Chapter 507: Do You Agree or Not (Two in One)

Yan Jing was going into seclusion.

The two exchanged a glance, reading the same thought in each other's eyes.

After this seclusion, Yan Jing would likely finish condensing his Heart of reaching the summit.

"That isn't a problem. It's just..."

Wang Yu looked slightly awkward.

"Honestly, we three domain lords rank near the bottom of the Zodiac in terms of strength. The other members are just as eccentric as Liu Xiaoyue."

"If too many of them show up this time, Longzi and I might not be able to stop whatever they try to pull."

"It's fine,"

Yan Jing said mildly.

"If things go south, I can come out at any time."

"I only hope you two can stall for time and protect my people as much as possible. It would be best if you can hold them off until I finish things on my end."

"That won't be a problem." Wang Yu breathed a sigh of relief.

She should have known that with a personality like Yan Jing's, it was impossible for him not to leave a backup plan.

"Good. I'll leave it to you, then." Yan Jing nodded and dismissed the meeting.

After leaving the First Building, he headed straight for the residence Shen Youran had prepared for him.

It sat on the wilderness border between the First Ring Domain and the Second Ring Domain.

"Has the Inner World mission come out?"

Shen Youran adjusted Yan Jing's collar.

Yan Jing shook his head.

"No news yet."

"Xiao Yanzi, you're advancing far too quickly." Shen Youran couldn't help but smile.

"There will probably be a very long cooldown period."

"We'll see how things stand when I get out. If there's still no word, I'll just use an Advance Ticket," Yan Jing said calmly.

Shen Youran's expression froze. Her hands resting on his collar trembled slightly. After a few seconds of silence, she finally spoke.

"Is the situation that bleak?"

"Not as good as I'd hoped, but not quite as bad as you'd think." Yan Jing smiled.

"I'm just used to making extra preparations."

Unresolvable worry lingered in Shen Youran's eyes, but in the end, she said nothing and simply finished smoothing out Yan Jing's clothes.

"Now that Survivor 6000 has consolidated and transferred from Ling'an to the First Ring Domain, it's devouring resources dozens of times faster than before."

"Survivor 6000 should complete a self-upgrade very soon, allowing it to split into even more copies."

"When that happens, it might even be able to augment a Seventh Rank's combat strength."

"Mhm."

Yan Jing nodded.

If it ever came down to using a card like the Survivor, it meant he truly had no other cards left to play.

He didn't say this to Shen Youran, however.

"I'm heading in, Teacher Shen."

Yan Jing didn't say anything more. He merely patted Shen Youran's head and stepped into the room.

It was just an ordinary, routine seclusion. He would be out in two weeks at most.

He had instructed Fei Yu to wake him herself if he hadn't stirred after two weeks. Furthermore, he had painted several pieces of Peerless; Paintings of the Painting Spirit and left them with Shen Youran, along with a batch of Fear Seeds.

There shouldn't be any major problems.

At least, that was what he thought.

"Old man, which way to Yueyin?"

On the Steel Plains, a petite young woman climbed down from a monster that towered into the clouds and looked at the two old men at the village entrance. One of the old men, wearing a skullcap, stared at the entity that was at least a hundred meters tall. He squeezed the arm of the other white-bearded old man, using their village's secret code.

"Do we tell her? Village Chief, Xiaogang just got back from Yueyin."

"Tell her my ass."

The white-bearded old man squeezed his arm in return, his message concise and to the point.

The skullcap-wearing old man looked up again at the terrifying, sky-scraping entity. Staring at its magnificent, mountain-like arm that stretched endlessly upward, he couldn't help but squeeze his companion's arm once more.

"This guy looks way more terrifying than the last one! Village Chief, just tell her."

"You don't know shit!"

Still concise and to the point.

"Village Chief..."

This time, faced with the skullcap-wearing old man's repeated secret code, the white-bearded old man directly punched him, driving him half a meter into the ground. This punch was not a secret code.

Beside them, the young woman watched this scene with great interest and spoke up.

"It seems you two know after all."

The white-bearded old man calmly kicked a few clumps of dirt over his half-buried companion and smiled.

"Of course we know."

"After all, Domain Lord Yan's reputation precedes him. Who hasn't heard of him?"

"Head in that direction."

The old man pointed out a direction.

"Alright, thank you kindly."

After thanking him, the young woman climbed back onto the terrifying entity's shoulder. The two walked off into the distance, leaving a deep crater with every step.

"Why didn't you just tell the truth?" The skullcap-wearing old man struggled out of the dirt and looked at the village chief in confusion.

"You know nothing. These two are much weaker than that old geezer from last time."

The white-bearded old man stroked his beard, his eyes flickering.

The skullcap-wearing old man finally understood.

His own judgment had been too shallow.

He'd assumed that size equated to strength.

If the monsters guarding Yueyin's entrance last time could handle that wretched old man, they could certainly handle this big-and-small duo. "Alright, don't just stand there. Go drain some blood. Xiaosi's wife just gave birth and needs it for her bath."

The white-bearded old man glared at him, and the skullcap-wearing old man immediately understood, turning around and running into the village.

He ran for quite some time.

The skullcap-wearing old man arrived at a cellar. Weird Energy surged in his palm, emitting a faint glow.

This looked like an ordinary cellar, with autumn fruits and vegetables piled into several small mounds.

But the old man didn't stop, walking straight to the deepest part of the cellar.

He stopped before a wooden door, pressed his palm against it, and silently recited an incantation.

With a loud rumble, the wooden door slowly shifted to the side.

It revealed an old man below, withered down to skin and bone.

Upon seeing the man in the skullcap, the withered elder's eyes filled with terror. A rattling sound escaped his throat, like a broken bellows. The skullcap-wearing old man merely chuckled. Pulling a Dagger from his waist, he neatly slashed the wrist of the entity known as Nian.

Liquid as thick as syrup dripped from Nian's wrist, falling into the bowl in the skullcap-wearing old man's hand.

"That's enough."

The skullcap-wearing old man smiled faintly, his mind recalling the large and small figures walking away into the distance earlier.

His imagination immediately ran wild.

If he had that big fellow's blood... would it be even better?

"You want to go to Yueyin? Yueyin is this way!"

Not long after the skullcap-wearing old man left, the village received more guests.

This time, it was a man with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, carrying a club-like object on his back.

Except the club was entirely too thick. It looked several times wider than the emaciated man's own body. It was wrapped in dark cyan cloth, and the tiny sliver exposed at the very end suggested it was likely a bone.

Whoever it belonged to, a single piece measured a full five or six meters long.

The man listened to the village chief but didn't reply, only stroking his chin.

"You aren't lying to us, are you?"

"The most honest man on the Steel Plains. I'd never cheat a soul," the white-bearded old man pledged solemnly.

The monkey-faced man nodded, then called over the young woman beside him, who was hauling a mountain-high bundle. They set off in the direction the old man had pointed. "Let's go, apprentice."

"Master, how far do we have left? I'm a bit hungry."

"How many times have I told you? On this trip, you must embody the spirit of the ancient monks journeying west for the true scriptures. Hurry up, perk up, and stop pulling a long face."

The young woman sighed.

These two groups weren't the last. Shortly after, the village chief received two more individuals.

One had dark skin, his eyes bright and flickering like sparks.

The other had extremely pale skin, and the hair covering his body was unusually thick.

Because the first two groups had gone to Tianzi and Beast Lord respectively, the old man had no other choice. To keep the guards at Beast Lord and Tianzi from being overwhelmed, he could only point these two in the true direction of Yueyin.

If he remembered correctly, there was also a "divine being" guarding the entrance to Yueyin.

A divine being with a sword at their waist, exuding an overwhelmingly heavy killing intent.

"I hope everything will be fine..."

He gazed toward Yueyin in the distance and sighed.

Their village was nothing but a small hamlet clinging to its last breath on the Steel Plains. If not for him, a cultivator at the Summit, stubbornly refusing to let it die, they would have been wiped out countless times already.

This was all he could do...

"Young Master, Young Master..."

Whispered words reached his ears. Yan Jing opened his eyes and saw Fei Yu, dressed in a black qipao.

"Did something happen?"

Yan Jing didn't know how much time had passed, but he hadn't completely condensed the Heart of reaching the summit yet. He was just missing the final piece.

"Mhm." Fei Yu nodded, though she didn't look particularly worried.

As far as she was concerned, as long as her Young Master was fine, nothing else mattered. She wasn't familiar with the others, so whatever happened was none of her business. If Yan Jing hadn't given prior instructions, she would have gladly let him rest a while longer.

"The Inner World or the Surface World?"

Yan Jing stood up. Because he had been inactive for so long, cracking sounds echoed from his body—the pop of stiff joints snapping back into alignment. "You're sleep-addled. You weren't in the Inner World, so I'm not too clear on the situation there either."

Fei Yu continued softly, "But Xiao Xin woke up yesterday. I sent her to check on the situation, so there shouldn't be any major problems."

"Then something happened in the Surface World." Yan Jing didn't show any joy upon hearing that Xiao Xin was awake; instead, his expression grew solemn. If Xiao Xin had already woken up, it meant his seclusion had lasted more than a week.

Given that much time, anything could have happened.

"Four people came from the Zodiac, and they... aren't exactly easy to deal with..."

Fei Yu added, "As soon as they arrived, they demanded to see you. Domain Lord Wang and Domain Lord Long tried to hold them off, but they were no match for how forceful they were being."

"Left with no choice, the two domain lords brought up the Zodiac's clauses, stating that all territories are meant to be mutually inviolable."

"But the four of them acted like scoundrels and demanded that the competition for the Zodiac's final dominance be held in Yueyin."

"It won't just be the four of them anymore. Soon, even more members of the Zodiac might show up."

"Madam Shen went to negotiate with them today... but... she still hasn't returned..."

Hearing this, Yan Jing's gaze turned ice-cold.

He was already pressed for time, yet situations like this constantly cropped up, wasting huge chunks of it.

At this moment, system prompts appeared before his eyes. They were from several days ago.

{The Stage A mission for the next Dungeon has been issued.}

{Dungeon Location: Great Prison}

{Mission: Double Agent}

{Mission Description:

The Great Prison, the ultimate cage connecting countless Domains, is now on the verge of collapse with the arrival of that day. The master of this prison gambled everything he had in order to step into the Eleventh Tier.

Unfortunately, he lost the gamble. Now, even settling for the next best thing and stepping into the Tenth Tier is a pipe dream.

But he still wants to make one last desperate attempt.

You have been summoned as the "Ultimate Weapon".

Of course, you can make the following choices upon entering the Dungeon:

1. Help the Great Prison.

2. Help my ass, rebel directly.

3. Help whomever you want to help.

When you make different choices, you will receive different missions.}

{Note: As the summoned "Ultimate Weapon", your initial Mental Immunity Value is reduced to 0. Because "Ultimate Weapon" rebellions have occurred in the past, you do not have any true allies this time. Almost everyone will remain guarded against you.}

"Let's go."

Yan Jing pulled Fei Yu back into his arms. Watching her figure dissipate into countless motes of light, he walked out of the wooden cabin.

He didn't linger for a moment outside. Layering Peerless with Blink, he instantly appeared above the First Ring Domain's buildings.

As soon as he appeared, he sensed four new auras inside the First Building.

He also sensed the auras of Wang Yu, Long Quezhou, and Shen Youran inside the building.

"Bang."

Yan Jing pushed open the doors of the conference hall and walked straight in.

He was still wearing the black trench coat Shen Youran had prepared for his seclusion, worn over a custom haute couture suit.

Black gemstones served as buttons along the coat's silhouette, while tight stitching meticulously traced out dark gold patterns that perfectly matched the garment's aura. "I do not agree."

Yan Jing said.

At once, everyone in the conference hall turned to look.

Pair after pair of eyes landed squarely on him.

"Don't agree with what?" Wang Yu's eyes widened.

They hadn't exactly been discussing a topic with an "agree" or "disagree" option.

"I don't agree with any of it," Yan Jing stated.

"...But... the proposal we just passed was put forward by Secretary-General Shen."

Wang Yu blinked again.

"Is that so? Then I agree with that one," Yan Jing said, his expression unchanged.

"This... is Domain Lord Yan?" A petite young woman looked at Yan Jing with a smile on her face.

Shen Youran hastily stood up, walked to Yan Jing's side, and whispered, "Xiao Yanzi, why did you come out?"

"I received news that things were urgent over here." Yan Jing shielded their voices from the others.

"It's a bit urgent, but I can hold things steady for now. Sorry for disturbing your seclusion again."

Although Shen Youran said this, it was obvious that her hands were trembling slightly.

In truth, she was terrified inside.

The weakest beings around them were at the Seventh Rank, and there were even several at the Eighth Tier. If a fight really broke out, a single slap would kill her. Strictly speaking, she and the people in this room didn't even belong to the same biological order anymore.

Her only real source of confidence came from the paintings and seeds Yan Jing had left with her.

But she had stepped up anyway.

Right now in Yueyin, with Yan Jing absent, she had to step up and take charge.

Even though she was terrified inside.

She couldn't let anyone disturb Yan Jing's seclusion.

It was her duty, and she had to have the resolve to see it through.

"So, should I agree or disagree?"

Yan Jing held Shen Youran's hand and asked softly.

Shen Youran blushed slightly.

"Xiao Yanzi, you should..."

"You should..."

She was also at a loss.

On the opposite side, the petite young woman stood up, a smile on her face.

"We from the Zodiac were originally here to test you."

"Just now, Secretary-General Shen proposed that since you're absent, Domain Lord Yan, the testing method should be changed to a match between our heirs and the heir of Yueyin."

"Your Secretary-General is quite something. She argued fiercely on the basis of reason alone. A mere Fourth Tier going head-to-head with several of us experts at the Summit—yet she forcefully swayed the majority to vote in favor."

"But now that you're here, Domain Lord Yan, and have explicitly stated that you disagree, it seems the proposal must be voided."

"Let's just proceed with the original plan then. The four of us will test you, Domain Lord Yan."

The young woman's eyes were full of mockery.

Clearly, she was the one who had cast the opposing vote.

Hearing this, Yan Jing paused for a moment before smiling.

"That works. That works."

"Now it's settled. I really do disagree."