Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 226 Golden Core Path - Three Flowers of Divinity

The Snow Wolf King was clearly afraid.

The Shen family's aggressive move clearly indicates their intention to seize half of the Western Wilderness.

He was well aware of the strength of Mount Dawu. If he were determined to waste time in the Western Wilderness with the Shen family, it would ultimately benefit no one.

Now that bastard Lan Jue has made this request, the Snow Wolf King thinks that as long as Shen Wen'an isn't stupid, he should decisively give up on him and agree.

As for him, having betrayed Mount Wu, if he were to fall into the hands of the Heavenly Fox Demon King, the consequences that await him are unimaginable.

"Master, just kill me!"

Seeing the hesitation on Shen Wen'an's face, the Snow Wolf King made up his mind and immediately spoke in human language.

He had made up his mind that he would rather die than fall into the hands of the Heavenly Fox Demon King.

Otherwise, what awaits them is a torment worse than death.

"So you want to die?"

Shen Wen'an glanced at him and then looked at Lan Jue, saying, "I will not agree to this condition."

"If Fellow Daoist Lan thinks that Mount Dawu can really afford to wait, then give it a try."

"I have enough patience and time to wear you down."

"Until the next major harvest, I can guarantee that there won't be many demon cultivators from Mount Wu in the Western Wilderness."

Upon hearing this, the Snow Wolf King was taken aback, and a strange feeling arose in his heart.

He knew very well that if it were the Great Wushan side, they would definitely hand him over without hesitation this time.

Across from him, Lan Jue's expression was grim.

"Is the Shen family really going to let countless clansmen and my Great Wushan Demon Cave fight to the death for such a traitor?"

"Fellow Daoist, do you know that there are tens of millions of lesser demons under the rule of my Great Wu Mountain? If we really fight, even if all the members of your Shen family die in battle, it will only be a slight loss of vitality for Great Wu Mountain."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wen'an remained calm.

He knew that Lan Jue's words might be true.

But the Great Wushan Mountain has more than just the Shen family as an enemy. If they really intended to fight the Shen family to the death, Lan Jue wouldn't have come out to talk to them today, nor would he have been willing to draw a line between the two families just for the Snow Wolf King.

To put it bluntly, they still don't dare.

These words were merely meant to scare the Shen family.

"Since Fellow Daoist Lan says so, then there's nothing more to discuss."

"Snow Wolf King, prepare for battle."

As soon as he finished speaking, the Dragon Slayer Sword in his hand slowly came out of its sheath.

Meanwhile, the Snow Wolf King beside him suppressed his emotions, channeled his demonic energy, and snarled at Lan Jue!
He had already made up his mind that if a fight really broke out, he would fight hard and show his master his worth.

At the height of the tension, Lan Jue narrowed his eyes, stared at Shen Wen'an for a long time, and said unwillingly, "Very well, the Shen family is truly remarkable."

"Let's leave our family business here today."

"How about we withdraw our troops from the southern border region, using the areas currently under the actual control of both sides as the boundary?"

Lan Jue compromised.

Everything went exactly as Shen Wen'an had predicted; the blood offerings from Yangnao Land were of great benefit to the Heavenly Fox Demon King.

Regardless of what the mastermind behind the scenes thinks, the Heavenly Fox Demon King naturally doesn't want to be the first to be eliminated.

Compared to land territory, the Great Wushan Mountains value blood offerings more.

The Western Wilderness is vast and sparsely populated. The area that the Shen family seized didn't have much food to begin with, so there was no need to fight them to the death and affect the next big harvest.

"I agree. Please give the order, Fellow Daoist Lan."

As Shen Wen'an nodded, he breathed a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, Da Wushan is unaware of the Shen family's true intentions, which is why the compromise was made so easily.

Now that the territory has been captured, the first step of the plan has been completed. The next step is to strengthen the defense and then bring the Fire Seeds to the lava lake in Flame Lake Ridge for nurturing.

If we select a suitable person to cultivate the "Li Palace Bing Fire Refining Technique" and everything proceeds normally, the Shen family should be able to have its own weapon refiner in no time.

A deep sense of unwillingness flashed in Lan Jue's eyes, but in the end he didn't say anything more and his figure flashed and rushed into the void!
"Cuck!"

After its body soared into the sky, it transformed into a giant raven, hundreds of feet in size!

With its wings spread wide, it blots out the sky!
The giant raven opened its beak, which gleamed with a deep blue light, and let out a loud cry that echoed throughout the entire western wilderness.

Throughout the grasslands, many demon cultivators from the Great Wushan Mountain who were fighting against the Shen family cultivators abandoned their opponents and retreated upon hearing this cry.

Many Shen family cultivators were confused and were about to give chase when Shen Wenxing, Shen Chongming, and others issued an order to stop the pursuit.

They all roughly guessed that Shen Wen'an's side had reached some kind of agreement with Dawushan.

This means that Dawushan has compromised.

as predicted.

Not long after the demon cultivators of Mount Wu retreated, a giant moon-white wolf came riding the wind from afar.

As the Shen family cultivators instinctively raised their weapons in preparation for battle, they discovered a familiar figure on the back of the giant wolf.

"It's Third Master!"

As someone exclaimed in surprise, the Snow Wolf King had already landed in front of Shen Chongming.

"Uncle Three."

Shen Chongming put the Silent Guest, a magical artifact in his hand, into his storage bag, smiled, and cupped his hands in greeting.

"Lan Jue has already agreed that my Shen family and Da Wushan will cease hostilities and make peace, with the current area under our actual control as the boundary."

"The rest is up to you and your elder brother. I'll go back and tell your grandfather, then I'll go check out Yanhugang first."

After nodding, Shen Chongming changed the subject and said, "Third Uncle, I have two suggestions regarding the selection of practitioners for the 'Li Gong Bing Huo Refining Form Technique'."

Shen Wen'an nodded, signaling him to continue.

Shen Chongming thought for a moment and said, "I think we can let Chongyi and Xiuyun give it a try."

"Xiu Yun?"

"That little guy from Chonghong's family?"

Shen Wen'an spoke with some suspicion.

He Chongyi was originally the person he planned to have cultivate the "Ligong Binghuo Refining Form Technique".

He Chongyi possesses a fire-attribute spiritual root of extremely high quality, and has a natural flame mark between his eyebrows.

But he didn't know much about Shen Xiuyun.

It was only because, among the Shen family members, apart from his father and brothers, he had some contact with the "Chong" generation, but he had hardly ever met the "Xiu" generation below them.

"Xiu Yun's mother, Xiao Hongxiu, is the daughter of Xiao Yin, the chief of Hundred Refinement Valley."

"The brat inherited his mother's personality and has been quite fond of weapon crafting since childhood. He also has a fire-attribute spiritual root."

“A few days ago, Chonghong found his nephew and said he wanted Xiuyun to become a disciple of Luoxia Mountain to practice the art of weapon refining. His nephew took him to Yunzhong County to visit Senior Jiang.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Wen'an frowned slightly and said, "This matter may attract gossip and cause misunderstandings at Luoxia Mountain."

Shen Chongming smiled wryly: "That's what I think too, and although Senior Jiang didn't say it explicitly, the implication was the same."

"After all, the Shen family is not an affiliated family of Luoxia Mountain, so some things are indeed difficult to do."

Shen Wen'an nodded.

"Okay, Uncle San understands."

"I'm leaving things here to you."

He patted Shen Chongming on the shoulder, then mounted the Snow Wolf King and headed towards Yunshui City.

In the side room of the mansion, the father and son sat upright, looking at He Chongyi and Shen Xiuyun in front of them.

"Grandpa, Third Uncle."

"Please rest assured, Chongyi will certainly not let you two down."

Possessing a superior fire-attribute spiritual root, his cultivation has now reached the ninth level of Qi Refining. Under normal circumstances, he will definitely reach the Qi Refining Perfection stage in one or two years, or three to five years.

At that time, all that is needed is to find a suitable wisp of innate spiritual energy, and one can naturally break through to the embryonic breathing stage.

However, suddenly changing the cultivation method now might delay the breakthrough.

Furthermore, the "Li Gong Bing Huo Refining Technique" also contains ancient weapon-refining methods, and studying them simultaneously would waste a lot of time.

Shen Wen'an explained the whole matter to him.

He Chongyi knew the importance of the "Li Gong Bing Huo Refining Technique" to the Shen family, so he agreed without hesitation.

He has a calm and unassuming personality and isn't the type to be argumentative.

If he could cultivate the ancient weapon-refining method and contribute to the Shen family in another way, that would be even more suitable.

"Xiuyun, what do you say?"

Shen Yuan smiled and looked at Shen Xiuyun, who was not even ten years old, and asked.

"Great-Grandpa, Yun'er is willing too!"

Shen Yuan smiled and nodded, "Alright, from today onwards, Yun'er will cultivate diligently with your cousin and strive to create a new path for weapon crafting for our Shen family."

The two men in front of them exchanged a glance and then bowed to Shen Yuan and Shen Wen'an in response.

……

The vast western wilderness.

The Snow Wolf King's body grew to several meters in size again, carrying the three of them as it flew towards Flame Lake Ridge.

He Chongyi was alright, after all, he had been to Yanhugang once with Mu Chang before.

Shen Xiuyun was different; this was the first time he had ever left Yunshui City.

The little guy sat on the back of the snow wolf king, his big eyes curiously surveying the rapidly receding grassland below and the distant Gobi Desert and hills.

Everything here was new and exciting to him.

"Third Grandfather, have all the monsters here been driven back?"

After looking around and not finding the ferocious monster his father had mentioned, Shen Xiuyun looked up at Shen Wen'an, who was sitting cross-legged in front of him, and asked.

Shen Wen'an nodded gently: "They were all driven back by the cultivators of our Shen family."

"This time... the Shen family must have suffered considerable losses as well, right?"

He Chongyi spoke in a deep voice.

During this great battle in the Western Wilderness, he followed Mu Chang to clear out the scattered minor demons in the rear, and did not come into contact with the main forces of the Great Wu Mountain.

I only occasionally heard my subordinate cultivators mention the ferocity of the great war in the central part of the Western Wilderness.

Shen Wen'an looked into the distance and said in a deep voice, "Each generation has its own mission."

"Your fathers, grandfathers, and I risked our lives to build a safe haven for you younger generations and pave the way for you."

"What you need to do is stand on the shoulders of the older generation and take the Shen family to another level."

"If one day the Shen family truly becomes an immortal clan, we will be content to be admired by future generations."

Upon hearing these words, both He Chongyi and Shen Xiuyun remained silent.

They had all read the Shen family history and knew how the Shen family had gradually risen from a farming household to its current position over the past century.

Beneath the three, the Snow Wolf King could clearly hear their conversation.

He sighed inwardly.

The spirit of inheritance among human cultivators is even more terrifying than that of the demon beast race.

This explains why, despite their immense strength, demonic beasts have been unable to contend with human cultivators for countless years.

The grasslands and Gobi Desert below rushed past, and before long, the Snow Wolf King vaguely saw the so-called Flame Lake Ridge.

"Master, is it that lava lake?"

The Snow Wolf King turned around and asked.

Shen Wen'an nodded and said, "Land over there."

Upon receiving the order, the Snow Wolf King suddenly accelerated and rushed directly to the lava lake, landing right in front of it.

After carrying the three people down, Shen Xiuyun curiously looked at the scorching lava in front of him.

He Chongyi, standing to the side, was somewhat moved.

"The last time I came here with Elder Mu, I only took a look from afar and didn't dare to get close."

"Only when I stood up close to this lava lake did I realize that this place is truly a treasure."

The Snow Wolf King in front of the three also secretly released its divine sense, and was very surprised.

After occupying the Western Wilderness, the Great Wushan Mountains never explored in this direction. They never imagined that such a strange place existed on the edge of the Yangnao Land.

Monsters are naturally more sensitive to the forces of heaven and earth.

This is also why there are always powerful monsters guarding the many rare and precious materials, spirit crystals, and spirit mines.

As a great demon at the peak of the Fetal Breathing Realm, the Snow Wolf King sensed the extraordinary nature of this place as soon as he landed.

It's a pity he's not a fire-attribute demon cultivator, otherwise he really wanted to stay here.

"You all wait here, don't wander off."

"Snow Wolf King, protect them."

Shen Wen'an, carrying the bronze lamp, glanced at the lava lake, gave instructions, then summoned his protective sword essence and plunged into the scalding lava.

As soon as his body sank into the lava lake, he clearly felt a sense of joy emanating from the flame within the bronze lamp in his hand.

A large amount of magma and fiery energy slowly converged into the flames inside the bronze lamp through the sword's protective shield.

Visibly, the flame, which was originally only the size of a soybean, gradually grew stronger.

It worked! I no longer need to use spirit crystals to nourish it.

Seeing this, Shen Wen'an breathed a long sigh of relief.

Since returning from Danzhou, more than three months have passed, and the Li Huo Flame has consumed over a hundred spirit crystals.

If this lava lake doesn't meet the requirements, he'll have no choice but to give up feeding it.

Otherwise, given the Shen family's current wealth, it wouldn't be long before a small flame drained them dry.

The flames of the fire grew stronger and stronger, and the temperature of the surrounding magma dropped significantly.

A thought suddenly flashed through Shen Wen'an's mind.

He thought of the strange stone he had found when he was forging the Sword Bone Technique Sword in this lava lake.

He had already descended to the limit of his endurance, but his divine sense discovered a boulder in the deeper magma that had not been melted by the terrifying heat.

Unfortunately, the temperature of the magma around the boulder was too high, and he was simply unable to withstand it with his strength at the time.

Now his cultivation has reached the peak of embryonic breathing, and he still has the flame of the Li Huo to absorb the surrounding heat.

Shen Wen'an then had the idea of ​​going to find out what was going on.

Carrying the bronze lamp, they continued to descend, and the surrounding lava, which was originally orange-red, slowly turned golden.

Occasionally, wisps of white flames would drift across these golden magma.

However, upon sensing the aura of the detached flames, these white flames seemed to gain consciousness and swiftly fled from Shen Wen'an's location.

Seeing this, Shen Wen'an became curious.

He had a gut feeling.

Those white flames were either some kind of terrifying creature or a spiritual object of heaven and earth, like innate spiritual energy.

Only in this way can we explain why they would actively avoid the flames after sensing their presence.

Shen Wen'an did not approach the white flame rashly.

They continued diving down, carrying the bronze lamp.

This time, he could feel that the surrounding magma was significantly less draining on his protective sword energy.

His figure quickly reached the depth where he had condensed the sword bone technique. After carefully sensing it, he found that the sword essence in his body could still support it. Without any hesitation, Shen Wen'an once again explored deeper into the magma.

The surrounding golden lava was no longer as viscous as before; instead, it flowed as rapidly as river water.

Shen Wen'an understood that this was why the surrounding temperature had become even more terrifying.

As they continued to descend, a huge, jet-black sphere suddenly appeared amidst the golden lava surrounding them!
This sphere is the very mysterious boulder that he sensed with his divine sense back then!

Holding a bronze lamp, Shen Wen'an cautiously approached the boulder. After examining it closely, he discovered that the boulder was about eleven or twelve zhang high and nearly seven zhang wide. From a distance, it looked like a giant stone egg, quietly floating in the golden magma.

The surface of the stone pebble is uneven, and it is black all over with a faint metallic luster.

Shen Wen'an moved closer and carefully touched the surface of the stone egg. A strange, icy aura emanated from it, which greatly surprised him!
This thing has been at the bottom of the lava lake for who knows how many years.

Being constantly enveloped in terrifying golden magma, even if it doesn't melt, it shouldn't have such a cold feel to it.

"What exactly is this thing?"

Shen Wen'an pondered to himself, then placed his palm on the surface of the stone egg again, wanting to penetrate it with his divine sense to see what was inside.

However, as soon as his divine sense touched the surface of the stone egg, it was repelled by a strange force.

It seems that the surface of this stone egg possesses a power capable of isolating a cultivator's divine sense.

Divine sense cannot penetrate...

Shen Wen'an hesitated for a moment before taking out the Dragon-Slaying Sword.

After a brief moment of rest, he slammed the stone egg with the Dragon Slayer Sword!
Clang!
A dull metallic clanging sound rang out!

The Dragon Slayer Sword was deflected, but not a single mark was left on the surface of the stone egg!

Seeing this, Shen Wen'an was at a loss.

It is extremely hard, and even divine sense cannot penetrate it.

I really can't do anything about this thing right now.

After studying the stone pebble for a while longer, he had no choice but to give up.

Holding the bronze lamp in his hand, he floated up a distance and, feeling that the temperature of the surrounding magma was just right, he followed Zhang Qingjing's instructions and left the bronze lamp, along with the flame inside, in the magma.

This wisp of fire flame is usually nurtured here.

Once He Chongyi or Shen Xiuyun have cultivated to the Fetal Breathing Realm using the "Li Gong Bing Huo Refining Technique" and wish to attempt weapon refining, they can come here and retrieve it.

However, Shen Wen'an felt that as long as they weren't refining mid-grade magic weapons or robes, the earth fire energy in this lava lake was sufficient for their usual weapon refining needs.

This flame of fire is nurtured here, and perhaps, just as Huang Lingshan said, it will one day transform into a seed of fire.

Seeing the flames of the Li Fire burning brightly, Shen Wen'an directly took out the mysterious metal block that contained the "Li Palace Bing Fire Refining Technique".

Huang Lingshan said that if this thing is burned on the flame of the Li Fire, it can also manifest the technique of "Li Palace Bing Fire Refining Form Technique".

Shen Wen placed the mysterious metal block on the blazing flames of the fire, and waited quietly for a moment. Sure enough, the mysterious metal block changed.

One by one, dark golden characters appeared, and he quickly took out the jade slip and copied down all the contents.

After all the text disappeared, the mysterious metal block was directly burned into a sphere by the flames of the fire, gradually turning red-hot.

Upon seeing this, Shen Wen'an immediately removed it from the flame.

Even without the "Li Gong Bing Huo Refining Technique," this thing is still a decent material for refining weapons, and it shouldn't be wasted. After completing everything, he quickly floated up, left the lava lake, and returned to the shore.

But as soon as he returned to the shore, he suddenly discovered that the Snow Wolf King, He Chongyi, and Shen Xiuyun were all gone!

Before going down, he specifically instructed the Snow Wolf King to protect the two of them and not to wander off.

Looking around, Shen Wen'an couldn't find the two people and the beast.

A faint sense of unease flickered in his heart.

He immediately unleashed his divine sense to its maximum, wanting to see if they had gone to other parts of the lava lake.

Shen Wen'an's expression turned grim as he searched most of the lava lake with his divine sense but found neither the two people nor the Snow Wolf King.

Just as he was about to fly off to search, he seemed to suddenly remember something.

With a flash of light in his hand, he took out a jade bottle.

The jade bottle contained the very essence of spirit that the Snow Wolf King had willingly offered up.

Shen Wen'an probed the jade bottle with his divine sense and came into contact with the Snow Wolf King's spiritual essence. Instantly, he sensed the general direction of the Snow Wolf King's location.

He glanced up at the distance with a somewhat suspicious expression, then immediately transformed into a sword of light and gave chase!

Above the desolate neighboring area, the Snow Wolf King was flying high, chasing a white flame that emitted terrifying heat.

The white flame was extremely fast and agile.

The Snow Wolf King was being toyed with, jumping up and down, but could not touch its opponent no matter what it did.

Whoosh!
A figure suddenly appeared.

Shen Wen'an first glanced at the strange white flame in the air and was surprised to find that it was the same thing he had encountered under the lava lake!
Didn't I tell you not to run around?

"Where are Chongyi and Xiuyun?"

Ignoring the white flames, Shen Wen'an spoke coldly.

The Snow Wolf King approached with fear on his face and said cautiously, "Master, please forgive me... I was just obediently guarding the two young masters."

"But not long after you went down, Master, several white flames suddenly shot out of the lava lake and fled in all directions."

"The two young masters said that these white flames are very likely innate spiritual energy, and asked me to help capture them."

Innate spiritual energy?

Shen Wen'an glanced at the white flames that had already fled into the distance, and after a moment's thought, said, "Go and find those two. Leave this to me."

Upon hearing this, the Snow Wolf King nodded quickly and transformed into a streak of light, chasing after Shen Xiuyun and He Chongyi.

Shen Wen'an quickly caught up with the white flames.

After carefully observing for a while, he took out a jade bottle from his storage bag and then activated the Spirit Gathering Technique.

A vast net of spiritual energy instantly enveloped the white flames in the void.

The moment the net of spiritual energy came into contact with the flame, it was instantly burned with a large hole!
Upon seeing this, Shen Wen'an frowned slightly.

The moment the net of spiritual energy was burned through, he did see something seem to be stirred within the white flames.

However, before the spiritual energy network of the Spirit Gathering Technique could take effect, it was already burned through by the terrifying flames.

This means... there might truly be a wisp of innate spiritual energy within the white flames!
Thinking of this, a sharp glint flashed in his eyes, and he immediately summoned the Dragon Soul Sword.

The Tai Xuan Dividing Light Sword was activated, and the Dragon Soul Magic Sword immediately split into two hundred and fifty-six swords, blocking all the escape routes of the white flames.

With a slight shift in his mind, the encirclement of the Dragon Soul Sword continued to shrink, gradually compressing the space where the white flames could move.

Gradually, the white flames seemed to sense the danger and began to become restless.

What was originally a small flame, no bigger than a palm, suddenly burst into flames and turned into a huge fireball!

The flames grew larger, and their color changed from milky white to pale gold.

Through the pale golden flame, Shen Wen'an indeed discovered the strange energy hidden within it.

"It really is innate spiritual energy..."

A look of surprise flashed across his face, followed by a look of astonishment!
The rarity of innate spiritual energy is beyond doubt.

The image of the large number of white flames he had seen at the bottom of the lava lake slowly surfaced in Shen Wen'an's mind.

If each white flame contains a wisp of innate spiritual energy...

How much innate spiritual energy must be in this lava lake?!
How can this be?

Looking incredulously at the golden fireball enveloped by numerous flying swords, a glint of light flashed in Shen Wen'an's eyes.

The flying swords pierced through the golden flames one by one, gradually weakening their power.

After a few breaths, the golden fireball turned orange-red, and its temperature dropped significantly.

Shen Wen'an activated the Spirit Gathering Technique again.

Under the massive spiritual energy net, the orange-red flames were unable to burn through it at all.

The innate fire-attribute spiritual energy hiding in the fireball struggled violently before being pulled out by the spiritual energy net.

Shen Wen'an skillfully retracted the spiritual energy net, successfully stuffing the innate spiritual energy into the jade bottle.

Before putting the stopper on the bottle, he used his divine sense to sense it and found that the strange fire-attribute innate spiritual energy was only of medium grade, not the high grade he had imagined.

Having lost its innate spiritual energy, the orange-red fireball in the void slowly extinguished after burning for several breaths.

After putting away the jade bottle, Shen Wen'an immediately headed towards the location of the Snow Wolf King.

At this moment, the Snow Wolf King, He Chongyi, and Shen Xiuyun were surrounding another white flame.

After Shen Wen'an arrived, he followed the same method and quickly extracted the innate spiritual energy hidden in the flame into the jade bottle.

"Third Grandfather, is this top-grade innate spiritual energy?"

Shen Xiuyun, with curiosity on his face, leaned closer and asked.

He Chongyi, standing to the side, also looked on with anticipation.

Both he and Shen Xiuyun possess fire-attribute spiritual roots, and they will both need to use innate fire-attribute spiritual energy to break through to the embryonic breathing stage in the future.

If what they've caught now is high-grade innate spiritual energy, then the two of them have really struck gold.

"It's only of medium grade, but it should be quite good."

Shen Wen'an handed the jade bottle in his hand to He Chongyi, and then took out another jade bottle containing innate spiritual energy from his storage bag and handed it to Shen Xiuyun.

"One for each of you. Once you reach the Qi Refining Perfection stage, you can use them directly."

The two happily accepted it.

"Everything has been taken care of. Now we'll leave this to Chongming and the others."

"After you return, the two of you should immediately begin your cultivation and strive to become weapon refiners as soon as possible."

……

The eastern border of Anyang City.

Zhao Tuan and Zhao Tianqiu led a group of Zhao family cultivators and soldiers to Qushui Town, where Xiahe Village is located.

The original inhabitants of Qushui Town have all been secretly relocated, and now the people living here are all from the neighboring Huangfeng Town.

The villagers of Huangfeng Town are all elderly people from Anyang City.

When the Immortal Sect first arrived, martial arts were all the rage, and the remains of the Blood Toad, which could help martial artists temper their bodies, became a hot commodity.

The Huang family of Huangfeng Town and the Xu family of Chunshui Town in Gobi are both families skilled in raising blood toads.

It was precisely because of those blood toads that both families were targeted by the disciples of the Hidden Cloud Academy in Qiyun Valley.

In the end, the entire Xu family was wiped out, and if it weren't for Shen Wenxing and Huang Qingzhou's unexpected help, the Huang family would also have suffered the same fate.

Afterwards, the Shen family took control of Anyang City, and the Huang family was also granted the right to govern Huangfeng Town because of their merit in helping the Shen family raise blood toads.

For over a hundred years, most of the people in Huangfeng Town have been members of the Huang family, and they have been absolutely loyal to their master, the Shen family.

While the Shen family and several affiliated families were engaged in wars in the Western Wilderness, Canaan Temple went to the territory of Anyang City to spread good deeds and preach, intending to bewitch the common people and make them believe in them.

Considering that he could not provoke Canaan Temple, Zhao Tuan had no choice but to relocate all the people of Qushui Town and let the people of Huangfeng Town move into Qushui Town.

Thus, the common people of Huangfeng Town received grain and meat from Canaan Temple every day, and even a considerable amount of silver. All they had to do was listen to the monks of Canaan Temple preach and teach.

After the war in the Western Wilderness ended, Canaan Temple received the news and immediately withdrew all the merchants and monks.

Zhao Tuan and his son, along with many clan soldiers, arrived here.

The elders of the Huang family all gathered around.

"Patriarch Zhao, why have all those bald monks left?"

"We haven't received enough of that stuff yet..."

"That's right, that's right! Just sit on a stool every day and listen to them talk for an hour, and you can get ten catties of rice and two catties of meat. I've lived for decades and this is the first time I've ever seen such a good thing!"

Looking at the group of elderly people in front of him, Zhao Tianqiu frowned slightly.

With a worried expression, I approached an elderly man whose teeth were almost all gone and asked:
"Sir, do you believe what they say?"

"letter?"

"Whose letter?"

Upon seeing this, Zhao Tianqiu raised his voice even higher.

The old man was stunned for a moment before he realized what was happening.

"Ha ha……"

"Young Master, you may not know this, but every day after I sit down there, I start to doze off."

"I didn't really listen carefully to what those bald men were saying."

"However, that muttering sound is quite hypnotic; as soon as I hear it, I fall into a deep sleep."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Tianqiu looked suspicious.

Then they asked another young man.

The young man cupped his hands in greeting and sneered, "If they weren't distributing grain and meat, the common people wouldn't bother listening."

"As for all that nonsense they're talking about... it's not as interesting as hearing the storyteller's tales..."

Zhao Tianqiu asked several people in succession, and the results were all roughly the same.

He hurried over to Zhao Tuan and saw his father chatting happily with a group of elderly people.

"how?"

Zhao Tuan turned to look at him and asked in a low voice.

Zhao Tianqiu said with a strange expression, "I have already sent people to Xingyang to inquire. There is a big difference between us and Xingyang."

"I heard that in several towns in eastern Xingyang, the common people have spontaneously built temples and started to believe in the so-called 'rebirth in the Pure Land'."

Zhao Tuan straightened his sleeves, smiled, and shook his head.

Upon hearing this, an elderly man in his sixties bowed and interjected, "Young Master, the Pure Land may truly exist, but what does it have to do with us mortals?"

"Humans can't escape birth, aging, sickness and death in their entire lives. For us ordinary people, having a house full of children and grandchildren and enough to eat and drink is enough."

"As for the next life and after death... to hell with bliss..."

"Ha ha……"

After he finished speaking, everyone around him burst into laughter.

Zhao Tuan chuckled twice, then stood up, greeted the elders, and left with Zhao Tianqiu.

"Father, how do you know the people of Huangfeng Town won't believe Canaan Temple's story?"

On the way back, Zhao Tianqiu was still somewhat puzzled.

Zhao Tuan's eyes were deep as he slowly said, "The people of Huangfeng Town are loyal to the Shen family, partly because when Young Master Chongxuan established the academy, almost everyone in the Huang family was a disciple of the academy."

"Although only a very small number of them eventually entered the path of literary cultivation, the rest were all well-read and not so easily deceived."

"Next, we'll see a good show."

……

Yunshui City, the main courtyard of the clan.

Shen Li sat quietly in the main hall of the clan's main courtyard, flipping through the secret letter in her hand.

Is the content of the letter true?

A disciple from the main academy in front of her cupped his hands and said, "All the contents were verified by us many times before being handed over to Miss."

"When Canaan Temple went south to spread its teachings, Liu Jing, the head of the Liu family in Xingyang, secretly accepted one hundred spirit crystals from Canaan Temple as a reward."

"Two direct descendants of the clan were secretly dispatched to help the monks of Canaan Temple spread their teachings in the four towns of Qihe and Luoshan, east of Xingyang."

"This has led to nearly 200,000 people in the four towns now having unwavering faith in the claims of 'rebirth' and 'paradise' made by Canaan Temple."

Upon hearing this, Shen Li's gaze slowly turned cold.

His hand trembled slightly, shattering the secret letter, and he said in a deep voice:

"How's the investigation on the other matter going?"

The other thing she mentioned was the four direct descendants of the Liu family in Xingyang who were secretly sent away back then.

Upon hearing this, the disciple of the clan's main courtyard quickly cupped his hands and said, "Please forgive me, Miss. It seems that very few people in the entire Liu family know about that matter. I suspect that the only people who know are Liu Jing and his son."

After a moment's thought, Shen Li said, "Send an order to Commander Mu Chang to immediately bring all the direct descendants of the Liu family and all the common people of the four eastern towns of Xingyang back to Yunshui City."

"On this journey, all sculptures, buildings, books, and other items related to Canaan Temple in the four towns must be destroyed!"

"Issue a notice that anyone who makes remarks about 'rebirth in the Pure Land' will be dealt with according to clan rules!"

She had wanted to take action against the Liu family of Xingyang back then because of Shen Chongxu's matter.

However, her ideas about taking charge of the clan's main courtyard differed from Lu Zhiyuan's.

The mild punishment had no effect on these dependent families.

Her plan was to gather enough evidence and then exterminate the entire clan!

In this way, we can both deter other affiliated families and eliminate any potential threats at the root!
She hasn't found the four members of the Liu family yet, and she doesn't plan to wait any longer.

"Yes!"

After receiving the order, the disciple from the main academy hurriedly left the hall.

"What does Master intend to do with those...blooded commoners?"

Inside the hall, the golden toad spoke with a somewhat excited voice, "Why don't we let the little demon devour them all?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Li glanced at her sideways.

Do you think I've been giving you the cold shoulder lately?

The golden toad shrank back in fright, its large eyes darting around before it said, "Master, please forgive me, but I just feel it's such a waste to execute them all..."

"The common people of the four towns, plus the Liu family, number between one or two hundred thousand."

"If the little demon eats it... if she eats it, she can definitely easily reach the late stage of fetal breathing."

After listening, Shen Li pondered for a moment and then said, "You and Xiao Yin can handle the Liu family members when the time comes."

"As for the common people, we still need to find a way to save them."

Although she had no feelings for the common people, Shen Yuan often taught her in the Blackwater Pavilion in her early years that the Shen family should be kind to the people and not be like those immortal sects who did not treat the people under their rule as human beings.

"The master still doesn't understand Canaan Temple."

After a moment's hesitation, Jin Chan said, "Those bald monks at Canaan Temple possess a secret technique called the 'Scripture of Seeking Affinity and Salvation'."

"This technique is extremely insidious; those who use it should not believe their claims from the beginning."

"Once doubt or even a sliver of trust arises in one's heart, it can never be eradicated."

“Those beings who have been ‘converted’ will all have smiles on their faces and no resistance in their hearts, even if Canaan Temple makes them line up to commit suicide.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Li's face instantly turned ugly!
"Is this true?"

Jin Chan nodded and replied, "If Master does not believe me, you can verify it yourself when the disciples of the Clan Court bring those commoners back."

"I dare say that even with a knife to their throats, those common people will not compromise in the slightest."

What a bizarre method!

Shen Li narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, thinking to herself...

……

After the situation in the Western Wilderness stabilized, Shen Chongming immediately mobilized a large number of commoners and cultivators to Yanhugang.

According to the previous plan, the Shen family was going to build a giant city on Flame Lake Hill, enclosing the entire lava lake within it.

After discussion among the grandfather and grandson, they decided to build Flame Lake City according to the standards of Cloud Water City.

In addition to building Flame Lake City, Shen Chongming led his men to survey the spirit fields and spirit mines within the Western Wilderness territory. Considering all future plans, he decided to build another giant city and two smaller cities between Flame Lake City and Cloud Water City.

In this way, the giant city can take care of the two smaller cities, while the two smaller cities can also take care of the surrounding spirit fields and spirit mines.

Such a massive plan was beyond his ability to manage alone, and his father, Shen Wenxing, couldn't bear to see him suffer, so he chose to lend a helping hand.

The father and son were busy with matters in the Western Wilderness.

Shen Wen'an, on the other hand, chose to go into seclusion.

When he returned from Danzhou, his cultivation had already reached the perfect state of embryonic breathing. This time, he went into seclusion to prepare for becoming a Golden Core Sword Immortal.

However, when they were at the Qingluo Sword Pavilion, Shen Wen'an had asked Huang Lingshan several times what it took to break through from the Perfected Fetal Breathing stage to the Golden Core Sword Immortal realm.

Huang Lingshan always spoke vaguely, whether because "the Tao cannot be spoken of" or because of other concerns.

Shen Wen'an listened to the explanations, but only roughly understood one of the steps, which was called "forging gold properties".

But this was somewhat different from what he had expected.

Back then, when Jiang Xiuqi of Luoxia Mountain broke through to the Golden Core Realm during his seclusion, he and several others from Qingluo Sword Pavilion witnessed the extraordinary phenomenon of a cultivator breaking through to the Golden Core Realm outside the gate of Luoxia Mountain.

Judging from the unusual phenomena at the time, the most important "immortal golden nature" of a Golden Core cultivator should be a gift from heaven and earth.

In other words, cultivators need to first form their inner core, and then receive a wisp of "immortal golden essence" from the heavens, allowing this golden essence to merge into their inner core and achieve the Great Dao of Golden Core.

This is clearly inconsistent with the "forging properties".

Sitting cross-legged in his cave, Shen Wen'an meditated for several months before finally clearing his mind of all distractions and allowing his sword heart to return to a state of clarity.

A clear mind and pure, untainted thoughts.

The Tai Xuan Sword Scripture then began to operate autonomously.

As the "Sword Scripture" circulates throughout the body, its surface gradually emits a pure, gentle, and warm luster, like jade.

This luster is called "sexual light," which is considered to have opened the door to the path to the Golden Elixir.

Shen Wen'an was unaware that his consistent practice of "polishing the sword's heart" over the years had played a crucial role at a critical moment.

Otherwise, the mere fact that one's thoughts are "pure and unblemished" is enough to make it difficult for most cultivators at the perfected stage of embryonic breathing to achieve, let alone cultivate "sexual light" in their bodies.

With the appearance of the "sexual light" and the continuous operation of the "Tai Xuan Sword Scripture", Shen Wen'an finally had a moment of enlightenment.

It turns out that the first step for a cultivator to break through to the Golden Core stage is to cultivate the "Three Flowers of Divinity" within their body.

The essence of flowers condenses into jade trees, the essence of qi forms necklaces, and the essence of spirit transforms into golden wheels...

(End of this chapter)