Dao

Chapter 52 Travelling Together
“Childe, this is an independent two-story building with a yard. What’s more, it enjoys a lovely view and a quiet environment. What do you think?”

Nodding his head to show his satisfaction, Shiao Chen then sent the waiter away and walked into the building by pushing the door.

Stepping into the building, Shiao Chen was greeted with a set of furniture with antique beauty and several thriving potted plants at corners of the hall. The plants were either exotic or rare, but the sight of them made one feel good.

Just in case, Shiao Chen carefully scanned the building with his divine sense and found nothing abnormal. He then took a talisman out from his storage bag and threw it to the floor with force. A faint light flashed and the talisman disappeared.

After all needed was done, Shiao Chen finally wound down and nodded his head. With a little bit excitement, Shiao Chen felt it was time to count what he had gained. He then took his storage bag off, put it upside down, and shook it. With a clatter of belongings, plenty of spirit stones, spirit tools, pills, and jade slips were scattered everywhere. Seeing what he had gained, Shiao Chen was a little bit complacent since rare people at Gold Core could earn a fortune like this.

Take spirit tools for example, they were most valuable among all those things. Even a lowest grade spirit tool was worth hundreds of spirit stones, not to mention that a middle grade one could cost thousands of spirit stones and was often difficult to be purchased even with a high price. Shiao Chen counted his belongings carefully and found that until now he had gained a dozen of storage bags, among which four were even from cultivators at Gold Core. What was more, he also had more than ten spirit tools, among which three were at top grade. With a happy mood, Shiao Chen put other spirit tools away and left the three top-grade ones behind, planning to personalize one of them as his tool.

The first one was a silk ribbon designed for women. According to Shiao Chen’s experiment, its size could change at its controller’s will and it could effectively wrap the spirit tool of the enemy. Though it was a powerful weapon, apparently, it was not suitable for a man. The second one was a broadsword with a blood red body, at the sight of the flash of which, one seemed to hear screams and shouts from tortured souls. It was definitely a powerful weapon for a ghost cultivator. However, Shiao Chen pondered slightly and gave it up. He was a spirit cultivator and would be in big trouble if he was found using a weapon for ghost cultivators in the future.

Shaking his head, Shiao Chen put the sword down and looked at the last one.

It was an unobtrusive ring in black. Shiao Chen’s eyes twinkled with delight after his experiment. The spirit, once entered the tool, could be automatically turned into a fierce sense of sword with great power. Shiao Chen couldn’t help but wonder what if a sense of sword exploded after his punch on his enemy. He wore it immediately with a smile since it was just an excellent tool to play dumb.

Shiao Chen was satisfied with what he got though no suitable attack weapons were found. The ring gained from Black Ghost was at top high grade with a power no less than that of low top-grade ones. Thus, he was not going to personalize another spirit tool. Collecting the two tools left, Shiao Chen then cast his eyes on the spirit stones. Based on a rough calculation by the stone’s grade, low grade spirit stones amounted to about 180, 000 and middle grade ones more than one thousand. Plus, there were two self-use top grade spirit stones for the puppet. After checking the spirit stones he got, Shiao Chen took out a big special storage bag to pack them up.

As for talismans, Shiao Chen got plenty of them. He searched among those scattered on the ground, picked up a dozen of high-grade ones, and packed them carefully. In terms of the rest low-grade ones, he just stuffed them in a storage bag.

“En, what’s this?” An old yellow talisman with a vivid little sword in just few strokes came to Shiao Chen’s eyes.

“It looks familiar to me. I seem to have seen it before.” Shiao Chen frowned. Suddenly, a thought came to him and he took a jade box out from a storage bag. He opened the box and saw a similar talisman in it.

The talisman was gained after he killed the man in dark outside the Small-cliff Market. It was a talisman with a simple flying needle on it. Though it was not exactly the same as the one catching his eyes, they did have a lot in common. They were with hidden spirits, simple strokes, antique colors, and not conspicuous at all.

Shiao Chen had a feeling that the two talismans were not as simple as they seemed to be. He then kept both of them safely in the jade box.

With regard to the pills, Shiao Chen kept those few for Gold Core safely and the remaining vast majority casually in a storage bag.

Concerning the jade slips, more than twenty of them were found. Shiao Chen had indeed identified good cultivation methods after a quick review. He then collected them carefully in a jade box and put the box in a storage bag.

After all these were done, Shiao Chen felt a little bit tired even his cultivation was comparable to those at the beginning of Foundation Establishment. He swallowed several pills and sat with legs crossed to absorb the efficacy and recover.

Suddenly, a faint spirit fluctuation occurred. After detecting the change, Shiao Chen immediately released his divine sense to scan areas nearby. His divine sense could extend for about one hundred kilometers. He was now at level fifteen of Qi Refining with a divine sense stronger than average. Moreover, with the help of the gold seal, his divine sense was quintupled, equaling to almost that of a cultivator at the beginning of Foundation Establishment. He was sure that his divine sense wouldn’t be perceived.

Identifying the source of the spirit fluctuation, Shiao Chen frowned and was then indulged in thoughts, “It is them. Could it be my false judgment that they are actually cultivators?”

After a second thought, Shiao Chen shook his head to temporarily let the doubt go. He would be back to his Sect tomorrow and such a little incident wouldn’t exert great influence on him even if there were something wrong. Thinking of this, Shiao Chen again took several pills in and continued his cultivation. Even though he might not get enough strength to get through to the next level, at least he could refine his spirits.

It was not until the next day before dawn that Shiao Chen slowly opened his eyes. A faint light flashed across his face and then disappeared. His eyes became darker and were just like bottomless calm waters.

Shiao Chen stood up and walked out of the room. Though spirits in the mortal world were rare, he felt calm and peaceful seeing everything came back to life with the sun rise and vitality arose in tranquility.

It had been a year since he embarked on the cultivation road. He was no longer the carefree teenager in the village. The past year had totally transformed him. He was now a cultivator, treading a long unknown path to immortals, trying to figure out natural laws of the world.

At this moment, there came a squeak from a distance. Shiao Chen came to himself all of a sudden and again resumed his poker face.

Seeing the figure under the bamboo grove, Li Xiaoyi was surprised and then said with a smile, “Pal, you seem to have a good mood. You are such a tasteful person to get up early to enjoy the beauty of morning dew.” Li Xiaoyi wagged his head along with his words, looking like a nerd.

Though willing to reply his words, Shiao Chen remained composed and said with a smile, “Good morning, friend.” This person seemed to have performed an excellent cultivation method to hide his spirit flows, but still, Shiao Chen felt faint spirit flows on him. He was inevitably a cultivator. However, if he was reluctant to show his cultivation, Shiao Chen would naturally play dumb accordingly.

The person impressed Shiao Chen favorably. Shiao Chen didn’t feel him as a threat.

“I’m Li Xiaoyi, seventeen years old. I come from Beihua State.” Squinting his eyes, Li Xiaoyi said with a giggle.

“Shiao Chen.” Shiao Chen glanced at him and told him his real name after a slight hesitation.

“Haha, I feel like we’re old friends at first sight. How about having breakfast and a free talk together?” Though Shiao Chen just told him his name, Li Xiaoyi was not annoyed at all and offered his hospitable invitation.

After a slight hesitation, Shiao Chen nodded with a smile, “Ok.”

Li Xiaoyi was thrilled on hearing the reply and headed to the restaurant in the front yard together with Shiao Chen.

“Where will brother head to? I’m just roaming around. How about we two travelling together in the next following days?” After figuring out Shiao Chen’s age during breakfast, Li Xiaoyi then called him brother again and again with great enthusiasm.

Shiao Chen tried to reject the proposal for several times but failed. He had no choice but to accept it. They were on intimate terms with each other. It would never come to others’ mind that they just met yesterday.

“Hehe, I’m heading to Peng City. It’s a long journey. I’m afraid you can’t bear such a long weary journey. You’d better stay and enjoy your happy days here.” Avoiding direct eye contact, Shiao Chen randomly said a place with a smile.

“I’ve heard of Peng City. Ok, I’ll go with brother and see what Peng City have.” Li Xiaoyi giggled and promised to go with Shiao Chen.

On hearing his reply, Shiao Chen just smiled without showing any objection.

Outside the city.

“Hello, everyone. The places nearby are not safe places. Numbers of brigands and mounted gangsters are frequent visitors of the area. They kill and rob. Since we are here together seeking for safety, we’d better take care of each other. Once we’re encountered with troubles, please don’t act like cowards. Ok, it’s getting late. Let’s go.”

The old leading the queue seemed to be respected by others. The merchants and passers-by all nodded at his decision. The old was happy to see that everyone in the queue reached a consensus. The gangsters used to rob a single trade caravan or passer-by. Now in the queue there were five trade caravans and almost three hundred passers-by. The brigands wouldn’t dare to rob them then.

The old waved his hand and mounted the horse. They set off in a queue like a long snake.

“Brother, I saw the people we met yesterday in the queue. I’m afraid they bear grudges in their hearts.” Li Xiaoyi pouted his lips as a signal. Following his instruction, Shiao Chen indeed saw the old he met yesterday. The old was in another caravan with several youngsters standing behind him. And the Wang Ziyang now stared back resentfully.

Shaking his head, Shiao Chen was reluctant to think over the issue though he doubted their identities, “Let’s go. There’s no need to take him seriously.”

Li Xiaoyi nodded with a giggle and headed to their caravan together with Shiao Chen.

Half a day later.

Shiao Chen was in a carriage, talking freely with Li Xiaoyi who sat in the opposite. There were two other people in the carriage. One was a servant of the trade caravan and another was a passer-by.

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Chapter 53 Breakthrough of Divine Sense
“I assume you two childes are on your first long journey since you haven’t prepared dried food. There are still several kilometers before we reach the next town. It would be excellent if we can reach the next town before nightfall. All these means that you will starve for a whole day, which I’m afraid your childes’ noble body may not be able to bear,” said the servant of the trade caravan, Fortune (name of the caravan).

Shiao Chen was in a daze when hearing the words since one was able to fast for almost half a month at the cultivation level like his and if one reached Foundation Establishment, he could live without food. Shiao Chen then said with smile, “Little brother, we two were too devoted in our conversation in the morning that we forgot to prepare any dry provisions. What shall we do now?”

“Alas, I was just reminded of this. It seems that we are going to starve.” Li Xiaoyi shook his head in a row with a sad face.

Another man in the carriage was a timid middle-aged plain dealer. He smiled on hearing their words, “You two childes can eat mine if you don’t mind. I bring with me several servings. They are made by my wife, not so delicate.” The servant rolled his eyes on hearing the words and thought the middle-aged was an idiot. He had noticed for long that the two came here empty handed. What was more, they were in good clothes and with great insights. He was meant to deal with them by mentioning this thing. He brought several servings too. The dry provisions cost him just several Qians (1). However, if the food were sold to the two, the prices would be much higher and he could earn the price difference. Now, his plan was destroyed by the middle-aged. He didn’t feel good and said with a cold smile, “The two childes were with noble birth. They feast every day. You’d better put your food away as soon as possible. Offering them pancakes which are made of coarse grains is just making a fool of yourself.”

Finishing his words, he turned around, managed a flattering smile, and took a hamper out from somewhere, “Two childes, here are six dishes with chicken, duck, and fish included. They are still warm. How about trying them?”

The middle-aged blushed with shame. He tried to say something by opening his mouth. However, words failed him.

Shiao Chen glanced at the servant, ignoring his words.

Nevertheless, Li Xiaoyi got annoyed by the words though was with a calm face. He then said in a cold voice, “To your disappointment, the pancakes are just what we need. As for your hamper, we don’t like it at all and you can sell it to anyone who wants it.”

The servant’s face turned pale suddenly but dared not to retort considering the two were from rich families. He stayed for a while and then got off stealthily to promote his hamper in another carriage.

“Big brother, we’d like to buy your pancakes with slivers. What do you think?” Li Xiaoyi asked the middle-aged with a gentle smile.

“You don’t have to pay. These are homemade and worthless.” He was grateful and waved his hands continuously.

“Just take the silvers. We are not spongers.” Seeming to be touched, Shiao Chen said with a smile.

“Brother is right. We’re not freeloaders.” Li Xiaoyi took an ingot of silver and threw it to the middle-aged, regardless of the fact that the price he offered could buy a carriage of the pancakes.

The middle-aged was so excited that his lips trembled. He carefully put the sliver away in his underclothes and rushed to open the baggage on his back. With only a couple of pancakes left, he pushed all the rest to their front. In addition, he also offered some homemade drinks which were of unique flavor.

Shiao Chen took a sip and bit the pancake. The mixed flavor was very special.

“Little brother, try this! The drink is good.”

“En…” On hearing the words, Li Xiaoyi was startled, flushed, and hesitated.

“Well, it seems that my little brother is reluctant to drink with me.” Shiao Chen pretended to knit his brows.

“No! Just a misunderstanding! I seldom drink. I’m afraid brother would tease me for I might misbehave after I get drunk. However, since brother has invited me, I’m ready to drink with you at any price!” Li Xiaoyi caught the canteen and took a large swig with his head lifted. He coughed and flushed immediately once the liquid went down along his throat.

Seeing his reaction, Shiao Chen laughed at him badly, “He is just as beautiful as a girl. He would be a stunning beauty if he were dressed up.” Shiao Chen thought to himself.

Drinking, eating, and chatting, Shiao Chen’s frayed nerves were totally eased. He felt warm and comfortable. It seemed that his divine sense was enjoying a bath in the sunshine and about to be activated as every second went by. Shiao Chen felt that he was going to break through to the next level.

Leaning against the carriage with a faint smile and hollow eyes, Shiao Chen seemed to enjoy the scenery along the road unconsciously. However, if someone could look inside him, he could find continuous changes occurred in Shiao Chen’s divine sense.

“The divine sense is strengthened and refined. Now it’s comparable to that of those at the late stage of Foundation Establishment.” Shiao Chen came back to himself after quite a while and couldn’t help becoming excited.

“Brother, what happened?” Li Xiaoyi had been observing Shiao Chen and asked him immediately upon his excitement.

“Nothing. I was just indulged in my memory.” Shiao Chen made up an excuse randomly. After all, he couldn’t let others know what he had just experienced.

“Mounted gangsters. They are mounted gangsters!”

The people in front were in a panic and the situation was out of control. Screams coming from afar sent the whole queue into a total mess.

“En?” Shiao Chen frowned, stood up, and looked far into the distance, trying to figure out what happened.

He saw that guards of the five caravans were confronted with gangsters at the beginning of the queue. Occasionally passers-by assisted the guards with their weapons. After all, if they were not able to beat off the gangsters, all wouldn’t end up well.

Hundreds of meters away from the queue, hundreds of vicious gangsters came with rolling dust.

“Don’t panic! Form a circle! Keep the carriages in the front, guards in the back, and the old, the weak, women and children in the middle.”

As a leader, though astounded, the old managed to remain calm and issue orders loudly.

Servants and guards of caravans were experienced. They began to move after the initial panic.

The gangsters proceeded in an extremely fast speed. They came near in just seconds.

“Stop!”

Along with a shout, hundreds of gangsters stopped immediately. They whistled one after another just hundreds of meters away.

The shinning sabers were waved with a force and the queue was greeted with a sense of vicious killing intent. Lots of people in the queue turned pale.

“I’m Gu Yun. I’ve been traveling along this path for almost forty years. During the forty years, I get acquainted with numerous heads in this area and hand over agreed protection money annually without delay. Are there misunderstandings between us? I’m here trying to work up the nerve to ask heroes in the opposite who the leader is and if can I talk to him. We’d like to turn in a thousand taels of silver to buy heroes some liquor.” The old shouted to the opposite crowd at the beginning of the queue.