Chapter 161: The Expensive Price

Although Aiwen Keluge had misjudged the vast majority of things, there was one matter where he had indeed guessed correctly by a stroke of luck.

The agreement reached between Luo Yan and the Long Family was indeed not just the little bit that the nobles of the Magic Capital saw on the surface.

Although the Black Wind Valley Barony could not be considered a wealthy fief—possessing nothing more than a few pastures and over a thousand goats—its location was simply too good; it sat right on the edge of the Magic Capital.

If such a fief were put up for auction, it could easily fetch tens or hundreds of billions of Kaila, and it was the kind that was priceless and hard to come by.

In the face of benefits at this level, a little bit of empty reputation was completely insignificant.

Even if the Grave were to splash dirty water on the Long Family, so what?

Even if the Demon King of the Grave slandered Xinuo Long, who had challenged him, as a "Chaos Chosen," for the current head of the family, Kamu, all he would lose was a younger brother.

As long as the speed of the "justice cut" was fast enough, the fire would not burn him.

Moreover, it was merely a basin of dirty water; it could not shake the foundation of the Long Family, a century-old tree. Conversely, if the Long Family could be made to give up so many benefits just by being threatened casually, then Luo Yan would not be the one to "explode gold coins" from this sucker.

The real reason Kamu Long painfully ceded those 100,000 mu of land was because Luo Yan had placed something in front of him.

That was the notebook of his father—Lei Ji Long himself.

At the same time, it was also a heavyweight bargaining chip...

Late at night, in the Long Family's council hall, beneath the solemn and respectful murals, the bright candlelight stretched the shadows of the obsidian sculptures.

Those obsidian sculptures were the successive heads of the Long Family, as well as the renowned figures within the Long Family.

As the spiritual totems of the Long Family, they stood surrounding the long table of the council hall, watching their descendants with majestic gazes, warning the children to make every choice with caution.

At this very moment, Kamu, the current head of the Long Family, was sitting beneath the sculpture symbolizing the first head of the family, letting the pitch-black shadow swallow his shoulders.

And right there on the long table in front of him, a map about five meters long was spread out, with an area of nearly 100,000 mu of land clearly circled by a red line.

That scarlet outline was like blood flowing from his heart, gouging a piece of flesh fiercely from his heart!

And as compensation to fill this void, it was merely a notebook...

Even though he knew what that notebook meant, he still couldn't help but want to ask—

"Is this worth it?"

The low voice echoed with hesitation in the council hall.

He had pondered this question for too long, but he had not been able to convince himself.

After a moment of silence, a hoarse voice responded to him.

"Of course it's worth it... Everything is worth it."

That voice came from directly across the long table, and sitting there was his dear grandfather—Zake Luo Long!

This gentleman was once the head of the Long Family two generations ago.

Over a century ago, he passed the position of family head to Kamu's father, Lei Ji, and subsequently retreated from the front stage to behind the scenes as an elder.

However, like the vast majority of families in Hell, this long-lived Terror Demon did not give up the power in his hands because of retirement; to this day, he still used his status as an elder to exert influence on the current family head.

The moment the deal was reached, Kamu hadn't even had time to appreciate his father's life's work before that notebook was in Zake Luo's hands.

Actually, none of this mattered.

Kamu knew that he might not be able to understand those profound magical principles, and letting his grandfather, who had more experience and knowledge, study them was not necessarily a bad thing.

Anyway, they were all one family.

However, what caused a faint trace of unease in Kamu's heart was that the greed and desire burning in Zake Luo's pupils had clearly suppressed the light of reason.

His withered index finger rubbed the cowhide cover of the notebook, and his grandfather's face was full of obsession and fanaticism, as if it were not a notebook, but a ladder to the kingdom of gods, a key to open the gates of the Netherworld!

Kamu was silent for a long time, sighed, and said.

"I know this notebook is very important to us, but I'm really not sure... if it's worth exchanging at such an expensive price."

Zake Luo chuckled and said in a slow, deliberate voice.

"Kamu, my grandson, you are still too young... You don't understand at all what that power, which transcends extraordinary power, means. If we say that what we master is the power of miracles, then it is the miracle itself; the person who possesses it only needs one sentence to make the sun set, or even make two suns appear in the sky. In the face of such great power, what is a mere 100,000 mu of land? Even if all the land of the Magic Capital were added together, it would be as light as a feather in front of it."

All land, wealth, and even power in the mortal world... in the face of that power, were nothing but insignificant dust!

The Long Family was loyal to Lord Bayeli, but even more loyal to the great God of the Netherworld and the truth inherited from the Netherworld!

They longed to rebuild the Netherworld at every moment.

That was the long-cherished wish of the Long Family.

It was also the ambition of him, as the former head of the Long Family!

At the same time, it was also the most direct reason why he encouraged his son, Lei Ji Long, to take on the hot potato that was the Thunder Sound County Labyrinth back then!

"My meaning is, the price we paid is too expensive, and besides, can the kind of miracle you mentioned be achieved just by this notebook?" Kamu couldn't help but ask, "If my father had really researched it, he wouldn't have lost to a mere Chosen One."

There was one more sentence he didn't say.

If this notebook were really so magical, how could the Demon King of the Grave possibly take it out to trade with them?

If he were Luo Yan, he would never admit the existence of this notebook, but would treat it as a private possession, hiding it in a place no one knew to study it himself!

Hearing his grandson's complaint, Zake Luo just smiled faintly and said indifferently.

"When did I say he had researched it?"

Kamu was stunned and subconsciously held his breath.

"Then why did we still..."

Zake Luo said in a slow and certain tone.

"If we compare our cause to a tower reaching the sky, then the work he did was similar to firing the bricks to build this tower. Including creating life, creating souls, and even creating worlds, etc. —he completed all the subjects I asked him to research, and he completed them very excellently, and he almost nearly pieced these puzzles together."

When he said this, Zake Luo's tone changed, and the smile on his face became meaningful.

"It's just a pity that my dear child didn't know how to build this tower reaching the sky; eager for quick success and instant benefits, he didn't contact me as I said, but bet all his chips on a plan that couldn't succeed, to the extent that he attracted the attention of higher existences."

Kamu swallowed a mouthful of saliva with difficulty and said in an incredulous tone.

"Your meaning is... you know how to build this tower reaching the sky?"

"I don't just know."

A joyful smile appeared on Zake Luo's face, and he continued in a slow, deliberate voice.

"The whole research started from me!"

In the council hall of the Long Family, the candlelight flickered, and in the whispering voices, unspeakable conspiracies and ambitions were brewing.

And at the same time, far away in the Grave, Xinuo Long still knew nothing about the deal between the Demon King and his brother.

Looking at the newspaper sent from the Magic Capital, this Terror Demon with a not-so-good brain looked at Luo Yan with an expression of gratitude and said from the bottom of his heart.

"Thank you... I caused you such big trouble, and you still helped me so much! I, I really don't know how to thank you!" Although he had been denying that the opening of the Chaos Gate had anything to do with him, deep down in his heart, he still admitted that it was not completely unrelated to him.

Kasen Skull-Crusher was indeed the culprit, but if his faith in the Demon God had been firm enough... just as the Demon King said, fighting for faith, he would not have been eroded by Chaos.

With such a feeling of guilt, he saw from the newspaper that all the blame had been pinned on the head of the Ogre named Kasen Skull-Crusher.

As for his problem, it was glossed over by the Demon King, and the curse of the Chaos Chosen was not even mentioned in the report.

Thinking of the things he had done, Xinuo Long felt even more ashamed in his heart, wishing he could kowtow to Luo Yan on the spot.

Looking at Xinuo, who was still counting money for him after being sold by him, Luo Yan was also a bit embarrassed for a moment, coughed lightly, and said.

"You're welcome, please lift your head; I believe you are loyal to His Majesty the Demon God, and being cursed by Chaos was not your original intention."

Xinuo looked at him gratefully and then continued.

"But I don't understand, why hasn't the curse on me disappeared yet? I have already faced the threat of Kalmandes as you said..."

Compared to the report in the "Magic Capital Daily," eliminating the curse of Chaos was the thing he cared about most.

=9+Book_Bar

Ever since he knew that there was an extra mark of Kalmandes on him, he hadn't slept a single peaceful night, almost waking up from nightmares every night.

For a Terror Demon, there was nothing more humiliating than this!

Looking at the confused Xinuo, Luo Yan pondered for a moment and said in a gentle tone.

"The mark of Chaos cannot disappear; it will accompany you for a lifetime... However, you don't need to be too desperate; although the curse itself cannot be eliminated, its negative energy can be suppressed. Just like now, except for yourself who can still feel its existence, others can no longer feel it."

"Can't it be completely eliminated..." A look of disappointment appeared on Xinuo's face, and he visibly fell into depression.

"Yes, so I suggest you treat it as a medal; after all, not everyone can overcome Chaos, and this is something worth being proud of." Luo Yan paused and continued, "Not just you, I actually have one on me too... from the Mist of Deception, Noville."

Hearing that the Demon King also had a mark of Chaos on him, Xinuo, who had felt the sky was falling a second ago, was instantly relieved, and a smile appeared on his face.

"So that's how it is, I understand! Ah... don't worry, I won't tell anyone about Noville! I can swear to you with my life and honor!"

Looking at Xinuo, who was swearing a poisonous oath, Luo Yan smiled faintly.

"Even if you told others, no one would believe it."

The mark carved on the soul was simply not something mortals could see; it was just like soul level, only gods could see it.

Only when the mark of Chaos resonated to a certain degree with the Chaos in the Void—for example, when the "Cursed One" actively or passively threw themselves into the embrace of Chaos and obtained the power bestowed by Chaos from the Void—could that foul-smelling aura be smelled even from far away.

Luo Yan had never yielded to Noville from beginning to end, so that degree of curse naturally had no effect on him.

Just when Xinuo was still planning to drag Luo Yan to say something more, an acolyte suddenly walked over, bowed, and said.

"Respected Demon King, a new package has been sent from the Magic Capital; judging from the size of the package, it should be some letters."

Luo Yan looked at the Lizardman acolyte and said.

"Bring it over."

The Lizardman acolyte nodded slightly and said respectfully.

"Yes."

Watching the acolyte who left to carry out the order, Xinuo Long said tactfully.

"It seems you still have official business to handle, so I won't disturb you first."

Luo Yan nodded with a smile.

"If you have anything, come find me again."

Watching Xinuo's back walk away, Luo Yan waited for a while, and the acolyte who had left earlier soon brought the package sent from the Magic Capital from the teleportation room.

Just as that acolyte guessed, the package mainly contained some letters, and then there were the procedures and contracts for transferring the fief, etc.

It was fortunate that Xinuo Long was not here.

If he had seen this land deed, who knew what thoughts would arise in his heart...

Floating beside Luo Yan, Hearing You You leaned close to the side of the land deed and whispered.

"Demon King... is it really appropriate to give them that notebook? Hearing You You always feels that the things in that notebook are quite valuable."

Luo Yan replied casually.

"There's nothing bad about it; giving it to them saves them from always thinking about it, and we can also exchange some benefits from them."

That notebook was a gift presented to him by Thanos, the "Shadow Demon General," the lord of the 18th floor of the labyrinth, the Old Demon King's Palace; it recorded the various experiments Lei Ji Long had conducted on the fief, as well as the research results of each experiment.

Including artificial miracles.

Including creating souls, etc.

And just as Luo Yan expected, the Stone Men on the 4th floor of the labyrinth were Lei Ji's masterpiece!

Previously, Luo Yan had been puzzled as to why Lei Ji Long wanted to do these things; after reading his notebook, he finally had the answer.

This guy was imitating Lin Te Isaac!

He was trying to condense a Godhead!

After realizing this point, Luo Yan finally understood why Lei Ji Long had done so many seemingly redundant things.

It turned out it was to become a god!

Actually, objectively evaluating, this former Demon King still had some skills, especially the research on souls, which made Luo Yan click his tongue in wonder and admire him endlessly.

Even from a purely academic perspective, even Headmaster Aiwen Keluge, whom Luo Yan knew, would probably find it hard to surpass him... even if the latter had semi-god-level strength and the experience of having lived for thousands of years.

However, it was a pity that this guy's efforts were completely going in the wrong direction; it belonged to the kind where he got every step right, but was outrageously wrong in the general direction.

Although Luo Yan's own Godhead fell from the sky, based on his understanding and research of the Isaac Dynasty, he also knew that the path to becoming a god was definitely not what Lei Ji Long imagined—that one could succeed just by following what Lin Te Isaac had done and doing it all over again.

"... The key to becoming a god is not technique, but Dao. Lei Ji Long was exploring the path to becoming a god using the method of pursuing extraordinary power, so his failure was almost inevitable."

"Dao? What is that?" Hearing You You asked curiously.

Luo Yan thought for a moment and said.

"My understanding is 'human heart'."

On the surface, Lin Te Isaac became the God of Machines because of the steam engine, but in reality, the reason he became a god was not because of those superficial machines, but because he gained the heartfelt worship and respect of the people at that time.

To this day, even though Saint Xisi had labeled him as evil, there were still no shortage of people who cherished the memory of the Isaac Dynasty.

Luo Yan paused for a moment and continued.

"On the surface, it is the gods who create miracles, but in the final analysis, it is still people. Lei Ji Long almost imitated every single thing Lin Te Isaac had done, and even went further, but he alone ignored the most critical and most important human heart. His troops were completely a mess on the battlefield; let alone faith in him, they couldn't even maintain faith in the Demon God."

"If his descendants intend to continue walking along his path, the only end will be the same as him, falling into a state of going astray."

Hung the IV for two days, finally feeling a bit better t. t

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 162 =====