Chapter 168: Chapter 165: Battle Reflection
The caravan’s members couldn’t help but cheer loudly.
The Tribulation Cultivators they had just faced were simply too strong!
So strong that they could have annihilated the entire caravan!
This was truly a narrow escape from death!
However, as the one most responsible for slaying the enemy group, Shen Changchuan didn’t join them in their celebration.
Instead, he was lost in thought after the battle.
Recalling the scenes from the fight against the Eighth Layer Peak Tribulation Cultivator, he sighed inwardly.
During the battle,
his Cyan Wood Sword Light had indeed cut the enemy in two without any resistance, deciding the outcome of the fight.
But at the same time,
Shen Changchuan had also noticed something.
Just as the Cyan Wood Sword Light was about to strike the Eighth Layer Peak Loose Cultivator,
the man’s body had already shifted half a meter to the side.
Half a meter might not seem like much,
and it wasn’t enough to save the Eighth Layer Peak Tribulation Cultivator’s life,
but one had to remember,
Shen Changchuan had unleashed the Cyan Wood Sword Light immediately after fully activating the Soul-Attracting Bell!
Even with this combination,
although his opponent still failed to escape death and was sliced in two by the sword strike,
the fact that he had managed to dodge by half a meter in that split second
gave Shen Changchuan a sense of unease.
’The Cyan Wood Sword Light at the Perfection Realm is powerful, but perhaps because its level is too high and the technique itself is incomplete, there’s a Spellcasting Warm-up of about half a breath’s time...’
’That small window of time might not matter at the Low Tier. After all, you can’t do much in half a breath. But as a Cultivator’s Cultivation gets higher, their Magical Power, speed, Physique, and other physical attributes improve dramatically. Then you factor in all the Magic and Secret Techniques that can boost the speed of their Body Techniques...’
’This enemy was only at the Eighth Layer Peak and he managed to shift half a meter in that fleeting moment. What if I were facing someone at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Realm? Or even a Ninth Layer Immortal Cultivator who has mastered some kind of Body Technique...’
At this thought,
Shen Changchuan’s heart couldn’t help but sink.
Back then, outside Qing City,
he had witnessed the speed of a Ninth Layer Realm Cultivator with his own eyes!
Judging by the speed of that Ninth Layer Realm Tribulation Cultivator,
it wasn’t impossible for a Cultivator of that Realm to dodge the Cyan Wood Sword Light!
Perhaps,
’after advancing to the Eighth Layer Realm, I should consider cultivating a few more powerful offensive Magic spells. That way they can complement each other and I can unleash even greater strength...’
After the battle,
Shen Changchuan reflected on his own performance and vaguely formed some new ideas.
Of course,
although Shen Changchuan was wary of the speed of a Ninth Layer Realm Cultivator,
he hadn’t reached the point of despair.
After all, actual combat wasn’t a turn-based game of taking shots at each other.
With the proper coordination of his many tools in battle—the Soul-Attracting Bell, the Bronze Jar, the Blood Evil Gourd, and more—
it wasn’t impossible to make a Ninth Layer Realm Cultivator face the full might of the Cyan Wood Sword Light head-on!
And these,
were precisely the source of Shen Changchuan’s confidence in escorting the caravan!
A Cultivator at the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Realm—
until they had actually fought,
no one could know who would win or lose.
After that battle,
the caravan’s return journey proceeded without any further incidents.
Whether before that battle or after,
no other groups of Tribulation Cultivators made an appearance.
Evidently,
the deterrent effect Shen Changchuan had hoped for was already starting to show.
The many weaker groups of Tribulation Cultivators in the Border Desolate Land were intimidated and didn’t dare to launch an attack.
Even if they were filled with greed,
they only dared to send people to watch from a distance, hoping for a chance to pick up some scraps.
But when the battle broke out midway through the journey,
and they saw the seemingly famous Tribulation Cultivator group, led by an Eighth Layer Peak leader, fall at the hands of Zhang Qingyuan—Shen Changchuan’s alias—
the gazes that had been hiding in the surroundings
immediately scattered like birds and beasts.
’If even that group was wiped out, should we go and get ourselves killed?’
It seemed,
the rumors that Zhang Qingyuan had killed Tribulation Cultivators at the Qi Introduction Eighth Layer Late Stage and Eighth Layer Early Stage were not just rumors after all.
With that unbelievably powerful guy around,
they probably didn’t stand a chance.
As a result, for the remainder of the journey,
not another soul dared to show themselves.
The caravan was able to complete its journey peacefully and enter the territory of Qing City.
...
The loot obtained from the group of Tribulation Cultivators slain on the return journey still contained nothing that Shen Changchuan found noteworthy.
The haul was meager, one could even say it was extremely poor!
The Storage Bags from one Eighth Layer Peak, one Eighth Layer Early Stage, and several Seventh Layer Realm Cultivators... all the loot added up was only worth about three to four thousand Spirit Stones.
This undoubtedly made Shen Changchuan’s brows furrow slightly.
’Could it be they thought they might lose and had already stashed their Spirit Stones, materials, legacies, and personal savings somewhere else beforehand?’
Otherwise,
this amount of wealth simply didn’t match a Cultivator at the Eighth Layer Peak of the Qi Introduction Realm!
He recalled killing the Blood Slaughter Three Demons and finding several thousand Spirit Stones in their Storage Bags.
For a moment, he was rendered speechless.
But the loot was what it was.
No amount of complaining could change that fact.
With no other choice, Shen Changchuan had to accept it.
’Oh well,’
’a Spirit Stone gain is a Spirit Stone gain, no matter how small.’
Shen Changchuan wasn’t one to turn his nose up at any profit.
With his various earnings over this period, plus the installment payments for the rent from Dawan Village,
Shen Changchuan’s total net worth had surpassed fifteen thousand Spirit Stones.
This amount of Spirit Stones,
was definitely considered fabulously wealthy among Cultivators in the Qi Introduction Realm.
Even among those at the Ninth Layer Realm Peak, there were likely few whose wealth could compare to his.
After all, not every Cultivator was lucky enough to have a chamber of commerce move in and receive a huge sum in rent,
nor could every Cultivator repeatedly face attacks from Tribulation Cultivator groups, easily defeat them, and plunder their wealth in return.
Most ordinary Cultivators earned their income by venturing into the mountains and forests to explore, or by managing their family’s Spirit Fields and Medicinal Fields to obtain Spirit Stones.
The speed at which they accumulated Spirit Stones was naturally much slower.
Shen Changchuan’s achievements
were largely a product of his circumstances.
Otherwise, even a normal Ninth Layer Realm Cultivator would find it difficult to save up a mere one thousand Spirit Stones in a short period of time.
Carrying such a huge fortune,
Shen Changchuan naturally wouldn’t let it all just sit in a corner of his Storage Bag collecting dust.
After arriving in Qing City,
he headed straight for the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion.
Inside the Ten Thousand Spirits Pavilion,
Shen Changchuan purchased three more powerful Magic spells to serve as his offensive tools, supplementing his combat capabilities so he wouldn’t have to rely solely on the Cyan Wood Sword Light for everything.
