Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Afterward!

"Uncle..." Zhang Shuniang was drenched in fragrant sweat, weakly lying in Chen Li’s arms, saying coyly and timidly, "Shu really can’t do it anymore."

At her words, Chen Li’s old face turned red, and he withdrew his hand, saying, "You’re still calling me uncle!"

Sigh, I’m ultimately just an ordinary man.

Hehe!

"Husband... my husband."

...

The next morning, under the inexperienced and shy ministrations of Zhang Shuniang, Chen Li put on his robe, regaining his dignified and upright appearance.

When the two stepped out of the door, Zhou Hong saw the vastly different posture and entrancing beauty in Zhang Shuniang’s eyes as she walked with her head down behind Chen Li, and Zhou Hong couldn’t help feeling a hint of sourness in her heart. She looked at Chen Li with a beaming smile and said:

"I had my monthly period yesterday, so I had Shu, that girl, come to serve you. Fortunately, Shu was also willing. From now on, you must treat her well."

Zhang Shuniang felt unbearably shy when she heard this.

"Ah, you’ve been wronged." Chen Li held Zhou Hong’s hand.

To have a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for.

"Silly..." Zhou Hong’s eyes misted over, leaning into Chen Li’s embrace: "I don’t feel wronged at all. My man is a big Foundation Establishment cultivator, and in the future, he will even become a Golden Core Ancestor. It’s you who would’ve been wronged to only have me."

Chen Li didn’t want her to always dwell on the difference in cultivation: "Foundation Establishment isn’t that much more noble."

Isn’t that noble? It actually was very noble.

For Qi Cultivation practitioners, the two were like a wide chasm apart, representing an all-around improvement in longevity, strength, status, and identity, a fundamental difference in the essence of life. So many Qi Cultivation practitioners, even if they exhaust their entire lives, still strive to seek it.

The couple exchanged sweet nothings, and their relationship became intimate again.

...

In the days that followed, Chen Li immersed himself in the gentle village of his beautiful wife and concubines, enjoying the blessings of multiple partners.

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, over three months had gone by, and summer had given way to autumn. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

Just after Chen Li had maxed out his Golden Light Body Protection Skill, the sect’s mission finally arrived. It was still about pioneering new territories, but this time the location wasn’t around Luoluo City but rather the near-abandoned Green River District.

Since the Returning True Sect had moved here, a large influx of people had gradually relocated as well. The originally sparse population of this region was rapidly changing, and in recent years the entire Returning True Sect was either expanding its territory or building new mortal cities.

Around Luoluo City, including the four other districts, the range had expanded by an untold number of circles, almost to the point where they were connecting with each other. Under these circumstances, re-establishing the Green River District became timely and appropriate.

After all, compared to developing a new district from scratch, the Green River District with its existing foundation was undoubtedly more suitable.

...

Early morning.

Zhou Hong fussed over Chen Li endlessly, telling him to be careful about everything, resembling a scene of parting as if it were life or death.

By her side, Zhang Shuniang’s eyes were also red, brimming with tears.

"There’ll be many Foundation Establishment members going; nothing will happen!" Chen Li said reassuringly with a smile: "You two just stay safely at home. I should be able to return before the heavy snow."

After a reluctant farewell with the two of them, Chen Li started walking down the mountain.

Outside the shanty area at the foot of the mountain, the wilderness was crowded with people, packed densely together.

For this operation, the Returning True Sect had even dispatched a Flying Boat.

This behemoth of a vessel, over a hundred zhang in length and more than thirty zhang in width, hovered like a mountain in the low sky, casting a large shadow on the ground and even blocking the sunlight overhead.

"I remember you saying that you came from Green River District, how are things there?" Guo Xingquan was also conscripted for forced labor, frowning deeply as he asked aloud.

"That was six years ago, who knows how it is now!" Chen Li shook his head and said, "But before I left, the place was ravaged by demon beasts. There probably aren’t many people left now!"

"Let’s hope everything goes smoothly this time," Guo Xingquan sighed, "I was planning to close-up and break through to the second layer of Foundation Establishment, but now that has to be delayed."

"These people will probably stay in Green River District afterward, won’t they?" Chen Li looked towards the group of Loose Cultivators serving their labor, each with a look of misery and bewilderment, like a crowd of refugees being driven out.

"Heh, they’re all wild cultivators who were captured!" Guo Xingquan chuckled with a dismissive twist of his lips, "In the future, I guess more of those wild cultivators will be sent there."

So-called wild cultivators are Loose Cultivators who ’refuse to submit to the king’s laws.’ They don’t pay rent, they don’t serve labor, and many gather spontaneously, forming their own settlements and markets, essentially independent kingdoms.

During the era of the Longevity Sect, they turned a blind eye to such matters.

But now, in the era of the Returning True Sect, such things would not be tolerated.

Chen Li suddenly thought of the Yu Family and wondered if they were among them.

He glanced through the crowd, but alas, there were too many people, crowded and indistinct, and in the end, he did not catch sight of the Yu Family.

As time passed, one after another Foundation Establishment cultivator arrived.

When the sky brightened, everyone began boarding the ship.

Those who could perform Flight with Instrument Control did so, while many others climbed up the ropes lowered from the Flying Boat, entering the ship’s door in succession.

Chen Li was boarding such an enormous vessel for the first time and could not help but be greatly disappointed at first sight.

From the outside, the Flying Boat looked imposing like a mountain, yet the interior was quite rough and dilapidated. The vast cabin was divided into several levels, connected by stairs.

Each level was less than two meters high, the cramped space filled with a sour and foul odor. The taller passengers had to slightly bend their heads while standing, and as for seating, perhaps in pursuit of maximizing cargo capacity, there was none at all.

It was like a slave ship.

Even Foundation Establishment cultivators had to sit cross-legged among the other Loose Cultivators, crowded together.

This time, more than twenty Foundation Establishment cultivators came, half of them from Foundation Establishment families. Over the past two years, Chen Li had come to recognize most of them.

People he had dealt with like Feng Qi, Bai Yuqing, and Hu Buwei had all arrived.

Seizing this opportunity, everyone greeted each other and connected, strengthening their bonds.

Foundation Establishment cultivators were not like Qi Cultivation Loose Cultivators with their worldly demeanor; their relationships were loose. Even while sharing the same sect, their abodes were distant, and they typically spent their time either traveling or in seclusion—meeting once every six months or even once a year was common.

"Actually, the top layer of the Flying Boat originally had separate rooms, but they were dismantled a few years ago to relocate mortals, and to this day, none have been added back," Guo Xingquan explained, noticing Chen Li’s curious gaze towards the Flying Boat and could not help but laugh.

"I see, that’s why there are marks on the floor where something has been torn out," Chen Li said.

"Why doesn’t our Returning True Sect buy a few more Flying Boats? Like other sects, we could operate passenger ships, which would also be a source of income," one of the sect’s Foundation Establishment cultivators interjected.

"A single Flying Boat costs thousands of top-grade Spirit Stones, where would the sect get so much money? Even these few were accumulated over hundreds of years and can only be used at critical times."

Compared to the wealthy Artefact Sect, the Returning True Sect did indeed seem rather impoverished, Chen Li thought to himself, grumbling inwardly.

With a topic introduced, several Foundation Establishment cultivators began to chat leisurely.

As they spoke, the Flying Boat started to move slowly. Silent and imperceptible, it was extremely quiet.

However, the speed was quite slow, the distance from Luoluo City to Green River District was only a little over five hundred li. The Flying Boat took off in the morning and did not reach Green River District until it was nearly evening.

When Chen Li descended from midair and looked at the distant Green River District, half-concealed by trees and resembling a relic, he could not help feeling silent inside.

...

PS: Drank a bit too much last night and passed out drunk.