Chapter 32: Chapter 32: To Help or Not to Help?_1
However, this time the enhancement of his cultivation was somewhat different from the previous occasions.
The previous times were merely minor increases.
This time, it was an advancement through a major realm.
Of course, Luo Changfeng couldn’t treat it carelessly.
“The Five Realms of Mortality are divided into Skin Refinement, Bone Refinement, Viscera Refinement, Blood Refinement, and the final Mortal Transcendence Realm.”
“Reaching the Organ Refinement Realm, one could claim to be invincible in Qingshi Town.”
“Even within the entire Huai Shui County, cultivators who have reached the Organ Refinement Realm are few and far between.”
“Therefore, as long as I can break through to Viscera Refinement this time.”
“My life will finally have some assurance…”
In the courtyard, upon an open space.
Luo Changfeng sat cross-legged, quietly thinking to himself.
After he made all the necessary preparations and informed Luo Ping of his decision to enter seclusion,
he extended his sin-ridden, emaciated right hand.
He pressed heavily on the plus sign next to his cultivation level on the panel of the golden finger.
[Do you wish to spend 50 points of Qi blood to enhance your cultivation?]
[Yes!]
[No!]
A prompt from the golden finger suddenly appeared before his eyes.
Seeing this, Luo Changfeng once again extended his right hand and clicked on the button that said [Yes].
No sooner had he pressed the button than he felt no different.
But as time elapsed,
and as that mysterious and powerful force appeared inside him once again,
it seemed the situation was a bit different from the previous times.
The minor enhancements before had been strong yet gentle.
But this time…
This mysterious force, while still immeasurably strong,
emitted intermittent bursts of irritability, boiling, and the aura of destruction and rebirth.
In just an instant, Luo Changfeng’s face, which should have been pale, turned beet red.
His whole body likewise emitted waves of shocking heat.
“Is this the transformation the body undergoes when breaking through to the Viscera Refinement Realm?”
Sitting cross-legged with his eyes tightly closed, Luo Changfeng couldn’t help but laugh.
This feeling, it was truly a mix of pain and pleasure!
In the blink of an eye, another day had passed.
Following the departure of Tao Ji and his people,
the streets of Qingshi Town were once again gradually regaining some vitality.
A vast number of refugees once more surged crazily into this town that had witnessed several bloodbaths.
The original residents of Qingshi Town walked numbly on the streets, their faces pale and their expressions bloodless,
like soulless zombies.
It was a sight that evoked pity in one’s heart.
But at the same time, it was somewhat inevitable.
In these chaotic times, when one could barely take care of oneself, who had the capacity to pay attention to those around them?
Compared to the common folk of Qingshi Town,
the situation for the town’s family powers was somewhat better.
The smaller families still had food stores.
Most of their gold and silver might have been plundered, but at least they had enough to avoid worrying about clothes and food.
The medium families were waving the not-so-abundant money in their hands,
searching within Qingshi Town for new industries that could prevent the family from continuing to decline.
The few large families that were around were constantly consolidating the industries that already belonged to their own clans.
As for those known as the four big families of Qingshi Town—the Luo Family, Hu Family, Jing Family, and Zhao Family.
These four big families, apart from still managing the mining and sales of the Qingshi veins,
spent most of their time absorbing the industries left behind by the families that had been purged.
The Hu Family was operating their marketplace while following behind the Zhao and Luo families.
Together with the Zhao and Luo families, they tacitly absorbed the ownerless industries within Qingshi Town.
The Jing Family was slightly different, quietly managing their own gambling den.
Whether they looked down on the ownerless industries in Qingshi Town or… perhaps because their gambling den had recently been too busy and profitable,
anyway, among the four big families of Qingshi Town,
these past few days, it seemed the Jing Family had been the calmest.
“Candied hawthorn sticks for sale, get your candied hawthorn sticks…”
“Selling kites, all kinds of kites available…”
“Meat buns, hot and fragrant meat buns, does anyone want hot and fragrant meat buns?”
In Qingshi Town, on a fairly bustling street close to the Luo Family Ancestral Land,
a large number of independent vendors, after carefully observing for some time,
realized that there seemed to be no danger within Qingshi Town.
They sprouted up like bamboo shoots after the rain, popping up everywhere.
Of course, apart from these street vendors,
Qingshi Town had become noticeably busier with a lot of bustling gambling dens and countless gamblers waving their money, trying to get rich overnight.
“Young Master, please have mercy, pity us, mother and daughter…”
“We haven’t eaten for two days and nights…”
“If we don’t get something to eat, we, we… we’ll really starve to death.”
Near the Luo Family Ancestral Land, Luo Chuan, who was strolling around,
suddenly stopped.
In front of him appeared a mother and daughter pair, with yellow, gaunt faces and ragged clothes.
The emaciated mother, upon seeing Luo Chuan, scrambled toward him,
seemingly trying to hug his legs,
hoping to secure a lifeline for her and her daughter.
“What are you doing, get out of the way, move it!”
“Don’t come any closer, or be careful that my knife doesn’t see you…”
The two house servants who were quietly following Luo Chuan saw someone approaching and quickly scolded in a low voice,
at the same time drawing the ten-forged steel knife from their waist,
to deter the passersby and the refugees around the street.
“Young Master, please be kind, save us, mother and daughter…”
Not far away, the mother kept pleading desperately.
The passersby above the street and the homeless refugees,
at this moment, seemed to be drawn in by such a spectacle.
“Young Master, what should we do?”
“To help or not to help?”
One of the two house servants, seeing the gaunt and pale mother and daughter,
could not help but show a trace of pity in his eyes.
After hesitating for a moment, he asked Luo Chuan in a low voice.
Luo Chuan did not immediately answer the house servant’s question,
but instead looked around at the increasing number of passersby and those refugees hiding in every corner with greed flickering in their eyes.
Luo Chuan sighed softly and shook his head, whispering, “This is not as simple as you think.”
“The situation has developed to the point where it’s not about whether I want to help or not…”