Cautiously Cultivating Immortality in a Strange World

Chapter 22: Human Life is Like Grass

“Alchemy isn’t an easy thing to do, or else alchemy masters wouldn’t be so rare. It’s hard to imagine that someone who can’t even use a spiritual treasures furnace can refine a grade-level pill!”

The Water Moon Pavilion woman shook her head.

Yu Yuehai smiled calmly.

“This world’s affairs can’t be judged by conventional reasoning. Take Kaiyuan City, for example. Who would have thought that this place would be targeted by monsters? Moreover, it can control the thoughts of all cultivators in the city and secretly absorb their blood, flesh, and souls. Who would have thought that you and I, core disciples of the Black Demon Sect, would be trapped here for so many years? I’m sure the sect thinks that we’ve already fallen.”

The woman sighed, feeling a mix of emotions.

She let out a sigh and said, “We’re lucky that you discovered the anomaly, or else we would have ended up like the other cultivators in the city, ignorant and waiting for death.”

As she spoke, she looked at Yu Yuehai with a hint of apology and said, “If it weren’t for you forcing yourself to suppress my bodily changes, you wouldn’t have ended up like this.”

Yu Yuehai stretched out his hand and pulled the woman into his embrace. “What’s the point of talking about this? As long as we can get the Blood Demon Pill and break through the Foundation Establishment, we can cut off the red thread and leave this place. Even if we lose half our lifespan, we can still live for twenty or thirty years. That’s not bad, considering we can survive this long in the Foundation Establishment stage. And who knows, this might be a kind of opportunity. Besides, I’ve said it before – I’m willing to do anything for you.”

After speaking, he stroked the woman’s long hair and kissed her forehead.

The woman’s eyes were filled with tenderness, and she leaned in closer.

Chen Lin didn’t know what was happening outside. He had tried experimenting with the alchemy furnace three times before finally understanding how to use it.

It wasn’t anything mysterious. He just had to use his own spiritual power to activate the array on the furnace, making it operate, and controlling the temperature through the output of his spiritual energy.

At this point, he discovered that his mid-stage Qi Refining spiritual energy wasn’t enough to complete a full alchemy process.

The furnace consumed a lot of spiritual energy.

Even if he didn’t collapse halfway due to operational errors, he would still experience spiritual energy exhaustion.

After this discovery, he immediately stopped refining and packed up his things before leaving.

At this moment, the Water Moon Pavilion woman had already returned to her room, leaving only Yu Yuehai standing at the door with a deep expression.

Chen Lin walked over, and said, “Daoist Yu, my spiritual energy is too weak, and I can’t support a full pill refinement. I’m afraid I’ll need some Qi Restoring Pills.”

Yu Yuehai coldly laughed and directly threw out a porcelain bottle.

Chen Lin caught it, opened it, and found it filled with Qi Restoring Pills. He nodded in satisfaction, put the bottle away, and turned to leave.

He did this not only to gain some benefits but also to avoid being discovered.

If he were discovered to be unable to complete a full refinement, yet still managed to refine a high-grade pill, it would be easy to guess the problem.

And from the previous conversation, it seemed that the other party believed he could refine Initial Yuan Pills and Enlightenment Pills due to good luck.

Since the other party thought so, he would maintain this facade.

Just as Chen Lin was about to enter his room, a cold voice sounded from behind him.

“Daoist Chen, my time is limited. I advise you not to delay. If you still can’t refine a pill after three days, humph!”

Chen Lin’s footsteps halted, and then he walked into his room.

At this moment, the window of the opposite room was pushed open, and the yellow-faced female cultivator’s head poked out.

She looked at Chen Lin, then at Yu Yuehai, and shouted, “What pill? Who got the pill? Can you sell some to me? I’ll do anything to serve you!”

After shouting, she fixed her gaze on Yu Yuehai, she then laughed and said, “Old Yu, did you get the pill? Come to my room, and I’ll help you appraise it, haha…”

“Get out!”

Before she could finish laughing, Yu Yuehai coldly shouted, and a dark arrow shot out, piercing her forehead.

The arrow then flew back, leaving a peach-sized blood hole in her forehead.

Chen Lin sensed the spiritual energy fluctuations and turned around just in time to see the arrow pierce the female cultivator’s forehead, causing him to let out a shocked cry.

His back felt cold, and a surge of anger rushed to his head.

The emotions that had been suppressed for a long time finally burst out at this moment.

He walked out of the door with a gloomy expression and asked in an extremely suppressed voice,  “Why did you kill her? Why? She wouldn’t have affected you!”

Yu Yuehai looked at Chen Lin with a gaze filled with killing intent, and sneered, “Do I need a reason to kill? If you can’t produce the Blood Demon Pill in three days, your fate will be the same as hers.”

After speaking, he turned around and went back into his room.

Chen Lin’s cold gaze lingered on the door for a long time before he silently turned around and walked to the female cultivator’s window.

He stretched out his hand, closed her eyes, which still held a look of shock, and pulled down her sleeve to cover the blood hole on her forehead.

Then, he used his strength to pull the corpse out of the window and carried it on his back, slowly walking out of the courtyard.

Yu Yuehai’s actions were clearly meant to vent his anger, taking out his frustration on the female cultivator.

Although Chen Lin didn’t have much affection for the female cultivator, who had been his neighbor for many years, he couldn’t bear to see this scene.

However, he was too weak and couldn’t do anything, so he could only bury her outside the city.

As for reporting to the authorities?

This city didn’t have any authorities. The scattered cultivators in the slums weren’t protected by the five major families and were only exploited.

A Qi Refining initial-stage cultivator without a backing would die without causing a ripple.

Of course, Chen Lin was also trying to test the waters, seeing if he could use this as an excuse to leave the courtyard.

As long as he could leave the courtyard, he could make other choices.

For example, he could agree to Zhang Mazi’s offer and become their guest elder. If he showed off his Initial Yuan Pill refining skills, they would likely be very happy to have him join.

If all else failed, he could even consider marrying their widowed elder sister. It was better than waiting for death in this place.

With the Zhang family’s power, they could easily deal with a Qi Refining cultivator who hadn’t yet achieved Foundation Establishment. Even if the opponent was a peak Qi Refining cultivator, they wouldn’t be able to resist the pressure of an old, established family.

But if he refined the Blood Demon Pill, and the opponent used it to become a Foundation Establishment cultivator, no one in Kaiyuan City could stop them.

Even if someone tried, they wouldn’t risk their life to fight a Foundation Establishment cultivator for his sake.

Chen Lin walked slowly, sensing Yu Yuehai’s room as he walked.

One step.

Two steps.

He carried the corpse all the way to the courtyard gate, but Yu Yuehai didn’t come out.

As soon as his eyes moved, he opened the door and was about to go out.

Just then, a sudden, urgent breaking-air sound came from behind him, followed by a dark arrow that floated in front of his face.