Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Chen Li cast the Traction Skill three times in a row.

He used up most of his Spiritual Power.

Only then did he carry his sword through the tunnel and return to the basement.

After twice suffering the lesson of piling up Demon Beast Meat, which caused a stench to fill the air, Chen Li finally resolved to take action. He had been intermittently using the Traction Skill for a while to extensively expand and renovate the basement.

From the original fifty square meters living area, it had now reached about one hundred fifty square meters, and there was a separate warehouse thirty meters away from the living area for storing Demon Beast Meat, interlinked by tunnels.

Chen Li slapped on a Cleaning Talisman and tiptoed to the bedroom, where he placed his sword.

No sooner had he climbed into bed than he woke Zhou Hong.

"Go back to sleep," Zhou Hong opened her eyes for a moment, muttered, and snuggled into Chen Li’s embrace.

"Mhm," Chen Li held the beauty in his arms. Listening to the rhythmic dripping of water, he felt little desire to sleep.

These days, the weather outside was getting hotter and hotter.

The basement, which was originally just damp and leaking... had become damp and leaking plus stuffy and hot!

In fact, it wasn’t really a big deal now, as it was merely a bit stifling, given that spring had not been in for long.

If it were summer,

That would truly be unbearable.

He had even contemplated moving to live above ground.

As far as he knew, many people, though having dug tunnels and constructed basements, still slept outside at night, only retreating underground when danger loomed.

But then again, he was reluctant to abandon the well-developed basement.

The sunk costs were too high.

Building another one in a short period of time would be time-consuming and strenuous, and he didn’t have the heart for it anymore.

At that moment, Chen Li suddenly had an idea and said to Zhou Hong, "What do you think about us building a new house on the original site?"

Zhou Hong murmured an affirmation without even opening her eyes, sleepily saying, "Whatever you decide."

The more Chen Li thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

Timber was not scarce here. There was plenty of good wood in the nearby dilapidated houses, ready to be dismantled.

Nor was there a lack of stone. Chen Li knew of a slant in the slum area with large exposed rocks.

As for tools,

he had all sorts of Magic Artifacts at hand.

To cut stone and timber, there were flying swords.

For drilling and boring, there were nail-like Magic Artifacts as well.

Along with the Traction Skill and formidable physical strength,

as long as the materials were ready, building a house should not take too long...

...

In the following days, Chen Li spent a certain amount of time each day gathering various construction materials, dismantling several empty houses nearby.

The pile of materials in front of the ruins grew bigger and bigger, soon attracting the attention of the neighbors.

Some curiously asked, "Are you going to build a house?"

Others in dire straits asked if he needed any help with the work.

There were also the local ruffians who came knocking, offering their ’help’ with cheeky grins on their faces.

Human nature in all its variety, as long as it stays the same, even among Cultivators, every type exists.

Such people wouldn’t dare commit murder, but they were no strangers to minor mischief. Like toads, they don’t bite, but they do annoy. Chen Li sent them away with a few catties of Demon Beast Meat, and thankfully, anyone could see that Chen Li was not to be trifled with, so they all took what they could get and did not cause further trouble.

Originally, Chen Li had wanted to do all the work himself, but in the end, he couldn’t resist hiring six helpers from among the local residents. Life was simply too hard for them, each one was skinny as a rail.

Nowadays, with prices soaring and Demon Beasts rampaging,

only a few dared to venture out and risk their lives. Most Loose Cultivators at the bottom could only make ends meet with great difficulty.

Nevertheless, the presence of these helpers allowed Chen Li to disengage from these mundane affairs, affording him more time to cultivate.

...

Because the materials were ready and the foundation had already been leveled out by Chen Li with the Traction Skill,

the house was built quite quickly.

It only took three to four days.

The structure of the house was just beginning to take shape.

However, perhaps due to the increased exposure over the past few days, there had been dealings with all sorts of people—dragons and snakes mixed together.

When he emerged from the tunnel this evening, he couldn’t be sure if it was just a feeling, but he had the distinct impression someone was watching him. Though he had been preparing to settle accounts at Zhao Lin’s house, he immediately decided to change his plans.

...

Inside a house a few tens of meters away from Chen Li’s, with its door tightly shut,

seven men, some standing and some sitting, all had a malevolent look on their faces.

One of them peered through the crack in the door for a long while before pulling back, then said to a hooligan,

"Is this family really wealthy?"

"Wealthy, of course they’re wealthy," the hooligan replied with a flattering smile. "How can someone in a magician’s robe not be rich? Just for sending us away he gave each of us a pound of demon beast meat without even blinking."

The group chuckled upon hearing this.

This is just tossing alms to beggars for them; they don’t even care for demon beast meat.

But those wearing magician’s robes must definitely be rich—that much was true.

"Big Brother, this guy isn’t easy to mess with!" another Loose Cultivator, his face marked with a scar, peeked through the crack and said in a somber tone.

"The six of us can’t handle the two of them. We still have some of the mystic smoke left from last time; let’s use it first. It works best on these people living in tunnels," laughed the Loose Cultivator who was called Big Brother, his face at ease.

"His woman is quite pretty too; you big bros better not waste her!" the hooligan said with a mischievous laugh, trying to egg them on.

Instantly, some started laughing in a lewd manner.

Objections and foul language broke out all at once.

"Big Brother, maybe we should just drop it. The risk is too high, and those in magician’s robes are not easy to handle. We might as well stick to the easier and more relaxed way, like before, picking on someone more ordinary. The money we make is enough to spend," one man expressed his concern.

"You’re just destined to stay poor. What’s there to fear? In these times, if you want to live well, you have to be ruthless, fearless..." replied Big Brother with a vicious look. "Move aside; I want to take another look!"

He leaned in closer to the crack.

But before he could see anything,

a sword rapidly enlarged before his eyes.

In a moment of distraction,

the tip of the sword had already pierced through his throat and out through his forehead, causing his body to shake as his eyes bulged.

The expressions on the others’ faces changed drastically, and they retreated abruptly, reaching for their magic artifacts.

In the next instant, a figure crashed through the door, streaking in front of them like lightning.

Scarface had just touched his magic artifact,

when he heard the grey shadow utter a light call.

All of a sudden, he froze stiff, overtaken by immense fear. Then the cold gleam of the sword flashed across his neck, and his field of vision began to spin out of control.

Within the cramped space, sword light crisscrossed violently.

The group, stunned by the Scolding Skill, were swiftly cut down by the sword light as if they were mere stakes.

The sword struck!

The men fell!

In less than half a second,

seven bodies lay strewn across the floor, lifeless.

Chen Li quickly searched each body.

Six magic artifacts.

Two mid-grade magic artifacts, four low-grade magic artifacts.

In addition, there were fifteen Amulets, twelve Featherweight Talismans, two Arrow-Evasion Talismans, one Evil-Repelling Talisman, and fifty-two low-grade Spirit Stones.

"Pah, a bunch of paupers!"

The haul was much smaller compared to the last time he ambushed.

Chen Li stuffed the items into his robe and then, without changing his expression, walked out of the door and headed towards Zhao Lin’s house.

Before the killings, he had already altered his appearance and changed into a new robe.

What did murdering have to do with him, Chen Li?

He was just a stranger passing through.