Chapter 1545: Annual event in the world of cultivation

　　This little hand stroked Song Shuhang’s head and kept on stroking it.

　　It felt very comfortable.

　　Strange, if this was a dreamland, I should have ‘woken up’, and begun to experience someone else’s life, right?

　　Why does the plot not seem to have progressed despite this little hand stroking my head for so long?

　　Could it be that the dreamland hasn’t properly begun yet?

　　Several doubts emerged in Song Shuhang’s mind.

　　However, this little hand was really soft, and it also came with a soothing effect.

　　When he was being stroked by this little hand, Song Shuhang felt strangely relaxed. He wanted to let it continue and didn’t want to open his eyes and have the plot start.

　　No!

　　I must wake up right away, this is not a dreamland.

　　Dreamlands do not feel like this.

　　There’s someone stroking my head in the real world!

　　Song Shuhang abruptly opened his eyes and woke up.

　　However, except for him, there was nobody on his bed.

　　The virtuous lamia had also not come out to defend him.

　　“Was I mistaken?” Song Shuhang rubbed his eyebrows.

　　Was this the aftereffect of fighting the fat ball a while back?

　　He sniffed the air. In addition to his smell and that of his three roommates, there was the smell left by Qingwu. There was another lighter smell, which should belong to Gao Moumou’s girlfriend, Yayi.

　　There were some other mixed smells as well, but these should be those of the dormitories next door.

　　There didn’t seem to be anything suspicious.

　　Song Shuhang said, “It looks like I really was mistaken.”

　　He lay down again and reached out to stroke his short hair. The feeling of being stroked by that soft hand just now was too realistic.

　　Afterward…

　　Song Shuhang couldn’t sleep anymore.

　　As a Fifth Stage Spiritual Emperor, he could stay up for extended lengths of time without a problem. In addition, even if he were to truly be exhausted, he could recover by simply meditating for a short while. After all, practicing and using the ❮True Self Meditation Scripture❯ had a better effect than sleeping.

　　And so, Song Shuhang, who could no longer fall asleep, turned on his phone and logged in to the chat group.

　　He hadn’t even gotten to open the Nine Provinces Number One Group window, and had only gotten ‘online’, when someone contacted him.

　　Doudou: “Shuhang, you’re finally online.”

　　Song Shuhang thought for a while, and silently changed his status from ‘online’ to ‘invisible’.

　　In the ‘Nine Provinces Number One Group’, it was well-known that Doudou would only bring trouble.

　　Moreover, Doudou was about to ascend to the Fifth Stage, and so he would soon have to face his tribulation—Song Shuhang wanted to avoid these kinds of people as much as possible.

　　As of late, Shuhang wanted to take some time to study hard and increase his knowledge of the ancient language, magical techniques, illusion techniques, and so on. He wanted to lay the foundation for his dream of becoming a reliable senior in the future. And of course, he wanted to smoothly get through his resurrection cooldown.

　　Doudou said, “Don’t try to hide from me, I saw you. I’ll be looking for you to play in a few days.”

　　Song Shuhang: “…”

　　Doudou continued, “I’ve already asked Stupid Senior Yellow Mountain’s permission, and I’m currently preparing my luggage. I will look for you when I am ready.”

　　Song Shuhang thought for a while and said, “Doudou, it’s rather chaotic outside. The Celestial race is hunting down cultivators with Golden Cores, as well as strong monsters. In addition, aren’t you about to transcend your heavenly tribulation?”

　　Doudou replied, “It’s exactly because I will soon be transcending my tribulation that I want to look for you. After seeing you, I will go to see Phoenix Slayer as well. On the off chance that I fail to transcend my tribulation, it might be the last time that we see each other.”

　　“How can you plant a flag like this for yourself?” The corners of Song Shuhang’s mouth twitched. “Anyway, wait five days. I will be relatively freer in five days.”

　　Doudou asked curiously, “Five days? Why must it be five days?”

　　Song Shuhang: “After five days, I will be able to resurrect again.”

　　Doudou said obediently, “Although it sounds a little confusing, I understand. I’ll look for you in five days. I’m very understanding as of late.”

　　He was really unaccustomed to this suddenly well-behaved Doudou.

　　Doudou replied, “Then I will look for you in five days.”

　　Song Shuhang: “Okay, it’s a deal.”

　　After talking with Doudou, Song Shuhang entered the Nine Provinces Number One Group to see the chat content.

　　Su Clan’s Seven: “Today, another wave of Celestials was destroyed. There were nine of them, three of which were at the Fifth Stage Realm, while the rest was only at the Fourth Stage, which was quite disappointing. There are almost no active Celestials in my area… Soon, I will have completely farmed them up.”

　　Fairy Dongfang Six said, “I also encountered a wave of attacks today, all of them were captured alive. The situation on my side is similar, there were four at the Fifth Stage, and five at the Fourth Stage. I threw them into a research facility over here, and the various members are studying them. When the time comes, I will send the data that’s acquired to the group.”

　　Northern River’s Loose Cultivator: “Overall, the hunting teams of the Celestial Race are scattered, and they use a large number of Fourth Stage to make up the numbers. It is very likely that they have suffered tremendous losses already.”

　　Fairy Lychee said, “Now that the entire world of cultivation knows that they hunt for golden cores, they have become the public enemies of the world of cultivation. We have been invaded by them before, and at that time, we had lost a lot of Fifth Stage cultivators and monsters. Now that we’ve responded, they will most likely begin a counterattack.”

　　Yellow Mountain is very tired and wants to retire: “@everyone, I’m announcing an event, which can be regarded as the annual event of our world of cultivation. The [Cultivator Alliance] has united with thirty large forces within the world of cultivation, and has issued a notice: Counter-hunting activities are now in full swing. Whether you acquire a Celestial dead or alive, you can turn them in to any of the thirty large forces or the Cultivator Alliance in exchange for spirit stones and materials. The higher the level the Celestial you bring, the greater the quality and quantity of spirit stones and materials that you can get. This event will last until the end of this year. The interested fellow daoists can take this opportunity to earn some pocket money. PS: Living Celestials are more valuable.”

　　Northern River’s Loose Cultivator: “PogChamp, so this year’s event is a counter-hunting event? For us loose cultivators, the annual events are a good way to earn some pocket money.”

　　Young Master Phoenix Slayer: “Got it, it’s time to make a bit of money.”

　　Tyrant Flood Dragon wants to father a football team: “I have some Celestials and was just getting ready to feed them to my pets. It’s good that they’re still alive. They won’t go to waste, and I can use them to exchange for some resources.”

　　I’m that little white crane at the edge of the Earth’s End: “This year’s event is quite interesting. Is there a ranking?”

　　Yellow Mountain is very tired and wants to retire: “Yes, this year’s event will have three rankings. The Individual Hunting Ranking, the Sect Hunting Ranking, and the Party Hunting Ranking. At that time, the top few of each ranking list will receive a small gift… The main purpose of these rankings is to have fun, so don’t invest too much time in them.”

　　Song Shuhang squeezed his chin. He always felt that the terrifying villains in movies and shows were very miserable in real life.

　　For example, those well-known cosmic demons.

　　Another example was the ‘Celestial Race’, which clearly possessed the ability to hunt Fifth Stage cultivators, but had somehow become an ‘annual event mob’.

　　These guys were even quite powerful as they were basically a force made up mainly of Fifth Stage existences. An aircraft filled with these Celestials was particularly proficient in bullying with numbers.

　　“Anyway… Should I participate as well?” Song Shuhang wondered.

　　He was relatively short of spirit stones at the moment.

　　Not even mentioning the amount he owed Senior White, just activating the Time City cost a lot of spirit stones. Moreover, the ‘God Slaying Mother-Child Cannon—Mother Cannon Part’ would consume spirit stones every time it was used. Even the ‘Combined Magical Treasure’ consumed a lot of spirit stones to free itself of the Eighth Stage seal in a single go and burst out with all its power.

　　In addition to spirit stones, he also needed natural treasures and some spiritual plants that could be planted. He had just acquired a batch of spirit beasts from Island Master Tian Tiankong, but he still lacked a batch of spirit plants to complete his ‘Inner World Farming Plan’.

　　It was a huge waste for him to be carrying a small world with him wherever he went and simply let it be idle.

　　Thrice Reckless Mad Saber asked, “Northern River, shall we form a team?”

　　Northern River’s Loose Cultivator: “No, for this year’s event, I want to try moving alone.”

　　Great Master Profound Principle: “👍🤝”

　　Medicine Master sent a voice message: “Great Master Profound Principle means that their Faraway Wandering Temple is also one of the organizers of this event. Fellow daoists can head directly to his temple to exchange for spirit stones and resources.”

　　Northern River’s Loose Cultivator asked, “Won’t the Great Master incur a loss?”

　　Great Master Profound Principle: “💰”

　　Medicine Master translated, “What Great Master is trying to say is no they won’t, and instead, he can even make a fortune.”

　　Su Clan’s Seven said, “I just received the news that our Spirit River Su Clan is also one of the organizers for this event. However, we don’t know what the Celestials body can be used for. Anyway, as long as we gather it and hand it over to the ‘Cultivator Alliance’, we can get a lot of benefits.”

　　Great Master Profound Principle: “👍”

　　Senior Yellow Mountain explained: “There are nine Buddhist experts in the Cultivator Alliance who are jointly refining a Pure Land. They need a large number of live Fourth, Fifth, and even Sixth Stage Realm creatures with pure energies. After placing them in the Pure Land, they can become scripture-chanting Arhats. Originally they were having a headache as to where to get the right creatures… Then, the Celestial Race appeared. The energy of those of the Celestial Race is singular as they have no ‘core’. In addition, their combat power is relatively weak, and it’s easier to ferry them. Therefore, the living members of the Celestial Race are all being purchased by these nine Buddhist experts.”

　　Senior Yellow Mountain added, “As for the dead members, some of them are being acquired by the Cultivator Alliance to conduct various researches. Some of them are thrown into the Severed Sky Pagoda as fuel. As for the rest, they’re being purchased by someone, but as to who that someone is, I have no idea.”

　　Fairy Dongfang Six smiled and said, “Who else could buy them? Several Demon Sects are getting them. For some demonic practitioners, the bodies of other experts are the best material for casting magical techniques. With the great quantity of Fourth Stage and Fifth Stage Celestial bodies appearing, they would naturally want a portion. The world of cultivation has been extremely peaceful for nearly a hundred years, and the bodies of powerful experts are hard to find. The emergence of the Celestial Race is very timely for us. ”

　　True Monarch Fallout said, “Is the Necromancy Department of magic users still operating? If this department hasn’t been destroyed, perhaps there are some such practitioners purchasing the corpses for themselves.”

　　Time always went very fast when chatting with others.

　　In the blink of an eye, it was already dawn.