Chapter 272: Finally Knowing the Path of the City Lord's Mansion

When Li Yu asked his question, Hong Dou seemed to have just finished her search as well; the green light representing data streams flickered in her eyes, and she spoke immediately after.

"By taking over and stealing the access permissions of numerous mechanical constructs, I have become aware of most events that occurred in this region over the past seven days."

"Filtering out irrelevant data, I am now beginning to display information using 'Master' as the core keyword."

"I am also running simulations for Master's new questions."

As Hong Dou's voice faded, she entered a state of new thought and simulation.

Meanwhile, Li Yu began using his abnormal eyesight to rapidly browse through the changes that had occurred within Wanfu City and the three forbidden zones over the past seven days.

From these results alone, Li Yu could already vaguely sense the harvest of Hong Dou's first conquest of a strange domain.

A portion of it was revealed before his eyes.

Computing power that surpassed Brother Brother Shang Yang!

Access permissions that had evolved once more!

While pleasantly surprised, Li Yu continued to look further down.

He knew he had stirred up a massive mess.

But just how big?

What were the specifics?

Now, he could finally see it clearly.

Scene after scene flashed by, and when combined, they represented event after event, both large and small.

"Seven days ago, the Blood Age Star Lord sect rose abruptly and revealed its strength. In order to seize the Fate Tablet, they brazenly clashed with the 【God-Forbidden Sect】. Both sides used the East District as a battlefield and fought for five full days, causing the deaths of a large number of city residents, eventually ending with the God-Forbidden Sect ceding a portion of their territory."

"To reward the faithful, the evil god 【Blood Age Star Lord】 descended a miracle, causing all living beings within that area to undergo a great evolution. However, this also created a new area called the 【Blood Curse Zone】. This area contains evil god pollution that is difficult to eliminate; stepping into it allows one to gain certain benefits if they pray devoutly to the Blood Age Star Lord, but if one is a heretic, they will mutate into an unknown strange entity."

"After this battle, the Blood Age sect became famous overnight."

……

Events like the rise of the Blood Age sect had occurred countless times within these seven days.

The powers within Wanfu City had already been reshuffled.

It was no longer the way it used to be with only four district overlords; there were now over a dozen, each with a powerful evil god standing behind them.

And their great war had permanently changed many things.

For example, the appearance of the residents of Wanfu City!

For example, the landscape.

Although the fighting and slaughter continued unabated, the progress of exploring the three forbidden zones had also skyrocketed.

A landmark event came from the Ming God Sect.

In order to compete for the Fate Tablet, the sect not only summoned subordinate gods like the Great Shark Mother but also took a desperate risk, sparing no cost to summon the most powerful "Ming God." The descent of this evil god caused the Heishuihe to surge, and it accidentally connected the three forbidden zones.

One new area and new city after another sprang up within the three forbidden zones as a result.

Although many people died, the various sects possessed powerful means of rapid reproduction.

The population of Wanfu did not decrease but increased, and it increased explosively.

From the surveillance footage of the "Flesh Satellite," it was clear: the Wanfu Kingdom had begun to take shape.

One could even say it was already a very large country.

These chaotic and complex changes were completed within seven days.

Even Li Yu was stunned.

If he were to leave the Immortal Fortress now to wander 【Wanfu City】, or the newly opened human settlements and subsidiary cities outside the city, everything would surely feel incredibly unfamiliar.

It had only been seven days!

When he looked again, things had changed and people were no longer the same.

The reason this lament arose in Li Yu's heart was that he subsequently saw Hong Dou's algorithm filter out the other scenes, leaving only those related to him, Li Yu.

Among them, there were quite a few scenes of death.

It was a vision of the "people" related to Li Yu perishing one after another in various conflicts.

For instance, that demon monk Zhu Mei, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and that Sun-Eating Granny, Cui Cui Minmin.

The two were not big shots; the reason Hong Dou captured them and projected them into the scene was because they had had contact with Li Yu.

They were both dead.

They died in an unremarkable way during a war between the Fallen Buddhism and the Blood God Palace.

Of course, there were also examples of big shots perishing.

The "Blood God Palace Priest" with the peculiar hobby, whom Li Yu had encountered when he was impersonating the Strange Doctor to cause trouble, had also died in that same war.

The deaths of these people could not stir any emotion in Li Yu.

What truly left him in disbelief, and even feeling a bit guilty and self-doubting, was the death of a group of acquaintances.

"The Ninth Exploration Team!"

"Zhan Kui, Luo Sheng, Sang Zhu, Zhu Zhu Wugou, Shu Fu, Mi Mi Wuniang... they are all dead?"

Li Yu was somewhat stunned at this moment.

The scene flickering before his eyes came from another massive war.

The battlefield was within the three forbidden zones.

"Five days ago, the three kingdoms of Gan, Li, and Jing suddenly launched an attack simultaneously, raiding Wanfu City from the three forbidden zones. Although the moles and spies of the three kingdoms and six sects all died, the three kingdoms had the support of the six major orthodox god sects, and they still managed to find some quiet paths within the dangerous forbidden zones, transporting tens of thousands of extraordinary troops inside."

"The great war broke out, and the City Lord's Mansion, as the ruler of Wanfu City, led the evil god army to meet the enemy."

"The war between righteousness and evil lasted for several days, with both sides suffering heavy casualties."

"In the end, Wanfu City completely annihilated the vanguard armies of these three kingdoms."

"But their own side also paid a heavy price; the exploration teams that were attacked first lost nearly eighty percent of their members."

"The Ninth Exploration Team was the unluckiest. They were exploring a new camp in the Terror Valley at the time. As a result, they encountered a vanguard army led by a Sequence 3 【Chang Geng Pillar of State】 of the Red God path. Together with several other exploration teams, they only held out for half an hour before they all perished."

"It was this half-hour they bought that allowed a Sequence 3 powerhouse of the Yi Wang sect, 【Five Sufferings Venerable】, and a Sequence 3 【Fungus Lord】 of the Kind Father path to arrive, two-on-one, and completely annihilate the opponent."

……

Since Li Yu was reborn and descended into Wanfu City, he had been running around for his life and for his advancement.

In the process, there were some slim chances to leave.

In the end, he chose to stay for the sake of rapid advancement.

Wanfu City did not disappoint him; for a god-ascending path like the "Spirit Venerable path," this place was simply an incomparable blessed land.

His advancement speed completely crushed his peers, and they were all top-tier advancements at that.

There were side effects, however, which was that things like enjoying life were almost completely non-existent.

The only thing that came close was the time he worked at the City Lord's Mansion's exploration team, slacking off, embezzling, and cooking spiritual food; there was almost no danger to his life, and it was very comfortable.

His relationship with the entire Ninth Exploration Team was also about to enter the friend stage.

It was just that he later encountered changes, Li Yu was forced to level up, and the troubles and enemies he encountered afterward were more terrifying than the last.

Li Yu did not want to bring these evil karmic causes to those few people in the Ninth Exploration Team, so the two sides temporarily cut off contact.

But regardless, he never expected this.

That when they met again, it would be in this form.

At this moment, somewhat inexplicably, Li Yu felt a long-lost sense of disgust toward Wanfu City in his heart.

He had originally thought that he had somewhat adapted to this land of demons, that he had been infected and assimilated, accepted all the rules here, and was mixing in as easily as a fish in water, even wearing the title of the number one genius.

But looking at it now, he was still lacking.

"Clearly!" "I am still not a qualified Wanfu person. True Wanfu City residents enjoy death and fear, viewing them as the seasoning of life."

"These members of the Ninth Exploration Team were all more qualified than me."

As Li Yu lamented in his heart, his gaze also fell on the scenes before they perished.

Although their sequence realms were far inferior to the invaders, Zhan Kui and the others each made the most brutal counterattacks.

They were different from Li Yu!

They were each devout believers.

They had to struggle before death, and their methods all led to the same destination: sacrificing themselves to summon the power of the evil god.

And at the moment of their death, they all wore smiles.

This was because in their "devout worldview," perishing this way was not the end, but the beginning.

They believed that with their devotion, they could enter the divine kingdoms of their respective main gods.

Whether they could enter or not, he didn't know, but every one of them had a smile on their face.

Not a single detail was missed in the viewing!

From Li Yu's perspective: they were all quite silly; mere small fries wouldn't get any benefits even if they went to the evil gods' divine kingdoms.

If he gave them a full-perspective look at Li Yu, the evaluation would become: so you brat are a shameful 【Non-believer】.

……

Perhaps it was the death of these past acquaintances that made Li Yu somewhat alert.

Or perhaps it was this "earth-shaking" seven-day transformation, which had an irreversible impact on history, that allowed Li Yu to reap a huge harvest.

In any case, as time passed and as he watched more and more scenes.

Deep within his soul and spirit, a realization suddenly emerged.

Or rather, a guess he was quite confident in:

"With such a huge change, it is absolutely impossible that it was because of that prank-like scam of mine."

"My scam was just a trigger; it was seized upon and utilized."

"There must be more than one divine entity involved, and the City Lord's Mansion must also be playing the role of mastermind..."

"Hmm?"

"It is the City Lord's Mansion, and the myriad gods of Wanfu."

"What are they trying to do?"

"The gods have joined forces tacitly because of the pretext I provided; the target they are aiming for must be a major one... the Three Kingdoms and Six Sects?"

"Could they be trying to take advantage of this opportunity, using the Wanfu Kingdom currently being born as bait to trigger a super-war that sweeps across the present world, and then strike from the shadows to directly annihilate the Three Kingdoms and Six Sects?"

"What kind of path to godhood is this City Lord's Mansion organization? Why does it feel like they are also 'fun-loving' gods, treacherous gods, and even more disgusting than the Lord of Myriad Changes?"

Among these thoughts of Li Yu, there was doubt.

But in reality, he was already quite certain.

At the same time, a look of helplessness and unwillingness could not help but appear on his face.

So what if he guessed correctly?

An arm cannot twist a thigh.

His, Li Yu's, leveling speed was already inconceivable, and Brother Brother Shang Yang, the only person in the city who could compare to him on the surface, had already been killed by him.

Yet even so, he was still only at Sequence Five; Sequence Four had not yet been reached.

The opportunity the gods seized came from him, and he simply could not resist anything.

Afterward, when tracing the source, he might even have to bear the blame as a "conspirator" or "mastermind behind the scenes."

Especially since he was still wearing the skin of the Chosen of Myriad Changes!

At this thought, Li Yu was already feeling somewhat desperate.

"It's about time."

"There's nothing worth staying for in this dump of a Wanfu City; I might as well fix the Immortal Fortress and roam the Spirit Realm."

"The cultivation base of Sequence Five is indeed not enough, but Sequence Four should be just about right."

Just as Li Yu was thinking about escaping this epic whirlpool of trouble.

Hongdou happened to wake up from her deduction and directly provided the answer and conclusion:

"If Master chooses to head to the 【Trickery Domain】, under the protection of the Demon Star Order's authority, you only need to deal with the dangers within the domain, and the survival probability can reach over sixty percent."

"If you go to the 【Wanfu Borderland】, the survival probability drops to twenty percent... According to existing intelligence, the intensity of the war in that area is increasing day by day. As the conspiracy unfolds and deepens, all the evil gods of Wanfu have a chance to send avatars into the borderland, including the Lord of Myriad Changes and the Ancient Saint."

"The fact that Brother Brother Shang Yang perished in the Desperate Death Star Trickery Domain will be exposed today."

"Master will be identified as the murderer one hundred percent. Although hindered by the authority of the Demon Star Order, the Holy Nest and other forces cannot confirm Master's life or death status, but some probes will definitely descend."

"Unless Master goes to the next Trickery Domain now, you will likely be exposed."

"Automatically deducing a solution for Master!"

"The quickest method is already available: seek refuge with the City Lord's Mansion."

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, a look of doubt could not help but appear on Li Yu's face.

Subconsciously, he wanted to refuse.

Because he had already guessed that one of the sources driving the earth-shattering, terrifying changes in Wanfu City over these seven days was, one hundred percent, the City Lord's Mansion.

Which meant that a portion of the many dangers Li Yu might encounter in the future would be contributed by the City Lord's Mansion.

However, before he could say it out loud, he witnessed Hongdou display a new level of intelligence and authority.

"According to various signs, it can be inferred: the changes within Wanfu City, the scam arranged by Master, was just an opportunity that happened to be seized; the true drivers are the City Lord's Mansion and a group of evil gods."

"The target they are plotting against has a fifty percent chance of being the Three Kingdoms and Six Sects or even the entire present world, and a fifty percent chance of being an even greater conspiracy."

"Although they have a common goal for now, because of the 【divinity conflict】 between the different divine entities behind them, organizations including the City Lord's Mansion will also have exploitable opportunities during the execution process."

"For example, the True God behind the City Lord's Mansion and the evil god 【Ancient Saint】 have irreconcilable contradictions."

"As long as Master tells the truth and provides some valuable bargaining chips, the City Lord's Mansion will very likely provide Master with comprehensive protection."

"And in the process, there is no need to worry about the City Lord's Mansion knowing the secret Master saw at the end from Brother Brother Shang Yang's machine soul."

"The True God behind the City Lord's Mansion will never go to confront the Ancient Saint."

"This method will also help Master ascend to the Spirit Venerable path Sequence Four 【Bait-Eating True Monarch】 in the shortest possible time."

After listening, Li Yu's face first showed surprise, then he discovered a blind spot.

Curiosity and the desire to pry rose up, and he immediately asked: "Hongdou, do you know the True God behind the City Lord's Mansion?"

The next moment!

He saw Hongdou first shake her head, then nod and say:

"Due to the further evolution of the authorization module... Hongdou has quietly hacked into the City Lord's Mansion's intelligent network and learned some secrets."

"Hongdou still does not know the name of the True God behind the City Lord's Mansion."

"But I already know the path to godhood that members of this organization cultivate, as well as some divine characteristics."

"This path has only three sequences."

"The initial one is 【Nine-Stream Idler】, followed by 【Ancient and Modern Puppeteer】... This path emphasizes the control of living beings in the world, viewing all things as chess pieces to be fooled and manipulated."

(End of chapter)