Arrival at the Market
Shen Jingchuan walked to the backyard and stopped. He was thinking that he would be away from the market for a long time this time, and he wanted to spend more time with Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli before he left. But when he thought of Xiao Mingshu in the front yard, he hesitated.
He knew that Xiao Mingshu's Divine Sense could cover the backyard, and she could detect any movement there.
But then I thought, Divine Sense can only hear a sound and sense an aura, but it can't see any specific scene.
Moreover, this is a good opportunity for her to witness it once. In the future, because she cares about her reputation, she will definitely be embarrassed to use her Divine Sense to monitor me casually again. This will make it much easier for me to handle private matters such as time travel in the future.
Having figured this out, he stopped worrying and went to Bai Ruoli's room first.
An hour later, he went to Lin Qingyao's room again. Neither woman knew that Divine Sense could detect their movements; everything was as usual.
After finishing, Shen Jingchuan returned to his room and sat down to meditate. He took out two Mid-Grade Qi Nourishing Pills from his Storage Ring, swallowed them one after the other, and circulated his Cultivation Method to refine them.
After the medicinal effects dissipated, the Spiritual Qi in his Dantian became noticeably more abundant, and he felt his cultivation level steadily increase slightly, although he still didn't feel like he was about to break through to the Qi Refining Third Layer.
The next morning, Shen Jingchuan and Lin Qingyao finished washing up and walked into the restaurant hand in hand. They had just sat down when Bai Ruoli also pushed open the door and came in, sitting down next to them at the table.
Lin Qingyao didn't touch her chopsticks, but looked at Shen Jingchuan and pleaded softly, "Husband, please let me go with you. I haven't fallen behind in my martial arts these days. Although I can't compare to you anymore, I certainly won't hold you back."
Shen Jingchuan shook his head and said, "The place we're going to is quite dangerous, and it's inconvenient to take you with me. Besides, the house can't be left unattended. Ruoli the family depends on you to manage everything. If you take good care of this house for me, I can leave in peace."
Lin Qingyao pursed her lips, unwilling but knowing he was telling the truth, and finally nodded silently.
Just then, the hall door was pushed open, and Xiao Mingshu walked in with her maid Huan'er. She glared at Shen Jingchuan first, a hint of unspoken annoyance hidden in her eyes, then glanced at Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli, her expression indifferent and devoid of warmth. As a cultivator, she had never had much interaction with these two mortal women, and her expression now carried an even greater air of aloofness.
She didn't exchange pleasantries with the others, but went straight to an empty seat and sat down. Huan'er quickly stepped forward to set the table for her. The atmosphere at the dinner table immediately quieted down.
Lin Qingyao and Bai Ruoli were completely baffled by her cold expression. Shen Jingchuan, however, understood perfectly well and, far from feeling awkward, secretly felt a surge of satisfaction.
Hehehe, Barbie got what's coming to her now, didn't she? Who told you to use your Divine Sense to spy on her? You made a fool of yourself. You should be more careful in the future.
After breakfast, the group set off. Liu Hu had already harnessed Little Black and Treading Snow to the carriage and was about to take the whip to start the journey when Shen Jingchuan stopped him, instructing him to stay at the mansion and watch over the house. In the end, Huan'er rode on the carriage shaft to drive, while Shen Jingchuan climbed onto Big Black. The group left the mansion and headed straight for the north gate.
After leaving the city and heading north, Shen Jingchuan rode his horse, silently making plans in his mind.
The Huang Household and Pan Household' estates outside the city have been raided by Azure Cloud Stronghold. Right now, the Four Great Lineages are too busy taking care of themselves to have any energy left to deal with other matters. They need to deal with the mess at hand first.
Even if a large number of the Government Army were dispatched to besiege Azure Cloud Stronghold, given its terrain and current defensive equipment, no matter how many troops were sent, it would be useless.
Even if it's a long siege, we're not afraid. The grain we've seized this time is enough to feed the village for more than half a year. After considering it over, he felt there was nothing to worry about, so he relaxed and chatted with Xiao Mingshu as they walked.
On the road, he would occasionally urge Big Black to gallop forward for a while. As long as he ran a little faster, Little Black and Treading Snow, who were pulling the cart, would automatically speed up as well.
These two horses were no ordinary horses; their strength and stamina far surpassed those of ordinary horses. In addition, the carriage was equipped with a shock absorption system, making the ride both stable and comfortable.
The horseman on the carriage Huan'er held the whip, but there was no need to urge them on. The two horses only recognized Shen Jingchuan and wouldn't listen to anyone else.
She knew that Shen Jingchuan was her young lady's business partner and also a cultivator. Although his cultivation was only at the Qi Refining Second Layer, one level lower than hers, she didn't dare to be arrogant. So she let the two horses follow Shen Jingchuan's pace and didn't do anything else.
When they reached a fork in the mountain road, Shen Jingchuan noticed that although Huan'er on the carriage shaft was holding the reins, she couldn't control Little Black and Treading Snow. The two horses simply followed his rhythm at a leisurely pace.
He immediately spurred his horse to the side of the carriage and gently instructed the two horses:
"Little Black, Treading Snow, from now on you must listen to this pretty older sister. She's my friend."
The two horses neighed softly, as if they understood, and when Huan'er pointed out the way, they obediently followed.
The journey was far faster than usual, and what should have been a three-day trip was completed in just two days. As dusk approached, a mountain peak shrouded in mist appeared ahead.
Along the way, the outside world was suffering from severe drought, with crops and trees mostly withered and yellow. But the further we went towards this mountain, the greenery gradually appeared, and later, the forests became lush and verdant, a stark contrast to the drought outside.
Shen Jingchuan felt a refreshing and pleasant aura in the air, as if all the pores on his body were opening up. He knew in his heart that this was Spiritual Qi, which became stronger the closer he got.
Huan'er skillfully guided the carriage, turning left and right, into a narrow canyon. After traveling for about half an hour, two guards stood at the intersection ahead, blocking the way. Upon seeing this, Huan'er signaled the carriage to slowly stop.
The carriage slowly came to a stop. Shen Jingchuan sat on the horse's back without making a sound, secretly circulating his Spiritual Power to scan the two people at the intersection. Upon this investigation, he was suddenly shocked—the two people guarding the road were one at the Qi Refinement Fifth Layer and the other at the Qi Refining Sixth Layer.
He rarely even saw a cultivator in the outside world, let alone someone with such cultivation level. He never expected that he would only be a gatekeeper here. He thought to himself that the level of this cultivation market was probably much higher than he had anticipated.