87: Secret Letter from the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion

The clansman who delivered the secret letter stood in the center of the council hall, his face pale, his legs trembling like autumn leaves in the wind.

He didn't even dare to lift his head, staring intently at his toes, as if some peerless Cultivation Technique was inscribed on the ground.

“Heavenly Secret Pavilion?”

Shen Zongdao's hand, holding the teacup lid, paused in mid-air, and he exchanged a glance with Shen Qiming beside him.

Who in the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty didn't know Heavenly Secret Pavilion? This organization never took sides, yet it made all forces wary.

Why would they send someone to a small place like Linjiang City? And specifically ask for the Shen Family?

Could it be... that the destruction of the Wei Family attracted their backer?

“The letter.”

Shen Yuanmo's voice was not loud, but it made the suffocating clansman jolt.

He quickly stepped forward, pulled out a palm-sized black jade box from his In my arms, and held it above his head with trembling hands.

The box was entirely black, cold to the touch, with no visible seams.

On its surface, a complex rune slowly flickered with an eerie frequency, as if alive.

“Where is the person who delivered the letter?” Shen Yuanmo took the box and weighed it.

“The person... the person disappeared as soon as they delivered it to the door! They only left a message, saying that this letter... must be opened by your own hands, Grand Elder, otherwise, the contents of the box will immediately burn to ashes!”

Shen Yuanmo waved his hand, signaling him to retreat.

The clansman, as if granted a great pardon, scrambled out of the council hall.

Instantly, the hall became so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

The gazes of Shen Qiming, Shen Zongdao, and Shen Qifa all fell upon the black jade box.

“Yuan Mo, could this Heavenly Secret Pavilion... be coming to cause trouble?” Shen Qiming's voice was dry, and his Adam's apple bobbed up and down.

The Shen Family had just swallowed the Wei Family, a fat piece of meat, and hadn't fully digested it yet. Their Foundation was unstable, and they truly couldn't withstand any more storms.

“Trouble?” Shen Yuanmo toyed with the jade box, his fingertip lightly tracing the rune. “The Wei Family is already destroyed; what could be more troublesome than that?”

He knew what he was doing.

Back then, for the nine-aperture stone milk, he had caused quite a stir at the Heavenly Secret Pavilion in the Prefecture City.

Although a deal was later struck, and they even gave him a Tianji Token, it was a case of 'no discord, no concord'.

But since then, there had been no further grievances between them.

Now, suddenly receiving a secret letter, it was highly likely related to that past incident.

He no longer thought about it, and a wisp of Glazed True Yang Mana, refined like a golden needle, extended from his fingertip and touched the core of the rune.

“Buzz...”

The rune's golden light surged, then dimmed. A thin line appeared in the center of the black jade box, silently splitting open to both sides.

Inside the box lay a letter rolled in golden silk.

Shen Yuanmo took it out and unfolded it.

There weren't many words on the letter, written with a spiritual ink imbued with Dao rhyme, the brushstrokes sharp, as if they would pierce through the paper.

He read it quickly, and after finishing, his face remained expressionless, but his two fingers unconsciously tightened on a corner of the letter paper.

“Yuan Mo, what... what exactly is written on the letter?” Shen Zongdao finally couldn't hold back, and the teacup lid in his hand clinked against the cup, making a crisp sound.

Shen Yuanmo didn't speak, just handed the letter over.

Shen Zongdao and Shen Qiming snatched it, huddling together.

The letter contained only two sections.

First, Heavenly Secret Pavilion would hold a decennial Prodigy Auction three months later in Qingzhou Prefecture City.

This event was not open to the public, only inviting young Cultivators under thirty in Qingzhou who had been rated as Prodigies by Heavenly Secret Pavilion.

The letter explicitly stated that Shen Yuanmo's achievement of killing a Golden Core True Person in the Late Golden Core Stage while only in the Late Foundation Establishment Stage had entered the Dharma Eye of Heavenly Secret Pavilion's high-ranking members, and he was specially invited.

“Prodigy Auction!” Shen Qifa, listening from the side, slapped his thigh in excitement, but hit it too hard, letting out a pained hiss.

Anyone called a Prodigy by Heavenly Secret Pavilion was an exceptional successor of a top-tier force, an anomaly! The Shen Family, unexpectedly, had produced such a figure!

Shen Zongdao and Shen Qiming were also ecstatic, the glory of the Family seemingly within reach.

However, when their eyes scanned the second section, the color drained from all three of their faces.

The second section was Heavenly Secret Pavilion's warning.

The letter clearly pointed out that Shen Yuanmo, in destroying the Wei Family, had obtained the token used to contact the Demonic Path organization, Netherworld Path.

This matter had already alarmed the Netherworld Path, an organization known for its bizarre methods and vengeful nature.

They might not launch a massive retaliation against the Shen Family just for an peripheral collaborator, but they valued that identity token immensely.

Heavenly Secret Pavilion warned that the Netherworld Path had likely dispatched assassins, who would stop at nothing to retrieve the token and eliminate all those who knew about it.

If the Wei Family was a fierce tiger in Baiyue Prefecture, then the Netherworld Path was a prehistoric giant crocodile lurking in the shadows of the entire Great Qian Immortal Dynasty!

“This... this... what should we do?” Shen Qiming's surge of joy was doused by a bucket of ice water, his voice trembling.

Shen Zongdao suddenly looked at Shen Yuanmo, his palm unconsciously pressing on the armrest of his chair: “Yuan Mo, that token...”

“It's with me.” Shen Yuanmo's reply was frighteningly calm.

“It's too late to throw it away now,” he added. “Once targeted by such an organization, they only trust dead people.”

“Then... then the auction in Prefecture City...” Shen Qiming's eyes were filled with worry. “Are you still going?”

On one side was a great Opportunity to access Qingzhou's top circles.

On the other, a death threat from a colossal entity.

“Yes.”

Shen Yuanmo said only one word, resolute and decisive.

“You're crazy!” Shen Qiming roared in alarm. “That's going to your death!”

“Why not go?” Shen Yuanmo walked to the entrance of the council hall, stood with his hands behind his back, and looked at the vast world outside the city.

“Father, Old Ancestor, what do you think I established the Cultivation Technique Hall and Alchemy Hall for?”

“Why did I shift the Family's focus from expansion to nurturing talents?”

The three were stunned by the questions.

Shen Yuanmo didn't turn back: “Because I want to form my Core. And after I form my Core, the Shen Family will experience a surge of growth. I need enough people to support this endeavor. I can't always be the only one at the forefront.”

Boom!

The words Core Formation were not heavy, but the following words exploded in the minds of the three like a bolt of lightning.

Shen Zongdao suddenly stood up, his chair sliding far back, but he didn't notice, staring intently at his grandson's back.

“Yuan Mo, you... what kind of Core are you going to form?” His voice was trembling.

Shen Yuanmo slowly turned around, looking at the three elders who were already shocked into losing their composure.

“I'm going to form... a Supreme-grade Golden Core.”

“What?!”

This time, it was a simultaneous gasp from all three. Wasn't that a legend only found in ancient texts?

“The Crimson Sun Glazed Scripture, the Vajra Glazed Body, and the Nine Revolutions Spirit Refining Art—these three Cultivation Techniques can allow my essence, Qi, and Spirit to reach an unprecedented state of Perfection in the Foundation Establishment stage.”

“But to break through the limit and form a Supreme-grade Golden Core, one last thing is missing.”

Shen Yuanmo held up the letter, and the golden silk burned in his fingertips, turning into ashes.

“A Heaven and Earth Oddity.”

“Such a thing cannot be found in Baiyue Prefecture. Only by going to Prefecture City, to that auction where Prodigies gather, is it possible for one to appear.”

“Therefore, I must go to this auction.”

Shen Qiming's mouth was open, wanting to say something, but he found not a single word could escape his throat.

His son, the son he thought he knew so well, now seemed incredibly unfamiliar.

While they were still smug about the Shen Family dominating Baiyue Prefecture, Shen Yuanmo's gaze had already passed beyond Qingzhou, set on the legendary Supreme-grade Golden Core!

“As for the Netherworld Path...”

“If they don't come, it's their good fortune. If they dare to come, I'll let them know that the fate of that Golden Core True Person outside Baiyue Prefecture City was not an isolated incident.”

That terrifying Aura, belonging to a Foundation Establishment Great Perfection Cultivator who cultivated all three aspects, was no longer restrained at this moment, erupting like a mountain torrent!

The air in the entire council hall solidified, and the tables and chairs groaned under the invisible pressure.

Shen Qiming and Shen Qifa's faces were ashen. If Shen Yuanmo hadn't reined in his Aura, the two would have nearly been forced to their knees by the pressure.

Only Shen Zongdao, after the initial shock, was not surprised but delighted. He looked at his grandson, his eyes bursting with unprecedented brilliance, his cloudy eyes shining terrifyingly bright.

He suddenly slapped his thigh and burst into laughter, his laughter full of excitement and boldness.

“Good! Good! Truly my grandson, Shen Zongdao's grandson! Cultivators should inherently contend with heaven and fight with earth! What's there to fear from a mere Netherworld Path!”

“Yuan Mo, go with confidence! The Family will support you, even if we have to sell everything!”

“Exactly!” Shen Qiming also reacted, suppressing all his worries, a look of determination appearing on his face. “Yuan Mo, do what you want to do! The Family will always be your strongest backing!”

“Thank you, Father, thank you, Old Ancestor.” Shen Yuanmo reined in his Aura, and the pressure in the hall vanished like smoke.

“Without further ado, I will depart for Prefecture City tomorrow.” Shen Yuanmo decided immediately.

“Before I leave, there are a few things that need to be arranged.”