Chapter 434

Liv took control of a new brothel named "Blazing Kid".

At this moment, Luosen was sitting in the underground cultivation chamber of Blazing Kid, holding a cup of amber-colored light liquor in his left hand, tasting like earth's huangjiu, while his right hand held a tiny silver fork.

After taking a sip of liquor, he would pick a tasty side dish from the wooden table beside him.

There were many kinds of dishes, such as stir-fried yellow bean sprouts, stewed pig ears, and so on, naturally also custom-made by the royal chefs for Luosen when he was bored.

Not far in front of him, two soft cultivation mats were placed left and right, each occupied by a uniquely charming beauty.

On the left was Beilu Dandi, on the right was Liv.

After sipping the fragrant liquor and smacking his lips in satisfaction, Luosen set down the tiny silver fork in his right hand, then lightly dragged his palm, and two pale gold spheres the size of pigeon eggs slowly appeared above his palm.

The spheres looked ordinary, but once they appeared, the originally dim cultivation chamber became very bright and warm, as if it had received the sunshine of a winter noon.

The two women unconsciously had their gazes drawn to them.

With a thought from Luosen, the two pale gold spheres each flew toward one of the women.

"Soul Nourishing Pearl, a true divine artifact I specially crafted according to your physical conditions, which can greatly accelerate your cultivation speed."

"If nothing unexpected happens, in about a year you will be able to advance to the twentieth ring, reaching the minimum requirement to ignite the divine fire."

Both women were overjoyed, but soon they had doubts.

Beilu Dandi asked, "Your Majesty, how should this be used? Should we just wear it on our person?"

Luosen shook his head: "No, it must be placed inside the body."

"Should it be swallowed like a potion?"

As she spoke, Beilu Dandi prepared to swallow the pearl, but feeling it was somewhat large, she hesitated.

Luosen smiled and said, "You guessed half correctly."

Beilu Dandi was a bit confused, but Liv already understood.

She quickly swallowed the "potion" into her body, then coyly asked, "Master, is this how you swallow it?"

Luosen nodded: "Exactly. Do you feel anything?"

Liv nodded repeatedly: "My belly is warm, a force continually emanates from it, quickly spreading throughout my body, and my soul has also grown stronger."

Beilu Dandi looked speechless, but immediately followed suit; after swallowing it, she couldn't help complaining, "Your Majesty, this is too awkward."

Luosen soothed, "You'll get used to it; it's not entirely my personal preference, but because this method works well."

Since that's the case, Beilu Dandi had nothing more to say.

Luosen downed the liquor in one gulp, then said, "I'm going to leave Grey City for a trip; you don't need to follow me. Your only task is to focus on cultivation."

He then looked at Liv: "The mortal incarnation of The Joyful One, Talaranaya, has also arrived at the Abyss of Pain and sensed our agreement."

Liv's face turned pale, and she grew a little afraid: "Master, what should we do?"

"Come over, to my side."

Liv immediately complied.

Luosen raised his hand and patted her forehead, quickly searching her soul.

After a few minutes, he suddenly lifted his palm, instantly drawing out a wisp of water-pink ethereal light from Liv's soul.

"This is the divine power left by The Joyful One inside you; I have completely cleared it, so you are no longer her follower."

With another gesture, Liv's Joyful One's Staff flew into his hand, and that water-pink joyful divine power was immediately attracted to it, actively entering the staff.

"I will return the Joyful One's Staff to The Joyful One and thoroughly resolve your trouble, so you need not worry at all."

Liv immediately breathed a sigh of relief, curtsying gracefully: "Thank you, Master."

"Also, this staff I give you has an effect similar to the Joyful One's Staff, but it can produce a similar charm without needing sexual union. Of course, if you feel that only through union can you completely subdue the target, I have no objection."

This staff, however, was crafted by Luosen using the Word Follows Law technique, modeled after the Joyful One's Staff, with some improvements aligned with his own philosophy.

Liv was very happy, because she had grown accustomed to divine arts being invincible in the mortal realm; suddenly lacking them, she truly felt at a loss.

Luosen then looked at Beilu Dandi: "Hand over the Extinction Law Sword."

Beilu Dandi immediately took the Extinction Law Sword from her own Time-Space Treasury and presented it with both hands to Luosen.

Luosen raised his finger and lightly brushed it over the blade; instantly, many delicate pale gold patterns appeared on the sword.

"I have greatly strengthened this sword so that it matches your current power and can unleash powerful divine arts in critical moments."

"Of course, even with a powerful divine sword, one must still act discreetly, for this world harbors many divine avatars."

"Yes, Master."

Beilu Dandi felt both delighted and solemn, increasingly eager to ignite the divine fire.

After arranging the two, Luosen said, "Then I'll be off."

As his words fell, he vanished; when he reappeared, it was deep in the Poison Mist Forest.

He held the Joyful One's Staff, leaned against a large tree, and waited patiently.

He emitted no contact signal, but his temporal premonition told him that if he waited in a relatively secluded spot for a while, he would surely gain something.

Time passed second by second, Luosen remained utterly still, like an old monk in meditation.

After a full six hours, when the sun climbed to the zenith and sunlight bathed the earth, a pink-purple figure flashed—The Joyful One Talaranaya arrived.

Luosen slightly focused his thought; primordial substance surged, transforming into a wisp of pale gold, sourceless phantom light that silently enveloped both of them.

Thus, the two completely 'merged' into the midday sunlight.

After Talaranaya stood firm, her face showed a hint of resentful color.

"Your Majesty, I helped you in good faith, yet you stole my close follower; this is not right." Luosen tossed the Joyful One's Staff over: "They're merely mortal followers; just find another."

"Your Majesty's words are truly light; followers are easy to find, but outstanding ones are hard to come by—only one emerges among millions of followers."

That's true; Liv is indeed a rare talent.

Luosen knew that without adequate compensation he might incur enmity, so he said, "Alright, this matter is indeed my fault; I apologize to you and give you this as compensation."

He raised his hand, condensing a fist-sized, colorless transparent crystal ball in his palm, and gently pushed it toward her.

The crystal sphere ignored gravity and drifted straight over.

Ta La Na Ya lifted her hand to catch it, then gently pinched it, and the crystal sphere turned from solid to void, merging into her body.

With that action, the faint pink light in her eyes flashed brightly for a moment, then slowly dimmed.

Her resentment vanished instantly, and she giggled, "Your Majesty's move is truly generous."

It was a massive lump of pure source essence refined by Luosen, five times the total source essence that Ta La Na Ya's incarnation possesses, enough for her to cast forty source‑essence divine techniques or forge five source‑essence artifacts.

Luosen smiled, "So Li Fu belongs to me now?"

Ta La Na Ya spread her hands, "Since Your Majesty likes her, she is yours then."

Then she asked, "Your Majesty, are you seeking a subordinate deity?"

"Of course, after all my power keeps growing, the day I leave the mortal realm draws nearer."

"Going to the Divine Realm alone does make me a bit uneasy."

A clear yearning lit Ta La Na Ya's face:

"Ah— I know very well that if I could advance with Your Majesty, my future would be exceedingly bright. Yet for various reasons, I must miss this chance."

Luosen could tell she was speaking sincerely, while also testing his thoughts.

Although her current divine power level still exceeds his, she is willing to become his subordinate deity.

If he were to extend an olive branch now, the other side would grasp it tightly at once.

So should he accept it?

Of course he should, because the other is a true god with experience surviving in the Divine Realm, which would greatly aid him.

Moreover, the other's divine nature is clearly of a supportive attribute, not domineering, and has helped him many times—truly an excellent choice for a subordinate deity.

Additionally, he needs to place an eye beside the Vanishing Goddess.

But there is a small problem.

"I don't mind having another subordinate deity, but I intend to ignite divine fire for Li Fu. Then your divine natures might clash."

Ta La Na Ya's eyes flashed, and she immediately said, "That's not a big issue."

"You value Li Fu only because you want her to gather intelligence for you, so let her serve as your intelligence officer. As for me, I can exclusively manage the realm of pleasure in the mortal world for you."

"Whether in the mortal realm or the Divine Realm, a place of pleasure is always needed to nourish souls, isn't it?"

That's indeed correct.

Although brothels, as places of pleasure, are despised by moral gentlemen, they have a long history in human history, and no signs of extinction are seen.

In other words, seeking pleasure is a fundamental human nature that can never be abolished.

Since it cannot be abolished, a god is naturally needed to oversee it, lest lawless zones appear.

Moreover, gathering intelligence and managing brothels indeed pose no major conflict.

Luosen asked again, "But your true form is in another world; how will you come over?"

Ta La Na Ya lowered her voice, "The goddess has accelerated the construction of the Sun Bridge; it should be completed in about five years, and then I can cross over."

Luosen understood and gave his promise.

"To avoid the Vanishing Goddess noticing, I won't ask you to swear an oath."

"But I swear by my divine nature that as long as you remain loyal to me in action, I will never betray you."

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your understanding."

Ta La Na Ya's eyes sparkled as she gave Luosen a coquettish smile, "Although I cannot swear, as repayment I wish to serve you once; do you need it?"

Luosen also wanted to witness her technique, but his divine power is weaker now, and he fears he cannot endure that soul‑shattering feeling, so he shook his head reluctantly, "We'll discuss it when we reach the Divine Realm."

Ta La Na Ya giggled, "Your Majesty is truly cautious, but only someone like you makes me believe you will have a great future."

Having said that, she stepped back lightly and dissolved into the air.

After she left, Luosen's thoughts surged, and his body's appearance began to change rapidly.

Within seconds, he turned into Black‑clad Luobert.

Both his form and soul core were identical to Luobert's, while his true soul remained deeply hidden within his spirit.

It was a move he had prepared long ago; to prevent leakage, the real Luobert wasn't truly dead, or at least not completely.

He kept that soul preserved to avoid it being 'account‑closed' by the Eternal Heart.

Disguised as Black‑clad Luobert, Luosen looked up at the halo hanging in the sky and, in Luobert's name, silently recited, "Juliet, Luobert requests to return to Yueliangcheng."

About three seconds later, the disguised Luobert's soul received a response: "Identity verification passed, transmission key sent, transmission window opened, please complete transfer within 20 seconds."

Those words made Luosen's heart stir: "Juliet's voice is gentle, yet one can still sense a hint of the detached, mechanical tone of an intelligent puppet, not quite like a mutated autonomous consciousness."

That mechanical feel is something mortals cannot perceive, but true gods can easily discern.

Of course, it's all speculation; the specifics still require careful investigation.

(End of chapter)