In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed.
Winter in Jiang City grew ever colder, but Chen Yan's "cultivation" life was in full swing.
Ever since he and Liu Xin's family had reached an agreement to "share the childcare," Chen Yan and Yu Qingmeng had spent nearly every day together.
In Du Qionghua and Liu Xin's eyes, their children had found a playmate they got along with, and both had become much more cheerful, smiling and laughing all day long.
But to Chen Yan, this month of "playing" had been the most efficient cultivation he'd done since crossing over.
As he watched his proficiency steadily rise, his sense of satisfaction grew and grew!
On the living room rug, a large cardboard box sat upside down in the middle, wobbling slightly.
"Big brother, I found you!"
At the childish cry, the box was suddenly lifted, revealing Yu Qingmeng's little face beaming with a radiant smile.
Chen Yan sat cross-legged inside, wearing an expression of helplessness, as if to say, "You found me." Inwardly, however, he felt nothing at all.
As he played Hide and Seek with Yu Qingmeng, he split his attention in two. One part silently practiced the [Meditation Method], while the other circulated the [Qi Nurturing Foundation Art] through his body.
He had long since mastered using three things at once.
With a thought, he brought up his system panel.
[Host: Chen Yan] [Age: 10 months, 10 days] [Cultivation: Amateur Rank One] [Qi and Blood: 1355/2000 (Qi and blood value of an infant at the same stage: 4)] [Spirit: 523/2000 (Spirit value of an infant at the same stage: 4)] [Charm: 93/100 (exceptionally gifted)] [Fortune: 20 (good luck is always with you)] [Constitution: Innate Dao Body (born close to the Dao, proficient in all methods)] [Skills:] [Qi Nurturing Foundation Art (Beginner) (3500/10000)] [Meditation Method (Beginner) (1000/10000)] [Efficient Absorption (Beginner) (1000/10000)] [Deep Sleep (Beginner) (1000/10000)] [Godly Movement (Beginner) (1000/10000)] [Painting (999/1000)] [Hide and Seek (999/1000)] [Dual-Mindedness (999/1000)] [Achievements: Self-Disciplined Baby Boy (Green), Vigorous as a Dragon and Tiger (Green)]
Over the past ten days, his qi and blood and spirit had surged again, bringing him just one step away from breaking the four-digit mark.
And thanks to his daily interactions with the little girl Yu Qingmeng, his proficiency in [Painting], [Hide and Seek], and [Dual-Mindedness] had shot up.
Today, all three skills were on the verge of perfection!
One more time!
One more game of Hide and Seek and one more brushstroke, and he'd advance all three at once!
Once [Dual-Mindedness] advanced to [Divine Sense Differentiation], the efficiency of his cultivation would take another qualitative leap!
By then, he might even be able to cultivate four, five, or even more skills at the same time!
The age of truly efficient cultivation was about to begin!
Chen Yan's heart burned with excitement.
Just then, he heard a key turning in the front door.
Click.
The door opened.
Chen Kefa's tall figure appeared in the doorway, exhaustion written all over his face.
"Daddy!"
Yu Qingmeng, the adorable little girl, immediately abandoned Chen Yan.
She hurried over on her short legs and wrapped her arms around Chen Kefa's trouser leg.
Chen Yan: "???"
Who are you calling Dad?
Since their families were close, Chen Kefa practically treated Yu Qingmeng like a second daughter.
He often bought her toys and snacks, and the little girl was very attached to him.
"Oh, Qingmeng's here too."
Chen Kefa forced a smile and bent down to pat Yu Qingmeng's head.
But his smile looked strained, and a heavy shadow hung between his brows.
He greeted the two little ones, changed his shoes, and headed straight for the kitchen.
"Qionghua, come out for a moment. I need to talk to you."
His voice was low, but unusually serious.
Du Qionghua, who was preparing dinner, wiped her hands, untied her apron, and came out. The moment she saw her husband's expression, her heart sank.
"What's wrong? Has something happened?"
"Let's talk in the bedroom." Chen Kefa glanced at the two children staring at each other in the living room, then led his wife into the bedroom and closed the door behind them.
Something was going on!
Chen Yan's gossip radar immediately sprang to life.
His dad was in the Special Investigation Team, and he'd come home at this hour looking so grim. It definitely wasn't anything minor.
Pretending to be interested in the building blocks on the floor, he slowly crawled over until his small body stopped beside the bedroom door, his ears perked up.
"...It happened again, and things are even worse than we thought."
"Don't go out for any reason. I'll bring home the supplies myself..."
It was Chen Kefa's voice, thick with exhaustion and worry.
"Is it the same kind of thing as last time?" Du Qionghua asked tensely.
"Yeah, but there are more victims this time."
Chen Kefa rolled up his sleeve, revealing several fresh, shallow scratches.
"Kefa, you're hurt!"
"It's nothing serious. Your husband is a Professional Rank Five, after all."
He sighed and continued.
"Over the past half month, seven or eight cases have turned up in the old residential neighborhoods in West City District and the southern suburbs. All the victims were elderly people living alone who starved to death in their homes."
"Starved to death?"
"The autopsy reports are in. Every victim's stomach was packed with things that weren't fit to eat..."
"Foam from sofas, wall plaster, dried plant roots. Some even ate dirt."
The room fell briefly silent, the atmosphere oppressively tense.
Chen Yan sat on the floor, his body stiffening slightly.
This was... an illusion!
"Based on the scene investigations and our past experience,"
"all those elderly people were trapped in incredibly lifelike illusions and mistook those things for delicacies,"
"then stuffed themselves to death, poisoned themselves, or starved to death..."
Chen Kefa's voice grew heavier.
"This is no longer an isolated incident."
"After assessing the situation, the scholars and experts on the team reached a troubling conclusion."
"What conclusion?"
"The humanoid paranormal life-form we caught last time... wasn't a coincidence."
"It may belong to... an intelligent species completely unknown to us!"
"An... entire species?" Du Qionghua's voice trembled slightly.
Savage beasts were already terrifying enough. Now there was some unknown species, too?
"That's right. They cause localized deaths by creating illusions. We don't know why yet, or maybe they simply enjoy doing it."
"Even more frightening, both the frequency and the number of these things have been increasing over time."
"Then... what do we do? Can't the Alliance do anything?"
"We can, but it's difficult." Chen Kefa gave a bitter smile.
"So far, these creatures have only been spotted in Xiang Province, anywhere in the world."
"Every case has been centered on Jiang City, spreading outward from there!"
Jiang City was the source?
Chen Yan's heart clenched.
He'd thought he'd been born into an ordinary high-martial world where spiritual energy had only just begun to revive.
As long as he carefully kept a low profile and developed his strength, he'd eventually be able to ascend to godhood in peace.
But now it seemed that the city beneath his feet wasn't some beginner's village at all.
It was the eye of the storm, the entrance to the abyss!
Just as he wondered how this would affect his future "Path of Staying Low and Growing Strong"...
A cold system notification rang out in his mind without warning.
[Ding! Crisis detected: Spirit Race invasion!]
Chen Yan: "..."
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