Chapter 548 - Forest Covered in Snow
Feng left Mount Meng albeit very unwillingly. After all, he wanted to build up his reputation in the Dongyi tribes, now that he left the alliance army, he could not achieve his plan anymore.
He was a proud man, coupled with the suppression by Yunyang and the demon saint, he knew he had no opportunity to s.h.i.+ne. In addition, going against Yunyang had cause instability in the alliance army. Although Yunyang was being compromised, he was finding an opportunity to eliminate him.
That was the real reason why Feng caused a scene and found an excuse to leave, or else he would be killed by Yunyang, sooner or later.
Once out of Mount Meng, he could only return to Fenghou"s. When he left he was filled with ambition, now he returned with zero achievements. This left him very embarra.s.sed.
So, Feng spent many days wandering around the mountains and waters of Dongyi. Throughout this whole period of time, he received messages from various tribes, yet he had mixed feelings on what effect his departure had left to the alliance army, but no one was talking about this.
Feng self-consoled that maybe these tribes had limited access to their news, but one thing repeatedly echoed in his ears, showing that these tribes were still quite well informed.
That news was that the State Preceptor of Xia Kingdom had arrived at Wuzhong"s, a tribe formed by sinners of various tribes, which caused discussions among all the tribes.
Shen Lian never did anything significant. It was his ident.i.ty that had gained much attention, causing discomfort in Feng, who also had a fair dispute with Shen Lian.
Feng was the number one archer in Dongyi region and was considered the best since ancient times. Therefore, many disciples gathered at his school, but his most appreciated disciple was Ling.
In return, Ling never failed his expectations and became a rather well-known a.s.sa.s.sin in Dongyi. However, Ling was killed by none other than the State Preceptor of Xia Kingdom, Daoist Qing Xuan himself.
When Feng first heard this news, he was furiously enraged. If it was not for Daoist Qing Xuan being in Diqiu, capital of Xia, he would have gone to avenge his dear disciple long ago.
Now, this Shen Lian did not only draw all the attention of all tribes, he also had a feud with himself, so Feng promptly had a thought. If he pursued and killed the Xia"s State Preceptor at this time of standoff, he would gain worldwide fame which would far exceed that of Yunyang.
This thought could no longer be diminished, as it was too good for Feng to reject. However powerful this Shen Lian was, he would never have attained imperishable body. He would have completed the a.s.sa.s.sination with his incomparable archery skills. Even if he failed, he could escape unharmed with his traveling method as well.
Once Feng had this idea, he had to execute it, but he could not move recklessly. He still needed more information about Shen Lian. Every time he went on an a.s.signment to a.s.sa.s.sinate a major character, he would make multiple preparations, even prayed and showered, and counted his fortune.
When Feng had this idea, Shen Lian had just retracted his Primordial Spirit from the void, which had completely recovered to the level when it was the most powerful. His heart was like an ocean reflecting the full moon, serene and peaceful, yet when a certain light leaked out; it would illuminate the whole stone room.
This was also why the stone room was bright at all time.
Black tiger was rather confused, "Master, you have concluded your cultivation earlier than usual today. Did something happen?"
Shen Lian replied, "As I was going through a fugue of the universe, I was interrupted by an unknown killing vibe, prompting me to leave the state of Taixu.
Black tiger said in fury, "Which blind sighted man would dare think of killing the master, I will kill him in one bite."
"If this person"s killing vibe is enough to shock me, he must be some character. I don"t think you can match up with him. Alright, whoever he is, he would never expect me to have detected him. I have done many things in the Netherworld. Since someone wishes for death, I shall grant his wish." Shen Lian looked rather calm, but with a presence of a strong man"s aura.
Shen Lian rarely showed this sort of fierce aura. Black tiger thought, "Whoever this unlucky man is, he is in for a good beating."
Then, Shen Lian"s tone changed, "Since I finished early today, let us roam outside."
Black tiger responded in delight, "Yes master! You could never imagine how bored Xiao Hei is, a bird would hatch out from me."
Shen Lian kicked it, "Now, where did you learn such gibberish?"
Black tiger replied with a cheeky laugh.
The man and tiger duo exited Qing Xuan Cave and saw that the mountain was covered in white snow, bright skies s.h.i.+ning, forming boundless grand scenery. Moreover, the Qing Xuan Cave was so strategic that some windy snow had blown over to form a natural dr.a.p.e of snow, blocking the view from outsiders to peek in.
This was a mountainous area, not particularly high but extremely long, like a jade belt surrounding the boundary of Wuzhong"s, forming some sort of partial imprisonment, which was why various tribes of Dongyi had exiled their convicted here.
Shen Lian was delighted to see the windy snow and told black tiger, "I have not seen such snow scenery for a long time, but it is still not big enough. Let me add on to the fun."
Black tiger replied, "A fall of seasonable snow gives promise for a fruitful year. Master"s spells will give benefit for those foolish peasants down the hill."
Shen Lian smiled lightly, "Since I have received some strength from their prayers. I can just take this little prayer and bless them with a fruitful season."
Shen Lian stood motionless and blew a gush of pure white steam. Those were the prayers which he took in for days. The white steam rushed into the windy snow straight into the clouds. This mystical white steam had gifted the initially thin layers of clouds with strong suction force, sucking in plentiful of water from water sources from the heaven and earth, forming thick layers that engulfed the sky.
Then, Shen Lian said lightly, "Come, wind."
Almost immediately, the northern wind rose to add to the chilliness and wilted the trees.
He proceeded to say, "Fall, snow."
The layers of cloud roared and snow in the shape of goose fur descended to cover the land of thousand miles.
The heavier the snowfall, the happier the people of Wuzhong tribe were. All the people of Dongyi tribes were cultivators, but not many were isolated from five valleys, so they were heavily reliant on food supply. Furthermore, normal bad quality food would only bring harm than good, so they would spend much energy in agriculture and farming. If the harvest was bad, they could only seek help from other tribes.
Some cultivators might have the ability to change the weather, but very few could change it on such a large scale. Even if there were such character, they would hardly do such deed for minor tribes.
There were some in Wuzhong"s who could predict the weather. They knew that the snowfall this year would not be this heavy, so this heavy snow was totally out of their expectations, prompting to guess that someone had cast a spell.
Even some clever ones could a.s.sociate this to Shen Lian. After all, the Xia"s State Preceptor was here. There should be no one else nearby casting such spells.
Those who had this guess all rushed to the holy temple. If Shen Lian could bless the Wuzhong tribe with good climate every year, this would prosper the tribe to multiply, greatly benefiting them.
At this moment, Shen Lian stood outside Qing Xuan Cave staring at the forest flooded in snow and grinned, "The snow filling the forest is a sign of the arrival of a high scholar. Since you are here, my Daoist friend, why don"t you show yourself?"