“`

Leaving you with some clothes is already generous enough. What more do you want?

Chen Qingyuan didn’t make things difficult for the people of Donglai Valley, letting them leave on their own.

He counted the spoils of war. Though not much, overall it was still quite decent.

This way of making money began to be greatly exploited by Chen Qingyuan.

Wu Junyan went from initial discomfort to gradually getting used to it, even volunteering to be the bait.

In just a few years, the notorious reputation of Chen Qingyuan and his companions spread among their peers. Those who once wanted to target Wu Junyan immediately gave up the idea and stayed as far away as possible.

Some called them the “Four Great Bandits,” causing fear wherever they went, afraid their hard-earned fortunes would be plundered.

The only thing that reassured people was that as long as they didn’t harbor ill intentions towards Chen Qingyuan and his group, Chen Qingyuan had no reason to act and wouldn’t rob them.

After about ten years, no one in the entire Ancient World dared to set ambushes in secret anymore.

Wherever Chen Qingyuan and his group were, the Heaven’s Pride of various realms would retreat three miles away, not daring to approach.

“Are we playing too hard?” Zhangsun Fengye, itching for action, asked.

“Let’s call it a day. We’ve earned enough resources; it’s time to lay low for a while,” Chen Qingyuan said.

Hearing this from Chen Qingyuan, Zhangsun Fengye and the others shuddered and turned to look at him with strange expressions, as if they had heard something unbelievable.

“Don’t look at me like that; it’s creepy,” Chen Qingyuan coughed lightly, trying to cover his embarrassment.

“Old Chen, did something shock you? You’re talking nonsense,” Zhangsun Fengye blinked, doubting his ears.

“Get lost,” Chen Qingyuan retorted.

“Or maybe you’re up to something. Tell me, what’s the new idea?” Zhangsun Fengye, once gentle and elegant, had gradually changed since hanging out with Chen Qingyuan.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Chen Qingyuan said with a meaningful smile.

During this time, they had been searching for resources while also looking for Song Ningyan and Zhangsun Qian, but to no avail.

The two women were likely trapped in some secret realm or had obtained some great fortune.

When the Hundred Veins Banquet ends, as long as there’s life, an unparalleled law will send everyone out, so there’s no need to worry.

The notorious reputation of the Four Great Bandits intimidated their peers.

With no more ways to make money, Wu Junyan no longer had to worry about being targeted.

Chen Qingyuan, after accumulating for over ten years, planned to go into seclusion for a while to see if he could break into the Divine Transformation Realm.

The more stable the foundation, the harder the breakthrough.

Let’s give it a try!

On a desolate star, atop a high mountain.

Chen Qingyuan set up a formation at the foot of the mountain and went into seclusion.

Wu Junyan and the others sat on the cliff at the top, enjoying the cold wind, sipping fragrant tea, and discussing life and Dao Law.

Inside the formation, Chen Qingyuan sat cross-legged on the ground, with a Dao Diagram above his head and a shimmering water surface beneath him. Complex and mysterious laws flowed around him like a meandering stream, endlessly.

Countless high-quality and top-quality spirit stones were placed around him, and the spiritual qi gathered and was quickly absorbed by Chen Qingyuan.

With an imperfectionless and indestructible foundation, the difficulty of advancing was a hundred times greater than that of ordinary people.

Reaching the Divine Transformation Realm was no easy task.

Chen Qingyuan wasn’t very confident, but he decided to give it his all and see what happens.

If he succeeded, great; if not, it would serve as a foundation for the next opportunity.

“I heard from my friend in the Western Border that Fu Dongliu is still in seclusion, nursing his injuries. His foundation is damaged, and he won’t recover anytime soon.”

“Lu Nanxian, the scholar, holding a sage’s book, can stabilize mountains and rivers with a single stroke. He set up a desk on a vast ancient star, debating Dao with cultivators from all directions, attracting the descent of sage sounds and continuous visions.”

“I heard that Su Xingyun of Penglai Manor went mad after waking up from a three-year sleep, chasing people and beating them up. The Holy Son of Penglai suffered, breaking a few ribs.”

“Last month, Ximen Jin, the young master of Heavenly Mansion Mountain Villa, dueled with Chang Ziqiu, one of the Ten Heroes of the Northern Wilderness. After thousands of rounds, Chang Ziqiu split the star river with his sword, winning by one move and gaining great fame.”

“Someone discovered a large spirit vein on an ancient star in the southeast. Let’s go check it out; we might find something valuable…”

Time was running out, and the competition in the Ancient World was getting more intense.

Cultivators and forces with past conflicts no longer avoided each other but faced off directly.

With competition came death.

“The Holy Son and Holy Daughter of the Sacred Ground of Linglong mistakenly entered a deadly place and perished, leaving no remains.”

The Sacred Ground of Linglong, one of the thirty-six sects of the Imperial Province, naturally had strong Holy Son and Holy Daughter. Unfortunately, they had bad luck and couldn’t escape this calamity.

“Fortune is good, but preserving one’s life is most important.”

More than twenty top-tier evildoers had died, not just from the Imperial Province but also from the Western Border, Northern Wilderness, and Southern Region.

“Over thirty people from the Nine Extremes Sect entered an underground glacier, and only two came out alive, severely injured and on the brink of death. It’s said to be an ancient battlefield with a sealed coffin and countless corpses.”

There were many dangerous places in the Ancient World, and a slight mistake could lead to disaster.

This seclusion lasted seven years. Chen Qingyuan consumed a large number of spirit stones but still couldn’t break through the bottleneck.

The Hundred Veins Banquet, which opens once every ten thousand years, was a rare opportunity.

It wasn’t something common people could decide; it was the law of the Great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

Each time it opened, it lasted about a hundred years, and only cultivators under five hundred years old could enter.

There were only about ten years left until the banquet ended.

Chen Qingyuan calculated that even if he continued his seclusion, it would be difficult to break through.

Therefore, Chen Qingyuan decided to settle down for a while and wait for another opportunity.

He unlocked the formation barrier and stepped to the mountaintop.

Standing in the void, Chen Qingyuan saw strands of mysterious laws materialize, swirling around Zhangsun Fengye and the others.

Behind the Buddha’s child, a golden Buddha image appeared, solemn and majestic.

In the void, there was a faint sound of Dao and a lingering Buddha’s chant.

After seven years of debating Dao, everyone had gained something.

Wu Junyan had reached the Divine Transformation Realm years ago and now stepped into the mid-Divine Transformation stage.

Zhangsun Fengye was even more outrageous. After a heated debate with the Buddha’s child, he resolved his inner conflicts and directly entered the late Divine Transformation stage, greatly increasing his strength.

As for the Buddha’s child, Chen Qingyuan couldn’t discern his cultivation level, as if shrouded in thick fog, unclear.

Before the Hundred Veins Banquet opened, Daochen Buddha’s child dared to travel alone from the Eastern Land, crossing countless star domains and even traversing the Chaotic Sea unscathed.

Such strength was terrifying.

Now, having gained fortune in the Ancient World, his strength must have increased again. The Buddha’s child’s abilities were unfathomable.

A few days later, Zhangsun Fengye and the others stopped debating Dao and closed their eyes to meditate.

The wind blew, rustling their clothes and hair, making a “whooshing” sound.

A few more days passed, and the fluctuations of the Dao laws dissipated. Chen Qingyuan stepped to the mountaintop and sat with the others to drink wine.

“Old Wu, let’s have a fight!” After a few drinks, Chen Qingyuan turned to Wu Junyan and said seriously.

“`