Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

The moon was dark and the wind high, and the chill of the night was like water.

The Mountain Lord Temple was dead quiet, and many of the cultivators camping in the main hall had already entered dreamland.

These past few days, the mental pressure on them had been immense.

They hadn't had a proper rest the whole journey.

Although cultivators can go for long periods without sleep, their Divine Souls also tire and need relaxation and recovery.

This Mountain Lord Temple had given them a long-missed sense of safety.

Therefore, many cultivators slept exceptionally soundly.

"Tan..."

The faint call woke Tan Zhiwen from his slumber.

Instinctively, he turned over and sat up, grabbing a Talisman.

"Tan..."

The next moment, Tan Zhiwen heard the same voice again.

This time he could confirm that he was awake and not hallucinating.

A haze passed through Tan Zhiwen's mind.

The voice was so familiar it effortlessly awakened memories that were buried deep in his heart.

"Juan..."

Tan Zhiwen muttered, his gaze showing a trace of dazedness.

Juan was his childhood sweetheart and love, who had died in an accident many years ago.

Throughout the years, Tan Zhiwen had never forgotten her, even rejecting several female cultivators who favored him.

"Where are you?"

"Tan, I am here."

Juan's voice, plaintive and tearful, floated ethereally and pierced through his heart, causing Tan Zhiwen's heart to surge with uncontrollable longing.

He lifted the entrance flap of his tent and shot out of the main hall like an arrow from a bow.

Emerging into the courtyard outside.

The moonlight, like water, showered upon Tan Zhiwen, as if draping him in a silver-white veil.

The Qi Cultivation Perfection cultivator widened his eyes with an incredulous look.

He saw his long-deceased beloved standing coyly just ten steps away, smiling tenderly at him.

"Juan!"

Tan Zhiwen could not help but have his eyes brim with tears, his feet felt as if they were filled with a thousand pounds of mercury, moving forward with incredible difficulty.

At this moment, apart from the beloved in front of him, nothing else existed in this cultivator's mind.

Thus, Tan Zhiwen also failed to notice a "Little Ghost" crouching on his back.

This "Little Ghost" had a physical size similar to that of a two or three-year-old child, with an overly large head and a frail body, its skin was lead-gray and, like aged orange peel, was full of wrinkles.

It clung to Tan Zhiwen's neck with its thin hands, its upturned snout fiercely sniffing at the back of Tan Zhiwen's head, sucking in wisps of pure white breath.

After a few sniffs, the "Little Ghost"'s expression turned blissful, the blood vessels under its gray skin bulging a dark red.

To Tan Zhiwen's left and right, four or five other cultivators were similarly afflicted.

They had voluntarily left the main hall that was set with a Defensive Array, all of them with Little Ghosts on their backs, absorbing vital energy.

This scene was so eerie that if seen by an ordinary person, they would undoubtedly be scared out of their wits!

And just as Tan Zhiwen ran out, Wang Chen emerged from his meditative state.

Something was amiss!

His incredibly sharp intuition was issuing a warning, alerting him to the approaching danger.

Wang Chen sensed an evil and cold air filling the space around him, which couldn't invade his Vajra Indestructible body, but the chill prickled his skin, raising goosebumps!

At the same time, he heard inexplicable whispering noises in his ears.

Evil Wraiths!

A divine light flashed in Wang Chen's eyes as he threw Evil-Repelling Talismans toward the four cardinal directions.

Four bursts of white Spiritual Light exploded suddenly, the righteous aura of pure Yang instantly covering the entire tent, simultaneously dispelling the invading evil cold.

The whispering noises disappeared with it.

"What's happened?"

Li Yian, who had been sleeping beside him, woke up startled, holding a Ruyi Magical Instrument in his hand.

Wang Chen replied in a deep voice, "There's an Evil Wraith."

Suddenly, he leaped up and with a raise of his hand, he swept the tent into his Storage Bag.

And it was not just Wang Chen who noticed that something was amiss.

"Array, activate!"

Along with a fierce shout, the Defensive Array set up inside the great hall suddenly burst forth with a myriad of rays of light, mana surging powerfully, enveloping everyone within.

The leader among the Ferrymen, that Cultivator surnamed Xu with his hair and beard all bristling, revealed a frightening divine light in his eyes.

He abruptly crushed a piece of a Jade Talisman.

A sphere of serene Spiritual Light silently unfolded, instantly flooding every inch of the great hall.

Squeak ah~

A piercing, enamel-eroding shriek suddenly rang out, and several twisted black shadows appeared.

Then they were consumed and extinguished by the Spiritual Light!

At this time, everyone realized that there were fewer people in the great hall.

The Xu surnamed Cultivator grasped a Magic Sword and charged towards the outside of the great hall, "Gentlemen, follow me to vanquish demons and slay evil spirits!"

Some Cultivators followed without hesitation, while others hesitated and did not move.

"I'll go out and have a look."

Wang Chen clasped Li Yian's hand and said in a low voice, "You stay here and take care of yourself."

Although they were just acquaintances with mutual benefits on the road, deep down Wang Chen saw Li Yian as his woman.

And it was his rightful duty to protect her.

Even though the female Cultivator's Cultivation Realm was actually a tier higher than Wang Chen's!

Li Yian's eyes sparkled, and a trace of indescribable tenderness appeared at the bottom of her eyes.

Wang Chen released her hand and, with a single Shrinking Ground into Inches, swept out ten yards away.

Coming outside, he immediately saw more than a dozen Cultivators standing stiffly in the courtyard, unable to move, each looking as if they had lost their souls, and with a mass of twisted, churning black Qi affixed to their backs, looking particularly sinister.

"Suppress!"

Seeing this scene, Wang Chen did not hesitate to cast out twelve Suppressing Evil Talismans.

At the same time, he activated the Clarify Technique.

The Clarify Technique was an advanced version of the Spiritual Perception Technique, a skill of Purple Mansion tier. Wang Chen had already reached the Minor Achievement Realm.

This technique, combined with his Divine Sense, could see through deception, detect demons, and provide insight into reality. At the highest level, it could reveal the true forms of all manner of ghosts and goblins!

Once the Clarify Technique was activated, the scene that Wang Chen "saw" changed dramatically.

Attached to these Cultivators' backs were, indeed, ugly and fierce Evil Wraiths.

Each one was at least of the Black Traveler rank, equivalent to a high-tier in Qi Cultivation!

Some Cultivators even had two clinging to them.

They were desperately absorbing something.

The twelve Suppressing Evil Talismans cast by Wang Chen flew and landed on the backs of four Cultivators.

Each received three.

Suppressing Evil Talismans, being even stronger than Evil-Repelling Talismans in driving away evil, had not yet closed in when they suddenly transformed into a cluster of Spiritual Light and struck the possessing Evil Wraiths.

Squeak ah!

A piercing, enamel-eroding scream suddenly rang out as four Evil Wraiths were bombarded by the Suppressing Evil Talismans and nearly shattered to pieces, their Evil Power melting away rapidly like snow under the sunlight.

These Wraiths immediately shifted their target and all flew towards Wang Chen!

Hatred completely directed at him.

Wang Chen stood undaunted, concentrating mana in his right palm, where the True Seal character "Suppress" suddenly appeared.

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The first update is here.