Chapter 175 - 150: Washing Off the Dust

Chapter 175: Chapter 150: Washing Off the Dust

Yan Jiulin acted just like an ordinary factory boss, telling Zhang Ji and Kong Jue about the factory’s recent struggles. He’d sigh from time to time, putting on a show of how tough business was.

If Zhang Ji hadn’t remembered the sinister grin on his face during the Floating Skyfall, or the images of him murdering and skinning people, he might have actually believed Yan Jiulin was some ambitious citizen fighting for his ideals.

Kong Jue and Zhang Ji didn’t say a word the whole way, but Yan Jiulin wasn’t the least bit discouraged and continued to talk nonstop.

Soon, the two were shown into a private room.

Yan Jiulin told the kitchen to start preparing the meal. A few appetizers were already on the table. At the same time, he notified the factory’s other core members to come and meet Zhang Ji and Kong Jue.

Soon enough, the others arrived one by one.

Six people in total—four men and two women.

"Let me introduce you. These are our new members, Zhang Ji and Kong Jue." Yan Jiulin first introduced the two newcomers to the group, then turned to the four men and two women. "These are the pillars of our organization. This is Huo Chuan, who is in charge of smelting weapon blanks. Cui Wei handles all our Spirit Pattern inscriptions. Yin Jiushu single-handedly manages sales and material procurement. Old Madam Bai Ao is our physician. And Zhu Hai and Li Yan are our security. With these two around, no riffraff would ever dare to cause trouble here, hahaha..."

The atmosphere, like a normal corporate team-building event, made Zhang Ji feel a bit unsettled.

Because he knew every single one of them.

Huo Chuan, the [Iron-devouring True Monarch]. Cui Wei, [Xinggu Gong]. Yin Jiushu, the [Throat Ghost]. Bai Ao, the [Marrow Mother]. Zhu Hai, the [Blood Butcher]. And Li Yan, the [Burning Heart Hermit].

Every one of them had hands stained with blood. Each was more ruthless than the last; there wasn’t a single decent person among them.

Throughout the banquet, they all chatted about their ideals and discussed the future, each one acting as if they were full of hope.

After the welcoming banquet for Zhang Ji and Kong Jue, Yan Jiulin personally arranged living quarters for them.

He didn’t mention a single word about work, making it seem like joining the organization was all about enjoying the benefits and building a better future together.

If Zhang Ji were some hot-blooded youth, he’d probably be fired up by now, ready to live and die for the Ascetic Order.

But he knew all too well that while this organization appeared to be a righteous group with noble ideals on the surface, its core principles were long since twisted.

Most of its members were just using the "suppression of bandits" as a front to make money.

If Ling Xuzi hadn’t suddenly defected and joined them, establishing the Floating Skyfall Plan, this organization would have been doomed to mediocrity before fading into history.

.......

Zhang Ji’s residence was a folding cave-abode.

It was about five hundred square meters, fully furnished with everything one might need. All in all, it wasn’t small.

A place like this would probably sell for several hundred Level Five Spirit Coins.

Zhang Ji didn’t sense any surveillance devices inside.

Yan Jiulin probably wouldn’t resort to such a low-class tactic and risk creating bad blood.

Zhang Ji went into the bedroom and took out the jade slip he had received from the Ascetic Order, which contained their cultivation methods. He read it directly using his Energy Particles.

Spirit Root, Spiritual Qi, Body Cultivator, Spirit Cultivator, Spirit Pattern, Spirit Plant, Spirit Beast...

The information was extensive, covering everything from the basics to advanced techniques. The cultivation methods went all the way up to the Divinity Transformation Stage, with several different paths to choose from.

Zhang Ji found a text titled *Universal Taiyi Qi Refining Method* and began to study it in detail.

This world’s Extraordinary System relied almost entirely on Spiritual Qi.

Cultivation was impossible without it.

Even Body Cultivators relied on Spiritual Qi to develop their powerful physiques.

And to absorb Spiritual Qi more effectively, one needed an organ called a "Spirit Root."

It was an organ that had evolved in the living beings of this world in synergy with Spiritual Qi.

However, its appearance was quite random.

Some people were born with one, others were not.

In ancient times, those without a Spirit Root were almost completely unable to cultivate.

But things were different now.

Artificial Spirit Roots now existed.

The only problem was that they were very expensive—unaffordable for the average person—and the price increased with quality.

They were divided into five grades.

A root with all five elemental attributes was called a Waste Spirit Root. Four attributes was a Pseudo Spirit Root, three was a Mixed Spirit Root, two was an Earth Spirit Root, and a single attribute was a Celestial Spirit Root.

The top-tier Celestial Spirit Root started at a thousand Level Five Spirit Coins, an absurdly inflated price.

However, this was the modern era’s classification.

Back in ancient times, when Spiritual Qi was plentiful, having more attributes meant a higher potential ceiling and a more versatile set of abilities.

In the modern era, however, even nourishing a single-attribute Spirit Root was a struggle. Five attributes would consume five times the Spiritual Qi, and the difficulty of breaking through to the next stage would increase dramatically.

In this resource-scarce society, the truly top-tier cultivators were those who broke through the fastest while consuming the fewest resources, not those who pursued versatility.

So, with this change in the ’meta,’ the once-superior five-attribute Spirit Root had become the absolute worst.

Zhang Ji planned to buy an artificial Waste Spirit Root later to take back and study, to see if the people at the Physics Department could get anything out of it.

Soon, Zhang Ji finished reading the *Universal Taiyi Qi Refining Method*.

It could be summarized in a single sentence.

Absorb Spiritual Qi, convert it via the Spirit Root, draw it into the body to nourish it, and transform it into a swirling cloud of qi to be stored in the Sea of Qi at the Danzhong point.

Zhang Ji closed his eyes. His Energy Particles could indeed sense the presence of Spiritual Qi in the void around him.

It seemed like a gas, but it wasn’t. It was more like a unique kind of Energy Particle. It was highly reactive, constantly interacting with many substances, including Zhang Ji himself. However, Zhang Ji was only passively absorbing the Spiritual Qi.