The Path to Immortality: Starting with an Analysis of Basic Concepts

The border of the Mechanical City.

Zhu Yu snapped out of his reverie, glanced at the vintage car parked in the desertified area, and with a slight thought, opened the "Heavenly Dao Sect" group chat.

I glanced at it briefly.

Most of the inquiries were from "Huiyue Zhenren".

They were asking about the progress of the "Martial World's" invasion, the "Three Paths Spirit Ruins," and the "Flower God Spirit Ruins," which originated from the "Palace Prison," one of the "Five Punishment Prisons."

They went on and on about the heyday of "Immortal Tomb and Spirit Ruins".

They didn't even glance at the "Three Paths Spirit Ruins".

The women chattered on about "Flower Goddess's Ruins".

He repeatedly warned that one should not tarnish the reputation of "Immortal Tomb and Spiritual Ruins" when out in public.

He looks just like an old man worried that his child will be bullied and mistreated outside...

"How old is the True Immortal Huiyue now?...

The thought flashed through his mind, and Zhu Yu prepared to turn back and ask the Nine-Headed Immortal and the others. After a moment's thought, he mentally entered several lines of text.

The information known to the Mechanical City, also known as the "Dawn," as well as the exchange ratio for "Spirit Ruins Origin" to mid-grade spirit stones, were sent out.

The message popped up immediately after it was sent.

【"Shining Moon Immortal": Junior Brother Yinming is indeed worthy of being a member of my sect. You're only at the first level of Foundation Establishment, yet you dare to venture deep into the "Gensokyo" treasure realm seeking opportunities. We shall drink a toast to you.】

[Image: Drinking under the moon]

[Nine-Headed Immortal: Already inside, a shady establishment.]

[Dead Soul Master: Bought something useful, Black.]

[Master Chongshui: Dark as it may be, it has some good stuff. @Master Huiyue, has the sect leader considered inviting it to reside in the "Immortal Tomb and Spirit Ruins"? The junior brothers can also benefit from it...]

【Master Hanyan: +1】

【Lianhua Zhenren: +1】

【…】

【"Huiyue Zhenren": @Chongshui Zhenren, when my junior brother advances to "Chongshui Zhenjun", this matter may be considered.】

【"Huiyue Zhenren": @Fenghou Zhenren, are you still alive?】

[Falling Cloud Master: @Wind Howl Master, are you still alive?]

[Yinming Zhenren: @Fenghou Zhenren, are you still alive?]

[Nine-Headed Immortal: ...]

【…】

[Bai Ze Zhenren: Tragic...]

[“Shining Moon Immortal”: Hiss, is there any hope?]

[Bai Ze Zhenren: Misfortune and fortune are intertwined.]

[Nine-Headed Immortal: Envious! ...]

[True Man of Falling Clouds: Envious! ...]

【…】

Seeing the string of repeated capital letters of envy, Zhu Yu's eyes showed a strange look, not at the situation of "Wind Howling Immortal", but at the reaction of the "Heavenly Dao Sect" members to the words of "Bai Ze Immortal".

He recalled the mythical legends about "Bai Ze" from his previous life, who "understood the feelings of all things and knew the affairs of ghosts and gods."

Then, recalling that before the conquest of Yongzhou, "Master Bai Ze" said that there might be something strange about Yongzhou, glanced at him on the way, and then said that nothing was wrong...

"hiss…"

Zhu Yu couldn't help but gasp, and made up his mind that he should never offend this "Master Bai Ze" who could predict the future unless absolutely necessary.

Suppressing his thoughts, he looked at the group chat again.

While others were talking about "Wind Howler," Nine-Headed Master tagged him with a message.

[Nine-Headed Immortal: @Yinming Immortal, Junior Brother, are you planning to use "Spiritual Ruins Origin" to exchange for spirit stones to buy items on the "Dawn"?]

It's best not to waste "Spiritual Ruins Origin". You can exchange low-level resources for resource points to buy them. Don't you have "Fish People" to raise? Raising too many is a burden, so you might as well sell some.

As for the exchange rate between "Spiritual Ruins Origin" and mid-grade spirit stones, it's roughly one to one thousand.

Zhu Yu was stunned for a moment, then came to his senses and slapped his forehead.

Yes.

"Painted fish people" are also a kind of resource.

Thinking of this, he immediately manifested the bronze gate, pulled out a robust, first-tier ordinary Tu Yuren, took out several kinds of spirit rice he had plundered, and after thinking for a moment, added a "Life Stone", several spiritual food items, and a "Martial World" divine seed.

He split off a wisp of his spirit, packed it up, and rode in an antique car back towards "Mechanical City".

Raul Prosthetics Shop.

As soon as Zhu Yu got out of the car, he saw Raul, dressed in a smart suit, stride up to him with a smile that was much more enthusiastic than when he said he wanted to buy a medical robot.

He first bowed, then eagerly said:

"Let's talk inside."

As he spoke, he looked at the trunk of the car and waved to the two robots standing guard at the door.

The two entered the shop chatting and laughing.

Two robots followed behind, dragging the packaged goods.

In the store.

Without wasting words, Zhu Yu reached out and took the goods from the robot's hands, brought them closer, waved them open, looked at Raul, and smiled:

"Raul, give me an estimate."

Raul nodded, and couldn't wait to squat down. He immediately grabbed the rice-grain-sized green crystal, also known as the "Life Stone," carefully raised it, aimed it at the light, and his eyes flashed with a waterfall of information.

A few breaths later.

His eyes narrowed unusually, and he turned to look at Zhu Yu, saying solemnly:

"Blessings, Raul can give you one hundred resource points for this precious crystal containing the power of ancient life."

Zhu Yu remained expressionless and replied, "One thousand."

"Oh no, Zhu, it's not worth that much." Raul looked at him in shock, as if he were looking at a greedy capitalist, and shook his head repeatedly. "Zhu, it's too small and too complex; it needs to be refined through processing."

A stream of information flashed in his eyes, and then he raised two fingers, saying earnestly:

"Two hundred resource points, only two hundred. Good luck."

Although Zhu Yu couldn't directly perceive his emotions, he could sense that two hundred resource points was the highest price Raul could offer. He nodded and said:

"make a deal."

"But you need to provide me with the technology and machinery to process it."

Raul visibly relaxed and nodded, saying, "No problem." He then smiled and said, "I'll give you the technology for free, but you'll need to spend resource points to buy the machine."

Before he could speak, she added:

"These are the rules of the 'Dawn,' and no one can break them..."

"Can."

Zhu Yu nodded with a smile. He hadn't expected the "Life Stone" to be worth so many resource points on the "Dawn," especially the "purification technology" he mentioned. He was very much looking forward to it.

After saying that, he pointed to the other things on the ground and asked expectantly:

"Aren't you going to look at these anymore?...

Raul glanced at it and said, "Ten catties of rice, one resource point; one orc, one resource point; ten nuts, one resource point..."

"Is that all...?"

Zhu Yu shook his head in disappointment and turned to walk out of the shop.

Raul quickly followed, and upon reaching the outside of the store, expertly opened the car door for him. As the car was about to leave, he hesitated for a moment, then said mysteriously:

"If you bring Raul a large amount of 'crystals,' I believe Raul will give you a big surprise..."

"Um!…"

Zhu Yu's eyes flickered slightly, and he grinned, saying, "I'm looking forward to it."

Watching the vehicles merge into the traffic.

Raul picked up the "Life Stone," brought it close, and took a deep breath. A visibly greenish-blue aura flowed into his nostrils, and as if he had taken a powerful tonic, his expression instantly became much more energetic. Good books and good stories accompany you every day.

He let out a soft breath and murmured:

"Ah...the long-lost energy is truly intoxicating..."

Coming to his senses, a glint of greed appeared in his eyes.

"Good luck, Raul will give you a surprise..."

At this time.

Outside the desertified territory.

"Are Life Stones really that expensive...?"

Upon receiving the message from the distracted spirit, Zhu Yu was surprised, but then his face lit up with joy. What was extremely precious to Raul was nothing more than an ordinary thing to him, who cultivated the "Insect World".

What a pleasant surprise!

This made him think of an idea he had had before.

Instead of expending effort and taking risks to conquer the outer realms, it would be better to cultivate them deeply. With his ability to divide his mind into countless forms, he could create different "Spirit Ruins" to acquire their unique resources and trade their scarce resources, thereby making huge profits.

If a vast supply and demand network could be built.

At that time, he will no longer have to worry about a lack of cultivation resources...

"hiss…"

Zhu Yu took a deep breath to calm his excited emotions, and after thinking it over, he quickly discovered many loopholes.

Firstly, the rules of different "Spirit Ruins" are different. A resource that has a special effect in one Spirit Ruin may lose its special effect in another Spirit Ruin.

There's also the issue of "teleportation".

The "altar" he painstakingly built could teleport items from the insect realm, but other "spirit ruins" were not necessarily so, and it would also not work if the cost of teleportation was too high.

After a moment's thought.

Zhu Yu shook his head to clear his mind. Whether it succeeds or not, he would know once he tried. Besides, being distracted by managing his affairs wouldn't hinder his attack on the outer regions.

If he were now capable of conquering the "Insect Realm," why bother with farming? Wouldn't it be better to simply incorporate the Insect Realm into the subordinate Spirit Ruins?

However, this transaction also served as a wake-up call for him.

For him now, conquering foreign lands is secondary; only by devoting more of his energy to cultivating more spiritual realms can he go further in the future.

read this.

Zhu Yu thought for a moment, then connected his mind with the distractions of "Heavenly Principle" and "Righteous Qi" who were chasing "Yang Jiu" outside, and instructed them not to rush things, but to focus on themselves and their business, and not to be too aggressive.

The "Martial Realm" is destined to become an appendage of the "Flower Goddess Spirit Ruins" in the future.

The two could perhaps go even further.

After giving his instructions, Zhu Yu returned to his "natal spirit ruins," opened the altar, and before he had to wait long, two "spider silk bags" filled to the brim were teleported over.

I did a quick check.

The spider silk bag contained a full one million "Life Stones".

This is just the spare change that "Big-Winged Wasp" had when it was distracted. If the jade coins were exchanged, the amount would be much more terrifying.

"Two hundred million resource points are enough..."

Zhu Yu smiled, then frowned and said, "But we need to be careful with that Raul..."

After a moment's thought, Ju Xian left the "Native Spirit Ruins" through the bronze gate.

Machinery City.

Raul Prosthetics Shop.

Raul stood outside the door. When he saw the antique car slowly approaching, he quickly took two steps forward and greeted it with a warm smile. As soon as Zhu Yu got out of the car, he immediately stepped forward and gave him a hug.

"Congratulations, you are the richest person Raul has ever hosted..."

"Yeah…"

Zhu Yu smiled, said nothing more, and followed Raul into the shop.

He had just sat down.

Raul couldn't wait to say, "Zhu, quickly show Raul your wealth..." As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the spider silk bag in his hand.

Zhu Yu gave him a meaningful look and tossed the spider silk bag in her hand to him.

Raul hurriedly took it, opened the cloth bag's rope, and when he saw the grains of green crystal inside, like grains of sand, and the vibrant life force that seemed to fill the ocean, a mixture of shock, surprise, jealousy, and greed flashed across his eyes in an instant.

Seeing that he remained in a daze for a long time, Zhu Yu tapped the table lightly and said, "Mr. Raul, may we proceed with the transaction now?"

"certainly."

Raul reluctantly withdrew his gaze, tucked the spider silk bag into his coat, tapped the table lightly, and two steaming cups of coffee appeared. He picked one up, casually reclined on the sofa, took a sip, and said coldly:

"Congratulations, after you finish this cup of coffee, you can leave..."

Zhu Yu remained expressionless and shook his head, saying, "One hundred million resource points for a cup of coffee? That's too expensive; I can't afford it."

Raul's face showed a mocking smile. Just as he was about to say something, a series of crisp footsteps came from outside. He turned his head and looked up. When he saw who it was, his expression changed instantly. He stood up abruptly and said with a fawning face:

"Melice, you..."

But before he could finish speaking, his face suddenly froze, and only his eyes could move, revealing a look of terror and pleading...

A slender white arm took a spider silk pouch from his arms, and then, to his horrified gaze, pointed it at his head. His body instantly disintegrated into a pool of silver liquid, merging into the ground and disappearing.

The visitor walked up to Zhu Yu, bowed, and said:

"I apologize, Mr. Zhu. It was the 'Dawn' that failed in its duty, causing you concern. Melis will handle the rest of the transactions, and all your expenses on the 'Dawn' will be discounted by 20%."

Zhu Yu sized up the capable-looking woman with an Asian appearance. She was also the councilor in charge of the "Exchange Office." He nodded slightly and said:

"Can we begin trading now?...?"

"certainly."

Melis nodded and tapped the table, revealing the list of items he had wanted to buy.

Now that he had a huge sum of money in his hands, Zhu Yu looked down on these things and asked, "Is there anything better?...

Representative Melis smiled and nodded, then swiped her finger to reveal a large array of robots and experimental equipment of different models.

This clearly shows that she has more authority than Raul.

Zhu Yu's gaze swept across them one by one, and when he saw a robot that looked like an iron barrel, holding a gun and shield, and was named "Godslayer L1" with a series of zeros marked on it, his eye twitched involuntarily.

One trillion…

Even if "Bigwing Hornet" had traded all its assets, it wouldn't be worth that much.

When he saw the impressive record of hunting down various "third-tier" creatures below, a fiery look appeared in his eyes.

"Too high..."

Zhu Yu reluctantly averted his gaze, turned to Representative Melis, and spread his hands, saying, "Could you introduce me to her?"

He paused, then added:

"Within the range of 200 million resource points..."

Representative Melis's smile remained unchanged. With a light swipe of her finger, ninety-nine percent of the images on the screen disappeared. Pointing to the topmost image—a pure-looking girl in a green dress with pristine white wings—she introduced it as follows:

"The 'Serya' L1 medical robot, created in the A-1 editor, is constructed entirely of mithril, possesses the bloodlines of high elves and two-winged angels, is equipped with an auxiliary 'AI chip,' and incorporates data from numerous large-scale experiments and combat experience, giving it mid-tier second-level combat power..."

"Price: 150 million resource points"

She paused, glanced at Zhu Yu who had a calm expression, and continued to introduce other types of auxiliary robots.

The prices of other medical robots dropped by 100 million.

Although it is much cheaper, its parameters are significantly different from those of the "Sailya" L1 medical robot.

"No introduction needed."

Zhu Yu interrupted Melis, pointing at the L1 robot and saying, "That's it..."