Chapter 42: Cleaning Out the Sewer

Wei Huo and Wei Hai had thought they had arrived early. To their surprise, so many people had beaten them here. But with a quick glance around, they saw they were all practitioners of mediocre aptitude. There were not even many at the third level of Qi Refining. That only made the two brothers angrier.

“Big Brother, we’re middle-tier Qi Refining practitioners. How dare they treat us so coldly!”

Second brother Wei Hai was indignant, and Wei Huo’s expression was also ugly.

Even back in Strange Treasure Hall, the fifth level of Qi Refining would have been enough to become a manager. Zhaoge might be powerful, and its backer might be a Golden Core Perfected One, but the people handling affairs below were far too blind.

Wei Huo said, “They’re merely relying on a Perfected One as their backer, so they’ve started acting rampant.”

Wei Hai agreed wholeheartedly. “Think back to the managers and odd-job workers at Strange Treasure Hall. Didn’t they all act like their eyes were on top of their heads too?”

Had this been anywhere else, they would have left long ago. Where could middle-tier Qi Refining practitioners go without being treated with courtesy? But the two of them truly could not bear to part with Zhaoge’s spiritual qi. They also thought that since Zhaoge’s owner was a Perfected One and could obtain a spiritual vein close to mystic grade, he must have some background. Perhaps he was a disciple from some immortal gate in the Immortal Continent. If they stayed in Zhaoge, they might be able to scrape up some opportunity.

The two brothers wore long faces, but they still headed over. However, they did not line up. Instead, they walked straight to the desk where affairs were being handled.

At Zhaoge’s main gate, a table and chair had been set out. Tao Dacheng was sitting there laboriously registering information for job applicants. He had not expected so many people who wanted to enter Zhaoge to appear overnight. He felt proud, but he also felt his hand aching. While he was writing, a shadow suddenly fell over him. Before Tao Dacheng could speak, the people lined up behind them started shouting, saying two people had cut the line.

No matter what world it was, the crowd was extremely angry about such a blatant unfairness as cutting in line. Those with bad tempers were already cursing, and even those with good tempers showed dissatisfaction on their faces.

Tao Dacheng looked up and saw one fat man and one thin man standing in front of him, looking down from above. Tao Dacheng’s face was full of confusion. “You two, is there something urgent?”

Wei Huo cleared his throat and said, “We are at the fifth level of Qi Refining.”

When these words came out, the shouting behind them gradually died down.

Tao Dacheng waited a while, but no further explanation came. Instead, he saw the person at the very front of the line timidly retreat and yield his place. His gaze gradually cooled, and he shouted toward the back, “Xuanyuan Guards, someone come here! There are two people forcefully cutting the line!”

A squad of Xuanyuan Guards in blue robes immediately rushed out from within the valley. Raising their long spears, they shouted, “Who dares cut the line? All of you, line up properly at the back!”

“So what if you’re at the fifth level of Qi Refining? First come, first served. That is the rule. Even if a cultivator came today, they would still have to stand at the back!”

Wei Huo: …

Wei Hai: …

As for the job applicants who had just been scared into shrinking back by “the fifth level of Qi Refining,” when they saw how Zhaoge handled matters, their moods brightened without their realizing it. Some people began clapping, while others quietly discussed.

“Zhaoge is so grand. They even dare offend people at the fifth level of Qi Refining. Those people could very likely become cultivators in the future!”

“So what? Don’t forget whose territory Zhaoge is.”

“Just for the word fairness, I’d be willing to stay in Zhaoge.”

…

Lu Tanyue was Lu Wuxing’s older sister. After she followed her younger brother to Zhaoge, she saw that there were some children in Zhaoge but no school. After asking her brother’s opinion, she opened a small school in the valley.

Because Zhaoge was still under construction and lacked everything, it naturally could not allocate a place specially to serve as a school. So Lu Tanyue started it in her own home. She thought there were not many children in Zhaoge, so she taught in the main room. Unexpectedly, there were also many adults in Zhaoge who could not read. Later, more and more people came, and she had to add a shed in the courtyard before everyone could sit down.

She held classes during the day. Aside from teaching them to read and recognize words, she also explained some common knowledge about cultivation. For example, what Blood-Replenishing Pills and Spirit-Replenishing Pills were, or what kinds of insects they needed to guard against if they saw them in the wilderness. At night, she asked her younger brother to find the Xuanyuan Guards and inquire about their experiences in the wilderness, then compiled those into textbooks to teach the students.

On this day, she happened to be explaining the division of realms. “Each realm is divided into ten levels, and also into three tiers. The first to fourth levels are the early tier. The fifth to eighth levels are the middle tier. The ninth and tenth levels are the high tier, and the tenth level is also called perfection. When you travel outside, if you encounter a middle-tier practitioner, you must remember to be courteous and polite.”

“Because as long as someone enters the Dao and takes in spiritual qi, they are at the first level of Qi Refining. From the first level to the fourth level, one continuously accumulates and deepens one’s foundation. But reaching the fifth level is difficult, because the middle tier is a threshold. Not everyone can cross it. To cross this threshold is even more difficult than all the accumulation of the previous four levels combined. But as long as one steps into the fifth level, cultivating to the eighth level in the future is not very difficult.”

Lu Tanyue had just finished speaking when she heard a student ask, “But what if the middle-tier practitioner is a bad person? Do we still have to be polite and courteous to them?”

Lu Tanyue said sternly, “Of course. Everyone has a different temperament. Some middle-tier practitioners are very proud. If you do not provoke him, he will not trouble you either. At most, he will simply not put you in his eyes. But some people are petty. Once they feel you have looked down on them, they will bear a grudge and retaliate. Yet we cannot tell whether a person is broad-minded or petty. So while we are weak, we should be careful with our words and actions. When facing the strong, lower your posture somewhat. Do not offend these people. Otherwise, if they become unhappy, we will have endless trouble.”

The classroom was very quiet. The children’s ignorant eyes were wide open, and their hearts felt a little indignant, though they could not explain why. The adults with richer experience deeply agreed. They even said the teacher taught well. In the past, there had been some young people who did not know the immensity of heaven and earth, offended the strong, and only learned their lesson after being dealt with miserably. They told the children to listen to the teacher, because it could save their lives in the future.

Lu Tanyue then said, “That is precisely the case. In short, if you encounter a middle-tier practitioner, do not argue with them. For some small matters, you might as well yield. It is better to suffer a loss yourself than to offend them. If you encounter someone with a good temperament and make them happy, perhaps they might even give you some pointers.”

She had just finished speaking when a child stood up. It was a little girl of six or seven named Zhang Xiaoxiao. Zhang Xiaoxiao was small in person and young in age, but her opinions were not small at all. She said loudly, “Teacher is wrong. Back when our homes had just been built, powerful practitioners came to make trouble. They wanted to steal our houses and occupy our land. Later, all of us fought them and beat them until they cried and begged for mercy. They weren’t powerful at all!”

With Zhang Xiaoxiao starting it, the other children also chimed in.

“That’s right! I remember too. There was someone at the sixth level of Qi Refining, and didn’t our parents still beat him to pieces?”

“Right. There’s no need to be afraid of them at all!”

“Why should we yield to them? They aren’t even that strong…”

The quiet classroom immediately became noisy. Lu Tanyue tried several times to suppress them but failed, and she was so angry that she flung her sleeves and left.

When Lu Wuxing came home that afternoon, he saw his older sister sitting in the room, her eyes reddened with anger, and asked her what was wrong.

Lu Tanyue told him what had happened today. The more she spoke, the angrier she became, and she could not help complaining, “Wasn’t I doing it for their own good? Can middle-tier practitioners be offended? I work so hard teaching, lighting lamps and staying up until midnight, and I haven’t even collected much tuition, yet none of them take what I say seriously. Those children really infuriated me. They don’t even think about it. Back then, there were over a thousand people together. How can that be the same?”

Lu Wuxing naturally understood his sister’s feelings. Their family had once been bullied by a middle-tier practitioner. More than half their family property was forcibly seized, and they had fled to Silver City to avoid disaster. Even now, when he thought of it, he felt wronged. But what could they have done at the time? Not everyone could cultivate to the middle tier. Perhaps after a few decades, the other party would become a cultivator and remain strong and healthy, while they would be old and feeble, and they would still have to suffer bullying.

What Lu Tanyue taught was also very reasonable. When one lacked ability, one could only swallow one’s anger. One could only stay farther away from the strong. Only then could one preserve oneself.

Their family had always lived that way in the past. After living that sort of life for long enough, it had even begun to feel natural. They felt the strong were simply supposed to have privileges, simply supposed to receive courteous treatment, simply supposed to have the confidence to do whatever they wanted. As for the weak, if they were bullied, they could not make a sound or retaliate. They could only wait until they themselves also became strong before regaining face. Otherwise, if they were bullied their entire lives, then that was their fate. There was nothing to be done.

In the past, Lu Wuxing had not felt there was anything wrong with this. But during his time in Zhaoge, he had gradually changed.

“Sis, the Boss is powerful enough, right? But he hasn’t bullied any of us!”

Lu Tanyue froze. She even began to stammer. “That one is, of course, different.”

Lu Wuxing said, “But the Boss said that whether someone is strong or weak, they should never bully others in the first place.”

Lu Tanyue frowned again.

Lu Wuxing said, “If we think the way we did before, then mortals have to be bullied by practitioners, low-tier practitioners have to be bullied by middle- and high-tier practitioners, practitioners have to be bullied by cultivators, and cultivators have to be bullied by even stronger cultivators… Wouldn’t that go on forever? Everyone would have to fear being bullied. Everyone would live in constant anxiety. Even the strongest one would have to guard against being surpassed. Then there wouldn’t be a single person under heaven who could live properly.”

“Sis, do you know? Today, two middle-tier Qi Refining practitioners came and ran over to Brother Tao to cut the line. Brother Tao called the Xuanyuan Guards and had them driven back. They’re still lined up at the end now!”

Lu Tanyue was extremely surprised. After all, in her understanding, when middle-tier practitioners arrived, other people naturally ought to make way. This matter was different from what had happened with the Dragon-Tiger Gang back then. After all, the Dragon-Tiger Gang had come to rob them, and this land belonged to the Immortal Master. Those people had offended a cultivator, so no matter how they were punished, they deserved it. But today was only cutting the line. Letting stronger practitioners cut in front—was that not simply how the world worked?

But Lu Wuxing’s mouth did not stop. “And that’s only the beginning. This afternoon, the Boss summoned us for a meeting and said there are more and more people in Zhaoge, so we have to revise more detailed laws to restrain everyone and have everyone follow the rules. Whether cultivators, practitioners, or mortals who have not entered the Dao, everyone has to obey the same law. Only then can everyone have good days ahead.”

Lu Tanyue subconsciously wanted to say Law Enforcement Hall. The Law Enforcement Hall was Donglai Kingdom’s government office, specially responsible for crimes committed by practitioners and cultivators. Yet before the words left her mouth, she remembered that cultivators killing mortals was not a crime. Mortals provoking cultivators was a crime. When did something count as a crime for a cultivator? When they killed other cultivators without cause.

So she quieted down and asked in a trembling voice, “Then in the future, if a cultivator forces us, can we resist too?”

Lu Wuxing looked at his sister. He saw that Lu Tanyue’s eyes had already filled with another pool of tears. Watery light soaked those eyes, which were filled with expectation, uncertainty, and worry.

Lu Wuxing held his sister’s hand, his tone solemn. “We can. This is the Boss’s kingdom. He will protect all of us.”

…

The brothers Wei Huo and Wei Hai suppressed their anger as they lined up behind several hundred people. They waited until evening, and it was finally their turn. By then, the person in charge of registration was no longer Tao Dacheng but someone else.

After they reported their cultivation, they still received no preferential treatment. That person asked them whether they sincerely wished to join Zhaoge and whether they sincerely wished to serve the residents of the valley. After they answered each question, that person said, “You may go back. Return in three days to participate in the selection.”

Wei Hai’s eyes widened. “What? We can’t go in immediately?”

That person said, “The others are the same. Did you not see it just now?”

Wei Hai said resentfully, “But I saw someone go in just now.”

That person said, “That was because they were outstanding and passed the assessment early!”

Wei Hai said, “We are middle-tier Qi Refining practitioners. Who is more outstanding than us?”

But that person waved his hand. “That’s different. Those people have sincerity.”

Wei Hai’s eyes widened. He felt he had been toyed with.

But when he thought of how they had been humiliated in front of everyone today and were now being brushed off again, he was so angry that he flung his sleeves and left.

Wei Huo had already walked far away. Wei Hai ran over in a few steps and said indignantly, “Those people have not shown us even the slightest respect. Are we really going to slink away like this?”

At this moment, Wei Huo appeared very calm. He said flatly, “Of course we cannot let it go just like this.”

He found a flat piece of ground in a shaded spot and sat down to regulate his breathing. Most of the practitioners who had come looking for work today were doing the same. When they went out, most of them brought dry rations or fasting pills. Rather than go back and wait, they might as well cultivate around Nameless Valley. The spiritual qi nearby was far denser than in other places.

Therefore, the actions of the Wei brothers drew no attention at all.

For the sake of this spiritual qi, forget living beside the Sea of Suffering Path. Even if they had to stay on the edge of the Bitter Sea itself, they would not be afraid. In any case, with so many mortals around, they would definitely run faster than mortals.

Wei Huo asked his younger brother in a low voice, “Why do you think that Perfected One planted a spiritual vein here?”

Wei Hai thought for a moment. “To recruit people?”

Wei Huo asked again, “What is he recruiting people for?”

Wei Hai continued, “I heard it’s for construction.”

Wei Huo shook his head. “Idiot!” He sneered. “In my opinion, that is merely what those fools self-righteously believe. That Perfected One planted a spiritual vein here and does not forbid others from absorbing it to cultivate. Naturally, it is to bestow favor upon talented people like us who have hope of Foundation Establishment. I guess he must come from some sect in the Immortal Continent. He came here because he wants to gather people and build a force loyal to him.”

Wei Hai said, “Then if that’s the case, why are they still doing construction?”

Seeing that he could not get around the matter of “doing construction,” Wei Huo could not help cursing him, then said, “What is that? It is nothing more than the wishful thinking of some mortals. Do they really think they can make a Perfected One stay as their backer this way? Hah. Other things cannot be taken away, and they are worthless anyway. But a spiritual vein that has acknowledged a master can be taken away at any time.”

After his elder brother’s explanation, Wei Hai suddenly understood. He gave him a thumbs-up.

Wei Huo was somewhat pleased with himself. He said slowly, “We are middle-tier Qi Refining practitioners. If we cultivate in a place with such dense spiritual qi for a few years, we will no doubt reach the high tier of Qi Refining very soon. Think again about those people who were allowed in on the spot today. How many of them had cultivation above the third level of Qi Refining?”

Wei Hai finally understood, and then came anger. “You mean…”

Wei Huo said, “You are thinking correctly.” He snorted coldly. “These people deceive those above and conceal things from those below. They only select the poor-quality ones to enter. Once that Perfected One has no one else to choose, he will naturally have to choose them.”

Wei Hai’s anger immediately rose. “Truly full of tricks. Then what do we do now?”

Wei Huo closed his eyes, but his mouth still moved. “Wait. After night falls, we sneak inside. Once we meet that Perfected One, let us see what face those people still have.”

Wei Hai immediately grew excited. “Big Brother has such a good plan. At that time, that Perfected One will certainly rely heavily on us. Perhaps he will let us cultivate in the center of the spiritual vein!”

A smile had already appeared on Wei Huo’s face. Even his beard could not suppress its excitement as it lifted slightly, but he still put on a reserved appearance. “After all, a Golden Core Perfected One does not understand common affairs, nor does he understand the state of the world in Easternmost Continent. It is inevitable that he would be deceived. When the time comes, if the Perfected One is enraged, we should still persuade him somewhat, lest the Perfected One kill too many people in anger and affect his temperament in the future.”

Wei Hai sincerely admired him. “Big Brother truly considers everything carefully. I imagine that Perfected One is wholeheartedly focused on cultivation and has no leisure to manage these affairs. Once he sees Big Brother’s abilities, perhaps he will let Big Brother become his chief steward. At that time, Big Brother will follow beside the Perfected One and spend morning and night with him. When the Perfected One has spare time and gives Big Brother some guidance, Big Brother may not even need two years to reach Foundation Establishment.”

The smile on Wei Huo’s face grew even wider.

That night, when all sounds were still, the two brothers activated their life-bound artifacts and successfully slipped into Zhaoge…

…

Chi Yixuan naturally did not know that someone was already thinking about “spending morning and night” with him. After finishing the meeting today and explaining the key points of this stage’s work to his employees, he came out to inspect his territory.

To avoid alarming too many people and also avoid creating another misunderstanding that would trigger his employees’ wild imagination, Chi Yixuan even deliberately changed his appearance.

This transformation art was also quite a simple spell. After Foundation Establishment, one could slowly comprehend it. Mortals could not see through it. A cultivator one tier higher could see that an illusion spell had been used but could not see the specific appearance. A cultivator one major realm higher could see through the illusion spell and perceive the original body. It could be said to be somewhat useless, but used within Zhaoge, it was extremely suitable.

The moonlight was hazy. Mist drifted over from behind the mountains, gradually enveloping the area around the valley.

Chi Yixuan strolled out from the little residence. Seeing it with his own eyes was a completely different experience from watching through his life-bound artifact.

He passed the neat and orderly houses he had planned and smelled the faint scent of grass mixed with moisture in the air. He stepped over the small paths everyone had newly paved, where dewdrops still clung to the grass poking out from the cracks between the stone slabs. He walked past the Medical Workshop, from which waves of medicinal fragrance drifted out. A bamboo tray of dried herbs was waiting to be processed tomorrow…

In the night, the sound of a husband and wife quarreling occasionally rang out, but soon returned to calm.

Chi Yixuan went to measure his valley and found that this Nameless Valley could at most fit a few more rows of houses. Accommodating these more than ten thousand people was already the limit. If more people came in now, it would be far too crowded.

“Looks like we’ll have to expand outward.” As Chi Yixuan murmured to himself, he walked behind the Medical Workshop. An insect nest had been built here with iron wire mesh, and inside were mystic armor beetles that Guo Qianshan and the others had captured and brought back to raise.

“Ever since these mystic armor beetles came here, they haven’t laid eggs. They do eat plenty of meat and cactus every day, and after the spiritual vein was planted, they even got a whole lot fatter. But they still won’t lay eggs. If this goes on, the output of armor plates won’t increase!”

As Chi Yixuan was worrying, he suddenly heard a voice ring out.

“These people are really stupid enough. Raising mystic armor beetles? I can’t believe they thought of that. If mystic armor beetles were really so easy to raise, would a place like this even get the chance?”

Chi Yixuan frowned. What did that mean? The insect-raising plan was something he and his life-bound artifact had both thought was good back then. This person really had no manners, commenting when he knew nothing.

“Why are you insulting people? No upbringing at all.” Chi Yixuan cursed back. But after thinking that this should be a resident of the valley, someone who could provide him with points every month, his mood became calm again.

Turning back to stare at the mystic armor beetles inside the iron mesh, he discovered that two of them were stacked on top of each other. He was rather happy and said to his life-bound artifact, “Look, they’re mating. They should lay eggs very soon, right?”

The next moment, the one on top kicked the one below aside and crawled away. Chi Yixuan was extremely dissatisfied at the sight. He reached out and picked up the one that had been kicked aside. “You hit your wife right after you’re done? How low. Life-bound artifact, mark it for me. Tomorrow, I’ll deep-fry it.”

For once, his life-bound artifact did not answer him.

Only then did Chi Yixuan realize the weight in his hand was wrong. Looking carefully, he discovered that there had not been any beetle mating at all. What he was holding was not a mystic armor beetle, but a shell a mystic armor beetle had shed.

He let out a sound of surprise and examined it carefully. Discovering that the quality of this shell was no worse than one freshly peeled off, he could not help being startled. “Mystic armor beetles can shed shells? I never heard of that before!”

Only then did his life-bound artifact speak. “Your Majesty, the vast majority of insects shed their shells. Perhaps in the past, the spiritual qi was poor, and mystic armor beetles could not grow to the point where they needed to molt. Now that there is a spiritual vein and spiritual qi has increased greatly, things are naturally different.”

Chi Yixuan accepted this explanation. “That works too. With the shed shells, the Artifact Refining Workshop has materials again. I just don’t know how often they molt. We still have to increase output.” He put the shed shell back.

At this moment, he again heard those two voices say, “Hmph. Building houses beside the Sea of Suffering Path like this. I can’t believe they thought of it. It must have cost a lot of money!”

“Planting the spiritual vein here really is a pity.”

“This place won’t do either. It’s a total mess. The people handling things have no brains.”

“That’s right. This person must be an idiot. How could he compare to Big Brother’s cleverness and wisdom?”

Chi Yixuan grew somewhat angry. Even if they were his God of Wealth, they could not scold him like this, not to mention these two were nowhere near being his God of Wealth!

Originally, he had not used his divine sense. It was the middle of the night, and he was afraid of scanning other people’s private affairs. This time, after judging the direction of the voices, he swept his divine sense over directly, only to see two… invisible people?

“Mm…” Chi Yixuan began to ponder. Come to think of it, he had deliberately set conditions for the barrier, allowing those below the high tier of Qi Refining to enter, precisely to trap those with ulterior motives. He had not expected to really trap two people, and for their mouths to stink so much too.

Chi Yixuan found a rooftop and sat down to observe them. While he was at it, he took spiritual food out of his backpack slots to eat. As he ate, it suddenly ran out. Shocked, he rummaged through his backpack slots and discovered they were completely empty, without the slightest bit of spiritual food.

He said in shock, “Did those two steal it? How terrifying. There’s actually an evil art like that!”

“These past two days, you have been saying all day long that you feel empty and unbearable, and only spiritual food can fill…”

“Impossible. They must have stolen it!” Chi Yixuan made his conclusion decisively, then immediately sent messages to his employees, telling them to catch the thieves and seize the stolen goods.

His life-bound artifact sighed. “Your Majesty, they are a little poor. I am afraid they cannot afford spiritual food as atonement vouchers.”

Without blinking, Chi Yixuan said, “Then exile them to clean out the sewer! Didn’t you say the thing that can help me is in the sewer system? For this kind of dirty work, with them doing it for me, I feel very reassured.”

His life-bound artifact said, “Understood.”

Not having to clean out the sewer, Chi Yixuan was very satisfied. He felt his empty heart had been filled.

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