Eternal Life from the Golden Needle Technique

「Twenty years ago.」

A member of a Shen Family collateral branch journeyed here alone, venturing into the mountains and discovering this cave dwelling.

The misfortunes of Dawan Village began at that very moment. 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

As the story goes,

back then, that Shen Family member didn’t linger in the cave dwelling for long. He turned back, passing through Dawan Village again on his return journey, only to be ambushed by its master at the time, the Hu Family Patriarch.

Looking back now,

it was clear that the Shen Family member had entered the cave dwelling but had been unable to breach the seals on the three portals. He must have left in the end to find a way to break them.

However, this was a good thing,

even though the three light-screen portals also blocked Shen Changchuan’s way.

But at least,

this meant that everything inside was still preserved.

The legacy and other treasures left by the Soul Emergence Level expert had not been taken.

’Sigh, what a shame. I thought I could at least recoup some of my Spirit Stone expenses... Now it looks like getting the treasures inside will take a good while longer.’

After spending more time and energy trying,

and confirming he couldn’t open them with his current abilities,

a sense of regret welled up within Shen Changchuan.

Although he had acquired over a thousand Spirit Stones after slaying Old Ghost Song,

in the time since,

he had been forced to spend a huge amount of them replenishing his Magical Power in order to practice his thirty-odd Magic techniques and raise them to Perfection as quickly as possible, all so he could master the Entry Level of his killing technique, Cyan Wood Sword Light.

He did this

to increase the number of times he could practice his Magic each day.

As a result,

his stash of Spirit Stones had been dwindling at a visible rate.

Factoring in the future costs of Cultivation and Refining Elixirs to advance his Cultivation Realm,

Shen Changchuan estimated he would need at least several hundred more Spirit Stones!

In order to rapidly increase his own strength,

the high cost of Spirit Stones

was something Shen Changchuan was willing to bear.

The real problem, however, was that his Spirit Stones were being depleted so quickly. Without a reliable way to replenish them, he feared he would run out very soon.

He had originally hoped,

after dealing with the Gale Falcon, to recoup his losses in a big way by looting the cave dwelling left by the Soul Emergence Realm Cultivator.

Now, those three portals had dashed his plans completely.

’Whatever. With this space so full of Spiritual Qi, I should be able to save a fair amount of Spirit Stones when I break through to the Qi Introduction Seventh Layer.’

’But this means I probably won’t have enough Spirit Stones to go to the Wu Family Collection, or even Qing City, to find a Beast Taming technique for the Gale Falcon.’

Shen Changchuan felt a headache coming on.

Even the most basic offensive Magic was exorbitantly priced.

Wouldn’t a rare, technical skill like a Beast Taming method cost even more?

Besides, it wasn’t just about Spirit Stones.

In a place as remote as the Border Desolate Land,

it was questionable whether such a thing could even be found.

’Forget it. If it really comes down to it, I’ll just slaughter the Gale Falcon and eat it.’

Shen Changchuan shook his head slightly,

having made his decision.

As for being able to fly while in the Qi Introduction Realm,

he wasn’t particularly obsessed with the idea.

If it wasn’t possible,

then so be it.

Shen Changchuan then scoured the area one more time, even using his Spiritual Eye Technique to carefully examine the red light-screen seals on each of the three portals.

He still found nothing new,

but Shen Changchuan wasn’t annoyed.

It wasn’t a total loss, either.

Under the gaze of his Spiritual Eye Technique,

Shen Changchuan discovered that beneath the red light screens of the three portals, there seemed to be intertwining lines of Spiritual Power pathways.

Those red light screens,

appeared to be seals powered by a complex Array!

This undoubtedly gave Shen Changchuan an idea.

He remembered that when Patriarch Wu Yuanzhi of the Wu Family had summoned him, he had given him the legacy of a Tier One Array Master.

But after he returned,

a series of events, coupled with his rush to gain enough power to face a Qi Introduction Seventh Layer expert,

meant he hadn’t yet had time to study it properly.

’Perhaps when I have more time, I can properly study that Array Master’s legacy.’

’Then, maybe I’ll be able to use that knowledge to break the seals on these three portals!’

With a potential path forward,

the regret in Shen Changchuan’s heart faded slightly.

It’s okay.

Just because I can’t open it now doesn’t mean I’ll never be able to.

Once I’ve made some progress in my Array Cultivation,

I’ll just come back and try again!

With this in mind,

Shen Changchuan did not linger any longer

and turned to leave the cave dwelling.

Once outside,

Shen Changchuan didn’t forget to spend some effort setting up some concealment around the entrance.

He moved several large boulders to block the corner entrance, then gathered dead leaves, weeds, and snow, blending them together to camouflage the area and make it look natural.

After all his efforts,

even when standing right in front of the entrance,

it was now nearly impossible to spot the entrance to the cave dwelling.

’This place might be remote, but that doesn’t mean someone won’t stumble upon it by chance. That’s especially true now that news about the Wu Family Collection and the Cyan Essence Water Grass is spreading, bringing more and more people into these mountains looking for opportunities.’

’With this camouflage, no one will ever find the cave dwelling inside—unless they’re unlucky enough to get into a fight right here and smash all the surrounding rocks!’

With his work done, Shen Changchuan felt much more at ease.