In general, most cultivators of the Buddhist sect would not stoop to murder and robbery.
"Now that the eldest brother has finished introducing, let me, the second brother, take over."
A man in his thirties or forties, dressed in a gray long gown with a scholarly air, stepped forward holding a feather fan and cupped his fists: "I am Li Yuanning. Originally, I was a scholar among the commoners, but by chance, I entered the world of cultivation. Hence, I have no sect affiliation and live by relying on a few brothers and sisters."
He thought for a moment and said, "My cultivation level is at the Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation."
Shen Wang nodded; there are many people in the secular world, not every person with a Spirit Root is discovered, and it’s not uncommon for people to unexpectedly enter the Cultivation Realm after encountering cultivation methods.
"I am ranked third, named Li Jian’an, born from a martial arts school, a Fourth-Grade Grandmaster."
A middle-aged man with short sleeves and exceptionally muscular arms introduced himself, clearly a Grandmaster of Fist Technique.
Shen Wang cupped his fists in return, acknowledging that martial arts schools often produce grandmasters. It’s known that some schools even have connections with major sects, assisting in selecting secular grandmasters to join.
"Liao Lie, a person from a minor family, Seventh-Layer Qi Cultivation."
A man with sharp eyes like a hawk’s spoke coldly, uncertain if he had a poor attitude towards Shen Wang or if it was just his nature.
"I’m the fifth, Wang Chuanfu, from a small family, tagging along with the eldest brother and others, Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation."
A young man who had previously pursued Shen Wang using Sword Control introduced himself.
"My name is Hou Shangcai, sixth in line, grew up near Jinshui Lake, considered a loose cultivator afterward, also Sixth-Layer."
A young man in a blue robe with a shrewd look smiled at Shen Wang.
"I’m the youngest, Sixth-Layer Qi Cultivation, also from Jinshui Lake."
Ning Xia added her background.
"That’s our situation, not as impressive as you, Younger Brother Shen, being from a major cultivation clan."
Chen Xian chuckled, concluding the introductions.
Among the seven of them, their backgrounds were generally ordinary, some were loose cultivators, others from small powers, and there were even those from the secular world. Chen Xian himself was a lay disciple with no status at Lin Yuan Temple.
Strictly speaking, Shen Wang’s background was indeed better than theirs.
"The Shen Family isn’t quite a major clan, I have nothing special about me either."
Shen Wang shook his head: "I practice Dual Cultivation of Magic and Martial Arts, consider me a Sixth Grade Grandmaster."
"Younger Brother Shen is too modest, it was only half a month ago that you easily dealt with the Three Evils of Black Water Stream, such skill, I, Chen, couldn’t achieve it."
"You’re flattering me."
Shen Wang was noncommittal, ideally, his strength should deter a few people to prevent any bad intentions.
He returned to the main topic: "Let’s talk about this trip’s matters, I’d like to know how the Ancient Cultivator’s items will be divided?"
"In the absence of internal conflict, it’s each person to their own abilities. If your final gains are less than a tenth of the total, we can supplement you with half a percent."
Shen Wang looked at the latter unexpectedly: "Chen, you are quite generous."
"Haha, Shen, being from a big clan, we naturally want to make a good connection, can’t let Younger Brother Shen come for nothing."
Chen Xian laughed without beating around the bush.
"Alright, I’ll owe Chen a favor then."
Shen Wang liked straightforwardness , as it allows for long-term cooperation.
"As long as Shen is satisfied, let’s proceed to that place."
Chen Xian admired Shen Wang’s calm demeanor, concluding that this person is likely neither vicious nor ruthless, worthwhile to cooperate with.
Shen Wang stepped out, and a Black Blade suddenly appeared in his hand: "I forgot to mention, if there is a saber technique matching this blade found in the Ancient Cultivator’s Cave Mansion, regardless of who obtains it, I must at least have a share."
Some of the people showed dissatisfaction upon hearing this, thinking this person was somewhat excessive, demanding something before even entering.
"Alright, but should you obtain it, you’ll have to let us take a look too."
Chen Xian had no objections, as saber technique manuals are something everyone can learn. Regardless of who obtains them, at most, one shows it to the others.
"Eldest brother, it would be wise for us to hurry over now."
Li Yuanning reminded.
Although the lifespan of cultivators is longer than that of ordinary people, so the span of time they speak of is longer; the higher the cultivation level, the longer it is.
However, such matters cannot be delayed, as the place is not a restricted area, and their actions are somewhat conspicuous, they might be secretly monitored by others.
Shen Wang said nothing more, following the seven people to the location of the Ancient Cultivator’s Cave Mansion.
He was unfamiliar with these people, and deliberately maintained some distance while walking, simultaneously pondering the destination this time.
According to Ning Xia’s words, he reviewed the map among the spoils in his leisure time and basically confirmed that the Ancient Cultivator’s Cave Mansion was located in the southwestern area of Xi Province.
The place was called the Kunyu Mountain Range, originally a jade mine site, exhausted a long time ago, due to severe environmental destruction, it is now a barren land for hundreds of miles, with few cultivators or even ordinary people.
The edge of the Kunyu Mountain Range is nearly five hundred miles away from Fengming Mountain; Chen Xian and others clearly chose low-profile departure, opting to travel through the wild area, appearing at an ordinary small town under the Kunyu Mountain by afternoon.
"Why not go directly in?"
Seeing Chen Xian and the others preparing to rest, Shen Wang was a bit surprised.
"That place is only suitable to enter at noon, early morning and evening are not safe."
Ning Xia, also walking behind, helped to explain.
Shen Wang looked at the bare brown barren mountain in the distance: "What’s dangerous about it?"
"If you can’t find the entrance accurately, you’ll easily run into the trapping array or the killing array. Do you think that’s dangerous?"
Ning Xia chuckled: "You just rest with us here at ease."
Shen Wang nodded, following the group towards a small courtyard. The watchdog inside tucked its tail and avoided them, while a village woman immediately greeted them with a smile.
"A few heroes, going up the mountain to look for jade again, please come in."
The village woman was very pleased; these people had to pay to stay here, and when they came down the mountain, they would even give some jade, so they were naturally very welcome.
This courtyard was large, considered a wealthy household in this town,
Chen Xian and others chose this place for convenience in accommodation.
Shen Wang got a room to himself, watching the vegetables and fruits growing in the courtyard, his gaze fell on the stones used to edge the vegetable field, noticing that they looked much like Stone Talismans.
"You noticed too, it’s precisely because the material is somewhat similar that we found this place."
Li Yuanning, looking scholarly, walked out, saw Shen Wang examining the stones, and went over to pick up one: "These stones are very jade-like, probably midway between jade and stone formation; with a special material, they can bear array runes engraved on them."
"Oh, so does this mean the jade from Kunyu Mountain is a kind of cultivation resource?"
Shen Wang was thoughtful.
"These stones have very limited use, real jade is a very low-level cultivation resource, considered common fine jade in the secular world. I suspect there used to be a Spirit Vein here, so there were Ancient Cultivators, but the Spiritual Qi was exhausted, the cultivators left, this place fell into decline, and later, all the Kunyu was mined by ordinary people, eventually becoming a desolate land."
Li Yuanning confidently stated his opinion.