Chapter 38: The Child of the Poor Takes Charge Early
Chapter 38: The Child of the Poor Takes Charge Early
When Li Si and Xu Shen returned to the stone house, the wooden door that had been previously blocked by Ji Chang was now open.
Ji Chang’s expression was complicated, but he only glanced at Xu Shen for a moment longer before closing his eyes to rest. As for Li Si, he was completely ignored.
Jiang Ying also looked at Xu Shen and Li Si with a complex expression, and Li Si continued to be overlooked…
Even Shanwazi and a few younger children gazed at Xu Shen with admiration. It was as if, in the blink of an eye, Xu Shen had become the core and backbone of the Floating Cloud Sect.
“Senior Brother Xu, this is the Myriad Spirits Pill that Master gave you. Additionally, from now on, the internal and external affairs of the Floating Cloud Sect will be handled by you, Senior Brother Xu.”
Jiang Ying’s words were truly shocking. Li Si couldn’t help but glance at the motionless Old Madam with surprise. To be honest, looking at her now, she really did seem like a clay statue.
But why would the Old Madam trust Xu Shen so readily? Wasn’t she afraid that Xu Shen would just divide the belongings and leave?
For a moment, Li Si’s already lowered guard against the Old Madam had to be raised high again!
This precise control of the situation was as intricate as a large spider…
In short, the Old Madam was not human!
At that moment, Xu Shen was only surprised for an instant. He showed no pride or joy. He simply knelt before the Old Madam and solemnly kowtowed three times, like a lost child returning home in repentance.
Then he stood up, took the Myriad Spirits Pill, and swallowed it on the spot.
Instantly, rich spiritual energy erupted within his body. Spiritual aura swirled around him within a three-meter radius.
Since Li Si had crossed over, he had never seen what spiritual energy was. Today, he finally witnessed it.
In just a few seconds, Xu Shen’s half-gray hair visibly turned black again. His entire demeanor and aura were changing. After a short while, he seemed like a completely different person.
Unfathomable!
When Xu Shen’s energy settled again, he suddenly opened his eyes, and a flash of lightning seemed to streak across—it was not a mistaken sight.
“Congratulations, Senior Brother Xu, on returning to the Foundation Establishment Realm.”
Jiang Ying spoke. By now, she had clearly composed herself. Although she still had doubts about Xu Shen’s ability to take on such a heavy responsibility, faithfully carrying out the Old Madam’s orders was her greatest trait.
As for Ji Chang, he didn’t even lift his head. His jealous expression showed that he was struggling to suppress his feelings.
Li Si, however, felt even more envious—his envy was plain to see.
Damn, what kind of pill was this Myriad Spirits Pill? One pill had completely restored Xu Shen’s cultivation?
What a treasure of an Old Madam.
“Junior Sister Jiang, the situation is critical now. Please prepare three cauldrons of Great Soul-Returning Broth and one cauldron of Hundred Herb Soul-Restoring Decoction so that everyone can quickly recover their Magic Power.”
At this point, Xu Shen did not exchange pleasantries with Jiang Ying and directly gave the order.
“Hundred Herb Soul-Restoring Decoction?”
Jiang Ying was stunned. Brewing this kind of decoction required Mushroom Remnant Husks.
But Xu Shen stretched out his hand toward Li Si. The latter gritted his teeth and could only take out the three portions of Dark Mushroom Remnant Husks he had secretly taken earlier. Ah, it would be hard to get by from now on. This Xu Shen was shrewd to an unbelievable degree.
However, even after handing over the three portions of Dark Mushroom Remnant Husks, Xu Shen still did not let him off.
“Junior Brother, what about that Mist Demon hide?”
“Don’t hide it. You don’t know how to refine it anyway. Give it to me. This piece of Mist Demon hide is definitely top quality. Now that I’ve recovered my Foundation Building cultivation, I can refine some magical artifacts.”
“The Mist Demon can freely come and go in the Dark Mist, which shows its innate characteristics. Crafting a Black Fog Cloak from Mist Demon hide will not only allow one to ignore the effects of the Dark Mist but also grant invisibility at night. Of course, if you don’t want such a Black Fog Cloak, I won’t say anything more. After all, it is your spoils of war.”
After Xu Shen finished speaking, Li Si immediately put on a smile and respectfully presented the Mist Demon hide he had previously hidden—well, he really had just taken it casually.
It really was a good item. It looked large enough to wrap the entire stone house, but when held in hand, it was only a small bundle with almost no weight.
“Junior Brother, do you still have any Magic Power left? If so, I’d like you to patrol around the village. We have no protective Formation Array now, so this is our most vulnerable time.”
Xu Shen spoke again.
“Alright!” Li Si nodded in agreement without any argument. Arguing would be useless anyway. Ever since he had saved Xu Shen, his strength had been basically exposed.
Moreover, the Floating Cloud Sect was now in a state of disarray. To break free from the Evil God’s siege and seek a chance of survival, everyone had to work hard.
In the past, with Ji Chang and Xu Shen as two major burdens—like pig teammates—even if Jiang Ying wanted to do something, it was difficult.
Now that Xu Shen had overcome his Inner Demon, breaking through and standing firm, taking the initiative to shoulder responsibility was a good thing. As long as everyone worked together, the future would surely get better.
How could Li Si possibly ruin this hard-won situation?
After all, where else could he go besides the Floating Cloud Sect? The entire world was covered by the Evil God’s power. Wherever there were living people, they had all become fanatical believers of the Evil God.
As Cultivators, who were like rats scurrying across the street, not sticking together meant certain death.
As for turning to worship the Evil God, he would rather be killed.
Thinking this way, Li Si left the deserted village. Since his strength was already partially exposed, there was no need to hide it as before. He boldly walked about a mile outside the deserted village and patrolled in wide circles within this range. At the same time, he released the Wish-Fulfilling Pearl to scout the broader peripheral area.
Occasionally, he looked back and saw a wisp of smoke rising above the stone house. He felt inexplicably at ease. Indeed, having one less pig teammate felt wonderful.
After an hour, Li Si thoroughly searched the area around the deserted village and found the place where the Golden Core Devil had likely been hiding. Thinking about it now, he still felt a lingering fear. Fortunately, he hadn’t ventured too far during those days. Otherwise, if that Golden Core Devil had targeted him, he might not have been able to kill it. In the wild, without the buffer of the Five Tribulations of Lightning Method Array, he probably wouldn’t have been able to strike first.
After finishing the patrol and finding nothing unusual, Li Si stopped at a hillock in the southeast corner of the deserted village. This was a good spot, offering an unobstructed view of the deserted village and the large river to the southwest.
“If we develop in the future, we could build a watchtower here. Basically, any attacks from Evil God Cultists from the southeast or southwest directions could be detected in advance.”
Li Si thought seriously to himself. This was something he had been considering ever since he learned about suppressing Fate.
Today, he also learned from Xu Shen that the builders of this deserted village were none other than themselves.
Over fifty years ago, the Old Madam led the disciples of the Floating Cloud Sect to flee here. At that time, there were thirty-seven of them. They leveled the ground, prepared the foundations, built houses, and even cleared two fields, all for the purpose of establishing a village.
Because even a small village could be used to suppress a small amount of Fate.
However, the Evil God’s power followed them like a shadow, and various Bizarre Evil Entities emerged one after another. In just over fifty years, the once hopeful and lively village turned into the current deserted village. The disciples of the Floating Cloud Sect died one after another.
By the time Li Si crossed over, only ten people, young and old, remained.
Needless to say, Li Si’s previous body, Gouwazi, the deceased Zhuwazi, and the current Shanwazi, Little Girl, Little Bean, and Little Vegetable Root were all descendants of the original Floating Cloud Sect disciples…
It was truly tragic.
“But the path of suppressing Fate is the only effective and correct one, even if it will be an exceptionally brutal war.”
“Fifty years ago, the Old Madam and the others hoped to establish a village, gradually absorb population, and expand into a town to suppress more Fate. They failed because the cost was too high and their preparations were insufficient.”
“So I must follow this path as well: build a village, expand, absorb population. But before that, my preparations must be sufficient.”
“Right now, the Old Madam has probably placed all her hopes on Xu Shen, even taking out the Myriad Spirits Pill. But even if Xu Shen has slain his Inner Demon, tempered his will like steel, and become impervious to all evil, he still cannot completely avoid all Alienation Contamination. The more he does, the more Alienation Contamination will accumulate. One day, it will overwhelm him, and then it will be just another miserable cycle.”
“So if I want to act, I must step out of this cycle in advance. Either I don’t act at all, or when I do, I aim for the vitals.”
“At this stage, with Xu Shen here, I don’t need to be too radical. I can maintain daily cultivation while accumulating Fate Fuel through various methods. The more Fate Fuel I have, the more chips I will have in the future.”
Thinking of this, Li Si counted his assets again. Indeed, his foundation was still insufficient.
So far, he had only accumulated 20 portions of White Fate Firewood, 282 portions of Black Fate Fuel, and 56,000 portions of Gray Fate Fuel. It was a bit meager…
Additionally, he had the Dao Techniques [Palm Thunder] and [Thunder-Summoning Curse] that he hadn’t mastered yet, as well as the [Devil Soldier Command] seized from the Evil God Cultists. With just one portion of Black Fortune, it could be purified into the Dao Technique [Lord of Hundred Weapons].
His Alienation Contamination Degree had always been controlled at around 15%.
His Bloodline and Bone Evolution Progress had reached 31%.
His cultivation progress in the second layer of the [Heaven-Turning Scripture] was 23%, with a Magic Power upper limit of 2400 points.
The advanced Dao Techniques he had mastered so far included [Heart Cleansing Curse], [Evil-Warding Curse], [Demon Slaying Thorn], [Iron Prison Discipline], [Calamity-Dispelling Curse], [Artifact-Control Incantation], [Devil-Sealing Curse], and [Spirit Gathering Spell].
The Divine Ability he had comprehended but couldn’t master due to his realm was [Heart Cleansing Curse].
He had perfectly mastered the [True Guide to Talisman Drawing] and was a master-level talisman artist.
He currently possessed the high-grade magical artifact Wish-Fulfilling Pearl and the Cosmic Bag.
He also had the special treasure Golden Core Relic.
He really was a bit poor.