Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

At nightfall, Shanglin Town.

A giant Fire Crow spread its wings across the night sky, diving toward the long street below with myriad sparks, its bright radiance illuminating the houses shrouded in darkness.

Spectral shadows revealed their true forms, writhing and trembling under the scorching waves of flame, emitting silent screams before dissipating into wisps of smoke.

The flying Fire Crow swept across the ground for hundreds of steps before crashing heavily onto a grim and ugly Evil Monster.

An earth-shattering explosion echoed as the fierce flames engulfed the creature.

The high temperature burned the scaly hide of the Evil Monster, causing it to roar involuntarily in anger.

Evil energy soared to the skies!

However, at that moment, a Flying Sword descended like lightning from the heavens, piercing through the Evil Monster's skull from above and drilling out through its chest.

Foul blood sprayed tens of steps away!

"Roar!"

The severely wounded Evil Monster instantly fell into a state of near madness, with billows of black smoke gushing from its torn wound, spreading in all directions.

Countless ghosts and wraiths rapidly spawned within the black smoke.

But suddenly, a giant net descended, trapping the corpulent Evil Monster within its mesh.

The sound of "swish, swish, swish" was incessant!

Before the Evil Monster could react, the net suddenly tightened, the ropes strangling its neck, waist, abdomen, and limbs.

Twisted into bizarre shapes!

The Evil Monster struggled desperately, only to be bound even tighter by the net.

The Evil Power inside it gushed out like floodwater from a breached dam.

In merely the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea, the Resentment Level Evil Monster collapsed onto the ground like a boneless sludge, shrinking to at least one-fourth of its original size, a sorry sight to behold.

The next moment, Wang Chen landed on the ground and casually released the Heaven-Ensnaring Punisher Net that he had been controlling.

The Evil Monster, having escaped the clutches of death, shuddered. The scattered black fog around it was quickly absorbed back into its body.

The dull and flaking scales regained some of their luster.

But the journey of this Evil Monster's life came to an end, as Sword Light flashed, and its head completely fell off.

[Human Virtue +1360]

Clang!

The Red Nether Sword was sheathed, completely retracting its thunderous, fiery power.

Wang Chen looked around and swung his arms, dozens of Talismans suddenly flying in all directions.

Bursts of Spiritual Light bloomed in the air, cleansing the filth within the town.

He exhaled deeply, retrieving the Evil Soul Bead from his chest.

This Magic Artifact provided by the Sect had turned a dark black hue, feeling heavy in hand – three times heavier than before.

From pure white to pure black, Wang Chen had swept through three towns and seven villages prior to this, slaying thousands of Evil Wraiths, including four of the Resentment Level.

His total points of Human Virtue had soared to seventy thousand!

But Wang Chen felt little joy in his heart.

Before coming to Huai Mountain County, he had not anticipated that in the land of Central State, the rampage of Evil Wraiths would be so severe.

Seven of the eight towns in Huai Mountain were plagued by Evil Wraiths, four towns had fallen to evil, the civilians were thrown into chaos and scattered, and even more villages were affected, with tens of thousands of people tragically slaughtered.

If this was the state of affairs in Central State, what about the conditions in the eastern, southern, western, and northern states?

It was likely to be even more severe!

Wang Chen's gaze turned toward Huai Mountain County.

During this period of purging, he had a growing suspicion that this disaster was not solely natural calamity – it seemed as if an invisible hand was manipulating events from behind the scenes.

And the root of the chaos lay within the county town!

He hoped his plans would go smoothly…

Wang Chen thought to himself as he waved his sleeve, releasing the Glowing Light Flying Sword.

Sword light wrapped around him, and he soared into the sky, streaking towards the distance like a shooting star.

As an "emergency responder," Wang Chen's mission was far from over, with the Evil Wraith's chaos spreading throughout much of Huai Mountain.

The long night stretched on, and both he and his sword awaited the dawn.

Dawn had broken.

With the thin morning mist still not yet dispersed, a long procession appeared at the city gates of Huai Mountain County.

The number of people in the procession reached into the thousands, with men and women, young and old, mostly carrying their families and belongings, along with many domestic animals.

Seeing such a scene, the armored soldiers guarding the city became tense.

A battle cultivator stationed on the city walls shouted sternly, "Halt, all of you!"

Due to the disturbances caused by the Evil Wraith, Huai Mountain County had long since sealed its gates. Entry was strictly controlled and exit only permitted under special circumstances to prevent evil cultivators and bandits from infiltrating the city and worsening the situation.

"Immortal Master!"

A voice called out from within the procession, "We are townspeople from Zhao Family Town. Disaster has struck our town, please open the gates and let us in!"

Zhao Family Town?

The battle cultivators atop the walls inhaled sharply.

Among the eight towns of Huai Mountain, Zhao Family Town had the largest population and the strongest force. Not only did it have many cultivators, but it also had Defensive Drums designed to deter evil spirits.

Throughout this recent chaos caused by the Evil Wraith, Zhao Family Town had remained unscathed—until now, it seemed!

Had it been any other town, the guards might not have been so accommodating, for the county town was already overwhelmed and could hardly accommodate so many refugees.

But the case of Zhao Family Town was different, for that small town was the ancestral land of the Guarding Envoy, Zhao Hongyi!

Among these fleeing people, there were certainly many of Zhao Hongyi's own kin.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

"Wait here,"

The battle cultivator said after some thought, "I will go and report to the Guarding Envoy."

He immediately brought forth his flying artifact and flew directly to the Guarding Mansion.

In just the time it takes to finish half a cup of tea, Zhao Hongyi rushed over, piloting his magic artifact, and landed directly at the city gate.

Seeing the haggard face of the elderly man, his expression changed drastically, "Elder Brother Hongcheng, how did you get here? Didn't I send Qi over just a few days ago?"

This elder was a clan elder of Zhao Hongyi.

Though there seemed to be a generation gap between them, in fact, he was only two years older than Zhao Hongyi.

Zhao Hongyi, bound to defend the county town and unable to leave his post, had not forgotten his clansmen living in Zhao Family Town. Thus, he had sent his own son with a team of cultivators and elite armored soldiers to support them.

Tears streamed down the elder's face, "Hongyi, last night, the Evil Wraith invaded our town. It was Qi who covered our escape."

Zhao Hongyi felt a chill run through him, "I haven't received any messages here!"

The elder had no words in reply.

Zhao Hongyi's expression shifted, and his heart sank.

Qi was his beloved seventh son, the offspring he had painstakingly raised, who had already reached the ninth level of Qi Cultivation.

Sending him to Zhao Family Town was partly out of sheer necessity, as no more forces could be spared, and partly for training.

How could an eagle soar in the sky without facing the storm?

To ensure Qi's safety, Zhao Hongyi had given him several life-preserving magic artifacts and talismans.

He thought that even if his son encountered a powerful Evil Wraith, he could fight or at least escape back if defeated.

But now not only had disaster befallen Zhao Family Town, but it was the ordinary clansmen who had run back.

His son was trapped in the town!

"Open the city gate!"

Zhao Hongyi was not indecisive. Despite his frantic worry, he didn't lose his composure and bellowed, "Activate the City-Protecting Array!"

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The first update is here.