234: Chapter 234 My things aren't so easily taken!

Chapter 234: Is My Property So Easily Taken! On the way back to Mobei City.

Xu Jianan lay inside the carriage, his body leaning crookedly against the carriage wall. The wounds on his left shoulder and right leg had already formed a thin layer of blood scab. Although he still limped when walking, at least he was no longer in that miserable state where his bones were exposed.

He clutched a pitch-black wine gourd in his hand, took a gulp of spirit wine, and let out a satisfied breath.

"Young Master, that Saint from Sky Wolf Valley was actually so servile; it was obvious he was scared by you. Young Master, what exactly is your cultivation level?"

Shen Qingyuan did not open his eyes, just leaned against the window, and lazily responded: "Number one in the world."

Xu Jianan chuckled; he had asked this question before.

Back then, Shen Qingyuan's answer was the same, but he hadn't really believed it.

But by today, he believed it without a doubt.

He stuffed the wine gourd into his chest and stopped asking more questions.

The carriage slowly traveled back along the official road they had come from, the wheels crushing the accumulated snow and making a creaking sound.

The sky was a few shades darker than when they had come; the lead-gray clouds hung extremely low, as if a heavy snowfall could descend at any moment.

Old Turtle was still sitting on the carriage shaft, neck retracted, looking frail and decrepit, but those cloudy old eyes occasionally swept across the wilderness on both sides of the official road, his ears twitching slightly.

After traveling about twenty li, a series of urgent shouts vaguely came from the bend in the official road ahead, mixed with the muffled sounds of spiritual power colliding and a few screams.

Old Turtle narrowed his eyes, gave a slight tug on the reins in his hands, and the carriage slowed down.

"Young Master, it is that innkeeper from before."

He turned his head and said this into the carriage.

Shen Qingyuan slowly opened his eyes, turned his head, and looked forward through the carriage window.

In a depression at the bend of the official road, a thin, withered old man was leaning against an overturned wooden cart, covered in blood, clutching a broadsword tightly in his hand.

He was surrounded by five or six black-clad Cultivators, each holding a Magical Artifact. The weakest among them was at the Peak of the Huahong Realm, and the leader was at the second stage of the Dharma Image Realm, sneering as he stepped on the wooden cart, looking down at the old man from a superior position.

"Old thing, hand over the item, and I will spare your dog's life."

The withered old man gritted his teeth, his blood-stained face full of stubbornness. His fingers clutching the Jade Slip were white, and his voice was hoarse but unyielding: "This was bestowed upon me by that Senior; don't you even think about snatching it away!"

The leading black-clad Cultivator sneered, and with a crack, the wooden cart under his foot split open: "Senior? That person might already be dead at the hands of Sky Wolf Valley; he can't save you!"

As he spoke, he raised the short blade in his hand, the blade gleaming with a faint cold light, and thrust it toward the withered old man's shoulder.

The instant the tip of the blade was about to touch flesh, an invisible gust of wind struck from the side, accurately hitting the blade.

With a crisp "clang," the short blade flew out of his hand, flipped a few times in mid-air, and plunged into the snow by the side of the road, the hilt still trembling slightly.

The black-clad Cultivator's expression changed drastically, and he whipped his head around: "Who?!"

His gaze fell upon the carriage slowly approaching on the official road, and his pupils contracted sharply.

Sitting on the carriage shaft was a hunched old man in gray robes, who was slowly retracting his hand.

The carriage stopped at the edge of the depression, the curtain lifted a corner, and Shen Qingyuan leaned half his body out. His gaze fell upon the withered old man, and he recognized him as the innkeeper of that North Wind Inn in Mobei City.

The withered old man also recognized him; a light of both shock and joy burst forth from his cloudy old eyes, and even his voice trembled: "Senior! It is you!"

Those few black-clad Cultivators' expressions changed.

The leader had already gripped his short blade again, the edge gleaming coldly, but he dared not thrust it forward even a fraction.

He recognized Shen Qingyuan, and he also recognized the hunched Old Turtle, the gray-robed old man who had just flicked his finger and sent his weapon flying.

"You, how is it possible for you to have returned alive from Snow Wolf Ridge?!" The black-clad Cultivator's voice was like a taut bowstring, weak and trembling.

Shen Qingyuan ignored him and just turned his head to look at Luo Qingyue.

Luo Qingyue nodded slightly, raised her hand, and waved it gently. Several silver-white rays of light swam out like spirit snakes, precisely wrapping around the wrists of those few black-clad Cultivators.

The silver light retracted the moment it touched them, effortless and light, yet it caused the Magical Artifacts in the hands of those few people to clatter to the ground, as if someone had instantly drained the strength from their arms.

"You..." The leader gritted his teeth fiercely, wanting to mobilize the spiritual power in his body to forcibly break free, but as soon as the spiritual power surged to his shoulders, it was like hitting a wall of copper and iron. His whole body shook, and he choked up a mouthful of blood.

"My Young Master did not give you permission to speak." Luo Qingyue said calmly, her tone cold and clear.

The depression on the official road was so quiet that only the wailing of the wind passing through the withered grass remained.

Those few black-clad Cultivators all had faces as pale as paper, their knees weak, and they knelt down with a thud, kowtowing like pounding garlic.

"Senior, spare us! Senior, spare us!"

Shen Qingyuan's expression was indifferent. He glanced at the few people and said coldly: "My property is not something just anyone can take!"

He flicked his finger, and several wisps of spiritual light splashed out; only a few cracking sounds were heard.

The cultivation of all of them was abolished on the spot.

The black-clad Cultivators curled up their bodies, their faces full of pain, but they dared not say anything more.

Shen Qingyuan had already withdrawn his gaze, leaned against the carriage wall, and lazily closed his eyes: "Let's go, back to Mobei City."

The carriage once again crushed the accumulated snow, slowly driving back in the direction of Mobei City along the official road.

The withered old man knelt in the snow, watching the dilapidated carriage disappear into the wind and snow on the horizon. After a long while, he carefully tucked away the Jade Slip, braced himself against the wooden cart to slowly stand up, and grinned.

"Heh... Old Ancestor protect me, allowing me, Old Li, to meet a noble person!"

On the carriage, Luo Qingyue glanced at Xu Jianan and asked with a hint of curiosity: "Old Xu, this time in the Secret Realm, what kind of treasure did you actually obtain? It actually caused so many experts from Sky Wolf Valley to hunt you down!"

Xu Jianan reached into his chest and took out a palm-sized piece of animal hide. The edges of the animal hide were charred black, and its surface was engraved with dense, tiny runes, emitting a faint, dark golden light in the dim carriage.

"This is what I obtained in the Secret Realm."

Shen Qingyuan took the animal hide. The moment his fingertips touched it, a warm spiritual power surged along the patterns.

The runes on the animal hide peeled away layer by layer under his gaze of the Spirit Eye Divine Pupil, revealing a fragmented map.

The location marked on the map was in the extreme north of the Northern Plains, an area covered by glaciers, with a line of small characters engraved in ancient seal script on the side — "Cangming Ancestral Land, emperors blood sealed."

"emperors blood?" Shen Qingyuan raised his eyebrows slightly.

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