Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 101 Bai Jinwang

The next morning, a group of people were playing music and making merry on the street.

It was unusually lively.

Only after asking did I learn that someone was getting married.

Unlike Green River Town, a newly developed border town inhabited by reclusive cultivators, Luanluo City has been stable for a century, except for the violent upheavals of the past year or two. Its customs are similar to those of the surrounding mortals, and marriage and having children are commonplace.

Chen Li and Zhou Hong stood at the door watching the commotion, with Zhou Hong showing a look of envy.

"The bride is here!"

"The bride is here!"

A small flying boat, about three or four meters long and covered with red silk, slowly flew closer from a distance. Once the flying boat was stable, the groom, his face smeared with blush and dressed in a brand new outfit, got off first, smiled, cupped his hands in a circle around the room, and then helped the bride, whose head was covered with a red veil, down.

Countless pink petals rained down, and the musicians on both sides immediately changed the tune, making the music even more lively and festive.

"Old Xu is going to spend a lot of money this time. He has many relatives, and I heard he's going to have to host a dozen or so tables. This event will cost him a lot of money."

"I reckon even three mid-grade spirit stones wouldn't be enough!"

"Old Xu is from the Foundation Establishment Xu family. Although they separated and established their own households a long time ago, they are still related to them. They are not comparable to us from small families. Don't be fooled by how much he spends; he will get back a lot of money in gifts later!"

"That's true. Which family does that girl belong to?"

"They're not from this area; they seem to be from a secular family."

"Why did you end up with this?"

The expressions on everyone's faces changed instantly; when they looked at the bride again, they all looked at her with the same disdain one might show to a country bumpkin.

Chen Li found it amusing. Even cultivators are mostly just ordinary people, gossiping about everyone, complaining about the poor and resenting the rich. They're no different from their previous lives. No matter how things change, human nature remains the same!
……

As if stimulated during the day, Zhou Hong was exceptionally persistent and obsessed tonight, employing every trick in the book.

afterwards!

"When we have children, we'll have a wedding just as grand," Zhou Hong said, her body drenched in sweat, leaning weakly against Chen Li's chest, panting slightly.

“It will definitely be more glamorous than this!” Chen Li said. They were an old married couple, so he understood that the sight of this place was a painful reminder of their past relationship and that they had been stimulated. He then smiled and said, “I think we shouldn’t wait until later. Let’s choose an auspicious day and make up for the wedding we haven’t had yet.”

A warm current seemed to surge in Zhou Hong's heart, and her vision blurred. Although she was moved, she shook her head in the end and said, "It would only make us a laughing stock. We have neither parents nor any elders around us, so even if we held a ceremony, it would be inappropriate. As long as I have your words, I am satisfied."

Chen Li was naturally delighted; weddings and such were too much trouble.

It's not only expensive but also laborious.

Life went on the same way after that.

It's just a formality.

He changed the subject: "I haven't even asked you if your parents are still alive?"

"I don't know either. From as far back as I can remember, I've lived with my master and senior sister."

Many elderly, childless, and solitary cultivators, if they have no descendants, will train a few disciples to support them in their old age. My master was in that situation, but he treated me extremely well, like his own daughter. After my senior sister and I served our master until his death, we began to venture out on our own.” Zhou Hong wiped the corner of her eye and said.

Upon hearing this, Chen Li couldn't help but recall his past life, and felt a pang of melancholy.

……

"How much is this magical artifact?"

"This is a mid-grade magic artifact. You can take it for two hundred and forty low-grade spirit stones."

"This is too expensive. Your magic artifact is severely worn and has a chip. It almost destroyed the talisman array. Give me a fair price: one hundred low-grade spirit stones?"

"What? One hundred low-grade spirit stones? You can't even buy a low-grade magic weapon for that price. Are you here to cause trouble? I'll only give you a discount of ten at most."

……

Chen Li pondered for a long time.

They managed to negotiate the price down to 225 units with great difficulty.

Finally, they left, citing a failure to reach an agreement on the price.

He continued browsing other stalls, immediately approaching any magical artifacts he saw to inquire about their prices and learn about the latest market trends. The prices of these magical artifacts had begun to recover significantly; a little over a month ago, the price of mid-grade magical artifacts was generally below two hundred low-grade spirit stones.

Nowadays, the minimum is two hundred or more.

Prices have increased by more than 10%.

The same applies to shops selling Buddhist artifacts.

However, this is clearly just the beginning, and prices are still far from normal.

At this moment, a commotion broke out in the crowd.

"They're inner disciples of the Longevity Sect," someone whispered.

Chen Li looked up.

A group of three people, two men and one woman, walked by chatting and laughing. As they passed by, people around them politely made way for them.

The three men were dressed in lake-blue robes, and each looked to be around twenty years old.

The man was dashing and the woman was charming and beautiful. They stood out from the crowd in the market, and when they looked at the scattered cultivators around them, they both carried a hint of condescending arrogance.

"Disciples of the sect..."

Chen Li thought with a hint of envy, "I wonder what their strength is?"

"He must be much stronger than a rogue cultivator of the same level!"

To become an inner disciple of the Longevity Sect, each one is a Foundation Establishment seed selected from thousands, possessing extraordinary talent. Coupled with a systematic cultivation education, they are far superior to unorthodox, independent cultivators without a sect or school.

The three of them were browsing the stalls.

Both male cultivators were clearly pursuing the female cultivator, their eyes filled with obsequious flattery. The female cultivator, however, was noticeably indifferent, sometimes smiling faintly, sometimes responding with a word, as proud as a white swan.

Ah, youth is truly wonderful!

Chen Li glanced at it from afar a few times, then quickly left.

……

For the past month, Chen Li has been digging into the basement shelter without stopping.

Mining is actually very efficient.

A single casting of the traction spell can unearth seven or eight cubic meters of earth and stone.

The troublesome part is dealing with the gravel.

The entire project required the excavation of approximately 700 cubic meters of earth and stone. If this were spread evenly across the yard, which is only about 300 square meters in size, it would have created a pile 2.33333 meters high.

It's almost as tall as the courtyard wall.

In order to conceal their presence,

Chen Li had no choice but to secretly move the rubble.

Every day, just to throw the gravel into remote places, I have to make 21 trips back and forth between morning, noon and night, changing the location 6 or 7 times and changing it 7 or 8 times.

As for what kind of transport to use?

Storage bags, of course.

Convenient, fast, and discreet.

Numerous advantages.

The only drawback is its size.

The capacity is limited to one side.

Of course, once you have money, this disadvantage ceases to be a disadvantage.

Chen Li had already visited the shop. The largest storage bag in the Changsheng Sect's magical artifact shop in Luanluo City was the Five Directions Storage Bag.

Only three... high-grade spirit stones.

Three-way storage bags are even cheaper.

Only two high-grade spirit stones are needed.

If he sells all the acquired magical artifacts and can make a profit of over 50%, he can still barely afford this price...

……

A few days later, late at night.

There was a "crash" sound.

Chen Li finally dug through the rocks leading to the mountainside, and a thick layer of snow piled up on the outside, bringing a chill to the air.

He pressed his ear against the hole and listened intently for a while.

The howling wind outside sounded like the wailing of ghosts and wolves.

But apart from that, there has been no other news.

After waiting for several more minutes, he carefully dug through the snow and crawled out of the passage. He cautiously looked around. Outside, the snow was falling heavily, the sky was dark, and all he could see were dense trees and snow up to his thighs.

This passage could actually have been opened a few days ago, but we were just waiting for snow.

The heavy snow can cover most traces, and cultivators will not come out in this kind of weather, reducing the chances of the cave entrance being discovered. Although doing so may seem a bit too cautious, it is better to be safe than sorry.

If we can do it better, why not do it?
Chen Li walked to a place far from the cave entrance, used his traction technique to sweep away the snow and soil on the surface, and quickly found a large area of ​​rock. He looked around, took out his flying sword, and began to cut.

They quickly obtained a boulder with a diameter of about two meters.

This stone definitely can't be used directly.

The rock was covered with marks from flying swords, making it look unnatural and requiring some polishing. At this point, the all-purpose traction spell came in handy again, its magic power transforming into an air hammer that continuously struck the boulder.

Large amounts of gravel and stone dust fell down.

With the refinement and embellishment of traction techniques, the "artificial" traces are quickly no longer visible.

Then, he used traction techniques to cover the exposed rocks with soil and snow again.

After doing all this, he walked to the boulder and, with the help of a traction spell, struggled to lift it up.

He couldn't help but grunt, his face turning bright red, and the veins in his neck bulging.

The boulder weighed five or six tons. Even with the aid of traction techniques, which greatly reduced its weight, he still almost strained his back. He steadied himself and then walked with difficulty toward the cave entrance. When he put the rock down, his hands and feet began to tremble uncontrollably.

"It should be made smaller," Chen Li thought to himself, supporting his lower back.

I didn't dare to rest for long.

The sky was gradually brightening.

He quickly finished disguising the cave entrance, then jumped onto his flying sword, activated his spiritual power, and left without looking back amidst the heavy snow.

……

The shelters were built and the escape routes were completed.

Chen Li felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from his heart, making him feel much lighter and giving him a strong sense of security.

Of course, there is only one escape route now, which is not safe. However, he still needs to think carefully about where to put the second exit. The exit must be hidden, safe, and not the same as the first one, and it cannot be too far away.

Fortunately, there's no rush!
You can take your time choosing.

The flying sword landed at the city gate, and then the person quickly walked home.

……

I just finished breakfast.

Then someone came to visit.

This is an old cultivator with an eerie appearance.

His hair was gray and dry, and he was so thin that he was almost skin and bones, looking like a skeleton. Chen Li had never seen such a thin person before.

“Fellow Daoist, there’s no need to be nervous. This strange appearance is caused by evil spirits. Although I was lucky enough to escape with my life, I was severely injured. I just returned last night. This morning, I saw that a new fellow Daoist had moved in, so I wanted to come and visit him.” The old cultivator said with a wry smile, his body trembling.

The house on the left had been empty all along, and Chen Li hadn't expected it to be this person.

"So that's how it is. I didn't expect you to encounter such a perilous situation, fellow Daoist. I was presumptuous." He released his grip on the sword hilt and quickly cupped his hands in apology, saying, "I wonder what kind of evil spirit you encountered that was so terrifying?"

"Sigh, I don't know what I encountered. I was only focused on running!" Old Xiu sighed, his face showing lingering fear. "After escaping the danger, I ended up like this!"

Through casual conversation, Chen Li learned that the old man's surname was Bai and his given name was Jinwang. According to him, he usually made a living by taking on missions to guard various towns, similar to a bounty hunter.

This profession is not easy. On the one hand, it requires a lot of travel and mental and physical exertion. On the other hand, it is extremely dangerous. Although the income is quite high, it is almost like licking blood from a knife's edge and gambling with one's life. He has dealt with many evil spirits before, but this time he encountered a dangerous situation.

There were five people who went, including him, but only he returned.

Judging from his appearance, Chen Li thought he was seventy or eighty years old, but when he asked, he was only forty-eight, not much older than him. He was in his prime, and his cultivation level was as high as the ninth level of Qi Refining, just two steps away from Foundation Establishment.

The reason they have aged so much is because they have encountered evil spirits.

"Alas, I had some unrealistic hopes for Foundation Establishment and have been preparing for it all these years, but now I have no hope at all. It's all fate." Bai Jinwang sighed softly, then bowed dejectedly and said, "I will need your continued guidance in the future."

"Fellow Daoist, you flatter me!" Chen Li said politely, "As long as you take good care of your health, there may be opportunities in the future!"

Bai Jinwang shook his head: "This time, the foundation has been damaged, what hope is there left!"

After seeing off the unsteady-footed Bai Jinwang.

Chen Li returned to the house.

"Who came? They look strange," Zhou Hong asked while wiping the table.

“The neighbor on the left has been attacked by evil spirits!” Chen Li shook his head and said.

"It's that serious!" Zhou Hong's expression changed.

“Yes!” Chen Li exclaimed.

Even a cultivator at the ninth level of Qi Refining ended up like this.

Fortunately, as long as one doesn't wander off, staying in Luanluo City ensures safety. With the Longevity Sect and the six Foundation Establishment families around, even if the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up.

Because of what happened to the neighbor.

Chen Li entered the talisman-making room and, unusually, began drawing talismans to ward off evil spirits once again.

He picked up his brush and drew twelve talismans in one go, without a single failure. He picked up one of the talismans and examined it carefully. It was already a master-level talisman for warding off evil, and its shape and drawing method had changed slightly compared to the original.

My understanding of it is gradually deepening.

"It seems that, just like magic, the power of talismans increases as you reach the mastery level."

Wait for the blood ink to dry.

Chen Li took a Qi-replenishing pill to restore his spiritual power, put away the talisman and went out. He instructed Zhou Hong, "Put these talismans in various corners of the house just in case. I'll draw a few more tomorrow or the day after."

Zhou Hong took the talisman with amusement, giving him a playful glare: "Okay!"

"Better safe than sorry! Safety first." Chen Li glared at her.

People in this world can be incredibly reckless at times.

You only have one life, wouldn't it be better to be cautious?

Just like that old cultivator next door... a middle-aged cultivator, if he had bought more exorcism talismans back then, like a hundred of them, and kept them on his person for self-defense, perhaps the outcome would have been different.

One hundred sheets would only be worth less than thirty mid-grade spirit stones.

For someone at the ninth level of Qi Refining, this amount of spirit stones should be nothing... right?

(End of this chapter)