Cultivation Blessed Land

The old woman, dressed in a loose nightgown, stood at the door and frowned at Wang Jixuan.

Wang Jixuan could directly sense her hostility... though rather than hostility, it was more like disdain.

"Your surname is Zhou?" Old Madam Kong Lianmei asked with a frown.

"Yes. Please, come in and have a seat."

Wang Jixuan stood and moved aside.

"Mm." Kong Lianmei nodded, closed the door behind her, and said, "Keep your voice down. Don't wake the children. My instincts tell me you're trouble—not too big, not too small. I've seen far too many young people."

Wang Jixuan pondered for a moment, unsure how to respond.

Old Madam Kong sat by the bed, her calm, profound old eyes fixed on Wang Jixuan's disguised face.

"Have you heard of Zhou Meiying?" she asked.

"No."

"She's a high-ranking official. Anyone in the fortress with the surname Zhou should know who she is."

Wang Jixuan laughed inwardly.

The old woman was probing him.

Sixty-nine was still far too young compared to over one hundred and twenty.

"I don't know about such things." Daoist Wang showed just the right amount of unease and restraint in his eyes. "If I get a chance to see my uncle again, I can ask him for you."

"Why would I ask about her? I hate that woman."

Old Madam Kong snorted and frowned in thought, seemingly considering how to drive this young man away.

She suddenly asked, "Are you into little girls?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you have any perverted fantasies about the girls here?"

Old Madam Kong narrowed her eyes slightly and stared at Wang Jixuan's face.

A pistol appeared in her right hand, its silver barrel polished bright.

Wang Jixuan raised a hand and rubbed his brow.

The landlady muttered curses, "Don't think I don't know where that Little Hua runs her shop! The Pervert Zone in the City of Joy! It's full of perverts! The most twisted, darkest desires of Human Civilization are all there! You've been inside, haven't you? You've already been contaminated! You little bastard!"

"No, no, I actually... don't like women here."

The landlady flew into a rage. "Oh, heavens! There are several boys here too! That's even worse! Are you one of those disgusting religious leaders from the Golden Age?"

"I really don't have that kind of fetish! Absolutely not! The women I like... first, they need to have an otherworldly air. They wear long dresses, keep long hair, speak with refined courtesy, and have gentle, graceful personalities. Yes, graceful. That kind of temperament is very important."

Wang Jixuan said with a completely serious expression:

"I swear on my former teacher's reputation that I absolutely will not seek out any Dao companions here!"

The old landlady studied Wang Jixuan's eyes carefully, then slowly nodded. She put the pistol back into her nightgown pocket and muttered on:

"Very good, young man. Your eyes tell me you aren't lying.

"You have temporarily passed my test of character. I'll continue watching you. Don't think killing me would solve everything—I have many, many children in all the major gangs of the Lower City!

"But I have to remind you, that graceful sort of temperament is rarely seen in the fortress anymore.

"You can stay here. Tomorrow, I'll arrange some odd jobs for you so you can support yourself."

Wang Jixuan said, "Could I start work a few days later? I still have some Joy Coins that my uncle had someone give me. I can pay them to you as rent. I want to rest for a while. All that hardship and wandering before this left me exhausted."

"That won't do. Everyone has to work. You can't..."

Old Madam Kong frowned at the twelve Joy Coins that had appeared before her.

"Then again, it's not impossible."

She scooped up the round metal coins in one grab and muttered, "This will only let you stay here for three months! After three months, you must go out and work! And listen carefully: if you plan to work for those gangs and hurt people, move out of here after three months!"

"Alright, thank you. It won't take that long. I'm very interested in growing things."

Wang Jixuan was in an excellent mood.

Talking to this old woman was unexpectedly interesting.

However, two minutes later.

"Here! Use it sparingly! I'll only give you one roll a week at most!"

A soft, yellowed roll of Regenerating Toilet Paper was tossed into Wang Jixuan's arms. Outside the door, the old woman muttered, "You'd better behave yourself," as she slowly walked away.

Wang Jixuan stared at the roll of paper, stunned for a moment and still not understanding what it meant. Then Little Ye Zi's deliberately muffled laughter came from the corridor.

Several dark lines appeared across his forehead.

Forget it. Time to cultivate and see what the spiritual energy quality was like here.

Wang Jixuan rose, locked the door behind him, and used a T.E.R. text poster to cover the gap in the door.

He had seen those three letters many times in Mu Liang's memories as well.

With his five centers facing heaven, he circulated his inner cycle, and strands of spiritual energy gathered around him.

Infinite Heavenly Venerable, the spiritual energy here only seems slightly more abundant and purer, but cultivation is nearly forty percent faster than on the thirteenth floor!

How did I not discover this place sooner? I'd clearly been to the edge of Wanlijin Gang territory before.

This poor Daoist is staying here for good!

As long as Ye Zi doesn't keep dragging me into housework.

Wang Jixuan thought with some concern.

The relatively peaceful two weeks passed in a flash.

At the border between the Black Fire Gang and the Wanlijin Gang, inside an abandoned shack converted from a tin container.

Wang Jixuan sat in the darkness, skillfully pressing the square little box before him—the Text Exchanger.

This was his third time communicating with Zhou Zhengde since arriving in Wanlijin Gang territory.

[02: Found the entrance to the tunnel. It's behind the bookshelf in the study. There's irregular dust scattered around the entrance, so I didn't dare enter directly.]

He waited for a while, roughly twenty seconds.

[01: Have you installed the surveillance equipment?]

[02: It's installed. Both the secret room and tunnel entrance I found earlier are covered. The day before yesterday, I investigated the tunnel's direction of extension from above. I can confirm that it leads directly into the heart of Black Fire Gang territory and connects several key locations.]

[01: An astonishing discovery! This is very likely an escape route for Black Fire Gang higher-ups! Where exactly did that shemale uncle send you?]

[02: His adoptive mother's home. His adoptive mother is connected to the Black Fire Gang. It's highly likely that the old woman has a son among the Black Fire Gang's upper ranks. This was an accidental discovery.]

[01: Fantastic! I'll send people to ambush that area! We have to catch them all in one net! Especially that evil Wen Heisen!]

[02: Don't come over. You'll disturb me. I rather like it here.]

Wang Jixuan glanced at the astonishingly amplified mass of qi within his body.

He had originally estimated that it would take at least three months to reach the Qi Abundance Realm, but now...

He only needed one more month!

If he could obtain enough Blade Beast Blood and refine the spiritual energy from it, perhaps even half a month would be enough!

With his improved cultivation efficiency, he could now perfectly balance cultivating and fighting the Black Fire Gang.

[01: Have you been reading again lately?]

[02: I finished Fortress Engineering Applications and Fortress Pipe Laying these past few days. I'm currently reading Modern Physics Applications and Weapons That Make Blade Beasts Fear.]

[01: I didn't have time to ask last time. Where did you find all those books?]

[02: In my landlady's study, on the bookshelf beside the tunnel entrance. My landlady lets me read whatever I want. She always says that reading is the ladder of human progress.]

[01: There's something seriously wrong with your landlady. The books, secret room, and passage all prove it. Do you need anything else? I recently got some Individual Combat Gear from my uncle, but I still can't get single-person Rocket Launchers. Those things could threaten the stability of the fortress's internal support pillars, so we can't use them to blast D-Class Psionicists. What a pity.]

Wang Jixuan hesitated, then voiced his needs anyway.

[02: Blade Beast Bones, blood, and anything related to Blade Beasts that you can get.]

[01:...]

[01: Do you want those to increase your own power? Sigh, don't tell me your power also comes from Blade Beasts.]

[02: Also? Psionicists?]

[01: Yes. They say Psionicists are all nurtured with Blade Beast power, except that the technology is controlled by the 13th Institute and the death rate is very high. I should be able to get a small amount of Blade Beast Blood. Those miraculous papers of yours are made using Blade Beast Blood too, right? Sigh, I've still formed a connection with Blade Beast power.]

Wang Jixuan raised his brow slightly.

[02: To me, Blade Beast power is merely a shortcut. I'll use it while removing its impurities. Even without it, I can become stronger.]

[01:(°°)]

[02: Talk next time. Send the next batch of supplies to the old location on the forty-ninth floor. I have some proper business to attend to tonight.]

[01: Proper business? What?]

[02: Slay Demons, Protect the Righteous Path, Uphold Justice. Resolve Karma, Stabilize the Profound Heart. (￣︶￣)]

Wang Jixuan casually shut down the device to conserve power.

He placed the Text Exchanger into the tin box in front of him, then swiftly took off his shirt and trousers, folded them, and placed them inside.

Over the past half month, he had lived quite well under Little Ye Zi's care.

Although he had to help with some chores every day, they did not take much time from his cultivation. He could also occasionally eat nutrient-rich vegetables.

With nutrition to support him and spiritual energy nourishing him, Wang Jixuan's new Dao body had begun to show smooth, defined muscle lines.

Daoist Wang opened the wardrobe beside him.

A simply designed black tactical riot helmet, a pitch-black protective Combat Suit, more than a dozen pistols and submachine guns, and thirty-six concentrated high-explosive grenades the size of longan fruit were neatly arranged beneath the wardrobe's dim light.

The corner of his mouth lifted as he quickly changed into his gear.

He first sorted the stacks of talismans from his old shirt's inner pocket into the rear pockets of this specially made Combat Suit. Wang Jixuan then tucked the six Bone-Piercing Nails, forged from Blade Beast exoskeletons and some metal, into the sleeves of the suit.

If he encountered Wen Heisen now, Wang Jixuan was eighty-nine percent certain he could pierce the man's skull with a single nail.

Unfortunately;

His hunting target tonight was not Wen Heisen.

He selected firearms, loaded magazines, and took out twelve concentrated high-explosive grenades, placing them in the armed pouches around his waist.

With two clicks, the bullets were smoothly chambered, and he placed the firearms into the holsters attached to his belt.

Wang Jixuan took a light breath of foul air, turned, and walked out of the underground Tin House. Before leaving, he did not forget to glance at the extravagantly designed black motorcycle that Young Master Zhou had sent last time.

He still could not skillfully control that kind of mount.

At the same time.

Inside the captain's office of the 13th Floor Security Office.

Zhou Zhengde's brows were twisted into a deep furrow as he solemnly opened a drawer, put on his glasses, activated a holographic Projection Screen, found the search field, entered "Slay Demons, Protect the Righteous Path, Uphold Justice. Resolve Karma, Stabilize the Profound Heart," and clicked the translate button.

"Cool! So that's what karma means."

"So after lying low for more than half a month, he's started attacking the Black Fire Gang again?"

Zhou Zhengde shrugged, somewhat dismissive of it.

The Purification Force and the gang coalition were both gathering their strength. To wipe out the Black Fire Gang, they only needed to advance steadily according to schedule. In another month, they could launch the operation directly.

Now that Mu Liang had found another Underground Passage, with that suspicious old woman guarding it, they might gain some unexpected harvest when they closed the net.

That was already quite good.

Mu Liang insisting on personally killing a few gang members now was really a bit...

Petty and insignificant, taking risks for nothing.

"But his way of handling things is indeed cool. I like it."

Captain Zhou laughed in praise.

Young Master Zhou had no idea at that moment how many extra hours of work this would cost him.