Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 265 Spirit Transformation
As the demonic clouds dispersed, Jiang Xiuqi gazed into the void for a moment before stepping forward to stand before Shen Wen'an.

"I admit that I am no match for Wen An's strength."

Shen Wen'an turned around with his hands behind his back and smiled faintly: "Senior is too kind. I just had the advantage of striking first and catching them off guard."

Jiang Xiuqi sighed, smiled, and shook his head, saying, "Wen'an, don't be modest. With your current strength, you should already be at the late stage of the Golden Core realm."

"I broke through to the Golden Core stage decades earlier than you. My decades of painstaking effort are no match for your sudden enlightenment in one night."

"People are truly incomparable."

His words were filled with envy and helplessness.

That's truly how Golden Core cultivators are.

No matter how talented you are, if you lack luck, comprehension, or the opportunity for sudden enlightenment, it will be extremely difficult to rapidly improve your cultivation level in a short period of time.

"It's unclear how long this move will hold them off."

"Will there be any unexpected changes before the arrival of the Azure Vine Sword Pavilion...?"

Jiang Xiuqi gazed at the direction where the demons of Tian Tan Mountain had retreated and sighed.

The pressure from the Purple Mansion forces was still too great, leaving him feeling uncertain.

"there is always a solution to a problem."

"Senior, please don't worry too much."

After offering words of comfort in a deep voice, Shen Wen'an smiled faintly and said, "Feng Changyou once said that even the Purple Mansion Ancestor of his Tian Tan Mountain is not having an easy time now. I suppose he would not dare to leave the mountain and descend upon Yangnao Land so easily."

"As long as that great demon at the Purple Mansion Realm doesn't make a move, the Shen family and Luoxia Mountain might still have a fighting chance."

Although Tian Tan Mountain is a Zi Fu faction, Luo Tianxing once inadvertently revealed that Feng Qi's talent was not particularly good.

The reason he was able to barely reach the Purple Mansion Realm was because he relied on a wisp of Nirvana Fire to continuously undergo Nirvana and rebirth, living for countless lifetimes.

But now the energy of the Nirvana Fire has been completely exhausted, and Feng Qi also wants to use this last life to cultivate well and strive to advance further and achieve the Nascent Soul stage.

At such a crucial moment, it is unlikely that she will personally step forward.

Moreover, since the spirit of Tianyuan Mountain has not yet appeared in the world, all parties should exercise restraint for the time being and conserve their strength to compete for it after the spirit appears.

The two figures landed back in Yunzhong County. Wei Qiuling came up to him with a smile, looking at Shen Wen'an with a hint of admiration on her face.

"My husband's sword strike just now has greatly boosted the confidence of the disciples of Luoxia Mountain."

"I have also benefited a lot from your influence."

Her words weren't meant as flattery; they were simply the truth.

Shen Wen'an's soaring sword intent just now defeated one demon king who was also at the Golden Core Realm, and fought to a standstill with another demon king.

Such domineering and powerful strength truly made the disciples of Luoxia Mountain below feel their blood boil.

Now, all the disciples of Luoxia Mountain in Yangnao know that Shen Wen'an, the sword immortal, is their sect leader's husband, and is equivalent to half of Luoxia Mountain's ancestor.

With such a powerful ancestor protecting them, the disciples naturally felt very confident and dared to make a name for themselves in this chaotic world.

"Third Grandfather's sword strike just now was incredibly powerful!"

Shen Xiuyan, standing next to Wei Qiuling, made no attempt to hide his admiration, looking up at Shen Wen'an with excitement.

Shen Wen'an gently rubbed his head: "Cultivate well. Your talent is no less than that of your third grandfather. In the future, you will surely be able to show your prowess in front of others and protect the family."

Shen Xiuyan nodded solemnly.

With his innate literary talent, he is certainly not weak. If nothing unexpected happens, his achievements in the field of literature will surely surpass those of his fathers, creating a new milestone in the field.

"Senior, Senior Sister."

"Now that this matter is settled, Xiu Yan and I must return first."

"I had an epiphany last night, but my elder brother and the others are still unaware of it. They're probably searching for me everywhere now."

Shen Wen'an cupped his hands in a respectful gesture towards Jiang Xiuqi and began to speak.

Wei Qiuling nodded and said, "Tell Chongzhen that once things in the sect have stabilized a bit, I will go back to see him."

Having been appointed as the sect leader of Luoxia Mountain in a time of crisis, Wei Qiuling has not returned to Yunshui City for a long time.

She felt a pang of guilt towards her son.

"It's alright, Chongzhen isn't a child anymore, he'll understand."

"Besides, he has been training in the tribal army camp for a long time, and I haven't seen him for a long time."

Wei Qiuling nodded, her eyes filled with a hint of reluctance, as she watched the two figures disappear into the distance.

Seeing this, Jiang Xiuqi sighed inwardly and shook his head.

"Qiuling, Luoxia Mountain has wronged you."

Hearing this, Wei Qiuling suppressed her reluctance and quickly turned around, saying, "Uncle-Master, you flatter me."

"Qiu Ling is a disciple of Luoxia Mountain and grew up there since childhood."

"It was Master and Luoxia Mountain that gave Qiuling everything. How can you say she felt wronged for giving so much to Luoxia Mountain?"

Jiang Xiuqi lowered his head.

Back when Luoxia Mountain established its sect in Qishan, Danzhou, it stumbled and struggled its way up from an unknown little sect, experiencing countless hardships and dangers, and has now finally become a Golden Core power.

However, the current challenges remain severe.

If we get through it, that's fine, but if we don't, all those years of hard work will probably be for nothing.

……

Yunshui City.

When Shen Wen'an and Shen Xiuyan arrived outside the great formation, they indeed saw many Shen family cultivators hurrying in and out of the city gate.

"Third Grandfather, could they be looking for us?"

Shen Wen'an nodded with a wry smile.

"This sudden enlightenment has caused quite a bit of trouble for the cultivators in the clan."

"Xiuyan, go find Muyan and Commander Muchang and tell them that we have returned safely. Don't let the tribesmen cause any more trouble."

After bowing, Shen Xiuyan flew towards the camp of the city's defense cultivators.

Shen Wen'an returned to the old house alone, searched around, but found that Shen Wenxing was not at home.

After some inquiry, it was learned that the elder brother was currently leading a group of Shen family cultivators on the banks of the Laishui River.

According to the Shen family cultivator, not long after Wei Qiuling left last night, strange phenomena appeared in the Laishui River outside the city.

Many patrolling monks said they saw with their own eyes a giant turtle appear on the surface of the rushing Laishui River at some unknown time.

Upon receiving this news, Shen Wen'an immediately flew towards the south gate of Yunshui City on his sword.

When they left the city and arrived at the banks of the Laishui River, they saw a large number of Shen family cultivators heavily guarding the edge of the riverbank.

The giant turtle that the cultivator had mentioned was now standing quietly in the turbulent river, like a solitary island.

Upon seeing this, Shen Wen'an frowned slightly, and immediately sent a wisp of his divine sense towards the giant turtle that resembled a small island.

"Whose consciousness is this!?"

"It's Third Master!"

"Third Master, be careful!"

"Back off!"

On the riverbank, Mu Yan and the other Shen family cultivators were staring at the giant turtle with wary expressions when they suddenly felt a wave of divine sense sweep over them and towards the giant turtle on the river. They all cried out in alarm.

However, Shen Wen'an's consciousness was already too late to retract.

As a wisp of divine sense swept across the giant tortoise's body, Shen Wen'an suddenly felt that the divine sense had inadvertently fallen into the ten-thousand-year-old Xuanbing Cave!

A terrifying, chilling coldness spread rapidly along his consciousness, forming a deep purple ice chain in the void in the blink of an eye!
The target of the ice chain was none other than the sea of ​​consciousness where Shen Wen'an's soul resided!

At this moment, Shen Wen'an was somewhat taken aback!
This terrifying, chilling aura could actually travel along the connection between one's consciousness and soul, forcefully attacking one's body!

Clang!
With a slight thought, a milky-white sword light instantly flew out from between Shen Wen'an's brows!
The sword's sharp light cut through the rapidly spreading ice pillars, shattering them in the process!
After that, the giant turtle on the water surface did not attack again.

Shen Wen'an landed in front of his elder brother Shen Wenxing and Mu Yan and the others.

"Third Master."

The group bowed respectfully, their gazes towards Shen Wen'an filled with a hint of admiration.

"Fortunately, it was Third Master. If it had been any other clansmen who were unaware of the situation, there would have been even more casualties."

Mu Changshu breathed a sigh of relief and cupped his hands in greeting.

After bowing to his elder brother, Shen Wen'an turned to look at the motionless giant tortoise, frowning slightly as he asked, "What's going on here?"

Shen Wenxing shook his head with a solemn expression.

"This thing suddenly appeared last night, and nobody knows where it came from."

"However, some of the cultivators under his jurisdiction mentioned that Xu Zhan once swore that he had seen this thing in the river."

“This beast doesn’t have the aura of a demon beast, but you should have seen its strangeness just now.”

"Anyone who dares to spy with their divine sense will suffer an attack from that extreme icy power."

"Before you arrived, three cultivators had already been poisoned. Their bodies were frozen and turned into ice shards that vanished into the world."

Upon hearing this, Shen Wen'an looked at the giant turtle again.

As Shen Wenxing said, apart from being as large as a small island with a diameter of several hundred feet, this thing itself did not have any aura of a demonic beast.

If it weren't for the ability to track attacks using divine sense, it would have been just an ordinary turtle.

But how could an ordinary turtle grow to such a size?
After a moment's thought, Shen Wen'an said in a deep voice, "Brother, I'll go take a look."

Unable to use his divine sense, he planned to observe with his naked eyes once he got closer.

The Laishui River is only a few dozen miles away from Yunshui City. This beast's sudden appearance made him need to find out the specifics.

In order to prevent Yunshui City from suddenly suffering a disaster.

"Be careful, this beast is definitely not simple!"

Shen Wenxing pondered for a moment, then gave his instructions in a deep voice.

Shen Wen'an nodded and took a step forward, appearing on the surface of the Laishui River.

At this moment, he was only a hundred feet away from the giant tortoise. At such close range, Shen Wen'an suddenly realized that the creature in front of him, which everyone mistook for a giant ferocious beast, was not a living thing at all!
This giant turtle's body is a phantom constructed entirely of an extremely strange energy!
However, the phantom was too realistic, and since the group could not use their divine sense to investigate it, they could only get close and examine it carefully with their naked eyes to see any clues.

After confirming that the thing was not alive, Shen Wen'an's doubts deepened.

The strangeness of the Laishui River had already been noticed by the Shen family when Xu Zhan discovered the ancient city at the bottom of the river.

Now, many years later, this strange phenomenon has occurred again, and he is very curious about what is at the bottom of the river.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Wen'an returned to the shore, cupped his hands in greeting to Shen Wenxing, and asked:
"Brother, is Xu Zhan currently in seclusion at the bottom of the river?"

Shen Wenxing nodded.

On the eve of the arrival of many Golden Core cultivators from the Southern Frontier in Yangnao Land, Shen Chongming and Xu Zhan from the family chose to go into seclusion one after another.

Nearly three years have passed, and neither of them has shown any signs of making a breakthrough.

The appearance of this giant turtle made Shen Wenxing vaguely guess that it must be related to Xu Zhan, who was in seclusion at the bottom of the river.

After a moment's thought, Shen Wen'an said, "Brother, let everyone go back. I'll guard this place."

Knowing that the giant turtle was actually a phantom formed by some kind of power, Shen Wen'an vaguely sensed that there must be some secret behind it.

If many Shen family cultivators are watching, the secret will inevitably be leaked due to the large number of people and their eyes.

Shen Wenxing realized this as well and immediately nodded, saying, "Then I'll leave this place to you."

"Mu Yan, Mu Chang, let all the clansmen retreat back to Yunshui City."

Upon receiving his order, Mu Yan and Mu Chang immediately bowed and led the many Shen family cultivators away from Laishui River, heading towards Yunshui City.

Shen Wen'an found a large rock that had been smoothed by the river, sat cross-legged on the bank, and quietly watched the surging river in front of him.

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

In the past two weeks, Shen Wen'an did not notice any changes in the turtle phantom on the river surface. He could only vaguely sense that the surrounding spiritual energy seemed to be guided by some unknown force, gradually converging towards the flowing Laishui River.

As the surrounding spiritual energy gathered, a large number of dark clouds unknowingly accumulated in the sky above this area.

The dark clouds accumulated, causing the sky over the area of ​​more than a hundred miles south of Yunshui City to remain overcast for several days.

Within the thick clouds, flashes of lightning kept appearing, followed by rumbling thunder.

Shen Wen'an gazed at the dark clouds overhead, then glanced at the river below, his brows furrowing slightly.

Click!

Just as he was pondering whether these strange phenomena were related to Xu Zhan at the bottom of the river, a bright bolt of lightning suddenly fell from the void without warning, striking the back of the turtle phantom directly!
The blinding light made Shen Wen'an squint.

In a daze, he was horrified to discover that when the electric sparks exploded on the back of the turtle phantom, the arcs of electricity actually outlined the phantoms of strange buildings!

These strange phenomena appear quickly and disappear even faster!

It lasted for less than one percent of a breath!

If Shen Wen'an hadn't been focused on the turtle phantom, even though he had reached the Golden Core Sword Immortal realm, he wouldn't have been able to notice this scene.

“That was… a city…”

Recalling the illusory building outlined by the lightning bolts in his mind, Shen Wen'an vaguely felt that it was a city.

The city gave off a very eerie feeling.

Logically speaking, the shell on the back of this turtle phantom is only a few hundred feet in size, and the city outlined by the lightning is at most a miniature city model covering a few acres.

But when Shen Wen'an recalled that city he had only glimpsed briefly, he always felt that the city was exceptionally magnificent and vast!
Even just recalling it, he seemed to feel the ancient and desolate aura emanating from the city!
An unknown phantom of a turtle.

On its back lies an unknown and ancient city...

Shen Wen'an frowned, unable to understand what it was for a moment.

Click!

Another bolt of lightning fell from the clouds, but this time it did not strike the back of the turtle phantom.

The lightning bolt struck the rushing river surface with tremendous force, creating a huge splash!
Numerous sparks of electricity danced in the river.

By the light of the electric sparks, Shen Wen'an could vaguely see a figure with outstretched arms and a bare upper body beneath the river's surface.

Clearly, that figure was Xu Zhan, who was in seclusion at the bottom of the river.

At this moment, Xu Zhan stood quietly in the middle of the river with his eyes closed and all the pores of his body open.

The spiritual energy in the surrounding river water was continuously absorbed into its body.

These spiritual energies slowly merged with the cells of his flesh and blood, altering the strength of his body.

Shen Yuan once used the "Azure Dragon Force" to deduce the path after the four realms of body cultivation.

The final conclusion is that after the four realms of physical cultivation—the Life and Death Realm—the fifth realm is the Spirit Transformation Realm.

The so-called Spirit Transformation Realm refers to the physical cultivators who have reached this realm. Unlike before, they no longer need to cultivate their own bodies and rely on exploring the hidden treasures deep within their bodies to improve their strength.

A cultivator at the Spirit Transformation Realm can absorb the spiritual energy between heaven and earth, just like an immortal cultivator, and integrate it with every inch of their flesh and bones.

This allows the body to store more energy and possess greater explosive power.

All of this is to pave the way for the next stage of physical cultivation—the Divine Power Realm.

After three years of seclusion, Xu Zhan has clearly grasped the mysteries of the Spirit Transformation Realm and is now intensifying his absorption of the surrounding spiritual energy to continuously fill his empty physical body.

Shen Wen'an discovered that Xu Zhan's body was like a bottomless pit at this moment.

It not only forcefully devoured the surrounding spiritual energy of heaven and earth, but also absorbed the lightning and thunder that had been floating in the river.

He even noticed that two visible gray evil energies were emerging from the bottom of the Laishui River beneath Xu Zhan's feet, continuously surging into his body through his feet.

If such a mixed power surged into the body, any immortal cultivator would probably have exploded and died long ago.

But Xu Zhan accepted them all without hesitation, devouring them whole.

Several bolts of lightning flashed across the sky, and the dark clouds overhead seemed to lower, making the oppressive atmosphere grow stronger.

Shen Wen'an sat cross-legged on a boulder on the riverbank. A gentle breeze blew by, carrying with it an eerie chill.

In just a few breaths, the gentle breeze turned into a raging storm, howling as it swept in from afar.

The chill carried by the wind was even stronger.

The cold air was so intense that the river water around the boulder beneath Shen Wen'an was covered with a layer of ice.

These ice fragments were broken up by the surging river water, forming smaller ice blocks that, along with the flow of the river, constantly crashed against the rocks on the bank, making a crisp sound.

Gradually, the ice on the surrounding river surface became more and more abundant and thicker.

The Laishui River, which usually doesn't freeze even in the dead of winter, has frozen over and stopped flowing in the sweltering summer heat.

Not only that, the cold air also spread upstream and downstream along the river. In just half an hour, it was visible to the naked eye that the entire surface of the Laishui River, both upstream and downstream, was frozen over!
The dark clouds overhead were like an uncontrollable net, and heavy snow began to fall.

Shen Wen'an reached out and caught a snowflake that was slowly falling, but he was surprised to find that the crystal snowflake was unusually cold.

If these strange snowflakes were to fall on the hands of an ordinary person, their palms would be frostbitten in an instant.

With a gentle breath, Shen Wen'an blew away the snowflakes from his palm and then waved his hand to create a protective sword energy shield around his body.

The drifting snowflakes landed on the light shield and slowly slid down.

The strange snowfall didn't last long. After the surroundings were covered in snow, Shen Wen'an suddenly heard the crunching sound of footsteps on the snow behind him.

He turned around and looked at the cupped hands in surprise.

"father?"

"Why are you here?"

As the snowfall subsided, Shen Yuan, dressed in a loose gray brocade robe, walked slowly with his hands behind his back.

His gaze was fixed on the giant turtle phantom that was almost buried in ice and snow, and a strange look appeared in his eyes.

Over the years, he has refined about three-fifths of the white jade tortoise shell in his sea of ​​consciousness.

When Shen Yuan suddenly saw the giant tortoise phantom, he vaguely sensed a slight change in the white jade tortoise shell in his sea of ​​consciousness.

"Father, do not use your divine sense to observe that thing."

Seeing that his father's gaze was fixed on the giant turtle phantom, Shen Wen'an was afraid that his father was unaware and had recklessly activated his divine sense, so he quickly reminded him.

Shen Yuan nodded.

Unlike others, he could tell the moment he saw the phantom turtle that it was not alive.

Shen Yuan even vaguely felt that this turtle phantom was very likely related to spirituality and the source of the Dao.

"Looking at this object, I feel something in my heart..."

"Wen'an, I trouble you to protect the Dharma for your father."

As he spoke, he immediately came to Shen Wen'an's side, and with a flash of light in his hand, he took out a futon and sat cross-legged on the ice and snow.

Shen Wen'an glanced at him with some curiosity, but didn't ask any further questions.

After sitting down cross-legged, Shen Yuan immediately began to activate the white jade tortoise shell within his sea of ​​consciousness.

The surface of the tortoise shell shimmered with spiritual energy, and streams of Great Evolutionary Power also appeared on Shen Yuan's body.

Gradually, Shen Yuan seemed to feel that everything around him had disappeared.

His soul seemed to have arrived at a strange place. The world was vast and desolate, the earth was cracked, and endless molten lava flowed freely across it.

Standing amidst this desolate world, Shen Yuan looked up and discovered two incomplete stars floating above him!
One of the stars was covered in cracks, and a large number of strange corpses floated around it.

The other star was even more terrifying, resembling an egg that had been roughly cut open!
The shattered star was not completely separated; numerous fragments floated around it, and the exposed core was constantly emitting magnificent light.

Boom!
Boom!
Just as Shen Yuan was stunned by the spectacular sight before him, a series of deep, resounding noises came from the void behind him!

He slowly turned around and saw a sight that was so shocking it was hard to believe!
In the dim starry sky, a giant tortoise, its size far exceeding that of the stars, slowly approached from afar.

The deep sound was the thud produced by the giant tortoise's four legs stepping on the void.

Shen Yuan looked up again, only to see an ancient city on the back of the giant tortoise.

The city is surrounded by high walls, weathered by time, with cracks and dried bloodstains all over them.

Shen Yuan even saw a broken spear stuck in the top of the left side wall of the city wall!

The giant tortoise dragged the enormous city slowly past its location, continuing its journey into the depths of the starry sky.

boom!
Just as Shen Yuan was trying to see clearly what was written on the ancient city gate on the giant tortoise's back, a terrifying explosion suddenly pulled his consciousness back to his body!

When he opened his eyes, his body was still on the bank of the Lai River.

In front of them, Shen Wen'an was holding up a sword energy shield, protecting both father and son inside.

Meanwhile, ice blocks of varying sizes rained down from all around, but were all blocked by the sword energy shield.

Shen Yuan stood up and asked softly:

"How is this going?"

Shen Wen'an turned around and slightly cupped his hands: "It must be Xu Zhan who has broken through."

"Father, please look."

Pointing to a blurry figure in the dark clouds overhead, Shen Wen'an said, "That is Xu Zhan."

"That brat just crashed through the hard ice and flew out of the riverbed. Now he's frantically absorbing the spiritual energy of the surrounding world and the energy from the clouds."

Shen Yuan sighed with some regret.

"Why did that brat have to break through now of all times?"

If it weren't for the commotion caused by Xu Zhan, he might have been able to see clearly what words were engraved on the ancient city gate on the giant tortoise's back.

If you know a name, you can probably find some clues in many ancient books.

However, his temperament is much better now than when he was young, so he doesn't care too much about these things.

Shen Yuan looked at Xu Zhan, who was constantly absorbing the surrounding energy in the void, and felt very gratified.

The fifth realm of body cultivation is the Spirit Transformation Realm. Xu Zhan's successful breakthrough to the Spirit Transformation Realm has greatly enhanced the strength of the Shen family once again.

On the other hand, Xu Zhan's breakthrough also confirmed his conjecture, pointing out the future path for many body cultivators in the Shen family and making the inheritance of the Shen family's body cultivation path more complete.

The father and son only looked up for a moment before Xu Zhan in the clouds had absorbed enough power, slowly opened his eyes, his chest filled with boundless pride, and clenched his fists!
Bang!
A powerful burst of energy directly dispersed the dark clouds that had been gathering for days, and the long-awaited golden sunset shone down from the sky.

Feeling his own power, Xu Zhan was very satisfied. He then smiled and suddenly flashed from the void to appear in front of Shen Wen'an and Shen Yuan.

"Grandpa, Third Uncle."

After landing, Xu Zhan bowed to the two men.

Both of them smiled as they sensed the explosive power within him.

"good……"

"Xu Zhan, go and have a go with your third uncle."

"Let's see just how strong the fifth level of body cultivation really is."

After a moment's thought, Shen Yuan spoke.

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhan was taken aback for a moment, then a hint of eagerness flashed in his eyes.

He also wanted to know how his current strength compared to that of a Golden Core Sword Immortal.

Seeing this, Shen Wen'an smiled faintly and said, "Third Uncle's strength is not at the initial stage of Golden Core. If you really want to know how strong you are now, you don't need to go through all this trouble."

"If you take one of Uncle San's moves, and Uncle San takes one of your moves, then you'll probably understand."

Xu Zhan nodded.

Verifying the strength of a body cultivator is relatively simple. You can get a general idea of ​​their attack power and defense with just a simple test.

"Please enlighten me, Third Uncle."

After bowing slightly, Xu Zhan assumed a fighting stance, ready to withstand Shen Wenan's attack.

Shen Wen'an naturally wouldn't underestimate a cultivator at the fifth level of body cultivation.

He could vaguely sense that Xu Zhan's strength was not as good as his own, but not by much.

We'll only know the specifics after we start doing it.

Seeing that he was ready, Shen Wen'an immediately pinched his sword fingers together, and a sharp cyan sword light condensed at his fingertips!

"Be careful."

With a soft reminder, Shen Wen'an immediately pointed the sword light at Xu Zhan in the distance!

At this moment, a layer of qi and blood protective shield had condensed on Xu Zhan's body surface.

This thick protective shield of qi and blood was not like the protective spiritual power of immortal cultivators; instead, it formed a blood-red armor that clung tightly to his body!
This blood-blood armor is significantly more defensive than the spiritual energy shield of immortal cultivators.

Xu Zhan did not take the initiative to block the incoming sword light. He simply let out a low shout and let the sword light strike his chest!
After making his move, Shen Wen'an and Shen Yuan, who were standing to the side, both looked at him nervously.

boom!
Shen Wen'an's seemingly casual strike was actually a full-force attack that surpassed that of a cultivator in the early Golden Core stage.

The sword light struck the blood-red armor on Xu Zhan's chest, unleashing a powerful burst of energy that exploded outwards from Xu Zhan!
This burst of energy spread for dozens of miles, instantly shattering ancient trees and rocks along the way, and even carving deep trenches into the ground!

Xu Zhan, who took the hit head-on, was not unharmed.

His body was knocked back more than ten feet, and his feet plowed two deep tracks in the ground.

Fortunately, the crimson armor on his body only dimmed slightly and was not shattered directly.

"Uncle's sword strike was incredibly powerful."

After regaining his balance, Xu Zhan took a step forward and landed where he had just stood, rubbing his slightly aching chest and sincerely saying...

He thought he should be able to easily block the attack.

Who would have thought that I would almost get injured because of carelessness.

Shen Wen'an lowered his head, examining the blood-red armor on his body, and said, "Third Uncle's current strength is comparable to the late Golden Core stage. If that attack had been from an ordinary immortal cultivator, would they have dared to withstand it head-on..."

There is a 90% chance that he will be killed instantly.

"Although you were a bit disheveled, you managed to take it all on."

"Now let Uncle San see your attack."

Xu Zhan nodded, and then began to circulate his internal energy.

In an instant, a long rainbow of blood and energy suddenly appeared behind him!

That rich energy of blood and qi was like a blazing sun and a raging fire, radiating an imposing aura!
"Third Uncle, be careful!"

With a loud shout, Xu Zhan suddenly exerted force with his legs, and his figure disappeared instantly!

When it reappeared, a fist enveloped in bright red flames struck Shen Wen'an's face!

boom!
The blood-flame fist slammed into Shen Wen'an's protective sword essence, and the terrifying force caused a large dent in the protective sword essence's light shield!

When Shen Wen'an took the blow head-on, he clearly felt that the protective sword energy suddenly drew away a portion of the sword energy from his body.

He looked at Xu Zhan with some surprise.

"I never expected that the attack power of a fifth-level body cultivator would be so formidable."

"If the power of the physical body alone is so great, if you use a magical weapon and combine it with martial arts techniques, the power of this attack can be increased even more."

Xu Zhan nodded.

His punch was indeed only the limit of his physical strength. Although it did not break Shen Wen'an's sword energy shield, he already had a general idea of ​​his strength.

"good."

Shen Yuan approached with a smile, a hint of relief in his eyes, and said, "Your breakthrough is a timely help for the Shen family."

"Let's go back and see You'er and your master, and tell them the good news."

The three of them left the banks of the Laishui River and returned to their old house in the city.

In the courtyard, Shen Wenxing, Shen You, and others sat together.

Xu Zhan briefly recounted his breakthrough process, then looked at the little guy in Shen You's arms who was curiously examining him.

The chubby-cheeked Xu Jingzhe is now over three years old. He seems to have inherited Xu Zhan's talent for body tempering, and the little guy clearly gives people a strong and robust feeling.

"Jingzhe, come let your father take a look."

Xu Zhan smiled and reached out his hand, wanting to hug his son.

Xu Jingzhe, however, timidly retreated further into Shen You's arms, wanting to get closer but not daring to.

Unfortunately, when Xu Zhan went into seclusion, Xu Jingzhe was still an infant in swaddling clothes.

Three years have passed in the blink of an eye, and the little guy is still a bit unfamiliar with this father who suddenly appeared.

"Jingzhe, go and let your father see."

Shen You smiled and patted her son's head, gently comforting him.

Xu Jingzhe looked up at her, then at Xu Zhan.

Is he really my father?

Shen You nodded: "Didn't you always say that you wanted to become a body cultivator like your father?"

"Go ahead, your father is now the strongest body cultivator in our Shen family."

"Even more powerful than Grandpa?" Xu Jingzhe asked again, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

"Ha ha……"

Upon hearing this, Shen Wenxing burst into laughter and said, "Your father is much more capable than your maternal grandfather."

He has only just reached the middle stage of the fourth realm, which is equivalent to just stepping into the perfected stage of embryonic breathing.

Given Xu Zhan's strength, if the two were to spar, he definitely wouldn't be able to withstand even a single move.

Although the gap between the fourth and fifth realms of body cultivation is not as large as that between the Golden Core and the Perfected Fetal Breathing stage in Immortal Dao, the chasm between the fourth and fifth realms is still insurmountable for any talent.

The encouragement from the crowd finally gave Xu Jingzhe the courage to slowly walk up to Xu Zhan.

Xu Zhan looked at him with a smile and picked him up in his arms.

"You brat, what are you afraid of?"

"Let Dad take a look."

Gently pinching Xu Jingzhe's hands, feet, and arms, Xu Zhan smiled with satisfaction and said, "Not bad, a good prospect for body tempering."

Holding Xu Jingzhe in his arms, he looked at Shen Wenxing and asked, "Master, where is Senior Brother?"

"Still haven't broken through the barrier?"

Shen Wenxing nodded.

The two went into seclusion almost simultaneously, one after the other.

However, it is clear that immortal cultivators do not break through to the Golden Core stage so quickly.

In addition, Xu Zhan himself is like someone with superhuman abilities, extraordinary and different from ordinary people.

"If your senior brother breaks through his cultivation again and successfully reaches the Golden Core realm, our Shen family will have three Golden Core warriors, which will be enough to protect us in this chaotic world."

Shen Wenxing sighed with genuine emotion.

Shen Yuan, standing to the side, smiled faintly and said, "Don't be impatient. Chongming has exceptional talent, and it's only a matter of time before he achieves the Golden Core Dao."

Changing the subject, he looked at Xu Zhan and asked, "During your three years of seclusion at the bottom of the river, did you encounter any unusual phenomena?"

Vision?

After frowning and thinking for a long time, Xu Zhan said, "In my dazed state, it seems I had some strange dreams."

"However, those dreams were rather fragmented, and since Grandpa didn't mention them, Xu Zhan had forgotten them all."

After a moment's thought, Shen Wen'an recounted the story of the giant turtle.

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhan asked in surprise, "That thing has appeared again!?"

When he was a teenager, he saw a giant turtle on the riverbank and went down into the river with a group of friends to search for it. They unexpectedly discovered an ancient city at the bottom of the river.

Unexpectedly, with this breakthrough, that thing reappeared.

"That thing is not a living being, but a phantom formed by the condensation of some strange energy."

Shen Wen'an spoke in a deep voice.

"It should be related to the ancient city at the bottom of the river."

As he spoke, the phantom of the city that the lightning bolts had drawn behind the giant turtle reappeared in his mind.

After thinking for a moment, Shen Yuan also recounted the strange phenomenon he had witnessed.

Clearly, what he saw was even more shocking than what Shen Wen'an saw.

"In that case, we really should find some time to explore that ancient city at the bottom of the river."

Xu Zhan pondered for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.

Since the first discovery of the ancient city at the bottom of the river, Shen Yuan has strictly forbidden anyone from exploring it in order to avoid causing trouble.

Now that Xu Zhan's strength has reached the fifth level of physical cultivation, almost all the attention of other forces in Yangnao Land is focused on the spiritual essence of Tianyuan Mountain.

The Shen family could indeed explore the ancient city at the bottom of the river first.

"This matter is not urgent. Let me deduce it carefully in the next two days."

After pondering for a moment, Shen Yuan said softly, then stood up and said, "Alright, you two chat, I'll head back now."

Although he only caught a fleeting glimpse of the strange phenomena along the Laishui River, they still evoked some profound insights in him, which he needed to process and digest as soon as possible.

As everyone bowed and watched him leave, discussing the current situation in Yangnao Land, a cultivator from the Shen family hurriedly arrived at the courtyard gate.

"Old Master, Third Master."

"Lord Xu has emerged from seclusion!?"

The cultivator greeted Xu Zhan with a look of delight and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect.

Xu Zhan nodded, and Shen Wenxing asked, "What happened?"

The cultivator bowed solemnly and said, "Reporting to the old patriarch, news has come from Zhili that yesterday, Tian Tan Mountain dispatched a large number of demon cultivators to attack many cities around Zhili and abducted a large number of aristocratic and independent cultivators."

“News has come from several spirit mines owned by my Shen family in Zhili Prefecture that there are many demon cultivators lingering in the area.”

Tanshan?
Xu Zhan asked with some curiosity, "Aren't they allies with the Shen family?"

Shen Wenxing shook his head and briefly explained the matter of Tian Tan Mountain and the Shen family.

"So, they want to use the cultivators of my Shen family as sacrifices?"

After setting Xu Jingzhe down from his arms, Xu Zhan felt a surge of murderous intent in his chest: "Master, let your disciple go and deal with those beasts."

Having just broken through to the fifth realm, although he exchanged a move with Shen Wen'an on the banks of the Laishui River, he didn't find it satisfying.

Body cultivators are all battle maniacs.

He desperately needs a hard-fought battle to prove his true strength.

"It's not urgent."

Shen Wenxing said in a deep voice, "You have now broken through to the fifth realm of body cultivation, but outsiders do not know this."

"It would be best if it could be hidden away as a trump card."

Shen Wenxing looked at Shen Wen'an and said, "Wen'an, I'll trouble you to make a trip to Zhili Prefecture."

"If Tian Tan Mountain really dares to openly attack my Shen family's spirit mine, I will send Xu Zhan over there again."

"Then you two, uncle and nephew, can catch them off guard and teach those beasts a profound lesson."

Over the years, the Shen family has been able to persevere through one test after another, and the methods they have used have been almost identical.

The swift and decisive action dealt a heavy blow to one side of the enemy and also deterred the other onlookers.

Back then, when his father-in-law Huang Qingzhou was killed by Hundred Beast Mountain, his father suppressed his grief and had Shen Wen'an, who was only at the Nascent Soul stage at the time, take action.

In that battle, Shen Wen'an fought against four opponents and ultimately escaped unscathed.

Although the dangers were considerable, the desired effect was achieved.

Shen Wen'an's strength instilled fear in many of the observing immortal sects.

Otherwise, the Shen family would never have survived to this day.

Then, whether it was Mount Wu, or later the Kingdom of Fushan, or the Canaan Temple.

After the Shen family made their move, they remained as decisive and ruthless as ever.

Right now, the Shen family's enemies are like a pack of vicious wolves!

Once the Shen family is embroiled in a fierce battle with one of the forces, other forces will surely take advantage of the situation, pounce on the Shen family together, and destroy them, then divide and devour them.

"While there is still time, disciple, I will immediately go and explore the ancient city at the bottom of the river."

"If we make a gain, we can improve our strength and teach those beasts from Tanshan a lesson together with Uncle San."

"It would be best if we could kill one of their Golden Core Realm demons!"

A sharp glint flashed in Xu Zhan's eyes as he spoke in a deep voice.

Kill a powerful demon at the Golden Core stage?
Shen Wen'an looked at him with some surprise and said, "Kid, you're even more ruthless than your third uncle."

"But Golden Core cultivators are not so easy to kill."

"If they are driven to desperation, they will detonate their inner golden cores, which has a very high probability of taking the enemy down with them."

"We must not be careless when facing enemies at the Golden Core Realm in the future."

Shen You, who was standing to the side, glared at him and said, "You must keep Uncle San's words in mind. Don't think that just because your cultivation level has improved, you are invincible."

Xu Zhan smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Senior Sister, I will definitely keep Uncle's teachings in mind."

Shen Wen'an lowered his head, then cupped his hands to Shen Wenxing and said, "I will go to Zhili first and see what happens. If there is any situation, I will inform you immediately, elder brother."

Xu Zhan's breakthrough made him suddenly feel much less pressure.

In the past, whenever he needed to go out, he would always worry about Yunshui City, fearing that some Golden Core cultivator might suddenly launch a surprise attack on Yunshui City and he wouldn't be able to rescue it in time.

Now that Xu Zhan is with him, he feels much more relaxed when he goes out.

He even plans to go to sea again when Shen Chongming breaks through his cultivation and achieves the Golden Core Dao.

On the one hand, it could help him and the Shen family find some opportunities and resources; on the other hand, it could also allow him to meet Li Qing and the golden-haired monkey at the Purple Mansion Realm.

Bring some fine wine and chat with them to make friends. In a crucial moment, the two demons might even become a great help to the Shen family.

(End of this chapter)