Living steadily in the world of gods and mystery
Chapter 31: Breakneck Speed

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Breakneck Speed

Unfortunately, the shops here do not sell Spirit Rice and Demon Beast Meat at all.

Spirit Rice is generally controlled by the big sects, and even the powerful shops rarely occupy large areas rich in Spiritual Energy to produce Spirit Rice on a large scale, while Demon Beast Meat is mostly obtained by Loose Cultivators through adventures in the wild.

Given the current situation, there aren’t even any street vendors, so how could one possibly buy any?

Chen Li could only return home, feeling helpless.

The reserves at home could last for about seven or eight days, but that still wouldn’t last very long.

After much deliberation, Chen Li figured he could only take things one step at a time, he couldn’t possibly go hunting himself, right?

Perhaps in some time, the situation in the market would improve a lot.

However, no matter how bad the situation got, with his own abilities and the Spirit Stones in his possession, he at least wouldn’t starve to death.

Chen Li left the market and looked up to see that the sun was directly overhead. Thinking that if he hurried, he could still draw an "Evil-Repelling Talisman", he couldn’t help but quicken his pace, being cautious along the way, and finally returned home without incident.

He closed the door and placed the Qi Replenishing Pills and Talismans he had purchased into the bedroom cabinet.

He hadn’t even had the chance to take a sip of water.

He rushed hurriedly into the talisman-crafting room.

A few minutes later.

The brush fell, and the talisman was complete!

"A Low-grade Spirit Stone in hand."

He placed this ’Evil-Repelling Talisman’ on top of a stack of ’Evil-Repelling Talismans’.

Although he was not short of a Low-grade Spirit Stone right now.

But one was a steady trickle of income, while the other was a windfall; he knew the difference clearly. If one got used to windfalls as regular income, it would lead to trouble sooner or later.

Moreover, the income from drawing talismans, more than ten Low-grade Spirit Stones a month, was not a small amount.

"Save whatever little I can, I guess. The monthly expenses are really getting bigger!"

Chen Li shook his head, quickly walked back to the bedroom, took out a bottle of Qi Replenishing Pills, removed the wax and popped the stopper, and poured out one.

The pill was reddish in color, emitting a strong fragrance.

"With such an expensive price, I hope it’s somewhat useful!"

He looked at it for a moment, then swallowed it down, and soon after, he sat cross-legged on the bed and entered meditation, quickly pushing his worries out of his mind.

As soon as he entered meditation, Chen Li felt different from before, as if a warm current was continuously emerging from his abdomen, which then transformed into threads and strands of Spiritual Power constant and unending... It wasn’t until it was nearly evening that he woke up from meditation.

He opened his eyes and hurriedly opened the game panel.

He was surprised to find that his realm had jumped from ’Qi Cultivation Third Layer: 46/100’ to ’Qi Cultivation Third Layer: 48/100’.

It had gone up by two points at once.

"Is the effect of the Qi Replenishing Pill really this good?"

Chen Li recalled:

"The last time I had a leap in points was three days ago at noon. According to the current frequency of about one point every three days, today happens to be three days since then. Does that mean one Qi Replenishing Pill can add one point?"

He pondered:

"Perhaps the first time taking it had a better effect. I’ll test it again tonight."

He closed the game panel, got up from the bed, and opened the door.

The sun outside was gradually slanting to the west, on the verge of dusk. Chen Li turned to prepare dinner. Apart from eating a large basin of Demon Beast Meat near dawn, he had not eaten anything all day and was already extremely hungry.

...

Chen Li stood at the door with a large bowl in hand.

Immediately, he was greeted by the warm hellos of the neighbors passing by.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, enjoying your meal?"

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you really have a good appetite. It seems your body refinement has paid off."

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you weren’t hurt last night, were you? I heard about that battle..."

"Fellow Daoist Chen, ..."

...

Chen Li ate while responding with nods, or humbly, or insincerely, or nonchalantly, keeping himself quite busy.

At that moment, the neighbor’s door opened, and Zhou Hong walked out.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you’re eating. You sure keep a low profile!"

"Oh, where, where?" Chen Li humbly replied, "I just don’t like to fight by nature. I only took action last night because I had no choice. I couldn’t just stand by and watch while several fellow Daoists risked their lives for our neighborhood. It’s just a pity that I was still a step too late."

Zhou Hong felt somewhat incredulous inside.

She had always known him as the old lecher who made a living by selling talismans and who would spend any extra money he had on the brothels. If it weren’t for his good temper and kind nature, she usually could not be bothered to even mock him.

Only today did she see another side of him.

She instinctively wanted to take a jab at him but couldn’t help remembering the bodies hanging from the trees, their heads blown open, and what would have been a snide remark turned into, "Well... that’s true, I had noticed you don’t like to go out."

Zhou Hong was completely out of sorts today.

After a short conversation, they both returned to their homes.

Not being subject to her mockery made Chen Li feel somewhat off, missing that spicy and fiery vibe from before.

...

That night the patrolling team changed shifts.

Perhaps due to the deterrent effect of the few corpses hanging from the tree at the street corner, the night was particularly quiet. Chen Li stayed vigilant until late into the night before he finally relaxed.

After taking a Qi Replenishing Pill, he began to meditate and cultivate qi again.

When he woke up from meditation in the early morning, he checked his game panel and found that his cultivation level had indeed improved a bit.

"With this rate of advancement, could I possibly reach the fourth level of Qi Cultivation this month!" His heart surged with excitement.

Chen Li’s cultivation was low, and he was still far from being able to replace sleep with meditation, but his increasingly tough physical constitution allowed him to go without sleep for two days and two nights and still not feel very tired. Nevertheless, he decided to go to sleep properly first.

After all, he might not have a peaceful night’s sleep tonight either!

...

With the aid of Qi Replenishing Pills for his cultivation, Chen Li’s cultivation level increased every day for the following week, at least by a little, and at most by two points—making rapid progress.

In the meantime, there were three small-scale battles on the street; four of our own died and seven enemies were killed, but Chen Li did not participate. Either because the distance was too far and he did not notice or by the time he hurried over, the battle was already over.

It’s worth mentioning that Qiao Guanyuan’s patrolling organization began to evolve into a gang, collecting a protection fee of one Low-grade Spirit Stone from each household in the name of subsidies and death benefits.

Since the price was the same as the previous rent, no one opposed, and people were glad to see the patrols become more permanent rather than temporary and voluntary, which left many feeling uneasy.

During this period, Qiao Guanyuan also came to canvass Chen Li several times but was tactfully rejected each time.

In fact, not only in our neighborhood, but throughout the shanty area, many different-sized organizations began to emerge during this period.

The chaos provided the best breeding ground for gangs, making the situation in the shanty area even more complex.

As Chen Li anticipated, the prices of Featherweight Talismans and Amulets surged during this period, climbing higher day by day.

Amulets, which were once worth four Low-grade Spirit Stones, were now as high as ten Low-grade Spirit Stones, more than double the price before.

And still, they were in such demand that there was none on the market at any price.

The reason for this was the overwhelming demand for Featherweight Talismans and Amulets during this time; shops had sold out, and restocking would take time.

Seizing this rare opportunity, Chen Li did not hesitate and decisively began to sell his stock.