Chapter 53: Let the Storm Grow Wilder
After that, Fu Yuying turned to look at Shen Yanzhou, as if she wanted to ask something, but when the words reached her lips, she swallowed them back.
Everyone had their own secrets.
As for why Shen Yanzhou could borrow the power of a Transcendent Rank being for his own use—that was not something she ought to think too deeply about.
“Tonight’s events were all thanks to Young Master Shen.”
“If there’s anything you need afterward, as long as Yuying can do it, please feel free to command.”
Fu Yuying was not one to act pretentious.
With a sweep of her sleeve, a violent wind rose, lifting Shen Tian’s body as she prepared to leave.
With Shen Tian’s body, Luofu Cloud Cavern could make great use of it—to negotiate with the Demon Suppression King, Shen Jingxiao.
It was, without a doubt, a mutually beneficial situation.
“Saintess, you jest. Between you and me, there’s no need for such formality,” Shen Yanzhou said with a faint smile.
Upon hearing that, Fu Yuying, who had been about to depart, suddenly halted and looked back at him.
“If there’s no need for formality, then why are you still addressing me like that?”
Shen Yanzhou seemed to realize that his form of address was a little too distant.
After a moment’s pause, he smiled and asked, “Then how should I address you?”
Fu Yuying wanted to roll her eyes.
At a time like this, why was he pretending to be clueless?
Perhaps because her emotions had just swung from the depths of hell to the heights of heaven—like having brushed past the edge of death—it made her feel much closer to Shen Yanzhou than before.
That sense of closeness wasn’t because of the Shewu Gu.
It came from a shared experience—and a shared “secret.”
“Yuying?”
“Then I’ll call you that from now on.”
Shen Yanzhou spoke with a smile, not pressing the matter any further.
He could indeed sense that Fu Yuying’s attitude toward him was far more natural and less formal than before.
“Alright.”
Fu Yuying casually removed her white porcelain mask.
On her flawless, stunning face, a smile bloomed—bright enough to make the once-dark night seem lighter.
A moment later, her figure vanished into the night.
Shen Yanzhou then withdrew his gaze.
The overwhelming aura around him slowly receded like a retreating tide.
The intoxicating feeling of power he had just experienced left him somewhat reluctant to part with it—but unfortunately, it wasn’t his own.
Sensing slightly, Shen Yanzhou noticed that Tantai Yuxian had already sealed her five senses, completely shutting herself off from the outside world.
However, he seemed to be able to forcibly control her to perceive external things.
In other words, the “switch” to close or open her five senses was actually in his hands.
“This Sword-mark Contract isn’t bad at all.”
Shen Yanzhou chuckled softly, then turned toward Lin Qingcang and said, “Thank you, Senior.”
“Hmph. Just don’t forget what you promised this old man.”
Within the Sumeru Ring, Lin Qingcang snorted coldly.
His will-incarnation had become much fainter.
Though that strike just now hadn’t been his full strength, it had still consumed a good portion of his already dwindling essence power.
Shen Yanzhou estimated that he could, at best, borrow Lin Qingcang’s strength two more times before the old Martial God’s flame would gutter out—his will dissipating entirely.
Of course, that was the ideal outcome.
Lin Qingcang clearly wouldn’t be content being a candle—burning himself away to light Shen Yanzhou’s path.
“Naturally.”
“In the Far East, atop the Summit of Convergence, within the Abyss of the Great Chasm, there exists an Art of Rebirth. This technique can overturn the wheel of life and death. As long as you still have a trace of will remaining, once I find this art, I’ll help you return to life and live anew,” Shen Yanzhou said with a smile.
He wasn’t making empty promises—this was something truly recorded in the original story.
However, the Summit of Convergence was extremely hard to locate.
Its opening was tied to the fate of the current world—it would only appear when the world’s fortune grew dense and surged to its peak.
Only then would the Summit of Convergence reveal itself.
Through that summit, one could enter the Great Chasm, and within it, find the Art of Rebirth.
In truth, this was originally Wu Ruyue’s side quest later in the story—“Resurrect Lin Qingcang.”
But since Shen Yanzhou had intercepted it early, he could only take up that quest himself.
“Heh, you little brat…”
Lin Qingcang gave a cold laugh.
His heart was as clear as a mirror—how could he not realize Shen Yanzhou had schemed this from the start? If he had known that finding the Art of Rebirth would be so troublesome, he would never have agreed to that wager so easily.
The pit had already been dug—all he’d had to do was jump in.
If he wanted to live again, he would now have to ensure Shen Yanzhou reached the Summit of Convergence.
Before that, as a will-incarnation, he’d have to act as Shen Yanzhou’s protector.
No matter how the bet turned out, Shen Yanzhou would be the one to win in the end.
“Does Senior have no faith in me?”
“Or do you think there’s someone more suitable to help you find the Art of Rebirth?” Shen Yanzhou asked with a knowing smile, clearly aware of Lin Qingcang’s resentment.
“That little girl who rescued you earlier—her talent isn’t bad. It seems she even shares some karmic connection with me…”
Lin Qingcang was referring to Wu Ruyue.
“If Senior wishes to take her as a disciple, that’s fine as well,” Shen Yanzhou nodded.
He had already spoken with Fu Yuying beforehand, ensuring that Wu Ruyue wouldn’t be too harshly treated.
By now, she was probably trapped within a prearranged formation set by the people of Luofu Cloud Cavern.
“No need. Everything useful in the cave has already been taken by you. Even if I took a disciple now, what would I teach her?” Lin Qingcang said irritably.
As they conversed, a black shadow descended from the sky—it was the Soul-devouring Flood Serpent, now in its human form.
“Greetings, Young Master.”
The Soul-devouring Flood Serpent transformed into a black-robed elder, bowing respectfully to Shen Yanzhou.
In its view, since Shen Yanzhou had been brought into its master’s cave, received all his inheritances and treasures, and now even carried its master’s presence within him—
Addressing Shen Yanzhou as “Young Master” was only natural.
Lin Qingcang didn’t say anything about it.
Though he was reluctant to admit it, at present, Shen Yanzhou was indeed the one most likely to help him be reborn.
“There’s no need to be so polite, Uncle Flood Serpent.”
Shen Yanzhou, who had long been coveting this near-Third-Rank demon king-level existence, showed genuine enthusiasm.
Smiling warmly, he reached out as if to lift the old serpent up in greeting.
This was different from followers like Chunchao or Elder Mo, whose protection carried a sense of surveillance.
This was, in the truest sense, someone who would henceforth be loyal to him alone—his trusted aide.
“Young Master overpraises this old servant.”
The Soul-devouring Flood Serpent bent slightly at the waist.
Though its expression remained cold and forbidding, making others instinctively avoid it, there was still a trace of genuine reverence in its demeanor at this moment.
Shen Yanzhou knew of the Flood Serpent’s foolish yet steadfast loyalty; otherwise, it wouldn’t have guarded the Cold Pool for so many years.
He smiled faintly and didn’t say much more on that subject.
“Uncle Flood Serpent, the beasts in the region of Hidden Moon Mountain—can they all be commanded by you?” Shen Yanzhou asked.
The Soul-devouring Flood Serpent nodded.
“Within several hundred li around Hidden Moon Mountain, there should be no creature stronger than this old servant.”
That was a modest statement; in truth, within Hidden Moon Mountain, it was the oldest and most powerful of all the beasts.
Shen Yanzhou nodded slightly.
With the threat of Shen Tian resolved, it was time to consider the second phase of his plan.
Before that, however, he still needed to deal with a few “flies” from the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion.
Whoosh!
The next moment, Shen Yanzhou slightly raised a finger, pointing toward a massive ancient tree behind him—so large it would take several people to encircle it.
The air seemed to ripple, a breeze brushed past, and a faint gleam of light flickered at the treetop.
Two muffled groans of pain followed, then the sound of bodies hitting the ground.
“Spare… spare me…”
A frightened voice pleaded from the shadows.
Shen Yanzhou lifted his gaze and saw a bearded man clutching his chest, pale-faced, struggling to his feet.
Beside him stood a white-robed man with a soft, feminine voice, his chest pierced clean through with a bloody hole that gushed freely, staining his robe red.
His breathing was faint, life ebbing away.
“I almost forgot about you two.”
“Hiding in the dark from the very beginning—did you truly think no one noticed?”
Shen Yanzhou’s tone was calm.
He had withdrawn much of his strength earlier; otherwise, a single sword strike would have killed them both.
Even so, he had underestimated one of them—the man couldn’t even withstand two-tenths of his sword power.
The Soul-devouring Flood Serpent fixed its gaze on the two men as well.
It had sensed their presence from the start but, seeing Shen Yanzhou ignore them, had chosen not to interfere.
“Spare us, Heir Shen! We meant no harm,” the bearded man said in panic, hastily pulling up his companion and feeding him a healing pill.
He was trembling.
As a renowned apostle of the Nether Cult, he practiced the Ironwood Body Art, tempering his body until his skin was as hard as steel, impervious to ordinary blades.
Yet, in that instant just now, he had felt his skin tear open.
If not for the protective armor he wore, he would have ended up like his companion—pierced clean through.
Who could have imagined that this Heir Shen not only had a demon king sworn to him but also possessed unfathomable personal strength—enough to even subdue the peerless Tantai Yuxian?
“But you’ve heard far too much that you shouldn’t have,” Shen Yanzhou said coldly.
“We only wished to investigate who framed our Holy Cult for kidnapping the Heir,” the bearded man quickly explained.
Shen Yanzhou naturally didn’t believe that.
If that were truly their purpose, they would have been following Fu Yuying and the others, not hiding here in the shadows.
He flicked his finger, and a bloom of blood burst from the bearded man’s arm.
“Heir Shen, spare us…”
“Give me one reason not to kill you,” Shen Yanzhou said flatly.
“We… we’re from the Nether Cult. We know many of its secrets. A high-ranking member has been laying out a plan in the Imperial Capital for nearly twenty years. He’s about to spread a message that will spark chaos in the capital.”
“This matter concerns you, Heir Shen—it’s true! I wouldn’t dare lie.”
Shen Yanzhou’s eyes narrowed slightly.
He knew this must be related to the “true and false heir” affair—and that the high-ranking member was none other than Shen Jingxiao himself.
However, with Shen Tian now reduced to a mere fragment of soul, the recreation of his body was far out of reach.
Even if the rumor of the false heir spread now, it wouldn’t stir much trouble.
Instead, with Shen Tian’s body in their possession, the people of Luofu Cloud Cavern would surely use it as leverage to negotiate with Shen Jingxiao.
“Until the real Shen Tian is found, Shen Jingxiao definitely won’t spread this news prematurely…”
“But for now, I might as well do him a favor.”
A thought flickered in Shen Yanzhou’s mind.
He glanced at the two men before him, eyes narrowing slightly before he smiled.
“I can spare your lives—but you’ll have to use your influence within the Nether Cult to help me accomplish one thing.”
“When it’s done, I’ll return your life souls to you.”
Until now, without enough strength to protect himself, he had avoided spreading the rumor of the false heir—because he still needed the protection of the Demon Suppression Prince’s Mansion.
But now… he no longer needed it.
Let the storm grow wilder.
…
Moments later, the white-robed man’s thumb-sized wound gradually healed.
He steadied his breath and stood upright again, though his eyes still held fear when he looked at Shen Yanzhou.
The bearded man beside him seemed calmer, though his attitude toward Shen Yanzhou was obsequious.
“From now on, Chansi and I will follow only you, Heir Shen.”
“Whatever orders you have, we will obey.”
The bearded man’s name was Song Tiemu.
He cultivated both martial arts and shamanic arts—his martial realm at the Sixth-Rank, Sea-Cleaving Realm, and his shamanic cultivation at the Eighth-Rank, Blood Fiend Realm.
He possessed a strange gift that allowed him to communicate with insects and ants.
The white-robed man was named Zhu Chansi.
He cultivated within the shamanic system as well, at the Seventh-Rank, Shamanic Priest Realm, specializing in knot binding, curse threads, and straw man curses—arts that could kill unseen.
Both obediently handed over a wisp of their life souls to Shen Yanzhou.
With those, he could control their lives and deaths at will—no fear of betrayal.
“See to it first.”
Shen Yanzhou nodded slightly.
“Rest assured, Heir Shen, it’s a simple matter. The higher-ups are already inclined toward it; we only need to quietly fan the flames,” Song Tiemu said with a hurried smile.
The two then departed swiftly.
Once their injuries had stabilized, they leapt into the forest and vanished.
“Dawn is nearly here.”
Shen Yanzhou looked into the distance.
The fine drizzle that had fallen through the night was easing off, and even the mists of miasma were fading.
He stood there a moment in thought, then turned back toward the canyon.
Since he had the chance, he might as well fulfill the wish of his original body—to witness the sunrise with his own eyes.
It was also a good time to wait for the people from the Bureau of Immortal Inspection and the Chilin Guards to arrive.
During this time, Shen Yanzhou glanced at his own panel.
【Name: Shen Yanzhou】
【Techniques: The True Explanation of Primordial Unity (Incomplete, First Stage 7/16)】
【Secret Arts: Selfless Sword Heart (Fragmented, Minor Accomplishment 1/4)】
【Realm: Martial Path, Eighth Rank; Daoist Path, Eighth Rank】
【Available Basic Points: 0 (361.18/100)】
“Time to add points again.”
“Shen Tian truly is a fine leek to harvest.”
Shen Yanzhou smiled, and without hesitation, invested all his available basic points into The True Explanation of Primordial Unity.
In the next instant, torrents of insights and memories flooded into his mind.
【The True Explanation of Primordial Unity (Incomplete, First Stage 10/16)】
Within his body, sounds like rushing rivers echoed.
The Breath of Chaos surged through his meridians like a falling Milky Way, accompanied by thunderous roars.
His muscles, bones, and blood all began to transform.
Within the vortex of Primordial Qi, threads of chaotic essence continually washed over his body, colliding with the divine soul within his spirit sea—tempering it without pause.
The second phase of the first stage of The True Explanation of Primordial Unity was “Guiding Qi to Refine the Body.”
The third phase was “Fusion of Primordial Qi.”
Now, that third phase was complete.