Earth, Lijiawa.
Li Chengxuan looked up at the high sky and light clouds, then looked down at the fish and shrimp swimming beneath the water, feeling an unexpected sense of ease and relaxation.
Although the cultivation world was rich in spiritual qi, it was filled with countless constraints.
The plight of his own Dao path, the crisis of the Immortal Alliance's split, the landing of the New Method sects—all of these kept him walking on thin ice, never daring to relax even for a single moment.
By contrast, upon returning to Earth, although he could not cultivate here, he felt a boundless sense of freedom as vast as the sky and sea.
With clear thoughts and unconstrained mind, such a state of mind was nearly impossible to attain in the cultivation world.
“Is this how the proud chosen talents of those sects who reside permanently in grotto-heavens and blessed lands feel?!”
“It really isn't bad.”
Li Chengxuan chuckled softly, tapped his foot lightly against the ground, and began walking toward the county town. “I had better look for a Child of Fate who possesses a condensed aura. Along the way, I can also drop by to see an old friend from the past.”
On the west side of the county town, outside the entrance of a mining facility.
Li Chengxuan paused in his footsteps.
Before he transmigrated, coal mining had been extremely lucrative.
During festivals and holidays, the coal mine would spend lavishly on setting off fireworks.
Back then, locals from ten miles around would come to watch, creating an extraordinarily bustling atmosphere that remained the vividest memory of his childhood.
Now, however, it had clearly fallen into ruin.
The once magnificent front gate was now mottled and dilapidated.
Sewage overflowed across the ground, with hardly any vehicles entering or leaving, making it look exceedingly bleak.
Looking all along the way, Li Chengxuan did not find anyone with a substantial aura.
Forget comparing them to Liu Zhijian, they were not even equal to Hua Chunning.
“Aura and fate are profoundly subtle concepts.”
“They truly are things that can only be encountered by chance, never sought after.”
“Otherwise, the cultivation world would not have abandoned the Old Method, which clearly possessed higher subtlety and wonder, to cultivate the New Method that is simple, brutal, and virtually devoid of threshold.”
Li Chengxuan had come mentally prepared, so he was not particularly disappointed.
Having visited the old place, it was time to meet an old friend.
Across the street stood a supermarket with water pipes and hardware accessories displayed outside, and a sign standing above the entrance:
Jiabao Hardware Supermarket.
“It should be here.”
Li Chengxuan looked it over and walked inside.
The shop was quite cluttered.
A chubby middle-aged man sat behind the checkout counter scrolling on his phone, the speaker playing loudly and noisily. Noticing someone enter, he immediately stood up to greet them: “What do you need?”
He looked up at Li Chengxuan, who was dressed in a black Daoist robe, feeling somewhat surprised.
Looking at Li Chengxuan’s facial features, his shock turned into obvious confusion.
Li Chengxuan's expression remained calm. He did not fabricate a false identity as his own descendant to cover things up, but instead spoke directly: “Eldest Brother, long time no see.”
“Ah?!”
Li Jiabao's eyes instantly widened in utter disbelief: “You... you are...”
Li Chengxuan chuckled softly: “I am Chengxuan. What, you don't recognize me?!”
Li Jiabao froze, momentarily at a loss for words: “No... you... that's impossible... back then...”
Li Chengxuan did not waste time offering lengthy explanations. Forming a hand seal, he tapped gently toward the empty air.
The wave of shock and confusion in Li Jiabao's heart gradually faded, replaced by an inexplicable sense of trust toward the person before him: That's right, this man is his younger brother who had been separated from him for many years!
His eyes suddenly turned red. “Chengxuan... where have you been all these years?”
Li Chengxuan merely claimed that he had encountered an extraordinary expert and went into the mountains to practice the Dao.
Only now, having achieved some slight success, had he come down the mountain to gain experience in the mundane world.
Li Jiabao nodded repeatedly, and after sighing with emotional nostalgia, he decided to take Li Chengxuan out for a great meal.
While closing up shop, he called his wife and children to meet up with them.
The coal mine had been prosperous in past years, so there was no shortage of high-end restaurants in the surrounding area.
Li Jiabao picked the most expensive one, grandly ordered several signature dishes, and began chatting with Li Chengxuan.
Most of the time, Li Jiabao talked while Li Chengxuan listened.
Li Jiabao had hated studying in his youth and dropped out to run with the wrong crowd, but failed to make anything of himself. As he grew older, he married, had children, and opened a small supermarket to feed his family.
Now blessed with both a son and a daughter, his life could be considered happy and complete.
Just as they were chatting merrily, Li Jiabao's wife and children arrived.
Li Jiabao introduced them with a face full of excitement.
Li Jiabao's wife was short, somewhat thin, and looked rather shrewd.
The eldest daughter shared nearly the exact same looks and figure as her mother.
Both of the younger sons were quite chubby.
Li Chengxuan's expression remained indifferent as he nodded in greeting.
To him, these people were nothing more than strangers.
Li Jiabao's wife, Liu Lidan, appraised Li Chengxuan with suspicion. She clearly entertained doubts about Li Chengxuan's identity, but refrained from voicing them, merely forcing out a polite smile.
However, once the signature dishes were served on the table, her smile stiffened.
This table of food cost at least a thousand yuan!
Ignoring her children whose eyes were wide with drool, Liu Lidan frowned and looked at Li Jiabao: “We can barely keep food on the table at home, yet you're spending money so lavishly! How are we going to pay the kids' school fees when the time comes—are we going to borrow it?!”
Li Jiabao's face turned sour, and he glared sharply at Liu Lidan.
Liu Lidan was not afraid at all; instead, she turned her head and began pouring out her grievances to Li Chengxuan.
In the end, it was a classic case of poverty bringing endless sorrow to a married couple.
When the coal mine stopped making money, the surrounding restaurants and supermarkets naturally suffered a total loss of business.
Moreover, Li Jiabao had fallen for the lies of a buddy from his old street days, advancing his own funds to supply a massive shipment of goods to the mine.
As a result, he was now unable to collect the payment for those goods.
Not only did he fail to earn a single cent, but he had also accumulated substantial debt.
Li Jiabao was both embarrassed and furious, leaving him no choice but to swallow his rage and drink heavily.
Li Chengxuan was wholeheartedly focused on the Dao path and had entered the Dao by consuming 【Mortal Turbid Qi】; how could his state of mind be shaken by such petty domestic squabbles? Taking a bite of his hometown's food, he said to the young children beside him: “The taste is quite good. Go ahead and eat.”
The kids were clearly accustomed to their parents' squabbling; upon hearing Li Chengxuan's words, they immediately began eating ravenously.
Li Jiabao and his wife continued to bicker in low voices.
Li Chengxuan pretended not to hear. Swiping a hand across his eyes, he used the 【Qi Peering Technique】 to look.
Sure enough.
The family before him all possessed shallow auras, entirely devoid of affinity with the Dao.
This was the normal state of the world.
The overwhelming majority of people lacked any meaningful aura or fate, living out their lives in a muddled stupor.
The husband and wife bickered relentlessly.
The children feasted heartily.
Li Chengxuan was present in body at the table, but his spirit wandered beyond the heavens.
This, too, was tempering the mind in the mortal world, beneficial to cultivation.
At that moment, another group of guests arrived at the restaurant, imposing in numbers, totaling a full twenty people.
Li Jiabao felt he had lost face in front of his younger brother and was inwardly seething with annoyance. Looking up, he happened to spot a familiar face.
It was none other than the "good brother" who had duped him into supplying goods to the mine and left him saddled with a mountain of debt!
“Shihao!”
Li Jiabao immediately stood up to meet him, asking directly: “When exactly are you going to settle the payment you promised me?!”
Hu Shihao had been plastering a flattering smile across his face. Turning around to see Li Jiabao, he furrowed his brows and waved his hand to shoo him away in a low voice: “Get the hell out of here! Don't ruin my important business.”
To Li Jiabao, collecting his debt was his important business.
Having finally caught Hu Shihao, how could he possibly let him go? Naturally, he refused to leave.
Hu Shihao had finally managed to connect with an important figure. He grabbed Li Jiabao by the collar and said viciously: “We'll talk about your stuff later. If you don't beat it right now, I'll beat you to death.”
Li Jiabao had drunk some alcohol, and in front of his wife and kids, how could he yield?
“You fucking court death!”
Hu Shihao turned back and noticed that the distinguished guest in the middle of the crowd had a gloomy expression. Flying into a rage, he threw a punch straight at Li Jiabao's face.
Liu Lidan screamed.
The children burst into tears.
The scene fell into total chaos.
“Stop.”
Li Chengxuan stood up. Paying no heed whatsoever to Hu Shihao who had frozen in place for no apparent reason, he looked with great interest toward the middle-aged, elegant man wearing glasses at the center of the crowd, and asked with a smile: “Who are you?!”
The followers surrounding that man showed various expressions.
Some sneered with disdain.
Some shouted reprimands.
Two uniformed men even stepped forward, preparing to teach Li Chengxuan a lesson.
The middle-aged man with glasses in the crowd was thoroughly displeased. He could not even be bothered to give Li Chengxuan a second glance, sneering as he prepared to watch the show, but his body involuntarily answered: “I am Duanmu Ren, county magistrate of Shiling County.”
“So it's the county magistrate.”
“No wonder.”
Li Chengxuan nodded in sudden realization, harboring a few guesses regarding the dense aura surrounding Duanmu Ren—pitch-black laced with blood-red. Ignoring the two uniformed officers who had already walked up to him, he pointed to the empty seat opposite him and said: “County Magistrate Duanmu, please sit.”
Duanmu Ren found it absurd and amusing.
What kind of status do you have to be worthy of sitting at the same table as me?!
Yet, regardless of his inner thoughts, Duanmu Ren's body involuntarily pushed through the crowd. With his chest thrown out and head held high, he sat down opposite Li Chengxuan, the cold sneer on his face already transforming into boundless terror.
Li Chengxuan nodded with a smile.
Truly, one wears out iron shoes searching far and wide, only to find it without any effort at all.
The Child of Fate with a condensed aura that he had searched so painstakingly for had actually delivered himself right to his door.
Rate on N.U.
