"Heh heh, I was busy with some trifles not long ago and indeed left the city for a while. Let's not talk about that. Manager Shen, let me introduce you; this is Fellow Daoist Yuan Ming, with whom I am somewhat acquainted," said Cui Wuran.

"So it's Senior Yuan, I've long heard of you. Is the senior coming to my shop to buy elixirs? Since Senior Cui has introduced you, I will offer you a ten percent discount. I hope the senior will continue to patronize our shop," Manager Shen said, immediately bowing to Yuan Ming.

Cui Wuran, seeing Manager Shen offering a discount on his own accord and thereby greatly boosting his face, immediately beamed with joy.

Upon seeing this, Yuan Ming wasn't shy, and straightforwardly said, "Since that's the case, may I know how many Rock Whisker Pills your shop still has? I'd like to buy quite a few at once."

"Eh, Rock Whisker Pills? Fellow Daoist Yuan, are you aware of the side effects of this elixir? Be careful not to make a mistake in purchasing," Cui Wuran said, startled, promptly reminding him.

"Ah, Fellow Daoist Cui, thank you for your kind reminder. How could I not know about the side effects of the Rock Whisker Pill? It's just that I am really strapped for cash; after much calculation, I have no choice but to purchase this pill for cultivation," Yuan Ming said with a bitter smile, his expression forlorn.

Seeing this, Cui Wuran's lips twitched twice, as if he too was reminded of some sorrowful matter, and for a while, he found himself lost for words.

Manager Shen, seeing the mood, immediately smoothed things over, "Senior Yuan, don't worry, we still have plenty of Rock Whisker Pills in stock. If you'd like, they are only one hundred and sixty spirit stones per bottle."

Yuan Ming nodded, stating the amount he needed for a year's cultivation, and upon hearing this, Manager Shen hurriedly went to make arrangements.

After Manager Shen had left, Cui Wuran suddenly sighed, "Ah, Fellow Daoist Yuan is living in such dire straits now, it pains my heart to see. Thus, I recently received a task from the Mountain Flipping Alliance in the city that can earn a large number of elixirs. Although the task is difficult, because the reward is very generous, the Mountain Flipping Alliance prefers to choose only those they trust and thus did not advertise it publicly. If Fellow Daoist Yuan is willing, I could introduce you and share the profits."

"Please tell me more, Fellow Daoist Cui," Yuan Ming feigned interest.

"This is the deal, nearby Xiansha City, a Fire Throat Lizard's nest was recently discovered, with quite a number of Second Rank Upper Stage beasts within. Our task is to completely destroy this nest. Once successful, every participant will receive at least eight bottles of Four Spirits Pill or an equivalent amount of spirit stones as a reward," Cui Wuran explained.

Yuan Ming was somewhat surprised. The level of the reward meant little to him, but for typical Loose Cultivators considering the local prices, it was indeed considered substantial.

However, he was not truly in need of elixirs and spirit stones at the moment and thus, after feigning hesitation for a long time, he shook his head and said:

"I'm sorry, Fellow Daoist Cui, my strength is limited, and I am afraid I might not be able to handle a group of Second-level Demon Beasts and so shouldn't add trouble to your efforts."

Hearing this, Cui Wuran knew Yuan Ming probably didn't fancy this mission. He looked disappointed but persuaded a few more times. Seeing Yuan Ming's firm attitude, he could only temporarily give up and handed Yuan Ming a Communication Talisman, telling him to seek him out if he ever changed his mind.

Yuan Ming nodded, accepted the Communication Talisman, and just then Manager Shen returned with the Rock Whisker Pills. After briefly checking them, Yuan Ming bid farewell to Cui Wuran and left the Spring Breeze Hall.

Once back at his residence, Yuan Ming did not dwell on the event at Spring Breeze Hall and proceeded with his cultivation as usual.

However, just as he was preparing to absorb Desire Power to cultivate his Divine Soul, he suddenly discovered that another rich wave of Desire Power had accumulated outside the Stealing Heaven Tripod.

Unlike the Desire Power generated from his readers, this wave seemed even more profound and mature, seemingly from another source.

Yuan Ming channeled this new Desire Power into his soul splitting, and during the refinement, he faintly sensed a complex emotion imbued with gratitude, prayers, and pleas.

At the same time, he also sensed the location of this Desire Power's owner, situated in a house in the eastern part of the outer city.

Despite having lived in Xiansha City for only a short while, Yuan Ming had closely studied its layout. Beyond the distinction between the inner city and outer city, the city was further divided into different areas such as the garrison where the Scatter Alliance gathered and Hangshang Square, bustling with shops.

However, the source of this Desire Power was in the outer city's infamous Black Earth Square, a place no cultivator wished to visit, inhabited solely by impoverished and downtrodden common folk.

Curious, Yuan Ming once again sent out a soul crow to investigate the source of the Desire Power.

...

A pair of worn-out cloth shoes stepped onto the filthy black soil.

Hu Ji carried a cloth bag, walking cautiously on the street, gingerly avoiding the occasional garbage debris and the pungent, moist sand-mud.

The dilapidated earth-yellow walls on both sides of the street were interspersed with makeshift barriers made of dirty fabric and broken stones, dividing the already cramped houses into a dozen separate rooms.

Countless thin ropes stretched across the street, connecting the houses on both sides, with faded clothes hanging on them dripping with pale black dirty water, falling on passersby and inciting bursts of cursing.

In a narrow alley on Hu Ji's left, three children sneakily stood at a corner, directing filth toward a certain door; the moment the door suddenly opened and the owner, unaware of what was happening, stepped out, his foot landing on the filth. After realizing what had happened, his face flushed with anger as he waved his arms and chased after the children.

On Hu Ji's right, two ragged women were arguing, their quarrel interspersed with coarse language and the origins of the contention, apparently all over someone wearing someone else's undergarment.

Today, Black Earth Square was as noisy as it ever was.

Hu Ji did not linger over those all-too-familiar sights but quickened his pace, returning to his dwellings deep within Black Earth Square.

Having mixed in Xiansha City for many years and having a job in the caravan, he had managed to save a little. The rented room, which was not partitioned and only housed him, his wife, and daughter, was considered upper-tier accommodation in Black Earth Square.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw his six-year-old daughter sitting in the room, washing clothes. Her tender small hands were wrinkled from the water, which made Hu Ji's heart ache.

"Where's your mother? Why is she making you do this?" Hu Ji put down the cloth bag he carried, took the wooden basin from his daughter, and began scrubbing the clothes as he talked.

"Mom, she just fell ill again. I didn't want to strain her anymore, so I thought I'd help out. Dad, don't blame mom."

Apparently sensing a hint of reproach in Hu Ji's tone, the daughter timidly explained.

Hu Ji's hands stiffened, and he quickly set down the clothes and stood up, saying, "She's ill again? What about the medicine we bought earlier? Did you give it to her?"

"I gave it to her, but mom said it wasn't too serious this time. The medicine is expensive, so she said to save it and take less," the daughter said.

Hearing this, Hu Ji furrowed his brows and quickly walked to the inner room, lifting the curtain of the bedroom door, and indeed he saw his wife lying on the bed.

His wife was extremely thin, her limbs like poles, her hair like dry grass, and her sallow face had no healthy color but was dotted with numerous greyish-blue spots, which looked particularly alarming.

When she heard Hu Ji approaching, she turned her head with difficulty and glanced at the door, surprises in her cloudy eyes.

"Ah Ji, why did you come back so early today?"

"They couldn't find enough hands at the caravan, so they let me go home to wait for news. But you, haven't I told you not to skimp on expenses? If you are sick, you should buy medicine. Why don't you ever listen to me?"

Hu Ji muttered under his breath while reaching under the small table next to the bed to pull out a wooden box.

He opened the box, his gaze slightly sharpening. Then, pretending nothing was wrong, he took out a dark medicine pill and stood up to fetch a bowl of water from the water tank in the room.

The water in the tank was not clear; it had a faint green-blue tint and even a mild odd smell. Ordinary people, upon seeing it, would hesitate to drink it.

Yet this was the only water available to the residents of Black Earth Square, sourced from wells that led directly to the Underground River. The water quality was very poor, hence, it was not valued by Cultivators and was only used by ordinary people.

Hu Ji helped his wife up and fed her the medicine. Seeing that her complexion was worse than before, he grew inwardly anxious but, not wanting to worry his wife, kept his concerns off his face.

After comforting his wife a few words, he stood up, left the bedroom, and went to a small altar in the main room.

On the altar, there was a placard with the words "Black River God" in red, intricately crafted and decorated with many patterns.

Hu Ji glanced at the placard, then went to pick up the cloth bag he had set down at the entrance. He took out a brand-new wooden placard from it and placed it on the altar.

This placard bore just four small characters—"Benefactor Yuan Ming," and though it was slightly less exquisite than the Black River God's, it clearly showed effort.

After placing the placard correctly, Hu Ji kneeled in front of the altar and respectfully knocked his head on the floor three times. He then bowed his head in prayer for a while before he crawled under the altar, pulled out a small bag of gold and silver from a hidden compartment, and tucked it into his cloak, admonishing his daughter with a few words before he stepped out of the house.

Soon after, he brought the hidden gold and silver to the front of a two-story house and hesitated for a moment before knocking on the door.

"Who is it? Oh, isn't this Brother Hu Ji? What brings you here in broad daylight?" A corpulent man opened the door and greeted Hu Ji.

Hu Ji looked down and said, "Divine Envoy, I've come to buy medicine."

Hearing this, the fat man's eyes lit up, and his chubby face squeezed out a smile.

"Buying medicine, you say? That can be arranged. But lately, there have been too many cases of the green poison illness in the city, and the medicines blessed by the Black River God are somewhat scarce now. I'm afraid the prices will have to be much higher than before."

Hu Ji took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said, "Divine Envoy, rest assured, I've brought quite a lot of silver this time."

With that, he handed over the bag hidden in his cloak.

The fat man took the bag, weighed it in his hand, and his face immediately showed a satisfied smile. He stepped aside to let Hu Ji into the house.

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