Survival in an apartment, starting with a stroke of luck on a plane

Immediately afterwards, a foul gust of wind swept in, and a burly man with an unusually tall and robust build, wearing a tiger-skin vest, with a rugged face and a faint "king" character pattern on his forehead, landed with a thud not far away. He was none other than Tiger Venerable of Tiger Tooth Mountain.

He first glanced at Li Qianfeng respectfully, and said in a deep voice, "Deacon Li."

Li Qianfeng nodded slightly, ignoring him.

His gaze swept over the ruins and then landed on Lin Yu, a hint of surprise and solemnity flashing in his large, round eyes.

He didn't sense much of an aura from Lin Yu, but according to what Wu Mu had just said, this was the kid fighting Black Buddha before Li Qianfeng arrived.

At the same time, he could also feel the intense energy fluctuations remaining at the scene, especially in those charred areas, where the aura of thunder remained, matching the aura emanating from Lin Yu.

Tiger Venerable took a deep breath, and his gaze toward Lin Yu instantly became respectful.

That's how the world is: the strong prey on the weak, and only the strong can earn the respect of others.

Tiger Venerable hurriedly cupped his hands to Lin Yu and said, "Young friend... no, fellow Daoist, you have great skill."

He has a straightforward personality and directly expressed his admiration.

The leaders of the three major forces in Tieshu County gathered on this ruin in this way.

The landscape has changed. The Black Buddha Division has become history, and the appearance of a new and powerful rogue cultivator, "Lin Yu," has prompted both Ebony Daoist and Tiger Venerable to hatch new plans. However, due to the presence of Li Qianfeng, the steward of the Evil Suppression Division, neither dared to reveal too much.

Li Qianfeng coldly glanced at the two of them: "This matter is over. The culprit has been executed. You two are to deal with the rest yourselves. If any further mistakes are made, you will be severely punished."

"Yes, yes, yes, we will obey the Inspector's orders!" Wu Mu and Tiger Venerable bowed and agreed humbly.

Even though Tiger Venerable wasn't an official cultivator, he didn't dare refuse, given Li Qianfeng's strength; a casual sword strike could easily kill him.

Li Qianfeng ignored them and said to Lin Yu, "Young friend Lin, your cultivation is quite good. It's a waste for you to stay in a small place like Tieshu County."

Our Evil Suppression Division is eager for talent, specializing in dealing with such eerie events. Our resources, techniques, and intelligence are unmatched by any other force. If you are interested in serving the imperial court and eradicating evil, you may take this talisman to the Evil Suppression Division in Huangzhou Prefecture to report for duty. Your future will be bright.

He handed over a black jade talisman engraved with the mark of a white bone longsword.

Clearly, Li Qianfeng had his eye on Lin Yu's strength. After all, although he couldn't sense Lin Yu's aura, Lin Yu's solid strength was enough to earn his respect.

Lin Yu took the jade talisman and sensed a trace of the same aura as Li Qianfeng. He knew that this was both a token and possibly a means of tracking or surveillance.

He did not immediately agree, but instead cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your high regard, Inspector. This matter concerns the future, and I, Lin, need to consider it carefully. I will certainly give you an answer in the future."

Li Qianfeng seemed to have anticipated this as well, and said no more. He gave Lin Yu a deep look, as if trying to see through him from the inside out. Then, his figure transformed into a gray-black sword light and disappeared into the sky in an instant, just as he had come.

With Li Qianfeng gone, the pressure eased considerably.

Master Wumu and Venerable Hu immediately surrounded them, their attitude even more enthusiastic than before, even bordering on obsequious.

"Fellow Daoist Lin, no, Senior Lin, you are truly... truly incredibly powerful. Even Inspector Li is very fond of you." The fleshy growth on Daoist Wumu's face was glowing. "If you ever need my help in the future, please don't hesitate to ask."

Tiger Venerable also patted his chest and said, "Senior Lin, I, Tiger, am convinced. From now on, in Iron Tree County, your word will carry more weight than the county magistrate's."

Lin Yu looked at the two men's faces but felt little emotion. He simply exchanged a few polite words and then declined their invitation, citing the need to immediately go into seclusion to recover from the losses of the battle.

After the two left in a huff, Lin Yu quickly searched the ruins of the Black Buddha Temple again and found a large number of books left behind by the Black Buddha Temple, as well as some miscellaneous magical artifacts, ointments and the like, all of which were black iron or bronze level items.

It's not very meaningful, but it's not impossible to keep it and sell it for money.

In addition, he found a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry in Black Buddha's Palace. After thinking about it, he put it all away, since money might actually be useful in this ancient world.

After collecting his loot and making sure he hadn't forgotten much, Lin Yu left the Black Buddha Temple and returned to his apartment.

Back in his apartment, Lin Yu finally relaxed completely.

He first examined the two gold-grade acquisitions.

The 【All Bodies Return to One Buddha Mother Statue】 is undoubtedly a powerful apartment facility. However, upon seeing it for the first time, Lin Yu thought of another apartment facility he had previously obtained in the Ghoul game world.

[Nagulos's Gaze] was also a gold-level apartment facility, but at the time, I hadn't even had a chance to properly examine it. I had just taken it out of the apartment when the other party was destroyed and absorbed by the True Monarch Statue.

The same applies to the portraits obtained in the second game.

Obviously, something of such evil nature cannot pass the True Lord's test. If I dare to take it out in the apartment, the True Lord will destroy it and absorb it.

Of course, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, after all, this thing is quite evil, especially the Buddha Mother Whisper skill, and the note "Take refuge in the Buddha Mother," Lin Yu doesn't think it's a good thing.

Furthermore, it seems that the True Monarch Statue will level up and gain new abilities after absorbing these things, so he is not actually at a loss. After all, he still trusts the True Monarch Statue more than these random things.

With that in mind, Lin Yu no longer hesitated and went directly to the Taoist study, where he took out the statue of the Buddha Mother of All Bodies Returning to One in front of the True Lord statue.

As expected, just like last time, after Lin Yu took out the Buddha statue, the third eye on the forehead of the True Lord statue flashed with light, and then a golden light shot out from it, hitting the Buddha statue in Lin Yu's hand.

The Buddha statue seemed to sense something and began to tremble violently, with cracks gradually appearing on its dark body.

A cold, foul aura spread out, and Lin Yu even secretly sensed venomous roars coming from inside the Buddha statue.

Countless black wisps flew out from the cracks in the Buddha statue, seemingly trying to escape the study. Unfortunately, the True Lord statue had no intention of letting them go. The black wisps were hit by golden light as soon as they came out, making a sizzling sound.

A few seconds later, the golden light subsided, and the Buddha statue in Lin Yu's hand turned from jet black to grayish-white, eventually turning into ashes.

At the same time, Lin Yu noticed that the light emanating from the central statue of the True Lord was even brighter, and the aura it exuded was even more mysterious.

Lin Yu quickly checked.

Statue of Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun

Category: Apartment Decoration

Grade: Black#

durable:?

effect:

Evil-repelling: Erlang Shen is the God of War in Heaven. His statue carries his aura, and evil spirits and monsters will be intimidated when they approach the apartment where he is located.

Demon Slayer: Any demons, monsters, and evil spirits that dare to ignore the warning and enter the apartment where the statue is located will be slain by Erlang Shen.

Protection: After sincerely bowing in thanks to the statue, you will receive a [True Lord's Protection] buff that lasts for 1 hour. (5 times per day)

Righteous God: The True Lord is a righteous god of the Heavenly Court. Any wild god, evil god, or false god who dares to enter the apartment will be intimidated. If the warning is ignored, he will be killed immediately.

Blessing: After a player worships the statue of the True Lord, the statue will randomly bless and upgrade one of his/her pieces of equipment. The specific upgrade effect is unknown. (Currently, only 2 pieces of equipment can be blessed. If the blessed equipment is destroyed, it can be blessed again.)

Sealed: Due to certain special reasons, the power of the statue is sealed. As the player Lin Yu's apartment level increases, the statue will unlock more effects and abilities.

Borrowing Power: By sincerely worshipping the statue of the deity, one can borrow the power of the True Lord once a day for 10 minutes.

Description: Hmph!

Lin Yu nodded in satisfaction. The True Monarch statue did not disappoint him. After the enhancement, the duration of the True Monarch's Blessing buff was extended again, and the number of equipment blessed also increased by one.

Of course, the most important thing is the newly acquired [Borrowing Power] effect. Although Lin Yu doesn't know how strong this ability is yet, he is certain that it will not be weak, after all, the True Monarch statue has given him quite a few surprises.

In addition, Lin Yu discovered that because the statue had been upgraded again, the Hun Tian Cloak, which had the effect of [Divine Artifact (Pseudo)], had also been strengthened. Although its level was still Gold, its sealing and durability had been greatly enhanced.

At the same time, the +2 effect on all attributes has been increased to +3, and the inherent spirituality of the equipment has also been greatly enhanced.

"Should I just use this blessing skill now?" Lin Yu glanced at the Hun Tian Cloak behind him and couldn't help but think to himself.

The last blessing was merely a bronze-level bulletproof windbreaker, which was directly upgraded to a gold-level pseudo-divine artifact, the Hun Tian Cloak.

If this is a gold-tier item, wouldn't it directly upgrade to platinum tier or even higher?

Of course, there are bound to be risks, since the blessing seems to be random.

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yu put all the equipment he didn't use often or that was too low-level into the storage cabinet, leaving only the gold-level equipment on his person. Then he came to the statue and used the [Blessing] effect while worshipping.

The third eye on the statue's forehead lit up again, and a golden beam of light shot out suddenly. But unlike last time, this time the beam of light did not hit Lin Yu. Instead, as if it had intelligence, it flew directly out of the Taoist study.

"So you look down on what I have, sir?"

Seeing this, Lin Yu felt somewhat helpless, but there was nothing he could do, since he couldn't change anything.

Therefore, Lin Yu could only get up and go to check what equipment the True Lord had chosen this time.

However, something even more baffling happened next, because he discovered that the beam of light did not go to the locker where he had just stored his equipment, as he had imagined, but instead flew outside the apartment.

"No, why did you go outside?"

Lin Yu quickly opened the door and followed the direction of the beam of light outside.

About five minutes later, Lin Yu arrived at the foot of a large tree.

And the end of the beam of light is on this big tree.

Lin Yu scratched his head, manipulated the Hun Tian Cloak to fly up, and then discovered that the beam of light was shining on a huge bird's nest above the tree.

The target of the illumination was a bird egg, about the size of an ostrich egg.

"ah?"

Seeing this, Lin Yu was completely baffled. Wasn't the blessing supposed to upgrade equipment? Why was it being applied to a bird egg? Besides, most importantly, the bird egg wasn't even his!

Lin Yu stepped forward with a slight puzzlement and picked up the bird egg that was illuminated by the golden light. As a result, the moment he picked up the bird egg, the golden light quickly merged into the bird egg.

Then Lin Yu saw several incredibly strange golden patterns slowly appear on the eggshell of the bird egg.

"..."

Lin Yu then understood why the golden light had only been shining on the egg; it was all waiting for him to pick it up so it could assert its ownership.

"So, is it what I think?"

Looking at the huge bird egg in his hand, Lin Yu gradually formed some ideas.

He looked at the bird eggs to examine them.

【Soaring Eagle (Egg Stage)】

Category: Mythical Beast

Grade: Black Iron (Rapidly Upgrading)

Description: This is the egg of the mythical beast Soaring Eagle, a subordinate of Erlang Shen Yang Jian. Please hatch it carefully, for it will become a powerful ally for you.

(Note: Placing it next to the statue of the True Lord can accelerate its hatching and growth.)

(This mythical beast is bound to player Lin Yu and cannot be dropped, stolen, or robbed in any form... Players other than Lin Yu cannot use this item.)

"That's really true."

Lin Yu held the egg and muttered to himself.

There aren't many creatures under Zhenjun's command that can be associated with birds, and the only living being is the "Divine Eagle," a mythical beast mentioned in both Journey to the West and Investiture of the Gods.

It also appears in folk tales and storytelling, and has many names, such as Soaring Eagle, Golden-Eyed Camel, Silver-Eyed Golden-Winged Bird, and Heaven-Defying Eagle.

As for its origin, some say that Erlang Shen raised it himself, while others say that he obtained it from his master, Yu Ding Zhenren.

Although the Skyhawk is not as famous as the Howling Celestial Dog, its strength should not be underestimated, and its battle record is not bad. When Erlang Shen was fighting Sun Wukong, it once pecked and injured the Great Sage's leg.

In the Investiture of the Gods, when Erlang Shen fought against Mo Lihong, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, Mo Lihong opened the "Hun Yuan Pearl Umbrella," a magical artifact capable of containing all things. Yang Jian released his Sky-Piercing Eagle, which directly tore the umbrella apart with its claws, rendering it ineffective.

In short, this is a very powerful divine beast, and at least for Lin Yu at present, this guy is definitely a great help.

The only pity is that it's still too small, it hasn't been born yet, and it may need to be nurtured for a while.

Fortunately, placing it next to the statue of the True Lord can speed up the cultivation process, which is not bad.

Lin Yu held the Skyhawk egg, whose patterns were fading but whose vibrant life force could still be felt inside, and was filled with emotion.

The "blessing" from the statue of the True Lord was completely unexpected, but its potential value may far exceed that of a platinum-grade piece of equipment.

A mythical beast with immense growth potential can provide comprehensive and irreplaceable assistance in future adventures.

He carefully brought the eagle egg back to his apartment and placed it in the Taoist study, right next to the base of the statue of [Qingyuan Miaodao Zhenjun].

Sure enough, as soon as it got close to the statue, the pale golden patterns on the eggshell began to glow slightly, flickering like breathing, absorbing the pure divine power emanating from the statue.

Lin Yun could clearly sense that the growth of life inside the egg was accelerating.

"I hope it hatches soon." Lin Yu gently stroked the eggshell, the cool touch carrying a hint of warmth.

After dealing with the eagle eggs, Lin Yu began to take stock of the other gains from his trip to Black Buddha.

Besides the two gold-grade items (the Buddha Mother statue has been purified) and a large amount of gold and silver treasures, the most important items were the scriptures plundered from the ruins of Black Buddha Temple.

He spread these scrolls, made of various materials including animal hides, bamboo slips, and even the skin of some unknown creature, exuding an aura of decay and evil, on the living room table. He then activated his [Heavenly Eye (Pseudo)] and carefully flipped through them one by one.

Most of the ancient texts recorded the evil rituals of the Black Buddha, how to more efficiently extract the life force of believers, and various methods of torturing souls and refining evil artifacts. Lin Yu frowned as he read them. These things were of no use to him, and even glancing at them felt like they polluted his spirit.

However, when he came across several ancient animal hide scrolls, some of which were even tattered, Lin Yu's spirits lifted.

The script on these animal hides was not in the currently popular font; it was more ancient and obscure. Fortunately, with the help of the game system's translation, he was able to barely understand it.

Its content is not the core evil magic of Black Buddha, but rather more like some miscellaneous notes, anecdotes, and... scattered records and speculations about the "ancient" era.

"...The world underwent dramatic changes, spiritual energy became corrupted, ancient methods were difficult to continue, and all paths withered away."

However, as the ancients said, "A glimmer of hope may lie hidden in filth, but this hope is merely a poisoned chalice, the beginning of falling into demonic ways..."

"...I once saw an ancient tomb in the remote northern frontier, containing fragments of a jade slip that spoke of a 'method for purifying the spirit,' which might be able to filter out impurities from the spiritual energy. However, the method was incomplete and could never be obtained..."

"...What is now called 'true law' is nothing more than stealing the remnants of ancient gods' power and distorting one's own body. Although it achieves rapid progress, its foundation is unstable, and inner demons abound, ultimately turning it into a monstrous creature that is neither human nor ghost..."

"...Rumor has it that there are three immortal islands overseas, where ancient techniques may still be passed down, but they are shrouded in mystery, and only those with great fortune can cross them..."

These fragmented pieces of information, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, further confirmed Lin Yu's previous guesses.

The cultivation system in this world has indeed experienced a catastrophe, which caused the spiritual energy to change and the "ancient methods" to be lost. The current "true methods" are a dangerous and evil path.

At the same time, these records also provide some vague clues: there may be ancient cultivation sites in the remote northern frontier, the three immortal islands overseas may have a complete lineage, and there was once a "purification method" that could purify spiritual energy, although it has been lost.

"The method of purifying the spirit..." Lin Yu murmured to himself, his gaze involuntarily drifting to the flowing [Pure Spirit Spring] in the corner of the living room.

Isn't the effect of this spiritual spring a kind of extremely high-level "purification"? It can not only purify the pollution that has been inhaled into the body, but also create a pure spiritual environment.

"Perhaps... I don't need to seek out ancient methods from the outside world at all?" A bold idea sprouted in his mind.

"I can easily try to cultivate the 'True Methods' of this world within the apartment, using the absolutely safe environment created by the pure spiritual spring and the statue of the True Lord! As long as I control the degree, I can just drink the spiritual spring water to purify it before the pollution accumulates to a dangerous level, right?"

The thought made his heart race. If it worked, he could complete the main quest—learning a transcendent cultivation technique from this world and reaching the Bronze level—as quickly as possible.

Moreover, personally cultivating the "True Law" will allow him to gain a deeper understanding of the strange nature of this world's power, which may be of great benefit in dealing with other crises in the future.

Of course, risks still exist.

Is the purification effect of the spiritual spring absolutely reliable? Can the spiritual spring completely remove the shocks and pollution that the mind suffers during cultivation? These are all unknowns.

"We need to find a relatively 'mild' cultivation technique of a low grade as a test subject," Lin Yu pondered.

He immediately recalled the fragment of "Livestock Making Method" that he had obtained from Master Sun.

This technique is indeed unorthodox, but it's only at the bronze level. Moreover, it mainly involves external "changes" and "controls," and its requirements for refining one's own spiritual energy are perhaps not as profound or dangerous as those techniques that directly improve cultivation.

He took out the rough leather scroll "Laws on Animal Production" and read it carefully again.

Ignoring the cruel and evil ritual parts, he focused his attention on the basic methods of the cultivation technique regarding the circulation of spiritual energy and how to attract and integrate that "strange spiritual energy".

"We can give it a try, but we must be fully prepared," Lin Yu decided.

He first adjusted himself to his best condition, and then filled a large glass with pure spring water and placed it beside him.

Next, he went to the Taoist study, sat cross-legged beside the statue of the True Lord and the hatching eagle egg, and used the peaceful atmosphere of the place to calm his mind.

"Shadow Clone." He created another shadow clone to protect him. If his main body showed any abnormality, the clone would immediately interrupt his cultivation and feed him spring water.

After making preparations, Lin Yu took a deep breath and began to try to absorb the strange spiritual energy from the outside world, following the most basic Qi-inducing method recorded in the "Creating Animals Method".

A cool, viscous energy, carrying subtle whispers and a sense of distortion, slowly seeped into his meridians, guided by him.

Almost simultaneously, he felt a surge of unease, his mind filled with hallucinations, as if countless tiny voices were whispering and mocking him.

A faint stinging and sluggish sensation was also felt in the meridians.

He immediately stopped absorbing the energy and activated the Qi Refining Technique inherent in the Thunder Magic bestowed upon him by the True Lord. Pure thunder magic power circulated within his body, enveloping and dispelling the strange energy that had invaded him.

At the same time, he picked up the spring water beside him and took a big gulp.

A cool energy flows throughout the body, like the best purifier, completely eliminating residual pollution and mental interference, thus enhancing the body's cleansing effect.

"It works!" A look of joy flashed in Lin Yu's eyes.

Although the process was uncomfortable, the purification effect of the spiritual spring water was immediate.

He tried again, this time absorbing a little more of the strange spiritual energy. As expected, the strange power, under the cleansing baff of the spiritual spring, was completely unable to invade his body. With just a little guidance, it would be expelled from his body.

After repeating this process several times, Lin Yu gradually figured out some of the tricks of the trade.

He discovered that, with the aid of the "Heavenly Eye" internal vision, he could more precisely control the amount of strange spiritual energy he inhaled and purify it before it caused deep erosion to his body.