Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 42 Flying Sword
"go with!"

A streak of silvery-white light flashed by, and a large tree not far from the cave entrance swayed before crashing down with a loud bang.

Chen Li walked over quickly.

The cut on the tree was as smooth as a mirror, as if it had been cut by a laser.

Although he had knocked the silver sword-shaped magical artifact away with great force, Chen Li found that it was not damaged.

In fact, the activation of magical artifacts is often connected to the mind and spirit. The reason why Qiao Guanyuan was unable to control the artifact was simply because his mind and spirit were also impacted after the artifact was hit hard, resulting in a temporary loss of control.

The suspended sword-shaped magical artifact, under Chen Li's command, flew at high speed once again, crisscrossing back and forth in mid-air.

After a short while, Chen Li frowned slightly.

The power of this sword-shaped magical weapon is undeniable. It is fast and incomparably sharp, much stronger than the one he himself possesses. However, it is still far inferior to the terrifying power displayed by Qiao Guanyuan.

"It seems that it's due to my cultivation level that I can't fully unleash the power of this magic weapon," Chen Li thought to himself.

This is somewhat of a double-edged sword for him.

In terms of power, this sword-shaped magic weapon is naturally stronger than the Spirit Flick, but not by much. However, it consumes a great deal of spiritual energy and is far less practical than the Spirit Flick.

Although he never lacked magical artifacts, he had never used them in actual combat.

Magic is just so amazing.

There was simply no use for the magic weapon.

In particular, the Grandmaster-level 'Spiritual Power Flick' is not only fast to fire and has power comparable to a mid-level first-tier spell, but also consumes very little spiritual power, making it a divine skill for the Qi Refining stage.

"Wait a minute, a sword-shaped magical artifact!? Could this be a flying sword?"

The moment the thought crossed his mind, the flying sword began to rapidly enlarge, quickly transforming into a giant sword about two meters long and twenty-three or twenty-four centimeters wide. At the same time, the dangerous sharpness emanating from the flying sword completely disappeared.

"This really is a flying sword." Chen Li opened his mouth.

……

The next evening, it started to rain heavily outside.

The rain was falling steadily, the raindrops landing on the leaves with a hypnotic rustling sound that seemed never to stop.

The forest was already cold and damp in late autumn, and the rainy weather made it even worse. The damp, cold wind kept blowing in from the cave entrance, making a howling sound. Fortunately, the cave was deep enough that the rainwater could not get in.

A fire crackled and popped inside the cave, the flames greedily licking the bottom of the stone pot. Inside, chunks of meat tumbled and boiled in the water, releasing a rich aroma.

The stone pot is cut from a single piece of rock using a ritual implement.

Its design is simple yet rugged and grand, with a primitive style.

Chen Li, dressed in a Dharma robe and wrapped in animal skin, sat around a warm fire, eating hot pot and listening to the rain and wind outside the cave, enjoying a leisurely and carefree time.

"I'm planning to go back and take a look tomorrow!" Chen Li said, picking up a piece of meat, stuffing it into his mouth, and mumbling.

"So fast." Zhou Hong paused upon hearing this, and asked worriedly, "Is your injury?"

"It's almost done, basically recovered... I have to go back and check on things, I can't stay here forever. Don't worry, I won't take any risks this time, I'll leave immediately if the situation turns bad," Chen Li said.

“Then let’s go together!” Zhou Hong said.

Chen Li nodded.

The conditions here are truly appalling. Especially at night, the roars of various beasts rise and fall like a symphony. Last night, a wild beast came, and if Zhou Hong hadn't set a trap at the entrance of the cave, it probably would have sneaked inside, and now we've eaten part of it.

Of course, the above reasoning is still tolerable.

The key point is that there are also evil spirits here, and the talisman he carries has inexplicably heated up more than once recently.

Because the shantytown was densely populated and inhabited by cultivators, any evil spirits that might have existed there were completely wiped out, leaving them nowhere to hide. Chen Li had only heard of such places but had never seen them before; he never expected to find so many in the wilderness.

When asked about Zhou Hong, she casually remarked that this was normal.

The forest is full of wandering ghosts, most of which are the souls of animals that died but did not dissipate by chance and exist in another form. Most of them have little consciousness and only instinct.

They hide in trees, rocks, and underground during the day, and only sneak out at night to stealthily absorb the blood and energy of dead creatures to survive. Even living creatures cannot get close to them.

It poses virtually no threat to cultivators; a protective talisman is sufficient.

Chen Li could only tentatively believe this.

Sometimes, when it comes to recklessness, he really can't compare to these native rogue cultivators. For example, when he heard that great demon's roar, he was terrified, but Zhou Hong was used to it.

……

It rained for most of the night.

When I woke up the next morning, the rain had stopped and the sky had cleared.

Chen Li and Zhou Hong packed their luggage and left the cave without any hesitation.

Upon entering the forest, it felt as if daytime had suddenly turned into evening, giving one an unusually cold and gloomy feeling.

The layers upon layers of leaves overhead completely blocked out the light, with only a few rays of sunlight occasionally piercing through the foliage and shining onto the road, forming patches of light of varying sizes.

From the outside, the forest appears extremely dense, seemingly impassable.

In fact, there is no shortage of roads here; various large animal trails crisscross and extend into the endless distance.

These animal trails, repeatedly trampled, have formed exceptionally solid paths, where even weeds and moss cannot grow. Along the way, one can see all sorts of strangely shaped trees and vines, as well as colorful, giant fungi growing in the shade.

The entire forest gave off a very ancient feeling. There were many trees about a meter thick, which could be considered ordinary, but many were five or six meters thick. Chen Li even saw a giant tree that was fifteen or sixteen meters thick.

The gnarled tree roots burrowed into the ground like angry dragons, and the immense power they generated caused the surrounding terrain, which stretched for hundreds of meters, to rise high like mounds.

The massive branches are crisscrossed with grooves, and various creatures inhabit them, resembling a small ecosystem.

"This tree isn't very big; I've seen many bigger ones." Seeing Chen Li lingering and frequently looking back, Zhou Hong couldn't help but laugh.

Along the way, Chen Li kept looking around curiously, as if he were looking at something.

"I'm just checking if there's any danger nearby," Chen Li said.

Zhou Hong smiled but didn't expose her. This was just the outermost edge of the forest; apart from some common wild animals, there was no danger.

In the past, when she went on adventures, she would go at least dozens of miles deep into the forest, and it would take her a whole day just to travel there. Sometimes she would not come back for ten days or half a month without any results.

After walking for more than two hours, the two emerged from the forest without any incident. Along the way, they encountered several groups of independent cultivators, but they mostly kept their distance.

Soon the shantytowns will be in sight.

(End of this chapter)