Another Trip to the Capital
Shen Jingchuan slowly opened his eyes, stood up from the futon, and stretched.
He calmed himself down and sensed it for a moment, then expanded his Divine Sense outward by another circle, about 140 zhang, which turned down to nearly 470 meters.
His internal Spiritual Power was thick and dense, even stronger than when he was at the eighth level. He was just one step away from the Qi Refining Great Perfection.
Shen Jingchuan slowly exhaled a breath of stale air, his heart finally settling down. He had finally broken through another level.
A few days ago, Bai Ruoli had already taken the lead and stepped into the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, and he had been holding back a lot of ambition ever since.
The talent of Heaven Spirit Root is truly remarkable; his cultivation progresses by leaps and bounds. If he doesn't break through today, she'll have to catch up.
Judging by this momentum, she might catch up with or even surpass herself this year. Her talent is undeniable.
Lin Qingyao, Yue'er, Qingshu, and Qinghua have all steadily broken through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer.
With abundant Spiritual Qi and a plentiful supply of pills in their Ring space, and since they were practicing Heaven-Grade Cultivation Method, their progress was naturally faster than the last.
As for Xian'er, her soul body, nourished by Spiritual Qi day and night, became increasingly solid, and she was beginning to resemble True Person.
He figured he should go to the market. First, to replenish his Cultivation Resources, and second, and more importantly, to see Xiao Mingshu. He hadn't seen her for quite some time and wondered how she was doing.
Yan Shuyao's wedding date has been set for September 10th this year. It's only the end of March now, so there's still plenty of time.
He first went to his father-in-law's place and chatted with him for a while.
Lin Weiyuan told him with a smile, "You don't know yet, do you? We've taken Chang'an."
Shen Jingchuan was taken aback. "Oh? So fast? Chang'an City well-trained soldiers, ample supplies, and thick walls; is it really that easy to take?"
Lin Weiyuan waved his hand. "It's no trouble at all. They reported to me that they aimed your machine gun at the city gate and fired a burst, and that thick gate was shattered."
The vanguard battalion followed closely behind and charged in. From the start of the battle to the capture, it took less than a day; the entire city was now in their hands.
Speaking of this, Lin Weiyuan gritted his teeth, his face full of hatred.
"When the Rebel Army entered the city, Prince Jing personally killed several of his own consorts before committing suicide, which benefited that old man."
"That old bastard usually acts all high and mighty, always spouting self-importance and refined nonsense, but his mind is full of people's ill-gotten gains. He's probably forced countless families to sell their children."
"His royal residence controls 60% of the land in the entire Chang'an Prefecture, and even our Yuxi Prefecture has some of his land."
"The grain alone is enough to feed these five prefectures in the north for three months."
Shen Jingchuan was astonished upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "With so many, I can save myself a few trips in the future."
Lin Weiyuan added that the Rebel Army was now ready and was about to march to the Capital.
Shen Jingchuan asked, "Have they already set off?"
"It should be about right."
He calculated in his mind that even if there were no battles along the way, it would still take about twenty days to march from Chang'an to the capital.
At this, Shen Jingchuan's heart clenched.
My master and fiancée Yan Shuyao are both in the capital, as are my good brother Xu Mo and his family. If the enemy were to besiege the city and the flames of war were to spread, what would we do?
He thought for a moment and said, "Father-in-law, I plan to go to the Capital. My master and a friend are there, and I'm worried about them being caught in the war. I'd like to bring them here to stay."
Lin Weiyuan nodded and said, "Of course, you should go quickly. I estimate the Rebel Army will reach us in about a month."
"Okay, you rest, I'll be on my way."
Once outside, he summoned Little Black, climbed onto his back, and headed straight for the Capital.
Along the way, traces of war can still be seen, but people are already busy with spring plowing in the fields. A spring rain had just fallen a few days ago, so this year's harvest should be good.
Wherever the Rebel Army went, they were busy distributing land and organizing the local area, and he did not see a single starving person along the way.
In the afternoon, they arrived in the capital.
He wanted to quietly take the two families away without making a fuss, so he landed outside the city, put away Little Black, and used a little disguise to change his appearance before entering the city.
First, find your master's house and knock on the door.
The doorman, seeing that he was a stranger, didn't recognize him and reached out to stop him.
Shen Jingchuan leaned closer and whispered, "I've come to pay my respects to my master."
He took off his hat and used a Cleaning Technique to wash away the disguise on his face.
The doorman stared intently, both surprised and delighted. He was about to shout when he hurriedly covered his mouth, looked around, and lowered his voice. "So it's you who's back! Please come in, please come in!"
Quickly open the door wide and welcome him in.
Upon entering the courtyard, the gatekeeper quickly summoned a servant and told him to announce that Young Master Shen had arrived.
The servant responded and ran off in a flash.
As Shen Jingchuan approached the gate of the second courtyard, he heard light footsteps coming from inside.
Yan Shuyao quickly came out to greet him. Seeing him, a blush rose to her cheeks, and she smiled shyly, "Junior Brother, you've finally arrived! Father is waiting for you in the hall."
Shen Jingchuan looked at her, his heart warmed, and called out, "Senior Sister."
The wedding is this autumn, and the girl in front of me will be marrying into the family in a few days. Her eyebrows and eyes are filled with the shyness and joy of being ready to be married.
Yan Shuyao led him into the central hall.
Upon seeing him enter, Yan Chongli immediately stood up and said with a smile, "Jingchuan, you're here."
Yan Shuyao personally poured him tea, offering it with both hands, and then obediently stepped back to stand behind her father.
Yan Chongli looked at him and said, "Jingchuan, I've heard the fighting in the north is fierce. I just received news that Chang'an Prefecture has already fallen."
"The Rebel Army might be heading straight for our Capital. It's so chaotic outside; why did you have to come here at this dangerous time?"
Yan Shuyao, standing to the side, couldn't help but say, "Father, don't worry. Your precious disciple is now practically untouchable in the entire Great Qian."
"I can't even see through his cultivation level now, Junior Brother, it seems you've made progress again?"
Shen Jingchuan smiled slightly and nodded.
Yan Shuyao pressed further. "So, what is your current cultivation level?"
"Qi Refining Ninth Layer."
Yan Shuyao gasped, her eyes widening. "Nine floors? That's an incredibly fast increase!"
Shen Jingchuan glanced at her and said, "You've also leveled up."
Yan Shuyao is now at the Qi Refining Third Layer. She pouted and said, "How can I compare to you? I only managed to advance one level by relying on the pills and Spirit Stones you gave me and enduring so much hardship. Do you know how many years I was stuck at the Qi Refining Second Layer?"