The female corpse was placed into the coffin, and Shui Miao finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“It seems the corpse fears me and won’t come back to cause trouble,” he thought. Feeling no sleepiness at all, he continued to meditate, directing his spiritual awareness toward the stone tablet representing the Dao of Nature within his inner realm. At first glance, the stone tablet looked like an ordinary boulder. However, due to the influence of an evil spirit, several deep cracks had formed on its surface. Faintly glowing with an emerald green light from within, it appeared both mysterious and wondrous.
Shui Miao knew very little about the strange green energy hidden inside the tablet. After observing it for a while, he suddenly recalled the words the evil spirit had once spoken.
The evil spirit had said that although Shui Miao’s immortal energy was extraordinary, it wasn’t pure enough. Shui Miao agreed with this completely. After all, his cultivation time had been extremely short. Whether it was his understanding of the Dao or his mastery of techniques, he remained inexperienced and immature.
“I must find a way to comprehend the deeper Dao!” A sudden urgency surged within him. He needed to strengthen his abilities quickly and lay a solid foundation. He couldn’t keep relying on the stone tablet to save him every time he faced a powerful enemy. However, to achieve the best results and progress rapidly, he must cultivate his spiritual power. Therefore, refining the heart methods of Sima Zongheng and Zhuge Abacus became his top priority.
Thus, Shui Miao calmed his mind, banished distracting thoughts, and began cultivating the techniques of Zongheng Ce and Lingtong Jue.
※※※
It started raining around 3 a.m.
By dawn, the rain had stopped, and warm sunlight shone through the fresh, misty air. The off-road convoy had parked by the roadside. Not far away, on the grassy hillside, there was a large pasture. The stench of sheep dung wafted from the field. Suddenly, the wind picked up, blowing the foul smell toward the convoy. Originally in a good mood, Jiang Zhihao worried that the unpleasant odor might ruin his master’s tranquility. He quickly whispered to the driver to move away from the pasture area.
There were many pastures along the way, all filled with a pervasive stench. The convoy drove about six or seven li forward before arriving at a river. The river water was clear and flowed gently, winding endlessly without knowing its origin or destination. Seeing the lush green trees, fresh air, and pleasant scenery by the riverside, Jiang Zhihao instructed everyone to stop the cars. They divided into groups—some to stand guard, some to set up tents, and others to prepare stoves and cook meals, each attending to their own tasks.
Inside one of the cars, Shui Miao was still in deep meditation. No one knew when he would stop, and no one dared to disturb him.
Near another vehicle, Wang Yong and Xiong Ying got out of the car.
Wang Yong glanced around and said to Xiong Ying, who had just stepped out, “Old brother, this place is nice. How about we take a walk around nearby?”
“Great idea!”
Xiong Ying took a couple of deep breaths of fresh air and nodded, “Yes, this place has strong spiritual energy. Let’s go check it out ahead.”
“Uncle Wang, can I come with you guys too?”
Wang Rong ran over. She knew that Wang Yong was Shui Miao’s godfather and that Xiong Ying was Shui Miao’s grandfather. Since Shui Miao’s master often meditated and had no time for her, she wanted to spend more time with these two elders, hoping to gain some unexpected benefits.
“Haha, sure thing. Hey, how about you two, Lin Xue and Chu Miaoyi? Want to come along too?”
Wang Yong enjoyed having company.
Lin Xue immediately waved her hands, while Chu Miaoyi whispered, “We need to stay here.”
None of the others moved far away, as their mission was to protect Shui Miao.
Hua Sheng walked over, “I’ll go too. There might be some medicinal herbs nearby. I can collect some while we’re out.”
Jiang Zhihao glanced at Xiong Ying and the others from inside the car. He exchanged a knowing smile with Sun Hao and Jiang Tao inside the vehicle. Without saying a word, they all began to meditate. All three of them had been businessmen before, having visited countless fun and scenic places. They had no interest in this place at all. If they had free time, they preferred to meditate—that was what they loved most.
So, Xiong Ying, Wang Yong, Wang Rong, and Hua Sheng walked together along the river heading south.
Along the riverbank, many plants grew, mostly thorny ones like Berberis thunbergii ‘Atropurpurea’, Pyracantha, and Rhamnus utilis.
They chatted as they walked, while Hua Sheng remained silent, observing the plants and listening to the others’ conversation.
Hua Sheng increasingly felt that their team leader was already dead. His life had been saved by the leader, and he wanted to avenge him by killing Shui Miao. But he wasn’t entirely sure yet, so under the pretense of collecting herbs, he wanted to secretly listen in on Xiong Ying’s group, hoping to catch some clues.
However, Xiong Ying and the others were just chatting with Wang Rong, asking about her background.
It turned out that Wang Rong’s background wasn’t very fortunate either. She came from a remote mountain village with five siblings. Her parents had sent her to live with her third aunt, but her third uncle never treated her well. She had a stubborn personality and left home early to earn money. Having attended a martial arts school, she was bold and outgoing, almost like a tomboy. After a few years in society, she had made many male friends and was on her way to becoming a female gang leader. However, meeting Shui Miao changed her life goals completely. She now wanted to cultivate the Dao, learn skills, and go after monsters.
“Haha…”
After hearing Wang Rong’s story, Wang Yong chuckled, “You’re too naive. Cultivation is not easy at all. It requires immense fortune.”
Xiong Ying nodded, “Yes, cultivation is tough. I’ve lived this long and am still just ordinary.”
“Grandpa, then how come Master Shui Miao is so young but already so powerful?”
This question was one that Wang Rong was especially curious about.
Xiong Ying found it puzzling as well. Thinking about how his own Dao cultivation was far inferior to his grandson’s, he sighed and said, “We can’t really explain it. Maybe it’s just his good fortune.”
“Haha,” Wang Yong laughed heartily, taking it in stride. “Forget about it. We each have our own destiny. Don’t force things too much. As long as you’re happy, that’s what matters.”
“Yes, I believe in destiny,” Wang Rong nodded repeatedly, excitedly. “Fate is indeed mysterious. Take my third aunt, for example. Both she and my mother were born in the mountains, but fortune tellers said her birth chart was excellent, promising a prosperous future. And indeed, she married into the city, while my mother is still stuck in the mountains.”
“Haha…” Xiong Ying stroked his beard and smiled faintly, thinking to himself how childish Wang Rong still was. Destiny existed regardless of belief, and no one could escape it.
Wang Yong turned his head and looked at Hua Sheng. He noticed that Hua Sheng always kept a distance of about ten meters, his expression cold and his eyes subtly filled with killing intent. Something about him felt off, and Wang Yong started watching him more closely.
“Ah!”
“Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!”
Suddenly, a series of cawing sounds came from not far away.
Everyone turned to look toward the sound and saw dozens of crows flying and flapping about in the mountain pass ahead, a dark mass of wings. It was quite strange.
“Huh? Why are there so many crows? What are they doing?”
Wang Rong pointed at her chin, curiously looking at Xiong Ying.
Xiong Ying squinted and looked closely, then frowned. “Crows are spiritual birds. A large group of crows flying wildly and making strange noises usually means they’re fighting something!”
“I think it’s a big snake. These crows must be fighting a snake,” Wang Yong said. He had been a tomb robber before and had seen crows fighting snakes.
Xiong Ying looked at Wang Yong, “With so many crows, that snake must be huge!”
“Let’s go check it out.”
Wang Yong had a backpack on his back. He immediately pulled out a dagger from it and quickened his pace toward the mountain pass. His backpack originally contained tomb-robbing tools, but after seeing how powerful Shui Miao had become, he had replaced the contents with daily necessities, snacks, drinks, and a twenty-centimeter dagger.
So, everyone rushed toward the mountain pass.
However, when they arrived, the crows “whooshed” into the air and landed on the mountain, tilting their heads and staring at the group.
On the ground at the mountain pass lay a black bundle.
One corner of the bundle was open, revealing gold bars, pearl necklaces, ingots, copper coins, jade artifacts, and more inside!
“Whoa! What the heck is going on here?”
Seeing the gold and jewels, Wang Yong’s eyes immediately lit up.
Xiong Ying grabbed Wang Yong tightly, looked around nervously, and then whispered, “Don’t you all feel something’s off? These crows exude an evil aura. Their behavior is too abnormal!”
“…”
Upon hearing this, Wang Rong quickly looked at the crows. As soon as she saw them, fear gripped her heart, and she immediately hid behind Xiong Ying, trembling as she said, “Grandpa, I’m so scared! I don’t know why, but I’m terrified of them! I—I feel like I can’t even stand anymore!”
Wang Rong felt uneasy all over after just one glance at the crows.
Wang Yong turned to look at Wang Rong’s eyes and saw her pupils violently constricting. Immediately, he covered her eyes with his hand, picked her up, and turned to leave while shouting in alarm, “Quickly, leave this place! It’s not clean here. There’s something evil trying to steal Wang Rong’s soul!”
“What!?”
Wang Yong was utterly shocked. Seeing Xiong Ying carrying Wang Rong away, he turned to look at Hua Sheng. He didn’t know whether Hua Sheng had been frightened into a trance, but he was still standing there motionless, staring at the crows on the mountain.
“Whoosh!”
At that moment, dozens of crows took flight together, circling wildly above Xiong Ying’s head while screeching loudly.
Seeing this, Wang Yong quickly swung his dagger to protect Xiong Ying and drive the crows away.
But Hua Sheng remained frozen…
Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Hua Sheng bared his teeth and charged straight toward the black bundle…
“Damn it! Are you trying to die!? You can’t touch that!”
Wang Yong shouted loudly, secretly thinking selfishly, “That bundle must contain fake treasures. Let them all turn to stone! If I can’t get them, no one else should either!”
“Bang!”
The bundle instantly exploded into a thick cloud of black mist, completely enveloping Hua Sheng!
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage