Chapter 212: Wanting to Ascend to the Top Level

Li Yu had anticipated that "Play Star," as a member of the City Lord's Mansion, would propose conditions such as Li Yu pledging further loyalty or even demanding the Immortal Qin Jade Seal.

He had not expected, however, that they would offer him unconditional protection.

As someone skilled in schemes and opportunism, Li Yu subconsciously felt something was amiss, and thus did not answer immediately.

The group leader, Play Star, seemed to have guessed Li Yu's thoughts and sent another message:

"The Immortal Qin Jade Seal is a divine object of great utility to factions such as the 【Blood God Temple】 and the 【Forbidden God Sect】."

"But for the City Lord's Mansion alone, this item is useless."

"On the contrary, we hope that a fellow Daoist like you, who is nominally already part of our City Lord's Mansion, can continue to grow. Whether you become an eternal hegemon or ascend to a divine throne, everyone in the City Lord's Mansion would be happy to see it. We will not trip you up; we will only do our best to assist you."

"Therefore, the City Lord's Mansion will certainly protect your life."

As these words, which could be considered heartfelt, appeared.

Suddenly, Li Yu recalled the secrets he had previously glimpsed regarding the City Lord's Mansion.

At once, a faint realization dawned in his heart.

"Divine objects like the Immortal Qin Jade Seal have the great utility of gathering destiny and establishing empires, which is why all the major sects need them."

"But the path the City Lord's Mansion cultivates seems somewhat special; it focuses on companionship or pushing things from the shadows, rather than getting involved personally... For instance, one of the creators of the super-empire of Immortal Qin, the foster father of the Lord of Immortal Qin, was someone who obtained secrets—this person was from the City Lord's Mansion. They share the same path, and the initial sequence is that 【Nine-Stream Idler】."

"Because of these things, the City Lord's Mansion would not snatch my Jade Seal; perhaps they even intend to heavily subsidize me."

"However, if that is the case, does the City Lord's Mansion have ulterior motives for pushing the establishment of the state in Wanfu City...?"

As these thoughts flickered, Li Yu suppressed his suspicions for the time being.

Subsequently, he formally responded to Play Star:

"Then, Group Leader, what should I do after I return to the real world?"

"How does the City Lord's Mansion intend to protect me?"

"Has that wretch, King Xi, already gone mad and surrounded my residence?"

His three consecutive questions were immediately answered.

"You need not do much; just continue with your duties in the pioneer team."

"The City Lord's Mansion is already applying for a 【Restraining Order】 for you, which should be issued within half an hour. At that time, King Xi will be watched and supervised by the 'Will of Wanfu.' He will be unable to approach you, and once he crosses the line, he will immediately receive a warning."

"As for surrounding your residence?"

"It seems Fellow Daoist Li does not yet know much about the power of our 【City Lord's Mansion】. Next time, you might want to pray and ask the Lord of Myriad Changes. Never mind that King Xi is not currently the 【Forbidden God Sect Leader】; even if he were, he would not have the ability or the guts to surround your residence. That is, after all, the territory of our City Lord's Mansion."

Play Star's final sentence was truly overbearing.

And between the lines of his other words, Li Yu also felt a strong confidence in their strength.

"Restraining Order... Will of Wanfu!"

"Does Play Star even think the Lord of Myriad Changes knows the strength of the City Lord's Mansion?"

"It seems my understanding of the City Lord's Mansion is still too superficial. This organization, which built Wanfu City from nothing and can make organizations like the 【Blood God Temple】 and 【Sacred Nest】 bow down, likely has a foundation even more terrifying than I imagined."

As his thoughts flickered, Li Yu's curiosity grew intense again.

Unfortunately, there was nowhere to pry for secrets at this moment, and his Truth Bubbles were already exhausted.

Although he could not simply and crudely pry directly, Li Yu still knew how to fish for information:

"Although King Xi is not the Forbidden God Sect Leader, he is the hegemon of the Eastern District and a spokesperson for the sect. Because of me, he lost half his life; how could he not hate me to the bone? Can that 'Will of Wanfu' stop him from approaching me? What if he goes mad and ignores everything to kill me? I truly do not have a deep understanding of the City Lord's Mansion, and I don't even know what path you, Fellow Daoist, cultivate."

"King Xi has indeed gone mad. After waking up, his realm dropped. In his madness, he ate hundreds of people in the palace on the spot, and accidentally ate a few of his own offspring."

"However, Fellow Daoist Li, you need not panic. It is precisely because you cost him half his life that he is even less capable of doing anything to you. He is currently in a state where he can barely save himself. The Forbidden God is the greediest evil god; having tasted the flavor of 【King Xi】, it will surely never forget it. It wants to eat him whole, and before dealing with the Forbidden God, King Xi is simply powerless to target you."

"By the time he luckily survives, you will likely already be pioneering territory in the depths of the forbidden land."

"The Will of Wanfu is a will blessed by the gods and controlled by the City Lord's Mansion, which transcends everything here. Any movement inside or outside the city, or even in the entire real world, can be known in advance by the Will of Wanfu."

"As for the divine ascension path of my City Lord's Mansion... as a Chosen of the Myriad Changes, Fellow Daoist, you surely have your own ways to find out."

"I have already told you everything that should be told to a fellow Daoist."

"Whether it is true or false, you will know once you return to the real world."

He did not know if the process was always like this.

Or if Group Leader Play Star had sensed Li Yu's intention to fish for information and did not want to say more to him, lest he leak secrets, and directly cut off the conversation.

However, for now, this was enough.

At least Li Yu knew that the "City Lord's Mansion" would not hand him over, but would instead provide protection.

As long as he did not rashly leave the camp or the Ancient God Train.

Then his life was temporarily secure.

As for the truth in the words of the Order Master Play Star?

Li Yu's intuition told him it was true.

The conversation with Group Leader Play Star made him feel much more at ease.

Although having to completely hole up in the City Lord's Mansion territory after going out was a bit stifling, compared to facing a mad King Xi and the Forbidden God Sect, it was already an excellent treatment.

Of course, one must be strong oneself to forge iron.

Once again, Li Yu's pursuit of his own strength became increasingly urgent.

"Relying on opportunism, calculations, and Truth Bubbles to resolve dangers every time is ultimately not a solution."

"Possessing powerful strength is the proper way."

"I will immediately start attempting to formulate the secret medicine recipe for the 【Longevity Daoist】."

"This Sequence Five comes at just the right time. To increase combat power in a short period, there is indeed no more convenient or fast way than 'adding points'."

"What's even better is that this sequence can advance combat power without needing to perform an ascension ritual."

As these thoughts settled.

Li Yu did not delay at all and called out to the Demon Star in his heart.

"Demon Star!"

=9+Shu_Ba

"Display all Immortality Medicines that can be exchanged with my remaining merit points."

"The Order Master's merit point balance is insufficient to exchange for any Immortality Medicines; unable to display."

Abruptly yet reasonably, the Demon Star Order reminded Li Yu that he was a pauper.

Although he had seized the 【Immortal Qin Jade Seal】 worth 500,000 merit points in this faction slaughter mission, he had gained almost nothing in merit points themselves, having only the 10,000 points brought by being the top contributor.

The total balance was around 26,000 points.

It seemed like a lot, but in reality, compared to those arrogant Order Masters in the group who could speak wantonly, he was indeed a pauper.

Hearing this, Li Yu's face could not help but darken.

When he was at a low sequence, 20,000-plus merit points could be called a huge sum.

But with the skyrocketing level of "exchange items," this number was clearly not enough.

However, as Li Yu pondered, he knew the Demon Star was not making things difficult for him.

Regarding Immortality Medicine!

When Li Yu communicated with seniors like Lu Sheng from afar, he had also glimpsed quite a bit and had some knowledge.

This spiritual object, regardless of its authenticity, could be used to refine medicine.

Even the seniors of the Warring States period mostly used fake Immortality Medicines to formulate secret medicines.

"Medicinal and spiritual objects with immortal effects, such as the 【Immortal Tree】, 【Jade Flat Peach】, 【Golden Cicada】, 【Immortal Essence】, 【Immortal Corpse Heart】, 【Zhou Tian Star Soul】... each one is worth a fortune."

"Some are simply objects of luxury; even if obtained, they should not be used to formulate secret medicine for me to ascend to a mere Sequence Five."

"Most seniors who ascended to 'Longevity Daoist' chose the Black Tai Sui, Merman Flesh, or Penglai Pill."

"The first two are Immortality Medicines with inferior spiritual effects. After mortals consume them, they can attain longevity, but the cost is high; it is almost equivalent to mutating and falling into a monster, and they are also fake longevity."

"The last one is a special supply for practitioners of the Spiritual Venerable path: self-refined spiritual pills, which can increase lifespan by hundreds or thousands of years, and the cost is also smaller; it is also fake longevity."

"If I seek to become an ordinary 'Longevity Daoist' and do not think about ascending to the next sequence, 【Food-Eating True Lord】, then I could spend some effort to refine it quickly; perhaps I could exchange for one or two items within the Demon Star Order."

With this thought, Li Yu called the Demon Star again and requested it to display fake longevity Immortality Medicines.

This time, the Demon Star gave a positive reply:

"100 merit points have been deducted; the first page can be displayed."

"Black Tai Sui is a special strange object, also considered a demonic object. It has a certain probability of randomly appearing anywhere and is suspected to be related to an extremely special mysterious race. After consuming this object, one will gain at least several hundred years of lifespan, but will also mutate into a monster that fears sunlight and has a body like silt. It can be exchanged for 20,000 merit points."

"Merman Flesh is produced from the flesh and blood of the 【Merman Race】, but not all Merman flesh and blood possesses the immortal effect. Only Mermen stained with the bloodline of the race's Father God, the 【Ming God】, have this spiritual effect. After consuming it, one can increase lifespan by several hundred years, but will also mutate into a Merman, becoming bloodthirsty and mad. It can be exchanged for 20,000 merit points."

On the first page, there were only these two items in total, wasting 100 of Li Yu's merit points for nothing.

But it also let him know that there were no loopholes to exploit here.

An ordinary "Longevity Daoist" was naturally not his goal.

That meant limited potential, not being able to add many points, and having many side effects. The seniors of the Warring States period could huddle together for warmth and muddle through, but he was fighting alone and had to be the strongest.

From the Dan Disciple onwards, the subsequent Alchemist and Daoist Physician—Li Yu had ascended to the top level for all these sequences.

Naturally, Sequence Five could not be settled for less.

"In the Warring States period, Senior Lu Sheng was the only one among the Longevity Daoists to ascend to 【Food-Eating True Lord】. Perhaps it was because he did not settle for less."

"The secret medicine he formulated back then used the Immortal Tree, Jade Flat Peach, and Immortal Corpse Heart as the three Immortality Medicines. This was a top-level ascension."

"I should at least reach this level to avoid leaving any hidden dangers."

"The problem is, these are extremely rare things. I am all alone and penniless; how can I get them in the shortest time? Rob or cheat?"

"Hmm?"

"It seems that is not impossible either."

It was unclear what Li Yu had thought of, but as his gaze turned back to the Immortal Qin Jade Seal, a hint of a smile appeared at the corners of his mouth.

(End of chapter)