Wait, what? How the hell are they getting enough food? How is this city affording to throw away so many citizens? Are they really all demonic cultivators or is this just anyone the local guards don't like?
They have children, and as for food, human flesh, including their own children, and you can also eat the moss.
its a Xianxia city so utterly huge
You know, I was worried about the scale of the prison seeming too huge, so I tried to keep it small lol. I guess I'm too xianxia brain poisoned that I thought that was a small number.
 
They have children, and as for food, human flesh, including their own children, and you can also eat the moss.
The issue with that is that human flesh requires more human edible food to raise than it supplies humans to eat, so cannibalism is not a long-term fix for famine unless you're constantly getting new people from somewhere. To support 10,000 people, you'd need multiple times 10,000 people being thrown in the tunnels every year, which gets to crazy numbers over any length of time. Edible moss and fungus, especially magical fast growing ones do help, though.

EDIT: Actually, I did the math and if you're running on small amounts of meat and lots of veggies (which again, would have to be magic to grow in tunnels in sufficent numbers to actually help) you'd only need about 5,000 people being thrown in the pit each year solely for the 10, 000 already down there to eat if they had perfect refrigeration storage and no wasteage and everything on the people being thrown down there was edible other than the bones. None of which is probably true. Although... Cultivators might be able to get by on less food than normal people.

But remember this is just the pit for demonic cultivators, that doesn't even get into how many people are arrested for other crimes.
 
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the food would be only for low level cultivators cultivators or mortals who need to eat. They subsist on moss, slugs, and other various Cave lichen, as well as human flesh.
The demonic cultivators are a 'resource' in the sense that fighting them is good experience for sect members, and they can act as live human test subjects.
 
Could the Blood Anthem of the Crucified, powered by tormented souls bound in blood actually be demonic cultivation? Big, if true.
 
The demonic cultivators are a 'resource' in the sense that fighting them is good experience for sect members, and they can act as live human test subjects.
Well yes.

But from the point of view of the people who actually run this city or even come close to being in the top echelons (Core Formation or higher)... Well, that's frankly a 'resource' in a real way.
 
Chapter 28: Missing Comrade
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Chapter 28: Missing Comrade
.
---

Bing Meilu was not starting to worry about Xia Xuefeng because people of her stature did not 'worry'. However, she was beginning to feel professional concern for her young companion.

It had already been more than three days since Bing Meilu took control of the BMFS Faction and yet she saw no sign of her wayward servant. She had sent Xia Xuefeng out to collect resources to cultivate and then went into secluded cultivation herself. Yet when she awoke nearly a week later, Xia Xuefeng was nowhere to be seen, nor had she returned in the last three days.

"Li Ji, I need you to find someone for me." Bing Meilu turned to address her faction accountant, Li Ji.

The Yin Metal cultivator was turning out to be something of a fixer, and personal assistant for her. For a mortal, Li Ji was sharp-witted and creative, able to solve problems with minimal instruction. He always seemed very eager to get work done with the utmost haste, a personality trait Bing Meilu valued highly in her subordinates.

"Might I have some details, Your Holiness?" he asked, wiping sweat from his head with a damp handkerchief.

He had taken to calling her that ever since she had personally remade his cultivation. Li Ji had the novel idea of routing a permanent formation of yin metal qi through his meridians. For a mortal, it was a very creative idea, and if executed properly, could have been extremely powerful. If executed properly.

Sadly for him, such a feat was not something any mortal could just figure out on their own. Luckily for him, Bing Meilu was around to help. As fire made metal malleable, she was able to melt down and reroute the metal in his meridians, to a formation that actually provided benefits.

It was a simplified version of the Chillocosmic Jade Tributaries Convergence, a manual popular amongst merchants in certain higher realms. Powerful enough to ingratiate him, without being implausible for her to have found in the Moon Crying Swan Palace as a Prime Elder's disciple.

"Of course..."

---

Li Ji stepped out of Bing Meilu's throneroom, wiping the sweat from his head.

"Another job already?" Xi Fu, who was guarding the door, asked and Li Ji nodded sullenly.

"Man, what a slave driver..." the spearman sighed.

"Don't say that so loud, she might hear you." Li Ji hissed.

Xi Fu shuddered at the thought. Neither had been able to eat or sleep in the three days since Bing 'The Ice Demon' Meilu had taken over the Crimson Dragons Faction. Constant training, work and bitter cultivation. She seemed to take a perverse pleasure in pushing them all to their absolute limit.

"The quicker I get this done, the sooner she'll forget I exist again," Li Ji consoled himself. "Now, where do I start?"

---

"I have found your person of interest, your holiness!" Li Ji reported, to Bing Meilu.

She silently nodded to the kowtowing man, and he handed her his report, which she promptly read over.

'A demonic cultivator of the eighth stage of Qi Condensation, Xia Xuefeng was found in the vicinity of Port Snake covered in blood, and apprehended by Captain Ji Longyi. She was convicted of Demonic Cultivation and imprisoned in the Shadow Pit, a holding ground for such people.'

Bing Meilu raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly.

'Demonic Cultivation? Impossible,' she thought, bewildered. 'I personally oversaw her cultivation myself. I refuse to believe the measly Heavens of this world would dare penalize her cultivation method, given its origins!'

"Who is this Ji Longyi who had my servant arrested?" Bing Meilu asked, voice serious.

"Captain Ji Longyi is a genius at the sixth stage of Core Formation and the second stage of Vein Widening. He's the grandson of the Division Commander and is expected to reach Nascent Soul within the decade."

"Which faction is he aligned with?"

"None, your holiness. He has a small circle of sworn brothers who he fights with, but he is not a part of any of the four squadrons."

"Hmmph. Bring me more information on this 'Shadow Pit' prison."

"...Yes your holiness. Right away."

The metal cultivator strode away after bowing.

---

"Captain Ji Longyi huh? To dare falsely imprison my own servant? What utter gall!"

Bing Meilu retrieved a vial of ice from within her dress. It was filled with a thick crimson fluid, the Essence Blood she had taken from Xia Xufeng when she'd first accepted the girl's loyalty.

Carefully Bing Meilu extracted a small amount of the Essence Blood with a thin needle of ice. before putting the vial away. She stepped outside her throneroom, where the spear cultivator Xi Fu was standing guard.

"Spearman, do you have any Message Tablets?" the young girl asked.

Xi Fu nodded hesitantly.

"Um, yes Boss."

"Give me one."

"I'm afraid all the ones I have are already aspected to people-"

"That's fine," Bing Meilu waved her hand dismissively. "Just give me any random one."

Xi Fu hesitantly nodded, blushing. He pulled a carven slip of jade from his belt and handed it to his faction leader. The name engraved into it was 'Sweetbuns'. Either the martial name of a formidable cultivator from the Dao of Chefs or more likely, the pet name of a paramour.

Bing Meilu strode back into her throne room. She placed the drop of Essence Blood onto the message talisman and got to work re-directing it. The ice cultivator was not exactly an expert in formations... for a Celestial. She of course knew exactly how to manipulate magical items of the mortal realms.

Bing Meilu recorded her message, before pouring Qi into the talisman to activate it. She frowned. There must be an anti-message barrier around this prison because the tablet had not been activated. Sighing, the girl opened her sect map, found the location of the entrance to the Shadow Pit, and briskly made her way in that direction.

Walking through the sect, she found herself heading towards a large single-story building of stone. Two halberd-wielding guards sat at the front of the building, both in the fifth stage of Qi Condensation. It seemed that the sect gave little importance to guarding the building, given such weak cultivators were there. Most likely they were just random Privates hired to keep watch and the real 'guarding' was done by powerful Formations that acted automatically. Bing Meilu stepped up to one of the guards, snapping her fingers.

"Guard, I have a message tablet for one of the prisoners. Move aside so I can send it in."

The guard blinked in confusion, looking down at the small child imperiously staring up at him.

"Hello little miss, I don't know if that's allowed-"

"I did not see any rule against it in the sect handbook."

"Yes but-"

"If there is no rule against it, it is allowed. Move aside." Bing Meilu spoke slowly as if explaining a simple idea to a particularly slow child

"Look girl I can't just-"

"What's your name? I'll need to know it for when I file a complaint for unlawful obstruction of a permitted activity."

The guard inhaled deeply, as if to say 'I don't get paid enough for this shit' and stepped aside while rolling his eyes. As Bing Meilu's master, Prime Elder Hai Yu, always said, if at first you don't get what you want, harass the underpaid workers until they give in to your demands. A flawless strategy.

Bing Meilu entered the building. There was a simple spartan interior. a metal grate covered a hole in the ground, where countless demonic cultivators had no doubt been tossed into over the years. It was honestly surprising how low level the security was. Then again this was in the middle of the sect. Even if a demonic cultivator from within managed to make his way up, he'd need to fight through multiple Nascent Soul level cultivators to escape Port Snake.

Bing Meilu casually dropped the message jade through the bars, activating it with a burst of Qi. The jade tablet shattered into scintillating crystals, before flying off into the dark pit. Satisfied with her work, she left the prison entrance and headed back to the BMFS Faction dorm room.

---

The Bing Meilu's faithful slaves' faction had eighteen members, nineteen if you counted Bing Meilu.

Jiang Hu, the former leader. His Qi Cultivation was at the fifth stage of Foundation Establishment, and his Body Cultivation was at the seventh stage of the Lung Vitization Realm. That was the first realm of Body Cultivation and the equivalent of Qi Condensation for Qi cultivation.

There were two more Foundation Establishment cultivators, one in the first stage and one in the third stage. Neither was particularly impressive, so Bing Meilu called them by number.

Jiang Hu was slave one, the third stage lieutenant was slave two, the first stage lieutenant was slave three and so on.

There were fifteen cultivators in the First Realm, notable was Xi Fu, a decently talented spear cultivator Bing Meilu had begun to groom, Li Ji her right-hand man, and Private Ji, whose name she only remembered because of how exceptionally stupid he was. Everyone else she also referred to by number.

Presently, all eighteen faithful slaves were lined up before her in an empty training field, each working on an assigned task as she inspected.

Number twelve, in the fifth stage of Qi Condensation, was whacking rocks with a wooden mallet.

"Slave twelve hit harder. It's a hammer, not your grandmother's treasured jade vase. You'll never master the Twelve Hammers of Alecto with such a limp wrist! The explosive release is the key!"

"Private Ji, for Heaven's sake- that better not be a goddamned Spirit Dog Medicinal Orb. What did I tell you last time!?"

"Um, sorry Boss- I thought it might help?"

"...Why?!"

---

Satisfied with her slaves were all training properly, Bing Meilu returned to her throne room. From the shadows, a man slunk out, his sickly body fading into the dark background.

"How are you doing Zhang?" Bing Meilu asked.

"My injuries have been managed," the crippled Core Formation shrugged, his beady eyes piercing into her. "You seem to be having fun with this little faction of yours."

"I assure you I take my duty to my slaves with the utmost gravity." Bing Meilu smiled.

"I would prefer you focus on cultivating and don't waste time on them. I don't see what you need from them?"

Translation: Reach Core Formation as fast as possible so you can heal my injuries!

"Nothing I do is a waste of time, Zhang. Why do you think I decided to take over a faction?"

"Was it out of your boundless magnanimity?" the man chuckled.

"Not quite. Subordinates are extremely useful tools. They can defeat enemies for you, gather resources, deter attacks and more. If I want my cultivation to be smooth sailing, having a powerful force to my name will be very beneficial. With my tutelage, even untalented curs like the former Crimson Dragons can be forged into an effective fighting force. From there one, they can be used as a base upon which a proper faction can be built, on that will serve to filter huge amounts of resources up the faction hierarchy to aid in my cultivation. Imagine ten thousand cultivators each giving you five percent of the wealth they acquire. Wouldn't ascension be guaranteed?"

"Not to mention that my sheer talent will attract the eyes of many. The lone genius is often struck down, while the young master with a dozen thugs often is left alone. Gathering a powerful force will serve to keep me safer while I increase my own personal power."

"You seem to have this all planned out well," Zhang drawled. "But what if the more established factions take offence to your rising power?"

"And that Zhang, is where the next step of my plan is going to come in," a rare smile graced the calm girl's lips. "Becoming the loyal dogs of a stronger faction!"
 
The name engraved into it was 'Sweetbuns'. Either the martial name of a formidable cultivator from the Dao of Chefs or more likely, the pet name of a paramour.
If your martial name is Sweetbuns you must be the most badass fighter on the continent. I imagine them young-master-ing around, looking for anyone who dares smirk to face-slap.
 
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Multi-interlude 1
Any corrections or criticisms are welcome, I hope you enjoy Multi-interlude 1
---

Copper Shell Breathing Method

...The breath is the heart and soul. It is the origin of the life of numerous mortals. Without breath, one cannot move, work or even think.

Such an important aspect is the one thing we do not train to become better at. The farmer child is taught the secrets of farming, the blacksmith child is taught the secrets of metalworking, then why not the breathing child taught how to breathe?

Your lungs are but Copper Shells and greatness dwells within. In for three paces, then out for two, then in for five, then out for five- all things in accordance with the Liangyi.

The breath of the universe shall gather in the sea of spirit within...


---

Zhang Yi blinked, rubbing his eyes as he attempted to parse the text in the low moonlight. He did not understand most of it, to be honest. But there was a clear set of instructions.

He breathed in for three paces, out for two, in for five, out for five. Slowly but surely the black-haired boy followed the instructions. After a long moment, he began to feel silly. Nothing seemed to be happening.

However, Zhang Yi had seen firsthand the magical powers of the kidnapper. This method had to work. So he continued, sitting cross-legged under the tree, breathing. In for three, out for two, in for five, out for five.

A welling sense of disappointment continued to rise within him. He felt no mystical power gathering within him or any sudden enlightenment. Perhaps he had misunderstood how long this process would take? He redoubled and resolve. Even if it took him a hundred years of breathing, he would become immortal eventually!

What Zhang Yi did not notice was a slight blue haze gathering around the Copper Coin keepsake he always kept around his neck, left to him by his grandfather before the old man was mysteriously killed.

---

Xia Xuefeng leapt backwards, narrowly dodging the charge of the two seventh-stage enemies. She dashed leftwards, flinging herself to the wall of the cave, where the impaled childlike corpse of 'Lili' lay. Fresh blood dripped from the stab wounds to her vision, nearly glowing with blood-Qi. After all, Lili was a sixth-stage cultivator, and his blood was rich with thrumming power ripe to be swallowed.

A rich bloody scent suffused the air, and the world seemed to slow as she inhaled. She shuddered. The scent was rich and bloody and metallic and oh-so-wonderful and perfect. From within her Datian, the thirty-six blood-crosses trembled with intense hunger. The Qi-rich blood of a cultivator would be filled with incredible power.

Xia Xuefeng bit her lip, conflicted and guilt-ridden.

'This is horrible. This is disgusting,' she admitted. 'But I have no choice. Surely the Heavens will understand, right?'

She flexed her cultivation, the blood around Lili's body swirled, pouring into her body through her skin. Xia Xuefeng moaned aloud as an intense ecstasy rippled through every cell of her body. The qi-rich blood poured through her meridians, pumping her with intense vitality.

The blood seemed to shudder and pull away from her, as if terrified. Unlike the beast-blood she had previously used, it seemed to have some kind of will and conscience, enough to resist her devouring. Xia Xuefeng smiled deliriously, as her Qi crushed whatever remnant of Lili's soul was resisting her devouring.

Without any resistance, the blood eagerly poured into her. It swirled within her, forming blood cross after blood cross.

Yet, beyond that, there was something else. A burning, tingling energy filled her, pouring through every meridian of her body. A strange Qi that Xia Xuefeng did not recognize.

"Stop her!" Lord Revenant shouted angrily.

He leaped through the air at Xia Xuefeng, palms stretched out in a vicious claw formation as spectral black and white mist formed skeletal claws around his hands.

Xia Xuefeng, nearly drunk from the ecstatic pleasure melting through her, barely reacted. Thirty-Nine blood crosses, forty blood crosses...

Lord Revenant Claw smashed into her side with a crack. Her body twisted as it was slammed backwards, into the gray rock of the cave. A Yin-chill lingered around her left wing, and the girl gasped, the pain forcing her back into clarity.

Battle Art - Impaling Nail of the Crucifix

A nail of blood extended from her hand, twisting into the shape of a spear. Eerily, the young girl seemed to float towards Lord Revenant as she thrust. The eight-stage cultivator sneered in disdain, smashing his spectral claws forward to block her spear.

Shrcchhh!

Instead of the clang of weapon against weapon- the ripping sound of a spear tearing through flesh resounded through the cave. Xia Xuefeng's Nail of the Crucifix ripped forward of its own volition, ramming through the air directly into his eye and impaling his brain into the stone cave behind.

The attack was of such speed and force no one in Qi Condensation should have been capable of unleashing it. A battle skill of this strength would normally be reserved for one in Foundation Establishment. The sad truth was that despite decades of combat experience and intense training, Lord Revenant was simply far weaker than Xia Xuefeng.

How could he not be when she cultivated the Blood Moon Spectral God's Anthem of the Crucified, an ancient tome of divine power taken from a shattered battlefield lined with the corpses of ancient felled gods? It was his misfortune to meet such an unreasonable occurrence.

Xia Xuefeng had been lucky enough to meet Bing Meilu, lucky enough to recognize swearing her loyalty to the girl would be a good idea, and lucky enough to be compatible with the cultivation manual of a mighty God from the distant past. Lord Revenant struggled for only a moment more, as blood and eye fluid bits dripped from his impaled socket. Then he fell still.

The whole clash lasted barely a few seconds. Xia Xuefeng did not allow her victory to distract her, as she ducked under the bone-white sword of the seventh stage man.

She could see his expression break into terrified fear as he caught sight of his master dead and hanging from the cave wall, held up only by the spear in his eye. A dozen feet away, his comrade, the knife-wielding woman, began to run to the exit of the large cave they were in with a frantic speed.

Powerful Qi hummed through her legs and the young girl leapt through the air as a blur, rocks cracking from the force of her jump. Her foot smashed into the knife-wielders back with a horrific cracking sound, as the woman's spine was folded in half and her flesh pulped. She could not even scream, only gasp uselessly as her lungs were eviscerated by the force of the kick.

Xia Xuefeng slowly turned to stare at the one remaining foe, the sword-wielding man. A grim, bitter smile split his face.

"I guess it was going to happen inevitablyyy-arrghhh~"

With a crack, the man fell to the ground dead and Xia Xufeng began to feed.

Blood swirled through the entire cave as the four corpses were completely exsanguinated, rivers of red light swirling and pouring into the girl. Cross after cross of blood appeared within her Dantian. At the same time, once more that same strange burning Qi poured through her alongside the blood of the four demonic cultivators, increasing in density and power.

Forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five.

Ninth Stage of Qi Condensation. The sound of screaming souls filled the air as Xia Xuefeng broke through the next realm. But she was not done yet. More and more of the rich, bloody energy poured into her.

Forty-six, forty-seven, forty-eight.

Finally, the cave fell silent, and four desiccated corpses fell to the ground. The black-haired girl inhaled deeply, body thrumming with power. Seven more crosses and she would reach the peak of Qi Condensation.


---

Xia Xuefeng sat silently on the cold cave floor, staring at the glowing moss with empty eyes. Today had- today she had killed a person. A human being.

Today she had eaten someone.

Someone with hopes and dreams and a soul. Just like her. She didn't know how to think or how to react. All she could feel was gnawing, horrifying guilt and shame.

How would her old friends react if they knew she had drained every last drop of blood from a human corpse and drank it and that she'd liked it too much-

She felt dirty and sick and unclean. There was no blood staining her skin because she had devoured all of it. In a sense, it was almost worse. At least if bloodstains physically covered her she could wash them off. Instead, the red stain of her crime was locked away within her Dantian, pumping away through her meridian system, a defilement she could not wash away.

"Xia Xuefeng!"

The girl blinked, looking up in confusion. A hazy image of Bing Meilu stared down at her imperiously, formed from a cloud of glowing jade dust.

Was that real or had she started to go insane?

"This is a pre-recorded message I've sent you so don't bother talking back. I've just found out about your imprisonment and am supremely displeased. I assure you I will secure your return with the utmost haste and that whoever is behind the false imprisonment will be punished in due time. I have full confidence that you will be able to keep safe until such a time, given the strength of your cultivation method. The Shadow Pit segregates between the first and second realms, so you should be fine so long as you don't push yourself to Foundation Establishment and get taken to the next level of the prison. "

Xia Xuefeng scoffed, feeling a worm of resentment bite at her. Wasn't she here because of the cultivation technique Bing Meilu had given her? What the hell was going on with that?

"Besides that, this is in fact a perfect location for you to cultivate. Demonic Cultivators are perfect resources to be devoured by you and I'm sure you'll quickly reach the peak of Qi Condensation!"

Xia Xuefeng angrily threw a rock through the jade-green cloud. Had Bing Meilu seriously just encouraged her to kill and eat people for power? What the fuck was wrong with her? Did she seriously not understand how horrible this was?

'Not to mention giving me a demonic cultivation method in the first place. This is all her damn fault!'

"Now, since I know you're a bit less educated on the world of cultivation, allow me to assure you that the Anthem of the Crucifed is not a Demonic Cultivation Manual and you've not committed any crimes. Though it seems the fools who run the court system of this sect don't understand that. Once everything is properly investigated, you should be free shortly."

"How the fuck is it not a demonic cultivation method? I just drank four people, Bing Meilu!" the girl uselessly shouted at the recording.

"A demonic cultivation method is a cursed technique that allows one to quickly acquire power at the cost of karmic sin and the displeasure of Heaven, often by the devouring of mortals or other such rituals of defilement that purposely violate natural law for power. However, the Anthem of the Crucified is the technique left behind by a God. That is to say, the measly Heavens of the Jade Sparrow World would not dare give you karmic sin just for using it. That would be akin to a local mayor giving the Crown Prince a fine. So long as you do not devour human beings with it you will not accrue Karmic Sin and thus are not a demonic cultivator!"

"That would have been good to know before I ate those people!" Xia Xuefeng scoffed. "Am I just fucked no-"

"Now, be sure to remember Demonic Cultivators do not count as 'humans' so far as the Heavens are concerned. In fact, killing them and using them as a resource is the obligation of all orthodox Cultivators. If you devour or kill any Demonic Cultivators, you will actually receive karmic merit from the Heavens, a potent thing that has countless uses. It is the reward from Natural Law for purging the world of such parasites."

'Karmic Merit? Is that what that burning energy was?' the girl thought, bewildered at the whiplash revelations.

"However, you must be very careful. While Karmic Merit is very useful, it is ultimately a shackle, like all karma. Every drop of it you use is a debt you will have to repay Heaven if you wish to transcend karma and ascend to a higher realm. I would recommend only using it if absolutely necessary."

With that, the pre-recorded message faded, leaving the bewildered girl alone on the cold cave floor.
 
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Good grief, this is certainly a proper fucked up cultivator setting. Don't worry, those guys aren't people, just resources to be exploited.
I mean, yes? I'd certainly say so. It'd be a huge improvement over letting them live.

Demonic Cultivators are a very common element in xianxia and what they do to get there is proper messed up. Can't really defend them from a clean death and bring used to power someone else up as they knowingly do far worse on the regular.
 
A demonic cultivation method is a cursed technique that allows one to quickly acquire power at the cost of karmic sin and the displeasure of Heaven, often by the devouring of mortals or other such rituals of defilement that purposely violate natural low for power. However, the Anthem of the Crucified is the technique left behind by a God. That is to say, the measly Heavens of the Jade Sparrow World would not dare give you karmic sin just for using it. That would be akin to a local mayor giving the Crown Prince a fine.

Your war crimes, our collateral damage.
 
I mean, yes? I'd certainly say so. It'd be a huge improvement over letting them live.

Demonic Cultivators are a very common element in xianxia and what they do to get there is proper messed up. Can't really defend them from a clean death and bring used to power someone else up as they knowingly do far worse on the regular.
Except, as I mentioned earlier, a system that gives you big rewards for dealing with 'criminals' encourages you to find criminals even if you have to create them yourself.
 
Except, as I mentioned earlier, a system that gives you big rewards for dealing with 'criminals' encourages you to find criminals even if you have to create them yourself.
The concept of heavenly law that seems to prevail within xianxia is entirely unconcerned with concepts like "perverse incentive structure."

A distant and unaccountable set of lawgivers who don't really know or care about the details unless they're somehow forced to seems to be baked into the system, I think?
 
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