Chapter 161: Chapter 158: The Plan Begins
"I am Zhang Qingyuan. Is this the merchant caravan to be escorted to Dawan Village?"
In Qing City, Shen Changchuan, who had changed his appearance with the Transformation Technique, approached the long caravan waiting to depart from the city square. Token in hand, he spoke calmly to the caravan’s manager.
The name Zhang Qingyuan was, of course, fabricated.
He didn’t have much of a talent for naming things,
so he simply took the name of a protagonist from a novel he had read in his past life as his alias.
’Maybe in the future, there will be a Xiao Yan or a Ye Fan.’
"So it is Immortal Master Zhang. We will be troubling you for the rest of the journey, then."
"It’s no trouble. Let’s go."
"Alright, let’s move out!"
At the manager’s command,
the long caravan began to set off in sequence.
Soon, under the gazes of many people in the city, they passed through the city gates,
merging into the vast mountain forests,
and slowly made their way toward Dawan Village.
"Sir Manager, is this level of security really going to be enough?"
"You know we still haven’t replaced the guards we lost in the last attack."
"Don’t you worry about it. This time, someone from the Tian Nan Shen Clan is here to help... If an enemy attacks, just do your best to protect yourself..."
"Besides, the goods we’re transporting this time aren’t anything too valuable..."
"Oh, I see..."
Shen Changchuan, positioned in the middle of the caravan, was unaware of the shopkeepers’ distrust
or the secret adjustments made to the convoy.
But even if he did know,
he wouldn’t have cared.
’My disguise is only at the Seventh Layer Late Stage, so it’s no wonder they don’t trust me.’
After all, a Cultivator at the Ninth Layer Realm had been involved in the last attack on the caravan.
If it happened again,
any normal person would think that a Qi Introduction Seventh Layer Cultivator posed no threat to a Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Cultivator.
’But what does that matter?’
’In any case, my goal,’
’is to build a reputation terrifying enough to intimidate everyone around by killing during this escort mission.’
’Who cares if they trust me or not,’
’or whether the goods in the caravan are valuable Immortal Cultivation Materials?’
’It wouldn’t matter if it were just sand.’
’As long as the caravan has set out,’
’and attracted some Tribulation Cultivators,’
’that’s all that matters.’
’This caravan’s formation is quite subtle...’
Shen Changchuan sat within the caravan,
observing its procession with a sense of interest.
The carriages moved forward, staggered in an orderly fashion.
A faint formation could be discerned.
Shen Changchuan could tell that,
if they were attacked,
the carriages could form a triangle in a short amount of time to face the enemy.
Because on those carriages, Shen Changchuan saw traces of a Rune Array.
Based on his Entry-Level knowledge as an Array Master,
he could roughly tell that if three carriages formed three anchor points, the interconnected support of the Rune Array patterns would be enough to form a small Defense Array in a short period of time!
Although in Shen Changchuan’s eyes, the defensive power of such a temporary Array was indeed weak.
But in the event of an ambush,
it could undoubtedly buy enough time for the patrolling guards to provide reinforcements.
Moreover,
this setup likely also had a psychological effect.
It would give the assistants and guards hiding behind the carriage barricade a bit of psychological comfort, helping them maintain the will to resist.
"Interesting."
’It seems those who can make a living in this wilderness have a few tricks up their sleeves after all.’
In a carriage in the middle of the convoy, Shen Changchuan carefully observed the caravan’s performance, a glint in his eye as he thought to himself.
But soon,
Shen Changchuan paid it no more mind.
He lowered the carriage’s curtain,
and began to sit cross-legged inside the carriage to meditate and cultivate.
Although the horses pulling the carriages were no ordinary beasts—they were superior specimens with some Demon Beast blood, far surpassing common horses—
due to the rugged mountain roads and the large amount of cargo, it would still take more than ten days to reach Dawan Village.
If you added the time needed for the return trip, hauling all the various Spirit Ores, Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, and other materials traded with the Loose Cultivators in Dawan Village,
the round trip would take over half a month at the very least!
Shen Changchuan naturally wouldn’t let this time go to waste.
So, during the journey, he began meditating and cultivating to solidify the foundation of the power that had surged within him recently.
Moreover,
Shen Changchuan discovered an unexpected benefit to meditating in the constantly jolting carriage.
’Meditating and cultivating in this kind of environment is a true test of one’s mental state!’
The carriage traveled on an uneven road, and without any high-tech components like springs or a suspension system, it was extremely bumpy.
An ordinary person would probably feel like their bones were being shaken apart after just an hour or so.
Even a Cultivator would find it uncomfortable after a long time,
let alone trying to meditate with a focused Heart Spirit.
An ordinary Cultivator who tried to meditate for more than a dozen seconds would likely have the Magical Power in their Dantian Meridians thrown into chaos by the shaking, forcing them out of their meditative state.
But at the same time, Shen Changchuan also discovered,
that as long as he could endure it,
it seemed to be extremely beneficial for tempering his state of mind!
Furthermore, being interrupted time and again,
then tempering and stabilizing himself time and again,
seemed not only to temper his mental state,
but also to solidify the foundation of his Cultivation.
It had a unique enhancing effect!
’If I can persevere, remaining unmoved by my external environment, my mental state will probably reach a new level through this continuous tempering!’
’And after this trip is over, if I go into seclusion for a while with the help of Elixirs, I might not be that far off...’
The thought flashed through Shen Changchuan’s mind.
He forced himself to calm down,
ignoring the violent jolting of his surroundings,
and focused his spirit on circulating his Magical Power.
「Three days later,」
The caravan’s journey was uneventful, with no accidents.
Along the way, they encountered some passing Loose Cultivators who were heading toward the Border Desolate Forest after hearing the news.
Upon encountering the caravan,
they either hurried to put distance between them, avoiding it from afar,
or they approached to ask if they could travel together.
However, the manager rejected all of the latter.
’Strangers of unknown origin appearing midway through the journey?’
’Who could guarantee they weren’t spies for a group of Tribulation Cultivators?’
At a time like this,
in this kind of situation,
one could not be careless.
Shen Changchuan didn’t care about any of this.
After three days of diligent adaptation and adjustment,
he was now able to quiet his mind and meditate in the bumpy carriage.
But on this day,
Shen Changchuan, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, seemed to sense something and abruptly opened his eyes.
In the dim carriage,
he gazed forward, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
"What was meant to come has finally arrived..."
