That gaze was cold and venomous, like a viper lurking in the shadows, coiled tightly around Zhou Xuan's back.
Zhou Xuan's body tensed in an instant. The joy he'd felt over his plentiful gains was swept away by the sudden malice.
Alarm bells rang in his heart.
Who?
Since arriving in this world, aside from Liu Ruyan and that Zhao Long, he didn't seem to have offended anyone important.
Could it be Liu Ruyan?
The moment the thought surfaced, Zhou Xuan furrowed his brow slightly.
From what he knew of Liu Ruyan, that woman might be heartless, but she was proud to the bone.
She wouldn't stoop to underhanded tricks to deal with him. She'd crush him openly with her absolute strength and status, leaving him unworthy even to look up at her.
If she wanted to stamp him out for good, she wouldn't send someone to watch him. She'd simply have the Sect kick him out.
That left only one possibility.
Zhao Long!
That greedy, self-important bastard!
He'd definitely figured out the Spirit Stones were fake, but couldn't understand how a worthless Body Forging First Stage cultivator like Zhou Xuan had pulled it off. So getting him sent to the Miscellaneous Affairs Department wasn't enough; he had to send someone to keep an eye on his every move, too?
Zhou Xuan's gaze instantly turned cold.
He remained calm and didn't miss a step, as though he hadn't noticed a thing.
But his right hand had already slipped into his robes, his fingertips gently pinching the Blazing Fire Bead he'd named the Immortal Cultivation World Grenade.
Its icy touch gave him a little confidence.
Damn it!
Did they really think he was some soft persimmon they could squeeze?
Zhou Xuan steeled himself, and a crazy plan took shape in his mind.
If that bastard dared follow him and make a move, he'd shove the bead straight into his mouth!
Disciples were forbidden to fight within the Sect, but what kind of place was this?
Pill Peak!
The Miscellaneous Affairs Department was right next door!
He'd just say a Waste Pill had exploded by accident while he was disposing of it—the pill's properties had been unstable!
Who could prove otherwise?
No witnesses, no evidence!
A Chore Disciple's life in exchange for an Inner Sect Disciple's—if the Law Enforcement Hall investigated, Zhang Ling, the Explosion Immortal, would be there to take the blame. Who would dare claim her Waste Pills were safe?
At the thought, the corner of Zhou Xuan's mouth curled into a chilling smile.
Fortunately, the malicious gaze didn't linger for long.
Just as Zhou Xuan was about to leave the grounds of Pill Peak, it quietly disappeared.
Zhou Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, but his guard didn't drop in the slightest.
When Zhou Xuan reappeared in the ashen ravine of the Miscellaneous Affairs Department, all the Chore Disciples who were working stopped what they were doing in unison, as if they'd seen a ghost.
A dozen gazes converged on him.
Shock, astonishment, disbelief.
Zhou Ye was dragging the mangled remains of a Spirit Beast with all the strength he could muster. When he saw Zhou Xuan return unharmed, the corpse dropped to the ground with a thud. He didn't even notice.
His face, which looked uncannily like that of a fifty-year-old man, was full of disbelief.
"You're back?"
"You're all right?"
Looking at their faces, Zhou Xuan felt speechless.
Good grief, they were all risking life and limb here. Couldn't they wish him well for once?
He forced a smile more painful than a grimace and listlessly waved his hand.
"Just lucky."
The Chore Disciples exchanged glances. In the end, they could only chalk Zhou Xuan's safe return up to a stroke of dumb luck.
"Whew, that kid's lucky to be alive."
"Next time, he won't be so lucky."
They whispered to each other, shaking their heads, then returned to their numb, dangerous labor.
As far as they were concerned, Zhou Xuan had merely postponed his date with death by a few days.
Zhou Xuan ignored their chatter and headed straight back to the shack Zhou Ye had assigned him—a place even more dilapidated than his previous hut in the Chore Disciple quarters.
The day's busy work soon began again.
Zhou Xuan turned into a kindly do-gooder, wandering all over the ravine.
"Senior Brother, those discarded talisman papers are dangerous. Let me take care of them!"
"Junior Brother, stay away from that pile of medicinal residue. It's highly toxic. Let me handle it!"
He volunteered for a great many of the most dangerous and troublesome tasks.
The Chore Disciples were all too happy to let him be the fall guy, and one by one, they gave him grateful looks.
They called him a good fellow to his face, while cursing him as an idiot in their hearts.
As Zhou Xuan lent a helping hand, he frantically communicated with the system in his mind.
"Absorb!"
[ Ding! Detected low-grade energy resource—damaged Explosion Talisman. Spiritual energy severely depleted; can be converted into 1 Gold Touch Value. ]
"Absorb!"
[ Ding! Detected low-grade energy resource—poisoned Spirit Beast Bone. Spiritual energy severely depleted; can be converted into 2 Gold Touch Value. ]
After making the rounds, Zhou Xuan was panting with exhaustion, but his Gold Touch Value had increased by less than thirty points.
He sighed helplessly.
Sure enough, the spiritual energy in this old junk that had been tossed here for who knew how long had long since dissipated.
According to some of the old Chore Disciples who'd been here for ages, the truly dangerous discards—the ones with the most spiritual energy—were always dealt with first. There was no chance of him getting to them.
Even so, danger lurked at every step here.
But Zhou Xuan soon made another discovery.
[ Ding! Detected damaged low-grade Dharma Artifact—Black Iron Shield (fragment). Can be repaired through Enlightenment for 50 Gold Touch Value. ]
It could be repaired!
Zhou Xuan's eyes lit up.
The Miscellaneous Affairs Department wasn't just an energy recycling station. It was also a junkyard and repair shop!
A new plan immediately took shape in his mind.
Rather than scrounging for scraps, he might as well take the initiative and hunt for treasures here!
No sooner said than done!
Zhou Xuan began carefully rummaging through the heaps of Trash Mountain, which reeked of rot and danger.
He was like a seasoned scavenger, scanning the broken Flying Swords, shattered Dharma Robes, and scorched Formation Disks.
Hard work paid off.
Soon, his gaze was drawn to a dusty cloth pouch in the corner.
The pouch was of an ancient design. An unknown beast tendon tied its mouth shut. Though it was covered in dust, the bag itself was completely intact.
A Universe Bag!
Zhou Xuan's heart leaped!
This was a space Dharma Artifact!
Even the lowest-grade ones sold for dozens of Low-grade Spirit Stones at the Outer Sect market!
And they were hard to come by even at that price!
He hurried over and was just about to bend down and pick it up.
"Junior Brother Zhou Xuan, don't touch that!"
A Chore Disciple nearby, who was hauling waste ore, called out loudly, his face wary.
Zhou Xuan paused and turned to look at him.
The Chore Disciple came over and pointed at the Universe Bag, speaking with lingering fear. "That thing's cursed!"
"An Inner Sect Senior Brother tossed it out after a failed attempt at crafting a Dharma Artifact. It looks fine from the outside, but something seems to have gone wrong with the spatial Formation inside."
"Some Senior Brother didn't believe the warnings and put his identity token inside. Guess what happened?"
He lowered his voice and spoke mysteriously. "When he took it back out, the token had turned into a pile of powder!"
"Anything you put inside gets shredded by the spatial rifts!"
After hearing that, Zhou Xuan couldn't help ranting to himself.
Good grief!
Someone had turned a space Dharma Artifact into a Crusher?
What a genius that Senior Brother was!
Seeing Zhou Xuan still staring at the Universe Bag, the Chore Disciple added, "It's just junk. It's no use keeping it, and it takes up space. Just throw it into the Incineration Pit."
Zhou Xuan was overjoyed, but put on the curious look of an innocent novice. He picked up the Universe Bag and weighed it in his hand.
"It's fine, Senior Brother. I think it's a pretty unique bag. I'll just take it back and use it as a decoration."
Seeing how stubbornly he insisted, the Chore Disciple couldn't be bothered to keep trying. He just assumed Zhou Xuan was new and didn't know any better, shook his head, and walked away.
Holding the Crusher, Zhou Xuan suppressed his glee and hurried back to his shabby shack.
He shut the door and eagerly issued a command to the system in his mind.
"System, enlighten it!"
[ Ding! Detected damaged low-grade space Dharma Artifact—Universe Bag (inferior). ] [ Its internal spatial Formation is unstable and has a powerful cutting property. ] [ Consume 100 Gold Touch Value to use Enlightenment to repair its internal Formation? ]
One hundred points!
Zhou Xuan's eye twitched.
Damn, that was expensive!
He'd risked his life to earn just over three hundred points at Pill Peak. Upgrading his Spirit Root had cost him a hundred, and now, in the blink of an eye, he'd have to spend nearly a third of what he had left.
But then he thought of owning a storage Dharma Artifact of his own. It would make hiding and carrying things countless times easier. Gritting his teeth, he said,
"Yes! Enlighten it!"
[ Ding! Command received. Consuming 100 Gold Touch Value. ] [ Enlightening damaged Universe Bag... ]
As soon as the system's voice faded, the Universe Bag in Zhou Xuan's hand gave a faint hum.
A glimmer of golden light flashed from its opening and vanished.
The ordinary cloth bag seemed to grow a little heavier. The beast tendon tied around its mouth also shimmered with a faint spiritual glow.
Zhou Xuan willed it, and probed inside with his divine sense.
The next second, a stable storage space the size of a room, with smooth walls on every side, appeared clearly in his awareness!
It worked!
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