Infinite Professions-Chapter 154 - 69: Avoiding Calamity

Fifteen years have passed, and the Red Maple Valley Marketplace is still as bustling as ever.

Shen Hex took a stroll around, noticing the hurried looks on the faces of passersby, clearly out of the ordinary.

"What’s going on?"

"The prices of pills, talismans, dharma artifacts, and all kinds of goods have risen significantly."

"Even the pedestrians are in such a rush, could it be that something major has happened, even making the Red Maple Valley unable to live in peace?"

Shen Hex frowned, shifted his steps, and came to the Drunken Red House again.

"What can I get you, sir?"

A woman greeted him, still pleasing to the eye.

Shen Hex got straight to the point: "I’m here to find out some information."

"Please come upstairs!"

The woman smiled and led him upstairs: "What information are you seeking, sir?"

Shen Hex didn’t mince words: "Why have the marketplace prices been rising recently?"

The woman seemed to anticipate this question and answered directly: "It’s because of the war between the four sects!"

"War between the four sects?"

Shen Hex furrowed his brows: "What’s the story?"

The woman spoke in a serious tone: "In this inland region, there are five major Core Formation Sects, divided between the Righteous and Evil Dao. The Orthodox Dao consists of the Xuanshao Sect, Cloud Dragon Sect, while the Demon Dao includes the Netherworld Sect and Yellow Springs Valley. The remaining Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain remains neutral, staying out of it."

"Fifteen years ago, within the borders of Liang Country, in the Foundation Establishment power of Hidden Sword Mountain, a Spirit Light suddenly shot into the sky, revealing an Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion, rumored to contain significant treasures."

"The Netherworld Sect and Yellow Springs Valley got the news first and moved to encircle Hidden Sword Mountain, while the Xuanshao Sect and Cloud Dragon Sect also arrived. The Righteous and Evil Dao fought a great battle at Hidden Sword Mountain, even leading to the emergence of Core Formation Ancestors in the end."

"With the four sects at a standstill, the ancestor from Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain also descended with the Core Formation Spirit Beast, the Fire-Eyed Suanni, brokering a ceasefire between the Righteous and Evil Dao, allowing the five sects to jointly explore the Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion."

"But for some unknown reason, in the end, the ancestor from Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain died within, and the guardian Spirit Beast, the Fire-Eyed Suanni, also couldn’t escape, resulting in Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain losing two major Core Formation combat powers."

"Afterwards, both the Righteous and Evil Dao accused one another of assassinating the ancestor of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain and seizing the treasures from the Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion. Now, the battlefield has shifted from Hidden Sword Mountain to Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, with the Righteous and Evil Dao, the four sects facing off against each other!"

The woman revealed shocking news with her words.

Shen Hex’s brows knitted tightly, yet he remained silent for a long time.

Core Formation, the five sects, Righteous and Evil Dao.

Hidden Sword Mountain, Ancient Cultivator Cave Mansion. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, Fire-Eyed Suanni.

This seems to have the smell of a conspiracy.

Shen Hex said nothing, but the woman continued: "There are many rumors in the Cultivation Realm now. Many believe that the Hidden Sword Mountain Cave Mansion is actually a scheme set by the four Righteous and Demonic sects to eliminate Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain."

"Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain is adept at raising Spirit Beasts, whose lifespans far exceed those of cultivators. With this, Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain accumulated resources, nurturing two Core Formation Spirit Beasts. Including the Core Formation ancestor, they had three major Core Formation combat powers."

"With these three major Core Formation combat powers, Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain held a transcendent position, maintaining neutrality among the four Righteous and Demonic sects, which made the four sects cautious, not daring to fight too vehemently."

"But the four Righteous and Demonic sects also didn’t want to always tolerate Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, so they set up a deadly trap using Hidden Sword Mountain, and the four sects jointly took out the ancestor of Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain and the Fire-Eyed Suanni, now shifting the Righteous and Evil war to Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain."

"Many speculate that after this battle, not only will Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain become history, but the situation of the Five Sects and Three Kingdoms will also change. In the Righteous and Evil war, one side is bound to emerge victorious, ultimately unifying the Inland Cultivation Realm."

"Now the Core Formation ancestors of the four sects, along with Foundation Establishment cultivators, and even elite disciples in the Qi Refining realm, have all concentrated at Ten Thousand Beasts Mountain, determined to erupt in an earth-shattering battle."

"Without the suppression of the four sects, all kinds of evil cultivators have emerged, causing chaos between the marketplaces operated by the various Foundation Establishment powers, robbing and murdering cultivators, and seizing Spiritual Objects, becoming incredibly rampant!"

"Clearly, they also know that if the Righteous and Evil war ends and one side truly emerges victorious, unifying the Inland Cultivation Realm, their days will be hard to endure, so they’re all thinking of taking this opportunity to reap their last benefits."

"With all this happening, everyone is on edge, and with some merchants hoarding goods, prices in the major marketplaces have naturally soared."

The woman thoroughly explained the reasons with her words.

After hearing this, Shen Hex didn’t say much: "How much?"

The woman smiled: "It will be fifty lower-grade Spirit Stones!"

Shen Hex took out fifty Spirit Stones, then got up and left.

Leaving the Drunken Red House, he didn’t join the panic buying in the marketplace but instead changed his identity back to "Zhong Shan" and went to the Red Maple Valley Inn.

"What can I get you, sir?"

At this moment in the Red Maple Valley Inn, quite a few cultivators had gathered, all scrambling to buy Market Cave Mansions.

A storm is brewing, and everyone is on edge!

Now, with the war between the Righteous and Evil Dao, as the four sects are preoccupied, all sorts of evil cultivators are causing trouble; outside the marketplaces, it’s extremely dangerous. Cultivators are doing whatever they can to avoid disaster, scrambling to purchase Cave Mansions within the marketplace to settle in.

But Shen Hex did not have this thought; in fact, he went against the trend.

"I am Zhong Shan, the tenant of Field No. 87. I’m here to cancel my lease."

"Cancel the lease?"

The staff looked at him: "Sir, these are exceptional times. Everyone is scrambling to rent Cave Mansions, even shacks and fields are in high demand; you’ll lose quite a bit by canceling your lease now."

Still a warm-hearted person.

But Shen Hex was very resolute: "I must terminate the lease."

"Alright then."

Seeing his insistence, the clerk shook his head and soon completed the procedures.

Soon, the lease was terminated.

Shen Hex left the marketplace posthaste and returned to the hut.

By this time, night had fallen, and in the distance, the Yang Family had already set up the spirit hall. Yang Qi’s friends and neighboring martial cultivators were still inside, mingling with Yang Yun, the future cultivator, nurturing relationships.

Shen Hex did not join in the commotion but quietly came to the spirit field and activated the previously arranged spirit gathering array to divert the spiritual qi of these ten mu of spirit fields underground, so that after his departure, the abundant spiritual qi here would not be discovered by subsequent spirit farmers.

He had long anticipated this situation, so a few years ago, he specially downloaded a spirit gathering array from the Human Empire and devoted significant effort to study and learn it.

This was no ordinary spirit gathering array but an earth vein nurturing array, belonging to the geomancy arts, capable of concentrating and nurturing the earth veins with spiritual qi.

This kind of spirit gathering technique is quite domineering and would surely be detected if used conventionally. Yet, combined with his hidden cultivation abilities, it could be done silently, secretly nurturing the earth veins.

This way, even if he left, later spirit farmers would not notice anything unusual about the spirit fields unless they dug deep underground to uncover the earth veins nurtured by Shen Hex.

Given the impact and change of understanding that the cultivation land has on people, such events were almost impossible to occur, allowing him to leave safely.

After activating the array, Shen Hex returned to the hut and packed some regular household items.

At this moment...

"Uncle Zhong! Uncle Zhong!"

A knocking sound was heard again, accompanied by Yang Yun’s voice.

Shen Hex furrowed his brows and, upon opening the door, saw Yang Yun in mourning clothes standing outside with a somewhat excited expression: "I just received news that an unknown breach has appeared in the underground dam of Red Maple Valley, causing a large number of spirit fish to escape, flowing into the Red Maple Spirit Stream or even into the Panlong River. It’s a golden opportunity to strike it rich."

"Spirit fish?"

Shen Hex looked at him in surprise: "Even if some spirit fish escaped, wouldn’t Red Maple Valley seal off the spirit stream?"

"They can seal the spirit stream within Red Maple Valley, but how can they seal the Panlong River outside?"

Yang Yun said excitedly, "My father said you’re skilled in fish farming. Why not seize this opportunity to make a big catch? The cultivation path is so arduous without the support of spirit stones..."

"Greed never knows contentment."

Shen Hex shook his head: "What you thought of, others surely did too. Now, there must be bandits eyeing outside the valley, and greater calamities are looming. I wish to leave the cultivation world and go into the human world to hide; would you come with me?"

"This..."

Yang Yun was taken aback, his expression bewildered. It took a while before he came to his senses: "Uncle Zhong, I just inherited the family business. My father hopes I pursue cultivation. He told me not to leave the valley, let alone venture into the mundane world, where the spiritual qi is so thin it might even cause one’s cultivation to regress. I..."

"If that’s the case, you must take care of yourself alone. Don’t leave the valley easily, and don’t easily trust others. I’m leaving!"

Shen Hex interrupted him, then went out the door, not persuading any further.

In fact, he did not have much camaraderie with Yang Qi; the latter even had a covetous eye on him before. This final "kindness of a dying man" might also carry some performance motives.

The reason he agreed with Yang Qi was, first, to maintain the persona of "Zhong Shan," and second, for the sentiment of Yang Yun calling him uncle for over a decade.

Now that he’s given the opportunity and Yang Yun is unwilling to seize it, he won’t insist.

Everyone has their fate!

"Uncle Zhong!"

Watching Shen Hex leave, Yang Yun stood there in a daze, feeling as if he had missed something.

But soon, he suppressed that odd thought, his gaze becoming firm, muttering to himself: "The mundane world is filthy, the red dust poisonous; how is there a chance of immortality? Uncle Zhong, being so timid, will surely die with regrets like my father in the future."

"The cultivation path must contend with the heavens!"

With that, he turned away, decisive and determined.

...

Shen Hex left Red Maple Valley, concealed his aura, and left quietly, not encountering any blood-predicting ambush.

This was only natural. Although he had not stepped out of Red Maple Valley for fifteen years, everyone knew he was wealthy, but due to the effects of hidden cultivation, no one moved to ambush him, and not many even paid him any attention.

Even if someone was watching, with his current abilities and stealth methods, he could leave without a trace.

Once he left Red Maple Valley, it was no longer the cultivation realm, and the spiritual qi thinned considerably, even making it hard to breathe. Cultivating here is not just twice the effort for half the result; it’s possible the electricity meter might go backward, with spiritual qi absorbed less than that consumed.

No wonder cultivators disdain the mundane world; staying too long here indeed causes cultivation regression, even downgrading spiritual root levels.

Quite terrifying!

Yet for Shen Hex, this posed no hindrance whatsoever.

Because he was immensely wealthy, with tens of thousands of catties of white spirit rice in his storage pouch along with spirit stones, spirit pills, spirit wine, and spirit flesh, he had nothing to fear even if he stayed in the human world for a few centuries.

Riding on a dharma artifact, he flew over the great mountains, rushing straight back to his old lair.

Dongting Lake, he had returned!