War Begins

On his first day at the Artifact Refining Hall in the inner city.

That day, Wu Tao and the others did not carry out any actual refining work. Instead, Chen Shan gave professional lectures on artifact refining knowledge in the Artifact Refining Room every day, such as the processing of certain spiritual materials.

As well as various precautions.

Chen Shan said these lectures would continue for three days.

Everyone received a copy of the Encyclopedia of Low-Grade Spirit Materials, which recorded the processing methods for many low-level spiritual materials.

Wu Tao checked the compilers and found, to his surprise, that it had been compiled by the Five Spring Artifact Refining Hall. Many of its processing methods were exceedingly ingenious, and even he had never learned them.

Take the processing method for Heaven Spider Silk, for example. The unofficial inheritance he had learned used Starfire Stone to refine the knotted points and disperse the Heaven Spider Silk web. But the Encyclopedia of Low-Grade Spirit Materials stated that Heaven Spider Silk processed this way would lose its cottony resilience and rebound properties. After processing it with Starfire Stone, one had to use Ice Crystal to adjust it to room temperature and cool the Heaven Spider Silk. Once cooled, its properties would stabilize. Then, one had to intensify and release the effects of the Ice Crystal, keeping the Heaven Spider Silk in a low-temperature state. Only then could its properties be restored.

The difference between an orthodox inheritance and a wild inheritance was revealed at once.

This book alone was an invaluable treasure to Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners.

They all thought they had come to the right place.

At The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Beauties on Luoma Street in the West Outer City, Zhang Li spent an entire morning before she finally obtained her employment contract from the Madam. The original contract stated that Zhang Li was to work at The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Beauties for a full year.

Yet only half a year had passed before Zhang Li requested to leave.

The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Beauties would suffer a terrible loss, so it refused to let Zhang Li go. It said she could leave, but she would have to pay eighty Low-Grade Spirit Stones as a penalty for breaking the contract.

Remembering Li Mo's warning, how could Zhang Li dare delay? Under normal circumstances, it would take her several months to earn those eighty Low-Grade Spirit Stones, and she would have been heartbroken to part with them.

But now, she only wanted to pay the penalty as quickly as possible and leave for the inner city sooner.

The Madam wore an equally astonished expression, but having accepted the spirit stones, she could only let it be.

Zhang Li packed up simply, then hurried out of The Pavilion of Ten Thousand Beauties. She walked along Luoma Street toward the inner city. When she reached the entrance of Luoma Street, there should have been cultivators from the Patrol Squad manning a checkpoint to inspect the Residency Certificates of passing rogue cultivators.

But now, there was not a single Patrol Squad cultivator in sight.

Had they withdrawn?

Zhang Li immediately understood. What Li Mo had said was true. Five Spring Mountain and Ghost Dao Sect really were about to go to war. Even the Patrol Squad had withdrawn; they were surely preparing to abandon the West Outer City.

The rogue cultivators around her remained oblivious, still saying how nice it was that they no longer had to go back and forth for inspections, that it was so much less troublesome. But how could they know that they had already been abandoned?

The West Outer City was inhabited mostly by rogue cultivators in Mid-Stage Qi Refining and Early Qi Refining. To Five Spring Mountain, such rogue cultivators did not even qualify to be recruited for the battlefield. They might as well be abandoned.

If I hadn't known Li Mo... Zhang Li did not dare dwell on it. If she thought any further, the only outcome would be her death.

She could not help feeling fortunate again—fortunate that when Li Mo had asked to borrow money from her, she had not refused.

Actually, Zhang Li had not refused Li Mo at the time because when Li Mo had first met her, he had kindly said hello to her.

In all her years in this line of work, Zhang Li had never received pure goodwill. Every kindness had merely coveted her body.

That day had also been the day she was swept out of Spring Beauty Pavilion. She had been in low spirits, and Li Mo's kind greeting had made her feel a little better.

Afterward, Li Mo had not looked down on or despised her because of her profession. His usual tone and conduct had always treated her as an equal.

That had moved Zhang Li deeply.

"Zhang Li, is that really you?" At that moment, an aged voice suddenly interrupted Zhang Li's thoughts. Zhang Li stopped and turned to look, only to see an old woman standing by the roadside.

"Auntie Li, how did you end up like this?" Zhang Li was also greatly shocked when she saw Auntie Li. Auntie Li's clothes were torn, her hair hung loose and disheveled, and her face was bruised as though she had been beaten.

Auntie Li was someone Zhang Li had met when she had first entered the profession. By then, Auntie Li was already old and faded, so she no longer did that kind of work. Zhang Li had heard that she had partnered with an elderly rogue cultivator to make a life together.

Auntie Li had taken very good care of Zhang Li in the past.

Thus, seeing Auntie Li in such a state, Zhang Li was stunned. "Auntie Li, what happened?"

But Auntie Li did not answer. Instead, she asked, "Zhang Li, where are you going? Aren't you at Spring Beauty Pavilion?"

Zhang Li shook her head. "I'm not at Spring Beauty Pavilion anymore..."

Upon hearing that, Auntie Li said, "Ah, not at Spring Beauty Pavilion. Ah, you aren't doing that anymore. It's good that you quit. While you're still young, find a better man and live your life. Don't be like me—when you're old and faded, you find an old rogue cultivator, live a hard life, and still have to endure beatings and curses..."

"By the way, Zhang Li, do you have a man in mind?"

At the question, Li Mo's figure arose in Zhang Li's sea of consciousness. Just as she was about to speak, Auntie Li's expression suddenly changed. "Hmph, men are all no good. None of them are any good..."

With a heart-rending shriek, Auntie Li turned and ran, mad as a lunatic.

Zhang Li was startled by the sight. Auntie Li has gone mad, was the thought that flashed through her heart. But at this time, she could not possibly chase after Auntie Li. She could only sigh inwardly before turning toward the inner city.

By the third day, there was no longer any sign of the Demon Slaying Hall's Patrol Squad in the West Outer City.

Moreover, all the larger shops had closed their doors.

Only then did the low-level rogue cultivators belatedly realize that they had been abandoned.

And so, order collapsed in an instant.

The stronger rogue cultivators began forming gangs and robbing weaker rogue cultivators. They seized resources and beautiful female cultivators. Seeing that no one came forward to punish such acts, the West Outer City fell into complete chaos.

In less than two short days, order in the West Outer City had crumbled. It was like hell itself, with everyone in danger.

On the eighth day, Five Spring Mountain and Ghost Dao Sect officially went to war. In the early stages of the conflict, Qi Refining Stage cultivators served as the main force, while Foundation Establishment Cultivators held the line, but never personally took action.

Moreover, these Qi Refining Stage cultivators were all rogue cultivators recruited by Five Spring Mountain. When it had recruited Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners, it had already begun recruiting rogue cultivators at Qi Refining Layer 7 and above within the inner city, offering generous terms for them to enter the battlefield.

Ghost Dao Sect's recruitment methods were even more brutal. It offered no compensation at all, forcibly abducting rogue cultivators and driving them into battle. Those who refused to fight died.

On the ninth day, a devilish cultivator descended upon the West Outer City. A Demonic Dao Magic Tool enveloped three streets, and in an instant, every rogue cultivator on those three streets was refined into Blood Pills. Had an Azure Sword Light not flown out from the inner city and frightened off that devilish cultivator, the entire West Outer City would likely have been refined into Blood Pills by him.

Though Wu Tao rarely went out while staying at the Artifact Refining Hall in the inner city, news still flew everywhere. Whenever he spoke with the Loose Cultivator Artifact Refiners, he heard all kinds of news.

One of the three streets that had been refined was Sincere Tea Street. When Wu Tao heard this news, his whole face turned pale. If Shopkeeper Yu had not reminded him, he would never have answered the summons.

He would have been among those refined into Blood Pills.

He would have died miserably without even seeing the devilish cultivator's face.

It was far too terrifying.

Wu Tao thanked Shopkeeper Yu once more in his heart.

At the same time, he sighed inwardly. The lives of rogue cultivators were fucking worthless!

"No matter whether in my previous life or this one, as long as you don't control the means of production, you're nothing but expendable material in those people's eyes. Fate... it has already been decided from the moment you're born..."