Needle in a Haystack

Zhou Xuan smiled, ignoring the chatter of those fellows.

The vision of these people was only as far as their eyes could see.

They had no way of understanding what it would mean if one could truly forge a bond of kindness with an inner sect disciple at the Foundation Establishment Realm.

He stopped paying attention to anyone, turned around, and threw himself back into his labor.

To the other miscellaneous disciples, this matter was merely a small interlude, and they quickly cast it to the back of their minds.

In their view, Zhou Xuan had simply had a stroke of good luck, happening to run into an inner sect senior brother with a decent temper, saying a few nice words, and luckily avoiding being made a target of his anger.

As for finding that so-called Copper Marriage Contract?

That was nothing but a pipe dream!

The Miscellaneous Affairs Department had mountains of trash piled layer upon layer; heaven only knew which corner that thing was buried in.

Trying to find a piece of copper in a trash mountain larger than a mortal city was no easier than finding a needle in an ocean.

They felt that Zhou Xuan had boasted too much and made a reckless promise to the inner sect senior brother.

If he couldn't find the item and couldn't complete the task, that senior brother, no matter how good his temper was, likely wouldn't let Zhou Xuan off easily.

Provoking an inner sect disciple at the Foundation Establishment Realm—this guy probably wouldn't even know how he died.

Zhou Xuan couldn't care less about the gazes of sympathy, pity, or schadenfreude from those around him.

He continued as usual, diving headfirst into the newly delivered pile of waste.

On the surface, he was diligently classifying and gathering various scraps, his movements skillful and swift, looking like an ordinary laborer working desperately to survive.

But in secret, every time his hand brushed over discarded medicinal dregs, damaged talisman paper, or spirit-infused beast bones, he was silently chanting in his heart.

"Absorb!"

His movements appeared chaotic but were actually highly methodical. He was like a high-efficiency scanner, precisely extracting the last trace of spiritual energy contained within tons of trash.

[Ding! Absorbed residual spiritual power from first-grade damaged talisman paper, gained Gold Touch Value +1!]

[Ding! Absorbed fragments of second-grade Spirit Beast bones, gained Gold Touch Value +3!]

[Ding! Detected discarded pill liquid containing faint toxins, absorption successful, Gold Touch Value +2!]

A series of system notifications rang out in his mind like the most beautiful symphony.

Occasionally, he would also pick up a few decent scraps while rummaging.

Like the tip of a broken flying sword; although the core runes were destroyed, it could still serve as a decent low-grade magic tool after repairs.

Whenever he encountered such things, Zhou Xuan would calmly tuck them into his Universe Bag.

His movements were perfectly natural; to others, he was just putting classified trash into a storage bag, which wouldn't arouse anyone's suspicion.

Time slipped away quickly in this monotonous yet fulfilling labor.

After half a day, he had processed nearly thirty percent of the small, mountain-like piles of new waste on the outermost perimeter alone.

This astonishing efficiency made even the overseeing steward click his tongue in secret, assuming Zhou Xuan had been spurred on by the sect's Dismissal Order and had unleashed his hidden potential for survival, feeling a bit of admiration for him.

And Zhou Xuan's gains were nothing short of massive.

[Gold Touch Value balance: 728 points.]

In just half a day, he had accumulated over a hundred points of Gold Touch Value!

Looking at this number, Zhou Xuan felt a sense of satisfaction.

At this rate, gathering one thousand Gold Touch Value to raise his Spirit Root to the next stage was within reach!

It seemed decent, but when he thought about the future costs—often tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of Gold Touch Value—Zhou Xuan felt a headache coming on.

Upgrading his Spirit Root, repairing the precious copper piece, performing Enlightenment on magic tools.

Every single one was a gold-devouring beast.

His current savings were still far too thin.

The revolution had not yet succeeded; he still needed to work hard!

Zhou Xuan sighed in his heart and continued to bury himself in his work.

Regrettably, he had searched through thirty percent of the area but hadn't even seen a shadow of the Copper Marriage Contract that Senior Brother Zhao Zhen treated as his own life.

Zhou Xuan shook his head, though he wasn't surprised.

The scope was still too large; it was normal not to find it. But as long as the item was still in this Miscellaneous Affairs Department, there would eventually be a day it was dug up.

Seeing the sky growing dark, Zhou Xuan finished processing the medicinal dregs in the last area at hand, draining the final trace of spiritual energy from them.

Only then did he straighten his back, pat the dust off his hands, and prepare to turn and leave to return to his grand plan.

However, at the very moment he turned around.

A thin, withered figure appeared silently by his side.

"Hiss!"

Zhou Xuan felt a chill in his heart, startled by the sudden appearance of the figure, and subconsciously took half a step back.

Only when he saw who it was did he let out a sigh of relief, though his brow immediately furrowed.

The person who had arrived was none other than Zhou Ye.

He had no idea when this guy had crept up beside him; he hadn't made a single sound while walking.

That face, already resembling a corpse, looked even more sinister and terrifying in the dim light.

"What are you doing? Trying to scare me to death?"

Zhou Xuan said, sounding annoyed.

Zhou Ye didn't seem to care about his tone. Those turbid eyes were locked onto Zhou Xuan, and his withered face actually held a trace of strange nervousness and excitement.

He extended a hand, as dry and claw-like as a chicken's, and slowly opened it.

Resting in his palm was a small, thin, and ancient-looking piece of copper with slightly curled edges!

The copper piece wasn't large—only two fingers wide—and it was crudely engraved with crooked characters and the birth dates of two people.

It was the very Copper Marriage Contract that Senior Brother Zhao Zhen had been searching for so desperately!

Zhou Xuan's pupils constricted sharply, his gaze instantly fixed on the marriage contract.

He never would have imagined that the item he had spent so long searching for would actually be in Zhou Ye's hands!

Zhou Xuan raised his head, looked sharply at Zhou Ye, and asked in a low voice, "How do you have this?"

Faced with Zhou Xuan's questioning, Zhou Ye's body trembled slightly, as if he were afraid, but he still mustered the courage to meet Zhou Xuan's gaze.

"What do you want?" Zhou Xuan didn't waste time, cutting straight to the point.

He knew very well that since Zhou Ye hadn't handed the item over immediately but had chosen to come to him at this moment, he must have some sort of scheme.

Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's words, a startling light suddenly erupted in Zhou Ye's dead, hollow eyes.

"I don't want to leave the sect!"

Zhou Ye's voice was hoarse and low, every word sounding as if it were being squeezed from the depths of his throat.

"I am still pursuing the path of immortality!"

He gripped the marriage contract tightly, as if it were his final lifeline.

"You can help me. I know you can help me. As long as you help me stay, I will give you this marriage contract!"

Zhou Xuan watched Zhou Ye quietly, looking at those eyes that had turned slightly red from excitement.

He could read the madness and desperation of someone pushed to the edge in the other man's gaze.

In his mind, the scene of the first time he met Zhou Ye involuntarily surfaced.

Back then, although Zhou Ye was just as withered, his eyes had been numb, resigned to his fate.

But now, Wang Fugui's Dismissal Order was like a needle, piercing through that numb shell, making him feel pain once again and reigniting his unwillingness to give up.

His impression of Zhou Ye was actually not bad.

At the very least, when he had first arrived at the Miscellaneous Affairs Department and everyone else was avoiding him, it was this guy who had kindly offered him a few words of advice.

Although that kindness was insignificant, Zhou Xuan had remembered it.

Help him?

How could he help?

Zhou Xuan's mind raced.

Given Zhou Ye's current situation—riddled with Pill Poison, his cultivation stuck at the fourth level of Body Forging for years, and nearly thirty years old—he perfectly fit the criteria for the first batch of people to be kicked out.

If he wanted to keep him, he would have to help him purge the Pill Poison from his body and break through to the fifth level of Body Forging within these three months.

Detoxification pills?

Pills to boost cultivation?

These things were sold in the market, but they were exorbitantly expensive.

Even if he converted all the Gold Touch Value he had on hand into spirit stones, he might not be able to afford them.

Zhou Xuan's gaze flickered as he weighed the pros and cons in his heart.

Looking at that face filled with hope and pleading, a ripple suddenly stirred in Zhou Xuan's heart.

He was silent for a moment before slowly speaking, "Helping you... it's not impossible."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Ye's breathing hitched, and a look of wild joy erupted in his eyes!

Zhou Xuan's gaze fell upon him, silent and steady.

At the same time, he recited in his heart.

"System, switch mode!"

[Ding! Mode switch successful! Current mode: Enlightenment!]

In an instant, the world in Zhou Xuan's eyes underwent a marvelous change.

Where there had previously been only a withered figure, a faint layer of data light, visible only to him, now appeared over Zhou Ye.

[Target: Zhou Ye]

[Race: Human]

[Realm: Body Forging Level 4]

[Spirit Root: Four-Element Pseudo Spirit Root (Metal, Wood, Water, Fire)]

[Status: Pill Poison Infusion (Moderate), Blood and Qi Deficiency, Meridian Blockage, Damaged Spirit Root]

[Overall Evaluation: A piece of inferior trash on the verge of being scrapped]

Looking at this string of data, Zhou Xuan's heart gave a violent jolt!

He forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart, his gaze locked firmly onto the last line, which was also the most crucial piece of information!

[Enlightenment repair available, estimated Gold Touch Value consumption: ???]

[Enlightenment Path 1: Clear Pill Poison, repair meridians.]

[Enlightenment Path 2: Replenish Blood and Qi, increase cultivation.]

[Enlightenment Path 3: Repair and upgrade Spirit Root quality.]

[Warning: Performing Enlightenment on a living organism carries unknown risks; please proceed with caution, Host!]

When he saw these few lines of information, Zhou Xuan's breathing almost came to a complete halt!

It was actually possible!