Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 202 Clues
Xiao Yuan's residence is also located in Stanley City.

He led Chen Li through a maze of streets and alleys, finally stopping in front of a narrow doorway.

"This is it." Xiao Yuan said, taking out his key and turning it several times in the lock before finally unlocking the brass lock and pushing open the door.

Chen Li followed him inside.

This is a small courtyard that occupies no more than half an acre, and there are no formations set up inside.

For a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator, this was rather awkward and cramped.

If I'm not mistaken, even this house is probably rented.

It shouldn't be like this.

Even if Xiao Yuan were down on his luck, he wouldn't be in this state.

Back then, during the war that wiped out the Tianxing Sect, these people made a fortune through bloodshed. Each of them made a fortune. For example, Chen Li himself received more than two hundred high-grade spirit stones, while Xiao Yuan, whose harvest was second only to Chen Li, also received nearly two hundred.

It's all gone in less than three years?
"I am ashamed. My humble abode is simple and unadorned. I hope you will forgive my rudeness." Xiao Yuan looked embarrassed.

"How...how did you get to this point?" Chen Li asked in surprise.

"Alas, this matter is a long story!" Xiao Yuan sighed, looking gloomy.

After the two sat down...

Xiao Yuan then explained the whole story in detail.

After the patriarch revealed himself, he brought a glimmer of hope to all his disciples.

Everyone started to scatter and flee for their lives.

Xiao Yuan was one of them. He didn't dare to go to the surrounding areas, but instead chose to run directly to Stanley City like Chen Li.

He had no wives or concubines, and no children; he was all alone.

Most of their wealth was kept in storage bags and carried with them.

Although the sect's protection was lost after the mountain gate was destroyed, there were not many other losses.

The journey to Stanley City was also smooth.

However, this good fortune came to an end.

Upon arriving in Stanley City, he perhaps lowered his guard and was preparing to find an inn to stay in. When he reached for his money, he touched his storage bag and was immediately shocked to find that all three of his storage bags had vanished without a trace.

The storage bags all bear the imprint of divine consciousness.

However, this was of no use.

He had barely sensed the location when the mark was erased one after another.

Stanley City is not a sparsely populated wilderness; it is a densely populated area with a constant flow of people coming and going.

At this point, how could you possibly find a thief in the crowd?

To make matters worse, when he entered the city, he had put all his magical artifacts into his storage bag. Apart from the second-tier mid-grade magic robe he was wearing, which was still worth some money, he had nothing else of value.

This devastating news almost made him depressed.

Unlike Chen Li, he didn't have a special skill that allowed him to make a living by drawing talismans.

He can neither draw talismans, nor forge weapons, nor refine pills; he only has a little bit of cultivation.

In order to survive in Stanley City, he had to sell his second-tier mid-grade magic robe at a discount and buy a second-tier mid-grade magic weapon and a second-tier low-grade magic robe.

He usually goes to the nearby forest to collect herbs and hunt demons, or takes on odd jobs in the city.

A dignified mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator has somehow ended up looking like a Qi Refining rogue.

After hearing all this, Chen Li didn't know what to say.

“I hate that bastard born of a maid so much that I want to eat his flesh and drink his blood. For the past six months, I have searched all the surrounding cultivation cities, but I still can’t find any trace of my stolen items.”

Xiao Yuan gritted his teeth in hatred, uttering curses, his deep-seated resentment reaching the heavens.

“It’s been so long, they’re probably scattered all over the place by now. There’s no point in searching anymore. Money is just an external thing. As long as you’re safe, that’s all that matters. Many people like this take the money but then risk their lives. If you ask me, you should be glad you were just robbed,” Chen Li comforted him.

However, Xiao Yuan clearly could not empathize with these words.

He looked at Chen Li's second-tier high-grade magic robe, which was radiating a rich spiritual light.

His complexion became even more depressed.

"Sigh, I understand that principle too." Xiao Yuan sighed, looking listless. "But when it comes to myself, it's been weighing on my mind and I just can't get over it. Sigh, let's not talk about me, let's talk about you."

"I...I have nothing to say, that's all." He was surrounded by wives and concubines, had a huge fortune, and lived a happy life.

He usually draws talismans, practices his qi, and strengthens his body. His cultivation progresses smoothly, and he has few worries.

Life here is even more leisurely and comfortable than when I was in the Zhen Huan Sect.

Nowadays, there's no one above to control us, so we can do whatever we want, and no one is forcing us to serve or kill.

However, this was something that could not be said to Xiao Yuan.

After all, this is too cruel.

It was like rubbing salt into his wounds.

Chen Li originally wanted to bring up the matter of that group of remnants of the Tianxing Sect, but after thinking about it, he decided against it.

Whether this matter is mentioned or not is irrelevant.

Instead, it exposes itself.

There are still people alive in the Tianxing Sect.

Not to mention Feng Min, the female cultivator who was spared by Chen Li, there is another person who is still wandering outside.

No one can guarantee that they won't hear this news.

After all, a secret is only a secret if it is known only to the person who knows it. Once a second person knows it, the secret is no longer a secret.

Although the chances are very low.

But why would he deliberately invite trouble by gambling?

He then inquired about the other disciples who had come to Stanley City.

"Wenhui and Peng Yan, along with Fellow Daoist Ding Jian, have all arrived," Xiao Yuan said. "By the way, Ding Jian was favored by a Golden Core elder of the Fire Cloud Sect and was accepted as a disciple, joining the Fire Cloud Sect."

"What?" Chen Li looked surprised upon hearing this.

He admitted he was a little jealous.

Ding Jian is truly blessed by the heavens.

He established his foundation at the age of twenty.

Then he was accepted as a personal disciple by the patriarch.

Others have to serve in the military, but he doesn't.

Even when attacking the Heavenly Star Sect, the patriarch personally led the expedition.

He still hasn't shown up.

As a seed of the Golden Core, he held a transcendent position within the True Soul Sect.

In terms of how much importance the patriarch placed on it, he probably couldn't even compare to Xia Hongyi, the head of the general affairs department.

After all, in the old patriarch's eyes, Ding Jian was the true successor.

I thought that with the destruction of the True Sect, the other person would become a rogue cultivator like me. But I never expected that people have different fates. In the blink of an eye, the other person became a Golden Core disciple and joined the Nascent Soul sect, the Fire Cloud Sect, and rose to a higher level.

"Unbelievable, isn't it? This is a Golden Core seed! It's a treasure no matter where you are." Xiao Yuan sighed. "It's a pity that we only met Ding Jian a few times. We can't even be considered casual acquaintances. Otherwise, if we could establish this connection, we would have a foothold in Red Pillar City."

At that moment, Chen Li's heart stirred, and he remembered something.

He thought about it carefully.

When the white birds were discovered attacking the mountain gate.

He had indeed never seen Ding Jian.

So, where was he at that time?

Was he called aside by the ancestor, or was he always right in front of the ancestor?

It's likely that before the ancestor self-destructed with his will to die, he left most of his belongings to him.

He wasn't particularly envious of other things, even the magical treasures of Golden Core cultivators.

But he must obtain the Golden Elixir part of the Longevity Technique.

This concerns my future path.

His mind raced, and a thought flashed through his mind before he smiled and said, "After all, we were once fellow disciples, so there will always be some old feelings... Wasn't Fellow Daoist Wen brought here through a marriage alliance with the Red Mountain Sect? Why didn't the couple return to the Red Mountain Sect?"

"I don't know about that," Xiao Yuan said. "But the people from the Red Mountain Sect have always been strange, they always seem a bit eerie. I guess they don't want to go back."