6: Chapter 6 Earth-Shattering Changes

Birds and beasts scattered in fear as the master of this mountain forest crawled past leisurely, swallowing a wild boar in one gulp.

Although the battle just now had killed that human with a single strike, Li Xiuyuan had also expended quite a bit of energy.

Suddenly, rustling sounds echoed through the forest.

With rapid footsteps, the Mountain Wolf arrived, carrying an adult wild boar in its mouth. It dropped the boar before Li Xiuyuan and then prostrated itself on the ground in a humble posture.

"An offering?"

Li Xiuyuan shook his head and pushed the wild boar toward the Mountain Wolf.

The few intruders from earlier were already in his belly; he only needed time to digest all the 'Qi' within them.

Seeing that Li Xiuyuan was uninterested in the food it had offered, the Mountain Wolf immediately grew nervous, fearing that Li Xiuyuan intended to eat it instead.

However, the great serpent had no such intention and simply slithered away slowly.

The colossal creature roamed the mountain, patrolling his territory, while silently signaling to the creatures of the mountain that the intruders had been defeated and that this mountain was his forbidden zone.

The silent forest finally regained some vitality as the chirping of insects and birds returned.

"These people came for that strange flower. Before this, such a rare item had never appeared in this mountain. Is it the influence of the heavy rain?"

Li Xiuyuan did not know if the changes to the mountain were caused by the heavy rain; the rain had indeed been massive, but aside from that, there seemed to be nothing special about it.

He felt more strongly that this was caused by a change in the world itself.

"Wait a moment..."

The colossal creature roaming the mountain suddenly paused.

In his brown, slit-pupiled eyes, a look of belated astonishment appeared.

"This mountain... how has it grown larger?"

Before Li Xiuyuan had undergone his transformation, he could calculate the time it took for him to roam this mountain.

Now that he had transformed and his body had become so massive, the time it took to roam the mountain should have decreased, but he was surprised to discover that the time had not reduced at all.

At first, Li Xiuyuan did not believe it, thinking it was an illusion or that he hadn't paid enough attention to the time.

When he roamed the mountain once more, he was certain that it was not an illusion.

"The world is truly undergoing an unimaginable change!"

Li Xiuyuan marveled in his heart.

Spiritual energy is recovering, and all living things are vying to evolve; this is a golden age, but it will also be far more dangerous.

The intruders from before were clearly no longer ordinary people, especially that middle-aged man who carried power that did not belong to humans.

"It may become even more dangerous in the future."

After the initial surprise came calmness and many thoughts about the future.

The next day, on a certain cliff in the mountains, a pure white flower bloomed, spewing countless tiny particles from the center of its stamen.

Wherever these particles passed, everything seemed to be coated in a layer of silvery white, dreamlike and illusory.

Li Xiuyuan did not know what that flower was called or where it came from. Initially, out of safety concerns, he wanted to eradicate it to avoid attracting more trouble.

However, he then discovered that since the flower had bloomed, the concentration of spiritual energy in the mountains had become even richer.

After some thought, Li Xiuyuan decided to wait and see.

...

After the rainstorm and flash floods, most of the houses in Lin Family Village had been washed away. The big boss who wanted to acquire this place seized the opportunity and arranged for his subordinates to have the villagers sign contracts quickly.

Many people, seeing their homes turned into ruins, were reluctant to leave, but considering the time and money needed to rebuild, some simply signed the contracts, took the big boss's demolition compensation, and left the mountain where they had lived for decades.

There were also some who were unwilling to leave or wanted more money and did not sign the contracts.

Outside Lin Family Village, a pot-bellied fat man wearing a Buddha amulet looked at the mountain forest before him with greedy eyes, his gaze sharp.

He was followed by several bodyguards, clearly of extraordinary background.

This fat man was the big boss who wanted to acquire Lin Family Village to develop a scenic area; everyone only knew his surname was Jin.

"Mr. Lu, have you looked carefully? Are you certain this mountain has experienced a baptism of a spiritual energy rainstorm?"

Boss Jin turned his head to look at a thin, middle-aged man wearing sunglasses behind him.

"Boss, it is true. The heavy rain from a while ago also fell here; there is no mistake."

Mr. Lu nodded, his tone firm.

Boss Jin rubbed his hands, somewhat excited: "In other words, if I build a Daoist temple here, not only can I cure my illness, but I can also gain extraordinary power?"

"Boss Jin, it is not just about curing your illness; it can also prolong your life. Once the temple is built, if you practice here wholeheartedly, living to at least one hundred and fifty years old is not a problem."

Mr. Lu emphasized the lifespan of one hundred and fifty years.

Hearing this, Boss Jin's heart raced wildly, and he kept swallowing his saliva.

Ordinary people have no extravagant expectations about how long they will live, but for some successful bosses who control resources and wealth, it is a significant temptation.

This Boss Jin was somewhat famous in Jiangcheng, with several hot commercial districts and ongoing real estate projects under his control, and a net worth of over one billion.

Money was more than enough for him, but all that money could not cure the cancer in his body.

Half a year ago, this Mr. Lu found Boss Jin and gave him a health-preserving cultivation technique, instructing him that he only needed to practice according to it for a few days, and Boss Jin's body would see visible improvements.

Desperate to live, Boss Jin followed the practice and discovered that while he used to be drenched in sweat after climbing one flight of stairs, he could now climb five floors in one breath without feeling tired.

Since then, he had regarded Mr. Lu as his savior.

The acquisition of Lin Family Village and the development of this mountain were all instigated by Mr. Lu.

According to Mr. Lu's divination, on a certain day half a year later, Lin Family Village would encounter a spiritual energy rainstorm. At that time, flash floods would wash away the village, and spiritual energy would gather densely.

This mountain would become a blessed land.

Mr. Lu also told Boss Jin some secrets that ordinary people could hardly access, and those incredible things were all being verified.

"Boss, do you remember how long it took when we first came to Lin Family Village?"

Mr. Lu asked with a smile.

Boss Jin thought for a moment and said: "About half an hour, I suppose. There was a stretch of dirt road; even though the car I bought has good shock absorption, it still made my stomach churn."

"Then do you know how long it took this time?"

Mr. Lu asked again.

Boss Jin thought carefully and suddenly felt something was wrong. He frowned: "Hiss, it seems like half an hour? No, the bumpy dirt road felt longer this time; it felt like an hour."

He suddenly widened his eyes and looked at Mr. Lu, who smiled mysteriously, as if answering Boss Jin's confusion.

"Holy crap!"

Boss Jin suddenly cursed, feeling goosebumps rise all over his body.

"Boss Jin, the current world is an age of great contention. Therefore, you must take this mountain."

"Gold and silver are the cheapest price for you."

Mr. Lu's voice was like a demonic sound piercing his ears; Boss Jin's hands were shaking.

He immediately turned to the secretary not far behind him and ordered: "Go handle the acquisition immediately! Take this mountain at all costs!"

The secretary did not know why Boss Jin was so excited and was startled, but quickly calmed down: "Boss, there are more than ten households who want more money, and we..."

"Give it to them!"

Before the secretary could finish, Boss Jin's eyes widened like copper bells.

"There are still some who are unwilling to move even with money; we are still trying to find ways to negotiate."

The secretary shrank his head and said in a low voice.

"If they don't leave after being offered money, they are refusing a toast only to drink a forfeit. Negotiate one more time. If they still don't agree, then they don't want to be decent, so we will help them be decent."

Boss Jin's voice was cold, and his entire demeanor became somewhat terrifying.