Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

Turned out that Guiyuan Gate and Five Peaks Mountain, which had divvied up Cloud Sun Old Land, had been making frequent moves against the loose cultivator village-fortresses in their governing areas.

The two sects demanded these village-fortresses to submit grain and pay taxes, and they also forcibly conscripted a large number of loose cultivators to labor in the mines and hunting grounds.

When the Cloud Sun Sect was in charge, they mostly adopted a laissez-faire approach to the village-fortresses in the Outer Domain, at most taking advantage of the sect\'s resource superiority to reap benefits from the loose cultivators.

Although the days of loose cultivators could not compare to sect disciples, their survival was not a problem.

During times of poor harvests in the Spirit Fields, the Cloud Sun Sect would even call for food supplies from Great Qian, providing them to the market at relatively low prices so that loose cultivators could have enough to eat.

Now with Guiyuan Gate and Five Peaks Mountain in charge, their methods were far crueler than those of the Cloud Sun Sect.

Some village-fortresses could not endure the exploitation and thus rose in rebellion.

The result was harsh suppression!

Under such circumstances, many loose cultivators fled their village-fortresses with their families.

They came to Dongwu Stockade seeking refuge.

Everyone thought that since the City Lord of Dongwu Stockade was a Purple Mansion Superior, the two sects would show some respect, at least to a certain extent.

Additionally, the surging grain prices also created a large number of refugees, all running to Dongwu Stockade to survive.

Together with other reasons, Dongwu Stockade was bursting at the seams!

The most fatal issue was that Xin Han had been in seclusion the entire time, leaving all the power in the hands of his consort and the Golden Snake Gentleman.

And the two of them had flung open the gates of convenience, imposing no restrictions on incoming cultivators.

The current chaos in Dongwu Stockade is largely attributable to this brother-sister duo!

"Taoist Friend Wang, you must be careful,"

Chen Qi said in a hushed voice, "That Golden Snake Gentleman has sent people looking for you several times; they won\'t let things go easily."

"I\'ve heard that many cultivators were conscripted into the City Lord\'s Mansion, and then they never reappeared!"

In the eyes of many cultivators, the City Lord\'s Mansion was almost becoming an extremely dangerous place, and those who were conscripted were like harbingers of doom!

He said with a bitter smile, "If I really had any other place to go, I\'d have left already."

That\'s the plight of a loose cultivator.

It\'s not easy to survive in the Outer Domain, and village-fortresses are their refuge; unless absolutely necessary, no one wishes to leave lightly.

For Chen Qi, who had a family to take care of, taking such a risk was even less thinkable.

And moving to a different place didn\'t necessarily mean better living conditions—in fact, it could be even worse!

"Hmm."

Wang Chen nodded to show he understood.

In Dongwu Stockade with its thousands of cultivators, the only one he truly feared was the City Lord Xin Han.

As for some Hehuan Sect female cultivator or Golden Snake Gentleman, Wang Chen didn\'t take them to heart.

With his current strength, he was unmatched below the Purple Mansion!

For Wang Chen, the most pressing matter was to cultivate to Qi Cultivation Perfection, in preparation for advancing to the Purple Mansion.

Next was to gather the resources needed for the breakthrough.

And once he advanced to the Purple Mansion, Dongwu Stockade couldn\'t hold him anymore!

"Taoist Friend Wang..."

Chen Qi, now clearly tipsy, suddenly shifted the topic, "I see you\'ve always been alone without anyone to take care of you, maybe you should find a cultivator partner or a servant woman."

"Lady Chen, you should introduce someone to Taoist Friend Wang!"

However, he got a slap on the head from Lady Chen sitting beside him, "You\'ve had too much to drink!"

Lady Chen was much shrewder than Chen Qi; she had long realized that Wang Chen was focused on cultivation and indifferent to romance, exceptionally different from those loose cultivators who merely live day to day seeking temporary pleasure.

Such a person hardly needed her to introduce a partner!

Wang Chen, somewhat amused and embarrassed, said, "Thanks for the thought, Brother Chen. I appreciate it. Come on, let\'s have another drink."

This year-end feast, although the food and drinks were quite ordinary, Wang Chen still enjoyed it immensely.

At least he was not spending it alone.

The Spring Festival quietly passed, and in the following days, Wang Chen stayed mostly at home, only occasionally going to the market to exchange goods, but barely ever leaving his house.

He fervently and diligently practiced in his underground secret chamber.

The experience of the Five Elements Skill grew daily, and he was very close to achieving perfection.

However, the new year did not bring stability and peace to Dongwu Stockade; things got even more chaotic.

This stockade, originally accommodating only ten thousand Loose Cultivators, now had at least thirty to forty thousand permanent and temporary residents combined.

With so many people to feed and take care of their needs, coupled with the extremely tense supply of food, it would have been a true oddity if no issues had arisen!

Wang Chen rarely went out, partly because \'out of sight, out of mind.\'

However, things in the world hardly ever go as people wish.

Bang!

Before the first month was even half over, Wang Chen\'s newly replaced courtyard door was once again smashed open, the door panels shattering into flying splinters!

"Wang Xiu!"

A group of fiendish-looking Cultivators burst in, launching a search without further ado.

It was lunchtime, and Wang Chen was not in his secret chamber cultivating, so he immediately went out upon hearing the noise.

"Ha!"

The Cultivator leading the group sneered upon seeing Wang Chen, "Wang Xiu, you\'ve been conscripted by the City Lord\'s Mansion. Come with us!"

As he spoke, he reached out to grab Wang Chen.

His fingers clenched into a claw, filled with innate power, using a technique from the Bone-Splitting Claw Hand but augmented with the might of a spell.

Despite speaking of conscription, his action was no different from grabbing a pig or a sheep!

It carried a heavy sense of insult.

Wang Chen\'s face was as still as water, he neither dodged nor avoided, and suddenly punched towards the claw reaching for him.

Crack! .net

With this punch, Wang Chen concentrated ninety percent of his strength; the Vajra Fist at Great Perfection level was incredibly powerful and the moment fist met claw, the attacker\'s fingers, palm, and wrist instantly exploded into a mist of blood and flesh!

Wang Chen\'s punch strength surged, bypassing the completely destroyed arm of his opponent, and struck the opponent\'s chest.

Snap!

It was executed with utmost crispness.

The seventh layer Qi Cultivation Cultivator didn\'t even have the time to scream before Wang Chen\'s fist struck his chest.

With the formidable punch that Wang Chen had long been preparing, the opponent was unprepared, and his body flew backward like a kite with a broken string for more than ten meters.

He lay on the ground, having already lost his life.

This incident struck terror into the other Loose Cultivators present.

They followed their leader to coerce Wang Chen, primarily hoping to gain some benefits.

Never had they imagined they\'d provoke a great white shark while fishing for small fry!

Several Loose Cultivators turned to run.

But as they took their first steps, a fierce sword radiance chased after them, mercilessly severing their heads!

In just a few breaths, a group of Loose Cultivators who could be considered elites were wiped out clean by Wang Chen.

One of them died on the threshold, his upper half outside, the lower half missing, in a tragically gruesome state.

Wang Chen used the Object-Controlling Technique to pull the corpses together, stripping them of their belongings including the Storage Bags.

Finally, with one burn and one dispatch, two Rebirth Talismans and four Evil-Repelling Talismans did the job!

After burning them, Wang Chen reviewed the spoils, finding he had made a moderately significant windfall!

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The second update is here.