Decaying World

"..." Lin Hui looked woodenly at those familiar brows and eyes, noting that distinctive vocal texture.

"Sir Yun Xiazi...? You don't actually think that by shrinking your height and dressing up as a woman, you can change your identity enough for me not to recognize you?"

He was speechless. The other party's strange, black-hole-like aura, combined with that special androgynous voice and overly beautiful, youthful temperament, was simply impossible to hide. He had recognized the identity the moment this person walked in the door.

"...You've misunderstood. I am indeed not Yun Xiazi, but Mingxia." The black-veiled woman smiled. "Didn't you say to arrange for a junior to enter the sect for study? After Yun Xiazi returned, he circulated his energy to adjust the changes within his body and gave birth to me using the Origin Embryo Secret Art. So, in reality, I count as his daughter."

"Then where is he?" Lin Hui asked.

"He is very busy right now and cannot come to see you for the time being. However, in exchange for my entry, you may propose a condition," Mingxia stated solemnly.

"..." Lin Hui looked at the brows and eyes that were identical to Yun Xiazi's; yet the female characteristics on her body were very distinct and did not seem fake. He hesitated slightly. "Forget it, just go sign up for entry yourself. As for the terms of the transaction, the sect rules are there. If you can abide by them, I will naturally teach you the techniques. If you cannot, go back to where you came from. Otherwise, if there comes a day when you violate the rules, do not blame me for being ruthless and personally cleaning up the sect," he reminded her indifferently.

"I have no problem with that. I accept whatever rules there are!" Mingxia looked calm.

"Then go find the registration desk." Lin Hui waved his hand.

"Alright. By the way, someone in your rear courtyard is undergoing Corruption. Make sure you deal with it in time. If the transformation happens to complete in the middle of the night and they suddenly strike... a lot of people will die," Mingxia reminded him. "Hmm?!" Lin Hui was jolted. He truly hadn’t considered that if Xue Meng suddenly completed the transformation at night and shattered the sealed space from within...

"Thanks for the reminder." He nodded, his voice low. "You understand Corruption? Can you tell me how the Inner City handles it?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Mingxia raised her eyebrows. "Just distribute the Corruption. Letting others undergo the Corruption for you ensures you live longer."

"...Myriad Blessings Meat!?" Lin Hui tentatively transmitted his voice.

"Correct. Myriad Blessings Meat is divided into many types and grades. The inferior parts are mostly used by Truebloods, the high-ranking members of the Three Great Powers, and the Three Sects and Six Associations to delay their own Corruption," Mingxia said casually. "Many martial artists and Called Ones actually feel that once they enter the Inner City, they can live to the limit of their natural lifespan. By the time they finally have to face Corruption, their lifespan is already nearing its end. But in reality, their Corruption is distributed to a large number of ordinary people through Myriad Blessings Meat and other methods."

She smiled as she spoke the biggest and cruelest truth of the Inner City. "This world is just like this. The strong distribute all pain, danger, tribulations, and Corruption to the weak. This is the only reason they keep the weak alive."

"...You mean... all the Called Ones and martial artists in the Inner City are...?!" Lin Hui understood what she meant, but precisely because he understood, the shock in his heart was far heavier than it appeared on the surface.

"All Called Ones are. As for martial artists, only those above Circulation who join major factions are qualified to share in the distribution of the 'Myriad Blessings.' Otherwise, why do you think this thing is named Myriad Blessings?" Mingxia smiled indifferently.

Seeing Lin Hui's increasingly grim expression, she twisted the knife again. "Whether it's the Taisu Alliance or others, it is the same everywhere. Mistborn distribute their own Corruption to everyone, condensing it into so-called high-grade Myriad Blessings Meat. Although one still has to face Corruption after eating this kind of meat, there are still quite a few benefits.

"The Truebloods, using special techniques, also distribute the Corruption they need to face to others, sharing it with the common people of the Inner City.

"Further down the ladder, Called Ones and elite martial artists who’ve joined a faction can only use lower-grade Myriad Blessings Meat to distribute their Corruption. But no one in the Inner City wants that inferior Myriad Blessings Meat, so what do they do? Simple. They create a class of Outer City people who have no choice. The people of the Outer City can only eat the worst Myriad Blessings Meat. That way, everyone’s satisfied."

Mingxia spoke of the world's greatest oppression in a brisk tone. Layer upon layer of distribution. Hearing this, a chill rose in Lin Hui's heart.

If what she said was true, it meant that for the people of the Outer City, all the cultivators in the Inner City were the most direct oppressors sitting on their heads. No wonder. No wonder they constantly ensured the population count, constantly acted to maintain the environment, maintain public order, and sustain the Outer City...

"Striving to become a higher-level 'distributor' is the lifelong goal of everyone in the upper echelons of the Three Great Powers. Don't you have a big brother in the Rain Palace? He's getting close. Once he breaks through another level, he should be able to learn the inner rules," Mingxia said casually.

"...Aren’t you afraid I’ll leak this by talking so openly?" Lin Hui gave her a steady, penetrating look.

"Do as you like. If you leak it, you leak it. At worst, if too many people find out, there will just be another Great Cleansing of the Outer City. In practical terms, if you don’t eat Myriad Blessings Meat, you’re not sharing a common destiny with all of Tuyue. People like that will be identified and dealt with sooner or later. After all, Tuyue works so hard to purge the surroundings and maintain a highly secure environment—not so that freeloaders can exploit loopholes," Mingxia said.

"But why do the martial artists above Circulation and the Called Ones I've come into contact with not even know about this?" Lin Hui asked again.

"There are people in the shadows classifying everyone. What class corresponds to what treatment... all those above Circulation and all Called Ones have detailed records in the dark. They don't need to know personally. The effect manifested on them is that after entering the Inner City and joining the Three Great Powers or the Moon Tower, their lifespans are indeed significantly extended. That is enough," Mingxia answered.

Lin Hui fell silent. At this moment, he finally thoroughly understood why the Inner City always held a contradictory attitude towards the people of the Outer City—both protective and somewhat indifferent.

"By the way, you haven't... not eaten Myriad Blessings Meat, have you?" Mingxia blinked.

"I haven't." Lin Hui did not hide it. "Not just me, there are people around me who haven't eaten it either."

"But you have supporters within the Three Great Powers, so that’ll be taken into account when they assess you. Even if your family doesn’t eat Myriad Blessings Meat, it won’t be too much of a problem. High-ranking officials’ relatives get collateral blessings," Mingxia said.

"..." Lin Hui sighed internally. The more he understood the truth of the Inner City and the Moon Tower, the more he felt that in this world, those layers of invisible oppression were like chains, binding everyone tightly.

"Actually, you don't need to worry so much. Even if you don't eat Myriad Blessings Meat, at most, you'll encounter a few more dangers and accidents than ordinary people. Civilians without strength are like weeds in the wild; the Inner City won't specifically turn off the Jade Talismans that protect against Night Mist for them. Of course, if you are really worried and afraid, then strive to climb up. Enter the Inner City, join the Three Great Powers, and enter the Moon Tower. The higher you climb, the better you live. You can even receive constant rewards of life extension from the Truebloods."

Mingxia's words were still echoing in his ears, but Lin Hui had already connected everything. No wonder Tian Long said that apart from them, no other Mist-Free Zone settlements were allowed to exist in any city of the Taisu Alliance. So that was why...

Waving his hand to signal Mingxia to go and register, his figure flashed and disappeared from the Council Hall.

This time, he didn't go directly to the Wild Wind Plains, but first went to the Demarcation Zone that he hadn't visited in a long time. The last time he went, he was still a disciple of the Clear Wind Temple participating in the town's Emergency Suppression Squad, dealing with Blood-Eyed and Blood-Body Afflicted.

But this time, going there again, what he saw and what he felt were completely different.

Leaving the town and passing through the suburbs, the fields on both sides of the road gradually became fewer, while dilapidated black wooden shacks became more numerous. There were very few vehicles on the road. Occasionally one would speed past as fast as possible, not daring to stop at all. As for pedestrians, it was even more impossible to see any.

Sparse, gloomy wooden shacks lined both sides, one after another. From the gaps and windows, one could faintly feel terrified and vigilant gazes shooting out from within.

Lin Hui slowed his pace. His pristine white Clear Wind Temple robes stood out starkly against the filth and squalor around him. Walking down the road, he caught the faint tang of blood drifting from between the black wooden shacks on either side. Clearly, a culling had taken place here not long ago. The bloodstains on the ground hadn’t even had time to be washed away by the rain.

He saw one person hunched over, struggling to patch a hole smashed into a wooden shack with some unknown scraps. Another clung to a rotting wooden basin that was nearly dry, lips cracked as they waited for the next rain.

He had once believed these people had simply lost control, fallen into the trap of Myriad Blessings Meat by their own weakness. But now, they just looked like a group of pitiful, wretched victims… Compared to others, they had merely suffered more misfortune and had been forced to rely on Myriad Blessings Meat just to scrape by. The debts they had incurred in the past were only now coming due.

Thinking of Xue Meng lying on the bed, an indescribable impulse surged in Lin Hui's heart.

If I find a Blood-Eyed Afflicted, could Purgatory-ization possibly...?

Purgatory-ization could significantly strengthen a creature's recovery ability. Superimposing it onto these Corrupted Blood-Eyed and Blood-Body Afflicted might worsen the result, but it might also... have a curative effect!

It's worth a gamble! Lin Hui quickly made a decision.

Unknowingly, he had approached the fog wall towering into the clouds ahead. With a thought, his gaze quickly scanned the hidden patients on both sides. For the first test, he needed an individual whose physical condition was terrible enough. This would prevent the other party from remaining lucid enough to remember clues or information. He didn't want anyone to know that he was the one who released the traces of Purgatory-ization.

After searching for a while, a Blood-Body Afflicted hanging half-off the eaves of a wooden shack like a spider entered Lin Hui’s line of sight. Like the others of its kind, it was flayed-red from head to toe, as if its skin had been peeled away, looking more like a specimen than a living being. Its ten fingers were pitch black, clearly laden with potent poison.

Lin Hui stopped and gently gripped his sword hilt.

"I told you, this kid is sharp. He came this way on purpose—he’s definitely noticed us!" An old, resonant male voice suddenly drifted out from the wooden shacks ahead.

"Keep your eyes on him. Don’t let him get away. We waited a long time for this chance..." another old man’s voice called from a shack diagonally opposite.

"Relax. This area is already within the Relic’s coverage. For the time being, he can’t retreat or escape," the voice in front said confidently.

Lin Hui's thoughts were interrupted. He looked up in the direction of the sound, just in time to see two old men in gray warrior attire and masks slowly walking out from the wooden shacks, one left and one right.

The hairstyles and body shapes of these two old men were similar. The only difference was the masks they wore: one black, one white. Both of them also carried a thick-backed silver-ringed great saber, about as thick as a thigh, on their backs.

"Who are you?" Lin Hui frowned slightly, sizing up the two who had suddenly appeared. Reaching his current strength and status, it had been a long, long time since anyone dared to speak to him so rudely. Except for the Clear River Sect.

There was a high probability that the two people before him were from the Clear River Sect.

"Kid, hiding in the sect for so long without coming out... feels pretty good, doesn’t it?" The old man in the black mask fixed Lin Hui with a cold stare, his voice chilling.

"If it weren’t for the Inspectorate Division always being there, making it inconvenient to set up isolation, do you think you’d still be able to stand here so arrogantly and talk to us?" the old man in the white mask added.

Watching these two appear, Lin Hui slowly drew his sword, gazing at them. An invisible surge, a fire that had accumulated for a long time, rolled and roared at the bottom of his heart.

"Why haven’t you Corrupted?"

"Or is it that, compared to Corruption, you’d rather burn even more..."

Lin Hui lowered his head as a faint, ominous red light flickered through his eyes.

His sword truly couldn’t resolve Corruption itself. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t deal with everything around it—such as these death-seeking fools in front of him. One way or another, his fury needed an outlet.

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