New concept of the mysterious way to ascend to immortality

Chapter 64 Return to life and choose the path to strengthening! (Subscribe)
Trapped in the storage room, Yuan Zhu continued knocking on the door and shouted a few times.

Seeing no one coming to rescue him, he decisively gave up. He chose to mobilize the power of his uniform. The shadows beneath his feet squirmed, and a pitch-black shadow emerged from the darkness of the ground. It snaked upwards through the crack in the door and eventually drilled into the keyhole. It shaped, hardened, and twisted, successfully unlocking the door from the outside.

Xiao Latiao took every opportunity to praise and encourage: "Well done! Congratulations, boss, you have mastered another trick to make money in life!"

"I know what you want to say. But how could I, Yuan Zhu, be such a villain? Would I tell you that I'm worth 100kg of gold?"

With a cold snort of disdain, Yuan Zhu pushed the door open and walked out. He discovered that the Fire Fang Company had already closed for the day, and the corridor was empty.

He looked out the window. It was pitch black, the night had already deepened. It was a pity that his predecessor had been too frugal to even buy a second-hand mechanical watch. He could only call out to Little Latiao: "Sheshe, what time is it? Tell me the time."

"I don't know! I followed you, Boss, into Happy Home and lost my sense of reality. All I can accurately calculate is that from the time you were recruited by King Mao Mao, to your entry into the bubble world, and your brief return to Happy Home, a total of 19 hours and 41 minutes elapsed. This is your personal rate of time. I also noticed the clock in Happy Home. From the time we entered the bubble world and returned, the clock only ticked for 22 minutes."

"Is Du Ling's timeline so confusing? It's inconsistent everywhere, and everyone lives their own life."

Yuan Zhu scratched his head irritably, not knowing whether it was still today?

It was said that time and space were distorted and chaotic within the "Foam Layer," and he now somewhat understood what the captain was saying. The arrival of the Tomato Tribe in the Buddha Kingdom might have happened years ago, or perhaps in the future?

Arriving at the first-floor entrance, he checked the calendar and wall clock in front of him. It was still today, but it was already past 8 p.m. Five hours had already passed since his bubble trip, a greater time difference than he'd expected.

Using the shadow to unlock the door again, Yuan Zhu went out and locked the door. He then took the "13 Exorcism Rites" and left smoothly.

Walking alone on the street dotted with streetlights, feeling the cool, moist breeze blowing towards him, his mood gradually calmed down.

After suddenly leaving the bubble world and returning to Running, he felt extremely uncomfortable, his mind in a distorted state of detachment. The previous second, he was still frantically copying the redemption list details in [Happy Home].

Going further back, he transformed into a "Tiger Demon" and went on a rampage, traveling between the human and shadow worlds, hunting countless corpses and ghosts, and frantically spreading shadow pollution in the Youquan Pond, laying the groundwork for the second part of "Buddha Egg".

But now, he has returned to being an ordinary person, walking on this quiet street, observing everything around him from a third-person perspective.

Suddenly, he realized that his first impression of Running was not good.

This city is run-down and backward, a far cry from my home in 21st-century China. It feels like a dream trip back to the early th century, when the Western Industrial Revolution erupted, but now it's cloaked in the skin of Eastern civilization.

From the moment he descended, he experienced a sacrifice to the evil god, then was taken to the investigation bureau for questioning. After a nap, he immediately accepted the contamination of the Holy Light and fell for his boss's empty promises. He was filled with confusion about the future and felt that life was bleak.

Fortunately, the Mao Mao King intervened in time and dragged him into the Happy Home, into an even more insane and bizarre bubble world. He began by encountering a high-intensity wave of foul-bone monsters, followed by a plague of ghouls, the spread of crazy nightshades, and the enlightenment of Buddha nightshades... It was like a scene of apocalyptic disaster. Human life was worth less than dogs, with all kinds of sudden deaths, deformities, and resurrections, only to be destroyed again and the seeds were recovered.

After experiencing the baptism of the bubble world, fighting poison with poison, and re-adjusting his three views, [Maomao Wang] cured his mental exhaustion in minutes.

Even now, his mind was still filled with images of the eggplant-headed monk's head floating and exploding, the Duowen flower disk slapping its face and buds popping out... Guns blasting the eggplant-headed monk, shadows tearing through enemies, blood-red tomato juice and green blood splattering everywhere. The images were unforgettable, making him want to clench his fist and strike with all his might.

At this moment, the visual scene switches back to the quiet Running City. Even when walking on the dark road, there is no longer the tension and fear of walking at night last night.

As the moist night breeze blew, Yuan Zhu felt the night was truly beautiful, peaceful and tranquil. There was no death or slaughter, no pollution or distortion, no Hell or blood. Even the industrial waste gas in the air was so sweet, far more fragrant than the vegetable-flavored tomato juice and blood!
"I see Running, a place where the government is stable and the people are prosperous. It's so safe and wonderful."

Even though Running still had its flaws, compared to Yefo Kingdom, it was full of life, peaceful and tranquil, devoid of ghouls, filthy bones, or mad nightshades. Even the rats and mice lining the road, their eyes flickering with strange lights, seemed so endearing.

It's a pity that his rat was buried in the Diamond Temple forever. I wonder if he can be resurrected in the second part?

At this moment, he accepted Running City in his heart, and a large number of childhood memory fragments about Running burst out in his mind and were quickly digested and integrated by him.

He felt a special warmth towards Running, just like a migrant worker returning from work in another place, feeling safe and relaxed after returning to his hometown.

"I'm becoming more and more like an indigenous person." Looking at the unfamiliar streets, Yuan Zhu found them more and more pleasing to the eye, and the more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. Even the exhaust gas in the air seemed so familiar.

Mm, it’s the taste of childhood!

Xiao La Tiao: "Integrate and adapt early. You can't go back anyway, so work hard to live the rest of your life well. You were too mediocre on Earth, but now that you have my help, you can achieve great things. Keep working hard!"

"What a nice smell! It smells like barbecue. The cooking is really good."

Even from a long distance, Yuan Zhu could smell the aroma of chili and cumin in the air. The aroma was also mixed with unfamiliar spices, making it particularly tempting and stimulating his appetite. He instantly became hungry, so he quickened his pace and headed towards the direction where the aroma came from.

Soon, he saw a mobile roadside stall under a street lamp. Several people were gathered in groups of three or four around it, waiting in line for the boss to deliver the goods.

Yuan Zhu also came forward and pulled out the wallet he had picked up at the sacrifice ceremony, ready to splurge. But when he leaned over and looked, his pupils trembled again!
I thought I had already integrated into my identity and was considered a genuine old Running. Unexpectedly, I underestimated you, Running!
Roasted rats, roasted insects, roasted unknown wriggling pieces of meat, roasted super-large earthworms, roasted exploding pupils... The style of painting and the smell are completely two extremes!
However, the appetite strangely did not subside. Instead, the speed of gastrointestinal motility increased due to the close stimulation of the barbecue aroma.

Brain: No, you don’t want to eat it.

Eyes: Ah, I am polluted!

Body, stomach, mouth: No, I want to eat!
Brain: Damn, yes, I want to eat it too!

Eyes: Someone please save me! Oh my god, I want to eat that!

At this time, a couple who were leaning against each other in line in front of Yuan Zhu asked for a deluxe kebab called 'Couple Tentacles'.

Two sets of tenacious tentacles endured the scorching heat of the charcoal fire below while sprinkling salt, pepper, cumin, and unknown spices on the wounds. They stubbornly curled around each other, just like the silk stockings and jackets after the Titanic's silence, tightly grasping pairs of tentacles. Death cannot separate us!

"Boss, we want our couple's skewers cooked medium-rare, but don't overcook them. We love that slightly suffocating feeling of a suction cup gripping our throats. Add some spice, and the burning sting is a true testament to unforgettable love."

The boss nodded in agreement: "Alright! Super spicy, 6% done."

Under the stimulation of the chili pepper, the pairs of tentacles began to curl violently, twitching irregularly, and even frequently changing color, flashing through starry blue and fluorescent green one by one. What kind of species is this? Why is it so dreamy?

"So beautiful! Slurp!" The woman in the couple's eyes were obsessed, and she slurped her saliva uncontrollably. Is this the visualization of dreamy love?

Yuan Zhu shook his head fiercely and got rid of the illusion of the fragrance. He wondered in his heart that this [Immortal Scripture] did not alert the police, so how come he was trapped in it too?

Xiao Latiao: "Boss, I think the [Xian Jing Lao Deng]'s constant howling is too sensitive and disturbing. So I raised the upper limit of the pollution alarm and turned on Do Not Disturb mode. Those noises have been intelligently blocked. Unless they threaten the 'Soul Firewall' or attract my special attention, the [Xian Jing] will not disturb you when you encounter ordinary pollution. If you are interested, I will send you the 'pollution attack data' in a table."

"No need for that. How serious is the pollution from this barbecue stall?"

"It's normal strength. The boss's deviation is normal, the ingredients' deviation is normal, and the seasoning's deviation is also normal. It's just that the recipe + ingredients + the boss's cooking experience are combined together to cleverly trigger a chain reaction, and the pollution effect bursts out beyond the level. This is probably the legendary [cooking skills]! Turning decay into magic, the 'flash cooking' and undressing cooking' recorded in your mind also follow a similar principle." Kodama Kyoko analyzed it clearly.

"There's a big problem with your database."

Yuan Zhu didn't bother to correct the mistake, as the couple had already left, clinging to their 'couple' skewers. Unable to pull the skewers apart, they simply reached out and began eating simultaneously. The more they ate, the closer their mouths moved, their faces flushed red from the spiciness, and they felt a faint sense of suffocation... The air was filled with the sour, stench of love.

"What do you want, little brother?"

"This is frogs, right? Give me five, they're a bit heavier in flavor." Yuan Zhu had already made his selections and said, pointing at the skinned frogs.

The four biggest words on the sign of this roadside stall are [Famous Grilled Frog], so he chose the most acceptable "Famous Grilled Frog", which is much safer than grilled insects or grilled rats.

"Five, can you finish them?" The owner spread out a plate of skewered frogs, each the size of an adult's open palm. Five roasted frogs were more than one person could possibly finish.

"Don't worry, I can finish it. How much is it?"

"Five cents."

Yuan Zhu: "Tsk, so expensive!"

"This is a time-honored craft, a time-honored brand. You'll never forget it after trying it once. I guarantee you'll want to come back again next time."

While waiting, Yuan Zhu struck up a conversation: "Boss, frogs should be very cheap, right?" "Of course, they are. Frogs are probably the biggest specialty of Running. They are everywhere in the mountains, from forests to rivers, swamps and wetlands... There are endless frogs, absolutely endless. In the rainy season, frogs are given away for free. I've been eating them since I was a child and I'm sick of them. But why is my business so prosperous? It's my craftsmanship, turning something ordinary into something magical. The frogs that the kids next door vomit after eating, when I get them, will make you cry with greed after a full meal."

While sorting through the fragments of his memories, Yuan Zhu boasted, "This frog seems to be the Second Sima. Is there anything special about roasting it and eating it directly?"

"I've roasted the first Simian Ming for you, let alone the second?" The boss pointed at the skewers of rats on the tray, then gave a lewd, 'you know what I mean' smile. "There's a trick to it, though. Eating the first Simian Ming makes you smarter, eating the second Simian Ming strengthens your virility. Eating the third Simian Ming prevents insomnia, and the fourth Simian Ming improves your eyesight..."

The boss announced the dishes and pointed to other trays, including skewers of mushrooms, skewers of spiders...

Are they stringing up all the symbols of the twelve deities and selling them on a stick? The people of Running are really brave! But they just don't know how to cook the sixth deity, so are they just eating dirt?

More than ten minutes later, Yuan Zhu was carrying a heavy bag of the famous heavy-flavored roasted frog wrapped in paper. He was crunching the soft, tender and crispy frog legs while walking towards home.

"Wow, it's delicious. Boss, eat slowly, chew slowly, don't wolf it down, let me savor it more carefully. It smells so good!"

Get the permission to share the sensory taste of spicy snacks with Yuan Zhu, and fall into the void of enjoyment. One roasted frog, two pleasures. This is virtual eating broadcast!

Sharing the host's senses, Little Latiao curiously asked, "Boss, have you considered the extraordinary enhancement of your human identity?"

In the [Happy Home], Yuan Zhu searched for a large amount of information. In addition to the officially recognized major systems such as [Immortal Dao (Kunlun, Huangtian), Buddhism, Holy Temple, Law], it also included different extraordinary systems from all over the world such as [Sword Immortal, Knowledge School, Anti-Law, Fire King, Loose Immortal, Sea of Consciousness, Steam Totem, Iron Knight...].

After this summary, he discovered that Du Ling's extraordinary system was bound to different "sources of power (pollution sources)". Once one chose to enter, he would be restricted to this system.

Therefore, it is somewhat similar to the sequence pathway of 'Secret World', but the differences are greater.

There's no sequence to the "contaminated path" of the Duling spirit. It's just that after entering, it's locked. It's not impossible to switch paths or practice concurrently. It's just that practitioners themselves don't want to.

Getting started is simple, no potions are needed, just accept the pollution and you're good to go. Advancing is also very easy, no role-playing is required, just keep accumulating pollution and you'll be able to break through the sky and ascend in broad daylight.

Sometimes, people with special abilities are not afraid of becoming stronger quickly, but of becoming stronger too quickly... Changing paths is difficult. The difficulty lies in not being able to clean up the old pollution that has already been contaminated, rather than ingesting another new pollution.

Simply covering is impossible, it will only cause mixing, rampage and loss of control.

Therefore, practicing both simultaneously was not difficult at all. Simply by absorbing both types of pollution and integrating them into one's core, they could counteract each other, becoming stronger at the speed of light. Simultaneously, they were accompanied by flammability and explosion, schizophrenia, attribute conflicts, double paradoxical distortion, and sudden death at the speed of light... It was a refreshing, clear death.

After studying various power systems, Yuan Zhu discovered a unique characteristic. The exchange list contained countless contaminated types. Among them, the most powerful and seemingly safest types offered very limited improvement in strength after entry, effectively making them weak. The requirements for advancement were relatively more complex and demanding.

It seems that these systems are slow to improve and weak in strength, but the forces they correspond to are the largest, most powerful, with the most gods and the widest influence in the world.

On the contrary, some low-brow, unknown pollution sources have low barriers to entry, are easy to get into, quickly develop strength, and have strong expressiveness. No matter how you look at them, they are strong.

Finally, there's the "Forbidden Pollution Source," a super-dangerous villain designated by the real-name system. While the barrier to entry is similarly low, their potential and ceiling are just as high as those of the reputable and upright. The price is a frantic, swift death.

After making this comprehensive comparison, Yuan Zhu actually favored the officially certified "reputable and upright" ones. Although they were both equally exciting, they were safer, more stable, and more controllable!

"So, Boss, which way have you decided to go?"

Yuan Zhu: "Tomorrow I'll go to 'Rain Courtyard' and see how good the paid consulting service recommended by the boss is. But I've already made up my mind. As you said, the Tiger Demon's [Shadow] may truly be our foundation. Then, strengthening the human body is mainly about pursuing an upright and aboveboard status. It is a cover for others to see, and it is also my second foundation. Therefore, it must be legal and compliant to ensure my identity is more stable. At the same time, the system of a reputable and upright sect is highly secure and has a high potential limit. Even if the entry is difficult and the performance is mediocre, I don't seek this little power. I have plenty of power (Shadow)!"

Xiao La Tiao: "So are you a local cultivator? Or a Buddhist? Or are you working for the pale law for nothing?"

"Neither! I've set my eyes on [Holy Light]." Yuan Zhu narrowed his eyes and swallowed the frog meat in his mouth.

After comparing all the major systems, he was actually somewhat drawn to the "Knowledge School." After all, his previous life's education had taught him that "knowledge is power" and "science is the primary productive force," so he was still a believer in "Learning Paths."

Unfortunately, my education level in this world is too low, my knowledge reserves are limited, and I lack extraordinary knowledge, so I can't get started. Moreover, this system is very cumbersome, requiring years of experimentation and personal summary of extraordinary knowledge to accumulate and become stronger bit by bit: slow!

Not only is it slow, it also tests talent and aptitude. Even if a fool puts in ten times the effort, relying solely on hard work, he or she can't match the flash of genius. Within the [knowledge system], IQ discrimination is rampant, and it's daunting to look at.

At the same time, if you just want to study the [School of Knowledge], then there is no need to go deep into this system. Just buy a "Skull Servo", then teach yourself extraordinary knowledge, do some small research and hobbies, and you can simply drive some basic "knowledge models", which can be regarded as a stepping stone to the door of this system.

Other supernatural systems also have similar operations. For example, the [Mao Mao Wang] uniform is a prop that freely uses the power of "silk thread" and can also be fed with polluted energy to grow without paying the price of pollution.

In comparison, the [Holy Light System] stands out.

Xiao La Tiao: "Ah? Holy Light? No way, Boss, you're tired of living. Are you going to imitate Lü Rang and commit self-harm?"

Although [Holy Light] is not as proactive in pursuing self-mutilation and pain as [Sword Immortal], after being branded with the 'Holy Mark', it will endlessly burn its own life and lifespan, which is still very painful and will accompany it for a lifetime.

Even if one does not activate the [Holy Light] on a normal day and is only in sleep mode with the lowest energy consumption, in the long run, this will still result in a considerable loss of lifespan.

[Holy Light] Ages quickly, dies even faster! This is common knowledge. A single move can cost lives. After a fierce battle, recuperation takes a month, followed by a weakened state for the better part of half a year.

"Yes, it's Holy Light, but it doesn't self-harm. Have you forgotten the health recovery function of the [Boss Template]?"

"Huh?" The elf was taken aback. The boss's human form and the [Boss Template] were strictly separate. The only connection between the two was probably the [Tiger Demon Form], which could conveniently cover and repair the human form's injuries, and it was also optional and could be automatically disabled.

Xiao La Tiao suddenly realized: "You mean, in human form, burn life to release holy light, then find a place to hide, activate the [Boss Template] to recover health and replenish consumption?"

"Correct!"

"However, the [Holy Light] cannot simply burn vitality. At the low level, perhaps blood recovery can make up for it. But when the [Holy Light System] becomes stronger and enters a higher stage, what is burned is not just life, but also lifespan and other more precious things." The elf warned.

"I understand, but isn't [Shadow] my foundation? [Holy Light] is just a cover, a tool for me to familiarize myself with the local pollution system of the Duling spirits. As long as I keep energy consumption to a minimum, I can completely use [Health Bar] to replace the consumption. In the long run, the consumption of [Holy Light] on me will be zero!"

"As for the more powerful form of Holy Light, we'll discuss it later. I chose Holy Light for another crucial reason: it's extremely exclusive and pure. While still a form of pollution, it looks stunning, sacred, and has healing properties, all of which enhance my 'Saint' persona. Zhou Chu's identity as an investigator, combined with his ability to build favorability, makes him inherently trustworthy. And I, choosing Holy Light, am a saint, a nurse, a doctor, someone who burns herself to illuminate others, which also garners initial favorability."

"Secondly, the influence of the Holy Temple spans the globe. If I hold the Holy Light in one hand and gold in the other, then all the Holy Lights in the world will be one family. It will be easy to establish connections, use the Holy Light's name to manipulate others, and act under the Holy Temple's name. Finally, the Holy Light's domineering exclusivity can purify (repel) other pollutants, making it ideal for research. Not only can we study the Holy Light itself, but we can also use it as a tool to restrain, purify, and stimulate other pollution sources, thereby analyzing their properties."

After consulting the exchange list, Yuan Zhu discovered that those thin polluting energies could actually be killed by the [Super Concentrated Holy Light]. This was the unique and domineering exclusivity of the Holy Light.

Therefore, after mastering the Holy Light, you can conduct targeted testing and stimulation on the pollution source, and even kill the impurities in it, purify the pure pollution, and hand it over to the [Boss Template] for research.

Similarly, due to its extreme exclusivity, [Holy Light] also possesses a sealing property. Surround a cat with cucumbers to seal it. Similarly, smear the pollution source with Holy Light above, below, and on all sides, leaving it with nowhere to escape and forced to retreat into a huddle. This is the seal!
Compared to the "assimilation" attribute of Buddhism that dares to touch, convert, and absorb all kinds of garbage, the simple and crude exclusivity of [Holy Light] is more favored by Yuan Zhu.

As for [Kunlun] and [Huangtian]? [Kunlun]'s roots are in the Gen Continent, and the New Continent lacks a market.

As for the local [Huang Tian]?
Huang Tian is dead! Who will repair it?
Not to mention [Pale Law], a pure laborer. No matter how you look at it, [Holy Light] is relatively reliable, isn't it just a stigma?

"Fellow Daoist Yu Jingzi, I heard that you can block my pain to a certain extent?"

Yu Jingzi asked: "Are you asking me to help you block out the pain caused by the 'Stigmata'?"

"Yes!"

Yu Jingzi nodded in the mental channel: "It should be possible. Neurological shielding is not difficult. But if it is the burning pain at the soul level, I can't do it. But you can use the permission of the [Soul Firewall] to block it."

"Perfect!" Yuan Zhu wolfed down the last roasted frog, patted his bloated belly, and nodded with satisfaction. "I wonder what kind of extraordinary system is hidden in the local academy in Running? Can it have the potential to surpass [Holy Light]?"

Xiao La Tiao: "I guess it must be the [Steam Totem]. Running is full of old-fashioned steam factories. Yuyuan was originally opened for mining, digging for coal, gemstones, and metal deposits."

"[Steam Totem] Ah! I remember one of my dreams in life was to take over the lighting factory and become a big boss. Now that I have a golden Buddha statue in my hand, perhaps I can try to buy this factory? If it really has a 'Totem Steam Engine'."

(End of this chapter)