Eternal Life from the Golden Needle Technique

Chapter 135: Chapter 132: Setting Out

During the celebratory banquet,

Shen Changchuan also learned a piece of news from Shopkeeper Qian Xiaochang of Duobao Tower.

After word spread that he had set a trap to kill the Blood Slaughter Three Demons and hung their bodies at the village entrance, some Cultivators who shared a deep-seated, bloody feud with the Blood Slaughter Flash Demon had heard the news and were now on their way.

Among them was the Qi Introduction Eighth Layer Cultivator who had once faced the Blood Slaughter Three Demons head-on, only to be wounded and forced to retreat, his path forward in cultivation severed.

Of course,

these people weren’t coming to cause trouble for him, Shen Changchuan.

They were coming to see the fate of the Blood Slaughter Three Demons.

They might even take out their anger on the three corpses.

Regarding this news,

Shen Changchuan was a little surprised,

but he didn’t pay it too much mind.

As long as they weren’t here to cause him trouble, everything would be fine.

But then again,

’Could I use this opportunity to recruit some Cultivators for the village?’

But after a moment’s thought, Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly.

Cultivators...

’How could they so easily submit to serving another?’

’Even if they were to pledge allegiance, they would surely seek out someone who could provide them with Cultivation Resources.’

’Forget it,’

’I shouldn’t overthink this.’

More people arriving would mean more foot traffic. This would further spread the reputation of the commercial district in the east of the village, allowing people from the surrounding areas to come and trade. That would be enough.

So, he put the thought out of his mind.

The banquet that night

was a joyous occasion for all the guests.

After the banquet ended,

Shen Changchuan returned to his previous routine of feeding Xiaofeng and practicing Magic in his spare time.

After many days of meticulous care,

especially being fed a large amount of Discarded Elixirs, Xiaofeng had gradually recovered its Primordial Qi.

When Shen Changchuan used the Beast Taming Secret Technique to control it and have it carry him into the sky,

it was now able to fly back and forth high in the air for more than half an hour.

However, Shen Changchuan could clearly feel

that Xiaofeng had not yet fully replenished its Primordial Qi; it was still somewhat ”weak.”

Flying continuously for half an hour while carrying a person was pretty much its limit.

’This won’t do.’

He wasn’t in a hurry anyway.

Shen Changchuan decided to just raise Xiaofeng for a while longer and let it completely replenish its Primordial Qi.

Besides, this period of time was also perfect for him to cultivate his Transformation Technique to the point of Perfection.

Then he could create another identity to operate under.

And so, Shen Changchuan once again fell silent, immersing himself in his tasks.

Time passed day by day as he dedicated himself to his Cultivation.

In the blink of an eye, another seven or eight days passed.

During this time,

the planting in Dawan Village’s Spirit Fields was completed.

Although Shen Changchuan was making a fortune from the commercial district in the east of the village, he never forgot the foundation upon which Dawan Village stood.

He had been keeping a close eye on the planting of the Spirit Fields all along.

Seed selection, seedling cultivation, deep plowing, transplanting, fertilizing...

Each step in the process

was an improvement based on the experience gained from planting the Spirit Fields the previous year.

Last year’s Spirit Grain planting, which had included experimental control groups, had led to improved cultivation methods that undoubtedly took the yield to a whole new level.

Therefore, this year, he simply implemented the experienced methods across the board, no longer setting aside a portion as experimental plots.

One could imagine that,

come summertime,

they would surely have a bountiful harvest.

But even so,

even with a full harvest from the twelve acres of Spirit Fields in the village,

the profit from the harvested Spirit Grain would only be between one and two hundred Spirit Stones.

Such an income,

from the perspective of Shen Shiyin’s family—that is, the previous Defender of Dawan Village—would naturally be considered an excellent enterprise.

But for the current Shen Changchuan,

it seemed rather insignificant.

After all, if he just went out and killed a Sixth or Seventh Layer Tribulation Cultivator, the Spirit Stones in their Storage Bag would amount to at least a few hundred.

In comparison,

the income from toiling away in the fields was truly pitifully meager.

It was indeed meager.

Even looking at it from the perspective of a top-level income of two hundred Spirit Stones a year,

he would have to work for fifteen years, not spending a single stone, just to save up that much.

Fifteen years of hard work couldn’t compare to a single rental payment.

But Shen Changchuan didn’t place all his hopes on commerce and abandon the cultivation of the Spirit Fields.

Because this commercial opportunity was not permanent.

Once the overall situation stabilized,

once the tide receded,

and the large number of Cultivators left,

and the Wu Family Collection reopened,

Dawan Village would lose its commercial foundation. At that point, forget three thousand Spirit Stones; he’d be lucky if someone was willing to pay even three.

Moreover, such a huge income,

if it became known,

especially by the people of the Shen Clan,

would definitely stir up a great deal of trouble.

During the banquet, Shen Changchuan had already taken the opportunity to make a pact with the shopkeepers from the major merchant associations to keep the rent secret. The associations understood that if the rent were exposed, it would attract competitors and destabilize the village, which would not be in their best interest, so they had readily agreed.

But Shen Changchuan had no intention of pinning all his hopes on others.

’Always have to keep an ace up your sleeve.’

Continuously improving the techniques for planting the Spirit Fields was his ace in the hole.

....

「Three more days passed.」

In these three days, Shen Changchuan confirmed that Xiaofeng’s condition had returned to its peak.

By this time, his Transformation Technique had also been cultivated to Perfection for many days.

Having waited for so long,

he decided not to delay any further.

He set out immediately.

Shen Changchuan told no one about this trip.

Not even his maternal grandfather, Han Qinhu.

It would take two days at most,

or as little as a day and a night.

There was no need.

Xiaofeng leaped up from the Back Mountain,

swiftly soaring into the high sky until it became a barely visible black dot.

The watchtowers high up in the village also spotted this.

But they had no reaction.

They knew

it was the Flying Demon Beast that the Immortal Master had brought under his control through some means.

They had seen it many times over the past month.

No one knew

that Shen Changchuan, standing on the back of the Gale Falcon whose wingspan stretched to nearly three zhang, had quietly left Dawan Village.

High in the sky,

the air currents rushed past on both sides.

If an ordinary person were here, even a mortal who had practiced Martial Arts would likely struggle to stand firm. The slightest carelessness could send them plummeting from the sky.

But Shen Changchuan’s figure was as steady as a mountain, completely motionless.

Even his clothes barely stirred.

His gaze shifted downward.

Beneath him, Dawan Village shrank rapidly until it was the size of a soybean,

surrounded by a continuous, seemingly endless ocean of green.

Lifting his eyes to the horizon,

he could faintly make out the scattered dots of a few distant villages.

But they were all separated by the vast green sea, isolated from one another like lonely islands scattered across an ocean.

This was the Border Desolate Land—

a place where the population was almost non-existent,

a savage territory where outsiders had rarely ever set foot!

Shen Changchuan withdrew his gaze.

Looking out over the vast world,

he felt a sense of boundless freedom and couldn’t help but let out a long breath.