Chapter 3143: My Wife and I Enact Daily Life 28

Jin Chen quickly realized this forest was off, an illusionary barrier.

This meant that no matter which direction he went, he would eventually return to the starting point, so Jin Chen simply stopped walking, found a clean stone to sit on, closed his eyes and focused his mind; after a few breaths, he heard a disturbance—a demonic beast with considerable cultivation.

Jin Chen opened his eyes and looked toward the source of the sound, seeing a man in green robes shouting as he ran toward him.

He clutched a wooden bamboo box, running clumsily with his askew hairpin, looking quite disheveled, while a huge demonic beast trailed behind, exhaling a foul stench, relentlessly pursuing.

Any cultivator could sense that the wooden box contained treasures beneficial to cultivation; in such a situation, simply going up to help repel the demonic beast would earn a share of the spoils.

But Jin Chen did not belong to that group.

He even conjured a folding fan, held it before his face, stepped back to lower his presence; if not for the fact that invisibility techniques couldn't be used inside this barrier, he wouldn't have given that green‑robed man any chance to see him at all.

Jin Chen was in a bad mood; he had entered the secret realm and gotten separated from his wife, then got trapped in this barrier, feeling annoyed, and really didn't want to meddle.

But that man seemed to be running straight for him; from afar he spotted him, his eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Fellow Daoist, save me! Fellow Daoist, save me!" then swaggered over, and the demonic beast chasing him was also drawn in.

Jin Chen lowered his folding fan and stared expressionlessly at the approaching figure.

But upon taking a closer look at the green‑robed man, Jin Chen suddenly changed his mind, narrowed his eyes slightly to observe him for a few breaths, and acted just before the demonic beast lunged.

He snapped the folding fan shut, tapped it in his palm, pushed off with the tip of his foot and shot forward; the demonic beast was struck on the head by a flash of spiritual light, wobbled twice before steadying. Jin Chen didn't give it a chance to catch its breath, pressing his right palm down as spiritual light sank from his palm, seeping into the beast's skull; the huge creature let out a wail and crashed to the ground.

Jin Chen landed lightly, his robes fluttering, without a single drop of blood on him.

The green‑robed man stared for several breaths before coming to his senses, then exclaimed excitedly, "What formidable strength!"

He clutched the wooden box and ran up to Jin Chen, pushing it forward, his sparkling eyes full of admiration, "Fellow Daoist, this is my thank‑you gift! Thanks for saving my life!"

Jin Chen pushed the wooden box back with a forefinger, tapped the folding fan in his palm once, and said in a tone Calmness, "No need for this gift; rather—"

Before he could finish, the green‑robed man interrupted, "How about I follow you? I'm called Qing… Qing Zhu! Yes, Qing Zhu!"

Jin Chen observed him for a few breaths, then unfolded the folding fan to cover half his face, leaving only his curved eyes visible, and said, "Sure."

He turned and walked forward, letting Qing Zhu lead him out of the barrier.

Qing Zhu blinked, seemingly not expecting Jin Chen to be so blunt, but quickly caught up, walking alongside and asking, "Fellow Daoist, you really don't want this gift? There are plenty of treasures inside; I went to great lengths to obtain them."

Jin Chen didn't look back and said, "No."

Qing Zhu clung to the wooden box, following step for step, muttering, "These are fine pieces of spiritual jade and elixirs—you really won't consider them? Fellow Daoist? Fellow Daoist?"

Qing Zhu led the way; after less than half an hour, Jin Chen emerged from the barrier.

With no barrier interference, he immediately tried to communicate with Chenshu via a sound‑transmission talisman; the talisman flickered once, but there was no reply from the other side.

Jin Chen frowned, released his spiritual sense to try to locate Chenshu… but sensed nothing.

Such isolation isn't natural; it's usually caused by a powerful seal or a high‑grade magical artifact.

Jin Chen: "Tsk."

The guide Qing Zhu blankly paused his steps, turned to look at him, and saw Jin Chen suddenly annoyed, tapping the roadside bamboo with his folding fan.

That bowl‑thick bamboo snapped upright, its cut surface smooth, as if sliced by a sharp blade.

Qing Zhu shrank back a little, somewhat frightened, and asked, "How… how come?"

Jin Chen gave a smile, his voice unnaturally gentle, "Nothing. I just suddenly found this bamboo displeasing to the eye."

Qing Zhu choked back a reaction, dared not dwell on it, and silently continued leading the way ahead.

On the subsequent journey, Qing Zhu again witnessed Jin Chen tearing apart several clueless demonic beasts that rushed at him with his bare hands; those beasts were huge and well‑cultivated, but under Jin Chen they fell in three moves or less, their deaths gruesome. Qing Zhu's expression grew ever more complex, eventually showing regret.

That night, the two casually found a cave to rest in. Jin Chen sat in meditation inside the cave, while Qing Zhu sat in a corner clutching his wooden box, too afraid to speak up.

He gazed at Jin Chen's face, which looked especially handsome in the firelight, and thought silently, "This beauty looks soft and weak, yet is rather terrifying."

On the first day in the secret realm, Jin Chen hurried along, looking for his wife and also for his senior fellow disciples, but found none. When he encountered demonic beasts, he tore them apart with his hands and kept moving.

On the second day in the secret realm, Jin Chen continued his journey.

He still hadn't found Chenshu, but firmly believed his wife would come looking for him… hiss, no, that's wrong.

Jin Chen stopped, looked around, and suddenly realized he had entered some extraordinary place; he formed a seal, but his spiritual power could not be mobilized at all.

Clearly, the spiritual power of spell‑casters is being suppressed here.

Jin Chen withdrew his hand, glanced sideways at Qing Zhu behind him, and said, "Ah, Fellow Daoist Qing Zhu, you really know how to lead the way. Early this morning, you've brought me into another barrier again."

Qing Zhu caught his breath in his chest, inexplicably guilty, handed over the bamboo basket he was holding, which held a few freshly picked spiritual fruits from the roadside, and said placatingly, "Don't be angry, don't be angry, have something to eat, have something to eat."

How strange—just a day has passed, and he's unconsciously taken to serving Jin Chen like an attendant. Is this right?! He's supposed to be a…

Upon entering the barrier, naturally they had to fight demonic beasts again, but this barrier seems to specifically counter spell‑casters; many techniques cannot be used, and the circulation of spiritual power feels sluggish and obstructed.

Upon hearing this, Qing Zhu glanced at Jin Chen and sighed in exasperation, "How unreasonable! Why does this barrier target spell‑casters specifically?"

This time the demonic beast they encountered was especially ugly.

Its body was covered in wart‑like growths resembling leprosy, it dripped viscous saliva from its mouth, its limbs were short and thick, its movements sluggish, yet its skin was tough and its flesh thick; Jin Chen pondered how to kill this ugly creature without dirtying his clothes, when suddenly he spotted other living people.