Zhou Xuan's gaze slowly moved away from the pile of talismans and talisman-making materials, finally settling on an inconspicuous jade bottle beside them.
Inside were the three Qi Gathering Pills Senior Sister Zhang Ling had given him.
He had originally planned to wait until his Spirit Root quality improved by another one or two grades, making his cultivation more efficient, before taking the pills and maximizing their medicinal effects.
After all, with his Five Elements Waste Spirit Root—an improvement forcibly made from his Five Elements Impure Spirit Root—his efficiency at absorbing and converting pills was, at best, only thirty percent!
The remaining seventy percent would all go to waste!
For a pauper like him, who valued resources as dearly as his own life, that was practically worse than being killed!
But now...
A conflicted look crossed Zhou Xuan's face.
He looked at the Qi Gathering Pills, then at the talisman-making materials.
One was a lifeline right before his eyes; the other, a Heavenly Path stretching into the future.
Which should he choose?
"Damn it!"
Zhou Xuan cursed under his breath, his expression shifting uncertainly.
Quite a few passing chore disciples were already hurrying back to their lodgings. Soon after, faint fluctuations of spiritual energy came from those dilapidated Wood huts.
Clearly, under the threat of death, even these chore disciples, who had long since resigned themselves to their fate, had begun wringing out the last shred of their potential, hoping to seize that faint glimmer of hope.
Everyone was scrambling to keep up now.
He couldn't wait any longer!
"Liu Ruyan, just you wait!"
Zhou Xuan gritted his teeth, a vicious glint flashing in his eyes.
He snatched up the jade bottle and, without hesitation, tipped out a plump, perfectly rounded Qi Gathering Pill that gave off a faint medicinal fragrance.
"So what if it goes to waste? It's still better than being swept out the door like a piece of trash!"
With grim resolve, he tossed the Qi Gathering Pill straight into his mouth.
The pill melted as soon as it entered his mouth, and a vast wave of pure Spiritual Energy exploded through his meridians!
Zhou Xuan immediately sat cross-legged, enduring the painful sensation of his meridians being stretched open.
He circulated the rudimentary Body Forging Cultivation Method with all his might, guiding the surge of spiritual energy through every part of his body.
But reality was cruel.
That enormous wave of Spiritual Energy was like water poured into a battered sieve full of holes.
Most of it escaped from his limbs and body before he could even refine it, vanishing into the air.
He managed to painstakingly catch, refine, and transform less than thirty percent of it into his own strength.
Zhou Xuan could clearly feel the waste, and his heart ached so badly it seemed to twitch.
How was this cultivation? It was practically burning money!
But he had no choice. He could only grit his teeth and circulate the Cultivation Method over and over, absorbing every last trace of spiritual energy he could.
Time trickled away, bit by bit, amid this painful and extravagant cultivation.
By the time Zhou Xuan had finished refining all three Qi Gathering Pills, the rooster outside was crowing to mark the dawn.
"Phew..."
He let out a long breath of stale air and slowly opened his eyes. A flash of light flickered through the dark room.
He looked down at his body and saw a thick layer of foul-smelling, blackish-gray grime coating his skin.
This was the phenomenon of cleansing the marrow and purging the body, something that only occurred when one's Body Tempering cultivation improved substantially.
Zhou Xuan sprang to his feet. He felt filled with explosive strength, and his body was lighter than ever before.
Without stopping to clean himself, he flung open the door and dashed to a small pond nearby, plunging in with a splash.
The icy water washed away all his fatigue and grime in an instant.
When he surfaced and saw his reflection in the water, he couldn't help but pause.
It was still the same face, but his features seemed sharper and more defined, and his skin was much smoother. His complexion, once slightly sallow from long-term malnutrition, now had a faint, jade-like sheen.
He was even more handsome now!
Feeling the surging power within him, Zhou Xuan focused his thoughts and checked his cultivation.
Seventh Layer of Body Forging!
In a single night, he'd broken through four levels from the Third Layer of Body Forging, shooting straight up to the Seventh Layer!
If any other chore disciple had made such a breakthrough, they'd probably be overjoyed and overflowing with gratitude.
But Zhou Xuan showed not a trace of delight. Instead, his brows furrowed, and his eyes were full of disdain and irritation.
"Pathetic!"
He couldn't help muttering a curse.
"Three Qi Gathering Pills!"
"If I'd had a better Spirit Root, forget the Ninth Layer of Body Forging—I might have gone straight to the heavens and entered the Qi Refining Realm with room to spare!"
"Even an ordinary disciple with Three Spirit Roots or Four Spirit Roots would've at least reached the great completion of the Ninth Layer of Body Forging, right?"
"But when it comes to me, seventy percent of the medicinal effects go straight to the dogs, and all I get in exchange is the Seventh Layer of Body Forging?"
The more Zhou Xuan thought about it, the angrier he became. He flipped off his reflection in the water.
Damn this Waste Spirit Root!
Still, complaints aside, he knew that at least the greatest danger hanging over him had passed.
With Seventh Layer of Body Forging cultivation, he'd be safe from being removed, whether it was during the assessment three months from now or even if Wang Fugui showed up with the list and started clearing people out today.
Zhou Xuan let out a long sigh of relief, but then a new concern surfaced in his mind.
Going from the Third Layer of Body Forging to the Seventh Layer overnight.
That was too fast!
A little too frighteningly fast!
He could explain it by saying he'd taken pills, but where would a chore disciple get Qi Gathering Pills?
Even if he had some, such a rapid increase would be enough to attract the attention of anyone who cared to look.
Especially that old dog Wang Fugui, and Zhao Long, who might be watching him from the shadows!
"No, I have to hide my strength!"
Zhou Xuan made up his mind at once.
He climbed out of the pond and focused his thoughts. The spiritual energy within him began to recede, concealing itself.
Soon, the powerful aura unique to a Seventh Layer of Body Forging cultivator ebbed away like the tide.
In the end, his aura settled at the Second Layer of Body Forging.
After breaking through to the Third Layer earlier, he had disguised himself as the same useless cultivator he'd been at the First Layer.
Now his cultivation was a little stronger than before, but not conspicuously so.
A chore disciple, driven to cultivate with all his might by the threat of being expelled from the Sect, had luckily broken through one layer.
That was perfectly reasonable, wasn't it?
Zhou Xuan nodded in satisfaction. Only after all that did he leisurely put on his clothes and head for the Miscellaneous Affairs Department.
Today was the second day of the rest period, but the Miscellaneous Affairs Department didn't believe in days off.
As he walked, he silently issued a command in his mind.
"System, convert all twenty-two Demon Cores into Gold Touch Value!"
[ Ding! Absorbed a first-grade, low-tier Wind Wolf Demon Core. Gold Touch Value +8! ] [ Ding! Absorbed a first-grade, low-tier Iron-Armored Boar Demon Core. Gold Touch Value +7! ] ...
A string of notifications rang out in his mind, and only then did Zhou Xuan's mood improve somewhat.
[Gold Touch Value balance: 530 points.]
Looking at the number, his hope rekindled.
He'd already completed more than half of his goal of one thousand Gold Touch Value!
As long as Senior Sister Zhang Ling, the Explosion Immortal, came through today and blew up a few more batches of pills, he might soon have enough!
When he reached the familiar Trash Mountain in front of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, the atmosphere was even more oppressive and lifeless than it had been yesterday.
Many chore disciples had bloodshot eyes and blank expressions as they worked like walking corpses.
Zhou Xuan's arrival didn't attract much attention.
"Wonder what kind of new scraps they'll bring in today?"
Zhou Xuan licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with greedy excitement.
"Maybe I'll find another treasure!"
Before you continue