Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

The sky was beginning to lighten when Chen Li awoke.

He shifted the arm that was entwined with his.

Looking at his wife and concubine, Haitang, who was still in the embrace of deep sleep next to him, his mind was filled with countless thoughts.

Zhou Hong was forty this year, yet still only at the eighth level of Qi Cultivation, with her hopes of Foundation Establishment growing increasingly dim.

Even Zhang Shuniang, who had somewhat better talent, was now approaching her thirties, still lingering at the seventh level, with similarly slim prospects!

He let out a small sigh.

He cast a Cleaning Skill on himself to remove the lingering odors and picked up his robe, dressing neatly.

He stepped out of the bedroom and saw Bai Wei and a rough-looking maid sorting herbs in the storeroom. A thought crossed his mind, and he beckoned her over. Bai Wei quickly put down the herbs she was holding and trotted over, "Master, do you have any instructions?"

Over the past few years, that little girl had also grown up.

Her once chubby face was now pleasingly pretty, and with her ample bosom, she exuded a strong sense of youth.

"Little Bai Wei, how many years have you been here now?"

"Reporting to Master, it’s been three and a half years," Bai Wei replied sweetly.

"Almost four years then," Chen Li mused on how time flies, continuing, "I remember you were fourteen when you came here. What are your plans for the future? Although your service contract is with me, I’m not the kind of person who limits someone for their whole life."

"Master, I don’t want anything else, just to serve Master, the first lady, and the second lady for all my life," Bai Wei answered, her expression tense and uneasy, her hands tight on her robe, eyes lowered in submission.

"Alright! Don’t think too much about it," Chen Li waved his hand, seeing her fearful look, "You can go back to your tasks."

"Yes, Master!"

That conversation turned out to be pointless.

Bai Wei had no talent for cultivation. Staying here long-term was merely a waste of her youth, but it was clear that she didn’t think so.

Indeed, compared to the cruelty of the mortal world, this place was undoubtedly a paradise. Perhaps in a few years, she would think differently.

...

"I didn’t expect that after the Phantom Skill reached the master level, it would undergo such a change!"

In the quiet room, nine Chen Lis crowded together, constantly eyeing each other, making it hard to tell which was real. If an outsider were to witness this eerie scene, they would surely be startled.

Compared to when he first learned the skill, the phantoms now moved faster, like phantoms indeed, and they had also become more lifelike, almost like exact replicas of the body. Not only did they appear similar, the internal organs and meridians were also fully replicated. When his thoughts were attached, they no longer felt empty,

and they could even speak.

Only, the voice was slightly odd.

It was completely different from his own, with a hint of electronic distortion.

"It seems aside from conveying messages, they’re not much use!" Chen Li felt a little disappointed inside.

His greatest hope had been that his phantoms would possess actual combat ability—usable for reconnaissance and deceiving the enemy, and, during critical moments, to assist in battle. It looked like his hopes were in vain, and he feared that even if he trained to the max level, they wouldn’t develop combat capabilities.

"Wait a moment!"

Just then, a spark of inspiration flashed through Chen Li’s mind.

"If they can speak, that means they can chant incantations, so could they possibly cast spells..." His heart started to beat violently with excitement.

As his strength had grown, so had the level of his adversaries, evolving from Qi Cultivation to Foundation Establishment, and the effectiveness of low-level spells had increasingly diminished. High-level spells, on the other hand, took much longer to cast and often required the use of both hands to execute the gestures.

In the thick of battle, there was often no time to use them.

Although he was still able to cope with battles now,

Chen Li was already sensing that, as his strength continued to increase, he would, much against his will, have to abandon the study of spells,

There’s a reason why fighters in the Cultivation World generally use Magic Artifacts.

All those Golden Core Ancestors had been granted extended lifespans, living for hundreds of years, but who among them didn’t have the time to study spells? Yet in the battle with the Tianxing Sect a year and a half ago, hardly any of them used them.

This was telling.

He had always been deeply anxious.

But now, he seemed to glimpse the first light of dawn.

"Whether it can succeed still needs to be verified,"

Chen Li waved his hand, dissolving seven of the phantoms, leaving only one.

Diverting his focus to nine tasks, sharing the five senses including vision among the nine, even Chen Li, who had already refined his brain and thought at an unusual speed for someone at the Foundation Establishment level, couldn’t maintain a normal state for long without feeling lightheaded and pained.

Chen Li closed his eyes to rest for a while, adjusting his condition, then he tried hard to sense the phantom.

He quickly felt a slight trace of spiritual power within the body of the phantom.

But it was too weak.

If he did not put in effort to sense it, it would be difficult to detect.

To say it was at the level of Qi Cultivation layer one would be generous, it was only just the entrance; that trace of spiritual power was fleeting, appearing and disappearing like it could be scattered by a mere breath.

With such a weak level of spiritual power, he couldn’t even release the simplest Spiritual Power Finger Snap.

But even so.

Chen Li still decided to give it a try.

He took a deep breath.

"Spiritual Power Finger Snap!"

A slight glimmer passed over his fingertips as if he strained for ages but to no avail, similar to a patient with kidney stones, flickering for a moment before quickly extinguishing.

At the same time, that pitiful trace of spiritual power inside the phantom was completely drained.

However, far from being disappointed, his face was filled with surprise.

This was the beginning of a transformation.

...

As Chen Li had predicted, the facts proved him right.

In the following days, as he continually brushed up on the Phantom Skill.

The spiritual power inside the phantom’s body grew day by day, advancing at an astonishingly fast pace.

Three days later.

Chen Li was already able to release a Spiritual Power Finger Snap.

Half a month later, he could cast all level one spells, and at the shocking rate of about one level every half month, he advanced rapidly.

...

The chill of spring was biting, seeming even colder than winter.

Not long after the start of spring.

The Returning True Sect added another Foundation Establishment.

This time it was a male cultivator, surname Zhao, with the first name Qiankun, still coming from the Inner Sect Disciples.

This Foundation Establishment ceremony was exceptionally well-attended.

Since Chen Li joined the Returning True Sect, in just under seven years, three Foundation Establishments were born, a burgeoning sign for the sect’s development. However, this time many were devoid of joy; even amidst laughter, their eyes and brows were shadowed with lingering worries.

It had been nearly two years since the Golden Core Ancestor went into seclusion, yet there was still no sign of him emerging, no news at all.

No one even knew if he was alive or dead!

To the Returning True Sect, the Golden Core Ancestor was like a supporting pillar reaching the skies, the survival and prosperity of the sect hinged on him.

Should anything happen, in this world of wolves surrounding and law of the jungle, without the Golden Core, the entire Returning True Sect would likely crumble immediately.

No wonder people were so anxious and worried.

Throughout the ceremony, Chen Li secretly watched the Sect Leader Xia Hongyi’s expression, but unfortunately, he couldn’t tell if it was too well feigned or not; throughout the Foundation Establishment ceremony, the person in question was all smiles, and no flaws could be detected.

’Damn, nothing better go wrong!’

If praying to the heavens and Buddha would help, Chen Li would certainly burn incense morning and evening as earnestly as possible.

After finally having some peace, he did not want to live a life of instability and insecurity like before.

ps: Still not used to it, it’s been a long time since I’ve written, save my neck!