Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 18 Magic Weapon Embryo
The arrival of the cultivators from the Artifact Sect heralded the end of the disorderly state in the shantytown and the return of order.

Some laughed, and some cried.

Some are happy, some are sad.

Some people took advantage of the chaos to loot and amass great wealth.

Some people took advantage of the chaos to loot and die in the streets.

Of course, there were also many rogue cultivators who did not participate. They were the most innocent, and simply because they were weak, they were killed when the rogue cultivators, who were in a bloodthirsty frenzy, broke into their homes.

Chen Li stood at the door, quietly listening to the occasional laughter and chatter outside, feeling completely out of place.

This place felt to him like a chaotic region in sub-Saharan Africa, teeming with warlords, where everyone was belligerent and inherently restless, yet each possessed exceptional killing skills and diligently practiced them every day.

"Weakness is a sin; survival is difficult in this world!"

He turned around, closed the door, bolted it, drank a few sips of salt water, and then picked up his sword to begin practicing.

He has already wasted a whole day.

……

late at night.

Chen Li, who was practicing his sword, suddenly heard a noise from next door.

He stopped what he was doing.

After thinking for a moment, I put on my clothes and quickly opened the door.

They saw Zhou Hong preparing to enter the house, her body, face, and feet covered in mud and blood.

"Why are you in such a sorry state? Where is Fellow Daoist Gao?" Although Chen Li had some guesses in his mind, he still couldn't help but ask.

Zhou Hong was silent for a moment, then turned around and said blankly, "Dead, buried! Do you need anything?"

He looked haggard.

"Uh! No, please accept my condolences." Chen Li was at a loss for words for a moment.

……

Chen Li closed the door.

"He's dead!"

He still clearly remembered what Gao Bo said as he walked towards the crowd last night:
"This might be my only chance in my life, and I don't want to give it up..."

Unfortunately, he couldn't empathize.

Although he didn't know what kind of opportunity it was, he wouldn't gamble his life on any chance to change his destiny.

After all... even when he was poorest, he never thought of robbing a bank.

Chen Li shook his head, picked up his sword, and continued practicing. His swordsmanship was about to advance to a higher level.

……

The next day, Chen Li got up early.

The gate next door was still tightly closed. He glanced at it and then headed towards the market.

He planned to check out the current situation in the market and sell the 'exorcising talismans' he had accumulated over this period of time.

The corpses on the road were long gone, only the blackened bloodstains remained.

It wasn't until they arrived at the market that Chen Li realized the killings in the shantytown were merely 'public security incidents,' and this was the real battlefield.

The traces of war are everywhere here.

The building was in ruins, bloodstains were everywhere, and occasionally you could even see pieces of flesh that had turned black.

However, this did not diminish the bustling atmosphere of the market.

The number of cultivators who came today was more than double the usual amount. In just one night, everyone seemed to have returned to the way things were before, as if the war and the killings of last night had never happened.

Empty stalls?

There are no empty stalls left.

A large number of items looted last night are being sold off at low prices, and the entire market is bustling with noise and shouts of vendors, as if it were a festival.

Chen Li was somewhat glad that he had brought that mid-grade spirit stone with him.

Such an opportunity will likely be hard to come by again.

"This sword isn't even a magic weapon, yet it costs a mid-grade spirit stone? That's highway robbery!" Chen Li said, haggling at one of the stalls.

"Although this sword is not a magic weapon, it is still a potential magic weapon. Just the twenty-odd kilograms of black iron material alone would normally cost more than one mid-grade spirit stone," the stall owner said.

"You know this is the normal price. What kind of price is normal today? Besides, this sword of yours is not easy to sell. What independent cultivator would spend so much money to buy a magic weapon blank when they don't know how to refine it?"

Unless you sell it to the Artifact Refining Sect, which specializes in crafting artifacts, the price would probably be at most fifty low-grade spirit stones.

"Then name your price."

"Sixty low-grade spirit stones for a fixed price. I believe that no one but me would buy a magic weapon embryo."

"That's too low. Let's compromise: eighty!"

"Then forget it, I can't afford it!" Chen Li turned around and made to leave.

One step, two steps, three steps...

"Come back, come back... but this price is really too low, add a little more!" the stall owner said helplessly.

"Sixty, fixed price."

"Alright, sixty it is then."

Chen Li reluctantly handed over the mid-grade spirit stone: "Can you make change? It should be fine to exchange one mid-grade spirit stone for one hundred and two low-grade spirit stones, right?"

"Oh, don't worry, we really lost out today."

Chen Li stuffed the recovered spirit stones into his money bag and placed it close to his chest.

He tried out the sword in his hand and liked it more and more the more he looked at it.

Weighing over 20 pounds, it felt a little heavy, but it was still manageable.

Moreover, his strength is still increasing, and it's estimated that it won't be long before he can perfectly adapt to this weight.

He was using an ordinary sword, which was not only light but also somewhat soft, making it unsuitable for the swordsmanship that Chen Li practiced, which pursued extreme power and speed.

Every time he practiced, he felt that the sword was too unsteady. When he thrust out with all his might, the entire blade would sway violently, which greatly affected his accuracy.

I never expected to find such a powerful sword after browsing around today, especially since it's a potential magical artifact.

It's excellent value for money.

Chen Li then continued to stroll around the market for a while.

Today, almost everything at the stall was on sale, some even heavily discounted. Seeing some great deals, Chen Li couldn't resist buying them, but after hesitating for a while, he realized they weren't essential and he forced himself to resist.

I really couldn't bear to spend the few spirit stones I had left.

After buying the sword, he only had 45 spirit stones left. With his ever-increasing appetite, he estimated that he would soon be unable to make ends meet and might have to use his savings to tide him over.

……

After returning from the market, Chen Li hesitated for a moment, but still knocked on the door next door.

He was somewhat worried about the other person's mental state last night.

The door finally opened after a long while.

Zhou Hong was dressed in thin clothes, her hair was disheveled, and her eyes were swollen like peaches; she was completely unrecognizable.

"Are you OK?"

"What could possibly happen to me?" She sighed, her eyes reddening, and rambled on, "That damned man, I told him not to go, I told him not to go, but he insisted on going. He never listens to me, and he always goes to the most dangerous places. He's willing to risk his life for a Foundation Establishment Pill. Don't you think he deserves it?"

"Perhaps this is Fellow Daoist Gao's fate."

What can Chen Li, an outsider, say?

The dead are the greatest.

"Yes, he was destined to die a violent death. If not yesterday, then one day it would have been any other. The fact that someone will even take his body after he dies is a miracle!"

Chen Li: ...

That's not what I meant.

(End of this chapter)