Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

In the following days,

flying boats arrived ceaselessly, one after another, carrying Loose Cultivators like refugees to this place.

Luoluo City, which had grown desolate after the war, was bustling again, even more lively than before. By the look of it, Returning True Sect did not intend to treat this place as a mere remote area to be managed.

But,

the actual situation was clearly beyond Chen Li’s expectations.

"You’re saying that Returning True Sect wants to move the entire sect here?" Chen Li looked towards Zhang Yan.

"I heard it from a cultivator who moved here from the Returning True realm. The reality is even more than that! During the war, it’s said that Returning True Sect gave up its original territory in exchange for the neighboring sects’ non-interference, seizing control of the entire Longevity Domain," Zhang Yan shook his head and sighed:

"What’s more, not just the Loose Cultivators will move here, but also the commoners within the territory. What on earth is Returning True Sect thinking? Relocation has always been a major undertaking, let alone for the people of an entire domain. The expense of the Spirit Stones alone is astronomical."

"You, a mid-Qi Cultivation Loose Cultivator, why worry about their business? If they are willing to pay such a great price to move here, there can only be two reasons: either they can no longer get by over there, or it’s for the better development of the sect, or maybe it’s a combination of both," Chen Li said.

The Longevity Domain, located on the frontier, might be a bit remote and desolate.

But it’s a land full of undeveloped resources, with great potential for development, unrestricted!

"Sigh, I have to worry. Returning True Sect is not like Longevity Sect; they’re very harsh on Loose Cultivators. I heard from those people that there are often corvée labor demands, life will be tough in the future." Zhang Yan’s face showed worry.

"Corvée labor!? We have to serve corvée labor?"

"Exactly so."

Chen Li’s brow furrowed, as he suddenly realized that he had been subconsciously ignoring a fact.

In his mind, the sect had always been a purely cultivation institution, but in reality, it was the ruler of a vast territory, akin to a nation.

In this territory, both commoners and Loose Cultivators were nominally subjects of the sect.

...

Everyone in Returning True Sect was incessantly busy, with large numbers of cultivators arriving daily on flying boats. After a continuous month, the number of outside cultivators had already surpassed that of the locals, turning Luoluo City into utter chaos with no semblance of order.

And, the rent had been collected once again.

Fortunately, Chen Li didn’t care much about this small amount of money.

The only regret was that, influenced by these external cultivators, the market prices that had been depressed after the war quickly escalated, the profit margin from buying low and selling high rapidly decreased, and the risks concurrently increased.

Chen Li reluctantly decided it was best to seize the opportunity and stop his purchasing, planning to start offloading his goods after waiting a bit longer.

Of course, Returning True Sect’s rule here was not without its benefits.

Without a doubt, Returning True Sect’s level of Alchemy surpassed that of Longevity Sect by a lot. The elixirs they refined were not just more powerful than Longevity Sect’s but also came in a wider variety, including a kind of Qi Nurturing Elixir used to aid cultivators in the later stages of Qi Cultivation.

However, the price was exceedingly high, one Mid-grade Spirit Stone per bottle, ten times more expensive than Qi Replenishing Pills, and even Chen Li felt the purchase to be painfully costly.

But it was worth the goods.

Since switching to the Qi Nurturing Elixirs, his cultivation speed had significantly increased. What he had estimated would take one and a half years to achieve Complete Qi Cultivation now required only one year, saving a whole six months.

If he moved to Luoluo City, a Second Order spiritual energy place, it would likely take even less time. However, he planned to wait and observe for a while longer, until order was fully restored before making a decision.

Now in Luoluo City, there were many Foundation Establishment families that had just migrated in. It was unclear whether Returning True Sect was doing it intentionally or not, but they seemed to have no interest in maintaining order in the territory, and the place was in complete disarray. Rumors had it that killings and looting often occurred. Many Loose Cultivators who had made a fortune earlier met unclear deaths.

Chen Li even suspected that Foundation Establishment cultivators were involved.

After all, even Foundation Establishment-stage cultivators would be envious of the wealth plundered by Loose Cultivators.

During this time, he had been focusing on leveling up his Body Protection Skill, which finally reached Max Level.

A Max Level Body Protection Skill was comparable to a second-level, Second Order technique. It would probably take quite an effort for an ordinary early Foundation Establishment cultivator to break through it, giving Chen Li a sense of safety when facing Foundation Establishment cultivators.

...

While eating dinner in the evening,

"Slap slap slap!"

The rhythmic slapping sound from next door rang out again, followed by the loud crying of a child!

"Will you still sneak out to play... Slap slap slap!"

"Do you know how chaotic it is right now... Slap slap slap!"

"If you don’t listen, I’ll let the peddlers take you away... Slap slap slap!"

"Qing is really not having an easy time raising a child on her own!" Zhou Hong said after listening for a while with a sigh.

"Boys are always more mischievous and harder to manage!" Chen Li laughed, "Girls are much easier. Look at Zhang Shuniang, even Zhang Yan doesn’t need to worry too much."

"No matter how well you raise a girl, she’ll eventually belong to someone else’s family. It’s the boys that truly belong to you." Zhou Hong spoke as if it was the most natural thing.

You’re a woman and yet you’re so biased towards boys. Shouldn’t I be the one to say that? Chen Li thought to himself, speechless.

...

Late at night.

In the quiet chamber underneath.

Chen Li’s eyes were slightly closed as he sat cross-legged.

Suddenly, his spiritual power trembled slightly, an abrupt change that stirred his mind, swiftly waking him from his meditation.

"Whew!"

He exhaled a breath of foul air, suppressing the restless spiritual power.

His face showed no sign of panic, as if he had anticipated this, and he checked his game panel.

"Just as expected!"

’Cultivation Technique: Longevity Skill Grandmaster: 3200/3200’

Since his arrival in this world, this widely available Cultivation Technique had taken him just over four years to master. Today, it had finally reached Max Level.