Early Withdrawal

These three Enforcers could not see the Scroll, but they could see the memorial suspended in mid-air clearly.

For every word Zhu Jiusi spoke, a new word appeared on the memorial, and the expressions of the three men changed drastically.

"Path Seeker, wait!"

"Fellow Daoist, hold on!"

"Sir, there has been a misunderstanding!"

The three shouted simultaneously. The one behind who resembled Black Impermanence even lunged forward as if to cover Zhu Jiusi's mouth, though he dared not actually do so.

The way they looked at Zhu Jiusi was as if they had seen a ghost.

Zhu Jiusi took a few steps back and watched the three of them.

As expected!

They weren't truly here to enforce the law; they were abusing their official authority for personal gain!

"Setting aside what an Enforcer is, the three of you certainly don't look like official representatives!" Zhu Jiusi spoke with airtight logic, acting as if he had no idea what an Enforcer was.

The old man no longer possessed his previous air of condescension and disdain. He even looked at the memorial in Zhu Jiusi's hand with fear.

"Fellow Daoist, please put away the Heavenly Listening Memorial. It is a trivial matter; there is no need to make a mountain out of a molehill."

A mountain out of a molehill? You were about to tie me up!

Zhu Jiusi kept the memorial suspended and looked at the three. "Would the three of you like to rephrase that?"

The old man looked deeply at Zhu Jiusi.

"This location is an Earth Vein Node, a restricted area of the Enforcement Bureau. You, Cave Master, blew it up directly; you were already in the wrong!"

Zhu Jiusi rolled his eyes at him. "So those places are called Earth Vein Nodes? That name is quite fitting."

A flash of disappointment crossed the old man's eyes. This person was able to find the Earth Vein Nodes not because he understood divination or hexagrams, but because he was truly lucky!

Zhu Jiusi sneered, "Setting aside what the Enforcement Bureau is, does the Journey Survival have a code prohibiting the destruction of Earth Vein Nodes? Or is there a rule stating that Path Seekers cannot touch what the Enforcement Bureau occupies?"

The old man remained silent for a long time. He wanted to confirm it, but looking at the flickering memorial, he gritted his teeth and spoke: "No!"

"Then you are abusing your power for personal gain?"

The old man looked up at him and shook his head slightly. "Cave Master, there is no need to be unreasonable. As long as you promise not to blow up any more Earth Vein Nodes, today's matter will end here!"

Both sides had taken a step back; that was enough to represent his sincerity. As he spoke, he glanced at the memorial in front of Zhu Jiusi.

Zhu Jiusi laughed in anger.

"The code doesn't forbid it, so I haven't violated any rules. Yet you came to arrest me—you are the ones breaking the law. And now you want me to suffer a loss and call it even?"

Zhu Jiusi laughed out of extreme rage. "Why don't you three go argue that with the Journey Survival code!" As he spoke, the memorial swayed, ready to submit another entry.

The expressions of the three finally changed. "Stop! What do you want?"

Zhu Jiusi watched them coldly. He didn't know much about Enforcers, only that they were a group of emotionless entities, essentially special NPCs.

But this supposed lack of emotion was clearly for outsiders. Did they have feelings for their own kind?

"It's not about what I want, but what you are doing. Enforcers... should be a fair and impartial department, right?"

"Not only are you breaking the law while enforcing it, coming to arrest a Path Seeker for no reason, but you are also interfering in conflicts between Path Seekers. Is this right?"

Black Impermanence looked up, a mix of defensiveness and impatience flashing in his eyes. "When did we interfere in a conflict between Path Seekers?!"

Zhu Jiusi feigned a sudden realization. "Oh—so you really aren't allowed to participate!" He smiled and pointed into the distance. "I was in the middle of hunting down a Path Seeker and was about to succeed, but you suddenly appeared to block and arrest me. If that isn't interference, what is?"

Black Impermanence's expression shifted, and he glared at Zhu Jiusi with resentment.

This Path Seeker had tricked him into admitting it!

"Fellow Daoist, you have more than one enemy, don't you?" The old man took half a step forward and said, "We can mark the locations of your enemies for you as an apology."

Zhu Jiusi looked at him.

The meaning in his eyes was self-evident: That's it?

The old man shook his head. "Fellow Daoist has already deduced it, so we need not hide it. We cannot interfere in matters between Path Seekers. Being able to mark their locations for you is already our limit."

He looked up at Zhu Jiusi. "However, you must also promise that once you kill them, you will leave the Secret Realm Instance immediately and never enter..."

Before he could finish, Zhu Jiusi was already shaking his head like a bobblehead.

"Then forget it. I'll blow up my nodes, and you can be your Enforcers."

Do I need you to mark people for me to kill them? It's not like I can't find them! It's just a bit more effort.

He turned to leave, taking out the last Thunderbolt Fire to display it on the ground for a moment before immediately putting it away.

The three Enforcers looked up abruptly. "What is the meaning of this, Fellow Daoist?"

Zhu Jiusi sneered. "This Secret Realm Instance allows one to exchange for cultivation techniques. One technique costs a thousand points!"

He calculated aloud, "I wasn't familiar with the process the first time I blew up a node, so I only got 84 points. The second time went much better, and I got 750. With the experience from these two times, I'm confident I can gather enough points to take both techniques next time!"

The old man felt his entire world crumbling, and Black and White Impermanence stared at him in utter shock.

You want to do this all over again?

Do you even hear how ridiculous you sound!

"Fellow Daoist, you have only just entered Journey Survival; I fear you do not yet know what the Enforcement Bureau is. I advise you not to ruin your own future..."

Zhu Jiusi turned his head, asking curiously, "Is the Enforcement Bureau greater than the laws? I entered here under the Imperial Decree of the Heavenly Emperor. Is the Enforcement Bureau greater than the Heavenly Emperor?"

The old man immediately fell silent, as if a steamed bun were stuck in his throat.

He took a deep breath, turned his head away from Zhu Jiusi, and even closed his eyes.

Zhu Jiusi did not care; he even began to sprint forward. The Japanese man had escaped, but his scent was as if nailed into the air, and he could smell it clearly.

After running for a full hundred meters, just as he was about to vanish from sight, the old man suddenly opened his eyes: "In this secret realm, which two cultivation techniques are available for exchange? The Enforcement Bureau shall impart them to you!"

Zhu Jiusi, mid-sprint, suddenly froze.

As expected of the Enforcement Bureau—the enforcers are not the rules of Journey Survival themselves!

They do not know the specific contents of the scrolls!

Zhu Jiusi put on a warm, sunny smile and turned back: "Spirit Refining Primer and Treatise on Cloud-Resting Consciousness Refinement."

So ugly!

The old man refused to look at his face; the wild boar's smile looked more and more like he was baring his fangs to devour someone: "Fine! These two techniques, the Enforcement Bureau shall impart to you! You must exit the secret realm!"

Zhu Jiusi snorted twice: "Locate the enemies. I will exit after I kill them!"

"Very well, give me their Daoist Numbers!" The old man's voice was already laced with grinding teeth.

Zhu Jiusi acted as if he hadn't noticed, grinning as he recited the Daoist Numbers.

Black Impermanence fished out a bamboo slip, gestured with it for a long time, and tossed it to Zhu Jiusi.

There were five glowing dots on it. One green dot represented Zhu Jiusi, while the other four represented the enemies.

"These three are in the vicinity; you may kill them. The other one is hundreds of miles away; it will take you at least six or seven days to reach him."

The old man shook his head: "That one definitely did not become your enemy only within this secret realm, nor did he escape because of our interference. You should resolve your personal issues after you go out!"

The old man pointed at the furthest red dot.

That was Daoist Number 323.

"This secret realm will remain open for quite some time. I can easily walk there step by step. Once I return to the path, I would have to consume a Dao Discussion Card..."

Seven or eight days had passed, and the price of Dao Discussion Cards had begun to rise.

"Fellow Daoist, do not push your luck!" The old man watched as Zhu Jiusi refused to back down.

Zhu Jiusi snorted twice: "Fine, it's my bad luck. Give me the techniques!"

Seeing him agree, the old man wiped his bark-like hand across the bamboo slip, and the red dot belonging to Daoist Number 323 vanished.

At the same time, two more bamboo slips were shoved into Zhu Jiusi's hands.

As if afraid Zhu Jiusi would go back on his word, he retreated immediately after finishing.

Zhu Jiusi flicked his ears to bid him farewell: "See you later, Fellow Daoist!"

The old man's pace faltered: "Better if we never meet again!"

A censor who could report rumors to the throne was the most annoying type of person; it would be best never to see him again in this lifetime!

Zhu Jiusi laughed heartily and tucked the two bamboo scrolls into his pack.

He wasn't afraid of them playing tricks with the techniques. He only needed a reasonable source for the techniques; he already knew these two sets anyway. He would just cultivate them from scratch.

No more points were needed. Zhu Jiusi exchanged all his remaining points for Life Stones and Warm Jade.

These items would be worth a fortune once he left the secret realm!

After finishing all this, Zhu Jiusi's gaze finally fell upon the bamboo slip. The nearest red dot was less than ten miles away.

A cruel smile appeared on his ugly boar face.

Gentlemen, I am coming!