Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 153 Flying to the sky and escaping to the earth
A ridiculous night.

As dawn broke, Chen Li woke up.

The bedroom was filled with the scent of yesterday's pleasure. The beauties on either side were still fast asleep. Chen Li lay there for a while longer, then moved the arms and legs off him and resolutely got up from his trance.

He put on his priest's robe.

Seemingly sensing that someone was missing beside her, the fast-sleeping Shuniang mumbled as she turned over and wrapped herself around Zhou Hong, her spring-like figure exposed, her fair skin exuding fragrance.

Chen Li chuckled, a disdainful smirk playing on his lips, and stepped forward to gently tuck the two of them in with thin blankets.

He was very satisfied with his current life. His cultivation was progressing smoothly, and he was on the path to the Great Dao. He also had a beautiful wife and concubines by his side. Moreover, he was affiliated with a sect, so as long as he didn't have any missions, he could live a very leisurely life most of the time.

It's countless times better than when I was in the Qi Refining stage.

He left his bedroom, closed the door, and went to the talisman-making room to prepare to make talismans.

He took out fourteen talisman skins and lined them up in a row.

Whenever I'm at home, unless I'm in seclusion, the first thing I do every morning is draw talismans.

Since achieving his foundation, he has rarely amassed any windfall, relying entirely on drawing talismans for a living.

Fortunately, compared to when he first established his foundation, his spiritual power has increased by more than 50%, and now he can draw fourteen golden protective talismans in one go.

He closed his eyes and calmed himself for a while.

Feeling completely calm and undisturbed, he picked up his brush, dipped it in blood ink, and began to draw talismans.

He wrote extremely quickly, his brushstrokes flowing like dragons and snakes.

One!
Two!

……

Fourteen!
Every single one was a success, with not a single failure.

Of course, for Chen Li, whose Golden Light Amulet was already at the Grandmaster level, failure was a rare occurrence.

Once the blood ink had dried, he carefully collected the golden amulets, folded them into a stack, and put them into his storage bag.

"Three more mid-grade spirit stones."

Each Golden Light Amulet is sold for 22 low-grade spirit stones. Fourteen amulets would cost 308 low-grade spirit stones. After deducting the cost of the amulet skin and blood ink, the net income per year would be around ten high-grade spirit stones.

His family's annual expenses are only about six.

Four can be left.

However, this is on the premise that Chen Li does not need to use medicinal baths to assist in cultivating the Immortal Muscle Jade Bone Technique.

If it's a medicinal bath, this amount of money is simply not enough.

He had already inquired at the medicine shop some time ago.

The prescription contains more than ten kinds of spiritual herbs, each costing twelve mid-grade spirit stones. Even if one takes the medicinal bath ten times a month, it would still cost fourteen high-grade spirit stones a year. In total, that's twenty spirit stones a year.

Thinking back to this place, the spot where my arm was severed seems to ache again.

"Why don't I try the medicinal bath for a while and see how it goes? With my current savings, I should be able to last another year or two." Chen Li thought to himself, "As for buying a large-capacity storage bag and magical artifacts, I'll just have to put that off for now. There's no rush!"

He had made up his mind.

……

After finishing his sword practice, Chen Li headed to the medicine shop inside the gate.

The medicine shop not only sells medicines, but also buys and sells herbs.

He had no need to keep it a secret, so he simply handed the transcribed prescription to the shopkeeper and asked him to prepare ten doses according to the prescription.

The shopkeeper was clearly experienced. After carefully examining the prescription for a while, he asked, "Senior Chen, this is a second-level medicinal bath prescription. The decoction process is complicated and requires a specific order for steaming and boiling. It is extremely important to control the heat. If it is ruined, not only will the medicinal effect be greatly reduced, but it will also produce toxins. I wonder if you have any experience with this?"

"I don't have much experience, does the shopkeeper have any advice for me?" Chen Li asked humbly.

"Senior Chen, you're too kind. I wouldn't dare to offer guidance. Our medicine shop trains some ordinary medicine apprentices every year. They are proficient in identifying herbs, planting, and decocting medicine. Each one is bound by a contract. Buying one will save you a lot of trouble," the shopkeeper said with a smile.

Chen Li hadn't expected that a pill shop would have this kind of business. He thought to himself that this was convenient, since it was just a matter of spirit stones anyway. He asked, "How much does it cost to buy a medicine boy?"

"Reporting to senior, based on the quality and experience, the prices vary, but the highest will not exceed one mid-grade spirit stone. I will have someone summon all the medicine apprentices so that senior can choose carefully." The shopkeeper called over a servant and asked him to bring people over.

The waiter responded respectfully and soon brought over a dozen people, both men and women.

The oldest was fifteen or sixteen, and the youngest was only twelve or thirteen; each of them was of above-average appearance.

What a wicked feudal society.

Chen Li looked them over and finally chose a quiet and well-behaved girl with calloused hands.

Next, the two parties agreed on a price and purchased the indenture.

Then they grabbed ten more portions of medicinal herbs, a whole big bag.

Chen Li led the girl out of the medicine shop.

The girl's name was Bai Wei, and she was fourteen years old. When Chen Li asked her questions, she kept clutching her clothes and looked very nervous and uneasy. She answered each question Chen Li asked. According to her, she was sold by her parents when she was five years old and became a medicine boy. She had no memory of her family.

When asked how he processes medicinal herbs, he perked up and spoke eloquently and logically.

"Depending on their medicinal properties, the methods and order of decocting medicinal herbs also vary. Some must be decocted in an earthenware pot and cannot be decocted in an iron pot. Some can only be simmered over a low heat, as a high heat will destroy their medicinal properties..."

"Alright, alright, Bai Wei, right? I'll take you to the general store later and see if there's anything you need, then we'll buy it!"

"Yes, sir," Bai Wei replied respectfully.

Chen Li led Bai Wei and, under her guidance, bought a large number of medicine-decocting utensils. He thought that since he had already bought a maid, he might as well buy a few more, so that Zhou Hong and Zhang Shuniang could have an easier time.

He then entered a building that specialized in buying and selling mortal servants, and bought two young, rough maids for ten low-grade spirit stones each.

……

As it turns out, buying these three maids was indeed the right decision.

Preparing the medicinal herbs was a painstaking and laborious process, requiring repeated steaming over various low and high heats. Bai Wei directed two maids to work tirelessly, with Zhou Hong and Shuniang assisting as well. They worked until nightfall before a large tub of medicinal bath was finally completed.

"Ouch, it's so hot!" Zhang Shuniang tested the water temperature in the bathtub and said to Bai Wei, "If you really want to soak in now, can't you wait until it cools down a bit?"

"Second Madam, this is how the medicine will be most effective; if it gets cold, its efficacy will be greatly reduced," Bai Wei hurriedly said.

"Alright, alright, you can all leave now," Chen Li said. After the group of women left, Chen Li took off his robes and soaked in a bathtub filled with medicinal herbs.

He couldn't help but groan.

The scalding medicinal power seeped into his body through his skin, and soon his skin turned bright red. Without hesitation, Chen Li immediately activated the Immortal Muscle Jade Bone Technique.

The next moment, an even more surging heat flowed into his body, and for a moment his body felt as if it were being burned by flames, and every part of his body ached.

"What a powerful medicine!"

Chen Li gritted his teeth and struggled to hold on.

It took a full hour for the heat to gradually subside.

The turbid medicinal liquid had become slightly clearer, as all the medicinal power had been absorbed, and the original pungent smell was gone. He continued to circulate the Immortal Muscle Jade Bone Technique until he exhausted all his spiritual power before opening his eyes.

"Twelve mid-grade spirit stones, gone just like that!"

Chen Li sighed, feeling a pang of regret in his heart. He sensed his entire skeletal structure and said, "It has some effect. One day of cultivation is equivalent to half a month of ordinary effort!"

The expenses were a bit too high, but thankfully we can manage to get by for now.

He stepped out of the bathtub and used a cleansing spell to remove the remaining medicinal liquid from his body. He raised his arm and sniffed it; a slight medicinal smell still lingered on his body, which he estimated would take several days to completely remove.

He reached out, and with a surge of spiritual energy, a robe from afar flew into his hand. He put on the robe, stepped out the door, and began to walk.
"Master!" the two maids said respectfully.

"Go and pack."

"Yes, sir!"

……

Earth Escape Technique, as a second-tier, level-two technique, is far more complex than the second-tier, level-one Clairvoyance Technique.

Among them, there are six incantations and five hand seals.

The process of channeling spiritual energy is now more complicated.

If any step goes wrong, all efforts will be wasted.

One of the spells and two hand seals were ones that Chen Li had never encountered before. Fortunately, the sect lacked everything except fellow practitioners.

Unlike the Qi Refining cultivators outside, the Foundation Establishment cultivators within the sect usually learn a few techniques. Chen Li shamelessly asked several fellow cultivators for advice before he finally got a clue.

Even so, it still took Chen Li more than a month to make a breakthrough.

In the quiet room.

He silently chanted a spell.

The hand seals formed a blur of afterimages.

next moment.

A faint yellow light enveloped him.

At the same time, the ground rippled like the surface of water.

"Finally, it's done!" Chen Li thought with delight.

"escape!"

"Huh? Why can't I get in?" Chen Li stomped his foot, but the ground remained incredibly solid. "Did the spell fail?"

He didn't realize it until he noticed that the ground was all rock.

He left the quiet room and walked quickly to the courtyard.

As soon as the thought crossed his mind, his body suddenly sank and quickly disappeared into the ground.

Is this underground?

It was pitch black, suffocating, and I couldn't breathe.

The soil around him seemed to have turned into liquid and tightly enveloped his body. He could not feel the texture of the soil at all, and he could only vaguely perceive his surroundings with his spiritual sense.

"About one or two meters above the ground..."

Chen Li felt that he was not far from the ground, and his heart was somewhat at ease.

He then began to try to sneak underground.

Its stealth speed is not fast, similar to that of a normal person jogging.

Unable to see, relying solely on his senses, he still nearly crashed into rocks several times.

The underground courtyard of the cave was filled with intertwined tree roots and giant rocks, which greatly hindered his ability to burrow underground, so he had to go around them one by one.

It wasn't until about ten minutes later that he sensed the spell was about to wear off.

He quickly crawled out of the soil, his body spotless, without a speck of dirt on him.

……

A few days later.

wilderness!

A figure flew swiftly through the air, then suddenly swooped down.

"Earth-遁术!"

The moment its figure hit the ground, it instantly vanished into the earth without a trace.

The figure was Chen Li.

After crawling hundreds of meters underground, he emerged from the ground and patted off non-existent dirt from his robes.

"Flying and escaping, that's all there is to it, very well!"

"Unfortunately, we can only choose muddy ground, which is somewhat limiting..."

In places like rocky mountains and forests where tree roots are everywhere, it is difficult to use the technique of burrowing underground. Moreover, even in muddy areas, the ground is mostly rock, making it impossible to burrow too deep.

Chen Li was slightly disappointed, and wondered if the spell level would improve the situation.
P.S.: Happy Valentine's Day everyone.