Chapter 202.2: A Bountiful Harvest, the Great Yin Thunder Pearl

Just then, the older twin's gaze sharpened as she looked at the villagers behind Qi Yuan. "They've undergone a complete transformation, especially him..."

Her eyes settled on Laughing Arhat. His aura had obviously risen to a higher level. Such a dramatic surge in so little time could only be the work of a supreme treasure.

"Linmu Immortal Liquid!" a man with a large mole between his brows suddenly exclaimed, eyes blazing. "I smell Linmu Immortal Liquid!"

Some of the ancient gods’ eyes even turned bloodshot.

"I smell it too!"

"It really is Linmu Immortal Liquid!"

To any True God below the Great Venerable realm, the liquid was an absolute treasure. Not only was it delicious, its fragrance was also unrivaled. Above all, a single drop could increase divine aperture condensation rate fivefold for a decade!

Moreover, for True Gods stuck at a bottleneck, several drops even carried a chance of breaking through. To think Qi Yuan had given such a treasure to mere mortals! Judging by the scent, it wasn't just a drop or two either.

This was a criminal waste, like feeding fine grain to wild boards! The ancient gods felt their heart ache.

"You mean that bathwater?" Qi Yuan explained thoughtfully. "It is pretty remarkable. Shen Tu's always been scrawny, but after drinking it, he finally put on some meat. If he ends up liking bathwater, he'll have to drink a bowl every day. Following me around looking so weak ... People might think I like men."

Normally, Qi Yuan didn't care what people said about him. He was generous and forgiving. At most, he'd just take care of things offline with a blade. Still, being accused of liking men? That crossed a line. He was a married man after all.

The ancient gods were completely speechless. Such a treasure was far better off in their hands than in the grasp of mere Core Formation or Nascent Soul cultivators. At least they could have achieved far greater results!

"Bathwater... Linmu Immortal Liquid..."

"A bowl every day..."

Some of the ancient gods' inner darkness quietly crawled.

The younger twin asked carefully, eyes shining, "May I ask, Fellow Daoist? How much Linmu Immortal Liquid did you obtain?"

"Not much," Qi Yuan replied casually. "About ten thousand jin or so."

The ancient gods' eyes turned crimson, their breathing growing ragged. People would rob and kill for that amount!

In the end, they had to remind themselves that they were on the same side. Moreover, Qi Yuan saved their lives. There were lines they refused to cross.

"I won't waste words with you. I'm heading to the second tower. My goal is to clear every tower here before dawn."

With that, Qi Yuan led his followers away. The ancient gods left behind wore complicated expressions. They exchanged glances, and ultimately chose to follow him.

About a hundred breaths later, a new tower came into view. Before their hearts could even settle, Qi Yuan and his group boldly strode inside.

"Do you think this is really just a coincidence?" an ancient god murmured.

"I am tempted to go in too. This is the Linmu Immortal Liquid we're talking about!"

"The tower is crawling with danger! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"It stings. I'm jealous. I'm miserable!" cried the man with the large mole.

He had voiced exactly what the rest was feeling. They had braved the Ancestral Land time and again, risking their lives over and over, yet they obtained less than one ten-thousandth of what Qi Yuan had gained from a single trip!

"If you're that jealous, why not just become one of Qiyuann Sovereign's citizens?" the younger twin teased.

By now, they had already exchanged names during their earlier conversations.

Hearing this, the man with the brow flicked his sleeve. "Linmu Immortal Liquid may be precious, but I'm not some spineless ancient god!"

An old man chuckled. "True, it is valuable, but it's not that amazing. Unless I could drink a mouthful every day, then I might consider relocating."

"He might’ve just gotten lucky in the first tower," another ancient god said solemnly. "But the second won't be so forgiving. Everyone, stop chatting and watch closely. We must act as soon as something goes wrong!"

At that moment, the man with the mole asked, "But what if they come out of this tower like they did the first?"

Silence fell. Once could be dismissed as coincidence. Twice? Calling that coincidence would be insulting one's own intelligence.

"If they come out again, and the treasure's tempting enough...

Hehe

. My bones might soften a little too," said Wang Song.

"Wang Song, weren't you always the proudest pine?" Teased the man with the mole. "Thinking of becoming someone's vassal now?"

"What, I can't have osteoporosis?" Wang Song retorted. "I'm a pine tree, brittle bones are perfectly reasonable!"

The group burst into discussion again, each harboring their own thoughts. Truthfully, talk of becoming a vassal was mostly joking. None of them truly meant it.

After all, at most, the treasures could help someone advance from First Step to Second Step, or from Second Step to Third Step. That wasn't worth surrendering one's freedom to become the vassal of an obscure ancient god.

***

Meanwhile, inside the tower. Qi Yuan led his group all the way to the very top.

"This is a Great Yin Thunder Pearl!" Shen Tu stared at the massive glass bottle ahead, his eyes filled with shock. Well-traveled and knowledgeable, he recognized it right away. "It can wipe out an entire city in a single blast!"

The legendary pearl itself was small, its power varying with size. The smallest, no larger than a mung bean, was equivalent to a full-power strike from a First Step Yin Spirit. The largest, the size of a feast, was comparable to a Great Venerable, terrifying beyond measure.

Inside the glass bottle were countless mung-bean-sized pearls, along with twelve fist-sized ones. All of them had been casually stuffed into a single bottle. The villagers' legs were close to buckling. If that thing detonated, everyone would be blasted straight to heaven.

Qi Yuan curiously looked at the legendary pearls.

[Great Yin Thunder Pearl. Also known as the "Fish-Blasting Thundercracker," a favorite among certain children.]

He blinked, intrigued. "...Fish-blasting?”

The power of these things surpassed even nuclear weapons from his previous life. And yet, they were children's toys? This world ran deep. Then again, he was just a player. Why overthink it?

"This kid really had a hoarding habit," Qi Yuan said smugly. "So many firecrackers are stockpiled... What a shame, they're now mine."

At long last, his adult self was treating his childhood self to a whole bottle of fireworks.

Qi Yuan then showed it off proudly. "See this? I've got so many firecrackers!"

The kind you could throw and blow up fish with.

He figured that if he posted a video of tossing one into a river, he'd definitely earn a chorus of admiration from guys everywhere.

They would probably say, “

Look at that guy's firecrackers, they can blow up fish!

”

Unfortunately, his display fell on deaf ears among the Clearwater Village folk. They stared at the bottle while trembling, terrified that Qi Yuan would accidentally set it off. With so many packed together, the explosion would be unimaginable.

Qi Yuan flicked his sleeve and led everyone, climbing straight out through the window. "This haul's even better than the first tower. Let's go!”

The Great Yin Thunder Pearls were the greatest prize of this tower. The villagers gathered quite a few other scattered treasures in the tower, but Qi Yuan didn't even bother looking twice.

***

Outside, the ancient gods sensed something and widened their eyes.

"They're out!"

"They

actually

came out!"

"Is he truly a fortune telling prodigy?"

They were utterly flabbergasted.

"You're still here?" Qi Yuan looked at them in surprise. "The NPC AI in this game really needs work, they are just standing around as spectators."

Qi Yuan had played plenty of games. NPCs usually shared a few traits:

They spaced out constantly.

Their models were sloppy.

They got new skins during the holidays.

Side quests were optional and didn't affect the main storyline.

Low HP.

In his eyes, these ancient gods were textbook NPCs. One fist-sized Great Yin Thunder Pearl, and they'd all be dead without affecting his main quest at all.

The younger twin suddenly noticed something,eyes bulging. She trembled all over like a startled cat. "Great Yin Thunder Pearls, so many of them!"

All the pearls in Qi Yuan's jar sloshed around dangerously as he moved. The other ancient gods noticed this too, and their expressions turned pale.

Qi Yuan said slowly, "Don't be afraid. These are just for blowing up fish."

Once again, he proudly showed off his firecrackers. The ancient gods fell silent, eyes fixed warily on the pearls. If even one of those fist-sized ones went off, escape wouldn't be an option.

"Your luck is truly astonishing," one of them said hoarsely. "To actually find such treasures..."

How could they not envy him? Wang Song's eyes glowed red. If the Linmu Immortal Liquid had inspired envy, the Great Yin Thunder Pearls stirred naked jealousy.

Unable to hold back, he said, "Fellow Daoist friend, may I accompany you into the next tower? I'm willing to serve you for ten years—no, to become your citizen for ten years!"

His bones were already brittle, what was a little more softness? Ten years in exchange for such treasure was a blood-profit!

Qi Yuan looked surprised. "Fine. Barely acceptable."

One more person made no difference to him. In ten years, he'd probably have cleared the game already. The other ancient gods stared at Wang Song in disdain.

The man with the mole chimed in as well. "Fellow Daoist, I too wish to follow your example. For every tower, I will serve as your citizen for ten years."

Qi Yuan nodded. "Alright."

Seeing this, the others' hesitation and scorn vanished. They hurriedly joined in.

"Fellow Daoist, count me in!"

"Qiyuann Sovereign, my sister and I want to join too!"

Once the door was open, no one bothered saving face anymore.

In just a few breaths, all eight ancient gods chose to follow Qi Yuan.

Qi Yuan smiled broadly. "One tower equals ten years. There are over a hundred towers here, you're signing up to work for me for

over a thousand years

."