The Arrival of Liu Ruyan

Thinking of the sacks upon sacks of Gold Touch Value, Zhou Xuan rubbed his hands together and immediately pulled out a burlap sack.

He casually untied the opening of the sack and reached his hand inside.

The contents felt cool and smooth to the touch; when he pulled a handful out, he saw that they were all Mutated Spirit Rice, crystal clear and resembling jade.

With a flick of his mind, he converted a few of the grains directly through the system.

[Ding! Gold Touch Value +0.02!]

[Ding! Gold Touch Value +0.03!]

Watching the numbers jump on the panel, Zhou Xuan felt a surge of heat in his heart.

Two or three carts of rice, at the very least, amounted to several thousand catties. If he converted it all, what a massive number that would be!

Ten thousand Gold Touch Value—it would definitely be more than that, not less!

However, just as he was about to convert this entire handful of rice, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

Converting them directly will certainly grant me a large amount of Gold Touch Value. But what if I use the Gold Touch Value to perform Enlightenment on these things instead?

Once this idea emerged, it could no longer be suppressed.

Ordinary chicken meat could become immortal-grade meat containing spiritual energy after Enlightenment.

If this Mutated Spirit Rice, which already contained violent spiritual energy, were to undergo Enlightenment, what would it become?

He acted as soon as he thought of it!

Zhou Xuan picked out three grains of Mutated Spirit Rice and spread them across his palm.

"System, perform Enlightenment on them!"

[Ding! Spirit-Infused Mutant Rice detected. Enlightenment can be performed. Consume 0.03 Gold Touch Value?]

The cost was not high.

Zhou Xuan estimated that the cost of performing Enlightenment on one grain of Mutated Spirit Rice was roughly equivalent to the Gold Touch Value gained from converting three or four grains directly.

Although the cost was slightly higher, if the resulting product had a higher value, then this deal was absolutely worth it!

"Yes!" he confirmed in his heart without the slightest hesitation.

As soon as he spoke, a faint golden light flashed across his palm and vanished.

The three grains, which had originally been crystalline but possessed a faintly manic aura within, underwent a earth-shattering change in an instant.

The violent, rampaging spiritual energy inside them seemed to be smoothed out and straightened by an invisible hand.

The grains became even more transparent, resembling the purest crystal, and a thin, visible layer of white mist even began to swirl around their surfaces.

A pure and gentle spiritual energy drifted out from the grains, carrying a refreshing fragrance of rice.

[Ding! Enlightenment successful! Obtained Spirit Rice (Low-grade)!]

As expected!

Zhou Xuan's eyes lit up.

This was no longer some failed product, but genuine Spirit Rice that could be consumed directly by cultivators!

Although it was only low-grade, it was still Spirit Rice!

Without a moment's hesitation, he tossed the three grains of enlightened Spirit Rice into his mouth.

The grains had no particular taste upon entering his mouth; they were even a bit bland.

But as he chewed gently, a wave of gentle spiritual energy was instantly released from the grains, turning into a warm current that flowed down his throat and surged into his limbs and bones.

Zhou Xuan didn't even need to deliberately circulate his cultivation technique to refine it; his body's instincts were frantically absorbing this pure energy, nourishing his flesh, blood, tendons, and bones.

So comfortable!

An indescribable sense of relief spread throughout his entire body.

"Good stuff! This is definitely good stuff!"

Zhou Xuan's breathing became somewhat rapid.

He immediately began to calculate quickly in his mind.

The weight of one grain of Spirit Rice was about two or three grams.

One catty of Spirit Rice was roughly two hundred grains.

While the total amount of spiritual energy contained in those three grains of Spirit Rice wasn't much, it had the advantage of being pure and gentle, with an extremely high absorption efficiency.

After a simple calculation, he arrived at a conclusion that made his heart race.

If he were to eat one catty of this enlightened low-grade Spirit Rice, the effect would likely be very close to that of a Qi Gathering Pill!

A single Qi Gathering Pill sold for ten Low-grade Spirit Stones in the sect's marketplace!

And it was a case of having the money but no goods available!

And how much did it cost him to perform Enlightenment on one catty of Spirit Rice?

One catty was about two hundred grains, and the Enlightenment cost for each grain was less than 0.03 points. Calculating it out, the total cost for one catty of Spirit Rice was less than 6 Gold Touch Value! That meant 100 catties of rice would require 600 Gold Touch Value.

Exchanging 600 Gold Touch Value for 100 Qi Gathering Pills, each worth ten Low-grade Spirit Stones!

This time, he had truly struck gold!

Zhou Xuan looked at the dozen sacks of Mutated Spirit Rice before him, his heart surging with excitement.

With this batch of spirit rice, the resources he needed to break through to the Qi Refining Realm were finally sufficient!

There was even a massive surplus!

An uncontrollable, wild joy instantly swept through his entire mind.

He had even begun to calculate how he would immediately go into seclusion, use Enlightenment to produce a hundred or so catties of spirit rice, and push his cultivation to the Qi Refining Realm in one go!

Just as Zhou Xuan was immersed in the joy of this windfall, a familiar voice—cold as ice, yet tinged with mockery and detachment—came from behind him without warning.

"Zhou Xuan."

The voice seemed to carry a bone-chilling frost, instantly jolting Zhou Xuan out of his ecstasy.

This voice...

He slowly turned his head, looking in the direction from which the sound had come.

Under the shade of a tree not far away, a white figure stood silently.

She wore a plain white dress, spotless and elegant, her figure graceful and her temperament cold, as if she were a fairy from the Moon Palace who did not partake in the affairs of the mortal world.

That stunningly beautiful face was still so familiar, yet it appeared so distant and strange.

She stood there, appearing completely out of place in this dirty, chaotic Miscellaneous Affairs Department, which was filled with the stench of decay.

It was none other than Liu Ruyan!

Why would she come here?

Zhou Xuan's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Liu Ruyan looked at Zhou Xuan, at his filthy servant's robes, and at the sacks of poisonous rice by his feet.

Her eyes revealed a complex emotion—pity, disappointment, but more than anything, a condescending scrutiny and confusion.

She parted her red lips, her voice carrying a hint of incredulous mockery.

"I truly didn't expect you to have fallen so low as to eat this kind of thing."

"The spiritual energy contained in this rice is incredibly violent; mortals who eat it will explode and die, and cultivators who eat it will damage their meridians and suffer incurable dao wounds. You eating it is perfect; it saves me the trouble of doing it myself."

Liu Ruyan's gaze was cold, her tone laced with disdain.

"To stay here, you really are shameless, not even caring about your own life."

Liu Ruyan's words stripped away the last of Zhou Xuan's smile.

He slowly turned around, looking at that familiar yet strange figure, his heart filled with irritation.

This woman always acted as if she were high above everyone else, as if the whole world owed her something.

Especially that gaze of hers—condescending, as if she were looking at a hopeless stray dog rolling in the mud.

Zhou Xuan did not answer her question; instead, his gaze fell upon the sacks at his feet.

A mocking curve tugged at the corner of his mouth as he retorted, "This messy business... you're the one behind it, aren't you?"