Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 225 The Battle of the Western Wilderness
After deciding to take the initiative, Shen Chongming, in his capacity as head of the family, immediately issued a secret mobilization order to the affiliated families of the four cities.

Two thousand cultivators were drawn from the four cities under his jurisdiction and incorporated into the army.

Inside the side room of the mansion, Shen Wen'an looked at Shen Wenxing and his son and said in a deep voice, "This time, I will go to the Western Wilderness first and secretly find a way to deal with Lan Jue, who is at the half-step Golden Core Realm, and several great demons at the Perfected Nascent Soul Realm in Mount Dawu."

"Brother, you and Chongming wait for my news and be prepared."

Including Lan Jue, there are a total of five demon cultivators in the Western Wilderness who have reached the Perfected Nascent Soul Realm in the Great Wushan Demon Cave.

During the last major harvest, Shen Wen'an took action and killed two of them. Among the remaining three great demons, including Lan Jue, who was at the half-step Golden Core realm, there were still three remaining.

These three powerful demons must absolutely not appear on the front lines.

Otherwise, the many Qi Refining cultivators of the Shen family would only be slaughtered in their presence.

"Third Uncle, let me go with you!"

Shen Chongming suddenly stood up and spoke, his eyes filled with intense fighting spirit.

“My nephew’s current strength is almost at the late stage of fetal breathing, so he should be able to help you.”

Feeling that it was somewhat dangerous for Shen Wen'an to face the powerful demons of Mount Dawu alone, Shen Chongming was afraid that something unexpected might happen.

"Alright, stop causing trouble for your third uncle."

Shen Wenxing, standing beside his son, raised his hand to stop him, saying, "Your third uncle can go by himself. He can fight if he wants to, and he can leave whenever he wants."

“If you go with him, and something goes wrong, he'll have to take care of you.”

Shen Wenxing has always been confident in his younger brother's abilities.

As long as he doesn't fall into the trap of those powerful demons of Mount Wu, there's no one in the entire Western Wilderness who can hold him back.

“Your father is right.”

"Third Uncle can handle it himself."

Gently patting Shen Chongming's shoulder, Shen Wen'an comforted him and then said, "Your primary task is to plan out the territory that the Shen family wants to seize and open up a passage to the Flame Lake Ridge area."

A hint of resentment flashed in Shen Chongming's eyes, but he also understood that this was the main purpose of the Shen family's initiative.

After this attack, the Shen family not only had to occupy the road leading to Flame Lake Ridge, but also had to consider a series of issues such as future defense.

All these decisions need to be made by him, the head of the family.

"Big brother, I'm going."

After patting Shen Chongming on the shoulder again, Shen Wen'an cupped his hands in greeting to Shen Wenxing, then transformed into a sword light and left Yunshui City, heading towards the Western Wilderness.

Shen Wenxing stood up, stood by the window, and watched his figure completely disappear before turning around with a solemn expression and asking, "How is the gathering of the cultivators under your jurisdiction progressing?"

Shen Chongming cupped his hands in greeting: "Everything is ready."

"I plan to divide the troops into three groups. One group will be led by you, Father, and the soldiers under your command will mostly be body cultivators from the Western Wilderness."

"Our task is to advance from the direction of Chun Gui City and draw the attention of those beasts from Da Wu Mountain."

"The giant centipede will assist you."

As Shen Chongming spoke, he opened a map, which was covered with dense markings.

"Another route, personally led by Er, rushed in from the direction of Yunshui City and Hejian City to encircle the flank of the demon cultivators of Dawu Mountain."

"My son and I, along with our fellow cultivators, are the main force in annihilating those demon cultivators of Mount Dawu. We will kill as many as we can and weaken their fighting force as much as possible."

Pointing to a scarlet circle on the map, Shen Chongming said with a solemn expression, "If nothing unexpected happens, this is very likely the place of the final battle."

"It's a pity that our Shen family doesn't have any cultivators who are proficient in array formations, otherwise we could have set up some ambush arrays here in advance."

"The third army, led by Mu Chang, set off from this direction with a group of cultivators. Their main objective was to completely eliminate the minor demons of Dawu Mountain along the way, ensuring absolute control of the passage from Yunshui City to Yanhugang, and then slowly advance northward."

Pointing to a scarlet line that runs across the western wilderness on the map, Shen Chongming's eyes flashed with a sharp light as he said, "This time, I plan to at least ensure that the Shen family controls all areas south of this point in the western wilderness."

Listening to his son's account and looking at the various markings on the map, Shen Wenxing pondered for a moment and said, "Have we sent people to explore the spirit mines and fields in this area, as well as the settlements of the Western Wilderness tribes, in advance?"

Shen Chongming paused slightly after hearing this, then shook his head and said, "I hadn't considered that."

"Father means..."

After thinking for a moment, Shen Wenxing said in a deep voice, "Your third uncle said that we must absolutely control the passage leading to Flame Lake Ridge."

“Yunshui City is three thousand miles away from Yanhugang. It is obviously impossible to patrol such a vast area by relying solely on cultivators.”

"I think it is necessary to build cities along the way as strongholds. A city must be built at Flame Lake Ridge, and at least two more giant cities should be built in between."

"As for where the city should be built, it depends on the distribution of spirit mines and spirit fields in the surrounding area."

"These two cities can also try to gather the barbarian people of the Western Wilderness, pass on cultivation methods, and give them some power to resist the demon cultivators of the Great Wu Mountain."

When the topic of building the city came up, Shen Chongming frowned slightly.

Seeing that he was still hesitant, Shen Wenxing sighed and said, "Kid, the so-called expansion of territory must be able to completely defend and occupy it before it can be called expansion."

"If you fight and then leave, that can only be called aggression."

“Until we have the absolute power to completely drive the demon cave of Mount Wu out of the Western Wilderness, building a city is the safest option.”

Shen Chongming nodded and said, "I understand that."

"What I'm worried about is how to defend the city after it's built and the next big harvest begins."

The next big harvest?

Shen Wenxing looked at the map in front of him and sneered, "It's still uncertain who the Shen family will draw in the next big harvest."

"Besides, we will have plenty of time to rebuild the three cities by the next big harvest."

Shen Chongming thought for a moment, then nodded emphatically.

"Alright, I'll tell Elder Mu when I get back, and ask him to keep an eye out for spirit fields and spirit mines along the way, as well as the gathering points of the Western Wilderness barbarian tribes."

"As fellow people of the Western Wilderness, I believe we should be able to gather many barbarian tribes this time."

The father and son discussed the specific tactics again to ensure there were no mistakes, and then hurriedly left the room.

……

The main hall of the imperial palace in Zhili.

More than ten monks from Canaan Monastery gathered together.

These dozen or so monks from Canaan Temple, categorized by their immortal cultivation levels, were all at the peak of the embryonic breathing stage. Among them, the gaunt monk sitting in the head seat had even reached the half-step Golden Core stage.

However, the Buddhist cultivation realm is different from that of the immortal path.

In the context of immortal cultivators, the initial stage of Buddhist cultivation is called "Wu Nan Xiang," which is equivalent to the body tempering stage in immortal cultivation.

This means that one must practice the "Four Common Preliminary Practices," recognizing the preciousness of human life, the impermanence of life, the suffering of samsara, and the infallibility of cause and effect.

Above the stage of "No Difficulty in Appearance," the corresponding stage of Qi Refining in Immortal Path is "Observing the Body's Appearance."

Receive the vase empowerment, visualize the form of the deity, recite the mantra to purify speech karma, and practice the "arising stage" as an entry point.

The state of mind of the dozen or so Buddhist monks present was called "seeing emptiness," which corresponds to the state of embryonic breathing in Taoism.

"Seeing emptiness" is the "Great Illumination," hence the Golden Elixir Realm in Buddhist practice is also called the "Great Illumination Aspect."

"Senior brother, we have received news that the Shen family in Yunzhong is gathering their forces and plans to take action against those demon cultivators in Dawu Mountain."

"Should we take this opportunity to head south and help some ordinary people escape their suffering?"

Opposite the gaunt old monk, a middle-aged Buddhist monk with a ruddy complexion and a rather prosperous appearance spoke slowly.

Upon hearing this, all the other monks in the room showed interest and looked at the withered old monk.

The old monk sat cross-legged, with a faint aura of wisdom and spiritual energy shimmering behind him, clearly indicating that he was not far from the true "Great Illumination" Golden Core realm.

"The Shen family's initiative to attack Dawu Mountain is undoubtedly a retaliation for Dawu Mountain's repeated incursions into their territory over the past few years."

"Luoxia Mountain and the Shen family share weal and woe. This time, when the Shen family makes a move, they will definitely ask Luoxia Mountain for help in defense."

The withered old monk's eyes gleamed, and he spoke in a low, slow voice.

"During the last major harvest, the Yin Corpse Sect suffered heavy losses at the hands of Luoxia Mountain. Therefore, our Canaan Temple cannot act rashly."

Upon hearing this, the monks reacted with varying expressions.

Some of them clearly felt that the gaunt old monk was too conservative.

The Shen family is focusing all its efforts on attacking Dawu Mountain, while Luoxia Mountain itself still needs to resist the attacks from Huangsheng Sect and Tiantan Mountain. How much strength can it spare to help the Shen family guard their rear?
You should know that during the last big harvest, those fools from the Demon Cave of Mount Wushan reportedly didn't get any benefits from the Shen family at all.

If Canaan Monastery seizes this opportunity and takes action, it will surely be able to convert a large number of ordinary people.

"Suffering and karmic obstacles are the foundation of our spiritual practice."

“Fellow disciples, do not become attached to appearances and take the inferior path.”

“It is easier to go south to preach than to forcibly convert people.”

Missionary work?

Upon hearing this, the monks present suddenly brightened up and then burst into happy laughter.

“Senior brother, your insight is excellent. We shall take this opportunity to send people to infiltrate the villages and cities under the Shen family’s control to preach and spread the word, and then gradually take action.”

"Absolutely, absolutely. Even if the Shen family discovers this, I believe they won't dare to stop it. After all, with their strength, they certainly wouldn't dare to wage war against both Canaan Temple and Mount Wu at the same time."

"Huiwu, Huixian, you two will be in charge of this missionary work."

"Remember, you must not attempt any conversion or salvation activities on this journey."

The gaunt old monk looked at the two kind-faced, elderly monks in their sixties among the assembled monks.

The two old monks nodded slightly: "We will follow your teachings, senior brother."

……

Western wilderness.

Above the vast grassland, Shen Wen'an concealed his aura, stood on his sword in the void, and gazed at the magnificent mansion that stood out abruptly on the grassland in the distance.

He knew very well that Lan Jue and the other demon cultivators from the Great Wushan Demon Cave were definitely in that mansion.

However, for safety's sake, he did not go directly to the mansion.

"We need to find a way to lure them out and take them down one by one."

After muttering something in a low voice, Shen Wen'an suddenly thought of a good idea.

His figure left the place and flew towards Hidden Dragon Mountain.

His destination was the Black Pine Forest, where he had killed the boar demon at the Nascent Soul Realm years ago.

There is a spirit crystal mine in the Black Pine Forest. When the Southern Frontier invaded, both the Heavenly Talisman Sect and the Vajra Gate hastily withdrew.

The Shen family and Luoxia Mountain were unable to protect the spirit crystal mine, so they withdrew all the cultivators and commoners who were mining the mine, which benefited the Great Wushan Demon Cave.

Although these demon cultivators were too lazy to manage the spirit fields and the people under their rule, they would naturally not easily give up the various spirit mines and spirit crystal veins.

During the last major harvest, He Chongyi led a group to raid this place and plundered hundreds of spirit crystals.

Immediately afterwards, Mount Dawu strengthened its defenses against the spirit crystal mine.

Several powerful demons in the mid-to-late stages of the Nascent Soul Realm were dispatched to guard this place.

Shen Wen'an flew to the outside of the Black Pine Forest on his sword, withdrew his sword light and his own aura, took out a low-grade magic weapon broadsword from his storage bag (he didn't know where he had obtained it from), and quietly sneaked into the Black Pine Forest.

Within the dense black pine forest, numerous half-transformed demons with animal heads and human bodies, some with tattered cloths around their waists and others completely naked, gathered in groups of three or five, serving as sentry posts.

Shen Wen'an quickly found his way to a sentry post where more than a dozen small demons were gathered. He deliberately made a noise and then fled into the distance.

"Hey! The two-legged beast king!?"

"Quickly! A few brothers, come with me to capture him!"

"Leave two here and start a fire quickly, we'll roast those two-legged beasts later!"

Hearing the commotion and seeing a figure flee in panic, these newly awakened demons had no idea that anything was wrong and all blindly rushed forward!
Among the group of lesser demons, the leader was a bear demon at the eighth or ninth level of Qi Refining, with a fat body, a huge head, and carrying a large club made of unknown beast bone. He shouted and charged at the front.

Several wolf demons and other lesser demons followed behind him.

"stop!"

"Don't run!"

"Stop right there!"

The group of little demons chased after them while shouting loudly.

Shen Wen'an wielded a low-grade greatsword magic weapon, continuously slashing out streaks of blade light.

However, most of these blade beams struck the thick trees on both sides. Occasionally, one or two blade beams would strike the lesser demons, but they were easily blocked by the hard bone club in the bear demon's hand.

The panicked expression on his face further excited the group of little demons behind him.

"almost……"

Seeing that the performance was almost over, he immediately waved his hand and unleashed a sharp blade of light, heading straight for the leading bear demon!

puff!
The bear demon was planning to raise his bone club to defend himself, just like before.

Unexpectedly, this time the blade was several times faster than before. Before he could even raise his bone club, it easily ripped him open and killed him on the spot!

The lesser demons behind the bear demon were all stunned by this.

A moment later, they assumed that Shen Wen'an had just gotten lucky and that the bear demon had been careless, which was why he was killed!

The group of lesser demons continued their pursuit.

Shen Wen'an slowly killed all the lesser demons in this way, and then returned to the Black Pine Forest to continue attacking the next outpost.

Soon, he slaughtered several outposts in succession. The lesser demons finally realized what was happening and hurriedly reported the situation to the Nascent Soul Realm demons stationed in the spirit crystal mine.

Upon receiving the news, a tusked boar with a cultivation level reaching the late stage of the Fetal Breathing realm, stationed in the spirit crystal mine, angrily charged in.

Shen Wen'an, wielding a magical broadsword, fought and clashed with him for dozens of rounds before fleeing in panic.

The tusked boar chased for a hundred miles but lost track of it and had no choice but to return.

In the days that followed, Shen Wen'an once again attacked and killed many of the lesser demons at the outposts, forcing the several Nascent Soul Realm demons guarding the spirit crystal mine to take action.

But they still couldn't do anything to him.

"These damn two-legged creatures are so annoying!"

"His cultivation level should be in the mid-to-late stage of the embryonic breathing stage. He's as slippery as an eel. As long as the rest of us attack together, he'll run away."

At the mine camp, in front of the animal hide tent, the tusked boar angrily threw a bone knife on the ground and muttered something.

The other three monsters were also seething with anger.

"Go and ask the commander. Next time that guy comes, have the commander take action. He can catch him off guard and kill him!"

The mid-stage Nascent Soul demon with a dog's head and a human body spoke.

The demons exchanged glances and unanimously agreed to the decision.

In the distance, Shen Wen stood quietly on the canopy of a giant tree, watching a streak of light fly towards the distant western grasslands through the black pine forest, a cold glint in his eyes.

He had been acting for so many days, and this was the scene he had been waiting for.

During the great harvest, Lan Jue led a group of demons to attack Yunshui City. He fought alone, and his strength was already known to the enemy.

If we want to lure out those powerful demons at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm, we must not reveal our identities.

Therefore, he didn't even use his sword, because he didn't want the other party to guess.

After waiting for two days on the canopy of the ancient trees in the black pine forest, he finally saw three streaks of light flying rapidly from the depths of the western wilderness grassland.

"That Lan Jue is really cautious; he actually sent two great demons at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm this time."

Shen Wen'an thought to himself.

Among the three streaks of light that arrived, one was a Nascent Soul Realm demon beast that had previously rushed back from the Black Pine Forest to seek help.

The other two streaks of light were two powerful demons at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm who had arrived.

If the two were at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage, and had not yet condensed the Sword Bone Technique, and if they were determined to escape, he wouldn't have been absolutely certain he could have stopped them both.

But now that he has reached the perfected realm of embryonic breathing and possesses the Sword Bone Technique Sword, he is determined to completely annihilate the two demons and will not give them a chance to escape.

Suppressing his thoughts, he put the low-grade longsword magic weapon in his hand into his storage bag and took out the Dragon Slayer Sword instead.

With a flash, he headed towards a sentry post he had previously discovered.

Just as Shen Wen'an turned to leave after killing several minor demons in the outpost, he sensed two figures, their auras concealed, rushing towards him!
"For someone at the late stage of the Fetal Breathing Realm to act like this is truly shameless."

"You have killed so many of my men from Mount Wu, today I will not let you escape again."

Two figures moved with incredible speed, blocking Shen Wen'an's path from the left and right in the blink of an eye.

These two demons were none other than the Snow Wolf King and the old goat who had appeared outside Yunshui City with Lan Jue.

Although the two demons' cultivation levels were not as high as those of Bai Shanjun, who was killed back then, they were both genuinely at the peak of the embryonic breathing stage.

After locking onto Shen Wen'an, the old goat with a tuft of white beard on his chin frowned slightly.

He felt that the aura of the human cultivator in front of him was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't quite place it for the moment.

Seeing that the fish had taken the bait, Shen Wen'an, who was holding a long sword, slowly turned around.

"Long time no see, you two."

Upon seeing its appearance and hearing its voice, the Snow Wolf King and the old goat were momentarily stunned, then horrified!

"It's you!?"

When the two demons spoke in unison, they instantly realized it was a trap!
A trap specifically designed for them!

"escape!"

The two demons exchanged a glance, then immediately transformed into streaks of light, attempting to escape back to the Western Wilderness!

Shen Wen'an had wasted several days to lure them here, so how could he let them escape so easily this time?

A golden light flashed, and the three-inch magic sword in the dantian flew out instantly.

The Tai Xuan Dividing Light Sword was activated, and the three-inch magic sword directly transformed into two hundred and fifty-six clones, which entangled the two demons!

Shen Wen'an, wielding the Dragon-Slaying Sword, strode through the air and directly attacked the old goat among the two demons.

Judging from its aura, this goat demon was weaker than the snow wolf king.

Perhaps because his lifespan was running out, his strength was showing signs of being at the bottom among those at the Perfected Fetal Breathing Realm.

Seeing Shen Wen'an charging towards them with his sword, the old goat's eyes flashed with horror. His demonic energy surged, and a huge black goat phantom directly formed behind him!

The black-haired goat phantom was over ten zhang long, with crimson eyes and a dark, menacing aura emanating from its body!
As Shen Wen'an walked slowly towards them, the black-haired goat phantom lowered its head slightly, and one after another, phantom clones with long, curved horns on their heads rushed out at lightning speed!
Shen Wen'an flashed away.

The phantom clone that rushed in crashed into the ancient tree behind it, causing a violent explosion!
When his first attack missed, the remaining phantoms seemed to possess consciousness. No matter how Shen Wen'an dodged, they could always quickly adjust their direction and crash into his body.

"A rather interesting attack method..."

"Is this his innate supernatural ability?"

Seeing the goat demon's bizarre attack method, Shen Wen'an wondered if he could figure it out. However, he discovered it was completely unlike a cultivator's attack techniques; there was no discernible pattern in the flow of spiritual energy. This was most likely an innate ability born from the demon beast itself, not easily learned by chance.

The countless phantom images of black goat heads hurtled around them at high speed, and the dense baleful aura from the explosion had already engulfed Shen Wen'an's figure.

However, the goat demon showed no excitement whatsoever.

He was well aware of Shen Wen'an's strength; back in the skies above Yunshui City, several powerful demons had joined forces to besiege him.

Although it was just an act that time, none of the great demons used their true abilities.

But Shen Wen'an's strength still left a deep impression on them.

This is why, when he and the Snow Wolf King discovered that it was Shen Wen'an, they didn't even have the desire to fight and chose to flee immediately.

Unfortunately, both he and the Snow Wolf King are currently entangled by the opponent's magic sword, and it seems unlikely that they can easily escape.

On the Snow Wolf King's side, seeing that Shen Wen'an had been temporarily held back by the old goat, a hint of joy rose in his heart.

Without a second thought, he risked being pierced by several magic swords, and in the instant his figure transformed into moonlight silver light, he escaped the encirclement of more than a hundred flying swords and fled towards the distant Western Wilderness!

Upon seeing this, the old goat nearly vomited blood in anger and immediately began to curse!
"Snow Wolf King!"

"You white-haired beast, you deserted your post in the face of battle, abandoning me!"

Even if you manage to escape back this time, I will not let you off the hook!

"I curse you with my true spirit and soul, that one day you will be skinned alive and have your core extracted, and you will be doomed to eternal damnation!"

The old goat's roar echoed through the mountains and forests, but the fleeing snow wolf king didn't even turn his head back, only continuing to rouse his demonic energy.

While sealing his wounds, he hurried to escape to the Western Wilderness.

He knew very well that his only chance of survival was to escape to the Western Wilderness and get to Lan Jue's side.

Otherwise, once Shen Wen'an kills the old goat and catches up, he will be no match for him!
"Forget about another day. If I kill you, I will kill him immediately."

A calm voice emanated from the dense aura of menace.

Along with the malevolent aura came a milky-white light.

In the instant the old goat felt a slight tremor, the milky white light had already entered its head.

In his sea of ​​consciousness, his soul only saw a white, sharp light radiating endless killing intent rushing towards him. The next moment, his consciousness seemed to suddenly fall into a dark abyss, sinking deeper and deeper, losing all sensation.

Shen Wen'an emerged from the slowly dissipating dark aura, glanced at the Snow Wolf King which was almost completely gone, and then transformed into a sword light to chase after it.

He originally did not intend to use the Sword Bone Technique Sword this time, wanting to see if he could quickly kill two great demons of the same realm with his own strength alone.

Unfortunately, the Snow Wolf King ruined the whole thing.

That guy was ruthless enough to escape the encirclement of many magical swords, even at the cost of injury.

On the vast grassland, two streaks of light chased each other rapidly, one after the other.

The cyan sword light that Shen Wen'an transformed into was extremely fast, and in just a few breaths, it had already caught up with the Snow Wolf King.

Seeing no hope of escape, the Snow Wolf King, filled with horror and despair, suddenly stopped, turned around, and knelt in mid-air!
"Fellow Taoist, please show mercy!"

"This little demon...this little demon is willing to be a slave, only begging fellow Daoist to spare this little demon's life, considering how difficult the cultivation process was!"

Shen Wen'an caught up and was stunned by what he saw.

"How can a great demon at the peak of the embryonic breathing realm have no backbone at all?"

The Snow Wolf King's sudden admission of weakness made Shen Wen'an feel as if he had punched a cotton ball.

"Master is joking. What's more important than life, even if it's a matter of pride..."

"We demon cultivators have been living in a daze for over a hundred years. It was only with great difficulty that we gained sentience and began our cultivation journey."

"Having endured countless hardships to achieve your current level of cultivation, how can you justify wasting hundreds of years of effort for the sake of so-called integrity? How can you face yourself like that?"

"Besides, that old fox has never taken me seriously. In fact, all of us demons under her command would mysteriously disappear whenever we showed any signs of breaking through to the Golden Core stage."

"That old fox only sees us as henchmen for plundering blood and food, or even as a great medicine to enhance our cultivation."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wen'an revealed a cold smile.

This guy is really decisive. Before I even agreed to his surrender, he started smearing my "grandmother" without any scruples.

"Immortal Master, what this little demon said is all true!"

"That old fox doesn't have much time left, and he's just surviving on large amounts of blood and human pills."

"Over the years, the Great Wushan Mountain has been conquering in the south and north, and ninety percent of the blood offerings and rare treasures it has obtained have been wasted by the old fox."

"If our demons had been given a larger share, the Great Wushan Demon Cave wouldn't only have one Golden Core Demon King."

Is the Heavenly Fox Demon King nearing the end of his life?

Hearing this, Shen Wen'an was somewhat surprised.

The lifespan of a Golden Core cultivator is eight hundred years. Most demon cultivators spend over a hundred years in a dazed, beast-like state before gaining intelligence and cultivating, eventually reaching the Qi Refining stage, the Embryonic Breathing stage, and finally the Golden Core stage...

Judging from this, the Fox Demon King really lived for quite a long time.

After glancing at the Snow Wolf King, Shen Wen'an sighed after a moment of contemplation, "Although I really want to spare your life, it is too dangerous to keep a powerful demon at the peak of the Nascent Soul stage by my side."

"If I'm not careful, you'll take advantage of the situation, injure someone from my Shen family, and then escape. By then, it will be too late to regret it."

As he spoke, he slowly raised the Dragon Slayer Sword in his hand.

He was telling the truth.

A powerful demon at the perfected stage of the Nascent Soul realm would be of great use to the Shen family.

However, the oaths of true spirits of human cultivators are useless against demon cultivators, and the witchcraft techniques that Shen Li possesses only have incantations for specific Gu insects, and cannot be used to control beasts.

Leaving such an uncontrollable and terrifying individual in the Shen family is a huge hidden danger.

If something really happens, it will be too late to regret it.

Upon hearing this, the Snow Wolf King was terrified. His eyes flickered several times, but when he saw that the long sword, radiating a cold killing intent, had already locked onto him, he immediately shouted!

"This little demon is willing to offer a wisp of spiritual essence!"

"As long as the immortal master holds a wisp of the little demon's spiritual essence, with just a thought, the little demon will not escape death no matter where it flees!"

"This... in this way, Immortal Master will no longer have to worry."

The true origin of the spirit?

As Shen Wen'an narrowed his eyes, the Snow Wolf King forcibly activated its demonic energy, forcing out a milky-white ball of light radiating pure divine soul energy from between its brows.

The milky-white ball of light was forced out, and its aura became noticeably weaker, with signs that its cultivation level was about to fall below the Perfect Realm.

Upon seeing this, Shen Wen'an hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grabbed the milky-white ball of light into his hand.

The moment he grasped the ball of light, he truly felt that if he exerted only a little force to crush it, the Snow Wolf King in front of him would surely die with his soul shattered!

However, to be on the safe side, he quietly pierced the ball of light with a tiny sliver of sword light, wanting to see the Snow Wolf King's reaction.

"what!"

The moment the sword light pierced through the ball of light, the Snow Wolf King, who was kneeling in the void in front of him, suddenly clutched his head and cried out in pain, his body tumbling as he fell straight to the ground from the air!
boom!
During its descent, its form transformed into its true form, becoming a giant snow wolf over ten feet long!

The snow wolf's fur was as white as snow, emitting a faint fluorescence, and its eyes were light blue.

After being slammed hard onto the ground, it continued to writhe in pain, uttering human words.

"Immortal Master, spare my life!"

"Master, spare my life!"

Seeing his appearance, Shen Wen'an believed that the so-called "true spirit essence" in his hand was something that could control his life and death, and slowly withdrew the sword light.

The pain of his soul being torn apart disappeared, and the Snow Wolf King hurriedly struggled to get up from the ground, looking obsequiously at Shen Wen'an who was slowly falling down.

"Master..."

Shen Wen'an glanced at him, but seeing that the ordeal had not caused his cultivation level to drop significantly, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Let's go back together."

The Snow Wolf King's pale blue eyes shifted slightly, and without transforming into human form, it came to Shen Wen'an and said in a fawning tone, "Immortal... Master, please climb onto my back, and I will take you back."

This guy is quite cunning.

Knowing that being a demon servant of the Shen family, who can be driven around at will, is far less desirable than becoming Shen Wen'an's mount.

He could tell that, with Shen Wen'an's talent, barring any unforeseen circumstances, it wouldn't be long before he broke through the Nascent Soul stage and became a Golden Core Sword Immortal.

In the future, it may even advance further and become a Nascent Soul Realm being.

At that time, becoming the mount of the Nascent Soul True Monarch would be an opportunity that countless demon cultivators would beg for.

When traveling, even Golden Core Demon Kings have to treat them with utmost respect.

Shen Wen'an naturally guessed what the beast was thinking. After a moment's thought, he directly mounted the Snow Wolf King's back.

"Master, please be seated."

The Snow Wolf King turned around and said something, then carried Shen Wen'an and transformed into a streak of light, flying towards Hidden Dragon Mountain.

Of the five great demons at the peak of the Nascent Soul realm from the Great Wushan Demon Cave, three are dead and one has surrendered, leaving only Lan Jue.

Lan Jue should still have quite a few demonic beasts in the mid-to-late stages of the Nascent Soul realm under his command, but none of them are a threat.

Right now, all he needs to do is keep an eye on Lan Jue and prevent him from making a move. The rest can be handled by his elder brother Shen Wenxing and Shen Chongming.

Riding the Snow Wolf King back to Hidden Dragon Mountain, Shen Wen'an found Shen Chongming, who was hiding in the mountains. After informing him that it was time to take action, Shen Wen'an rushed to the vicinity of the magnificent mansion in the Western Wilderness to take charge.

Lan Jue is very strong; he is extremely confident that he can kill Lan Jue, who is at the half-step Golden Core realm.

However, even if Lan Jue is killed, the Great Wushan will likely send other powerful demons over.

That would not only fail to solve the problem once and for all, but would also thoroughly enrage the Great Wushan Demon Cave, hindering the Shen family's future plans to occupy Flame Lake Ridge and many other schemes.

This severely weakened the power of the Great Wushan in the Western Wilderness, which was tantamount to sending a message to Lan Jue.

The Shen family wants the entire southern part of the Western Wilderness.

If neither side wants to completely break off relations, they should maintain the status quo.

As agreed beforehand, the cultivators under the Shen family split into three groups and charged across Hidden Dragon Mountain.

Lan Jue also sensed the presence of Shen Wen'an and the Snow Wolf King. Even though he was furious, he knew that taking action now would not change anything.

The immediate priority is to quickly notify the Heavenly Fox Demon King and send some more demon generals to stabilize the forces under their control.

……

The war in the Western Wilderness is raging.

Suddenly, mysterious figures and caravans appeared in the villages and towns on the outskirts of Xingyang and Anyang, which were under the jurisdiction of the Shen family.

These people were not monks, but ordinary monks and commoners under the tutelage of Canaan Temple.

They carried large quantities of grain and meat, and preached and performed good deeds in the villages and towns along the way.

For a time, it attracted a lot of onlookers from the common people.

The news quickly reached the ears of the Zhao family in Anyang and the Liu family in Xingyang.

The City Lord's Mansion of Anyang City.

Zhao Tuan, who was middle-aged, sat cross-legged on a bamboo bed.

Standing beside him was a young man who looked remarkably like him when he was young.

This young man was none other than his youngest son, Zhao Tianqiu.

Zhao Tuan had four sons in total, but unfortunately only his youngest son, Zhao Tianqiu, possessed spiritual roots. Of the remaining three sons, the eldest was an ordinary person, while the second and third sons were now both body cultivators.

Originally, Zhao Tuan intended for his eldest son, Zhao Tianshu, to take over the position of head of the Zhao family.

It was because Shen Chongming said that "Tianqiu has good talent and should be nurtured well" that Zhao Tuan did not hesitate and began to cultivate his youngest son, Zhao Tianqiu, as the future head of the family.

Zhao Tianqiu is now of legal age and married a legitimate daughter of the Chun Guiliu family last year.

Zhao Tuan kept him by his side at all times, gradually letting him take over the family affairs.

"Tianqiu, what do you think of this matter?"

After hearing the report from the Zhao family members in front of him, Zhao Tuan pondered for a moment and then turned to look at Zhao Tianqiu.

Zhao Tianqiu thought for a moment and then cupped his hands and said, "There is no doubt that this matter is a conspiracy by the Zhili Canaan Temple."

"Father, I think we should immediately send people to drive those monks and merchants away!"

Although the Shen family and Canaan Temple did not have any direct conflict, the major Golden Core forces in the Southern Frontier were all enemies to them.

The fact that Canaan Monastery sent people to Anyang City to deliver grain and meat, and to preach and spread their teachings, clearly indicates they had ulterior motives.

“Back then, Canaan Temple approached our master, wanting to build a temple and spread the word in our four cities.”

"The patriarch refused without even thinking about it."

Zhao Tuan sighed slightly and continued in a deep voice, "But the matter at hand is not as simple as you think."

"Currently, our families and most of the main family's forces are engaged in the war in the Western Wilderness."

"If we provoke Canaan Temple to attack again at this time, and we have to fight on two fronts, it will probably ruin our master's plans."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianqiu frowned deeply.

"So we're just going to let those guys run rampant right under our noses?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tuan suddenly smiled and said, "It can't be said that they acted recklessly."

"They did send a lot of grain and meat to the people under their rule, and I heard they even gave them money."

"Father!" Seeing that his father was still in the mood to joke at this time, Zhao Tianqiu said with some dissatisfaction, "They've already bullied you to the point of being rude, aren't you worried at all?"

Zhao Tuan glanced at him and said, "I have told you before that you must remain calm and composed in the face of adversity and avoid being hasty."

Zhao Tianqiu clenched his fist, then suppressed his impatience and cupped his hands, asking, "Father, what do you plan to do?"

Zhao Tuan clapped his hands and pondered for a moment, then turned to the Zhao family member standing in front of him and asked, "How did the Liu family deal with things in Xingyang?"

The Zhao family member cupped his hands and said, "Reporting to our patriarch, the Liu family has not responded. It seems they have even sent a direct descendant to assist them."

"Oh?" Zhao Tuan was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

Zhao Tianqiu frowned and asked, "Is Liu Jing senile?"

"Don't be rude. Patriarch Liu is of a higher generation than my father."

Zhao Tianqiu snorted coldly upon hearing this, "What my son said is true. This is clearly a conspiracy, yet he actually thinks it's a good thing."

"This move is either a sign of senility or a sign of disloyalty..."

"Alright, let's just take care of our own affairs and not underestimate the head of the main family."

Zhao Tuan slowly raised his hand to stop him, then thought for a moment and said:
"Next, you will lead your men to secretly relocate the villagers of Huangfeng Town to the surrounding villages of Xiahe Village."

"All the common people who originally lived in those villages were relocated."

"Be careful not to disturb the monks and merchants in Xiahe Village."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianqiu became somewhat anxious.

"Huangfeng Town is full of old people from Anyang. They have been loyal to their master since the Immortal Sect arrived. Would it be inappropriate to relocate them there and let the bald monks of Canaan Temple run rampant?"

Zhao Tuan glanced at him and said, "When did I say that they should go and suffer at the hands of Canaan Temple?"

"The monks of Canaan Temple are sending grain and meat; isn't that a good thing for the people of Huangfeng Town?"

“But…” Zhao Tianqiu wanted to say something, but Zhao Tuan interrupted him by raising his hand.

"Just do it, and then you will understand what your father means."

Zhao Tianqiu did not refute, but helplessly cupped his hands and said, "Yes."

After he left, Zhao Tuan looked at the Zhao family member in front of him, a sharp glint in his eyes, and said in a deep voice, "Go and retrieve the fish scale registers of all the people in Xiahe Village immediately."

“Send out trustworthy clansmen to keep a close eye on those common people.”

"Once those people from Canaan Temple left Xiahe Village, they secretly imprisoned all the villagers."

"Remember, there should be no mistreatment. Just keep him in temporary custody until I give the order."

The Zhao family member quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Yes, Patriarch!"

……

Time flies, and more than a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

In the Western Wilderness, the cultivators under the Shen family's rule have successfully opened up the road to Flame Lake Ridge after a series of advances.

All the monsters along the way, whether they came from Mount Dawu or were native to the Yangnao Land, were wiped out.

Mu Chang led the many Shen family cultivators to find all the spirit fields and spirit mines and mark them on the map, as instructed.

Not far from that magnificent courtyard on the grassland.

Shen Wen'an has been guarding this place for over a month, during which time he has seen numerous demonic beasts swarming towards the direction of the Void Harmony Corridor Formation.

He did not intervene.

On this day, a figure strode in from the magnificent mansion in the distance.

"Snow Wolf King, you should know what happens when you betray your aunt."

Lan Jue arrived a hundred feet away, glanced at the Snow Wolf King lying beside Shen Wen'an, and spoke in a cold voice.

The Snow Wolf King rolled its eyes at him, then proceeded to pick at a foxtail grass in front of it, completely ignoring him.

Seeing this, Lan Jue looked at Shen Wen'an again, pondered for a moment and said, "I think I see it now. The Shen family wants half of the Western Wilderness territory?"

Shen Wen'an nodded slightly and said, "If Dawushan agrees, this battle can end."

"Otherwise, continuing the fight would be bad for both sides."

"What the Heavenly Fox Demon King wants is blood food. If the Great Wushan Mountain fights with my Shen family until they have exhausted their resources, the Great Wushan Mountain will probably be eliminated from this grand game in Yangnao Land ahead of time."

Lan Jue narrowed his eyes slightly, then sneered, "Fellow Daoist Shen, you see things very clearly."

"Grandma really doesn't want to be eliminated early."

"The Shen family wants this territory, and I, Lan, can agree, but..."

He glanced at the Snow Wolf King beside Shen Wen'an and said in a deep voice, "My aunt said that this traitor must be brought back to her for punishment."

"If Fellow Daoist Shen agrees, I will immediately order my men to step down, and from now on our two families will govern separately."

Upon hearing this, the Snow Wolf King beside Shen Wen'an stood up abruptly, looking at him with eyes full of worry.

"Owner……"

(End of this chapter)