Chapter 84 - 82: First Appearance

Time flew by.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

It was now early winter.

A light snow had begun to fall, and the entire world seemed a stretch of gray and white.

However, Shen Changchuan found it rather strange that in the sea of lush trees covering the mountains and forests, not all the leaves had withered and fallen.

Only a small portion of the shorter trees had lost their leaves and become bare.

The broad leaves of the remaining ancient, giant trees, though dulled by the low temperatures, still formed a continuous, sky-blotting canopy that covered the mountain forest.

When the fine, fluffy snow landed on them, they looked like furry little hills from a distance.

And it seemed that,

even if the temperature dropped further or a heavier snow fell, the leaves of those ancient trees would not fall so easily.

This truly violated the common sense from Shen Changchuan’s previous life.

But on second thought, it wasn’t so strange.

This godforsaken place had the climate of a tropical rainy season in the summer, and freezing heavy snows in the winter—two completely opposite climates coexisting.

Moreover, the mountain leeches that swarmed the mountains during the rainy season—creatures that should have only existed in tropical rainforests—somehow didn’t freeze to death during the harsh, icy winters. Instead, the moment the rainy season arrived, they would suddenly emerge in dense swarms from who knows where, covering a vast expanse of the mountain forests...

There were plenty of sights like these that defied the logic of his previous life.

If he had to explain it,

he would just chalk it up to the unique climate of this Otherworld.

Shen Changchuan didn’t waste much energy thinking about it.

Meanwhile, over the past month, the outside world had grown restless, and the first signs of impending chaos had begun to appear.

Just as Shen Changchuan had predicted,

outside Cultivators had begun to enter this Border Desolate Land.

They came to investigate the rumored secret location, supposedly controlled by the Wu Family, that could produce Cyan Essence Water Grass.

These people first observed the area around the Wu Family Collection, hoping to find some clues.

However, ever since that day,

the entire Wu Family Collection had been strictly sealed off by the Wu Family.

Aside from a few with connections, there was no opportunity to enter and investigate.

After loitering for some time, those people failed to obtain any useful information.

At most, they only heard some unverified rumors from fellow travelers.

Seeing that the number of people gathering was increasing,

some, fearing they would lose their advantage,

hastily gave up on lingering around the Wu Family Collection. Instead, they went directly into the mountains or questioned some of the small, local Immortal Cultivation Clans, hoping to glean some information indirectly.

As a result,

the number of passing Cultivators began to gradually increase during this period.

However, things were still in the early stages,

so no major chaos had erupted yet.

But a sense of unease

began to loom over this remote corner of the Immortal Cultivation Realm.

Not long ago, in fact,

the Patriarchs of several villages that had pledged allegiance to Dawan Village all sent people to curry favor.

They even sent over the most outstanding youths of their families under the pretext of fostering exchange.

For a small family faction, weak enough to be annihilated at any moment, to have survived for decades or even centuries, they naturally couldn’t be fools.

It wasn’t just Shen Changchuan;

other nearby Cultivators also sensed the approaching danger.

Shen Changchuan, who learned of the current situation through the outside news gathered by his maternal grandfather, Han Qinhu,

grew increasingly grave.

However, he wasn’t as flustered as the others.

Instead, he was completely calm,

showing no fear of the coming changes.

Seeing this, the other Immortal Cultivation Clans felt a little more at ease.

Shen Changchuan’s reaction,

was not an act; he had his own source of confidence.

Ever since he had successfully cultivated the Nine Elements Divine Extraction Technique a month ago,

and refined his own Divine Soul, Shen Changchuan’s cultivation speed for Basic Magic had increased dramatically.

Now, a month later,

he had already cultivated twelve Basic Magic skills to Perfection!

And as time went on,

with more and more Basic Magic skills reaching Perfection, the "negligible accumulation of Cultivation Experience" description among their Perfection Traits appeared more frequently. This meant his speed at cultivating subsequent Basic Magic of the same type would only get faster!

According to Shen Changchuan’s calculations,

in another two or three months, he would be able to cultivate all thirty-plus carefully selected Magic and Swordsmanship skills to Perfection!

And this

would bring about a massive increase in his power!

Because at that point,

he would be able to complete the cultivation of the Cyan Wood Sword Light!

’Looks like my gamble paid off!’

’Once I cultivate the Cyan Wood Sword Light to Perfection, with the immense power of that Magic, I will have a method capable of threatening the life of a Late Stage Qi Introduction Realm Cultivator!’

Shen Changchuan looked at the progress bar panel before him.

On the panel, in the last column of the Magic row, the progress for Cyan Wood Sword Light had already risen to 10%.

That’s right.

Within this past month,

the progress bar for Cyan Wood Sword Light had skyrocketed from 3% to 10%!

And this

was despite Shen Changchuan having focused all his energy on cultivating other Basic Magic,

without ever having practiced Cyan Wood Sword Light even once!

’My hypothesis was correct!’

’As long as I grind enough Magic skills to the Perfection Level, and the more experience I accumulate from their Perfection Traits, the lower the threshold will be for me to cultivate High Tier Techniques of the same type in the future!’

A brilliant light shone in Shen Changchuan’s eyes.

’Senior Shen Tingchu’s handwriting advised that Qi Introduction Realm Cultivators shouldn’t waste too much time on Basic Magic. For others, that is indeed sound advice.’

’But it doesn’t apply to me.’

’My aptitude isn’t very high, and my background hasn’t provided me with many Cultivation Resources. I have to fight for everything myself—all the Heavenly and Earthly Treasures, Elixirs, and Cultivation Techniques I need for my cultivation.’

’In this situation, the stronger I become early on, the more Cultivation Resources I can obtain, which in turn will feed back into improving my own Cultivation Realm.’

’Besides, while the power of a Perfected Magic skill may become obsolete after the Soul Emergence Realm, for someone like me with a progress bar panel, by deliberately accumulating their Perfection Traits and related Cultivation Experience, it will still be useful for cultivating even higher-tier Magic after the Soul Emergence Realm. It’s not a complete waste of time!’

Shen Changchuan’s eyes flickered.

He had already made up his mind,

solidifying his plan for his future cultivation path.

With his goal clarified,

Shen Changchuan devoted even more time and energy to cultivating and improving his Basic Magic.

He planned to completely master his trump card, the Cyan Wood Sword Light, within the next one or two months.

However,

disaster always strikes when you least expect it.

While Shen Changchuan was cultivating diligently,

Dawan Village was attacked.

Two villagers who had gone out were killed.

It was the Gale Falcon.

Taking advantage of the heavy snow,

it soared through the sky,

announcing its return!