Chapter 232 - 229: Confronting Soul Emergence
He’d just gotten rid of Shen Zeyu, and now Shen Shengliang had arrived.
One after another,
they came in waves, an almost seamless succession!
As for these people,
Shen Changchuan was already exhausted!
He knew,
even if he took care of Shen Shengliang and his ilk today,
tomorrow, others driven by greed would inevitably come looking for trouble.
Kill Shen Zeyu, and Shen Shengliang appears.
Kill Shen Shengliang, and the next member of the Shen Family will just take his place.
It was inevitable.
The income from Dawan Village was too enticing.
At the same time, because of his ties to the Great Madam, he had to hide his true strength.
To outsiders, it appeared that the garrison commander guarding such a goldmine was merely at the Qi Introduction Fourth or Fifth Layer. It was like a child carrying a gold ingot through a crowded market!
Who wouldn’t rush in for a bite or two?
Regarding this,
Shen Changchuan didn’t blame them.
It was human nature.
If he, Shen Changchuan, were in their shoes, facing the same situation, he couldn’t say for sure that he wouldn’t be tempted.
He was simply tired of this conflict.
He didn’t want to waste another ounce of energy on these repetitive troubles.
’The strong prey on the weak. That is the essence of this Immortal Cultivation World.’
’As long as you aren’t strong enough, people who covet your wealth will never stop coming. They’ll keep causing trouble... Even if you deal with them one by one in the shadows, new people will just keep showing up, dragging you into this seemingly endless cycle of problems...’
’It’s been less than a month, and a second wave has already arrived. I’m tired of playing this boring game over and over...’
Shen Changchuan’s gaze grew incredibly deep.
At this moment,
as three black smoke skulls were instantly obliterated by a flash of sword light,
the swarms of black smoke skulls drifting high in the sky instantly erupted like a disturbed hornet’s nest, surging madly toward Shen Changchuan.
Yet, facing this deluge of attacks,
Shen Changchuan’s figure remained perfectly still.
’Is he insane? He can’t possibly think he can face a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm head-on, can he?’
’Maybe he’s been hiding his strength for so long and has never fought a real master, so he has no idea what he’s up against...’
’What a shame. Judging by his words, he seemed like a tenacious and patient person. If he weren’t so impulsive, his future accomplishments would surely be great.’
’Yeah, who would have thought? The Lord of Dawan Village, rumored to be at the mere Qi Introduction Fourth or Fifth Layer, is actually at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer! If I had that kind of power—no, even if I just reached the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer—I’d make sure everyone around knew it!’
’Those who can endure what others cannot are always destined to become great figures...’
’Who cares about all that? While that fool is drawing the enemy’s fire, we need to find a way to escape...’
Seeing Shen Changchuan face the sky full of black smoke skull monsters without dodging or evading,
the surrounding Cultivators who witnessed this scene immediately wrote him off as a dead man.
What could this be, if not suicide?
Never mind the fact that each of those black smoke skull monsters possessed the power of the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer, making them as difficult to deal with as any Cultivator in the Qi Introduction Late Stage.
Even if he truly possessed the strength to slay these bizarre creations floating in the air one after another,
so what?
Don’t forget,
those roaming black smoke skulls were merely the creations of the Demon Cultivator in the sky, the one exuding the aura of the Soul Emergence Realm!
The reason most people were fleeing instead of fighting back...
...was because of that dark figure in the sky!
When facing the Soul Emergence Realm,
especially one who commanded the arts of the Demon Dao, Cultivators at the Qi Introduction Realm were completely outmatched!
All they could do...
...was run!
And just as the surrounding Cultivators were thinking of taking advantage of the distracted black smoke skulls high above to find an escape route...
SHIIING!
A clear, boundless sword cry suddenly rang out between heaven and earth.
Streaks of white sword light erupted from Shen Changchuan’s body, surging toward the heavens like a raging squall!
The sword light was as fast as lightning, carving tangible, piercing lines through the void. It produced a razor-sharp shriek that sent a chill down the spines of even the Cultivators dozens of yards away, making their hair stand on end.
In an instant,
dozens, even hundreds, of black smoke skulls were shattered by the overlapping sword lights. With a series of dull HISSES, they turned into wisps of gray smoke and vanished completely.
In the blink of an eye,
the space for dozens of yards around Shen Changchuan was cleared!
The torrent of black smoke skulls that had been flooding toward him was more than halfway gone in a single moment!
A sight like this...
...made the surrounding Cultivators, who had been watching and had already written Shen Changchuan off as dead, suck in a sharp breath of cold air!
What kind of technique was that?!
How did it look like some kind of Sword Magic had been cast dozens of times in a single instant?
But they hadn’t seen him use any Sealing Technique to cast it.
Could it be that he’d mastered some kind of Sword Magic to the Perfection Level?
But that still wasn’t right!
Everyone knew that powerful Magic had a higher cost. Even when cultivated to Perfection, the Sealing Technique required for casting couldn’t be completely eliminated as with ordinary Magic.
Each of those dozens of sword lights could effortlessly slay a black smoke skull with an aura at least at the Qi Introduction Late Stage. Their power was clearly immense!
How could a Sword Magic of such power possibly be cultivated to the point of being Instantaneous?!
And what’s more, it pierced every target with perfect precision, without a single wasted motion.
This scene...
...left nearly all the observing Qi Introduction Late Stage Cultivators feeling as if their entire worldview had been shattered, their faces etched with utter disbelief.
The reactions of those around him,
Shen Changchuan paid no mind.
His gaze was fixed on the dark figure high in the sky.
He met its gaze,
utterly fearless.
The dark figure’s attention was clearly captivated by Shen Changchuan’s display of skill.
But he paid no mind to Shen Changchuan’s "defiant" expression.
Instead, a look of sudden realization dawned on his face.
"So, it was you... It was a great shame to have let you escape my grasp that day. I never thought heaven would be so kind as to let me encounter you again today, allowing me to correct that mistake..."
As Shen Changchuan made his move, his aura was laid bare for all to see.
The dark figure then recognized Shen Changchuan below as the young Cultivator from the incident at Wu Family Collection a month ago—the one who had withstood his attack!
To be able to withstand his strike with a Cultivation Realm of only the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer had left a rather deep impression on him.
"So, you’re a genius of the Tian Nan Shen Clan. Excellent. I’ll start by collecting some interest!"
The dark figure’s voice was cold.
He took a single step and, in the blink of an eye, seemed to traverse space itself, appearing abruptly above Shen Changchuan.
Then,
BOOM!!!
A colossal, pitch-black hand, seeming to command the winds and clouds and embed itself in the very fabric of the world, descended upon Shen Changchuan. It carried with it the unparalleled, terrifying pressure of the Soul Emergence Realm!