Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

Having subdued Chen Hu, Wang Chen turned to address the matter of the rescued villagers.

As the saying goes, the longer the night, the more dreams there will be; Wang Chen couldn't possibly escort these people down the mountain, so he gave them two choices.

Either band together and head home on their own, or accompany him to the bandit-infested mine.

These villagers, captured by the bandits, were not entirely defenseless; some were martial artists, some were at the Shedding Mortality stage, and others possessed lower-tier Qi Cultivation Level.

Being locals, finding their way home would certainly be no problem for them.

In comparison, going to the mine with Wang Chen would be dangerous, so the majority chose to leave together.

Yet, a few villagers were willing to join Wang Chen and venture to the mine to slay the thieves.

Among them was Xu Laosi.

"Village head, sir."

He clenched his fist: "Though I, Xu Laosi, have modest strength, I am willing to toil like a horse or a dog for your cause!"

His impassioned speech made some of the villagers who wanted to leave appear ashamed.

Wang Chen found this guy quite interesting.

So, he took Xu Laosi and five other villagers with him, led by Chen Hu, toward the mine.

For his own life's sake, Chen Hu dared not play any tricks and took Wang Chen through a secret path that was the closest route to the mine.

What's more, he laid bare everything he knew to Wang Chen, without holding anything back.

Chen Hu was a member of the Grey Wolf Bandits, who had been entrenched here for many years, with the numbers of their peak times rising to several hundreds.

After offending a local tyrant, they were decimated by Battle Cultivators called in by the rival, which severely weakened them.

The Grey Wolf Bandits currently had three leaders; apart from the chief who guarded the mine, the second and the third leaders had just been slain by Wang Chen.

"I'm afraid the chief has already received the news..."

Chen Hu, who had put all his hopes on Wang Chen, had completely abandoned any sense of loyalty and actively plotted for Wang Chen: "Sir, he is a cultivator with Qi Cultivation Perfection and carries several magic artifacts with him, you must be careful of his assassination attempts."

This guy even revealed to Wang Chen the most proficient spells of the chief and the characteristics of several of his magic artifacts!

In truth, Chen Hu was well aware that with Wang Chen's Cultivation Level, he could easily crush the chief; the realm of the two was not on the same level, a gap that could not be bridged by tricks or schemes.

The recently deceased second and third leaders had proven this point with their lives.

His words were nothing but an attempt to save his own skin.

The group travelled swiftly, exiting the secret path, crossing over a mountain, and passing through a dense forest.

In front of them appeared a small valley surrounded by green trees.

Wang Chen immediately noticed the watchtower built amidst the forest, with a sentinel posted on top, seemingly heavily guarded.

Chen Hu spoke: "Sir, that is the Purple Copper Mine."

While speaking, he looked pitifully at Wang Chen, clearly hoping that the latter would keep his promise.

Wang Chen nodded: "You may go."

He was, of course, a man of his word.

Chen Hu was overjoyed: "Thank you, sir!"

The bandit turned to leave, but before he took more than a few steps, a pair of fists slammed heavily into his back.

Bang!

Chen Hu was sent flying a dozen steps forward, blood spewing from his mouth and internal organ fragments following suit.

He crashed to the ground and struggled to turn over: "You, you promised..."

"The lord promised to let you go, but the one killing you now is me!"

The one who ambushed Chen Hu was none other than Xu Laosi, who sneered: "What does it have to do with the lord?"

Xu Laosi possessed the Cultivation Level of Qi Cultivation second tier and also practiced martial arts. It was easy for him to overpower Chen Hu, whose Dantian had been sealed, claiming the latter's life with a single strike.

With a strong sense of indignation, Chen Hu breathed his last.

"Spit!"

Xu Laosi also felt extremely aggrieved, "It's your lucky day."

According to him, only by flaying those bandits ten thousand times over would he truly feel appeased.

Wang Chen glanced at him.

Instantly, Xu Laosi became as silent as a cicada in winter, respectfully bowing his head without daring to draw a single deep breath.

"Well done."

Wang Chen said with a smile, "His Storage Bag is yours now."

Xu Laosi was overjoyed: "Thank you, m'lord!"

He originally had a Storage Bag, but it was snatched away by the Grey Wolf Bandits. Although there wasn't much inside, the Storage Bag itself was also considered a Magic Artifact, so the loss was significant.

Now he had made up for it all at once! Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

"All of you, stay here and don't wander off."

Wang Chen commanded, "Hide yourselves well and wait for my orders."

The villagers who had followed him all answered respectfully.

Without another word, Wang Chen immediately used his mana to soar into the air and flew towards the valley ahead.

Since Wang Chen did not conceal himself at all, he was immediately spotted by the Grey Wolf Bandit lookouts on the watchtower.

Before the bandit could sound the alarm, a Fire Crow descended from the sky.

Boom!

Accompanied by a fierce explosion, flames scattered and flew in all directions.

The destroyed watchtower collapsed with a thunderous crash.

The lookout above certainly left no remains, but his death served to warn his comrades in the valley.

The Death God was coming!

Wang Chen's Sky Skip had already reached the Great Achievement tier, and his speed exceeded that of an arrow leaving the bowstring; in a blink of an eye, he arrived directly above the valley and saw the mine that had been opened inside.

The scale of the mine was not large; a circle of houses had been built around the mining tunnel opened in the mountain wall, and beside them a pile of discarded ore was stacked up.

The sudden appearance of Wang Chen threw the bandits in the mine into disarray.

Some fled into the forest; some took out Heavy Crossbows and aimed at Wang Chen in the sky, ready to fire; others began forming spells, among them a burly Cultivator who brought forth a Copper Hammer Magic Artifact.

Wang Chen guessed he was the chieftain of the Grey Wolf Bandits!

The Magic Artifact swelled in the wind and, with a whistling sound, smashed towards Wang Chen, its surface gleaming with golden light, exuding a certain majesty.

However, its wielder turned to run and slapped several Magical Talismans onto himself in quick succession.

Anyone who could fly through the air without relying on a Magic Artifact had at least a Purple Mansion-tier Cultivation Level, far beyond what he could oppose.

Launching the Magic Artifact was merely to distract Wang Chen and buy himself a glimmer of hope for survival.

But the Grey Wolf Bandit chieftain's response, though not flawed, still underestimated Wang Chen's abilities.

Faced with the incoming Copper Hammer, Wang Chen pointed from a distance.

A streak of crimson-gold energy instantly shot out, striking the high-tier Magic Artifact with pinpoint accuracy.

The surface of the Copper Hammer flashed with gold, flying erratically like a headless fly.

The next moment, Wang Chen flung out the sleeve of his robe.

The Wind Thunder Sword was unleashed!

This Spirit Sword tore through the air like lightning, catching up to the fleeing Grey Wolf Bandit chieftain in the blink of an eye, seamlessly piercing through his Body Protection Magical Armor to nail him alive to the ground.

Then a downpour of fire rained down, engulfing the entire mine, plunging dozens of bandits into a sea of flames all at once.

Screams of agony and wailing echoed one after another, turning the place into a veritable inferno!

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Here comes the second update.