Chapter 256

"Imperial Princess, shall we continue investigating?" Mi Yilong frowned, his expression filled with concern.

The Immortal Emperor had indeed ordered the Imperial Princess to establish a formation to erase the opposing world's resistance and build a complete passage, so they had no doubt about her conveying the Immortal Emperor's edict.

But this world across from us.

He had not been unfamiliar with other realms—he had spent over a thousand years traveling through other worlds, gaining no small amount of fortune along the way, especially since this was the age when all realms converged.

He had seen many dangerous, bizarre, sacred, primitive, and vast worlds; he had encountered many powerful beings—but this world, at first, he had even thought was merely a mortal civilization still in development, where the immortal path and mortals had long separated.

But since the appearance of this 【Heavenly Dao Artifact】, things had begun to feel off.

The cultivators of that world had a chaotic system—indeed, even among cultivators alone, there were several distinct systems; through the spy's perspective, they had seen at least four major branches and dozens of minor variations in cultivation methods.

That world also possessed magic, divine power, witchcraft, and other forms of transcendent abilities.

If that were all, it might have been odd, but there were certainly realms in the myriad heavens that played even stranger games.

Those immensely potent Heavenly Dao Artifacts, spirit stones with extraordinarily concentrated spiritual energy, various resurrection techniques, and heavenly treasures accessible even to low-level cultivators made even these Immortals feel a restless itch inside.

But ever since that broken flute began to appear, the status of that world had risen several tiers in their estimation.

The information gathered by the spy led them to suspect that world had once endured something utterly terrifying—if the remnants left after such a war could reach this level, what had the world been like in its prime before its collapse?

The war depicted in the footage involving the true dragon was still manageable; if it were merely that level, they would not be overly concerned about accidents.

But the Heavenly Dao tied to the 【Heavenly Dao Artifact】, the Immortal Emperor linked to the broken flute, the origin of the fat Daoist Priest, and the Heavenly Dao mentioned by the true dragon—all of it made them sense that this world might harbor a far more hidden, grander history.

"I think we should report this matter to the Immortal Emperor," said a Divine General, hesitating before finally stepping forward: "Imperial Princess, this is no longer something we can decide on our own."

"Then go inform the Immortal Emperor," Ju Chang said without panic; after two previous setbacks, she had installed a severance within the spy—should anything happen, all connections would be cut immediately, and if the spy survived, the information would be transmitted back after a delay.

The Divine General departed; Ju Chang continued watching. When she saw the other side tossing collected spirit stones into the Xuan-Yellow talisman, she slightly furrowed her brow.

"Imperial Princess…" Mi Yilong and the other Qing Sect immortals tried to dissuade her.

"That Daoist, that dragon, and those artifacts—they did not originate from the same universe," Ju Chang turned and said. "The traced origins all point to other locations in the void."

"What?!" The immortals exchanged glances, clearly astonished.

"Could it be that many great beings once descended upon that world? Or is it currently linked to other realms?" Star Official Yan Cang speculated.

"Who knows?" Ju Chang said coolly.

"Ji Ping, leave a fragment of your soul-mind as a means of return, go to the Du'e Palace to sever your karmic ties, and after some days, you shall journey to that world for exploration."

"The information gathered by those few young ones of the Qing Sect differs entirely from what the spy encountered—you must pay special attention to this."

"Yes." A woman in a golden mask stepped forward from the left, showing no hesitation, fully obeying Ju Chang's command.

Clank. Clank.

The crisp sound of armor striking the ground echoed as the Divine General who had gone to report returned.

"Well?" Ju Chang asked.

"The Immortal Emperor says he knew nothing of this matter, so you have falsely claimed his imperial decree," the Divine General stared straight at Ju Chang, then turned and returned to the Immortal ranks: "But he seems to have no intention of interfering with you."

Ju Chang curled her lips into a faint smile: "Is that so."

If one day Su Lin had to choose between "saving the world" and "following Heihuang, Pizi Long, and Duan De in business," he would definitely choose the former—at least the former, while offering him no great benefit, brought no harm either.

To maximize profit while ensuring currency circulation, Su Lin had issued far more than one Grand Lottery ticket—among cultivators, it was hardly even rare.

It was merely taking advantage of this newly arrived demonic cultivator's lack of information.

Su Lin never imagined these three creatures, who looked nothing alike yet belonged to the same species as Heihuang and King Dou Dou, could pull this off.

Spirit stones kept flowing continuously through the talisman to his Shuijing Peak; Su Lin's lip twitched. He sliced off the bitten portion of the fruit in his hand and tossed it straight into the talisman belonging to Seeing Qu Yanping.

The rate of spirit stone placement slowed noticeably, then gradually stopped. Su Lin judged it sufficient and tossed over a slightly more valuable heavenly fruit—a date.

Whoosh—

After receiving two hundred spirit stones, Su Lin now tossed over a photocopied, artificially aged cultivation manual—a teleportation technique.

As expected, the spirit stone placement increased further.

But when five hundred poured in this time, Su Lin made no move; the other side also stopped, seemingly abandoning the idea—for now.

Su Lin sighed, then turned his gaze to a nearby spot, pulling out a bag of sunflower seeds from history. He sat on a chair, munching as he watched the spectacle.

He had once heard a saying: "Three women make a play." But across from him were three beasts—this was far more entertaining.

"You two sons of bitches! Give back what you stole, Daoist!" Duan De unleashed continuous attacks toward the formation runes where Pizi Long and Heihuang sat, his eyes blazing red—he was serious.

"Fatso, the Dragon Lord paid you! This is a fair trade!" The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon flicked his whiskers with a claw, grinning wickedly: "Do you understand honest business?"

"You're lying! The spirit stones are meant to be reclaimed, and your storage bag is empty! Damn your grandmother's legs! You're cheating me, your Dao Master!" Duan De flailed his arms wildly—upon closer look, each forearm bore a distinct tooth mark as he roared:

"Either pay me, or I'll peel your skin off and make it into your underpants!"

"And you, you dead dog—remove the formation runes at once!"

"Woof! Dream on! Once it's in Dog Lord's pocket, does it ever come out?" Heihuang sat cross-legged on the ground, wearing bright red floral shorts; though his words were angry, his face was twisted into a wide grin: "Brother Dragon, we really are kindred spirits."

The Purple-Gold Divine Dragon shoved some items into Heihuang's claws: "Indeed—we're perfectly matched. Here's your share."

Though the trio had completed their task, the items Duan De had laid out for sale—aside from the long-life lock he'd pulled out as a prop—were mostly things he'd "foraged," some stripped of spiritual aura, but a few still slipped through.

Among them was the spearhead, stained with blood impurities and damaged—he normally kept such items piled together, only retrieving them for study when he had time.

He'd merely wanted to test the kid's mysterious abilities, never expecting it to actually work—but he never expected to be double-crossed by these two heartless bastards.

He'd planned to wait until the kid bought it, then ambush him somewhere and reclaim it—only for the Purple-Gold Divine Dragon to intercept it mid-transaction!

Su Lin sighed. If not for maintaining his image as a lofty master, he'd have loved to take a share of these items—sometimes, the weight of an idol's facade hampers one's own gains.

Time swiftly arrived at the day before the agreed-upon deadline.

Amid emerald peaks and white clouds, Seeing Qu Yanping stared blankly at the pile of miscellaneous items on the ground.

He had not ceased accumulating spirit stones, and at first, he had used the 【Heavenly Dao Artifact】 with great restraint.

The 【Heavenly Dao Artifact】 contained spirit fruits that extended lifespan, immortal herbs that strengthened physique and soul, a wind-teleportation technique, and a resurrection spell as the guaranteed reward.

Yet he didn't understand why mundane items appeared—like potato chips with a "Three-No" label, hotpot base, mobile phones…

And why, of all things, was the guaranteed reward in the Heavenly Dao Grand Lottery a Resurrection Coin from Mr. Guangming?

Spending 400 spirit stones randomly for a ten-pull has a decent chance of obtaining a Resurrection Coin from Mr. Guangming; even those with bad luck get one after three or four ten-pulls.

Overall, it's a bit of a loss, but not entirely.

At first, he was making a small profit, but he couldn't control his **.

The items he initially pulled kept him restless; thinking he'd obtained a pile of good items for just a small portion of spirit stones, he'd felt the odds were quite high, so he couldn't resist investing more spirit stones.

But gradually, when he'd spent five hundred spirit stones and gotten nothing, he began to regret it—but probability accumulates; having already spent five hundred spirit stones, he either stopped or kept pulling.

Thus, his daily routine these past few days was nearly identical.

He watched matches during the day to earn spirit stones, practiced in the afternoon with a few spirit stones, and went to gamble on stones at night; half of what he earned he saved as capital for the next day, the rest he poured into the Big Lottery.

"It's time to rein myself in." Seeing Qu Yanping sighed and shook his head, collecting all the items on the ground into his storage bag, temporarily giving up on the idea of drawing a Heavenly Dao Oddity—based on current odds, it might take years or countless spirit stones.

Spirit stones

Only when Seeing Qu Yanping came to his senses did he realize he'd spent nearly half of the Qu family's fortune.

His cultivation hadn't slipped; the spirit fruits he'd consumed and the spells he'd acquired had boosted his strength considerably.

Even today he obtained a Breakthrough Pill; with this pill, his cultivation speed accelerated further, the only regret being he lacked sufficient spirit stones to create an artificial liquidized spirit qi lake, and had no extra spirit stones to rent a high-time-differential cultivation chamber.

"Enough." Seeing Qu Yanping set his thoughts aside, left his lodging inn, and flew toward a direction.

The flight distance was short; within seconds he arrived outside a bus stop, preparing to take public transport.

Although Gao Sheng and others all had cultivation, they didn't use their powers for extended periods.

He had no reason to flaunt his abilities before mortals; outside Dongtinghu's protection zone, there was no need to risk being seen by other cultivators.

【Dishonest Map will continue guiding you.】

Seeing Qu Yanping opened the location sent by Gu Yue Fang Yuan; the man's residence was nearby, inviting him to discuss exploring the Penglai Ruins.

Gao Sheng and Li Feiyu had both agreed to go; he naturally couldn't act alone, and besides, he might gain some important information.

The bus ride lasted over an hour; the passengers gradually shifted from mostly cultivators to mostly mortals.

The road conditions changed from flat cement roads to winding, rugged mountain paths.

Seeing Qu Yanping didn't understand: since the non-interference pact had already been broken, why did these cultivators still immerse themselves in mortal life?

Perhaps out of habit? Or perhaps the lifting of restrictions had only just begun?

In Hengyu Realm, cultivators and mortals mostly lived separate lives, their levels of existence and forms of entertainment entirely different; aside from kin, cultivators mostly interacted only with other cultivators.

Yet cultivators in this realm took pleasure in it.

【Da Ai Fuli Academy is on your right. Navigation ended.】

Seeing Qu Yanping stepped off the bus and surveyed his surroundings.

Mountains and wilderness surrounded him; bamboo leaves and yellowed tree leaves littered the roadside; ahead stood a red-painted sliding iron gate, with a small locked door in its center.

To the right was a guard booth; through the iron bars and half-open window, he saw only a bed piled with dust.

He'd assumed it was merely a suburban spot, never expecting it to be nestled halfway up a mountain.

Fuli Academy… this realm's orphanage, the Leze Garden? Seeing Qu Yanping recalled the knowledge he'd acquired.

He was puzzled—could this Gu Yue ally truly be a cultivator full of compassion and kindness? He hadn't expected the man to do such good deeds daily.

That explained the photos in his social circle with children; he'd originally thought they were disciples or children of some sect.

Seeing Qu Yanping walked to the iron gate and knocked. No one answered.

Clang!

The white sign reading 【Da Ai Fuli Academy】 suddenly fell off, revealing another sign behind it—【Da Ai Psychiatric Hospital】

Seeing Qu Yanping: "?"

"Sorry for the wait." Gu Yue Fang Yuan opened the small iron door and said to Seeing Qu Yanping: "Brother Qu, please come in—I never expected you to be the first to arrive."

Seeing Qu Yanping suppressed his minor doubts, smiled, and replied: "Brother Gu Yue, long time no see."

Gu Yue Fang Yuan glanced at the fallen sign, looked around, flicked his fingers, and the sign floated back into place automatically.

"My apologies for the embarrassment, Brother Qu." Gu Yue Fang Yuan gestured with his hand.

"After you." Seeing Qu Yanping returned the gesture and walked inside.

Squeak—

The iron gate slowly closed, and the sky, which had been slightly sunny, turned dark with clouds.

Boom!

(End of Chapter)