New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 148 Re-entering Huangliang Village

After leaving the underground world and bidding farewell to the [Shadow Dream Hole], Yuan Zhu lost his temporary storage space.

When he returned, besides the backpack he carried with him which allowed him to carry a limited amount of goods, he only had [The Universe Within] to smuggle some large personal items.

Because this is a super digestive space, ordinary items placed inside the [Inner Universe] will simply be digested and absorbed by the Tiger Demon. The only thing that can withstand the refining process is the Shadow-type 'Changgui Plugin'.

At this moment, what the snake's tail was spitting out were the extraordinary polluted tissues that he had been working overtime in the bubble world to recover the fallen Shadow Demon Insects and decompose them twice: [Unyielding Pride (Insect Gold Shell)] ×12, [Alienated Tissue (Meridian Mutation Tissue)] ×16.

Seeing the enormous insect shells Yuan Zhu had collected, Spicy Strip asked curiously, "What do you plan to do with these [exoskeletons]? Their structure is too sturdy for the Changgui to wear. Other demonic insects have their own shells, so we can't use them either. We also lack the Heavenly Rank 'Armor Forging' method, and we don't have any Qi Refiners."

Tiger Demon: "I'll keep it for now and see if I can find an interested collector. Or I can sell it to the [Space of Gods], or find a way to grind it up and refine the insect gold. In short, it definitely has value. As for the [mutated organization], I plan to try it on a goblin to see if I can replicate the 'meridian system'. Then the [Shadow Breathing Technique] I collected will come in handy!"

Then, the Tiger Demon summoned the Eggplant Head Ghosts to move these precious 'Shadow Materials' to the basement and store them carefully.

After completing all of this, Tiger Demon felt deeply exhausted.

Before returning to Happy Home, it spent two whole days on the dangerous surface without rest. Now it finally couldn't take it anymore, so it decided not to go home first and to rest directly.

Tiger Demon yawned widely and said to Tail, "I feel too tired. I'm going to take a nap. You can handle the rest of the minor issues."

Snake Tail assured him, "Leave it to me, it's absolutely reliable! When you were in seclusion in the [Shadow Dream Hole], wasn't it me who managed the [Pastoral Village]?"

"Here you go... Zzz."

The tiger demon lay on the second-floor floor, its large, black, furry head drooping, resting its head on its strong arm, and fell asleep at lightning speed, emitting low snoring sounds from its throat.

Black veins quickly appeared on the wooden floor beneath it, winding their way to the shadow of the tiger demon, continuously supplying this shadowy creature with 'shadow spiritual energy' to initiate a new round of cultivation and growth.

When the main body fell asleep, its skeletal snake tail became excited. Its white skeletal body twisted and stood up, crashing into the shadows, and crawled out again as a long, thin shadow snake that seemed to stretch infinitely.

The Shadow Serpent began patrolling the haunted house, followed by four eggplant-headed ghosts, constantly pointing and issuing commands. It then dispersed the demonic insects into different rooms; next, it modified and optimized the four eggplant-headed ghosts' 'artificial stupidity program' through the 'Soul Program', and issued new instructions.

Soon, four agile eggplant demons repeatedly entered and exited the Disease Garden, constantly cutting and picking diseased fruits and crops.

They do not eat on their own initiative, but are transported into different rooms as feed to the 'Shadow Demon Insects', gradually increasing their strength and pollution intensity. The 'Data-Driven Soul Program' monitors, collects, and summarizes the changes in the Demon Insects' pollution data.

Once the 'disease contamination' exceeds a certain dangerous threshold, the feeding operation should be stopped immediately, and the 'Shadow Eggplant Roots' scattered throughout the haunted house should be used to replenish the demonic insects with 'Shadow Contamination'.

Without the polluted environment of the [Disease Garden], the stability of these demonic insects increased dramatically, and their strength began to slowly improve, giving the snake tail a sense of 'having great power and controlling everything'.

...

When the Tiger Demon awoke again, removed the [Boss Template] and returned to humanity, Yuan Zhu felt a long-lost surge of energy.

What time is it now?

Little Spicy Strip: "While you were sleeping, I secretly sent an eggplant-headed ghost to invade the neighbor's house and check their calendar. Combined with the alarm clock you left in the attic, we can confirm that Running only spent 31 hours, about a day and a half, on this 10-day 'bubble mission.' And you slept for another 10 hours, so it's already 1 a.m.."

Yuan Zhu glanced out the window; it was indeed pitch black. A faint moonlight shone through the thick clouds, casting a slight glimmer of light across the sky.

"Compared to the time taken in the previous [Little Red Realm], can we calculate the time flow rate of the [Nightmare Bubble Layer]?"

In the mental world, Little Spicy Strip shook its head: "Absolutely impossible. According to the data I've collected so far, the flow of time between 'Spirit of the Real World, Happy Home, and Bubble World' is completely irregular and chaotic, so don't even think about it. The only certainty is that [King Mao Mao] uses 'Happy Home' as a regulator to keep the flow of time in [Bubble World] constant and much greater than the flow of time in reality."

Little Spicy Strip added, "Of course, there's another possibility. That is, the status of the Spirit Planet is far higher than that of the small worlds in the [Foam Layer], so the time in reality is more stable, and therefore naturally less than the time flow rate of the Foam Layer. It's like in your hometown's mythology, where one day in heaven is one year on earth."

“That makes sense!” Yuan Zhu nodded thoughtfully, then said excitedly, “It’s 1 a.m. now, it looks like we can’t go home. So let’s hurry up and cultivate the Holy Light, and reach the ‘Three Phases’ standard as soon as possible.”

Soon, he rushed into the Garden of Disease and began to go mad.

With the [Sanctuary. Holy Seal] fully mastered, he unleashed a variety of self-created special skills, and one after another, 'Holy Light Cubes' appeared in the garden space, sealing off the grass and soil, pulling out the bottom edge, and hovering in mid-air.

Then, a blinding white light burst forth from within, radiating and refining it with his current highest intensity of holy light. A large amount of [ash] was produced, which was absorbed into the soul through the holy seal, forged into [soul crystals], and stored and solidified within them a vast amount of memories, personality, and values.

As the 'Soul Crystal' gradually took shape, he discovered that a small amount of the 'Holy Light' generated by burning his life force could be separated and stored within the Soul Crystal for preservation, without dissipating or disappearing.

The characteristics of the Holy Light Battery have been initially demonstrated.

Moreover, even when he was inside the 'garden' isolated from the real world, he could still establish a soul-level connection with a certain ubiquitous and vast 'source of pollution (holy light)' in the outside world through the gradually condensing irregular 'soul crystals'.

This perception was immediately captured and recorded by the [Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture Client].

He hurriedly called out to Little Spicy Strips: "Is this the source of the [Holy Light]? The signal is so strong, it feels like it's everywhere in the world."

In Yuan Zhu's perception, this [Holy Light Source] was like a network, pervading the heavens and earth, detectable from both the outer and inner layers of the world. Unfortunately, his [Soul Crystal] was not powerful enough; he could only capture vague energy signals through his soul. He was not yet able to penetrate the spatial isolation of the [Garden] and connect directly to this network.

Little Spicy Strip responded, "It should be. [Holy Light] is the most powerful known source of pollution, among the top tier. And [Soul Crystal] is the mark of a cultivator's complete mastery. It's only natural that you've established a connection with the source of Holy Light. I recorded this 'source fluctuation.' After comparison, I found that our more powerful [Shadow System] doesn't have this fluctuation at all. Truly trash!"

"I wonder what level my Holy Light cultivation has reached?"

Spicy Strips immediately reported the data: "[Soul Crystal] Condensation progress 26.25%".

Yuan Zhu: "How did you come to that conclusion?"

"Your Soul Crystal can now store Holy Light without dissipating. The full capacity of a Soul Crystal is linked to the quality of the Holy Seal (8 units). Your current Soul Crystal can store 2.1 units, which is 26.25% complete. One unit of Holy Light refers to the amount of Holy Light consumed when released at standard intensity to maintain one unit (5 minutes). If your Soul Crystal is fully complete, it can release standard Holy Light for 40 minutes."

With the numerical values ​​as a reference, Yuan Zhu had the illusion that if he just kept grinding, the finish line was within reach. He immediately worked even harder, unleashing a barrage of holy light, attacking the flowers and plants in the garden with abandon.

He even used the "Holy Light Breathing Method" to spiritually influence those fruits that throbbed like hearts, had eyes and mouths, and constantly coughed out black smoke, attempting to teach these diseased fruits the breathing method.

As a result, those fruits with biological characteristics passively switched their breathing rhythms one after another. Due to the lack of support from the 'respiratory system and meridian system', they exploded one after another, releasing a large number of [Holy Cough Particles], which triggered a chain of holy light pollution.

The effect was even stronger than directly releasing ordinary holy light to cause destruction, so he went even further and intensified his efforts.

……

At 7 a.m., Mr. Yuan, who had been busy all night, felt completely drained. He dragged his tired and weak body (severely depleted of vitality) back home and saw his younger brother making breakfast in the kitchen.

"Big brother? You're back!"

Hearing the door open, Yuan Xiaodi was startled at first, then rushed over with delight. Seeing his older brother looking completely drained, he immediately asked with concern, "Brother, what happened? Why are you so weak? Are you injured? You've been gone for four whole days without a word. What have you been doing?"

Yuan Zhu pulled out a chair and sat down, sensing that the [Soul Crystal] within his soul was nearly half completed, filling him with joy and satisfaction. Although he was exhausted and depleted, his spirit was exceptionally high, and his eyes shone brightly.

"Don't worry, I know my body best. I've just been working too hard these past few days and haven't had enough rest. I had a last-minute business trip these past few days."

Yuan asked, "Is it that part-time job at the clothing company you mentioned last time? How come it's even harder than a full-time job?"

Yuan Zhu: "It's all because the boss appreciates and values ​​me, so naturally I have to repay him with sincerity. Of course, the most important thing is that the salary is high, so high that I can't refuse. You don't need to worry about me, I'm not involved in any illegal industry. This business trip was mainly to investigate the source of raw materials for the company's 'luxury children's clothing' and to sign a raw material contract with local silkworm farmers."

"There will be many more business trips like this in the future. But after the work is over, I'll have more and longer rest time, which is very relaxing. I'm just giving you a heads-up now, so you'll get used to it. By the way, do you have enough money for living expenses?"

Yuan Su nodded: "It's more than enough, you won't even use it all. Since your work schedule is irregular now, will I still prepare breakfast and dinner for you from now on?"

"Dinner is unnecessary, and I'm not sure if I'll be home on time. If I do come home to sleep tonight, you can prepare breakfast for me. By the way, your brother is now a high-paid worker, so I don't need that little bit of living expenses. You can focus all your energy on your studies from now on and don't worry about grocery shopping and cooking too much. If all else fails, I'll pay a fee to a nearby restaurant so you can eat there every day. Focus the rest of your energy on your studies."

The younger brother retorted, "My grades aren't bad, and I have plenty of time to cook. There's no need to waste that money."

"No, no, no! Time is the most precious thing. If you're truly confident in your studies, then study even harder. How about I contact your school when I have some free time and arrange for you to skip a grade?"

Yuan Su looked puzzled: "Why skip a grade?"

"Save on tuition fees, graduate early so I can send you to university sooner. I have a college student colleague on this business trip. He's really..."

After witnessing Meng Xiyue's skills, he felt that studying at Duling University was a promising career path. His younger brother didn't have any special abilities, so going to university would be a fitting tribute to his predecessor.

...

After finishing breakfast and seeing his younger brother off to school, Yuan Zhu went out again and bought a bottle of "Echoes of Yellow Millet" from a nearby store to take home, deciding to strike while the iron was hot and indulge in a daydream.

Since his experience building the Cockroach Dreamland in the Shadow Domain, although his Boss Template does not include the ability to master the 'Nightmare Power', his affinity for Nightmare Power has greatly increased, and he has summarized a set of operational experience.

Now, he only needs to drink 1/3 of the [Echoes of Yellow Millet] to activate the trace amounts of Yellow Millet Village's essence remaining in the drink, helping him to quickly fall asleep and lock onto the location of the dream world, allowing him to directly enter it.

Unlike his previous descent, this time when he fell into dreamland, his 'Dream Spirit Body' emitted a dazzling holy light, and the spirit body took on a crystal-like texture, causing a small-scale anomaly within [Yellow Millet Village]. This should be the effect of the nascent [Soul Crystal].

At the same time, he also sensed an energy network above Huangliang Township that was specifically designed for the Holy Light system. It was clearer than what he had sensed in the Garden of Diseases, and he was almost able to connect to it (his soul crystal was not yet perfect).

This layer of [Holy Light Energy Network] is like the energy channel of 'Shadow Power' that he specifically set up when he created [Cockroach Village] in the underground world.

If we consider [Dreamland] as a building, then the [Holy Light Energy Network] is like the water, electricity, and gas systems that were pre-installed during its construction. However, Huangliang Township not only has [Holy Light] pre-installed, but he can also vaguely distinguish the relatively familiar [Kunlun Spiritual Energy]. By the same token, it can be deduced that it also accommodates different systems such as [Buddhism, Laws], etc.

After landing in a building, Yuan Zhu looked up at the moon. It was indeed a familiar feeling; this place was also closely connected to the [Sea of ​​Consciousness].

Previously, his strength was too weak to notice. Now, having descended again, he discovered that [Huangliang Township] was indeed far more advanced, complex, and complete than his [Cockroach Township]... while maintaining close connections with both the inner and outer layers of the world.

(End of this chapter)