448: seclusion

By the time Jiang Yumei covered her mouth with a light chuckle and saw Situ Jun out the front gate, dusk had already fallen.

Situ Jun rubbed his waist and gave a bitter laugh. With a flash of his body, he transformed into a streak of light and returned to the City Lord's Estate before long.

At this moment, dinner in the estate had just been prepared.

The female family members from the East, West, North, and South Courtyards were all gathered in the main hall of the East Courtyard. Su Yunniang, Liu Xuaner, Princess, Nangong Xue, Lin Suwan, Jiang Yan, Shen Xingwan, Aunt Xu, Embroiderer, Lan Yanliu, Consort Yu... and a large group of Dao Companions sat around a table. Seeing him return, they all stood up to welcome him.

On the dining table, the dishes were abundant, and the atmosphere was warm.

Everyone talked about the interesting happenings in the estate, with laughter ringing out continuously.

After three rounds of wine and five courses of food, Situ Jun finally put down his chopsticks, looked at everyone, and said slowly:

"I plan to go into seclusion for a period to focus on my Cultivation. I'll leave the estate's affairs to Xuaner and Zhu Changpo."

Hearing this, the women all nodded in understanding.

Su Yunniang smiled gently and instructed softly:

"Husband, when you are in seclusion, you must not overwork yourself; you need to balance work and rest. Rest assured about the estate's affairs; we will certainly handle them properly."

Liu Xuaner also nodded:

"That's right, Husband. Just focus on your Cultivation with peace of mind. We will take good care of ourselves and look after Northern Border City."

Looking at the gentle faces of the women, Situ Jun felt a surge of warmth in his heart and nodded:

"Alright."

After dinner, Situ Jun returned to his study and sat quietly for a while.

He took out a transmission Jade Slip and reconfirmed the situation inside and outside Northern Border City—merchants from the Zhou Dynasty had successfully entered the border, the timber from the Qingyun Chamber of Commerce was already in transit, and the recruitment notice for physicians for the clinic had been posted... everything was stable and orderly, with nothing amiss.

Having settled everything, he stood up and walked toward the back mountain of the North Courtyard.

The quiet room in the back mountain was personally commissioned by Situ Jun after he became the City Lord. It was hidden within the mountainside and surrounded by layers of Restrictions. Not only could it isolate the noise of the outside world, but it could also withstand attacks from Golden Core Stage Cultivators.

Inside the quiet room, the furnishings were extremely simple, with only a prayer mat and an ever-burning lamp; besides those, there was nothing else.

The flame of the ever-burning lamp flickered, casting shifting shadows across the entire quiet room.

Situ Jun sat cross-legged on the prayer mat, closed his eyes, and regulated his breathing for a moment.

Once his aura had completely stabilized, he opened his eyes and held his palm upward. A fist-sized gray pearl slowly emerged above his palm.

It was precisely that long-damaged space pearl.

At this moment, the pearl's surface was dim and lusterless, with fine cracks spreading over it like a spiderweb, as if it would shatter with a gentle touch.

Only deep within the pearl was there a faint spiritual light circulating, like a candle in the wind that could be extinguished at any moment.

Situ Jun gazed at the pearl with a focused expression.

This pearl was a Legacy treasure he had obtained from Daoist Ming Ya. Not only was its internal space vast and boundless, capable of holding countless resources, but it could also form its own Small World, allowing others to enter and live within it.

If it could be fully repaired, it would be of immense use in the future, whether for moving his wives and children into it to escape war or for hiding the foundations of Northern Border City.

To him, the importance of this pearl was second only to his Dao Companions.

He closed his eyes and carefully recalled the methods for refining and repairing this pearl from Daoist Ming Ya's Legacy.

Those obscure and difficult-to-understand words flashed through his mind one by one, finally condensing into several essential Heaven And Earth Treasures.

"Void Crystal, Five Elements Origin treasures, Ten-Thousand-Year Star Sand..."

He murmured, his voice echoing in the quiet room with a hint of solemnity:

"And that fragment of an extraterrestrial star's spirit core..."

Every single one was a rare treasure in the world. Ordinary Cultivators had never even heard of them, let alone found them.

Especially the fragment of an extraterrestrial star's spirit core; it was the core essence that fell to the mortal realm after an extraterrestrial star shattered, containing the pure Origin power of a star, and could only be encountered by chance.

Situ Jun sighed softly, his fingertips brushing over the cracks on the pearl's surface; the touch was cold and rough.

"It seems that repairing this pearl truly won't be achieved in a single day."

But he did not feel the slightest bit discouraged.

The path of Cultivation was inherently long and difficult; what did a few obstacles matter?

He raised his hand and took out a transmission Jade Talisman, quickly writing down the required Materials with his Spiritual Sense.

Then, with a flick of his finger, the Jade Talisman turned into a streak of light, penetrated the Restrictions, and flew out of the quiet room.

This Jade Talisman was sent to Mo Chenggui, as well as to Mysterious Clarity Master, Bai Qingtian, Withered Bone Ascetic, Li Zhong, Zhu Changpo... and other high-level Cultivators.

He requested everyone to help keep an eye out for any traces of these Materials and to report immediately if there was any news.

Having done all this, Situ Jun refocused his gaze on the space pearl.

He took a deep breath, and a faint Chaos spiritual energy slowly surged from his body. The spiritual energy was like the gentlest spring water, slowly enveloping the pearl, for fear of damaging the remaining spiritual light within.

At the same time, he infused his insights into the Space Law bit by bit, carefully nourishing the remaining Restrictions within the pearl.

A Soul Transformation Stage Cultivator's understanding of Laws was already extremely profound, and Chaos spiritual energy was all-encompassing, with infinite wonderful uses.

Under the dual nourishment of spiritual energy and Laws, the cracks on the pearl's surface trembled slightly, and its dim luster seemed to faintly regain a hint of vitality.

Situ Jun focused his mind and calmed his breath, not daring to be the least bit careless.

He could clearly feel that most of the Restrictions inside the pearl were severely damaged, with only a few places still retaining a trace of fluctuation.

He carefully guided his spiritual energy to flow along the remaining Restriction patterns, repairing the less damaged areas bit by bit.

Time passed bit by bit, and inside the quiet room, there was only the faint sound of spiritual energy flowing.

Situ Jun was immersed in it, completely oblivious to everything in the outside world.

Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his complexion gradually turned pale, but his gaze became even more focused, his eyes fixed only on the pearl floating in his palm.

In this way, a month passed.

During this month, Situ Jun never left his room, immersing himself day and night in the process of repairing the pearl.

Under his efforts, the fine cracks on the pearl's surface decreased slightly, and the dim luster brightened somewhat.

Although it was still heavily damaged, it no longer looked as dilapidated as before; at least, that faint spiritual light would no longer be easily extinguished.

And during this month, Situ Jun was not completely isolated from the world.

In his occasional moments of leisure, he would take out his transmission Jade Talisman to contact the outside world and learn about the recent situation in Northern Border City.

Luo Yu and Wan Xiangyu were doing well in the Xihua Sect, and their Cultivation had improved quite a bit.

After Widow Ya returned to the Poison Scorpion Cult, she cleared out the traitors within the cult with thunderous methods. Now, the Poison Scorpion Cult was as solid as a rock, firmly rooted in the Southern Border, becoming a great help to Situ Jun.

Among these several transmissions, there was one letter that made Situ Jun's heart soften a bit.

It was a letter sent by Qin Ximeng.