The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 2933 The Little Expedition Team Members Arrive
In the freezing cold, many martial artists huddled in sheltered spots and held out all night.

None of the martial artists closed their eyes to rest; instead, they continuously meditated to recover their strength and used some of their internal energy to resist the severe cold.

Fortunately, although they were exhausted that night, no strange beasts attacked them, which made everyone relax a little and less vigilant.

As the sky gradually brightened, many martial artists emerged from their sheltered spots and gathered together, but none of them said anything. Instead, they looked at a few people not far ahead.

Ouyang Nan, Chen Mo, and the other three stood at the front of the group. Although the thick fog obscured their vision, limiting visibility to only about ten meters, no one seemed to care. Instead, everyone kept a close distance and watched the four of them. Even those who couldn't see clearly were listening intently.

Qian Ying stepped out of the group and came in front of Ouyang Nan. She glanced at the four of them, and when she saw Chen Mo, she paused for a moment, suppressing her joy, and said to Ouyang Nan, "Team Leader Ouyang, are these three the members that your Ouyang family selected to join the small expedition team?"

Although the presence of two other women in the team made Qian Ying hesitate, the primary mission wasn't sending the Ouyang family to their deaths, but rather scouting the other side of the canyon. Therefore, having these two women in the team, plus Ouyang Nan, made three women – would that negatively impact the mission?
However, then I thought that Ouyang Nan was a martial artist at the tenth level of the Acquired Realm, and that young man was also at the tenth level of the Acquired Realm. As for the other two, although I didn't have any impression of them, I could sense from their qi and blood that their strength was also above the eighth level of the Acquired Realm.

So, the team's overall strength is quite good. And these three, plus Ouyang Nan, make up the same four people from yesterday. Heh, it seems there might be a minor internal conflict within the Ouyang family, but that's a good thing.

“Yes, Elder Qian, it’s not just the three of them, I’m also participating in this expedition.” Ouyang Nan nodded and said. Although her tone was calm, she wasn’t very respectful. After all, this old man had tricked her into sending her own people on the expedition. If they encountered danger, it would be suicide. So she wasn’t being respectful and didn’t start cursing. That was good enough.

Qian Ying didn't pay attention to Ouyang Nan's tone; he naturally understood her mindset. Especially when he saw Chen Mo, whom he disliked but had high hopes for—the one from her family's expedition team—he couldn't help but feel happy.

He'd long wanted Chen Mo to die, but the young man had never died; he was practically immortal. If they encountered danger on this mission, he hoped the young man would just wait to die. If they returned safely, that was fine too; he could find another opportunity to send the young man to his death later.

Mindset is the most important thing. As long as there is a chance, this young man is doomed. Even Jesus can't help him. This is what Qian Ying, a martial artist at the peak of the third level of the innate realm, said. No one can stop him.

“Oh, I didn’t expect Team Leader Ouyang to join this expedition. I didn’t expect it to be like this. But if you join this expedition team, what will happen to the Ouyang family’s team without a leader?” Qian Ying asked.

Ouyang Nan's expression and tone were unimportant to Qian Ying, as long as the objective was achieved. Besides, this mission was actually quite dangerous, and there was a high probability of suicide. So, a little temper was nothing to worry about, and he could understand it.

As long as someone goes to carry out the mission and brings back the message, that's fine. It would be best if, incidentally, this young man who gets in my way gets killed.

"I've already made arrangements with the Ouyang family. Ouyang Min will take over my duties, so he can handle anything that needs to be done. I've also told him that from now on, he will be in charge of leading the Ouyang family. This will avoid any handover issues later," Ouyang Nan continued in a very casual tone.

Upon hearing their conversation, Ouyang Min immediately stepped forward respectfully, standing not far from Qian Ying, and said, "Elder Qian, I am Ouyang Min. From now on, I will be in charge of leading the Ouyang family. If you need anything, you can come to me."

Qian Ying nodded at Ouyang Min. He knew this young man and was familiar with him. After all, he had traveled for so many days and had memorized the names of all the martial artists from the various families, especially those at the tenth level of the Acquired Realm.

"Okay, as long as the Ouyang family has a liaison." Qian Ying said to Ouyang Min, then turned to Ouyang Nan and said, "It's good that you've explained everything clearly. This mission is quite time-sensitive, and we need a capable, meticulous, and responsible person to lead the team. I didn't expect you to join us personally. That's good too. I feel at ease entrusting the entire exploration mission to you."

"Thank you for the compliment, Elder Qian," Ouyang Nan said calmly.

"Okay!" Qian Ying nodded, then turned and waved to his own team. Two martial artists stepped out from the group. One was Qian Wantong, and the other was a younger martial artist, around thirty years old, with an ordinary appearance.

"This gentleman is Qian Zhenghao, with a strength at the eighth level of the Acquired Realm, which is quite good. He's one of the Qian family's members who has joined the expedition team. You two should get to know each other." Qian Ying introduced, "Qian Ying, Ouyang Nan will be the captain of the expedition team. You need to cooperate well."

"Yes, Elder!" Qian Zhenghao nodded respectfully to Qian Ying, then turned to face Ouyang Nan and said, "Hello, Captain Ouyang Nan."

“Okay, let’s get back to the team,” Ouyang Nan said.

“Alright, now that all five of you are here, let’s set off. First, scout out the temporary camp in the canyon, check the situation, and report back promptly so we can gather supplies. We’ll prepare for crossing the canyon after we’ve collected the supplies. Otherwise, we won’t be able to cross it without them,” Qian Ying said.

If the valley weren't suppressed, Qian Ying could take to the air and fly directly to the other side of the canyon. But now, since they can't fly, they can only collect supplies first, see what's left, and then gather the resources they can find to try and cross the canyon. "Okay!" Ouyang Nan nodded in agreement and then said to Chen Mo and the others, "Are you ready? If you're ready, let's set off."

"Yes, Captain!" the men responded immediately, in perfect unison.

Many martial artists watched with a sense of unease. They all knew that if these five people hadn't stepped forward, someone else would have been chosen to carry out the reconnaissance mission.

Therefore, these five people in front of them are actually paving the way for them; if there is any danger, they are going to their deaths in their place.

Therefore, aside from a few individuals, the other martial artists all hoped that Ouyang Nan and the other four could complete their mission and return safely. This way, they wouldn't be sent out again and wouldn't have to risk their lives.

Within the team, Chen Mo and the others remained silent, simply standing there watching Ouyang Nan and Qian Ying converse. After receiving orders, they began advancing towards the canyon defense line. The last member of the team was Qian Zhenghao.

Qian Zhenghao followed closely behind the group, but glanced back at Qian Ying and Qian Wantong, who both nodded to him. Receiving their nods, Qian Zhenghao nodded back, then followed the group, gradually disappearing into the thick fog.

"Elder, what should we do now?" Qian Wantong stepped forward and asked Qian Ying.

Qian Ying turned her head, concealing her earlier joyful expression, and gave the group of martial artists a serious look before saying to Qian Wantong, "Wait, just let everyone wait here."

Qian Wantong nodded, then turned to find the leaders of each family and conveyed Qian Ying's message.

Once Ouyang Nan could no longer see Qian Ying and the others, who were obscured by the thick fog, he shouted, "Speed ​​up! We need to move forward as quickly as possible. But everyone must remain vigilant and not let their guard down. If you have healing and qi-restoring pills, have them ready so you can take them at any time."

Actually, she didn't need to explain things to Chen Mo and the others in the team.

After all, Chen Mo possessed various pills, ensuring their group's pill supply. This reminder was primarily directed at Qian Zhenghao.

Upon hearing this, Qian Zhenghao subconsciously touched the few pills in his inner pocket. These were life-saving items, so he naturally had to prepare them in advance so that he could take them quickly in case of danger.

In fact, Qian Zhenghao was devastated when he was selected to join the small expedition team.

Anyone with a brain understands that a small expedition team, crossing the canyon to explore the other side without support, without innate masters, without a large number of martial artists, and with only three or five people, is simply throwing their lives away.
But there was nothing he could do. Firstly, Qian Zhenghao was not Qian Wantong's junior, and secondly, he had never flattered Qian Wantong. In the Qian family, he was just a nobody.

Their strength was neither high nor low, falling into the upper-middle range. Therefore, when selecting personnel, Qian Wantong assessed all team members and then included Qian Zhenghao in his consideration. Originally, there was another relatively unknown martial artist, but that one was only at the sixth level of the Acquired Realm, which was somewhat low in strength.

If your strength is too low, you won't be able to escape if you encounter danger. After all, they cross the canyon to scout out the situation on the other side and report back, so it's better to be stronger.

So Qian Zhenghao, a martial artist at the eighth level of the Acquired Realm, was chosen by Qian Wantong to become a member of the small exploration team.

Qian Wantong explained the situation in detail, emphasizing that the priority was to save his own life. He instructed the Ouyang family to handle the dangerous situation, report back on all the developments, and keep an eye on the Ouyang family's warriors to prevent them from keeping the treasure for themselves if they found it on the other side of the canyon.

Sigh, I can't blame my parents for my bad luck. Since things are already like this, I'll just treat it as a test before happiness comes! Qian Zhenghao could only comfort himself like this, and then quickened his pace to catch up with the people in front of him.

However, he also had some hesitation. Three of the people in front of him were women. If danger occurred, would these people be enough for the monster to swallow whole?

If I swallow two of them in one gulp, I won't have much time to escape!
Therefore, be careful not to follow too closely, leave some distance so that if a strange beast attacks from ahead, you will have time to turn around and run away.