Mala Village

Three days later.

Chen Xuan pushed open the back door of Room 201 with the supplies he'd bought online. The entrance and exit had moved again, from the top of the mountain slope to a cave at the edge of the great mountains. According to Liu Shuyue, as long as she designated a place as her residence and it had certain characteristics of a room, Room 201 would connect to it.

Take this cave, for example... it didn't even have windows, just a wooden door, and a straw bed inside, but it could still be considered a dwelling.

Liu Shuyue wasn't in the cave.

This was normal. She had endless things to do lately, from leading everyone to develop resources around the mountains to going to central Qingzhou to guide new disaster victims to this place. To ensure Chen Xuan could find her anytime, Liu Shuyue not only entrusted him with the room card but also left him five sound transmission talismans, saying she would rush back as soon as she had any news.

Chen Xuan walked out of the cave, and a young boy at the entrance immediately cupped his fists. "Greetings, Shopkeeper!"

He recognized the boy. His name was Xue Xiaojin, one of the more talented children among the first batch of disaster victims. After being stimulated by dragon blood, he had already managed to cultivate the Pure Heart Art and Spirit Sword Technique to the third level.

"Immortal Master has gone to explore the mountains. She said if you came, you could look around the village first, and I'll show you the way."

"What day is it today?" The first thing Chen Xuan did every time he arrived was to confirm the date.

"November 5th," Xue Xiaojin replied fluently.

The Dragon Slaying Day had occurred three weeks ago.

When he came yesterday, only 15 days had passed here.

This meant that unless the door to Room 201 was kept open at all times, time would flow at a relatively changing rate on both sides, with no discernible pattern.

Of course, there was a general rule: the closer the connection between the guest and the shop, the smaller the time ratio. For example, before, he hadn't seen Liu Shuyue for days, and then five years had suddenly jumped by.

"Give this to the person in charge of farming," Chen Xuan took off his backpack and handed it to Xue Xiaojin.

The boy immediately became excited. "Could it be that the contents of this bag are the 'immortal seeds' that Immortal Master mentioned earlier?"

"Yes. It's written on the packaging what kind of vegetables can be grown. If you grow them well, you might even have a harvest before winter."

"I'll take it over right away. Please wait for me, sir!"

"Okay, I'll go take a look by the lake."

Watching the boy leave with the bag as if it were a treasure, Chen Xuan couldn't help but smile. They weren't precious items, just selected seeds bought online. There were aromatics like onions and garlic, as well as easy-to-grow vegetables like cabbage and water spinach. There were also two large bags of potato and tomato seeds, costing less than five hundred yuan in total. But their advantage lay in their excellent genes, and with the aid of magical growth acceleration, the final farming results should be quite impressive.

On the shimmering lake surface, several simple arks were cruising back and forth, casting fishing nets. Of course, these nets were also bought by him, and they could catch thousands of fish every day.

By the lake was a drying area. On dense wooden racks hung not only fish but also beast meat and hides. The latter were the results of the hunting team's efforts—they had used dragon tendons, dragon teeth, and dragon skin to make superior bows and arrows, as well as shields, easily becoming the masters of all living things here. It had to be said that the natural resources here were extremely abundant. In the clear blue lake, one could see schools of fish swimming with the naked eye, and wild wolves and foxes in the forest would boldly approach to beg for the offal that the disaster victims had dissected.

Right... it was no longer appropriate to call them disaster victims.

Liu Shuyue had named this village Mala.

So they were now residents of Mala Village.

As for why she chose this name... her answer made Chen Xuan both amused and speechless. The village could not have been established without his help, and there was a Mala Tang sign hanging outside the shop he ran.

It seemed that changing to a formal shop name as soon as possible was imperative.

"Shopkeeper, the seeds have been delivered!"

Xue Xiaojin ran back happily.

"Mm. How many people do you have now?"

"About thirty-one thousand."

"That's quite a lot."

"Yes, Immortal Master said that once we reach forty thousand people, we'll conduct another dragon blood bath so that those who follow can keep pace with us."

Chen Xuan nodded. In Liu Shuyue's eyes, that dragon was a treasure trove, and its value had to be completely extracted. He had seen the magical nature of that thing; even after being stripped for so long, its blood and flesh remained uncorrupted, as if still full of life.

"Kid, how do you feel about life here? Do you regret coming to this desolate wilderness?"

"Do I need to say? Sir, these past few days have been like a dream!" Xue Xiaojin said without hesitation. "Before, I couldn't even get a full meal. On the road, I was afraid of being eaten by others. Every night, I'd fall asleep thinking I might not make it to tomorrow. It wasn't until Immortal Master distributed relief food that things got better. And now, my mother and I can eat meat every day, learn immortal arts, and have endless energy!"

"What about before the famine?" Chen Xuan was a little curious.

"If there hadn't been a disaster... that would have been the best... at least my father and brother wouldn't have died." The boy's voice lowered slightly. "But it has already happened, and I won't delude myself into thinking everything can go back to the way it was. From now on, I will protect my mother!"

"Good resolve."

"Then, can you change my ability to something more suitable for combat? I think I'm more suited to join the hunting team than logistics!"

"That's not up to me. Immortal Master Liu has to approve it. Besides, the hunting team only recruits adults, you're still too young."

While chatting, Chen Xuan suddenly saw a column of black smoke rising from the mountaintop behind them.

"What is that smoke?"

"It's a signal fire," Xue Xiaojin's expression turned serious. "One plume signifies approaching unidentified personnel from the north."

The north... Chen Xuan thought for a moment. It should refer to the hinterland of Qingzhou, as the refugees had already fled to the southern border region.

"Shopkeeper, could you please go to the front of the village to support us?" he said anxiously. "Immortal Master should be here soon. Until then, we need your strength."

Great, didn't Immortal Master Liu ever tell them that the shopkeeper isn't good at direct combat?

However, Chen Xuan wasn't flustered. Since Liu Shuyue was still within the Myriad Mountain Great Wilderness, returning to the village would only take about fifteen minutes. Moreover, almost everyone in the village could sense spiritual energy, which would be considered entry-level for cultivators outside. Ordinary enemies wouldn't be able to do much against them.

"Alright, lead me there."

Upon arriving outside the village, at the original Dragon Slaying site, Chen Xuan saw the "unidentified personnel." They were not numerous, about a hundred in total, half of whom were armored. They looked like a well-trained army.

Are these people here to attack the disaster victims of Qingzhou?

But a hundred people is too few. Even if these refugees haven't bathed in dragon blood, thirty thousand would be enough to tear them to shreds.

And the warriors of Mala Village were ready.

Nearly five hundred young men gathered here. They were dressed like tribal savages, clad in animal skins, with weapons mainly consisting of wooden spears and longbows. Judging by their appearance alone, no one would associate them with the lofty cultivators. However, combat effectiveness has nothing to do with attire. Once they start fighting, each of these individuals can take on ten.

"Chen Xuan!"

A fragrant breeze blew in from the side.

Before she finished speaking, Liu Shuyue braked sharply and landed beside him.

"You used a Wind Riding Talisman again?" Chen Xuan nodded at her. "Aren't these precious talismans meant to be used sparingly?"

When they killed the dragon before, she had used this very move to charge into the sky and slash the demonic dragon down with a single sword strike.

Liu Shuyue smiled. "My talisman-making skills have improved recently. I can now refine them using dragon scales, so there's no need to be too stingy, especially when I sensed you coming this way."

To Chen Xuan, only a day had passed between them, but in her eyes, they had been apart for fifteen days.

Her smile made the surrounding verd