Chapter 27: Raising a Dragon

Chapter 27: Raising a Dragon

South of the Southern Domain, the outskirts of Green Mountain Village.

A middle-aged cultivator, holding an Eight Treasure Compass, paced around the perimeter of Green Mountain Village.

"Strange, the aura here reaches the heavens, with misty light ascending. There must be an extraordinary treasure, but why do I always end up back where I started?"

He had been wandering this area for over two months, yet he couldn't uncover its secrets.

It was as if he had reached the edge of the world, unable to advance any further, and could only retreat.

It would be one thing if it were a trivial matter, but he had fortuitously obtained this Eight Treasure Compass from the depths of the Void Prohibition.

This compass was incredibly mystical, capable of discerning a person's destiny, exploring auspicious lands, and even uncovering hidden treasures and tombs. It was a remarkable secret treasure.

Initially, after acquiring this treasure, he should have fled the Southern Domain immediately. However, he coincidentally discovered this place.

The misty light was faint, the aura transforming into a dragon, with a vast and powerful presence, leading him to firmly believe that a great tomb lay here!

"I can't give up. I'll search one more time. I won't leave until I find it!"

The middle-aged cultivator clenched his teeth, determined to continue his search.

At that moment, a scholar riding a Cloud-Treading Beast approached from the distance.

...

"Is it nearby?"

Seeing the Cloud-Treading Beast stop, Shuhuan dismounted, bowed, and said, "Thank you for the escort. You can go find your master; I will ensure his belongings are delivered."

Although Su Zian had given him the Cloud-Treading Beast, the gift was too significant for him to accept.

The Cloud-Treading Beast snorted, turned, and ascended into the sky, disappearing into the clouds shortly after.

"The direction my teacher pointed to is just ahead. It shouldn't be far."

After the Cloud-Treading Beast left, Shuhuan looked ahead with anticipation, "I'm about to meet my junior brother. I need to act like a proper senior brother."

With that thought, he waved his hand, and the dust on his clothes vanished. He carefully tidied himself before stepping forward.

"A young age and already at the Fourth Realm, riding the second son of the Su family's Cloud-Treading Beast."

"Could it be that he already knows about this place and can enter?"

The middle-aged cultivator, hidden in the shadows, watched Shuhuan with a glint in his eyes.

He suppressed his aura and silently followed, confident that the young cultivator, despite his decent cultivation, wouldn't notice him given the significant realm difference.

Shuhuan, unsuspecting, walked forward slowly and soon reached the boundary of Green Mountain Village.

He seemed to notice nothing unusual. As he stepped forward, the boundary rippled like water, and a portal suddenly opened.

Shuhuan glanced behind him, rolled his eyes, and walked in confidently.

Whoosh!

Just as the boundary was about to close, the middle-aged cultivator seized the opportunity and quickly entered as well.

"Ha-ha-ha, the heavens are on my side!"

Once inside the boundary, the middle-aged cultivator couldn't contain his excitement and burst into laughter.

However, he didn't realize that at the moment he entered, Su Nan, Li Qingchen, Ye Shu, and all the residents of Green Mountain Village had simultaneously turned their gaze toward him.

"Teacher, I'm no match for this person. I can only lead him here and ask for your help."

Shuhuan, who had already sensed Li Qingchen's aura, shrugged and transmitted his thoughts.

"Smooth talker, ignore him. Just come to the study house."

Li Qingchen's amused voice echoed in his ear, and Shuhuan nodded with a smile.

"Little guy, thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to enter this place!"

The middle-aged cultivator laughed, looking at Shuhuan with a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"How should I thank you?"

Since he had reached his destination, this person was no longer of any use to him.

He had just used his spiritual senses to scan the entire Green Mountain Village and found only a few young cultivators of decent strength.

The rest were just ordinary villagers and a schoolteacher, none of whom posed a threat.

Since there was no danger, he intended to claim the treasure for himself. Why should he share it with a few youngsters?

Before Shuhuan could respond, an old man, returning from the fields, carrying a hoe, approached the area.

"Hey, it's been a long time since we've seen outsiders around here."

The old man, leaning on his hoe, smiled warmly at the two visitors.

"Sorry for the sudden visit, but we mean no harm."

Shuhan hurriedly bowed, his face showing respect.

He remembered his teacher's advice: no matter who they encountered in the village, they should always be courteous. Though he didn't know why, he trusted his teacher's words.

"Hehe, good boy, go play. There's no need to worry about anything here."

The old man chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

"But—"

Shuhan hesitated. The person beside him was dangerous, and if he caused any harm to the villagers, it would be a serious problem.

"Leave? I don't think so."

The middle-aged cultivator sneered, but before he could finish his sentence, the old man's gentle gaze suddenly swept over him.

Boom!

The middle-aged cultivator felt as if he had been struck by five thunderbolts, freezing in place.

A towering figure, as if about to burst out of his mind's eye, loomed over him, looking down at him like a mere insect.

"Gr-Great Sage!"

The middle-aged cultivator's face turned pale with terror, cold sweat dripping down his forehead.

He never imagined that this seemingly ordinary farmer was actually a Great Sage!

"What kind of joke is this?"

"A Great Sage is tilling the land here?"

The middle-aged cultivator didn't dare to move, trembling as he looked at the old man with a pleading gaze.

Beside him, Shuhan seemed to have realized something and bowed deeply to the old man before darting off to the schoolhouse.

"Pre-Predecessor, I was wrong. I'll leave and never set foot here again!"

As Shuhan ran away, the middle-aged cultivator fell to his knees, frantically bowing and begging for mercy.

"You've been wandering around for a while. I was too lazy to bother with you, but now you've actually come in."

The old man shook his head. "I've seen many people courting death, but this is the first time I've seen someone break through an Emperor's barrier just to do it."

The middle-aged cultivator's heart raced.

He realized that what had blocked him wasn't a treasure-hiding array but a barrier, and not just any barrier, but one set by a Near-Emperor!

Thinking about how he had risked everything to come here, the middle-aged cultivator nearly cried.

No wonder this place was bathed in a faint glow, with a dragon-like aura. It was because it was filled with powerful cultivators!

When he had scanned the area with his spirit sense, he had only seen a few promising young cultivators because he couldn't perceive the true strength of the others!

"May I ask, Great Sage, why are you tilling the land here?"

The middle-aged cultivator was utterly disheartened but couldn't help asking.

"Tilling the land?"

The old man chuckled and pointed to a distant house where Su Changqing was chopping wood. "See that man chopping wood?"

The middle-aged cultivator nodded, seeing only a simple farmer.

"He's a Near-Emperor."

The middle-aged cultivator's body trembled, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Indeed, he's at the peak of the Near-Emperor realm."

The middle-aged cultivator's mouth hung open, making a choking sound but unable to speak.

The old man then pointed to the schoolhouse at the foot of Green Mountain. "See that scholar teaching?"

The middle-aged cultivator nodded numbly.

"He's also a Near-Emperor, the current Scholar Immortal, Li Qingchen."

"Yes, and the little boy you wanted to kill is the Scholar Immortal's third disciple."

The middle-aged cultivator was completely dazed, his eyes losing focus.

Only now did he realize how reckless he had been.

To think of killing a Scholar Immortal's disciple, to scan the spirit senses of two Near-Emperors and a group of Sages and Kings—

"Now, do you still think it's hard to believe that a Great Sage would till the land?"

The old man looked at the middle-aged cultivator with a mocking smile.

"I don't understand..."

The middle-aged cultivator stared blankly at the old man. "A Near-Emperor chopping wood, a Scholar Immortal teaching, and a Great Sage tilling the land. What is your purpose?"

"Purpose?"

The old man smiled and gazed at the extraordinary young man in the schoolhouse, chuckling softly.

"To raise a dragon."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end