Once I enter the pass, great Confucian scholars will surely debate the classics for me.

The banquet hall of the Ma residence.

Qiu Chengde and Zhou Qingfeng each held a cup of chilled tea and sipped it slowly, praising how good the tea was. Under Ma Dalang's orders, the servants of the Ma family brought out various fruits and exquisite snacks one after another.

Ma Dalang waved his hand, signaling the servants to leave the banquet hall. He then smiled at Zhou Qingfeng, turned his gaze to Qiu Chengde, and asked with a serious expression, "Uncle De, what small favor do you need me to do for you today?"

Qiu Chengde was the number one lackey of the Lady, and his combat strength was terrifying. He had a high status, position and seniority in the City Lord's Mansion. In terms of loyalty, no one in the entire Sword Tower City was more loyal than Qiu Chengde.

Therefore, Qiu Chengde enjoyed the trust and high regard of the First Lady.

For example, the Plum Blossom Spy, a hidden force lurking deep within the Sword Tower, is in the hands of Qiu Chengde, who also holds multiple identities and wields many secret powers.

Even Ma Dalang had to show deference to Qiu Chengde. In public, he had to respectfully call him Butler Qiu, and in private, he had to call him Uncle De to show respect.

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chengde put down his teacup and smiled faintly: "Recently, Fourth Brother has been practicing the Body Technique of Devouring Thieves Great Sage, and he happens to be lacking a large number of fresh blood from cultivators in the Food Disaster Realm as cultivation materials."

"Do you think you can help him gather the cultivation materials? Of course, I won't let you help for nothing. Just tell me your conditions, and I will do my best to help you."

Ma Dalang's expression shifted slightly. He glanced at Zhou Qingfeng, who sat silently, and picked up the ghost blood tea sprinkled with minced garlic. The vampire blood in the teacup was boiling under the heat of the garlic.

He slowly took a sip of the ghost blood tea, but his brain was racing.

If the fourth brother comes alone today to bring up this matter...

Then I will absolutely spare no effort to get things done for the fourth brother discreetly in the shortest possible time.

He did this not for money or fame, but for the sake of Lao Si himself.

As long as I can get the fourth prince to willingly submit to me, serve under my command, and help me achieve my grand ambitions, then I can bear any price to pay.

But now the situation is a little different. There is now Qiu Chengde standing between me and the fourth brother, so no matter what I do, I can't owe the fourth brother this favor.

Even if he helps, the fourth brother won't remember his own kindness; he'll only remember the kindness of his master.

Making an excuse to refuse would probably offend Qiu Chengde again.

After all, everyone in the Sword Tower knows about the Ma family who drive corpses. How could the Ma family, who play with zombies, lack fresh blood? The Ma family has a lot of exclusive channels to get fresh blood, which is common knowledge.

After a moment's thought, Ma Dalang had made up his mind: he would definitely help, he couldn't refuse.

If he helps, Qiu Chengde will owe him a favor. In the future, he will have more leverage. If he needs Qiu Chengde's help in any matter, as long as it is not too outrageous, Qiu Chengde will most likely turn a blind eye and do it.

Furthermore, this opportunity would allow him to legitimately contact the fourth prince without arousing any suspicion. Qiu Chengde would not secretly go to his mother to tattle on him just because he was getting closer to the fourth prince.

Ma Dalang swallowed the ghost blood in his mouth and smiled slightly: "Uncle De, you watched me grow up, and Lao Si is also my younger brother. We are all family after all, and family doesn't need to speak like strangers."

“When family members encounter problems related to cultivation, it is only right for me, as the older brother, to lend a hand. There’s no need to bring up any conditions; talking about those things would create distance.”

Upon hearing this, Qiu Chengde smiled gently and even changed his form of address: "What you say is very true, eldest brother. I was being too polite. Fourth brother, thank your elder brother."

Zhou Qingfeng immediately stood up, clasped his hands in a salute, and said, "Thank you, elder brother."

Seeing this, Ma Dalang quickly got up to help him up: "Fourth brother, there's no need for thanks between brothers. Wait here for a moment, I'll go and make arrangements for you right away, I'll be right back."

After saying this, Ma Dalang quickly left the banquet hall, leaving the master and apprentice to sit and wait.

He then went to Sima Yan, since Sima Yan had dealt with Zhou Qingfeng several times and was indeed capable. When he entrusted tasks to her, she rarely messed things up.

For example, Sima Yan handled the matter of the Xi Yi treasure extremely well.

Not only did he let Zhou Qingfeng know that he had secretly sent people to protect him, and let Zhou Qingfeng know how good Ma Dalang was, but he also brought back a huge fortune of 18 billion coins for the Ma family.

For this, Ma Dalang doubled Sima Yan's wages and also gave him a bonus of three million coins.

"Mr. Ma, I'm willing to serve you." Sima Yan was dressed in a pretty little red dress today, looking like a lively and youthful girl, and seemed to enjoy being a girl.

Looking at Sima Yan's pretentious manner, Ma Dalang frowned deeply, barely suppressing the urge to strangle the pervert, and coldly said, "Handle things well. You can continue using Ma Ruyi's identity."

Sima Yan smiled sweetly: "Okay."

Ma Dalang suppressed his nausea, turned around and strode towards the banquet hall. Sima Yan shrugged and followed closely behind with small, quick steps. The two of them arrived at the banquet hall a moment later.

Ma Dalang smiled and walked back to the main seat, introducing, "This is Ma Ruyi, Fourth Brother. You know each other, so I don't need to introduce you further. I've already arranged everything, and Ruyi will take you to do it."

Ma Ruyi bowed and clasped his hands, saying, "Ruyi has met Steward Qiu and Commander Zhou."

Then, Ma Ruyi turned to the side and gestured, "Commander Zhou, please come with me."

Seeing this, Zhou Qingfeng got up to say goodbye to his master, and then followed Ma Ruyi away.

Ma Dalang said with a smile, "Uncle De, don't you like the erhu? I just found a few antique erhus from ancient times, but I don't know if they're real or fake. Since you're here today, you can help me appraise them."

Without hesitation, Qiu Chengde smiled and nodded: "Alright."

The two got up and walked towards the treasure room of the Ma residence.

Sima Yan and Zhou Qingfeng walked out of the Ma residence together. Sima Yan then chose a direction and led Zhou Qingfeng away, saying that it wasn't far and there was no need to travel by carriage; they would arrive soon.

Zhou Qingfeng didn't ask any more questions, but just started a casual conversation: "Miss Ma seems to be highly valued by Big Brother. You represented the Ma family last time we went treasure hunting, and you're the one helping me gather fresh blood this time."

Sima Yan smiled and said, "The patriarch arranged for me because I am familiar with you, so it will be easier to communicate."

Zhou Qingfeng casually asked, "What's the relationship between Miss Ma and Big Brother?"

Sima Yan smiled and said, "I am considered half an apprentice of the patriarch. I used to follow the patriarch in handling affairs. Later, the patriarch saw that I was reliable and capable, so he changed my name and appointed me to a position in the mansion."

Zhou Qingfeng's eyes flickered, still somewhat doubtful, before he uttered an "Oh," and said, "I see..."

The two walked and talked, and after walking for about half an incense stick's time, they turned into a dark alley where many people were queuing, including mortals and cultivators, and it was unclear what they were queuing for.

Sima Yan led Zhou Qingfeng inside, where a large medical clinic came into view. She casually explained, "This is a medical clinic run by the Ma family, and it is one of the sources of human body materials for the Ma family."

"Many mortals and cultivators in the city sell their blood, flesh, organs, magic power, skin, hair, eyes, etc. when they are short of money. In short, as long as it is human material, my Ma family will accept it all."

“Our Ma family will pay them a sum of money on the spot according to the market conditions. The transaction process is completely free and there is no coercion of either party. It is a gray industry that is on the verge of breaking the red line.”

Sima Yan pushed aside the people blocking the way and led Zhou Qingfeng into the clinic. Zhou Qingfeng saw many mortals selling their blood to earn money for magic, and there were even quite a few impoverished cultivators at the Food Disaster Realm.

"Surprised?" Sima Yan turned to look at Zhou Qingfeng, who had a look of surprise on his face, and said with a smile, "You haven't seen the true dark side of the Sword Tower yet. This is just the tip of the iceberg."

“Even for cultivators, it is extremely difficult to make a living here. The population you see on the paper is only the number of people registered. In reality, the actual population of the city is five to seven times greater.”

"Half of these people are urban residents who did not register in the household register in order to evade taxes."

"A small number of them are from out of town. They are free people who have entered the Sword Tower after paying the entry fee with their travel permits. These free people want to find a place in the Sword Tower, a stable job, and settle down."

"It is conceivable how intense the job competition is in Sword Tower City. There are far more monks than porridge in the city, and many cultivators do not have stable jobs. In order to alleviate their immediate predicament, most of them come here to sell their renewable flesh and blood and magic power."

"Of course, this kind of thing is not legal, but since it is consensual, the authorities will not investigate unless the public reports it. If no one reports it to the Night Patrol Bureau, the Night Patrol Bureau will basically not come to investigate and confiscate anything for no reason."

Zhou Qingfeng nodded slightly. He didn't completely trust the population data on paper and had guessed that the number of people might be several times more than the registered population. Now, unexpectedly, this place confirmed his guess.

As for why these people refuse to leave even if it means selling their flesh and blood or their magical power, it's actually quite simple. Sword Tower is a super city of extravagance and debauchery, where gold is everywhere, making it a goldmine for ordinary people.

For ordinary people, coming to Sword Tower offers far more opportunities to prosper than to those in the surrounding small towns.

Some people become rich overnight here, while others change their destiny and achieve great success.

Those who aspire to success will not willingly leave the Sword Tower until the very last step.

Moreover, unless a free man has only two options left—death or selling himself—no one would choose to sell himself into slavery. If he can't make it here, he can go somewhere else, or at the very least, he can go back to his hometown.

But once you become a slave, your children and grandchildren will also be slaves. You will never be able to rise above your circumstances, and neither will your children and grandchildren.

The two entered a secret room in the backyard of the clinic and saw that a live organ harvesting operation was being performed.

A cultivator at the Devouring Fiend Realm lay on the platform, his body enveloped in azure light. Ren Wuji swiftly and decisively severed the cultivator's kidneys and placed them in a magical artifact container to preserve their vitality.

Ren Wuji skillfully sewed the clothes and said calmly, "Go outside and collect your money."

Upon hearing this, the Devouring Fiend cultivator got up and walked towards the outside of the secret chamber. He didn't take it seriously. It was just a kidney; he could recover it in a few days. He could just sell it again when he needed money.

Zhou Qingfeng narrowed his eyes upon seeing this.

Ren Wuji, the person in charge of the cremation office, must have been hiding his cultivation level before, otherwise he would not have been able to harvest a kidney from a living demon-eating cultivator. But why is he here?

"Commander Zhou, what a coincidence." Ren Wuji took off his mask and medical gown, and greeted Zhou Qingfeng with a smile, showing no sign of anything unusual, just like an old friend unexpectedly reunited.

Zhou Qingfeng said calmly, "Manager Ren is quite good at hiding his abilities. He clearly has the talent, but he is willing to stay in a place like the crematorium, dealing with corpses day after day for ten years. It is truly a waste of his talent."

Ren Wuji smiled slightly: "The most important thing in life is to be happy. I like the crematorium. There are more corpses than living people there. The working relationships are simple, not complicated, and there is not much intrigue."

"Please keep this a secret, Zhou Fushuai. Otherwise, if the Night Patrol Division finds out, I'll lose my secure job as the head of the crematorium. I'm just here to do a part-time job and earn some money. Please understand, life is tough these days."

Zhou Qingfeng didn't care whether Ren Wuji's words were true or false. As far as he was concerned, as long as it didn't harm his own interests, Ren Wuji could do whatever he wanted. So he said, "I understand. Who doesn't have a side job these days?"

Ren Wuji clasped his hands in a salute and said, "Thank you for your understanding, Commander Zhou."

Ma Ruyi spoke up at the right moment: "Doctor Ren, the patriarch has instructed you to collect fresh blood from 20,024 cultivators at the Food Disaster Realm. All of this blood should be given to Zhou Fushuai, and all the expenses incurred should be recorded in the accounts."

"No need, I have the money. I'll cover the cost of collecting the blood," Zhou Qingfeng said, stopping them. Right now, the Ma family was enough to provide a source of blood; it would be foolish to ask them to spend money on the service.

Upon hearing this, Ma Ruyi smiled sweetly, completely obedient, and lowered her posture considerably: "Okay, whatever Zhou Fushuai says goes; Doctor Ren, what are you still standing there for? Hurry up and get to work."

A smile appeared on Ren Wuji's pale face as he clasped his hands in a salute: "Yes, I'll take care of it right away."

Ren Wuji walked to the front hall, summoned the resident physicians of the clinic, and said, "Starting today, except for the fresh blood of cultivators in the Food Disaster Realm, we will suspend the purchase of other human materials. Do you understand?"

Several doctors in the clinic nodded in agreement: "Understood, Dr. Ren."

Ren Wuji said, "Go and do it."

These resident physicians then instructed their apprentices to inform those who had come to queue, which immediately made many people look grim, forcing them to sell their body materials elsewhere, leaving only cultivators at the Calamity Realm who remained.

There weren't many people, only a few dozen, but this was only temporary. As time went by and the news spread, many cultivators in the Food Disaster Realm who were short of money would gather to sell their blood.

The Ma Family Medical Clinic offers 180 magic coins per pound of blood, with a clearly marked price. They do not accept selling blood in small quantities; cultivators who suffer from food disasters must sell all their blood, and then the Ma Family Medical Clinic will charge them based on the total weight.

Based on a person's blood volume of 10 jin (5 catties), selling all of one's blood would yield a profit of 1800 fa coins.

With an average income of three thousand francs, this is already a decent amount of extra income.

For cultivators at the Food Calamity Realm, even if all the blood in their bodies is drained, they won't die; at most, they'll be weakened for a while.

After the news spread, large amounts of blood were continuously sent to Zhou Qingfeng.

Day after day, Zhou Qingfeng used the Thief-Swallowing Secret Technique to purify the blood of the Calamity Realm. It took 10 jin of blood to purify 1 jin of pure blood. This blood contained nothing but the power of the Thief-Swallowing Technique.

The blood of 20,024 living people.

With Zhou Qingfeng's willingness to spend money, he collected all the necessary materials in just one month.

He stored the collected blood of the thief in the Blood Sacrifice Pool.

The Blood Sacrifice Pool is a palm-sized, pool-shaped magical artifact specifically designed to store blood. It isolates the blood from the outside world and prevents the loss of its essence. This is a calamity-level magical artifact provided by the Ma family.

During this period, some cultivators in the Food Disaster Realm sold their blood twice, and even went back to eat meat to replenish their bodies in an effort to recover as soon as possible. They resold their blood three or four times, and some even called on their friends to sell their blood together.

It's like picking up money off the ground; the money comes quickly and steadily, and you don't get tired at all.

Ma Ruyi handed over several thick ledgers: "Commander Zhou, the total cost of this blood collection was 36,043,200 taels of silver. Please check the accounts."

Zhou Qingfeng shook his head: "No need. Send someone directly to the Zhou residence to collect the money. I need to go into seclusion to cultivate my physical skills, so it's inconvenient for me to stay here. Miss Ma, farewell."