Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

"I actually killed a Second Order demon beast!"

Walking down the road, Chen Li felt as if he were dreaming.

It was quite a stroke of luck, having the advantage of the terrain, which completely restrained the serpent demon’s power. If it had been any other environment, he feared the outcome would have been different.

"Crack!"

He twisted his waist and limbered up his body a bit. The slightly misaligned bones and joints snapped back into place. He coughed forcefully a few times, spitting out some congested blood, which made him feel a lot better from the chest tightness and shortness of breath.

"Damn it, that serpent demon was really strong!"

A few strikes almost scattered his frame, dislocating his internal organs and causing bleeding and dull pain, resulting in some internal injuries.

Luckily, his body was tough. If it were a Loose Cultivator who hadn’t undergone Body Refinement, even with the protection of something like a Light Guard Talisman, they would have been squashed dead by the serpent demon.

The undigested Qi Replenishing Pill was continuously transforming into Spiritual Power.

Chen Li felt that the Spiritual Power inside his body was just sufficient to use the Hemostasis Healing Skill once, so he began to cast the spell.

Soon, the invisible Mana descended like a long-awaited refreshing downpour, moisturizing his flesh. The injuries in his body started to heal rapidly... By the time he was almost home, his injuries were mostly healed.

"Chen, did you just come back from outside? What’s the situation over there?"

Just as Chen Li was about to leap over the wall into his courtyard, the neighbor’s door opened, and Zhang Yan squeezed out sneakily, looking like a helpless young girl who had just been roughed up by several men, with sweat on his forehead betraying his fear and unease.

"Uh, it’s okay, a few families were afflicted, it’s so tragic!" Chen Li replied noncommittally.

"The demon beasts are gone, right!?" Zhang Yan sighed in relief, still frightened, and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead: "Just now, that commotion was truly alarming. Hiding in the hole, I felt like Earth Dragons turning over. This time, it must have been no ordinary demon beast... Sigh, it’s really tough just trying to stay alive in these times."

How could it not be a big deal?

It happened right next to them.

The demon beast went berserk, distorting and deforming the entire tunnel.

"Yeah, yeah, thankfully it was just a scare," Chen Li could only agree with a few sighs.

At this moment, his body was tired.

His heart was also very tired!

He had done something earth-shattering, killing a Second Order demon beast.

Yet he could only walk the night in embroidered robes.

Forget it, make a fortune in silence, he thought.

He just wanted to live quietly.

As for seeking the limelight, he would leave that to the butcher alias.

Having finally dealt with Zhang Yan, Chen Li returned to the basement, planning to go to bed early and deal with things tomorrow. However, hearing the continuous noise from the tunnel, he felt uneasy.

Just in case...

He dragged his tired body to the tunnel and, summoning his remaining strength, chopped off the still-twitching serpent demon’s head.

Looking at the decapitated serpent demon.

"Now I can finally sleep in peace."

However, he had underestimated the situation.

The moment he got into bed, Zhou Hong, who hadn’t yet fallen asleep, clung to him tenderly like water.

"Hiss!" Chen Li intended to refuse, but the words caught in his mouth.

Zhou Hong had originally chosen to follow Chen Li because she saw him as upright, honest, content with his lot, and also reasonably strong.

Although she often heard of his penchant for frequenting brothels, for a middle-aged widower, without family or home, it was normal, and later he even showed signs of improvement.

Seeing his willingness, she thought it was alright.

And so she decided to entrust him with the rest of her life.

But she never anticipated that he would soar to great heights, advancing rapidly in strength, especially recently rejuvenating several years in an instant. She began to feel somewhat inferior, worried that he would look down on her because of her imperfect self and became even more willing to please her man.

"How do I compare to those enchantresses from the brothels?" Zhou Hong asked timidly, raising her head.

Chen Li: ...

He was curious about this matter too.

What secret techniques did those enchantresses really possess?

Thinking about it was... terrifying.

"Why bring this up again, I’ve long forgotten...!"

...

The next morning, when Chen Li woke up, Zhou Hong was no longer there.

As he got up, he felt his back ache and was almost unable to get out of bed.

Chen Li muttered, "The Hemostasis Healing Skill can heal injuries, but it can’t cure physical fatigue." 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

Without even eating breakfast, he left the bedroom and went toward the tunnel.

Sure enough, he saw Zhou Hong there, busily dealing with the serpent demon’s corpse.

This woman.

Is really brave.

Even now, the serpent demon’s torso was still twitching sporadically, showing incredible vitality. Even in death, its imposing manner persisted. As soon as one got too close, its aura became so oppressive that it made it hard to breathe.

Zhou Hong was laboriously peeling off the scales, and judging by the scales strewn along the serpent’s body, she had clearly been at it for a while.

Chen Li approached and picked up two scales, looking at them closely.

Under the dim oil lamp, the scales glinted with a lustrous flow, resembling exquisite sapphires, captivating him so much he found it hard to look away.

Despite being only two to three millimeters thick, they were surprisingly heavy, each weighing about a pound. When struck against each other, they produced a sonorous sound like metal and jade clashing. He exerted himself to bend one but found that with his strength, he couldn’t make even the slightest bend.

"Such an incredible creature!"

The sound of the scales being struck startled Zhou Hong, who complained, "Why do you always walk so silently, you startled me."

After Body Refinement, Chen Li’s muscle control over his body naturally guided his strength, with a strong grasp in his steps and a smooth, flowing movement akin to shrinking the ground beneath him, devoid of any worldly noise. Without deliberate effort, his movements appeared light and soundless.

Chen Li chuckled awkwardly, tossing the scale away with a clink: "Why didn’t you sleep a little longer?"

"With a Second Order demon beast corpse still unprocessed, I couldn’t fall asleep." Zhou Hong’s face was wreathed in the joy of her find, cheeks flushed: