I manage female characters in all the heavens.

Song Yi was bewildered. Where did our friendship come from? Didn't we just meet today?

Qingfang continued to reassure him: "I am the Minister of Security of Lianchang Prefecture, and I have some influence in this small area of ​​the prefecture. Old Fool is the president of Baiyue Hospital, the best hospital in Lianchang Prefecture, and enjoys a high reputation in the medical field."

"Old Chen goes without saying, he's the chairman of Weiwu Group, he's got plenty of money. And Mingzong, who hasn't arrived yet, is the leading entertainment company in the surrounding four or five states, including Lianchang, and has a lot of prestige in the relevant fields."

"Even if you become an Ascended Being, you still have to live in this world. Think about it, if you can get our help, whether it's politics, medicine, business, or even the entertainment industry, you will have a smooth journey in whatever field you want to develop."

"Why bother being friends with us for a little unnecessary and superfluous ascension elixir?"

After listening to Qingfang's words, Song Yi indeed felt that what he said made sense.

The Ascension Elixir isn't something that makes you stronger the more you use it. Once you cross that threshold, any excess elixir is useless and can't enhance the ascendant.

But the help from Qingfang, Chen Tianjiao, the old dean, and Mingzong will likely be useful for the rest of my life.

He already had a preference in mind. In the end, he had no conflict with Qingfang and the others. If everyone agreed on the terms, it wasn't impossible for him to become the Dark Supreme.

But there's one question he hasn't figured out yet, which involves whether there's a conflict of interest among everyone, and he needs to find out.

"Since the excess spiritual liquid is useless, why was the old dean so greedy and eager to devour Mingzong's share when you were chatting down there?"

Qingfang glanced at the old dean, his eyes filled with an inexplicable meaning, which made the old dean lower his head in shame.

He explained, “The four of us are all old guys. Except for Mingzong, none of us are alone. We all have children and descendants.”

"Since there is an excess of Ascension Elixir, besides using it ourselves, we should try to get more so that our descendants can also benefit from it."

“I only have one son, and all the other family members are dead, so I don’t have much need for spiritual liquid. Old Chen has decided to possess his own son’s body and ascend to immortality, so he’s not the kind of person who would consider his descendants. Besides, the Ming Clan has no heirs.”

"Only this old fool, who has been a womanizer all his life and can't control his lower body, has a huge number of descendants, including dozens of sons and grandsons, and is the one who needs more Ascension Elixir the most."

Qingfang suddenly sighed: "Actually, if I wasn't going to die and had no other choice but to take a gamble, I wouldn't agree to this plan."

"Unfortunately, fate played a cruel trick on me. I was suddenly diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. Since becoming an Ascended Being can cure any disease, I didn't want to die, so this was the only way."

Song Yi tilted his head: "Didn't you just say you could possess someone? Why don't you just change bodies?"

At this moment, the old dean shook his head and said, "It's not that simple. First of all, the consciousness extractor that Old Chen obtained is a one-time use item. If he wants to use it, Old Qing can't."

"Secondly, once he changes bodies, almost no one will recognize him as the real person. The power and status that Lao Qing spent his whole life working for will vanish in an instant. He's not dead, but he's lost his power. You can imagine the pain he'll feel."

"Since there is a way to become an ascendant, apart from breaking some laws, there are no downsides, so of course we should choose this path first."

Qingfang interjected, "They are just some killers who are not protected by law, and potential criminals. Although sacrificing them is illegal, it is definitely doing good for the world. I am willing to bear this sin. This is doing justice on behalf of heaven."

"What are you pretending to be a hero for? Brother Song is a genius, hates evil as much as he hates it, and is more capable than you. This is his job!" The old dean subtly gave Song Yi a hand by scolding Qingfang.

The two of them talked back and forth, and successfully persuaded Song Yi. He decided to give them a chance to join the dark camp, and they would all collect the great medicine of the human world and ascend together, without hoarding it all.

Launching a dark uprising is risky, so it would be great if some loyal friends could join in and share the responsibility.

Don't you see, the Stone Emperor wasn't killed on the spot when he launched the Dark Turmoil? It was because his peers, such as the Abandoned Heaven Supreme and the Light and Dark Supreme, took the blows for him, allowing him to escape.

The Stone Emperor is truly a role model for us dark overlords; we must learn from him.

Song Yi pointed to Chen Weiwu, who was tied up in the corner but had already woken up and was making muffled noises, and said:

"Brother Chen is my beloved friend and brother, but I don't know this old man Chen. He didn't even mention taking me with him when he ascended to immortality. I hate him."

I am the Stone Emperor! How dare you launch the Dark Turmoil without me? You are utterly lawless!

Qingfang and the old dean exchanged a glance, and he tentatively asked, "You mean..."

"Old Chen needs to possess Brother Chen's body to ascend, which is troublesome. Why not just let Brother Chen take Old Chen's place? He can take the spiritual liquid, he can ascend, and he can take control of the Mighty Group."

"As for Old Man Chen, didn't he die five years ago?"

The funeral has been held, the relatives have been received, and you suddenly come back to life? Is that reasonable?

This is outright fraud! How can you expect the Chen family to save face like this? Our ancestors would rise from their coffins and beat this unfilial descendant to a pulp.

To save face for the Chen family and the coffins of our ancestors, old man Chen, you'd better not live anymore. This is all for the good of your Chen family!

Chen Weiwu immediately quieted down. "Brother, you have me in your heart. It wasn't for nothing that I recognized you as my brother!"

Su Xiaoqian looked up blankly, "What about me?"

Qingfang and the old dean looked at each other in bewilderment. After all this time, you're not Chen Tianjiao's hidden accomplice? Then what are we still considering!

Bang bang bang!

Qingfang and the old dean each grabbed a gun and smashed Chen Tianjiao's head to pieces, which could be considered a testament to their loyalty.

Song Yi smiled with satisfaction, took the key from Chen Tianjiao's pocket, and opened the cover on the Tianjingtai tabletop.

Song Yi, Qing Fang, the old dean, Su Xiaoqian, and Chen Weiwu, who had been untied, stood in a circle around Tianjingtai.

Looking at the bright red and crystal-clear spiritual liquid in the pool in the center of the table, and smelling the alluring fragrance emanating from it, everyone felt completely refreshed and full of energy.

However, while feeling comfortable, terrifying hallucinations kept appearing in everyone's minds, impacting their consciousness.

"Good, good! This is the real Ascension Elixir, completely different from the pure positive feeling of twenty years ago!" The old dean was overjoyed.

He explained, "Ascension is not simply about strengthening the physical body. If one cannot possess a spirit that matches a powerful physique and control the body in real time, the body will become uncontrollable and distorted during the ascension, causing damage."

"If the damage is too great, death will occur. In the most severe cases, the entire person will even decompose at the cellular level, as if melted away by the power of ascension."

"This ascension elixir, condensed from malevolent energy, will spontaneously impact the user's consciousness, tempering and strengthening their spirit, simultaneously enhancing both spirit and body, thus making successful ascension possible."

"No wonder we failed twenty years ago and lost so many brothers, now I understand!"

The old dean was both crying and laughing, clearly indicating that what happened back then had a great impact on him and that he still hadn't gotten over it.

Song Yi didn't care about their story from twenty years ago. Seeing that everyone was in place, he started distributing the tasks directly.

There was a cabinet under the crystal platform containing dozens of semi-transparent bottles. These were specially prepared by Chen Tianjiao to hold the Ascension Elixir, each with a capacity of 100 milliliters. Song Yi took them out.

Qing Fang said, "This is a Heavenly Crystal Bottle, made of the same material as this Heavenly Crystal Platform. It is extremely tough and difficult to damage by ordinary means, which ensures the safety of the spiritual liquid."

"Of course, the real celestial crystal is a super material that can only be produced from the ruins of ancient civilizations. The celestial crystal used here should actually be called pseudo-celestial crystal. It is reproduced based on the ancient civilization technology data obtained from the ruins and is far inferior to the real thing."

"Even so, these seemingly thin crystal bottles can withstand shots from ordinary rifle bullets without any damage."

Ascension Elixir is a dangerous substance. If the bottle breaks while carrying it and spills all over you, the undiluted elixir could very likely be fatal. The bottle definitely needs to be sturdy.

Song Yi used a special crystal dropper to draw spiritual liquid from the pool and poured it into bottles, each containing 100 milliliters. A little more or less didn't matter; the difference of one or two drops was negligible. Anyway, that was roughly the amount.

After the spiritual liquid in the pool was completely taken, it filled 22 and a half bottles.

"There are over 2200 milliliters. It seems that in addition to the number of people offering sacrifices, the quality of the sacrifices also affects the output of the spiritual liquid," the old dean said thoughtfully.

The sacrifices made in this ascension ceremony included approximately 1800 assassins, and among the hundreds of thousands of ordinary people within the area, there may be one or two hundred murderers or criminals lurking, totaling around 2000 people.

Normally, one offering can provide one milliliter of spiritual liquid, but this time, due to the name of Wuchang, many powerful assassins from all over the world have come. Their spiritual power surpasses that of ordinary people, and their murderous aura is strong, so they can provide more spiritual liquid.

All things considered, it's not surprising that it could produce more than 2200 ml of spiritual liquid.

Looking at the 23rd bottle, which was only half full, Song Yi felt somewhat unwilling:

"Can't we smoke a little longer and fill this bottle up too? Let's just smoke them all to death and store dozens more bottles."

As for what to do with his eighty-odd men if they all die... well, what use are men anyway?

Everyone else was speechless. You're really ruthless. No wonder you're an assassin.

The old dean dispelled his greed: "The ascension ceremony has its limits. In ancient times, it was a ceremony to honor heroes, and many people would even volunteer to participate as sacrifices."

"This is not some kind of demonic blood sacrifice that can kill or sever a person's manhood. Once the offering is drawn to the danger threshold, the ritual will stop drawing from it."

"Depending on individual circumstances, the sacrificial offerings can generally recover after several months to several years of rest. Only a very small number of them may suffer permanent damage due to accidents."

"The matrix has been running for almost half an hour now, and all the draws that could be made have already been made. The current gains are the limit."

Song Yi sighed: "Alright, I can only regretfully let them off this time."

He began to produce the elixir.

As per the previous agreement, Song Yi's share was 40%, which is 9 bottles. The bottle that wasn't full was also included, leaving 14 bottles.

The four people split the prize equally, with each person receiving 3.5 bottles.

However, Qingfang was generous and said that three bottles would be enough for him and Mingzong, while Chen Weiwu and the old dean would each take four bottles, so as not to end up with half a bottle that would be useless.

Su Xiaoqian actually had a little resentment about not getting one.

But she was, after all, the only righteous henchman present, and she had already lost. It was lucky that she hadn't been purged and killed, so she didn't dare to make any excuses.

As for Chen Weiwu, he was only untied after the outcome was decided, so he didn't have a chance to choose a side. Unless he's an idiot, he wouldn't say he wants to be a partner of justice now.

Seeing Su Xiaoqian's sullen expression, Song Yi thought that she had served her very well and deserved a reward, so he casually tossed her a bottle.

Su Xiaoqian was overjoyed and immediately abandoned her allegiance to Song Yi's gang. She even borrowed a pistol from Qing Fang to patch up a few holes in her grandfather's body as a token of her loyalty, showing great filial piety.

After the assignments were completed, everyone except Song Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

Qingfang suggested, "Let's take advantage of the time and start the baptism right away. The conditions are right here."

The old dean nodded repeatedly and said with a smile, "Yes, yes, yes, let's start the baptism quickly. There are nine baptism rooms in total. They were specially built for the nine brothers when we first tried to ascend."

"Although people died in all five baptism chambers after the first ascension, they have long been cleaned up. Don't feel disgusted. Who knows, the baptism chambers might have had the spirit rings of our predecessors attached to them, which could increase the chances of success to some extent."

This joke was so outrageous that even Su Xiaoqian, who was initially just a little annoyed, was scared into wanting to give up.

"By the way, does this elixir have to be mixed into water for a bath? Can't I just drink it? It smells pretty good, like it's drinkable," Su Xiaoqian asked tentatively.

The old dean smiled and said, "If you don't want it to explode with a bang and splatter blood all over us, then give up this audacious idea."

"The Ascension Elixir contains terrifying energy. Ordinary people cannot withstand the intense energy release process if they drink it directly. The effect is similar to pulling the pin on a grenade and swallowing it."

"Furthermore, even if your body can withstand that intense energy release, the overly rapid strengthening process will prevent your mind from being tempered and improved. In that case, your mind will lose control of your body and will decompose in an instant..."

"Then we'll just have to wash you away with water."

Su Xiaoqian felt a chill run down her spine at the thought of herself turning into a puddle and being easily swept away by the drain. Suddenly, she realized that having a senior's spirit ring wasn't so bad after all.

On the 66.5th floor, on the innermost wall to the left of the elevator entrance, there are nine doors. Opening one of these doors leads to a baptismal room that is only about five square meters in size.

Most of the baptismal chamber is occupied by a pool that is two meters deep, with a tap on it to let water flow.

"Wow, it's so deep! What if I'm not fully conscious during the baptism and drown?" Su Xiaoqian's loud voice came from next door.

"Then let him drown. Consider your baptism a failure," Song Yi thought to himself.

From a distance came the old dean's voice: "The Ascension Elixir is rich in all the energy the human body needs. Once you soak in it, you won't need to breathe. The painful baptism process will make you unable to open your jaw and drink water."

"As long as you don't go crazy and gulp it down, you won't drown."

As expected of the former dean, he is very professional and seems to know everything. He also patiently explained things to those who had no experience.