Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"I spared your life back then, why seek death now?"

The autumn wind was bleak.

The vast wilderness was permeated with the thick scent of blood.

A dire sense of lethality.

"Hahaha, you killed my husband and my fellow disciples, should I be grateful to you? I only regret that my strength was inadequate to avenge my husband’s death. Now, death is the only end for me, why waste words?" Feng Min laughed madly, her beautiful face twisted with resentment and despair. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

"Indeed, I made too much of it," said Chen Li, feeling somewhat bored.

Hatred had already been cast in stone, what good would more words do?

The next moment.

Chen Li’s body flashed, and with a few leaps, he crossed dozens of meters, his sword light flashing like lightning.

One sword broke through her defense.

And then another sword beheaded her!

The beauty’s head rolled on the ground.

"Finally, it’s over!"

Chen Li looked at the headless corpse with a complex expression, sighed, shook his long sword lightly, and sheathed it.

But there was not a tinge of satisfaction from revenge in his heart.

Afterward, Chen Li carefully cleaned up the battlefield and destroyed the remains.

Then, he swiftly departed.

...

Chen Li returned home smoothly, feeling listless and lacking the energy to even check his spoils of battle.

"What’s wrong with you, sighing like that?" As a long-married couple, Zhou Hong spotted his mood at a glance and quickly stepped forward to help him sit down, "Just the other day, your face was as cold as if you wanted to kill someone!"

"Sigh, you’re right," said Chen Li weakly, "One really shouldn’t be too trusting."

"What do you mean by that? You’re not making any sense. Did you trust that remnant from the Tianxing Sect?"

"Uh!" Chen Li almost jumped out of his seat when he heard that, sensitive as it was. But as he had nothing to hide, he decided to tell her everything that had happened these past days, of course glossing over the details a bit.

As for the part where he couldn’t resist the temptation of Feng Min and nearly fell into her trap, that simply did not happen.

He had been in control the entire time.

"You are just too kind," Zhou Hong sighed, "That kind of woman should have been killed long ago and never spared in the first place."

"Sigh, one may know a person’s face but not their heart," Chen Li lamented.

...

That night.

After all that had happened!

After getting intimate for a while, Chen Li was ready to continue.

Zhou Hong extracted herself and retreated to the side, giggling, "No more, you’re too much for me now. Wait a moment, I will call Bai Wei."

Zhou Hong said this as she got out of bed, bent over to pick up her clothes and put them on.

"Why bring this up again, I have you and Shu, that’s enough for me," Chen Li said.

"Isn’t Bai Wei beautiful? She’s not young anymore and doesn’t plan to leave the residence. Do you really want her to end up alone for the rest of her life?"

Chen Li was helpless.

Was this his responsibility too?

"Sigh, have it your way," he conceded.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Hong’s mouth curled in disdain, and she couldn’t help but spit out sarcastically, "Tch, saying one thing but meaning another! You’re the lucky one here."

She dressed and pushed open the door.

Just as Chen Li was about to fall asleep, Bai Wei came in from the darkness, dressed in a green gown, carrying the warm scent of a bath behind her.

"Master... Master!" Bai Wei said with a trembling voice.

"Hmm!" Chen Li replied, "Don’t be nervous, come in!"

"Yes, Master."

The response encouraged her, and her hands trembled as she removed the last piece of clothing, exposing herself completely.

Her waist was slender but full, in perfect proportion, combined with her pretty face and the novelty of the unfamiliar experience, Chen Li felt surprisingly nervous. His heart pounded wildly, and he found himself speechless. Soon the blanket was gently lifted, and a scorching body slipped in.

...

Early the next morning.

Chen Li, under the shy care of Bai Wei, dressed in his Magic Robe.

"Rest well today," he said gently.

"Mmm... Yes, Master!"

Chen Li couldn’t be bothered to correct her.

Mortals were different from immortals; it wasn’t something that could be changed by how one addressed another. Forcing her to call him husband would only make her feel at sea, and perhaps it would only be with time that she might slowly adapt to the custom.

After consoling her a few more times, Chen Li stepped out the door.

Breathing in the fresh morning air, he felt clear-headed and refreshed, his frustrations from the previous day completely swept away.

He made his way to the quiet chamber underground.

And began sorting through the war spoils from yesterday.

First was the loot from that short and skinny cultivator.

He refined the storage bag and took out all the contents, laying them on the ground to count them one by one.

Even a brief inventory brought a smile to Chen Li’s face.

True to being a high-rank cultivator who even he thought was dangerous, the man had wealth.

In just Top-grade Spirit Stones alone, there were over four hundred.

Flying Cloud Sword: Second Order, Ultimate Grade.

The Flying Sword was entirely cloud-white, resembling a flawless piece of suet jade, its surface covered with a sharp mist, flying silently and seemingly unaffected by air resistance.

Such calibre of Magic Artifact was exceedingly expensive at auctions, always fetching a price of one to two hundred Top-grade Spirit Stones.

The Dark Light Sword in his possession was of this level.

Mountain-Suppressing Seal: Second Order, High Grade.

It resembled a paperweight, attacking with a great and heavy force, as heavy as a thousand jun, with a suppressive and immobilizing effect on enemies.

Unfortunately, his opponent’s Magic Robe and another net-like Magic Artifact had been destroyed by Chen Li’s Sky-Shaking Skill; otherwise, selling them would also have yielded a significant amount of Spirit Stones.

Transmission Jade Slip: eight pieces.

Over ten volumes of books.

Chen Li glanced through them briefly and set them aside to examine more carefully when he had time.

"Eh!"

At this moment, Chen Li picked up a black Talisman.

This Talisman was much thicker than the average one, and it was unclear what grade of talisman paper had been used to create it; its lines were complicated and mysterious, as if they were naturally formed rather than drawn.

Feeling the terrifying power contained within, Chen Li was somewhat startled.

"This feeling... could it be a Talisman Treasure!?"

Talisman Treasures were created by Golden Core cultivators by sealing a part of their lifebound Magic Artifact’s power into talisman paper; its power equated to a Golden Core’s strike. Chen Li had seen something similar at an auction before, but that one was golden, whereas this one was black.

The more he looked, the more likely it seemed, filling him with a retrospective fear.

Luckily, yesterday’s battle had ended quickly.

Three illusory bodies along with the true body attacked in succession, all in less than a second.

Had the short and skinny cultivator used this item, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

But now, fortunately, it was his own.

Beyond this, the most eye-catching item was a strangely extraordinary material.

It was about a foot wide, completely red, radiating intense heat.

"This seems to be a Third-Grade Redflame Stone!"

Chen Li had seen this type of ore in a book about mineral identification; it was generally used as the main material for refining fire-attribute Magic Artifacts.

"Such a big piece, I wonder how much it’s worth?"

There were also many other items that he had never seen before; he would have to visit a shop to get them appraised later on.

Next, Chen Li tallied up Feng Min’s and that old cultivator’s items.

Compared to the short and skinny cultivator, these two were much poorer.

Nothing particularly surprising among their possessions.

In terms of Spirit Stones, their combined total was barely over seventy Top-grade Spirit Stones. Adding in various Magic Artifacts, Magic Robes, and other miscellaneous items, the total value didn’t even reach one hundred and fifty Top-grade Spirit Stones.

"Oh right, I almost forgot, Feng Min’s residence had a Formation set up," Chen Li recalled as he took out a Formation control Token from Feng Min’s storage bag and slapped his forehead:

"That Formation’s level is not low."