The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3272 Where Did the Shadow Go?
Qian Ying took in the expressions of the two men and understood that everyone was still in shock. But anyone would have been in the same situation last night.

Even he, a peak expert at the third level of the Innate Realm, felt a sense of apprehension last night. Therefore, the expressions of Qian Wantong and Zhou Ke were understandable.

He offered no further words of comfort, simply and directly outlining the tasks of relocation, cleanup, and firewood storage.

"Did you understand?"

"Understood!" Qian Wantong and Zhou Ke nodded in agreement at the same time.

Qian Ying glanced at the two of them, nodded, and said nothing more. She then turned to Zhou Zixing and said, "Elder Zhou, let's go."

Elder Zhou nodded to Zhou Keye: "When you're working, remind everyone to be careful, and make sure to assign people properly and cooperate well in defense."

Since it involved his own descendants, he gave them special instructions.

After giving his instructions, he and Qian Ying walked side by side toward the planned new main hall.

The doors of the great hall before us are heavy and ancient, with obscure and ancient patterns engraved on the door panels. A thin, transparent barrier covers the door panels, shimmering with subtle spiritual light.

The two stood before the hall, their innate power erupting simultaneously, their powerful energy continuously bombarding the surface of the barrier.

A dull rumble echoed across the empty square, ripples spread across the barrier, fine cracks continued to spread, and the spiritual light gradually peeled away and dissipated.

Before long, the barrier on the main hall door shattered, turning into countless tiny specks of light that dissipated into the air. The two carefully pushed open the heavy hall door, and a musty, decaying smell that had been sealed for thousands of years wafted towards them.

The interior of the hall was dark and deep, with a layout and structure exactly the same as the abandoned hall we explored yesterday. It was empty and desolate, covered in dust, and exuded a deathly stillness.

"Don't go in yet." Qian Ying raised her hand to stop Zhou Zixing, who was about to step inside, her sharp gaze sweeping over every dark corner of the hall.

Because all the doors and windows of the main hall were closed and there was a protective barrier, no light could enter the entire hall, especially in some corners, which were so dark that it was impossible to see anything.

The shadowy figures can use the darkness to launch surprise attacks at any time. They were ambushed yesterday when they led the martial artists to explore the cluster of buildings halfway up the mountain, so it's best to be cautious.

He then waved to Qian Wantong, who was not far away, and ordered his warriors to carry the burning firewood and throw it directly into the main hall.

More than ten martial artists dared not slacken their efforts, nimbly carrying burning wood back and forth. In just over ten minutes, pieces of red-hot firewood were scattered throughout the hall, and the flickering flames slowly spread, completely illuminating the dim and deep hall.

After the hall was illuminated by the firelight, no dark figure was found. The group carefully searched the area, but the hall was empty and devoid of any trace of the dark figure, not even a trace of cold, evil energy could be detected.

Even so, no one dared to let their guard down. Everyone knew that these eerie shadows were born to live in darkness, were not bound by the hall's barrier, and could freely move through the cracks in the walls. Even the faintest shadow could become their hiding place.

Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing exchanged a glance, each holding a thick piece of firewood, and slowly stepped into the inner hall. The flickering firelight illuminated their tense and solemn profiles. They checked for hidden corners while neatly stacking the firewood.

Because there are two partition walls inside the main hall, dividing the entire hall into three rooms, they entered the main hall, and there was a room on the left and right.

Therefore, the two side halls were completely dark at this time, with only the light filtering through the open main gate allowing a vague glimpse of something. Qian Ying and Zhou Zixing worked together, first throwing burning wood into the two side halls to illuminate them. Unfortunately, they still couldn't find any shadows.

"Were all those dark figures dead last night?" Qian Ying muttered to herself.

Since only the two of them were inside the hall, apart from the sound of the flames burning, Qian Ying's mutterings were heard by Zhou Zixing beside her.

"Maybe, otherwise we would have been ambushed by the shadowy figure today," Zhou Zixing said.

"Let's be careful. It would be troublesome if the shadowy figure reappeared right after we finished speaking." Qian Ying pointed to the partition walls on both sides of the main hall and said again, "Let's remove these partition walls first. This way, the main hall will be more open, and we can save more wood."

“Okay!” Zhou Zixing nodded, and then began to cooperate with Qian Ying, one attacking and the other defending, taking turns to dismantle the protective barrier on the partition wall.

All the buildings in this square are a real headache. Every wall, every door and window is protected by a barrier. To demolish them, you have to break the barrier first.

A series of deafening explosions rang out, dust filled the air inside the hall, and the barrier flickered with light, gradually cracking under the relentless attacks!

Finally, with a crack, the barrier collapsed. During this time, not a single shadowy figure appeared.

"Qian Wantong, take some men to clear this partition wall and collect all the wood so we can set it on fire at night."

"Yes, Elder." Upon hearing this, Qian Wantong immediately brought people in from outside and began to clean up the chaotic materials.

The partition walls are all constructed of wood, making them relatively easy to clean. In particular, the main timbers used are quite large, and when lit at night, they can burn for a long time.

The group worked from dawn until nearly noon, clearing the ruins, collecting timber, checking for potential hazards, and piling up burning wood in the corners of the main hall, leaving no dark area untouched.

Throughout the entire ordeal, all the martial artists remained on high alert, their guard never wavering. After all, those shadowy figures were incredibly powerful, and they might just leap out from any dark corner to ambush them.

If you were to be ambushed and killed by a shadowy figure, it would be a truly unjust death.

However, what puzzled all the martial artists was that those shadowy figures who liked to launch sneak attacks had completely disappeared without a trace this morning while everyone was working.

Qian Wantong and Zhou Ke, along with the remaining martial artists, worked while discussing where the dark figure had gone. Could it be that the explosion last night was actually caused by the dark figure exploding? Could it be that all the dark figures were dead, which is why they hadn't encountered them today?

"Zhou Ke, don't you think so?"

"Sigh! It's best to be cautious. After all, the shadows are hiding in the dark, while we are in the light. If we're careless and a shadow suddenly appears, we martial artists will definitely not be able to withstand it. So we should cooperate with each other and be careful. Especially when we're working, we should prepare burning wood. Once we spot a shadow, we should throw out the burning wood to drive it away or block it for a moment, which will also allow us to escape the shadow's sneak attack in time."

Zhou Ke cautiously reminded them, and conveyed his message to all the martial artists, instructing them to work in pairs and to be extremely careful.

All the warriors readily agreed, one person working while another guarded the area with a torch, and they took turns doing so. Although the work was a bit slower, it was much safer.