Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

Without overseers, the market had become visibly dilapidated.

Even murder and robbery began to occur in broad daylight.

A Loose Cultivator who had set up his stall lay in a pool of blood, his body growing steadily colder, while his stall was empty, already robbed of everything. Soon, swarms of flies gathered, and a few filthy, scrawny rats even dared to nip at the blood nearby.

Passersby came and went in a hurry.

Everyone’s gaze carried a hint of vigilance.

Chen Li dropped a huge cloth bag onto the ground, dust flying everywhere, cursing as he did: "Encountering a corpse the moment I step out, damn this bad luck!"

"And you, you, drag the body away, find a place to bury it."

Chen Li shouted at two down-and-out Loose Cultivators selling fish and shrimp at a nearby stall.

Their faces turned sour, they wanted to refuse but didn’t dare, hesitating as they stood up.

Chen Li took out two Spirit Stones and tossed them onto their stalls:

"What are you dawdling for? Hurry up, don’t mess with my business. With the corpse lying there, even those who wanted to buy meat have lost their appetite."

The two men were immediately overjoyed at the sight.

They quickly picked up the Spirit Stones.

Even just one Low-grade Spirit Stone was more than enough to sell out their whole stall of fish and shrimp, equivalent to more than ten days’ earnings.

"Fellow Daoist is most generous. We will move the body right away!" one of the Loose Cultivators said as he clasped his hands in thanks.

"To hell with generosity; I believe Spirit Stones are what count. Now get moving!" Chen Li glanced at them sideways, irritably commanding.

Every time he appeared in the role of a butcher, he felt a sense of self-liberation.

His chest felt exhilaratingly open!

If he wanted to curse, he cursed.

Never holding back.

What were manners and morals? All damn nonsense.

The two Loose Cultivators chuckled awkwardly.

No longer daring to speak, they quickly went to move the body. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Chen Li set up his stall, and started hawking Demon Beast Meat with practiced ease.

Still popular; in less than fifteen minutes, the more than a thousand pounds of Demon Beast Meat he had brought was sold out.

...

Selling meat was always hard work. For the next few days, Chen Li woke up early while the sky was still dim to sell meat, making two or three trips back and forth each day.

Luckily, the hardship was only for a while, and the income of two or three Mid-grade Spirit Stones daily greatly soothed his soul.

On the third day, just as Chen Li was preparing to close his stall, Zhao Lin approached with a tense expression.

"Big brother, I’ve sold the Magic Artifact. This is the money we’ve earned recently, but I’ve been targeted!" Zhao Lin handed over a money pouch, swallowing nervously:

"Doing business has become more and more difficult lately. Many people are vicious and specifically target the wealthy to rob them.

I usually only sell Talismans at my stall, selling just a few at a time, which is quite safe. I normally sell the valuable Magic Artifacts one by one, judging buyers carefully, but this time, I think I slipped up when I was collecting the money; something felt off after I received the money."

Chen Li took the money pouch.

He weighed it for a moment, then slipped it into his sleeve.

His gaze swept around the surroundings, and indeed he spotted several shady figures.

"Follow me when I say so!" Chen Li spoke coolly.

"Okay!" Zhao Lin nodded eagerly, again and again.

Chen Li packed up his stall, stuffing the neatly folded cloth bag into Zhao Lin’s arms:

"Take this and let’s go."

Chen Li walked ahead, with seven or eight people following, their eyes filled with a fierce light, not bothering to hide their intentions; their faces clearly showed signs of disguise. The surrounding crowd quickly sensed the danger and scattered to avoid it.

"So now we’re this blatant?" Chen Li stopped in his tracks, turning around with an expressionless face.

"Butcher, heh, I recognize you; we’ve got our eyes on that Spirit Stone, and you can’t protect it. The fact that we haven’t made a move yet doesn’t mean we’re afraid of you—leave the Spirit Stones, and you two can go," one of them spoke in a deep voice.

A man’s reputation is like a tree’s shadow.

When facing such masters, one should just hand over the Spirit Stones.He was still capable of showing mercy.

"Do I really have to give up a Spirit Stone? Are you so confident you can handle me? Last time there were four who tried to rob me, and they’re still restless in death. We all hustle in the market for a living, how about we all show some face and make friends instead?" Chen Li said with a smile that, paired with his fierce expression, appeared particularly ferocious.

"This..." The group exchanged looks with hesitation coloring their faces.

"Enough with the nonsense, big brother, stop talking to him. We have so many people, what’s there to fear? If he doesn’t pay, he dies. So many are watching; if we back down today, where will our dignity go?" A Loose Cultivator with a fierce look on his face said hotly, his Magic Artifact in hand beginning to emit bursts of Mana waves.

Zhao Lin’s face was tense, sweat beads slid down his cheeks one by one.

Just as the atmosphere became suddenly tense.

A chill went through Chen Li’s heart, murderous intent arose, yet his face still carried a smile as he said, "Wait, why in such a hurry? About the Spirit Stone, I will... pay."

As he said "I," the chant of the Scolding Skill silently began.

He reached into his sleeve and gripped an Amulet.

As the word "pay" was uttered.

The Scolding Skill was activated by the syllables, along with the Amulet, and his figure abruptly leaped forward.

Zhao Lin, immersed in inexplicable fear, only faintly sensed a gust of wind beside his ears and a blurred figure flash by; by the time his vision refocused, Chen Li had already pierced through the head of one of the robbers with his sword.

Releasing his Spiritual Power, his sword’s sharpness cut through the air, cleaving off half the head.

Before the body even fell.

"Tsst!" "Tsst!" "Tsst!" "Pfft!"

The sound of flesh being pierced sounded four times in rapid succession.

Chen Li brushed past the four in an instant and again pounced like lightning toward another.

The four stood stiffly, immobile.

The next moment, the sound of slicing water burst from their necks, their heads slightly wobbled, then rolled to the ground.

At this time, the remaining robbers finally broke free from the shock of the Scolding Skill, their faces still held traces of fear, quickly replaced by an even greater terror.

One of the robbers had just activated his Protective Amulet.

A terrifying sword light flashed past, slicing both the man and his Protective Shield in half. The Protective Shield stood no chance against the Second Order Magic Sword, it barely posed an obstacle.

A Magic Artifact whistled toward him.

Chen Li couldn’t even be bothered to dodge. He charged straight toward another figure.

The Magic Artifact struck the Protective Shield, causing a ripple of waves.

This robber reacted relatively quickly, his face filled with shock, he kept retreating. No sooner had he moved than a blurred figure had already closed in in the blink of an eye; his mouth opened slightly as if trying to say something.

The next moment, his expression froze.

A sword light flashed like a startled swan, instantly slicing off half of his head.

Chen Li shook his sword.

He turned to the last man.

Terrified, the man turned and fled, even forgetting to control his Magic Artifact in midair.

Chen Li caught up to him in a few steps and ended his life with one stroke of the sword.

...

The entire battle might seem lengthy to describe, but it had only lasted a few seconds.

Everything happened in a flash of lightning, too quick for the ear to catch.

The entire marketplace went silent, with only the sound of heavy breathing clearly audible. Many still didn’t know what had happened when the fight was already over, leaving behind only the bloodstains and the corpses.

Chen Li glanced over the crowd.

Every eye that his gaze passed shifted away, every face was filled with fear.

Quite a few tried to force out a stiff smile that looked uglier than crying.

"Zhao Lin, search their bodies, take anything valuable," Chen Li retracted his gaze and said to Zhao Lin.

"Oh! Oh!" Zhao Lin shivered, as if waking from a dream, and quickly started moving his wobbly legs, stepping on cotton, he walked to the corpses under public scrutiny and began to search them, one by one.

A minute later, the two strode away, and wherever they passed, the crowd quickly parted in avoidance.

It wasn’t until they had gone far away.

That the long-silent marketplace suddenly burst into noise again.