First Guidance

11:30 PM.

Supervisor Xu Ming notified everyone on the third floor to gather, preparing to start today's Guide work.

Li Yi woke up from his meditation, feeling energetic and not at all sleepy.

This was one of the benefits of being a Cultivator. During meditation, the body and brain were already in a semi-rest state. Coupled with the body's evolution and transformation, Cultivators were energetic most of the time, showing no signs of fatigue or weariness.

When he walked out of his room, the others were already in the hallway.

What surprised Li Yi was seeing Wu Zhen standing by the door. Although his face was bruised and swollen, covered in bruises, and his eyes were bloodshot, his condition didn't seem particularly bad. He could move freely and showed no lingering after-effects.

One had to admit, the physical quality and recovery ability of Cultivators were truly different.

A normal person would be lying in a hospital bed right now, unable to get up for at least a week.

Did I go too easy on him? Or are ordinary punches and kicks not very effective against Cultivators anymore? Li Yi wondered to himself.

This Wu Zhen had such resilience even without activating his Spirit Medium. If it were a more powerful Cultivator, wouldn't physical attacks be a joke? Would they need firearms to deal with Cultivators?

As he pondered this question, Wu Zhen also stared at Li Yi from a distance.

He was seething with anger. Anyone who suffered such a great loss wouldn't be able to swallow their pride.

But Wu Zhen didn't dare to show it. He knew Li Yi was a ruthless character, and another conflict might actually lead to someone's death.

We'll see about this later. Don't let me catch an opportunity, or I won't let you off. He could only vow silently, hoping to get revenge someday.

"All Guides, follow me. This guiding work will take place on the top floor," Supervisor Xu Ming said. "The previous batch of Guides will finish their work in twenty-five minutes, so you all have about twenty minutes to prepare. During these twenty minutes, you must all enter meditation and begin guiding Cosmic Energy."

"There's another batch of Guides? Who is this employer, so incredibly wealthy?" Zhang Gao asked, surprised.

Supervisor Xu Ming replied, "More than that. We've hired four batches of Guides in total. Each batch works for six hours, ensuring a continuous supply of Cosmic Energy twenty-four hours a day. Your batch is responsible for the night shift, so you won't see the other two batches working during the day."

"But that has nothing to do with you. All you need to do is focus on your guiding work. Now, please follow me and take this private elevator to the top floor."

Soon.

Several people took a spacious and comfortable private elevator directly to the top floor.

The entire top floor was filled with cultivation equipment built with immense wealth. Here, Li Yi saw top-tier Medical Pods, the golden Nutrient Solution, and even in some tempered glass display cases, he saw many antique-looking old weapons, including swords, spears, and ge.

And in the center of the building, there was a giant semicircular "egg."

"Is that half-egg a Cultivation Pod? My goodness, I've only seen this thing on the news, never in real life. It's said that once this Cultivation Pod is activated, it can isolate the pollution of our world and keep the energy inside pure. If combined with a sufficient number of Guides, it's equivalent to artificially creating a pure energy field. Cultivating inside it is comparable to possessing a Mysterious Artifact," someone exclaimed with wide eyes, shocked.

"Cultivating like having a Mysterious Artifact? Isn't that cheating?" Zhang Gao was also startled.

The person retorted, "Pfft, what cheating? This is the power of technology. No, this is the power of money. You wouldn't understand."

"New Guides, maintain silence." Suddenly, a cold voice came.

The voice wasn't loud but buzzed in their ears, carrying an inexplicable sense of deterrence.

Li Yi's expression changed, and he looked in the direction of the voice.

It was a middle-aged man in his early thirties, wearing a black long gown. Although he was just sitting there with his eyes closed, he exuded an indescribable sense of danger.

This person's cultivation level is very high. Is he a bodyguard? Li Yi glanced briefly, not daring to stare, and quickly averted his gaze.

The others also sensed the danger from this person and immediately fell silent.

Li Yi then focused his gaze on the area around the Cultivation Pod.

Currently, there were eight Cultivators sitting around the Cultivation Pod, both men and women. All of them had their hands placed on specific positions of the Cultivation Pod, continuously guiding pure Cosmic Energy into it. They had been in this state for nearly six hours.

"It's terrifying. A batch of seven or eight Guides, four batches in total, guiding Cosmic Energy twenty-four hours a day, plus the Cultivation Pod and top-tier Nutrient Solution. What kind of Cultivator are they trying to nurture?"

Li Yi marveled inwardly.

He compared their cultivation with that of ordinary people.

No wonder ordinary people couldn't turn their lives around even if they cultivated, only able to work as Guides to make a living.

This gap between the rich and the poor in cultivation was no longer something that could be compensated for by cultivation stats alone. Unless everyone was like Li Yi, lucky enough to risk their lives in the Ruined City and pick up a Mysterious Artifact.

But even owning a Mysterious Artifact might only be equivalent to one person's Cultivation Pod for them.

The remaining gap was still insurmountable.

Despite the shock, work had to continue.

After Supervisor Xu Ming briefly explained the situation, the others began to sit down around the Cultivation Pod one by one.

On the Cultivation Pod, there was a circular area about the size of a palm. This area was amber-colored and semi-transparent, made of an unknown material. Guides could penetrate pure Cosmic Energy into it by touching it with their hands, while polluted Cosmic Energy could not enter the Cultivation Pod.

This was very peculiar.

But it was precisely because of this peculiarity that the Cultivation Pod was astonishingly expensive.

As soon as Li Yi sat down, Supervisor Xu Ming found him. "Li Yi, your contract is the second type. Your salary will be paid based on the amount of Cosmic Energy you guide. You don't need to worry about others when you guide later. This Cultivation Pod will individually calculate the Cosmic Energy input for each position, and you won't be shortchanged a single cent."

"It has that function too? I understand," Li Yi nodded.

"Everyone can begin working now."

After Xu Ming finished explaining, he left.

Soon.

Seven people began adjusting their states to enter meditation and begin cultivation.

At this time, the previous batch of Guides also woke up from their meditation.

They were all familiar with the workflow. After waking up, they left without a word. The supervisor, Xu Ming, took them to eat and settle their wages for the day.

Li Yi, who had entered his state, was being cautious.

He didn't immediately guide large amounts of Cosmic Energy into the Cultivation Pod. Instead, he slowly captured some surrounding Cosmic Energy and guided it over.

Li Yi didn't want to expose the fact that he possessed a Mysterious Artifact, so he planned to proceed step by step, controlling the amount. At the same time, he could cultivate during this period.

Gradually.

Everyone entered their work state, and the surroundings became unusually quiet.

Six hours of meditation, which could not be interrupted. Otherwise, their wages would be halved.

However, for those with cultivation experience, this was not difficult. They usually cultivated for at least seven to eight hours, or even more than ten hours, at a time.

But today was a bit difficult for Wu Zhen.

He was injured, and the pain was still there. This caused him to wake up from his meditation after two hours.

"Damn it," Wu Zhen cursed in a low voice, feeling very upset. He knew he would only get paid 4,500 an hour today.

He didn't have time to resent Li Yi now and could only adjust his state to continue working.

Fortunately, this job was paid daily. As long as his body recovered tomorrow, his wages would return to normal.

At this moment, Li Yi felt that the time was almost right and began to secretly guide the Cosmic Energy from the Knife Coin into the Cultivation Pod.

As he did this, on the computer monitor next to him, the Cosmic Energy value for position six began to soar rapidly.

Thirty-five, seventy-nine, one hundred, one hundred and one. The value was still rising.

In a short period, Li Yi guided over a hundred units of Cosmic Energy, indicating that he had earned ten thousand yuan in this time.

But he didn't dare to push the value too high, so he stopped after a while.

Then, Li Yi waited for two hours and repeated the operation.

The purpose of doing this was to imitate the energy bursts of wormholes.

If he guided Cosmic Energy continuously, stably, and in large quantities, the employer in the Cultivation Pod would immediately notice something was wrong.

But short bursts of energy would not arouse any suspicion.

Everyone's location was different, and the number of wormholes and the amount of overflowing Cosmic Energy around them varied.

Even being one meter apart could result in a world of difference.

Therefore, no one could prove that Li Yi was acting suspiciously.

Unknowingly, the time had reached six in the morning.

The first day of guiding work was over.

When Li Yi opened his eyes, he found several unfamiliar Cultivators sitting next to him.

They had just begun their meditation, clearly another batch of Guides coming to take over.

Supervisor Xu Ming arrived again. He signaled Li Yi, Zhao Xiaoxiao, Zhang Gao, and the others that they could leave.

They left without a word, silently taking the elevator to the building's cafeteria for a meal.

"The work is very easy. The six hours passed in a flash," Zhang Gao said with a happy smile. "They even provide food, which is great. It's a shame the employers don't hire people long-term, or I really wouldn't want to leave."

"That Cultivation Pod is truly magical. It can actually isolate contaminated Cosmic Energy. I really don't know how they do it," someone next to him asked curiously.

Zhao Xiaoxiao said, "The most magical thing is that piece of glass. Pure Cosmic Energy can penetrate it, but contaminated Cosmic Energy cannot."

"That's not glass, it's a scale," Supervisor Xu Ming suddenly answered.

"An animal's scale? What kind of animal? A fish?" Zhang Gao pressed.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said, "If that's a scale, it's definitely not a fish scale. Fish on Earth don't have scales that large, nor can they isolate contaminated energy. It must be a scale from an Extraordinary Creature, right?"

Xu Ming said, "That's right. It's a Dragon Scale."