Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Returning to the living room, Chen Li called for his wife and maids.

He gave them careful instructions.

After the maids left,

"Has something happened?" Zhou Hong asked with concern.

After all, having been married for over a decade, Zhou Hong could easily read the worries etched on Chen Li’s face.

But Chen Li couldn’t be explicit about his concerns, for fear that his wives and concubines might accidentally let something slip. He could only vaguely say,

"Today I heard from Fellow Daoist Lin Qing about a massacre that wiped out an entire family. It made me remember that the Returning True Sect has quite a number of enemies too. With this place being a melting pot of good and bad, with many Loose Cultivators coming from all directions, we should act prudently to avoid unnecessary disasters. We must be especially careful not to reveal any secrets."

"You’re right to remind us, husband. We should indeed be more careful from now on," Zhou Hong nodded gravely.

"I’ll heed my husband’s words. After all, I seldom go out," said Zhang Shuniang.

...

The discovery of the Tianxing Sect’s remnants raised Chen Li’s vigilance.

Although it was still a conjecture,

It was already very close to the truth.

On reflection, Chen Li realized that the accent of this person was very similar to those of the Tianxing Sect during the battle.

Being originally from the Longevity Domain, his own accent hadn’t changed much over the years, even after the Returning True Sect annihilated the Longevity Sect and the entire sect moved here, which was also why Lin Qing had no suspicions towards him.

Annihilation of one’s sect and family!

What deep hatred that must be!

Calling it a blood feud wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

If they discovered him as a "survivor" of the Returning True Sect, Chen Li did not believe the other party could be so open-hearted as to smile away the grudge.

The polite and gentle demeanor of today could turn into a ferocious, bloodthirsty avenger in the blink of an eye.

What’s more terrifying is that it wasn’t just one or two people, but at least five, and possibly one at the late phase of Foundation Establishment.

Luckily, he hadn’t exposed any leads yet.

The demise of the Returning True Sect had occurred just five days prior. Since he had arrived quickly, the news had not yet spread in Red Pillar City. It was unlikely that the adversaries would imagine that a "survivor" of the Returning True Sect would be living so coincidentally right next to them.

Otherwise, they wouldn’t have unwittingly revealed themselves so carelessly.

In the following days, besides familiarizing himself with the surrounding area and visiting his neighbors, Chen Li gradually sold off several first-grade Magic Artifacts, Talismans, and various other items from his surplus storage bags.

As for the storage bags, many of which were embroidered with "Returning True Sect,"

That was an easy matter to resolve.

He simply removed the embroidered characters.

In fact, the Returning True Sect didn’t possess the ability to manufacture storage bags; they were all purchased in bulk from outside and then embroidered with the sect’s insignia. Once the characters were removed, the bags were no different from others on the market.

The local shops here offered very low purchase prices—about twenty to thirty percent lower than those in Luoluo City. Chen Li couldn’t be bothered to travel far or to sell them slowly at a stall.

Luckily, the quantity was significant, and he sold them for a total of eighteen Top-grade Spirit Stones.

This somewhat cushioned the blow of his severely depleted savings.

Afterwards, he lived reclusively, carefully monitoring his neighbor Lin Qing’s movements.

But for several days in a row, the other party hardly went out, nor did any visitors come.

During this time, the long-undertaken Water Element Talisman had finally made progress.

While the success rate was still low, all that was left was to slowly make progress.

With a considerable amount of savings on hand, he wasn’t in a hurry to make money anymore.

...

The bright moon hung high, spreading a blanket of silver light all over.

There was no curfew in Red Pillar City. Many shops stayed open until late into the night. Compared to Luoluo City, people here generally went to bed later. Especially the period around dusk and after, the city was even more bustling than during the day.

The ancient alleys paved with blue stone.

Two men and one woman approached slowly from afar.

Among them, one man and one woman were clearly a couple, staying very close to each other.

The woman looked to be in her thirties, with a demure and tranquil temperament, not seeming like an ordinary Loose Cultivator. She was dressed in a well-tailored moon-white robe that accentuated the mature curves of a woman.

The man appeared to be in his early forties, with a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes. He was quite tall, and every movement showed a steady temperament, with a faint hint of majesty.

Walking together, they resembled a pair of celestial beings bound by fate.

The remaining person had an elderly appearance, with a perpetual look of sorrow between his brows, seemingly in his fifties or sixties. He deliberately stayed half a step behind the couple, clearly deferring to the square-faced man in every move he made.

"Brother Huang, it’s problematic for you to keep acting as a caravan guard. It’s too dangerous," the square-faced man said.

"What else can I do without any other skills? Moreover, I’ve joined a sizable merchant caravan. Each time, there are several at the Foundation Establishment stage and even a leader in the late stage. As long as I’m careful, nothing will happen," the Huang-clan cultivator replied somberly.

"Have you spent all the Spirit Stones I gave you last time?" the square-faced man asked.

The Huang-clan cultivator remained silent.

"You haven’t gone gambling again, have you?" the square-faced man pursued.

"Brother, just leave me be," the Huang-clan cultivator said with some impatience. "Now, with nothing left but my wretched life, just let me meet my fate!"

"Brother, you... Ah!" the female cultivator looked at the Huang-clan cultivator, wanting to speak but stopped herself, and ultimately just let out a deep sigh.

She and her husband were childless, and they had been lucky to escape when their sect was destroyed.

But Brother Huang and Brother Lin had lost their wives, concubines, and children; the few survivors were scattered and lost to them. Brother Lin had already moved past it, but Brother Huang was still steeped in sorrow. In just a couple of years, he had aged over a decade.

"Let’s go to Brother Lin’s house first, then we’ll talk," the square-faced man said, when suddenly he felt something, turned his gaze sharply toward a shadow, and called out, "Who’s there? Which Fellow Daoist thinks to jest with Xiao?"

The atmosphere turned tense.

A long moment passed.

"Husband, did you see it wrong?" the female cultivator asked doubtfully. There was nothing but shadow in that direction, and even with the use of Spiritual Sense, it was utterly empty.

"I thought I felt someone’s gaze from over there, but maybe I’m just being overly sensitive."

...

"Such keen Spiritual Sense, I almost got discovered," Chen Li thought to himself.

He stayed put for a while, waiting until the trio had moved off into the distance, before he deactivated his Invisibility Technique. His figure, along with his shadow, suddenly shattered like a soap bubble, turning into an invisible wave of Mana, disappearing without a trace as if he had never been there.

This was indeed an illusion created by Chen Li.

By the small lake in the courtyard.

A cool breeze was blowing.

"Sigh!" Chen Li looked at the wrinkled surface of the lake and let out a sigh.

A trio of travelers.

The other two were not a concern, their cultivation at most only mid-stage Foundation Establishment.

But that square-faced man gave him an immense sense of pressure, no less than the feeling Xia Hongyi gave him.

Chen Li held no enmity towards them.

Even when he first saw Lin Qing, he had felt a certain rapport.

During the battle at Tianxing Sect, they were on the victorious side, breaking through gates, massacring countless, with bodies strewn everywhere. Everyone who survived made a fortune, and their entire sect was cleanly divided between the Returning True Sect and Hongshan Sect.

Those who were unfortunate enough to die could only curse their sect for initiating such an unjust war, curse their own bad luck and lacking strength.

There was no reason to hate the cultivators of Tianxing Sect.

Yet, life is sometimes so helpless.

You may not hate others, but they harbor a flame of revenge in secret.

Wishing they could skin and devour the cultivators of the Returning True Sect.

"Some people are just not meant to be friends," Chen Li exhaled:

"But I still need to wait a bit longer, at least until my Soul Capture Skill reaches Max Level!"

.