On the pedestrian path along the highway—
Two figures raced forward in a rush of howling wind, speeding toward the Spirit-Energy Reserve.
They were none other than Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen.
Only, while Zhang Yu sprinted ahead using his Sports Car Leg, Bai Zhenzhen trailed behind in a flash of electricity—making use of her newly acquired Thunderstep.
Unlike Zhang Yu, who focused on enhancing his physical body, Bai Zhenzhen was training for the Martial Arts track. So aside from cultivating her Dao Heart, mana, and physical strength, she devoted even more effort to mastering martial techniques.
Thunderstep was one such combat-oriented Technique. It allowed for short-range bursts of high-speed movement during fights. Compared to Sports Car Leg, it was more flexible, more versatile, and packed more explosive force—making it ideal for combat. She had taken to practicing it even during travel.
Under the sunlight, Bai Zhenzhen could feel a warm current flowing through her body—her Zhen Spirit Root was absorbing the spirit-energy embedded in the light essence.
Thankfully, her Zhen Spirit Root had now adapted to the balance of light and dark, attuned to her will, and no longer turned her gloomy.
On Zhang Yu's side, the sunlight felt like molten lava coursing through his veins. His whole body was devouring the spirit-energy within the radiant sunlight with greedy abandon.
At the same time, he was mentally crunching numbers.This trip to the Spirit-Energy Reserve was thanks to Xiong Wenwu’s connection—he was hoping to rent a spot on a spirit vein for cheaper, to speed up his cultivation.
After all, while his physical strength had skyrocketed recently, relying solely on Techniques to improve his Dao Heart and mana was just too slow.
It was said that spirit veins not only had dense spirit-energy—enhancing the efficiency of mana refinement—but also improved the body, cured illnesses, and prolonged life. Their benefits were endless.
"Full rental's obviously out of the question. But maybe I can rent a spot on the spirit vein, just big enough for me and Ah-Zhen to breathe and cultivate a little."
Although recent days had brought in some income—from the Dark Tutoring Gang, Le Mulan, Yu Xinghan, and Song Hailong—plus the first endorsement fee of 200,000...
Zhang Yu’s expenses were just as high. The Hunyuan Pill he took every three days cost 24,000. A single round of the Nine Dragons Acupuncture Technique set him back 10,500. And thanks to his relentless focus on body-refining, his food bill had shot up to 1,500 per day. In early May, he’d also paid 15,000 in loan interest...
Zhang Yu checked his account balance: 570,000 left.
"That should be enough to rent a spot on a spirit vein... right?"
They kept speeding along. Gradually, factories began popping up along the roadside. Thick white smoke rose from chimneys, and some of the buildings bore the logo of Red Tower Pasture.
As Zhang Yu’s gaze swept over the rows of factories, his eyes suddenly widened. "What is that?"
Where a factory should’ve stood, there was only a field of rubble—broken walls and ruins, like the aftermath of a war.
A massive palm print, hundreds of meters wide, was etched into a hillside nearby. Broken towers, shattered walls, and scattered mechanical debris lay strewn across it.
The whole area was sealed under layers of glowing barriers, marked with warning symbols like a crime scene.
“Was there a battle here?” Zhang Yu asked.
Bai Zhenzhen glanced at it and replied, “You don’t know this? It was all over the internet half a year ago. One of the factories got busted for tax evasion.”
“The tax evader fought back—flying swords, artifacts, the works. Took out more than half of the tax inspectors.”
Zhang Yu was shaken. Even tax evaders in Kunxu were this fierce?
Bai Zhenzhen continued, “Then the tax bureau called in divine power from the Divine Overseer of Contributions. One palm strike leveled the entire factory—and ripped the souls from most of the criminals.”
“Most?” Zhang Yu blinked. “What happened to the ones whose souls weren’t taken?”
“They offed themselves the moment the Divine Overseer descended,” Bai Zhenzhen said.
Zhang Yu swallowed hard, once again thankful he’d never evaded taxes in Kunxu.
They kept racing forward. Soon, a massive arc appeared on the distant horizon.
That was their destination.
Long ago, the Spirit-Energy Reserve had been the territory of spirit beasts—home to several mighty Elder Demons.
Unlike regular spirit beasts, Elder Demons (now called Demon-Kin) had true intelligence and could integrate into society, work jobs, and live as people.
But the Elder Demons here were eventually wiped out by corporate security forces. The reserve changed hands several times, before finally being bought by Red Tower Pasture, who had managed it ever since.
The region still preserved much of its natural ecosystem, along with many of the original spirit beasts. Of course, all of these now belonged to Red Tower Pasture as assets.
As Zhang Yu looked closer, he realized a massive dome—like an invisible glass bowl—enclosed the rolling hills and mountains. From a distance, the dome shimmered with countless runes—evidence of the arrays separating the inner and outer worlds.
Bright red warnings were plastered on its surface.
All said things like: “Red Tower Pasture Private Property. Tickets Required. Enter Through Main Gate.”
Bai Zhenzhen muttered, “Stingy bastards. They won’t even let a whiff of the protected air out?”
She’d hoped to breathe in some of the spirit-energy leaking from the boundary. Clearly, they’d anticipated that and sealed it off tight.
They reached the main gate and approached the ticket booth.
When they saw the price—only 5 yuan—both were stunned. That was practically free. Was Red Tower Pasture doing charity work?
Bai Zhenzhen immediately retracted her earlier “stingy” insult. “Stingy? Red Tower Pasture is insanely generous!”
Opening their phones to check for discounts, they were surprised to find the reserve’s rating was only 1.3 stars.
The reason became clear as soon as the ticket clerk slapped an air meter, a spirit-energy meter, and a weight tracker onto them.
The clerk said cheerily, “Air inside is 1,999 yuan per cubic meter. Water is 2,888 yuan per liter. Spirit-energy is 3,999 per unit.”
“All flora, fauna, soil, and stone are priced and listed in your user manual. I’ll send you the file... please accept.”
Zhang Yu flipped through the densely packed price list and was at a loss for words.
Everything inside the reserve—air, water, food, you name it—had a price tag. A normal person might go broke just picking up a few rocks.
Bai Zhenzhen whispered nervously, “Yuzi, try not to breathe too much when we go in. It’s way too expensive.”
Once the tickets were bought, they entered an airtight chamber. When the rear door sealed shut, they were completely cut off from the outside world.
As the front door opened, a blast of unbelievably fresh air rushed in.
Just one deep breath, and Zhang Yu felt a wave of comfort wash over him. His muscles and blood seemed to loosen. His mana stirred with new life.
“This… is air?”
“Then what the hell have I been breathing until now?”
Compared to this, everyday air felt like exhaust fumes.
“I’ve just gotten used to garbage air, haven’t I?”
Zhang Yu stepped into the reserve proper.
He inhaled again, and it felt like his entire body was being cleansed. His qi and mana surged with renewed vitality.
Even at the reserve's edge, the spirit-energy in the air rivaled that of the Meditation Chambers in Songyang High.
As they walked quickly along the tourist path, the spirit-energy only grew thicker. Bai Zhenzhen’s meter soon read over 500, and she frantically suppressed her Zhen Spirit Root to stop it from passively absorbing more.
Zhang Yu felt his Great Sun Qi Sea soaking up spirit-energy from the light essence with increasing speed. A day of breathing here could be worth several days outside.
Bai Zhenzhen clutched her chest. “This place is way too easy to go bankrupt in. Let’s see Xiong Wenwu and leave, quick.”
Zhang Yu nodded. Being in the Spirit-Energy Reserve felt more dangerous than a gang fight.
He thought, “If it’s this expensive just to breathe on the outskirts… how much would it cost to actually cultivate on a spirit vein?”
His hopes dimmed.
He pulled up a map. The reserve contained three spirit veins, spanning seven regions and over twenty mountains. All were off-limits to tourists—either long-term rentals, or privately owned by ranches, factories, and plantations.
Tourists could only access the outer edges.
And just breathing and cultivating here was already prohibitively expensive.
“Sigh… ordinary people can only make it to the reserve’s edge and try to catch some stray spirit-energy. They don’t even have a way in.”
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen abandoned their dreams of renting a spot on a spirit vein. If they could just catch some overflow from the outside, they’d count themselves lucky.
“Let’s go see what Xiong Wenwu has to say first.”
He had arranged to meet them at the Breeding Facility—a remote corner on the reserve’s edge.
Following the map, they moved on. As they passed each mountain, they could see the layers of glowing arrays shielding the peaks, with spirit-energy shooting into the sky like a rainstorm.
They even saw it—misty rain falling from one mountain, with spirit-energy steaming in the droplets. The sight left them speechless.
Those were the real spirit vein zones.
Zhang Yu and Bai Zhenzhen could only catch the scraps that trickled down to the tourist areas.
And yet, even at the foot of the mountains, Zhang Yu saw poor cultivators with oxygen tanks and water bottles strapped to their backs, clinging to the edges like remoras on a whale, feeding off the excess spirit-energy.
No—Zhang Yu corrected himself.
“These aren’t poor cultivators. Just camping here costs more than we can afford. These guys… they’re rich.”
“There are way too many rich people in Kunxu.”
Beside him, Bai Zhenzhen muttered, “We should’ve brought oxygen tanks too. Breathing here is a total scam.”
Zhang Yu nodded in full agreement.
Ten minutes later, they finally reached the so-called Breeding Facility.