Okay, here’s the rewritten content with standard English grammar and syntax, maintaining the Xianxia novel style and original pronouns:

Chapter 22: Blood Python Guild Leader’s Poverty

Blood Python Guild Leader Mu Yang’s eyes flashed with coldness. “I am not borrowing from you! I’m asking you if you’ve discovered any good prey recently?”

“We have also ordered our subordinates to search for prey,” Vice Guild Leader Lai Mo explained. “But Guild Leader, you are well aware that the Void Gods within Hu Yang City are all extremely cautious and do not flaunt their treasures. It’s very difficult to identify suitable prey. In the last epoch, I slaughtered 122 Void Gods and obtained a total of 1,800 Cosmos Sand. I took one-tenth, and you received nine-tenths, as was given to you long ago.”

“In the last epoch, I slaughtered 132 prey, obtaining a total of 1,200 Cosmos Sand. What was due to you has already been given,” Vice Guild Leader Mu Lin said. “We have all sworn causal oaths; we would never lie about such matters.”

Mu Yang coldly stated, “What I want are *good* prey! Not these impoverished ones!”

The two Vice Guild Leaders shook their heads.

“Finding good prey is difficult; the City Lord’s manor has long set a bottom line,” Vice Guild Leader Lai Mo said. “The number of those we can kill within the city is very limited, and those Void Gods are extremely careful. Even if they obtain treasures, they would never reveal them publicly.”

Vice Guild Leader Mu Lin worriedly said, “Guild Leader, you have earned more than enough since the establishment of the Blood Python Guild. I have never seen you so anxious. Why have you become increasingly desperate recently?”

He and the Guild Leader were of the same clan, having wandered together to Hu Yang City. There were many things he could say that Vice Guild Leader Lai Mo would not dare to utter.

“How are the collected residence fees?” Blood Python Guild Leader pressed. “Have they increased at all?”

“The vast majority of the Gods within the city are earning a living by hunting exotic beasts. Each time they go out on a dangerous adventure and earn a fortune, they return to the city to reside in peace. Aside from occasional shopping, they are generally in closed-door cultivation. We simply cannot collect any residence fees,” Vice Guild Leader Lai Mo shook his head.

“Has there been any overall increase?” Mu Yang demanded.

“No,” Lai Mo shook his head. “This epoch, it will likely decrease somewhat.”

“A bunch of useless fools!”

Mu Yang was furious. “The Blood Python Guild supports so many subordinates precisely to have them search for suitable prey within the city and collect residence fees! We cannot find prey, and the residence fees have also decreased this epoch? What use are these wastes? Expel those incompetent ones from the Blood Python Guild!”

The cost of supporting a subordinate was quite high. Subordinates also had to pay residence fees to the City Lord’s manor—one Chaos Crystal per epoch. Adding the cultivation resources the subordinates needed, the average cost of supporting a God-level subordinate was approximately three Chaos Crystals per epoch.

The stronger the subordinate, the higher the cost of maintaining them!

A vast dark power also had high operating costs. After all, it wouldn’t do to have Eternal Gods collecting residence fees from the masses of residents, would it?

Finding a fat sheep was not an easy matter.

“The City Lord’s manor has rules; as long as those Gods reside within their abodes, the City Lord’s manor guarantees their absolute safety. And within Hu Yang City, Gods are everywhere. If we take action, other Gods will discover us. Once there is conclusive evidence, the City Lord’s manor must arrest the culprit,” Mu Lin shook his head. “The City Lord’s manor uses various methods to ensure the safety of those residents, making it very difficult for us to collect residence fees.”

The residence fees collected by the City Lord’s manor were official levies, and every God had to pay them. But once paid, there were also various protections, which was why many Gods yearned to reside in large cities.

Dark powers were also collecting residence fees, but the vast majority of residents tried every possible way to evade them.

For example, they would usually hide inside their abodes! When traveling, they went to places with many Gods, even traveling in groups!

“The Blood Python Guild is supported by me; the two of you should come up with some ideas!” Guild Leader Mu Yang’s gaze turned ferocious. “How can we find good prey? How can we collect more residence fees?”

“We will think of something,” the two Vice Guild Leaders replied verbally, but the Blood Python Guild had been operating for so long that all usable methods had long been exhausted.

“Hmm?” Guild Leader Mu Yang suddenly looked outside. “Mo Li Meng is here. The two of you, leave first.”

“Good,” Vice Guild Leaders Lai Mo and Mu Lin breathed a sigh of relief and immediately departed.

Soon, a middle-aged man with four curved purple horns, Mo Li Meng, walked in.

“Here to collect debts again!” Guild Leader Mu Yang sighed.

“The 50,000 Cosmos Sand for this epoch are due to me,” Mo Li Meng looked at him. “Surely, you haven’t been unable to pay after compensating Luo He with 20,000 Cosmos Sand, have you?”

Guild Leader Mu Yang shook his head. “It’s only 50,000 Cosmos Sand; of course, I can afford it. But Mo Li Meng, for the Blood Python Guild’s meager territory, having to pay 50,000 Cosmos Sand every epoch, isn’t that too much? Can it be reduced?”

“There’s no helping it,” Mo Li Meng looked at him, smiling slightly. “Unless you disband the Blood Python Guild and abandon your territory. The rules of Hu Yang City are that whichever dark power controls the territory must pay Cosmos Sand. This is the bottom line of the five great clans.”

Guild Leader Mu Yang felt rather stifled.

When competing for territory with other dark powers, he had also been unwilling to pay fees to the five great clans, resulting in punishment from them. He had suffered a great loss that time and ultimately took a step back before the five great clans tolerated him.

“In that case, can the Blood Python Guild have a larger quota for killings each epoch?” Guild Leader Mu Yang said. “The death rate within the city cannot exceed one-thousandth per epoch. This rate is too low. Gods and Void Gods would have conflicts and fights within the city during a long epoch, and the normal mortality rate is already close to one-thousandth. The number of those we can kill is too small!”

“It cannot exceed one-thousandth!” Mo Li Meng said indifferently. “In the recent epoch, the Blood Python Guild should have assassinated over a million Gods and several hundred Void Gods within the city. That’s more than enough!”

“There are countless Gods in Hu Yang City. The number we kill is far less than the normal death rate,” Mu Yang shook his head, handing a jade bottle to Mo Li Meng. “50,000 Cosmos Sand, not a single one short.”

Mo Li Meng accepted it, his expression improved, and he then said, “I will remind you, the Blood Python Guild has been going too far with some things in recent epochs!”

“What things? I don’t know anything about it,” Mu Yang feigned surprise. “Don’t put everything on my head.”

Mo Li Meng glanced at him, said nothing more, and turned to leave.

Mu Yang watched him depart. “The five great clans of the City Lord’s manor are the cruelest!” Mu Yang’s gaze was sinister, but he knew very well that if he crossed the bottom line, the five great clans were capable of completely crushing the Blood Python Guild at any cost.

“All members of the Blood Python Guild require a large sum of Cosmos Sand every epoch, the five great clans also want Cosmos Sand, and that Luo He took away 20,000 Cosmos Sand.” Mu Yang also felt quite poor. “This epoch, I haven’t earned much at all.”

Mu Yang focused his mind, and the formations within the hall activated, completely isolating it from the outside world.

*Buzz…*

A mirror materialized in the void before him, displaying a white-robed figure wearing a red mask.

“Blood Cloud Divine Sovereign,” Guild Leader Mu Yang was also a bit more humble.

The two most terrifying powers in the entire Hu Yang City, one was naturally the five great clans of the City Lord’s manor, the ruling power, and the other was the Food Country’s power. The lurking Food Country power had an extremely terrifying figure, named Blood Cloud.

The conflict between the Food Country’s power and the five great clans of the City Lord’s manor was the most intense, not like the small-scale operations of suppressing dark powers.

“Why is Guild Leader Mu Yang suddenly seeking me out?” Blood Cloud’s voice was calm, seemingly without any fluctuations.

“The lower volume of the *Chaotic Iron Blood Sand Technique* requires one million Cosmos Sand, which I truly cannot gather,” Guild Leader Mu Yang said. “Can I perhaps defer payment for some Cosmos Sand? I can pay half first?”

Blood Cloud lightly chuckled. “Relying on bloodline cultivation techniques, reaching the Chaos realm is the limit, but the *Chaotic Iron Blood Sand Technique* is a ‘perfect-level’ Chaos realm bloodline cultivation technique and is very well suited for you. Such a cultivation technique is something you can only encounter but never seek. If it weren’t for your great merits… we wouldn’t give you the opportunity to purchase it.”

“I know, but one million Cosmos Sand is too difficult to gather,” Guild Leader Mu Yang said.

“You work for my Food Country, which is why you have this opportunity to purchase it. Try going to the Yan Feng Pavilion; you won’t be able to buy it at all,” Blood Cloud said.

Guild Leader Mu Yang, of course, understood.

The Food Country was generous, even willing to take out the *Chaotic Iron Blood Sand Technique*, a bloodline cultivation technique of the highest caliber, naturally making Mu Yang go mad for it.

With ordinary cultivation techniques, he had no hope of reaching the Chaos realm in his lifetime. But with such a perfect bloodline cultivation technique, he at least saw a glimmer of hope to reach the Chaos realm.

“You slowly manage the Blood Python Guild; of course, you will earn slowly,” Blood Cloud said softly. “If you want to earn a lot, you have to take some risks. Think about it carefully.”

Then the connection was severed.

Guild Leader Mu Yang pondered. He had interacted with all parties in Hu Yang City and was deeply entangled with both the City Lord’s manor and the Food Country’s power.

“Normal business within Hu Yang City is under the infiltration of the City Lord’s manor, so it’s impossible to earn too much. It requires time to accumulate slowly. To earn a fortune quickly, I have to take some risks.” Guild Leader Mu Yang’s gaze became increasingly cold. “As long as I obtain the *Chaotic Iron Blood Sand Technique*, I will immediately leave Hu Yang City. No matter how fiercely the City Lord’s manor and the Food Country’s power fight, I will not get involved.”

******

Chaos Armor #913 Abode.

On top of a high mountain, Luo Feng sat on a large rock, drinking alone.

In reality, he was running the *Great Destruction Heart-Refining Method*, his mind and will constantly being destroyed and obliterated, making each condensation of his mind and will more refined. This was normal survival adaptation.

Under the ultra-strong obliteration and destruction, each condensation naturally had to resist this obliteration and destruction.

The progress in the short term was not as good as the *Seven Emotions Heart-Refining Method*, but the *Great Destruction Heart-Refining Method* was better because it could be done long term, so the effect would be better with time.

“With Brother Entropy Heaven Flame guiding me, the theory behind the second level of the *Chaotic Strength Diagram*, I’ll be able to study it thoroughly before long.” Luo Feng had an extremely deep understanding of laws, so naturally he was quick to comprehend. “But even if I thoroughly comprehend it, what can I do?”

“I’m poor! I can’t afford the materials needed for the second body refinement at all!” Luo Feng also had a headache.

“The first body refinement only established the foundation and consumed materials worth 100,000 Cosmos Sand.”

“According to my deductions, the second body refinement will require at least several times the materials.”

“The third body refinement will continue to increase by several times.”

“Where am I going to gather Cosmos Sand?”

Luo Feng was troubled for a while.

With his current strength, if he wants to obviously improve his strength, it has to be either the great boundary breakthrough to “Chaos realm peak will”, or second body refinement of “perfect Divine Body”.

His divine body was too large, and his divine power was incomparably pure, so each body refinement would naturally bring a very obvious increase.

“The improvement of will cannot be rushed. It requires accumulated daily polishing of oneself,” Luo Feng was clear on this point. “I need to think of a way to get the materials for the second body refinement. Alas, I am still too poor!”

Thinking of this, Luo Feng moved his mind and began to check the bounty missions through the Yan Feng Pavilion’s Dark Palace Transmission Token.

——

Thank you to the two Alliance Leaders who gave rewards: Dark Moon Hidden Night, and Your Eyes are the Sea.