Hide in the world of gods and demons

Chapter 86 Seventh Level of Qi Training
Tonight, the moon is bright and the stars are few, with a touch of chill in the air, and occasionally a few strange bird calls drift from afar.

As Chen Li walked along the road, his boiling passion gradually subsided.

kill!
kill!
kill!
Ever since he transmigrated to this world, it seems he has been killing people all along.

Most of them were forced to defend themselves.

But this time it was to proactively establish authority and eliminate potential threats in advance.

More than a dozen lives were taken, like killing chickens.

"Sigh, in this cannibalistic world, if you don't eat others, you'll be eaten." Chen Li sighed. "Why is it so difficult to live peacefully and earn some money to support your family?"

He went around in circles.

They quickly and quietly returned home.

Chen Li changed his clothes, took a picture of himself with a cleansing talisman, carried the package to the quiet room, and began to carefully count his spoils.

There are a total of 16 mid-grade spirit stones and more than 300 low-grade spirit stones, most of which came from Zhang Lin, the leader of the Spirit Fox Gang.

This single transaction alone amounts to 19 mid-grade spirit stones.

另外
There are a total of fourteen ritual implements.

One superior-grade magic artifact, five medium-grade magic artifacts, and eight inferior-grade magic artifacts.

This greatly replenished the magical artifacts that Chen Li had sold off quickly, which were almost gone.

In addition, there are three Golden Light Talismans that Chen Li values ​​most.

As for other talismans and miscellaneous items such as amulets, they were of little value, so he did not bother to count them one by one.

"It seems that this is all a gang leader is capable of. The rogue cultivators of Green River Workshop are truly impoverished..." Chen Li was somewhat disappointed. Apart from a few golden light talismans that gave him a slight surprise, the rest could only be exchanged for some money. There were no good items at all.

Think about it too.

Before the sect wars, these people were just ordinary late-stage Qi Refining cultivators, like Qiao Guanyuan. They only gradually rose to prominence due to a combination of chance and ambition, and they had no real foundation whatsoever.

……

As dawn broke, Chen Li nonchalantly carried a large bag of meat to the market once again.

Yu Fanzhen and several clansmen had been waiting for a long time.

"Yu Fanzhen greets fellow Daoist!"

"Fellow Daoist Yu, you're here early!" Fellow Daoist Chen glanced at her and said casually, "Don't worry, there's enough meat this time, so you won't have made a wasted trip!"

Faced with this notorious and ruthless man in the market, who could even kill a second-tier demon beast, Yu Fanzhen couldn't muster any more momentum and forced a smile, saying, "Fellow Daoist, you jest!"

"Am I joking?" Chen Li asked, his eyes wide.

"Ah, no, no, I misunderstood you, fellow Daoist," Yu Fanzhen quickly said. He thought to himself, "This person is really hard to please."

"Haha, just kidding." Chen Li laughed heartily.

Yu Fanzhen felt a tightness in his chest, and then forced a couple of dry laughs.

Chen Li ignored her, put down the large cloth bag, then untied the rope, placed a relatively clean rag on the ground, and poured out all the meat, piling it into a mountain of meat.

"Fellow Daoist Chen is truly a hero. It must have been very dangerous for you to kill a second-tier demon beast this time, right?" Yu Fanzhen squatted down beside him, smiling and flattering him, but his gaze seemed to be fixed on the butcher's awkward and fierce face, not missing a single detail.

This time, the second-tier monster was killed.

Even the family's patriarch was alarmed.

Despite extensive investigations over the past two days, nothing has been found. All that is known is that this beast, suspected to be a second-tier snake demon, ravaged the settlement a few days ago, and its corpse was then openly sold in the market by butchers.

No matter how valuable the corpse of a second-tier demon beast is, the Yu family doesn't care.

The Yu family, a clan that has long passed its bloody pioneering period, has become focused on business and preservation. The monthly income from their pill and talisman shops alone is equivalent to that of several second-tier demonic beasts, which is not something to be envious of.

But who killed him, and how?
The Yu family cares a lot about it.

This concerns the safety of the entire family!

"Here to gather information again!" Chen Li glanced at her, a half-smile on his face. "You think I'm stupid enough not to see through you? You're still too green!"

Yu Fanzhen was clearly not thick-skinned. After Chen Li pointed it out, her fair face turned red, and she was extremely embarrassed.

"It's obvious that I killed this monster." Chen Li didn't even look at her, and swung his magic sword to chop the meat with force, saying nonchalantly, "If you're not afraid of death, come on."

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you misunderstand. My ancestor specifically instructed me to make good friends with fellow Daoists while I am away from home," Yu Fanzhen hurriedly explained upon hearing this.

Whether this is true or false.

Chen Li felt much more at ease.

"That's good. Of course, I also have great respect for your ancestor." He said, quickly cutting the meat into pieces and separating a pile: "I estimate there are 1,100 catties of meat. The extra 100 catties represent my respect for your ancestor."

"Please convey this message to the Ancestor," Yu Fanzhen said solemnly, cupping his hands in greeting.

An extra hundred catties isn't worth much; at most, it's worth half a mid-grade spirit stone.

But it represents goodwill and attitude.

Watching Yu Fanzhen and the others walk away, Chen Li reluctantly turned his gaze away.

"Having a storage bag is so convenient."

Over a thousand pounds of meat were packed into a small, palm-sized embroidered bag, which amazed Chen Li.

To contain Mount Sumeru within a mustard seed.

If I had this, why would I need to carry meat back and forth every day?

I wonder how much this kind of thing costs?
It's estimated to be incredibly expensive!

He had never seen a single rogue cultivator in Green River Village, and it was probably difficult for even an ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivator to be found.

"This woman, isn't she afraid of being robbed?"

……

Just as Chen Li continued selling meat.

The situation with the Spirit Fox Gang has begun to escalate.

Overnight, the Spirit Fox Gang's headquarters was wiped out, and even the gang leader was found dead naked in his bed—a truly horrifying incident.

The only survivor, the gang leader's wife, initially hesitated and dared not speak.

Until he pressed him repeatedly.

Only then did she tearfully reveal the truth.

This kind of news couldn't be kept secret at all, and it quickly spread everywhere.

The Fox Spirit Gang was completely disbanded; when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. This need not be discussed further.

Those from the surrounding gangs were all greatly alarmed upon hearing this.

It's clear to everyone.

This is a straightforward warning.

To kill the chicken to scare the monkey.

The Spirit Fox Gang was just such a chicken that got slaughtered.

But they weren't monkeys, and they weren't much better than this chicken either.

Zhang Lin of the Spirit Fox Gang is roughly equal in strength to the leaders of the surrounding gangs. If the Spirit Fox Gang is like this, then other gangs would naturally be in much worse shape if their strongholds were raided.

This butcher is absolutely terrifying!
Everyone felt both relieved and somewhat fearful.

I'm glad I didn't stand out, but I'm terrified I almost got taken advantage of.

By the afternoon, the news had spread throughout the entire shantytown.

In an instant, all the gangs quickly calmed down, and even their friction and fighting temporarily subsided.

No one in the gang is immune to the dread of a butcher!
……

After that, everything became calm and peaceful.

In just a few days, Chen Li sold all the second-tier demon beast meat, along with the bones, scales, and remaining snake skin, to the Yu family's artifact and talisman shop.

Total profit: 225 mid-grade spirit stones.

Of the income from selling meat, 95 were mid-grade spirit stones. The rest came from selling spiritual materials such as bones and scales. Even Chen Li couldn't have imagined that the income from these spiritual materials was higher than that from selling monster meat.

This doesn't even include the more than two thousand catties of second-tier demon beast meat and one demon core that I kept for myself.

Otherwise, there will be even more.

Yu Wufeng had offered to buy the demon core for twenty mid-grade spirit stones, but Chen Li hesitated for a while and then refused.

He is not short of money now.

And demon cores don't take up much space.

Perhaps, when the situation improves, they can fetch a higher price elsewhere.

Besides, as the first second-tier demonic beast he had slain, he should at least keep something as a memento. What could be a better keepsake than a demonic core?

night.

The talisman-making room.

Chen Li couldn't help but count his family's savings again.

All the odds and ends added up were converted into mid-grade spirit stones.

A total of 281 mid-grade spirit stones.

He took a long breath.

It's like a dream.

I remember when I first transmigrated, I was so worried about a low-grade spirit stone that I tossed and turned every day, unable to sleep at night. Even after I learned to draw talismans to ward off evil and had a stable income, I still carefully calculated every day and dared not eat too much demon beast meat or spirit rice.

They wished they could split a single spirit stone in two.

Who would have thought that a year later, we would be so wealthy?

"This money will last for several years," Chen Li thought to himself.
"I don't need to take any more risks in the future."

Looking back on this experience of selling monster meat, it was quite dangerous. I placed all my safety on the assumption that the old patriarch of the Yu family was old, cautious, and wouldn't take action.

Although the final result was good, it was still like walking a tightrope.

How can we ensure that the Yu family patriarch won't take action?

What if the Yu family patriarch makes a move?
Can he really fight against Foundation Establishment cultivators?

"People die for money, birds die for food! I'm no exception," Chen Li muttered to himself.

……

In the days that followed, Chen Li began to focus on his cultivation.

He lives a secluded life, rarely venturing out.

To return to normalcy.

As time went by, summer turned to autumn, and another month passed in the blink of an eye.

During this period, after Ziqi's rebuke technique broke through to the master level, his palm lightning also successfully broke through to the expert level. Compared with the beginning of his practice, the lightning bolts of his palm lightning not only did not become thicker, but became thinner, and the color became brighter.

Meanwhile, there was an ample supply of Qi-replenishing pills and second-tier monster meat.

Chen Li is getting closer and closer to the late stage of Qi Refining.

One day, on his way back from Zhao Lin's place, he happened to run into Lin Gui again.

At this moment, Lin Gui was dressed in rags, no longer with his former ruddy complexion. Instead, he was pale and haggard, and his hair was completely white, making him look like an old man in his seventies or eighties.

Compared to before, he is completely different.

Upon seeing Chen Li, Lin Gui was overcome with grief and burst into tears.

"Fellow Daoist Chen...it really is Fellow Daoist Chen!" Lin Gui said, his mouth trembling.

"You are... Lin Gui? What happened to you?" Chen Li asked curiously.

"Sigh, it's a long story..." Lin Gui recounted his experiences over the past few days, tears streaming down his face.

It turns out that Lin Gui had been living away from home ever since he escaped the Green Robe Gang.

During this time, as his stock of Ascension Pills gradually ran out, he couldn't resist preparing to refine more medicine.

But times have changed. There are hardly any herbs left to sell in the market. Even if there are, they are mostly sent to the Yu family's medicine shop. He can only continue to suffer through hard labor. If that were the case, he wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

He has a considerable amount of savings, so he can still make a living.

But the house leaked and it rained all night.

Perhaps because he often spent lavishly, he unknowingly revealed his wealth.

One night, someone broke into the bedroom; fortunately, the robber still had a shred of humanity.

He handed over all his belongings and narrowly escaped with his life.

The money is gone, but the person is still alive.

He could only find food in streams and the wild every day. He was honest and timid, and was often bullied. He could barely make ends meet after a busy day. In just a few months, he aged twenty years.

"I really can't go on like this anymore. For the sake of our past friendship, you have to help me." Lin Gui pleaded, "I'll kowtow to you."

As he spoke, he made a gesture as if to kowtow.

"No, no!" Chen Li quickly helped Lin Gui up. He sighed as he recalled Lin Gui's once radiant and spirited appearance and his current humble state.

After thinking for a moment, he took out a money pouch from his sleeve, pulled out a handful of low-grade spirit stones (he didn't count them, but estimated there were about a dozen or twenty), and stuffed them into the man's hand.

"I don't have much money left, this is all I can do for you. Don't get robbed again."

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Chen, thank you, Fellow Daoist Chen." Lin Gui gripped the spirit stones tightly, his face filled with excitement.

After parting ways with Lin Gui, Chen Li couldn't help but look back one last time.

Lin Gui walked with faltering steps, his white hair flying everywhere, looking like a decrepit old man.

Perhaps he won't survive this winter!
Chen Li felt depressed.

I walked home step by step.

The shantytowns are becoming increasingly deserted.

The monster calamity is not over yet, but compared to the past, perhaps because more have died, the monsters rarely dare to rampage through the market anymore, but they still linger in the surrounding forests.

……

Another half month has passed.

After Chen Li gradually reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Refining, he encountered another obstacle after the third level of Qi Refining.

This time, his cultivation stagnated for a full ten days before the threshold finally began to loosen.

One afternoon.

In the quiet room

"boom!"

Chen Li shuddered, and the spiritual energy circulation within his body expanded once more, forming a complete microcosmic network.

He suppressed his excitement and slowly regulated his restless spiritual energy.

open one's eyes.

"It's done! I can finally call myself a cultivator in the late stage of Qi Refining." Chen Li said with a joyful expression.

Reaching the seventh level of Qi Refining, just stepping into the late stage of Qi Refining, is a rare achievement even in the entire Green River Village, with an estimated number of no more than fifty people.

He closed his eyes again, carefully experiencing the sensations of advancing to the next level.

The spiritual energy within his body was slowly circulating spontaneously.

He was full of energy, light in stature, and extremely clear-headed, as if even his thinking speed had increased significantly.

He opened his eyes and turned on the game panel.

Name: Chen Li

Life expectancy: 42/135 years

[Realm Level: Qi Refining Stage 7: 1/100]

[Technique: Longevity Technique Master: 701/1600]

【Skill:】

制符：清洁符精通：356/400；静音符精通：21/400；指路符精通：11/400；辟邪符熟练：185/200；避箭符熟练：35/200，轻身符熟练：8/200
法术：灵力弹指宗师：3200/3200;呵斥术大师：335/1600，牵引术专家：302/800；掌心雷专家：165/800，止血治疗术熟练：8/100
Swordsmanship: Basic Swordsmanship Master: 153/1600;
[Supernatural power: none]

"At the seventh level of Qi Refining, I can start practicing that Ice Refining Technique," Chen Li thought to himself.

He's having quite a headache with this more advanced kind of magic.

The more powerful, the slower to activate.

It starts quickly but has little power.

The Ice Spell, a first-tier, seventh-level spell, is obviously more complex to cast.

Moreover, practicing it is time-consuming and energy-intensive.

But you still have to learn it; having more skills means having more ways to protect yourself.

In case of a crisis, it might come in handy.

He turned off the game panel, stood up, and pushed open the door to the quiet room. Today, he was going to give himself a good vacation.

(End of this chapter)