"Is it... Elder Xu!?"

The figure approached, and Shen Wenxing was somewhat surprised after seeing the person's appearance clearly.

Xu Xiu paused his steps, examined Shen Wenxing for a moment, then couldn't help but smile, walking quickly towards him.

"Haha... child, we're meeting again."

"However, I suppose I should call you the Young Clan Leader now."

Shen Wenxing hurriedly cupped his hands and smiled, "Elder, you can call me Shi Tou."

"Didn't you go to Qiyun Valley, how come you're back at this time?"

Xu Xiu nodded with a smile, looking at the distant manor, "Is your father at home?"

Shen Wenxing realized and gestured with his hand, "Elder, please come inside, I'll go call Ah Die."

Bringing Xu Xiu into the side room, after ordering someone to serve tea, he quickly went to the Black Water Pavilion to invite Shen Yuan out.

Father and son arrived in the side room, Xu Xiu stood up to greet them.

After some pleasantries, they sat down.

"Uncle Xu, is there an important matter this time?"

Back in the day, Xu Xiu didn't have many years to live and dreamt of cultivating in the world of Immortals; Shen Yuan guessed he wouldn't return just to visit friends.

Xu Xiu smiled slightly, cupped his hands:

"Back then, thanks to your grace, when I arrived at Qiyun Valley, I became an Outer Sect Steward for the sect."

"This time, I took on a sect mission and returned to this Yangnao Land with many outer disciples under my charge."

"Younger Brother Shen, never did I think I'd have the chance to come back in this lifetime."

Xu Xiu was emotional, recalling that when he parted with Shen Yuan, he said they might not meet again in this lifetime.

"In this Yangnao Land, besides Younger Brother Shen, I have no other ties."

"After arriving at Fengxian County the other day, I took a brief leave from Immortal Li and traveled here overnight."

Shen Yuan nodded in realization.

"Elder Xu, is Qiyun Valley planning something big?" Shen Wenxing asked curiously.

"Shi Tou." Shen Yuan frowned, looking at him.

Now Shen Wen'an had been expelled from the sect, the Shen family had almost no ties with Qiyun Valley.

Randomly inquiring about these things could bring trouble.

"Hehe..." Xu Xiu smiled lightly, "It's nothing major."

"The spiritual qi revival in Yangnao Land has left many spirit fields vacant in Fengxian County occupied by Qiyun Valley."

"I brought many outer disciples mainly for planting spirit rice and spirit medicine, other matters don't involve us."

"Actually, it's not just Qiyun Valley, other Immortal Sects will likely dispatch some outer disciples below Qi Cultivation Fifth Layer to Yangnao Land, planning to cultivate here."

"Younger Brother Shen, about your son's matter..."

Xu Xiu's tone shifted, his expression turned serious, "In the sect, there are rumors circulating that your son was expelled from the sect, but the specifics remain a mystery to most."

Shen Yuan was a little stunned and shook his head with a smile, "It's nothing much, Wen'an was mischievous, repeatedly breaking sect rules."

When Shen Wen'an returned, Pei Zhao requested the Shen family not to disclose the ugly deeds committed by the disciples of Cliff Mountain Courtyard.

Naturally, they didn't want to stir trouble, so they just made up an excuse.

Xu Xiu nodded, "Qiyun Valley's rules are many, leaving is not wrong."

"I observe that, although Black Water Pool now isn't as rich in spiritual qi as the blessed land in Qiyun Valley, it's no worse than typical places in Danzhou."

"Cultivating here may not be much slower."

After some idle chatter, the sky darkened.

Shen Yuan intended to invite Xu Xiu to dinner at the house but was declined.

"Younger Brother Shen, I've come to see old friends, and also to gift you something as gratitude for the kindness shown back then."

Saying this, he took out an old beast skin book from his bosom.

"This is an ancient text passed down from a family's outer disciple recently, it seems to record some heterodox techniques and matters of talisman making, raising gu, and beast taming."

"Now, with limited years and no time to study these, I'm gifting it to Younger Brother Shen, hoping it may aid the Shen family."

Shen Yuan was a bit surprised, accepting the book and hastily flipping through it, discovering it indeed filled with strange drawings of talismans.

Just a glance made him instinctively feel discomfort.

He closed the book, cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Uncle Xu."

Xu Xiu waved his hand with a smile, "I'll be here for a while, when less busy, I'll visit again."

"Younger Brother Shen, farewell."

Shen Yuan and Shen Wenxing stood up to send him off, watching until Xu Xiu's figure disappeared at the end of the distant path.

"Ah Die, what does the book record on it?"

Shen Yuan didn't speak, directly passing the beast skin book over.

Shen Wenxing only glanced at two pages before promptly shutting the book, shaking his head vigorously with a grave expression.

"Ah Die, the contents are quite eerie and sinister, could it be the evil cultivation techniques the Immortals spoke of?"

Shen Yuan laughed gently in response, "What is right, what is evil?"

Shen Wenxing was momentarily stunned, not knowing how to respond.

Shen Yuan took the beast skin book back from him, gently rubbing it, "Techniques don't have divisions of right and evil, it depends on the person."

"Are the techniques those Immortal Sect disciples at Cliff Mountain Courtyard practice considered orthodox?"

"Yet, with their actions, can they be called orthodox cultivators?"

"The contents in the book are somewhat sinister, but if merely used for reference and understanding, they're quite valuable."

Shen Yuan had read about practicing knowledge arranged by Pei Zhao and understood the existence of so-called "evil cultivators."

But in his view, unless it involved killing and refining souls, absorbing others' cultivation and such harmful practices against heavenly principles, they couldn't be considered as evil cultivation.

Usually, those defined as evil cultivators were those who did whatever they desired, relying on their power.

Knowing his father had his own judgment, Shen Wenxing didn't worry too much.

"By the way, Father, the spirit root selection is over, and luckily, two Immortal Seedlings with spirit roots were discovered."

He introduced the basic information of Chen Youran and Shi Miao to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan nodded slightly and advised, "Since these two possess spiritual roots, they should be well cultivated."

"I will first bestow them Body Tempering Pills so they can quickly reach the Body Tempering Realm, and then teach them the Five Elements Breathing Technique."

...

At night, in the forest where the Pan Mountain Python was killed.

A few days ago, Shen Wen'an had chosen the tallest among a dozen Heaven-Reaching Pillars and used his sword to cut off the top, forming a platform several feet square, to cultivate and protect that strange Little Pine Tree.

To the left, hundreds of feet away, another Little Pine Tree grew at the top of another pillar, hidden by a boulder.

Even though the full moon hung high in the sky, it absorbed no moonlight and emitted no light.

Below the pillar, a few days earlier, Zhao Shuan had gathered over a hundred villagers who had been cutting and shaping the uneven mountain forest terrain to prepare it.

The foundation for the new Martial Arts Hall had already begun.

Before Zhao Shuan had arrived, Shen Wen'an had activated the Array Plate to ensure that it could cover the surrounding dozen or so pillars of varying sizes before putting it away again.

He had informed Zhao Shuan of the dimensions needed for the Martial Arts Hall.

During the day, the villagers, exhausted from working, slept soundly in the temporary shelters nearby.

The moonlight was like water, and a gentle breeze blew.

Shen Wen'an, holding the Dragon-Slaying Magical Sword and wearing a blue-brown long robe, stood quietly atop the hundred-foot pillar.

His sideburns fluttered in the wind, and his gaze looked deeper into Hidden Dragon Mountain, seemingly searching for something.

In recent days, he often felt a faint, elusive sensation of being watched from that direction.

But each time he searched thoroughly, he found nothing unusual.

This feeling made him very uncomfortable.

Just now, that sensation of being watched came again, and Shen Wen'an quietly gazed at the distant night sky, seemingly sensing something, as a sharp gleam flashed in his eyes.

In the next moment, the Dragon-Slaying Magical Sword in his hand suddenly unsheathed and flew forward!

His figure flickered, and Shen Wen'an steadily landed upon the sword, transforming into a streak of red light, and flew into the distance!

"He's discovered us!"

"Sword Control Flight, his realm is at least above Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer!"

"Quick, run!"

In the distant hidden forest, several figures seemed to notice Shen Wen'an's actions and immediately exclaimed in panic!

All of a sudden, several gigantic demon beasts exuding a fierce aura burst out from the nearby forest!

There was a giant wolf emitting black smoke, and an ox-headed demon beast that looked like a water buffalo but with scale armor on its back and knife-like horns...

Screech!

At the same time, the sky echoed with a loud eagle's cry, and a massive black avian with a wingspan over two zhang swooped down from the night sky!

After these demon beasts charged forward, several figures from the woods leapt onto their backs, trying to make a quick escape.

But they underestimated Shen Wen'an's speed.

The red light chased from behind, swiftly surpassing them and stopping atop the canopy of a towering tree in front of them.

Shen Wen'an stood with hands behind his back on the Dragon-Slaying Magical Sword, glanced at the people below, and slowly shifted his gaze to the massive avian under the night sky in front of him.

Being able to control demon beasts, they must be disciples of Hundred Beasts Mountain.

As his gaze landed on the huge bird covered in black feathers, he could confirm that it was indeed this creature that had been watching him for the past few days.

Swish!

Upon this realization, the golden Dragon Soul Magical Sword suddenly flew out from his Dantian!

In an instant, it reached the giant avian!

"Fellow Daoist, please stay your hand!"

"We…"

Thud!

The woman in brown clothing seated on the bird's back seemed not to expect Shen Wen'an would resort to such violence without a word!

Before she could finish speaking, the golden Soul-Slaying Magical Sword had already pierced through the bird's skull!

The giant bird's head was shredded by sword qi, and after instinctively flapping its wings a few times, it plummeted to the ground!

The brown-clad woman hurriedly performed a technique, summoning a gust of wind to support her body, stabilizing her fall before joining her companions.

Shen Wen'an's figure flickered, leaping from the treetop to in front of the four people.

After the brown-clad woman landed, she rushed to the bird's body.

"Xuan Yu..."

Seeing her companion's headless body in front of her, the brown-clad woman cried out in anguish!

"Why did you kill Junior Sister Wang's war beast, the Profound Feather Flying Eagle, without distinguishing right from wrong?"

The lean man riding the giant wolf glared at Shen Wen'an, his eyes burning with anger.

"Earlier, wasn't it your beast that was spying on me?" Shen Wen'an asked coldly.

Upon having their tactics exposed, a flash of embarrassment crossed the eyes of the disciples from Hundred Beasts Mountain.

Several months ago, the four of them used the Vein-Seeking Skill to trace the flow of the Earth Vein, tracking it to this vicinity and noticing signs that the Earth's Qi was subtly flowing towards these pillars.

They originally intended to investigate directly, but unexpectedly witnessed Shen Wen'an cleave the top of the pillar with a single sword strike, so they didn't dare venture boldly.

In the subsequent days, the four of them hid here, intending to cautiously investigate using the Profound Feather Flying Eagle's abilities.

On one hand, they wanted to see what heavenly and earthly treasures might be causing the Earth's Qi to gather, and on the other, they wished to confirm Shen Wen'an's cultivation level and identity, in case they needed to report back to their sect.

The Profound Feather Flying Eagle, having inherited the terrifying eyesight of raptors, observed in a manner unlike that of the divine senses of cultivators, making it difficult to detect.

Because of this, they acted without restraint.

Unexpectedly, Shen Wen'an's intuition was far too keen, allowing him to sense the bird's probing and trace it back to them.

The disciple from Hundred Beasts Mountain atop the giant wolf sneered, arguing, "You're far too overbearing, acting so ruthlessly just because we glanced your way!?"

"The disciples of Hundred Beasts Mountain bond with war beasts for life. By killing the Profound Feather Flying Eagle, you have severed Junior Sister Wang's path of cultivation. Which sect do you belong to? Hundred Beasts Mountain must demand an explanation!"

Shen Wen'an glanced at the woman sobbing over the Profound Feather Flying Eagle's body and spoke calmly.

"If life and destiny are entwined, then there's no need for the owner to live if the beast dies."

Before his words fell, the Soul-Slaying Magical Sword turned into a golden light, flying towards the brown-clad woman!

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