Inner City

The next day.

Wu Tao began to tidy up his room, practicing detachment and letting go. He decided to discard all his daily necessities and only take the important items.

Since he had reported a 40% success rate to Shopkeeper Yu, there were still many spiritual materials like Bairen Wood, Heaven Spider Silk, and Demon Silkworm Silk at home. Wu Tao packed them all up.

This resulted in three large bundles.

"I really need to buy a storage bag!"

Wu Tao couldn't help but sigh at this moment, but after the sigh, the thought of buying a storage bag quickly faded.

After tidying up, Wu Tao began to cultivate, planning to practice until noon.

At noon, Wu Tao stopped cultivating, casually cooked three pounds of Spirit Rice, and ate quickly. After completing the Flesh Refining stage, his appetite increased again, from two pounds of Spirit Rice per meal to three pounds.

The Spiritual Power in his abdomen was slowly absorbed by him circulating the Sanyang Technique.

Shouldering the three large bundles, Wu Tao left his home and headed towards Fragrant Spring Road.

Walking on the street, Wu Tao's appearance was somewhat conspicuous. Loose Cultivators on the road looked at him with surprise, making him quite nervous.

He was afraid someone might try to rob him.

However, when those Loose Cultivators inadvertently saw an ordinary cotton quilt peeking out from his bundles, they guessed in their hearts that he was a poor Loose Cultivator who wouldn't even discard a cotton quilt when moving.

The journey was uneventful, and Wu Tao arrived at Fragrant Spring Road. He then discovered that about eighty to ninety percent of the Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners were carrying large bundles and were gathered on the street in front of the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall.

"This scene feels so familiar?"

However, seeing that everyone else was like this, Wu Tao felt a sense of belonging, and his heart settled considerably.

After waiting for about two quarters of an hour, the door of the Artifact Refining Hall opened, and five or six people walked out. The one in the lead was the artifact refiner surnamed Zhang. He instructed the person beside him, "Read out the names and see if anyone else has arrived."

"Zhou Qing."

"Here."

"Fang Xiang."

After reading the names, the cultivator who was reading them out said to the artifact refiner surnamed Zhang, "Senior Brother Zhang, three people have not arrived yet."

Senior Brother Zhang said, "Let's go."

Not arriving on time meant those three Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners had missed their opportunity.

A group of Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners, carrying large bundles, followed the artifact refiners from the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall through various streets, heading towards the Inner City.

Along the way, they encountered many loose cultivators, all of whom were amazed by this scene. However, upon seeing the cultivators in Five Spring Mountain uniforms leading the way, they didn't even dare to discuss it openly.

About half an hour later, they finally arrived at the West City gate of Five Spirits Cultivation City.

Wu Tao looked at the tall city gate, the ten-person high doors that seemed to be made of spiritual materials, grand and magnificent, and the majestic city walls that were awe-inspiring.

The five large characters 'Five Spirits Cultivation City' on the city gate, written in a vigorous and elegant style, were full of immortal charm.

This was the true Five Spirits Cultivation City.

Looking at Five Spirits Cultivation City, the loose cultivator artifact refiners couldn't help but shed tears. Their lifelong pursuit, for most of them, was to establish themselves in the inner city.

But here, there were fewer than ten people in total who were First-Rank Level 4, Level 5, and Level 6 artifact refiners. It was better to establish an association in the outer city than to live in the inner city, as they could earn more spirit stones.

If they were not at least First-Rank Level 7, forcing themselves to live in the inner city would only increase various burdens and would not be as leisurely as living in the outer city, which did not align with their development plans.

The city gate was guarded by disciples of Five Spring Mountain. Everyone entering the city had to present their Inner City Temporary Residence Permit.

The Artifact Refining Hall was an important hall of Five Spring Mountain. With the artifact refiner surnamed Zhang present, they smoothly entered the inner city. As soon as they entered the inner city, Wu Tao discovered that the housing layout of the inner city was like the difference between heaven and earth compared to the outer city.

The inner city streets were clean, perfectly planned, and the houses had ample spacing.

In contrast, the outer city was basically a jumble of houses of varying heights, crowded together as if people were shaking hands, and the streets were dirty and chaotic.

The further they walked into the inner city, the more Wu Tao noticed the growing longing for the inner city on the faces of the loose cultivator artifact refiners around him.

Moreover, walking on the streets, the loose cultivators were all wearing magic robes, and most of them were at least in the Mid-Stage Qi Refining realm, with no one in the Early-Stage Qi Refining realm.

In this unfamiliar environment, they dared not speak and obediently followed the artifact refiners from the Artifact Refining Hall.

Half an hour later.

They arrived at the Five Spring Mountain Artifact Refining Hall in the inner city. The buildings were clustered together, many times larger than the Artifact Refining Hall on Fangqun Road.

The artifact refiner surnamed Zhang led them to be assigned living quarters. Each person had a single room, equipped with a sound-proofing and anti-peeping array and a lighting and fire-starting array, but no cultivation room.

In addition, they were each issued an Inner City Temporary Residence Permit. If they went out during their usual rest or personal time, they could present this permit to the patrol squad for inspection.

The artifact refiner surnamed Zhang repeatedly emphasized that the temporary residence permit must be kept safe and carried with them at all times. If it was lost or not brought along, and they were caught by the patrol squad, they would be sent to mine or farm, and the Artifact Refining Hall would not come to claim them.

Afterward, they were dismissed, and the loose cultivator artifact refiners were told to return to their rooms to rest. They were to start refining matters at the Mao Hour tomorrow.

Wu Tao sat on the chair. The soundproof and anti-peeping array in the room was already activated, and the illumination array was also on. He recalled the journey from the afternoon until now and felt that the journey was very familiar. Finally, he realized with a start, "Isn't this just like going to work in a factory during summer vacation?"

"From tomorrow onwards, from the Mao Hour to the Shen Hour, I will be working for the Five Spring Mountain Artifact Refining Hall. My own time will only be five hours. Cultivation will take one hour, practicing the Spirit Wandering Restriction will take one hour, the Dragon Spear Body Tempering Art will also take one hour, and Fire Sweep Wind and Thunder will take one hour."

"From tomorrow onwards, I have decided, I will only sleep for one hour a day."

"This is true cultivation!"

Wu Tao decided to push himself, to ensure he wouldn't waste this time.

"Complete the Tendon Refining stage as soon as possible, and break through to Mid-Stage Qi Refining faster."

He was still a nobody at the Third Level of Qi Refining.

After a simple plan, Wu Tao began to brew the medicinal liquid and cultivate the Dragon Spear Body Tempering Art.

The next day.

Wu Tao went to sleep at the Chou Hour and woke up at the Yin Hour. He slept for one hour. After waking up, he cast a Cleaning Spell on himself. He didn't even wash anymore; time was life.

He swallowed a Qi Condensation Pill and cultivated the Sanyang Technique. An hour later, it was the Mao Hour, and Wu Tao hurried to the great hall he had spoken of yesterday to gather.

Arriving at the great hall, Wu Tao found a seat. Soon, it was time. The artifact refiner from the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall called out names. Seeing that no one was late, he began the grouping.

There were a total of one hundred and twenty Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners here. They were divided into groups of twenty, with each group led by a First-Rank Level 7 artifact refiner.

"My surname is Chen, and my given name is Shan. Like you, I am a loose cultivator. You can all call me Artifact Master Chen. For the upcoming period, I will be responsible for your refining matters." Artifact Master Chen had completely white hair and looked to be over eighty years old. However, cultivators could not judge age by appearance; their bodies were nourished by Spiritual Power year-round, so their actual age was much greater than their appearance suggested.

"Artifact Master Chen!"

Wu Tao bowed to Chen Shan along with everyone else.

Their group consisted entirely of First-Rank Level 4 Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners.

Chen Shan's name suited him; he looked very approachable. He led the twenty people under his charge to an artifact refining room. Inside the room were twenty Artifact Refining Slots. He said, "Your refining work from now on will be conducted in this artifact refining room. Don't be nervous, relax a little, and everyone choose your own slot."

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