Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

The streets were already full of people.

Each face bore a smile, an excitement, a sense of anticipation.

The caravan had been delayed for so long that despair was close at hand; now, as soon as news of the caravan’s return spread, the entire shantytown was abuzz.

Crowds gathered, moving in one direction.

Chen Li felt the same excitement as he followed the crowd for a few minutes. Soon, he caught sight of the caravan.

It was a massive caravan.

Dozens of camel-like beasts stood in a row, burdened with mountains of goods, while the number of people heading this way was even greater, dusty from their journey, forming a long procession. He roughly estimated that there were no less than a hundred people.

But the more Chen Li looked, the more he felt something was off.

Why are there so many people?

When he saw that many were bringing their families, from the elderly to squalling infants, he felt a sense of foreboding.

This was not a caravan!?

What kind of caravan merchants travelled with their entire households?

This looked more like a mass migration... a flight from disaster.

Chen Li couldn’t express how disappointed he felt.

The rest of the crowd evidently noticed as well, and their excitement began to subside.

"Chen..."

Suddenly, Chen Li heard a familiar voice and turned to see Lin Gui.

"It really is Chen." Lin Gui wormed his way through the crowd and approached him with delight.

"How did you get out, weren’t you making pills for the sect?" Chen Li asked in surprise.

"Shh!" Lin Gui quickly looked around nervously, "There are too many people here, don’t talk about that, I escaped. Sigh, that Wei Qingyi is such a scoundrel, do you know how much he paid me for concocting a bottle of... you know what?

A single Low-grade Spirit Stone.

He resells it for five Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Five times the price difference.

Can you believe that?

I used to sell them for three Low-grade Spirit Stones." Lin Gui rambled on with a pained expression.

Chen Li, however, couldn’t sympathize.

The final sale price being five times the cost price, isn’t that very normal?

"Luckily, what goes around comes around. Remember the recent siege on the Demon Beasts by the major gangs? He had bad luck and got killed by a Demon Beast. I took advantage of the chaos in the Green Clothes Gang to make my escape."

"So, where are you living now?" Chen Li inquired.

"Alas, I can only find some random house to make do!" Lin Gui said, looking rather miserable.

It seemed as though he might be regretting his escape.

Such a shame... why bother?

Such specialized talents are carefully looked after by any gang.

Though the earnings might not be much, it’s safe, unlike now, when you have to worry about being hunted by Demon Beasts all the time.

Chen Li asked for his address, but didn’t disclose his own.

"Fellow Daoists..."

At that moment, an aged, hoarse voice rose from within the procession, "The Yu family has come from afar, bringing young and old to seek refuge in your esteemed domain, intending to settle for a long time. We hope to receive mutual support from fellow Daoists and overcome difficulties together."

The voice carried a faint Mana, clearly reaching everyone’s ears.

The onlookers fell silent, then began to stir again, bowing and returning the greeting.

"He’s a Foundation Establishment cultivator!" Lin Gui whispered.

Chen Li’s gaze shifted to the center of the procession, where an old man in a lake-blue robe gestured to those around him, then sat back down atop a camel, closing his eyes to rest without speaking further.

He looked very old, with skin full of wrinkles and dotted with age spots, and his face had almost no color, appearing exceptionally pale.

But compared to paying attention to this Foundation Establishment cultivator,

Chen Li was more concerned with the meaning behind his words.

To come from afar to avoid disaster!

To weather the adversity together!

What did that mean?

Could it be that other places were even more difficult to live in?

Even such a cultivator family had to come from far away to avoid disaster, relocating here in its entirety.

...

The next day,

the news had already spread.

Since the Golden Core Ancestor of the Longevity Sect had fallen, sacrificing his life to repel the invading sect, peace had never returned to the Longevity Domain.

The Longevity Domain was not just the power of the Longevity Sect.

Inside the domain, numerous big and small cultivator families were entangled; Foundation Establishment was not uncommon, and under every big clan were countless smaller ones. Many cultivator families, in fact, had already turned against the Longevity Sect during the second attack by the three major sects.

If the Golden Core Ancestor of the Longevity Sect had survived the war, these would have merely been minor irritations.

They would not have stirred up any significant trouble.

Those who go against the tide perish.

The key is that he died.

The strength of the Longevity Sect plummeted like a cliff.

By relying on the inertia of the previous order and some methods of division and conquest, the Longevity Sect barely maintained itself for a few months, but it could not hold on any longer come winter, and finally comprehensive chaos broke out.

That’s why the trade caravan has not come to this day.

In a remote place like the Green River District, who would have the extra concern under the current circumstances?

Compared to that, this almost forgotten Green River District seemed like a tranquil paradise at this moment.

If only there weren’t demon beasts wreaking havoc.

...

In the damp tunnels,

"This damn world, there’s never a moment of peace," grumbled Chen Li, who had just returned from outside, pacing back and forth irritably.

"Right now, we’re not lacking in clothes or food, and living in a burrow is also quite safe. The war can’t last forever. We’ll get through it after a while. Didn’t you see that even Foundation Establishment cultivators have moved here?" Zhou Hong tried to offer some comfort.

"I hate burrows!"

Zhou Hong snuggled into Chen Li’s embrace:

"It will pass. When in life is there not hardship? Just tough it out, and things will get better."

"Sigh, don’t comfort me anymore. I’m just venting because I set my expectations too high and the gap between reality and expectation is just too large," Chen Li gently hugged Zhou Hong. "I’ve come to realize, in this world, there are no peaceful days, just struggling to survive!"

...

The Foundation Establishment family was very low-key.

After arriving in the Green River District, they neither built extensively nor occupied the market, simply choosing an area close to the market. They paid to have the Loose Cultivators in one street move away and then modestly renovated and expanded the area, settling down there.

However, the presence of a Foundation Establishment cultivator still affected the hearts of the entire slum area.

These days, members of various gangs visited daily to pay their respects, but it was said they were all turned away at the door. Not only did the Foundation Establishment cultivator stay behind closed doors all day, but his family members also rarely went out and hardly communicated with outsiders.

This greatly disappointed many people.

...

"This Foundation Establishment cultivator must have already been injured when he arrived, and considering his old age, the situation might be even worse. Otherwise, the entire Yu family wouldn’t be so low-key. After all, they are a Foundation Establishment family," said Chen Li when buying talisman papers from Zhang Yan, who chatted casually.

"We can’t count on that Foundation Establishment cultivator," he sighed, "I guess he would consider taking action only if Second Order demon beasts showed up at our door. And even then, it’s not certain whether he would be able to defeat them. They moved here to save their family and leave a way out for their lineage, not to fight to the death for this place."