Going to Azure Cloud Stronghold

Xiao Mingyuan's face flushed and paled in turns. He couldn't swallow his anger and wanted to say something to save face, but then he heard Xiao Mingshu glance at him coldly and say:

"What? What else do you want to do?"

Xiao Mingyuan, used to being domineering, had never been treated like this before. Yet, in front of Shen Jingchuan, he dared not utter a single harsh word. He could only stomp his foot and utter a perfunctory remark:

"Fine, you wait!"

Ultimately, it's nothing more than trying to save face.

He turned to the group of guards and shouted sharply, "Let's go!"

After saying that, he led Xiao Mingxuan and a group of guards, and headed towards the post station in a disheveled state.

Shen Jingchuan didn't stand on ceremony with him at all, and with the intention of not wasting any time, he went up and searched the three of them one by one.

To be honest, those who can become royal retainers are all quite wealthy. Each of the three wore a Storage Ring. Even though the Rings of the two Qi Refining Third Layer cultivators were not of high grade, it was still a considerable gain.

He accepted all three Rings and looked up at Xiao Mingshu beside him.

Xiao Mingshu naturally understood the meaning in his eyes, and nodded slightly:

"Alright, you handle things here. I'm going back now, and I'll talk to you in detail later."

Shen Jingchuan responded with an "okay." Then he saw Xiao Mingshu summon her flying sword, leap onto it, and with a flash of sword light, head straight towards the Shen Residence.

He had just turned around when Lin Yue quickly approached, his face a mixture of surprise and delight, and asked:

"Brother-in-law, when did you become a celestial master?"

Shen Jingchuan chuckled at him and casually said, "Hey, it was just a coincidence that I got this fortuitous opportunity."

"Why didn't you tell us sooner?!"

You didn't ask me either.

Lin Shan, who was standing nearby, walked over with a frown, his face very serious. "You still have the mind to laugh? You've really stirred up a hornet's nest today."

Lin Weiyuan also walked over, looked at the three corpses on the ground, and said in a deep voice:

"Let's just leave the body here. It's not appropriate for us to take it back. Let's wait for the officials to come and collect it, and see what they say in the end."

Shen Jingchuan nodded:

"Okay, let's go inside and talk."

The group then turned and entered the escort agency, walking towards the main hall of the second courtyard in the back.

At this moment, the entire Zhenyuan Escort Agency was filled with unease.

From the shopkeeper and bodyguards to the servants and maids, everyone knew what had happened at the main gate.

The son-in-law killed three immortal masters from the royal palace in front of the third prince, and even forced the prince to leave after uttering some harsh words.

This is going against the royal family. If things really get serious, it's not impossible that they could confiscate their property and wipe out their entire clan. Everyone in the escort agency is on edge.

Even the young maid who brought in the tea tray trembled slightly, spilling a few drops of tea. She kept her head down, not daring to even breathe.

The four people sat in the main hall, and none of them spoke first.

Shen Jingchuan picked up his teacup, took a sip, put it down, pondered for a moment, looked up at Lin Weiyuan, and just as he spoke:

"Father-in-law, about today's matter..."

Lin Weiyuan raised his hand and waved, taking over the conversation directly:

"Alright, son-in-law, what's done is done, it's not your fault. If the authorities really bring this to justice, the three of us, father and sons, will probably not get out alive either. There's no use talking about this now, let's figure out how to clean up the mess first."

Lin Yue slapped his thigh and said nonchalantly:

"What's there to be afraid of! At worst, we'll fight them to the death, and if we die... we'll face the sky!"

Lin Weiyuan's eyes widened, and he shouted sternly, "Aren't you afraid of death? What about your family? What about our Lin Household? If the three of us really die, the Lin Household will be completely wiped out!"

Lin Yue, still stubborn, wanted to retort:

"So what if the family line ends..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lin Shan grabbed his arm and said in a deep voice:

"Second brother, how dare you speak to Father like that!"

Enraged, Lin Weiyuan raised his hand and smacked him on the back of the head, cursing, "You bastard!"

Lin Yue was hit, then hung his head and remained silent.

Shen Jingchuan paused for a moment, then spoke:

"Father-in-law, to be honest with you, this matter is unlikely to end well. No matter how you look at it, they will not let us go."

Xiao Mingxuan had already sent people to intercept and kill me. The three cultivators who died today were the ones who robbed the escort agency back then. This debt was never settled.

Now, with the interests of the carriage factory added to the mix, it's already a life-or-death situation.

Even if I swallow this insult today, they will only become more and more aggressive in the future.

But we can't just sit here and wait to die. I've come up with a plan. You take all the Lin Household family members and leave Yuxi Prefecture first. Those in the escort agency who want to come can go with us, and those who don't can be given money to leave."

Lin Weiyuan frowned and said in a deep voice:

"Leave? Where can we go? This entire Great Qian Kingdom, all under heaven belongs to the emperor, wherever we flee, it's still the court's territory?"

Shen Jingchuan smiled slightly:

"Otherwise, my father-in-law forgot about one thing."

Lin Yue suddenly raised his head, his eyes instantly lighting up:

"Jingchuan! Good brother-in-law, you're not talking about Azure Cloud Stronghold, are you?"

Shen Jingchuan smiled and gave him a thumbs up:

"Second Brother reacted faster."

Lin Weiyuan's expression changed, and he pondered for a moment before saying:

"But Azure Cloud Stronghold... the government is currently sending troops to besiege it. If we really go up the mountain, we'll be branded as rebels, and there will be no turning back."

Shen Jingchuan's tone was calm yet exceptionally firm:

"So what if we rebel? You all know the terrain of Azure Cloud Stronghold. It's a place where one man can hold off ten thousand. No matter how many Government Army come, they can't break through."

The mountain naturally has ample supplies of food and herbs. Even if it's not enough, with my cultivation abilities, I can easily transport supplies up the mountain using my Storage Ring. I can already fly on a sword, so these Government Army at the foot of the mountain are practically nothing to me."

Lin Weiyuan frowned even more deeply, and after a moment's thought, he spoke:

"But what if they become enraged and send their own immortal masters to attack the mountain stronghold?"

"Father-in-law, you are unaware of the rules governing the cultivation world."

Shen Jingchuan said slowly:

"Cultivators are not allowed to interfere in the conflicts of mortal dynasties or get involved in the entanglements between mortals."

Think back to those three cultivators. They didn't attack you mortals at first, but only after I revealed myself and showed my identity as a cultivator did they make their move. That's because the rules were there to keep things in check."

"Rules are rigid, but people are flexible."

Lin Weiyuan was still worried:

"What if we really go all out and disregard the rules? If a celestial master really comes knocking on our door, we mere mortals wouldn't stand a chance."

"If they don't follow the rules, then I don't need to hold myself back."

Shen Jingchuan spoke calmly:

"If anyone dares to use their cultivation level to interfere in worldly affairs and target us, I'll take them on."

Lin Weiyuan looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and then asked:

"That's true, but Jingchuan, what level is your cultivation among these immortal masters? If a truly powerful figure comes, can you handle it?"