Ding—
A brand-new joy coin spun under the bright lights, reaching the peak of its arc before dropping into an open backpack by the bed.
It was the third day after the fierce battle at the spire.
After a busy day, Wang Daochang returned to a high-end hotel in the entertainment district of Joy City on the 46th floor. He lay down on a soft, two-meter-wide bed and let out a gentle sigh.
This was a luxurious room costing two joy coins per night, complete with a white porcelain bathtub and…
A toilet that didn’t require coins to flush.
He actually liked this toilet a lot more than the wooden bucket he used before going up the mountain.
Wang Jixuan glanced at his backpack, which was filled with joy coins and cards for fixed joy coin amounts.
This was all the savings he had from Guwen Town.
He turned to look at several jars of deactivated blade beast blood, a few iron boxes containing complete blade beast exoskeletons, and a soul-capturing talisman pressed under the iron boxes…
A subtle sense of accomplishment washed over him.
This was what cultivation was like; inner sect elders only needed to focus on their own practice, while outer sect elders had to consider many things.
In this life, as he walked the path to ascension again, he had to fight for every resource, which gave him a fulfilling feeling.
‘Is this what refining the heart in the mortal world means?’
Wang Jixuan rubbed his forehead.
Recently, he had suddenly realized that he seemed to have a talent for becoming a demonic cultivator…
After his encounter with Wen Heisen, the third-in-command of the Black Fire Gang, he had stopped underestimating these gangs.
The whereabouts of the Black Fire Gang’s big boss remained a mystery, and Wang Jixuan had begun to suspect that this boss had never been in the lower city at all; the gang was likely being remotely controlled by someone in the upper city.
But now, this boss was secondary to Wang Jixuan.
Spirit users and blade beasts.
Wang Jixuan had a strong feeling that these two matters were definitely related to his future path of cultivation!
The spiritual energy in this world was too thin. Relying on meditation and hard work to become an immortal would likely not be enough for each stage of life; he might not even be able to form a golden core before he died of old age…
Spirit stones, monster cores, or other treasures containing spiritual energy were incredibly important to Wang Jixuan.
The Black Fire Gang had relevant clues hidden within.
What Wang Jixuan wanted to do most now was to give Wen Heisen a head massage and then casually stick a soul-capturing talisman on him.
But for now, that opportunity was gone.
The Black Fire Gang was on high alert, with drones flying everywhere and lights turned up to the maximum, searching every corner for "Mu Liang."
Wang Jixuan could only lay low and prepare.
Using the lower city coins as his guide, he had found quite a bit of deactivated blade beast blood, enough to make a thousand low-level talismans;
He had also found some blade beast exoskeletons, and he just needed to find some ore to try and refine some bone-piercing talismans;
But he hadn’t found a single blade beast monster core.
Wang Jixuan speculated that if such a cultivation resource existed, it was likely controlled by the powerful elites of the fortress, especially the thirteen institutions.
If he ended up with nothing from the Black Fire Gang, he would continue to interact with Zhou Zhengde and Wei Na after reaching the Gathering Spirit realm or even higher, asking for their help in finding the blade beast monster cores.
For that, Wang Jixuan was willing to pay some costs that wouldn’t endanger his safety.
For example, helping Zhou Zhengde and Wei Na with their health issues, curing their relatives of difficult ailments, or giving them some self-created breathing techniques for longevity, and so on.
—If he could gather the necessary resources for cultivation on his own, he would maintain a certain distance from Zhou and Wei.
In the past few days, Wang Jixuan had also been looking for other materials to refine magical tools.
This left him feeling even more speechless.
The metals he could access had been reused many times and had lost all spiritual energy; most of them were various alloys.
What he needed was ore.
Freshly mined ore with spiritual energy.
Wang Jixuan had already started worrying about his future sword techniques.
In the immortal realm, what was most important?
Of course, it was a top-quality flying sword that sparkled like water!
“Ah, I’ll just have to search slowly; these things need to be done one at a time.”
Wang Jixuan kept calculating in his mind.
‘Next, I need to find a way back to the 49th floor, look for a chance to eliminate Wen Heisen, and uncover the secrets of spirit users. If I can find the blade beast monster core in the Black Fire Gang, that would be even better.’
‘I can’t let that mysterious boss of the Black Fire Gang escape; I need to confirm his whereabouts quickly and end this cause and effect.’
‘And I wonder how serious Wen Heisen’s injuries are. Will he call more spirit users to help?’
Wang Jixuan closed his eyes and thought for a while. Just as he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly jolted awake, flipped over, and quickly formed hand seals.
Holding the essence and maintaining inner circulation.
“Cultivation cannot be neglected; I need to quickly reach a state of abundant energy.”
Wang Jixuan flicked his fingers, and a breath of energy accurately hit the chandelier switch.
Click.
The room was immediately plunged into darkness.
Outside the concrete-sealed window was the bustling night market of the entertainment district in Joy City, where the bright lights and drunken revelry easily misled one to think that humanity’s golden age was still ongoing.
Wang Jixuan had just settled into a meditative state.
Creak, creak.
Faint footsteps echoed from the thickly carpeted hallway.
The soul-capturing talisman, which was suppressing the spirit of the "Bartender," slightly lifted a corner.
Someone was approaching.
Wang Jixuan suddenly opened his eyes, silently leaped to the corner behind the door, and steadied himself against the walls, carefully sensing the situation outside.
‘So much killing intent.’
There were five people in the hallway, each breathing lightly and moving quietly.
Had he been exposed?
Had the Black Fire Gang sent elite enforcers to retaliate?
Or was there something else going on?
Bang! Bang!
Suddenly, someone knocked on the door, and a young woman called out in a high-pitched voice:
“Hello, I’m the server bringing you hot water. Can you come to the door to receive it?”
Wang Jixuan didn’t answer, holding his breath, with his left hand gripping five glinting utility knife blades and his right hand holding a silenced pistol.
Outside, he could hear voices speaking in hushed tones.
“Is anyone there?”
“The scanner didn’t detect any signs of life in the room. I mean, there’s no one in the bed or the bathroom, and not even under the bed. Strange.”
“It could be a trap. Prepare high-frequency flashbangs. Our goal is to bring him back, no matter how or whether he’s injured… break the door down.”
Click, zap—
The electronic lock, which the hotel staff claimed could resist various electromagnetic interference, was easily hacked by these five people outside.
A black "pull-tab can" was thrown inside, and the door slammed shut.
Bang!
Bright light instantly filled the entire space!
Even though Wang Jixuan quickly reacted and raised his hand to shield his eyes, he was still met with a blinding glare!
One person forcefully kicked open the door, and three armed men and women rushed in. One knelt on one knee while the other two swept their guns across the room, expertly covering three areas inside, while the other two stood guard at the door.
Wang Jixuan carefully sensed the situation.
The glare hadn’t faded yet, and the intruders hadn’t looked up to see the corner by the door.
So he held his breath, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
“Closet! Under the bed!”
The three people below moved forward simultaneously, approaching the closet, under the bed, and the sealed window. As they cleared a path, they reported, “No danger,” allowing the two outside to slip into the room, swiftly and gently closing the door behind them.
Now was the moment!
With a whoosh, Wang Jixuan launched his left hand, sending five cold flashes shooting out, while his silenced pistol fired in quick succession!
After a series of ‘bang bang bang’ sounds, the room fell into an eerie silence.
Wang Jixuan slowly lowered himself, crouching against the security door, closing his eyes to sense the movements around him, feeling a refreshing energy soothing his eyes.
After a moment, Wang Jixuan’s vision returned to normal, and he turned on the lights, expressionless as he stared at the five corpses in the room.
Huh?
Not in green sportswear?
The cause of death for these five people was that a utility knife blade had been inserted into a similar spot at the back of their necks.
Wang Jixuan’s line of sight had been blocked, and this time the angle of his shots had been a bit off; only three of the bodies had been shot in the head, while two had been shot in the back.
Recalling how his pistol couldn’t penetrate Wen Heisen’s thick skin last time…
‘Magical tools are definitely more effective.’
Wang Jixuan raised an eyebrow and shrugged, putting the pistol on safety and tucking it into the inner pocket of his jacket.
This was no place to linger.
He stepped over the corpses, intending to collect the blood and exoskeleton he had worked so hard to obtain, when his attention was suddenly drawn to a flickering green light in the arms of one of the bodies.
What is this?
He cautiously approached, extending his spiritual sense to its maximum, and found a device the size of a watch face in the arms of the muscular leader, examining it closely.
This thing looked very similar to the holographic video player that Lan Yuzai had.
Wang Daochang tried pressing the green play button.
Four beams of light converged from the sides of the device, revealing a somewhat blurry three-dimensional projection video inside.
Zhou Zhengde, sitting behind a desk in a light blue uniform, appeared with a smile.
“Is it recording? Good! Mu Liang!
“When you see this video, I think the five elite mercenaries I hired from the lower city should be right in front of you.
“They are here to escort you back. I believe you should have a basic understanding of each other by now, right?
“Please trust their abilities; they are at the top of the food chain in the lower city, true killers who ignore gang rules, each highly skilled, and of course, very expensive.”
Zhou Zhengde made a pained expression on the projection screen.
Wang Jixuan:…
He looked at the bodies that were starting to cool;
Youth is great; they can just fall asleep anywhere.
(End of Chapter)