Chapter 409 - 406: Ruins
Golden Wind Valley.
Shen Changchuan, of course, knew of it.
One could even say that if there was any place in the Nanyue Kingdom he knew best,
then besides Barbaric City, Golden Wind Valley would rank second.
Even though he had never been to Golden Wind Valley.
But three years ago,
after Wu Tianhao was afflicted by a Gu in Golden Wind Valley, and on top of that, he had obtained the second fragmented page of the Minghuan Gu Scripture from Shadow,
Shen Changchuan had become somewhat interested in Golden Wind Valley. At the same time, he wondered, ’Since Golden Wind Valley contains Geng Metal Qi, maybe I can find the Gold-Devouring Spirit Butterfly I need there.’
So, during a casual chat, he asked Wu Tianhao for information about the place,
and learned a great deal from him.
It was said that the environment in Golden Wind Valley was extremely harsh.
Winds blew year-round throughout the massive valley basin that stretched for thousands of miles. What’s more, wisps of Geng Metal Qi rising from the mineral veins underground mixed into the gales, greatly increasing the power of the overwhelming storms and giving them the terrifying ability to corrode metal and shave bone.
Even Cultivators with protective auras of Magical Power could not stay long in the valley.
The harsh environment made the place desolate, uninhabited, and devoid of life.
So much so that even though its unique geography had given birth to many underground deposits of Spiritual Materials and Minerals,
no one occupied the area to build a family legacy.
Aside from some poor Loose Cultivators, not many Cultivators would venture there to explore.
The only exceptions
were some Immortal Cultivation Forces that had established outposts outside the valley, in places untouched by the Geng Metal Qi-laced winds,
merely to provide the Loose Cultivators exploring Golden Wind Valley a place to rest.
It was, by all accounts, a remote and barren land.
And yet, a series of incidents involving Middle to Late Stage Soul Emergence Realm experts had occurred there one after another.
Now, even though it was supposed to be a safe rear area, large numbers of Demon Cultivators had gathered there and even set a trap to ambush Senior Sister Wei.
’Something is definitely strange about this, no matter how I look at it!’
’Could it be that the place is hiding some great secret?’
In a flash,
the thought streaked through Shen Changchuan’s mind.
However, he knew the situation was urgent and that he couldn’t afford to delay.
After a moment’s thought,
Shen Changchuan took out a Communication Talisman, recorded the information he’d heard from Tang Yuncheng into it with his Divine Thought, then activated it, letting it vanish into the void and fly toward Barbaric City.
"I’ve already sent a message to Barbaric City, but this place isn’t close. Even after they receive the news, it will take them several days to arrive with reinforcements."
"Senior Sister Wei is likely in a bad situation. Take me there first. We’ll support her for now to prevent any accidents!"
Shen Changchuan said with a grave expression.
「Six years ago.」
His master and most of his senior brothers and sisters from the Sect had set out to wage war in the Nanyue Kingdom.
At that time, he and Senior Sister Wei Yuting were the main force left behind to guard the Sect in the Tian Nan Domain.
During the three years that followed, the reason he was able to stay in Dawan Village to focus on his cultivation, diligently practicing the Gu Dao Secret Technique and raising it to the Tier Two level, was largely thanks to Senior Sister Wei’s help.
To keep miscellaneous matters from disturbing his cultivation, she took on many of the minor tasks that should have been handled by him as the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall.
She only notified him to take action when a major incident involving the Soul Emergence Realm absolutely required his presence.
This consideration...
Although Senior Sister Wei never said anything,
Shen Changchuan could feel her solicitude.
Now that he heard she was in trouble,
how could Shen Changchuan possibly stand by and watch?
Immediately,
Shen Changchuan made the decision to go provide support.
"Ah, Senior Brother Shen, this..."
Shen Changchuan’s words
stunned Tang Yuncheng for a moment, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face.
He hesitated, then stammered,
"Um, Senior Brother Shen, Senior Sister Wei is a Soul Emergence Seventh Layer Great Cultivator. To be able to tie her down, the enemy must also be a Great Cultivator at the Soul Emergence Late Stage... Shouldn’t we wait for reinforcements from Barbaric City before we do anything?"
It wasn’t that Tang Yuncheng was cold-hearted, willing to ignore the danger Senior Sister Wei was in after she covered their retreat.
It was simply that the gap in combat power was too great.
The two of them going would be no different from throwing their lives away.
After all,
to force a Soul Emergence Seventh Layer expert like Senior Sister Wei to unleash her full power, the enemy had to be at least a Demon Cultivator at the same Seventh Layer Realm!
And this person before him,
although he was a famous, peerless prodigy of the Tian Nan Domain and the undisputed number one of the younger generation,
had broken through realms one after another in just a few short years, advancing to the Soul Emergence Fourth Layer at the mere age of twenty—a realm unattainable for many in their entire lifetime.
But no matter how much of a genius he was,
three years ago, he was still only at the Soul Emergence Fourth Layer.
With such a cultivation, faced with a powerful enemy at the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer, or perhaps even higher,
what did it amount to?
Although Tang Yuncheng was not a True Cultivator of the Soul Emergence Realm,
he knew clearly
that an immense gap existed between the Soul Emergence Fourth Layer and the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer!
This gap
was far greater than the one between the Qi Introduction Ninth Layer Peak and the Soul Emergence Realm!
"Don’t worry. We’ll just take a look from a distance first and then act when the opportunity arises. I won’t be impulsive."
Shen Changchuan glanced at him, roughly understanding his thoughts,
but he offered no explanation.
He, too, was someone who cherished his life.
He would never throw his life away for nothing.
He dared to go
because he had his own source of confidence.
It wasn’t just the confidence from having reached the Soul Emergence Sixth Layer Peak.
As early as three years ago,
ever since his master, Master Wandering Dragon, began to value and cultivate his talent,
he had given him some extremely precious life-saving items.
With those life-saving items,
even if an accident occurred,
he had a safety net.
Of course,
those life-saving items were extremely precious, and most of them were single-use.
Once used, they were gone.
So,
it was best not to use them if he didn’t have to.
But as for all this,
he had no need to explain it to Tang Yuncheng.
"Let’s go."
"Let’s hurry over and assess the situation."
Shen Changchuan called out.
Tang Yuncheng opened his mouth, but in the end, said nothing more.
Feeling helpless, he had no choice but to lead the way.
At this moment, however,
his heart was inevitably filled with worry.
’I hope this Senior Brother Shen is calm enough to do as he said and just take a look from a distance.’
’Otherwise,’
’we’re done for...’
...
「Meanwhile.」
Inside Golden Wind Valley,
the biting astral winds, laced with Geng Metal Qi, swept between heaven and earth with a great WHOOSH.
As far as the eye could see,
everything was a blurry, earthy yellow.
Within this world swept by the earthy yellow storm,
in a canyon surrounded by mountains,
the surrounding cliffs, under the year-round assault of seemingly tangible Wind Blades, were as sharp and pointed as if carved by a knife.
In the ravine at the bottom of the canyon,
an Array gave rise to a golden curtain of light, resembling a golden mountain, that enveloped an area on the ground the size of a basketball court.
Wei Yuting sat cross-legged inside the translucent golden mountain, holding an Array Plate and guiding the power of the surrounding Array Flags to resist the impact of the external storm,
as well as the several black shadows outside who were continuously casting Magic to bombard the golden light curtain.
’No wonder... So this place actually has ruins buried here!’
Wei Yuting’s gaze wasn’t on the figures continuously bombarding the Array Light Curtain.
Her gaze passed through the gaps between them,
seeing, at the far end of the canyon, a distorted space shimmering with a faint white light...