New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 304 The Road to Promotion (Happy National Day)
After saying goodbye to the old temple keeper whose 'preaching desire' had been satisfied, Yuan Zhu returned the way he came and drove his 'new car' aimlessly around Running City.

Acquiring his first sports car in his new life, and after modifications, its power was incredibly strong, bringing back the feeling of driving around on Earth. So, he put aside all his complicated thoughts and, for the first time, drove around Running city with an attitude of 'appreciation'.

Without any destination in mind, I turned wherever my mood led me, taking in the sights of the city. Unfortunately, the sports car didn't have a sound system, so I couldn't listen to the radio.

Otherwise, playing another classic road trip anthem would make it even more impactful.

No, that's not right!

"Snake, search my memory area and select a few suitable pieces of music to play inside my skull!"

"Okay, boss!"

Soon, Zhu Zi, who was holding the steering wheel, began to nod and sway happily, immersed in the exotic scenery of the otherworldly city.

It had the novelty of an Earthling encountering another world, the nostalgia and familiarity of his past life constantly resurfacing, and the perfectly matched music, which made him unconsciously immerse himself in the experience.

The sports car passed by the villa area where the "haunted house" was located twice, but he had no intention of stopping; in addition, he passed by the working-class area where he and his brother lived three times, but again he did not step on the brakes.

Only when the dashboard displayed "Alchemy Elements" indicating a need to replenish energy did he emerge from his somewhat fantastical state of "Yuan Zhu dreaming of another world," turn off the music, and return to the real world.

The city street scene before him overlapped with the images in his memory, and combined with the memory of wandering around the city in a 'sleepwalking' state just now, Yuan Zhu successfully constructed a three-dimensional model of [Running City] in his mind.

Then, he stepped on the gas and drove the sports car into an alchemical element supply station that he was familiar with when he used to deliver goods to the factory, to recharge the sports car's energy.

The staff at the supply station vaguely remembered Yuan Zhu. They just hadn't expected the truck driver to have gotten his hands on such high-end goods! Was it stolen, rented, or borrowed from a friend?

After exchanging greetings, the employee directed him to park his car in a designated spot and inquired about the grade and supply quantity of the [Alchemy Element].

He was dumbfounded when he saw the list of 'alchemy elements' and their prices at the supply station.

In his memory, when he used to drive and deliver goods to the factory, he would just add the 'alchemy elements' randomly, using the cheapest ones, and no one ever questioned it; he was used to it.

It seems this sports car is actually quite high-end. They're even asking about the quality and price of 'alchemy elements'?
Seeing that even with the lowest-grade [Alchemy Element] added, the price of his car was at least three times the usual amount, Yuan Zhu had the illusion that he was being forced to pay an "intelligence tax".

He couldn't help but ask, "What are the differences between the different qualities of these alchemical elements?"

Seeing his question, the employee thought to himself that he was indeed an amateur trying to show off, but he still explained, "The higher the quality of the added alchemical elements, the stronger the power output and the less wear and tear on the sports car. Therefore, it has a longer lifespan and comes with a self-maintenance effect. In fact! It's even said that..."

"Adding top-tier alchemical elements to a vehicle over a long period can even give birth to a mechanical soul. Once a mechanical soul is born, it completely defies fate and transcends the mundane. It can be enhanced and modified in the direction of mechanical life or alchemical life form. Alternatively, it can be sold as a reserve for a high-level extraordinary vehicle (life form), which would fetch an astronomical sum! Enough for you to easily buy a new car and continue maintaining it."

The supply station employees bragged about it with great enthusiasm, and Yuan Zhu couldn't help but marvel at it.

However, he ultimately chose the relatively cheapest option, the 'triple price' [alchemy element].

As far as he knew, even if ordinary people raised a [machine soul] and spent a lot of money to modify it into a [mechanical life form], it would eventually despise its original family and choose to go solo.

It's like you adopt a child, painstakingly raise them to university, and then take out a loan to send them abroad to study. And then, they're gone forever! You can't even get alimony through a lawsuit; they've gone abroad.

If you're lucky enough to be grateful, you might receive a small monthly allowance. But if this "mechanical life form" becomes too successful and grows too quickly, it might "ascend" and leave this world. In that case, you won't even receive this meager allowance anymore.

What if this [mechanical life form] offends a powerful enemy and is dismantled into parts and sold off after only a few years of existence?
Yuan Zhu, who had no affinity for the [Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Alchemy] systems, didn't expect such a stroke of luck. After recharging his energy, he drove back to his 'home'.

...

On the way back, Snake suddenly asked, "Big Brother Lao, were you consulting with [Huang Tian Fa] so earnestly before in preparation for the transformation of [Shan Jun Fa Yu]?"

Zhu Zi nodded: "Of course! This world is not the Immortal Universe after all. Who knows how long the Tiger Demon's bloodline inheritance can last? Although the Tiger Demon's ultimate talent (Mountain Lord's Domain) condensed a land deed at the beginning, the subsequent management, cultivation, and development of the domain were completely interrupted."

"The Great Wilderness Immortal Scripture shows that the only way to cultivate the Shadow Domain is to continuously hunt powerful 'demons and cultivators' and refine them into 'stakes' to be driven into the domain. Through this painstaking effort, the domain's foundation will be strengthened little by little until one day it moves the underworld and opens up the connection between the Yin and Yang realms."

"Now that the main universe has changed, the system of the Immortal World may not work on Duling Star. We can only refer to the extraordinary systems with mature advancement cases, try to copy them, integrate them into the Mountain Lord's Domain, and open up a path for advancement."

Yuan Zhu knew very well that the 'abnormal spiritual root' bound in the [Boss Template] was not a top-tier demonic inheritance.

His [Tiger Demon Spiritual Root] originated from a tiger demon that was probably a [Demon King (Nascent Soul Level)]. His bloodline inherently possessed the [Mountain Lord's Domain], which connects the Yin and Yang realms.

Moreover, this "inheritance" was not created by this tiger demon (the owner of the "abnormal spiritual root"), but rather it is the bloodline inheritance of a "patriarch tiger demon of the underworld" who once occupied the underworld and ruled over a region.

Even at the time of its death, when the tiger demon was turned into a 'soul-invading spy program' by the [Immortal Scripture Group], it wasn't some 'demon immortal' who had transcended tribulation and ascended to heaven, let alone an Immortal King, Immortal Venerable, or Immortal Emperor... Even its lair hadn't been able to open up the 'underworld tunnel,' only breaching a 'yin vein spring,' emitting underworld evil energy and turning its lair into a 'human ghost realm.' Yuan Zhu guessed that once he opened up the [Mountain Lord's Domain] and underwent one or two more rounds of upgrades, the potential of the [Boss Template] would be almost fully exploited.

His passive growth of the Shadow Tiger Demon, which allowed him to become stronger even while lying down, has come to an end. From now on, he can only create his own path and actively cultivate and level up.

Then, how will I deal with the corrupted and eroding world of [Spirit Tablet]? Will the stagnant [Boss Template (Soul Data Firewall)] still be able to protect me? How will I fight against even higher levels of soul corruption? And how will I manually help [Tiger Demon] continue its cultivation and leveling up?
He had no clue about this and could only look for inspiration from the Yellow Heaven Law, which was closer to the Mountain Lord's Law Domain (maliciously plagiarizing).

...

After understanding Yuan Zhu's anxieties and pain points, Sheshe also became nervous.

Compared to Yuan Zhu, who at least knew to actively "copy and plagiarize" to secure her own escape route, she was the real big scoundrel! She clung to the coattails of powerful figures throughout, sharing both glory and ruin, ensuring her own demise was faster, more devastating, and more spectacular!

Then, Snake asked anxiously, "So which path do you favor? [Kunlun Earth Immortal], [Yellow Heaven and Earth Immortal], or [Industrial Divine Kingdom]?"

Yuan Zhu shook his head: "First, rule out the Kunlun Method!"

He explained, "The Five Immortals of Kunlun are all closely related to the 'ultimate source' of the Kunlun Mother (the Peach Tree Mother). According to that old man, the Kunlun Earth Immortals planted spiritual roots on 'spiritual lands,' and the roots spread and penetrated the barriers of the mortal world, supporting a 'grotto-heaven' in the 'inner world' on the 'other side.' Doesn't that sound a lot like the reverse garden of the 'Ascension World'?"

Snake, giving Yuan Zhu ample face, chimed in, "Oh! So the Immortal Tree of the [Feathered World] is actually the [Earth Immortal Dojo]!"

Yuan Zhu: "Take the 'Foam World' as a flowerpot, plant a [Spiritual Root (Immortal Realm Tree)] and let it expand and grow wildly, eventually occupying the entire world, and in the form of the [Immortal Realm Tree], nurture and support a 'Mini Immortal Realm'. Even if the [Immortal Realm Tree] is cut off, its remaining roots in the underground world will still nurture 'Four Earth Immortal Spiritual Roots (Four Great Reverse Life Immortal Sects)'."

After the old man's explanation, he finally understood the overwhelming power of the [Feathered World] before the apocalyptic catastrophe. Even if the world were destroyed, it could still cultivate four polluted versions of the [Earth Immortal-level Reverse Life Spiritual Root] in the underground world.

Snake: "That sounds great! Our [Feathered World] has brought out quite a few 'contamination nodules', which can be planted in the [Law Domain] to simulate the Earth Immortal mode."

Yuan Zhu shook his head: "But do I have a [Spiritual Root]? [Holy Light] burns people like candles. Although the waste rate of Holy Light is very high, and you usually don't see any return (remaining material), at least it tempers the [Soul], leaving behind an indestructible [Resurrection Archive]. As for [Yellow Heaven], I don't plan to try it directly, but the raw materials for forging [Root Bones] come from myself, and the [Root Bones] produced are still used on myself. It also comes with a [Golden God Statue], so the sense of security is very high."

"Looking at the Kunlun Method, it directly implants foreign objects (the roots of the peach) into the flesh and blood to construct a new energy circulation system. From the very beginning, it is absolutely subject to the Kunlun Mother. The subsequent Five Immortals Method is also subject to the Kunlun Mother Plant, otherwise the Loose Immortals group would have been born."

The emergence of the [Sanxian] group is an attempt by a group of Kunlun cultivators to break free from the control of the [Kunlun Mother], the root of pollution.

The cowardly snake valued its life even more than Yuan Zhu. The thought of its leader being controlled by the [Kunlun Mother] meant it would die even faster. So it shook its head repeatedly: "Then, [Huang Tian] or [Industrial Divine Kingdom], which do you prefer? I think [Industrial Divine Kingdom] is fantastic. [Huang Tian Law] sounds like it carries too heavy a responsibility—to create a [world], and there's no turning back once the arrow is released. So let's choose the [Industrial Divine Kingdom] route! It can be perfectly combined with [Anti-Law] to build an agent distribution channel. Let our henchmen carry our goods!"

Yuan Zhu: "But the [Industrial Divine Kingdom] has a major problem. It must master the 'extraordinary industrial system' of the [Second Era], and it must [build factories], specifically [industrialized factories], in order to be upgraded to the [Industrial Divine Kingdom] and then ascend. However, what ascends is only a [factory]. As for the vast amount of industrial raw materials that accompany it, and the production sites of these materials, they will not ascend with the [Divine Kingdom], but will remain in the mortal world and be transported through the 'spatial channels' formed by [land deeds]."

"These are all weaknesses of the [Industrial System]. Once the enemy attacks the many raw material bases in the human world, the [Industrial Divine Kingdom] will have to put out fires everywhere, greatly consuming divine power, and sending troops to the human world to fight back, maintain order and security. It will also have to cultivate a large number of [Security Legions] and condense [Land Deeds] in many different dimensions to open up new spatial anchor points and new production sites... This is simply something that a small individual like me can't handle."

Why did the Second Industrial Revolution ultimately fail? Naturally, it was because the Industrial God Kingdom had many fatal flaws and was quickly replaced by the third generation of Commercial Gods.

Today's "Business God" is not an independent "system," but rather any "polluting system" can get involved in this business and assemble the status of the "Business God."

For example, [Mao Mao Wang (Anti-Law)] is possible, [Industrial God] is also possible, [Tiger Demon] is also possible, and even if the [Goblin Championship] is successfully organized, it can be used to achieve godhood and conduct related commercial operations.

Snake said dejectedly, "Then we can only choose [Yellow Heaven]?"

Yuan Zhu: "I haven't decided yet, but [Huang Tian] is indeed the closest to [Mountain Lord's Domain]. I also want to build a [Mountain Lord's Temple] for the Tiger Demon, so from this point of view, the compatibility is extremely high. At least it can be used as a reference for the construction direction of the [Mountain Lord's Domain]."

……

Around 4:30 p.m., Yuan Zhu parked his car near his dilapidated house and went home early to wait for his younger brother to get out of school.

I don’t know how long it has been?
The door creaked open.

Yuan Su pushed open the door and saw a familiar figure sitting at the dining table, head down, reading a newspaper. She froze, stunned for a moment, before exclaiming incredulously, "Brother?!"

Yuan Zhu looked up at the other person's shocked expression and asked unhappily, "What's with that expression? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"You, why did you suddenly come back?!"

In recent months, Yuan Su has become increasingly accustomed to her older brother's unpredictable disappearances and staying out all night; a stack of cash would always mysteriously appear on her bedroom desk or under her pillow. She felt at a loss as to why her older brother would come home early from get off work.

It's like the 'Snail Prince' from fairy tales, who always does housework at night, suddenly appearing in the daytime!

Suddenly, he thought of something and became inexplicably nervous: "Brother, did you get into trouble outside and come back to lay low? Don't worry, I will never make a sound or show anything unusual! Do you need any money? I have a lot of money saved up here, and I haven't spent it recklessly. I can pay you back in time."

(End of this chapter)