Chapter 501 - 225: Sword Opening Celestial Gate, Underworld Reappears (Part 5)
...
Yunshui City.
In the cave mansion on the back mountain, a powerful wave of spiritual power suddenly emerged.
Accompanying this spiritual power was a scorching fiery aura!
Outside the cave mansion, Shen Wenxing stood with his hands behind his back, smiling faintly.
Beside him, Shen Xiuyun felt this aura and a hint of excitement and envy flashed across his face.
"Grandfather, Uncle Zhongyi has successfully broken through!"
Shen Wenxing nodded with a smile and said, "No need to envy, your current cultivation is already considered high among your peers."
"With your talent, in another two years, you should also be able to reach the Qi Cultivation Perfection Realm."
Shen Xiuyun nodded.
It wasn’t that he lacked resolve, he just felt that he and his cousin He Zhongyi were burdened with the responsibility of pioneering the Artifact Refining Dao for the Shen Family. Until they reached the Fetal Breathing Realm, they couldn’t comprehend the Ancient Refining Technique.
The grandfather and grandson quietly waited outside the cave mansion.
As the spiritual power fluctuations and the fiery aura inside the cave mansion gradually subsided, until they disappeared.
The tightly closed stone door slowly opened.
He Zhongyi’s figure slowly emerged from the cave mansion.
"Uncle."
Seeing Shen Wenxing, He Zhongyi slightly cupped his hands in greeting.
Shen Wenxing nodded with a smile and said, "Having successfully broken through this time, how do you feel?"
He Zhongyi carefully sensed the condition inside his body and said, "The Li Palace Bing Fire Refining Form Technique is very powerful. This breakthrough not only rendered my spiritual true essence exceptionally vigorous, but also had certain Body Tempering effects."
"I feel that this technique was originally created specifically for Artifact Refiners."
Upon hearing this, Shen Wenxing was somewhat surprised and said, "The Ancient Refining Technique does indeed have certain requirements for the physical body. I was worried that you and Xiuyun would need to further practice Body Tempering techniques, but it seems we’ve saved a lot of trouble."
"You’ve been in seclusion for over a year, and now that you’ve successfully broken through, it’s time to visit your mother."
"Once you head to Flame Lake City in the future, you might not get to meet often."
He Zhongyi nodded and cupped his hands, "I’ll go see my mother first, and then I’ll visit you, Uncle."
...
In the courtyard pavilion, Shen Wenping sat leaning against the railing, quietly stroking the large black dog beside her.
The large black dog was the one Shen Yuan bought years ago to test medicine as a lab rat.
Benefiting from the demon beast’s flesh and blood and the Demon Essence Pill at the time, as well as subsequent changes from Spiritual Liquid, its physical condition improved.
After years of living in a spiritually dense estate, the large black dog has clearly become an intelligent demon beast.
In today’s Shen Family, its status is quite unique.
After all, all the younger generations, including Shen Wen’an, from the "Chong" and "Xiu" branches grew up in its company.
The large black dog lounged contentedly on the pavilion bench, eyes half-closed.
Suddenly, it opened its eyes, slowly raised its head to look toward the courtyard gate.
Shen Wenping noticed its movement, came back to her senses, and turned to look.
Soon, she saw a graceful young man approaching leisurely, and for a moment, Shen Wenping’s expression was a bit dazed, then she stood up with a smile.
He Zhongyi approached and greeted respectfully.
"Mother."
Shen Wenping nodded with a smile and said, "You’ve come out of seclusion?"
"Have you successfully broken through?"
He Zhongyi approached, supporting her as she sat down.
"Mother, have you not been cultivating properly lately?"
Having broken through Fetal Breathing, he could easily sense that his mother’s spiritual power was still around the Qi Cultivation Second Layer, which made him show a hint of concern.
Shen Wenping lightly patted his hand and smiled gently, "I don’t have a Spirit Root, so it’s normal for my cultivation to be slow."
"You just need to cultivate well yourself, don’t worry about me."
Hearing this, He Zhongyi could only sigh inwardly.
"Mother, now that I’ve broken through, I’m afraid I’ll be heading to Flame Lake City soon. Promise me, you must cultivate well."
Seeing the white hairs growing at his mother’s temples, his tone took on a pleading quality.
Shen Wenping was about to say something more, but looking into her son’s eyes, she nodded with a smile, "I promise you, my son."
"Don’t worry, I still want to see you marry and have children, waiting to hold grandchildren."
Hearing this, He Zhongyi laughed.
As the mother and son were chatting, another figure appeared at the courtyard gate.
Seeing the arrival, both mother and son rose to their feet.
"Father."
"Grandfather."
Shen Yuan’s face was initially somewhat somber, but seeing He Zhongyi brought a slight smile.
"Not bad, after this breakthrough to Fetal Breathing, your aura is much more substantial."
"Have you seen where your older brother went?"
As he changed the subject, he looked at Shen Wenping and asked.
"Uncle is at the back mountain, Grandfather, do you need him urgently?"
He Zhongyi saw the worry in his eyebrows and quickly spoke.
Shen Yuan nodded slightly, "Go on and fetch him."
...
In the small courtyard, father and son sat facing each other, with He Zhongyi standing beside them.
"Father, what has happened?"
Noticing his father’s somewhat abnormal expression, Shen Wenxing asked in a low voice.
Shen Yuan sighed heavily, his gaze deep as he looked into the distant sky.
"I’ve divined a hexagram these past few days, but the hexagram’s imagery is obscure and indicates a hidden crisis."
Upon hearing this, Shen Wenxing’s brows furrowed tightly.
"Father, do you know where this crisis comes from?"
If it’s just a crisis, the scope is too broad, making it difficult to prepare in advance.
Shen Yuan shook his head lightly, looking very grave, "It’s precisely because there’s no specific prophecy or way to determine the source of the crisis that I feel unease in my heart."
This situation was one he hadn’t encountered in a long time.
In the past, though he often couldn’t get a specific prophecy from the hexagrams, there was usually a general direction that allowed him some preparation.
But this time, there was neither prophecy nor a specific direction, and despite expending a great deal of Spiritual Charm, he couldn’t obtain any useful information.
