Chapter 34: Chapter 33: Grandfather Enters the Dao

"Excellent. With these resources, I’ll have enough to cultivate for quite some time!"

As Shen Changchuan finished taking stock of all his gains,

he couldn’t help but show a look of delight.

"And with this True Understanding of Magic, I can finally solve my biggest problem: a dire lack of Magic!"

The problems he had faced before

were all but solved in light of his recent haul.

Shen Changchuan was in high spirits.

His future Path of Immortal Cultivation wouldn’t be a perfectly smooth road,

but at least it wouldn’t be nearly so difficult anymore.

As for the road ahead,

Shen Changchuan already had a rough plan.

There were still about two months until the autumn harvest.

He planned to use this time—with the help of his many Spirit Stones, Spirit Pills, and Spirit Medicines—to break through to the Qi Introduction Fifth Layer as quickly as possible.

In the past,

Shen Changchuan wouldn’t have dared to entertain such a thought.

But after consuming the Cyan Essence Water Grass, which improved his physical aptitude and increased his Divine Soul Power,

and now with sufficient Cultivation Resources,

breaking through to the Qi Introduction Fifth Layer in a short period was no longer just a fantasy.

After this ordeal, Shen Changchuan felt a pressing need to increase his own strength and raise his Cultivation Realm.

Aside from raising his Cultivation Realm,

Shen Changchuan also planned to use his spare time from cultivating at the Earth Gate to learn as much Magic as possible from the True Understanding of Magic and expand his arsenal of combat techniques.

He also wanted to see if acquiring enough Traits would lead to any new developments.

Having made up his mind,

Shen Changchuan no longer wanted to linger in Zhao Family Village.

He prepared to return to Dawan Village for secluded Cultivation,

but just then,

he realized a new problem had emerged.

The issue of how to garrison Zhao Family Village!

Generally speaking,

villages with Spirit Fields were garrisoned by the forces of Cultivators.

This was essential,

because mortals, even Innate Martial Artists, were practically defenseless against a Cultivator.

Without a Cultivator standing guard,

not only would they risk Demon Beast attacks destroying the Spirit Grain around harvest time,

but the wandering Tribulation Cultivators would also certainly not pass up such an opportunity. They would invade the village and reap all the Spirit Grain from the Spirit Fields for themselves.

That would be a huge problem!

But the reality was,

Shen Changchuan had no Cultivators under his command capable of holding the fort alone!

And he didn’t know the Clone Technique,

which meant that

as soon as he returned to Dawan Village,

Zhao Family Village would be left completely unguarded!

This was, without a doubt, a massive headache for Shen Changchuan.

"This is a problem!"

Shen Changchuan let out a long sigh.

He had been so pleased about smoothly acquiring the two Spirit Fields from Zhao Family Village that he’d completely forgotten about the subsequent need to garrison and manage them.

He couldn’t possibly give up this asset.

After racking his brain,

Shen Changchuan finally came up with a makeshift solution.

He would simply have to create a Cultivator to serve under him!

And the target,

was naturally his own maternal grandfather, Han Qinhu, who was always bustling about, helping him handle all sorts of miscellaneous tasks!

So Shen Changchuan summoned Han Qinhu

and explained the situation.

Han Qinhu was stunned. He hadn’t expected Shen Changchuan to suddenly propose such a thing.

When he came to his senses, his heart began to pound in his chest.

A chance at immortality...

For a mortal, the fabled opportunity to embark on the Path of Immortal Cultivation—something one could chase for a lifetime and never grasp—was right before his very eyes!

Han Qinhu had become even more obsessed with Immortal Cultivation after a certain incident in his youth while wandering the Martial World. Now, an overwhelming feeling washed over his Heart Spirit.

Han Qinhu felt as if he were in a daze.

Back in Tian Nan City, he had resolutely sold off most of the family’s assets to follow his grandson to this Exiled Guardian’s Land.

He had once thought that by leveraging his connection to his grandson, he might have a chance to set foot on the Path of Immortal Cultivation.

But he had never imagined that this day he had dreamed of for so long would arrive so soon!

Han Qinhu’s Heart Spirit surged,

and for a moment, he was rendered speechless.

Shen Changchuan didn’t rush him,

but waited quietly for his reply.

After a long moment,

Han Qinhu took several deep breaths, finally managing to suppress his wildly turbulent Heart Spirit.

"Changchuan, I’ve thought it over carefully. I’m an old man now. Even if my Spirit Awakening and Qi Introduction were successful, these old bones wouldn’t have many years left, and my achievements would be limited. It would be a complete waste of resources."

A bitter look crossed Han Qinhu’s face as he opened his mouth, his voice hoarse.

"In that case, don’t waste this opportunity."

"Let Dayong have it. He told me that after taking the Spirit Ginseng Root you gave him, he felt like he was on the verge of a breakthrough. He had a premonition that he could successfully guide the spirit."

"It won’t be a waste on him."

In the end, reason won out, and Han Qinhu suppressed his own desire to become a Cultivator,

choosing instead to leave the opportunity to Han Dayong.

"Grandfather, don’t you worry about Uncle. I was already planning on sending his share over anyway."

As he spoke,

Shen Changchuan flipped his hand over, revealing an Elixir Jade Bottle. Inside were two smooth, thumb-sized pills.

"These two are Essence Pills, refined from Spirit Grain. They’re meant for Qi Introduction Early Stage Cultivators to consolidate their foundation, build up their reserves, and refine their Magical Power."

"If a mortal Martial Artist takes one, it can greatly increase their essence and allow them to achieve Qi Introduction."

"Grandfather, one for you and one for Uncle. It should be enough for both of you to successfully step onto the Immortal Cultivation Dao."

...

「Three days later,」

After taking the Essence Pills, both Han Qinhu and Han Dayong successfully achieved Qi Introduction, advancing to the Qi Introduction First Layer.

Afterward, Shen Changchuan gave them some guidance and shared various insights from his own Cultivation experience.

Shortly after, Shen Changchuan prepared to leave.

After all, Dawan Village’s twelve Spirit Fields were far more important than the two in Zhao Family Village.

Shen Changchuan couldn’t stay away for long.

Before he left, however, Shen Changchuan gave them the Mysterious Two Forms Array he had taken from the He Mountain Four Fierce.

This Array had already been refined into an Array Plate and Array Flags.

Even someone who knew nothing about Arrays

could successfully set it up using its foolproof design.

This way,

if any enemies invaded,

the two of them could work together

to deploy the Array.

It would be enough to hold out until Shen Changchuan could arrive from Dawan Village as reinforcements.

With the arrangements for Zhao Family Village settled,

Shen Changchuan set off on his return to Dawan Village.

Fortunately, nothing unexpected had happened in Dawan Village during his absence.

Everything was proceeding smoothly.

Shen Changchuan breathed a small sigh of relief.

After that,

he did a quick tour of the village to ensure all was in order, before handing the specific administrative tasks to the capable steward Han Qinhu had brought.

He himself then entered the Spiritual Spring Secret Chamber

to begin his seclusion

and cultivate with all his might.

This period of seclusion

lasted for two months.