Chapter 441 - 439: Reunion
The commotion from the outside world didn’t have much of an effect on Shen Changchuan.
He was in seclusion to polish his Cultivation Realm, so he rarely went out.
Besides, he had known his reputation was widespread ever since he arrived in Broken Soul City a month ago.
Thus, he would conceal his presence even on the rare occasions he had to go out.
The sensational discussions of others,
naturally didn’t affect Shen Changchuan much.
Even if someone wanted to visit and befriend him, upon seeing the sign reading "In Seclusion" at the entrance of his cave abode, they would tactfully retreat.
After all, secluded Cultivation was a major event that concerned one’s path to the Dao.
Obstructing someone’s path to the Dao was like killing their parents.
Of course,
the external commotion was not entirely without effect.
However, it could be considered a positive effect.
Because his reputation had soared again in a short period, causing a stir in the Immortal Cultivation Realm,
Shen Changchuan became the focus of many Cultivators’ attention, and he invisibly earned the awe and admiration of a great number of them.
As a result,
when the quest Shen Changchuan posted in the alliance to collect materials for the Void Escape Gu became known,
soon,
word of it spread quickly.
As someone who had caused a sensation in the surrounding Immortal Cultivation Realm during this period—
Shen Changchuan, who had stepped into the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer Realm in his twenties and, even more astonishingly, killed the Soul Emergence Eighth Layer Sect Leader of the Corpse Refining Sect while only at the initial stage of the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer—
countless people wanted to meet such a legendary figure.
They even hoped to befriend this peerless prodigy who was very likely to reach the Divine Travel Realm in the future.
Because of this,
those who had the materials Shen Changchuan needed came to deliver them in person.
Those who didn’t have the materials but still wanted to meet Shen Changchuan went to the Workshop or even spent a fortune buying them in the Outer Realm,
all for a chance to meet him.
Just like that,
Shen Changchuan managed to gather most of the materials for refining the Void Escape Gu within a month.
Aside from two main ingredients for the Void Escape Gu—Purple Star Sand and the Flying Heaven-Splitting Spirit Ant, both of which were at least Tier Two Top Level materials—he had obtained everything else.
It had to be said,
in this Immortal Cultivation World, Shen Changchuan was reaping the benefits of being a top celebrity.
Although,
when completing the quests,
Shen Changchuan had to appear in person to thank those who had taken his quests for their kindness.
But it didn’t really matter.
He wasn’t some extreme introvert who was terrified of social interaction.
Shen Changchuan was usually just too lazy to interact with others.
’They went through all that trouble, running around everywhere to gather materials for you. Granting their request to see you once doesn’t cost anything. You can even take the opportunity to expand your network.’
So, Shen Changchuan didn’t refuse the small request from the Cultivators who took his quests to see him in person.
He even chatted with them for a good while,
learning about other aspects of the Immortal Cultivation Realm in the process.
What Shen Changchuan hadn’t expected, however,
was that his attitude
would cause his reputation in the Immortal Cultivation Realm to soar once again.
The Cultivators who completed his quests praised him to everyone they met, saying he was amiable and approachable, completely lacking the arrogance of a peerless Demon, the likes of which only appear once in a thousand years.
Moreover, the rewards he gave after the quests were very generous. He was truly a great person.
Some said that was a given,
and gave an example: back when Shen Changchuan was stationed at Dawan Village, he had organized the mortal villagers for a work project. When someone died by accident, he gave extremely high compensation.
How unlike others, who only thought of exploitation... There weren’t many Cultivators this good left in the Immortal Cultivation Realm.
Someone also revealed anonymously,
that they had once obtained a very precious inheritance and traded it privately with that prodigy, receiving an incredibly generous reward.
"The fact that I’m still alive and talking to you all is proof enough of his sincerity."
As these stories circulated,
some people’s eyes flickered, and they fell into deep thought.
The Immortal Cultivation Realm is vast, and the number of Cultivators is countless.
There were always some people who,
by a stroke of luck, obtained treasures far beyond their status but were unable to use them or cash them in...
Of course,
those who could survive to this day while possessing such great treasures, instead of ending up as a corpse in the wilderness,
were all cautious individuals.
They wouldn’t make a rash decision based on a few rumors.
But in their hearts,
a seed had been planted nonetheless.
...
The many rumors circulating outside,
Shen Changchuan didn’t pay them much mind.
At this moment,
even though he had spent a month stabilizing his Soul Emergence Seventh Layer Cultivation Realm and had gathered most of the materials for the Void Escape Gu,
he was still somewhat troubled.
Because,
among the main ingredients for refining the Void Escape Gu, there was still no sign of either the Purple Star Sand or the Flying Heaven-Splitting Spirit Ant.
In the past few days, when completing quests, Shen Changchuan had chatted with the Cultivators who came to turn them in, but they knew nothing about these items.
They had never even heard of their names.
This made Shen Changchuan realize that he had been far too optimistic at the beginning.
Although the Minghuan Gu Scripture Fragment stated that the Purple Star Sand and the Flying Heaven-Splitting Spirit Ant were merely Tier Two Top Level materials,
he feared that the actual difficulty of obtaining them was not so simple.
Shen Changchuan could only hope it wouldn’t be as difficult as acquiring the Gold-Devouring Spirit Butterfly.
’Whatever. I’ll do my best and leave the rest to fate.’
’Logically speaking, since that Shadow was able to refine the Void Escape Gu, it must mean the materials can be gathered.’
’The reason they’ve never heard of things like Purple Star Sand or the Flying Heaven-Splitting Spirit Ant is probably because these two are rare local Heaven and Earth Treasures from the Nanyue Territory. There are countless Heaven and Earth Treasures in the world; it’s impossible for one person to remember all their names.’
’If there’s still no news later, I’ll just have to search in the direction of the Nanyue Kingdom’s Demon Dao...’
After a moment of thought, Shen Changchuan temporarily set aside the matter of the Void Escape Gu.
He would wait a year or two, and if there was still no news, he would take action himself.
Having calmed his mind, Shen Changchuan planned to continue his secluded Cultivation.
However, he didn’t intend to focus his energy on raising his Cultivation Realm.
His Cultivation Realm had advanced too quickly recently,
and it was time to stabilize it for a while.
Thus, he turned his attention to the Cultivation of Magic.
During these past few days,
while wandering through the Workshop, he had discovered some stalls selling Tier One and Tier Two Skills with local Nanyue characteristics.
With the goal of strengthening his foundation, Shen Changchuan had purchased dozens of them, spending a considerable amount of Spirit Stones.
But it was all worth it.
’This is the perfect opportunity to cultivate them all to Perfection and increase the number of Perfection Techniques on my progress bar panel.’
However,
before Shen Changchuan could even cultivate a few of the magical techniques with Nanyue Kingdom characteristics,
his master, Master Wandering Dragon, returned.