Chapter 988 - Survival
As one of the 10 great powers in the Land, the Netherworld Faction had never excluded any race from joining them. These people would never think about why a phoenix with 99 tail feathers could become the leader of the Netherworld Faction. It was known that the flame of the phoenix was the natural enemy of negative energy, yet their leader had still “fallen” here.
In terms of cultivation, the Netherworld Faction was no different from the world above them. The higher one’s level was, the greater the similarity between the two.
They waited quietly for a long time. As time passed, the dim light in the morning slowly grew brighter, and more external disciples started to gather. There were several hundred disciples picking up stones every day. Gradually, the entire field was filled with people. The chatter between the various races gradually grew louder. One could see that other than Mu Zi, who was alone, the other races had companions from the same race.
Mu Zi was squeezed into a corner and simply observed the sky that grew brighter. It was said that day and night in the underground world was caused by the interaction and generation of electricity between the negative and positive energies that were present everywhere. The positive energy that continuously infiltrated the underground world would grow active under the influence of the Netherworld River, causing morning and day to form. When this positive energy gradually declined, it would bring about dusk and night. Of course, the underground world was shrouded in darkness most of the time.
At this moment, an internal disciple suddenly stopped what he was doing. Mu Zi took a look and realized that it was Senior Choren from the polyeye race. He was short-tempered and fierce. His terrifying front bone was protruding from his face, as well as six eyes arranged in three rows. His nose was protected by a horn of just the right size. Otherwise, he had two sheep-like curved horns on his head. His face was jade-colored, and one could faintly see his spirit surging within his body. It was evident that he had the advantage of inherited techniques. What made people fear him most were the three pairs of eyes on his face; all of which were of different shapes. It was said that when polyeyes were born, an arcane seal would be cast on their eyes. As they continued to train, their arcane seals would also grow stronger. Eventually, they would be able to activate a terrifying technique with just a glance.
“Good day, Senior!”
Whoosh. Hundreds of external disciples immediately stood up straight and formed the Netherworld Faction salute with their hands. Even members of the four-legged nightmare race stood up. Their rear legs were extremely straight, and they looked very amusing. Even then, there was an air of solemnity. Internal disciples had the right to take away the lives of external disciples, who were allowed to be killed here under the faction’s rules. If they died, they would die without having a chance to reason things out. Naturally, Mu Zi followed along and bowed.
Polyeye Choren’s eyes swept past the hundreds of external disciples. Then, his deep and icy cold voice solemnly rang out like the will of god. “Today’s basic task is to gather ten kilograms of green bone stones. As usual, the Faction will collect 70% of your gains, and the rest will belong to you.”
The moment he finished speaking, hundreds of green stones with runes engraved on them flew out from his sleeve and accurately landed in the hands of every single external disciple.
Mu Zi caught the sealed stone. Three complicated characters were engraved on it, and he could see that the rules of the stone were starting to take effect. These were the Netherworld rules that could only be produced from internal Netherworld techniques. They faintly communicated with the Netherworld rules that external disciples produced with beginner-leveled techniques and formed an arcane barrier that was enough to resist the negative corrosion from the Netherworld River. However, this stone was made out of the lowest-leveled green bone stone, and the rules that were incorporated into the stone would only last for at most a day. Then, it would naturally disperse.
When polyeye Choren finished giving out the stones, he looked up into the sky. His icy cold voice grew higher, and a faint pressure shrouded all the disciples. “From today onward, the Suzerain and some disciples of the famous Sleepless Faction in Heaven are coming for an exchange with our faction. Although you’re not involved, but if you see any Sleepless disciples and you aren’t a fool, you will salute them with our Faction’s salute as if you have met an internal disciple. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
When he heard the neat response from several hundred disciples, polyeye Choren nodded his head. “If that’s the case, then go.”
“Yes, sir.”
The moment they finished speaking, several hundred disciples immediately rushed to the Netherworld River. The Heaven managed the Land in two ways. On the surface, there was a fixed system that was managed by the subordinate races of the four top celestial races. However, in the underground world, due to the existence of the Netherworld River, many large races came here to absorb its power. In essence, this resulted in a few uncertain factors for the celestial people to deal with. If it were not for the fact that the Netherworld River was the negative aftereffect of the Heavenly River and that the level of the people here did not affect the Heaven, this place would have been cleared out. However, the bosses in the Heaven would occasionally send people to check. If an unusual circumstance occurred, they would eliminate everyone here without mercy.
After all, waste materials from the Heavenly River were still from the Heavenly River.
Mu Zi did not immediately rush out. Instead, he slowly walked at the back.
For a short period of time, a hundred disciples were fighting on the black shore along the Netherworld River. After several hundred years of collection and experimentation, it had been determined that the green bone stones found in this black shore contained the most plentiful energy. It was also the place where a few high-grade green bone stones could occasionally be found. Furthermore, Netherworld materials that coexisted with green bone stones were most commonly found here.
Mu Zi simply walked past and did not even look at the others. Instead, he walked towards the most barren shore. His non-competitive spirit allowed him to avoid murderous intentions. Disciples were prohibited from killing each other within the Faction, but once they left the gates of the Faction, they could not help but start killing one another. Furthermore, since they were in a Faction, they were not truly considered free beings. They would receive benefits from the Faction but would no longer have the special protection of the Star Alliance laws.
The most severe punishment you could get for killing a fellow external disciple was only a year of doing odd-jobs. The Netherworld Faction preferred strong disciples who could survive.
He walked far enough to reach a green shore, where almost no external disciples dared to pick up stones from, and finally stopped. As he breathed, Netherworld power flowed into his entire body, and his heart started to beat powerfully. When the Netherworld rules started to spread throughout his body, Mu Zi opened up to the stone he had been given. The flowing power immediately integrated with his own rules, and the Netherworld rules formed a green umbrella over his head. Various rules transformed above this canopy. Strange beasts flew around, while thousands of spirits ripped apart one another in a continuous cycle. This power would protect him and allow him to enter the Netherworld River to pick up green bone stones. If he was lucky, he would be able to find various rare treasures, such as the Netherworld crystals. Even though the Netherworld Faction would collect 70% of their gains, the remaining amount was enough for him to exchange for cultivation resources.
Of course, Mu Zi’s intention was to “revive” the Life and Death Coffin. This was his obsession that had often caused people to laugh at him. However, Mu Zi did not seem to care. On the contrary, he was extremely happy. The others were from even stranger races, and their curses were simply cold jokes to him.
He placed the green bone stones he collected into the Life and Death Coffin. He could sense wisps of energy being absorbed by it. Although this energy was extremely meager, it still gave him hope.
Time passed, and the light in the sky gradually disappeared. Dusk fell, and Mu Zi slowly took his mind off the Life and Death Coffin. At that moment, he had walked to a deep area that most disciples would have distanced themselves from. The closer one was to the Heavenly River, the greater the danger would be. However, Mu Zi felt a sense of intimacy with the Heavenly River. To be honest, the desire to charge into the Heavenly River had arisen many times. However, it was said that this was one of the ways the Netherworld River drew victims in.
With precious time ticking away, Mu Zi eyes locked onto a particular area where hundreds of unconscious spirits had stopped. These spirits were the accumulation of the energy in the Netherworld River. They had no consciousness and were driven by their instincts. They naturally hated all life and could be said to be the nightmare of ordinary disciples. If they entered the attack range of these spirits, they would be eaten up without any leftovers left behind.
Mu Zi’s arrival had shocked these spirits. However, they did not attack him. Instead, they kept their distance and were on guard against him. Mu Zi did not care about these spirits. He had only discovered this by accident and was the main reason why he stood out from the rest. He quickly gathered green bone stones until he had enough to ensure that he obtained a certain amount of cultivation resources. Then, he stopped and walked past the spirits.
There was still some power left in the sealed stone and some time remaining. Mu Zi lightly put down the Life and Death Coffin and leaned against it while staring blankly at the Netherworld River. This was his leisure time, just like how he had watched the desert in the past. However, the Netherworld River was more beautiful than the desert. He did not know how Aiolos and Wang Zhong were doing. They should have come to such an interesting place.
Suddenly, a body blocked Mu Zi’s field of vision, and he realized that a living thing had quietly approached him. Mu Zi was very sensitive to danger. If not, he would have died in this terrible place. However, the living being in front of his eyes did not seem to notice him. This meant that her strength was much higher than his.
Mu Zi also stared at her. The young girl seemed almost like a human. However, Mu Zi was sure that she was definitely not.
“Baldhead, what are you laughing about?” The young girl observed this strange lower-class creature. He looked rather similar to a celestial person. If it were not for the lack of power from his body, she would have mistaken him for one.
Mu Zi laughed and flashed his white teeth. He was not good at talking with the opposite sex… more accurately, talking with girls.
“Don’t laugh so sheepishly. What are you looking at? Furthermore, what is that broken box on your back?” The young girl pointed behind Mu Zi as she spoke. Was this swarthy baldhead laughing at her?
Mu Zi pointed to the Netherworld River. “How beautiful.”
Foonilia had simply wanted to come out and play. She had heard that lower-class beings were very interesting. They would often kill for one star stone and had various strange things. But after coming here, she found them uninteresting. All their souls were dirty, inferior, and smelly. That was until she smelled a sweet scent, an extremely fragrant scent.
Foonilia looked at where Mu Zi was pointing and saw the mysterious and dangerous Netherworld River. But for some reason, in that instant, the smelly river seemed to be different. After all, the Netherworld River was the dark side of the Heavenly River. It was the product of the coordination between the most powerful rules and was not something a living being could ignore.
“I am Foonilia, the great Foonilia. Baldhead, what’s your name?” The girl proudly raised her head. Her golden hair was like the sun.
“I’m Mu Zi. My friends like to call me Baldy.”
Mu Zi’s smile was very bright. Meanwhile, Foonilia finally could not take it anymore and started laughing out loud. “Baldy, Baldy, cute Baldy.”
…
Meanwhile, Wang Zhong was making a rough judgment of the functions of his fragment world. Over the next few days, he used the plants in the Secret Flower Garden to make a basic judgment of its functions. When these plants entered his fragment world, effects would appear after around one hour. Thus, he could confirm that this was the result of the light from the Fate Stone. It had powerful recovery and strengthening effects. An alasca dragon-head grass was almost certainly dead, but it recovered and started to transform after about fifteen hours here. It “leveled up” and completed the first stage of growth from an ordinary, low-leveled material after 30 hours. It was as if it was in tacit agreement with the workings of the Heavenly River.
Wang Zhong did not dive too deep into his experiments. He often used low-leveled materials that were present in large quantities. No one would notice anything if one or two plants were missing or had transformed. Meanwhile, he treated the leveled-up materials as welfare for Old Cow. Once he was more confident, he looked for the materials he needed and carried out more experiments. If he used too many of Old Cow’s plants, Old Cow would definitely realize that something was up. Although Old Cow was a decent fellow, Wang Zhong still understood that a person’s talent would arouse the envy of others. Lao Wang was not a newbie and knew that he should hide extraordinary things like the Fate Stone well.
If he used the Fate Stone well, it might become the key for humans to free themselves. After experiencing so much, Wang Zhong was naturally a patient person. The more hope he had, the more cautious he had to be. He laid low and waited for his chance.
…
The business at the flower shop was still half-dead. Little Lost Fox was in charge of the shop front. However, she spent most of her time napping. After all, Old Cow did not rely on sales from the shop front to sustain his business. Meanwhile, after Wang Zhong became an official employee, there was an obvious change in Old Cow’s attitude. He no longer treated Wang Zhong as a hardworking all-purpose worker he had picked up.
“What is most important to a flower shop?” Old Cow walked in front while Wang Zhong followed behind him. Old Cow’s majestic voice could be heard while he reprimanded Wang Zhong.
“Selling flowers is the most important,” answered Wang Zhong.
“Wrong!” Old Cow roared. “Do you think I can sell enough flowers? Looking at the two of you, I will starve to death doing that!”
Lao Wang rolled his eyes on the inside. That was the answer that Old Cow had given him when Old Cow was scolding him yesterday. Of course, this was not the first time. Wang Zhong remembered that Old Cow had asked him this question at least four or five times. In any case, the answer was different every time.
“The most important thing is to obtain the cheapest goods and sell them for the highest price. However, do you think it’s as simple as obtaining goods for the cheapest price? Wholesale merchants are terrible. They will pass off second-grade products as good products and will pass off good products as premium products while never revealing their best products. If you think that you have profited by obtaining a wholesale price, you need to grow a pair of eyes! You have to be bright and see through the rotten organs of those wholesale merchants so that you will not be tricked! Only then will you be able to get the best products for the cheapest price!” Old Cow’s face was full of pride. He was rather proud of this. “Today, I will bring you along to widen your knowledge and learn a few things.”
To be honest, Wang Zhong did not think that Old Cow knew much considering his IQ. However, since his boss had boasted to him, he would give Old Cow some face.
There was a specialized wholesale market at the periphery of Catanlyke District. It was very far from Heavenly Treasures Street as they had to pass through half the city. Although Wang Zhong had traveled around in the city for a few days before coming to work at the flower shop, he had been wandering aimlessly. He had no sense of direction and did not know where he had walked to. He only took a look at the strange things in the city but did not have a clear understanding of them.
However, it was different with Old Cow beside him. Old Cow was talkative, and this was the first time Wang Zhong had felt the charm of this quality. He was simply a free guide who chattered to him along the way. He introduced and explained various things to him. Wang Zhong listened to him with keen pleasure.
“The territory of the Shell Shade Faction is gloomy.” Old Cow lowered his tone as they entered a dim street. It seemed like a normal street, but massive trees that did not let any light through hung overhead. Furthermore, this tree shade was not normal. A cold and gloomy aura wafted through the air, causing the temperature of the street to drop. Although there were many pedestrians on the street, it was very quiet. They could only hear countless strange footsteps. The gloomy and cold atmosphere made the lofty trees seem ghastly.
The shops around them sold strange items. There were darkness pearls that radiated an aura of death, gloomy crystals that emitted a cold air, as well as various organs that were being soaked in bottles. There were even some massive eyes that were covered in sclera and that could make people shudder in fear when they saw them.
“The Shell Shade Faction is the main competitor of the Ninth Wilderness Path at Heavenly Treasures Street. There is often friction between the two, and they frequently snatch territories from each other. They fight every now and then, and lives would be lost. Then, when the law enforcement squadron takes action, they will start to bicker…” Old Cow’s tone was very low now. “In any case, the temper of these darkness elves is not very good. You have to be careful when you strike deals with them, let alone try to snatch their territory. The darkness elves dread being looked at by others. If you stare at them for more than a few seconds, they will be in great fear and try to fight to the death with you. They are very sensitive! You can’t provoke them! You can’t provoke them!”
When Lao Wang sensed the unfriendly gazes from the gloomy shops around them, he quickly lowered his head. He should not show off when he was not supposed to. Provoking people for no reason might cause a fuss, but deliberately provoking people because of their traditions and habits was simply foolish.
When they walked through the gloomy street, they saw a massive and deep ravine. It had an area of several thousand square meters and stood in the middle of the city. It was so deep that one could not see the bottom of the ravine, and it was like a massive hole. However, many manual elevators were densely gathered around the massive hole. Wang Zhong had seen this before when he was wandering around the city but had never gone down. He had always been curious about why a city would create this kind of place.
“Many races in the Star Alliance have strange living habits. This kind of large hole can be found in many cities in the Land, and some large cities may even have more than one. Strange races that cannot be exposed to light live down there, which is the underground world of the Land. It is said that there are darkness rules down there that are crueler and more bloody than those of the surface. These kinds of holes produce many good things and rich minerals. It is also one of the main star stone refinery grounds. Advanced civilizations need these races to do odd jobs and bitter work for them. So as long as the underground races do not come up and cause any trouble, the Star Alliance will not care about them.” Old Cow sighed. “I heard that the poor races underground are extremely poor, while the rich are extremely rich. Putting aside the bloody rules that are in place, even the environment — with high temperatures, low pressure, extremely high gravity, and vacuums down there — makes it a place where normal beings cannot live. The only ones who can make deals with the underground races are probably those of the insect race. Therefore, don’t think of the insects as lowly. Those wriggling insects are actually extremely rich in the Star Alliance and are one of the few level-8 civilizations. Tsk tsk tsk. When I talk about those wriggling insects, I feel like ridiculing them. They are too good at earning money!”
“So are they digging mines? Have the mines in the divine territory not been fully dug up?” Wang Zhong asked curiously.
Old Cow rolled his eyes. “How many times have I said this? Don’t use your ideas from your lower-class civilization to compare. Damn, the language candy must not be of an acceptable standard. Anyway, the Heavenly River and the Netherworld River will constantly produce new resources. These resources will transform, and the method of obtaining them will also be different. It will obviously not harm the divine territory. You are pretty dumb for a celestialoid. Even if we all had to die, they would not allow the divine territory to be destroyed.”