Chapter 180: Chapter 177: Return
It had to be said,
if this personal guard wasn’t lying,
then Cao Hongshang of the Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance was truly well-connected.
Or perhaps, his contacts were a motley crew.
Even Xia Congyuan, the Manor Master of Qi Manipulation Manor—a man once considered an equal to Patriarch Wu Yuanzhi of the Wu Family—had appeared at the Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance’s base.
With so many different powers intertwined,
it seemed the Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance’s ability to rise to prominence in such a short time
was by no means a simple coincidence...
It was likely riddled with many hidden interests and conspiracies.
’But what does any of this have to do with me?’
Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly, not wasting any more energy thinking about these things.
With the great tree of the Tian Nan Shen Clan backing him,
he didn’t have to worry too much about being dragged into some vortex of conspiracy.
Besides,
most importantly,
Cao Hongshang, the Alliance Leader of the Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance, was now dead.
Uncovering the secrets of a dead man held little meaning for Shen Changchuan.
Rather than waste time on this,
he was better off considering his own future Path of Immortal Cultivation.
"You can go. My name is Shen Changchuan. If you want revenge in the future, feel free to come and find me."
Shen Changchuan said coolly, waving his hand.
Since he had promised from the beginning to spare the man’s life if he talked, Shen Changchuan had no intention of going back on his word.
Of course,
the most important thing was that with his powerful Divine Soul Perception, he could clearly sense that the man’s spirit was shattered with fear. He was timid and submissive, with no will to resist whatsoever.
Faced with such complete submission and cooperation, Shen Changchuan almost felt embarrassed to break his promise and kill him...
Besides, this guy was in his thirties and had only reached the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer of Cultivation. He was clearly a minion whose potential was already exhausted.
’Whatever.
I’m not the type to slaughter the innocent wantonly, anyway.
And while he’s a member of the Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance, it’s not like we have some life-and-death feud.’
So, he might as well spare the man’s life.
"I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare... If this lowly one can make it back alive, I’ll be sure to stay far away from this place and disappear for good..."
"This lowly one only became a guard by a stroke of luck... I would never dare to get involved in the struggles between great figures like them..."
"Thank you for sparing my life, my lord! Thank you for sparing my life!"
Having received Shen Changchuan’s permission,
the man thanked him profusely and scrambled away.
"It seems that guy probably wasn’t lying... But right now, almost every faction is staring intently at the Wu Family Collection. How did the Wu Family members get out?"
"Also, the methods of those men in black... they feel like they’re from the Demon Dao..."
As he watched the guard’s figure disappear into the distance,
Nangong City, who was standing to the side, frowned deeply. His voice was low and tinged with worry.
"Don’t worry about it so much. Brother Nangong, if you’re interested, you can go scout the Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance’s base later. Now that Cao Hongshang is dead, they’re a snake without a head. It probably won’t be dangerous."
"When I get back, I need to enter secluded cultivation for a few days to digest the gains from this trip. If you need anything, Brother Nangong, just let me know in advance."
Shen Changchuan didn’t care about the secrets of the Family Protection Mutual Aid Alliance.
But if Nangong City wanted to investigate, he wouldn’t stop him, and might even lend a hand.
After all, the man had given him the great gift of the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk.
"Forget it. Let’s just head back first."
Nangong City sighed
and shook his head.
He had been seriously injured in the final, desperate battle against the Qi Family Ancestor.
Shen Changchuan’s use of Endless Life to help him recover had only solved the surface-level problems.
He still needed to go back and rest for ten days to half a month to fully recover from his injuries.
Even if he had the will to investigate now,
he lacked the strength.
"Let’s go."
The journey back
was much faster.
It only took a little over three days to return to Dawan Village.
This was because
they were familiar with the path, and their travel speed had increased considerably.
At the same time,
after leaving the dangerous central region,
Shen Changchuan had released Xiaofeng, who carried him and Nangong City through the sky directly back to Dawan Village.
Without having to cross mountains and rivers on foot,
it was naturally much faster.
The reason he no longer held back
was mainly because Nangong City was a trustworthy person.
Furthermore, after revealing his true strength, Shen Changchuan had taken the opportunity during a casual chat to briefly explain to Nangong City why he had been hiding it.
From this, the other man had deduced the true identity behind the alias "Zhang Qingyuan."
There was no longer any need to hide things,
so he had openly brought out Xiaofeng.
...
"Truly incredible. With a Gale Falcon, crossing mountains and rivers is a simple matter!"
Behind Dawan Village,
Nangong City, having just dismounted from Xiaofeng’s back, gazed at the Gale Falcon’s massive body and outstretched wings with undisguised envy.
On the way there, they had traversed mountains and rivers, struggling through dense forests and along broken cliff paths, taking a full half a month.
On the way back, they simply stood on the Gale Falcon’s back, soaring high above all those difficult and dangerous routes, saving an unknowable amount of time.
Even though the two of them were a heavy burden for the Gale Falcon, forcing it to land and rest for a while every two or three hundred li, the time it took was still far beyond what a Cultivator could achieve on foot.
’If I could master such a Flying Demon Beast, forget about roaming the Demon Beast Forest; just traveling to and from the Immortal Cultivation Marketplace would take at least ten times less time!’
Nangong City lamented silently to himself.
The ability to fly
was a power that was basically unattainable before the Soul Emergence Realm.
And even for those in the Soul Emergence Realm, they couldn’t fly day and night. After traveling a hundred li, they would also need to land and rest for a bit.
In comparison,
the advantage of a Flying Demon Beast couldn’t be more obvious.
"This is thanks to a Beast Taming Secret Technique I acquired a while ago. If you’re interested, Brother Nangong, you can try practicing it. However, you’ll probably have to find a Flying Demon Beast on your own."
Seeing the envy in Nangong City’s eyes, Shen Changchuan took out a newly inscribed Jade Slip and handed it to him.
Unlike the people of this world, Shen Changchuan had been influenced by modern civilization in his previous life and was not stingy with things like knowledge.
After all, teaching it to someone else wouldn’t cause him to lose anything.
Besides, Shen Changchuan was confident that with his progress bar panel, even if others practiced the same Technique, they could never surpass him.
Of course,
he wouldn’t just give it away to anyone for free.
The main reason was the opportunity Nangong City had brought him with the Earth Vein Spiritual Milk. It had benefited him greatly and solved a huge problem... That was why Shen Changchuan was willing to give him the Beast Taming Secret Technique.
’One year. Advancing from the Qi Introduction Third Layer Peak to the Eighth Layer Middle Stage is, in the end, just too fast!’
’Consuming large amounts of Elixirs for Cultivation without enough time for accumulation and consolidation... no matter how hard I trained, my Magical Power still ended up feeling superficial, and some Elixir Poison and hidden injuries have accumulated in the secret corners of my body...’
’Thank goodness for this Earth Vein Spiritual Milk. It practically reforged and solidified my entire foundation. Otherwise, the path ahead would have been fraught with trouble...’
