Chapter 1605 - 1118: Information Gap (2)

Chapter 1605: Chapter 1118: Information Gap (2)

Seeing the other party still pretending to be stupid and dazed, he leaned over and quietly asked, "Since you’ve already gotten the pill formula, where’s the Elixir?"

The Judge’s face looked like he was constipated; he couldn’t say anything and could only let out a heavy sigh.

This really couldn’t be blamed on Fengdu. The ingredients needed for a Nine Revolutions Dragon Saliva Pill were actually not that hard to collect; the problem was guaranteeing success in one go. Even the most senior Alchemists in Fengdu didn’t dare take it on.

That was a Ninth Grade Elixir, already half an Immortal Pill Level. Who would dare pat their chest and guarantee they’d definitely succeed?

If they failed, destroying so many precious medicinal ingredients, it would be hard to gather them again!

After all, in this End of Dharma Era, many Little Worlds had collapsed, causing many rare herbs to go extinct. The fact that they barely managed to scrape together this one set was only because all the big shots in Fengdu rummaged through their private vaults and traded without regard for the cost. No Alchemist dared take the job; they could only sit and wait.

"This concerns your own life and future; how can you stay this calm? My Brother Lu, opportunities have to be fought for and snatched by yourself. If you neither fight nor snatch, will someone force one into your hands?" Qu Luming sighed and slapped his thigh. "You’re just too honest!"

He lowered his voice to almost a whisper. "What did I tell you last time? This old brother will point you to a bright path again—only the crying baby gets the milk. Go beg the Ghost Emperor. In the current Three Realms, the one person who can absolutely refine a Ninth Grade Elixir is none other than Mr. Jiang!

Put it this way, I’ve never seen him fail at Alchemy! Mr. Jiang’s Elixirs can even treat Gods; I saw it with my own eyes, I’m not bragging!"

Judge Lu Huai’s eyes instantly widened. "Gods? You mean..."

Qu Luming leaned closer and asked, "The matter of the Divine Beast Black Tortoise ascending above the Wilderness—you must have heard of it, right?"

"I did hear a little, but I don’t know the details. After all, my Book of Life and Death only governs the Mortal World. The Black Tortoise is a Divine Beast; it’s not under my jurisdiction."

"That Divine Beast Black Tortoise is Mr. Jiang’s Spirit Pet!" Qu Luming had always been good at leveraging information gaps; only now did he reveal, "And it’s not just the Black Tortoise. There’s the Azure Dragon who’s about to Ascend, and the future White Tiger and Vermilion Bird—they’re all his Spirit Pets.

As for the Divine Bird Vermilion Bird, it hadn’t truly fallen yet. Its remnant soul was just trapped in deep sleep. Mr. Jiang shoved a whole batch of Ninth Grade Elixirs down its throat, and the nearly fallen Divine Bird Vermilion Bird woke up! It’s now carefully teaching the next Vermilion Bird."

Simply unheard of!

However, Qu Luming had always been well-informed and had never lied to him. No matter how shocking the news, the Judge didn’t doubt it.

"Apart from the Four Symbols Divine Beast, Mr. Jiang also used Elixirs to save a Sea God who had almost fallen. Recently, when the upper realm celebrated the New Year, I was gone for a whole day and night. I spent it celebrating the Spring Festival with everyone in the little courtyard and personally saw the Sea God who had regained their spirit!"

"Brother Qu has really met True Gods?" Whether the Four Symbols Divine Beast or the Sea God, although they were local Divine Beings, they were still True Gods. Lu Huai thought that he had served as a Judge for so many years and resided in orthodox Fengdu, yet had never seen a True God, while this guy had seen several at once?

Qu Luming’s mouth twitched. "How could that be fake? If not for persuading you, I wouldn’t even be allowed to say this! I’ve spent all this effort talking because I’m thinking for your sake. Hurry and find a way to beg the Ghost Emperor to seek out Mr. Jiang to refine Elixirs for you. Otherwise, if this deficit of yours keeps dragging on and you can’t advance your Realm, and when your Lifespan runs out you die and your Dao dissipates, wouldn’t that be a pity?"

Seeing the Judge’s Heartbeat stir, he waved him over. "Come, come, let’s eat this stick of Top Grade Incense together, just the two of us brothers. Enjoy it for a moment, and you take the time to think how you’re going to say it. Since it’s about yourself, the sooner it’s solved the better!"

To be honest, Qu Luming hadn’t planned to be this proactive, but Mist Dragon suddenly seeking death on his own made him keenly sense something was off.

Mr. Jiang hadn’t said anything, but he had taken Mountain Master Mist Dragon under his command and even allowed him to seek death on his own. Comparing this with various rumors from the past, Qu Luming guessed that Mountain Master Mist Dragon, as a Demon Cultivator, really was the Netherworld’s Gambling God.

Once the suspicion arose, he immediately went to ask Senior Yan Xuan, and sure enough got a definite answer—Mist Dragon’s death was precisely to use Mr. Jiang’s unfathomable Divine Power to transform from a Demon Cultivator into a Ghost Cultivator!

Then, from the bits of information occasionally revealed by Daoist Bai, Senior He, and others, Qu Luming deduced that Mr. Jiang had recently been so busy that he’d vanished, most likely because he’d gone to the Old Underworld.

He was in the Wilderness, raised the Four Symbols Divine Beast, saved a world from further decline, and then set things right by prompting the Demon Race to migrate and return the Wilderness to the Human Race. If Mr. Jiang had gone to the Old Underworld to work, it was very likely also to set things right!

Once he succeeded and the Old Underworld was reactivated, the current Netherworld Fengdu would be in an awkward position.

Qu Luming thought that this was a time when talent was needed. If he could maneuver in the shadows and push things along, binding this crucial Judge to Mr. Jiang’s ship, then once the Old Underworld restarted, having a ready-made Judge would save a lot of trouble.

This move would both give Lu Huai, who had a decent relationship with him, some real benefits; and save Mr. Jiang worry and effort; and he himself would count as contributing to setting things right and accumulating merit. Three birds with one stone!

Though his little scheme was a bit disloyal to Fengdu, Qu Luming had already calculated everything: let Judge Lu Huai use his own interests to push the Ghost Emperor into cooperating with Mr. Jiang.

As for whether they could seize the opportunity and board Mr. Jiang’s great ship of direct Ascension, that would depend on the Ghost Emperor’s vision.

If he couldn’t grasp it, then he simply lacked the blessing in his fate to attain fruition in this life, and no one else could be blamed.

A single stick of Incense trailed smoke; the two Ghost Cultivators were unwilling to waste even a shred of Incense, taking such a deep draw that their scalps tingled in comfort!

At the very instant when their souls were soothed flat by the Incense, Lu Huai decided he must go see the Ghost Emperor. No matter what, he had to obtain the Elixirs to fill his deficit and live well!

At the same moment, Jiang Yuan was still waiting for the final Wandering Ghost to be successfully purified.

The countdown finally reached zero, and a prompt popped up in his field of vision—

[Main Quest: Build a Level Three Fuyun Space. Reward: Netherworld-exclusive Barrier-Breaking Pill Formula]

[Quest 2: Inside the Purification Workshop, complete no fewer than thirty Purifications. Completed. Reward: Ghost-Luring Lamp blueprint issued]

[Quest 3: Craft at least ten Ghost-Luring Lamps and distribute them across Fuyun Mountain. Reward: Automatic Sprinkler blueprint]

"The materials for a Ghost-Luring Lamp aren’t hard to find; they’re still basic materials produced in Fuyun Mountain. But the Treasure Forging Workshop can’t accelerate; it’s such a waste of time." Jiang Yuan clicked to use the blueprint, pushed open the door, and went into the Treasure Forging Workshop to check the materials, unable to help quietly complaining.

He’d gotten used to the Accelerators in the first two courtyards—one casual click and things finished quickly. Coming to this courtyard and having to start over, it was hard not to get impatient.

The Treasure Forging Workshop needed half an hour to make a single Ghost-Luring Lamp. He clicked "Craft," and the workshop clattered to life.

He opened the renovation interface, dragged over two ready-made Storage Boxes from Lotus Peak, stuffed all the purified Ghosts inside, and reminded Mist Dragon, "I’ve stored the purified Wandering Ghosts in this box. After you finish Refining the Insect Ghost, prioritize devouring and Refining the Insect Ghosts in here. I have to go to the little courtyard to handle some things. If you need anything, contact me at any time."

The side quest "Gambling God Returns" had to wait until he’d devoured and Refined all three Insect Ghosts before it could be completed. Jiang Yuan was still waiting to claim the reward and hoard more Building Upgrade Cards for late-game use, so he made sure to tell him to eat the Insect Ghosts first before anything else.

"Many thanks, sir! I’ve just started my Cultivation; this Insect Ghost alone will take some Refining. Please go about your business, you needn’t worry about me!" Mist Dragon was immersed in the pleasure of devouring Ghosts to expand himself, quickly agreed, and sure enough didn’t take a single step out the door.

Jiang Yuan clicked to switch to the second home, Conch Island.

Honestly speaking, after using the New Year’s wishing event to rush everything here to Level 100 in one go, he still hadn’t found time to properly tidy up.

The landscapes were all piled together; every workshop was just barely running, and many basic materials were severely lacking.

But he still didn’t have time to tidy up today. The Treasure Forging Workshop could hold out for an hour and a half, and in that time, Jiang Yuan had to hurry and filter through the many spoils of war piled up on the nearby Island.

The Spirit Stones were sent straight into his account; Storage Bags, Storage Rings and the like were all collected—whether for doing favors or supporting the Human Race, they’d all come in handy; as for the rest of the messy, dazzling variety, he had to categorize them using the system’s detailed appraisal.

He kept what was useful; what wasn’t useful went into the Accelerator’s fuel tank, or he simply piled it up at the bottom of a chest, waiting until Fuyun Space got its own Accelerator to add fuel and build the new home.

"With this mountain of junk, going through them one by one will take until the Year of the Monkey, won’t it?" Barely into the sorting, Jiang Yuan was already doubting his life a little.