Jizhi was once a student at Ten Thousand Dharma University.

After graduation, he joined a pharmaceutical company, where he was responsible for cultivating and planting medicinal herbs. With his outstanding professional skills and diligent work ethic, he outcompeted his predecessors, taking sole charge of a large medicinal herb cultivation park.

His salary grew steadily, and he moved into apartments on higher and higher floors. The elixirs he consumed were gradually replaced by renowned brands, and the dharma artifacts he wore were upgraded to high-end items, one by one. He started being able to afford a bite of meat each month and occasionally attended guidance lectures by Nascent Soul True Monarchs. Instead of using magnetic pathways, he now traveled through anti-gravity passages.

Just as Jizhi believed he was becoming wealthier step by step and his life was continually improving, fate seemed to play a cruel trick on him.

“Severely contaminated with Malign Qi No. 18,” the doctor said. “The Malign Qi has penetrated your vital organs. You must undergo surgery immediately, or you will lose your ability to work within a month at most.”

Upon hearing these words from the doctor, Jizhi felt disoriented, his mind a blank.

He later learned that the growth hormones used by the company to cultivate medicinal herbs contained large amounts of Malign Qi No. 18. While this Malign Qi was a crucial growth factor for the medicines he cultivated, long-term exposure was extremely harmful to the human body.

To cover the surgery costs, Jizhi incurred significant debt. Even after the surgery, he still had to spend spirit coins daily for Malign Qi purification treatments, a regimen that would continue for the rest of his life, until his death. He wanted to change jobs but discovered that, with his work experience and professional skills, he couldn’t find any formal employment outside of pharmaceutical cultivation that could cover his treatment expenses. He sought compensation from the company, but the lengthy process and the constant buck-passing and prevarication from department after department exhausted his patience.

He understood in his heart: “They are waiting for me to die. Just like they dealt with other victimized clients.”

Therefore, to cover his medical expenses, Jizhi had no choice but to continue working for the company. However, to mitigate the harm from Malign Qi contamination, Jizhi’s work efficiency inevitably declined, and his performance-based pay grew lower and lower.

It was then that Jizhi finally understood the gaze of the predecessors he had once outcompeted. It was neither envy nor hatred; it was the look of someone seeing their past self, just as he now looked at the university students who were about to replace him.

To compensate for the financial shortfall caused by his declining income, Jizhi had to reduce his expenditures. He moved into apartments on lower and lower floors, his dharma artifacts were gradually replaced with cheaper ones, and the medicines he took were mainly company-produced defective products. This, in turn, further degraded his work ability, ultimately landing him on the company’s layoff list.

Without the company’s income, Jizhi could only rely on temporary jobs to survive, making it even harder to afford his medical treatments and repay his debts.

Just when he was at his wit’s end, the Wheat Shadow Society found him and offered him a job cultivating Earth Qi Wheat. This immortal-grade wheat contained potent food essence, but its cultivation was difficult, requiring an expert like Jizhi for large-scale production.

Initially, he only farmed, then processed flour. Later, to increase his income, he took on tasks like assassinations and gang conflicts. Subsequently, to further boost Earth Qi Wheat yields, he began a project of stealing mortals to create blood pool fertilizer, turning them into resources to sustain his own life.

“This is Kunxu. Kunxu demands human lives to gain wealth and to survive. Just as the company consumed us, we consume mortals.”

And so, Jizhi lived a precarious day-to-day existence in the Dark Cultivation underworld, with his life constantly on the line.

Until today…

Under the encirclement of Zhang Yu and the two others, Jizhi’s heart was filled with raging fury, and explosive killing intent continuously surged forth: “If I were at my peak… how could I be suppressed by you like this?”

Amidst his roar, the built-in medicaments of his arm dharma artifacts automatically injected, causing Jizhi’s body to swell again. Ferocious Gang Qi surged forth, unleashing terrifying heat in all directions.

With his vision obscured and his attacks constantly blocked, Jizhi fully unleashed his Scorching Sun Gang Qi, launching an all-around assault with a high-temperature field.

Zhang Pianpian warned, “He’s trying to destroy the goods. Don’t let him succeed.”

Zhang Yu replied, “I’ll block him head-on.”

Feeling the intense heat rushing towards him, Zhang Yu was the first to charge forward, restraining his opponent with several humanoid Gang Qi projections. As the Gang Qi of both sides clashed and forces pressed in, Zhang Yu felt as if he had single-handedly caught hundreds of tons of concrete.

With his Three-Eyed Divine Ability, Yu Xinghan instantly grasped the move variations of everyone present. With a flash, he braved the surging heat and delivered a punch to a weak point on Jizhi’s back. With a loud bang and an explosion of Gang Qi, Yu Xinghan forcefully blasted a large hole through the Gang Qi that had covered Jizhi’s back. As the Gang Qi rapidly surged to reseal the gap, Zhang Pianpian clearly marked the spot in her eye-artifact with two large golden characters: *Hit Here*.

Empowered by her Profound Frost Dharma Vein, Yue Mulan pointed a finger. Her ice magic power, mixed with the medicinal force within her, penetrated Jizhi’s back before his Gang Qi could reseal. Jizhi, already in an explosive state, was stimulated by this medicinal force. His blood vessels dilated throughout his body, and his heart began to pound even more violently.

Simultaneously, Zhang Yu activated his Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force again. As his humanoid Gang Qi projections suddenly embraced Jizhi, bursts of scorching Scorching Sun Gang Qi erupted.

“What?!”

“My Scorching Sun Gang Qi?”

Jizhi’s body temperature had already risen with the activation of his Scorching Sun Gang Qi. Now, Zhang Yu’s attack was like adding fuel to the fire, causing his internal temperature to surge even further. This sudden rise in temperature accelerated the effects of the medicinal force within him, and combined with his violent heart palpitations, it made Jizhi feel a wave of dizziness.

But that wasn’t all. Immediately after the Scorching Sun Gang Qi generated by the Nine Heavens Cloud Void Force struck, Zhang Yu followed up with a palm strike, infusing terrifying coldness into Jizhi’s body. Zhang Yu and Yue Mulan’s combined ice magic power converged within Jizhi’s body, then erupted simultaneously.

The two forces, one fiery and one icy, clashed within Jizhi, causing some of his vital energy to accelerate wildly, while others were extremely slowed or even frozen, leading to a burst of pain throughout his meridians. Jizhi violently coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the Gang Qi around his body momentarily faltered, leaving him wide open. Yu Xinghan seized the opportunity, landing several punches. Zhang Yu and Yue Mulan pursued him the next moment, and their fierce assault completely overwhelmed Jizhi in an instant.

Just a few seconds later, Zhang Yu, Yue Mulan, and Yu Xinghan all ceased their attacks. Looking at the now quiet hideout, they instinctively breathed a sigh of relief. It was impossible for the three of them not to be nervous, knowing they were about to confront gang members from the Dark Cultivation underworld. After all, they understood that these gang members were utterly vicious, ruthless killers who would fight to the death once engaged. And if even one person escaped, it would lead to immense trouble.

However, under Zhang Pianpian’s guidance, the operation was a true case of knowing both oneself and one’s enemy. Not only did they choose to strike when the opponent’s defenses were weakest, but they also maintained the upper hand from start to finish.

“Don’t celebrate too soon,” Zhang Pianpian’s voice echoed in their ears. “What comes next is the most important part.”

She slowly walked in, her gaze sweeping over the bricks of flour. Since combat-type talismans were too easily detected by the righteous gods, Zhang Pianpian had not directly intervened, choosing instead to provide support from behind.

Now, looking at the floor covered with bricks of flour, Zhang Pianpian said, “We need to transport this batch of goods out.”

Yu Xinghan asked, “What about the Earth Qi Wheat still planted in the ground?”

Besides the storage room they were currently in, the entire hideout also had a cultivation room where a considerable amount of Earth Qi Wheat was growing.

Zhang Pianpian replied, “The Earth Qi Wheat in the cultivation room cannot be touched. It’s too easy for problems to be detected. Leave it for the Inspection Team to investigate. As for this batch of flour bricks…” Zhang Pianpian estimated, then said, “Their market value is probably over 100 spirit coins.”

Hearing this, Zhang Yu, Yu Xinghan, and Yue Mulan all gasped.

“This batch of bricks is worth over 100 spirit coins, which is plenty for us to split.”

Yu Xinghan couldn’t help but say, “It’s so valuable, yet they only sent one Foundation Establishment cultivator to guard it. That’s incredibly careless.”

Zhang Pianpian replied calmly, “Normally, there are two Foundation Establishment cultivators. We simply chose a time when the other one was absent. Furthermore, more Foundation Establishment cultivators wouldn’t make a difference against the patrol team. The key to the Dark Cultivation underworld is concealment. The secret passages here are hidden enough, and their dharma artifacts and surveillance aren’t connected to external networks. If Zhang Yu hadn’t accidentally stumbled upon a clue, and if I hadn’t forcibly breached their systems, they could have probably operated securely for a long time.”

Zhang Yu thought to himself, “If it weren’t for the evil god’s ritual, I wouldn’t have been sure that the Dark Cultivation underworld people were here.”

Yu Xinghan squatted down, examined the dharma artifacts on the corpse, and asked curiously, “They clearly had goods worth over 100 spirit coins, so why do their dharma artifacts look like cheap trinkets? Even the Qi Refinement gang members looked thin and weak, as if they hadn’t eaten enough.”

Zhang Pianpian said casually, “Who told you that farming guarantees a full stomach? Do you think just because they cultivate Earth Qi Wheat, they can afford to eat it? Besides, once these goods are sold, the lion’s share goes to those higher up. The fact that they could establish such an underground cultivation base in Huilong Garden—do you think there wasn’t an insider in the graveyard cooperating with them? That insider’s position is probably not low.”

Hearing this, Yu Xinghan’s heart stirred slightly, and he mused thoughtfully, “So, some people at the top are severely cracking down on the Dark Cultivation underworld, but others are secretly involved with it to make money?”

Zhang Pianpian said, “Alright, no more wasting time. Zhang Yu, set aside one-tenth of the goods.”

“One-tenth?” Thinking that one-tenth was only a little over 10 spirit coins, Zhang Yu couldn’t help but say, “One-tenth… Isn’t that too little for us?”

Zhang Pianpian calmly replied, “One-tenth is left here for the patrol team. We’ll take the remaining ninety percent.”

Zhang Yu was startled by this, and asked, “How do we transport it out?”

“This is a graveyard,” Zhang Pianpian said. “The simplest way, of course, is to transport it out as ashes.”