261: Chapter 261 Recent Situation in Guangnan City

As the carriage rolled over the main road outside Guangnan City, Shen Qingyuan lifted the curtain and took a glance.

Dusk stained the horizon a warm, golden hue. In the setting sun, the distant blue-grey city walls glowed with a gentle luster, and the two large characters "Guangnan" on the city gate remained vigorous, casting a long shadow in the twilight.

He lowered the curtain, a faint arc appearing at the corners of his mouth.

"We're home."

Xu Jianan had been dozing against the carriage wall, but upon hearing this, his eyelids snapped open. A sharp light flashed in his cloudy old eyes, and he let out a long breath: "Finally back."

Jiang Li, meanwhile, stuck her head right out of the window. The night breeze ruffled the loose hair on her forehead, and her pair of bright, almond-shaped eyes curiously scanned the outline of the city as it gradually became clearer in the twilight: "Wow! The city walls in the Southern Region are different from those in Central State; they tower into the clouds, far taller than the walls in Central State!"

Hearing this, Luo Qingyue softly explained: "Guangnan City is adjacent to the Southern Heavens and must defend against attacks from Yao Beasts, so the city walls are naturally much taller."

Jiang Li leaned against the carriage window, her almond-shaped eyes wide, her small face filled with curiosity and pleasant surprise.

"Sister Qingyue, why is the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in Guangnan City so dense?"

She turned her head to look at Luo Qingyue, her eyes filled with a trace of confusion. "I heard that among the Five Regions, the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi in the Southern Region is the thinnest, completely incomparable to Central State. How is it that the Spiritual Qi in this Guangnan City is almost on par with the major cities in Central State?"

Luo Qingyue tilted her head slightly and glanced at Shen Qingyuan with a gentle gaze. "Recently, the world has undergone great changes, and the Spiritual Qi has begun to recover. With the Young Master in Guangnan City, the Spiritual Qi is naturally more abundant than in other places."

"Spiritual Qi recovery?" Jiang Li blinked her eyes. "My father seems to have mentioned it, saying that the Luck of Heaven and Earth has indeed improved recently, but how can it change so much? This isn't just a small improvement; this is a world-shaking change!"

As she spoke, she stuck her head out of the carriage window again and looked into the distance.

She saw that the spiritual plants in the fields outside Guangnan City were growing extremely well; their leaves were thick, lush, and green, shining with a lustrous glow under the sunlight, clearly nourished by abundant Spiritual Qi.

Old Turtle sat on the carriage shaft, his hunched body swaying slightly with the bumps of the carriage. His cloudy old eyes were half-squinted, gazing at the outline of the Guangnan City walls in the distance, while a nameless emotion surged in his heart.

When he first came to Guangnan City, it was just a small, border city with thin Spiritual Qi, unremarkable among the thirty-six major cities of the Southern Region.

But now, after just a few short months, the concentration of Spiritual Qi in Guangnan City had climbed to a level comparable to Central State.

Even his own cultivation, which had been stagnant for hundreds of years, had improved from the 6th stage of the Asking Dao Realm to the 9th stage of the Asking Dao Realm in just a few short months.

And all these changes were thanks to the Master!

By the time the carriage passed through the city gate, the sky had completely darkened.

The streets of Guangnan City were lit with festive lights. Warm yellow light shone from the shops on both sides, and the air was filled with the smoky aroma from Spirit Cuisine stalls, mixed with the faint sound of string and bamboo instruments drifting from the tea houses in the distance.

"Young Master, something is wrong in the city." Luo Qingyue frowned slightly and whispered in Shen Qingyuan's ear.

Shen Qingyuan nodded slightly. "Many Cultivators have arrived."

Even before entering the city, he had noticed that there were many more high-level Cultivators in the city.

There were dozens of Primal Chaos Realm Cultivators now, whereas there were originally very few in the city.

Guangnan City was just a remote, small city. On normal days, there were few visiting Cultivators, and even with its recent rise in fame, it was impossible to have so many visiting experts.

With this situation, it seemed that some major event had occurred.

However, Shen Qingyuan did not overthink it.

I'll deal with whatever comes.

Regardless of what happened, he could handle it with his strength.

The carriage passed through the streets and soon returned to the Shen Family.

Two large red lanterns were already lit in front of the Shen Mansion, the light reflecting off the plaque with the two characters "Shen Mansion," making it particularly eye-catching in the night.

The stone lions in front of the gate remained imposing. Two Shen Family disciples were squatting on the steps, chatting in low voices. Hearing the sound of horse hooves, they looked up, were stunned for a moment, and then abruptly stood up, their faces bursting with joyful smiles.

"The Ninth Elder is back!"

One of the young disciples ran up the steps in two or three strides and shouted towards the gate at the top of his lungs. The voice was exceptionally clear in the night, startling several grey sparrows resting on the roof ridge.

"Oh! Is this the Shen Family? So impressive!"

Jiang Li was the first to jump off the carriage, looking up at the plaque with the sweeping calligraphy in front of the Shen Mansion, and then at the two imposing stone lions. She couldn't help but click her tongue: "Brother Qingyuan, these two aren't Puppets too, right?"

Shen Qingyuan slowly got out of the carriage, his hands tucked into his sleeves.

Hearing this, he immediately laughed: "They could be replaced with Puppets."

With him in the Shen Family, there was no need to worry too much about defensive forces.

However, now that he had brought the Cangming Clan under his command, even the Secret Realm of the Cangming Clan had been refined by him into the Xuantian Secret Realm.

If he needed Puppets in the future, he could just have the people from the Cangming Clan refine them, which was very convenient.

Getting two Puppets to guard the gate would be simple.

Just as Shen Qingyuan was thinking this, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from inside the mansion gate.

Immediately after, the gate was abruptly pulled open from the inside, and a figure rushed out in a flurry.

"Ninth Uncle! Ninth Uncle! You're finally back!"

It was Shen Quan.

This kid was even sturdier than he had been a few months ago, and his aura had climbed from the 7th stage of the Huahong Realm to the 9th stage Peak of the Huahong Realm, just one step away from the Dharma Image Realm. Clearly, it was the credit of that Blood Pool.

A smile that he couldn't suppress hung on his face. He rushed in front of Shen Qingyuan in two or three strides and spoke like a machine gun: "Ninth Uncle, you don't know, but it's been very lively at home while you were away! Second Grand-Uncle has broken through to the 2nd stage of the Asking Dao Realm! Third Uncle and the others have also come out of the Blood Pool, and their cultivation levels have all greatly increased! And also..."

When he said this, his gaze fell on the Red-skirted Girl beside Shen Qingyuan. His words stopped abruptly, he blinked, then turned his head to look at Shen Qingyuan, the expression on his face suddenly becoming extremely interesting.

"Ninth Uncle... who is this?" Shen Quan lowered his voice, winking.

Shen Qingyuan ignored him and just stepped over the threshold: "A friend from Central State, named Jiang Li."

Shen Quan quickly followed, muttering constantly: "Central State? How did she end up in the Southern Region? Guangnan City is super far from Central State."

Jiang Li followed behind Shen Qingyuan. Hearing Shen Quan's words, she couldn't help but hum: "There are spatial arrays, so it's convenient to go anywhere."

Shen Quan's footsteps faltered, and he turned his head sharply to look at Jiang Li, sizing her up, his eyes wide open: "Spatial array? That kind of spatial array that can cross major regions?"

Jiang Li lifted her chin proudly: "That's right!"

Shen Quan gasped, his face full of shock: "You're really rich! A spatial array that crosses major regions costs hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones at a time. That's not something an average person can afford."

Shen Qingyuan walked toward Wutong Garden and asked: "What has happened recently? Why are there so many Cultivators in the city?"