Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

This large fortress, with a population of over ten thousand, was situated on the eastern foothills of Heaven Cloud Mountain and named for the many phoenix trees that grew in the valley.

Despite the drizzle from the sky, the streets within the walls were still crowded with people.

Wang Chen walked along the cobblestone main street under an oiled paper umbrella, blending into the bustling crowd as he slowly made his way forward.

Half a month earlier, he had arrived at this Loose Cultivator town far from the old land of Cloud Sun, settling down with his Qi Cultivation of the seventh level and three hundred Fragmented Spirit Stones.

He had his own new home.

Dongwu Stockade was established long ago, and had seen several changes of leadership.

The current authority figure was a Purple Mansion Superior named Xin Han, and more than half of the town\'s population were Cultivators, while the rest included regular Mortals, Cultivators in the process of Shedding Mortality, and some Innate Martial Artists.

The residents were a mixed bag, but under Xin Han\'s strong control, there was considerable peace and order.

There were countless Loose Cultivator towns in the Outer Domain, but those with a Purple Mansion level leader were rare.

Given the status of Purple Mansion Cultivators, most sects would open their arms wide to welcome them with corresponding treatment.

Even if one could not enter the core of the Inner Sect upon arrival, becoming an Elder of the Outer Sect was still within reach.

The cultivation environment and resources of a sect were beyond comparison to those of a Loose Cultivator town.

However, there are always exceptions. Some Purple Mansion individuals are Loose Cultivators who have opened their Breakthrough Mansion through their own efforts, and wish not to be constrained by Immortal Gates, preferring to be a self-sufficient "Mountain Overlord."

Wang Chen too had made a careful selection before choosing Dongwu Stockade as his place of seclusion.

"Hidden in the mountains, veiled in the marketplace", for a Qi Cultivator, forests and wilderness were actually not suitable for seclusion, as these places were either uninhabited, sparse in Spiritual Energy, or home to Monster Beasts and even Evil Wraiths.

Although Wang Chen possessed quite a few cultivation resources and would have no problem cultivating alone in remote areas,

after much consideration, he still chose Dongwu Stockade.

The Spiritual Tide had risen, and great calamity was approaching. No man\'s lands were unpredictably dangerous, but most importantly, they were completely cut off from news; one had no clue about the happenings in the outside world, which was far too passive a position.

Dongwu Stockade had a large number of Loose Cultivators, the leader was a Purple Mansion Superior, and a protective array was also laid out within the town.

It was said that once the Array was activated, even great numbers of Purple Mansion could not break through!

Walking along, Wang Chen stopped in front of a familiar tea house, folded his umbrella, and entered.

"Immortal Master, please come this way..."

The plump shopkeeper personally came to greet him, cordially ushering Wang Chen to take a seat by the window.

Wiping the well-worn tea table with a linen cloth, he asked, "The usual?"

"Mhmm,"

Wang Chen nodded and laid out ten Fragmented Spirit Stones on the table.

It was customary in the local taverns and tea houses to pay first before being served, to prevent patrons from skipping out on the bill by abusing their agility.

Some Loose Cultivators really did stoop to such shameless acts.

During this time, he had made it a daily routine to visit this tea house in the afternoon, ordering a pot of Spiritual Tea and a plate of pastries.

While practicing his Five Elements Skill, he would listen to the chatter of the patrons.

Having frequented the place, he naturally became acquainted with the shopkeeper.

"Got it!"

The chubby shopkeeper turned and shouted, "One pot of Spiritual Tea, one plate of Osmanthus Cake!"

His call was carefully modulated—the higher the pitch on "Spiritual Tea", the higher the grade requested.

Wang Chen had ordered regular Spiritual Tea, but the plump shopkeeper served something slightly better.

He was an interesting character.

It was said that the shopkeeper once had quite a reputation in the Great Qian Martial World, and only after getting into major trouble did he risk his life to flee to the realm of cultivation, eventually setting up his tea house in Dongwu Stockade.

As for what trouble he got into, no one could say for certain.

Indeed, many of those making a living in the Outer Domain, be they Cultivators or Mortals, have their own incredible stories.

The portly shopkeeper was but one among the multitudes.

Wang Chen poured himself a pot of hot tea and reached for a piece of Osmanthus Cake to taste.

The flavor was rather good.

The osmanthus was honeyed from last year\'s bloom, and the white cake was made from new rice harvested at the end of summer. The combination had a distinct taste.

His gaze drifted outside the window as if lost in a trance.

In reality, every word spoken by the tea house patrons, even the hushed whispers exchanged between them, could not escape the attentive listening of Wang Chen, who multitasked effortlessly.

Wang Chen was able to filter out some useful information.

But there was no fresh news today.

The big incident of the Cloud Sun Sect fleeing to the Upper Realm nearly half a year ago continued to be the focal point of discussions.

Yet, many rumors were so absurd they were laughable.

As for the Guiyuan Gate, which had taken over Cloud Sun Sect\'s territories, few had kind words to say about them.

The general sentiment was "even a bad Cloud Sun is better than Guiyuan Gate." Wang Chen had not expected the Cloud Sun Sect\'s reputation to be so revered; people still remembered it fondly after so long.

The patrons even brought up the major human hunt case, firmly believing it to be the doing of Guiyuan Gate!

Times had changed, and it was payback time for Guiyuan Gate.

All Wang Chen could say was "it\'s all thanks to the colleagues setting the stage."

Reflecting on his own experiences within the Cloud Sun Sect, he couldn\'t help but shake his head.

Suddenly, a girl around thirteen or fourteen, carrying a little girl, hurried under the eaves of the tea house to avoid the increasingly heavy rain outside.

She ended up standing right outside Wang Chen\'s window.

The little girl on the teenager\'s shoulder was only four or five years old, with big, shiny black eyes.

She also had two little braided pigtails.

She glanced at Wang Chen, who was within arm\'s reach, then her eyes fell on the Osmanthus Cake, and she couldn\'t help but swallow hard.

It was clear that the little one was tempted.

But she did not ask for it and merely stood there, almost drooling.

Amused, Wang Chen picked up a plate of pastries from the table and handed it to her.

The little one easily touched Wang Chen\'s heart, reminding him of Yuanyuan.

After Cloud Sun Sect took Taihao Peak to ascend to the Upper Realm, the Divine Soul bond Wang Chen had with Yuanyuan was severed.

He could no longer sense its existence.

Based on what he had learned, Wang Chen deduced that Yuanyuan must have ascended to the Upper Realm with Bai Susu, hitching a ride on their power. Find exclusive stories on m_v l|e-NovelBin

If that were true, who knows how many years it would be before they would meet again!

Looking at the Osmanthus Cake offered to her, the little girl resisted for a while, but under the encouraging look in Wang Chen\'s eyes, she could no longer withstand the temptation and carefully stretched out her little hand to grab a piece of cake.

The little girl was very polite, after grabbing the Osmanthus Cake, she felt something was amiss and quietly said, "Thank you."

The young girl holding the little one heard the phrase and immediately turned her head back.

But Wang Chen, who had been sitting by the window, was now nowhere to be seen.

He had left the tea house.

Once again, he opened his oil-paper umbrella.

Walking over the rainwater flowing everywhere on the ground.

Step by step, he headed in the direction of his home.

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The first update is here.