Chapter 55

The thunderous roar of thunder rumbled throughout the night.

It was as if some powerful being was venting its fury in embarrassment.

Hiding in the underground chamber, Wang Chen didn’t sleep all night, remaining vigilant.

Only when the outside world was quiet, did he carefully crawl out of the tunnel.

Dawn had broken.

The room inside and out was a total mess, and the four evil beasts had wrecked Wang Chen’s den beyond recognition.

Cleaning up would take quite a bit of effort.

But the first thing Wang Chen dealt with was the body of the cultivator in the yard.

The cultivator had been burnt to a crisp, barely recognizable as human.

His storage bag was completely destroyed.

Wang Chen had a vague recollection of him, probably a neighbor he had seen once, but couldn’t name.

He cast another Fire Crow Technique, turning the charred body to ash.

“Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, may the departed soul return to the earth…”

As Wang Chen chanted the Rebirth Mantra, a breeze suddenly blew, lifting the ashes from the ground and whirling them into the sky.

After completing the rites, he left the courtyard and headed straight for Old Sun’s house.

Old Sun’s house was a mere two hundred steps away from Wang Chen’s.

He was his closest neighbor.

Even though the old man often took advantage of his seniority and liked to nick small advantages.

Wang Chen still hoped nothing bad happened to him.

Last night, he had seen two wolf beasts running over from Old Sun’s place.

He had a feeling that it didn’t bode well.

If Old Sun and his family of three were destined not to escape the calamity, then Wang Chen would have to perform the rites for them too.

After running over, Wang Chen found the gate to Old Sun’s courtyard had been destroyed.

The door to the main house inside was also on the ground, covered with signs of trampling.

“Old Sun?”

Wang Chen shouted, then barged into the bedroom.

But he found nothing.

No bloodstains, no bodies, not even a trace of struggle!

Just as he was baffled, accompanied by the rumbling sound of sliding friction, the ground near the corner of the wall suddenly concave downwards, revealing a dark entrance!

“Doggie!”

A head with graying hair poked out, “I’m right here.”

What the heck!

Wang Chen was dumbfounded.

He saw Old Sun swiftly climbing out of the tunnel.

Then he pulled out a woman, as well as a half-grown child.

The family of three was all safe and sound!

Wang Chen was impressed.

Your grandpa is still your grandpa!

He worried for nothing.

Wang Chen couldn’t help asking, “Old Sun, did you dig a tunnel in your house?”

“Heh heh.”

With a big grin on his face, Old Sun said proudly, “It’s been more than a decade, learned it from the old man’s house.”

Wang Chen was at a loss for words.

Actually, it made sense when he thought about it.

Old Sun had lived here for decades; regardless of his character, his life experience and wisdom couldn’t be bad.

Secretly making contingency plans and creating a hidden refuge was only natural!

Since everyone in the family was safe and sound, Wang Chen could rest easy.

He prepared to say goodbye and leave.

However, just as he exited the bedroom, he suddenly noticed a mirror hanging on the east wall of Old Sun’s main hall.

The mirror was oval-shaped, merely half a foot high, with a very common and ordinary design bordered by white bronze and silver.

But it was hung so high that the average person could hardly reach it on tiptoes!

A suspicion suddenly arose in Wang Chen’s mind.

If he wasn’t mistaken, that mirror should be the Mandarin Duck Mirror.

The Mandarin Duck Mirror was divided into yin and yang sides; the yang mirror hung outside and the yin mirror within, used for peering at the scenery outside.

Wang Chen had seen such a magic artifact in the Four Seas Commerce Association.

The problem was that he had inquired about it, and the cheapest Mandarin Duck Mirror cost five hundred Low Spirit.

How could Old Sun afford it?

Although the number of spirit fields contracted by Old Sun was three times that of Wang Chen, as an experienced former bachelor spiritual plant farmer, he surely earned more spirit stones each year than the original owner.

But the old man liked to frequent brothels, often flaunting himself at the Numerous Fragrances Pavilion.

How could those spirit stones withstand such squandering?

Furthermore, the Mandarin Duck Mirror had very limited use for cultivators, with neither the ability to attack nor defend.

Even if Old Sun had come across an unexpected windfall, it wouldn’t make sense for him to splurge on this kind of magic artifact according to reason.

However, despite his doubts, Wang Chen maintained an undisturbed demeanor on the surface.

He went back to his home.

The disaster had passed, but the trouble was just beginning.

All the doors and windows in his home were destroyed, and the bed in the bedroom had turned into pieces.

All this needed to be repurchased.

Then Wang Chen discovered that the rooster and hens in the chicken coop were lying flat!

These five chickens, one rooster and four hens, he had raised for nearly two months, having invested all the ground chaff into them.

He had been expecting to eat fresh eggs from his own home in just another ten days or so.

But now they were all dead.

Wang Chen felt extremely depressed!

In actuality, one could buy eggs in Cloud Mountain City, and the price wasn’t very high.

However, his reason for raising chickens wasn’t solely to get rid of the chaff, but mainly to make his home livelier.

To keep his cultivation career from being too lonely and dreary.

With resignation, Wang Chen shook his head and performed the Fire Crow Technique to send the chickens on their way.

The five chickens died miserably.

He had no idea what misfortune they had experienced last night.

Though it was a pity, Wang Chen had no intention of eating the dead chicken meat.

Should there be any issues after eating, the loss would outweigh the gain.

After cleaning up his home inside and out, Wang Chen headed straight for Cloud Mountain City.

Not waiting to find a carriage by the roadside, he decided to walk there.

Along the way, the sights he saw were startling.

Many thatched houses had collapsed into ruins along the route, and many spirit fields bore the signs of being trampled or struck by lightning.

A large amount of Spiritual Rice that was in its growth phase was thus destroyed, the losses were extremely heavy!

In addition, Wang Chen occasionally heard crying coming from who knows where.

Even during the bright daylight, as he ran, a chill arose in his heart.

As he approached Cloud Mountain City, there were more and more pedestrians on the Chi Path.

Everyone was in a hurry, their faces bearing an expression of shock and unease.

Quite a few cultivators were running towards the city with their families!

Even a jam occurred at the city gate, and only under the stern barking of the patrol guards was order barely maintained.

The atmosphere in the city was also very tense.

The shops were all open.

However, the attendants mostly didn’t seem to be in the mood to do business.

Wang Chen saw quite a few people whispering at street corners and alleyways, quietly discussing the events of the previous night.

All kinds of rumors and gossip.

And the number of Patrol Guard disciples patrolling the streets had increased a lot.

They were fully armed, their serious expressions and tense posture provoked much speculation.

Wang Chen hurried to the Four Seas Commerce Association.

The atmosphere inside the Four Seas Commerce Association was still relatively normal, the number of customers was not very high.

He easily met with Shopkeeper Jin.

Wang Chen’s trip to Cloud Mountain City was for more than just buying doors, beds, and other household and living supplies.

He mainly wanted to sell the Yin Qi Pearl he had obtained last night and then buy a batch of cultivation materials.

Such as Vajra Ghee and Monster Beast meat.

He planned to use the next period of time to raise his cultivation realm up another level!

First release delivered.