Chapter 278 - 275: Return to the Sect
Let them go?
What a joke!
They wanted my life, and I’m supposed to care about our acquaintance?
Besides, we barely even knew each other.
What acquaintance was there to speak of?
What’s more,
he spoke of being coerced,
but was he really?
’If you hadn’t taken the initiative to report the situation, who would have known you had my Low Level Communication Talisman?’
’He probably did it for some great benefit,’
’spilling everything he knew.’
’At the same time, he must have been plotting against me himself, which is why he joined this ambush.’
That was why Shen Changchuan felt no psychological burden in killing him.
In reality,
Shen Changchuan’s guess was not wrong.
Shen Shiyin had indeed joined in of his own accord.
There was no coercion from his old superior at all.
At first, Shen Zhengming had only sought him out to ask for some information about Shen Changchuan.
This was because over two years ago, about half a year after Shen Changchuan had first arrived at Dawan Village, Shen Shiyin, being familiar with the area, had been dispatched as a subordinate to collect Dawan Village’s tribute from that quarter’s Spirit Field harvest.
At that time,
Shen Zhengming, the Transportation Envoy, had been staying in Qing City. He learned about Shen Changchuan’s situation from the returning Shen Shiyin and reported back to the First Madam that he was no cause for concern.
Although later events proved that
Shen Shiyin was a poor judge of character and had completely failed to see the threat Shen Changchuan posed,
he wasn’t held accountable because Shen Changchuan was so good at hiding his abilities.
Instead, before this operation,
he was summoned by Shen Zhengming to provide details, as he was one of the few Shen Clan Members who had ever dealt with Shen Changchuan.
During their conversation,
Shen Shiyin keenly sensed an opportunity.
So, he took the initiative to reveal everything he knew and stated that if Shen Zhengming wanted to deal with Shen Changchuan, he could help.
And thus, this venture came to be.
The reason Shen Shiyin acted this way
was due to a very simple reason:
jealousy!
That’s right,
jealousy!
Shen Shiyin was filled with jealousy for Shen Changchuan, that kid who’d gotten ridiculously lucky!
He knew something about
the development of Dawan Village.
Combining that with Shen Changchuan’s meteoric rise,
he was certain
that the other man must have obtained some great, Heaven-defying opportunity in Dawan Village!
With the help of that great opportunity,
and because the turbulent times allowed Dawan Village to ride the wave and gather a massive amount of cultivation resources,
Shen Changchuan was able to achieve such great success!
’And all of this...’
’should have been mine, Shen Shiyin’s!’
’According to the arrangements I originally bribed for, I should have stayed in Dawan Village for ten years.’
’Within those ten years, I would have definitely been able to ride that wave!’
’The opportunity, you could say that was his luck,’
’but what about the monstrous profits from Dawan Village successfully transforming into a temporary nearby Workshop due to the changing times?’
’That was an income of tens of thousands of Spirit Stones!’
’If I had such a huge income, I definitely could have advanced to the Late Stage of the Qi Introduction Realm within just one or two years!’
’All of that...’
’should have been mine!’
But because Shen Changchuan stuck his nose in it,
it all ended up in the other man’s pocket.
How could this not make Shen Shiyin jealous and resentful?!
During that time,
he burned with jealousy.
He tossed and turned at night, unable to sleep.
The resentment he nurtured for Shen Changchuan grew more and more intense.
And so,
when he guessed that the First Madam was behind Shen Zhengming and that they were going to deal with Shen Changchuan,
he jumped at the chance, not even asking for any benefits.
He joined the ambush plot against Shen Changchuan.
For this reason,
in killing Shen Shiyin and the others,
it could be said that Shen Changchuan had made no mistake at all.
Of course, Shen Changchuan
couldn’t have known the detailed inside story.
After killing Shen Shiyin and the others and looting the Storage Bags from their bodies,
Shen Changchuan mounted Xiaofeng’s back and rushed directly back to the Dragon Cloud Sect Mountain Gate.
...
On the way back to the Sect,
no other accidents occurred.
Everything went very smoothly.
However, while traveling through the sky,
Shen Changchuan also made an unexpected discovery.
The vast, desolate land below, which was once sparsely populated, was gradually being developed with new settlements.
This seemed to be because the establishment of the Dragon Cloud Sect had attracted many outside Cultivators to settle and develop the area.
In the past, the Border Desolate Forest was seen by outsiders as a remote backwater. Few paid it any mind. Those who established their homes here were mostly Cultivators with nowhere else to go,
or beings who had come here long ago to escape the chaos of war.
But with the founding of the Dragon Cloud Sect—
and a Mountain Gate established by a powerful expert, one of the Yuqing Seven Sons, no less—
the Border Desolate Forest naturally became the center of attention for many Cultivators and Immortal Cultivation Forces.
Coupled with the large influx of outside Cultivators due to the previous series of events,
they gained a certain understanding of the vast Border Desolate Forest. Some Spiritual Lands among the mountains and forests that could be developed into Spirit Fields also came to the attention of outsiders.
Thus, some Immortal Cultivation Clans and forces sent people here to develop the land, establish settlements, create Spirit Fields, and so on.
After all, with the great banner of the Dragon Cloud Sect flying,
they didn’t have to worry about sudden attacks from Great Demons.
What’s more,
the Dragon Cloud Sect had also issued a long-term mission to exterminate troublesome Demon Beasts.
As long as they submitted to the Dragon Cloud Sect’s rules and paid their taxes,
they were basically safe.
Naturally, no one would refuse to add more Spiritual Land assets to their family’s holdings.
Of course,
developing the wilderness was not so easy.
Plus, there was the two- to three-month rainy season each year, as well as the mountain leech plagues.
The challenges one had to face were incredibly difficult.
Therefore, although Shen Changchuan saw signs of prosperity beginning to emerge on the land,
the number of settlements was not too great.
It was only a slight improvement from before, when you could travel for many miles without seeing a single village, when the paths between the mountains and forests were hidden by dense, lush grass, and all you could see was a desolate expanse of green.
’This rate of development is actually a bit slow. It might take over a hundred years for the Border Desolate Forest to become a mature region like the Tian Nan Domain.’
Shen Changchuan thought to himself.
However, as for the changes on the land,
he only gave them a cursory glance and didn’t pay them much mind.
Because none of this was of any benefit to him.
Although the growing population of Cultivators might allow Dawan Village’s temporary Workshop to prosper and survive for a while longer,
perhaps it could even grow to become the sole Immortal Cultivation Marketplace in a radius of hundreds of miles, just like the Wu Family Collection.
But in truth, for the current Shen Changchuan,
the income from Dawan Village
wasn’t of much use for the time being.
He held substantial spoils of war from the enemies he had slain, with no less than tens of thousands of Spirit Stones in his possession.
And the Spiritual Objects needed to advance from the Qi Introduction Realm to the Soul Emergence Realm
were basically things that couldn’t be bought with Spirit Stones.
For this reason,
he only paid it a moment’s attention
before refocusing his energy on digesting what he had gained from his battle with Shen Zhengming.
Before many days had passed,
riding swiftly on Xiaofeng, Shen Changchuan once again passed through the Sect’s main gate.