Chapter 118: Turns Out I Can Win by Lying Down

He was very surprised, frowning as he said in a deep voice.

"So it really is Young Master Su. You... this probably isn't as simple as a disguise, is it? It looks more like... some kind of illusion technique? I wonder if Lv is correct? Who... exactly are you?"

He had felt before that Su Yuanshan seemed different from ordinary people; at first, he thought he was just exceptionally gifted, but now the more he thought about it, the stranger it felt.

Yes, he still didn't know Su Yuanshan's background, and the more he thought about it now, the more he felt something was wrong; Su Yuanshan was too mysterious.

Hearing Lv Qingshan's words, the others couldn't help but be stunned. They hadn't thought much of it before, but now that they pondered it, it felt a bit off. They thought to themselves, "Yes, who exactly is he? Where is he from?"

Seeing everyone looking at him, Su Yuanshan naturally couldn't tell them he was a deity, the City God, so he deliberately dodged the question.

"Since everyone came here to seek opportunities, shouldn't we look around? Perhaps we might find some heavenly treasures or divine weapons!"

Once he said this, a few people were indeed distracted, such as the two disciples from the Kaiyuan Academy.

But Lv Qingshan glanced at him with a complex expression; he was no fool and naturally understood that Su Yuanshan did not wish to discuss it further.

He thought to himself, "This further confirms my guess; this Young Master Su's background is likely truly extraordinary."

Could it be... could he be an elite disciple from some famous sect? Is it possible he is a Hall Master or Elder-level figure? But he seems a bit too young for that!

At this moment, Su Yuanshan suddenly felt that the spirit bead within his spirit space had characters beginning to emerge again.

"Taoyuan peach tree demon, Transformation Stage, remaining lifespan: three hundred years!"

"Lifespan bead tier, beginning conversion of Longevity Incense………………."

Su Yuanshan secretly funneled the vast majority of the lifespan from this Longevity Incense into his own Life-Bound Divine Lamp! He left only a small portion for backup.

Seeing that he didn't want to talk, Xie Lingyu, Lv Qingshan, and the others didn't press for answers. They split into several small teams and began searching everywhere, hoping to find some treasures.

After more than three hours of effort, they did indeed find some remarkable things!

One spirit tool, two precious tools, and a manual for a wood-element demon cultivation technique; the rest were some dharma tools and a small bronze mirror of unknown use, with a Taotie pattern carved on the back.

Everyone counted, and there were ten items in total!

After accounting for their respective contributions and making some exchanges, they began to distribute the treasures they had found; Su Yuanshan received the highest-quality spirit tool.

As for the others, some were happy while others were sad.

The most frustrated were the two disciples from the Kaiyuan Academy; one received the demon cultivation manual, which made his face turn red with anger, while the other received the small bronze mirror, which looked like nothing more than a piece of trashy jewelry.

But since the others were stronger, he didn't dare to act out, so he had to swallow his pride.

Just as he was feeling sullen, Su Yuanshan glanced at the small bronze mirror in his hand and said quite 'sincerely'.

"Hey, fellow Daoist, that thing doesn't seem to have much use. Would you sell it to me for ten spirit stones? I could use it as a decoration."

However, the Kaiyuan Academy disciple was stunned upon hearing this, shook his head, and said irritably.

"Fellow Daoist, aren't you taking advantage of me a bit too much? Are you mocking me on purpose? Although this thing looks ordinary, it came from this Taoyuan Xujing, so it might actually be some incredible treasure."

Su Yuanshan turned his face away.

"Then forget it!"

The Kaiyuan Academy disciple.

"........"

He sighed and said.

"Don't! How about one hundred spirit stones? I can't go any lower!"

Su Yuanshan took out a small bag, weighed it, and said.

"I only have fifty spirit stones here. Sell or not? If not, keep it yourself; maybe it will appreciate in value in a thousand or eight hundred years!"

He was tempted; the Kaiyuan Academy disciple was somewhat tempted. Fifty spirit stones was neither a lot nor a little. Finally, he gritted his teeth and handed the small bronze mirror to Su Yuanshan.

"Fine, I'll sell it to you."

There was a reason why Su Yuanshan bought this small bronze mirror; one reason was that ever since he obtained the Five-Turn Golden Lotus and was tracking Lv Qingshan and the others, he had inadvertently broken that weak divine array, and his Golden Light Divine Power had actually begun to recover slowly, even allowing him to use the City God Mountain and River Seal and the City God Demon-Slaying Sword again.

But the many difficult and dangerous encounters along the way had greatly touched his heart and changed many of his previous thoughts.

He felt that if he continued on this path, he would probably lose his life before long.

He thought to himself, didn't a sage among sages in ancient times say something like this?

Those who labor with their minds govern others, while those who labor with their strength are governed by others!

I'm acting like a desperate man all day, working myself to the bone searching for treasures and opportunities to improve myself—how is this any different from those who labor with their strength!

No difference! I am that miserable laborer!

Isn't there a good slogan? If you want to get rich, first build roads; but in my view, if you want to progress, you must first change your thinking.

But how to change this thinking? Very simple!

When I can clearly win by lying down, letting my subordinates fulfill the wishes of the pious for me, and I don't have to go out personally and work myself to death to gain incense to improve myself, why should I run around blindly, laboring and suffering? Isn't that just exhausting?

When I can clearly seek stability and reduce risk—after all, I am a City God with near-infinite lifespan; although I have the minor flaw of the Life-Bound Divine Lamp, I am basically the type who can outlast enemies—why must I insist on running to this Taoyuan Jing to deal with Taohua Xianren myself! And it was so exhausting to fight! I almost lost my life several times.

Wouldn't it be better to just outlast him for five hundred or a thousand years? Even if I can't outlast him, at least I can keep improving my cultivation until he can't even see my back, and then strike him down in one move? Why must I struggle so hard to go head-to-head with him? I could have just stayed low, cultivated, improved, and improved, and then, with absolute certainty, strike him with a dimensional-reduction blow—wouldn't that be better? After all, my lifespan is near-infinite!

When I could have just laid flat and won in the end, I insisted on risking my life, nearly dying several times—how dangerous is that?

Now that I think about it, why was I so stubborn?

Sure enough, to progress, one must change their thinking!

After experiencing a series of hardships, at this moment, Su Yuanshan seemed to have a sudden epiphany and realized a principle.

Anything that can be done by relying on others, anything that can be done by lying flat and then winning, one should never do it oneself. Even if one must act, one should only do so when success is absolutely certain, thus minimizing risk.

He thought to himself, "I really am a genius." With that one thought cleared, Su Yuanshan suddenly felt an indescribable sense of lightness throughout his body.

At this moment, he suddenly felt a surge of heat coming from the small bronze mirror, which made his heart skip a beat... but what followed was even more—joy!

He thought to himself, "This thing really is... not ordinary!"