Chapter 295: Chapter 270 Is a Cup of Tea Time Enough? _2

But within a million miles, this was the only place with signs of human habitation, so Li Cheng decided to go up and ask for directions.

At a distance of one kilometer from the entrance to the village, the old man gestured with a cupped-hand salute from across the space, “Young brother, what brings you to our village?”

As he asked, Li Cheng noticed that the old man’s Divine Sense was probing him.

Li Cheng returned the salute with a cupped-hand gesture, “Senior, greetings. I’m new here and just wanted to ask for directions. Could you tell me how to get to the nearest town?”

To understand the situation of the surrounding area, naturally, one would go to a larger town.

As for getting to grips with the situation in the Divine Realm as soon as one arrives, that was impossible.

The old man heaved a sigh of relief inwardly, “New here? Could it be you’ve ascended from the Lower World?”

“Ascenders?”

Behind the fence, a cluster of heads popped out, their curiosity about ascenders was immense.

Li Cheng nodded, “Indeed!”

He himself found it strange that upon ascending to the Divine Realm, there was no Ascension Pool like there was for ascending to the Immortal World. Beside the Ascension Pool, there were powerful beings stationed to guide the newcomers and introduce them to the way of the Immortal World after their ascent.

Yet, upon ascending to the Divine Realm, he had ended up in this place where humans were hard to find.

“This area is covered by a maze-like Formation on the road to the town; you won’t be able to make it out without understanding the situation. Why not stay in our village for a while? In a few months, we will be heading to town for some business, and we can take you with us,” the elder offered with a cupped-hand smile.

Li Cheng did not wish to inconvenience them, but it would be beneficial to understand some of the local conditions, so he bowed his fists and accepted the invitation.

After getting to know each other better, Li Cheng learned that this village was called Hidden Spirit Village and that it had been passed down through more than ten generations.

The old man was the village head, named Yin Qingshan.

“Brother Li Cheng, our village has never seen an ascender before. If we have offended you in any way, we hope for your understanding!” Yin Qingshan said a bit helplessly, not forgetting to turn around and glare at the villagers.

Ever since Li Cheng followed them into the village, the villagers had been curiously and joyfully trailing after him. The offense Yin Qingshan spoke of, stemmed from this.

Li Cheng shook his head and smiled, “It’s nothing serious. I notice that everyone here has cultivation, but their method of cultivation seems quite unusual. Why is that?”

Yin Qingshan stroked his chin’s beard, smiling, “Unusual? Maybe it’s just that you’re not used to it. The way of cultivation in what you call the Divine Realm— our world—is like this, indeed!”

“It starts with Qi Cultivation, followed by Foundation Establishment, Divine Pill Realm, Divine Infant Realm, and, reaching the Divine Infant Realm is indeed the Heaven God State in your terms.”

Li Cheng understood; after all, this was the Divine Realm. Although the people born here had no cultivation at birth, they were nourished by Divine Qi from the womb. Once they began to cultivate, they refined Qi with Divine Qi, naturally incomparable to the Lower World.

Qi Cultivation and Foundation Establishment were, in fact, the same as in the Lower World, only that the power absorbed was different, leading to a different starting point.

Congealing a Golden Core with Divine Qi was the Divine Pill Realm, and then breaking the core to form the infant was the Heaven God State.

Li Cheng felt a pang of poignancy. Just a few realms and one was a Heaven God, whereas in the Lower World, there were a full eighteen realms to advance through, one also had to comprehend Laws and transcend Divine Tribulations.

By comparison, those born in the Divine Realm were truly fortunate!

However, when considering the bigger picture, ascenders who had experienced numerous hardships clearly had advantages that native-born cultivators of the Divine Realm could not match, such as in their mental state and willpower, among other attributes.

Which of those who could ascend wasn’t an old monster who had lived for tens of millions of years?

Of course, Li Cheng was the exception.

“Grandpa, who is this big brother?”

Caught in thought, a voice like the sound of silver bells rang out.

“This is my granddaughter, Yin Yue. This gentleman is an ascender, Li Cheng,” introduced Yin Qingshan.

Yin Yue appeared to be no more than fourteen or fifteen years old, but she had already formed her core. Once the core breaks to form the infant, she would be a Heaven God.

Li Cheng felt a fresh wave of reflection wash over him; it truly wasn’t comparable—people here might become Heaven Gods in their twenties…

But the other villagers who attained the Divine Pill Realm had lived for hundreds or thousands of years. This young girl must be an exceptional case.

Such an exceptional talent should be eagerly sought after by many major powers to recruit.

“Hello, big brother. Could you talk to me about the Lower World? I’ve only read about it in books; I’ve always been curious…”

Time passed day by day, and Li Cheng had become familiar with the villagers. In this period, he busied himself explaining things to everyone and even used light and shadow to conjure up images of mountains and rivers from the Lower World, making his descriptions come alive.

However, over these days, Li Cheng had noticed something odd. Every morning at dawn, the villagers with Foundation Establishment Cultivation and above would disappear and only reappear at noon, their strength nearly depleted.

They must have entered some kind of Divine Array and used up their strength to do something!

Although Li Cheng was curious, he also knew he shouldn’t ask.

After half a month had passed, one day while Li Cheng was chatting with a few villagers, a dull sound of footsteps came from the distant plains.

There were more than a dozen people, led by a big man in the late Heaven God State, with the rest at the peak or Complete Stage of the Divine Pill Realm.

These dozen or so people stood on the back of a giant beast with a massive body covered in scales. It seemed somewhat clumsy, but its strides were as fast as the wind.

“Take everyone to hide inside the houses, and don’t come out no matter what happens,” Yin Qingshan’s voice rang out.

“Brother Li Cheng, come quick.” The face of a villager turned pale, and he dragged Li Cheng towards his house.

Li Cheng faintly guessed that the group was up to no good, and this wasn’t their first time, which was why the village chief gave such instructions.

Once inside the house, the villager didn’t dare to use his Divine Sense to probe and cautiously peered through the gaps in the window.

Li Cheng, however, had no need to worry and released his Divine Sense freely.

Yin Qingshan stood at the entrance of the village, taking out three cloth bags, each half the height of a man, from his storage bag. Through the cloth bags, Li Cheng saw that they were filled with rice!

But this was no ordinary rice—it emitted a rich Divine Qi.

“Yin Qingshan, you’ve prepared only three hundred jin this year?” The discontented voice of the leading big man, still a great distance away, arrived first.

There was a scar from a blade on the man’s face, running from the right eyebrow to the left ear, making him look ferocious.

“Reporting to Third Master, the harvest was truly poor this year. We really can’t offer any more Divine Rice!” Yin Qingshan said with a deeply bowed figure and a face full of distress.

The man with the scar scoffed, “For so many years, my Move Cloud Mountain Stronghold has kept your Hidden Spirit Village safe and sound, asking only for eight hundred jin of Divine Rice each year. Last year, you provided only five hundred, and I forgave you. And this year, you push your luck even further?” “Third Master, it really is a bad harvest!” Yin Qingshan said bitterly.

Third Master dismounted the giant beast, followed by the other dozen or so people, and said, “That’s your Hidden Spirit Village’s problem, not mine. Now you have two choices: either make up for the shortfall from last year, or I will wipe out your Hidden Spirit Village!”

“Village Chief Yin, all together from last year, it’s only one thousand one hundred jin in total, which is merely eleven Divine Stones. Surely, your Hidden Spirit Village can afford such a small amount?” A youth beside Third Master persuaded.

Yin Qingshan’s expression was grave; he was all too aware that Third Master wasn’t just bluffing. He had only those two choices to make.

“Third Master, how about granting us a two-month grace period? In two months’ time, I will definitely present the eleven Divine Stones!” Yin Qingshan said with a heart full of worry.

Third Master laughed, reaching out through the air with a grab. In the village, a house crumbled, and Yin Yue’s figure uncontrollably floated towards Third Master.

After sizing up Yin Yue, Third Master laughed and said, “Are you certain you want me to give you two months, Yin Qingshan? Well then, I’ll take this little girl with me. After two months, when you’ve paid up, I’ll return her to you!” Yin Qingshan’s face changed, and he quickly bowed low, “I’ll find a way immediately. Please don’t mistreat her, Third Master.”

At the same time, Yin Qingshan kept making eye signals to Yin Yue, indicating that she shouldn’t speak.

“A tea’s time is enough, right?” Third Master scoffed coldly.

Yin Qingshan hurried back into the village and began searching through the broken house. At the same time, everyone heard his message, telling them not to act recklessly.

Soon, Yin Qingshan found a thin ancient book and quickly returned to the entrance of the village, presenting it with both hands, “Third Master, this is the Hidden Spirit Array, a hereditary Formation of our village ancestors, please review it!”

A glint of joy crossed Third Master’s eyes. The reputation of the Hidden Spirit Array was quite prominent in this region, but unfortunately, no one was able to set it up nowadays.

Regardless, the value of this Formation manual was worth at least a hundred or two hundred Divine Stones.

Taking the ancient book into his storage bag, Third Master grabbed Yin Yue and flew back to the back of the giant beast, “This year, consider your payment complete. This person, I will return her after two months.”

Upon hearing this, everyone’s complexion changed dramatically, whether it was Yin Qingshan or the villagers hiding in their houses!

What could happen to Yin Yue if taken away for two months? She would undoubtedly suffer unspeakable humiliation!

On the back of the giant beast, a resolute look appeared on Yin Yue’s beautiful face, and she immediately began to exert all her strength to activate the Divine Pill within her body, preparing to self-destruct!