CHAPTER 49: CHAPTER 49 DUST FATE_1

Upon returning to his dwelling, Shen Mo noticed that the Spirit Storage Rat had eaten its fill and found a corner to curl up in. The creature basked lazily in the sun, appearing wonderfully content.

Sleeping, huh? Perhaps I should take a break too, Shen Mo thought as he stretched languidly.

Although guarding the Dark Crystal Mine for the past two months hadn’t entailed as many trials and dangers as the missions other disciples undertook, he still felt the need to rest. After all, he hadn’t truly rested. Now back in the sect, it was time for a little respite.

Just at that moment, a knock echoed through his room.

Could it be Senior Sister Chen?

Feeling slightly startled, he went to open the door.

However, it wasn’t Chen Mengze’s face that greeted him, but that of a middle-aged man.

"Deacon Ma?"

The man was indeed Ma Qian, the Deacon responsible for handling affairs related to the sect’s outer disciples.

"Do you need something from me?" Shen Mo asked. He was somewhat confused; normally, the Deacon would have no business with him.

"Your father is Shen Yuanchang, who went missing twenty years ago, correct?" Ma Qian asked without sitting down. He fished out a roster of outer disciples and flipped through it.

"Correct," Shen Mo acknowledged with a nod.

"Suitable then," Deacon Ma said. "Someone from your clan has come looking for your father, asking for his aid in a matter."

Looking for my father? Shen Mo was taken aback. From my clan?

Regarding his family, Shen Mo had found some information in the original owner of this body’s memories.

Shen Mo’s father, Shen Yuanchang, hailed from the Shen Family of Tianyou City.

The Shen Family had been an aristocratic family of martial arts for generations, making their living through escort tasks, mining, and other such family enterprises, thereby managing to maintain a stable foundation.

However, Shen Yuanchang was merely a member of a collateral branch of the Shen Family and, as a result, wasn’t given much attention.

His parents both suffered from chronic illnesses and passed away by the time Shen Yuanchang was in his early twenties.

After their passing, Shen Yuanchang resolved to leave home in pursuit of the Dao and immortality.

While venturing out into the world, he met Shen Mo’s mother. After they married and Shen Mo was born, a twist of fate led them to join the Riverside Sect, where they devoted themselves to cultivation.

From that point on, he never returned to the Shen Family.

Why would someone come looking for him now? Shen Mo was puzzled. It’s been over twenty years since ties were cut.

"Where is this person?" he asked.

"Outside the gate of the sect," Deacon Ma replied curtly. "Mortals aren’t allowed to step into the immortal sect. If you want to see him, you can go to the gate yourself."

「」

At the gate of the Riverside Sect stood the kinsman from the Shen Family who had come searching. He was a muscular, burly man with a full beard. His features bore a three-tenths resemblance to Shen Mo’s own.

The man wore a simple, light blue robe and appeared quite disheveled, likely from traveling day and night without a chance to rest or freshen up.

"Who are you?" Shen Mo stepped forward and asked.

"I am Shen Zhiyun, the second son of Shen Zhou, patriarch of the Shen Family in Tianyou City."

Upon seeing Shen Mo, Shen Zhiyun, uncertain of his status, gave a hasty bow and asked, "Has the Immortal Master already informed you of my visit? Is my cousin willing to come out and meet me?"

Cousin? Shen Mo raised an eyebrow. It seems that, by seniority, I should call this man ’Uncle’.

But he didn’t step forward to acknowledge any kinship.

In fact, the original owner of this body had never had any contact with the Shen Family and thus felt no particular attachment to them.

This was even more true for Shen Mo, who was merely inhabiting the body.

"Why have you come to find him? What is this about?"

"I wouldn’t dare hide anything from the Immortal Master," Shen Zhiyun said quickly. "I’ve come because our family is in trouble and I wished to ask for my cousin’s help."

Although Shen Yuanchang never returned to the Shen Family after joining the Riverside Sect, he did send a letter. In it, he clearly stated that he had joined an immortal sect and left the address of the Riverside Sect. That’s why Shen Zhiyun was able to find this place.

"Family trouble?" Shen Mo shook his head. "Then you’ve come too late."

"He died twenty years ago, killed by a beast horde in the Linjiang Mountain Range."

Since it wasn’t about asking him to return and inherit the family fortune, but rather to lend a hand, Shen Mo was even less interested.

"Dead... Dead?"

Upon hearing these words, Shen Zhiyun was thunderstruck and instantly became dispirited. "Then... our Shen Family... is truly unlikely to survive this calamity."

He had traveled thousands of miles for this one glimmer of hope.

Now, that last hope was shattered.

A nearly two-meter-tall, burly man with a full beard actually began to wail loudly in front of Shen Mo.

Shen Mo frowned. He had initially intended to turn and leave, but somehow, seeing Shen Zhiyun’s tearful state, he felt a pang of sympathy.

Forget it. I might as well accept this Cause and Effect.

Shen Mo knew this sense of unease stemmed mostly from the original owner’s memories and instincts.

"I am Shen Yuanchang’s son. Whatever trouble the family faces, you can tell me."

As soon as Shen Mo spoke, Shen Zhiyun, who had just been wailing so hard his tonsils were visible, trembling with each sob, abruptly stopped crying and composed himself.

"Truly my cousin’s descendant!"

"Good nephew, good nephew!" he exclaimed, excitedly patting Shen Mo’s shoulder.

In fact, upon seeing Shen Mo’s appearance, he had noticed a slight resemblance to the Shen clan members. Coupled with Shen Mo’s inquiries, it was clear this young man was not an outsider.

After a moment’s thought, he had a suspicion.

However, Shen Mo was, after all, an Immortal Master. If Shen Mo didn’t acknowledge the relationship himself, Shen Zhiyun wouldn’t dare presume to claim kinship.

His previous display of bitter grief was half genuine, half feigned—an attempt to sway Shen Mo.

Shen Mo perceived these little calculations of his but wasn’t bothered by them.

He preferred to act according to his own heart’s desires.

Besides, whether he would help or not still depended on what trouble the Shen Family had actually encountered.

"I recall the Shen Family in Tianyou City being considered a prominent aristocratic family, living quite comfortably. How could they have encountered a disaster threatening their very existence?"

"Alas..." Shen Zhiyun sighed and recounted the whole story.

It turned out that in the many years after Shen Yuanchang had left the family, the Shen Family’s fortunes had steadily improved.

The family produced one talent after another. With the significant expansion of their escort services, mining operations, and other industries, they had gradually become the foremost aristocratic family of martial arts in Tianyou City.

Five years ago, Shen Zhou, the patriarch at the time, was unanimously elected by the various righteous path sects and families in Tianyou City as the Martial Arts Alliance Hierarch. His mission was to lead a crusade against the Blood Robe Sect, a group infamous for its heinous human Blood Sacrifices.

As the bellwether of Tianyou City’s martial arts world, the Shen Family spearheaded the effort, uniting dozens of factions, large and small. They directly eradicated the Blood Robe Sect, removing a great scourge from the martial arts community.

In the ensuing years, the Shen Family’s prestige in Tianyou City soared to its apex.

But the good times didn’t last long.

"Half a year ago, in Tianyou City, some people once again raised the banner of the Blood Robe Sect and resumed performing human Blood Sacrifices."

"They not only staged a comeback and continued their malevolent activities, but they also... vowed revenge, threatening to make every righteous path faction that had participated in the annihilation of the Blood Robe Sect pay the price."

Shen Zhiyun paused here before continuing, "At first, none of us took it seriously. After all, in that great battle, the Blood Robe Sect’s Leader was slain, and all its Elders and hall masters were exterminated."

"Those who managed to escape alive were, at most, some insignificant underlings of the Blood Robe Sect, merely second or third-rate practitioners. In just a few short years, no matter what, it seemed impossible for them to regroup and restore the former might of their Demonic Cult."

"But... the utterly unexpected happened..."

"Those leftover evils of the Demonic Cult actually managed to do as they proclaimed!"