The System Can Grant Enlightenment to All Things

His cultivation speed was agonizingly slow, and the resources he consumed were several times that of others.

It was no wonder he was known as the Unrivaled Ultimate Trash.

At this rate, even if he could use Gold Touch Value to infinitely exchange for elixirs, he feared he would never catch up to the footsteps of a Heavenly Daughter like Liu Ruyan.

Wait.

Gold Touch Value?

A bolt of lightning suddenly flashed through the mind of Zhou Xuan.

The system could perform Enlightenment on all things, turning waste into treasure.

Then shouldn't I be performing Enlightenment on my spirit root first?

Once this thought sprouted, it grew wildly like weeds, impossible to suppress any longer!

His heart hammered against his ribs, and his breathing became rapid.

"System!"

"How much Gold Touch is required to perform Enlightenment on my spirit root?"

He practically roared the question.

[Ding! Host's intent detected.]

[Querying spirit root Enlightenment plan...]

An Azure Light Screen unfolded before his eyes, and lines of golden text emerged.

[Host's current spirit root: Five Elements Waste Spirit Root]

[Grade assessment: -5 (Trash among trash, unable to perform Qi Induction, host is advised to restart)]

[Next stage: Five Elements Waste Spirit Root]

[Grade assessment: -4 (Still trash, but at least capable of sensing spiritual energy)]

[Gold Touch Value required for upgrade: 100 points.]

"How much?"

Zhou Xuan was stunned.

One hundred points?!

He stared at the number, thinking he had misread it.

To go from being completely useless to being a slightly less useless half-waste.

It actually required one hundred Gold Touch Value?

That was equivalent to what nearly forty Low-grade Spirit Stones could buy!

He currently only had fifty points left to his name.

Zhou Xuan leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to the floor.

A sense of powerlessness welled up in his heart.

"Sigh!"

He let out a long, heavy breath.

"As expected, you need money everywhere you go."

However, this feeling of dejection came and went quickly.

A spark of light soon reignited in the eyes of Zhou Xuan.

One hundred points.

It sounded like a lot.

But the system had already pointed out a path for him!

A true Heavenly Path that would allow him to cast off the name of trash!

Spirit roots could be upgraded!

That was enough!

So what if it required Gold Touch Value?

So what if it required Spirit Stones?

I'll go earn them!

He performed a carp leap, springing up from the bed.

His bones popped and cracked, and the strength of his Body Forging third stage made him feel like he could kill a cow with a single punch.

Just as he prepared to push the door open and head to the Chore Servant Hall to see what jobs were available to earn Spirit Stones.

A sinister shadow appeared at the doorway.

"Zhou Xuan!"

The voice was shrill, carrying the sharp, mean-spirited tone of someone accustomed to bossing others around for years.

Zhou Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and the excitement on his face vanished in an instant.

Damn it.

Wang the Skinflint.

The person who had arrived was the Chief Steward of the Chore Servant Courtyard, Wang Fugui.

There were at least three thousand outer sect chore disciples in the Spirit Sword Pavilion, and he was in charge of every single one of them.

Whenever this guy showed up, it was never for anything good.

Zhou Xuan cursed inwardly, but his face was already plastered with a smile.

He hurried forward to meet him, nodding and bowing.

"Chief Steward Wang, what wind blew you here today?"

Chief Steward Wang squinted, looking down at Zhou Xuan through his nostrils.

"Cut the crap."

"Pack your things, we're leaving now."

"You're going to the inner sect, to the Waste Pill Room."

The Waste Pill Room?

These three words hit Zhou Xuan like a heavy hammer, leaving him dizzy and disoriented.

The smile on his face froze.

The Waste Pill Room was also known as the Miscellaneous Affairs Department.

To put it nicely, it was a place to handle the miscellaneous chores of the inner sect.

To put it bluntly, it was the Spirit Sword Pavilion's garbage dump, the graveyard for outer sect chore disciples!

The pill dregs discarded by inner sect disciples were incredibly toxic; a single whiff could make a person dizzy.

The failed spirit weapons from forging were filled with chaotic Spiritual Power and could explode at any moment.

Then there were the carcasses of Spirit Beasts that had gone mad or been tainted by demonic energy during failed experiments.

All of this trash was dumped into the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, waiting for chore disciples to deal with it.

Zhou Xuan's face turned pale, bit by bit.

How was going to that place any different from walking to his death?

In previous years, those sent to the Miscellaneous Affairs Department were either people who had offended a steward or those who had committed some unforgivable mistake.

He had just spent the one hundred Contribution Points he had saved up through months of frugality to pay tribute to this very Chief Steward Wang last month.

How could it be his turn?

"Chief Steward."

Zhou Xuan's voice was dry.

"Did you make a mistake? This quota..."

"A mistake?"

Wang Fugui sneered, looking at him as if he were an idiot.

"Do you think I want you to go?"

He lowered his voice and leaned into Zhou Xuan's ear.

"I have no choice; it was someone from above who specifically named you."

Someone from above?

Zhou Xuan's pupils constricted.

Seeing his reaction, Wang Fugui's interest in gossip piqued, and a look of schadenfreude appeared on his face.

"Zhou Xuan, oh Zhou Xuan, you've really done it now."

"You actually dared to offend the senior brothers and sisters of the inner sect?"

Inner sect disciples!

Two faces flashed through Zhou Xuan's mind in an instant.

One was the cold and resolute face of Liu Ruyan.

Could it be her?

Did she want to completely sever her ties with him, and was now trying to root out the problem once and for all?

No.

It didn't seem like her.

Given her personality, she would never stoop to such low-handed tactics.

Then, another face surfaced in his mind.

Zhao Long!

It was him!

It was those twenty Low-grade Spirit Stones that had been drained of their spiritual energy by the system!

He must have discovered it!

Zhou Xuan's heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

No matter who it was, he couldn't afford to provoke anyone right now!

"Zhou Xuan, actually, the Miscellaneous Affairs Department isn't that bad. It's the only place for a Chore Disciple to get Spirit Stones!"

Wang Fugui tempted him.

But Zhou Xuan couldn't listen to a word of it; sure, they gave out Spirit Stones.

But one had to be alive to spend them!

Zhou Xuan took a deep breath, suppressing the surging murderous intent in his heart.

He turned around silently and gathered all his belongings.

Wang Fugui watched his back, shaking his head with a sigh.

"Let's go."

Wang Fugui led the way, not saying another word.

Zhou Xuan followed silently behind, his heart as still as stagnant water.

The two walked one after the other, heading further and further into the outskirts.

The bluestone path beneath their feet gradually turned into a dirt trail overgrown with weeds.

An indescribable, strange odor began to permeate the air.

It smelled like burnt medicinal pills, mixed with the stench of blood and rot.

It was extremely pungent.

Zhou Xuan frowned.

Before he could even see the scene ahead, a heart-wrenching coughing fit suddenly erupted from a mountain hollow not far away.

It sounded as if the person were trying to cough up their own lungs.

Wang Fugui paused, glanced back at Zhou Xuan, and a mocking smirk hung on his lips.

"We're here."

"This is your new home, the Miscellaneous Affairs Department."

He stepped aside to let him pass.

Zhou Xuan's field of vision instantly widened.

The next second, his breathing stalled.

This was no Miscellaneous Affairs Department.

This was clearly a living hell!

In the mountain hollow, a dozen or so Chore Disciples had sallow complexions and were gaunt, looking like ghosts.

A man wearing a crude mask was clutching a pile of pitch-black Waste Pills, stumbling toward a deep pit billowing with black smoke.

The violent coughing from earlier had come from him.

Not far away, another disciple was carefully carrying a broken spirit sword.

Suddenly.

"Bang!"

A muffled sound rang out.

Spiritual light flashed violently on the broken sword, and a surge of wild energy exploded instantly.

Half of that disciple's arm was blown clean off!

Flesh and blood flew everywhere.

He let out a miserable scream and collapsed to the ground, yet the others didn't even spare him a glance, as if they were long accustomed to such sights.

On the other side, several disciples were working together to pull a cart filled with flesh and blood.

The flesh was a strange, dark purple color and was still slightly writhing.

A new Chore Disciple, perhaps out of curiosity, reached out and touched it lightly.

"Sizzle!"

Green smoke rose up.

His finger was corroded by the flesh at a speed visible to the naked eye, instantly revealing the ghastly white bone beneath!

"Ah!"

A shrill, miserable howl echoed through the valley.

Zhou Xuan's scalp tingled, and his nerves completely shattered.

A chill surged from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.

Run!

That was the only word left in his mind.

He had to get out of this hellhole!

But Wang Fugui was right behind him; if he dared to take even half a step back, he would surely die.

Rather than being beaten to death right here, perhaps entering the valley offered a glimmer of hope.

Sighing inwardly, Zhou Xuan slowly walked into the mountain hollow.

But after only a few steps, a disciple beside him went weak at the knees and lunged forward.

"Clatter!"

The Waste Pills he was clutching in his arms scattered all over the ground.

One of them rolled and came to a stop right at Zhou Xuan's feet.

The disciple didn't even care about the pain in his body; he scrambled on the ground, his face turning beet red beneath his mask, pitifully picking them up one by one.

It was as if he weren't picking up lethal poison, but life-saving gold.

Zhou Xuan watched him.

The urge to run away in his heart was suppressed by an indescribable emotion.

He slowly took a deep breath.

He pulled a clean silk handkerchief from his pocket, bent down, and used it to pick up the Waste Pill at his feet.

The moment his fingertips touched the pill.

A cold, mechanical voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

[Ding, detected absorbable low-level energy material--Low-grade Waste Fire Spirit Pill.]