Chapter 5

Tongtian Jiaozhu walked out of the cramped, crowded room and stepped outside.

A strange, magnificent, and peculiar new world came rushing at him.

Before him was a quiet alley.

Several lamps, made of unknown materials, emitted a bright white light, illuminating the alley.

At a nearby intersection, a mortal in short clothes was holding a skewer of meat, fanning it with a palm leaf fan while roasting it over a rectangular stove.

Several diners were seated around a low table at the intersection, their mouths greasy from eating and their faces flushed from drinking.

Tongtian Jiaozhu walked to the intersection and saw a wide road stretching north and south.

The buildings on both sides of the road were neatly arranged, one after another.

Lamps, unattended, hung from tall iron structures, shining brightly.

On the road, from time to time, machines with two large lights would roar past.

On both sides of the road, pine trees stood tall, and the flowers and grass were neatly arranged.

Tongtian Jiaozhu looked around, feeling greatly amazed.

"The craftsmanship of the mortals in this world is so exquisite!" He gazed at the roads, buildings, and signs before him.

Everywhere was lit up, making the night as bright as day.

Delicate and intricate things could be seen everywhere.

The machines that roared past from time to time, especially, surprised Tongtian Jiaozhu.

After all, the speed of these machines was comparable to the speed at which many mortal cultivators could fly.

Buzz!

Suddenly, a loud rumbling sound came from above.

Tongtian Jiaozhu looked up and saw a huge strange bird flying through the sky.

The bird's spread wings loomed over his head.

It looked like an ancient great demon!

Under the bird's belly, lights flashed in a regular pattern.

Buzz!

The rumbling sound grew louder.

Tongtian Jiaozhu finally realized that this strange bird was a man-made object.

Watching it slowly descend into the distance and disappear from sight, Tongtian Jiaozhu couldn't help but lick his lips.

This world had given him many surprises!

"The mortals can travel the world without cultivation, just by using external objects!" He marveled, "Truly remarkable!"

Although, in his eyes, the speed of the strange bird was a bit slow.

Not to mention comparing it to the divine beasts of ancient times.

Even compared to many of the demons of the present day, there was a significant gap.

After all, among the demons of the present day, those who could transform could easily fly thousands of miles in a day.

But for the mortals of this world to create such objects purely through their ingenuity and skill was truly remarkable!

Remarkable!

...

Chen Hong hummed a tune, leisurely roasting skewers.

Tonight, his business was good!

He had already sold about a thousand yuan worth of goods, and after calculating the profit, he had made several hundred.

The peak of tonight's business was still far from coming.

By midnight, when the people working overtime at nearby companies finished their shifts, he estimated he could sell another one or two thousand yuan worth of goods!

This way, he could earn over a thousand yuan in one night!

Over a month, he could make about two or three ten thousand yuan. After deducting rent, utilities, and expenses, he could save over ten thousand yuan. With the savings from the past few years, he could pay a down payment by the end of the year and own a home in this city!

Thinking about this, Chen Hong's motivation grew even stronger!

He finished roasting the skewers and served them to the customers.

Chen Hong's nicotine craving hit him.

He comfortably reached into his pocket for a cigarette, just as he was about to light it, he saw the convenience store owner, Xu Ji, standing at the intersection, looking up at something.

Chen Hong laughed and picked up the cigarette pack, walking over.

"Ah Ji, what are you looking at?" he asked, pulling out a cigarette and offering it to him.

They were both old smokers.

They often smoked and chatted together late at night.

But today, Xu Ji seemed a bit strange.

He turned around and looked at Chen Hong.

Those eyes, which were always listless and seemed to be half-asleep, were now unusually bright, like stars in the night sky.

...

Tongtian Jiaozhu turned to look at the mortal who had appeared behind him.

His feelings were incredibly subtle!

In his memory, this was the first time someone had appeared behind him without his notice.

Such a thing had never happened, even before he attained the Dao.

Born of the orthodox lineage of Pangu, he was inherently divine!

From birth, he could resonate with the Dao, receive the blessings of heaven and earth, and enjoy the legacy of Pangu.

From the moment of his birth, he was destined to attain the Dao.

Therefore, no one in heaven or earth could appear around him without his notice.

No one could know or predict his thoughts.

Now...

A mortal, a mortal with no supernatural powers or magic, had appeared behind him without his notice.

"I am indeed now a mortal!" Tongtian Jiaozhu sighed in his heart.

The mortal's name also stirred his thoughts.

"Ah Ji?" he thought, "Is this the name of this body?"

"So, this body was indeed a mortal living in this world before..."

"But I wonder why I have borrowed his body to appear here..."

More thoughts spread from there.

A thought emerged in his mind.

"What has replaced my body?"

"Is it the mortal of this body?"

Thoughts raced through his mind as Tongtian Jiaozhu looked at the cigarette offered by the mortal.

He shook his head and refused, "Thank you!"

Then, he carefully examined the mortal before him.

This person was sturdy, about seven feet tall, but with a broad chest and a thick waist.

Unfortunately...

It was all fat!

No muscle, no strength.

"The humans of this world are truly strange!" Tongtian Jiaozhu couldn't help but think.

His body was like this.

This person was also like this!

Fragile!

Yes!

Fragile!

Not to mention demons, even a tiger, leopard, or even a wolf could easily kill a person like this.

Not only that, but in Tongtian Jiaozhu's eyes, this mortal was like a sack full of holes.

His yin and yang were out of balance, so his liver yang was excessive, his heart blood was weak, and his meridians were blocked.

He looked healthy, but in reality, his foundation was shaken, and his qi and blood were weak.

If this continued, in three to five years, he would likely be plagued by illness, which would persist until his old age, when his liver fire would flare up, causing wind, phlegm, and blood stasis, blocking his meridians, leading to qi and blood disorder, mental confusion, and paralysis.

At this point, the illness would be deep in his bones.

Unless a Golden Immortal descended and used supernatural powers to reshape his body and reconstruct his meridians, there would be no cure!

Chen Hong felt a bit uneasy under the gaze of this familiar smoking buddy.

He awkwardly retracted the offered cigarette and asked kindly, "Ah Ji, what's wrong? Do you have something on your mind?"

As he spoke, he put the cigarette in his mouth, lit it with a lighter, and took a satisfying puff, blowing out a smoke ring as usual.

"Comfortable!" Chen Hong said contentedly.

This was one of the few enjoyable moments of the day.

But...

Chen Hong looked up and saw the familiar convenience store owner looking at him with a pitying and sighing gaze.

It made him feel like he was back in school, being caught smoking in the toilet by a teacher.

Embarrassed, afraid, and guilty...

He almost instinctively dropped the cigarette on the ground.

Then, feeling a bit embarrassed, he could only cover up his behavior with a forced smile, "My wife has been urging me to quit smoking to prepare for having a child..."

"But I just can't resist!"

"You understand, when the craving hits, I can't control myself..."

Tongtian Jiaozhu watched the mortal drop the cigarette on the ground.

He nodded inwardly, "Not beyond saving!"

"His character is not bad!"

He thought, "Perhaps this person has some connection with me!"

The matter of cause and effect was the most profound.

Now that he had fallen to the mortal world, with no Dao body or powers, he had to be careful.

So, he asked, "Do you really want to quit?"

"Of course!" Chen Hong laughed, "I'm 27 this year, and my family has been urging me to have a child..."

"But if I don't quit smoking, I'm worried it will affect the child!"

"But it's hard to quit!"

Tongtian Jiaozhu listened and thought, "This mortal is truly interesting!"

The poison of the cigarette was slow and cruel.

It could indeed pollute the essence through the lungs and blood.

Thus, it could taint the innate spirit of a fetus in the womb.

If not careful, it could lead to incomplete development and even premature death!

And this mortal, knowing the consequences, was still enslaved by the cigarette.

Just like the warning on the cigarette box.

Smoking is harmful to health!

Others write the warning on the box.

The mortals seem to ignore it!

This made Tongtian Jiaozhu find it hard to understand.

Although it was hard to understand the mentality of the mortals in this world,

But, when the Snail Emperor created humans,

He had observed it.

The secrets of the human body were no secret to him.

Even now, without any powers or supernatural abilities,

He could still easily find many ways to help the mortal overcome the effects of the cigarette.

So, Tongtian Jiaozhu said, "If you really want to quit this 'cigarette' poison..."

"I have a method!"