Chapter 251: The Virtuous Daoist Duan De Joins the Team

Shengcheng, Ye Zhetian Trading House.

An out-of-place modern louver window appeared on the uppermost room's window, and a priceless spiritual herb was placed in the corner as a potted plant, its faint spiritual aura mingling with floral fragrance.

Ye Zhetian sat with one leg crossed over the other on a purple wood chair carved with a hundred dragons vying for a pearl, sunlight from the setting sun filtering through the louver slats into the tea room.

Not far away, a fat man in a Daoist robe entered through the door under the guidance of "Ruhua."

It was Duan De, long missing.

"Brother!" The moment Duan De stepped in, his face changed—he screamed, his double chins squeezing his eyes shut, his hands trembling uncontrollably: "I've searched for you everywhere!"

Ye Zhetian remained unmoved, his expression unchanged, simply gazing silently at Duan De.

Just then, the great sun in the sky reached a perfect position; its bright golden light flickered through the louver slats, blinding Duan De slightly so he could no longer clearly see Ye Zhetian's face.

"Those guys from the Purple Mansion Sacred Ground aren't even human! I've been diligently guarding the trading house, and five Dragon-Transformed experts came straight for me!"

"If I hadn't run fast enough, you'd never see me again!"

"I traveled from the Eastern Wilderness to the Northern Region, enduring eighty-one trials to reach Shengcheng! Look at me—I've lost dozens of catties from hunger!"

As Duan De lamented his pursuers' "atrocities," he recounted how hard his recent journey had been—crossing countless mountains and rivers—until he finally heard that a trading house named "Ye Zhetian" had opened in Shengcheng.

"I remember you mentioning this name before—your methods are truly brilliant, opening right under the noses of all the Sacred Grounds."

"I thought the trading house needed people now, so I rushed back without pause, flying for months without rest!"

"If those two old men from the Yao Guang Sacred Ground hadn't blocked my path, I'd have returned long ago! Brother! You must uphold justice for me!"

Duan De's expression was sincere; combined with his appearance, many who didn't know him would think him a simple, honest fat man.

"By the way, I heard you've secured a Saint King as your patron? Is that true?" Duan De squinted and smiled; his previous expression shifted effortlessly into a grin.

"Brother~ Brother~! Dinner's ready!" Xiao Nannan emerged from the inner door, running over to Ye Zhetian's side, curiously sizing up Duan De: "Brother, is this fat brother your friend? Should I set an extra pair of chopsticks?"

Ye Zhetian smiled, picked up Xiao Nannan, and placed her on a nearby chair, patting her head: "Your fat brother needs to lose weight."

Duan De didn't respond to Ye Zhetian—he stared at Xiao Nannan beside him as if he'd seen a ghost.

"I heard you got rich in the Eastern Wilderness?" Ye Zhetian asked.

Duan De snapped back to himself, his expression returning to composure; he sheepishly rubbed his hands: "Just small-time dealings."

Ye Zhetian stroked Xiao Nannan's head, not even glancing at Duan De, and continued:

"You got rich in the Eastern Wilderness—your old inventory sales did well, your life is comfortable."

"Local sects and Sacred Grounds partnered with you—you disguised the Saint Body's trail and secretly sold off those weapons. Clearly, you don't need me as a friend."

"Yet now you come to me saying, 'Brother Saint Body, please uphold justice for me.'"

"You show me no respect—you don't treat me as a friend. You won't even call me by my title."

"Chairman."

How could Ye Zhetian not know what this bastard was thinking?

His and Hei Huang's and Weigong Shilang's overall worth hadn't diminished over time—it had only skyrocketed.

He and Hei Huang were fine; after all, he'd never revealed he'd broken the Saint Body curse, so his value as a "human medicinal ingredient" remained low, but Weigong Shilang's combined bounty was nearing half the value of a Sacred Ground.

Even empires and factions that had never been scammed were secretly investigating them; as the projected weapon tiers rose, Weigong Shilang's value surged in their eyes.

Duan De was probably tempted—he'd always been a turncoat, but likely heard on the road that I was with a Saint King, hence his sudden "humble" attitude.

"Don't say that, Chairman—I'm increasing our trading house's income!" Duan De decisively dumped out all his source stones from his elixir sea, along with several unliquidated projected weapons.

Did it hurt? Of course it hurt! But compared to this business, the pain now was temporary—the joy would last for millennia!

When Ye Zhetian first came to recruit him, Duan De had kept his guard up—he wasn't close to this guy, and back then he'd even stolen from him, no—wait, that item had always been destined for the Daoist.

But as Ye Zhetian laid out the blueprint and Weigong Shilang demonstrated his abilities, Duan De instantly saw the enormous profit here!

Who cared about familiarity? Burn the yellow paper, swear brotherhood, and you're close!

"Heh." Ye Zhetian rose with a smile, studying Duan De for a long while before slowly saying: "To be honest, your position is a bit awkward now."

Ye Zhetian was hinting they no longer needed Duan De's methods to keep earning here, so there was no need to give him a share anymore.

But who was Duan De?

Clatter! Clang! Ding-dong!

Various materials clashed, producing sharp, piercing, or crisp sounds.

To Xiao Nannan's astonishment, Duan De poured out wave after wave of weapons from his elixir sea.

Jade-green knife, purple jade sword, crimson jade spear, ink jade halberd, white jade shield.

"I haven't been idle this period," Duan De grinned a "you know what I mean" smile, listing them off like treasures: "The seven-hundred-year-old Eastern Wilderness Daoist's sword from 9,000 years ago, the spear of the Cao family prodigy from the Western Regions from 6,300 years ago, the first weapon of Zhongzhou from 8,000 years ago—"

When Duan De finished his introduction, the two exchanged knowing smiles.

"Welcome back, my friend." Ye Zhetian clapped his hands warmly, then told Xiao Nannan: "Ask Dutch Brother to set an extra pair of chopsticks."

You think these are Duan De's entire fortune? Wrong—less than one-tenth!

Ye Zhetian, having read "Ye Zhetian," knew just how rich this unscrupulous fat man was—but slow and steady wins the race; even these weapons alone would keep Weigong Shilang busy for a long while.

"Oh." Xiao Nannan nodded, jumped off the chair, and ran inside.

Hearing "Dutch," Duan De exhaled slightly—Ye Zhetian having problems was fine, but if the money tree vanished, that would be disastrous.

Come to think of it, that kid's cooking was pretty good—he'd missed his dishes for so long.

"Hey, wait, don't rush off," Ye Zhetian grabbed Duan De's Daoist robe: "I have a chance for you—want it?"

"Wu Liang Tian Zun, really?" Duan De didn't believe it.

Ye Zhetian summoned a portal, pointing: "The opportunity is inside. Believe it or not—it's there."

Saying that, he stepped inside first.

After a moment's thought, Duan De gathered the weapons on the ground and followed him in.

"Battlefield weapon deployment complete!"

"Bronze City Phase V. Wait—we're missing a life stake! Brother Qi, throw Kuangdao Sanlang over here!"

After a wave of wailing.

"Qingtong City Phase I completed!"

"Ten Thousand Demons' Nest finished! Cultivators of the Demon Clan, come over and shed some blood soon!"

"Many ordinary people have gathered around the ruins of Penglai and Eden. Director, how should we handle this?"

Su Lin was applying his memory of civil engineering knowledge, holding a construction blueprint to inspect preparations for the second act.

"Put everything in!" Su Lin shouted.

Two Mystical Realms spontaneously connecting with reality would naturally draw attention from nations and ordinary people, but this suited Kleen's ritual perfectly—it needed to link with reality to form a corresponding Spirit Realm.

There was no Spirit Realm in this world? Previously, there wasn't one—but now there is, a temporary Spirit Realm, after Su Lin granted access.

"Senior Su Lin," Huangshan Zhenjun walked toward Su Lin.

"No need for formalities," Su Lin stopped Huangshan Zhenjun from bowing.

"Many fellow cultivators asked me to inquire about this simulated universe," Huangshan Zhenjun hesitated, then asked: "Will it be shut down after the movie filming ends?"

This news came from Song Shuhang and Bai Zunzhe; upon hearing it, some cultivators felt as if struck by lightning. After last night's discussion in the Jiuzhou No. 1 group, Huangshan Zhenjun, as group leader, came to confirm it and ask a few questions.

"Correct," Su Lin nodded. "At this pace, plus some time-speed manipulation stages, we'll wrap it up in about a month."

Too fast! Huangshan Zhenjun himself thought this.

"Then, Senior, when is the next test?" Huangshan Zhenjun asked eagerly.

Su Lin: "."

You've all gotten addicted, haven't you?!

Ah, but honestly, it really is kind of fun.

Su Lin had been enjoying himself these past days—after all, gambling and profit weren't the point; this was his first time experiencing such a lively cultivator atmosphere. The gameplay was even more thrilling than the Sword Art Online world Lao Lu played.

Who wants to cheat in the next round when you can be the GM?

And strangely, everyone in the chat group had made a fortune; these past few days, they'd sent Song Shuhang countless red packets.

These cultivators' purchasing power was terrifying. Su Lin did the math carefully: even if he raised the reward tenfold, it still couldn't match the spending of this group of cultivators—families, relatives, teams—within just half a month.

What if the simulated universe's currency runs out? What if the grind speed can't keep up with consumption? What if they encounter one-time projection weapons, pills, or magical knowledge they can take away? What if they find something they want to eat?

Just recharge with assets from their original world!

Not all cultivators were spending. Cultivators like Bie Xue Xianji and the Herbalist, who already possessed special skills, didn't spend much time in dungeons or competitions—they treated this world as real, opened shops, interacted with the "NPCs," and learned new knowledge.

Overall, Su Lin, the group members, and the cultivators from Song Shuhang's world all felt they'd struck it rich.

"Senior Su Lin, is there a problem?" Huangshan Zhenjun asked urgently.

"No," Su Lin paused, then said: "I'll notify you when the time comes. Next time, we might switch locations."

"No problem! Please be sure to notify us!" Huangshan Zhenjun sighed in relief, pulled out his phone, and asked hopefully: "Senior Su Lin, can we add you on a group?"

Su Lin instinctively reached for his phone, fell silent for several seconds, then said: "Prepare a phone and account for me."

Even though they're all QQ, crossing worlds clearly won't work.

Moments later, after asking a few more questions, Huangshan Zhenjun left satisfied.

As long as the simulated universe restarts later, it's fine—even waiting ten or twenty years doesn't matter; to cultivators, it's just a blink.

The simulated universe's benefits for cultivators are immense. Leaving aside the brand-new knowledge Senior Su Lin and other creators deliberately passed down to juniors,

The fact that they can fight freely without fear of death lets vast numbers of cultivators enhance their combat skills, test their techniques, and attempt to transcend tribulations.

Moreover, the simulated universe has resolved some grudges among cultivators—at least, few in the Jiuzhou No. 1 group still hold old resentments toward Kuangdao Sanlang; past matters have been settled.

In this period, three married cultivator couples who had divorced chose to remarry after experiencing love, betrayal, and life-or-death adventures.

If there were a rating option, every cultivator participating in the simulated universe would give it a perfect score!

Watching Huangshan Zhenjun's retreating back, Su Lin sighed helplessly—better to hope Song Shuhang becomes the Dao of Heaven next year and grants you a real simulated universe.

Su Lin pulled out a checklist and began verifying whether the set props had been deployed.

The coffin brought from the Ancient Forbidden Land by Ye Fan (deployed)

Sealed artifacts voluntarily sponsored by the True God Church and Outer Gods (deployed)

Weapons projected by Weigong Shilang (temporarily granted true properties; deployment complete)

Only ten thousand? Isn't that a bit too few? After this, I'll have to add skill points to unlock his Unlimited Blade Works ability.

Pills (deployed)

Remains of Immortals (deployed)

Gradually, Su Lin verified all prop preparations—every setup was complete, and rehearsals for the second act were ready to begin.

Alright, let's see what this demonic cultivator is up to.

Su Lin turned his gaze downward. Hmm… even the protagonist, Qu Yanping, had made a fortune.

This guy, through one Tian Dao Artifact Battle per day, turned seven Spirit Stones into fourteen, fourteen into twenty-eight, and now he's even looking for loans.

Doesn't matter—once filming wraps, all these props will be recovered. Let him enjoy it for now.

It's said the Taiqing Empress originally had some fate with me—thinking about it, that's absurd. She's been alive for tens of thousands of years and still wants to chase after a young man.

Let this 【movie】 commemorate this unfulfilled connection. Thinking it over, I suppose I'm rather romantic.

(End of Chapter)