Chapter 167: Chapter 164: The Return Journey
With his Cultivation at the Seventh Layer Peak, Shen Changchuan’s strength had taken another step forward!
Next, it was time to plan his advancement to the Eighth Layer Realm!
He currently had the Essence Condensing Barrier-Breaking Pill gifted by that prodigy from the Wu Family, so advancing to the Eighth Layer wouldn’t be difficult.
However, Shen Changchuan ultimately suppressed the thought of immediately taking the Elixir to break through.
After all, he had only just reached the Seventh Layer Peak.
He still needed to refine his Cultivation,
to further solidify his foundation before taking the Elixir to break through.
Besides,
the trade team’s return journey was about to begin, and he had to go out and escort them.
’I wonder if we’ll run into any more Tribulation Cultivator attacks on this return trip...’
’But it doesn’t matter. It will be a good opportunity to temper myself through combat, allowing me to further polish my Cultivation at the Seventh Layer Peak so I can take the Elixir and break through to the Eighth Layer Realm...’
As the thoughts flashed through his mind,
Shen Changchuan used the Transformation Technique, changing his face back into his Zhang Qingyuan disguise, and put on his previous clothes.
He arrived at the commercial area on the east side of the village.
The place was now much more prosperous than before.
Men, women, young, and old—a motley crowd of all sorts—mingled together.
However, thanks to the Cultivators who had come to repay their debt of gratitude regarding the Blood Slaughter Three Demons, order was maintained and no incidents occurred.
Shen Changchuan soon arrived at the rear courtyards of the major merchant guilds.
At this time,
in a large, secluded clearing in the back,
the trade team had already finished assembling.
"I apologize for keeping you all waiting."
"Immortal Master Zhang, please don’t be so formal. We just finished forming up ourselves. We’ll be relying heavily on your strength for this journey..."
After a brief exchange of pleasantries,
just as Shen Changchuan thought they were about to depart,
the chief steward of the United Trade Team took out a package and handed it to him.
"Hmm?"
"This is just a small token of appreciation from a few of the Shopkeepers for Immortal Master Zhang."
"That won’t be necessary. I came on behalf of Shen Changchuan, and he has already paid the price."
"Please, you must. The Shopkeepers told me that this gift is from our hearts."
"Besides, this amount of Spirit Stones is hardly enough to hire a prodigy like Immortal Master Zhang. Think of this token as compensation for the hardships of your journey... and also as thanks for looking after our guards on the road..."
After some back and forth, unable to refuse the chief steward of the United Trade Team’s enthusiasm,
Shen Changchuan finally had no choice but to accept it.
Returning to his carriage,
Shen Changchuan opened the package.
Not bad.
A full two thousand Spirit Stones.
Originally, Shen Changchuan had not intended to ask for payment for escorting them.
After all, by ensuring the trade route remained open, he could attract more Loose Cultivators to Dawan Village, which in turn would provide him with a steady stream of income.
Moreover, the battles and life-or-death struggles during the escort mission would serve as excellent training to temper his Cultivation Realm.
It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
But since they had offered it willingly, that was a different matter.
It had to be said,
those Shopkeepers really knew how to handle people.
At the very least, receiving these two thousand Spirit Stones made him feel much better about the whole affair.
If they were attacked by Tribulation Cultivators on the journey, he would naturally do his utmost to help, motivated by the payment of two thousand Spirit Stones.
After stowing the Spirit Stones,
Shen Changchuan sat cross-legged in the carriage and began to meditate.
The carriage began to move.
The trade team filed out from the rear exit of Dawan Village, merging into the vast mountain forest and heading toward Qing City.
...
The trade team’s return journey took nearly half a month.
For the most part, the ten-plus days of travel,
were uneventful.
It is worth mentioning, however,
that just as the trade team left Dawan Village, something happened that left Shen Changchuan baffled.
Someone was blocking the road!
The man radiated the aura of the Eighth Layer Early Stage. Wielding a great saber, he blocked their path with the air of a one-man army and arrogantly challenged Zhang Qingyuan.
He declared that he’d heard others in the village tavern bragging about Zhang Qingyuan’s exploits, but he didn’t believe a word of it and had scoffed at the claims.
The gap between the Seventh and Eighth Layers was immense. How could it be so easily crossed?
He had never once met a Cultivator at the Seventh Layer Realm who could defeat him.
Therefore, he didn’t believe it at all!
He believed it was just another fabricated story, either spread by some young master seeking fame or by the trade team to scare off would-be Tribulation Cultivators.
He proclaimed that he had come,
to beat Zhang Qingyuan to a pulp and expose the so-called genius’s fraudulent identity!
Faced with this foolish and juvenile behavior,
the chief steward of the United Trade Team stepped forward to dissuade him. He tried everything from flattery to name-dropping powerful connections to strengthen his argument, talking until his mouth was dry.
But the guy was as stubborn as a mule; once he set his mind on something, he wouldn’t back down until he hit a wall.
Instead, he took it as a sign that Zhang Qingyuan had a guilty conscience and didn’t dare to show his face.
It was solid proof that he was nothing but a fraud!
The trade team was blocked and had been delayed for a long time, unable to move on. Shen Changchuan’s good mood instantly soured.
With a dark expression, he immediately stepped out of his carriage and walked to the front of the procession.
While the fool wore a triumphant expression,
Shen Changchuan sent him flying into the grass by the roadside with a single slap.
After that,
the trade team continued on its way.
Only after the convoy was far in the distance,
did the fool groggily climb out of the grass. One side of his face was red and swollen, and his eyes were filled with a dazed confusion...
The fool blocking the road,
hadn’t actually caused much trouble for the trade team. After all, he only wanted to ’expose a fraud’ and bore them no killing intent.
The real trouble,
was the Tribulation Cultivators they might encounter along the way.
Those people,
were truly vicious and fought with no fear of death!
On the return journey,
the trade team did indeed suffer a dangerous attack.
The group of Tribulation Cultivators that ambushed them was extremely strong.
Their leader was at the Eighth Layer Peak, and he was accompanied by one at the Eighth Layer Early Stage and three at the Seventh Layer Peak.
For the trade team, this was undoubtedly an immense and overwhelming force!
So much so that even though Shen Changchuan had used Xiaofeng’s perspective to discover the ambush in advance and warn the trade team,
in the instant the enemy attack erupted, their sheer power was still too much for several of the Qi Introduction Early Stage guards. They couldn’t react in time—or rather, they simply couldn’t withstand the blow and were killed in a single strike!
Fortunately, the prepared guard captains of the trade team rushed in as reinforcements,
and managed to fend off the enemy’s assault, preventing further major casualties.
Not long after that,
Shen Changchuan activated his Soul-Attracting Bell with his full power, and in coordination with his Perfection-level Cyan Wood Sword Light, he bisected the Eighth Layer Peak Tribulation Cultivator leader with a single strike,
ending the battle in a single blow!
After Shen Changchuan struck again, easily slaying the Eighth Layer Early Stage Tribulation Cultivator and then quickly eliminating the remaining Seventh Layer Realm ones, the attack was resolved.
The entire trade team, having survived the ordeal, erupted in loud cheers.
