Difficult

The sky finally cleared up.

The mountain leeches that covered the mountains and plains between the forest also retreated with the rainwater, burrowing into corners covered by fallen leaves in the woods, hidden pools, and the depths of tree hollows, and other damp places to lie in wait. They would only emerge from those dark corners again and move through the mountains and forests when heavy rain returned, when the world became extremely damp under the downpour.

Of course, before the next round of heavy rain arrived, no one knew how many of them would die from lack of water, or how many would be eaten by natural predators and die without a whole corpse.

But it was certain that the number would not be small.

And one thing was clearly certain:

all the creatures living in the mountains and forests would applaud the mass death of such disgusting and terrifying creatures.

At this moment, in the nameless mountain cave, Shen Rongguang emerged from the dark and damp cave where he had been holed up for a long time and came outside.

Looking at the clear sky and bright sunshine outside, he let out a long breath, as if to expel the gloomy mood of the past two months.

"Damn it, you thieving sky!"

"You rain day after day, why don't you collapse and let you rain to your heart's content!"

Shen Rongguang stared at the sky and cursed loudly.

Immediately, BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

Several blasts of Magical Power were unleashed, smashing several large trees in front of him into pieces, and shattering the ground.

He vented his anger, only stopping when he was out of breath.

"Damn it! I knew I shouldn't have come!"

"The land isn't here yet, and I haven't found what I was looking for. Instead, I've been stewing in frustration for two months!"

Having been cooped up in the cave for two months, Shen Rongguang was filled with pent-up anger.

Especially thinking about the dense mountain leeches among the grass and trees outside during the heavy rain made his skin crawl.

At the same time, when he thought of the person in his family who, simply because they were born a quarter of an hour earlier than him, could enjoy the support of the entire branch lineage and advance on the path of cultivation with ease.

He, on the other hand, could only suffer and toil, venturing out himself to obtain cultivation resources and plan his own future path of cultivation.

Shen Rongguang became even angrier.

His expression turned gloomy.

"Alright, Xiao Guang."

From behind, Shen Zhongshan and the others also emerged from the cave.

Compared to Shen Rongguang, although the expressions of the group were not good, they all showed a hint of joy upon seeing the bright sun and clear sky above.

Shen Zhongshan walked behind Shen Rongguang and patted his shoulder like a steady older brother.

"This expedition didn't go smoothly. It was my fault for not preparing for the conditions here in advance."

"Brother Shan, I..."

Shen Rongguang was anxious and wanted to explain.

However, Shen Zhongshan raised his hand and stopped him.

"I led this mission. Before coming to this desolate land, I didn't investigate information like the weather changes here. This is my responsibility."

"If it's your fault, it's your fault. No need to defend me."

Shen Zhongshan said in a steady voice.

Shen Rongguang and the others were stunned.

A warmth then bloomed in his heart, and he became even more convinced of Shen Zhongshan.

"Brother Shan, this isn't your fault. Who could have known this barren land would have such strange weather with continuous rain for two months?"

"Yeah! Especially those mountain leeches. We've encountered continuous rain for one or two months before when we were in Tiannan City. Based on our past experience, it wasn't a problem to travel in the rain, but who knew this damned place had those things everywhere in the mountains and forests?"

"This place is seven to eight thousand li from Tiannan City. Unless you're a local, outsiders simply wouldn't understand the inner workings of this damned place."

The others quickly made excuses for Shen Zhongshan, saying.

In fact, what they said wasn't entirely to excuse Shen Zhongshan, but because it was the truth.

Compared to the already developed areas near Tiannan City, this remote frontier was still in the process of evolving from a wild land into a human settlement.

Not only was the environment harsh, but information also didn't spread well.

It was said that in this frontier region, they even relied on ancient merchant caravans to travel through the mountains and forests to trade in mountain villages.

Under such circumstances, it would be difficult for outsiders to understand that a mountain leech disaster could occur here.

Thinking of this, the resentment that had accumulated from being trapped in the cave for nearly two months dissipated at this moment.

"Even so, it was ultimately my lack of foresight."

"However, this incident reminds me that the environment of this frontier is vastly different from that of the Tiannan Domain. There are still unknown intricacies. If we are to enter the mountains to search for treasure later, we must find a guide."

Shen Zhongshan said thoughtfully.

"Let's go. We need to hurry and reach Wu Family Market as soon as possible."

"I'm afraid this clear weather is just a short break. If it rains heavily again, and those mountain leeches in the forest come out, we'll be in trouble."

"Once we reach Wu Family Market, we'll find a guide as quickly as possible to understand the situation here."

Shen Zhongshan called out to everyone and they set off again.

When the others heard this, recalling the two months they were trapped in the cave, blocked by the dense mountain leeches in the surrounding forest, they couldn't help but get goosebumps and quickly followed.

"Azure Origin Water Grass has strict growth requirements, needing abundant water vein essence. I see this frontier land has had continuous heavy rain for nearly two months, and there are also many mountain leeches in the forest. It must be a place with abundant water vein essence."

"Coupled with the news of Azure Origin Water Grass appearing here twenty years ago, this is more than likely correct!"

"Once the mission is successful, we may not be able to defy fate, but at least our future path will be secured!"

"Please work a little harder, everyone!"

As they walked, Shen Zhongshan didn't forget to encourage everyone.

For a moment, even Shen Rongguang swept away his previous gloom, and the team's morale greatly increased.

Inside Great Bay Village, Shen Changchuan frowned, holding the intelligence gathered from below during this period, and fell into deep thought.

Twenty years ago, Great Bay Village was originally ruled by a small immortal sect family surnamed Hu.

The Hu Family, had also moved here over a hundred years ago, and were the founding family of Great Bay Village.

Gathering information about the Hu Family wasn't difficult.

Because even though twenty years had passed, there were still mortal martial artists in Great Bay Village who had been there since the Hu Family's era.

This was because after the "regime change" in Great Bay Village, except for some close blood relatives, the Shen Family did not eliminate everyone in Great Bay Village. Instead, they allowed them to serve the cultivators along with the mortal martial artists who migrated later, cultivating spirit fields.

This also led to confusion in the household registration management of Great Bay Village. It wasn't until Shen Changchuan arrived and implemented reforms that the household registration and population were completely clarified.

However, the problem was, twenty years had passed, the old had grown old, the dead had died, and even those who were still alive had their memories blurred due to the long time.

Furthermore, those who managed to survive meant they were not close to the Hu Family at that time.

They couldn't even get close to the core outer mortal martial artists.

Even if that group of people knew any news, It was all hearsay, and the information held no real value.

The most he learned was that the Patriarch of the Hu Family back then was named Hu Zhongming, who was said to be a Qi Gathering Seventh Level cultivator.

Beyond that, he didn't know much about the Hu Family from that era.

But none of this was useful to Shen Changchuan.

What would be useful, for example, was information related to that hidden cave in the Great Bay River.

But no one knew anything.

No one knew there was such a hidden cave at the bottom of the river.

This undoubtedly left Shen Changchuan feeling a bit helpless.

"As expected, it's not that simple."

"Forget it, immortals and mortals are different by nature, and twenty years have passed. Even if any traces were left, they would have long since vanished."

"Trying to find something from this angle is simply wishful thinking."

"So be it."

Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly, deciding to put the matter aside for now.

However, just then, A report came from outside.

Zhao Hantao of Zhao Family Village was waiting outside the village, urgently requesting an audience.