Staying Alive Cautiously in the Celestial Realm and Becoming the Strongest

"Martial Cultivator!"

When Wang Chen's Fine Copper Whistle Stick smashed an ambusher, along with his blade, into minced meat, a chorus of shocked exclamations rose from the surrounding mountains and forests.

Martial Cultivators are those who enter the Tao through martial arts, and before starting Qi Cultivation, they are already Innate Masters, even Martial Arts Grandmasters.
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The combat strength of Martial Cultivators is notoriously formidable, especially in close-quarters combat, nearly unmatched by Cultivators of the same tier.

However, while Martial Cultivators can sweep their peers in the Qi Cultivation Stage, advancing to Breakthrough Mansion is exceptionally difficult.

Still, ordinary high-tier Qi Cultivators dare not provoke mid and low-tier Martial Cultivators.

The ambushers realized that this time they had probably hit a tough nut.

Yet, before they could take their next action, Wang Chen, like a tiger entering the forest, covered dozens of steps in a breath, his Fine Copper Whistle Stick whipping up a howling gale as it swept across two bow-wielding ambushers.

Both were terrified and instinctively flew backward.

Bang! Bang!

Accompanied by two dreamlike sounds, the two ambushers had their Body Protection Spiritual Light shattered by the force of the stick.

They were smashed into upper and lower halves at the waist!

The dark bronze Fine Copper Whistle Stick, carrying a mist of blood, swept through like a Flood Dragon emerging from the sea, casting multiple shadowy strikes, and came crashing down on the heads of three other ambushers.

These three ambushers had no chance to dodge, their heads bursting open on impact!

"Spare my life, grandfather!"

At this point in the woods, there was only one middle-aged Cultivator left, dressed in cyan-gray robes.

He was the furthest from Wang Chen, so he survived the longest, but witnessing his partners mercilessly slaughtered by Wang Chen, he was scared stiff to the core, lacking even the strength to flee.

He thudded to his knees, tears and snot running down his face as he begged, "I have an eighty-year-old mother at home..."

"If you utter another needless word, I'll smash you to death!"

Wang Chen, holding the blood-stained Fine Copper Whistle Stick, curled his lips up to reveal a chilling set of white teeth.

In the eyes of the middle-aged Cultivator, his smile was more terrifying than a demon's, causing him to shudder uncontrollably.

Wang Chen stepped forward to the trembling man, slammed his Fine Copper Whistle Stick into the ground, and said, "I ask, you answer, understand?"

The middle-aged Cultivator nodded rapidly, like pounding garlic.

Wang Chen asked in a stern voice, "Why did you try to ambush me?"

The middle-aged Cultivator's expression was as if he had swallowed a ton of bitter bile, bathing in a pool of bitterness.

It turned out he and the few Cultivators killed by Wang Chen were all a gang of mountain bandits nestling in the nearby deep mountains, regularly ambushing passing merchants or lone Loose Cultivators.

Today, seeing Wang Chen traveling alone, they harbored evil thoughts, wanting to murder and loot.

"I was forced to join them; I've never done anything against heaven and reason!" he claimed.

This middle-aged Cultivator, with a fifth tier Qi Cultivation Level, had a not very low realm, but he lacked the ability to fight.

In fact, he was a Medical Cultivator, adept at diagnosing, treating, detoxifying, and other spells.

He was always brought along on the bandits' pillaging expeditions.

Fulfilling a role similar to that of a combat medic.

Intuition told Wang Chen that this man wasn't lying, and there was no Blood Fiend Energy on his body.

After a moment's thought, Wang Chen spoke, "Alright, lead me to your stronghold, and I'll spare your life."

"Ah?"

The middle-aged Cultivator was taken aback.

The bandit gang he had been coerced into joining had over a hundred members, with their chief, the Black-faced Asura, having the highest level of Cultivation at the Qi Cultivation eighth tier. Below him were thirty to forty members at the Primary and mid tiers of Qi Cultivation.

Along with several Innate Martial Artists!

Such power, even an Qi Cultivation Perfection Cultivator would have to stay clear.

Although Wang Chen was a Martial Cultivator, how could his seventh level Qi Cultivation compete with these Horse Bandits?

"Black-faced Asura is not to be trifled with,"

the middle-aged Cultivator advised earnestly, "The Blood Fiend Energy he cultivates can kill invisibly, and he once killed a Cultivator at the ninth Qi Cultivation Stage. If he finds out that you killed his men..."

In his opinion, for Wang Chen to head to Black-faced Asura's stronghold was tantamount to looking for death.

He was not deterring Wang Chen purely out of kindness; his main concern was not wanting to become involved and end up as food for the snake pit himself.

"You don't need to worry about that,"

Wang Chen said, patting the man's shoulder, "Just take me there, and I'll let you go."

Wang Chen had disguised himself and swaggered along solo to go fishing for trouble.

He had sensed the prying eyes earlier and purposely revealed the Spirit Stones hidden in his bag.

As expected, it attracted several small fries.

But Wang Chen's ultimate goal was to dig out the roots of the Mysterious Intent Bandit group through these thieves.

In many places, bandits had connections with each other, passing messages or trading goods. When necessary, they would also band together for a big heist.

Of course, it was possible that these people had no affiliation with the Mysterious Intent Bandit group.

But that didn't matter. Wang Chen had previously told Zuo Xiaomo to gather information, knowing which areas around Beiwang City had suffered from bandit troubles, and he planned to check each one.

He was certain to find clues!

The target of his mission, Mysterious Intent Taoist, was extremely cunning, moving unpredictably and without trace, striking once and then immediately changing locations.

Moreover, the bandit group had no fixed residence, often disguised as herdsmen or merchant caravans, making it even more difficult to catch them out.

Since his target roamed the borderlands, and Wang Chen did not possess the profound abilities of Cave Heaven, it was impossible for him to wander about like a blind man feeling an elephant and hoping for luck.

Therefore, he had decided to follow the clues methodically.

It would have been best to cooperate with Ji Yongtai, who was a local force and certainly well-informed. To say that he had no knowledge of the Mysterious Intent Bandit group was impossible.

But Wang Chen suspected that Ji Yongtai colluded with Mysterious Intent Taoist, so seeking his help would be like asking a tiger for its skin.

Therefore, he resorted to a strategy similar to "feign one thing while doing another."

As the saying goes, an arm cannot twist a thigh, so seeing that Wang Chen remained adamant and would not heed his advice, the middle-aged Cultivator heaved a sigh and obediently led the way.

"Wait,"

Wang Chen said, pointing at the bodies on the ground, "Their Storage Bags are yours."

These poverty-stricken bandits wouldn't have anything valuable on them, and Wang Chen couldn't be bothered to loot them.

In the spirit of not wasting resources, he might as well benefit this guy who'd been forced into banditry.

The middle-aged Cultivator was pleasantly surprised but also much more relaxed.

His biggest fear was that Wang Chen would dispose of him after using his help, killing him upon arrival to keep him silent.

Now, seeing Wang Chen's gesture, he clearly had no such intent and couldn't help feeling a hint of gratitude.

Quickly snatching up the Storage Bags from the bandits' corpses, the middle-aged Cultivator led Wang Chen toward his lair.

The stronghold of Black-faced Asura was not far, but it was hidden deep within the mountains and extremely difficult to find.

After trudging through dozens of miles of mountain terrain, a valley hidden between treacherous peaks appeared ahead.

"There is a cave at the very end..."

The middle-aged Cultivator wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "That's where Black-faced Asura and his men are hiding."

Wang Chen nodded, then abruptly struck the back of the man's head with his palm.