Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

What's going on?

Wang Chen, who had just returned to Dongwu Stockade, simply couldn't believe his own eyes.

This Loose Cultivator stockade was situated in a remote location, occupying a very small Spirit Vein, the kind that major sects wouldn't even glance at.

There were over ten thousand permanent residents within and outside the stockade, and the number of cultivators exceeded thirty percent.

Among the many Outer Domain stockades, Dongwu Stockade wasn't the largest in scale, but it wasn't small either.

What set Dongwu Stockade apart was that its ruler was a Purple Mansion Superior!

Of course, it wasn't the only one.

Wang Chen had chosen Dongwu Stockade as his place for reticent cultivation after careful selection.

He felt it was still very suitable for himself.

But he had never expected that after being away for just half a month, Dongwu Stockade would undergo such tremendous changes.

Countless stone and wooden houses of varying heights were constructed outside the stockade; due to the lack of planning, they looked messy, only leaving a road in the center for entering and exiting the gates.

Who knows where they came from, but Loose Cultivators, martial artists, and mortals had become the new residents of Dongwu Stockade.

Many of them were refugees.

As Wang Chen walked along, his ears were filled with various noises, cries, and pleas.

This Loose Cultivator stockade had actually turned into a large refugee camp!

"Immortal Master, please, give us something to eat."

Hands, thin and bony, reached out to him, and pairs of eyes filled with hope and begging looked at him.

Begging for a bit of pity and food.

Most of the beggars were mortals, with an occasional Shedding Mortality phase Cultivator among them. Most were old and feeble, dragging along one or a few ragged children.

These children were all thin and pale, some skeletal, some starving to the point of death.

Yet the cultivators passing by were expressionless and turned a blind eye, and if anyone dared to block their path, they would kick them away fiercely.

Wang Chen stopped in front of a mother and daughter.

The mother and daughter were also mortals, wearing thin clothes in the bitter winter, shivering as they huddled next to a stone house.

Seeing Wang Chen, the pale-faced woman mustered all her strength to squeeze out a pleasing smile, "Immortal, Immortal Master..."

She clutched her unconscious little girl tightly in her arms.

Wang Chen sighed silently.

He took out a beast skin coat from his Storage Bag and draped it over the two of them.

Although Wang Chen had long been impervious to the heat and cold.

He kept various clothes in his Storage Bag, out of the need to disguise and change his appearance.

The woman was trembling with fear and gratitude, "Th-thank you, Immortal Master!"

The refugees around her immediately looked at her with envy and jealousy, some with covetous eyes!

With a sweep of his gaze, those refugees immediately retracted their heads, each one terrified and not daring to even breathe loudly.

"You, you, and you guys!"

Wang Chen pointed his finger in rapid succession, selecting a few men who looked still somewhat robust, "Go gather firewood for me, the more the better. I'll have a reward for you!"

"At your command!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the refugees he had pointed out immediately jumped to it.

They ran off energetically to gather firewood.

Around Dongwu Stockade, mountains stretched continuously, and forests covered a high proportion of the land, the one thing not lacking were trees.

As long as one was willing to exert the effort to chop, there would be as much firewood as one wished.

And some refugees who hadn't been pointed out but were quite astute also followed to cut down and split wood.

In their minds, helping the Immortal Master was definitely a gain!

Wang Chen didn't concern himself with them. He ordered the other refugees to find rocks for his use.

None of the refugees dared refuse, and with the promised reward by Wang Chen, each put forth their full effort, gathering the materials he needed nearby.

Stones were the most common and worthless things, and they were everywhere around, so very soon a number of small hills were piled up in front of Wang Chen.

Wang Chen began to cast spells.

He first softened all these stones, big and small, into mud.

Then he molded them into several Three-legged Big Cauldrons.

Once the Three-legged Cauldrons took shape, Wang Chen applied his Solidify Mud to Stone technique to harden them into sturdy stone cauldrons.

Although Wang Chen's craftsmanship left much to be desired, the three-legged cauldrons he shaped were all oddly formed and ugly.

But this had no effect on his next action.

When the nine big cauldrons were finished, the homeless people who had previously gone to collect firewood had also returned.

Moreover, the team tasked with chopping wood had grown to over a hundred people, many of whom were agile martial artists.

Without asking why, Wang Chen had them pile the chopped firewood under the three-legged cauldrons.

As time passed, more and more people gathered around.

Most of the onlookers were homeless people and beggars, with a few curious cultivators among them.

Everyone was very curious—just what was Wang Chen planning to do?

In full view of the crowd, Wang Chen had the homeless fetch water from a nearby stream and pour it into the nine three-legged big cauldrons.

Only when the nine three-legged cauldrons were about seventy percent full did he take out White Jade Rice from his Storage Bag and pour it into the massive stone cauldrons.

By this step, everyone had realized what was happening.

Wang Chen was preparing to cook congee!

And he was using Spirit Rice!!

Some of the onlooking Loose Cultivators cast strange glances his way.

In Dongwu Stockade, the hard currency wasn't Spirit Stones.

It was Spirit Rice.

The price for Spirit Rice and even Tribute Rice had already skyrocketed.

Ten jins of White Jade Rice could be traded for a beautiful maiden in the People Market!

Wang Chen was actually using so much Spirit Rice to cook congee, and by the looks of it, clearly intending to distribute it as charity. Many homeless people instantly saw red, crowding around the three-legged cauldrons.

They were worried that if they didn't secure a spot, they wouldn't get any Spirit Rice congee.

This was Spirit Rice congee, after all!

"Stop!"

Just as the scene was about to descend into chaos, a thunderous voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears.

The homeless people were struck as if by lightning, frozen on the spot, too afraid to move.

Hiss!

A golden streak of Qi Energy swept past them, leaving a deep mark on the ground.

"Cross this line, and face death without mercy!"

The homeless people who came to their senses were terrified, hastily retreating backward.

Fearing they'd become the example Wang Chen made to frighten the others!

After order was restored, Wang Chen flicked his finger, shooting out clumps of searing flames.

He lit the firewood beneath the three-legged cauldrons.

As the temperature rose, the water in the stone cauldrons started to boil, the pearly-white rice grains tumbling up and down.

Wang Chen ordered a few obedient homeless people to keep feeding the fire under the cauldrons and to add water to the cauldrons themselves.

With nine cauldrons cooking at the same time, the fragrance of the Spirit Rice congee soon spread, causing countless people to salivate profusely.

But under Wang Chen's suppression, no one dared to make a rash move.

Not until the rice and water in the cauldrons turned into congee.

Only then was the firewood removed.

Wang Chen pointed to a few martial artists among the mortals and tasked them with ladling and distributing the congee.

In fact, what had just finished cooking could only be considered as thin congee. After thorough stirring and ladling out a bowl, there were very few grains of rice in it.

Yet, this dilute Spirit Rice congee was exactly what mortals could digest and absorb.

It had the effect of sating hunger, filling the stomach, and strengthening the physique!

The pitiable mother and daughter from earlier were the first to receive the congee.

With one bowl each, they regained their healthy complexion.

The other homeless people held their porcelain bowls and clay jars, queuing up in an orderly fashion to receive their congee.

On many of their faces were smiles of joy and satisfaction!

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