Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery
Chapter 132 - 111: Kicking the Bad Habit

Chapter 132: Chapter 111: Kicking the Bad Habit

In the evening, Chen Li did another inventory of the Spirit Stones in his possession and couldn’t help but chuckle.

"A total of 315 Mid-grade Spirit Stones!"

Even though the Evil Wraith disguised as Bai Jinwang was killed, the others still didn’t know, and the whole Luoluo City remained panic-stricken, with the prices of Evil-Breaking Talismans and Evil-Repelling Talismans continuing to soar, even seeing a slight increase.

Seizing this opportunity, taking advantage of the information asymmetry.

Chen Li had significantly reduced his stock of Evil-Breaking Talismans and Evil-Repelling Talismans these past few days.

A total of 48 Evil-Breaking Talismans and 250 Evil-Repelling Talismans were sold.

Earning him a whopping 43 Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Furthermore, the wealth he picked up from a recent corpse, including the Magic Artifact, robe, and Bai Jinwang’s Compass, had all been sold for another 17 Mid-grade Spirit Stones.

Now, he was left with only twenty Evil-Breaking Talismans (Chen Li and Zhou Hong each holding ten) and one hundred Evil-Repelling Talismans, which should be enough to handle general crises.

Besides, when the price of Evil-Breaking Talismans dropped, he could buy them back at a lower price.

"Not only did I earn back the money spent on the top-quality robe for Zhou Hong, but I also made a profit!" Chen Li thought to himself, "With the 315 Mid-grade Spirit Stones, I reckon there would be few amongst Luoluo City’s Qi Cultivation Loose Cultivators richer than me."

"Thinking back to the thrill and nervousness I felt when I sold my first Evil-Repelling Talisman and earned a Low-grade Spirit Stone... it seems like only yesterday, still vivid in my memory, but now it’s hard to recapture that sentiment," Chen Li reminisced about his initial days after transmigrating and couldn’t help but sigh.

He stretched out his hand and wiped.

Gathering all the Spirit Stones on the table into his storage bag.

...

I have to admit, the Invisibility Technique has the power to stir up the dark side of human nature.

It strikes directly at the weaknesses of human nature.

Ever since I learned the Invisibility Technique.

Chen Li would often activate it and go out invisibly, wandering on the streets like a ghost or entering the homes of strangers, and even... Every time he returned, he would curse himself for being worthless.

But still continue the next day.

And the third day.

The fourth day.

...

Finally, Chen Li reflected deeply within his closed doors, determined to give up this bad habit completely, and for this he wrote down ten "戒" characters!

Yet still, the next day, he couldn’t help but step out the door...

"Alas, I am indeed a common man."

Thus, he entered a new cycle of moral struggle and relapse.

It wasn’t until a month later that he managed to give up the habit completely with formidable willpower.

...

Spring passed quietly by, and summer had arrived unnoticed.

The price of Evil-Breaking Talismans, which had been high for over a month, finally plummeted, dropping far below even the standard 30 Low-grade Spirit Stones and falling all the way to 20 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

This was the price offered by the shops, and the price at stalls was even lower at 15 Low-grade Spirit Stones.

Seizing this opportunity.

Chen Li repurchased 150 Evil-Breaking Talismans.

This dramatic fluctuation in price had made Chen Li realize the investment and wealth-preservation value of such talismans, even if they weren’t needed for their intended purpose, essentially becoming Green River District’s Amulet flip.

He was even somewhat hopeful for another Evil Wraith incident to occur.

...

Above the deserted wilderness.

Chen Li was flying acrobatically, full of activity.

He dove from the sky down to the ground and weaved through the forest with the agility of a fish, whether flying diagonally, lying down, or even upside down. Aside from occasionally running into trouble with inverted flight, he had mastered the others.

With practice over this period, his spatial awareness had greatly improved.

After advancing his Wind Control Skill to expert level, his speed was almost on par with Sword Flight, and he could maintain it for up to half an hour.

Of course, he meant using a top-quality flying sword.

If it were a first-rate flying sword.

His speed would have far exceeded it.

This world didn’t have much entertainment, although no matter where one went, there was beautiful natural scenery everywhere, completely green and unpolluted, but life was really dull and boring.

After giving up the bad habit of using Invisibility Technique to snoop on private matters, flying had become one of the only two entertainment activities for Chen Li.

Even at home.

If he could fly, he would never walk.

While flying, Chen Li drew his sword, and a flurry of sword light danced around.

The intangible sharpness of Sword Qi extended nearly a meter from the tip of his sword, and the big trees nearby, in the face of such Sword Qi, were not much better than tofu, falling one by one wherever it passed.

Accompanied by the continuous rumble.

Chen Li felt exhilarated in his heart.

A man’s pleasure is probably just like this, forever a youth till death.

He passed through the forest, not knowing how many trees suffered undeserved calamity along the way.

After passing through the forest, the view opened up to fields after fields, and further away, there were low-lying villages.

The peasants working in the fields, upon seeing Chen Li in the sky, were instantly terrified, not caring about the mud and water on the ground, and knelt down.

These poor peasants were all skin and bones; the men were mostly bare-backed with only a simple piece of cloth wrapped around their waists, which under the harsh summer sun, was red, purple, and blackened.

Many looked old with white hair and faces full of wrinkles, hunched back and stooping.

Yet, if one asked their age, they might even be younger than him.

Hard labor, long-term malnutrition, and diseases aged these people quickly.

Women and some half-grown children were also labor forces in the fields.

Under a shade of trees, Chen Li saw several babies wrapped in tattered cloths, their cries intermittent, merging into a plaintive and sorrowful melody.

Although this was not the first time he had seen the peasants of this world, each time it left him profoundly shaken.

What is a life worse than death?

What does it mean that a life is as cheap as grass?

This was it!

Looking at the kneeling peasants, Chen Li no longer felt like enjoying himself, and with a turn of his body, he flew back swiftly.

...

Not long after returning home, Zhang Yan came over to visit.

"The Evil Wraith has been gone for over a month with no news, it seems to be completely resolved. I always thought you were too cautious," Zhang Yan said while stroking his beard, the wrinkles on his face somewhat reduced: "A couple of Evil-Breaking Talismans would have been enough, now look at how much the prices have plummeted!"

"I’ve already sold them!" Chen Li said indifferently.

"You sold... sold them?" Zhang Yan stuttered, "When did you sell them?"

"I sold them at the highest prices. I also felt I bought too many at first, but when I saw the prices skyrocket, I sold most of them. It was just luck, fortunately, I sold them in time, or else I would have suffered a huge loss."

"Yes, yes, your luck... really is something!" Zhang Yan’s smile couldn’t hold, and he let out a forced laugh: "How much did you make?"

"Not much, just a few dozen Mid-grade Spirit Stones in total after selling off the surplus Evil-Repelling Talismans. I didn’t really count," Chen Li said casually as he sipped his tea.

"Hiss!" Zhang Yan gasped.

Since when could Mid-grade Spirit Stones be described with the term ’a few dozen’?

What kind of luck was this?

Thinking about his hard work for most of his life.

The Mid-grade Spirit Stones in his possession had never exceeded twenty.

...

After sending off a somewhat depressed Zhang Yan.

Chen Li reflected inwardly.

Still not reserved enough.

Lacking the art of concealment.

A few more times like this, and there would likely be friendship-ending consequences.

Chen Li finished his now cold Spiritual Tea in one gulp.

ps: That’s all for today.