Confiscation and Ruin, Heaven's Just Retribution

The next morning.

Anping County had not been peaceful that night.

Torchlight reddened half the sky. The sharp clink of chains, the rustle of armor, and the occasional cry of alarm or plea for mercy carried far through the quiet night.

Even after dawn, squads of grim-faced guards could still be seen escorting dejected prisoners into the Demon-Suppression Office's jail.

Chu Bai sat on his bed. He felt the spell power within him complete a Greater Celestial Circuit, then slowly breathed out.

[Mystic Accumulation Incantation (Uninitiated 12/100)]

A night of hard cultivation had nudged his new Spell Art forward, but Chu Bai frowned slightly.

Since reaching Qi Refining Mid-Stage, he had felt one problem more and more keenly: drawing in ambient spiritual energy was no longer enough.

The Quiet Chamber had originally been set aside for office work and brief rests. Chu Bai had used it as his quarters since joining the office.

He had noticed nothing amiss in early Qi Refining. But after breaking through to the Qi Refining Fourth Layer, his Perfected Level Origin Return Formula drew in spiritual energy at an almost terrifying rate. The energy drifting naturally through the chamber was stretched thin.

"It's enough for everyday cultivation. But if I want to push toward a higher realm with everything I have, it's far too slow."

Chu Bai rose and opened the window, letting the cool morning breeze clear the stuffy air.

He knew the four essentials recognized throughout the cultivation world: "wealth, companions, methods, and land."

"Land" meant the place where one cultivated. Those who had made progress invariably established abodes rich in spiritual energy.

The great sects went further, occupying blessed realms where spiritual energy was so dense it nearly turned to liquid.

To cultivate as efficiently as possible, the little energy