Decaying World

Chapter 164 Burning Part 164 (Thanks to the Alliance Leader Zhuoxiao of Qiongkong)

"." Lin Hui stared blankly at the other person's familiar eyebrows and eyes, as well as the unique quality of that voice.

"Your Excellency, Yunxiazi?... You don't actually think that by shrinking your height and disguising yourself as a woman, you can change your identity and make yourself unrecognizable to me?"

He was speechless. The other person's eerie, black hole-like aura, combined with their unique androgynous voice and overly beautiful, youthful appearance, was impossible to hide.

He recognized him as soon as he entered.

"You've misunderstood. I am indeed not Yunxiazi, but Mingxia," the woman in black veil smiled. "Didn't you say you were arranging for a junior to enter and cultivate? After Yunxiazi returned, she circulated her internal energy to adjust the changes within her body and gave birth to me using the Primordial Embryo Secret Method. So, in reality, I am his daughter," the woman in black veil explained.

"Where is he?" Lin Hui asked.

“He’s very busy right now and can’t come to see you for the time being, but in exchange, you can make a deal with me,” Mingxia said solemnly.

Lin Hui looked at Yunxia's features, which were exactly the same as hers, but her feminine characteristics were very obvious, making it seem genuine. He hesitated for a moment.

"Fine, just sign up to join the sect 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 methods. If you can't, go back to where you came from. Otherwise, if you ever break the sect rules, don't blame me for being ruthless and personally cleaning up the sect." He calmly reminded him.

"I have no problem with it, I accept whatever rules you set!" Mingxia said calmly.

"Then let's go to the registration office," Lin Hui waved his hand.

"Okay, by the way, someone is corrupting your backyard. Remember to deal with it promptly, otherwise, if they suddenly complete the transformation tonight and attack you, many people will die," Mingxia reminded her.

"Huh??!" Lin Hui was startled. Yes, he really hadn't expected that Xue Meng might suddenly complete the transformation and break open the sealed space from the inside at night.
“Thank you for the reminder.” He nodded in a deep voice. “You understand decay? Could you tell me how the inner city dealt with it?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Mingxia raised an eyebrow. “Just distribute the decay. Let others decay for you, and you can guarantee you’ll live longer.”

"Wanfu Meat!?" Lin Hui tentatively whispered.

“Yes, there are many types and grades of Wanfu Meat. The lower-grade parts are mostly given to the original bloodline and the high-ranking members of the Three Great Sects and the Three Sects and Six Gangs to delay decay,” Mingxia said casually. “Many martial artists and Summoners actually feel that once they enter the inner city, they can live to the limit of their natural lifespan. By the time they finally need to face decay, they will already be nearing the end of their lifespan. But in reality, their decay is distributed to a large number of ordinary people through Wanfu Meat and other methods.”

She smiled as she spoke of the inner city’s biggest and cruelest truth.

"That's just how the world is. The strong distribute all the pain, danger, hardship, and decay to the weak. That's the only reason they support the weak."

"You mean...all the summoned warriors in the inner city...?!" Lin Hui understood what the other person meant, but it was precisely because he understood this that the shock in his heart was far greater than what he showed on the surface.

"It's all about induction. For martial artists, only those who have reached the Zhou Tian level or above and join a major power are qualified to share in the Wanfu (Ten Thousand Blessings). Otherwise, why do you think this thing is named Wanfu?" Mingxia smiled nonchalantly.

Seeing Lin Hui's increasingly grim expression, she added insult to injury.

"Whether it's the Taisu Federation or other countries, it's the same everywhere. The Mist People distribute their decay to everyone, condensing it into so-called high-grade Wanfu Meat. Although eating this Wanfu Meat requires facing decay, it still has many benefits."

The original bloodline members used special methods to distribute the decay they faced to the people of the inner city.

Further down the line, those who have been recruited and joined the faction, especially the high-level martial artists, can only share the decay with the even lower-grade Wanfu meat. But nobody in the inner city wants the inferior Wanfu meat, so what to do? Easy, just create a group of outer city residents who have no choice. The outer city residents can only eat the worst Wanfu meat, and everyone will be happy this way.

Mingxia spoke lightly about the greatest oppression in the world.

Hearing this layered breakdown of costs sent a chill down Lin Hui's spine.

If what she said is true, it means that for the people of the outer city, all the cultivators in the inner city are the most direct oppressors above them.

No wonder.

No wonder they have to constantly maintain the population size and continuously take measures to maintain the environment, public order, and the existence of the outer city.
“Striving to become a higher-level contributor is the lifelong goal of all three top leaders. Don’t you have an older brother in Amamiya? He’s almost there. Once he breaks through another level, he should be able to understand the rules here,” Mingxia said casually.

"Aren't you afraid I'll leak this out just because you said it out loud?" Lin Hui gave her a deep look.

"Suit yourself. If you leak it, so be it. The more people know, the more it will just be another city-wide purge. In reality, those who don't eat Wanfu meat aren't sharing the same fate as the rest of Tu Yue. Sooner or later, they'll be dealt with under some pretext. After all, Tu Yue has worked hard to clean up the surrounding area and maintain a high level of security, not to create loopholes for these people to exploit," Mingxia said.

"But why are the martial artists and summoners above the Zhou Tian level that I've come into contact with unaware of this?" Lin Hui asked again.

“Someone is secretly classifying everyone into different tiers. The specific treatment each tier receives is meticulously recorded in secret for all those above the Zhou Tian level and all those who have been summoned. The individuals themselves don't need to know. The effect on them is that after entering the inner city and joining one of the three major factions or the Moon Tower, their lifespan is indeed significantly extended. That's enough,” Mingxia replied.

Lin Hui remained silent.

Only then did he fully understand why the inner city always had a contradictory attitude towards the people of the outer city—a mixture of protection and indifference.

"By the way, you haven't... ever eaten Wanfu meat before, have you?" Mingxia blinked her eyes wide.

"No." Lin Hui didn't hide anything. "It's not just me, there are other people around me who haven't eaten either."

“However, since you have people backing you up in the three major organizations, the evaluation will take that into consideration. Even if the families of the three top executives don’t eat the Wanfu meat, there won’t be too much of a problem. It’s all about the blessings they receive,” Mingxia said.

Lin Hui sighed inwardly. The more he learned about the truth of the inner city's Moon Tower, the more he felt that the invisible oppression of this world was like chains, tightly binding everyone.

"Actually, there's no need to worry so much. Even if you don't eat the Blessed Meat, at most you'll encounter more dangers and accidents than ordinary people. Commoners without strength are like weeds in the wild, and the inner city won't specially shut off the anti-night fog jade talismans for them. Of course, if you're really worried and afraid, then try your best to climb up, enter the inner city, enter the three great cities, and enter the Moon Tower. The higher you climb, the better you'll live. You might even receive the continuous life-extending rewards of the original blood."

Mingxia's words were still echoing in his ears, but Lin Hui had already connected everything.

No wonder Tianlong said that no city in the Taisu Federation is allowed to have any settlements outside of the fog-free zone; now I understand.
He waved for Mingxia to go down and register, then vanished from the council hall in a flash.

This time, he didn't go directly to Gale Plains, but instead went to the Edge Boundary Zone, which he hadn't visited in a long time.

The last time he went there was when he was a disciple of Qingfeng Temple participating in the town's emergency response team to treat patients with bloodshot eyes and bodies.

But this time, when he went back, what he saw and what he imagined were completely different. Leaving the town and passing through the suburbs, the fields on both sides of the road gradually decreased, and more and more dilapidated black wooden houses appeared.

There were very few cars on the road, and when one did come, it sped past at top speed without daring to stop for a moment.

As for pedestrians, that's even less likely.

Sparse, dark wooden houses lined both sides of the road, and from the gaps in the doors and windows, one could vaguely sense fearful and wary gazes emanating from them.

Lin Hui slowed down, his pristine white Qingfeng Temple attire standing out starkly in this area that was mistaken for something dirty.

He walked along the road, watching the faint smell of blood emanating from between the dark wooden houses on both sides.

Clearly, a massacre had recently taken place here. The bloodstains on the ground hadn't even had time to be washed away by the rain.

He saw someone hunched over, struggling to use some unknown materials to mend the holes smashed into the wooden house.

Someone was struggling to stay in front of a nearly dried-up wooden tub, their lips cracked, waiting for the next rain.

He used to think these people were simply unable to control themselves and fell into the trap of the "Wanfu Meat" (a type of meat product). But now it seems they were just a group of pitiful and pathetic victims.
Compared to others, they simply faced more hardships in life and had to rely on Wanfu Meat to temporarily fill the gaps. The loans they had taken out were now simply due for repayment.

Thinking of Xue Meng lying on the bed.

An indescribable impulse surged within Lin Hui.

'If we find a Blood Eye, could the Infernal Corruption...?'

The Purgatory Transformation greatly enhances the regenerative abilities of living beings. When applied to these decaying, blood-eyed, and blood-bodied creatures, the result may either worsen their condition or have a therapeutic effect!
'Worth the gamble!'

Lin Hui made a decision quickly.

Before he knew it, he was about to see a towering wall of fog in front of him.

With a slight thought, he quickly scanned the hidden patients on both sides.

For the first test, he needed an individual in sufficiently poor physical condition. This would prevent the individual from remembering the clues while fully conscious.

He didn't want anyone to know that he was the one who released the traces of purgatory.

After searching for a while, a bloody body, resembling a spider, hanging halfway from the eaves of the wooden house, soon came into Lin Hui's view.

Like the other blood-bodied creatures, this one was entirely blood-red, like a skinned specimen, with its ten fingers completely black, clearly indicating it was also highly poisonous.

Lin Hui stopped and gently gripped the hilt of the sword.

"I knew it! This kid is so alert, he deliberately came this way, he must have spotted us!"

Suddenly, a deep, resonant male voice drifted out from between the wooden houses in front.

"Keep an eye on him, don't let him get away. We've waited so long for this opportunity, it's not easy," another old man's voice came from a wooden house diagonally opposite.

"Don't worry, this area is already covered by the relics. He won't be able to go back or get out anytime soon," the voice in front said confidently.

Lin Hui's thoughts were interrupted. He looked up and followed the sound, and saw two masked old men dressed in gray outfits slowly walking out of the wooden house, one on the left and one on the right.

The two old men had similar hairstyles and builds; the only difference was the masks they wore—one black, the other white.

Each of them carried a thick-backed, silver-ringed cleaver, about the thickness of a thigh, on their backs.

"Who are you people?" Lin Hui frowned slightly as he sized up the two people who had suddenly appeared.

Now that he has reached his level of power and status, it has been a very long time since anyone has dared to speak disrespectfully to him.

Apart from Qinghemen.

The two people in front of me are very likely from Qinghe Sect.

"Kid, hiding inside for so long without coming out, having a good time, huh?" The black-masked old man stared coldly at Lin Hui and said in a chilling voice.

"If there weren't inspectors there, making it inconvenient to set up barriers, do you think you could still stand here so arrogantly and talk to us?" the white-masked old man added.

Upon seeing the two appear, Lin Hui slowly drew his sword and stared at them.

An invisible surge, a long-accumulated flame, churned and roared within his heart.

"Why haven't you decayed?"

"Or do you prefer to burn rather than decay?"

Lowering his head, a faint red light flashed in Lin Hui's eyes.

His sword was indeed powerless against decay. But that didn't mean he couldn't deal with things other than decay, like these reckless creatures.

After all, he needed to vent his anger.

(End of this chapter)