New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 246 The Innate Secretarial Holy Body and Her Plugin Brother
The moment Yuan Zhu stepped through the gate, it alerted the siblings, who simultaneously turned their heads to look over.

Jun, the younger brother who was leading the orphans in martial arts practice, suddenly stopped and looked up excitedly, saying, "Sir? You're back!"

The little girl, with her chubby cheeks and baby face, completely changed her serious and cool expression, cheering and rushing towards him with open arms, her sweet voice calling out, "Brother!"

This scene of the violent older sister acting cute left her younger brother frozen in shock, his mind reeling! He simply couldn't believe that this filthy thing was his own sister?! The contrast was too stark, too terrifying.

On the contrary, Yuan Zhu did not feel anything was wrong. A cute little boy from the poor mountain area, who had been supported by him since childhood and lived a happy life, was now jumping up and down with joy after seeing his great benefactor.

Very reasonable!

What? She's already 12 years old? Isn't this how elementary school students should be?!

"My dear brother, I miss you so much!"

Knowing full well the art of currying favor, and clearly understanding who owns the [Shadow Domain] and from whom her siblings' current status, authority, and power originate, the little sister sincerely clung to Yuan Zhu's coattails, showering him with gratitude, respect, attachment, reluctance, happiness, and other emotional values.

They wished they could swear an oath of brotherhood on the spot and formalize their 'sibling relationship' by blood.

The silly and simple-minded younger brother Jun also came in front of him. Looking at his older sister who was shamelessly acting cute and trying to please him without any regard for her age or reserve, he opened his mouth as if to say something but then stopped.

Yuan Zhu looked at his younger brother, Jun, who was only a head shorter than him and taller than Lü Rang, with a strong and energetic physique. He subconsciously ignored the fact that the other was only 8 years old. This guy was already 18! His face was a little immature, but his thick eyebrows and big eyes were very bright, just like the protagonist of an old shonen manga.

"What are you standing there for? Call me brother!" The older sister turned around and scolded her slow-witted, dazed younger brother.

The younger brother stammered, his face flushed with embarrassment, and struggled to speak: "Hello, big brother!"

Yuan Zhu was very pleased with the little girl's intelligence and wit. Although he hadn't seen her for half a year, he could clearly feel her affection, genuine happiness, gratitude, and dependence. At the same time, he was even more pleased with his younger brother Jun's changes, as his strength had already broken through to the [Earth Rank]!

Genius, an absolute genius!

Ordinary residents of the Insect City typically need 2 (genius) to 9 years to break through from the [Human Rank] to the [Earth Rank]. But my younger brother only took half a year to advance to the [Earth Rank] and begin condensing his acupoints.

Furthermore, the most basic advancement to the Earth Rank requires the formation and construction of a complete Twelve Regular Meridians within the body. However, the younger brother's Earth Rank advancement not only completed the most basic Twelve Regular Meridians but also constructed the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, as well as eight additional hidden meridians, totaling a system of 28 meridians!
Its foundational qualities are so strong that it has 16 more than the 12 of ordinary [Earth Rank] talents, a difference that can only be described as hopeless.

In contrast, the little girl is considered above average among ordinary orphans. She is still at the Human level, but she has completed the Twelve Regular Meridians, perfected half of the Eight Extraordinary Meridians (four of them), and successfully opened the Ren and Du Meridians, but has now stagnated.

Yuan Zhu angrily rubbed the little girl's head: "You've all grown a lot and haven't let me down. I'm very satisfied!"

The little girl squinted her eyes happily, savoring this wonderful feeling she had never experienced before, and couldn't wait to report: "After you left, brother, my brother and I have worked diligently to manage the [Pastoral Village] for you, carefully raising spirit insects, and studying [Pharmacology and Alchemy] assiduously. I can now refine the most basic [Hemostatic Powder], and my brother has also broken through to the [Earth Rank] and begun to learn the methods of [Armor Forging and Weapon Forging]!"

"However, there is a guy who claims to be your elder brother who forcibly seized the [Shadow Dream Hole], ostracized us, and recklessly transformed the village against all advice. Although it brought many benefits, it also caused the development of the [Shadow World] to deviate from the direction you set for us. We are powerless to stop it and can only let it be."

After a brief boast, the little girl began to badmouth the captain. Then, she started accusing the shopkeeper and Commander Zuo of secretly defecting to the captain and betraying the interests of [Pastoral Village]. She also mentioned that many of the 'skilled villagers' recruited by the captain had abandoned their 'village chief's faith' and switched sides.

Hearing this, Yuan Zhu felt extremely gratified. This little lackey was truly loyal!

He recalled carefully that when he first arrived, he had treated the brother and sister well, but he hadn't given them too much or opened his heart to them. In the end, he had only done what he could to earn their loyalty, making it a very worthwhile investment.

"It's alright, that gentleman is indeed my partner. I granted him the authority to develop the [Shadow Domain]. Tell me about your progress over this period, what achievements have you made?"

Upon hearing that Yuan Zhu had no intention of delving into the captain's 'usurpation and treason,' the exceptionally clever and shrewd Xiaohaijie decisively stopped pursuing the matter and instead happily recounted her experiences over the past few days.

The adorable younger brother belatedly opened his mouth slightly, wanting to add some examples of 'betrayal' he'd witnessed daily and offer solutions. But before he could speak, he was interrupted, his eyes filled with clear innocence, somewhat unable to keep up with his sister's pace.

The young lady completely ignored her younger brother. Her voice was bright and her speech was incredibly fast, but her enunciation was clear, her delivery was packed with information, and her description was simple and concise... A burst of machine gun fire swept through, accurately killing numerous targets, leaving Yuan Zhu in awe!

She's practically a chosen one, a perfect assistant or secretary. Her work efficiency, summarizing skills, and communication abilities are leagues ahead of [Spicy Strips]; she's a million times better than that mute Nie Yin!
Snake sobbed, "Child, you don't love your mother anymore!"

In the machine-gun-like spiel of the little girl, it was revealed that over the past seven months, she and her brother, due to being granted "manager" privileges and being too young, were not favored, and were even looked down upon, by the two "senior administrators," Commander Zuo and Shop Owner Lu.

However, due to the siblings' unique power to enter and exit the 'Shadow Space' and to manage the 'Dreamland', coupled with the need to raise the 'Shadow Yuan Clan Insects and Holy Cough Beetles' for Yuan Zhu, they had no choice but to accept their status.

Therefore, in the beginning, he had abundant resources but no real power, which was not very satisfactory.

On the contrary, the two agents on the surface, Shopkeeper Lu and Commander Zuo, are both seasoned veterans with extensive experience in the underworld. After an initial period of trepidation and caution, they quickly tasted the power of authority and began to exploit the unclaimed and resource-rich [Pastoral Village] for their own profit.

Commander Zuo holds an extremely high position in [Cicada City], possesses the potential to reach the [Heavenly Rank], and wields military power in [Pastoral Village]; Shopkeeper Lu's strength is negligible, but he has extensive business connections and controls the commercial trade of [Pastoral Village]. Working together seamlessly, they amass a fortune and then reinvest in themselves…

In the third month, the 'Captain' descended from outer space and implemented sweeping reforms in [Pastoral Village], sending the two adult leaders out to carry out mission after mission. However, he was fair in rewarding and punishing, and completely tamed the two "tools".

The siblings, being too young to go out and risk their lives, stayed behind. Furthermore, due to their extremely high "authority" and precocious intelligence, the captain, giving Zhuzi face, began to allocate resources to focus on nurturing the two siblings.

In just six months, the younger brother successively obtained management rights for institutions such as the [Pastoral Village Police Department, Interrogation Department, Martial Arts School, Orphanage, etc.]; while the older sister was responsible for [the breeding of Mao's worms in the Inner World, cultivation of spiritual herbs, raising of spiritual worms, food planting, hospital, and medicine-making industry, etc.]

As the [Dharma Domain] continued to expand and improve, the siblings were incredibly busy. Not only did they have to seize every opportunity to cultivate, but they also had to take care of the children, manage the villagers' food supply, and run businesses such as [insect farming and medicinal herb cultivation]. Consequently, their management skills were forced to undergo an unsustainable, premature development. (This only applies to the older sister with the younger child.)

Because of his personality flaws, such as being taciturn, honest, hardworking, and blindly obedient to his sister, the younger brother struggles particularly in management.

On the contrary, the young woman seemed to thrive, not finding her work particularly strenuous. She always seemed to quickly grasp the ropes, integrate seamlessly, and was overjoyed, finding meaning in every day – a sense of self-fulfillment born from wielding power.

After hearing this, Yuan Zhu fell silent.

Although the younger brother manages just as many 'organizations and projects' as his older sister, his job is simply to execute the plans set by his sister.

The entire [Pastoral Village] may not seem large, but it is small yet complete. Every aspect must be comprehensively considered by 'Sister Kid', who will then formulate and implement plans.

Of course, her extraordinary performance wasn't due to any innate talent, like that of 'Little Sister' or a reincarnation of Zhuge Liang. The secret to her incredible power lies in her possession of 1/12 of the [Law Domain] authority, allowing her free access to and use of [Cockroach Village].

Viewing the still-developing [Cockroach Village] as an 'artificial intelligence server', it not only possesses super computing power and simulation capabilities, but can also connect to the dreams of all residents within the domain, transmitting information in dreams and even planting 'hints' in the subconscious.

With such a magical tool to assist her, the little girl became incredibly adept at her job as village chief, excelling at it effortlessly. But this still couldn't overshadow her talent.

Snake: "A top-notch secretary! [Frog Raising Hegemony] is desperately needing someone like her!"

Yuan Zhu discovered that if they poached the little girl and took her to Running City, she would still be more than capable of handling tasks such as [frog factory, pharmaceutical laboratory, combat agent, leader of the White Feather Society, etc.].

Then Candle worriedly asked, "If we take Sister Kid away, will the [Shadow Domain] suffer?"

Snake: "Absolutely not! The presence of Sister Kid in the [Law Domain] is merely icing on the cake. Without her, the [Law Domain Structure] constructed by the captain can still operate smoothly, only its effectiveness is somewhat reduced. On the other hand, Sister Kid, after half a year of training, it's time for her to graduate! Besides, this wretched place, with its flawed heaven and earth, is not suitable for them to fully display their talents. Look, the cultivation progress of both children has stalled."

After communicating with the siblings and gaining a clear understanding of their lives during this period, Yuan Zhu focused his attention on their cultivation.

For those with extraordinary abilities, power is fundamental.

Before joining Yuan Zhu, they were orphans on the fringes of Insect City. Every day, they painstakingly cultivated their True Qi, using one-third to combat and cleanse the pollution that naturally accumulated in their bodies; one-third to refine into Qi threads and inject into the bodies of spirit insects to nourish them, cleanse the pollution within them, and stimulate them to produce Insect-type spiritual materials to exchange for food; and only the last one-third of their True Qi could be used to nourish their meridian system.

If the daily cultivation output is 1, then the cultivation efficiency is less than 0.3.

After joining [Pastoral Village], the siblings' status rose rapidly, and they no longer needed to worry about making a living. They had a constant supply of pure food, a spiritually rich environment, and could even consume elixirs... The 'true qi' they cultivated was all used to nourish and nurture their meridians or to cultivate spiritual insects.

效率从以前的0.3，一路飙升到2、3、4、5……倍不止。进度自然格外夸张，双双达到【人阶巅峰】。

The younger brother has gathered 28 meridians, surpassing the top geniuses of the [Cicada City] lineage (22 meridians) to enter the [Earth Rank]. The younger sister now possesses 16 meridians, entering the ranks of geniuses, but is stuck at the [Peak of Human Rank] and unable to progress further.

However, the siblings' current True Qi system has taken a completely new and mutated path, and after entering the Earth Rank, they lack subsequent cultivation methods for reference.

Ultimately, it's all Yuan Zhu's fault.

On the eve of his last return, he became interested in the affinity between [Holy Cough Particles] and [Coleoptera and Hemiptera Spirit Insects]. The [Cicada City]'s 'Dao Seeds and Spirit Insects' both belong to [Hemiptera], and are thus connected to [Holy Light and Holy Cough Particles].

So he not only cultivated a large number of 'Holy Light Spirit Insects', but also performed the [Holy Cough Blessing] on the siblings, polluting and mutating their physical bodies, meridians, and true qi; and left behind several [Holy Cough Erosion. Demonized Giant Insects] with vigorous vitality as living spirit stone mines, producing 'Holy Cough Particles' day and night for the two to cultivate.

Half a year passed quickly. As fervent and die-hard fans of Yuan Zhu, the siblings never questioned their cultivation path. Instead, they worked day and night to refine the Holy Cough Particles with their breathing techniques, successfully creating the Holy Cough True Qi to nurture their meridians.

In the context of martial arts novels, this is a level above Zuo Lengchan's [Frosty True Qi], namely [Innate Level Holy Light Alien True Qi].

The resulting 'meridian system' is naturally quite different from the traditional 'twelve primary meridians of the insect system'.

When his younger brother broke through to the Earth Rank and began to condense his first acupoint, he was stuck and stagnated.

Now it was the younger brother's turn to describe his illness. He opened his mouth, but because he was not good at speaking, he stammered, "I..." for a long time, but couldn't finish.

This made the petite older sister roll her eyes and repeatedly emphasize to Yuan Zhu, "My brother is only 8 years old this year. It's understandable that he's a little slow!"

The younger brother looked down at his sister with an innocent expression, his eyes filled with unspeakable grievance.

While his 12-year-old sister was making excuses, Yuan Zhu fired an [Evil Detection] at his younger brother in jail, and with the help of the 'Holy Cough Mark' left in his body, he conducted a scan.

This situation is somewhat similar to a CT scan in a hospital. Compared to the direct and crude observation of others using [Soul Crystals], it can provide a more detailed and profound understanding of the younger brother's physical condition.

Feedback indicates that the younger brother's [True Qi System] has been subtly changing over the past six months, gradually becoming less adapted to the local environment, and the composition of True Qi is increasingly reliant on the new [Holy Cough Particles].

The 'extraordinary energy' cultivated within the body is still [True Qi], but its attributes have begun to shift entirely towards [Holy Light]. This can be understood as [Alien True Qi] gradually consuming [Holy Light Energy]... Moreover, this mutated 'Holy True Qi' has lost most of the properties of [Holy Light], so it can be preserved for a long time.

Snake: "What Brother Lao has cultivated now is 'Holy Light Flavor' True Qi, not 'Holy Light'. He doesn't belong to the Holy Temple camp, but is a pro-Holy Light traitor within the 'Insect-type Qi Refining Camp'! I think he deserves to be nurtured!"

Yuan Zhu: "At this rate, even if we successfully cultivate a [Holy Light Masked Cultivator], it won't be part of the [Holy Light System] anymore?!"

Snake: "Although it doesn't belong to the [Sanctuary], it belongs to you, Prisoner! Prisoner's [Holy Cough True Qi] is firmly controlled by your [Holy Cough Particles] at its extraordinary source, yet it can't be transformed into [Light] and remains [True Qi]. Therefore, Prisoner's [Masked Holy Cough Knights] will always be unrelated to the [Sanctuary], but will continue to embezzle and transfer the assets of the [Holy Light System], increasing your personal power."

"Just like [Anti-Law.Shadow] has been trying to pry open the walls of [Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture]. One day, [Immortal Scripture Old Deng] will find that [Anti-Law] has emptied all its possessions."

"Yes!"

(End of this chapter)