‘Take out your Immortal Items?’
Everyone was taken aback. Then, their eyes lit up like lightbulbs.
Especially Juling Shen. He was frantically happy. He was grinning from ear to ear because he knew what was going to happen.
He took out his two axes without hesitation.
‘Here it comes, here it comes again! The Lord Saint’s going to give out Deluxe Merit!’
Ao Yun also frantically took out his trident. He caressed it as his heart thumped.
The other Immortals were quick with it, too. They held their breaths like kids waiting for the teacher to reward them with gifts. They were flushed from excitement.
Lord Kunpeng and Mosquito Taoist were stumped. They did not know what was going on.
‘Is the expert going to give us something? What could it be?’
Li Nianfan waved before they could figure it out. Strands of golden light beamed down on them like a waterfall.
The Deluxe Merit was intense and came in a huge amount. Mosquito Taoist got the most Deluxe Merit. Kunpeng and Lu Yue gained a lot of Deluxe Merit, too.
‘Deluxe Merit! So much Deluxe Merit!’
Juling Shen hurriedly accepted it with his ax. He was surprised yet embarrassed.
‘I didn’t do anything. I won by default because of Blackie. I can’t believe I’m still rewarded with Deluxe Merit. I don’t deserve it!
‘Thanks for carrying me, team…’
The axes in his hand felt the Deluxe Merit. Golden borders gradually formed on the blue floral handles of his axes. The axes seemed to be enlightened. A dim golden light sparkled within them.
That was the third time the Xuan Floral Axes was improved by Deluxe Merit. It was considered a nice Deluxe Merit Treasure with great attacks.
Lu Yue took out his Plague Bell and improved it with the Deluxe Merit.
As for Lord Kunpeng and Mosquito Taoist, they were dumbfounded by the Deluxe Merit.
Especially Mosquito Taoist. The blinding golden streams circled her. She instantly teared up and quivered. She almost sobbed.
Thankfully, she stayed hidden under her black robe. No one saw her tears.
‘Deluxe Merit. I have Deluxe Merit.’
She felt like she was dreaming. It was too unreal.
She was a mosquito birthed by the Bloody Sea. She was born a heathen, a Demon, and nothing more. No matter how hard she tried, she could not change that fact. Everyone despised her. She was not accepted by the realm either.
She was a sacrificial item for tribulations. Anyone could scheme against her. Anyone could kill her in the name of justice. That was why she was extremely cautious and liked to hide.
She knew that she could never receive Deluxe Merit. However…she just did.
‘Didn’t the expert say he disliked mosquitoes?
‘Why would he reward me with his Deluxe Merit…?
‘I… I…’
Mosquito Taoist felt an emotion inside her. It was a warmth that ran through her body. ‘Is this what it feels like to be accepted? Is this what it feels like to be touched?’
She looked at Li Nianfan with mixed emotions. Then, her Golden Lotus Leaves appeared. They surrounded her and took in the Deluxe Merit.
Li Nianfan noticed how Mosquito Taoist looked. He instantly felt pleased with himself.
‘I’ve impressed someone new with this reward. Nice.’
Lord Kunpeng was dumbfounded by the side. All his Immortal Items were gone. He had nothing at all.
He thought about it and said, “I should use the Deluxe Merit on my body then. It just so happens that I’m cultivating my body. This is a great chance for me to turn into Kunpeng again!”
The Jade Emperor and Empress looked at everyone with envy. If they knew, they would have rushed here to help. They missed out on a huge opportunity.
However, they noticed that something serious happened. Otherwise, it would not trigger Deluxe Merit as a reward.
“Alright.” Li Nianfan clapped. “That’s all. Work hard, everyone.”
The Immortals immediately looked thrilled. They shouted with devotion, “Thanks, Lord Saint!”
Li Nianfan waved it off. He casually said, “Alright, no need to be courteous. I have nothing else to give either, I can only give you Deluxe Merit.”
Everyone went silent.
‘Are you sure this is being humble?’
Li Nianfan noticed something. He was intrigued by a Pellet Drum on the ground nearby.
Then, he walked over and picked it up. He rattled it and said, “Can’t believe I can still see stuff like this here.”
Boom.
“Huh?” Li Nianfan slightly frowned. “That can’t be right. Why’s the sound of the Pellet Drum so loud and heavy?”
He tried to shake it again.
Clock!
Li Nianfan was surprised. He was instantly intrigued. “Yo? It can change sounds?”
He rattled it again. “One more time.”
Tip!
“Awesome. Awesome. It can change sounds with voice commands. It’s been a long time since I last found anything with voice command.” Li Nianfan looked at the Pellet Drum and immediately fell in love with it. ‘Truly the legendary realm, even the Pellet Drum is so fancy.’
Everyone watched him with an expressionless face. They tried their best to not twitch.
Of course, it was not because of Li Nianfan. It was because of the Pellet Drum instead.
‘This thing’s so shady! A moment ago, you almost killed all of us. Now that the expert’s here, you’re trying to act all cute?!’
‘Tip? Why don’t you whine, too?’
They felt irritated purely because they were jealous.
‘Oh, to be liked by the expert. What a huge honor to become the expert’s plaything! The Pellet Drum’s going to be successful in life!’
The Pellet Drum was a top-notch Heavenly Spiritual Treasure but…it was still a huge breakthrough!
‘Expert, if you don’t mind, come rattle me instead. I can change sounds, too…’
“Why’s this fun Pellet Drum discarded on the ground?” Li Nianfan played with it for a while and asked. “Is this yours?”
Everyone shook their heads without hesitation. “No, no.”
No one would admit it unless they were not sensible.
Li Nianfan smiled. “Good. I shall take it then. It’s nice and refined, too. I can let the children play with it.”
The Empress smiled and said, “Since it doesn’t belong to anyone, you should take it because you like it, Saint. It’s a win-win situation.”
Li Nianfan nodded. Then, he said, “I see that you’re all alright. I’ll leave with Daji now. Farewell, everyone.”
Juling Shen was the first one to shout. “Farewell, Lord Saint!”
Then, the Jade Emperor and Empress saw him off after a few farewell chats.
Juling Shen waited until Li Nianfan was out of sight. He sprinted towards Blackie and bowed like a bootlicker. He said with respect and devotion, “Thank you, Lord Dog, for saving my life.”
The others followed suit. They hurriedly said, “Thank you, Lord Dog, for saving our lives.”
Mosquito Taoist nervously bowed and said, “Thank you, Lord Dog, for saving my life and…sparing my life.”
“It’s because my master doesn’t want you dead, little mosquito. Act at your own discretion.”
Blackie arrogantly looked up and turned around. Then, he left like a runway model. “Deify, follow me back to the dog lair.”
“Everyone, you’re all old friends of mine. Act at your own discretion.”
Deified Dog smugly wiggled its hair and followed Blackie. “Lord Dog, I shall lead the way for you.”
The Jade Emperor looked at Deified Dog and felt irritated. He scoffed, “This dog!”
God Jiro was the nephew of the Jade Emperor so they were naturally close. Deified Dog was naturally respectful toward the Jade Emperor. However… Deified Dog just showed off!
Juling Shen was amazed as usual at the side. “I’m so envious!”
If he could follow the Lord Dog, he would be much smugger than Deified Dog. ‘Sigh, if only I were a dog. I’d be much happier than Deified Dog!’
The Jade Emperor glanced at Juling Shen and squinted. He growled, “Huh? What did you say?”
Juling Shen stayed calm. He exclaimed naturally, “That dog’s so smug because of Lord Dog. You’re so wise, Emperor!”
“Everyone, head back to the Lingxiao Palace. Tell me everything in detail!”
…
Deified Dog stumbled after Blackie while being a bootlicker on their way back. He looked proud and excited.
He knew that Lord Dog was powerful, and the master of Lord Dog was powerful. However, his Lord Dog did an instant kill on a Quasi-Saint. Deified Dog got a clearer concept of how powerful the Lord Dog was.
In other words, unimaginably powerful!
Deified Dog was on cloud nine.
Blackie asked out of nowhere, “Deify, you seem joyful?”
Deified Dog cleverly bootlicked, “I got to see you attack today. It was amazing. I respect you so much, I can’t help feeling excited.”
Blackie nodded. “Oh, well, I have bad news for you.”
“What… What?”
“That takeaway Kunpeng soup won’t last long. It’ll soon lose its flavor. You should hurry up and drink it.”
Blackie sounded calm but it instantly hurt Deified Dog. His smile froze in place.
“This…that…”
Deified Dog scratched his head and his ears drooped. He did not know what to do. “Really, my Lord? Is there any other way to preserve it? I want to keep it for the others. I…this…”
“Really,” nodded Blackie.
Blackie smirked when he saw the excited Deified Dog turn into a miserable dog within a second.
He flicked his wrist and out came a plastic takeaway box. “Here, use this. The master said you need to use a takeaway box for takeaways.”
Deified Dog was dumbfounded. He looked at the takeaway box and took it. He felt like he went through a roller coaster of emotions.
He teared up and sobbed, “Thanks, my Lord…”
At the Lingxiao Palace.
The Jade Emperor was sitting on the throne, listening to everyone. His facial expression kept changing. He went from shocked, to more shocked, then to extremely shocked. The Jade Emperor and Empress took turns to gasp.
“The expert raised a Saint Dog?!”
The Jade Emperor sat there for a long while to process it. He finally accepted the fact. “It must be. The expert’s on the same level as the Buddha. It’s not odd that he raised a Saint Dog.”
‘Damn, no wonder Deified Dog’s so smug. Speaking of that, I can’t offend the dogs…’
He coughed softly and focused on the anonymous elder who died. He looked serious.
He said, “Deep in the Chaos, beyond the sky. A Quasi-Saint from another realm…”
He paused. Troubled, he shook his head and said, “The endless Chaos does indeed have more than one eldritch world.”
Mosquito Taoist immediately asked, “Do you know anything about it?”
“Just a bit.” The Jade Emperor took a deep breath and said, “You were born in the eldritch eras. You should know how the world came to be, right?”
Mosquito Taoist replied without hesitation, “Lord Pangu created the realms. His flesh and blood transformed into our eldritch ancestors. It’s a famous legend but no one knows about it.”
“Emperor, we only know about it because we heard it from the expert.”
Ziye chimed in and said, “There were one hundred and eight Demon Gods with Lord Pangu. In the end, Lord Pangu had an epiphany on creating realms. So, he created the eldritch world.”
She did not mention how the creation was stolen by her ancestor.
“Nicely said. Our ancestor’s actually one of those Demon Gods.”
The Jade Emperor nodded. Then, he spoke in a low voice, “Have you guys ever thought about…the fact that those Demon Gods could create realms, too, if they improve a little bit more on cultivation?
“Think about it. Were there only one hundred and eight Demon Gods in the entire Chaos? Could other unknown Demon Gods create realms?”
His simple sentences sent a shiver down their spines. They were terrified. “This…this…”
They felt enlightened yet horrified, like a frog that jumped out of the well and saw the outside world.
‘Yeah. If Pangu can create realms, why can’t others?”
“When I was a student of the Buddha, I’d occasionally listen to him reminisce about the past. Dao was endless and it was as powerful as the Buddha. I thought of seeking extreme paths for breakthroughs, too. But, he was more anxious to do so. He’d always say…there’s a sky beyond the sky!”
The Jade Emperor sighed. “Buddha knew that there were a lot of horrifying beings in the Chaos. I didn’t expect that a being from another realm would find us here.”
“It’s my fault.” Mosquito Taoist was slightly embarrassed. “Our world seemed to be hidden. But I led him to us.”
“It’s fine, he’s already dead. Let’s just hope there won’t be any repercussions.”
The Jade Emperor paused. Then, he said, “However… I know someone who doesn’t belong to our realm!”
Everyone frowned. Then, they realized who it was.
Juling Shen immediately said, “It’s the expert!”
“That’s right. It’s obvious.”
The Jade Emperor nodded. “Do you think our realm could birth a powerful being like the expert? The expert’s far beyond us. No questions about that, right?”
Everyone nodded their heads at the same time. They all agreed.
Ziye asked, “Why did the expert come to our realm?”
“To play and sight-see!”
The Jade Emperor already figured it out. He brushed his beard and said, “You can think of the expert as a tourist bigshot. He can transmigrate anywhere in the Chaos. Our eldritch world got lucky. He chose our world and decided to stay.”
“Our world’s the expert’s bootlicker!”
