Chapter 266: "While Chopping Wood, Chop Some People."

Chapter 266: "While Chopping Wood, Chop Some People."

"But wouldn't that cause great suffering among the people?"

Xian Yi furrowed his brows, feeling the bone-chilling cold.

"Hmm?"

Old Man Cao tilted his head slightly, looking at Xian Yi with surprise, "You're quite interesting. It's rare to see someone at the Body Fusion Stage who cares about mortals. In your eyes, aren't mortals just like ants, with frail bodies that can't even withstand your gaze? It's uncommon for someone at your cultivation level to care about the lives of mortals."

Generally speaking, not only those at the Body Fusion Stage but even Nascent Soul and Primordial Soul cultivators rarely regarded mortals as people.

In fact, they were indeed not on the same level of existence. Mortals needed to eat, excrete, bathe, while those who had attained the Dao had no bodily needs, didn't need to eat grains, and had no body odor. They exuded a refreshing scent, like the fragrance of rice.

From this perspective, they were indeed different.

"That won't happen."

Xian Yi shook his head, "I was born a mortal, and my parents and family are all mortals. Mortals are my roots. Looking down on mortals is like looking down on my past self. My goal in cultivation was to slaughter all those who looked down on me."

"If I become like that, my Dao heart will be damaged."

"I understand."

Old Man Cao nodded and then sighed, "But from now on, you won't have to worry about your Dao heart being damaged. You won't have the chance to cultivate anymore. Come, let's go for a walk in Fufeng City and show you where Chen Qiu started."

"That place has now become a scenic spot."

"Many people come here to visit."

"Visit?" Xian Yi was slightly taken aback.

"Hmm."

Old Man Cao nonchalantly said, "You can think of it as a way to mark your visit, it's the same idea. It's a new term, and recently, the Great Xia Kingdom has been coming up with many new words, which is quite interesting."

"Senior, may I ask what Chen Qiu did before he made his fortune?"

"Chopping wood."

"Chopping wood? Can one really gain a great fortune and rise from chopping wood alone?"

"While chopping wood, chop some people."

"Oh, that makes more sense."

". . ."

At this moment, outside the suburbs of Fufeng City, beyond the fence, a young man in linen stood with a complex expression, gazing at the trees and an axe protected within the enclosure.

This was where Chen Qiu started his journey.

Numerous signs were erected nearby, each clearly inscribed with a phrase.

"First chop wood, then chop people, and you'll eventually become rich."

"Without chopping wood for 29 days, how can you smoothly chop people on the last day? All your efforts will pay off in the future."

"The meaning of life is to reach the peak, not to always look up to others."

Various slogans filled him with inspiration, and the surrounding tourists crowded the fence, making it hard to move. Additionally, there were troupes, storytellers, and shadow puppet shows, each using different methods and forms to narrate the same story—Chen Qiu's rise to fame.

From chopping wood to the Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment, the story continued with the demon race invasion, the Mock Heaven Sect's Heavenly Dao Mystic Realm, and more.

His name was Wang Zhenni.

It was an unremarkable name, but that didn't matter. What was important was that he didn't belong to this world; he was an unknown visitor to this realm. Three days ago, he had crossed over to Fufeng City.

His initial plan was to go with the flow and adapt to this strange world, which seemed to be set in ancient times. For the time being, he needed to find a place that provided food and shelter.

But soon, he discovered the peculiarities of this world. Firstly, everyone possessed special abilities, which they called 'attributes'. Secondly, the world was filled with trendy phrases that were common before his crossing.

There were also many ancient poems, all from his previous life, and he even saw the ongoing serialization of "Journey of the Four Young Boys" in the market, already reaching over 120 chapters.

He had read "Journey of the Four Young Boys" countless times in his previous life, but this was the first time he saw it being serialized in this world, a fresh experience.

The author's name had changed to "Liu San".

From this, he realized that this world was not just home to one or two time-travelers; there seemed to be an abundance of them, almost as numerous as the stars in the sky.

These time-travelers were all trying to earn a living in this world using their own methods.

Although they didn't gather together and had no interactions despite seeing through each other's identities, they all shared a common understanding: among all the time-travelers, Chen Qiu was the most successful.

Without a doubt.

And the reason he was here today was that an old-timer time-traveler had brought him.

"Hmm."

The middle-aged man with a rugged face, standing next to Wang Zhenni, sighed, "Since you're here, I'll take you to meet our Grandmaster, the one we all revere as our Grandmaster. He's the most successful among us; the others are just pretenders."

"After so many years, only two people have managed to break free from the Great Xia Kingdom's cage: Chen Qiu and the Seventh Prince of the Capital."

"To be honest, no one expected the Seventh Prince to break free from the cage and leave the Great Xia Kingdom. His strength is far inferior to Chen Qiu's, although one must admit that he is also very determined. But determination alone won't fill your stomach."

". . ."

Hearing the explanation from the old-timer by his side, Wang Zhenni stood silently with a complex expression, not uttering a word. The day before, he had recognized this old-timer as a fellow time-traveler on the streets, and the old-timer had asked him to follow along.

In an unfamiliar place, it was good to have a fellow countryman, so he didn't refuse.

But he still maintained some caution.

After all, it wasn't uncommon for people to harm their own kind.

And this fellow villager was named Liu San, yes, the very person who serialized "Journey of the Four Young Boys" in the Great Xia Kingdom.

A while ago, a time-traveling comrade who hadn't inquired about the situation confidently brought over all the poems from his previous life, not realizing that some poems had already been spoken by Chen Qiu, while others were passed down long ago but were unsigned, attributed to anonymous authors. He was caught on the spot and accused of plagiarizing the works of his predecessors. He was beaten with many heavy blows, and it was said that it hurt quite a bit.

They had traveled a bit too late.

Those who had traveled before had already tried copying poems, so they couldn't do that again. Fortunately, they could copy "Journey of the Four Young Boys," but the market response wasn't very good.

Liu San's initial plan was to distribute a portion of "Journey of the Four Young Boys" for free, and then charge for subsequent chapters. However, the market response was rather flat, and not only was there no demand for paid reading, but even the free chapters weren't attracting any readers.

He then thought of selling it to storytellers to make a name for himself, but those stupid storytellers only knew how to talk about Chen Qiu; they couldn't tell any other stories. This resulted in Liu San's "Journey of the Four Young Boys" being completely wasted.

"Brother Liu."

Wang Zhen looked at Liu San, who was beginning to complain about why no one was reading his "Journey of the Four Young Boys," and couldn't help but speak up, "I think that one of the reasons might be the incompatibility of different world cultures, but another part, which may be a bit offensive, is that you probably haven't thoroughly read 'Journey of the Four Young Boys,' right?"

". . ."

Liu San subconsciously wanted to deny it, but he still nodded, "I read the children's version when I was young, and later on, I watched some of it on TV, but it was very sporadic. After that..."

"That's right." Wang Zhen nodded, "I've read your 'Journey of the Four Young Boys,' and the story outline is completely inconsistent with the original. Towards the end, it even became a bit random."

"The Monkey King's Three Battles with the Buddha."

"The Monkey King sneaks into the Peach Banquet, uses his immobilization technique to freeze some fairies, and starts feasting."

"And..."

"Anyway, I think the poor market response is probably normal. Why don't you try a different approach?"

"Like what?"

Wang Zhen spoke with a serious expression, "In 'Journey of the Four Young Boys,' there are 81 tribulations, right? Although the Monkey King is powerful and carefree, it's not popular in the Great Xia Kingdom mainly because it pales in comparison to Chen Qiu's work."

"In terms of strength, Chen Qiu doesn't have that overwhelming power in the Great Xia Kingdom."

"In terms of being carefree, he even has a golden hoop that can restrain him."

"In this situation, it's natural that fewer people will read your 'Journey of the Four Young Boys.' Why don't you change it a bit, make it more carefree? Have the Monkey King throw away his golden hoop and then, with his staff in hand, go on a killing spree. I call this the 'Speedrun Version of Journey of the Four Young Boys.'"

"Hmm..."

Liu San opened his mouth as if deep in thought, "Your idea is quite interesting. I can give it a try."

These two people didn't stand out in the crowd, and in the entire Great Xia Kingdom, there were countless time travelers who were changing this world and their own lives with their own methods.

Although it was just a small, insignificant matter.

Under the butterfly effect, it would always mysteriously spread throughout the country.

For example, new terms like "check-in" emerged.

If there were statistical methods, it would be known that in recent years, the number of time travelers in the Great Xia Kingdom has been increasing, giving a tragic sense of dark clouds pressing down on the city, ready to crush it. This has led to.

In recent years, the number of people who have fallen off cliffs and died has increased significantly.

The number of people who have drowned in deep pools has also increased significantly.

These time travelers always seek opportunities in various ways, and some may truly believe that they are the absolute protagonists of fate, thinking that when they jump off a cliff, a powerful figure will catch them, praise their courage, and then teach them supreme divine skills.

Plop, plop.

One jumps, then two, and after two, three.

The scene is lively, and most time travelers are well aware of one thing: there is only one true protagonist, and that is Chen Qiu, the one who, even after his departure, still influences the people of the Great Xia Kingdom at every moment.

With a single call, everyone responds.

And they, perhaps, are just nameless ants.

In the Mystic Heaven State, within the Celestial Palace.

"Huff..."

Chen Qiu, seated cross-legged on the Celestial Palace throne, exhaled a mouthful of turbid air and slowly opened his eyes. At this moment, more than one and a half months had passed since he entered closed-door cultivation, and his cultivation base had reached the fourth layer of the Body Fusion Stage.

-

"Cultivation Base": Fourth Layer of Body Fusion Stage (0.0%)



-

Fourth Layer of Body Fusion Stage.

This was already the middle stage of Body Fusion, a relatively strong realm within the Body Fusion stages.

Before entering closed-door cultivation, his cultivation base was at the second layer of Body Fusion with 41.7% progress, just a single step away from breaking through to the third layer. With less than 10% cultivation progress remaining, the timed Rainbow Stage attribute, "Good Fortune Approaching," would set his cultivation progress to 50%.

However, at that time, he had completely run out of spirit stones; not even a single one was left, and he couldn't squeeze out any more. Later, he brought out a large number of spirit stones from the depths of the Mock Heaven Sect, and with sufficient spirit stones, he was able to directly break through two minor realms in succession.

From the second layer of Body Fusion, he soared to the fourth layer of Body Fusion!

He also gained two more chances to choose from three ordinary attributes and two chances to choose from three Gradual Progress attributes.

Up to this point, including the Gradual Progress attribute he didn't choose when breaking through the second layer, he had a total of three chances to choose from three Gradual Progress attributes that he hadn't selected yet. He didn't know if these three would merge.

The next moment—

Chen Qiu suddenly saw the three panels above his Dantian, emitting a strange glow and enveloped in clouds, slowly merging together and quickly forming a panel that emitted a unique glow.

They truly merged!

His three chances to choose from three Gradual Progress attributes actually combined into one, and he knew that this world was one big combination!

"Huff..."

Chen Qiu took a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart. He was looking forward to what this attribute would be.

Just then, at that very moment—

Fei Long, who was standing nearby, sensed that Chen Qiu had emerged from his seclusion. He immediately strode over and said, "Brother Qiu, I have something to report. Over there..."

"Scram!"

Chen Qiu glared at him impatiently, "Report later, I'm busy right now."

"Okay!"

Fei Long immediately stopped in his tracks and walked to the entrance of the Celestial Palace. He sat down on the ground, his face expressionless, and after a long silence, he lowered his head and played with the dog's tail grass by his side, saying softly, "Brother Qiu doesn't love me anymore."

"You're joking."

The Sect Leader of the Heavenly Axe Sect, who was also standing nearby, cautiously comforted him, "That's because the senior treats you as family that he says such things. Don't take it to heart."

Fei Long looked up at the Sect Leader, "And you, do you really plan to stay here and be a security guard forever?"

"Yes, yes. I want to follow the senior to the Second Rank Continent and take a look."

"And then, after visiting the Second Rank Continent, do you want to go to the Third Rank Continent?"

"I do."

"What about the Fourth Rank?"

"If there's a chance."

Fei Long shook his head and sighed softly, "Human desires are endless and can never be fully satisfied. Right now, I'm thinking about one thing. Why do I feel like Brother Qiu is really not as fond of me as before?"

"No way, I have to go ask Bear Gao for advice."

"Damn it!"

"Bear Gao..."

Behind the Celestial Palace, Qu Gui, the outer sect elder of the Mock Heaven Sect, opened his mouth with a peculiar expression, "There's something I don't understand. You brought a large number of maids to the Mock Heaven Sect, and this was instructed by the Sect Leader, which is understandable."

"But the Sect Leader didn't ask you to grade them, did he? You've graded these maids based on various aspects such as appearance, figure, and temperament, from weak to strong, ranging from First Rank to Twelfth Rank. The Sect Leader's seven maids are all Twelfth Rank maids."

"The inner sect elders have Ninth Rank maids."

"The outer sect elders have Sixth Rank maids."

"The outer sect disciples have Third Rank maids."

"Your Brown Bear Clan's servants have First Rank maids."

"But... how come your First Rank maid is more beautiful than my Sixth Rank maid? How did you determine these grades?"

Bear Gao looked at Qu Gui with a serious expression and asked, "I ask you, are the Sect Leader's maids the most beautiful in the Mock Heaven Sect?"

"Of course!"

"But 'beautiful' is a very subjective term. Everyone has different perceptions. So, what can be used to highlight that the Sect Leader's maids are absolutely the most beautiful? This grading is very important. The Sect Leader has seven Twelfth Rank maids, and at a glance, it's clear that the Sect Leader's maids are the best."

"Otherwise, it would give people the impression that the Sect Leader's maids are of the same rank as yours. Could you bear that?"

"That's definitely unbearable."

Bear Gao paused for a moment and continued, "As for what you said about my First Rank maid being more beautiful than your Sixth Rank maid, it's because I'm helping myself while serving the public. I handled this matter personally, and I kept some good things for myself to enjoy. Is that a problem?"

"But even though I'm the steward of the Patriarch, I was born in humble circumstances. Using a Sixth Rank maid is a bit too flashy, so I changed her rank to First Rank. Can you understand that?"

"..."

Qu Gui slowly opened his mouth in astonishment, "Are you that straightforward?"

"Yes, if you're in an official position, it's not for your own enjoyment, but to serve the people, right?"

"Aren't you afraid the Sect Leader will find out?"

"Not afraid," Bear Gao shook his head. "The people below must have some fun so that the people above can feel at ease. If a person doesn't have any hobbies, it's highly likely that they are enduring for some difficult-to-achieve goal."

"The Patriarch won't mind some small flaws."

"I understand, but can you give me a Ninth Rank maid and change her rank to Sixth Rank? I find the current one a bit ugly." Qu Gui whispered, "Of course, I heard that your father enjoys drinking tea, and I've already sent some high-quality tea leaves."

Bear Gao laughed.

"Sigh."

Behind the Celestial Palace, Bear Gao's father was lying in the bamboo forest at that moment, sighing with a face full of emotion. Ever since his son became an official, his father had been busy. He had to enjoy tea, wine, and occasionally collect some Spirit Stones. It was exhausting.

All thanks to his son's blessings.

Every member of the Brown Bear Clan, from top to bottom, had maids. Each had a First Rank maid, but his maid was a Sixth Rank maid, the same rank as his son's maid. However, her rank was changed to First Rank.

Who could have imagined this?

Once upon a time, in the boundless desert of the Great Xia Kingdom, a brown bear was on the verge of starvation, barely able to fill its stomach. Yet, one day, it would live a life of luxury, served by beauties.

Oh, the irony of life.

Indeed, choices far outweigh effort.

If one must strive, it's better to have children and let them make the effort instead of struggling oneself.

The more children one has, the more children there are to strive.

Inside the Celestial Palace, Chen Qiu, seated on the Heaven Sovereign Throne, gazed at the unique panel floating above his Dantian, enveloped in clouds and mist. After sending Fei Long away, he was intently examining this unique panel shrouded in mist.

He was eager to see what the three Ultimate Entries would synthesize into.

An Emperor-level Entry?

He had even thought of a name for it.

Soon—

As his divine sense probed, a panel shrouded in mist quickly appeared before him.

「Encountering the Unknown, Undergoing a Transformation」

「The required Heavenly Energy cannot be supplemented by a Second Rank Continent. Urgently drawing upon the Heavenly Energy of a Third Rank Continent」

"Hmm?"

Chen Qiu looked at the panel before him, enveloped in mist, feeling a bit perplexed. What did it mean by 'encountering the unknown, undergoing a transformation'?

He couldn't believe that no one had conducted this experiment before.

After all, it only required nine chances of ordinary entries with triple selection synthesis.

As long as one continuously broke through nine major realms without choosing entries, these nine chances would accumulate.

Alright, then.

These conditions were a bit harsh.

But there must be others who possess the "Steady Progress" Attribute, and it should be easy to accumulate it by saving up nine times the amount of regular Attributes. He couldn't believe that no one had tried it before, and was certain that someone must have conducted such experiments. However, if that was the case, why was it still unknown?

Moreover, the required Heavenly Energy was so vast that even a Second Rank Continent couldn't provide enough.

What about the "First Rank Heaven Tribulation" Heaven-Slaying Thunder Tribulation that could be summoned in a Second Rank Continent? Could it be that the synthesized Attribute was insufficient, or that the "First Rank Heaven Tribulation" had depleted the Heavenly Energy of the Vast Continent? This was not impossible.

The resources between heaven and earth were not infinite. Many times, the rewards given by the Heavenly Dao were not fully distributed, with the excuse that the inventory had run out. It felt a bit like a shameless and unreliable attitude, as if the Heavenly Dao was saying, "I don't have any more, so do whatever you want."

It seemed that the Vast Continent was currently borrowing Heavenly Energy from a Third Rank Continent, giving off a subtle computer-like vibe.

Everything was orderly and precise.

However, there was something that Chen Qiu was unaware of.

At that moment, in the Third Rank Continent known as the Heaven-reaching Continent, the head of the White Family sat in his mansion, his brows furrowed as he stared at the jade slip in his hand. The jade slip contained detailed records of most of Chen Qiu's deeds.

The White Family was one of the top powers in the Heaven-reaching Continent.

Over the years, they had spent a significant portion of their resources trying to cure his daughter.

Although Chen Qiu couldn't communicate much with his daughter, and it was difficult to discuss such matters with outsiders, his daughter's mother had passed away early, and his daughter had never been with a man or experienced the faint feelings of first love.

He was thinking.

Since his daughter had contracted Immortal Cancer and was destined to die, with only a few years left to live, should he find her a husband?

Chen Qiu, whom he had seen, seemed like a good choice.

Whether it was his appearance, deeds, or other aspects, everything seemed excellent, except for his personality. His deeds didn't seem like those of a man who would develop deep affection for his daughter; instead, he seemed more like the type who would slap her around or bury her alive if she didn't listen to him.

But...

When he thought about the other suitors from various powers, he felt that Chen Qiu was a pretty good choice. After all, he was a normal person, unlike Qi Family's third son, who was covered in cow-like spots. Damn it, were there any normal people left in the Heaven-reaching Continent?

This was a polluted continent.

If you wanted to become stronger, you had to choose Attributes that would mutate your body.

If you didn't choose them, your path to immortality would be cut off. Daring to cultivate without Attributes would make you the weakest among your peers, easily challenged by those of higher ranks.

There was no other way.

Just then—

"Boom!"

A thunderous roar echoed through heaven and earth, and he could clearly sense that the Heavenly Energy of the entire Heaven-reaching Continent was rapidly being consumed, or rather, transferred!

The Heavenly Energy of the entire Heaven-reaching Continent was being rapidly transferred to the Profound Heaven Continent.

"This..."

The head of the White Family stood up instinctively, gazing into the distance with a mixture of shock and bewilderment in his eyes. Heavenly Energy was a crucial component of a continent.

It was primarily used for issuing Heavenly Dao Edicts, summoning lightning tribulations, bestowing rewards, initiating version updates, and more. Generally, when a continent's Heavenly Energy was depleted and no longer replenished, it would become a discarded continent.

Gradually, Attributes would cease to appear, turning it into an Exile Continent.

From this perspective, Heavenly Energy was like the blood of a continent, indispensable.

But—

Usually, a continent's own Heavenly Energy was more than sufficient, as it was a renewable resource that would gradually replenish itself. However, this time, something unexpected had occurred in the Vast Continent, requiring it to borrow Heavenly Energy from its superior continent.

This was a rule of the Heavenly Dao.

When a lower continent's Heavenly Energy was insufficient, small amounts would be borrowed from a continent of the same rank, while larger amounts would be borrowed from its superior continent. This process was normal and without issue, something he understood well.

What he didn't understand was why the Vast Continent, even after its emergence, would require such a vast amount of Heavenly Energy, to the extent that it needed to borrow from the Heaven-reaching Continent.

Just as he was about to ask the Guardian who was with his daughter in the Vast Continent, a message arrived from her.

"Head of the Family, all the Heavenly Energy in the Vast Continent is converging towards the Mystic Heaven State."

A simple message.

But the head of the White Family quickly understood. The Mystic Heaven State, part of the Vast Continent, could only be referring to one person who could cause such a grand event.

". . ."

He looked at the jade slip in his hand with a complex expression.

Chen Qiu.

A Supreme Heavenly Prodigy who had climbed up from a First Rank Continent, he would occasionally create a big stir, always bringing great surprises. What a pity... What a pity...

Unfortunately, the superior continent of the Vast Continent was none other than the Heaven-reaching Continent, a polluted continent.

This meant that the Attribute Chen Qiu randomly obtained upon reaching the Heaven-reaching Continent would also be one that mutated the body. Eventually, he would have to choose between a decline in combat power and a mutated body.

A once-perfect Supreme Heavenly Prodigy was about to be unavoidably tainted on the Heaven-reaching Continent.

Unless...

Unless Chen Qiu could transfer to another Third Rank Continent, but traveling to a superior continent was a rule granted by the Heavenly Dao. Traveling to another continent of the same rank, but not in the same sequence as the current continent, was considered smuggling.

The consequences of being caught smuggling were not pleasant.

Usually, no one would choose to smuggle unless they were truly desperate.

After taking a deep breath, he quickly sent a message back to his daughter's Guardian.

"Deepen the relationship, and don't be afraid to give generously. Add more gifts."

"The White Family can afford to spend a large amount of spirit stones to support so many idiots and wastes, and they won't be stingy when it comes to cultivating a relationship with such a Heavenly Prodigy."

PS: This chapter should pass the review.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end