Qiu Xie's chest heaved violently. Just as he was about to say something else, someone squeezed forward beside him.
It was a scrawny old man with a sallow face, the Sect Master of the Primordial Chaos Sect. Beneath his collar, a pitch-black stain of corruption could be faintly seen spreading toward his neck.
"Senior, please, make an exception..."
His voice trembled noticeably, and he dropped to his knees with a thud.
"Our Primordial Chaos Sect has shallow foundations. We truly don't have any decent Law Artifacts! During that great calamity, those people from Great Hua looted everything worth anything! We really... really can't come up with one..."
He kowtowed, his forehead striking the white jade floor with a dull thump.
"This old man has no more than three months left to live. Please put in a good word with Young Master Zhou. He can take anything else, but we truly can't produce a Law Artifact..."
Two more people knelt behind him, both poor wretches whose corruption had already spread to the surface of their bodies, each more miserable than the last.
The plaza grew much quieter for a moment. Even those who had been shouting fell silent, watching the three kneeling figures with varying expressions.
Wuchen lowered his gaze to them.
"Get up."
The three looked up, a glimmer of hope flashing in their eyes.
Wuchen's next words snuffed that hope out.
"If you don't have a Law Artifact, find one. Buy one, trade for one, borrow one. The Origin Return Alliance won't ask how you obtained it. But it must be ready on the day of treatment."
"If you can't provide one, go to the back of the line. Slots are limited, and plenty of people are waiting ahead of you."
The old man from the Primordial Chaos Sect