Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"Did not expect our group to actually be a woman?" In the crowd, Zhang Yan whispered as he looked at the person with Foundation Establishment.

How sharp were the senses of a Foundation Establishment cultivator? As soon as the words were uttered, an icy gaze quickly shot over.

Chen Li internally cursed his luck and hastily pulled Zhou Hong back one step without attracting attention.

"You, come out!"

Zhang Yan panicked inside, looking left and right, trying to put on a baffled expression.

"Stop pretending, it’s you!" Bai, with an ashen face, said coldly, "Come out quickly, do you really want me to personally drag you out? You’re grown-up, yet you don’t accumulate virtues with your words."

The crowd dispersed in a circle, revealing Zhang Yan and Zhang Shuniang in the middle.

"Dad..." Zhang Shuniang said worriedly.

"There... there must be some misunderstanding!" Knowing he couldn’t evade, Zhang Yan managed to squeeze out a smile and comforted Zhang Shuniang, then, with his trembling body, walked out of the crowd to face Bai and bowed, "Senior..."

He didn’t finish his sentence.

"Slap!"

Zhang Yan was slapped, staggering to the side.

The crowd was as silent as cicadas in winter, deathly still.

"Stand properly!" Bai commanded coldly.

Zhang Yan, seeing stars and with darkness before his eyes from the slap, stood upright again reluctantly upon hearing the order, only to receive another fierce slap across his face.

It was now symmetric at least.

Bai pointed and scolded, "These two slaps are to teach you a lesson. Remember this, disaster comes from the mouth, now scram!"

She was incredibly brash.

Zhang Yan, with his face stinging, quickly bowed his head and slunk back into the crowd.

"Dad, are you okay?" Zhang Shuniang, with tears brimming in her eyes, tugged at her father’s arm and asked in a low voice.

"I’m fine, stop asking," he replied.

Zhang Yan felt as if he had lost all face, but the swollen cheek that felt hot and painful was not really a concern at this point.

Zhou Hong quickly pulled Zhang Shuniang aside, "Let your dad be alone for a while!"

"Ah!" Zhang Yan sighed despondently.

’Serves you right for not holding your tongue...’ Chen Li kept silent within, feeling exasperated. If one has been more cautious with words, this unwarranted disaster wouldn’t have struck and given someone else the chance to establish authority.

After this incident, the team soon set off, meeting up with other teams halfway, forming a long procession that left the shanty area with great momentum.

What followed was the long road ahead.

Through wilderness, villages, ordinary towns...

Traveling from day into night, and back from night into day.

Walking non-stop for two days and nights.

It wasn’t until the afternoon of the third day that they finally arrived at their destination.

Further ahead lay the boundless forest sea, which was also the target area for this group of Loose Cultivators to clear.

Most of the Loose Cultivators were exhausted and sleepy at this time, but even so, they couldn’t immediately rest.

They first had to build temporary shelters. Thankfully, there was no shortage of wood here, and the quality of the shelter depended on each individual’s skill.

...

In the cramped wooden hut, the fragrance of wood was pervasive.

Chen Li brought over a good amount of dry wood, neatly stacking it in the corner. Turning around, he saw Zhou Hong had already laid out the bedding, and he took out some dried meat and water:

"Eat some dry food, let’s sleep early today, tomorrow’s probably not going to be any easier."

"Mhm!" Zhou Hong replied wearily.

The two quickly ate some food, closed the door, and fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the bedding.

After one night’s rest.

The forced labor began the next day.

The work was simple, it was just burning off the land.

Tens of thousands of Loose Cultivators, under the leadership of their respective Foundation Establishment cultivators, collected dry wood and then set the forest ablaze. The scene was incredibly spectacular, with flames reaching the sky, thick smoke billowing, and spreading for more than ten miles.

Innumerable wild beasts within the forest ran about in panic and were killed by the Loose Cultivators.

Especially since the weather was in their favor, the wind today was blowing toward the forest, and with the wind aiding the fire, the blaze spread rapidly, leaving everything in its path charred and black.

The only use for the Loose Cultivators was to kill any beasts that slipped through the net. In fact, there were very few, as even Demon Beasts could only turn tail and flee under such a fire.

In just one day, the edge of the forest had receded by several miles, and the fire still raged fiercely by nightfall.

The second day, the third day...

The Loose Cultivators slacked off happily, and the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

Every morning they rushed to the front line, just to gather in groups to chat, returning to the camp by night.

The cultivators of the Returning True Sect did not care either. As for that Bai from the Foundation Establishment, after showing her face on the first day, she rarely appeared afterwards, obviously impatient with this kind of labor.

"Such things even mortals can do, no need for us cultivators. The Returning True Sect just loves to trouble people," Zhang Yan complained.

Stuck here for three months, who knows how many talismans would not be made, how many Spirit Stones would be lost.

"Father, just say less!" Zhang Shuniang couldn’t help but say.

Really, he was going to get beaten again.

His wounds had only just healed.

Zhang Yan’s heart skipped a beat, pretending to be strong, he said, "Now you’re even bossing your father around, what’s wrong with that, I didn’t say anything!"

"Shu, this is for your own good. I’m telling the truth, don’t take it to heart. You, you just remember the food and not the beatings, you’ll die because of your damn mouth sooner or later," Chen Li laughed.

Zhang Yan huffed, "Can’t one even speak the truth anymore?"

"No, keep it to yourself!" Chen Li said, then suddenly felt something, looked up and exclaimed:

"Watch your heads!"

Everyone looked up to the sky.

They saw a tremendous bird circling in the high sky.

"That must be a Demon Beast," Zhou Hong said, looking up at the sky.

"Very likely," Chen Li said. "Demon Beasts are often intelligent, it must have its eyes on this place."

It hadn’t been long after he finished speaking.

The giant bird suddenly swooped down at an inconceivable speed. The ground beneath was a flurry of sand and stones, whipped by the wind, while a Loose Cultivator, paralyzed with fear, stood stock-still.

The next moment, a gigantic claw pierced the chest of the Loose Cultivator, snatched him into the air, and then hurled him down from the sky.

The whole process was as fast as lightning, swift as the blink of an eye.

Many cultivators still hadn’t fully reacted when one of them had already met a terrible fate.

Chen Li wanted to save him, but it was too far away and he was too late.

"Bam!"

The corpse plummeted from the sky, landing heavily on the ground like a burst sack.

Panic instantly gripped the crowd, and many Loose Cultivators began to scatter and run.

"Everyone, do not run, it is just a first-rank Demon Beast, stay close together for defense, do not disperse too much!" a cultivator from the Returning True Sect shouted after seeing the commotion.

Another cultivator from the Returning True Sect immediately lit a flame to signal an alarm.

But in that moment, who would listen?

During this time, the bird Demon Beast struck again, repeating its method to grab and kill another fleeing Loose Cultivator. The Demon Beast was not hunting; it was purely venting its anger.

It was quite cunning, targeting Loose Cultivators who were isolated and fleeing in panic, consistently having its way, until after the fifth Loose Cultivator met disaster, Bai finally arrived, albeit late, flying swiftly from afar.

Perhaps aware of the danger, the Demon Beast let out a frightened cry and soared high into the sky.

As a natural flyer, it was extremely fast, and in a few breaths’ time, its large figure turned into a small dot.

Knowing she couldn’t catch up, Bai descended, her face ashen.

After circling for a while, seeing no more opportunities, the Demon Beast flew elsewhere and quickly caused more chaos and panic. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

ps: There will be one more Chapter before twelve o’clock tonight.