Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

It really was a tragedy!

Her body was gaunt, clothed in tatters with patches upon patches, emanating an odor of long-stored mildew and stench. Through the layer of dark dirt, her skin displayed an unhealthy pallor, the result of rarely seeing sunlight.

"The Longevity Sect is no more. We are from the Returning True Sect, and this place will be put to use again. Now tell me, how many people are still here?" Chen Li waited until her emotions had vented sufficiently before he asked.

"I’m not sure, there are quite a few factions around here. Sometimes when we go out looking for food, we occasionally find traces of other people. As for my group, there are only twelve of us left," the woman said cautiously, with a hint of joy, but still showing caution.

Chen Li sighed deeply upon hearing this.

He, too, had come from this place and knew the despair of the demon beast disaster, the malevolence of humanity. Even without her saying, he could imagine the hardships they had endured over the years.

"Go and bring your people here," he said.

"Fellow Daoist, could you possibly spare us some food first? I haven’t eaten in two days," the woman pleaded with hopeful eyes, licking her dry lips as she looked at Chen Li.

Chen Li took out a pile of demon beast meat from his storage bag, roughly several tens of pounds.

The woman quickly took it with a face full of surprise and quickly left.

Half an hour later, she returned with a group of ragged survivors.

"Are you...Are you Chen?" One of them seemed to recognize Chen Li, saying excitedly.

"Oh, you know me!" Chen Li said curiously, sensing a faint familiarity.

"I’m Wang Lu, we used to live on the same street," Wang Lu hurriedly wiped the dirt off his face, adding excitedly, "I’ve even spoken to you before!"

"I didn’t recognize you at first. It’s Fellow Daoist Wang right in front of me!" After recognizing the man, Chen Li responded politely, "I never thought that after so many years we would meet again."

"Fellow Daoist, have you become a disciple of the Returning True Sect?" Wang Lu cautiously asked with a flattering smile.

"What are you looking at? Chen is a Guest Elder in our sect," said a Returning True Sect disciple, respectfully bowing to Chen Li.

Hiss!

There was a collective gasp of surprise!

It was only at this moment that the survivors realized he was a Foundation Establishment cultivator.

And one who had also come from the Green River District.

When they looked at Chen Li again, their gazes were filled with reverence.

...

Not only had Chen Li’s group found survivors, but other teams had also received newcomers. By the time they returned to the district at nightfall, the total number of survivors had reached over a hundred.

The first day passed peacefully like this.

The second day was much the same.

On the third day, another team finally encountered a Second Order demon beast. By the time Chen Li arrived at the location indicated by the warning fireworks in a leisurely pace, the battle was nearing its end.

The huge beast, large as a mountain, was trapped in a net-shaped magic artifact. It clawed, bit, and thrashed about furiously, its body blazing with spiritual power.

The very ground trembled slightly.

A Foundation Establishment cultivator was managing the net with closed eyes. Perhaps the drain on spiritual power was too great, for his face was waxen and covered with sweat. The others intensified their attacks with their magic artifacts, and Chen Li joined in with a few stabs of his flying sword.

Alas, the quality of the flying sword was too low.

It only left a few wounds that were neither deep nor shallow.

Soon enough, the demon beast was bleeding profusely, and its abdomen had been sliced open, spilling its intestines onto the ground.

After a few moments, this Second Order demon beast let out a cry of despair, fell to the ground with a thud, and struggled no more.

The few Foundation Establishment cultivators looked joyous, except for the owner of the net, who had a bitter expression.

After this battle, his magic artifact was ruined beyond repair, and the modest gains could not compensate for the loss.

Chen Li went over to inspect the claws of the fallen Second Order demon beast and found that this was not the one he had encountered before.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, is this your first time seeing a Second Order demon beast?" a Foundation Establishment cultivator teased.

"Yes, it is!" Chen Li replied with a smile, humoring him, "I had no idea they could be this huge!"

Everyone couldn’t help but smile.

This demon beast was indeed shockingly large; even lying on the ground, it was three to four meters tall, like a small mountain, and one could feel an intense pressure standing beneath it.

Chen Li exchanged pleasantries with the other Foundation Establishment cultivators.

Then he rose to take his leave.

They clearly had no intention of sharing their spoils with him, so it was best to leave of his own accord.

On his way back, Chen Li ran into Feng Qi, who had been rushing to the scene. On learning that the situation was already resolved, Feng Qi’s face fell with irritation. She complained about her misfortune, having been delayed by taking the wrong direction.

Chen Li couldn’t help but feel a mix of laughter and tears.

That evening, the Foundation Establishment cultivators proved themselves to be decent people; they gave every Foundation Establishment cultivator a share of the hundred-odd pounds of Second Order demon beast meat. It was a case of to each according to their presence; no one was left out.

...

On the fourth day of burning the wastelands, the fires reached the area of the shanty town.

Over the past few days, more survivors had arrived, bringing the total to five to six hundred. This was probably the final count.

Chen Li made a point of visiting his former home, where under the cover of trees, the entire house had decayed, with most of it collapsed. As he walked through the ruins, a brood of lizards scattered in all directions.

He had once despised this wretched place, longing to escape it.

After leaving, however, he found himself nostalgically remembering the place more than once.

In this world, it was like his hometown, where he grew up and set out on his journey. No other place could carry as many memories of joy and sorrow, pleasure and anger, like the Green River District did.

...

On the fifth day, Chen Li’s luck finally ran out.

It was the afternoon, and they had just finished lunch not long ago.

Chen Li, who had been under the effect of the Fortune Seeking and Disaster Avoiding Skill, suddenly felt an inexplicable heart palpitation—as if something had set its sights on him. He quickly ordered everyone to stop and be on alert.

"Senior, what’s wrong?" a female disciple of the Returning True Sect asked.

"Something’s not right!" Chen Li said as he stared intently ahead, where he saw flames beginning to dance unnaturally, followed by a slight trembling of the ground. He quickly said, "Quick, send up the alarm fireworks!"

The faces of the four Returning True Sect disciples changed dramatically upon hearing this.

Having said that, Chen Li silently chanted incantations to cast spells while he made his way through the crowd, reaching the front within a few strides.

’Traction Skill’

’Golden Light Body Protection Skill’

’Hemostasis Healing Skill’

He performed one spell after another, smoothly as if he were flowing clouds and streaming water, preparing for battle.

"Bang!"

A red firework flew into the sky and burst open suddenly!

"I hope we can hold out until the others arrive," Chen Li said with a grave expression.

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

Accompanied by the sound of densely packed trees breaking, the burning flames up ahead dispersed as if driven away to either side.

Before long, a fierce and colossal beast appeared in Chen Li’s vision. It stood as tall as a two-story building, its body sleek yet powerful, with four clawed feet. Its black claws were sharp and lethal, endowed with the texture of metal and stone, lending the creature an elegant lightness as it moved.

Its red fur fluttered with the rhythm of its steps, appearing as if set aflame by the wind.

It seemed not of this world.

Beautiful yet dangerous.

Chen Li took a deep breath. Despite the beast being hundreds of meters away, he still felt its oppressive and terrifying presence, making the air itself seem unusually agitated.

Panic spread as the crowd screamed and began to run in all directions. Some people even collapsed on the ground, unable to move.

It glanced disdainfully at Chen Li and the people behind him. Then, it suddenly took in a deep breath, and a gust of wind arose all around, pulling countless flames into its nostrils like birds flocking to the woods.

The fire within a hundred meters was extinguished in an instant.

It seemed to purr with pleasure.

The next moment, without any probing, it burst forth explosively.

Like a rush of fire upon your face,

"Damn beast, why has no one come yet!"

He threw out a ’Palm Thunder’ at random. The lightning struck the beast, only to be blocked by a protective glow around it—the attack had no effect. Then Chen Li used the ’Ice Skill,’ but the beast nimbly dodged it.

The distance of a mile closed swiftly, almost in the time it took to breathe.

He steeled his heart and circulated his Circulation of Heavenly Gang energy, invisible flames of qi burning around him. He drew his sword, kicked off the ground, shattering the earth beneath his feet, and charged to meet the beast head-on.

His legs moved swiftly as he advanced like the wind,

Both approached at high speed.

Like a small meteor crashing into Earth.

Even before he reached the beast, the scorching wind pounced on him.

Fortunately, as soon as the fierce wind entered the area of Chen Li’s ’Traction Skill,’ it calmed instantly.

Chen Li did not blink as he kept his eyes fixed on the rhythm of the beast’s movement, concentrating fully, minutely adjusting each step and calculating meticulously.

One hundred meters!

Fifty meters!

Twenty meters!

...

Just as the Second Order Demon Beast was in midair, not yet touching the ground, Chen Li ’just happened’ to take a step within ten meters in front of it.

The ’Flash Skill’ and ’Scolding Skill’ he had been brewing were unleashed in succession, and in the moments when the demon beast was caught off guard, Chen Li used the ’Traction Skill’ with all his might, the intent to kill suddenly apparent.

He pushed off fiercely with his legs, leaping into the air, his body like an arrow shot from a bow. To onlookers, he was a fleeting afterimage that passed by in an instant.

The sword passed!

The throat severed!

The man flew!

The massive body of the demon beast hit the ground, stumbled, and rolled several times, scattering blood all over the place.

Its neck was nearly two-thirds severed, with scalding blood mixed with specks of flame pouring out like a waterfall. It couldn’t even cry out in pain, as blood and sparks sprayed from its mouth.

Max Level ’Traction Skill,’ Max Level ’Circulation of Heavenly Gang’ energy, a Second Order middle-grade ’Green Jade Sword,’ plus the instantaneous explosive force of a physical body weighing several tons — in terms of attack power, an average Foundation Establishment middle-stage cultivator simply couldn’t compare.

Several Foundation Establishment practitioners who had hurried over from afar involuntarily stopped in mid-air, staring wide-eyed and dumbfounded.

The electrifying moment of instant slaying they had just witnessed was hard to reconcile with the always low-profile, new Foundation Establishment cultivator in their minds.

Chen Li was thrown dozens of meters away and tumbled several times in mid-air before stabilizing himself and gently landing on the ground.

Fortunately, this time he had used both hands to wield his sword for the slash; aside from dislocating both arms, fracturing the base of his palms, and tearing some muscles, he wasn’t seriously injured.

Chen Li panted heavily, his eyes fixated on the faraway demon beast. His muscles twitched a few times, and his dislocated arms snapped back into place.

As for the torn muscles, they were already healing quickly under the influence of the previously cast ’Hemostasis Healing Skill.’

A few seconds later, there was a loud "boom."

The large demon beast, after losing most of its blood, finally couldn’t hold out any longer, collapsed to its knees with a crash, and after struggling several times to stand, collapsed again, eventually giving up, its eyes showing a trace of unwillingness and confusion.

Pity the demon beast, from beginning to end, never had a chance to use its innate abilities before Chen Li instantly killed it.