Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"Do you smell something stinky?"

The next morning, as soon as Zhou Hong woke up, she spoke.

It was a nauseating stench of rot, exceptionally repulsive.

"Let me check." Chen Li had also smelled it, and after getting up and searching for a while, it was only with Zhou Hong’s reminder that he discovered the smell was coming from himself.

A layer of faint grey sheen seeped out from his body, staining a large patch of the mattress beneath him.

He understood immediately.

He hastily slapped on several Cleaning Talismans, which finally rid the bedroom and himself of the filth.

"Don’t worry, it’s a good sign. Recently, there has been a breakthrough in Body Refinement, probably because of this," Chen Li explained with a smile, his face slightly proud.

"You scared me to death." Zhou Hong’s worry turned to joy, then she suddenly stared at Chen Li, her expression in awe, "You seem to have gotten younger!"

"Really? Let me see." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

He took Zhou Hong’s bronze mirror and shone it in the constant light of the oil lamp in the underground bedroom.

In the dim light.

He found his skin had become much fairer and rosier, with all the pigmentation and dullness vanished.

Due to the consecutive breakthroughs in Body Refinement and cultivation over the past year, his physique was robust, and he didn’t run around like other Loose Cultivators.

Compared to the slightly aged middle-aged appearance at the start of his journey, he had grown significantly younger, even the crow’s feet at the corners of his eyes gradually faded over the year, he looked about thirty years old.

But now, in the mirror, he seemed to have grown even younger by a few years.

If he claimed to be twenty, he would definitely appear a bit old, but if he said he was twenty-seven or twenty-eight, probably nobody would doubt it.

Chen Li found that the changes did not stop there, he felt light and easy throughout his body, full of vitality.

Seemingly overnight, the vanished youthfulness seemed to have returned to his body.

He opened the game panel.

To his surprise, he found his lifespan had increased from yesterday’s breakthrough number of "41/126" to "41/128".

...

In the morning, Chen Li opened the yard door for Zhang Shuniang, who had come to see Zhou Hong.

As soon as she saw Chen Li, her eyes wouldn’t stop staring at him.

Chen Li, feeling particularly spirited by the festive event, said with a smile, "Perhaps you find me younger."

Zhang Shuniang nodded repeatedly, "Uncle, you look a bit better than before!"

What a nice child, such words were so pleasing to hear.

In fact, he had a decent face to begin with: thick eyebrows, big eyes, high nose bridge—though not extremely handsome, he was presentable; it was just always overshadowed by age and complexion.

Now with his skin ruddy and radiant, suddenly looking several years younger, this imposing appearance emerged strikingly.

"Was I not good-looking before?" Chen Li teased.

Zhang Shuniang immediately widened her eyes, speechless for a moment, and finally struggled to say, "You were... Uncle, I’m going to find Ms. Zhou."

"Go ahead, go!" Chen Li said helplessly.

No sooner had he finished speaking.

Zhang Shuniang flitted by him like a small bird, leaving behind a whiff of fragrance.

...

The changes brought about by the refinement of the viscera had just begun, not yet over.

In the following days, as Chen Li continued the viscera refining process, he expelled a large amount of toxins every day, his body increasingly showing youth and vitality, full of energy, strength, and vigor.

This continued for over ten days.

Until the daily expelled toxins become imperceptible.

At the same time, he had grown noticeably younger again, looking about just twenty-five or twenty-six years old, and his lifespan also increased to as much as 132 years.

His transformation inevitably drew the attention of those around him, and each time he went out, he would receive a few envious congratulations.

However, that was all. This was a world of cultivation, where a single advance in cultivation could make one younger—it wasn’t anything unusual.

He was just a bit younger than usual.

Especially after hearing about this from his daughter, Zhang Yan, who came specifically to check on him, couldn’t hide his jealousy in his words.

Ever since Chen Li became the exclusive dealer of his Talismans.

Whenever Zhang Yan saw Chen Li, he was reminded of the substantial amount of money earned by him, which made it difficult for Zhang Yan to eat and sleep well.

But there was nothing he could do about it.

As a Talisman Master who made a living from crafting Talismans, he was not inclined to quarrel, and after suffering an injury once, he became even more timid, enduring exploitation in the current tumultuous situation.

Now seeing Chen Li, who had become quite younger and more handsome, obviously making great progress in his cultivation, Zhang Yan found him even more irksome.

...

Evening.

An afternoon thunderstorm had turned the road into a sloshy mess of mud and sludge.

Sometimes stepping down could submerge half the foot.

Unless one could fly, such roads were a struggle regardless of how high one’s cultivation was.

Chen Li treaded with uneven steps on the soft, foul mud as he walked towards Zhao Lin’s house.

During this period, the friction between the slum gangs had begun to intensify again, often one could see gang members in groups of three or two, chatting on the side of the road as if nobody else was around, while keeping an eye on the strangers passing by.

"I’ve become increasingly sensitive to gazes," he noticed.

He was aware of intermittent scrutinizing from behind, a mysterious and profound intuition, especially from those stares laced with malice that stood out like torches in the darkness.

"The flesh and viscera refinement of swordsmanship have made my consciousness stronger as well, perhaps far surpassing those of the same rank," he thought, flicking away a fly that came flying towards him.

On his way, Chen Li’s indifferent attitude drew the attention of the gang members.

Soon, a group of them surrounded him.

"What brings you here?"

"Visiting friends and relatives, just passing through," Chen Li stopped, looked around the circle, and saluted with his hands, "Please make way and grant me convenience!"