I am cautiously cultivating immortals in a strange world

Chapter 2235 Cooperation
Chen Lin quickly processed the information provided by the other party.

Although it's impossible to determine whether it's true or false, even if it's a lie, there must be some truth to it.

"Which side are you on?"

"correct."

"I haven't even asked you your name yet. How should I address you? I probably wouldn't like to be called Xiao Jinxia."

Chen Lin did not answer the other party's question, but continued to probe with his own questions.

"A true man does not change his name or surname. I am Dugu Batian, the ancestor of the Dugu family. I belong to the third camp and have the ability to break away from the camp. If you cooperate with me, I can tell you some secret information."

Dugu Batian...

Chen Lin's lips twitched slightly.

The other party's current state has nothing to do with Batian, so it's no wonder that the other party is angry.

suddenly.

He thought of the woman in the phoenix crown and Qiu Yebai. Were they also life experience participants? If so, then the situation here was too bizarre.

"How do you want to cooperate?"

Chen Lin stopped resisting, because what the other party said about men turning into women was very likely true, since he had personally experienced it.

"Tell me about your task first?"

Dugu Batian repeated the question from before.

Chen Lin shook his head.

"I can't tell you the details of the mission, but I haven't joined any faction, so there's definitely no conflict between us. You don't need to worry about us becoming enemies."

"Didn't join the faction?"

Dugu Batian raised an eyebrow.

He asked doubtfully, "So that means you've never entered the temple before, then how were you able to learn a divine-level technique?"

"Other ways."

Chen Lin did not give a direct answer.

He has learned a lot of information in the past two years.

The temple's techniques are divided into two types: ordinary and divine.

The upper limit of ordinary cultivation techniques is the Mang Realm.

Although there is further content, it is basically impossible to become a cage realm unless one obtains power from a god, but one must enter the temple first; divine pills and other similar items are useless.

There are no restrictions on divine-level cultivation techniques.

However, there is a prerequisite.

It must be used by the recipient personally, because the technique has a lineage meaning that only the recipient can absorb.

Others who obtain divine-level techniques will also be limited to the Mang Realm because they lack the inheritance of the artistic conception.

His success was due to the red-haired rat's improvement of the technique, breaking the rules and restrictions of the technique; otherwise, no amount of resources could have helped him achieve it.

"If you don't want to say it, forget it."

Dugu Batian did not force him.

Then he asked, "Have you seen a temple?"

"Saw it."

This time, Chen Lin did not hide anything.

Dugu Batian remained silent for a moment, then scrutinized Chen Lin for a while.

He said with some excitement, "After all these years, a decent participant has finally appeared. You were able to resist the temple's summons, so you must have primordial-level talent, right?"

Chen Lin's heart skipped a beat.

He countered, "Isn't entering the temple entirely voluntary? It seems there's no question of resistance."

"hehe."

Dugu Batian sneered.

"You really don't know anything. The temple and the ferry of life are hostile forces. Other beings can choose freely, but we life experiencers don't have that kind of treatment."

"Hostile forces?"

Chen Lin looked shocked.

He immediately asked, "What kind of forces are these two? Does Senior Dugu know?"

The Ferry of Life is known as one of the most mysterious objects in the cultivation world. If he could understand the truth behind it, it would definitely be of great help to his future actions. The fact that the temple could contend with it made him even more surprised.

"do not know."

Dugu Batian gave Chen Lin a disappointing answer.

But he immediately spoke again.

"Although I don't know the secrets behind the two, I do know that this temple must be related to the Heavenly God Palace, and it may be the work of the Heavenly God they worship."

Heavenly Palace?
Chen Lin was somewhat skeptical. "Although the Heavenly God Palace is powerful, it hasn't reached the point where it can rival the Ferry of Life, has it?"

"The Heavenly God Palace is definitely not an option."

Dugu Batian replied.

"But I'm referring to the gods they worship. Those guys in the Heavenly God Palace may seem powerful, but they're actually just servants of the Heavenly God. It's just that the Heavenly God never shows himself, so most people don't know that."

Chen Lin digested the information.

He then asked, "Since the beings behind the Heavenly God Palace are so powerful, why not just eliminate the life experience participants instead of bestowing upon us a treasure to enhance our strength?"

Dugu Batian was taken aback upon hearing this.

He looked Chen Lin up and down again.

"You're not a cultivator from Star Ruins, are you? And the level of the realm you're in shouldn't be high."

“How come you see?”

Chen Lin remained expressionless, not wanting the other party to guess too much.

Dugu Batian stroked his chin.

His eyes gleamed faintly.

"Because you don't even understand advanced rules and techniques, but you can still obtain primordial abilities in a low-level interface, which is enough to prove your strong luck. Perhaps you really can complete the mission and get out."

Chen Lin understood somewhat.

Xiao Hua and others had previously explained to him that while advanced rule-based methods are powerful, they have many limitations, and even the user cannot change the established rules, otherwise the power will be immediately weakened.

Even disappear.

The cultivation methods of innate beings like Hitis are similar to this situation.

"you have not answer my question yet."

Chen Lin steered the conversation back to the main topic.

Since the other party thinks he knows nothing, then let them think that way. He doesn't care about saving face; the more he's looked down upon, the better.

"Because if rules and methods are to be used to their fullest potential, they cannot break the established rules."

"besides."

"The more complex and reasonable the rules are, the more powerful they will be."

Explained it.

Dugu Batian continued, "Compared to the Ferry of Life, the Temple is still at a disadvantage. According to my guess, the main reason is that the Ferry of Life is an independently operating rule treasure that has been separated from its owner."

"And the temple is still controlled by the user."

"Therefore, since we cannot directly confront each other with rules, we set up faction restrictions for the life experience participants, making us experience participants kill each other and reducing the number of experience participants."

"This rule only applies to us; other beings do not have any faction affiliation."

"What is the purpose of that temple?"

Chen Lin frowned and asked.

The other party's words were somewhat credible because his life treasure chest mission also involved breaking through the Heavenly God Palace, and the life ferry seemed to be truly hostile to the Heavenly God Palace.

But their purpose is really hard to guess.

Dugu Batian shook his head.

"I don't know either, but there must be some kind of treasure in this interface that the creatures in the temple covet, which is why they did this."

Chen Lin immediately thought of the Primordial Monument.

But then again, it doesn't seem quite right.

In the Crimson Ape Interface, the Heavenly God Palace also went to find the Primordial Stele, but only ordinary disciples went there. However, the one who came here was the deity behind the Heavenly God Palace.

The gap is too big.

Of course, it's not entirely impossible. After all, the information about the Primordial Monument in the Crimson Ape Realm is unclear, only suspected. And that Senior Brother Han Wangxian acted on his own without informing the Heavenly God Palace.

This interface definitely contains the Primordial Monument, which is in the hands of the woman with the golden crown.

Think of this.

Chen Lin asked a question.

"Is it also related to the rules of the temple that life explorers turn into women?"

"No."

Dugu Batian immediately denied it.

Then, with a grim expression, he said, "No one knows the reason. It should be related to the original rules of this world, or it may be influenced by the strange kingdom."

There was a pause.

He stared intently at Chen Lin.

"You can maintain your male form, so you must have the ability to control the rules and perhaps sense the source?"

Chen Lin hesitated for a moment.

He offered a conjecture: "It's most likely due to the rules of the strange kingdom. I can maintain my gender because I possess the legacy of the Punisher King."

It's no secret that he uses the Soul-Destroying Finger; the other party must know this too, so there's no need for them to lie about it.

Lowering the other party's trust level is not beneficial.

"Sure enough."

Dugu Batian was not surprised.

He immediately asked, "What level have you reached in your torture techniques? Have you achieved a rank?"

Chen Lin's eyes flickered.

The other party seemed to know Xing Junyi very well.

Even he didn't know that torture techniques had different grades, and the Silver Fairy didn't mention it either.

So he tentatively asked, "Senior, are you very familiar with the Xingjun lineage? What does rank mean? How many ranks are there in the art of punishment?"

"You do not know?"

Dugu Batian was stunned.

He nodded slightly, as if to agree.

“That’s right. Ever since Yun Feiyu and the Nightmare King perished together, it seems that no powerful Punishment Lord has appeared, and the inheritance of punishment techniques has gradually withered away. Otherwise, the strange kingdom wouldn’t be so rampant.”

At this point, he said to Chen Lin, "The art of punishment has ranks. Only those who reach the lowest rank can be called Punishment Lords, that is, lower-ranking Punishment Lords. Then there are the middle and upper ranks."

“I’ve seen you use torture techniques. They are quite powerful, but they’re not high-grade, so it’s difficult to completely resolve the strange rules.”

then.

Dugu Batian asked hopefully, "How long will it take you to advance your torture techniques to the lower grade?"

Chen Lin gave a wry smile.

"Senior, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I only received a small portion of the inheritance, so I'm afraid I won't be able to advance to the rank of Punisher. If you want to return to your male form, you should find another way."

"No lineage?"

Dugu Batian's face darkened.

Take a deep breath.

Suppress your emotions and keep your tone as gentle as possible.

“I see you’re using finger techniques, which should belong to Yun Feiyu’s Ziwei Town Prison lineage. I was also interested in torture techniques in the past, and I traded some information about torture techniques from the Moqigan tribe.”

"I'll send someone to deliver it to you later, see if you can use it."

"But it's not free."

"If this helps you improve, you must help me resolve the strange rules governing me and restore me to my male form. Otherwise, I, the dignified patriarch of the Dugu family, will be ridiculed for turning into a delicate woman."

Chen Lin was overjoyed.

He quickly cupped his hands in thanks, saying, "Thank you for bestowing this teaching upon me, senior!"

This was truly an effortless windfall; he never expected to gain such a reward. Otherwise, if he hadn't found the Silver Fairy, his path to becoming the Executioner would have been cut off.

Even if we find the Silver Fairy, she may not regain her memories.

However, the phrase "Ziwei Town Prison" mentioned by the other party made him think of Ziwei Palace, and then of Mingyue Shuanghua. Could it be that the other party was also a tyrant?

Chen Lin was about to ask.

Dugu Batian's tone was solemn.

He said in a deep voice, "Just remember my favor, and don't try to renege on it. My debts, Dugu Batian's debts, are not to be renegeped on easily."

"Senior, don't worry."

Chen Lin hurriedly made a promise.

Then he immediately asked, "Senior, could you tell me about the matter of the Punisher, so that I can learn more about it? This will also help improve my skills in punishment."

"I will write it down for you; just wait to receive the letter."

Dugu Batian waved his hand.

I looked at the ripples in the water around me.

He quickened his pace and said, "The time for the Soul Shadow Cup is almost up. To make a long story short, if you choose to join a faction, you must join the first or third faction. The second faction conflicts with my mission."

"in addition."

"If you can avoid entering the temple, try not to go in."

"Otherwise, there is a possibility of being trapped inside."

"Furthermore, your situation is special, making you vulnerable to being targeted by the gods behind the scenes. Once you are tainted by the aura of the gods' rules, you may be targeted by the Ferry of Life, leading to unpredictable consequences."

A brief pause.

Dugu Batian continued to give instructions.

"Remember this now."

"If you absolutely must enter a temple, do not enter the temple with the two-headed statue. That is the second faction. As for what to do after that, I will communicate with you later."

The voice just fell.

Space becomes unstable.

Seeing this, Chen Lin hurriedly asked, "Senior, please tell me the rules of each faction so that I can prepare accordingly. If the rules conflict with my mission, I can avoid them."

"Do not worry."

Dugu Batian's figure grew fainter and fainter.

The sound also became muffled.

Faintly, one could also hear something like, "This is a very difficult life mission with a long time limit. You should improve your torture skills first and then solve my physical condition."

"correct."

"Don't contact me outside, and don't reveal your identity as a life experience participant. If you have anything to say, I'll contact you again next time using the Soul Shadow Cup..."

The sound fades away.

Chen Lin felt a jolt around him, and his consciousness returned to his body.

He was still extending the cup, and Bai Qingshui's expression was exactly the same as before, as he was making a gesture of accepting the cup with both hands.

Nothing has changed.

It was as if nothing had just happened.

Chen Lin looked surprised and suspicious.

This Soul Shadow Cup even has a time rule; the inside is static relative to the outside, just like a ferryboat for life.

This is definitely no ordinary treasure.

No wonder they used this method to communicate; it must be to shield the connection between the temple and the ferry of life, preventing their conversation from being leaked.

This also proves that Dugu Batian was truly anxious.

Otherwise, a treasure of this caliber wouldn't be delivered to him in this way, without any fear of losing it. Moreover, the other party seems to have some reservations and doesn't want to meet him directly.

"No need to send it over."

Chen Lin took the cup back.

He waved for Bai Qingshui to leave, then went into the cultivation room to study the cup.

But no matter how they investigated, they found nothing unusual.

"Things are a bit complicated!"

Chen Lin muttered something to himself and put the cup back into his bag.

He has no clue about the mission right now. Although Dugu Batian is mysterious, he is still a lead. He will try to make contact with him first and then decide what to do based on the situation.

My own plans continue.

As for the temple.

Chen Lin took out the divine token and looked at it.

He originally planned to summon the temple. This divine decree could fulfill one of his requests, and its potential was quite high. If it could allow him to directly advance to the Wheel Realm or successfully dispel his soul, it would solve his major problem.

Even if it doesn't bring anything into reality, it still helps in completing the task.

However, Dugu Batian's words made him hesitate, and he could only wait and see.

Because there is no mark on the token, it is impossible to determine which temple is summoned. If it happens to be the one from the second faction, then it is impossible to cooperate with the other side.

They might even become enemies.

Put the token away.

Chen Lin pondered the other party's words to see if there were any loopholes.

There are still some doubts.

The rule of becoming a woman inherently contains inconsistencies.

He himself, Tiezhu, and the red-haired rat remained unchanged, which could be attributed to their inherent specialness. He was the inheritor of the Punishment King, Tiezhu had a high life level, and the red-haired rat's form was solidified.

But there are still three other races: the Blue Alien, Hua Yi, and Tao Ling.

Both the Peach Spirit and the Blue Alien are very mysterious and may not be bound by rules.

But spending one definitely won't work.

According to Dugu Batian, Hua Yi, being a woman, could not have been successfully summoned by him to come in and become his helper.

unless.

Chen Lin touched his chin.

If the rule is true, there are two possibilities.

One was that Hua Yi had concealed something from him, possessing special circumstances unknown to him; the other was the old carrier pigeon's manipulation, allowing beings connected to him to be exempt from this rule.

But neither possibility is very likely.

I shook my head, trying not to think about it anymore.

Chen Lin decided to remain unchanged and continue at his own pace, treating Dugu Batian as just an interlude and not allowing himself to be swayed by the other party.

An hour later.

Bai Qingshui came to pay his respects again.

"My lord, Xiao Jinxia has sent you another piece of jade. She said that if you don't want to return the wine cup, you can return the handkerchief instead, and she is willing to exchange it for this piece of jade."

"Oh?"

Chen Lin raised an eyebrow slightly.

He had a feeling that the other party had pulled this stunt just for that handkerchief.

But it shouldn't be that bad.

In his opinion, the Soul Shadow Cup was far more valuable than the handkerchief, and besides, the handkerchief was an item from this world, so it might not be possible to take it out.

Whether it is or not.

In short, it's definitely not wrong not to give it to the other party.

Chen Lin took the spirit jade, glanced at it, and confirmed that it was an object for recording information.

Out of caution.

He conjured a true soul body to examine it.

I flipped through it for a while.

Chen Lin's eyes gleamed with excitement.

The jade slip contained a lot of information, much of which was useless, but it did contain some content on the theory of torture, which ultimately led to the Soul-Destroying Finger.

This gave him a new understanding of this form of torture.

Given enough time, and by leveraging the effects of the Pure Heart, it might be possible to deduce the follow-up to the Soul-Destroying Finger technique.

But we'll have to try to find out if it works.

This situation reminded Chen Lin of the red-haired rat again. If the other party didn't leave, and with sufficient theoretical support, deduce the subsequent techniques would be a piece of cake.

"What are you afraid of with just one peach?"

Chen Lin muttered a complaint to himself.

Then take out a few rare spiritual herbs obtained from the spiritual herb garden.

Give it to Bai Qingshui.

He instructed, "Have the people Xiao Jinxia sent take these spiritual herbs back. Tell them that I've already damaged the handkerchief, and use these rare and precious herbs as compensation. If you're not satisfied, I'll replace them later."

"Yes!"

Bai Qingshui accepted the order and left.

Chen Lin then entered a state of childlike innocence and continued to peruse the contents of the jade slip.