Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

Emerging from a secluded alleyway, Wang Chen had already changed his attire and appearance.

He reverted back to the identity of "Wan Xiu."

Relying on the marvel of Thousand Mechanisms Changing, he prepared multiple covers for himself, ready to switch at any time.

Sometimes, becoming so engrossed in his roles, Wang Chen could even completely forget his true self, wholeheartedly embracing a new identity.

Under such a masterful disguise, his true form had not been exposed in the slightest.

Walking through alleys and across streets, Wang Chen made his way home, which he knew like the back of his hand.

However, standing at his doorway, he saw that his front door had been broken into, with thick wooden planks nailed across it and an additional large padlock.

Moreover, this broken door wasn't the original one!

What had happened?

Just as Wang Chen was about to leap over the surrounding wall, the door of the neighboring house creaked open.

Chen Qi poked his head out: "Taoist Friend Wang?"

He was very surprised: "You've finally come back!"

Wang Chen nodded, pointing at the boarded-up door and asked, "What happened?"

"Don't even mention it."

Chen Qi walked over with a wry smile, explaining, "During the time you were away, people from the City Lord's Mansion came looking for you three times."

Because they never found Wang Chen, the visitors were extremely irate. They not only smashed Wang Chen's door but also barged in and ransacked the entire place, leaving it in complete disarray.

Chen Qi didn't dare and was unable to stop them; he could only help clean up afterwards.

It was Chen Qi who had both replaced and repaired the gate.

Chen Qi quickly unlocked the door, sighing, "Recently, many people have come to Dongwu Stockade, creating chaos. There's been a rise in theft, so I added an extra lock."

In truth, adding more locks was merely a preventative measure against the honest and did not hold much significance against the dishonest.

However, Chen Qi felt that he had let Wang Chen down, showing a look of shame on his face.

Wang Chen said, "Thank you for your trouble."

"It's only right."

Scratching his head, Chen Qi said somewhat sheepishly, "Taoist Friend Wang, about the Spirit Rice I owe you..."

"It's not a problem."

Wang Chen waved his hand to interrupt him, "Whenever you have the means, you can return it to me."

To Wang Chen, the bit of Spirit Rice that Chen Qi had borrowed was not something he dwelled on, for Chen Qi was a decent person.

But some people...

Wang Chen looked at the hole in the door panel, reminded of the chickens he had once raised.

Chen Qi instantly relaxed and said, "Taoist Friend Wang, tomorrow night is New Year's Eve. If you don't mind, please come to my house for dinner. My wife has mentioned a few times that we've never properly thanked you for your help."

Tomorrow is New Year's Eve already?

Wang Chen's mind drifted for a moment, and he subconsciously nodded, "Okay."

Chen Qi was overjoyed, "Then I'll tell my wife to prepare well. Taoist Friend Wang, we'll meet again tomorrow."

With that, he bowed to Wang Chen and hurried off.

Wang Chen thought for a moment and didn't enter his home right away.

He went to a nearby carpenter's shop first, arranging for someone to come and install a new gate for his house.

Only then did he go in to examine the place.

Although the house had been tidied up, many of the damages were beyond concealment.

Wang Chen then descended into the secret chamber.

The first tier of the secret chamber was not spared from misfortune, as many items had vanished.

However, the primary purpose of this layer was to hide the existence of the second and third tiers below.

The intruders were misled by the first chamber and did not discover the deeper secrets beneath.

But this debt, Wang Chen noted!

He simply bought new tables, chairs, benches, and cupboards from the carpenter's shop, replacing almost all of the furniture in both the upper and lower rooms, considering it both a clearance of the old and a welcome to the new.

When the carpenter left, the sky had completely darkened.

Wang Chen closed his own door tightly, repositioned the Mandarin Duck Mirror, and then descended into the third-floor secret chamber.

He called up the Immortal Cultivation panel and spent 1000 points of Heavenly Merit on his Root Bone.

[Root Bone: 7]

7 points in Root Bone!

The original owner only had two points in both foundational attributes of Root Bone and Comprehension, with practically no hope of ever breaking through to a higher tier of Qi Cultivation in their lifetime, let alone achieving Breakthrough Mansion.

After Wang Chen crossed over, he had added 4 points to his own Root Bone, plus the benefits from consuming Vermilion Fruit, which greatly enhanced this most important attribute of Immortal Cultivation.

7 points in Root Bone is at least a "higher than average" assessment!

This meant that Wang Chen had left most of the cultivators behind when it came to talent in cultivation.

With 7 points in Root Bone bolstering him, his chances of achieving Breakthrough Mansion would be much higher. Discover exclusive tales on m,v l'e|m-p| y r

He could also use one less Aperture Opening Pill.

If he could add up to 8 or even 9 points, then advancing directly to Purple Mansion without needing any Aperture Opening Pills would present no significant obstacle!

Regrettably, Wang Chen had already added points to Root Bone four times, and the fifth would require 10,000 points of Heavenly Merit.

How many cultivators would that take to kill?

He was too lazy to calculate it; after all, it was not currently feasible.

Even if he acquired new Heavenly Merit, Wang Chen would give priority to adding points to Comprehension.

Because this attribute was equally important.

In the instant the points were added, all of his bones felt as if countless ants were crawling and biting inside, and the sensations of sourness, itchiness, pain, and numbness overwhelmed his entire body in an instant, making him wish he could smash all his bones to pieces.

But Wang Chen bore it with ease, even finding it quite refreshing!

After sweating profusely, he returned to normal.

His Root Bone had stabilized once again!

This put Wang Chen in a pleasant mood.

Come the next evening, he carried ten pounds of Monster Beast lean meat to his neighbor's house for a visit.

Seeing Wang Chen come over with the meat, Chen Qi's family was both surprised and delighted, hurriedly asking Wang Chen to take a seat.

Chen Qi's two children, seeing the Monster Beast meat in Wang Chen's hands, had their eyes light up with greed.

They were at the age where they loved to eat and were quite greedy, and it had been a long time since they had eaten any meat.

Even raw meat would do.

Wang Chen handed the meat to Lady Chen, intended to add a dish to tonight's New Year's Eve dinner.

Lady Chen had already prepared half a table of dishes.

Although she had done her best with her cooking skills.

The household's conditions were really limited, so only one dish of stir-fried eggs barely qualified as a meat dish.

Without the meat brought by Wang Chen, this New Year's Eve dinner would have been rather lackluster.

Chen Qi felt quite embarrassed, "Taoist Friend Wang, you have gone to the expense again."

Now in Dongwu Stockade, the price of rice had soared, and naturally, the price of Monster Beast meat had also increased sharply, plus it was very hard to come by.

Especially these past few days, because of the New Year, everyone wanted to get some meat to prepare a proper New Year's Eve feast, and he had exerted much effort but only managed to acquire a few chicken eggs.

He felt he owed Wang Chen.

Wang Chen just smiled and shook his head, picking up some stir-fried eggs with his chopsticks to taste, "It's good."

He motioned to Chen Qi and his two children to sit down, "Let's eat together."

The kitchen fire was blazing, the main room was brightly lit, and the aroma of food wafted through the air.

Everyone gathered together, talking and laughing.

Although life was still difficult, at least on this New Year's Eve, there was joy to be had!

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First update, delivered.