Chapter 316: Try It, Don't Be Afraid

The seven clan elders fell silent.

The many Xu family members outside the wooden house were even more at a loss.

A-Qing and Xu Wanyun were not enough for the other party to choose from; did they have to throw themselves and everyone else into the bargain?

Stared at by so many gazes, Shen Yi acted as if he saw nothing, walking slowly to stand before the old woman: "Shen Mou, in my capacity as the temple keeper, invites you all to go to Great Qian together to construct a magical array for the Nine Provinces."

Hearing this, before the others could speak, the old woman laughed first: "These words sound familiar. The Profound Light Cave wanted to do the same before, only not as euphemistic as you put it. Is this what Lord Shen calls remuneration?"

Seeing the anger already rising in the eyes of the many Xu family members.

Xu Hongde, as the clan leader, finally stepped forward and said: "If Lord Shen does not deliberately intend to provoke us, then let us say everything at once. Doing work for Great Qian cannot be counted as any remuneration; what can we gain?"

His tone seemed low, but in truth, it was because Shen Yi had previously walked straight into the cave that he was covering for him.

"You can gain my promise."

Shen Yi turned his gaze slightly: "Walking in the world, I will do my best to protect everyone's safety."

"Heh." The old woman laughed again, only this time with a barely perceptible hint of anger: "May I ask, who are you?"

A yellow-mouthed brat, pushing people too far.

Ruined! Hearing the old woman's displeasure, Xu Wanyun thought silently that things were bad.

Do not look at the fact that the Fifth Ancestor is a woman; in reality, among the seven clan elders, her words carried the most weight.

If one offended her, it was almost equivalent to offending the entire Xu family.

Xu Wanyun could not understand how Shen Yi suddenly seemed like a different person; could it really be that after surviving a tribulation, he simply turned his back and refused to recognize anyone?

How could that be possible.

But she knew that given the other party's temper, he would surely not yield.

After all, this person had taken the tail bone of the Dark-Tailed Demon Emperor without a second thought; where would he care about anything else?

"Uh."

A-Qing also did not expect the atmosphere to suddenly become so tense.

For a moment, he did not know what to do.

Just then, Shen Yi became even calmer, his voice also without any fluctuation: "Please have everyone select three people to go out with me; I will let the Xu family know who I am."

"At that time, if you feel Shen Mou's promise is still useful."

"Please bring your spiritual roots and clan members to form an alliance with my Great Qian."

Upon hearing these words, the others all froze for an instant.

Only the old woman's smile on her face grew even wider: "Do you intend for us to inspect the goods first? Are you not afraid that we might discover the fact that Great Qian is merely a shell in appearance but has actually long since declined?"

Several of the clan elders had already raised similar doubts before.

Her sudden remark at this moment was also intended to bluff Shen Yi's true strength.

"..."

What no one expected was that Shen Yi showed no emotion at all, merely saying slowly: "Try it, do not be afraid."

The old woman froze for a moment before realizing the other party's meaning: "Am I afraid to go out?"

"Then choose people, try to be quick, I am in a hurry."

Shen Yi stepped forward and walked toward the door.

Leaving only the few old men looking at each other; such a small trick as a challenge would naturally not affect them.

But the confidence displayed by this young man was such that one could see no trace of pretense.

"Stop."

The old woman suddenly called out to the other party; Shen Yi turned back in confusion, and only then did she continue: "Give me some proof, and I will send you a generous gift."

Before her words had even finished.

Shen Yi waved his hand casually; the straight long spear shot out like a dragon leaving the sea, circled once inside the house, and then drilled back into the storage treasure.

Like a fleeting glimpse of a wild goose, it silenced everyone's words.

The Dark-Tailed Spear recognized its master; just by virtue of this spear, it was not inferior to a Soul Transformation mid-stage cultivator.

But what was even more terrifying to feel was that just a few dozen days ago, the other party had still been deeply affected by the Dark-Tailed Demon Emperor.

In such a short time, he had not only healed his injuries but also subdued this divine spear.

What kind of capability was this!

Xu Hongde swallowed his dry throat; for someone who could possess such a treasure, a single polluted supreme-grade spiritual root did not seem like a precious thing to him.

But... the situation of this spiritual root of the Xu family was different.

"Good, good!"

The old woman suddenly rose, walked past Shen Yi toward the door, and then manipulated a hand seal with her fingertips: "Please look at the great gift the Xu family gives you."

In an instant, the entire sky dimmed.

One saw an incredibly massive black giant tree standing in the distance; its boundless canopy occupied the entire field of vision, with black branches and leaves hanging down, weaving together this firmament.

Giving people an extremely overwhelming sense of pressure.

"This is the Xu family's supreme-grade spiritual root."

"Can you refine it?"

After passing through long ages, it had long grown into a unique existence, no longer a spiritual root that cultivators could take into their sea of Qi.

To speak accurately, the Xu family was precisely because they discovered it that they could live in seclusion until now.

The old woman put away her smile, took out an unremarkable box from her storage treasure, inside of which flowed a round ball like black mist.

"This is the fruit it bore; just this one piece."

"I have always regarded it as useless."

"It is clearly the essence condensed from a supreme-grade spiritual root, yet it is also a supreme evil thing, truly regrettable... Do you really not intend to form an in-law relationship with my Xu family?"

The old woman shook the box.

Shen Yi casually took it and stored it in his storage treasure: "I have no intention of doing so."

Risking one's life to kill demons and cultivate is not for the sake of using oneself for a political marriage; that would be utterly shameful.

"If you have no intention, why did you take it?"

The old woman glared at him resentfully, though she was clearly not truly angry: "Very well, it is time for the young ones to go out and see the world."

In fact, she trusted Shen Yi quite a bit.

The reason was simple.

This little fool, A Qing, had exposed almost the entire Xu family's secrets, let alone her own abilities.

No faction would let such a treasure of formations slip away.

Her value was far higher than any spiritual root.

Yet Shen Yi had brought this little fool back to the Xu family intact.

To say he would entrust the lives of the clan members to him was impossible, but arranging for a few to go out and travel was not a major matter.

"I will have them wait for you outside the village tomorrow," the old woman nodded and agreed to the matter.

As her words rang out, the Xu family members around immediately erupted into noise, scrambling to push forward, hoping for the Fifth Ancestor to glance at them once more.

Clearly, trapping a group of people while providing them with an incredibly rich collection of books to broaden their horizons was a torment that did not exist only for that aunt and niece.

After Shen Yi departed.

Xu Hongde said calmly, "I will go as well. I am still not entirely at ease sending the young ones out."

"..." Xu Wanyun looked at her brother with suspicion.

"And me!" A Qing stretched out her hand forcefully.

The old woman pressed her palm down, mocking, "With your mind, what could you possibly see? After you return, will you be able to speak a few truthful words?"

She turned around, only to find several clan elders staring silently at her; they said nothing, yet it was as if they had said everything.

"..."

"Enough, this old body has my own arrangements."

The old woman waved her hand, silencing everyone's conversation.

(End of this chapter)