This wasteland was naturally sparsely populated. He had just finished excavating the grotto and hadn't even enjoyed a moment of peace—how could someone have found their way to his door?

  The knocking sounded again, more urgent this time.

  "Fellow Daoist, you’d better move out quickly!" A crisp female voice rang out from outside. She sounded young, but her tone carried a hint of anxiety.

  Chen Gensheng pondered for a long while before slowly moving toward the entrance and pushing open the heavy door. Standing outside was a young woman of about seventeen or eighteen, clad in a pale-green Daoist robe, with a jade pendant carved in a tiger motif hanging from her waist.

  She was from Hundred Beast Mountain.

  Disciples of the five great sects were truly no different from maggots in a cesspool; no matter where one went, they always managed to pop up and eyesore the surroundings.

  Upon seeing Chen Gensheng’s face, the woman’s body stiffened slightly. Surprise first appeared in her eyes, followed by a touch of sympathy.

  "Fellow Daoist, your appearance..." She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully. "Forget it, appearance is not important. You must leave this place at once. This area is extremely sinister. Not a single cultivator who leased this plot before met a good end."

  Chen Gensheng looked at her, his tone flat. "Why?"

  The woman stamped her feet in frustration. "There are eggs laid by Fire-Poison Ants underground, and even adult Fire-Poison Ants! These insects specialize in attacking the soul; they are nearly impossible to guard against!"

  As she spoke, she glanced into the interior of the grotto and her eyes suddenly widened. "Fellow Daoist, when did you dig this grotto? How is it so tidy?"

  Her tone was filled with curiosity. She had originally thought that Chen Gensheng had just arrived and hadn't yet started refining the cave, but the interior walls before her were as smooth as a mirror, and the corners were fully furnished with tables and stools. How did this look like something that had just been dug?

  "I dug this grotto half a year in advance," Chen Gensheng replied casually, laughing inwardly. The Wood-Skeleton Wasps' wood-element divine art was indeed useful; shaping everything directly with slurry saved a lot of trouble. Of course, he couldn't say that out loud. "I am endowed with innate divine strength and my hands and feet are never sluggish. As for the aesthetics and construction of this grotto, I naturally have a bit of a mind for it that others cannot match."

  The woman’s eyes went round and she stared at him with a slight huff. "That’s not the point! The key is that there are Fire-Poison Ants hidden underground! Their attacks target the soul specifically. How could you dig a grotto here without encountering them at all?"

  She scrutinized Chen Gensheng, a growing look of horror in her eyes. "You... you haven't been controlled by the Fire-Poison Ants already, have you?"

  The sharp soul-piercing pain Chen Gensheng had felt earlier was indeed the work of the Fire-Poison Ants. However, the three Crimson Flame Ant eggs they had laid had already been snatched away by the Myriad Venom Mysterious Casket.

  "You worry too much, young lady. I am perfectly fine."

  The woman shook her head, refusing to believe him. "No, you must have had your soul eroded by the Fire-Poison Ants to end up looking like this! I’m going to find my Eldest Senior Brother; he is the most skilled at handling soul damage."

  With that, she turned to leave. Chen Gensheng’s heart tightened.

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  "Wait a moment, miss."

  "I do have some unique qualities, but my soul is by no means eroded."

  The young woman blinked her almond-shaped eyes, seemingly surprised that anyone in the world could be so ungrateful. She had come with good intentions to warn him, yet this ugly man not only didn't appreciate it but seemed to find her a nuisance.

  The woman was an inner disciple of Hundred Beast Mountain named Zhou Zhi. Since entering the sect, she had been beloved by her fellow disciples and elders for her lively personality and remarkable talent. She had never been treated with such a cold face. She was about to lose her temper, but the words died on her lips.

  Although the male cultivator before her had a loathsome face, his cultivation carried a strange quality that she couldn't quite see through. Especially that dark right eye—a single glance from it made her feel uneasy, as if her own cultivation and thoughts were being seen through completely.

  This man was no ordinary rogue cultivator.

  Zhou Zhi’s gaze instinctively fell back inside the grotto. She was a cultivator in the early Foundation Establishment stage herself. To seek peace, she had personally worked on her own grotto within the sect. She knew well how much painstaking effort was required to refine a raw cave to this level. Leveling walls, solidifying stone, polishing tables, chairs, and stone beds—every task was tedious. Even using earth-element spells required careful precision and repeated carving, taking at least ten days to half a month.

  Yet this grotto before her exuded a fresh aura of plants and trees from inside out. The grain on the azure-wood walls seemed as if it were still slowly growing. It was clearly something that had just been completed.

  "Was this grotto truly built by you, Fellow Daoist?"

  Chen Gensheng couldn't be bothered to deal with her and turned to close the door. Dealing with disciples from the great sects was the most exhausting thing. They were all self-righteous, always thinking the world should revolve around them.

  "Hey, what are you doing!" Zhou Zhi was quick and pressed a hand directly against the heavy wooden door. She looked slender, but her strength was considerable; Chen Gensheng couldn't close the door using only one hand.

  Chen Gensheng stopped his movement and turned his head. His lifeless right eye gazed at her quietly. Zhou Zhi felt her skin crawl under his gaze, but she gritted her teeth and didn't let go.

  "About... the Fire-Poison Ants, let's put that aside for a moment." She forced a smile and pointed inside the grotto. "Your skill in building grottoes is truly impressive. I won't beat around the bush with you."

  Zhou Zhi took a deep breath, her expression becoming serious. "In a little over a month, it will be the Ascension Assembly. This Bianxian Market is currently overcrowded. Our Hundred Beast Mountain was assigned a station for this trip, but that place... sigh, it’s no better than a grass shack. My Senior Brother is complaining that it’s cramped and he can’t even settle his mind for meditation."

  She spoke while her bright eyes stared straight at Chen Gensheng’s face. "If you can help our Hundred Beast Mountain build two grottoes like this, I’ll act as if the Fire-Poison Ant matter never happened, and I certainly won't report it to the Jade Tripod Sect. How about it?"

  These words took Chen Gensheng by surprise. He had thought the woman would continue to harass him about the ants; he didn't expect her to pivot so quickly to a business deal. His mind, soaked in the logic of the "gutters," instantly began to calculate.

  Building grottoes for Hundred Beast Mountain. The benefit was that it would completely settle the trouble before him. Using an official task as a cover for his true purpose here was an excellent disguise. It was just a matter of consuming some spiritual energy; with the foundation of the Ethereal Dao-Body, that consumption was nothing. Most importantly, there was profit to be squeezed out of this.

  The scale in Chen Gensheng’s heart immediately tipped toward the deal.

  "On what grounds?" he asked, his voice remaining flat, devoid of emotion.

  Zhou Zhi was stunned. She clearly didn't expect him to ask that. She thought that by using the Fire-Poison Ants as leverage, he would agree fearfully, if not gratefully.

  "You really don't know what's good for you!" she said, a bit annoyed. "I’m helping you! If I leak the news that Fire-Poison Ants are haunting this place and that a cultivator is suspected of being controlled by them, do you think you’ll be able to stay here in peace?"

  Chen Gensheng remained unmoved. "I can build the grottoes. But not for free."

  Seeing him relent, the slight anger on Zhou Zhi’s face vanished, replaced by a shrewd expression. "That goes without saying. Our Hundred Beast Mountain has a great business and a big name; we won't take advantage of you. Tell me, how many spirit stones do you want? As long as the price is fair, I’ll accept on behalf of my Senior Brothers."

  Chen Gensheng shook his head. "I don't want spirit stones. We’ll talk about the price later."

  Given his current assets, he truly didn't value spirit stones that much. A single drop of that newly produced Wood-Skeleton Spirit-Honey was likely worth far more than the savings of an ordinary cultivator over several years.