Chapter One: Bai Xiao Zhuang

  "Silver Wolf, Iron Beast, Golden Tiger... All are first-class demon beasts of the Metal attribute that left behind their demonic soul crystals, a total of thirty-two... worth thirty-two contribution points."

  "Redwood Willow, Falling Flower Grass... A first-class wooden attribute demon beast's demon soul crystal. Hmm, there's even a variant of the Food Beast Flower's demon soul crystal, second-class, but it's an inferior product, count it as three contribution points. Total sixty-five points."

  "Drill Ground Wolf, Eat Stone Mouse, Capture Wood Bear... One rank of earth attribute, add this broken second rank demon soul crystal, it's too broken, can only count as one. Total forty-three points."

  “……”

  The grey-robed man, who was calculating with his eyes slightly narrowed, chuckled softly and said: "The five-element attribute demon beast crystal can be exchanged for a total of 187 contribution points. Your harvest this time is not bad."

  "It's just a small gain! Please ask Yu Guan Shi..."

  Before Chen Yuan could finish speaking, the grey-robed man interrupted him: "No rush to exchange, you're not fully recovered from your injuries this time, right? You've consumed a lot of medicine to treat them. According to Bai Xiao Zhuang's rules, medical expenses are deducted from contribution points."

  Chen Yuan naturally knew the rules of the village and didn't refuse: "Please deduct it from my salary!"

  "Tianxiang soft jade cream, 30 points contribution, Hu Gu snake gallbladder pills, 40 points contribution..."

  As Guan began to calculate slowly and leisurely, Chen Yuan's face stiffened.

  "Is that right? I remember that Tianxiang Soft Jade Cream only required 15 contribution points, and Shedan Wan only needed 18 points..."

  With a sly glint in his eyes, he said with a smile that didn't quite reach his skin:

  "Ah! Recently, the prices of medicinal materials have all gone up. I'll calculate it and deduct 150 points from your contribution!"

  Having been abroad and desperately hunting down demonic beasts, now that he's arrived here, he's being held back by this scoundrel's excuse. Even if Chen Yuan had the best of tempers, at this moment, he couldn't help but lose his patience.

  Chen Yuan angrily said:

  "Be careful! Are you not afraid I'll report to Master Zhuang if you arbitrarily deduct others' contribution points like this?"

  Originally thought that mentioning the landlord would make Yu Guan Shi more restrained, but unexpectedly, he instead became even more ferocious and shouted back:

  "What's wrong with you? Are you trying to deduct something? Chen Yuan, who do you think you are? A small-time cultivator in the middle of the foundation stage, and you think you're impressive? Tell the Manor Lord? Do you know the Manor Lord? Have you even seen the Manor Lord? Who do you think you are? If you don't want to pay the contribution points for healing, that's breaking the rules of Bai Xiao Manor. Those who don't follow the rules will be kicked out of the manor."

  This is about Guan Shi, his cultivation was only mid-stage, but he had a beautiful younger sister who married the master of Bai Xiao Manor last year. Although his strength was average, he became the manager of the manor relying on his sister's relationship.

  Living under someone else's roof, one cannot help but lower their head. If things really escalate to the point of going in front of the master of the manor, it will still be oneself who ends up at a disadvantage. Without the protection of the Bai Xiao Manor's formation, Chen Yuan would have no chance of survival amidst the terrifying demonic tide.

  Chen Yuan restrained his anger and said in a low voice:

  "You! Good! I won't exchange these things anymore!"

  "No exchange? That's fine too. But what about this month's household contribution?" Yu Guanshi sneered repeatedly, the residents of Bai Xiao Zhuang had to pay a monthly contribution of 100 yuan every month, and Chen Yuan, who was previously ill at the beginning of the month, had just recovered by the end of the month, and this month's contribution was now due.

  "I'll pay the rent on time!" Chen Yuan replied coldly. This Yu Guang was getting more and more arrogant in his management, if things went on like this, Bai Xiao Zhuang might not be suitable for living anymore.

  "Alright, 200 yuan per month! This is not enough!"

  "Why is it two hundred!" Chen Yuan shouted angrily.

  "I said two hundred is two hundred!" Yu responded loudly without weakening his tone.

  For a moment, the pedestrians on the street were attracted by the two men's confrontation. Chen Yuan knew that things couldn't get out of hand, so he angrily opened his pouch and took out a perfectly round, bright red crystal that glowed like fire.

  "Second-order Flame Line Snake Crystal! Where did you get it from!" Upon seeing the crystal, Yu Guanshi's eyes instantly shone with a greedy light, and he reached out to snatch it.

  Chen Yuan naturally wouldn't let him snatch it away, and he took a step back, separated by the counter. He said to the manager, "This second-grade demon crystal can be exchanged for 20 contribution points. Manager, I can give you the demon crystal, but you must offset my monthly supply and treatment expenses."

  "Quickly, hand over the demon crystal!" Yu Guanshi hastily nodded in agreement. As a fire-element cultivator, this second-grade demon crystal was flawless and intact. If he used it for cultivation, who knows when he would be able to break through to the middle stage of his foundation building. He had already thought about forcefully snatching it, anyway, the young master had long since decided to drive him out.

  "Hmph! Take it!" Chen Yuan coldly snorted, tossing the demon crystal over. As for the other demon crystals, he also understood that they couldn't be retrieved. Bai Xiao Zhuang had intentionally targeted his actions, how could he not have noticed? But no matter what, now he still had to rely on Bai Xiao Zhuang, because he didn't have enough strength to face that massive demonic tide.

  The monthly payment has been made, and Chen Yuan no longer stays here, turning around and leaving.

  As the greedy pipe affairs gathered up the Huo Xian Yao Jing, looking at Chen Yuan's distant back, Leng Sen said coldly: "Who told you to love meddling in other people's business, Chen Yuan? For those who can't even make a contribution, useless trash, don't be content with being a good citizen and go feed the monster instead! The Soul-Calling Grass should be taking effect soon..."

  Chen Yuan quickly returned to his own humble courtyard.

  Sit cross-legged on a meditation cushion, expel from your mind the hateful face of that official, and enter into meditation.

  In this world, everything is about strength. I'm currently in the middle of my cultivation, but I'm just a low-level cultivator. The only way to avoid being bullied by others is to cultivate hard and increase my strength.

  As he entered a meditative state, his true energy began to circulate. Chen Yuan's face turned pale and his eyebrows furrowed tightly, but it was not the smooth sensation that should have come with cultivation.

  A vital energy surrounds his body, swirling like smoke, the red light on his forehead flickers, making him look extremely unusual. It's as if he has a feeling of being possessed by an evil spirit.

  Chen Yuanxin knew he couldn't continue forcing himself to cultivate, so he immediately stopped circulating his Qi, dispersed the true energy, and slowly regained his composure.

  He opened his eyes, full of doubts. Since he recovered from his serious illness, he felt that something had been stuffed into his brain, causing him to be restless and uneasy during meditation, leading to stagnation in his meridians, making it difficult for his true energy to flow freely, and his cultivation made no progress at all.

  Chen Yuan's innate talent was not outstanding, and after seven years of cultivation, he had only reached the middle stage of actual cultivation. However, he had always been diligent and hardworking, without any laziness. In the past, his cultivation had never shown such a phenomenon, but at the beginning of the month, he, who had not fallen ill for many years, suddenly fell seriously ill and could not get out of bed. His body was hot and cold, his head was in a mess, and some scenes that seemed like illusions flooded into his mind. He was sick for half a month before recovering.

  Because it's nearing the end of the month, he has to pay the monthly rent. Chen Yuan didn't have time to think about his physical condition and had no choice but to head into the demon beast forest to hunt for demon beasts and obtain demon crystals in exchange for contribution points to get next month's residence permit. After a lot of hard work and life-or-death battles, the demon crystals he obtained were all embezzled by Yu Guanshi.

  But now, compared with being controlled by Yu Guan's corruption of those demon crystals, Chen Yuan is more concerned about his own situation.

  This time hunting the demon beast, although some injuries were sustained. But they are all just external injuries to muscles and bones, not a big deal, how can there be a phenomenon of true energy stagnation, heart pulse blockage, and unrest of the mind...

  Was it because of those scenes that rushed into my mind when I was seriously ill?