Changes in the Grotto-Heaven

As the first rays of dawn fell upon the tent, Shen Yuan slowly awakened from his meditation, the Cloudmist Breathing Method still circulating within him.

Ever since the Cloudmist Breathing Method had first opened its door to him, Shen Yuan had grown accustomed to using it in place of sleep. Circulating the breathing method through a full cycle and sensing the rhythm of heaven and earth was far more effective than simple sleep.

Under normal circumstances, Shen Yuan only needed to meditate on the Cloudmist Breathing Method for four hours to maintain his energy for an entire day.

But yesterday had clearly been different. His cultivation time had stretched to more than twice its usual length, and only now had he fully recovered. By Shen Yuan's estimation, it was likely related to the massive expenditure of spiritual sense when he had used the Pot-Heaven Divine Ability earlier.

After stepping out of the tent, Shen Yuan began packing up the campsite in preparation for his return. He meticulously cleared away everything, from the remnants of the campfire to every trace of the campsite.

The purpose of this trip had already been achieved, so there was no need for Shen Yuan to remain in the Cloudmist Mountains.

Cultivation in the Cloudmist Mountains was indeed far faster than in the city, but Shen Yuan was not yet prepared to sever himself entirely from society and become a reclusive cultivator.

Besides, it would be fine if his leaving the tour group and entering the Cloudmist Mountains alone only lasted a short while. But if too much time passed and his family could not contact him, they might call the police, which could bring unnecessary trouble. It was better to return sooner.

Before leaving, Shen Yuan deliberately went to check on the Falling Cloud Grotto-Heaven.

Shen Yuan had used the Ascension Token to open the Falling Cloud Grotto-Heaven, allowing this sealed grotto-heaven to see the light of day once more after ten thousand years. Yet at the same time, he had shattered the balance that the grotto-heaven had maintained for ten thousand years.

The grotto-heaven's space, already on the verge of collapse, became even more unstable. Cracks in the shattered sky began spreading toward the earth. Within half a day at most, the Falling Cloud Grotto-Heaven would surely collapse completely.

Shen Yuan's goal for this trip had already been accomplished. Every written record related to cultivation, every magical artifact and treasure in the Falling Cloud Grotto-Heaven, had been erased, leaving only empty shells behind. There was no longer any meaning in exploring it.

Shen Yuan merely used the spatial power of the Pot-Heaven Divine Ability to conceal the grotto-heaven's entrance slightly before leaving directly.

Compared with the difficulty of finding the Falling Cloud Sect when he had first entered the mountains, Shen Yuan was no longer constrained in any way. Relying on physical abilities several times greater than those of an ordinary person, he reached the outskirts of the Cloudmist Mountains in just half a day.

At the outskirts, he could already see roads built by the scenic area, as well as scattered litter. From time to time, tourists following tour guides around the sights could be seen on the road.

Blending into the crowd, Shen Yuan easily returned to the scenic area and boarded a bus heading back.

Only after getting on the bus did Shen Yuan turn on the phone he had shut off for four days. A string of message notifications and missed calls made his phone ring without pause.

The overwhelming majority of those messages came from a number saved as Big Sis.

Big Sis: I heard you've gone traveling lately? Young people ought to get out and see the world more. What kind of life is staying home all day? If you're short on money, just tell me.

Big Sis: Why didn't you reply to my message yesterday? Don't tell me you're dating someone? Whose girl is she? Is she pretty?

Big Sis: I heard Myanmar has been a total mess lately, and lots of people have gone missing. Some say they were dragged off to have their organs harvested, while others say evil cultivators are practicing curse magic. Don't let anyone trick you into going there.

Big Sis: And don't go to the seaside either. I heard Yingzhou is making a huge mess with radiation pollution, breeding all sorts of bizarre creatures. Even eight-headed snakes have crawled out of nuclear power plants.

Big Sis: You brat, answer me already!

Big Sis: You didn't really go to Myanmar, did you?

During the four days he had spent in the Cloudmist Mountains, Big Sis had launched an unprecedented barrage of messages, while her calls came once every two or three hours.

Although the imagined scenario of him being taken to Myanmar to have his kidneys harvested left Shen Yuan torn between laughter and tears, the concern and anxiety in those messages still moved him deeply.

Ever since crossing over, Shen Yuan had been immersed in cultivation. For various reasons, he had lost contact with most of his former so-called friends and relatives. Even the parents he had in name paid little attention to him.

Only his biological older sister, Shen Yu, had continued caring for him and offered him considerable help in life. In half a year, even a stone could be warmed through, let alone a living, breathing person like Shen Yuan.

Given Shen Yuan's easygoing nature, one major reason he had not simply found some famous mountain or mighty river and begun cultivating in seclusion was Shen Yu.

Touching the screen with his finger, Shen Yuan sent Shen Yu his first message in four days.

"Don't worry, I'm fine."

Less than a minute after the message was sent, Shen Yuan's phone immediately began ringing. Even without looking, he knew who was calling.

The moment he pressed the answer button, an irritable, furious voice came from the other end of the line.

"Where the hell have you been these past few days?"

Feeling Shen Yu's anger, Shen Yuan moved the phone slightly away from his ear and spouted nonsense with a perfectly straight face.

"I was having some fun in the mountains these past few days. I'm already on my way back to my rental now, so don't worry. Also, my phone's almost out of battery. I'm hanging up first."

Without waiting for Shen Yu to respond, Shen Yuan immediately ended the call and skillfully added Shen Yu to his phone blacklist.

He knew perfectly well that if Shen Yu got started, she would not stop for three hours. It was better to wait until she calmed down before continuing the conversation.

Looking at the constantly flashing message history on his phone, along with a long string of furious cat stickers, a faint curve lifted at the corner of Shen Yuan's lips.

Just as Shen Yuan was teasing his sister, the changes in the Cloudmist Mountains finally began to ferment.

Not long after Shen Yuan left, the Southern Pacification Army sealed off the many entrances leading into the depths of the Cloudmist Mountains.

As for the scenic area around the outskirts of the Cloudmist Mountains, it had already been shut down. After receiving compensation, all tourists were orderly evacuated to a neighboring city.

Near the entrance to the Cloudmist Mountains, engineering troops began working with construction machinery to set up a command center.

Half an hour later, a helicopter slowly landed on the newly cleared helipad. A dignified middle-aged man in luxurious robes stepped down from the helicopter and entered the Southern Pacification Army's command center.

Behind him followed an elderly Daoist clad in a blue Daoist robe and holding a whisk, bearing the air of an immortal.

This imposing middle-aged man was the Marquis of Southern Pacification, who oversaw the lands of three provinces. The Cloudmist Mountains lay within his territory.

As early as yesterday, star watchers at the Imperial Astronomical Bureau in the imperial capital had discerned that a grotto-heaven had opened within Great Xia. But because the incident had occurred so suddenly, they had failed to pinpoint its exact location despite exhausting every means.

It was not until this morning, when the closing of the grotto-heaven once again triggered celestial phenomena, that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau used Ziwei divination to finally determine that this grotto-heaven was located within the Cloudmist Mountains.

The instant he learned of this, the Marquis of Southern Pacification sealed off the Cloudmist Mountains and invited Star-Seizing Daoist, the chief consecrated cultivator of the marquis's residence, to the mountains to confirm the grotto-heaven's precise location.

The sealing of the Cloudmist Mountains' entrances appeared grand and imposing, but the Marquis of Southern Pacification knew very well that this was only the beginning.

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