Diligence

Just as dawn broke, the valley of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department was already permeated with a unique, foul stench, a mixture of decay, medicinal odors, and the metallic tang of blood.

Several massive flatbed carts, dragged by puppet oxen imbued with spirit power, rumbled slowly into the valley, dumping waste collected from all corners of the sect into designated areas with a series of thunderous crashes.

Every servant mechanically picked up their tools, beginning another day of work accompanied by toxic substances and the constant shadow of death.

One could only wonder how many people would collapse from poisoning due to improper handling today, or be blown to pieces by some unstable scrap.

Yet, amidst this crowd of gray, despairing figures, one person stood out as completely out of place.

Zhou Xuan stood before the mountain of trash, not only devoid of any fear but actually appearing eager to begin.

This starkly different demeanor formed a sharp contrast with the other servant disciples, whose faces were etched with misery.

"Time to work, time to work!"

Zhou Xuan cheered himself on in his heart, rubbing his hands together; before the steward could even assign tasks, he was the first to rush forward.

His actions caused some of the timid servants nearby to shrink back, looking at him as if he were a madman.

"Has this guy been pushed over the edge? Is he completely throwing his life away?"

"Sigh, he's probably trying to make a desperate gamble within these three months. It's a pity, no matter how hard he tries, a trash Spirit Root is still a trash Spirit Root..."

"Stay away from him, lest he trigger something and splatter us with blood."

Zhou Xuan turned a deaf ear to the surrounding whispers.

He didn't touch the discarded magical artifacts or fragments of pill furnaces that looked extremely dangerous and emitted eerie glows; instead, he headed straight for the outermost perimeter, the mountain-like area of medicinal dregs.

The items dumped directly on the periphery were mostly waste produced after refining finished medicinal pills.

The quantity was the most massive, and while the spirit energy contained within was thin, it made up for it in sheer volume.

Most importantly, unlike those discarded pills that could explode at any moment or were highly toxic, medicinal dregs weren't necessarily poisonous. Even if they were, the toxicity was relatively mild, making this the most basic and safest work area in the Miscellaneous Affairs Department.

Zhou Xuan dove into the pile of dregs, using both hands to dig through them frantically.

On the surface, he was sorting and bagging the dregs, but in secret, every time his palms brushed against the blackened residue, he would chant in his heart.

"System, absorb!"

[Ding! Low-grade medicinal residue detected. Absorption successful, Gold Touch Value +0.3!]

[Ding! Low-grade medicinal residue detected. Absorption successful, Gold Touch Value +0.2!]

[Ding! Low-grade medicinal residue detected. Absorption successful, Gold Touch Value +0.4!]

A continuous stream of insignificant notification sounds scrolled through his mind.

Although the Gold Touch Value gained each time was pitifully small, the sheer volume of dregs here was overwhelming!

Zhou Xuan was like a tireless perpetual motion machine, turning the small mountain of dregs upside down. By the time he straightened his back, the area he was responsible for had been cleaned thoroughly.

His Gold Touch Value balance had soared from 530 points all the way to 602!

In just a single morning, it had surged by 72 points!

"Awesome!" Zhou Xuan exclaimed in his heart, feeling incredibly satisfied.

Furthermore, during the absorption process, he discovered an unexpected bonus.

For the dregs that had completely rotted and mixed with the soil, the system provided a new prompt.

[Rotten medicinal soil containing faint spirit energy detected. Can be refined and upgraded to Grade 1 Low-tier Spirit Soil. Requires 5 Gold Touch Value.]

Spirit Soil!

Zhou Xuan's eyes lit up instantly.

Any plant grown in such soil would automatically gain spirituality; even common crops would produce fruits far superior to ordinary ones.

If used to grow spirit herbs, it could significantly shorten the growth cycle and enhance medicinal potency.

This stuff was sold by the ounce in the markets and fetched a high price!

"I don't need it for now, but I can keep it in mind. Maybe one day I can open up a medicinal garden and become a big landlord in the world of cultivation."

Zhou Xuan thought happily, tucking this discovery away for later.

The commotion on his side caught the attention of the other servants.

"Eh? Look, the medicinal dregs Zhou Xuan processed seem exceptionally clean?"

One servant said in surprise.

Another servant leaned over to sniff, a look of confusion appearing on his face: "That's strange. The dregs today don't seem to have much of a smell? And the toxicity is pitifully weak."

"Yeah, same here. Working has become much easier."

The crowd discussed it, all feeling that the waste today seemed much milder than usual.

Though they didn't know the reason, it was a good thing regardless; at least their safety was a bit more guaranteed.

Little did they know that the residual spirit energy and toxicity in these dregs had been sucked dry by Zhou Xuan, the human-shaped pump.

After finishing the medicinal dregs, Zhou Xuan turned his gaze toward the Domestic Waste Zone on the other side.

The items here were even more varied, ranging from tattered clothing and leftover Spirit Beast Bone to even some mundane items broken by inner sect disciples.

To others, these items were genuine trash, but under the scan of Zhou Xuan's system, he could always find a few stragglers containing faint traces of spiritual energy.

He searched through them patiently, much like an experienced scavenger.

Suddenly, his fingers brushed against a small, cold, and hard object.

He instinctively pinched it and brought it before his eyes, his pupils constricting sharply!

It was a small piece of metal, only the size of a fingernail, with an archaic, rusted green hue throughout!

Green Copper!

The material, the luster, and the aura were almost identical to the mysterious copper fragment he had previously spent one thousand Gold Touch Value to repair from the scrap heap at the Myriad Things Pavilion!

Zhou Xuan's heart skipped a beat!

How could this thing appear in the Domestic Waste Zone?

This meant that it was highly likely some disciple had inadvertently discarded it, mistaking it for actual trash!

Zhou Xuan forcibly suppressed the joy in his heart, feigning an indifferent expression on his face. He calmly tucked the small piece of Green Copper into his sleeve, then, while no one was paying attention, quickly transferred it into his Universe Bag.

Only after finishing all this did he let out a long sigh of relief.

He was just about to continue searching through this treasure trove to see if he could make any more earth-shattering discoveries.

"Ah!"

At that moment, a shrill, miserable scream suddenly erupted from the Hazardous Waste Zone on the other side of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, the sharp sound piercing the tranquility of the valley!

All the laborers buried in their work, Zhou Xuan included, paused abruptly and turned their heads in unison toward the direction of the sound.

They saw a laborer disciple lying on the ground over there, his body being corroded by a pool of black liquid at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, he had dissolved into a puddle of pus and blood, not even leaving his bones behind.

The surrounding laborers were scared out of their wits, scrambling backward in a panic.

However, before the crowd could recover from this terrifying scene.

Swish!

A harsh, piercing sound of something cutting through the air suddenly rang out, moving from far to near!

Everyone looked up to see a streak of white light shooting over from the direction of the inner sect peaks at an astonishing speed!

It was a figure standing on a cyan flying sword, his white robes snapping in the wind—he was clearly an inner sect disciple!

The inner sect disciple flew on his sword, arriving above the Miscellaneous Affairs Department in just a few breaths.

He seemed extremely anxious, unable to even control his flying sword steadily; his figure wobbled as he landed directly in the center of the valley, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He looked to be in his early twenties with a handsome face, but at this moment, he was deathly pale, his eyes bloodshot and filled with panic and fear.

He paid no attention to the trembling crowd of laborers around him. The moment he landed, he acted as if he had gone mad.

Ignoring the stench and the danger, he charged straight toward the carts of domestic waste that had just been dumped, muttering neurotically to himself:

"Where is it? Where is my item? It must have fallen here just now, how could it be gone!"

As he shouted, he frantically used his spiritual power to overturn the piles of trash, searching everywhere for something.

Watching his anxious state, and connecting it to the direction he had come from and the area he was searching.

Standing in the corner of the crowd, Zhou Xuan silently touched the Universe Bag hidden in his robes, his expression becoming incredibly strange.