"Senior Li, your visit to our humble little place truly brings splendor to this ward."
The man overseeing affairs here was You Cheng, a managing elder of the Creation Sect. He was the only person here who knew Li Chen's background and the circumstances of his Grand Artisan assessment, and he was full of hope for the help Li Chen could bring.
The others were mostly Creation Sect disciples and ordinary rogue cultivators, the Demon Hunters and Ruins Seekers commonly found in the underworld.
Li Chen felt that this place resembled the Coldwind Valley Battlefield he had visited before.
The resemblance lay not in its buildings or terrain, but in the nature of its garrison duty.
The Octagonal Fort in Coldwind Valley had also had a Grand Artisan stationed there, but Li Chen had never had the chance to meet them.
Yet now, times and circumstances had changed. He was the prospective Grand Artisan instead, watching others hurry past beneath the bridge.
"Fellow Daoist You, Golden Light City entrusted me with delivering these relief supplies to you. What difficulties are you facing? Is there anything I can help with?"
For the sake of his Grand Artisan assessment, Li Chen decided to take the initiative and ask what help they needed.
You Cheng said, "Senior Li, although this place is rather remote, things are generally all right. There is just one problem: growing grain and vegetables here is far too difficult, and most of the demons we kill don't taste good either."
Li Chen nodded. He knew that You Cheng was probably telling the truth.
This place teemed with demonic baleful energy and primordial energy, so it was hardly a truly barren land. Yet there were too few resources humans could use directly, and most of the demons they killed had