At that moment, the sweet, soft voice of his little wife drifted from the bedroom.
"Husband, are you done yet?"
"Almost, coming right now!"
Chen An gave a helpless response and hurried back into the bedroom.
……
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
Not long after returning to the room, Chen An heard knocking at the door once again.
To be honest, it was rather annoying, but he skillfully put on his clothes and left the room anyway.
After all, he was currently in a once-in-a-lifetime golden age for making money; he had to firmly seize this opportunity to get rich.
Being able to make money was more important than anything else.
Coming to the window beside the front door, Chen An picked up a bamboo pole and pushed the window curtain open from a safe distance.
The next second, what came into view was the gambling-addicted old cultivator who lived next door.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, urgent help! Lend me twenty low-grade spirit stones. Once I win big, I'll give you seventy percent of my winnings!"
The old cultivator's eyes were bloodshot, and his mental state looked somewhat deranged—he must have been driven completely mad by gambling.
Chen An flatly refused: "No money!"
With that, he pulled the curtain shut and ignored the old cultivator outside the window.
In the past, when he refused politely, the old cultivator thought there was still hope and came over to pester him on a whim.
Now, switching to a resolute refusal, he hoped to thoroughly extinguish the old cultivator's delusions of coming to borrow money.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, oh Fellow Daoist Chen, how can you be so selfish and short-sighted?!"
"You're such a disappointment!"
"You're destined to be nothing more than a pathetic pill-refiner for the rest of your life!"
Failing to borrow any spirit stones, the old cultivator had a bit of a mental breakdown and burst into angry curses.
He looked completely unhinged.
Fortunately, he wasn't allowed to rant for long before someone called out to him.
"Fellow Daoist Wang, are you desperately short on spirit stones?"
"If so, come hunt blood demons with us outside."
"It might not make us insanely rich, but it'll be more than enough to cover the monthly rent."
"You in?"
"I'll go! I'll go! I'll go!"
The old cultivator eagerly agreed to the cultivator's offer.
For someone to actually want a frail, elderly, and decrepit cultivator like him as a teammate was an absolute godsend.
He had to seize this opportunity.
Hearing the conversation outside from within his room, Chen An felt that something didn't quite add up.
An elderly bottom-tier cultivator like him? Would anyone actually be willing to team up with him to hunt blood demons?
Weren't they afraid he would just hold them back?
Or were they taking pity on him and genuinely wanted to help?
Although Chen An felt suspicious, he didn't dwell on it for long. Soon, he turned and walked back into the bedroom to continue enjoying the tender moments with his little wife.
To mind one's own business and stay detached from the troubles of others—
This was the fundamental survival rule in a place where demons and ghosts roamed everywhere, human hearts were sinister, and life was cheap.
……
6. Ambush in the Dead of Night
Several days later.
On this day, when the sky was still only faintly bright, several cultivators came knocking together to buy pills.
While trading at the window,
Chen An learned from their conversation that the gambling-addicted old cultivator who lived next door was dead.
He had died while hunting blood demons.
Word had it that his flesh and blood had been sucked completely dry, leaving behind nothing more than a shriveled corpse wrapped in skin.
His death was extremely gruesome.
Moreover, the hunting party he belonged to consisted of over a dozen people, including even a female cultivator at the Qi Condensation 1st Layer, yet somehow only the old cultivator—who was at the Qi Condensation 3rd Layer—had died. That was truly a bit of bad luck.
Bad luck?
Chen An didn't think so.
He strongly suspected that the cultivator who had roped the old man into a team a few days ago harbored malicious intentions from the very start.
They probably just wanted to use the old man as a human sacrifice—
Walking at the very front to clear the path, acting as pure cannon fodder.
Otherwise, there was simply no explaining why any hunting team would ever fancy an elderly, decrepit cultivator.
In the blink of an eye, another month passed.
It was time to pay rent once again.
Manager Zhang, who was responsible for collecting the rent, brought bad news this time.
Starting next month, the rent would increase to 3 low-grade spirit stones per month.
As soon as these words were spoken, the bottom-tier cultivators in the entire cheap district exploded, cursing angrily left and right.
Many could no longer afford the exorbitant rent, forcing them to pack up and leave the Bamboo Leaf Forest to seek out a living elsewhere.
Those who could barely hang on faced a massive surge in pressure, all calculating that they would have to increase their frequency of hunting blood demons outside—risking their lives just to make a living.
Otherwise, sooner or later, they would be ruthlessly driven out to fend for themselves simply because they couldn't pay the rent.
Right now, the area outside the Red Leaf Forest was crawling with demons and ghosts.
Once driven out, unless one was a powerful cultivator of the Qi Condensation (late) stage, it was an absolute death sentence with nine chances of dying for every one of survival.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, you pay your rent so readily. It seems you haven't been earning a small sum lately."
In front of the wooden shack, Manager Zhang accepted the 3 low-grade spirit stones handed over by Chen An and chuckled with a teasing remark.
As soon as he said this, many cultivators living nearby cast their gazes toward Chen An.
Their eyes were filled with envy, jealousy, hatred, and all sorts of other negative emotions, intensely envious of the big money he had made.
Chen An sharply sensed these malicious gazes and couldn't help tightening up inside, quickly denying it:
"Manager Zhang, you're overthinking it. I've been living quite frugally myself. After paying the rent, there's basically nothing left, and I'm already worrying about whether I can even scrape together 3 low-grade spirit stones for next month's rent."
Manager Zhang just smiled and said nothing.
The gazes shot by the bottom-tier cultivators nearby remained filled with ill intent.
Clearly, none of them believed Chen An's denial.
Faced with this situation where he had drawn the hostility of many, Chen An felt a creeping sense of scalp-tingling dread.
He knew full well that he was already targeted by desperate bottom-tier cultivators in the vicinity.
The moment he stepped out of his house, he would undoubtedly be ambushed and murdered.
Feeling helpless, he simply dropped the act and called out to Manager Zhang, who was about to leave:
"Manager Zhang, please wait!"
"What is it?"
"I have something to discuss with you. Might we step inside for a detailed talk?"
"Very well."
Manager Zhang replied.
Soon, the two of them walked into the house.
As soon as they entered, Chen An cut straight to the point:
"Manager Zhang, here's the thing: I want to buy a cultivation technique to protect myself. Do you happen to have any self-defense techniques for sale?"
"You know, what a coincidence—I actually happen to have one right here."
As if anticipating that Chen An would come to him for a technique, Manager Zhang pulled a thin cultivation manual from his robe and waved it in front of Chen An.
The fellow was clearly prepared. I've probably been set up...
Chen An realized this instantly.
At this point, if he still hadn't figured out that Manager Zhang had deliberately stoked public resentment against him right in front of everyone earlier, he would have been a complete fool.
"Fellow Daoist Chen, if you genuinely want it, I can sell you this manual cheaply. It's not expensive—just 100 low-grade spirit stones."
Manager Zhang said with a full-faced smile.
It was expensive, but not entirely unacceptable.
Chen An glanced at the cultivation manual in the other man's hand, feeling a strange sensation in his chest.
Because the name of the technique was 《Golden Finger》.
Seeing Chen An's strange expression, Manager Zhang introduced the manual to him, saying:
"This 《Golden Finger》 is a spell. Its ceiling isn't very high, but it's easy to master, making it very suitable for cultivators in the Qi Condensation (early) stage."
"Even though it's just a basic spell, once you master it proficiently, it will be more than enough to ensure your self-preservation here in the cheap district."
So I'm getting scammed—so be it!
I'm buying it!
Gritting his teeth to make up his mind,
Chen An practically emptied his entire savings, completing a cash-for-goods exchange right then and there with Manager Zhang.
"Fellow Daoist Chen is quite dishonest, aren't you? Just a moment ago you were worrying about next month's rent, yet in the blink of an eye you casually pull out 100 low-grade spirit stones. That's hardly playing fair."
Manager Zhang teased with a beaming smile.
Chen An didn't chat with him much longer. He simply replied that he had matters to attend to at home and politely saw him out.
After Manager Zhang left, Chen An didn't rush to flip through the newly purchased spell 《Golden Finger》.
Instead, he hurried into the alchemy room and brought out all the poisons he usually brewed.
Then, he rounded up a bunch of wooden stakes, sharpened their tips, and drove them vertically into the ground beneath the courtyard wall. He mixed the poisons he had just brought out with water and applied them to the sharp tips, turning them into a simple anti-intrusion trap.
To be on the safe side, he successively laid out a few more small traps to further increase the difficulty of any breach.
After that, he scattered various dry branches and fallen leaves around the perimeter of the courtyard. That way, whenever someone tried to approach the house, it would produce a crisp cracking sound of hard objects snapping, serving as an alarm system against intruders.
This wasn't making a mountain out of a molehill.
Recalling the malicious gazes he had sensed outside his door earlier, Chen An felt utterly lacking in a sense of safety, so he had to take precautions beforehand; otherwise, he wouldn't even be able to sleep soundly at night.
During this time, his little wife came out once, but Chen An immediately called her back inside, telling her to stay put in the room and try not to come out unless necessary.
His little wife was very obedient. Without asking any curious questions, she immediately and docilely returned indoors.
By the time he finished setting all the traps, the sky had grown completely dark.
Chen An surveyed the fully fortified courtyard, his heart brimming with a sense of security. He could finally relax his constantly tensed nerves just a little bit.
Afterward, he impatiently found a spot to sit down and carefully began reading through the newly bought spell.
The first few pages of the book were filled entirely with introductions.
It stated that 《Golden Finger》, as the name suggested, was a spell driven by one's fingers.
Upon entering the initial stage, the fingers would emit a faint golden glow when channeling the spell, becoming as hard as steel and packing enough power to pierce through stone.
Once proficient, one could even shoot the golden light from the fingers, achieving the precision of piercing a willow leaf from a hundred paces away, just like an archer.
Going further, one could shoot even farther and with greater accuracy.
"This spell actually sounds pretty good."
After reading the introductory pages, Chen An felt quite satisfied and continued flipping through the rest.
The contents of the subsequent pages detailed how to practice the Golden Finger.
The method of practice was very simple: just use one's fingers to poke things everywhere.
The difficult part was figuring out how to find the right feel during practice, channeling all the spiritual energy within the body into the fingers so as to erupt with terrifying power.
In the days that followed,
aside from engaging in the union of water and kindred elements with his little wife in the bedroom or refining pills in the alchemy room, Chen An spent all his remaining time poking everything in sight with his fingers.
Poking rice, poking mud, poking trees, poking stones... poking whatever he laid eyes on.
Just like that, poking around everywhere all day long—
Until the rice was crushed, the mud caved in, the trees were pierced through, and the stones were shattered—
He finally mastered the spell of Golden Finger!
【Golden Finger: Novice (1/100)】
"I've finally mastered it!"
Unable to suppress the excitement in his heart, Chen An immediately channeled the Golden Finger spell.
The next second, the index and middle fingers of his right hand, pressed closely together, instantly burst into a faint layer of golden light.
Though the light was weak, it appeared exceptionally bright in the dead of night.
"It really is literally a golden finger."
Chen An looked at his glowing fingers, feeling a mix of amusement and speechlessness.
Then, unable to wait a moment longer to test the strength of his Golden Finger, he began a furious barrage of poking against the earth beneath his feet.
"Puff... puff... puff!"
A patch of extremely solid yellow clay mud instantly developed numerous deep, thick holes under the relentless ravages of Chen An's fingers.
Good lord, this Golden Finger was simply too powerful!
Chen An grew excited all over again, clearly sensing that he had transformed from a combat-level-five weakling into a Super Saiyan capable of blowing up planets at will.
Though that description was slightly exaggerated, his combat power had indeed increased enormously at this moment.
"Rustle... rustle... rustle!"
In the silent dead of night, the sound of cautious yet exceptionally clear footsteps suddenly rang out.
Someone was approaching the house!
Judging by the number of sounds, there was far more than just one person!
At least five!
Chen An furrowed his brows and instantly tightened his nerves.
……
7. Not a Single One Survives
"Rustle... rustle... rustle!"
The footsteps grew clearer and clearer until they stopped right beneath the courtyard wall and vanished, replaced immediately by a series of rustling sounds.
Chen An knew the intruders outside the courtyard were about to scale the wall and break in.
He immediately concealed himself in the shadows,
transforming into a shady schemer ready to launch a sneak attack on the intruders with his Golden Finger at any moment.
After observing in secret for a moment,
six sneaky figures soon appeared atop the courtyard wall.
Five men and one woman.
Among them were two familiar faces—a pair of neighboring husband and wife whom he had exchanged pleasantries with in the past.
Usually, they looked quite amiable.
Who would have thought that you can know a person's face but not their heart? None of them were kind souls.
At that moment, the six intruders who had broken in stood cautiously atop the wall, peering into the house.
Seeing that the interior was pitch black, they figured Chen An must have fallen asleep, so they lightly leaped down from the wall and quietly slipped into the courtyard.
"Ah... ah... ah!"
Suddenly, several miserable screams rang out, sounding exceptionally piercing in the silent dead of night.
All six of them had stepped into the traps.
Either their bodies were gashed or the soles of their feet were pierced, causing waves of intense pain that forced them to cry out despite themselves.
"Quick, rush into the house and kill him!"
Realizing that their group had been exposed, the male cultivator leading the pack immediately made the decision to quickly finish off Chen An before things could change for the worse.
Hearing this, the others gritted their teeth against the pain, gripped their weapons, and charged toward the house ahead.
However, after charging only a few steps, they suddenly felt the bones throughout their entire bodies grow weak, making it hard to lift their legs or even stand steady.
"Oh no, poisoned!"
"Quick, take the antidote pill!"
The leading male cultivator shouted out a warning.
Hearing this, the other five hurriedly pulled small purple pills from their chests, popping them into their mouths to detoxify themselves.
Unfortunately, Chen An, who was hidden in the shadows and coiled like a spring, had no intention of giving them that chance.
The moment the leading male cultivator shouted his warning, Chen An burst forth with a sudden explosion of spiritual energy.
Brandishing a finger gleaming with golden light, he flashed like lightning right past the cluster of intruders.
"Puff... puff... puff!"
With a continuous series of sounds, bloody holes instantly appeared in the foreheads of the three male cultivators trapped in the middle.
Before they could even react to what had happened, they felt a surge of warmth welling up in their foreheads; the next instant, their bodies fell limply backward, crashing heavily onto the ground with a dull thud, losing all signs of life.
"Puff!"
Another dull sound rang out.
The male cultivator charging at the very back immediately followed in the footsteps of his three companions, his body collapsing to the ground in response, dead as a doornail.
In just the blink of an eye,
the six cultivators who had broken in under the cover of night were instantly reduced to only two survivors.
Remaining were only the leading male cultivator and the female cultivator who had stuck close by his side all along.
"Hum!"
A piercing sound of rushing air echoed out.
Without the slightest hesitation after slaughtering four people in a row, Chen An lunged straight at the leading male cultivator, raised his glowing golden index finger, and fiercely stabbed it toward the man's forehead.
The male cultivator reacted swiftly, instinctively raising his hand to guard his forehead.
"Puff!"
With a single sound,
a bloody hole was punched through the back of the male cultivator's hand, oozing blood continuously and causing him to bare his teeth in agony.
Gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain, he gathered every last ounce of strength left in his body and fiercely swung his other arm, using a palm-strike like a blade to hack at Chen An's neck.
At the same time, he screamed at the top of his lungs: "Go to hell!!!"
Though the leading male cultivator had exhausted every last shred of his strength, the poison had already taken effect, leaving him with less than a tenth of his original power, making this palm-strike look weak and sluggish.
Chen An casually sidestepped, easily dodging the palm-strike, and then countered with a Golden Finger, fiercely thrusting it straight into the man's forehead.
"Puff!"
The familiar dull sound rang out once more.
Another bloody hole appeared on the male cultivator's forehead; his body collapsed to the floor in response, dead as dead could be.
He just died with his eyes wide open in resentment.
Chen An glanced at the male cultivator's corpse, quickly dismissed it, and turned his attention to the female cultivator standing aside.
She had an above-average face, but her figure was extremely sexy and sultry—a grade higher even than his little wife, exuding the seductive charm of a mature woman from head to toe.
This was the dao companion of the male cultivator who had just died.
Her cultivation was low, only at the Qi Condensation 1st Layer.
She still retained the bodily excretions of a mortal.
Chen An often saw her coming out of her house to dump nightsoil, and occasionally they would exchange greetings when crossing paths. He had a deep impression of her seductive, sinfully attractive body.
"Please don't kill me! I'm great in bed, I can do anything, I can be your beast of burden, eat grass and give milk!"
Seeing Chen An staring fixedly at her body, the female cultivator realized she still had a chance at survival and immediately, with great savvy, hiked up the hem of her skirt a fraction to reveal a pair of fair, plump, long legs, pleading with a humble expression.
She attempted to seduce Chen An with her feminine charms in order to save her own skin.
Chen An glanced at the female cultivator's legs and said calmly: "I don't kill women. You may go."
The female cultivator was stunned for a moment, thinking she had misheard.
Realizing a second later, she dropped a hasty "Thank you, Fellow Daoist Chen, for sparing my life!" and then turned around, trembling as she hurried away, terrified that Chen An might change his mind.
"Puff!"
Before the female cultivator had even taken two steps, she heard a dull sound behind her.
Then, she felt a rush of heat welling up at the back of her head, and the next moment her body collapsed limply to the ground, falling completely still.
The back of her head had been pierced right through by Chen An's single finger.
"As expected, the most venomous are a woman's heart."
Chen An stretched out a foot to kick aside the female cultivator's right hand, looking at an extremely sharp silver hairpin hidden within it with a mocking chuckle.
Afterward, he instinctively glanced at the female cultivator's curvaceous body, finding her figure truly alluring and feeling it was a bit of a waste that she was dead.
Yet he knew deep down that lust is a blade atop the head; the prettier the woman, the more dangerous she is.
As long as they were enemies, he would kill them without hesitation.
To show mercy to an enemy was to be cruel to oneself.
"My palms are sweating, and my legs feel a bit weak..."