Ancient Battlefield

"Please return, everyone. The clinic is closed for today. Come back early tomorrow."

Chu Zheng glanced at the newcomer, lifted the curtain, and stepped outside to start sending people away.

Those waiting in line outside all sighed and left helplessly. Everyone who came here kept their heads covered and faces hidden, each with some unspeakable trouble. No one would dare make a scene here—if word got out by accident, it would mean utter ruin and disgrace.

In the blink of an eye, the front of the medical clinic was completely empty.

"Why did it take you so long to come see me?"

After shutting the door, Chu Zheng questioned him before Fu Quanliang could speak. "Well? What did they say about the Song Family?"

"You think you can just leave the sect whenever you feel like it? Anyone leaving the mountain gate needs an elder's written permit. This time, I only managed to get away after fighting hard for a mission."

Fu Quanliang explained helplessly, then continued:

"After the elder verified my identity, he only asked how I had done it. I said I had found several Martial Masters to assist me in secret. We first used Spirit Talismans to severely wound him, then joined forces and killed him."

"That's all?"

Seeing that Fu Quanliang had nothing more to say, Chu Zheng could not hide his surprise. "And they believed that?"

"They believed it."

Fu Quanliang was speechless. "What else did you want?"

He was merely an Outer Disciple. It was already an extraordinary exception for an Inner Sect Elder to personally question him over this matter.

Although this feat had earned him considerably more respect from many Outer Disciples, nothing had fundamentally changed.

A Low-grade Immortal Bone was still a Low-grade Immortal Bone. It could not turn the heavens upside down. He still had to take missions to support himself.

Coming back to himself, Chu Zheng casually asked, "Have they figured out the cause of Song Lingqing's death?"

"Death?"

Fu Quanliang froze for a moment, then immediately shook his head.

"No, no, no. She isn't dead. I heard Elder Qin Feng is the one who is not far from death."

"She isn't dead?" Chu Zheng could not conceal his astonishment.

"That's right, but she might as well be. I heard that when Martial Uncle Qin Feng carried her back, all the meridians in her body had been destroyed, her Immortal Bone shattered. She only had a single breath of Primordial Qi left, barely sustained by Elder Qin Feng."

Fu Quanliang shook his head repeatedly, somewhat regretful. "The sect expended enormous effort to save her. They even used a Precious Pill passed down in secret within the sect, supplemented by the Ten-thousand-year Spiritual Spring. Even so, they only managed to preserve her life, not that Immortal Bone."

"Her status in the sect is extremely awkward now. She remains a True Disciple, but she is already crippled. There are no fewer than seventy or eighty Inner Disciples who want to replace her and become True Disciples."

True Disciples were incomparably exalted. Inner Sect Elders protected their paths, they took Supreme Elders as masters, and they enjoyed endless resources of every sort. With a flip of their hands, clouds and rain rose; they were the future pillars of the Phantom Spirit Sect.

Song Lingqing was now unworthy of her position, squatting on the privy without taking a shit. Being squeezed out was only a matter of time.

It was foreseeable that her fall from True Disciple status was close at hand. She might not even be able to keep her identity as an Inner Disciple, plunging all the way to the bottom.

"No wonder."

Chu Zheng nodded slightly. Such an outcome was no different from death. No wonder Nightlight Pavilion had slowed its moves against the Song Family.

Strictly speaking, he had only met Song Lingqing once. It was Song Lingqing who had helped push open the first door of this world for him.

What a pity. The world was ever-changing and unpredictable.

Chu Zheng gathered his thoughts and casually asked, "Has there been any progress on my joining the sect?"

At first, he had not known that there was such a special place as Phantom Spirit City outside the Phantom Spirit Sect. Now, he was no longer as obsessed with joining the sect as before.

In Phantom Spirit City, he could still come into contact with the immortal path.

"Recently, the sect plans to recruit a batch of menial servants from Phantom Spirit City."

Fu Quanliang nodded in reply, but then abruptly changed the subject.

"However, I suggest you wait a while longer."

"Why?" Chu Zheng was somewhat puzzled.

"This batch of menial servants is wanted by the Han Family, specifically to prepare for mining. It is an Ancient Mine Tunnel, buried with many bones—an Ancient Battlefield from at least tens of thousands of years ago. It is extremely dangerous."

After saying this, Fu Quanliang could not help feeling a little smug.

This was insider information. If not for his wide network of intelligence, ordinary Outer Disciples would never have learned of it.

"How many years ago did you say?" Chu Zheng seized upon the crucial point, light nearly spilling from his eyes.

"An Ancient Battlefield from tens of thousands of years ago."

East of Phantom Spirit City.

The Great Sun hung low in the west. Dusk was approaching, and the auspicious clouds at the horizon became increasingly resplendent.

Faint formation patterns flowed through the void, drawing in spiritual qi from all directions like the sea receiving a hundred rivers.

The eastern district bordered the Phantom Spirit Mountain Range. It was worlds apart from the other three districts. Simply staying here required paying one Low-grade Spirit Stone every day.

"You expect me to pay for this too?!"

Fu Quanliang stared at Chu Zheng in disbelief. He truly could not imagine that the man before him could be this stingy.

He raked in gold by the day, yet could not bear to part with even one Low-grade Spirit Stone.

As an Outer Disciple of the Phantom Spirit Sect, Fu Quanliang naturally did not need to pay Spirit Stones to enter or leave the eastern district. However, he could not bring others in. Chu Zheng's share still had to be paid; those were the rules.

"Save where you should save, spend where you should spend. There will be plenty of places to use Spirit Stones in the future."

Chu Zheng remained utterly unmoved and gestured for Fu Quanliang to pay.

One Spirit Stone was worth an entire Song Family. Fu Quanliang's analogy from back then had remained firmly in his mind. This was no small sum.

Fu Quanliang was speechless. He took out two Low-grade Spirit Stones and handed them to a fellow sect member.

They would be staying here for two days.

The moment he entered the eastern district, Chu Zheng immediately sensed the difference. The spiritual qi between Heaven and Earth surged sharply, causing the Primordial Qi within his body to stir.

After circulating his qi through a cycle, Chu Zheng was slightly astonished. His Cultivation Speed here was at least nearly twice as fast as outside.

And this was only outside the Phantom Spirit Sect. Within the sect itself, the spiritual qi would surely be even richer.

Glancing at the sky, Chu Zheng saw that it was still early. He casually found a busier street, set up a stall, and planted a small flag: Buying damaged artifacts. Low prices. Do not bring family heirlooms.

The profits from artifacts were far more terrifying than running a medical clinic. Since damaged artifacts had been inscribed with magic arrays, most of their materials could not be recycled and reused. They were essentially scrap iron, worth at most a few to a few dozen Spirit Stones.

Only some down-and-out Martial Masters lingering around here would spend Spirit Coins to buy this junk. No matter how broken they were, they were still artifacts—divine weapons beyond compare in the mortal world.

A complete low-grade artifact, no matter how poor its quality, cost at least five hundred to eight hundred Spirit Stones.

Once completely restored through the Restoration Panel, buying and selling it would yield profits of at least a hundredfold.

Fu Quanliang had come down from the mountain with a mission this time and had matters of his own to attend to. After squatting on the street with Chu Zheng for about an hour, he got up and left.

There was not much business anyway. Chu Zheng split his attention between two tasks, bringing up the Restoration Panel and using all of today's restoration attempts on the Xuantian Seal.

Name: Chu Zheng

Cultivation: Early First Order

Cultivation Method: Grand Cycle Qi Circulation Compendium (Sixth Order / Incomplete), Dragon Tiger Body (Fourth Order / Incomplete)...

Divine Abilities: Xuantian Seal Third Form (Fifth Order / Incomplete), Turn Stone into Gold (First Order), Invisibility Technique (First Order)

Restorer: First Order (230/1000)

Daily Remaining Restoration Count: 0

Currently Repairable: Xuantian Seal Third Form (200/300), Grand Cycle Qi Circulation Compendium Upper Chapter (0/1000), Dragon Tiger Body Middle Chapter (0/500)

At this rate, in another twenty days, the divine ability Xuantian Seal would be completely repaired.

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