txolops Chapter 1 I am alone
Chapter 1 I am alone
Dark clouds gathered, and thunder rumbled faintly in the direction of the Shifang Mountains.
"Boom—"
A raindrop fell rapidly, eagerly plunging into the embrace of the earth.
Louze Plain.
Fresh corpses have piled up on the ancient battlefield, attracting countless vultures to circle high in the sky.
A few dozen mortals and rogue cultivators dressed in black, like industrious worker ants, quickly picked through the corpses before the man-eating swamp had awakened, carrying them back to the distant city on their shoulders.
"The 243rd body..."
A pair of large, well-defined hands, long and fair, covered the old man's withered, cracked face, making him look like a monstrous demon.
Chen Bai looked down.
The old man's eyes were wide open and bulging as he sat cross-legged on the ground, a large hole torn open in his chest by a claw.
He was wearing a thick, dark black Taoist robe, and his silver hair was combed back and tied into a Taoist bun, suggesting that he was a well-off and respectable person in his lifetime.
Unfortunately, because of his rudimentary cultivation and lack of background, he was forced to go to this Leaky Swamp Battlefield at such a young age to fight against endless waves of demons and monsters, destined to die.
"We're too late; the good stuff has already been taken."
He quickly glanced at the peach wood sword broken in two beside him. Chen Bai's face showed compassion, and he muttered incantations, as if he wanted to perform a ritual to help the deceased.
Within his sea of consciousness, a small three-legged bronze cauldron stood prominently.
"May the Heavenly Venerable grant me boundless blessings... I'll choose you. I hope I can recover something useful this time." Chen Bai prayed silently in his heart.
An invisible and intangible mystery burst forth from his hand, enveloping the old man's physical body.
After a few breaths, he stood up, glanced around, and, finding nothing amiss, quietly walked away.
The old Taoist's body gradually turned grayish-white, like the ashes left after the firewood had burned out, and soon collapsed into a pile of yellow earth.
Chen Bai drew his attention back to his sea of consciousness.
Within the small cauldron in the sea of consciousness, a shrunken, blurry figure suddenly appeared, with a topknot and clearly defined beard and eyebrows.
It was that old Taoist priest who had died!
"Buzz—"
[Recovery: "Unknown Cultivator's Remains" *1]
The small cauldron trembled slightly, emitting a soft white light that engulfed the old Taoist priest.
Chen Bai ignored him, as if he had seen him many times before.
At the same time, he pondered.
"This time we retrieved 143 bodies that met the requirements. We only managed to extract them successfully a little over ten times... an average success rate of one in ten?"
If we still haven't found anything good, then this opportunity to go out of town and scavenge corpses will have been wasted.
I'm afraid we won't even be able to recoup the cost of those five spirit shells.
A moment later, the white light gradually disappeared.
The old Taoist's blurry figure inside the small cauldron disappeared, replaced by a ball of light, glowing brightly.
[Excerpt: "An Initial Explanation of the Mysterious Symbols and Divination" *1]
Looking at the pale golden ball of light flying out of the small cauldron, Chen Bai was overjoyed and laughed loudly: "I didn't expect that this old Taoist priest was also a talisman master."
Grab it and refine it!
A massive amount of knowledge flooded in like a tidal wave.
The pale gold orb was clearly extraordinary; compared to the lowest-level white orbs, the difference in the density of knowledge between them was like heaven and earth.
Even though he had lived two lives and his soul was twice as deep as the average person's, he still felt dizzy and lightheaded.
"A talisman is the command of Heaven and Earth, the covenant of spirits and deities, and the voice of cultivators..."
From the rituals before drawing talismans—setting up an altar, invoking deities, consecrating offerings, and forming hand seals—to how to draw the talisman itself: the head, the core, the tail, and the aperture...
The old Taoist priest's decades of experience in drawing talismans was indeed genuine.
Although it is far inferior to the profound and complete talismanic traditions of some immortal sects and aristocratic families, it is undoubtedly a way to make money for him, a mortal cultivator with no background!
Chen Bai's eyes lit up, and he pretended to wipe his sweat while rubbing his temples.
Suppressing his joy, he continued bending over and rummaging through the corpses, occasionally carrying one on his back to load it onto a cart bound for the city.
"Boom!"
Dark clouds are gradually approaching; a heavy rain is imminent.
Not far away, Wei Bo couldn't help but complain, "This awful weather, looks like we won't be able to keep this up for long..."
His fair, round face was full of worry. He straightened up and looked into the distance.
Then, looking at Chen Bai, who was moving nimbly ahead, he asked, "Brother Bai, it's about to rain. Did you find anything good this time?"
This person was Chen Bai's neighbor and one of the wandering cultivators who came out to earn a little money.
The two often help each other out and have a good relationship.
"Don't even mention it, we haven't even made back our initial investment," Chen Bai replied casually, his hands still busy scavenging for supplies.
Previously, he was busy searching for and salvaging corpses and hadn't spent much time plundering money. He figured he could earn whatever he could while he could, and if all else failed, he could pick up some corpses of cultivators who had died violently and take them back; if he was lucky, he could even get some funeral expenses from their families.
The reason Chen Bai was working so hard was that his rent was about to expire!
If they can't pay the rent, they'll have to sleep on the streets or move to a place outside the Fairy Market—a place with sparse spiritual energy. And those places are not only dangerous, but they also mean they're further away from becoming "fairies".
"Thump!"
The large bell hanging on the city gate in the distance suddenly rang out.
"That's it! Gather and head back to the city. We won't wait for you if you're late!" A uniformed manager shouted loudly beside several large trucks.
After an incense stick had burned, trucks piled high with corpses set off to return to the city.
There was a rule before the departure that all ordinary people and cultivators leaving the city, whether dead or alive, must immediately stop what they are doing and return to the city with the caravan as soon as they hear the bell ring. However, there are always some people who do not listen to advice.
Chen Bai followed behind the convoy.
He silently counted the heads; twenty people came out, but only fifteen returned.
Those who didn't return were either greedy for the talisman money and didn't catch up in time, or they ran too far and perished in the mouths of monsters.
"Hey...did you hear?"
Qi Jing, who lives on the same street as us, was eaten by a corpse demon! It was a truly tragic sight; his internal organs were all ripped out.
In the end, it was the Immortal of Fetal Breathing who intervened, extinguishing the corpse demon with a single fire spell!
Wei Bo, who was standing nearby, bumped into him on the shoulder and whispered something.
Upon hearing this, Chen Bai felt a chill run down his spine.
This "corpse demon" belongs to the category of demons and is a common possessing ghost in this Louze Plain.
Formed from the yin and miasma accumulated underground over the years, it can possess the corpses of dead cultivators and demonic beasts, come back to life, and is extremely difficult to destroy.
Once an ordinary person encounters this, no matter how skilled they are in martial arts, they will inevitably face death!
Chen Bai knew all too well that moving corpses outside the city was a dangerous business.
Not to mention the miasma that lingers over the Louze Plains year-round, and the swampy areas disguised as flat land, the evil spirits that frequently appear pose a great threat, and one could easily lose one's life on the spot!
He sighed.
What a pity! Living in Juxianfang is not easy!
In the Southern Region, Yuluo Prefecture, the only cultivation sect in the Yu Kingdom, the Spirit Sword Sect, people make a living in the market town of Little Sword Mountain. Mortals and rogue cultivators have no choice but to accept their exploitation and control, and in order to earn some money, they have no choice but to risk their lives to go out of the city to carry corpses.
This kind of work isn't something that happens often. It only happens after the monster tide arrives and the immortal sects have finished clearing the battlefield. Only then can rogue cultivators and mortals have a chance to enter and share the leftovers.
A kind-looking middle-aged man's face flashed through Chen Bai's mind—it was Qi Jing. He had greeted him just yesterday, and today he had suddenly met with misfortune and died...
Although he felt sympathy, the thought that he himself hadn't even secured his rent made him immediately suppress those unnecessary emotions.
"Okay, I understand."
Chen Bai responded and turned to look at the cart, calculating how much he could earn back on this trip.
"It's such a pity about his still-attractive wife, and I heard they have a daughter who's quite pretty... What a waste!"
Wei Bo clicked his tongue regretfully, a glint of shrewdness in his small eyes, and didn't say anything more.
Chen Bai glanced at Wei Bo.
Before he knew it, he had been in the Changxiao Realm for almost half a year, and naturally understood the unspoken meaning in his words.
Such a beautiful mother and daughter won't last long in this cutthroat environment.
If they can't find some ways to make money as soon as possible, the outcome will probably be bad. They'll either be targeted by spoiled brats from immortal sects and clans and treated as playthings, or they'll be forced into some shady business.
"This damn world is truly worrying..."
Chen Bai cursed.
Six months.
Before transmigrating, he was a laborer, barely scraping by; after transmigrating, why is he still a laborer? He still can't even afford the rent!
Fortunately, every cloud has a silver lining. Half a month ago, he finally awakened his cheat ability. After some time of exploration, he finally figured it out: it was a small cauldron that could recycle scraps and extract resources.
"What? Brother Bai, you've taken a fancy to that mother and daughter? Why don't you take pity on them and help them out?" Wei Bo laughed heartily, winking and teasing.
After giving him a disapproving look, Chen Bai silently continued on his way.
This Fatty Wei actually has some family background. Despite his miserable situation, he is actually a member of the Wei family, a branch of the Immortal Clan in the city. Although he is a distant branch, he is still the second son.
Even if he didn't seek immortality, he could still have a life of wealth and security.
But mortals are just people with seven emotions and six desires, who doesn't want to live a better life?
Cultivating immortality and seeking the Dao, achieving longevity and eternal life—
If given the chance, who wouldn't want it!
Chen Bai felt a surge of excitement and was filled with ambition.
With the small cauldron in his hand, he felt as if he had grasped a sliver of hope on the elusive path to immortality.
Reborn and starting over, this time I'm determined to climb higher and see the wonders of the world.