Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

The cultivation world is clearly stratified.

After a Foundation Establishment female cultivator removed the heart of the tree demon, it was then the turn of ordinary Returning True Sect cultivators, who also busily extracted the essence of the demonic tree’s spiritual materials, filling their storage bags until they had no more room, leaving only Loose Cultivators to step forward afterwards.

While the Foundation Establishment female cultivator ate meat, the ordinary Returning True Sect cultivators drank soup, and the remaining Loose Cultivators also got to pick up some leftovers.

It was also because the tree demon was extremely large; otherwise, there probably wouldn’t have been any leftovers at all.

Although the tree demon was a Second Order Demon Beast, only the parts close to its core were considered as spiritual materials, while the rest were just common wood. Nevertheless, the quantity was still tremendous, easily amounting to dozens or hundreds of cubic meters.

This wood differed greatly from ordinary wood; it was dense and emitted a dazzling bright blue color, with a mysterious and natural grain that grew brighter toward the center. The higher the grade of the spiritual material, the more it radiated a hazy glow on the surface.

"What a waste it would be not to carve these into beads!" Chen Li secretly sighed in admiration as he looked on.

Of course, what was left for the Loose Cultivators was roughly First Order, as the most exquisite parts had already been taken by the people of the Returning True Sect. Altogether it was worth two to three hundred Mid-grade Spirit Stones; divided among over a thousand cultivators, each could only obtain twenty or thirty Low-grade Spirit Stones.

However, such a rare harvest was enough to make these Loose Cultivators happy.

Magic Artifacts flew all over the place as each used their own methods, busily digging around the tree stump.

"Boom, boom, boom!"

...

"Ah, my Magic Artifact, it’s broken, it’s broken!" 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

Someone exclaimed in shock, holding the two broken pieces of his Magic Artifact, wailing and stomping his feet in despair.

"Fool, using a Low-grade Magical Instrument to dig up this thing."

"Really without a clue. This is First Order spiritual material. If you use a Low-grade Magical Instrument and expect to brute force it, you won’t know who is harder!"

The crowd burst into a mix of laughter and curses.

Frightened by these words, many hurriedly stopped their work, as a Low-grade Magical Instrument was at least worth a Mid-grade Spirit Stone. If it broke, they would be crying without tears, suffering a terrible loss.

Chen Li and his group gathered together and also occupied a spot.

Chen Li went with the flow and dug up a few pieces of wood. This wood was quite heavy, smooth-textured, slightly translucent, as if glazed, and even emitted a refreshing fragrance.

Zhou Hong liked the wood and said it could be used for making some small furniture.

...

The weather was getting colder and winter was approaching.

As time passed, this three-month corvée duty was gradually coming to an end.

The harsh conditions here left everyone disheveled and with vacant stares, looking like beggars, the temporary camps had shifted more than a dozen times, moving forward about ten miles every seven or eight days.

Death lurked constantly, and even within temporary camps, it was not absolutely safe, as people were often harmed by poisons, and the bodies wouldn’t be found until the next morning.

As a result, every night before sleeping, Chen Li would cast the Insect Repelling Skill.

As the service was less than ten days from ending, the Returning True Sect cultivators suddenly announced a brief period of rest.

"What’s going on, why a sudden rest out of the blue?" Zhang Yan inquired.

Around the warm fire inside Chen Li’s hut, the group was roasting their game while chatting leisurely.

A skinless elk, skewered on a thick wooden stick, sizzled and dripped fat onto the flames, sparking and spattering.

"Unusual events may signify trouble, even that Foundation Establishment cultivator has disappeared. Something big must’ve happened!" Chen Li pondered and said, "Remember the last rest we had?"

"You mean... there’s danger again," Zhang Yan said with a grave expression.

The last rest was during the encounter with the River Demon, which lasted five full days.

"Certainly!" Chen Li stated.

Zhao Chang Er slapped his thigh forcefully: "The service is almost over anyway; if that’s the case, they might as well let us go now."

With his thick-skinned, familiar ways, he had gotten close to everyone over the period, and even set up his temporary hut right next to the others’.

"Considering how harsh Returning True Sect is on the lower ranks, we’re lucky if it’s not extended, let alone ending early. You must be dreaming!" Zhang Yan scoffed at the suggestion.

Zhao Chang Er sighed, "I think these disciples of the Returning True Sect are really lackluster in their duties, even busier than us."

This is just seeing the thief getting beat up, but not seeing the thief enjoying the spoils.

"Why talk about this!" Chen Li changed the subject and looked at Zhang Yan with a smile, "I haven’t congratulated you yet, for Shu achieving a breakthrough to the fourth level of Qi Cultivation so quickly!"

After the battle with the grey bees, Zhang Shuniang’s long-stagnant cultivation suddenly loosened, and she smoothly advanced to the mid-stage of Qi Cultivation.

"This girl does have some talent for cultivation!" Zhang Yan said modestly, but he couldn’t hide the smile on his face: "It’s just that her character is too soft, which will be a worry in the future."

"She’ll improve with more experience."

...

This time conscription summoned tens of thousands of people, with over twenty at the Foundation Establishment level. Although each group operated separately, they were actually not far apart—mere miles away from each other. Soon, news came through.

It wasn’t about any Second Order Demon Beasts.

It was an encounter with a terrifying Evil Wraith.

It was said that one group, in a single night, had most of its members killed, with only a few cultivators including that one Foundation Establishment escaping the calamity.

These days the Foundation Establishments had been searching for traces of this Evil Wraith.

The temporary camp suddenly became restless with fear.

For this reason, Chen Li quickly abandoned his nightly habit of practicing swordplay and spells in the wilderness.

Deep in the night, in the deserted wilderness, being alone was almost akin to seeking death; fortunately, he had not sold his Evil-Breaking Talismans, of which there were as many as a hundred and seventy. In addition to those, Zhou Hong also had twenty, so there was no panic, and the family could protect themselves without issue.

Time passed, day by day.

The atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

All sorts of rumors circulated in the temporary camp.

Some said a Foundation Establishment had died.

Others said that not just one had died.

There were also rumors of a Foundation Establishment being possessed by an evil spirit and killing several comrades.

Chen Li didn’t know what exactly happened.

Just when there were only three days left until the end of the conscription, early in the morning, a fast-moving streak of light dashed toward the camp accompanied by a terrifying oppressive force. The bustling temporary camp went silent in an instant.

The Golden Core Ancestor of the Returning True Sect had finally arrived!

"It looks like something big really happened!" Chen Li’s heart shuddered in fear.

"Will something happen?" Zhou Hong leaned on Chen Li’s shoulder, looking at the departing Golden Core Ancestor, and voiced her concerns.

"It shouldn’t," reassured Chen Li, "otherwise, these Foundation Establishments wouldn’t have waited till now to summon the Golden Core Ancestor. Alas, it’s beyond our power to do anything, let’s just watch!"

Zhang Yan and Zhang Shuniang, hearing the commotion, also stepped out of their home: "Now that the Golden Core Ancestor has arrived, there should be no problem."

"Hopefully that’s the case," Chen Li said.

Yet inside, his yearning for strength was ignited.

In this world, without power, even one’s own safety could not be assured.

The Golden Core was too far away.

But Foundation Establishment was within his grasp.

That would be the first step.

He must reach Foundation Establishment!

...

While Chen Li and the other Loose Cultivators anxiously waited for the outcome of the battle, the cultivators of the Returning True Sect suddenly came over to announce that the conscription had been prematurely ended, and everyone was free to return.

ps: Had something to attend to today, so this is all for now.