept it.’
After some more banter,
Shen Changchuan finally turned in his mission,
receiving over 3,100 Sect Contribution Points.
Shen Changchuan didn’t linger. He bid farewell to Hong Yang and left the External Affairs Hall.
Just as he was walking out the gate, Hong Yang’s voice called out from behind him:
"Hey, don’t leave so fast! Are you sure you don’t want to take the Hall Master position? It’s an extremely powerful position within the Sect..."
In response,
Shen Changchuan turned a deaf ear,
quickened his pace,
and soon disappeared into the distance.
"Sigh, what a shame. Master’s new little junior brother isn’t easy to fool. Damn it, why does he have to be so smart? Not cute at all..."
Back where he was,
Hong Yang slumped back into his chair, sighed, and couldn’t help but mutter aloud.
"Senior Brother, if our little junior brother were actually stupid, he wouldn’t have lived long enough to be standing in front of you..."
"I heard that kid is a real piece of work. He was born the son of a concubine in a major family but endured it for over a decade. Only after breaking free from his cage did he reveal his Cultivation Talent and soar to prominence."
"A kid like that isn’t some rich young master who’s been coddled since birth. How could he be so easily fooled by you...?"
Just then,
a teasing voice drifted in from outside.
Wu Tianhao walked into the hall and spoke casually to Hong Yang behind the counter.
"What do you mean, ’fooled’? Don’t make it sound so ugly. I was giving the young man more responsibility to train him, you understand?"
Hong Yang, lounging lazily in his chair,
shot Wu Tianhao a look.
"That kid is truly impressive."
"To have come so far at such a young age, and to possess such power... I’m afraid even those monstrously talented geniuses from the younger generation of the Immortal Sects are nothing more than this..."
"Besides, he’s also mastered that Divine Technique of his. If a Soul Emergence Third Layer Cultivator isn’t careful, they’d probably suffer a major loss against him!"
"A talent like that must be tested with more responsibilities."
Hong Yang’s voice,
also carried a trace of wistful emotion.
"Heh heh."
Wu Tianhao just smiled,
not intending to continue the conversation.
’Back in the day, he had also fallen for this guy’s empty promises...’
"Forget it, you wouldn’t understand anyway. What did you come looking for your senior brother for?"
"*Cough cough*, well, there’s a matter I need to trouble you with this time, Senior Brother..."
...
「Shen Changchuan was unaware of what happened next.」
At that moment,
instead of heading straight back to his courtyard in the Sect,
he left the Sect grounds again and hurried toward Dawan Village.
The hype surrounding the Cyan Essence Water Grass, a Heaven and Earth Treasure, had died down in Dawan Village.
With the dust settled,
its appeal to outside Cultivators had greatly diminished.
But the Border Desolate Land was, after all, a relatively undeveloped area.
Many Spiritual Lands lay hidden in the vast mountains and forests, and quite a few had been discovered because of the whole noisy affair.
In addition, the Cyan Essence Water Grass incident had also led to the clearing out of a batch of Demon Beasts from the mountain forests, making the area much safer.
And so,
among the Cultivators who had once swarmed in for the Cyan Essence Water Grass, some Loose Cultivators with no ties or members of small, low-level cultivation forces got ideas. They occupied some of the discovered Spiritual Lands and began to carve out homes for themselves.
Coupled with the influx of outside Cultivators gathering in hopes of joining the Dragon Cloud Sect,
the Workshop established in Dawan Village managed to sustain itself, despite the significant drop in foot traffic.
The markets within it had remained open.
Shen Changchuan had come this time,
to get a quick grasp of the situation.
After confirming that few dared to cause trouble under the protection of his name,
he felt somewhat at ease.
After all, his relatives—his grandfather and uncles—were in Dawan Village, and he didn’t want any accidents to happen to them.
After that, Shen Changchuan took out all the Demon Beast carcasses from his mission to sell at the Workshop and gather some Spirit Stones.
The Sect’s missions only required the carcasses to confirm the kill count; they didn’t have to be handed over afterward.
Thus, the dozens of Demon Beast carcasses from the mission were still in Shen Changchuan’s possession.
Shen Changchuan had no use for these things,
so it would be best if he could exchange them for a sum of Spirit Stones.
Having done this,
Shen Changchuan returned to the Half-Mountain Courtyard and set up a Magical Power ward around the perimeter.
Once he was certain no one was spying on him,
he took out a High Level Communication Talisman.
The Shen Family Ancestor had given him several of these. They had a range of tens of thousands of miles and could be used to send a message directly to the Ancestor himself.
Holding the Communication Jade Slip in his hand,
Shen Changchuan carefully considered his words,
recounted the full story of Shen Zhengming’s matter, and even recorded an image of the bodies of Shen Zhengming and the others to send along with it.
Watching the light of the High Level Communication Talisman fade into the void,
a flicker passed through Shen Changchuan’s eyes.