Chapter 444 - 442: News

Chapter 444: Chapter 442: News

"Elder Gu? For you to visit personally, you honor this junior far too much! Please, come in!"

As Shen Changchuan emerged from his cave residence, his eyes widened in surprise at the sight of his visitor. He quickly invited him inside.

The visitor...

...was none other than the Grand Elder of the Ancient Sword Sect, Gu Xuanqing!

Several years ago, when the man had been the Deputy City Lord of Barbaric City, Shen Changchuan had naturally crossed paths with him.

This was especially true during his three-year secluded Cultivation, as Gu Xuanqing was the one who had delivered the Cultivation Resources awarded by the great Tian Nan Domain Immortal Cultivation Forces.

Shen Changchuan had spoken with him on many occasions.

"I hardly deserve such respect!"

"As the saying goes, the accomplished one leads the way. In your presence, I wouldn’t dare claim the title of ’elder’."

"It’s been a while. I imagine your strength has already surpassed my own by now!"

"We should address each other as peers. ’Fellow Daoist’ will suffice."

Gu Xuanqing said with a hearty laugh.

He didn’t pull rank or act his age; instead, he carried himself with an easygoing grace.

"Five or six years ago, when the Alliance officially intervened in the Nanyue Territory, I faced that Corpse Refining Sect Leader, Qiu Kunsheng, in our first clash with the Demonic Alliance in the Black Mountain Forest."

"It’s rather shameful to admit, but at the time, it took me and two other Fellow Daoists of the same Realm joining forces to barely suppress him."

"Later, that fellow used a Secret Technique of the Corpse Refining Sect and unleashed power no less than the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer, easily crushing our combined efforts... Thankfully, another junior brother from my sect, also at the Soul Emergence Ninth Layer, intervened. Otherwise, we would have perished on the spot."

"Such a formidable enemy, who also mastered such a powerful Secret Technique... I thought that unless the top experts at the Soul Emergence Peak took action, no one could do anything to him... I never imagined that the next time I heard news of him, it would be of his death at your hands!"

As he spoke, Gu Xuanqing looked at Shen Changchuan, his eyes filled with profound emotion.

Precisely because he had fought Qiu Kunsheng himself, he understood better than anyone the sheer weight of the rumors circulating outside—that Shen Changchuan, having just reached the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer, had slain such a foe!

To be honest, when he first heard the news, Gu Xuanqing had assumed it was just a baseless rumor.

But as the news spread like wildfire and details of the battle began to emerge, it was eventually confirmed by the Shen Family’s Third Elder, Shen Yingxia, to be true.

Even if he found it incredible, he had no choice but to accept it as fact.

At this thought, Gu Xuanqing’s gaze upon Shen Changchuan was once again filled with profound emotion.

He was well aware of Shen Changchuan’s genius.

Three years ago, right after advancing to the Soul Emergence Fourth Layer, he had slain the infamous Shadow.

Back then, Gu Xuanqing was still the Deputy City Lord of Barbaric City, so he had practically witnessed it firsthand.

He had known for a long time that this young man would one day be the foremost figure shaking the foundations of the Tian Nan Domain.

His future achievements would be limitless!

But that was something for at least ten, or even twenty, years in the future.

But Gu Xuanqing never imagined Shen Changchuan could be such a Demon!

An enemy he had once found so formidable was now so easily cut down!

In the blink of an eye, a junior not yet thirty years old had surpassed him.

It was, frankly, a little hard to swallow.

"Elder, you praise me too much. The Qiu Kunsheng you faced back then was in his prime. Not only was his Cultivation formidable, but he also controlled a Silver Armored Corpse of the same level. Their minds were linked, they coordinated perfectly, and ordinary people naturally could not resist them."

"The reason this junior was able to kill Qiu Kunsheng was because his Silver Armored Corpse had been destroyed beforehand, crippling half of his combat strength."

"Otherwise, this junior would never have dared to face him in a direct confrontation."

"So, the story of my victory is greatly exaggerated."

Shen Changchuan shook his head and said.

At this moment, he couldn’t help but feel a little worried.

The news about Golden Wind Valley was currently spreading like wildfire. In particular, the tale of him reaching the Soul Emergence Seventh Layer and immediately killing Corpse Refining Sect Leader Qiu Kunsheng had caused a massive sensation in both the Tian Nan Domain and the Nanyue Kingdom, and it was quickly spreading to other domains.

The problem was that only part of the story was circulating. Most people were fixated on his victory, so very few knew that the Qiu Kunsheng he had slain had already been crippled, his combat strength reduced by half!

This made Shen Changchuan feel slightly uneasy.

’If the Demon Dao decided to come after me, they’d use a full-strength Qiu Kunsheng as the benchmark. If they sent a force massive enough for that to lay siege to me...’

’...wouldn’t I be trapped in a hopeless situation?’

’Oh, right.’

’I still have that life-saving trump card my master gave me.’

’Never mind then...’

Shen Changchuan suddenly remembered he had powerful backing and an ace up his sleeve, which calmed his nerves slightly.

’Still, it’s a bit unsettling.’

’Playing the pig to eat the tiger might be a cliché...’

’...but in this treacherous Immortal Cultivation Realm, it’s undoubtedly my best option right now.’

’I have to get stronger, faster!’

"Not at all, not at all. Even without his Lifebound Silver Armored Corpse, that Qiu Kunsheng was still incredibly formidable!"

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Gu Xuanqing accepted Shen Changchuan’s invitation and entered the cave residence.

He then got straight to the point and explained the reason for his visit.

The Flying Heaven-Splitting Spirit Ant.

That was the reason for Gu Xuanqing’s visit.

Not long ago, while leading the Disciples of the Ancient Sword Sect in an assault on a secretive Demon Dao family, Gu Xuanqing had encountered them. They had suffered heavy losses as a result.

Upon returning to Broken Soul City to regroup, he learned that Shen Changchuan was issuing a task to find these creatures, which prompted his visit.

What Gu Xuanqing said made Shen Changchuan’s eyes light up.

...

Half a day later, Gu Xuanqing bid farewell to Shen Changchuan and left the cave residence.

After seeing his guest off, Shen Changchuan fell into a pensive mood, reflecting on his current situation.

The Nanyue Territory was vast.

It was so vast that the northern region of the Nanyue Kingdom currently occupied by the alliance of various Tian Nan Domain forces was merely one-twentieth of its total area.

But even so, the straight-line distance from Barbaric City to Broken Soul City was already forty to fifty thousand li!

For perspective, the largest continental landmass in his previous life was only about twenty thousand li from east to west at its widest point.

In such a vast territory, the million Cultivators gathered by the Tian Nan Domain’s alliance seemed utterly insignificant!

If they were scattered, it would be no different than sprinkling a handful of sesame seeds on a beach.

Therefore, aside from the major, important cities, large underground Spirit Vein Nodes, Spirit Stone Veins, and other valuable resource points that were heavily guarded, the rest was a vast, largely unexplored "Barbaric Land."

It was like a map where only a few key locations were illuminated like scattered stars.

The rest was shrouded in fog and darkness.