Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 127 Pioneering the Land (Part Two)
"I didn't expect our group to be a woman?" Zhang Yan whispered to the Foundation Establishment cultivator in the crowd.

Foundation Establishment cultivators have incredibly sharp senses; the moment the words left their mouths, a cold gaze quickly fell upon them.

Chen Li thought to himself, "Oh no!" and quickly pulled Zhou Hong back a step without making a sound.

"You, come out!"

Zhang Yan panicked and looked around, trying to appear bewildered.

"Stop pretending, it's you!" The female cultivator surnamed Bai said coldly, her face ashen. "Come out now. Do you expect me to drag you out myself? You're already so old, why can't you watch your mouth?"

The crowd dispersed into a circle, revealing Zhang Yan and Zhang Shuniang in the middle.

“Father…” Zhang Shuniang said worriedly.

"It...it must be a misunderstanding!" Knowing he couldn't escape the situation, Zhang Yan forced a smile, comforted Zhang Shuniang, and then, supporting his trembling body, walked out of the crowd, approached the female cultivator surnamed Bai, and bowed, saying, "Senior..."

He hasn't even said a complete sentence yet.

"Snapped!"

Zhang Yan staggered as he was slapped.

The crowd fell silent, as if chilled to the bone.

"Stand still!" the female cultivator surnamed Bai shouted coldly.

Zhang Yan's vision blurred and he saw stars from the slap. Hearing this, he had no choice but to stand up straight again, only to be slapped hard again soon after.

It is symmetrical from left to right.

The female cultivator surnamed Bai pointed and cursed, "These two slaps are a lesson for you. Remember this: loose lips sink ships. Get out!"

Extremely feisty.

Zhang Yan's face burned with embarrassment, and he quickly lowered his head and slunk into the crowd.

"Father, are you alright?" Zhang Shuniang asked softly, tugging at her father's arm with tears in her eyes.

"I'm fine, so don't ask."

Zhang Yan felt utterly humiliated; the fact that his face was swollen like a bun and burning with pain was nothing compared to that.

Zhou Hong, who was standing nearby, quickly pulled Zhang Shuniang aside and said, "Let your father have some peace and quiet!"

"Sigh!" Zhang Yan sighed dejectedly.

'Serves you right for being so outspoken!' Chen Li was speechless. If he had been careful with his words, he wouldn't have suffered this undeserved disaster and had his authority established for no reason.

After this incident, the group quickly set off, then joined other groups along the way, forming a long line and leaving the shantytown in a grand procession.

What follows is a long and arduous journey.

Traversing wilderness, villages, and ordinary towns...

From day to night, and from night to day.

We walked for two days and two nights straight.

They finally arrived at their destination on the afternoon of the third day.

Further ahead lay the boundless forest, which was also the goal that this group of independent cultivators had set out to explore.

Most of the independent cultivators were already exhausted and sleepy at this point, but even so, they could not rest immediately.

Instead, they first built temporary huts. Fortunately, there was no shortage of wood here. As for what kind of huts they built, that depended on their individual skills.

……

The cramped wooden house was filled with the fresh scent of wood.

Chen Li brought over a lot of firewood, neatly stacked it in the corner, and seeing that Zhou Hong had already made the bed, he took out some dried meat and water:
"Eat some dry food and go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow probably won't be easy either."

"Mmm!" Zhou Hong replied wearily.

The two ate a little food hastily, closed the door, and went straight to sleep.

Had a night's rest.

The corvée labor began the next day.

The work was simple: burning stubble.

Tens of thousands of independent cultivators, led by their respective Foundation Establishment cultivators, gathered firewood and set the forest ablaze. The scene was exceptionally spectacular; as far as the eye could see, flames soared into the sky, and thick smoke billowed for miles around. Countless wild beasts fled through the forest, only to be slaughtered by the cultivators.

Especially since the weather was on our side, the wind was blowing directly into the forest today, fanning the flames and causing the fire to spread rapidly, leaving a trail of scorched earth in its wake.
The only use of rogue cultivators is to kill any wild beasts that manage to escape the net, but in reality, they are few and far between. Under such a raging fire, even demonic beasts can only turn tail and run.

In just one day, the edge of the forest had retreated several miles, and the fire was still raging into the night.

The second day, the third day...

The casual cultivators were having a good time slacking off, and the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

Every morning when they arrived at the front line, they would gather in twos and threes to chat, and then return to camp in the evening.

The cultivators of the True Sect didn't care. As for the Foundation Establishment cultivator surnamed Bai, he only showed up once on the first day and rarely appeared afterward. He was clearly very impatient with this kind of corvée labor.

"Even mortals can do this, why would we cultivators need to? The True Sect just loves to make things difficult for people," Zhang Yan complained.

Spending three months here, I don't know how many fewer talismans I'll draw, or how many fewer spirit stones I'll earn.

"Father, please say less!" Zhang Shuniang couldn't help but say.

Seriously, I'm going to get beaten up again.

It took a long time for the injury to heal.

Zhang Yan felt a pang of unease, but stubbornly retorted, "You're even trying to control your father now? Tell me what's wrong, I didn't say anything!"

"Shuniang, I'm doing this for your own good. To be honest, don't take it to heart. You're the kind of person who only remembers what you've been wronged by. You'll get yourself killed by that sharp tongue of yours sooner or later," Chen Li said with a smile.

Zhang Yan snorted: "Can't we even speak the truth?"

"I can't say it, I have to keep it to myself!" Chen Li said, suddenly feeling something in his heart, and looked up:

Watch out above!

Everyone looked up at the sky.

A huge bird could be seen circling continuously in the sky.

"This must be a demonic beast," Zhou Hong said, looking at the sky.

"It's pretty much a done deal," Chen Li said. "Most of the demonic beasts have developed intelligence and are probably eyeing this place."

It had only been a short while since he finished speaking.

The giant bird suddenly swooped down at incredible speed. Before it even reached the ground, sand and stones flew everywhere, and a strong wind arose. One of the rogue cultivators was so frightened that he stood frozen in place.

The next moment, a huge claw pierced through the cultivator's chest, grabbed him and flew into the air, then threw him down from the sky.

The whole process was lightning fast, swift and decisive.

Before many cultivators could fully react, one person had already met with disaster.

The distance was too far; Chen Xiang couldn't save them in time.

"Oh!"

The body fell from the sky and crashed heavily to the ground like a torn sack.

Panic gripped the crowd, and many rogue cultivators began to scatter and flee.

"Don't run, everyone! It's just a first-tier demon beast. Stay close together for defense and don't scatter!" A True Sect cultivator shouted urgently upon seeing this.

Another cultivator from the True Sect immediately lit a firework to warn others.

But for a time, no one listened.

During this time, the bird demon acted again, grabbing a rogue cultivator who was trying to escape and throwing him to his death. This bird demon was not hunting at all, but was purely venting its anger.

It was quite cunning, targeting scattered and helpless rogue cultivators, and succeeded repeatedly. It wasn't until the fifth rogue cultivator met his end that the female cultivator surnamed Bai finally arrived late, flying swiftly from afar.

Perhaps sensing the danger, the bird demon cried out in alarm and quickly flapped its wings and flew away.

As a natural flying creature, it is extremely fast; in just a few breaths, its originally enormous form has been reduced to a tiny dot.

Knowing she couldn't catch up, the female cultivator surnamed Bai landed, her face ashen.

The bird demon circled for a while, and seeing no further opportunity, flew away to another place, and soon wreaked havoc again, causing widespread panic.

P.S.: There will be one more chapter before midnight tonight.

(End of this chapter)