Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"Hiss! So many!" Chen Li gasped in alarm.

Bai, the female cultivator, quickly released a Fiery Flame Charm; in the air, the talisman instantaneously turned into a sheet of flame, clearing a small area right away. It was impossible to know how many Poisonous Spiked Gray Bees had been killed, yet swiftly, the gap was refilled, "Use area-of-effect spells!"

But...

This Bai surname female cultivator clearly had grown accustomed to practicing in her sect and lacked understanding of Loose Cultivators, overestimating them.

For the majority of Loose Cultivators, to have a Magic Artifact for self-defense and a few talismans was already standard equipment; where would they have a variety of offensive techniques? Aside from the rare few whose Magic Artifacts were special, capable of area damage, the rest could only flail about blindly with their Magic Artifacts. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"Bang bang bang bang..."

Finally, one after another, the poisonous stingers shot out like rainfall, striking the Golden Light Body Shield, only to be deflected by the shield.

These Poisonous Spiked Gray Bees were not larger than a thumb on their own, and the force behind their shot stingers was not great. Let’s not even speak of the Golden Light Body Shield, even an ordinary Protective Shield would suffice. But the sheer number of them was overwhelming—densely packed.

"Stand behind me," Chen Li told Zhou Hong and Zhang Shuniang.

"Oh! Be careful, uncle," Zhang Shuniang said, barely holding on.

Chen Li nodded, and with no time to hide his lack of skill, he began to use Ice Skill.

Ice Skill, First Order, Level Seven.

Although he rarely practiced Ice Skill, he had mastered it to a proficient level.

A moment later.

He pointed with his finger.

A dismal white Ice Beam shot out from his fingertip. Upon hitting a gray bee, it exploded, turning into an extremely cold mist that spread rapidly in all directions, instantly freezing countless gray bees, which clattered down to the ground.

Chen Li cast spell after spell, soon clearing out a large area.

Many quick-witted Loose Cultivators nearby, seeing this, began to gather around Chen Li.

But these gray bees kept coming in waves, creating the impression of an endless horde.

Even Chen Li started to feel a bit anxious.

He took out a bottle of Qi Nurturing Elixir and swallowed several pills to recover his Spiritual Power.

"Ah!"

It wasn’t long before consecutive screams rang out.

One after another, Loose Cultivators’ Protective Shields broke through, and in the next moment, their bodies were pierced with countless stingers, convulsing briefly before frothing at the mouth and falling to the ground, lifeless.

"Don’t panic!" Bai, the female cultivator, shouted sternly, stabilizing the spirits of those whose resolve was crumbling, seeing the casualties mount. She could not afford to be concerned with much else, "Everyone, cover your ears!"

No sooner had she spoken than she threw out her bell Magic Artifact. The artifact swelled against the wind, transforming into a great bell towering in midair.

"Dong!"

...

"Dong!"

...

"Dong!"

...

A series of substantial ripples spread out in the air, pulverizing all the gray bees they touched, cleansing a large area.

At the same time, the crowd was shaken so fiercely by the sound waves that many staggered or even passed out on the spot. Only a few, like Chen Li, could barely stand, relying on the defensive capability of the Golden Light Body Protection Talisman against the sound waves.

"What level is this Magic Artifact, such formidable power," Chen Li marveled silently to himself.

Following that, the swarm of bees no longer possessed their previous overwhelming momentum; the whole expanse had thinned out considerably. A little while later, they finally retreated completely.

"Are you okay?" Chen Li asked Zhou Hong.

"Just a bit dizzy and nauseous, I’ll recover shortly," she replied.

"And Shuniang?" Chen Li looked at Zhang Shuniang, whose complexion was pale as paper and bloodless, clearly suffering from the sound wave attack.

"I..." Zhang Shuniang weakly began but was cut off by continuous retching.

Zhang Yan rushed forward to support his daughter, handing her a water bottle with concern, "Have a drink of water!"

"Dad, I... I’m fine!"

Seeing that most people were generally unharmed, Chen Li finally felt relieved and looked around.

Wherever his eyes landed, corpses could be seen everywhere. Hastily counting, there were more than ten, adding those who had died in the past two months, the death toll of this forced labor had already exceeded ten percent.

"Alas, human life is as cheap as grass!" Chen Li sighed inwardly.

The people of the Returning True Sect didn’t care about the deaths of Loose Cultivators; even the Loose Cultivators themselves didn’t care, only grateful that it was someone else who died, not themselves, having long been accustomed to death around them.

Next, the corpses were hastily buried by the members of the Returning True Sect after being stripped of their possessions, leaving behind one crude mound after another.

While the sect claimed they would return the possessions to the deceased’s family, most Loose Cultivators led solitary lives, with enough to feed themselves and no family to worry about, so finding any next of kin was unlikely.

The Tree Demon struggled in the massive fire for hours before finally falling silent without a sound.

The female cultivator surnamed Bai stepped forward, observed for a while, then summoned a small green sword magic artifact. With fierce and unrestrained energy, she quickly severed the large tree.

Once the tree fell, she raised her hand, gathering mana, and pounded and dug into the tree stump, thunderous booms echoing as splinters flew. She occasionally used her magic artifact in an unseemly hard work for quite some time.

Only then did she extract a green crystal from the tree stump, faintly glowing.

Gazing at the object in her hand, even her usually indifferent face revealed a hint of a smile.

"That’s definitely a good item!" Zhang Yan whispered.

"You don’t need to tell me, I already know," Chen Li said, exasperated.

"That’s the Tree Heart, similar to a Demon Core, from a Second Order Tree Demon," Zhou Hong explained from the side. She was once an adventurer and knew more about this area: "Because Tree Hearts are rare and precious, it’s said they fetch several times the price of a Demon Core!"

"Hiss!" Zhang Yan sucked in a breath: "Then it must be worth over a hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones. Alas, it’s just a shame for us Loose Cultivators, providing labor, money, and even our lives!"

Over the past two months, besides a few Spiritual Medicines he picked up and some smoked beast hides, he had no other gains. His losses, however, were much higher: he used five amulets, one Golden Light Body Protection Talisman, and his magic artifact was slightly damaged.

This trip was a complete financial loss.

"Could you complain a bit less?" Chen Li said, unimpressed.

"What’s there to not talk about? She’s far away from here!" Zhang Yan had long forgotten the pain after the scar healed and spoke dismissively: "Tell me, who could endure such forced labor every year?"

"That’s impossible," Chen Li reflected.

Given this casualty rate.

Even using Loose Cultivators as expendables, they wouldn’t be consumed like this.

"Just you watch, there will definitely be more in the coming years. The Returning True Sect has only just moved here; there are many things to tend to," Zhang Yan said, deeply worried.

"I heard that the Returning True Sect has established norms for forced labor!" A Loose Cultivator who had joined the conversation unprompted said, "Each year, one only needs to undergo half a month of labor, and if it doesn’t happen one year, it gets added to the next. Sometimes, we end up laboring only once every few years."

"Then why did we have to labor for three months in one go?" Zhang Yan looked at the newcomer.

"Who told us to be people from the Longevity Domain?"

After introducing himself, the Loose Cultivator’s name was Zhao Chang Er, and seeing the strength Chen Li displayed earlier, he thought of making an acquaintance or two.

He was short and hunched, always looked down with low eyebrows and was dressed in a blue robe. Whenever he spoke, his face habitually revealed a sycophantic smile that seemed to be thoroughly beaten by society.

Actually, his cultivation wasn’t weak.

After questioning, it turned out that he was in the later stages of Qi Cultivation, though he didn’t reveal his exact level.

Zhao Chang Er looked at Zhang Yan and felt more and more familiar: "Have we met somewhere before? You look somewhat familiar."

Zhang Yan’s face turned red as he stammered: "Well... I’ve always had a stall selling talismans in the market; maybe Fellow Daoist has seen me before."

"No, that’s not it!" Zhao Chang Er stared at Zhang Yan for a while before slapping his thigh and exclaiming, "I knew you looked familiar! Aren’t you the one who..."

Seeing Zhang Yan unable to save face, Chen Li quickly interrupted: "Alright, Fellow Daoist, you know it, so let’s not bring it up."

"Sorry, sorry! Don’t be mad, Zhang. Look at my blabbermouth; please don’t take it to heart," Zhao Chang Er hurriedly apologized with a laugh.

This guy was truly annoying. Zhang Yan felt depressed but managed a forced smile: "No offense taken, such a trivial thing won’t stay on my mind. In fact, talking about it isn’t such a big deal, haha!"

"That’s good, that’s good. Fellow Daoist, you were incredibly bold back then, daring to criticize a Foundation Establishment cultivator. To tell you the truth, I was sweating bullets for you..." Zhao Chang Er excitedly said, spittle flying.

Zhang Yan could only smile awkwardly.

This guy must be a bit silly, Chen Li thought to himself.