Unlimited priesthood

Chapter 135 Avoiding Disaster
Fifteen years have passed, and Red Maple Valley Market remains as bustling as ever.

Shen He strolled around and observed that the passersby seemed to be in a hurry, which was clearly unusual.

"What's going on?"

"The prices of pills, talismans, magical artifacts, and all kinds of items have increased significantly."

"The pedestrians also seem to be in a hurry. Could something major have happened that even Red Maple Valley cannot live in peace?"

Shen He frowned, turned around, and arrived at Zuihonglou again.

What would you like to order, sir?

A woman arrived, still pleasing to the eye.

Shen He cut to the chase: "I need to find out some information."

"Please upstairs!"

The woman smiled and led him upstairs: "What information would you like to inquire about, sir?"

Shen He didn't waste any words: "Recently, prices in the market have been rising sharply. What is the reason for this?"

The woman seemed to have anticipated this, and answered directly: "It was caused by the great battle between the four sects!"

"A war between the four sects?"

Shen He frowned: "How so?"

The woman said in a deep voice, "There are five major Core Formation sects in this inland area, divided into the righteous and the demonic paths. The righteous path consists of the Xuanxiao Sect and the Yunlong Sect, while the demonic path consists of the Youming Sect and the Huangquan Valley. The remaining Wanshou Mountain is neutral, staying out of the matter and not helping either side."

"Fifteen years ago, within the territory of Liang Kingdom, a beam of spiritual light shot into the sky from the Hidden Sword Mountain, a Foundation Establishment power. It turned out that an ancient cultivator's cave had appeared, and it was said that there were great treasures inside."

"Upon receiving the news, the Netherworld Sect's Yellow Spring Valley took the lead in besieging Hidden Sword Mountain. The Xuanxiao Sect's Cloud Dragon Sect also arrived upon hearing the news. The righteous and demonic paths fought a great battle at Hidden Sword Mountain, which eventually even drew out the Core Formation Ancestor."

"The four sects of righteousness and evil were locked in a stalemate. In the end, the patriarch of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain also descended with the Core Formation spirit beast, the Fiery-Eyed Suanni, which prompted the righteous and evil sects to stop fighting. The five sects then jointly explored the ancient cultivator's cave."

"But for some unknown reason, the patriarch of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain died in the end, and the mountain-guarding spirit beast, the Fire-Eyed Suanni, also failed to escape. Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain lost two major Core Formation warriors at once."

"Afterwards, both the righteous and demonic factions accused each other of assassinating the patriarch of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain and robbing the treasures in the ancient cultivator's cave. Now, they have even moved the battlefield from Hidden Sword Mountain to Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, with the righteous and demonic factions and four sects facing off!"

The woman's words revealed astonishing news.

Shen He frowned deeply, but remained silent for a long time.

Five sects of Core Formation, two paths: righteous and demonic.

Hidden Sword Mountain, an ancient cultivation cave.

Mount Wanshou, home to the fiery-eyed Suanni.

This smells like a conspiracy.

Shen He remained silent, but the woman continued, "There are many rumors circulating in the cultivation world now. Many people believe that this Hidden Sword Mountain cave is actually a scheme set up by the four major sects of righteousness and demonism to eliminate Ten Thousand Beast Mountain."

"Mount Ten Thousand Beasts is good at raising spirit beasts, and the lifespan of spirit beasts far exceeds that of cultivators. Based on this, Mount Ten Thousand Beasts has accumulated its foundation and cultivated two Core Formation spirit beasts. In addition, there is the Old Ancestor of Mount Ten Thousand Beasts, who is also a Core Formation cultivator, making a total of three Core Formation combat forces."

"With these three Core Formation warriors, the Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain holds a superior position. It maintains neutrality among the four sects of righteousness and demonism, making the four sects of righteousness and demonism hesitant to fight or kill each other excessively."

"But the four sects of righteous and demonic factions are unwilling to tolerate Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain forever, so they set up the Hidden Sword Killing Scheme. The four sects joined forces to kill the Ancestor of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain and the Fiery-Eyed Suanni. Now they have moved the battlefield of righteous and demonic factions to Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain."

"Many people speculate that after this battle, not only will Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain become history, but the pattern of the Five Sects and Three Kingdoms will also change. One side will inevitably win the war between good and evil, and finally unify the cultivation world in the interior."

"Now the Core Formation Ancestors of the four sects, as well as Foundation Establishment cultivators and even elite disciples in the Qi Refining realm, have all gathered at Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, and a world-shaking battle is about to break out."

"Without the suppression of the four sects, all sorts of evil cultivators have emerged, wreaking havoc in the markets run by the major Foundation Establishment forces, robbing and killing cultivators, seizing spiritual items, and becoming extremely arrogant!"

"They obviously know that if the war between good and evil ends and one side wins and unifies the cultivation world in the interior, their lives will be difficult. So they are all thinking of taking this opportunity to make one last fortune."

"As a result, the atmosphere became tense and everyone was on edge. Coupled with some merchants hoarding goods and speculating, prices in the major markets naturally soared."

The woman's words thoroughly explained the reason.

Upon hearing this, Shen He didn't say much: "How much?"

The woman smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind offer of fifty low-grade spirit stones!"

Shen He took out fifty spirit stones, then got up and left.

Leaving the Drunken Red Mansion, instead of panic-buying in the market, they changed their appearance again, reverted to their identity as "Zhongshan," and arrived at the Red Maple Valley Inn.

"What would you like to order, sir?"

At this moment, many cultivators have gathered at the Red Maple Valley Inn, all scrambling to buy up cave dwellings in the market.

A storm is brewing, and everyone is on edge!
With the great battle between the righteous and the demonic forces at hand, the four sects are too preoccupied to attend to the situation. Various evil cultivators are running rampant, making the area outside the market extremely dangerous. As a result, the scattered cultivators can only try their best to avoid disaster and are scrambling to buy cave dwellings within the market to take shelter.

But Shen He had no such idea; in fact, he did the opposite.

“I am Zhong Shan, the tenant of Dingbashiqitian, and I want to terminate my lease.”

"Cancel the lease?"

The waiter glanced at him and said, "Sir, these are extraordinary times. Everyone is scrambling to rent cave dwellings, and even shacks and fields are in high demand. Canceling your rent now could result in significant losses."

He's a kind-hearted person. But Shen He was very firm: "I'm going to terminate the lease."

"OK then."

Seeing that he insisted on returning the item, the shop assistant shook his head and then completed the formalities.

The lease was terminated soon after.

Shen He left the market without stopping and rushed back to his thatched cottage.

Night had fallen, and the Yang family in the distance had set up a mourning hall. Yang Qi's friends and neighbors, all martial arts practitioners, were there, cultivating their relationship with Yang Yun, the future cultivator.

Shen He didn't join in the fun. Instead, he quietly went to the spirit field and activated the spirit-gathering array he had set up earlier. He channeled the spiritual energy of the ten acres of spirit field underground to prevent the spirit farmers who came later from discovering that the place was full of spiritual energy after he left.

He had anticipated this, so a few years ago he specifically downloaded a spirit-gathering formation from the human empire and devoted a great deal of energy to studying it.

This is no ordinary spirit-gathering formation, but a spirit-gathering and vein-nourishing formation, belonging to the art of geomancy, capable of gathering spiritual energy to nourish the earth's veins.

This method of gathering spiritual energy is extremely domineering. If used normally, it will definitely be detected. However, when combined with his ability to cultivate in seclusion, he can do so silently and secretly nurture the earth's veins.

In this way, even if he leaves, subsequent spirit farmers will not discover the abnormality of this spirit field unless he goes deep underground and digs out the earth veins where Shenhe gathers and nurtures spirits.

Given the influence and alteration that a secluded place can have on people's perceptions, such a thing is almost impossible, and he can leave safely.

After activating the formation, Shen He returned to his thatched hut and packed some of his usual belongings.

At this moment...

"Uncle Zhong! Uncle Zhong!"

Then there was another knock on the door, and Yang Yun's voice came through.

Shen He frowned, opened the door and saw Yang Yun, dressed in mourning clothes, standing outside. Yang Yun looked somewhat excited: "I just received news that the underground dam of Red Maple Valley has developed a hole, and a large number of spirit fish have escaped from it and flowed into the Red Maple Spirit Stream or the Panlong River. It's a great opportunity to make a fortune."

"A spirit fish?"

Shen He looked at him in surprise: "Even if some spirit fish escaped, wouldn't Red Maple Valley seal off the Spirit Stream?"

"They can seal off the Spirit Stream within Red Maple Valley, but how will they seal off the Panlong River outside Red Maple Valley?"

Yang Yun said excitedly, "My father said you're a skilled fisherman and farmer, why not take this opportunity to make a fortune? The path of cultivation is so difficult, without the support of spirit stones..."

"The human heart is not enough for a snake to swallow an elephant."

Shen He shook his head: "What you want to know, others want to know too. There are definitely cultivators outside the valley eyeing us covetously. Now, there is an even greater calamity to come. I want to leave the cultivation world and go to the human world to hide. Can I take you with me? Will you come with me?"

"This……"

Yang Yun was stunned, his expression one of astonishment. It took him a while to recover his senses: "Uncle Zhong, I've just inherited the family business. My father hopes I will cultivate immortality and not leave the valley unless necessary, let alone go to the mortal realm. The spiritual energy in the mortal world is thin, and it can even cause one's cultivation to regress. I..."

"Since that's the case, then you should take care of yourself. Don't leave the valley easily, and don't trust others too readily. I'm off!"

Shen He interrupted him and then left without offering any further advice.

In fact, he didn't have much of a relationship with Yang Qi. In fact, Yang Qi had even coveted him in the past. His final act of "a dying man speaks good words" might have been somewhat of a performance.

He agreed to Yang Qi's request for two reasons: first, to maintain the "Zhongshan" persona, and second, out of consideration for Yang Yun's long-standing relationship with him as "uncle" for over a decade.

Now that he's given the opportunity, if Yang Yun is unwilling to seize it, then he won't force him.

Everyone has his own destiny!

"Uncle Zhong!"

Watching Shen He's departing figure, Yang Yun stood there, feeling a sense of loss, as if he had missed something.

But he quickly suppressed this strange thought, and his expression became resolute. He murmured, "The mortal world is filthy, and the mortal realm is like poison. How can there be any chance of immortality? Uncle Zhong, if you are so timid and cowardly, I'm afraid you will die with regrets like my father."

"The path of cultivation requires defying the heavens!"

Having said that, he turned and left, with an air of resolute determination.

……

Shen He left Red Maple Valley, concealing his presence and disappearing quietly, without encountering any dramatic or ambush.

This is to be expected. Although he hasn't left Red Maple Valley for fifteen years, and everyone knows he is extremely wealthy, no one has been tempted to kill him because of the effects of his secluded cultivation. In fact, not many people even pay attention to him.

Even if someone is watching him, with his current strength and ability to hide, he can leave silently.

Once you leave Red Maple Valley, you are no longer in the cultivation world. The spiritual energy becomes extremely thin, making it difficult to breathe. Cultivation becomes not only less efficient, but it's also possible that the energy absorbed will be less than what is consumed.

Therefore, it's no wonder that cultivators dislike the mortal world. Staying in the mortal realm for too long can indeed cause their cultivation to regress and even lower the level of their spiritual roots.

Very scary!
But for Shen He, it was none of a concern.

Because of his immense wealth, with hundreds of thousands of kilograms of white spirit rice, spirit stones, spirit pills, spirit wine, and spirit meat in his storage bag, he could stay in the mortal realm for hundreds of years without fear.

Riding a magical artifact, Shen He flew out of the Ten Thousand Mountains and headed straight for his lair without stopping.

Dongting Lake, he's back!

(End of this chapter)