4: Chapter 4 Nine-Patterned Precious Pill!

Chapter 4: Nine-Pattern Precious Pill!

The carriage rumbled along, sandalwood incense curling within the cabin.

Shen Qingyuan glanced at Shen Quan. Seeing him clutching his chest with a pale face yet still forcing himself to sit upright, he couldn't help but chuckle, "Little Quan, you're too weak. You can't even beat someone from the Wang Family. When your father finds out, he'll definitely break your legs!"

Shen Quan's face immediately fell.

The Five Great Families of Guangnan City—Shen, Wang, Li, Zhao, and Chen.

Their Shen Family was the undisputed overlord, with strength a notch above the other four families.

In decades past, whenever Shen Family Disciples went out, which one didn't hold their head high? Disciples from the other four families would have to politely yield to them.

But who knew that in recent years, several exceptionally talented Disciples had emerged in the other four families.

The Li Family produced Li Han, who reached the eighth level of the Meridian Opening Realm at seventeen; the Zhao Family produced Zhao Wushuang, who reached the seventh level at sixteen; the Chen Family was even more formidable—Chen Xuanji had already touched the threshold of the Soul Fire Realm at eighteen!

The most ridiculous one was Wang Teng of the Wang Family; at seventeen, he was at the Peak of the ninth level of the Meridian Opening Realm, and it was said he would surely enter the Soul Fire Realm within a year!

Furthermore, few within the same realm could defeat Wang Teng.

As for Shen Quan, the son of the Shen Clan Chief, he had been showered with resources since childhood and never lacked Medicinal Pills or Cultivation Techniques, yet he simply couldn't suppress Wang Teng.

In today's battle, he had even been beaten until he spat blood and collapsed in public.

It was truly a disgrace to the Shen Family!

Shen Quan lowered his head, his fists clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

"Alright, stop looking so miserable."

Shen Qingyuan's lazy voice drifted over as he casually pulled a jade bottle from his sleeve and handed it over.

"Take it. Eat it when you get back."

Shen Quan reflexively took it and looked down—

His entire body instantly froze!

His eyes widened into circles!

The jade bottle was lustrous throughout, with a faint spiritual light flowing over it; it was clearly no ordinary item.

But that wasn't important!

What mattered was that through the translucent walls of the bottle, he could clearly see a Medicinal Pill lying inside!

The pill was golden all over, its surface densely covered with nine Pill Veins. Each one was clearly visible, with faint dragon-shaped air currents swirling around them!

"N-Nine-veined... Treasured Pill?!"

Shen Quan's voice was trembling.

Though he wasn't an Alchemist, as the son of the Shen Clan Chief, he still had some discernment.

Medicinal Pills are divided into nine grades, with the first grade being the lowest and the ninth grade the highest.

And above the ninth grade lies the legendary Treasured Pill!

A Treasured Pill, as the name suggests, is already a "treasure" rather than just a "pill"!

Ordinary Cultivators wouldn't see a pill of this level once in their lives; it was said that only hidden Sects or Holy Lands possessed them.

More importantly, it had nine veins!

For every additional Pill Vein on a Medicinal Pill, its efficacy doubles!

Nine Pill Veins meant that the efficacy of this pill was nine times that of an ordinary Treasured Pill!

"Ninth Uncle, t-this..."

Shen Quan's hands were shaking as he held the jade bottle, his speech becoming incoherent.

Unlike Shen Quan's shock, Shen Qingyuan's reaction was very indifferent. He didn't even lift an eyelid, casually picking up another grape and tossing it into his mouth.

In his eyes, a Nine-Pattern Precious Pill was no different from jellybeans sold on the street.

After so many years of signing in, he had accumulated quite a lot.

"This nirvana pill can improve your cultivation Aptitude. Take it when you get back to boost your strength. If you lose again in tomorrow's Grand Competition, your father really will break your legs!"

Shen Quan's hands jerked, and he almost dropped the jade bottle.

Improve cultivation Aptitude?!

He stared wide-eyed at the jade bottle in his hand, his breathing becoming heavy.

In the path of cultivation, talent and Aptitude are determined at birth.

Some people are born for cultivation, like Wang Teng, who possesses the Crimson Sun Precious Body and has a cultivation speed far exceeding ordinary people.

While others have mediocre Aptitude; even if they Cultivate with all their might, they can't even catch up to the heels of those geniuses.

Medicinal Pills that can improve Aptitude are legendary existences, even rarer than a Nine-Pattern Precious Pill!

Even in those hidden Sects and Holy Lands, such treasures would trigger fierce competition!

His Ninth Uncle just gave it to him so casually?

Shen Quan swallowed hard and carefully tucked away the jade bottle as if he were carrying a rare world treasure.

Then he looked up at Shen Qingyuan, who was leaning lazily against a cushion, and then at the faint, flickering aura of the sixth level of the Meridian Opening Realm on him.

Something was wrong.

Something was very wrong.

His Ninth Uncle was definitely not just at the sixth level of the Meridian Opening Realm!

He was definitely hiding his strength!

To be able to produce such a Treasured Pill, perhaps Ninth Uncle's cultivation had long since broken through to the Dharma Image Realm!

At this thought, Shen Quan trembled all over, and his gaze toward Shen Qingyuan suddenly became complicated.

Shame, shock... various emotions intertwined.

Previously, he had looked down on his Ninth Uncle, thinking he spent all day idling in the Yicui Pavilion, neglecting his duties and shaming the Shen Family.

He had even thought the clan Elders were senile for letting a Meridian Opening Realm trash become an Elder.

Who would have thought—

Who would have thought the clown was actually himself!

Ninth Uncle was hiding his brilliance!

Shen Quan lowered his head, his face burning hot with embarrassment.

But immediately after, he felt another blow, beginning to doubt his life.

Both cultivated the Shen Family's techniques, and he, Shen Quan, the son of the Clan Chief, had been favored with resources and never lacked pills or techniques.

He woke up before dawn every day to Cultivate—meditating, practicing punches, and gaining insights—never daring to slack off for a moment.

But what about Ninth Uncle?

Ninth Uncle spent all day soaked in the Yicui Pavilion, drinking wine, listening to music, watching beautiful girls dance, and being served by them.

Even so, Ninth Uncle's cultivation could still far exceed his!

Shen Quan's mental state was beginning to crumble...

---

As the carriage traveled down the street, pedestrians avoided it from a distance.

At this time, the weather was perfect.

Sunlight filtered through the clouds and mist of the Tiannan Mountains, falling upon the continuous rooftops of Guangnan City and casting a faint golden glow.

Shen Qingyuan had lived in the Shen Family for twenty years; his familiarity with this city was no less than that of the city he had lived in for many years in his previous life.

Guangnan City was one of the thirty-six main cities of the Southern Region.

The city was vast, spanning ten thousand miles, and backed by the Tiannan Mountains; it was a vital transit hub for the Southern Region leading into the depths of the mountain range.

Every day, countless Cultivators set out from the city to hunt Yao Beasts and gather Spiritual Plants in the mountains, while many others returned with their harvests to trade in the city's markets.

The Shen Family was the master of Guangnan City.

To be precise, they were the sole masters of the entire Guangnan City.

The Southern Region was filled with numerous Sects and noble families; being able to occupy a place in one of the thirty-six main cities was already an unattainable glory for many families.

Yet the Shen Family had not only taken Guangnan City but had also passed it down peacefully for eight thousand years.

This foundation allowed them to be called a "great clan" throughout the entire Southern Region.

Looking at the pedestrians outside the window, memories of his experiences over the years surfaced in Shen Qingyuan's mind—

This world was known as the "Cangxuan Great World," vast and boundless, spanning hundreds of millions of miles.

It was said that a peerless powerhouse once tried to measure the boundaries of this world, flying for a full three thousand years before eventually getting lost in the Endless Sea, never reaching the end.

The Cangxuan Great World was divided into five regions: the Eastern Desolation, Southern Ridge, Western Desert, Northern Plains, and Central Continent.

The five regions were separated by the Endless Sea and the Hundred Thousand Mountains; ordinary Cultivators might not be able to step out of their own region even if they spent their entire lives trying.

The Southern Region where the Shen Family was located, also known as the Southern Ridge, had a hot and humid climate with many mountain ranges and dense forests; the Tiannan Mountains were one of the largest mountain ranges in the Southern Region.

Cultivators in the Southern Region were mostly Body Cultivators, and the folk customs were fierce; it was common for people to draw their blades over a single disagreement.

Beyond the Southern Region—

The Eastern Desolation was mostly plains with numerous Sects, known as the "Three Thousand Dao Sects"; it was the place with the most Cultivators in the entire Cangxuan Great World.

The Western Desert was mostly Gobi deserts where Buddhist cultivation flourished; it was said that those ancient temples held many ancient legacies.

The Northern Plains were bitterly cold and covered in snow year-round; while the number of Cultivators was the smallest, every single one of them was a ruthless character capable of killing those at higher levels.

As for the Central Continent—

That was the center of the entire Cangxuan Great World.

Legend had it that the Central Continent held descendants of Ancient Imperial Clans, Saints who had lived for ten thousand years without dying, ruins left by Great Emperors, and void passages leading to higher planes.

Shen Qingyuan had once heard the clan Elders lamenting while drinking: "Our Shen Family counts for something in the Southern Region, but if we were placed in the Central Continent, we probably wouldn't even rank as a third-rate power."

At that time, Shen Qingyuan was huddled in a corner munching on spiritual fruit, and he silently nodded in agreement upon hearing those words.

Not to mention the Central Continent, even in the Southern Region, there were many powers stronger than the Shen Family.

Fentian Valley, Wanjian Sect, Tiangang Sect... pick any one of them, and they would have a ninth-realm Wendao Old Ancestor presiding over them, with tens of thousands of Disciples.

Above them were the three Holy Land powers with Saint Realm experts: the Burning Flame Ancient Land, Yinxian Village, and the Tianxuan Sect.

Although the Shen Family also had Dharma Image Realm experts, above the Dharma Image Realm were the Void Piercing Realm, Primal Chaos Realm, Asking Dao Realm...

Each realm is a world apart.

A Dharma Image Realm expert is a pillar of support in the Shen Family, but in those great Sects, they would only be at the level of an inner court Elder.

Thus, for these past few millennia, the Shen Family had honestly guarded their territory of Guangnan City, neither competing nor snatching, remaining very low-key.

"An eight-thousand-year Legacy relies on the single word: 'laying low'."

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