Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

As night deepened, the next few hours saw two more groups pass by, but unlike the first, they were not so bold. Seeing someone on night patrol, they decisively retreated.

It wasn’t until almost dawn that things finally quieted down.

...

"Chirp chirp!"

"Coo coo!"

"Twee twee!"

"Squeak squeak!"

"Caw caw!"

...

The strange bird calls of the early morning clamored as if they were holding a land-and-water Dharma assembly, Chen Li, who had not slept all night, pushed open the front gate.

The air this morning, aside from the ever-present stench of urine, had a new addition, a strong scent of blood.

But this did not affect Chen Li’s mood in the slightest.

Despite not having slept all night, and even after a night of thought, Chen Li felt an unprecedented sense of lightness and calm in his heart.

The previous day’s slaughter seemed to have thoroughly dispersed the heavy fog in his heart, cleansing his spirit and instantly settling his restless mind.

It turns out he wasn’t so weak after all; he was quite powerful.

He had never had an accurate assessment of his own strength, and the only friction he’d encountered was a superficial counterattack during a robbery. But now he was certain—he should be considered on par with the later stages of Qi Cultivation.

With such strength, he could now firmly stand his ground in the entire slum area.

Of course, not all practitioners in the later stages of Qi Cultivation could be seen as equal, just as not all people can be viewed the same.

A practitioner at the later stages of Qi Cultivation who grew up fighting in the slums is clearly not comparable to a sect-trained practitioner of the same level.

The former may have more combat experience, but the latter surpasses in terms of equipment, offensive methods, and cultivation knowledge.

One is like a street thug involved in underground fights, whereas the other is akin to a regular army soldier.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, good morning!" said a Loose Cultivator who had gone out the previous night as well, greeting Chen Li with a beaming smile upon seeing him.

"Good morning!" Chen Li replied with a smile, clasping his hands in a gesture of courtesy.

After that Loose Cultivator left, nobody else deliberately came over to greet him.

Chen Li didn’t mind and turned back into his house.

After all, he wasn’t such a superficial person.

It wasn’t long before Lin Gui hurried over, speaking in a mysteriously hushed tone:

"Four people died on the street last night, have you seen it? Now their bodies are hanging on the big tree at the street corner for everyone to see. Tsk tsk, it’s quite a gruesome sight, their heads were smashed, unrecognizable. I wonder which Fellow Daoist from the streets was so resolute in killing..."

"It was me," Chen Li glanced at him and said.

"The bodies are beyond recognition, their own mothers wouldn’t know them, truly brutal," Lin Gui, with his nimble tongue, chattered on and on. "By the way, what did you just say?"

"I said, that resolute Fellow Daoist you mentioned who did the killing, that was me!" Chen Li said with some resignation.

"Huh!" Lin Gui, like a goose suddenly gripped by the neck, craned his neck, speechless and staring, then he smoothed his beard and broke into a smile, "Fellow Daoist Chen, don’t joke with me like that. You even had to ask me for advice on the Scolding Skill."

"Just because I can’t use the Scolding Skill doesn’t mean I can’t kill people, does it?"

"This... well... of course you can kill people," said Lin Gui, his speech becoming nervous and halting, perhaps intimidated by the eerie atmosphere.

"There you go!" Chen Li said with a hint of a smile.

"Seems... seems like that’s the logic," Lin Gui uttered, seemingly at a loss for words. He looked at Chen Li for a long while before managing to squeeze out, "Fellow Daoist Chen, you’re really not joking?"

Chen nodded, "No kidding!"

Lin Gui left.

When he left, he still had a look of skepticism about life.

Chen shook his head and drank a large cup of plain saltwater, then took off his robes and undergarments, picked up the sword, and began to practice.

Today was destined to be anything but peaceful.

Before noon, Qiao Guanyuan came to visit.

Chen hurriedly went out to greet him.

"Chen, my sudden visit hasn’t disturbed your cultivation, has it?" Qiao observed Chen’s approach, noting the fluidity in his movements, as if he carried with him an extraordinary charm.

He moved like a leisurely prowling spirit leopard, beautiful yet deadly, clearly a sign of advanced physical technique mastery.

To be honest, he hadn’t paid much attention to Chen before.

Just a middle-aged Loose Cultivator making a living by drawing talismans, commonplace, with nothing about him that necessitated undue concern.

But today... no, last night, Qiao realized he had completely misjudged the man.

During last night’s intense fight, he was with another patrolling group and heard nothing until the end of the battle when he learned what had happened.

It was unbelievable.

To face three Qi Cultivation mid-stage cultivators single-handedly, and to come out completely unscathed, without even using a Magic Artifact the entire time, it was a level of combat power that even made him nervous.

And before coming today, he had thought Chen was merely exceptional in the art of talismans, but now he could see that Chen was equally capable in close combat.

That was terrifying!

"You are too kind, Fellow Daoist Qiao. Please come in," Chen gestured with his hands and ushered him through the gate. "What brings you to my place, if I may ask?"

"I’ve come mainly to discuss the issue of spoils from last night’s battle," Qiao said with a smile. "All the treasures found on the three masked men you killed, by rule, are yours. They consist of three Mid-grade Magic Artifacts, two Amulets, three Featherweight Talismans, one Fiery Flame Charm, and twenty-three Low-grade Spirit Stones."

"The market price for second-hand Magic Artifacts is typically half, and there was one shield Artifact that’s slightly more expensive than the average.

A rough estimate of the three Artifacts comes out to a total of eight Mid-grade Spirit Stones. As for the rest, they aren’t worth much, and I think you can make use of them, so we won’t bother with valuation. What do you think of this offer?"

"Very fair, I have no issues with that price," Chen said, forcing himself to remain composed.

Yet his heart couldn’t help but thump wildly.

Eight Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

This haul... had made him rich overnight!

"Good, Chen, you are indeed straightforward. I have brought the money and the talismans with me." With that, Qiao took out a pouch and several talismans from his bosom and gently placed them on the table.

After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Qiao soon proposed to take his leave.

...

Chen saw Qiao off and watched him disappear from sight.

He quickly closed the door, walked to the living room, grabbed the pouch, and poured its contents onto the table with a rustling sound.

The Spirit Stones scattered, making a delightfully crisp noise.

He grabbed one, then another, unable to let them go.

Then he remembered something and urgently counted them, confirming a total of eight Mid-grade Spirit Stones and twenty-three Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Not one was missing!

Not long ago, he was so poor he felt like splitting a penny in two to spend, scrimping and saving every day; even eating Demon Beast meat every other day pained him. Watching his savings dwindle and sometimes losing sleep from worry, and now suddenly seeing so many Spirit Stones, it felt almost unreal to him.

"With so much money, how shall I spend it!"