Ming Dynasty, New Rome, and Infinite Divine Machine

[How come you're still so excited! How dare you say something like this after the battle? ]

"It's a double entendre. All right, leave the inspection to me. I'll take these 200 sets of weapons to the Imperial Guards and I'll leave from the Thunder Department. You go back to Shangluo to report. Besides, don't talk about my affairs. What disaster, fate, etc. Who can say for sure? Telling him will only make him worry in vain."

Shangluo was walking to school with his unfinished breakfast. Since Zhu Xianxun was not there, he had nowhere to go in the morning, so he walked to school by himself during class time. It took less than 10 minutes to walk from here to school.

"How's it going? Are the weapons ready?"

[It's okay. She told you not to worry. Once the weapons are ready, she will take them directly to the Imperial Guard.]

"Yeah." Shang Luo nodded, "But... there's actually one thing I've been worried about. Is she okay?"

【What could possibly happen to her?】

"I always feel that this 'Phaethon' of Phaethon seems to be very dangerous, just like a wife with the wrong hairstyle can easily die early in the plot."

Chapter 934 Mount

[You asked this yourself, not me!]

"What do you mean?"

Apollonia relayed to him the portion of her previous discussion with Phaethon.

"I told you, I'm worried about this too." Shang Luo shook his head, "What if she really got robbed? Why don't we let her come back?"

[Can you call her back once now, and keep her away from the house for the rest of her life? She is not Victoria. Victoria can really stay in the house for the rest of her life, and she can govern the country in her office. But Phaethon really needs to go out. ]

"She's not a Husky."

[Compared to Victoria, the fat cat who stays at home, she is a husky. If you really let her stay at home to avoid trouble, she will definitely not be able to stay idle. ]

"So this disaster is real?"

【Fate is unpredictable, and who can predict it? Legend has it that the Nordic god Odin wanted to prevent the coming of Ragnarok, but everything he did accelerated Ragnarok and made everything even more out of control. If this is really her fate, no matter what we do, I'm afraid we can't stop her from falling into the sea.】

"So why? Why is it like this?" Shang Luo couldn't understand this. "How can a person's life be determined by fate?"

[You forgot one thing - she is not an ordinary person, she is a demigod who carries the fate and power of Phaethon. Her power is not gained through cultivation, but comes from the fate of a demigod. She was born with great power and disaster. The loom of fate cannot affect every mortal, but she is undoubtedly in the script. Everything that fate lent her has already been marked with a price. ]

"Ah," Shang Luo covered his forehead, "Then is there any way to end this? I can't tie her up and prevent her from going out. And I don't know when this disaster will come. What should I do?"

[In fact, she reminded me of this by saying something - when I mentioned the Investiture of the Gods, she actually thought it wasn't a bad thing. Because there is a price to pay, then being on the Investiture of the Gods is actually a good choice. After all, even if you can't become an immortal, being on the Investiture of the Gods is also a good choice.]

"That won't work!" Shang Luo replied, "The Investiture of the Gods is for Doudou. She's such a big living person, I don't want to see her being bound by the duties of a god. I can give her a better future."

[I'm not saying that I want her to be on the Conferred God List. What I mean is - you see, there is actually some hope for this matter. Or rather, there is actually a lot of hope for this matter.]

"What do you mean?"

【Two aspects: First, how did Sun Wukong achieve immortality? If the calamity that Phaethon had to bear was unique, then the three disasters of thunder, fire, and wind were the calamities that everyone had to bear, right? Then how did Sun Wukong achieve immortality? He learned the seventy-two transformations to avoid the three disasters, and Sun Wukong could use his own strength to deal with the calamity. In the end, didn't the underworld come to seduce him? He directly overturned the underworld. 】

"Ah," Shangluo nodded, "So even though she bears the price of fate, the price is also limited, right?"

【Yes. Compared with the real three disasters, her disaster is just "stealing the power of the sun god, and finally being hit by the gods into the sea", which is not much different from Sun Wukong's soul being seduced. As long as her strength is strong enough to face more powerful heavenly disasters, then these small twists and turns are completely insignificant - cultivating immortals is against the will of heaven. The longer she stays in Rome, the more she owes fate. And cultivating immortals against the will of heaven may really help her.】

"If that's the case, then the Conferred God List is actually negotiable. We just need so many people on the Conferred God List, but who will be on the Conferred God List depends entirely on who Jiang Ziya and Shen Gongbao each bring to fight."

[This is my second point - even if it is really inevitable, the so-called disaster can be negotiated. Odin's family was wiped out by Ragnarok, and I think it was related to Odin's own stupid move. Even if he sat at home and did nothing, the final situation would probably not be so bad. Loki, Fenrir, many things are not irreversible. ]

"Then we should do something." He thought for a moment, picked up his phone, and dialed a number that he had recently added.

A silver sports car turned from the corner and stopped in front of Shangluo who was about to cross the road. The door opened automatically.

The six-legged warhorse Grani is always available.

"I didn't ask you to pick me up."

The car lights flashed and the door closed.

"Listen, you are going to the Jinyiwei Yamen now. You know the way, right? I will assign you a task now: you must protect Phaethon's safety. If anything happens, bring her back immediately."

[Hey, why do you feel like you are seeing the Lu horse that Liu Bei gave to Pang Tong? ]

"Are you Diluma?" he asked Grani.

Grani's windshield wipers swung left and right.

"Look, he said no."

[Okay.] Apollonia also instructed, [Then, I'll leave it to you. I know you work better here than in Rome, and you think this is more like a place where heroes should live. The Romans don't deserve a good horse like you, right?]

The car lights flashed, and Grani expressed his complete agreement.

[But Phaethon is also a Roman. I don't know what you think of her, but no matter what, this mission was assigned to you by Shangluo. You should work hard, okay?]

Grani responded with the roar of his engine. It was already raring to go.

"Very good, very energetic." Shangluo patted the roof of the car, "Once this errand is done, your mount-level treatment will be settled. It is not impossible to upgrade to the secondary beast level in a few years."

This made Grani a little angry, and he puffed out smoke from the hood.

[Ah, it got angry - it learned about the people in front of it, and said that Longlong was just a useless person, and the other main beasts and secondary beasts were not as useful as him.]

"Don't look down on Longlong. At least he runs fast enough, and he can definitely run to the safest place. If Longlong was here this time, I would let him be Phaethon's mount."

[Hey] Apollonia suddenly thought, [I'm not saying anything. Is it because Phaethon was bound to get into trouble this time, so Longlong went to avoid being implicated, so he hid himself? ]

"Hey!" Shang Luo slapped his forehead, "Really? I just realized it now. This kid runs too fast!"

Grani's engine roared angrily.

[Ah, he said, this is the difference between him and Longlong. Even if he knows that there is an unpredictable fate ahead, he will still charge forward with the knight without hesitation! ]

"I'm not asking you to charge in, I'm asking you to bring the person back. Okay, it's good to have your promise. I'll contact you later, and remember to fill up the gas before you go out."

Chapter 935 Reception

Qingcheng Mountain.

"Ah, the mountains in my hometown are still the best."

A hermit wearing a bamboo hat sat on a mossy stone. A golden monkey wearing a raincoat squatted beside him. The light rain fell from the top of the bamboo forest and landed beside the hermit. The small bamboo hat could only cover his head, but the golden monkey was completely covered by the raincoat.

"Ah? You asked me why I only covered my head when hiding from the rain and ignored my body? That's what we pandas do."

The golden monkey next to him tilted his head and nodded as if he understood.

"You didn't understand? Then you have to practice hard. You don't have much time left to become a spirit."

"Jiji." The monkey nodded, as if it understood what was said. It took out a big peach from the bamboo basket on its back and held it in both hands.

"Well, very good, very sensible. If I have the chance in the future, I will say a few good words for you in front of Shang Tianjun - what? You don't know who Shang Tianjun is? That's perfect, I'm avoiding him anyway. I always feel that there are some bad signs around him recently, so I came out to avoid him."

"Jiji?"

"Yes, I don't live here. I live far, far away. I took a plane for several hours and a taxi for several hours to get here. I will probably stay here for ten days or half a month. If you find any fruit, come and pay tribute to me, and I will teach you more about Taoism. Little monkey, you are lucky to run into me. You can go to the Taoist temple in Qingcheng Mountain and listen for a month, but it is not as good as me teaching you for ten minutes."

"Chiji! Chijijiji!" Although it couldn't speak, the golden monkey fully understood what he meant.

"Someone is here to see you." Longlong suddenly raised his head. "Do you have any unfinished work?"

"Jiji!"

"See you tomorrow then." He stuffed the peach into his mouth, rolled over and jumped up the tree, and at the same time kicked his backpack away.

"Raincoat." Climbing up a branch, he beckoned down and took his raincoat back from the golden monkey.

"Aji! Aji!" A Taoist priest carrying a bigger bamboo basket walked over from a distance.

"Jiji!" The golden monkey named Aji returned to the conspicuous road with an empty bamboo basket on his back. The panda wearing a bamboo hat had already put all the fruits in the basket into his backpack and carried them up the tree.

"Finally I found you, Ah Ji. Master said that the guest has arrived. He is a monk general from the capital, and he brought with him a Taoist boy who looked like a reincarnated starving ghost. After all, he is a big shot from the capital, and even a Taoist boy only eats spiritual things and not earthly food. He sat down and started to eat the fruit, and soon he ate two fruit plates. There are not enough spiritual fruits to eat, so where are the spiritual peaches I asked you to pick?"

"Chiji? Chiji" Aji showed his empty bamboo basket.

"You only picked these few peaches in the whole afternoon? Did you eat them all yourself?"

"Chiji! Chijiji!" Ah Ji patted his belly quickly - his belly couldn't hold so many peaches. Only his big mouth, like a crusher, could eat and carry away a whole basket of peaches.

"How can you achieve enlightenment if you continue like this? Think about Sun Wukong, and then think about yourself. You are both monkeys, so why is there such a big difference between you?"

"Jiji."

"Forget it, come back with me." He picked up Ah Ji's bamboo basket and said, "I'll go to the storehouse to see if there is any bamboo rice left. If there is no spiritual peach, I can only feed bamboo rice to that starving ghost Taoist boy."

After the man and the monkey left, the round panda's head hung upside down from the treetop. The treetop was bent down by the huge weight, and the whole tree was shaking.

"Bamboo rice? There's actually such a good thing." As he chewed a peach, his small eyeballs spun around in his large dark circles. "You're talking about Sun Wukong, right? Today, I, the immortal, will show you what it means to truly steal peaches and pills."

"Look, big brother! I got some food again! This time it's real food!"

Han Xingzhi sent a picture of a bowl of rice, and his joy was beyond words.

"What is this?" Shangluo showed his phone to Qi Qianhu in confusion. "Qi Qianhu, Xiao Han just sent me a picture. It looks like rice to me?"

Qi Qianhu took a look and said, "He is telling you something."

"Really?"

"This is bamboo rice, a special spiritual product from the southwest. In the ancient three dynasties, the [Huang Zhong] was used to adjust the weights and measures. The [Huang Zhong] is the bamboo tube of the bamboo. Bamboo rice is a spiritual product that grows from the bamboo. It is light and beneficial to the body. It blooms once a hundred years and bears fruit once a hundred years. Eating it can communicate with the gods. They must be staying in a famous mountain in the southwest now, most likely Qingcheng Mountain, otherwise they wouldn't be able to provide so much bamboo rice to entertain them."

"Good boy, this guy didn't eat in vain, he is still useful." Shang Luo immediately dialed the phone, "Operator Phaethon, are you ready to go? We already have a preliminary understanding of the enemy's location!"

"Wait a moment, I'm getting ready. I'm moving the finished products out, and you'll have to make the final decision and inject the rationale into these 'Sword Pills'. Once everything is done, we can move out right away. Will he move to another place?"

"They are eating. Or it would be more appropriate to say having a meal. It seems that the people over at Qingcheng Mountain are using very precious bamboo fruits to treat the two of them."

"Did he get a free meal again? Is it a good meal this time?"

"Of course not." Shangluo shook his head. "I haven't even eaten bamboo fruit. I'll try it someday. If we move quickly this time, we might be able to have a free meal. I'm going to your place now. get out of class is over. I can be there in 10 minutes. Is Grani at your place?"

"It has been squatting at the door since this morning. It feels like Victoria's bodyguard. I always feel like it will rush over and take me to the hospital at any time."

"That's right, that's what I told him - so don't do anything stupid. Don't get mad like you did the first time you saw me."

"That page can't be turned over, right? Why do you keep bringing up my car accident?"

"Because the pressure I felt at that time was really great! I wasn't even in the Qi training stage at that time, and you are several realms higher than me! If it were you, you would definitely remember it better than me."

"I really didn't do anything to you at that time, because you had nothing to do with me."

"I know you have no subjective ill will towards me, but those Roman things of yours are too unstable. Even if you have no subjective ill will and you are not coming for me, a near miss could still kill me!"

"Ah, well, I really can't help it. I won't do anything to you myself, but if the situation gets out of control, I will..."

"So, don't lose control this time." Shang Luo reminded, "This time, please, please, please, take good care of yourself. For your father."

"And for us and Apollonia."

Chapter 936 Sword Pill

[Thank you for still thinking of me. Anyway, I hope you can come back safely. It would be better if you don't put me last like a child. ]

"Why are you two? Why do you both act like you're sending me to work?"

"Pfft~" Shangluo laughed, "Really. I thought this was to send you off, but it seems more like sending you to work. Anyway, go early and come back early, I will prepare food for you."

"No, we're going out for dinner tonight. I want to try that bamboo shoot, too. By the way, are you there yet?"

"I'm at the door."

Shangluo pushed open the back door of the Jinyiwei Yamen.

"So fast?! Weren't you still in school just now?"

"The gods are so fast. When I want to take a walk, I can take a slow walk. When I want to hurry, I can rush over like flying."

[The main reason is that he is familiar with it. He walks this subway line every day, and he can get through it underground with his eyes closed. Since this guy is not a Taoist who has been practicing since childhood, he does not know any Taoist magic, so his magic is all unintentional, and can only be used when he is familiar with it. ]

"Tsk, tsk, tsk."

"What are you saying?" Shang Luo walked in, shaking his head. "So you are the one who has more experience. You see, although I don't owe anything to the world, I have no experience at all. I am different from you. Although you are limited by your background and have been restricted while gaining power, the life you have experienced so far is completely your own. Everything you have experienced in the past has not been lived in vain. You are really strong."

"Ah." Phaethon pressed her forehead, pulled her usually loose hair back, and tied it up into the high ponytail that Shangluo had worn when he first met her.

"I can't help it. Now that you've said that, I'd feel embarrassed if I don't put in some effort." Although she said it lightly, there was more than just ease in her words - Shangluo did not deny her personal value.

When Phaethon emphasized that "everything she has comes from talent", only Shangluo corrected her.