Ding Yi also widened his eyes in astonishment.
The pig spirit looked around and didn’t seem surprised at all, as though he was used to it.
“Hey, hey, hey, the three of you, what are you standing there for? Pay the bill and move it. Don’t get in the way of others.” An old man with grey hair was standing outside the Teleportation Deployment by a stone table. Like an old man collecting money at the door of the public toilet, he was now staring at the three of them with disdain.
Having been here collecting the bill for so many years, the old man had already gained a pair of eyes as sharp as eagles’. So, at one glance, he was sure that Li Mu and the other two were bumpkins from the countryside.
“How much is it?” Ding Yi asked.
The old man turned up his nose and said, “One copper-colored fairy crystal per person.”
“What?”
Li Mu and the other two were shocked.
The old man sneered at once. “You think the price is too high? If so, you could teleport yourselves back as long as you have the ability.”
However, what Li Mu and Ding Yi thought was that it was too cheap.
Those from the Gold Sun Sect were truly evil-minded. Every time they used the deployment, it cost them at least a silver-colored fairy crystal. But it turned out that they only needed to pay a copper-colored fairy crystal for the same service in this region. Indeed, it was true that the more underdeveloped and undereducated an area was, the more wicked the people there were.
People in poor areas tended to be unruly.
Li Mu threw over a silver fairy crystal without hesitation and said, “Keep the change.”
“Oh, thank you, master.” The old man immediately beamed with joy.
Ding Yi looked at Li Mu with an aggrieved look.
“Sect Master, even though you’re rich, you shouldn’t be squandering your fortune like this. You gotta save some money.” He pointed at the pig spirit named Zhu Luyi and added, “What’s more, we’re keeping a pig now.”
“What’s wrong with pigs?” Zhu Luyi protested, “Can I take it that you’re looking down on our pig race?”
Ding Yi curled his lips and said nothing.
Li Mu didn’t bother to argue with the two funny guys.
He went to inquire about some information from that old man.
Generally speaking, according to Li Mu’s experience on Earth, the man guarding the Teleportation Deployment was likely to be most familiar with all kinds of local events, legends, gossips, and secrets. He was also the most well-informed. And that made him the ideal person to inquire about information.
One should never ignore the old folks.
For instance, the old men in charge of the reception office of the Central Academy Of Drama and the like were all know-it-alls. They were in the know about the gossips of all the stars and celebrities, who were almost comparable to those well-informed folks in Chaoyang District in Beijing.
As expected, the old man said with a grin, “Haha, you’re right to ask me.”
Every time Li Mu posed a quick question, the old man answered him with a three-minute speech.
In the end, the old man even mysteriously took out a broken piece of jade.
“Son, I appreciate you very much. You are a young man who respects the old. There are not many people like you now… In this piece of jade, I have recorded all kinds of things that one needs to pay attention to, including all kinds of taboos, the major forces, masters, gangs, and territories in this Star Wind City, as well as ways to purchase all kinds of resources and the local news. You would know where to find assassins as well as how to order goods and call a hooker if you have this jade. I don’t usually tell people about this jade. But this time, I will give it to you for free.”
The old man acted as if he had given Li Mu a great bargain.
Li Mu took over the jade and thanked the old man with a smile. Then, he bade him farewell and left.
On the way, Li Mu copied the information in this piece of jade with his secret deployment skill and stored it in his own jade. Then, he threw away the broken piece of jade that the old man had given him.
It could be said that he had been very cautious about this.
After that, he began to read the information in the jade.
If he didn’t take a look at it, he would never know how startled he would be.
This nameless old man wasn’t boasting at all.
The information in the jade was really divided into various categories covering all kinds of aspects, including food, clothing, accommodation, travel, and gossips and legends. Li Mu also found all kinds of rankings of strength in it. Everything Li Mu needed to know was in it. It was simply a detailed handbook on helping outsiders maneuver in the Star Wind City.
After looking through it, Li Mu knew what he was getting himself into.
Two hours later.
The three of them showed their faces in the dining hall of a hotel in Star Wind City.
The hotel was located on top of a floating mountain, which was quite high in the air. The place was covered by ancient trees and filled with abundant Spiritual Qi. Its construction style was immaculate. Obviously, the constructors had put in a lot of effort to build it. The people who came to this hotel were either rich or noble. Moreover, they all came here by flying ships or flying shuttles.
Sitting by the window, Li Mu looked around curiously.
There were four upper-class stars in the Heavenly Meridian Region. The Star Wind World was one of them, and the Star Wind City was the largest city in the Star Wind World. The martial arts civilization here was highly sophisticated, and it was closely connected with other cities in the Star Wind World and other worlds. It was laid with all kinds of Teleportation Deployment, star roads, and communication nets. The roads were densely crisscrossed and led to everywhere.
The scenery of Star Wind City was completely different from what Li Mu had seen in Gold Town. The difference between the two was like the difference between a remote village in mountains and a modern metropolis on Earth. Li Mu had never been here. If he had not seen those views with his own eyes, he bet he could not picture the beauty of such a big city just by resorting to his imagination.
Moreover, the most important thing was that for the first time, Li Mu learned that there was something called the “Immortal Net” in this Star Region, which was pretty much the same as the internet on Earth.
On the “Immortal Net”, one could search for information, purchase a wide range of goods and services. It was a very convenient tool.
Only the things it required were strength and money.
The minimum requirement to be able to log into the Immortal Net System was to enter the Worm Realm and be able to turn the spiritual force into the Divine Consciousness.
Moreover, the fee of using the Immortal Net depended on the time of the usage… This was pretty much the same as the use of the Internet on Earth. Whether it was in an Internet bar or in one’s own home, one had to pay some money to browse the Internet.
However, the popularity of the Immortal Net in the Brilliance Immortal Star Region was obviously not as high as that of the Internet on Earth. Generally, cultivators went to the Immortal Docks, which served as the Internet bars, to log into the Immortal Net for information inquiry and purchases. The cost was relatively low. However, if one wanted to have his own Net Card so as to log into the Immortal Net at any time he wanted, the cost would be very high. Ordinary cultivators couldn’t afford it.
Of course, the saying that money talks also applied this world.
Before coming to the hotel named Immortal Pavilion, Li Mu already paid a gold-colored fairy crystal for a Net Card on the black market of the Star Wind City according to the tips in the information given by the old man. So now, he could access the Immortal Net at will.
“Of course, the old man didn’t fool me.”
The reason why he only bought one Net Card was not that Li Mu was stingy, but that Ding Yi and the pig spirit hadn’t gone through the Heavenly Tribulation and turned their spiritual force into the Divine Consciousness. Thus, though the two were also very interested in surfing the Internet, they could only sit back and watch Li Mu do it. The pig spirit even proudly announced that he had his own means of surfing the Internet, so he did not need a Net Card.
The pig spirit had his own secret, but Li Mu didn’t care to inquire about it.
While waiting for the waiter to serve the dishes and wine, Li Mu took out the Net Card that looked like a mini token and observed it for a moment. Then, following the instruction on it, he inserted a wisp of Divine Consciousness into the card.
“Buzz!”
A picture appeared in his head.
“Welcome to the Immortal Net. You can find everything you want here.”
The official language of the universe appeared and then disappeared in a flash. Then, a “menu” with dozens of options appeared in the picture.
It was an incredible experience. Li Mu felt like he was watching a holographic projection.
A new world slowly unfolded before Li Mu.
Li Mu glanced at them and found that there were five options, which were Magic Treasures, Cultivation Methods, Sects, Bizarre Objects, and Miscellaneous, that he could access. But the others in grey color were sealed.
Li Mu knew that this was because the rank of the Net Card he bought was not high enough.
A high-ranked Net Card was rare to find in the black market.
Li Mu accessed the five options respectively and browsed through the content inside. Then, he felt as if he had dispelled the clouds and started to see the sun.
His understanding of the Brilliance Immortal Star Region was rapidly deepened, and he was also immensely shocked by the wonders of the martial arts civilization.
On the Immortal Net, one could buy all kinds of treasures, such as Taoist Treasures, Spiritual Treasures, Taoist instruments, magic tools, weapons, armors, shuttles, and so on. One could also purchase various Cultivation Methods and secret methods, as well as all kinds of confidential information. Through the Immortal Net, one could be apprenticed to a master, hire bodyguards and assassins, as well as sell goods…
Li Mu had an eye-opener.
In essence, there was no difference between the Immortal Net and the Internet on Earth.
Yet, the Immortal Net was built on the foundation of the martial arts civilization. It was a product of the high-level development of tactical deployments and talisman. It spanned across the universe and connected several vast Star Region. Its coverage was really wide and breath-taking.
The force that had been running and maintaining the Immortal Net must be incomparably powerful.
Li Mu was sure that the major sects in the Brilliance Immortal Star Region that he had come into contact with probably did not have the ability to run such a business. Even the Heavenly Devil Sect, which was known as the number one sect in the Brilliance Immortal Star Region, could not handle it.
Li Mu’s eyes were dazzled by all the goods and services on the Immortal Net. But he was not in a hurry to purchase anything. Instead, he mainly focused on browsing through the information.
Under the category of Miscellaneous, there was a web equivalent to a big forum. It had all kinds of information that had been accumulated over tens of thousands of years. The vast sea of information was divided into different small columns, such as gossips, secrets of the past, big events, and so on.
Li Mu saw his name on the forum of the Big Events in the Brilliance Immortal Star Region in the Brilliance Immortal Star Region Column.
“Li Mu, the fierce bandit from outer space, showed up in the Star Posthouse of the Gold Sun Sect in Gold Town today. He launched a massacre and slaughtered all the people in the town!”
“The murderous maniac has finally stepped into the universe. What are the major sects going to do?”
“The scene was extremely bloody. It costs one copper-colored fairy crystal to watch the recording of the massacre in Gold Town.”
“Li Mu calls himself the Wild Broadsword. And he swore to wipe out all the major sects.”
“The bounty hunters have swarmed in, and the Wild Broadsword, the clown, is about to meet his downfall.”
“The new head of the Gold Sun Sect swore that he would capture and kill Li Mu to avenge his disciples!”
As Li Mu browsed the forum, he found that many posts and some very popular comments were about him. Clearly, in such a short period, the news that Li Mu had stepped into the universe already went viral on the Immortal Net. Some of the posts also showed footage of the massacre. One only had to pay ten copper-colored fairy crystals to watch it.
The number of viewers on one of the posts that contained the footage had reached more than 200,000. It was roughly estimated that the post writer named “All the People in the World Are Blind Except Me” had already raked in hundreds of silver-colored fairy crystals.
Who would have thought one could make money like this?
Li Mu thought to himself that what a pity it was.
If he had known this, he would have recorded the scene of the battle with the “Water Mirror Technique” and put the footage on the Immortal Net to swindle money.
“It has been found out that the Wild Broadsword has gone to the Heavenly Meridian Region and is now in Star Wind City!”
One of the posts caught Li Mu’s attention.
He never knew that his whereabouts were exposed so quickly.
