"Hehe, in this guise, who can tell I’ve cultivated the Dragon-Suppressing Force?"
Shen Wang chuckled. After personally cultivating the Dragon-Suppressing Force with snow toad oil, he discovered that the flaws in this technique could all be remedied with medicine.
Chen Xian and those who experienced significant changes in physique and complexion after training mainly couldn’t afford these precious medicines due to poverty.
However, if someone can afford things like thousand-year snow toad oil, they probably wouldn’t choose the Dragon-Suppressing Force, known for its slow progression in body refining cultivation.
His fast cultivation was purely because of his originally strong physique.
These two factors allowed him to perfect the first layer in a month. But since he also wasn’t wealthy, he couldn’t switch to other body refining techniques for the time being and had to continue training.
"Let’s see if Paper Kite has finished handling things over there."
Shen Wang now had spirit crystals as cultivation resources and spiritual water to consume, so he didn’t need spirit stones for cultivation. However, these things were only for personal use; he still needed spirit stones to buy various resources and had to exchange them regularly.
He arrived at the Baixi City market to find that the Celestial Commerce Association’s shop was already closed, not a single person in sight.
Shen Wang frowned. Not even a guard left behind?
At that moment, a nearby street vendor quickly stood up and came to Shen Wang’s side: "Master Shen, you’re looking for Shopkeeper Paper Kite, right? She left a letter for you before she left."
Shen Wang recognized this vendor; he had sold talismans and bought talisman paper from him once.
He cautiously took the envelope. The handwriting on it was indeed Paper Kite’s. Upon opening it, Paper Kite mentioned that some goods didn’t match and she needed to go back with them to explain.
"When did she give this to you?" Shen Wang inquired.
"Six days ago, but I heard they encountered trouble while escorting the goods back."
The vendor, as nimble as a monkey, hinted: "Master Shen seems to care a lot about this mistress."
"What do you mean by encountered trouble?"
Shen Wang tossed out a spirit stone as payment for the information.
"I’ve heard their goods were robbed by a gang of bandits. I don’t know how Shopkeeper Paper Kite is doing."
The vendor said: "I learned about this three days ago, and it’s said that gang has cultivators among them, specifically targeting other cultivators."
Shen Wang’s face darkened: "Do they dare to meddle with the Yun Family’s goods?"
"Desperate people don’t concern themselves with such matters."
"I see. What you’ve told me is very helpful this time."
Shen Wang tossed out two more spirit stones, "Do you know where and how they were ambushed?"
The vendor, smiling broadly, caught the spirit stones: "I’ve only heard it happened near the Black Water Stream area. Quite a lot of people were involved, as the Yun Family has a sizeable group."
"How many people know about this incident?"
Shen Wang felt a bit worried. Paper Kite wasn’t particularly strong, making this situation very dangerous.
"Quite a number of people have heard about it." The vendor smiled awkwardly.
Shen Wang didn’t bother about this skinny monkey exchanging information for spirit stones and turned to leave.
Paper Kite was his woman, and now that she’d been attacked with her life uncertain, he naturally had to investigate.
"Why would bandits suddenly target the Yun Family’s goods, and at this time? Could there be an insider?"
Shen Wang felt something was off. Whether bandits or robbers, the first thing to determine is whom they can provoke and who they can’t.
The Yun Family belonged to a large family, and their shop items were numerous and precious. The robbers still chose to attack, not just out of sheer boldness—there was likely secret support involved.
Anyway, his priority was to rescue Paper Kite. Hopefully, nothing had happened to her.
Shen Wang left decisively, heading to the scene of the incident first. If he couldn’t find anything, he would have to inquire at the Yun Family’s branch or other shops.
Black Water Stream was six hundred miles southwest. As he hurried there, Shen Wang recalled that the three guys he killed at the Lingxi Sect Market also belonged to this area.
If those who plundered the goods were the same type of people, Paper Kite’s fate was bleak.
Shen Wang couldn’t determine Paper Kite’s fate. Thinking of the system’s existence, he opened it secretly.
[Cultivation: Eighth-Layer Qi Cultivation]
[Spirit Root: Middle-grade Five Elements Mixed Spirit Root]
[Cultivation Technique: Gathering Essence Technique (98/100), Black Death Saber Technique (71/100), Blood Wolf Step (99/100), Blood-Transforming Palm (97/100)]
[Skills: Master-level Rune Magic (82/100), Master-level Swordsmanship (41/100), Array (50/100), Artifact Refining (37/100), Alchemy (44/100), Poison Master (83/100), Fireball Technique (100/100)...]
[Existing Longevity Species: Shen Chuxue]
[Status: Longevity Species 1 Gestating (33/100), Longevity Species 2 Gestating (2/100), Dantian Expansion (60/100), Fire Attribute Spell Insights (59/100), Body Technique (80/100), Water Attribute Spell Insights (9/100)]
Shen Wang’s pupils contracted as he stared joyously at the second gestating Longevity Species: "She’s pregnant, meaning she’s still alive!"
His emotions were mixed, but now he needed to rescue Paper Kite as soon as possible.
Learning that Paper Kite was still alive, Shen Wang quickened his pace. After maintaining his state, he reached the Black Water Stream area two hours later.
This area’s stream got its name due to its black hue, which supposedly contained special minerals known to incite frenzy and excitement, making both cultivators and mortals in the area quite aggressive.
It’s an unsuitable environment for living, with sparse populations, dense forests, and wastelands, and within a hundred-mile radius, many bloodthirsty bandits gathered.
Unaware of the situation, Shen Wang had to catch a bandit for questioning first.
He dove into the dense forest, infusing spiritual power into his ears, observing the surroundings as he moved.
Soon, Shen Wang suddenly stopped, disappearing into the shrubs.
More than one person appeared on the left, heavy footed, all ordinary bandits, over a dozen, each wielding weapons like swords and knives.
"Brother Sun, those are fights between cultivators. Wouldn’t it be risky for us with our petty skills to get involved?"
A small shadow’s eyes darted, expressing concern.
"Hmph, it’s not about meddling. Do you think you’re qualified to meddle? We’re going over there to see if there’s a chance to catch an Immortal Master’s eye. At worst, joining a Martial Arts Grandmaster’s school could still provide a promising future."
The robust man referred to as Brother Sun sneered: "Do you guys want to remain normal bandits forever in these desolate mountains?"
Everyone shook their heads. Given a choice, who would choose to be a bandit?
"Hurry up. The Immortal Master is recruiting for three days; this is the last day, and over a dozen other groups have gone."
The robust man waved his hand, accelerating his steps.
They failed to notice the person listening by the side and continued on their way.
Shen Wang pondered momentarily and didn’t act, following silently and puzzling: "It should be those people. Those daring to rob the Yun Family must be cultivators. Why recruit these ordinary bandits? Are they just making up numbers to be cannon fodder?"
Shen Wang stuck a Breath Concealment Talisman on himself and another Concealing Talisman, especially the latter which altered the light around him, integrating him with the environment to an extent visible to the naked eye, making him hard to detect unless observed closely.