Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 15 Longevity in the Wilderness
night.

Chen Li closed his eyes, moving his muscles and carefully feeling how they exerted force.

Sometimes he uses his palm as a sword, slicing through the air with a soft "hissing" sound. At other times, his figure moves swiftly, like a phantom.

Perhaps due to the constant nourishment of spiritual energy within his body, this body has an extremely high potential, and he has yet to feel the existence of any bottleneck.

He can now jump three meters high.

Each step covers five or six meters.

At the same time, he can also easily lift boulders weighing more than half a ton and throw them seven or eight meters away.

If he had reached this level of cultivation, he would be considered a superman on Earth. However, in this world of cultivation, he was still just a lowly ant, a humble rogue cultivator who had practiced the 'Mortal Body Refining Technique'.

Chen Li was still self-aware.

As a newcomer to the cultivation world, having transmigrated less than three months ago, I haven't inherited much of the original owner's memories, and I have to learn everything from scratch.

Through my tireless efforts day and night, and with the help of the game panel, I've honed some rudimentary skills (the most basic spells and mortal swordsmanship).
Despite having a high level and seemingly impressive power, he still felt uncertain about his abilities.

Why should my three months of hard work be comparable to someone else's half a lifetime of cultivation?

Which of those rogue cultivators who spend their days scrambling through the primitive wilderness isn't rich in combat experience?

Which one doesn't have a few life-saving tricks?

His self-assessment of his strength was not unwarranted; he was definitely a qualified Qi Refining Level 3 rogue cultivator, and he estimated that he could barely contend with an ordinary Qi Refining Mid-stage cultivator.

"Actually, my biggest weakness is that I lack practical experience!"

"Not counting kindergarten and primary school, I've only ever had one fight since junior high school, when I was just hot-blooded and impulsively decided to fight. Before the fight, I had a good plan in mind, but after the first punch, I was completely stunned. After that, it all turned into wild punches, and I acted entirely on instinct."

After being taught a lesson, he never got into a fight again.

As Chen Li thought to himself, his body suddenly swayed, as if he had moved three meters away from the same spot. Almost simultaneously, the force of the 'spiritual energy flick' was activated from between his fingers.

"Bah!"

The blast created a deep crater in the muddy floor of the living room.

"Moreover, he is not ruthless enough and is not calm enough when faced with major events."

Just like the last conflict, when I saw someone break an arm, I was completely dazed.

"These are my weaknesses, but I believe that nothing is something that can't be learned through practice."

His body shifted constantly, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, sometimes forward, sometimes backward, sometimes retreating, sometimes rolling, his mind simulating various enemies and possible attacks, gradually becoming completely absorbed in the moment.

……

Early the next morning.

As soon as Zhao Wanjun stepped out, she saw that her neighbor, who usually kept her door tightly shut and never went out, had actually come out.

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you cultivate diligently day and night. It's truly rare for you to go out today. We've been neighbors for over a month since we last met, yet we haven't seen each other again," Zhao Wanjun greeted him jokingly.

Upon hearing this, Chen Li smiled slightly embarrassedly and bowed in greeting:

"I'm sorry to have troubled you, Fellow Daoist Zhao. My strength is meager, and I value my life, so I dare not wander around outside. Today I'm just going to check out the market."

Chen Li chatted for a few minutes, breathed a slight sigh of relief, and then said goodbye.

Zhao Wanjun watched Chen Li's retreating figure and couldn't help but chuckle.

She had never met such a cautious person. Every time he spoke, although he tried to hide it well, she could still see that he was tense, as if he were on a battlefield. He gave people a feeling of unease, anxiety, and urgency, as if he was afraid that someone was going to harm him.

……

Only when he felt the faint gaze behind him disappear did Chen Li truly relax.

Half an hour later, he arrived at the market.

The market was still the same as before, but even more lively. All sorts of people came and went, and Chen Li would greet anyone who looked somewhat familiar with him with a cupped-hand salute.

Having spent three months here and set up a stall eight or nine times, Chen Li now knows quite a few people, mostly acquaintances he met while setting up stalls.

He didn't linger and went straight to the bookstore.

He had wanted to go here for a long time, but he had always been reluctant to waste spirit stones. The books here were, in a word, expensive.

Books that can be used during the ordinary Qi Refining stage.

At least a few spirit stones.

It's not uncommon to find ten or more spirit stones.

This is still a paper book; the more advanced jade slips, which can be read with divine sense, are even more staggering in price.

Of course, there are also cheaper options.

Everything that doesn't involve improving your strength is cheap.

However, this is relative.

Chen Li picked out five books, including some about geography, local customs, and cultivation travelogues, and spent a spirit stone on them.

He doesn't have much money left.

A mid-grade spirit stone... is used for stockpiling, so it doesn't count.

All that remained of the scattered coins were five low-grade spirit stones.

Now that one is gone, there are only four left.

His appetite is still increasing, and it won't be long before he can even keep that mid-grade spirit stone.

"Sigh, I hope the success rate of the talisman will be higher."

He sighed softly.

He did consider making his own talisman skins and mixing his own blood ink, but then he thought better of it; it was too troublesome and too time-consuming.

Now he even feels like he doesn't have enough time to cultivate.

Every morning, I get up early to practice swordsmanship. After resting for a while, I draw talismans around noon and then meditate to recover my energy.

In the afternoon, I practiced spiritual energy finger flicking, then meditated to recover my energy. After dinner, I continued practicing swordsmanship. And that wasn't all; I would meditate and practice my energy again until I went to sleep.

My entire day is fully scheduled.

There's no time left to make talisman skins or prepare blood ink.

The only time I could relax was when I would go to the market every two weeks to sell the talismans I had made over a period of time.

"Once you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, you won't have to suffer so much. By then, you'll have the strength to do so and won't need to be so careful anymore. You'll also have a long lifespan, which is said to be over two hundred years. Even if you reach the Foundation Establishment stage at the age of 70, you'll still be in your prime and won't need to be in such a rush."

"Then I'll be surrounded by wives and concubines, children and grandchildren, and if I'm lucky enough to cultivate to the Golden Core stage... hehe!"

He was dreaming of a bright future while cautiously observing his surroundings.

He rushed home, poured himself a glass of water, and eagerly picked up a copy of "The Geography of the Wild West: The Longevity School" to begin learning about this world. However, after reading only a few pages, he couldn't help but change color.

"How come the area is so large?"

The Longevity Sect is located in the westernmost corner of the desolate west. Chen Li originally thought that leaving this place would only be a matter of crossing a few mountains, at most a two or three-day journey.

In fact, the area covered by the Longevity Sect was far larger than he had imagined.

The surrounding sects and forces were not what he had imagined.

The entire area controlled by the Longevity Sect stretches over 800 li from east to west and over 1,500 li from north to south.

There are five marked rivers.

There are twelve mountain ranges.

The area is dotted with swamps and lakes.

Despite its large size, the area appeared unusually desolate.

There are only five markets marked on the map, and only one major city, which is Luanluo City, the location of the Changsheng Sect.

Chen Li carefully examined the map and quickly located his own market, 'Green River Market'. After studying it for a while, he breathed a sigh of relief. His market was located on the western side of the map, at least 500 li away from Luanluo City in the central part of the map.

(End of this chapter)