It was already late autumn.

The weather had started to grow chilly.

In the mornings, one could even see white frost on the withered wild grass.

Amidst the mountains and forests,

the lush leaves of many trees had turned a withered yellow. A gust of wind would send them rustling down, blanketing the ground.

Several days had passed since Shen Changchuan returned to Dawan Village.

During his absence,

nothing unexpected had happened in Dawan Village; all was well.

His worst-case scenario had not come to pass,

and Shen Changchuan breathed a sigh of relief.

In the few days he had been back resting, he also took the opportunity to cultivate his Breath Concealment Technique to the 100% Perfection Level.

This wasn’t because his natural talent and Comprehension were superhuman,

allowing him to cultivate the Breath Concealment Technique to Perfection in just a few days.

Rather, it was the result of his efforts a month ago, during his journey into the mountains to find the cave estate ruins.

When he first set out following the map, he was constantly attacked by all sorts of snakes, insects, rats, ants, and even wild beasts and Demon Beasts.

Even with the Spiritual Eye Technique for early detection and avoidance, the constant harassment never ceased.

At the time, he guessed the incessant trouble was because he hadn’t concealed his aura at all. To the various animals and Demon Beasts, he stood out in the mountains as plainly as a louse on a bald man’s head.

So, Shen Changchuan had pulled out the *True Understanding of Magic* compiled by the He Mountain Four Fierce from his Storage Bag and learned a Magic Skill from it called the Breath Concealment Technique.

He then employed this Technique while traveling to conceal his breath as much as possible.

Events unfolded just as he had expected.

As he used the Breath Concealment Technique,

to the wild beasts, Demon Beasts, and other creatures he passed, he was practically like a moving rock or a piece of wood.

He encountered far fewer attacks after that.

It was also because of this

that after reaching his destination,

Shen Changchuan was able to stay hidden in the dense forest for several days, secretly observing the habits of the Gale Falcon,

without ever being discovered.

Perhaps it was precisely due to these experiences.

Shen Changchuan’s understanding of this Magic Skill had advanced by leaps and bounds.

’The unity of knowledge and action... perhaps that’s also a shortcut in cultivating Cultivation Techniques.’

Recalling his journey through the mountains and forests,

and combining it with the process of cultivating the Breath Concealment Technique to Perfection in just a few days, Shen Changchuan gained some new insights into the cultivation of Magic.

A seed had been planted deep in his heart.

However, Shen Changchuan didn’t have time to dwell on these thoughts.

The day he had agreed upon with the masters of the other six villages to travel together to the Wu Family Collection had arrived.

...

Early one morning,

Cultivators from the six villages, located dozens or even a hundred *li* away, had already organized their people. They each drove three to five horse-drawn carriages laden with goods and converged on Dawan Village.

The entire caravan amounted to over a dozen carriages and a hundred people.

The cargo in their carriages consisted mostly of Spirit Grain.

The grain was stored in chests forged from cheap White Jade Stone, which were then lined inside and out with a layer woven from Spirit Rice Stalks to prevent damage from bumps during the journey and to stop the Spiritual Qi within the Spirit Grain from dissipating.

Among the masters of the six villages,

the Fan, Song, Miao, and Tao were all Minor Immortal Cultivation Clans with histories stretching back nearly a hundred years. They survived by living off the Spirit Fields their ancestors had painstakingly reclaimed, thus preserving their family’s Immortal Cultivation heritage.

The Li Family, on the other hand, were outsiders who had settled there several decades ago. Their village was said to have been purchased from a down-on-his-luck descendant of the previous owners.

The last village, however, was somewhat different. Its master was named Guo Cheng, and his specific origins were unknown.

About a dozen years ago, Guo Cheng arrived at the barren Lao Mountain Village. In the overgrown mountains, he discovered a Spiritual Spring with very thin Spiritual Qi, and from this, he established the foundation of Lao Mountain Village.

Lao Mountain Village was not named Guo Family Village after Guo Cheng’s surname.

This was because Guo Cheng had established a power within Lao Mountain Village called the Lao Mountain Temple.

It was said that Guo Cheng was determined to seek the Dao and achieve immortality. He wanted to establish a Sect and widely accept fated individuals as his Disciples, rather than passing down his power through bloodlines. Thus, the Lao Mountain Temple was born.

The Lao Mountain Temple had only been established for a little over a decade, so it only possessed three small, barren Spirit Fields. After paying their tribute, the amount of Spirit Grain left over was negligible.

However, they had mastered a charcoal-making craft. By carefully selecting wood, mixing it with water from the Spiritual Spring and other materials, they could produce a special charcoal used to aid in Alchemy and Artifact Refining.

This charcoal had some value, allowing them to live quite comfortably.

More than half of the Lao Mountain Temple’s carriages were loaded with this special refined charcoal, clearly intended for trade at the Wu Family Collection.

Among the six leaders,

Guo Cheng was the strongest, having reached the Qi Introduction Fourth Layer.

The other five

were all around the Qi Introduction Third Layer.

"Since everyone’s here, all right. Let’s move out!"

Once everyone had gathered, Shen Changchuan appeared. He glanced around, wasted no words, and directly ordered everyone to set off.

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Patriarch Li was the first to react. He quickly pulled Shen Changchuan aside and asked,

"Wait, Young Master Shen! Is it just you? Is no one else coming?"

"That’s right. I have a Storage Bag, so I’m enough. What’s wrong?"

They were all aware of the time he had slain the He Mountain Four Fierce, so Shen Changchuan didn’t hide the Storage Bag he had taken as spoils of war. He showed it openly, giving it a little shake toward them.

Speaking of which,

seeing these people with their large and small carriages loaded to the brim,

Shen Changchuan felt that the Storage Bag in his hand seemed all the more precious.

He silently thanked the four ’bros’ of the He Mountain Four Fierce for their generous ’donation’.

"No, Young Master Shen, this journey is fraught with danger! It’s the season when those Tribulation Cultivators are rampant outside. Shouldn’t we wait for more people before we leave together?"

Patriarch Li couldn’t help but be anxious.

In the past, they had always traveled to the Wu Family Collection together with the Shen Family from Dawan Village.

But back then, the Dawan Village Guardian, Shen Shiyin, had a Cultivation Realm at the Qi Introduction Fifth Layer or higher!

With the addition of some powerful methods from the Shen Family, and with the assistance of everyone here, even contending with an enemy at the Qi Introduction Sixth Layer was not out of the question.

And if a Tribulation Cultivator attacked ruthlessly but failed to kill everyone,

and a survivor managed to bring the news back to the Shen Family thousands of *li* away,

there would be hell to pay.

The fate of the Hu Family of Dawan Village twenty years ago was still fresh in their minds.

That was why very few Tribulation Cultivators dared to covet their caravan.

But what was this situation now?

A few months ago, when this young man from the Shen Family invited them to view the corpses of the He Mountain Four Fierce,

he had revealed his own Cultivation Realm aura. It was only at the meager Qi Introduction Fourth Layer Middle Stage.

And now, the aura on his body

was not much different from back then.

It hadn’t changed much.

If they encountered a Tribulation Cultivator, he could be defeated by someone with a vastly superior Cultivation Realm. That person could then slaughter every last one of them, throw their bodies into the wilderness to be fed to Demon Beasts, and destroy all traces of the crime.

No matter how powerful the Shen Family backing him was, they would have no way to avenge him!

Patriarch Li was practically scared out of his wits.

"Wait for people? What people?"

"Um, Young Master Shen, perhaps you could ask one of your elders to accompany us?"

Patriarch Li asked tentatively.

In his eyes, it would be best if the Shen Family senior who had dealt with the He Mountain Four Fierce could be mobilized.

"Elders? What elders do I have? It’s just me. Let’s hurry up and go."

Shen Changchuan found this all rather baffling.

’They seem to have misunderstood something.’

But he couldn’t be bothered to explain.

The Wu Family Collection.

He had been looking forward to it for a long time and didn’t want any delays to make him miss it.

And after Shen Changchuan turned his back,

Patriarch Li, Guo Cheng, and the patriarchs of the other four families all exchanged glances, their faces filled with worry.

’This young man is reckless and impetuous, stubbornly refusing to listen to advice. What are we to do?!’

The road to the Wu Family Collection...

was not an easy one to travel!