Outstanding Sleep

Ding—

A brand-new Joy Coin spun beneath the bright lights, reached the apex of its arc, and dropped into the open backpack beside the bed.

It was the third day after the battle at the spire.

After a full day of work, Daoist Wang returned to an upscale hotel in the nightclub district of the City of Joy's forty-sixth floor. He lay down on a soft, two-meter-wide bed and let out a gentle breath.

This was a luxurious room with a large bed, worth two Joy Coins per night. It came with a white porcelain bathtub, as well as...

A toilet that could be flushed freely without inserting coins.

He rather liked this kind of toilet. It was far more sophisticated than the wooden bucket he had used before going up the mountain.

Wang Jixuan glanced at his backpack. Its bottom was covered in Joy Coins and fixed-quota Joy Coin cards.

These were all of Gu Wending's savings.

Daoist Wang turned to look at the several jars of Deactivated Blade Beast Blood on the table, the iron boxes containing intact Blade Beast exoskeletons, and the Soul-Capturing Talisman pinned beneath those boxes...

A subtle sense of accomplishment welled up within him.

Cultivation was like this. Inner sect elders only needed to bury themselves in Hard Cultivation, while outer sect elders had many more matters to consider.

In this life, he was walking the path to ascension again. Every resource had to be fought for with his own hands, yet it gave him a strange sense of fulfillment.

Is this Worldly Heart Refining?

Wang Jixuan raised a hand to his forehead.

He had recently realized that he seemed rather gifted at being a demonic cultivator...

After clashing with Wen Heisen, the Black Fire Gang's third-ranking figure, known as Giant Bone Fish, Wang Jixuan no longer underestimated these gangs.

The whereabouts of the Black Fire Gang's big boss remained a mystery. Wang Jixuan had begun to suspect that this boss had never been in the Lower City at all, and that the Black Fire Gang was remotely controlled by someone in the Upper City.

But now, this boss was actually a secondary concern to Wang Jixuan.

Psionicists and Blade Beasts.

Wang Jixuan had a strong premonition that these two things were surely connected to his future path of cultivation!

The spiritual energy in this world's air was far too thin. If he wanted to become an immortal through meditation and Hard Cultivation alone, the Lifespan available at every stage probably would not be enough. He might cultivate until old age and death without ever condensing a Golden Core...

Spirit stones, demon cores, or other treasures containing spiritual energy were incredibly important to Wang Jixuan.

The Black Fire Gang contained clues related to them.

What Wang Jixuan wanted to do most right now was give Wen Heisen a head massage, then casually slap a Soul-Capturing Talisman on him.

However, he had no chance for that at the moment.

The Black Fire Gang was now on full alert throughout its territory. Drones flew everywhere, lights blazed at full intensity, and they searched every corner for Mu Liang's whereabouts.

Wang Jixuan could only avoid their edge for now and use the opportunity to make preparations.

Using Lower City currency to pave the way, he had found quite a bit of [Deactivated Blade Beast Blood], enough to make a thousand low-grade talismans.

He had also found some [Blade Beast Exoskeletons]. As long as he found some ore, he could try refining magic tools like Bone-Piercing Nails.

But he had not found even half a Blade Beast demon core.

Wang Jixuan guessed that if such cultivation resources truly existed, they were most likely controlled by the fortress elites, especially the 13th Institute.

If he gained nothing from the Black Fire Gang, then after his cultivation entered the Spirit Gathering Realm or an even higher realm, he would continue dealing with Zhou Zhengde and Wei Na and ask them to help search for Blade Beast demon cores.

For that, Wang Jixuan was willing to pay a price, provided it did not endanger his own safety.

For example, he could help Zhou Zhengde and Wei Na unblock their meridians and invigorate their blood, cure difficult ailments afflicting their relatives and friends, or give them some self-created breathing techniques to extend their lives.

—If he could obtain the necessary cultivation resources himself, then he would continue keeping a certain distance from Zhou and Wei.

Over the past two days, Wang Jixuan had also been searching for other materials needed to Refine Magic Tools.

It left him even more speechless.

Nearly all the metal he could access had been recycled many times over. It no longer contained the slightest trace of spiritual energy, and most of it was composed of various alloys.

What he needed was ore.

The kind freshly dug from the ground, still carrying spiritual energy.

Wang Jixuan had already begun worrying about his future Sword Control Technique.

When roaming the immortal realms, what mattered most?

Naturally, a top-grade flying sword shimmering like clear rippling water!

"Ah, I'll look slowly. These things have to be handled one at a time."

Wang Jixuan continued calculating in his heart.

Next, I need to find a way back to the forty-ninth floor, look for an opportunity to eliminate Wen Heisen, and obtain the secret of Psionicists. If I can find Blade Beast demon cores in the Black Fire Gang, even better.

I can't let that mysterious Black Fire Gang boss get away. I still need to confirm his whereabouts as soon as possible and settle this karmic entanglement.

I wonder how badly Wen Heisen is injured. Will he call down more Psionicists for help?

Wang Jixuan closed his eyes and pondered for quite a while. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he jolted awake, immediately rolled over and sat up, and rapidly formed hand seals with both hands.

Embrace the origin and guard the one, circulate the inner heavenly cycle.

"Cultivation cannot be neglected. I need to enter the Qi Abundance Realm as soon as possible."

Wang Jixuan flicked a finger, sending a wisp of qi accurately into the chandelier switch.

Click.

The room immediately fell into darkness.

Beyond the concrete-sealed window was the bustling nighttime market of the City of Joy's nightclub district. Those scenes of flashing lights, drunken revelry, and decadent pleasure could easily make one mistakenly believe humanity's Golden Age had never ended.

Wang Jixuan had only just entered meditation.

Step, step.

Soft footsteps came from the thickly carpeted hallway.

The Soul-Capturing Talisman, pinned beneath the iron box and sealing the bartender's soul, lifted slightly at one corner.

Someone was approaching.

Wang Jixuan suddenly opened his eyes and silently leaped from beside the bed to the corner behind the door. His Two Legs braced firmly against the walls on either side as he carefully sensed the situation outside.

What dense killing intent.

There were five people in the corridor. Every one of them breathed lightly, and their footsteps were extremely faint.

Had his whereabouts been exposed?

Had the Black Fire Gang sent elite thugs to retaliate?

Or was something else going on?

Bang! Bang!

The other party suddenly knocked on the door. A young woman called out in an affected voice:

"Hello, I'm a hotel attendant delivering hot water. Would you mind coming to the door to receive it?"

Wang Jixuan did not answer. Holding his breath, he gripped five utility knife blades gleaming coldly in his left hand and a silenced pistol in his right.

Low-voiced conversation came from outside.

"No one?"

"The scanner didn't detect any living traces in the room. I mean, not on the bed or in the bathroom, and not under the bed either. Strange."

"It could be a trap. Prepare the high-frequency flash grenade. Our target is to bring him back, no matter how we do it or whether he's injured... Swipe open the door."

Click, bzzz—

The electronic lock that the hotel receptionist had claimed could "withstand all kinds of electromagnetic interference" was effortlessly cracked by the five people outside.

They tossed in a black "can," and the door slammed shut.

Pop!

An intense light instantly filled the entire space!

Even though Wang Jixuan reacted quickly and raised a hand to shield his eyes, broad white spots still filled his vision!

One person kicked open the room door. Three men and women holding rifles rushed in simultaneously. One knelt on one knee while the other two swept their gun barrels left and right, their muzzles sealing off three areas of the room with practiced coordination. The remaining two stood guard at the door.

Wang Jixuan carefully sensed their movements.

The bright spots in his vision had yet to fade, and none of them looked up at the corner above the door.

So he held his breath and endured, continuing to wait for the best moment to strike.

"Closet! Under the bed!"

The three below moved forward at once, closing in on the closet, the space beneath the bed, and the sealed window. Since the three had made room and said, "No danger," the two outside darted through the doorway and swiftly but gently shut the door behind them.

Now!

A piercing whoosh suddenly rang out!

Wang Jixuan flung his left hand. Five cold flashes shot forth, while the silenced pistol in his hand fired repeatedly!

After a string of soft popping sounds, the room became utterly silent.

Wang Jixuan slowly slid down, crouching with his back against the security door. He closed his eyes and sensed the movements around him as streams of cool qi nourished his eyes.

Shortly afterward, Wang Jixuan's vision returned to normal. He switched on the fluorescent light and stared expressionlessly at the five corpses in the room.

Hm?

They were not wearing green tracksuits?

The five had all died from utility knife blades embedded in nearly identical spots at the backs of their necks.

Because his vision had been impaired, Wang Jixuan's shooting angle had been somewhat unsteady. Only three of the five corpses had been shot in the head, while the other two had been hit in the back.

Then he recalled how his pistol had failed to penetrate Wen Heisen's thick skin last time...

Magic tools are still more useful.

Wang Jixuan raised his brows and shrugged. He engaged the pistol's safety and tucked it into the inner pocket of his jacket.

This was no longer a place to linger.

He stepped over the corpses, intending to first collect the blood and exoskeletons he had worked so hard to obtain. Then his gaze was suddenly drawn to a faint green glow flashing from inside one corpse's clothes.

What was this?

He approached cautiously, his Spiritual Sense stretched to the limit. From the muscular leader's clothing, he found a device the size of a watch face and examined it closely.

It looked very similar to Lan Yuzai's holographic video player.

Daoist Wang tried pressing the green play button.

Four beams of light converged from the device's outer edge, forming a somewhat blurry three-dimensional projected video within.

Zhou Zhengde, seated behind an office desk in a light blue uniform, appeared before him with a smiling expression.

"It's recording already? Good! Mu Liang!

"When you see this recording, I imagine the five elite Lower City mercenaries I hired should already be standing before you.

"They went to escort you back. I think you should have developed a fairly basic understanding of one another by now, right?

"Please trust their abilities. They stand at the top of the Lower City food chain, true killers who ignore gang rules. Every one of them is highly skilled. Of course, they're outrageously expensive."

Zhou Zhengde put on a pained expression in the Projection Screen.

Wang Jixuan:...

He looked at the corpses that were beginning to grow cold.

Being young was great. They could fall asleep the moment they lay down.