Divine Transcendence

"Ha ha, I was busy with some trivial matters recently and indeed left the city for a while. But let's not talk about that. Shopkeeper Shen, let me introduce you to a fellow Daoist, Yuan Ming, who has some ties with me," Cui Wuran said.

"So it's Senior Yuan. I've heard a lot about you. Are you here to buy elixirs? Since Senior Cui introduced you, I'll give you a ten percent discount. Please take care of our business in the future," Shopkeeper Shen said, cupping his hands towards Yuan Ming.

Cui Wuran was delighted to see Shopkeeper Shen offering a discount, feeling that his face had gained much respect.

Yuan Ming, seeing this, did not stand on ceremony and said directly, "In that case, Shopkeeper Shen, how many Yanxu Elixirs do you have in your store? I'd like to buy a large quantity at once."

"Yanxu Elixir? Daoist Yuan, are you aware of the side effects of this elixir? Don't make a mistake in buying it," Cui Wuran reminded him, slightly taken aback.

"Ah, Daoist Cui, thank you for your kind reminder. How could I not know the side effects of the Yanxu Elixir? It's just that I'm really strapped for cash. After calculating, I can only afford this elixir for cultivation," Yuan Ming said with a bitter smile, looking desolate.

Seeing Yuan Ming's expression, Cui Wuran's lips moved as if recalling some sad memories, and he was momentarily speechless.

Shopkeeper Shen, seeing the situation, immediately tried to smooth things over, "Senior Yuan, rest assured, we still have plenty of Yanxu Elixirs in stock. If you want, one bottle costs one hundred and sixty spirit stones."

Yuan Ming nodded and reported the amount he needed for his cultivation. Shopkeeper Shen hurriedly went to make arrangements upon hearing this.

After Shopkeeper Shen left, Cui Wuran suddenly sighed, "Daoist Yuan, seeing you in such a difficult situation pains me. Recently, I received a task from the Rogue Alliance that offers a large quantity of elixirs as a reward. Although the task is difficult, the reward is extremely generous, and the Rogue Alliance only wants to select trustworthy people, so they didn't post it publicly. If you're willing, I can recommend you and let you share in the reward."

"Please tell me more, Daoist Cui," Yuan Ming pretended to be interested.

"It's like this. Recently, a Fire Salamander nest was discovered near Quicksand City, with at least a few second-tier high-level beasts inside. Our task is to completely destroy this nest. Once the task is completed, each participant will receive at least eight bottles of elixirs or an equivalent amount of spirit stones as a reward," Cui Wuran explained.

Yuan Ming was somewhat surprised. Such a reward was insignificant to him, but for ordinary rogue cultivators, considering the local prices, it was indeed generous.

Currently, he truly lacked elixirs but not spirit stones. Therefore, after pretending to be conflicted for a long time, he shook his head and said, "Sorry, Daoist Cui, my strength is limited. A group of second-tier beasts would be too much for me to handle. I can't go and cause trouble for you."

Hearing this, Cui Wuran knew that Yuan Ming might not value this task. He looked disappointed and tried to persuade him a few more times. Seeing Yuan Ming's firm attitude, he had to give up temporarily, handing Yuan Ming a communication talisman, telling him to contact him if he changed his mind.

Yuan Ming nodded, took the communication talisman, and just then, Shopkeeper Shen returned with the Yanxu Elixirs. Yuan Ming quickly counted them, bid farewell to Cui Wuran, and left Chunfeng Hall.

Back at his residence, Yuan Ming didn't dwell on what happened at Chunfeng Hall and began his cultivation as usual.

However, when he was about to absorb the willing power to cultivate his soul, he suddenly discovered a new, dense willing power outside the Stealing Heaven Cauldron.

Unlike the willing power he generated, this one seemed more profound and pure, as if it had a different source.

Yuan Ming guided this willing power into his split soul. During the refining process, he faintly sensed emotions of gratitude, prayer, and plea.

At the same time, he also sensed the location of the owner of this willing power, which was in a house in the eastern part of the outer city.

Although Yuan Ming had not lived in Quicksand City for long, he had already gained a good understanding of its layout. Besides the distinction between the inner and outer city, the city was further divided into different areas, such as the Rogue Alliance's gathering place, the commercial district with numerous shops, and so on.

The location of this willing power was in the well-known Black Soil District of the outer city, a place where no cultivators were willing to visit, inhabited by impoverished commoners.

Curious, Yuan Ming sent out a soul crow to investigate the source of the willing power.

A pair of feet in worn cloth shoes stepped onto the dirty black soil.

Hu Ji carried a cloth bag, carefully avoiding the occasional garbage and the foul-smelling wet mud on the street.

The yellow walls on both sides of the street were dilapidated, with temporary barriers made of dirty cloth and rubble in between, dividing the already cramped houses into several smaller rooms.

Thin ropes hung above the street, connecting countless houses on both sides, with faded clothes dripping dark water onto passersby, causing bursts of curses.

In a small alley to Hu Ji's left, three children stood sneakily in a corner, defiling a door. In the next instant, the door suddenly opened, and the owner, unaware, stepped out, immediately stepping into the filth. Realizing what had happened, his face turned red with anger, and he chased after the children, waving his arms furiously.

In the house to Hu Ji's right, two ragged women were arguing, their foul language mixed with the reason for their quarrel, which seemed to be someone wearing the wrong undergarment.

Today's Black Soil District was as noisy as ever.

Hu Ji did not linger on these familiar scenes and quickly walked to his home deep in the Black Soil District.

Having lived in Quicksand City for many years and working in a caravan, Hu Ji had saved up a bit and rented a house without partitions, living with his wife and daughter, which was considered high-class in the Black Soil District.

As soon as he entered the house, he saw his six-year-old daughter washing clothes, her small hands wrinkled from the water, making Hu Ji's heart ache.

Hu Ji put down his cloth bag, took the washbasin from his daughter, and asked while washing the clothes, "Where's your mother? Why is she letting you do this?"

"Mother fell ill again just now. I didn't want her to suffer, so I wanted to help. Please don't blame her, Father," his daughter explained timidly, sensing a hint of reproach in Hu Ji's words.

Hu Ji quickly put down the clothes, stood up, and said, "Fell ill again? What about the medicine we bought earlier? Did you give it to her?"

"I did, but Mother said it's not too serious this time, and the medicine is expensive, so she wants to save it," his daughter replied.

Hearing this, Hu Ji frowned and quickly walked to the inner room, lifting the curtain to see his wife lying on the bed.

His wife was extremely thin, with limbs like sticks, hair like straw, and a sallow face devoid of blood, with bluish-gray spots that looked particularly frightening.

Hearing Hu Ji's footsteps, she turned her head with difficulty, looking at the door with cloudy eyes, surprised.

"Ah Ji, why are you back so early today?"

"The caravan couldn't gather enough people for a while, so they let me come back and wait for news. But you, I told you not to save money on medicine. Why don't you ever listen to me?" Hu Ji muttered, taking a wooden box from under the bedside table.

Opening the box, his eyes slightly narrowed, then he pretended nothing was wrong, taking out a black pill and fetching a bowl of water from the water tank.

The water in the tank was not clear, with a faint greenish tint and a slight strange smell, not something ordinary people would dare to drink.

But this water was the only source for the people of the Black Soil District, coming from wells connected to underground rivers, with poor quality, not valued by the city's cultivators, and only drunk by commoners.

Hu Ji helped his wife take the medicine, seeing her condition worse than before, feeling anxious but hiding it to avoid worrying her.

After comforting his wife, he left the bedroom and came to a shrine in the main room.

On the shrine was a plaque inscribed with "Black River God," finely crafted with many decorative patterns.

Hu Ji glanced at the plaque, then took a new plaque from his cloth bag.

This plaque had only four characters, "Benefactor Yuan Ming," crafted with care, though slightly inferior to the Black River God's plaque.

Hu Ji placed the plaque, then knelt before the shrine, kowtowing three times and praying earnestly. He then retrieved a small bag of gold and silver from a hidden compartment under the shrine, hid it in his clothes, instructed his daughter, and left the house.

Soon, he arrived at a two-story house, hesitated for a moment, and knocked on the door.

"Who is it? Oh, it's Brother Hu Ji. What brings you here in broad daylight?" a fat man opened the door and looked at Hu Ji.

Hu Ji lowered his head and said, "Lord Envoy, I'm here to buy medicine."

Hearing this, the man's eyes lit up, and a smile appeared on his chubby face.

"Buying medicine, huh? That's easy. But recently, there have been too many people with the Green Poison Disease in the city, and the medicine bestowed by the Black River God is running low. The price will be much higher than usual."

Hu Ji took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and said, "Lord Envoy, don't worry. I brought a lot of silver this time."

Saying this, he handed over the bag hidden in his clothes.

The man took the bag, weighed it, and smiled with satisfaction, stepping aside to let Hu Ji into the house.