Chapter 116 Escort

Five hours later, Wang Zhian was groggily shaken awake. He had taken four punches, waking up later than the Foundation Establishment technician who shared the bed with him.

The moment he opened his eyes, his first action was to check his Storage Pouch; his entire fortune was inside it, even more precious than himself!

The instant he probed inside, a chill shot straight to his brain, leaving his eyes vacant!

"Gone, everything is gone!"

By this time, the Foundation Establishment technician beside him had already checked his own Storage Pouch. The other party had some conscience and only took some private books from the room. Such incidents were too common; it was just losing things in the Joyful Workshop, not losing one's life.

Seeing Wang Zhian completely stunned, the Foundation Establishment technician beside him said directly, "Fellow Daoist, after something like this happens, there’s no need to continue. Five thousand Spirit Stones!"

Wang Zhian immediately grabbed the Foundation Establishment technician and questioned loudly, "Did you take it!"

The Foundation Establishment technician immediately shook him off and slapped him, "We are both Foundation Establishment Cultivators. Did you think I was afraid of you? You pull up your pants and deny it now. Those things of yours weren't stolen by me!"

At this moment, a distress signal immediately came from Miss Mei Yan's room, startling quite a few Cultivators.

A few minutes later, the Foundation Establishment Cultivator receiving guests on the first floor finally understood why Chen Li had come out so quickly!

He was here to steal things!

However, the Foundation Establishment Female Cultivator on the first floor's response to Wang Zhian's claims was: Even though things were stolen, it has nothing to do with us. But since you enjoyed the service, you still have to pay the Spirit Stones, or we'll break your legs.

Wang Zhian cried as he paid the remaining Spirit Stones, completely destitute!

He asked if they could find the person. When he left, his building manager had reminded him that they were not responsible for lost items, nor would they be responsible for finding them. But he never expected it to happen to him!

Yet, he still held onto a sliver of hope, thinking the Wind Immortal Tower would intervene. But what he didn't expect was that the Foundation Establishment Female Cultivator receiving guests on the first floor directly refused, saying: Hundreds or thousands of people enter and leave the Joyful Workshop every day, countless items are lost, and deaths happen frequently. They don't have time to deal with such sordid matters!

The entire city had hundreds of buildings. As long as one stayed honestly within their assigned building, nothing would happen. Since they came to the Joyful Workshop, they should be prepared for these incidents to occur.

Wang Zhian became utterly dejected and listless. His spatial ring had also been stolen by the perpetrator!

He didn't know who it was or how they targeted him. He was just an ordinary Foundation Establishment Cultivator!

It was bizarre!

Those Pill Formulas were given to him by an old man before he joined the Sect, who called it a bestowed Opportunity. That ring was too, but he couldn't break its seal.

He initially thought those Pill Formulas were fake, but after trying them, he found they could all refine Medicinal Pills, so the formulas were real.

He hadn't backed up the auxiliary Pill Formulas for advancing to Golden Core and then Nascent Soul!

He regretted it; he should have backed them up! He was too foolish!

... ...

... ...

Three months later, Chen Li had honestly pretended to be crafting inside Building No. 18 for three months, completing his tasks on time.

He carefully examined those Pill Formulas; they seemed highly operable and shouldn't be fake! He was still researching how to break the Restriction on that ring!

During these three months, after Wang Zhian's matter was settled, Chen Li had been observing Yang Ziyang.

However, Yang Ziyang always stayed inside the crafting building, showing no intention of going out. Yang Ziyang was a Fifth-Rank Talisman Master, yet he didn't want to go to the Joyful Workshop at all. It seemed he was also extremely cautious.

Chen Li had no Opportunity to strike. He couldn't just force his way into the building either; trespassing without a token would cause a commotion. There were several Golden Core Cultivators stationed here; any incident inside a building would certainly be investigated.

Chen Li suppressed his impatience. Hunting was what he was best at!

Another month passed, and the target still showed no sign of leaving. Chen Li continued to restrain his thoughts.

When the sixth month arrived, the target was still hiding like a turtle, showing no intention of coming out. Chen Li then wondered, what if the other party had returned to the Sect?

After all, the six-month period was up! The minimum requirement had been met!

But after waiting a few more days, since the other party still showed no intention of leaving, he knew there was still a chance!

Half a year passed. Very few people left Building No. 18 in the Formation Workshop area. Except for those who were persuaded to quit, very few people actually departed.

Some who were told to leave refused and were forcibly carried out by the maintenance Cultivators!

Every month, new people arrived from different places, all from various Southern Border Sects. Chen Li remained in Building No. 18, Room 07!

Every month, he spent several hours crafting the three sets of Formation Materials, and used the remaining time to study the Restriction on that ring.

One day, Chen Li applied for permission to move around outside.

This time, he disguised himself as a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator and wandered around other parts of the Joyful Workshop, which included trading areas for Formations, Medicinal Pills, and more, besides the brothel district.

Chen Li sold some Spiritual Plants and Medicinal Pills he brought from home and exchanged them for quite a few Talismans, going back and forth. He acquired over a hundred Talismans.

When Cultivators saw Chen Li as a Foundation Establishment Middle Stage Cultivator, almost no one dared to target him.

One day, Chen Li walked to the tallest building in the Joyful Workshop and saw the late Foundation Establishment Cultivators guarding the entrance. Indeed, compared to Golden Core Cultivators, Foundation Establishment Cultivators were like ants.

In the last few days, Chen Li had also seen quite a few Cultivators getting into disputes and fighting. If they couldn't win, they would fly over here, seemingly indicating that causing trouble here was tacitly forbidden!

Chen Li walked towards Building No. 80. In his Sea of Consciousness, Yang Ziyang's location was inside Building No. 80—so close, yet he couldn't enter.

Entering any building required token verification, checked by the building manager every time someone entered or exited. It was very difficult for unauthorized personnel to sneak in.

Is the other party really hiding inside like a turtle the whole time? Can he endure this much? He could come out to move around or just get some fresh air!

Chen Li returned to Building No. 18. He refused to believe the other party wouldn't come out even once!

A month later, a notice was transmitted through the token! Chen Li felt this was an Opportunity!

"Widely recruiting escorts, eighty thousand Spirit Stones for a round trip!"

Eighty thousand!!

Chen Li was puzzled. Shouldn't they just send the Storage Pouch with the goods for an escort mission? Why was there an escort requirement? He began to examine it carefully!

Only after checking completely did he understand what this escort mission was for!

It turned out to be escorting Materials back to Dengling City. Those Ores and those Materials were too numerous and varied; they couldn't all fit in a Storage Pouch, so they had to be transported back using a spirit boat.

Why didn't they send Golden Core Cultivators?

Chen Li continued to read and finally understood why the reward was so high!

Recently, quite a few Demonic Path Cultivators had been attacking those spirit boats carrying Materials. The Alliance's Cultivators had suffered many injuries, and manpower was short. Those Golden Core Cultivators needed to escort higher-grade supplies and also had to remain stationed in the city to guard against sneak attacks from Golden Core Demonic Path Cultivators!

Therefore, they couldn't spare anyone to escort these fourth or fifth-grade supplies!

Eighty thousand Spirit Stones would certainly make many people eager, but there was the danger of being attacked by Demonic Path Cultivators.

Although many people hesitated, that eighty thousand Spirit Stones made many start evaluating the risk. It was only one risky trip. What if there were no Demonic Path Cultivators attacking this time? Wouldn't they earn eighty thousand for free!!

Many people comforted themselves with this mentality; everyone was gambling!

A few days later, quite a few people signed up with their building managers!

At this moment, Chen Li also waited until he detected Yang Ziyang's position shifting, a small movement, likely meaning he was coming downstairs. Was he signing up with the building manager?

Chen Li applied to go out and arrived outside Building No. 80. Yang Ziyang was indeed downstairs!

Many people were queuing up to sign up at the door. Chen Li looked at the position in his Sea of Consciousness and saw that person's young Foundation Establishment Cultivator—that person was Yang Ziyang.

Chen Li waited until the other party finished queuing up to sign up before leaving. He understood immediately and prepared to return to Building No. 18 to sign up!