Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery

...

In the afternoon, in the courtyard.

"Scram!"

A light snort.

The Scolding Skill was unleashed.

Feeling a bit dizzy and headachy, Chen Li quickly paused to rest.

He glanced at the game panel.

"Only six points left, I should be able to advance today."

The ’Scolding Skill’ was already on the verge of advancing, and with deliberate practice over the last two days, progress had been swift.

"A master-level Scolding Skill, comparable to a level six spell of the first order. From the previous battles, it seems that not even an amulet can fully defend against it, and what’s more terrifying is that this skill is an area of effect attack..." Chen Li thought to himself:

"Along with the Golden Light Talisman and the Second Order snakeskin inner armor, other than that Yu Family Foundation Establishment member, what have I to fear from the others? They’re nothing but a bunch of chickens and dogs."

As his dizziness eased, Chen Li picked up his sword and continued to practice.

...

Evening.

Chen Li received three Golden Light Talismans from Zhao Lin’s hands.

"If you give me one more day, I could definitely get more!" Zhao Lin reluctantly returned six mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Golden Light Talismans aren’t free, are they?

Three mid-grade Spirit Stones for one talisman.

Chen Li grimaced in pain as he glanced at him, while storing the Spirit Stones in his purse, he said, "Don’t worry, there will be more opportunities in the future. Also, tomorrow I am going to sell Second Order Demon Beast meat in the market. There might be some trouble, so you all should be cautious. It’s best if you avoid going to the market these next few days."

As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed the silence.

Looking up, he saw Zhao Lin’s mouth quivering, his face in shock, "Se... Second Order Demon Beast meat? Big brother, you killed a Second Order Demon Beast!?"

He nodded indifferently, feigning modesty, "I encountered it last night. Alright, don’t make such a fuss, I just wanted to give you a heads-up!"

...

On the way home, Chen Li reflected on his own words.

He found no issues.

He neither showed pride nor indifference. It was as if he was talking about something as trivial as eating and drinking, unworthy of mention, which perfectly aligned with his way of handling matters discreetly.

He hurried back home.

As for Zhang Yan, he didn’t urge him.

After all, it was too rushed to expect anything in just one day, and urging him might affect the quality of the leather.

Fortunately, just after dinner,

Zhang Yan showed up with the leather.

His face wore tiredness; his hands trembled as he carried the leather, looking every bit the honest man. As soon as he saw Chen Li, he began to complain, "The time was too tight, and the leather’s tier was too high, many of the potions were ineffective, I could only barely manage this. For your leather, I skipped my lunch, been busy since morning, almost gave up my life for this."

Chen Li’s ears automatically filtered out the complaint, as he reached out to take the leather, "Let me have a look!"

He kneaded it firmly, the whole piece of leather had become much softer, almost a third thinner, and in addition, the original fishy smell had been completely eliminated.

"How is it?" Zhang Yan couldn’t help but stretch his neck and ask.

"I feel this piece has shrunk quite a bit," Chen Li remarked slowly.

"It naturally shrinks when soaked in potion; it’s a normal occurrence."

Chen Li nodded noncommittally, and asked, "It doesn’t affect its toughness or defense, right?"

"No effect, absolutely no effect."

Seeing Zhang Yan’s hopeful gaze, Chen Li finally spoke, "It’s passable. Since we were pressed for time, I won’t be too demanding. Rest assured, I keep my word, and you’ll get the leftover material. Additionally, I have another piece of similar material, and we’re not in such a rush this time, so treat it well."

"You have another piece!" Zhang Yan exclaimed.

"I bought two pieces to begin with, didn’t I tell you? Maybe I forgot, this leather is still for making inner armor, the old rules apply, the leftovers are yours." Chen Li feigned surprise:

"Wait, let me get the leather."

Chen Li went into the back room, jumped into the pit, and quickly brought back another piece of fresh leather, "This roll is a bit larger; I’m planning to make two sets of inner armor with it."

Zhang Yan took the leather in a daze, smelling the strong fishy scent and the faint oppressive aura, he opened his mouth to say something but was at a loss for words. He felt that something wasn’t quite right.

Where did this fresh Second Order Demon Beast leather come from?

Who killed the Second Order Demon Beast?

...

The next day, before dawn.

Chen Li donned the inner armor hastily made by Zhou Hong, put on his robe, and reached into the left sleeve of his bag to check; the three Golden Light Talismans were in there, giving him a strong sense of security.

He slung the bag of meat over his shoulder, grabbed his sword, and said to Zhou Hong, "I’m off."

"Be careful!" Zhou Hong worriedly responded, "Should I go with you?"

"No, if you come I’ll have to look out for you, which could be even more dangerous. Just stay at home, I’ll be back soon!" Chen Li smiled, reassuringly adding, "Don’t worry, it won’t be a problem."

He spoke and then stepped out of his house.

Zhou Hong followed him quickly for a few steps, leaning on the courtyard gate to watch.

Chen Li looked back at her, motioned for her to go back, and turned around to quickly head to the market district.

The sky was still very dark, with few people on the streets, extremely quiet, until he approached the market, where the flow of people gradually began to increase, mostly lower-level desolate Loose Cultivators trying to claim spots to set up their stalls.

Some of them wore tattered clothes, and others were relatively tidy and clean, but many of their robes had patches on them.

Without the caravans, many resources began to become scarce.

Most Loose Cultivators couldn’t afford the magical robes and wore common secular clothing instead.

Some cultivators only had one or two sets of robes to wear year-round and couldn’t even draw Cleaning Talismans, too lazy to wash them regularly, leading to a pitiful state of living, with clothes worn out and ragged within a year, barely better than beggars.

In this vast world, there is no end to the marvels.

There’s nothing that couldn’t be worse.

Even the previous owner, if not for his skill in drawing talismans,

and a decent income,

his living conditions might not have been much better than these people.

...

The arrival of the meat seller caused a stir in the market, with the crowd parting to make way.

"Coming to sell meat again, eh."

"Please, after you!"

Greetings were heard everywhere, and Chen Li nodded and acknowledged the crowd as he passed; he no longer needed to put on a fierce face.

He chose a spot near the entrance and set down his large cloth bag.

Quite a few people had noticed his arrival and crowded around.

The Demon Beast Meat he sold was always cheap, and he had built up quite a reputation over time.

Chen Li glanced around, spread out a cloth on his own, then took out a wooden board and stood it up next to him.

He had written a few big characters on it:

’Second Order Demon Beast Meat: Five Low-grade Spirit Stones per ten catties!’

At the sound of a "boom," the crowd instantly buzzed.

"Hiss, Fellow Daoist, is this really Second Order Demon Beast Meat? You can’t fake this."

"Yeah, Fellow Daoist, where did you get this Second Order Demon Beast Meat from?"

...

The crowd was abuzz with discussion and movement.

"I, Chen, have done business in the market district with integrity, never deceiving my fellow Daoists. When have I ever lied to you?" Chen Li glared fiercely, stood up, opened the cloth bag, and tipped out the snow-white serpent demon meat, immediately filling the air with a faint oppressive aura:

"Please discern for yourselves, is this not Second Order Demon Beast Meat?"

No sooner had his words faded than the crowd fell silent.

The expressions on their faces stiffened, and many couldn’t help but take a step back.

Shock!

Astonishment!

Disbelief.

But as the silence lengthened, more noisy voices rose.

"Fellow Daoist, did you really kill a Second Order Demon Beast?"

"Could you make it a bit cheaper?"

"Green River District is saved, ah!"

"Can I just buy two catties?"

...

Chen Li only felt countless flies and ducks buzzing around his ears and couldn’t help but shout loudly.

"Shut up, one at a time, if you’re not buying, don’t ask pointless questions, five Spirit Stones for ten catties, no splitting."

As a Body Refinement cultivator, Chen Li was physically strong and had a loud voice; everyone felt their heads buzzing, and the noisy crowd quieted down, remembering the fearsome reputation of this meat seller, suddenly no one dared to speak.

"Alright, who’s buying, hurry up!" said Chen Li.

"I’ll take ten catties!"

"Give me twenty catties."

Perhaps the price was too high for most people to afford.

The queue of people mostly dispersed.

Only a few decided to spend the money to buy, but the number of onlookers attracted to the spectacle kept growing.

Chen Li wasn’t in a hurry and sold slowly.

It was still early now.

The sky hadn’t fully brightened yet, the market was sparsely populated, and in another two or three hours, it would be the peak time of the day for foot traffic.