Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

"Jia Fifty-seven."

Upon hearing the call, Wang Chen stepped forward and handed over the magic slate inscribed with the characters "Jia Fifty-seven" to the cultivator in front of him.

The cultivator, clad in the standard robes of the White Tiger Sect, glanced at him, then waved his hand to unroll the scroll: "Choose."

The scroll laid out on the table was a magic artifact, which unfolded slowly upon activation, projecting a "holographic image" of White Tiger City right before Wang Chen's eyes.

The White Tiger Sect cultivator reminded him, "You have ten breaths' time to make your selection."

Wang Chen didn't need ten breaths; with a sweep of his divine sense, he knew immediately what he wanted.

Without a second thought, he pointed with his finger, "I'll take this one."

Wang Chen had three new pacts: two housing deeds and one shop deed, the latter being drawn by lottery first.

So what he was choosing now was a shopfront.

The White Tiger Sect weren't running a charity; properties in the new city's core area and the eight main streets running horizontally and vertically were all out of the selection scope.

The shop Wang Chen chose was near the main street—a relatively fine location among the second-rate spots.

The White Tiger Sect cultivator gave Wang Chen another look, then took out two legal pacts for him to leave a trace of his essence on each.

This legal pact was the property deed.

After choosing the shop, Wang Chen then drew two sets of residences.

Both were located in the southern district of White Tiger City.

Although the locations of the shop and houses weren't the best, with these two houses and one shop, as long as White Tiger City didn't fall into decline or get destroyed, Wang Chen could easily live out his life.

The White Tiger Sect had treated the cultivators from the former Flying Immortal City rather decently.

At least it wasn't too unseemly.

Unfortunately, Wang Chen had no plans to settle down; by next spring, once he found a team, he was definitely going to leave.

But most cultivators didn't share Wang Chen's views; they excitedly took possession of their new homes, dreaming and discussing their bright futures, their eyes filled with longing and hope.

Initially, everyone had their doubts.

However, once they moved into White Tiger City, they immediately found their apprehensions somewhat superfluous.

Apart from a full sense of security, the spiritual energy inside the city was clearly more abundant than outside.

This was obviously the effect of arrays.

The White Tiger Sect connected with the Earth Vein through the grand array they set up in the city, which not only provided potent defenses but also gathered the surrounding atmospheric spiritual energy.

Living in the city would significantly improve one's cultivation efficiency!

Almost overnight, the once ghostly White Tiger City became bustling with activity.

Thousands of cultivators eagerly moved into their new homes, and one shop after another rapidly opened for business.

The harshness of winter did not affect everyone's enthusiasm to start a new life at all!

In the world of immortal cultivation, many lower-tier loose cultivators were as tough as weeds; just give them a little sunshine and rain, and they would grow tenaciously.

Although the White Tiger Sect had forcefully taken over Flying Immortal City, they also gave these cultivators hope and a future.

Hence, they successfully won over people's hearts.

It was only after the tent camp was moved out and most cultivators had settled into the new city that the White Tiger Sect publicly announced White Tiger City and its surrounding hundred-mile region were the sect's domain.

And they would govern the land within a thousand miles!

At that point, the White Tiger Sect's ambitions were fully revealed.

But who would stand up to oppose?

Not Wang Chen either.

He used the shop he had chosen to open a small talisman store.

Wang Chen had set up street stalls before, but opening a store was a brand-new experience for him, in both his past and current life.

Quite novel.

Wang Chen's storefront was divided into two floors: the lower floor served as the shop, while the upper could be used for living or as a workshop.

But it was all unfinished.

Renovating was actually a very simple affair, as long as you're willing to spend Spirit Stones, everything needed could be ready in two or three days, even the sign above the door was hung up.

Dust Smoke Talisman Store.

"Dust Smoke," taking the "dust" from Wang Chen's name and also implying a retreat into the smoke and dust of the world, was imbued with his aspirations for cultivating the Dao.

Without ribbon-cuttings or grand openings, Wang Chen's small shop quietly commenced business.

The wares on the shelves were all talismans crafted by his own hands.

First-tier magical talismans.

In order not to affect his cultivation, Wang Chen only opened the shop in the morning, and closed in the afternoon and evening.

Though lacking the professional propriety expected of a shop owner, his Great Perfection-level Primary Talisman Making Skill ensured that his first-tier magical talismans easily gained customer approval.

Cultivators spread the word amongst themselves; Wang Chen didn't need to advertise for customers to come knocking.

The profits from crafting first-tier talismans were entirely invested into learning and mastering second-tier Spirit Talismans.

Wang Chen's intermediate Talisman Crafting Technique had just begun, but the increase in experience points was excruciatingly slow.

The reason was that crafting second-tier Spirit Talismans was much more difficult than first-tier magical talismans, and the material requirements were also much stricer.

Better talisman paper or boards, better talisman pens or knives, as well as better talisman ink and ingredients were needed.

Even with the advantage of the Immortal Cultivation panel, Wang Chen still frequently failed in crafting second-tier Spirit Talismans.

And each failure meant a loss.

The cost of trial and error had also increased significantly!

Still, Wang Chen never changed his mind and continued to relentlessly pour Spirit Stones into his efforts.

Starting was difficult, and leveling up afterwards was even harder.

But if he managed to raise the skill level, then he could reap tenfold, even a hundredfold in return.

Why not strive for it?

As the days passed by, the weather became colder and colder.

After several heavy snowfalls, the residents of White Tiger City huddled in their homes, and the snow-blanketed streets were eerily empty.

Wang Chen's talisman business was severely affected.

That morning, without a single customer in sight, he decided to close early and take a walk around the city.

Passing through White Tiger Sect's newly reconstructed city, which was several times larger than the old Flying Immortal City, he noticed its orderly architecture and planning.

Wang Chen observed that the beggars and refugees who used to be commonplace in Flying Immortal City were nowhere to be seen in the new city.

He wondered whether it was due to the extreme cold or if they had been driven away by the cultivators of the White Tiger Sect.

As he wandered about, he inadvertently ventured beyond the borders of White Tiger City.

Outside the city were countless stone and wooden huts, all built by cultivators who lacked connections or funds to live inside the city, serving as their dwellings.

Without comparison, there would be no sense of loss; compared to these cultivators, the people inside the city were indeed much more fortunate.

Wang Chen guessed this was probably the reason White Tiger Sect didn't mind a group of 'lichen' cropping up around the city!

But what did that have to do with him?

Surrounded by a white expanse, Wang Chen looked back at White Tiger City.

The distance was far enough.

The next moment, he suddenly leaped high into the air, shooting forward like an arrow released from a bow.

Sky Skip!

Like keeping a fist close to the palm and a tune close to the mouth, Wang Chen had been diligently practicing the Purple Mansion Technique and spells all this time.

At one point, he even reached the stage of forgetting both sleep and food!

With this leap, he soared like a dragon returning to the sea and an eagle cleaving the sky, escaping across the snowy ground like a shooting star, his speed growing faster and faster!

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The second update is here.