Chapter 56: 053: The Scary Nature of People, Turning Stone into Gold (Free extra chapter)_1 Chapter 56: 053: The Scary Nature of People, Turning Stone into Gold (Free extra chapter)_1 All night, Chen Dengming did not cultivate, maintaining extreme vigilance instead.
Fortunately, the mad demonic spider beast, grieving over the loss of its hundreds of children and thousands of grandchildren, did not attack the Gu Refining Place nor the gathering area.
Instead, after venting for a while, it disappeared into the distant forest.
From deep within the forest emanated more similar roars.
Hearing these roars, Chen Dengming felt relieved.
After setting a fire, he had run away immediately, enjoying a moment of satisfaction and thrill without taking any significant risk.
Otherwise, he might have walked right into an ambush set by the demonic beasts.
...
Previously, he had boasted about being able to “clear the demon sea with a slash of the sword covering three thousand miles”.
But after the demonstration, he had wisely decided to remain low-key.
Currently, with limited power, he could only take what he could handle.
If a slash couldn’t cover three thousand miles, at least burning three thousand little spiders was achievable.
He silently returned to the valley with a peace of mind.
…
The next day, before dawn.
Chen Dengming forcefully suppressed his nausea as he drank the porridge made from Spirit Rice.
Seeing the plump grains of Spirit Rice swirling around in his bowl, he couldn’t help but recall the little spiders wriggling among the flesh and fat last night, causing him to feel nauseated.
However, he had to eat.
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Only by eating could he quickly recover his physical strength and Spiritual Energy.
At this moment, Jiang Qiang, who had not returned all night, crept back safely.
From his careful manner, it was obvious that he had seen the spectacle from the previous night.
When Jiang Qiang learned that it was Chen Dengming who had ignited the fire that drew out the demonic beasts, he was stunned and astounded.
After regaining his composure, he could only give a thumbs-up and exclaimed, “It had to be my Brother Chen!”
“And to think, I went out searching for you, thinking you’d been eaten by the beasts.”
Chen Dengming rolled his eyes, recounted the events from the previous day once again, and asked whether they could seek help from Luo Family Mountain City or Zhu Family Mountain City under these circumstances.
As expected, this proposition made Jiang Qiang laugh.
He chuckled so hard that he began to cry tears of bitter amusement.
Finally, he motioned for Chen Dengming to stop talking, calling him too naive.
The Cultivation World is very much concerned with pragmatism, benefits, and resources.
That’s not to say there aren’t any Immortal Dao Sects or Cultivation Families that uphold justice and virtue.
Such as the well-known Five Clouds Sect, World-entering Pavilion, Hundred Flowers Sect and the like.
However, these sects and subsidiary powers are not within the Southern Region’s jurisdiction.
For the Luo family and Zhu Family, the loose cultivators of the gathering area depend on them for survival.
For instance, they provide resource points that the households within their sphere of influence cannot handle due to lack of manpower, leaving them for the loose cultivators to manage.
Most of the resources and profits generated are handed over to them, leaving enough for the loose cultivators to be content.
The loose cultivators’ lives cannot be said to be entirely unrelated to the two big families.
It’s just that, before the situation becomes severely critical, the death of some cultivators and mortals won’t elicit any sympathy or intervention from the two major families.
Even if the two sides engage in conflict like this time, the loose cultivators will end up being the cannon fodder, while not a single person from the two Cultivation Families loses their lives.
Every year, many loose cultivators and mortals immigrate from poorer and more dangerous places.
With an influx of people, the resources of the gathering area are not enough to be distributed.
Every winter, a bunch of people dies, appeasing the beasts.
Once these beasts become a bit stronger, the two major families dispatch high-level cultivators to circle and wipe them out.
The precious materials from the beasts can be sold at a better price…
Isn’t this a good cycle, maintaining a balance?
Even if that money is tainted with countless lives…
At first, Chen Dengming was confused, but he quickly understood everything.
His heart felt more oppressed and disappointed with the indifference and ruthlessness of this world of cultivation.
“This world…
talking about beasts eating people is nothing compared to people eating people!”
He was more determined than ever to become stronger and live longer.
But he vowed not to abandon the bottom line and the emotions that a person should uphold in the pursuit of a long life and strength.
Otherwise, even if he becomes an immortal in the future, how is he any different from a completely emotionless four-dimensional life form?
After becoming stronger and living longer, he must still remain a person, full of flesh and blood, and emotions.
…
Chen Dengming felt much more at ease after Jiang Qiang returned.
He was informed by Jiang that peace had restored calm to the gathering place due to the ceasefire.
Even the Zhu Family had started to recall large numbers of loose cultivators, ordinary people, and various neutral forces such as the Business League that had left.
They aimed to restore the gathering place’s former activity.
Obviously, they needed to boost the gathering place’s economy and required manpower to quickly develop many resource points that had just been reclaimed.
Chen Dengming didn’t join the hustle and bustle, instead staying and practicing in the valley.
He sneered at the Zhu Family’s approach.
Before the fight, they drove everyone away, disregarding their life or death, even using them as cannon fodder.
After the fight, they announced it was for their safety, fearing that the innocent could be hurt in the battle.
Now that it’s safe, they can return.
Ironically, many ordinary people and loose cultivators had no choice but to acquiesce in this state of affairs.
Surviving in the wilderness was far more dangerous.
It was with heavy hearts that they had to accept their fate and return, which was indeed tragic.
…
In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.
It was late winter, and spring was just about to arrive.
The valley was still cold.
The thaws of the mountain springs, laden with floating ice, floated down from the mountain crevices.
Suddenly, a golden spiritual light flashed by.
The floating ice in the flowing mountain spring suddenly solidified, transforming directly into a metallic shine not unlike gold, before being washed away by currents and clanged on the spring path.
‘Crack’, ‘Crack’!
Chen Dengming walked over, crushing the floating ice underfoot, picked up this piece of ‘floating ice’ that was solidified into gold by the Gold Touch Skill.
He could sense the influx of the gold spiritual energy within it.
This was the unique combination of this spiritual energy and Daoism that turned ice into gold – a principle he still did not fully understand.
However, once the gold spiritual energy within it was depleted, the ice would return to its original state.
Chen Dengming nodded slightly and again performed the hand seals.
A moment later, he casually pointed at the rock in front of him.
“Solidify!”
In an instant, the rock took on a metallic shine with its color changing to gold.
It looked dazzlingly golden, indistinguishable from real gold, while filled with gold spiritual energy.
“The Gold Touch Skill is indeed interesting.
But after practicing for many days, it becomes clear that the energy consumed by this skill depends on the substance it is applied to.”
Chen Dengming slightly nodded, holding onto the piece of metallic ice as he absorbed the energy from it.
Soon, the gold spiritual energy within the metallic water was drained, and as the ice reverted back to being water, it trickled onto the ground.
He had been practicing the Three Elements Spirit Gathering Skill for a while now, and most of his time was being used to cultivate the 4th level of the Gold Touch Skill.
This skill was easy to learn but hard to master.
It consumed a lot of spiritual energy, especially when used against cultivators and would be subjected to their spiritual energy resistance.
But once successful, you could turn a person’s body or even their entire being into a golden statue, immobilizing them.
If it’s targeted at vital organs such as the heart or brain, it could even cause unconsciousness or death.
Now that he has acquired this skill, his lifespan limit has increased by five years, now reaching 282 years.
However, up to the present, all the Spirit Stones in his possession have been depleted.
The progress of practicing the Three Elements Spirit Gathering Skill has nearly reached a quarter.
It seems unrealistic to expect a breakthrough to the fifth tier of Qi Cultivation in a short period.
Chen Dengming had decided to leave the valley to look for opportunities and gather more resources for cultivation.
At this moment, Jiang Qiang, who had gone out to gather information, returned in haste.
His face was a mix of excitement and unease as he brought news that sent a jolt Chen Dengming’s heart.
“Brother Chen, Qian Yuan is dead.
They say he was killed by Xu Ning in alliance with Lin Hu.
His body is hanging outside the gathering place right now.
Xu Ning is so ruthless…
haha…
good riddance!
Qian Yuan, got what he deserved!”
…
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