New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 252 Smuggling Trade
According to the underground world's timekeeping system, it was evening when Meng Xiyue, leading the little girl Yuan Zhu had rented to her, made her triumphant return.

When he met her at his residence in the [Pastoral Village] world, the little girl was in high spirits.

Her small backpack was bulging, filled with gifts and local specialties from [Cicada City], and she couldn't wait to share them with her younger brother and new older brother. She seemed to have had a pleasant day.

In contrast, Mengxi seemed rather downcast, her face sour and somewhat dejected. Curious, Yuan Zhu asked, "What's wrong? Did you run into trouble when you visited [Cicada City] and spoke with the higher-ups? Did you fail to sell our 'supplies'?"

Meng Xiyue replied listlessly, "No, that's not it. The supplies we brought are very popular in [Cicada City]. From commoners to nobles, everyone likes them. I've already cleared out all the stock and traded it for valuable 'spiritual medicines' and other supplies. I think it's a business opportunity. The only problem is that we have to use [coins] every time we transport goods, which is a bit expensive, and our profits are all being taken by [Happy Home]!"

Yuan Zhu: "That's why I'm researching the Nightmare Smuggling Channel, and I also need you to work hard to improve the Cockroach Dreamland, so that the Gods' Space and the Happy Home don't profit from the price difference! Is that why you're unhappy? It's a good thing that the main world's resources have a market in the Underworld."

Mengxi shook her head: "That's not the case. Alas, I miscalculated! As you know, the supplies we brought are all portable and inexpensive. The native nobles of [Cicada City] aren't stupid; they know how to compare prices. Pure and clean supplies are indeed rare in the underground world, but they're not that precious. In the end, they're just rare and cheap goods."

Yuan Zhu was initially confused, feeling like he couldn't understand what the other person was saying. He thought Meng Xi had gone mad and was rambling incoherently. But soon, he realized the problem!
In addition to their team members, the underground world of [Pastoral Village] has also brought in a group of high-ranking management personnel from other worlds to be responsible for the operation of [Law Domain] and commercial trade matters.

Therefore, the buyers of [Cicada City] can frequently come into contact with this group of 'otherworldly people' and learn about information outside of [Feathered World] through them.

The otherworldly employees brought by the team leader might not be qualified to access smuggling channels. However, these people have mouths and can communicate, allowing the higher-ups of Chan City to indirectly learn the price of these supplies. This thwarts Yuan Zhu and Meng Xi's dream of monopolizing information channels and drastically increasing prices.

Yuan Zhu: "Was it the village administrator who revealed information about other worlds to [Cicada City]?"

Meng Xiyue nodded: "Not only that, after realizing that simply selling 'cheap goods' wouldn't make me rich overnight, I had the idea of ​​promoting luxury children's clothing for [Mao Mao Wang] to make a quick buck. But when I visited the lower city, I found that all the little princesses and princes here were already wearing [Mao Mao Wang brand luxury children's clothing]. They weren't even cultivating 'True Qi' anymore, but instead had become believers in [Mao Mao Wang]. What a mistake, it hurts!"

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhu was also slightly surprised and asked in confusion, "【Anti-Law】?"

Meng Xiyue nodded.

The current high-ranking members of the Cicada Clan in the Lower City have already established their 'Qi Refining Cultivation' and retain their 'True Qi System'; however, the children who have planted 'Dao Seeds' in their dantian have all stopped refining their Qi, instead wearing 'Luxury Children's Clothing' and worshipping 'King Mao Mao' at home, embarking on the same extraordinary path as Mai Lili.

This was both unexpected and yet perfectly logical.

Yuan Zhu pondered for a moment and then raised a new question: "You said the captain looks down on our small smuggling business. But what if the management of the [Mao Group] secretly engages in smuggling supplies to make small profits, thus encroaching on our niche?"

The second-generation leaders of [Cicada City] have all turned against [the Law. Mao Mao King]. These employees of the [Mao Group] naturally hold higher positions and have closer ties to [Cicada City]. Even this small smuggling business could be robbed.

Mengxi shook her head: "I don't think so. We need to use the [Happy Home] as a transit point to transport supplies, which consumes coins to achieve our goal. What makes these ordinary people from another world so special? They are not employees of the [Happy Home], and their status is the same as ordinary working animals in Taixi City. Do they have the ability to smuggle goods directly through the [Nightmare Layer] without relying on the [Space of Gods]? If they had that ability, why would they be working for [Mao Mao Wang]? They would have gone solo long ago."

Yuan Zhu: "It's not necessarily impossible. The reason we face so many difficulties in opening the [Nightmare Channel] is because the real world is blocked by the [Spirit Realm Layer], a super firewall. Even if we enter the [Spirit Realm Layer], there's still the barrier of secondary ascension blocking us. But that [Lihai World] is clearly not the real world. It's hard to say what the situation is. What if it's another [Foam World], also located within the [Nightmare Foam Layer]..."

Mengxi decisively denied it: "Then the possibility of mutual communication and contact is even lower! You have to know that the Nightmare Bubble Layer is notoriously chaotic and disorderly. Even if the two 'bubble worlds' successfully connect today, by tomorrow, the two bubble worlds will be in different places. Even if they successfully connect again, time in world A may go back 20 years, while time in world B may go forward 100 years. Or, if they don't contact each other for a period of time, both worlds will spontaneously collapse."

Yuan Zhu was somewhat skeptical: "Is the [Bubble World] really that fragile? It just bursts like that?"

"Otherwise, why would it be called a 'bubble'? The world of the 'bubble layer' is like a bubble, easily burst with a single prick."

Yuan Zhu countered, "Is the [Feathered World] we're in now the same? I think this world is quite resilient. After experiencing a great catastrophe, it still persevered in rebuilding its 'underground civilization.' Moreover, this world is not small at all, and its power system is not weak. It's not easy for it to be destroyed."

Meng Xiyue: "From another perspective, the [Feathered World] has suffered a great catastrophe, its vitality severely damaged, its world status severely downgraded, and it is on the verge of death. Now, this world is frantically trying to save itself, but the surface resources have been completely burned out; the underground world seems prosperous, but it is also in a final struggle. The survival resources of the underground world actually depend entirely on the endless roots left by the 'Immortal Tree,' which are non-renewable resources and will eventually be exhausted. Do you know what those people talked about most when I was selling supplies in the lower city today?"

Candle shook his head: "I don't know."

Mengxi: "They thought we were also from [Lihai] and were actively inquiring about the conditions for immigrating to [Lihai]? In less than half a year, the captain has developed the current situation in the underground world and established friendly relations with more than ten [Insect Cities]. This is not only due to personal strength, but also the opportunity to ascend smoothly to a more stable and safer new world without [Breaking the Void].

The [Ascension World] is now a sinking, leaky ship. All cultivators are frantically trying to break through to the [Heavenly Rank], vying for control of the [Dream Hole], and striving to reach the [Above the Heavens: Ascension] realm.

In other words, the physical body shatters and enters the Nightmare Layer through the Dream Hole, escaping the corrupt spiritual environment of the Feathered World, refining new Gang Sha Qi (new source of pollution energy) to support its own 'energy cycle (true Qi)', crossing the Nightmare Layer, and safely arriving at a higher quality 'bubble world'.

This path to ascension is often unrepeatable due to the chaotic nature of the Nightmare Bubble Layer. Even if one successfully ascends, it is difficult for others to replicate, requiring them to forge a new path and open up a new route to ascension, which is extremely risky.

Therefore, the atmosphere of impending doom in the underworld remains strong, and even with the formation of a new "insect cultivation civilization," the future is still uncertain.

This is also why [Mao Mao Wang] was able to quickly establish itself and expand.

Few would believe the captain's promise to run away. But the fact that he brought a group of executives from another world clearly demonstrates that he has a way to escape the current world and immigrate to another.

As a result, many descendants of the nobles of the Insect City began to wear luxury children's clothing, worship the "Mao Mao King," and cultivate the "Anti-Law," all with the aim of taking the "Mao Clan's Interdimensional Trade Route," ascending to the upper realm as employees, and escaping their hometown.

As fellow [Anti-Law Rulers], Yuan Zhu suddenly felt a bit inferior compared to [Mao Mao Wang].

Yuan: "According to you, even if these 'second-generation insects' successfully escape to the new 'bubble world,' it's still not safe. The new world can crumble at any moment." Meng Xiyue patiently explained: "This 'insecurity' is from the perspective of [Duling Star]. Inside the 'bubble world,' the world's birth and death can last for hundreds or thousands of years, enough to pass down dozens of generations—it's not short. If you observe from outside the [Nightmare Bubble Layer], this birth and death has no concept of time, so it seems very short."

"As far as I know, the Nightmare Bubble Layer is constantly generating 'bubble cavities' out of thin air. These 'bubbles' are easy to create and even more easily destroyed. In Buddhism, they are called 'dreamlike bubbles'. But if gods and demons from the 'spirit realm' enter them, settle down temporarily, and inject matter into them (the bubbles), bring laws, manage and maintain them, and guide the 'bubble layer' to be infused with energy."

"These 'bubbles' that come and go will gradually gain quality and strength, forming a [world] to resist the destructive force from the [Nightmare Bubble Layer]. The current world is of the type with a deep foundation. It has already collapsed once, but not completely successfully, and is actively struggling to save itself. Even if it is completely destroyed, it will not completely dissipate, and it is very likely to split into more 'small bubble worlds' and restart 'insect cultivation world lines' with different main storylines within the [world]."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Zhu immediately thought of the [Little Western Red Realm]. That 'bubble world' was naturally marked by [Buddhist pollution and defilement], yet it was ambiguous and incomplete.

He boldly speculated that there was originally a large bubble similar to the "Ascension World," whose "Buddhist civilization" was eroded by "corruption of the bones," ultimately leading to a great catastrophe. The world collapsed and was destroyed, breaking into many smaller bubbles, which were then restarted and refreshed. However, the original inhabitants, confused and bewildered, practiced a dubious "Buddhist teaching" in search of a way out, giving rise to the bizarre "Buddhist Route."

Yuan Zhu sighed, "That sounds pretty dangerous. I don't understand, since the [Foam World] is so unstable, why would the demons and gods of the [Spirit Realm] want to 'ascend a second time' and seek their own death by entering the [Nightmare Foam Layer]?"

Meng Xiyue retorted: "The explanation I got from the school's teaching materials is: when your own physical body breaks through to a certain limit, you have to 'ascend a second time,' be rejected by the [Spirit Realm Layer], and be forced to enter the [Nightmare Bubble Layer]. Just like when the pollution in the real world accumulates too much, you will also be rejected into the [Spirit Realm Layer]."

"The numerous bubble worlds are like isolated islands in the ocean, relatively safe footholds. They can temporarily shelter gods and demons, allowing them to accumulate power and continuously leap and advance in the ocean... eventually reaching the [other shore], which is a lower level of the [Nightmare Bubble]. I suspect that the lair of the [Hairy King] is actually built on a lower level."

Candle exclaimed in surprise: "Ha, there's more? This is going on and on, it never ends!"

“You can think of the Nightmare Foam Layer as a murky ocean, and the foam world as the debris and slag floating in the ocean depths. These debris will eventually sink to the seabed and accumulate to form a solid seabed. Isn’t this seabed just a lower layer? How could a god or demon rejected by the Spirit Realm possibly develop and grow in a smaller and more unstable foam birdcage? Obviously, only by entering a higher-energy world that is broader and more solid than the Spirit Realm can one become a true god.”

Yuan Zhu quickly accepted this theory, simply because it was very logical and scientifically sound: "I've learned something!"

Meng Xiyue waved her hand irritably: "Stop, let's not talk about this! These things are too far removed from us. You haven't even opened the [Door] yet, and you're already thinking about crossing the [Nightmare Bubble Layer]? Even if you did open the [Door], you'd only be stuck in the [Spirit Realm Layer]. You've never even been inside the [Spirit Realm Layer], have you?"

Yuan Zhu disagreed, retorting, "How could we not? We only briefly entered the Star Bank once, didn't we?"

"How could that be? Poor child, I'll take you inside for a visit sometime."

Next, Meng Xiyue introduced the details of this 'commodity transaction'.

Among them, luxury items such as 'spices and seasonings' and 'precision instruments' including watches were very popular among the nobles of the lower city.

Class distinctions exist everywhere, even in primitive tribes. The chieftain of a savage tribe lives a much more comfortable life than the lower-class savages.

Within the extraordinary city-state of "Insect City," the high-ranking members of the Cicada Clan in the lower city have long lived a life of luxury and pleasure, even having wine brewed from "pure water" available for them to drink.

In contrast, before seeking refuge with Yuan Zhu, the siblings drank insect sap, tree sap, and grass sap. When Yuan Zhu offered them pure water, they complained that it tasted strange and was garbage.

Therefore, seasonings that make food more delicious; spices that are different from pheromones and have an exotic flavor; and 'mechanical watches' that can accurately tell time in the sunless underground world are very popular.

As for precision experimental instruments, the Lower City only purchases a small number and transports them to the craftsmen of [Insect City] to improve production efficiency.

The lower-class officials weren't interested in ordinary medicines or weapons. It was the poor people of the upper-class city who were eager to buy them.

The "weapons" section, in particular, immediately attracted a lot of attention after the little girl gave a brief demonstration.

For a [Earth Rank] expert, the attack power and practicality of firearms are far inferior to their own 'True Qi Martial Arts'. However, for ordinary people struggling to survive at the [Human Rank], the lethality of firearms can greatly conserve 'True Qi' consumption.

The amount of 'true qi' extracted each day was not much, and most of it had to be used to remove impurities from oneself and nourish the spiritual insects. The remaining small amount of true qi could not be used entirely to nourish the meridians; some had to be reserved to deal with unexpected situations.

Entering the 'contaminated zone' to collect resources and being attacked by demonic insects or other dangers would consume a large amount of True Qi. Now that we have firearms, we can simply fire them and save a lot of True Qi for cultivation.

The grenades, rocket launchers, and flamethrowers among the firearms are even more exquisite, with greater destructive power, and can even deal with some 'Earth-rank crises'.

The demonic insects of the underworld aren't truly stupid; once injured by grenades or severely damaged by rocket launchers, they will escape. And the best way to deal with the most common 'insect swarm crisis' in the underworld is with a flamethrower.

Spraying viscous fuel on a large scale to burn the demonic insects can not only quickly drive away the insect swarm, but also collect those that are burned to death and send them to the [Incinerator] to refine [Insect Gold]. The thick smoke produced by burning is fed to the [Dream Hole (Sewage Channel)] in exchange for [Nightmare Power].

Meng Xiyue: "Although the higher-ups in the lower city look down on 'arms,' they don't allow civilians in the upper city to trade and sell them freely. So they placed an order to buy all our 'arms,' and then sold them to the residents of Chan City at a high price to make a profit from the difference."

Yuan Zhu: "That makes perfect sense."

Mengxi: "However, when they arranged for people to test various weapons in the miasma zone, a small hidden danger occurred. Although the weapons are cost-effective, the decaying environment of the underground world, in addition to breeding 'polluted spiritual energy,' also easily breeds flammable gases such as 'methane.' If someone is in a highly polluted passage and operates improperly, it can directly trigger a chain explosion. People die faster than demonic insects, which has caused our 'weapons' reputation to decline somewhat, and our prices have been reduced."

Yuan Zhu: "Damn it... are we even allowed to make money?"

(End of this chapter)