Chapter 72: The Soul-Melting Club and the Summoning of the Demon Star

"What kind of treasure is it?"

"To make the Holy Nest and that Three Saints Gang go to such lengths, there must be some conspiracy involved. After all, word is spreading that those three beastly demon Daoists at the Heavenly Mystery Workshop in the South District are about to reach the end of their lifespans. Is this to extend their lives, so they smuggled some rare, exotic item in from the outside?"

"Heh, those three demon Daoists think they can extend their lives by defecting to the [Holy Nest], but they don't know how to ask around. Of those who have done this in the past, how many met a good end?"

"In the Holy Nest, where are there any normal people? They are all lunatics."

Mentioning the Holy Nest, the overlord of the South District, the five of them seemed to know quite a few stories, and they took turns venting their complaints.

Hearing this, Luo Sheng merely shook his head and said:

"I don't know what it is."

"But after this incident, that smuggling route is completely ruined. Kid Li, throw away the communicator I gave you earlier, lest you bring trouble upon yourself."

At his reminder.

The group suddenly remembered that just yesterday, they had provided Li Yu with that very smuggling route.

"That was close; we almost lost the good cook of our Ninth Pioneer Team."

"It's a good thing Kid Li isn't an impatient one. Otherwise, if he had happened to be on that smuggling boat last night, there wouldn't even be a whole corpse left of him now."

"Tsk tsk, your luck is truly not bad."

……

Hearing these words, Li Yu also wore a look of relief and lingering fear on his face.

The emotion was indeed correct.

But what Li Yu was relieved about was his own cautious actions last night, combined with the extraordinary nature of Hong Dou, which had allowed him to successfully save his life.

Luck is not bad?

Ha, his luck was practically at its worst.

He, Li Yu, really was on that boat last night.

He had originally thought he was saying his final goodbyes to everyone, but well, he had no choice but to go back to work with them again.

Aside from these internal complaints, Li Yu couldn't help but speculate in his heart:

"So, is that mechanical box, which even Hong Dou couldn't temporarily decipher, the treasure that the Holy Nest and the Three Saints Gang were searching for?"

"Since the Three Saints Gang is involved, the exotic item in that box is most likely intended for those three demon Daoists."

"What could it be?"

"Organs? Or perhaps some high-level mechanical creation?"

Without further information, Li Yu naturally had no results from guessing blindly.

Knowing that he had caused a new disaster, his desire to flee Wanfu City became even more urgent.

"I'm dead, I'm dead, it's like a haunting spirit that won't go away, isn't it?"

"First I accidentally glimpsed the Three Saints Gang's conspiracy, and now I've 'picked up' an exotic item that the three demon Daoists need. I'm sinking deeper and deeper."

"If this is discovered, how could I possibly keep my life?"

"No, I still have to run."

As this final thought settled.

Li Yu smiled at the group and then said:

"It seems my luck is truly not bad. I was planning to try smuggling out in a few days. I'll destroy that communicator as soon as I get back."

"But now that this route is gone, won't there be no hope for me to sneak out of the city to find recipes in the future?"

Because of the groundwork Li Yu had laid multiple times, plus those six medicated meals with extraordinary spiritual effects.

The six members of the Pioneer Team had a high opinion of Li Yu and never suspected that he was a turncoat "with his body in Cao Ying but his heart in Han, bent on fleeing to the three major kingdoms."

Hearing the question, they spoke up one after another:

"Don't panic, kid. Just leaving the city is no great difficulty."

"Once you've saved up enough merit, you can just hitch a ride, and you'll have high-sequence powerhouses protecting you along the way."

"There are still plenty of legitimate paths. For example, participate in the selection for the [Scout Squad]. Those squads head to the border cities of the Qian, Li, and Jing kingdoms every so often to scout, so they aren't caught off guard by an invading army. Although the minimum requirement for a Scout Squad member is Sequence 7, they occasionally recruit military cooks with special combat capabilities to accompany them. You can wait a few months; you might have a chance."

"If that doesn't work, we can pull some strings through the back door. Once you've saved up enough wealth and exotic items, we'll step in for you and let you slip out of the city to the three kingdoms for a trip. That's no problem at all."

……

As each sentence reached his ears, Li Yu once again felt the importance of the word "social circle."

Although he couldn't use any of these methods for the time being.

Either he needed to promote to Sequence 7!

Or he needed to work like a beast of burden to save up merit!

Or he needed to save money to take a shortcut!

But at least, they were all legitimate methods.

How could his original self, or that couple Jiao Qing and Sun Sanniang, ever have access to these?

Li Yu silently noted all the methods and analyzed their feasibility, then exchanged pleasantries and asked the group how the medicated meals he provided had worked yesterday.

At this question, praise poured in as if it were free.

Taking advantage of this good start, Li Yu began to use his "social skills" to gradually blend in with the six, and his superficial relationships improved by leaps and bounds.

During the process, he also kept a close eye on the Heavenly Mystery Workshop area.

He wondered, if a "big explosion" or "big fireworks" type of commotion occurred, what choice should he make?

Should he flee to the other three districts to save his life?

Or should he confess to the six, completely defect to the City Lord's Mansion, and seek protection?

Li Yu two days ago: Stick to the duties of a cook, ready to run at any time.

Li Yu now: Six big thighs covering me.

Fortunately, until the time to get off work, the explosion he was worried about never came.

And the six members of the War Squad, as usual, extended an invitation to Li Yu: "We are going to the Soul-Melting Club to enjoy ourselves. Kid Li, are you willing to go today?"

That's right!

Even Mi Wuniang, the jade maiden who looked "pure and seductive" on the outside, was also inviting Li Yu to go to the club.

Two days ago, he would have politely declined.

But today's Li Yu didn't want to go home at all, even though there was a pretty maid waiting for him there. Better safe than sorry!

He wanted to wait a few more hours. If necessary, he could use the excuse that he loved his job very much and stay overnight at the camp, and only carefully return home after he was completely sure of his safety in a few days.

Of course, staying somewhere else wasn't out of the question.

The Soul-Melting Club was always better than the mechanical camp, after all.

"Since the six brothers and sisters have invited me, how could I dare to refuse a second time."

"I'll go!"

Li Yu gave a brilliant smile and said.

……

At the end of the City Lord's Street, inside a massive club with neon lights flashing and a huge sign that lit up half the sky.

Li Yu was half-reclining on a soft couch, enjoying the massage and feeding from several beautiful young girls, and directly in front of him, there was a woman whose appearance could be called invincible, with a temperament far beyond the mundane, dancing for him.

As she danced, the clothing on her body was constantly decreasing.

=9+Book_Bar

In the warm pavilion, a subtle fragrance drifted, and the seductive atmosphere almost completely drowned Li Yu.

"Degenerate!"

"I never thought that someone as upright as I, Li Yu, would have such a moment of degeneration."

"However, I am avoiding disaster after all, so it is excusable."

While Li Yu muttered in his heart, his eyes were earnestly observing the top courtesan named "Yun Niang" who was dancing for him.

That's right, this Yun Niang was actually a Sequence 8 [Courtesan] of the Sinful God Path.

The reason both were Sequence 8, one being the server and the other the served, was of course due to the face of the Ninth Pioneer Team.

Especially the instruction from Mi Wuniang:

"Little Brother Yu, you are in for a treat."

"Yun Niang is my own niece."

"If you can handle her, Sister Wu will invite you to live with me for three days, or even if you want both of us together... that's not impossible."

What made Li Yu greatly admire her was that even when saying such tiger-and-wolf words.

Mi Wuniang still had that jade-maiden-like expression on her face, not lewd in the slightest, only holy.

With such warm hospitality, Li Yu naturally found it hard to refuse, and he was quite obediently led by the hand by Yun Niang into this warm pavilion, which had an excellent view and allowed one to enjoy the service while watching the night view of Wanfu City.

If this were a mortal or a low-level cultivator watching Yun Niang's striptease.

They wouldn't be able to last through even a few pieces of clothing; perhaps as soon as the outer thin gauze was removed, they would have already collapsed from exhaustion.

Li Yu was naturally different!

He stared unblinkingly, the vital blood in his body remaining as still as a mountain, not even having a reaction.

This actually piqued the temper of Yun Niang, who was almost stripped bare!

"He can endure even this? Could he be a natural eunuch?"

"That's not right. Since Auntie would invite him, it means he is of great use. Could it be that my methods are not enough?"

Yun Niang muttered in her heart and secretly made up her mind.

When the two of them really got down to business later, she would definitely use the seductive strange arts of the Lust Cult to make this good-looking but rather sloppy youth suffer.

As she stirred her thoughts, a flicker of intent likewise flashed in the depths of Li Yu’s mind:

"Tsk, tsk!"

"As expected of a proper Sequence 8 [Courtesan], her figure, appearance, and the aura of allure are all far more formidable than those of the neighborhood Tofu Beauty, Sister Cui Yuan, from before."

"I reckon that once she truly begins, the strange art she uses to extract essence and blood will also be quite extraordinary."

"It is a pity, but it is highly likely useless against me; after all, I even withstood the trial of that pistil flower demon Empress from the Warring States period... If I were to use that pistil nectar to drug her now, could I control this Sister Yunniang?"

While Li Yu’s mind wandered, he could not help but recall the scenes from within the strange domain of the Corpse City.

The focus was the methods of that pistil flower demon, those countless flower mouths that instantly covered his entire body...

Li Yu had come within a hair's breadth of falling beneath her.

Compared to her, this Yunniang before him truly did not measure up.

He did not know if the original time had simply arrived!

Or if it was that she could not withstand the musings of a disaster star like him.

A rather unexpected, heartless voice suddenly rang out in Li Yu’s mind at this very moment:

"Disaster Star, heed the order!"

"A new conquest mission has been successfully matched."

"It will officially commence in twelve hours. Please prepare yourself as soon as possible, Disaster Star Order Master. The basic information for this mission is as follows..."

"You may not refuse the summons!"

"Nor may you refuse the mission!"

"Should the Order Master die, the Disaster Star will be returned to the furnace to be reforged, and a new master will be chosen."

When this familiar voice arrived.

Li Yu was stunned, and then a look of joy actually appeared on his face.

If it were any other time, he might have felt some anxiety at this sudden summons.

But at this juncture, for Li Yu, it was practically a savior.

"The conquest missions of the Demon Star Order are extremely dangerous, that is true, but they are also great opportunities."

"As long as I can complete a few more missions and accumulate enough merit, I can exchange for the secret medicine formula for the Sequence 7 [Alchemist] of the Spirit Venerable path."

"After I come out, I will consume it as soon as possible to advance to Sequence 7."

"By then, whether it is my own strength or my importance to the City Lord's Mansion, both will greatly increase."

"Even if I am truly unlucky enough to be discovered by the Three Saints Gang, my chances of survival will also greatly increase."

PS: Seeking monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)