As Shen Qingci walked up to the carriages, Shen Shun pulled open the door of the one on the right. The interior was incredibly spacious; rather than a carriage, it was more like a mobile study.
It was fully equipped with a soft daybed, a low table, a tea stove, and a bookcase. In the corner, a plate of maple sugar shortbread—a local specialty of Qinghe County—was still steaming, clearly placed there just in time for her arrival.
Temperature-regulating array runes were embedded in the four walls of the carriage, keeping the interior cozy and warm despite the biting cold outside.
The carriage on the left was of the exact same caliber. Ancestor Tinglan's attendants stood waiting beside it, bowing to her from a distance.
Shen Qingci turned back to look at Chi Yuan.
“Senior Sister, sit with me, alright?” She held out her hand.
Chi Yuan could never resist her little junior sister's soft, pleading tone. Admitting defeat, she took her hand and boarded the carriage.
The carriage door closed, completely shutting out the noise from outside.
Leaning back on the daybed, Shen Qingci took a piece of maple sugar shortbread, broke it in half, and offered one to Chi Yuan. Chi Yuan accepted it, sizing up the carriage's interior decorations with a rare trace of admiration in her voice.
“A carriage body made of thousand-year-old gloomwood, and windows cut from solid spiritual crystal. Your clan uncle's opulence is something few in the entire Southern Region can match, Junior Sister.”
“My clan uncle has been operating in the Southern Region for many years, and his workshop's reputation speaks for itself. He hosts elders from various sects and heads of great families, so his presentation naturally cannot be lacking.” Shen Qingci took a bite of the shortbread. “Besides, when receiving his own family, he can't afford to look cheap.”
As she spoke, her divine sense was scrolling through the system panel in her sea of consciousness.
The world correction after activating the character cards was even more precise than she had anticipated.
The identities of Shen Nanxing and Shen Tinglan had not been inserted out of thin air. Instead, like drops of water merging into a lake, they had seamlessly permeated the collective memories of cultivators across all regions.
The Nanxing Artifact-Refining Workshop had been open for hundreds of years, occupying nearly a quarter of the county city's East Market. Its storefronts, workshops, warehouses, and disciple quarters combined spanned hundreds of thousands of mu, almost matching the scale of the Azure Cloud Sect's Dharma Academy.
Mr. Nan's name was a legendary existence in the Southern Region's artifact-refining industry; a single stamp of his foot could shake the entire field. He could refine Earth-grade High-rank magic vessels, and a century ago, he had even forged a natal magic treasure for a late-stage Void Refining Grand Supreme Elder of the Tianyan Sect.
The same went for Ancestor Tinglan.
The small courtyard in the southern part of Qinghe County's East Market was merely her residence on paper. In reality, her standing among the Southern Region's array masters was even higher than Shen Nanxing's in the artifact-refining world.
Four years ago, the three major merchant alliances of the Eastern Region had offered twenty thousand top-grade spirit stones to invite her to set up a city-protecting array. She had simply replied, “My schedule is booked until the year after next.”
And all of this information had now become historical fact.
Shen Shun had complete memories of it, as did the onlookers at the terminal. Even Jiang Rui and her master back at the Azure Cloud Sect, when mentioning Mr. Nan and Ancestor Tinglan, would naturally recall them—oh, those two have quite a reputation in the Southern Region.
It was not brainwashing, nor was it alteration; it was a completion of reality.
The system's capability in this aspect made Shen Qingci suddenly understand what it meant to have "the heritage of a hidden great clan."
With such means, the Shen family's plans in the Southern Region did not need to start from scratch. They only needed to "activate" the connections and resources that already existed.
She withdrew her divine sense. The carriage had already left the terminal and turned onto the main road leading to the county city.
The Wind-Treading Steeds galloped with wind at their hooves, covering thousands of zhang with every stride. Yet, the carriage remained as steady as if it were pinned to the ground, and even the teacups on the low table did not wobble in the slightest.
“Senior Sister,” Shen Qingci said, stuffing the last bite of the shortbread into her mouth and brushing the crumbs from her fingertips. “Let's see my clan uncle first, and then visit my aunt.”
“My clan uncle's workshop occupies a huge area in the East Market. He has sixteen Earth-grade artifact-refining rooms alone, capable of running thirty-six large furnaces simultaneously. With over seven thousand apprentices, it is considered one of the top workshops in the Southern Region.”
Chi Yuan raised an eyebrow. “Seven thousand apprentices... that's equivalent to half the disciples of some sects.”
Just as she finished speaking, a powerful spiritual pressure suddenly swept over from outside the carriage.
The level of that spiritual pressure was extremely high, at the late stage of Nascent Soul or above. Although it only probed for a fleeting instant, it was enough to make Chi Yuan place her hand on her sword hilt.
Shen Qingci felt it too, but she did not move.
Because the spiritual pressure was enveloped in a faint scent of tea.
She lifted the window curtain and glanced outside. The county city gates were just a few li away. Cultivators and mortals were lined up in long queues to enter, but their carriage did not join the line at all, turning directly onto a separate lane on the left.
The armored guards scanning the carriage caught sight of its emblem. Without a word, they lifted the barrier to let them through and even bowed toward the carriage.
“The VIP lane,” Shen Qingci explained as she lowered the curtain, turning to Chi Yuan. “A privilege granted by the county government to several major forces in the city, and the Nanxing Artifact-Refining Workshop is one of them.”
The moment the carriage passed through the city gate archway, that spiritual pressure swept over once more. This time, it was closer, and the scent of tea was even clearer.
Shen Qingci now knew what was happening.
It was her nominal aunt "watching" her.
When a late-stage Soul Transformation cultivator spread their divine sense, let alone a single carriage, they could envelop the entire county city.
Ancestor Tinglan had likely sensed her arrival at the terminal long ago and had been "watching" her enter the city the entire way. She only refrained from appearing directly due to the reserve expected of an elder.
Shen Qingci's lips curved slightly, but she did not point it out.
The carriage slowed down as it entered the East Market's main street.
Through the window, rows of shops could be seen lining both sides—spiritual material shops, talisman shops, medicinal pill shops, magic vessel shops... The characters on their plaques were made of either gold or jade, and each storefront was more spacious than the last.
Cultivators bustled on the streets shoulder to shoulder, ranging from the Qi Refining stage to the Golden Core stage. Occasionally, one or two great cultivators of the Nascent Soul stage could be seen walking past with their hands behind their backs, the surrounding crowd automatically parting to make way.
Turning at the third street corner, Shen Qingci saw the Nanxing Artifact-Refining Workshop.
To call it an artifact-refining workshop was an understatement; it was more like a city within a city.
The entire complex occupied the most bustling section of the East Market's main street. Twelve storefronts lined the street side-by-side, each five stories high with beautifully carved beams and painted pillars. The five characters for "Nanxing Artifact-Refining Workshop" on the plaques were directly cast using artifact-refining techniques, with faint flames flowing between the bold, vigorous strokes.
Instead of the usual stone lions or fortune beasts found outside ordinary shops, a three-zhang-tall alchemy golem stood on either side of the entrance. Dark gold in color and Earth-grade Low-rank in quality, their mere presence seemed to weigh down the spiritual pressure of the entire street.
Behind the main storefronts lay a sprawling expanse of workshops and warehouses. Green smoke rose from the chimneys of dozens of refining furnaces, gathering in the air to form a thin layer of spiritual mist.
The disciple quarters and guest courtyards were scattered in an orderly fashion around the periphery. From afar, the pavilions and halls stacked upon one another, connected by winding corridors, on a scale comparable to that of a second-rate great family.
Three long lines had formed in front of the storefront.
One line was for picking up orders, one was for placing orders, and another was for taking a number to wait for Mr. Nan to personally appraise magic vessels. Each line stretched out to over a hundred people, ranging from Qi Refining to Nascent Soul. Everyone stood orderly in their respective lines; not a single person dared to cut in.
Shen Qingci's carriage did not go through the main entrance, instead detouring to an inconspicuous bluestone gate on the side.
Shen Shun had already arrived ahead of them. The stone gate slid open silently, and the carriage drove straight into the inner courtyard.
The inner courtyard was a whole other world.
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