Chapter 16

11:30 p.m.

Supervisor Xu Ming notified everyone on the third floor to gather for today’s guiding duties.

Li Yi awoke from meditation, his spirit alert and free of drowsiness.

This was one advantage of cultivators: during meditation, the body and mind were already in a semi-rest state, and with physical evolution and transformation, cultivators remained energetic most of the time, showing no signs of fatigue or weariness.

When he stepped out of his room, others were already in the corridor.

What surprised Li Yi was that he saw Wu Zhen standing by the door; though his face was bruised and swollen, eyes bloodshot, he appeared to be in decent condition—mobile and without obvious aftereffects.

One had to admit, cultivators’ physical resilience and recovery were simply different.

A normal person would be lying in a hospital bed right now, unable to get up for at least a week.

“Did I hold back too much? Or have ordinary punches and kicks become ineffective against cultivators?” Li Yi mused inwardly.

Wu Zhen hadn’t even opened his mediumship yet, yet he possessed this level of durability—if stronger cultivators were involved, would physical attacks become a joke? Did one need firearms to deal with cultivators?

As Li Yi pondered this, Wu Zhen also glanced at him from afar.

He seethed with rage; anyone who suffered such a loss would never swallow it silently.

But Wu Zhen dared not show it—he knew Li Yi was a ruthless man, and another conflict might end in death.

“We’ll see what happens later. Don’t let me get the chance—if I do, I won’t let you off.” He could only vow silently, wondering if he’d ever get revenge.

“All guides, follow me. Today’s guiding will take place on the top floor,” said Supervisor Xu Ming. “The previous group’s shift ends in twenty-five minutes, so you have roughly twenty minutes to prepare. During this time, you must enter meditation and begin guiding cosmic energy.”

“Another group of guides? Who exactly is this employer? So rich?” Zhang Gao exclaimed in surprise.

Supervisor Xu Ming said: “Not just one—we’ve hired four groups total. Each group works six hours, ensuring uninterrupted cosmic energy supply around the clock. You’re the night shift, so you won’t see the other two groups during the day.”

“But none of that concerns you. Just focus on your own guiding duties. Now, please follow me to this dedicated elevator to the top floor.”

Soon.

The group boarded a spacious, comfortable dedicated elevator that took them straight to the top floor.

The entire top floor was filled with expensive cultivation equipment; Li Yi saw top-tier medical pods, golden-hued nutrient fluid, and in some reinforced glass display cases, ancient weapons—swords, spears, halberds.

At the very center of the building stood a massive hemispherical “egg.”

“That half-egg is… a cultivation pod? My god, I’ve only seen this in news reports—I’ve never seen one in person. Supposedly, when activated, it isolates us from environmental pollution and maintains pure internal energy. With enough guides, it artificially creates a pure energy field—meditating inside is like possessing a miracle artifact.” Someone gasped in astonishment.

“Comparable to a miracle artifact? That’s cheating!” Zhang Gao was startled.

The man replied: “Pfft, what cheating? That’s technology. No—it’s money’s power. You wouldn’t understand.”

“New guides, be silent.” A cold voice suddenly spoke.

It wasn’t loud, yet it buzzed in their ears, carrying an inexplicable aura of intimidation.

Li Yi’s expression changed as he turned toward the voice’s source.

A middle-aged man in his early thirties, clad in a black long robe, sat there with eyes closed—but radiated an indescribable sense of danger.

“This man’s cultivation level is high. Is he a bodyguard?” Li Yi glanced briefly, then quickly looked away.

Others also sensed his danger and fell silent immediately.

Li Yi’s gaze then settled on the surroundings of the cultivation pod.

Eight cultivators—men and women—sat beside the pod, their hands placed on specific spots, continuously guiding pure cosmic energy into it. They had maintained this state for nearly six hours.

“Incredible. Seven to eight guides per group, four groups total, guiding cosmic energy nonstop for twenty-four hours, plus the cultivation pod and top-tier nutrient fluid… what kind of cultivator are they trying to create?”

Li Yi inwardly whistled.

Look at others’ cultivation. Look at ordinary people’s cultivation.

No wonder ordinary people, even if they cultivated, could never rise up—forced to work as guides just to survive.

The gap between the rich and poor in cultivation couldn’t be bridged by cultivation metrics alone—unless everyone was like Li Yi, lucky enough to scavenge a miracle artifact from the ruins.

Even then, a miracle artifact might only match one cultivation pod.

The remaining gap remained unbridgeable.

Though astonished, work still had to proceed.

After Supervisor Xu Ming briefly explained the situation, others began to sit around the cultivation pod.

On the pod’s surface was a palm-sized circular area, amber-colored and slightly translucent, made of unknown material. Guides could channel pure cosmic energy into it by touching it with their hands—polluted cosmic energy could not penetrate.

It was peculiar.

Precisely because of this peculiarity, the cultivation pod was astronomically expensive.

As soon as Li Yi sat down, Supervisor Xu Ming approached him: “Li Yi, your contract is the second type—you’re paid based on the amount of cosmic energy you guide. When you guide, don’t hold back. This pod individually tracks energy input from each position—you won’t lose a single cent.”

“It has this feature? I understand.” Li Yi nodded.

“You may begin your duties.”

After explaining everything, Xu Ming left.

Soon.

Seven people adjusted their states and entered meditation.

At the same time, the previous group awoke from meditation.

They were thoroughly familiar with the routine—without a word, they rose and left together, while Supervisor Xu Ming led them to eat and settle their wages for the day.

Li Yi, now in meditation, remained cautious.

He didn’t immediately flood the pod with cosmic energy; instead, he slowly drew in nearby cosmic energy and guided it in gradually.

Li Yi didn’t want to reveal his possession of a flawed miracle artifact, so he planned to proceed slowly, controlling the volume while also cultivating himself.

Gradually.

Everyone settled into their work; the surroundings grew eerily quiet.

Six hours of uninterrupted meditation—break it, and your pay halves.

But for experienced cultivators, this was easy—they routinely meditated eight to ten hours, sometimes longer.

Today, however, was difficult for Wu Zhen.

He was injured, pain still lingered, and after two hours, he awoke from meditation.

“Damn.” Wu Zhen muttered under his breath, his mood sour—he knew he’d earn only 4,500 yuan per hour today.

He had no time to resent Li Yi now; he had to adjust and continue working.

Fortunately, this job was daily-paid—tomorrow, if his body recovered, his pay would return to normal.

Meanwhile, Li Yi felt the timing was right—he began secretly channeling cosmic energy from the coin into the pod.

As he did, the monitor beside him showed the value for position six rapidly climbing.

Thirty-five… seventy… ninety… one hundred one—the number kept rising.

In a short time, Li Yi had guided over one hundred units of cosmic energy—meaning he’d already earned ten thousand yuan.

But he dared not push the number too high, so after a while, he stopped.

Then, after waiting two hours, he repeated the same maneuver.

This was to mimic the energy burst of a wormhole.

Continuous, high-volume guiding would immediately alert the pod’s employer to his anomaly.

But brief bursts wouldn’t raise suspicion.

Each position’s wormhole count and ambient cosmic energy levels differed.

Even a one-meter gap could mean a world of difference.

So no one could prove Li Yi was doing anything wrong.

Unnoticed, it was already 6:00 a.m.

The first day’s guiding ended.

When Li Yi opened his eyes, several unfamiliar cultivators sat beside him.

They had just entered meditation—they were the next shift.

Supervisor Xu Ming returned, gesturing to Li Yi, Zhao Xiaoxiao, Zhang Gao, and others that they could leave.

They said nothing, silently taking the elevator to the building’s cafeteria for meals.

“Work was easy—six hours flew by,” Zhang Gao grinned happily. “And they even feed us. Great. Too bad the employer doesn’t hire long-term—I’d hate to leave.”

“That cultivation pod is amazing—it blocks polluted cosmic energy. How do they even do that?” someone asked curiously.

Zhao Xiaoxiao said: “The most amazing part is that patch—it lets pure cosmic energy seep in, but blocks polluted energy.”

“That’s not glass. It’s scales,” Supervisor Xu Ming suddenly answered.

“Animal scales? What kind of animal? Fish?” Zhang Gao pressed.

Li Yi thought for a moment and said: “If it’s scales, it can’t be fish—earthly fish don’t have scales that large, nor can they block polluted energy. It must be from a transcendent creature.”

Xu Ming said: “Correct. It’s Qiu scales.”