Crafting an Immortal Race with Daily Hexagrams-Chapter 278 - 187: The Eccentric Cultivator (Part 6)
"Your aura as the Two-legged Beast King is too terrifying, I don’t want to fight you..."
Its voice carried a hint of defeat.
Having managed to break through to the Fetal Breathing, it planned to give this Two-legged Beast a good beating to regain some dignity.
But after a careful feel just now, it realized that it still wasn’t a match for them.
This realization immediately overshadowed the joy brought by the breakthrough.
The Centipede Leader slightly raised its head but dared not stand taller than Shen Wen’an and slowly spoke, "Hey, thanks for guarding me."
Shen Wen’an waved his hand, "I promised you back then, naturally I won’t go back on my word."
"I heard from Chongming that you previously mentioned a place called ’Southern Wilderness’?"
"Now that you’ve broken through, have you recalled anything more?"
After the encounter with four people last night, he thought for a long time and vaguely guessed that the four peculiar cultivators might be related to the ’Southern Wilderness’ mentioned by the Centipede Leader earlier.
"I don’t know..."
The Centipede Leader shook its big head and said, "I don’t know why the name ’Southern Wilderness’ is in my head either, but I think ’Southern Wilderness’ should refer to the area south of Hidden Dragon Mountain."
"Who knows if there might be another world further south of that desolate place?"
Shen Wen’an looked at it deeply, unsure whether this creature truly didn’t know or simply didn’t want to say.
"Alright, now that you’ve broken through, I should head back."
"A word of advice, there were four strange cultivators observing you last night."
"You’d better not wander around recklessly. If anything happens, have your insects go to the Shen Family to find me immediately."
As soon as he finished speaking, Shen Wen’an transformed into a streak of sword light and vanished from the spot.
As he saw him leave, the Centipede Leader glanced south of the forest, muttering, "Has the Void Combination Corridor Array laid by the True Monarch been broken?"
After saying this, the Centipede Leader shook its head again, its compound eyes showing confusion.
"Strange, who is the True Monarch?"
"Who stuffed things into my head?"
...
When Shen Wen’an returned home from the deep part of Hidden Dragon Mountain, Mu Lingxun had already given birth to a son, named Shen Xiuchan.
Both parents possessed Spirit Roots, and Shen Xiuchan was born with a high-quality Water Attribute Spirit Root.
First floor of Black Water Pavilion.
Shen Yuan was instructing Shen Li in cultivation when he saw Shen Wen’an push the door and enter, and so he let Shen Li continue practicing.
"Father."
Shen Wen’an sat cross-legged in front, cupping his hands as he greeted.
"Is the situation in the mountains resolved?"
"Did you discover anything?"
Shen Yuan asked in a low voice.
During this time, he again tried to deduce things related to the ’Southern Wilderness’, but due to the Spiritual Charm of the White Jade Turtle Shell being insufficient, he didn’t obtain any useful Hexagrams.
Shen Wen’an nodded, "The Centipede Leader has broken through to Fetal Breathing, and its strength is quite notable."
"With proper guidance, it could become a significant asset for our Shen Family."
"However..." After pausing for a moment, he continued, "I encountered some strange cultivators in the mountains."
"Their attire resembles that of the Barbarian Race from the Western Wilderness, but their aura is very peculiar and they are quite formidable, roughly at the Fetal Breathing Realm."
"I suspect these cultivators are related to the so-called ’Southern Wilderness’."
"Unfortunately, the Centipede Leader didn’t reveal much information regarding the ’Southern Wilderness’."
Shen Yuan tapped his desk with a grave expression, producing a "thud-thud" sound.
After contemplating for a while, he turned to Shen Li and said, "Li’er, go call your elder brother, uncle, and third aunt here."
Shen Li lifted her head, nodded obediently, set down the Ancient Beast Skin Book in her hands, and ran swiftly toward the estate.
A moment later, Shen Wenxing, his son, and Wei Qiuling arrived at Black Water Pavilion.
"Elder, fetch a Map."
Shen Wenxing nodded, fetched a newly drawn Map, and spread it on the desk as the group gathered around.
Glancing at the near-blank mountainous region at the bottom of the Map, Shen Yuan contemplated for a moment before saying, "Given the current situation, this Yangnao Land might not just be what we see now."
"If there is indeed a ’Southern Wilderness’ within the endless ravines, then our Shen Family would border the Southern Wilderness."
Hearing this, the three of Shen Wenxing frowned.
"Father, is there any certainty about the ’Southern Wilderness’?" Shen Wenxing asked.
During this period, he obtained some information about ’Southern Wilderness’ from Shen Chongming and Wei Qiuling, and consulted Master Lu, scoured some Ancient Texts and Maps in the academy.
Yet, he found no clues about the ’Southern Wilderness’.
Historically, the expanse south of the Laishui River seemed to have always been an endless desolate land.
Shen Wen’an spoke up, "Elder brother, I seemed to have already encountered cultivators from the Southern Wilderness in the mountains a few days ago."
"Their cultivation system is very strange and they are not weak."
"Did Third Uncle encounter cultivators from the Southern Wilderness?" Shen Chongming asked in surprise, "Are they the ones making the Giant Centipede so uneasy?"
Shen Wen’an shook his head slightly, "It’s not clear yet, but it seems likely."
After hearing them out, Wei Qiuling pondered for a moment and then said, "Confirming this matter is not difficult."
"Currently, the regions bordering Yangnao Land and the Southern Wilderness are not limited to us Shen Family. The Three Mountains County under the One Qi Sect, Xiang County under the Hundred Refinements Valley, and Yue County under the Vajra Sect are all considered bordering the Southern Wilderness."
"Elder brother, you could send people to the Three Commanderies to investigate, or personally inquire the disciples of various sects to see if they have also noticed anything unusual."
Shen Wenxing nodded.
"That’s indeed a feasible approach."
"If cultivators from the Southern Wilderness are indeed appearing, it shouldn’t only be us Shen Family noticing, other places might have made some discoveries too."
Shen Yuan added, "Regardless of whether the other counties have discovered anything, our Shen Family must remain vigilant."
"Chongming, you handle the task of investigating the other Commanderies."
"Elder brother, in the next few days, take some people to inspect. I plan to transform Yunshui Town into a city, with the city walls extending south to the Laishui River, west to Hidden Dragon Mountain, with the northeast directions up to you to decide."
"If it’s possible to set up an array after the city is built to protect it, that would be best."
"If the cost of arranging the array is too high, then consider setting up defenses only on the west and south sides as a contingency."
Transform Yunshui Town into a city?
Upon hearing this, Shen Wenxing slightly frowned.
"Father, isn’t this being overly cautious?"
Constructing a city and arranging an array on the city walls is not a simple task.
Leaving aside the expense of the worldly resources involved, just obtaining the necessary Spiritual Objects for arranging the array would require significant investment.
The cultivation resources for our Shen Family, after some effort through Jinghe Market, have just accumulated a bit of surplus. Building Yunshui City might put us back in financial strain.
"Go ahead and do it, and don’t be negligent."
During this period, even though he hadn’t deduced much about the Southern Wilderness, he had a vague sense of foreboding.
Moreover, when the first in the seventh generation, Shen Xiuzhuo, was born, the White Jade Turtle Shell inexplicably altered the Shen Family’s generational order, producing a vague hexagram during its calculation, indicating that disasters would befall the Shen Family for the next two generations, to be survived through forming alliances with others.
All signs indicated that the days ahead would not be smooth sailing.
Shen Wenxing nodded.
Since taking charge of the Shen Family, his father had refrained from directly dictating family affairs for a long time.
Given his current directive, it must be under serious consideration.
The father and son were discussing the plans to build "Yunshui City" when the little girl, Shen Li, suddenly ran over hurriedly.
With her childish voice, she said in front of the group, "A bare-chested person came to the house, shouting to see Uncle."
A bare-chested person!?
Stunned, Shen Wenxing stood up, cupped his hands toward Shen Yuan, and said, "Father, I’ll go take a look."
Leaving Black Water Pavilion, Shen Wenxing returned home, and from afar, he saw Jin Sheng, wearing half-arm armor and exposing the left side of his body, pacing anxiously at the entrance of the estate, appearing very worried.
