Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Just two days later.

The deep of the night was silent.

Chen Li and Zhou Hong were once again awakened by a piercing scream from outside.

In the darkness, the two opened their eyes wide, saying nothing, just holding hands tightly and quietly listening to the situation outside. It took quite a while, and only after the noise outside had completely disappeared did they relax again.

"Do you think it could be the same Second Order Demon Beast from a few days ago?" Zhou Hong said.

"It should be!" Chen Li replied, then paused before adding, "We can’t go on like this. We’re just waiting for death. That poison might not be useful, and even if it is, there would be enough time before it takes effect to kill us."

Now, a heavy snow covered the ground nearly up to the chest, making the roads difficult to traverse. If they encountered a Demon Beast, there would be no escape.

"What should we do then?" Zhou Hong, nestled in Chen Li’s arms, asked.

"Let me think, let me think..." Chen Li murmured to himself.

But what good plan could come to mind at once?

Going to the forest would probably be even less safe than staying here.

The market was already closed, with the merchants having left before the heavy snow.

At that moment, an idea struck Chen Li, "Why don’t we dig a tunnel? As long as we dig deep enough, even if the Demon Beast finds here, it won’t be able to do anything unless it can burrow underground."

"I think that’s possible!"

...

Immediately, neither of them felt sleepy anymore.

No sooner said than done.

The frozen soil of the bedroom was directly cut open with a Magic Artifact. Without a shovel to transport the dirt, they used wooden basins from the house instead.

The two were bustling about busily.

By the time it was broad daylight outside, they had dug a pit about a meter wide and five or six meters deep. But this depth was not enough; to a Demon Beast, it might only take a paw to investigate.

After breakfast, they continued their hard work.

The deeper the hole, the harder it was to dig, and during this time they made some ropes and other tools as well.

In this manner, the two worked tirelessly for three days and three nights.

The dirt they carried out piled into small hills in the courtyard, but finally, the digging of the hole was barely completed.

The entire tunnel was about a meter wide and fourteen or fifteen meters deep, with a small space of about five square meters and a vent hole the size of a bowl carved out at the bottom.

The entrance and exit of the cave depended entirely on a rope made from vines.

In an emergency situation, they could even jump straight down. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

With a half-meter-thick layer of dry grass and branches laid out below, even if one jumped down, the worst injury would be minor.

Compared to losing one’s life, such injuries were inconsequential.

"It’s actually quite warm here," Chen Li patted the walls of the underground space, feeling a strong sense of safety and accomplishment, "The air is a bit stuffy, but for the sake of safety, we should still sleep here at night."

The soil here was of a sticky variety, very adhesive, with poor permeability and resistant to collapse. They were fortunate it was this type of soil; otherwise, just dealing with seepage would have been troublesome.

"Hmm, I think we should store some food too. In case we get trapped, we could hold out for a few more days," Zhou Hong suggested, her face smeared with mud and showing a tired but joyous expression.

"That’s true... Have these days tired you out?" Chen Li went over and wrapped his arms around her waist.

These past days, aside from eating and drinking, they hadn’t stopped for a moment. Chen Li had not rested, and neither had she. Chen Li, strong and vigorous, could endure it, but she was essentially pushing herself to the limit.

"I just helped a little; you did all the hard work!" Zhou Hong buried herself in Chen Li’s embrace, her voice nasal.

After being affectionate for a while and sharing some intimate words, they continued with the last of their busywork.

That night.

They had a good night’s sleep.

When Chen Li woke up, looking at the pitch-black underground space, he felt relaxed all over. The unease that had settled in his heart during those days was swept away.

...

Time quickly passed by more than a month.

The cold winter outside was still ongoing, and as the season pressed on with its tests of extreme cold and hunger, more and more Demon Beasts with no way out were forced to leave the forest, setting their sights on the shanty areas.

Some of the weaker Demon Beasts naturally ended up being killed.

But the stronger Demon Beasts thrived in this environment.

It was like they had found a massive granary.

Every time hunger struck, he would make his way here.

Night killings happened frequently, sometimes even during the day; in just over a month, there had been nine such incidents in the nearby area.

The most recent happened no more than a hundred meters from Chen Li’s front door.

Chen Li had already made up his mind, come next spring, when the snow had melted, he would discuss leaving this market town with Zhou Hong.

Without the protection of a sect.

Without the support of a powerful guardian.

This market town had become increasingly dangerous. In the past, the deterrent presence of the Longevity Sect kept demon beasts at bay, but this cold winter had laid everything bare.

There was no need to think about it to know that even after the snow melted, these demon beasts would not simply leave.

After all, who would give up a granary?

...

"Huff!"

"I’ve finally reached the Fifth Level of Qi Cultivation!"

Chen Li exhaled a breath of turbid air, his hands slowly pressing down as he opened his eyes, his face showing a trace of joy.

After achieving mastery in the Longevity Skill, the Cultivation Technique had been optimized to better suit him, and the speed of his cultivation had subtly increased. It had only been four months since his breakthrough to the Fourth Level, and now he had made it to the Fifth Level of Qi Cultivation.

It took quite a while for his excitement to calm down.

He began to carefully think over his next plans, aiming to strengthen himself as quickly as possible.

In this world, there was truly no sense of safety.

"I have no useful spells at hand for the Fourth Level of Qi Cultivation, but at the Fifth Level, there’s the ’Traction Skill’ that’s both offensive and defensive... Additionally, I can start learning how to craft ’Featherweight Talismans,’" Chen Li thought to himself.

The Traction Skill was like a manipulative spell similar to Telekinesis.

It could crush flesh and blood when used for offense and could interfere with Magic Artifacts when used for defense.

However, as a mid-level Second Order spell,

Its difficulty alone was daunting—its incantation alone contained three syllables, requiring coordination with hand seals, but no matter the difficulty, he had to learn it. Spring was coming, and he needed to prepare to leave this place; who knew what dangers he would encounter on the road?

...

Chen Li’s good luck did not continue.

That very night,

a massive demon beast, in search of food, set its sights on this location and quickly located Chen Li’s home. Accompanied by a loud crack, the house collapsed instantaneously, and after the beast consumed everything edible inside, it followed the scent to the entrance of the cave.

Inside the underground space,

Chen Li held his flying sword in hand, held his breath, and remained motionless, with Zhou Hong equally on guard behind him.

"Gurgle!"

"Gurgle!"

The demon beast’s breathing, resembling a bellows, echoed in their ears.

Chen Li could even feel the gusts of warm, fetid air brushing against his cheeks.

"Roar!"

The beast let out an irritated snort, followed by a low growl.

The sound was thunderous.

Immediately,

a deluge of earth clods cascaded down from above.

"Not good!" Chen Li’s heart skipped a beat.

It was digging through.

He could no longer contain himself and stepped out of the underground space.

The flying sword shot out from his hand, its sharp blade bursting forth like lightning through the tunnel, grazing past the demon beast’s face and leaving a fine cut.

"Aoow!"

The injured demon beast became instantly enraged.

The next moment, a huge claw wrapped in a hazy Spiritual Power ferociously reached into the entrance.