33: Departure, the City in Turmoil

The decision was made, and the Shen Family began operating with extreme efficiency.

The clan treasury was flung open, and resources poured out like flowing water.

Three days. In just three days.

Shen Yuanmo's figure appeared in every core area of the Family.

Inside the Artifact Refining Workshop, the furnace fires did not go out for three days and nights.

He personally oversaw the work, teaching everything he knew about the Artifact Refining techniques derived from [Perfect Deduction].

The massive amount of Materials seized from the Lin Family and Zhao Wuji's treasury were rapidly transformed into a batch of standard-issue Magical Artifacts shimmering with a grim, cold light, arming every guard.

The most startling thing was that manual from Zhao Wuji's collection, "Introduction to Puppetry."

After Shen Yuanmo's deduction, this superficial Puppet technique underwent an earth-shattering transformation.

The refining cost was reduced by fifty percent and the process was simplified, yet its power surged several times over!

On the martial arts field.

Two days later, ten Black Iron Puppets, each twelve feet tall, were lined up.

Their entire bodies were forged from black iron, shimmering with a cold metallic luster. Their joints were carved with profound runes, and the cores in their chests were embedded with Mid-Grade Spirit Stones, their auras as heavy as mountains.

"Test!"

With a command from Shen Yuanmo, an Artifact Refiner activated one of them.

The red light in the Black Iron Puppet's eye sockets suddenly lit up. It turned its head mechanically and locked onto a target made of hundred-refined steel used for testing the power of Magical Artifacts.

Boom!

There were no fancy movements, just a simple and direct straight punch.

The air was instantly blasted apart, letting out a piercing sonic boom.

The steel target, which was strong enough to withstand the full-force strike of a Late Stage Qi Refining Cultivator, had a massive hole punched through its center. The target body shattered inch by inch, turning into a pile of scrap metal on the ground.

"Hiss—"

The hearts of all the Shen Family clansmen present skipped a beat.

This is definitely the strength of the Qi Refining Great Perfection!

Combined with being a Puppet body—tireless and unafraid of death—it was enough to trade a move or two with a Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

During this period, the newly appointed City Lord, Liu Xuande, came to pay his respects with heavy gifts on his first day in office.

When he saw those ten Puppets standing like demon gods on the martial arts field, this Early Stage Foundation Establishment 'nice guy' felt his legs go weak, and cold sweat soaked his back.

He didn't dare say a single unnecessary word. He lowered his posture to the dust, showing extreme submissiveness, stating that everything in Linjiang City would be decided by the Grand Elder.

With this, all lingering concerns were completely cleared away.

...

On the morning of the fifth day, before dawn.

In front of the Shen Family's grand residence, a merchant caravan like a torrent of steel had already assembled.

Three giant beast-carriages, pulled by four extraordinary Wind-Chasing Horses each, were like three mobile fortresses.

The carriage bodies were crafted entirely from second-grade spiritual wood, Iron Birch, and were covered in dense defensive runes carved by Shen Yuanmo, shimmering with a faint light.

The first carriage contained the stepping stones to making a name for themselves: the new versions of qi gathering powder and Rejuvenation Pills refined by Shen Yuanmo and the Shen Qifa, Shen Qifa.

The latter two carriages were filled with Spirit Stones and various Materials.

Twenty elite guards from the Qi and Yuan generations, dressed in black martial attire and holding brand-new Magical Artifacts, stood on both sides of the convoy. Their faces were a mix of excitement, nervousness, and fanaticism.

At the front and back of the team, the ten Black Iron Puppets stood in silence, their invisible pressure making the surrounding air turn stagnant.

Shen Yuanmo, dressed in green robes, stood before the convoy.

Shen Qiming, Shen Zongdao, and all the core clan members came to see them off.

"Yuan Mo..." Shen Qiming stepped forward, wanting to say some polite words about staying safe.

But when the words reached his lips, they turned into a low shout as he roughly stuffed a warm, worn-edged silk pouch into Shen Yuanmo's hand.

"You brat, this is the peace talisman your mother asked for back then. I've always kept it. If you dare lose it, I'll break your legs when you get back!"

Shen Yuanmo felt a warmth in his heart as he held the pouch that still carried his father's body heat.

He didn't say much, only nodding heavily.

"Old Ancestor." He turned to Shen Zongdao.

Shen Zongdao handed over a Jade Slip: "Inside this are some observations from when I traveled through Baiyue Prefecture in my early years. I've also noted several dangerous places that might produce rare treasures. Perhaps... they will be useful."

"The hour is getting late."

Shen Yuanmo's gaze swept over all the clan members. His voice wasn't loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly.

"While I am away, follow the Family Head's orders in everything. Those who are slack—I will personally cripple their cultivation and expel them from the Family when I return!"

His grim words caused a chill to run through everyone's hearts.

"We respectfully obey the Grand Elder's decree!"

The response shook the long street.

Shen Yuanmo did not linger. He turned, tapped his toes, and his body landed as silently as a feather on the roof of the leading beast-carriage.

He sat cross-legged and closed his eyes.

"Set out."

"Jia!"

A long whip cracked through the air, and the giant beast-carriages slowly started moving, their wheels emitting a heavy rumble as they rolled over the bluestone slabs.

The entire Linjiang City seemed to tremble slightly under the march of this steel team. Cultivators and Mortals along the streets all cast gazes of awe and fear.

Shen Qiming and Shen Zongdao stood in place, watching the receding back until the convoy turned into a black dot and disappeared into the morning light.

"Issue the order!" Shen Qiming retracted his gaze, his eyes becoming incomparably sharp. "The Family enters the highest state of alert! All disciples are to double their cultivation time and double their resource supply!"

"The Grand Elder is out there fighting for the Shen Family's future. We in the rear must support him, even if we have to grind our bones into powder!"

"Yes!"

...

The convoy traveled along the official road at a very fast speed.

From Linjiang City to Baiyue Prefecture City was over three thousand li. Along the way, bandits ran rampant and Yao Beasts appeared; it was by no means a smooth path.

Shen Yuanmo sat cross-legged on the carriage roof. His Divine Sense had already enveloped a ten-li radius. He appeared to be in meditation, but in reality, everything was under his control.

On the third day, the convoy entered the famous Black Wind Gorge.

This was a paradise for Bandit Cultivators and a nightmare for merchant caravans.

On the mountain walls flanking the official road, dozens of greedy and undisguised gazes locked onto this seemingly fat prize of a team.

"Big brother, this fat sheep... is a bit prickly! Those ten iron lumps look terrifying."

"What are you afraid of!" A scarred man with a face full of flesh sneered. "They're just for show! Look at those guards, the strongest is only at the seventh or eighth level of Qi Refining—a bunch of fledglings! Today, we, the Three Fiends of Black Wind, will use them for practice!"

A whistle sounded.

More than thirty Bandit Cultivators leaped down from the mountain walls, blocking the official road tightly.

The scarred man at the head was surprisingly at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment.

The young guards in the convoy instantly grew tense, gripping their Magical Artifacts one after another.

"Form the array!" the guard captain shouted.

However, everyone was still waiting for the command from the person on the carriage roof.

The scarred man shouldered his ghost-head greatsword and grinned. "Boys, if you're smart, leave the goods and carriages behind, and your grandpa here might let you..."

He didn't get to finish his words.

Atop the carriage, Shen Yuanmo didn't even lift his eyelids.

A cold, emotionless syllable escaped his lips.

"Crush them."

Buzz—!

Once the order was given, the red light in the eyes of the ten Black Iron Puppets instantly became as bright as blood-red suns!

The two Puppets at the very front moved.

They didn't draw the war blades on their backs but instead charged out directly with a terrifying speed that completely belied their massive size.

"Seeking death!"

The scarred man was furious. His Early Stage Foundation Establishment magic power erupted, and the ghost-head greatsword in his hand whipped up a foul wind as he slashed fiercely at a Puppet's head.

Clang!!

A deafening boom rang out.

The scarred man felt an irresistible, terrifying force transmit from the blade. His tiger's mouth instantly split open, and the ghost-head greatsword was sent flying into the sky.

He watched in horror as only a faint white mark was left on the Puppet's neck.

Meanwhile, the Puppet's massive iron hand had already grabbed his head.

"No..."

Crack!

A sound like a watermelon bursting rang out.

Red and white splattered everywhere.

An Early Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator had his head crushed in a single exchange.

The remaining Bandit Cultivators were scared out of their wits.

This wasn't a battle at all; it was a massacre!

The ten Puppets turned into ten steel whirlwinds, charging into the crowd.

They ignored any attacks from Spells or Magical Artifacts, using only the simplest and most barbaric ramming, punching, and stomping.

Screams, the sound of bones shattering, and the sound of weapons snapping intertwined into a symphony of death.

In less than ten breaths.

The thirty-plus Bandit Cultivators had turned into a ground full of shredded meat and broken parts.

The air was thick with a pungent smell of blood.

In the convoy, a youth from the Yuan generation who was traveling far for the first time couldn't hold it in any longer and vomited with a "wah," his face as pale as paper.

On both sides of the canyon, other bandits who had originally wanted a piece of the pie had already fled in terror, disappearing without a trace.

The convoy continued forward as if nothing had happened.

Just as the convoy drove out of Black Wind Gorge and entered a plain.

Shen Yuanmo, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them.

He abruptly looked up toward the northwestern sky.

There, a flying boat, entirely pitch-black with a ferocious beast-head carved on the prow, was streaking through the air at an incredible speed.

On the flying boat, a large black flag with a gold border danced wildly in the wind.

On the flag, the ancient character for "Wei" was brimming with Killing Intent.

The direction was the place recorded on the treasure map of the Nascent Soul Cave Mansion he had given to the Wei Family.

Looking at that frantic speed that disregarded the consumption of Spirit Stones...

Shen Yuanmo knew that the Wei Family had finally been unable to hold back and had bitten down hard on the treasure map of the Nascent Soul Cave Mansion he had scouted with [Perfect Deduction].