That night—
Since it was still fairly early, around 9:30 p.m., Zhao Xuan made a quick trip to the Ability Users Guild.
There, he exchanged every last coin—the ten million yuan he had received from Fatty Fu Jieyan, plus the six million from selling the two Land King Crystals—for cultivation resources.
The majority of it went toward low-grade energy fluid, while the remainder was spent on Spirit-Nurturing Fruits and Spirit-Nurturing Pills.
As for elixirs that strengthened the body or enhanced physical constitution—
Zhao Xuan didn't bother buying any.
After all—
He already had a mountain of Spirit Cacti sitting in his relic, untouched and waiting to be consumed.
Meanwhile—
In Hang City, at the gates of a grand villa.
"Excuse me, are you Mr. Fu Yanjie?" the Door-to-Door Express courier asked politely.
The chubby man standing there stiffened. "Correction—my name is Fu Jieyan, not Fu Yanjie!"
"Oh, my apologies, Mr. Fu Jieyan!" The courier quickly bowed, handing over a special glass container holding half of a Spirit Cactus. "Here's your delivery. Please sign for it!"
Fu Jieyan's expression softened slightly. "Good."
After signing, he eagerly clutched the glass case to his chest, face glowing with excitement, and hurried inside.
He practically ran into his private study, opened the case, and carefully lifted out the cactus half as though it were a priceless treasure.
Then—
Without hesitation—he sliced off a small piece and stuffed it straight into his mouth.
Moments later—
His eyes widened in shock and delight.
"It really works!"
He immediately grabbed his 794 Bureau medal, beaming as he admired the remaining cactus half on his table, and sent Zhao Xuan a voice message through the medal's built-in communication function.
Back in Tongcheng, Zhao Xuan had just returned home.
Opening the relic's portal, he was ready to dive in and begin his closed-door cultivation—
planning to train nonstop until the college entrance exam results were released.
Of course, if he managed to completely clear out the Desert Golems before then, he'd come out early.
Just as he was about to step through the portal—
His 794 Bureau medal vibrated.
Activating it with a pulse of mental energy, Zhao Xuan saw a new message from Fu Jieyan:
"Brother! The Spirit Cactus arrived—works perfectly! It really enhances Armament Haki growth and awakening!"
Zhao Xuan smiled faintly and replied casually:
"Glad you like it, Brother Fu."
A moment later, another message came through:
"But, Brother Zhao, you really mistreated this kind of rare elixir, huh? It's half-chewed and mangled! If I didn't know better, I'd think it was eaten by a pig!"
Zhao Xuan froze for a second—then his expression turned strange.
"You guessed right… it actually was eaten by a pig."
He snickered inwardly but didn't bother explaining.
After exchanging a few more lighthearted messages, Zhao Xuan closed the connection, stepped into the Desert Relic, and began his seven-day seclusion.
Inside the relic—
He stored most of his newly purchased cultivation materials in his makeshift base, bringing along only a small portion of energy fluid for the road.
Then, with no hesitation, he sprinted toward the endless desert.
Soon, he returned to the same spot where he had last stopped his hunt.
After pushing deeper into the dunes, it didn't take long before he spotted a new four-tier Desert Golem.
"Hunt, begin!"
His eyes gleamed. "Three million yuan and a pile of experience points—Daddy's coming for you!"
Like a hungry predator, Zhao Xuan let out a fierce shout and charged at the golem.
The desert instantly exploded into chaos—
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
ROAR!
Rumble! Rumble!
The creature's furious bellows echoed through the endless sands.
Minutes later, the fight ended with a ground-shaking crash.
Zhao Xuan stood victorious, breathing heavily but grinning wide.
After a short rest, he downed a pouch of energy fluid, took two bites of Spirit Cactus, and popped a couple of Spirit-Nurturing Fruits to restore his energy.
Then he was off again—charging deeper into the desert, hunting for the next golem.
Time slipped by quietly.
One golem after another fell beneath his strikes.
Unless he was utterly exhausted or had run out of supplies, Zhao Xuan never returned to base.
When his body faltered—he ate more cactus and drank another pouch of energy fluid.
When his mind dulled—he chewed on Spirit-Nurturing Fruits to replenish focus.
Seven days passed in a blur.
In total, Zhao Xuan had barely slept thirty hours during the entire week.
Every waking moment—
he was fighting.
And for all that effort—
The rewards were staggering.
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