Starting with a daily divination to build an immortal clan

Chapter 147 The Younger Generation

"I'll protect you, give it a try."

Looking at the gray hairs appearing at his wife's temples, Shen Yuan urged her on.

Sixty years have passed in the blink of an eye.

If they hadn't entered the world of cultivators, he and his wife would already be elderly people in their twilight years.

But now, because his cultivation level has reached the sixth level of Qi Refining, the aging process has been slowed down, and Shen Yuan looks only in his thirties.

His wife, Hu Yufen, was only at the late stage of the Acquired Realm, and having given birth to four children, she suffered from severe blood and qi deficiency, making her look significantly older. In the past two years, she has even started to grow white hair at her temples.

Although Shen Yuan and the children didn't say much, they were all very anxious. Over the years, they had been asking around to find out about rare items and elixirs that could prolong life and replenish qi and blood.

The Xuan Shui Sect must have gotten wind of this, which is why they brought the precious Xuan Shui Pill this time.

Hu Yufen hesitated.

She still felt that such a precious elixir should be left to her daughter-in-law and daughter; she was already old, surrounded by children and grandchildren, and no longer cared.

"His father, I..."

"Eat with confidence, your children and grandchildren will have their own opportunities."

Shen Yuan spoke in a deep voice, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Hu Yufen looked at him, a hint of compromise on her face: "I'll eat, okay?"

Carefully uncorking the bottle, Hu Yufen poured out a crystal-clear pill that resembled black jade. After a slight hesitation, she put it into her mouth.

The Xuan Shui Dan slowly dissolved in his mouth, and the cool medicinal power flowed gently into his abdomen, then surged into his limbs and bones.

"Don't get distracted. Use your breathing techniques to guide the energy of the elixir through your body."

Shen Yuan's voice rang in her ears, and Hu Yufen immediately composed herself and sat cross-legged on the ground.

The profound yin energy contained in the Xuan Shui Dan is indeed of great benefit to women. While Hu Yufen was sitting cross-legged absorbing the medicinal power of the pill, Shen Yuan kept a close eye on the changes in her body.

As the medicinal effects were gradually refined, Hu Yufen's body underwent noticeable changes.

His complexion gradually regained its radiance, and the few silver hairs at his temples turned from white to gray, and then to black.

Seeing this, Shen Yuanben's slightly tense expression eased a little.

About an hour had passed, and the medicinal power of the Xuan Shui Dan was slowly absorbed. Hu Yufen's aura also noticeably strengthened.

She slowly opened her eyes.

"How's it going? Is it effective?"

Gently stroking her cheek and looking at her arm, Hu Yufen's face showed a hint of surprise.

Which woman doesn’t love beauty?
As a woman, who doesn't want to stay young forever?
Feeling her face become smoother and noticing her arms were noticeably rosier, Hu Yufen was very happy.

"Have two more."

"Let's see if we can break through to the Qi Refining realm in one fell swoop."

Shen Yuan spoke in a deep voice.

The effects of this Mysterious Water Pill seem to be stronger than those of the Nourishing Qi Pill.

Furthermore, because the Yin energy is more suitable for a woman's yin constitution, a single Xuan Shui Pill significantly improved Hu Yufen's cultivation level.

"That's enough for now; we can't waste any more."

Upon hearing this, Hu Yufen waved her hands repeatedly in refusal.

Upon seeing this, Shen Yuan stepped forward and poured out two Xuan Shui Pills from the jade bottle, stuffing them into his wife's mouth.

"Well--!"

Before Hu Yufen could react, the pill had already entered her mouth.

"you……"

She glared at Shen Yuan, wanting to say something, but the Xuan Shui Dan in her mouth had already begun to dissolve.

Before she could speak, Hu Yufen quickly composed herself and began to refine the medicinal power.

As night fell, when Hu Yufen woke up again, Shen Yuan's face showed a hint of disappointment.

Three Xuan Shui Pills were ultimately insufficient to push his wife's cultivation level to the Qi Refining Realm.

It seems that without spiritual roots or bloodline, and with his wife not taking cultivation seriously, it will be difficult to force her to reach the Qi Refining stage using pills.

Fortunately, these three Xuan Shui Pills also replenished her with a large amount of Xuan Yin Qi. After her Qi and blood were replenished, she looked noticeably younger.

When Hu Yufen woke up from her cultivation, her first reaction was to get up and punch Shen Yuan's arm.

"You old lewd man, how can you be like this?"

Shen Yuan chuckled and said, "Isn't it all for your own good?"

"If you don't take pills and don't cultivate properly, in a few years you won't even have the strength to beat me."

Hu Yufen glared at him, her face still stern, but her heart was filled with sweet joy.

They've been married for most of their lives, and she can feel that her husband's feelings for her have never changed.

Although there were no sweet words, that love had already seeped into every aspect of their lives, like a gentle spring breeze and nourishing rain.

There were originally ten.

"I wasted three at once..."

Hu Yufen looked at the porcelain bottle in her hand with a touch of heartache.

She originally planned to take one pill, and give the remaining nine pills to her daughter and two daughters-in-law, three each.

"There are only seven left, how should we divide them?"

Shen Yuan took the porcelain bottle, glanced at it, and said, "Easy to divide."

"I'll leave you one more, and they'll each get two of the remaining six..."

……

The matter at Jinghefang Market is now a top priority.

After deciding to build the market in Jinghe Marsh, Shen Wenxing, along with Zhao Jinhu, personally made a trip to Jinghe County. They led a group of craftsmen to select a site, take measurements, and worked for half a month before finally finalizing the plan.

"Brother Jin Hu, this market will be a place to receive immortals in the future, so we can't be careless."

"We must take into account everything, from the materials used to the smallest details, so as not to lose face in front of the immortals."

"I'll leave this to you; don't worry about the money."

This Jinghe Market was jointly built by the five major immortal sects and the Shen family. Compared with the immortal sects, the Shen family's foundation was too shallow, and all they could do was try their best to build this market well.

Given the weighty responsibility, Shen Wenxing could not trust anyone else, so he had no choice but to let Zhao Jinhu personally supervise the construction.

“Stone, I have an idea.”

Looking at the endless swamp in front of him, Zhao Jinhu asked, "Do you still remember the stones mined from the Qingling Stone vein?"

Shen Wenxing frowned.

"You mean those stones that are found alongside the Azure Spirit Stone?"

Zhao Jinhu nodded and said, "We've unearthed a lot of minerals in the past two years."

"Why not bring them all over and use them in this market?"

“Those stones are much harder than ordinary stones, and their bluish-gray patterns are also very beautiful. They are a great choice for foundations and paving roads.”

Shen Wenxing hesitated.

The associated stones from the Qingling Stone vein had other uses in his plan. In recent years, the villages in Yunshui Town have become increasingly prosperous, and he planned to gather all the affiliated clans next spring to renovate the houses of the common people, starting with Jinliu Village, and to level and widen the muddy roads between villages, paving them with the bluestone.

Now Zhao Jinhu has proposed using that bluestone in the market...

"to make!"

After thinking for a moment, Shen Wenxing nodded and said, "Brother Jin Hu, you can handle it."

The roads in Yunshui Village can be paved with ordinary stones, not necessarily with bluestone.

Winter month.

A heavy snowfall arrived as expected.

At the foot of Blackwater Pool Mountain, many villagers gathered here.

This activity has been preserved ever since the Shen family held its first annual hunting competition that year.

After several improvements, the rules for this annual hunting festival have been gradually perfected, and the time has been set at once every three years.

There are also clear age requirements for villagers participating in the competition.

Only villagers who have not yet reached adulthood are allowed to participate.

With age restrictions in place, and the fact that many wild animals in the mountains are slowly transforming into monsters, the situation has become even more complex.

This hunting competition has almost become a special event for martial artists in the Body Tempering Realm.

Yunshui Town comprises ten villages and one town, with a population exceeding ten thousand.

Among the many contestants participating in the competition, four are undoubtedly the most watched.

These four people are Shen Chongming, the young patriarch of the Shen family, who has the strength of the peak of the first level of Qi Refining.

Standing to Shen Chongming's left was a quiet girl dressed in a dark purple outfit, with a beautiful face and holding a bright silver spear.

This girl was none other than Chen Youran, who was so thin she was practically skin and bones, and who could even fall over while practicing standing meditation.

Over the years, Shen Chongming had fed her until she was a beautiful young woman. Not only had her depleted body caught up, but her cultivation had also reached the peak of Body Tempering.

Beside Chen Youran stood Zhao Tuan, who was about the same height as Shen Chongming but was noticeably larger, with his hands at his sides and a faint smile on his face.

Since receiving the "Mist Dragon Nourishing Meridian Technique," although he did not possess spiritual roots, Zhao Tuan, through more than three years of effort compared to ordinary people, successfully broke through to the first level of Qi Refining.

The slender but shrewd young man beside Zhao Tuan was another spiritual seedling selected along with Chen Youran, a stone seedling from Black Stone Village.

Shi Miao possesses a fire elemental root, but her personality is not as volatile as a flame. Instead, she is rather shrewd, and her small eyes reveal a cunning and clever nature.

Shen Wenxing stood on the high platform, looking down at the four people and all the other contestants participating in the competition, and spoke.

"I won't go into any more unnecessary words; you all need to recognize your own strength."

"If you rashly provoke a powerful monster, you can't blame anyone else if you die."

Everyone's expression tightened, and they all nodded.

Nowadays, there are no strong companions to accompany them in the hunting competition; their lives depend entirely on themselves.

They already knew this when they registered for the competition.

"The four of you should also be careful and not underestimate the monsters in the mountains. Always be vigilant."

"Chongming, Zhao Tuan, you two have already reached the Qi Refining stage, so you should take good care of Youran and Shimiao."

Compared to the other contestants, the four people in front of them are the most important to the Shen family.

Even so, the four of them need more training. Martial arts arenas cannot produce strong individuals; only life-or-death battles can unleash their potential.

"Please rest assured, Master!"

The four men solemnly clasped their hands in greeting.

Shen Wenxing nodded, waved his hand, and shouted:

"Go, my lads!"

"We'll be waiting for you to return with your bounty in three days!"

At his command, hundreds of contestants participating in the hunting competition charged headlong toward Hidden Dragon Mountain.

"Tuan-ge'er, let's have a speed contest!"

"You are not allowed to use your spiritual power."

At the front of the crowd, Shi Miao looked at Zhao Tuan beside her and smiled as she spoke.

Zhao Tuan smiled and shook his head: "Save your energy for fighting the monsters later."

Shi Miao felt a bit bored, turned to look at Shen Chongming and Chen Youran, pondered for a moment, but didn't have the courage to ask them to compete.

Changing the subject, he turned to Shen Chongming and said, "Young clan leader, the four of us shouldn't be hunting with them, right?"

"Shall we go a little deeper?"

Shen Chongming, carrying a large bow, nodded slightly and said, "We rarely see demonic beasts on the outskirts, so our target is naturally not an ordinary wild animal."

Upon hearing his words, Chen Youran remained expressionless.

Zhao Tuan, standing to the side, frowned slightly and said, "Young clan leader, we should be more cautious and not put ourselves in danger."

Shen Chongming smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Brother Tuan, it's just a little deeper, nothing will happen."

The four moved extremely fast, and in a short while they had already distanced themselves from the main force behind them.

Deep within Hidden Dragon Mountain.

Four figures trudged through the thick snow in the forest.

"Young clan leader, we've found the footprints of a pack of wolves."

Shi Miao poked his head out from the hillside on the left and whispered something.

The remaining three immediately leaped up and came to his side.

Zhao Tuan crouched down, staring at the messy footprints on the ground. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "It is indeed a wolf, but these claw marks are much larger than those of an ordinary wolf, and there is a trace of strange residual power..."

"There must be some wolves in the pack that have transformed into demons."

"Young clan leader, wolves are cunning by nature, and they are even more difficult to deal with after they transform into demons. We must be careful."

Shen Chongming nodded and said, "Let's follow the footprints and see what happens."

The four of them quietly followed the footprints in front of them and moved forward.

Meanwhile, in a mountain forest dozens of miles away from the four people.

More than a dozen barbarian figures, dressed in animal skin skirts, with long hair and tattoos, and carrying powerful bows, were crawling behind a boulder.

Beside this group of barbarian figures, a figure dressed in the attire of a disciple of Hundred Beasts Mountain, riding a giant moon-white wolf, quietly gazed at the depression ahead.

"My lord, it was in this pack of wolves that we discovered the aura of the Bloodthirsty Beasts."

The disciple of Hundred Beasts Mountain, riding on the body of a giant moon-white wolf, nodded upon hearing this.

"Three years ago, several junior brothers from Qingniu Peak mysteriously disappeared in this Hidden Dragon Mountain. They were never seen alive or dead."

"My disciples from Hundred Beasts Mountain carry the Blood of Hundred Beasts with them. If they encounter an insurmountable danger, they will have their battle beasts consume the Blood of Hundred Beasts and fight to the death..."

"The aura of the Blood Fiend of a Hundred Beasts can last for several years. Among this wolf pack are three wolf demons who have just undergone metamorphosis and carry the aura of the Blood Fiend of a Hundred Beasts. This must be related to several junior brothers from Green Ox Peak."

"Xiao Bai, it's your turn to shine later."

The disciple from Hundred Beasts Mountain gently stroked the head of the giant white wolf he was riding.

The giant wolf nodded intelligently, its silver-gray eyes gazing quietly at the wolf pack in the distance.

(End of this chapter)