Chapter 53: Chapter 53 The food has gone cold, and it’s not as tasty anymore 1

Translator: 549690339

“A monster?”

Shen Yuan surreptitiously glanced at the large cat lying in the cabin, and the kitten attempting to catch fish at the prow, his expression turning somewhat peculiar.

Of course, the boatman did not notice this detail and solemnly said:

“Yes, a monster indeed!”

After Yunmeng Village drove away the rich businessmen who wanted to develop it as a scenic area, they often see some bizarre figures that don’t resemble human shapes at their front doors in the middle of the night. Poultry kept at home often mysteriously disappeared. At the place where they vanished, wet traces and scale-like fragments about half the size of a palm can still be seen.”

Shen Yuan initially considered this story to be rumors, but his smiling expression faded a little after hearing the boatman firmly claiming the existence of a monster.

“Has anyone got injured in Yunmeng Village because of this?”

The boatman pondered and said:

“No one got injured. However, the old village head of Yunmeng Village became a little abnormal as he was startled by the monster in the middle of the night and took a tumble.

The news about the monster is actually coming from this old village head.”

Based solely on the boatman’s words, Shen Yuan found it challenging to make any judgment. Similar countryside legends usually originate from a minor incident, and often escalate into horror stories as they are passed on, and there are quite a few of these.

Such an issue would certainly not prevent Shen Yuan from seeking opportunities to farm hidden achievements.

“I have a keen interest in Yunmeng Village. Please take me there, boatman.”

The boatman wanted to dissuade him, but seeing that Shen Yuan was firm in his decision, he blew out his discouragement.

The oar stirred up layers of ripples in the lake and headed towards the secluded hilly land on the lakeside.

Yunmeng Village is remotely located, it took several hours to reach it. The sun had slowly slanted west in the sky, and a few scattered lights lit up.

Shen Yuan thanked the boatman and walked towards Yunmeng Village. According to the boatman, Yunmeng Village had many tourists due to the Dragon Sovereign Temple, and some villagers converted their homes into guesthouses which could be used for shelter.

From a distance, the architectural style of the entire Yunmeng Village is very quaint, most of the houses are wooden structures, but there are still modern facilities like wires and electric lights on the streets, giving a sense of a blend of the old and the new.

At the entrance of the village, a massive, weather-beaten stone tablet lay by the roadside. The upper half of it is engraved with the word Yunmeng.

However, underneath these two characters, it seems that there were other inscriptions, but they have faded away over time, and even the word Yunmeng has become blurred.

Shen Yuan sighed slightly as he stepped into Yunmeng Village.

However, as soon as Shen Yuan’s foot entered the boundary of Yunmeng Village, he couldn’t help but look slightly concerned, beginning to notice something wrong.

The difference between the exterior and interior of the village is only a single step, but Shen Yuan could clearly feel that the Spirit Energy within the entire Yunmeng Village had increased several times compared to the outside world. Although no invisible barrier existed, and there was no spatial fluctuation at all, the difference in Spirit Energy was substantial.

“There is indeed something wrong with Yunmeng Village!”

Turbulent thoughts arose in Shen Yuan’s mind, and he was more and more convinced that he had come to the right place. Perhaps he might find some information about what happened thousands of years ago in Yunmeng Village.

The Maine Coon cat that entered the village along with Shen Yuan also curiously observed the surroundings. The concentration of Spirit Energy here was slightly inferior to that of Yunfu Mountain, the Spirit Vein of the monster tribe. Still, it could also be considered a rare Spiritual Land.

What’s more precious is that this is a human dwelling place. Compared to the rarity of Spirit Veins, it’s even more valuable to the Human Clan.

On its back, Bai Xue, widened her beautiful mismatched eyes, her small nose sniffing lightly at something, then turned to look towards the east of Yunmeng Village, her eyes filled with confusion.

If the dignitaries of the human kingdoms knew about this place, they would have occupied it a long time ago.”

The Maine Coon murmured to itself.

Shen Yuan agreed quite a bit with the speculation about the Maine Coon.

Fortunately, the geographical location of Yunmeng Village was too remote, and no visible Spiritual Veins existed. Only when a cultivator steps into the village can they perceive the existence of Spirit Energy. Otherwise, it would have been coveted long ago from all directions.

His Divine Sense spread outward, and Shen Yuan attempted to locate the source of Yunmeng Village’s Spiritual Veins according to the Spirit Energy concentration.

However, something even more surprising happened to Shen Yuan. There was no trace of any spiritual vein in the whole Yunmeng Village. The Spirit Energy seemed to have been born out of thin air in this village.

Normally, Spiritual Veins are attached to the earth. Different Spiritual Veins, depending on their scale and distance from the vein’s core, will produce different concentrations of Spirit Energy.

The Spirit Energy concentration would vary in different parts of the same Spiritual Vein, which is also the method cultivators use to locate the core of the vein.

However, this most conventional method was ineffective in Yunmeng Village because the concentration of Spirit Energy was entirely consistent. So, it was impossible to pinpoint the location of the Spiritual Veins or even determine whether there were any.

After observing for a long time, Shen Yuan resumed his steps and headed towards an inn in the village.

The inn, called Yunmeng Quaint Abode, was a simple two-story building that seemed to have no guests.

As he entered the lobby, Shen Yuan only saw a middle-aged man slouched over the counter, half-asleep. His sturdy build and huge head made him resemble a fathead fish.

“Do you have any rooms available?”

Hearing Shen Yuan’s voice, the originally drowsy boss immediately put on a smiling face.

“Yes! Of course!”

The boss stood up to welcome him, but as soon as he saw the Maine Coon next to Shen Yuan, he got scared and quickly retreated behind the counter, showing a nimbleness totally unfitting for his size.

Several seconds later, the boss seemed to realize he had been scared by a cat and cautiously peered out at the Maine Coon, wearing an awkward smile on his face.

“Sir, you even brought a cat on your journey.”

“I just woke up from my nap and didn’t get a good look, I thought it was a tiger!”

The boss’s words made Shen Yuan show a thoughtful expression.

The boss came out from behind the counter again. Despite his demeanor of indifference, he nervously avoided the Maine Coon and led Shen Yuan upstairs.

Upon opening the room’s door, although the small inn was simple, it was still tidy. From the second-floor window, you could see the ancient streets outside, offering a quite nice view.

“This is the room.”

The boss handed the key to Shen Yuan with a smile on his face and turned to leave the room.

Before going downstairs, the boss warned repeatedly:

“By the way, sir, there have been a lot of strange happenings in our village recently, so it’s best not to go out at night.

As for dinner, I will arrange it now and bring it to you later.”

As the boss’s footsteps gradually receded, Shen Yuan glanced out at the village from the window before settling down on the bed to start his cultivation for the day.

This cultivation session lasted almost two hours.

The sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway accompanied by some strange collisions.

“Sir, your dinner is here.

The fishermen returned quite late today, so preparing dinner took a little more time.”

Shen Yuan exited his meditative state and opened the door.

Outside the door, a giant fathead fish was holding the dinner plate, with its fish tail constantly flapping against the floor.

The fish’s mouth opened and closed, some green slime dripping from its big mouth. The fish spoke in a sinister and desolate voice:

“Sir, please eat. The food won’t taste good when it gets cold.”