Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 189 Strange Cultivator

Seeing this, Shen Chongming stopped smiling.

"Big centipede, the southern border you're talking about is..."

He knew all the place names in Yangnao, but this so-called "Southern Frontier" was the first time he had ever heard of it.

A hint of confusion flashed in the compound eyes on the giant centipede's enormous head. It then shook its head twice and said, "I'm not quite sure which region Southern Xinjiang refers to, but it's probably that area."

He glanced south and muttered something, then abruptly turned his head: "Let the one with the sword handle it. Your cultivation is only at the eighth level of Qi Refining, I'm afraid..."

Sensing the deep apprehension in its words, Shen Chongming pondered for a moment and said, "How about I go and take a look first, and then decide whether or not to have my third uncle come over?"

Third Uncle Shen Wen'an is currently at a crucial moment in breaking through to the middle stage of the Fetal Breathing Realm. Unless there is something particularly urgent, it is best not to disturb him.

The giant centipede nodded and said, "My baby is about to mature and cannot leave."

"Let a few children at the Qi Refining stage accompany you."

After saying this, it let out a strange cry.

Four enormous centipedes, each over ten feet long, suddenly emerged from the surrounding poisonous miasma.

Shen Chongming glanced at them and discovered that there was a "familiar face" among the four poisonous centipedes.

It was the silver-threaded centipede with a silver line running from its head to its tail.

The attack on the water smoke stone mine at Hundred Beasts Mountain was its masterpiece.

However, at that time, the Silver Thread Centipede was at the fifth level of Qi Refining, which was higher than his cultivation level.

He himself had already reached the eighth level of Qi Refining, while the silver-threaded centipede had only just reached the seventh level.

"Go and have a look."

The giant centipede urged on, seemingly very anxious.

Shen Chongming didn't delay any longer. He immediately leaped into the air and transformed into a bolt of lightning, rushing out of the poisonous miasma!
Below, four Qi Refining Realm Poisonous Centipedes also let out a strange cry and rushed out.

After leaving the poisonous miasma, both sides headed south.

Because he was worried about the threat mentioned by the giant centipede, Shen Chongming did not fly too high. He followed behind several poisonous centipedes below, quickly traversing through the jungle.

In half a day, the two sides had traveled hundreds of miles.

At this moment, Shen Chongming had already noticed something was wrong.

The Shen family cultivators had explored this area during their previous mountain patrols and concluded that it was barren of spiritual energy and of little value.

However, at this moment, this area seemed to have undergone some changes.

Although the surrounding spiritual energy was still thin, there seemed to be a strange aura within it.

Shen Chongming slowly extended his divine sense and carefully sensed it for a while, but he only felt that the strange aura gave people a sense of vicissitude and antiquity, and there seemed to be something inexplicable mixed in with it.

If we compare the spiritual energy of this place to a pool of water, the concentration of spiritual energy represents the depth of the pool.

This area may be the edge of a pool where the water was previously shallower.

But now, a stream of water, different from the pool water, is slowly flowing in...

"Stop first."

After glancing around, Shen Chongming spoke.

The four poisonous centipedes in front of him understood his words and stopped.

"Squeak..."

The silver-threaded centipede looked around, then turned to Shen Chongming and let out a strange cry.

Then, it carefully crawled towards the dense bushes ahead.

Seeing this, Shen Chongming slowly followed behind it.

But seeing its hard body, as if cast from cast iron, crush the dense bushes, revealing a huge skeleton behind the bushes, Shen Chongming frowned.

He approached the skeleton and examined it closely, and was able to roughly determine that it was a tiger-like demon beast.

Judging from the size of the skeleton, it can be seen that the person must have had a body of nearly three zhang (approximately 10 meters) in life. The essence of the bones has been completely lost, as if the person had been dead for a long time.

"Squeak..."

The silver-threaded centipede circled the skeleton and found a sharp tiger tooth about a foot long inside.

Upon seeing this, Shen Chongming picked up the tiger tooth, and after examining it closely, he frowned.

Judging from the decay of the skeleton, this tiger-like monster had been dead for at least ten years, or even longer.

But this canine tooth is still fresh, and it looks like it just fell off less than a month ago.

This bizarre situation made him realize that something was wrong.

Looking around, all was silent.

It's not safe here...

The cultivator's sixth sense made him feel very uncomfortable here, as if something was secretly watching him and the four poisonous centipedes.

Silently putting the tiger tooth into his storage bag, Shen Chongming slowly took a few steps back, patted the silver-threaded centipede beside him, and whispered, "Let's go back first."

The silver-threaded centipede seemed to dislike this place as well, and immediately moved its many long legs to crawl away into the distance.

After getting away from the area, Shen Chongming took to the air and led the four poisonous centipedes back along the same route.

In a dense, poisonous forest.

Hearing the noise, the giant centipede immediately came forward.

"How about it?"

"Have you found out what it is?"

Shen Chongming shook his head slightly, then took out the tiger tooth and said, "Yinxian and I traveled hundreds of miles south, but we didn't see anything else..."

At this point, Shen Chongming suddenly froze!
He sensed something was off the whole way, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

But now I suddenly noticed something was wrong!
This is Hidden Dragon Mountain!

In the deep mountains and forests inhabited by many demonic beasts and ordinary wild animals, they traveled hundreds of miles south without encountering a single ordinary wild animal, let alone a demonic beast!

"These are the teeth of the mountain tiger from Tiger Leaping Cliff..."

The giant centipede's enormous head brought its senses to the tiger tooth in Shen Chongming's hand, and it said in a low voice, "The mountain lord of Tiger Leap Cliff was stronger than me, and he's already dead..."

Its words interrupted Shen Chongming's thoughts.

"Do you know the owner of this tooth?"

The giant centipede nodded, then urged, "Let the guy with the sword handle this. It's too dangerous. Don't risk your life for nothing."

After thinking about it, Shen Chongming realized that the current situation was indeed beyond his ability to handle.

For safety's sake, it would be better to ask Uncle San to come over.

"Then I'll go back and ask my third uncle for help now. Be careful."

The giant centipede nodded frantically, urging, "Go, go!"

……

The Shen family, Blackwater Pavilion.

After Shen Chongming returned, he prepared to tell Shen Wen'an about what happened in Hidden Dragon Mountain.

When he arrived at the first floor of the Blackwater Pavilion, he saw four-year-old Shen Li sitting obediently not far from her grandfather Shen Yuan, holding a strange animal skin book in her hands and looking at it intently.

Hearing the noise, the little girl slowly raised her head and timidly called out, "Big Brother."

Shen Chongming smiled and nodded, then looked at his grandfather Shen Yuan and cupped his hands in greeting: "Grandpa, has Third Uncle broken through?"

Shen Yuan shook his head: "I don't know. Do you need to talk to him?"

After Shen Chongming sat down, he poured a cup of tea for Shen Yuan and himself, took a sip, and said, "Something has happened in the mountains..."

“I was just about to talk to your father about this.”

Shen Yuan said in a deep voice, "These past few days I have been able to sense that this world is about to undergo some changes."

"After several days of analysis, we still couldn't get a clear answer, but we had a vague feeling that the change originated in the south."

"Grandpa foresaw this?" Shen Chongming asked in surprise, then uttered the "Southern Frontier" mentioned by the giant centipede.

"Grandpa, do you know about this southern border region?"

Shen Yuan muttered to himself for a moment and then shook his head slightly: "There is no record of the Southern Frontier in many ancient books."

"Go find your third uncle first. That giant centipede in the mountains has been of some help to our Shen family. Now that we're in trouble, we should help if we can."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a noise came from the stairs next to him.

Clearly, Shen Wen'an upstairs had heard the commotion and came down from the second floor.

"Uncle Three."

Shen Chongming stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

Shen Li, who was standing to the side, quickly closed the ancient book in her hand made of animal hide and called out in a sweet voice, "Third Uncle".

Shen Wen'an nodded slightly and then looked at Shen Chongming and asked, "Has the centipede leader broken through to the embryonic breathing stage?"

He subdued the centipede leader, who was at the peak of the Qi Refining realm, with force, and made him submit to the Shen family. More than ten years have passed since then.

Shen Chongming shook his head: "No, but the poisonous herb he guards is about to mature. I wonder if he will break through after consuming that herb."

"Third Uncle, that giant centipede seems to have sensed trouble..."

He briefly recounted what had happened after he went to the poisonous forest, and Shen Wen'an nodded and looked at Shen Yuan.

"Father, I'm going there."

……

Outside Yunshui Town, Yu Jin and Mu Changhe, the head of the Mu family, hurriedly flew towards the Blackwater Pool.

In the backyard of the manor, Wei Qiuling was chatting with Hu Meier.

At this time, Hu Meier was still degenerating. Not only did her ears manifest as fox ears, but her fox tail was also revealed.

Wei Qiuling looked at her with concern and asked, "Sister Mei'er, have you felt any better lately?"

Hu Meier shook her head sadly: "My husband's death has almost completely shattered my Dao heart."

"Although he was able to barely maintain his cultivation this time, his foundation has been destroyed and it is impossible to repair it."

"As a Nascent Soul cultivator, my sister-in-law should understand the importance of the Immortal Embryo Foundation for human cultivators."

Wei Qiuling nodded solemnly.

The foundation of a celestial embryo is like the root of a towering tree to a cultivator's celestial embryo.

If the foundation is destroyed, it is only a matter of time before the immortal embryo withers.

Looking at Hu Meier in front of her, Wei Qiuling sighed inwardly. Without a heaven-defying opportunity, it would probably take a few years for Hu Meier's late-stage Nascent Soul cultivation to slowly dissipate, and eventually she would not even be able to maintain her human form.

She hadn't expected the injuries inside her body to be so severe.

After some hesitation, Wei Qiuling seemed to suddenly think of something. Just as she was about to speak, a Shen family cultivator hurriedly knocked on the courtyard gate.

"Third Madam, Fairy Fish and the head of the Mu family have arrived."

Upon hearing this, Wei Qiuling stood up, bowed to Hu Meier, and left the backyard.

The side rooms in the front yard.

When Yu Jin and Mu Changhe saw Wei Qiuling, their expressions were both solemn.

"Senior sister, it seems something has happened in the Western Wilderness."

Mu Changhe then spoke up, "As instructed by the Immortal Master, the Mu family has been slowly conquering the territory of the Western Wilderness during this period of time."

"However, some time ago, several powerful tribes from the Western Wilderness suddenly migrated here from who-knows-where. I did not dare to act rashly and quietly sent people to investigate."

“A few days ago, the spy sent by my subordinates brought news.”

"Several powerful tribes originally lived in the southernmost part of the Western Wilderness. The reason they suddenly migrated here seems to be because they were attacked by many demonic beasts and lost many of their tribesmen, so they fled here in a sorry state."

Wei Qiuling frowned and pondered after hearing this.

The southernmost tip of the Western Wilderness... was attacked by monsters...

This incident reminded her of the giant centipede that Shen Wen'an had helped at Yinlong Mountain more than ten days ago.

She heard from Shen Chongming that the giant centipede had sensed some kind of threat, which was why it kept urging Shen Wen'an to go and help.

Wei Qiuling got up and looked out the window, a hint of doubt rising in her heart.

Is something strange about to happen in this Yangnao land again?
"Let's put the conquest of the Western Wilderness on hold for now."

After a moment's thought, Wei Qiuling spoke.

"This..." Mu Changhe's expression was somewhat troubled upon hearing this: "Immortal Master, Fengxian County has also been stepping up its efforts to seize the Western Wilderness recently. If we postpone our plans, the Western Wilderness may fall into the hands of Fengxian County."

With Hundred Beast Mountain in place, Qiyun Valley and its subordinate Fengxian County dared not easily extend their reach into the Western Wilderness.

Now that Hundred Beast Mountain is gone, and after Luoxia Mountain occupied He County, it did not immediately show any signs of taking over the Western Wilderness.

The Liu family of Fengxian County then harbored the ambition to occupy the Western Wilderness.

The Mu family had also reported on this matter. Wei Qiuling did not want to fall out with Qiyun Valley, so she asked the Mu family to try their best to avoid conflict with the Liu family of Fengxian County.

The western wilderness is vast, and the two sides do not interfere with each other, each can simply seize their own territory.

If the Mu family suddenly backs down now, the Liu family will probably seize the opportunity to take over most of the Western Wilderness territory.

"It doesn't matter."

Wei Qiuling spoke calmly.

One should know when to stop while one is ahead. In times of change, it is safer to observe than to act rashly.

Although Mu Changhe was somewhat unwilling, he dared not disobey her and could only reluctantly bow.

After listening to the two report on some matters concerning He County, Wei Qiuling said, "Lingxun is about to give birth. Since you are here today, why don't you go and see her?"

Mu Changhe quickly stood up and clasped his hands in greeting.

Mu Changhe was overjoyed that his granddaughter, Mu Lingxun, had married Shen Chongming as a concubine and was now finally going to give birth to an heir for the Shen family.

In the side room of Shen Chongming's courtyard, although Mu Changhe was Mu Lingxun's biological grandfather, he still had to go through layers of reporting in order to see Mu Lingxun.

"Grandpa, what brings you to visit Lingxun today?"

In the pavilion in front of the house, Mu Lingxun, heavily pregnant, looked at Mu Changhe and spoke with a smile.

She had been married into the Shen family for over a year, and this was the first time she had met her family.

Mu Changhe carefully examined his granddaughter in front of him.

"His cultivation has broken through, and his complexion is also good."

"It seems the Shen family hasn't treated you badly."

"Girl, does the young patriarch of the Shen family love you?"

Mu Changhe looked around and asked in a low voice.

Mu Lingxun paused for a moment, then replied with a hint of resentment, "We're not exactly close, but we're not distant either."

For more than a year, Shen Chongming has not neglected her much. He has regularly sent her all the necessities of life, including food, clothing, and shelter.

Occasionally, when I have some free time, I will come to this secluded courtyard to sit and ask about some things related to life and spiritual practice.

Even Chen Youran, the wife of the main wife, would often bring Shen Xiuzhuo over to chat with her.

Upon hearing this, Mu Changhe's eyes showed a slight disappointment.

He had met Chen Youran, the wife of the main wife, and compared to her, her granddaughter Mu Lingxun was far more beautiful and had a gentler personality.

Mu Changhe had even fantasized that his granddaughter would be even more favored after marrying into the family.

"Are Father and Mother alright?" Mu Lingxun asked, interrupting Mu Changhe's thoughts.

"Everything is fine, everything is fine at home." Mu Changhe said with a smile, "Girl, you must strive to do better. If you can give birth to a fairy seedling with spiritual roots for the Shen family, your status in the Shen family can be raised even higher."

Upon hearing this, Mu Lingxun felt slightly uncomfortable.

Marrying into the Shen family as a concubine was inherently driven by a certain degree of self-interest.

Now that she's pregnant, even the value of the child she's giving birth to is being calculated, which makes her feel somewhat sad.

Mu Changhe seemed to notice the change in Sun's expression and guessed that she disliked these things. He sighed helplessly, "Child, Grandpa didn't want it to be like this either."

"However, the world is already like this. The Shen family is currently at the height of its power, and even many immortal sects are wary of them."

"My Mu family has too shallow a foundation. Otherwise, we might lose favor one day."

"At that time, being reduced to its original state would be a good outcome. I'm afraid that those families with grudges against the Mu family might take the opportunity to kick us while we're down and devour our Mu family alive."

Upon hearing this, a hint of weariness appeared in Mu Lingxun's eyes.

Mu Changhe sighed softly, took out a jade bottle from his pocket and put it in her hand, saying, "These are some Qi-nourishing pills that Grandpa has saved up. Take them and cultivate diligently after the child is born."

"If either you or your child can establish a firm foothold in the Shen family and become a pillar of the family, they can provide greater assistance to the family."

"Grandpa, I..." Mu Lingxun was about to say something when a figure walked in through the gate of the side courtyard.

"Little sister...wait, isn't this Grandpa Mu?"

Chen Youran carried Shen Xiuzhuo over, and was somewhat surprised to see Mu Changhe. She then bowed slightly in greeting.

Mu Changhe quickly stood up and returned the greeting with clasped hands: "This old man greets the young mistress."

Mu Lingxun also subtly concealed the jade bottle containing the Qi-Nourishing Pill in her sleeve, then stood up and called out, "Sister."

"Grandpa Mu, there's no need for that. Lingxun and I are sisters, and you are my elder. How can You Ran accept such a grand gesture from you?"

Chen Youran smiled and spoke.

Mu Changhe smiled and said, "I came with Fairy Yu to report to the Immortal Master. The Immortal Master mentioned that Lingxun is about to give birth and specially asked me to come and see her."

Upon hearing this, Chen Youran smiled and said, "In that case, Youran will not disturb you and your sister any longer."

"Grandpa Mu, please have a seat. You Ran will have someone prepare the meal right away..."

“Young Madam, there’s no need for you to trouble yourself.” Mu Changhe quickly said, “We’ve already met, and there are still many things to do in He County, so it’s not convenient for me to stay any longer.”

As he spoke, he looked at Mu Lingxun and said, "Child, Grandpa is going back now."

"Listen to the young mistress here and take good care of your health."

Mu Changhe turned around, cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Chen Youran, and then hurriedly left.

As the two watched Mu Changhe's retreating figure, Shen Xiuzhuo in Chen Youran's arms stretched out his little hands, babbling and wanting Mu Lingxun to hold him.

Chen Youran regained her senses and pretended to be angry, saying with a stern face, "Auntie is pregnant, so I can't hold you."

"Sister, sit down quickly, you're heavy, standing for too long will make you tired." After the two sisters sat down, they chatted and laughed.

……

A dense forest of poisonous miasma.

Shen Wen'an sat cross-legged in the canopy of an ancient tree outside the poisonous miasma, with the Dragon-Slaying Sword lying horizontally on his knees.

Upon arriving at the poisonous miasma forest, he had already questioned the centipede leader.

The centipede leader stated that once this leaf of the poisonous herb matures, swallowing it would give him a 90% chance of achieving embryonic breathing.

In some ways, it is easier for demon beasts to cultivate than for humans.

At least when breaking through to the embryonic breathing stage, one does not need to deliberately seek out and consume innate spiritual energy.

For more than a month, Shen Wen'an has not rashly ventured into the southern regions to seek out the so-called threat.

In his view, all he needed to do was help the giant centipede guard the poisonous herb.

Once the poisonous herb matures, you can safely make your breakthrough.

Shen Wen'an was cultivating with his eyes closed when he suddenly seemed to sense something. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at the dense poisonous miasma!
The once calm poisonous miasma was now churning wildly, and a faint, rich wave of demonic energy could be felt emanating from it.

Seeing this, Shen Wen'an slowly stood up and quietly looked at the poisonous miasma in front of him.

rustle!

Swish!
Not long after he got up, a dense rustling sound came from the poisonous miasma in front of him.

In a short while, numerous large and small poisonous centipedes hurriedly crawled out of the poisonous miasma!
Those poisonous centipedes that had reached the Qi Refining Realm crawled out of the poisonous miasma and quickly guarded the area around it, exuding a thick aura of malevolence, their compound eyes warily surveying everything around them.

Seeing this, Shen Wen'an realized that the centipede leader was probably preparing to break through.

Thinking of this, he stopped cultivating and stood quietly on the ancient tree, protecting it.

The centipede leader has already submitted to the Shen family, and if it can break through to the embryonic stage, it will be a good thing for the Shen family.

The poisonous miasma in front of them was still churning, and the rich aura of demonic energy had become even clearer.

Shen Wen'an stood on the big tree, guarding the poisonous centipedes in the Qi Refining Realm for seven whole days, but the centipede leader still hadn't completed its breakthrough.

As night fell, Shen Wen'an, who was standing in the tree canopy with his sword in his arms, suddenly opened his eyes and slowly turned to look at the south.

Just a moment ago, he seemed to feel a faint divine sense sweep over him.

That divine sense seemed to originate from the distant dense forest.

But when he looked over, the hidden divine sense vanished without a trace.

Shen Wen'an gracefully descended from the ancient tree and arrived in front of a poisonous centipede at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

The poisonous centipede glanced at him warily, then shifted its body.

"Go check ahead, I'll keep watch here."

Shen Wen'an forcibly communicated with the poisonous centipede using his divine sense.

The poisonous centipede at the fourth level of Qi Refining dared not disobey and immediately crawled in the direction Shen Wen'an pointed.

After a while——

"squeak!"

"Oh!"

The poisonous centipede at the fourth level of Qi Refining let out an angry, strange cry!

The cry was interrupted by a dull thud, then stopped abruptly, and there was no further sound!
Seeing this, the other Qi Refining Realm Poisonous Centipedes around him stirred and rushed over from all directions, gathering around Shen Wen'an.

One by one, they raised their heads, their cold compound eyes fixed on the darkness in the distance.

Shen Wenan quietly gripped the Dragon-Slaying Sword, his gaze fixed on the spot where the Qi Refining Level 4 Poisonous Centipede had disappeared.

He could sense that the poisonous centipede had completely died, but he didn't know what had killed it.

Because the thing hiding in the shadows didn't use any spiritual power or demonic energy at all when it killed the poisonous centipede at the fourth level of Qi Refining.

Physical training?
A thought popped into Shen Wen'an's mind, but he immediately dismissed it.

The power of qi and blood in physical cultivators is far more difficult to conceal than the spiritual energy fluctuations of immortal cultivators.

If the other party is a body cultivator, it is impossible for him not to sense them at such a distance.

With his eyes fixed on the dark jungle, Shen Wen'an pondered for a moment before slowly drawing his Dragon-Slaying Sword!
The moment the sword tip left its sheath, a streak of azure sword light shot out, carrying an overwhelming momentum as it flew towards the jungle ahead!
The sturdy ancient trees along the way were all cut in half!
When the cyan sword light reached the place where the poisonous centipede at the fourth level of Qi Refining had disappeared, Shen Wen'an could vaguely see several figures flashing and dodging with the help of the sword light.

Then, it seemed that a figure had nowhere to avoid it, raised a strange weapon, and smashed it hard at the blue sword light!
boom!
When that strange weapon struck the cyan sword light, it had no power of heaven and earth, yet it simply smashed away the sword light that Shen Wen'an had unleashed!
When the cyan sword light exploded, the energy it emitted illuminated the surrounding mountains and forests.

With the help of this light, Shen Wen'an was able to see the other party's true colors.

They were four strange cultivators whose attire bore some resemblance to that of the barbarians of the Western Wilderness.

He had short hair and tattoos, wore a wide robe woven from the feathers of wild beasts and birds, and wore a necklace made of some kind of bone around his neck.

What's most peculiar are their eyes, which are an eerie gray-white color. Looking into them gives you a chilling feeling!

The energy of the sword's edge slowly dissipated, and the area gradually returned to darkness.

Shen Wen'an's eyes were deep, his mind still replaying those four strange figures.

Judging from their clothing, the four of them did resemble some of the barbarian tribes of the Western Wilderness.

However, Shen Wen'an felt that the other party was not a member of the Western Wilderness Barbarian Tribe.

When one of them shattered his sword light, he inadvertently emitted a chilling and strange aura that made people extremely uncomfortable.

Is this power the source of the centipede leader's constant restlessness?
Shen Wen'an pondered for a moment, then slowly raised his sword finger.

A faint golden light emerged from his fingertips, slowly gathering into a three-inch-long golden sword.

As the sword energy within his body surged, the Dragon Soul Sword slowly floated above his head, pointing directly in the direction of the four people.

Streaks of sword energy separated from the Dragon Soul Sword, quickly forming numerous illusory sword energy images around them!

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of illusory swords made of spiritual energy appeared densely packed in front of him, pointing forward.

Shen Wen'an waved!
Those longswords instantly pierced the night sky and flew forward!

The longsword formed from sword energy pierced and shredded the trees and rocks in that area, but encountered no resistance.

The four people left the spot without making a sound.

Shen Wen'an maneuvered the Dragon Soul Sword around the area but couldn't find any trace of the four people. With a thought, he summoned the Dragon Soul Sword back.

After the flying sword pierced his body, he was preparing to return to the ancient tree to continue protecting the centipede leader.

"squeak!"

The silver-threaded centipede beside him suddenly let out a strange cry and pounced over!
Shen Wen'an frowned, and a sword aura instinctively appeared on his body as he slashed at the silver-threaded centipede!
But the silver-threaded centipede neither dodged nor flinched, and charged forward relentlessly despite the sword's edge!

puff!
The cyan sword energy slashed fiercely at the body of the silver-threaded centipede, and dark green blood splattered everywhere. Its hard body was almost cut in half!
"squeak……"

The silver-threaded centipede let out a weak, mournful cry, but still managed to raise its head to look at Shen Wen'an.

Curious, Shen Wen'an looked closely and saw a strange, scarlet insect, resembling a beetle, between its sharp teeth!
The insect was being held tightly by the silver-threaded centipede, but it was struggling desperately!

Despite the pain from its injuries, the silver-threaded centipede suddenly exerted its strength, biting the scarlet beetle to pieces and swallowing it whole!
At the same time, several Qi Refining Realm Poisonous Centipedes rushed forward with strange cries!

They pounced wildly in the dark jungle!
Shen Wen'an realized what was happening and immediately activated his sword energy, creating a sword energy shield around his body.

Only with the faint light of the sword's protective shield did he realize that dozens of identical strange insects had crawled to his feet.

Looking at the scarlet beetles in front of him, his expression became somewhat solemn.

This thing is no ordinary insect; it was able to bypass his divine sense and silently approach his body.

With a startled expression, he quietly took a few steps back and suddenly swung the Dragon-Slaying Sword at the ground!
A sword beam swept up the fallen leaves and the scarlet beetles in front of him!
Upon seeing this, another poisonous centipede at the ninth level of Qi Refining raised its huge head, its demonic energy surging, and sucked hard at the fallen leaves and scarlet beetles in mid-air!
In a short while, it swallowed all the blood-red beetles.

After carefully examining the area and confirming that there was no further danger, Shen Wen'an went to the silver-threaded centipede that he had slashed.

Although he was seriously injured, he was fortunately out of danger.

She whispered apologetically, "I misunderstood you."

Looking at the wounds on the silver-threaded centipede, Shen Wen'an was somewhat relieved that he had only used his mind and had not used too much power.

If it had used even a fraction more force, the silver-threaded centipede in front of it would have been cut in two.

With a flash of light in his hand, Shen Wen'an took out a bottle of healing pills, poured out a few pills, crushed them, and sprinkled the powder on the silver centipede's wounds. Then, he used his sword energy to temporarily seal the wounds.

After doing all this, he took out a spirit crystal from his storage bag and threw it at the silver-threaded centipede.

"Eat it, consider it compensation."

When the silver-threaded centipede approached and smelled the rich and pure spiritual energy within the spirit crystal, a hint of excitement flashed in its compound eyes, and it immediately swallowed the spirit crystal.

……

The morning light filtered through the dense foliage, casting dappled shadows on the ground.

Shen Wen'an arrived at the place where the four had hidden the previous night and found specks of blood on a tree stump that had been severed by sword energy.

Clearly, the four people from last night did not escape unscathed; some of them were injured by his sword energy.

Even so, Shen Wen'an's face showed no sign of relief.

Putting aside the four people's elusive methods, the fact that they were able to block my sword energy is enough to prove that the person who made the move had at least the strength of the Nascent Soul Realm.

With a completely different and unfamiliar appearance, yet possessing formidable strength...

Where do these people come from?
As Shen Wen'an was pondering, a terrifying surge of power suddenly erupted from the poisonous miasma in the distance!

Then, the poisonous miasma was blown away by a powerful aura and dispersed in all directions!

A sword energy shield suddenly formed around Shen Wen'an's body, keeping the poisonous miasma out.

After the poisonous miasma slowly dissipated, the giant centipede leader appeared not far away.

At this moment, the centipede leader raised his upper body, his compound eyes looking down at Shen Wen'an not far away.

Seeing this, Shen Wen'an sneered: "What, you've broken through and think you can beat me?"

The centipede leader hesitated for a long time, but when it sensed the terrifying aura hidden within Shen Wen'an, it was secretly alarmed and obediently lowered its proud head.

"The aura of a beast king emanating from your two legs is too terrifying; I don't want to fight you..."

Its voice carried a hint of frustration.

Having finally broken through to the embryonic breathing stage, I had planned to give those two-legged beasts a good beating and regain some face.

But after a closer look, I realized that I still don't seem to be a match for them.

This discovery instantly diminished much of the joy he felt from the breakthrough.

The centipede leader raised its head slightly, but dared not be taller than Shen Wen'an, and slowly said, "Hey, thank you for protecting me."

Shen Wen'an waved his hand: "I promised you back then, so I will not go back on my word."

“I heard from Chongming that you mentioned a place called ‘Southern Xinjiang’ before?”

Now that you've made a breakthrough, can you think of anything else?

After encountering the four people last night, he thought about it for a long time and had a vague guess in his mind that the four strange cultivators were very likely related to the "Southern Frontier" that the centipede leader had mentioned before.

"do not know……"

The centipede leader shook his large head and said, "I don't know how the name 'Southern Frontier' came to me, but I think 'Southern Frontier' should refer to the area south of Hidden Dragon Mountain."

"Who knows if there might be another place to live further south from that desolate place?"

Shen Wen'an gave it a deep look, unsure whether the creature truly didn't know or simply refused to speak.

"Alright, now that you've broken through, it's time for me to go back."

"Just so you know, four strange monks were spying on you last night."

"You'd better not run around recklessly. If anything happens, immediately send your insect offspring to the Shen family to find me."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Wen'an transformed into a sword light and disappeared from the spot.

Seeing that it had gone far away, the centipede leader looked towards the south of the jungle and murmured, "Has the Void Corridor Formation set up by the True Lord been broken?"

After saying this, the centipede leader suddenly shook his head again, his compound eyes showing some confusion.

"Strange, who is the True Lord?"

"Who put something in my head?"

……

When Shen Wen'an returned home from the depths of Hidden Dragon Mountain, Mu Lingxun had already given birth to a son, named Shen Xiuchan.

Both his parents possessed spiritual roots, and Shen Xiuchan was born with a water-attribute spiritual root of extremely high quality.

The first floor of Blackwater Pavilion.

Shen Yuan was teaching Shen Li how to cultivate when Shen Wen'an pushed open the door and entered, so he told Shen Li to start cultivating first.

"father."

Shen Wen'an sat cross-legged in front of him, cupped his hands, and called out.

"Has the matter in the mountains been resolved?"

"Did you find anything?"

Shen Yuan asked in a deep voice.

During this period, he tried to deduce things related to "Southern Xinjiang", but because the spiritual energy of the white jade tortoise shell was insufficient, he did not obtain any useful divination results.

Shen Wen'an nodded: "The centipede leader has broken through to the embryonic breathing stage, so its strength is not bad."

"With proper training, he will become a great help to my Shen family."

"However..." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I discovered several strange cultivators in the mountains."

"His attire is somewhat similar to that of the barbarians of the Western Wilderness, but his aura is very strange, and his strength is also very strong. I estimate that he is at the Nascent Soul Realm."

"I suspect these monks are connected to the so-called 'Southern Frontier'."

"Unfortunately, the centipede leader did not reveal much information related to 'Southern Xinjiang'."

Shen Yuan tapped the documents on the table in front of him with a solemn expression, making a "tap-tap" sound.

After thinking for a long time, he turned to Shen Li and said, "Li'er, go and call your eldest brother, your eldest uncle, and your third aunt."

Shen Li raised her head, nodded obediently, put down the ancient book in her hand, and ran towards the manor.

A moment later, Shen Wenxing and his son, along with Wei Qiuling, arrived at the Blackwater Pavilion.

"Boss, bring me a map."

Shen Wenxing nodded, took out a newly drawn map and spread it on the table, and the group sat around it.

Shen Yuan looked at the almost blank, continuous mountain ranges at the bottom of the map and pondered for a moment before saying, "Judging from the current situation, this Yangnao land is probably more than what we see now."

"If there really is a 'Southern Frontier' in these endless mountains and valleys, then my Shen family can be considered to be bordering the Southern Frontier."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wenxing and the other two frowned.

"Father, is the matter of the 'Southern Frontier' confirmed?" Shen Wenxing asked.

During this time, he obtained some information about "Southern Frontier" from Shen Chongming and Wei Qiuling, and specifically asked Master Lu about it, and searched through some ancient books and maps in the academy.

However, no clues were found that were related to the "Southern Frontier".

It seems that throughout history, the area south of the wide Laishui River has been nothing but a desolate wasteland.

Shen Wen'an said, "Brother, I think I fought with cultivators from the Southern Frontier in the mountains a few days ago."

"Their cultivation system is very strange, and their strength is not weak."

"Third Uncle encountered cultivators from the Southern Frontier?" Shen Chongming asked in surprise. "Are they the ones who terrified the giant centipede?"

Shen Wen'an shook his head slightly: "It's not clear yet, but it should be about right."

After listening to what the others said, Wei Qiuling pondered for a moment before speaking, "It's not difficult to confirm this matter."

“At present, the Yangnao Land is not only bordering the Southern Frontier, but also the Sanshan County under the jurisdiction of the Yiqi Sect, the Xiang County under the jurisdiction of the Bailian Valley, and the Yue County under the jurisdiction of the Vajra Gate.”

"Brother, you can send people to investigate the three prefectures in the next few days, or personally ask the disciples of the sects if they have also discovered anything unusual."

Shen Wenxing nodded.

"That's one way."

"If there are indeed cultivators from the Southern Frontier, it's not just my Shen family that will be discovered; other places will likely find them as well."

Shen Yuan added, "Regardless of whether the other prefectures have discovered this, my Shen family must remain vigilant."

"Chongming, you're in charge of the investigations in the other counties."

"Boss, take some people to take a look around these next few days. I plan to turn Yunshui Town into a city. The city walls will extend south to the Laishui River, west to Yinlong Mountain, and you can decide on the northeast and south directions."

"It would be best if we could set up formations to protect the city after it is built."

"If the cost of the formation is too high, we can just set up defenses on the west and south sides as a precaution."

Will Yunshui Town be developed into a city?

Shen Wenxing frowned slightly after hearing this.

"Isn't Father being overly cautious?"

Building a city and setting up formations on its walls is no simple task.

Leaving aside the extravagance of worldly possessions, the spiritual items needed to set up the formation alone constitute a huge expense.

The Shen family has only managed to accumulate a little bit of resources for cultivation thanks to the Jinghe Market. If they were to build this Yunshui City, their lives would likely become very difficult again.

"Go ahead and do it, don't let your guard down."

During this period, although he did not deduce much about the Southern Frontier, he had a bad feeling about it.

Furthermore, before the birth of Shen Xiuzhuo, the first person of the seventh generation, the white jade tortoise shell inexplicably changed the generational names of the Shen family. When it was used to deduce the divination, it obtained a vague divination, which showed that the next two generations of the Shen family would have disasters and would have to rely on "cultivating karmic connections" with others to get through them.

All signs indicate that the days ahead will not be so easy.

Shen Wenxing nodded.

Since taking over the Shen family, Father has not made such direct decisions about family matters for a long time.

Since they've said that, they must have their reasons.

The father and son were discussing the creation of "Yunshui City" when the little girl Shen Li suddenly rushed over.

Approaching the group, he said in a childish voice, "A shirtless man came to our house, shouting that he wanted to see my uncle."

A shirtless man!?

The group was taken aback. Shen Wenxing stood up, cupped his hands in a gesture of respect to Shen Yuan, and said, "Father, I'll go take a look."

After leaving Blackwater Pavilion, Shen Wenxing returned home and saw Jin Sheng pacing anxiously at the manor gate, wearing half-armored armor and exposing his left side. He seemed to be in a great hurry.

(End of this chapter)