Qi Yuan lowered his head in thought.
Jiang Lingsu listened attentively while pondering how she should cultivate to improve her realm.
"Could it be that I'm a long-lost ancestor of the Black Demon Abyss?"
Qi Yuan couldn't help guessing.
"What unfilial descendants! Forcing their own ancestor to work a corporate grind for them!"
At the thought, Qi Yuan felt indignant.
"Come on, let's go see a steward," Qi Yuan said softly.
At the Black Demon Abyss's outpost in this Moluo Sacred Tower, there were five Chief Stewards in total, along with a number of regular stewards.
Every Chief Steward was a Mythological-level cultivator.
Regular stewards started at the Great Venerable realm.
Guest elders like Qi Yuan—essentially technical specialists—numbered in the hundreds as well. As for ordinary laborers, essentially the basic grunts, their numbers were vast.
It could be said there were plenty of powerhouses.
Yet considering that the living beings within a single Moluo Sacred Tower outnumbered those in the Canglan Realm, this was only normal.
Stepping out of the immortal's cave and looking out, pitch-black architecture met the eye in every direction.
Pitch-black bridges, pitch-black trees, pitch-black stones, and even the water flowing beneath the bridges was as dark as ink.
This was because the beings of the Black Demon Abyss favored the color black.
"At least the air isn't black," Qi Yuan remarked, stepping onto the bridge and heading deeper into the Black Demon Abyss outpost.
There were quite a few guest elders on the bridge, but far more were Purple Mansion-level laborers; guest elders like Qi Yuan were relatively rare.
Whenever those laborers encountered Qi Yuan, they bowed their heads in greeting.
In the Black Demon Abyss, status was clearly delineated, and strength and bloodline dictated everything.
At this moment, Qi Yuan leaned against the bridge railing, taking in the scenery around the outpost.
Jiang Lingsu couldn't stray too far from Qi Yuan, so she simply clung to his arm the entire time in total intimacy.
"The Upper Realm really is something else. This bridge is pretty neat."
The bridge was a magic treasure.
To enter the depths of the outpost, one had to cross it.
However, the time required to cross didn't depend on flying speed; it depended on one's identity token.
For ordinary laborers, even if they traveled at maximum flight speed, it took roughly the same time as an ordinary mortal walking—upwards of a hundred breaths.
For guest elders, the time varied according to grade.
With Qi Yuan's guest elder token, it would normally take him thirty breaths to reach the other side.
"This is my first time seeing a magic treasure like this. Doesn't that mean... if I set it to ten million years and hide on the other side, the enemy can never get across?" Jiang Lingsu mused wildly.
"What if the enemy doesn't take the bridge?" Qi Yuan smiled.
The bridge was merely a novelty.
It was certainly effective against low-level cultivators, acting almost like an absolute rule. But for Great Venerables who possessed a Divine Domain, if they truly wished to cross, there were countless ways to do so.
Even Qi Yuan, a Grand Purple Mansion Master, could manage it.
Of course, his current persona was an elder from Mount Futu, so he had to maintain character.
This was the first time Qi Yuan had disguised himself as someone else, and he wasn't very practiced at it.
Thirty breaths passed, and Qi Yuan arrived at the depths of the Black Demon Abyss outpost.
A massive black stone appeared before him.
He took out his identity token.
The black stone opened a gaping black maw revealing a faint glow inside, looking quite eerie.
Qi Yuan strode forward, entering the structure together with Jiang Lingsu.
In his field of view, a dwarf elder had his head lowered, fiddling with an object that resembled a Rubik's cube.
Noticing Qi Yuan entering, the dwarf elder raised his head and cast a sidelong glance.
"What is it?"
Though one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, this dwarf elder wasn't human, so Qi Yuan judged him by his appearance anyway.
The old man looked eccentric, as if cultivation had fried his brain.
"Deacon Ke, I'd like to ask how many merit points are needed to exchange for Heaven-Traversing Jade." Qi Yuan was eager to ascend to the Sixth Heaven and head to the Demonic Abyss to see Jin Li.
It was already the fifth month.
"Heaven-Traversing Jade?" The dwarf elder shot Qi Yuan a sidelong glance. "That's not easy to come by. It takes ten thousand merit points, and even then, there's no guarantee you can trade for one."
Hearing this, Qi Yuan's eyes widened. "Doesn't that mean I have to work a corporate grind for ten thousand years?"
Gathering one strand of Miluo Light yielded one merit point.
The average time for a Yin God to harvest one strand of Miluo Light was one year.
Thus, Qi Yuan would need to toil for ten thousand years to amass enough merit points.
Calculating at a monthly wage of five thousand, working for ten thousand years without eating or drinking would net him six hundred million yuan.
Hmm, back on Blue Star, that would count as a modest fortune—enough to buy a modest mansion in a major city.
"Although your information hasn't been officially registered yet, having the black jade plaque confirms your guest elder status. Do you want to accept the mission to harvest Miluo Light? Gather merit points earlier, and you can head to the Sixth Heaven sooner," the dwarf elder said indifferently.
Generally speaking, for a guest elder like Qi Yuan who joined the Black Demon Abyss outpost, registering their information took several months or even up to a year.
The cultivator in charge of that department might very well have gone into seclusion or gotten busy with other matters.
Such things were common practice in the Upper Realm.
"All right." After a moment's consideration, Qi Yuan accepted the task of gathering Miluo Light.
In any case, this mission only had to be handed in once every century.
Who knew where he'd be in a hundred years? Why would he give a damn about the mission?
For now, he would wear the Black Demon Abyss's colors, head out to harvest Miluo Light, and do some fishing on the side.
Exiting the Black Demon Abyss outpost, Qi Yuan stretched lazily. "I suddenly feel like I'm finally experiencing what cultivating immortality actually feels like after coming to the Upper Realm... In the Lower Realm, it felt like playing around."
This was truly how Qi Yuan felt.
His cultivation journey had been all about playing video games every day, visiting his white moonlight, or wiping out sects.
Serving as a guest elder, taking on missions...
He had never done any of that.
"Isn't that pretty good? Most cultivators spend their entire lives like this," Jiang Lingsu replied without thinking.
"Cultivating like that is far too dull." Qi Yuan took a deep breath, extending his consciousness into the game jade slip.
The game icon was still loading, not yet completed.
"Let's go harvest some Miluo Light." Qi Yuan led Jiang Lingsu away.
Though called harvesting Miluo Light, in reality, it meant going to the Miluo Realm.
The Moluo Clan had a vast territory, and the Moluo Sacred Towers were situated far apart; even for a Yang God flying at full speed, traveling between them took considerable time.
Moreover, flying at full strength as a Yang God would inevitably draw the attention of Creation Treasures, or rather, the attention of other Yang God Heavenly Venerables in the Moluo Clan.
The Miluo Realm, however, was different. The Miluo Realm was very similar to the Dark Void, or rather, a cruder version of it.
The Dark Void was the special, inscrutable dimension traversed by teleportation arrays.
Even Yang Gods could only pass through the Dark Void via teleportation arrays and could not physically enter it to observe or explore.
Therefore, people in the Immortal Realm held many theories and studies regarding the Dark Void.
The Miluo Realm was a crude version of the Dark Void, one that cultivators could physically enter.
Yet the Miluo Realm was intricate and labyrinthine, harboring immense perils; even a Yin God Venerable could perish if not careful.
However, using the Miluo Realm for travel was exceptionally convenient and discreet.
Normally, only experts at or above the Great Venerable level possessing a Divine Domain traveled through the Miluo Realm.
The Miluo Realm controlled by the Moluo Clan was abundant in Miluo Light.
To enter the Miluo Realm to gather Miluo Light required credentials from major factions, which was also one of the reasons Qi Yuan had joined the Black Demon Abyss.
After a few hundred breaths, Qi Yuan arrived with Jiang Lingsu at the entrance of the Miluo Realm.
At the entrance, a long queue stretched out.
Cultivators of the Moluo Clan stood before the entrance, their expressions slack and demeanor arrogant as they inspected the cultivators entering the Miluo Realm.
Many Purple Mansion cultivators queued quietly like mortals; no one dared cut in line.
As for Yin God Venerables, they were no exception, though the queue on their side was much shorter.
Just as Qi Yuan was preparing to join the queue, a voice sounded by his ear: "Your Excellency is a guest elder of the Black Demon Abyss; there's no need to queue."
The speaker was a Yin God Venerable waiting in line. He looked at Qi Yuan with envy in his eyes.
"In the territory of the Moluo Clan, members of the Black Demon Abyss and Taihuang Palace... enjoy special privileges," the Yin God Venerable added.
The Moluo Clan had always fawned over the Black Demon Abyss, wanting to rejoin it as a branch.
Unfortunately, the Black Demon Abyss had consistently ignored them.
"Oh, nice. Do I count as a foreign dignitary now?" After thanking the Yin God Venerable, Qi Yuan took Jiang Lingsu toward the Miluo Realm.
Sure enough, when the Moluo Clan cultivators at the Miluo Realm saw Qi Yuan's specially made black robe, they perked up instantly, their previously overbearing demeanor turning docile.
"Greetings, Senior!"
These Moluo Clan cultivators bowed in salutation, barely concealing their envious gazes.
"Mm."
Qi Yuan paid them no mind, walking unimpeded into the Miluo Realm under everyone's envious eyes.
Upon entering the Miluo Realm, the scenery before them shifted drastically.
Qi Yuan sensed his surroundings carefully; there was no spiritual energy in the Miluo Realm whatsoever.
Because of this, cultivators could not cultivate while harvesting Miluo Light here.
Looking into the distance, several thousand meters away, space was rapidly collapsing.
An aura of danger swept outward as numerous cultivators scrambled to flee within the Miluo Realm.
"It really is dangerous here. A regular Yin God Venerable caught in that probably wouldn't make it out," Qi Yuan remarked, observing the scene.
The spatial collapse wasn't heading in his direction, so he was in no hurry, watching merely as a spectator.
"Come on, let's pitch a tent and settle in here for the time being," Qi Yuan said.
Jiang Lingsu frowned. "Senior Brother, there's no spiritual energy here. How am I supposed to cultivate? Using only spirit stones?"
"No worries, I'll breathe some out for you," Qi Yuan said casually. "Imported spiritual energy is higher-end!"
The breath he exhaled was far purer than the spiritual energy of the Immortal Realm.
"Hmph!" Jiang Lingsu's face flushed red.
Just then, a voice of surprise rang out: "Blood Robe... you actually came to harvest Miluo Light too!"
Qi Yuan looked over and saw a familiar face—it was Ji Buping.
At this moment, Ji Buping wore black robes and looked rather bedraggled.
In front of him walked an ugly old woman who looked almost like Ji Buping's master.
Her cultivation had impressively reached the Mythological realm, making her a top-tier powerhouse.
"Now that I've joined the Black Demon Abyss, what else would I do if not harvest Miluo Light?" Qi Yuan said lazily.
Ji Buping's expression shifted repeatedly, a heavy sense of defeat welling within him.
To harvest Miluo Light faster and advance within the Black Demon Abyss more quickly, he had compromised his dignity to become this old woman's temporary Dao companion just to enter the Miluo Realm before his guest elder status was officially confirmed. Yet Blood Robe had simply walked straight in.
It made him feel that his sacrifice was hardly worth it.
The ugly old woman swept a glance over Qi Yuan, looked away, took her leave, and headed up the mountain.
"Is he the Blood Robe favored by that core figure? Other than a handsome shell, he doesn't seem to have anything special about him," the ugly old woman remarked with slight curiosity.
To her, a core figure of the Black Demon Abyss was an eminent personage.
She had spent hundreds of thousands of years on the Fifth Heaven just to amass enough merit points to qualify to project across all heavens and thereby become a core figure of the Black Demon Abyss.
Hearing this, Ji Buping felt even more resentful. "Perhaps... he just got lucky."
The ugly old woman glanced at Ji Buping. "Don't pay too much mind to him. No matter how good his shell is, he'll end up as nothing more than a plaything for a big shot. You're different. With a fourth-grade bloodline, you have a sliver of a chance to become a core figure of the Black Demon Abyss."
Of course, this sliver of a chance was exceedingly slim, but it still existed; the ugly old woman wasn't entirely lying to him.
Hearing this, Ji Buping's eyes flashed with renewed vigor.
Within the Miluo Realm, danger could strike at any moment, so cultivators couldn't safely enter seclusion; most stayed vigilant of their surroundings.
While keeping an eye out for Miluo Light, Ji Buping occasionally glanced over toward the distant tent.
Beside the tent, the young man and woman seemed as if they were on vacation, having set up a table and chairs laden with various foods and fruits.
A look of envy surfaced in Ji Buping's eyes, mixed with a trace of malice.
"Keep this up and a whole year will go to waste without capturing a single strand of Miluo Light!" Ji Buping cursed under his breath.
After an unknown length of time, Ji Buping's brow twitched, curiosity rising in his gaze.
"Why did they leave?"
Outside the distant tent, the table and chairs had been packed away, and the items atop them were gone.
"Could they have discovered Miluo Light? No, I have to follow them!"
With that thought, he quickly pursued along the direction where Qi Yuan had vanished.
Yet after only a few breaths, Ji Buping stood bewildered. "Where did they go?"
He had completely lost the trail.
Or rather, he had never managed to catch up in the first place.
"There's definitely something fishy about him!" Ji Buping halted, his eyes flickering with contemplation.
At this moment, Qi Yuan had already placed Jiang Lingsu into the Netherworld.
He traversed the Miluo Realm alone, heading toward another Moluo Sacred Tower.
As the saying went, a rabbit didn't eat the grass near its burrow.
Therefore, he needed to fish somewhere further away.
As for Ji Buping following him for a bit, he was aware, but hadn't cared.
Since the guy was so eager to tag along, Qi Yuan would invite him next time.
This time, Qi Yuan was in front and couldn't be bothered with him.
After all, Ji Buping clearly possessed immense ambition—sleeping even with an old woman.
He would surely be willing to achieve great things together with him.
Once the trap was laid and he returned to the starting point, if a fish was about to bite, he would invite Ji Buping along.
A cultivator with such ambition definitely wouldn't pass it up.
Qi Yuan let his thoughts wander.
His figure reached another exit of the Miluo Realm.
At this moment, quite a few Moluo Clan cultivators guarded the exit.
To Qi Yuan, their strength was negligible.
Activating the Great Oblivion Heart Scripture, he walked right out without attracting anyone's attention.
"Baiting the waters takes real finesse."
"It can't be too obvious, but it can't go unnoticed either."
Chapter 409