The Galgame Martial Saint - Chapter 110: Special CG: Laboratory of Love
Okay, at this point, it could basically be characterized.
When the monster disguised as a purple gold treasure chest completely lost its vitality, Gu Chengming sheathed his sword.
Looking at the system prompt at the bottom of his vision, 【As a thief cultivator, sometimes you must learn to resist temptation】, the sense of awe he originally felt for the so-called ‘ancient powerhouse’s inheritance’ vanished in an instant.
In its place was a sense of familiarity that seemed to span two lifetimes, etched into his DNA.
This routine of placing good things in conspicuous places to lure you over, and then dealing a fatal blow the moment you reach out…
Had this Myriad Thief Immortal studied at some theological academy?
Gu Chengming’s mind was already subconsciously starting to imagine stories of the Myriad Thief Immortal’s childhood on the way to school.
“Brother Gu…”
A voice from his side interrupted his thoughts.
Nuo Tao was squatting beside that pile of rotten meat, carefully poking the corpse with a twig she had picked up from somewhere.
“How did you find out something was wrong with this thing?”
Nuo Tao looked up, her tone a bit bewildered: “I scanned it repeatedly with my divine sense just now. Before it suddenly attacked, its spiritual energy fluctuations and material texture were identical to a real treasure chest. There wasn’t any breath of a living thing at all.”
For a thief cultivator, eyesight was the foundation of their livelihood. If she had to say anything, perhaps only the size and form of the box were a bit abrupt.
But from Gu Chengming’s reaction, it was as if he knew from the very beginning that there was a problem with this treasure chest.
【Hundred Bones Resonating snorted: A true powerhouse must hit everything that looks movable or immovable the first time they enter a room. This is imperial-level caution. As expected of Emperor Gu.】
【Hundred Bones Resonating Favorability +5】
Gu Chengming didn’t explain much, thinking that after experiencing these things many times, one would naturally understand.
He couldn’t exactly say that while he wasn’t a hardcore player keen on suffering in his previous life, he was a MOD creator keen on turning hardcore suffering games into galgames, right?
—No one could understand the divine feeling of seeing those hideous monsters lurking in dark corners to ambush people being replaced one by one with beautiful girls who, despite saying malicious lines, would increase their favorability as long as you gave them the right gifts.
Pulling his thoughts back, Gu Chengming stepped over the pile of rotten meat and cast his gaze toward the seemingly unchanged white corridor ahead:
“Let’s go.”
Although Nuo Tao still had doubts in her heart, seeing that Gu Chengming had no intention of explaining, she could only suppress her confusion and quickly follow him.
It turned out that Gu Chengming’s prediction was not wrong.
After passing through the corridor, there was a seemingly extremely narrow single-plank bridge, and below the bridge was a bottomless white void.
“There’s an air-restriction array here.”
Nuo Tao frowned and took a copper coin from her sleeve, throwing it out. The copper coin traced a parabola and suddenly seemed to hit an invisible wall three inches above the bridge surface, being instantly bounced away.
She took a deep breath, and as her spiritual energy circulated, her figure suddenly became blurred.
That was the Myriad Thief Sect’s unique movement technique, “Dust Merging,” which aimed to assimilate one’s own aura with the surrounding environment to bypass the rejection of rules.
However, just as she was about to step onto the bridge, she was pulled back by Gu Chengming.
“What is it?” Nuo Tao turned her head.
Gu Chengming didn’t speak, just pointed to a seemingly ordinary wall indentation on the opposite side of the bridge.
“That’s…?”
Without answering, Gu Chengming picked up a stone fragment and threw it at the hidden compartment with full force.
“Clang—!”
A crisp sound of metal striking metal echoed.
The stone hit some kind of mechanism.
Immediately following that, there was a tooth-aching sound of mechanical gears turning, and three crossbow bolts suddenly shot out from that hidden compartment, instantly piercing through the middle section of the single-plank bridge with the sound of breaking air.
Nuo Tao subconsciously pulled her neck back, feeling a chill down her spine.
“In this kind of place where vision is narrow and movement is limited, it’s basically telling you there are traps here.”
As Gu Chengming spoke, he thought to himself, why was there only one trap? He had thought three skeleton archers would be placed on the other side of the bridge.
Nuo Tao opened her mouth, but in the end, she could only squeeze out: “…I have much to learn.”
The two continued forward.
Soon they arrived at what looked like a resting area in a large hall.
In the center of the hall, a bonfire burned, and beside it were several prayer mats and a pot of spiritual tea emitting a clear fragrance, placed there quite considerately.
Nuo Tao’s tense shoulders relaxed slightly. She thought that the Founding Grand-Patriarch still had some humanity after all, knowing to give a place for people to catch their breath.
She just wanted to go over and sit down, but she saw the long sword in Gu Chengming’s hand already unsheathed.
“Clang—”
Sword qi like a rainbow directly cut off a corner of the stone table where the spiritual tea was placed.
“What are you doing?!” Nuo Tao cried out.
However, in the next moment, that warm bonfire suddenly exploded and turned into a hideous human face, and the pot of spiritual tea turned into a stream of poisonous liquid emitting a foul stench, spraying directly onto the spot where Nuo Tao had just wanted to sit.
—Damn it, I knew there’d be a fake bonfire part.
Over the next few hours, the two of them spent their time in this constant probing.
Gu Chengming was responsible for handling those malicious designs, such as blind spots behind corners and trap triggers disguised as road signs, while Nuo Tao was responsible for solving those thief cultivator puzzles.
The cooperation between the two was unexpectedly tacit.
“The tenth trial…”
After the two joined forces to kill a guard disguised as a giant stone statue that would only move when they turned their backs to it, Nuo Tao finally couldn’t take it anymore.
She plopped down on the ground, ignoring her image, and looked at the empty hall around them in a bit of a frenzy:
“Brother Gu, don’t you think this place is a bit too stingy?”
“We’ve passed ten trials, ten! Even if we were exploring a ruin left by a second-rate sect, by this time we should have found at least a few decent dharma artifacts or several bottles of pills, right?”
“Why hasn’t there been any reward at all until now?”
It wasn’t that she really wanted rewards that badly, but it was a matter of principle that a member of the Myriad Thief Sect should never leave empty-handed.
—Shouldn’t you ask yourselves that?
Gu Chengming looked at Hundred Bones Resonating in the dialogue box, who was sharing her indignation, feeling a bit helpless and amused.
He had originally wanted to use this secret realm opportunity to coax Old Bai, but as it turned out, Old Bai wasn’t coaxed, and instead, the favorability of the Red Dust Phantom Step had been rising steadily, now reaching a total increase of twenty-five points.
【Red Dust Phantom Step is quite satisfied. Watching your cautious appearance along the way feels like pure enjoyment.】
【Current Favorability: 45 / Friendly】
The two tidied up briefly and stepped toward the light gate again.
After crossing the light gate, the monotonous white suddenly receded, and the ground was no longer that floating condensation of spiritual energy.
In front of them was a giant circular altar, with twelve towering stone pillars standing around it. In the very center of the altar, there were only two currents of air, one black and one white, chasing each other.
The moment the two stepped onto the altar, the Azure Bird Token in Gu Chengming’s storage pouch and the Fire Phoenix Token in Nuo Tao’s hand buzzed simultaneously.
Without needing them to activate them, the two tokens flew out on their own and hovered in mid-air. The blue light and red light converged, quickly outlining a human silhouette.
His stature was not tall, appearing somewhat hunched. He wore a faded gray Daoist robe with a wooden hairpin stuck haphazardly in his hair. He looked like some down-and-out old Daoist setting up a fortune-telling stall on a common street.
But just such a seemingly ordinary phantom caused all rules and spiritual energy flows to freeze the moment he appeared.
It was none other than the Myriad Thief Immortal.
The only cultivator in this Jiuzhou world who had attained the great dao through ‘stealing.’
The phantom of the Myriad Thief Immortal slowly opened his eyes. His gaze first circled around Nuo Tao, seemingly confirming the talent of his own sect member, and then his eyes fell upon Gu Chengming.
‘Oh my god, the old guy isn’t dead!’
Nuo Tao was a bit surprised, then realized that the one before her was a great cultivator and her thoughts might be sensed, so she quickly changed her inner voice to: ‘The Founding Grand-Patriarch actually hasn’t passed away yet!’
And the Myriad Thief Immortal seemed to see through Nuo Tao’s little thoughts at a glance.
“Don’t be nervous. The current me is but a wisp of obsession, lingering on by relying on this secret realm I left behind and the uniqueness of the ‘Sky-Connecting Branch’ law seat. Only then can I struggle to survive, occasionally coming out to get some fresh air and see the jokes of the younger generation.”
As he spoke, his gaze bypassed Nuo Tao and landed directly on Gu Chengming.
With his hands behind his back, the Myriad Thief Immortal circled Gu Chengming twice, clicking his tongue:
“The sword intent of the Wenjian Sect, the karma-distorting arts of the Hehuan Sect…”
Then, as if discovering something, he looked a bit surprised: “And also the Great Qian dragon qi and the Confucian Heart Sutra? You certainly carry quite a lot of destiny on your shoulders.”
Hearing him state the origins of the techniques he carried one by one, Gu Chengming couldn’t help but be startled. He had almost never shown the dragon-shaped qi seed to the outside world.
But thinking that the person before him was a great cultivator above the sixth realm, the ancestor of thief cultivators, it wasn’t surprising that he could see through these things at a glance.
Gu Chengming bowed with his hands clasped.
“Senior has a wisdom eye.”
The Myriad Thief Immortal waved his hand, the smile on his face growing thicker:
“No need to be so respectful. Since you’ve come, it is destiny. My Myriad Thief Sect’s fortune never looks at spiritual root talent, but only at the strength of karma. The heavier the karma and the deeper the entanglement, the more qualified one is to bear the weight of the word ‘thief’.”
Speaking to this point, the Myriad Thief Immortal seemed to have a sudden burst of enthusiasm for talking. He actually sat cross-legged in mid-air and pulled Gu Chengming into a casual chat:
“Although your red dust technique is a bit crude, the logic is correct. Reversing cause and effect, wrapping the heaven’s will with the thoughts of all living beings… But you’re still too cautious. Since you’ve already borrowed karma, why not be a bit more bold? If you could wrap that karma thread one more time, even if you don’t use a sword…”
Gu Chengming was increasingly startled as he listened. The Myriad Thief Immortal’s understanding of the path of karma was such that just a few words benefited him greatly.
And Nuo Tao, standing to the side, was naturally left out.
After chatting for a full fifteen minutes, the Myriad Thief Immortal smacked his lips as if he hadn’t had enough, finally remembering there was someone else beside him.
Nuo Tao quickly put on a well-behaved look of “this disciple is ready to listen to your teachings at any time.”
The Myriad Thief Immortal said with a smile: “Mhm, you’re not bad either.” And then there was nothing more.
Nuo Tao: “?”
The difference in attitude was way too big! Who exactly was the successor of the Myriad Thief Sect here?!
Seeming to have noticed the young girl’s mindset, the Myriad Thief Immortal coughed and finally began to get down to business.
“Enough small talk. Since you both managed to get here, it means you’re both qualified to accept the final trial.”
With a wave of his wide sleeve, the surrounding space suddenly rippled.
Then the Myriad Thief Immortal began to introduce the content of the final trial.
This content was almost identical for every worldly walker of the Myriad Thief Sect. The content was to overcome numerous difficulties in a certain map and finally steal a certain treasure.
The only difference was that this map was usually left behind and carefully crafted by the previous worldly walker.
Nuo Tao became a bit nervous upon hearing this.
So that was it. No wonder her master said that every trial and even every secret realm would change because of the entry of the previous walker.
It turned out the final trial was often the one left for them by their own master?
Of course, simply passing this trial was nothing. The core point was actually to ‘create’ the next trial.
Because the created trial needed to be approved and satisfied by the Myriad Thief Immortal.
But the Myriad Thief Immortal’s next words were beyond both their expectations: “However, it would be too boring to just follow the old ways.”
He reached out and lightly brushed across the void.
As if erasing chalk from a blackboard, the complex light and shadow map left by “Daoist Don’t Know” that had appeared in the center of the altar instantly vanished without a trace.
“This trial is too mediocre.”
The Myriad Thief Immortal casually critiqued his grand-disciple’s work, then looked at the two with a beaming smile: “Given the uniqueness of you two, I’ve decided to temporarily change the rules.”
“The next trial will no longer be about going through the previous person’s trials. Instead, you will be each other’s examiners and trial-takers.”
“I will temporarily split the core permissions of this secret realm in half for each of you.”
“You will be transported to two independent spaces. There, you can mobilize all resources within the secret realm—mechanisms, demon beasts, illusion arrays, restrictions, and even rules.”
“Whoever can clear the map designed by the other in the shortest time and take the token hidden in the deepest part of that map will receive this final fortune.”
Nuo Tao was stunned at first upon hearing the rules, and then her eyes suddenly lit up.
If it was a fight, she was definitely not as good as Gu Chengming.
But if it was about ‘ambushing’ others, that was her specialty!
She had been learning these things from her master since she was a child!
Nuo Tao waved her little fist and looked at Gu Chengming with high morale: “Brother Gu, this time I really won’t show any mercy!”
Gu Chengming was slightly startled, thinking to himself: ‘So this is where you were waiting for me.’
The Myriad Thief Immortal laughed loudly and waved his sleeve.
Two pillars of light instantly enveloped Gu Chengming and Nuo Tao. In the next moment, the figures of both disappeared from the altar.
…
After a slight sense of dizziness.
Gu Chengming found himself in a pure white space.
And directly in front of his vision hovered a giant, semi-transparent light screen interface.
That interface was filled with various neatly arranged icons.
The column on the left was 【Terrain Type】: abyss, lava, poison marsh, maze walls, hidden blocks…
The column on the right was 【Mechanism Type】: crossbow bolts, rolling stones, teleportation arrays, gravity reversal, spiritual energy restriction zones…
The bottom column was 【Monster Type】, along with various elemental reactions…
And at the very top of the interface, there were several conspicuous operation buttons: 【Place】, 【Undo】, 【Test】, 【Save】…
Gu Chengming reached out and tentatively clicked the icon for 【Hidden Block】, then dragged it in the void.
“Click.”
A block flickering with semi-transparent luster and labeled “Contains Poisonous Mushroom” floated steadily in mid-air.
Looking at the extremely familiar interface, Gu Chengming couldn’t help but complain in his heart.
—Crap, there’s even a map editor?
Two hours later.
In that pure white space, Nuo Tao let out a long breath and wiped the non-existent sweat from her forehead.
Looking at the massive suspended maze before her, her lips curled up involuntarily.
This was her masterpiece.
It combined the Sumeru folding method from the Myriad Thief Sect’s inheritance, utilized visual displacement to construct seventy-two instant-death traps, and buried chain-triggered illusion arrays at the nodes of spiritual energy flow. It could absolutely be called ‘one wrong step leads to eternal damnation.’
Even the Myriad Thief Immortal couldn’t help but stroke his beard and nod at this moment, his eyes showing a bit of approval:
“Not bad. Meticulous mind and ingenious layout. Especially that design where the path of life is actually a dead end is much better than your master’s.”
Having received the confirmation of the Founding Grand-Patriarch, Nuo Tao’s confidence multiplied.
She turned her head and looked at Gu Chengming, who had also completed his map nearby, her eyes full of provocation:
“Brother Gu, my map isn’t easy to pass. It’s not too late for you to beg for mercy now.”
Gu Chengming just smiled and stepped into the maze.
…
The trial began.
Nuo Tao crossed her arms, standing before the light screen from a god’s-eye view, watching with anticipation as Gu Chengming’s figure appeared at the entrance of the maze.
“The first trial is an illusion combined with gravity reversal.”
Nuo Tao explained silently in her heart: “As long as he steps on that bluestone, gravity will instantly change direction. If he wants to use sword qi to break through, the counter-shock force will trigger poison arrows on both sides…”
However, Gu Chengming in the image did not probe as she had expected.
He just stood at the entrance, simply loosened his wrists, and while circulating the Hundred Bones Resonating, ten flying swords surrounded him and instantly formed the “Tenfold Sword Array.” This sword array didn’t expand outward, but instead operated tightly around his body.
Gu Chengming just stepped forward, carrying the sword array.
“Boom—!”
The moment the first bluestone with a gravity trap lit up with spiritual light, it was ground into powder along with the foundation below by the violent sword qi.
Poison arrows were shot and ground up by the sword qi, quicksand surged and was blasted by a punch, and the illusion had no effect at all.
—Where’s the illusion? Where’s my illusion?! Do something!
She watched helplessly as Gu Chengming didn’t follow her preset route at all. He smashed through walls when he encountered them, crossed abysses by stepping on flying swords, and her carefully designed interlocking locks were directly shattered by a punch.
Inside the light screen, dust and smoke billowed.
Wherever Gu Chengming passed, never mind the mechanisms, even the terrain was permanently altered by him.
That originally well-arranged maze was forcibly plowed into a straight broad road by him.
“This is cheating, isn’t it?!” Nuo Tao pointed at the light screen, her voice trembling: “Is it even possible to clear the trial like this?”
The Myriad Thief Immortal watched with great interest and even offered a comment:
“As the saying goes, one strength can suppress ten techniques. Skill does indeed need sufficient strength to support it. Little girl, your design is very ingenious, but it seems to be useless.”
In less than the time it took for half a stick of incense to burn.
Gu Chengming stood at the end of the maze, holding the jade slip that served as the token, completely unharmed.
And Nuo Tao, looking at the mess that was her maze, fell into deep self-doubt.
Is this guy even human?
Gu Chengming handed the jade slip to the Myriad Thief Immortal, then looked at the dazed Nuo Tao and said in a gentle tone:
“Miss Nuo’s design was indeed ingenious. If it weren’t for my decent physique, I’m afraid it would have taken a lot of effort.”
—A lot of effort? Haha, the ‘effort’ part was probably just abolished by you.
Nuo Tao took a deep breath and slapped her cheeks to force herself to cheer up.
It didn’t matter. Although he was a monster in terms of martial power, she was a professional in ‘ambushing’ others!
A worldly walker of the Myriad Thief Sect would never admit defeat!
She turned to look at the entrance of the trial designed by Gu Chengming.
It looked very simple, without complex array patterns. It was just a path composed of square bricks floating in the void, with a distant-looking castle at the end.
“Just this?”
Confidence immediately surged in Nuo Tao’s heart.
With her movement techniques, wouldn’t she be able to cross such a straightforward stage as if walking on flat ground?
She gave a light snort, her figure flashing as she turned into a streak of light and rushed into the trial space.
…
【Current Attempt Count: 1st】
Nuo Tao stood at the starting point, looking at the several blocks floating in the air with question marks painted on them.
“This should be some kind of reward mechanism, right?”
With a thought, her figure leaped up lightly, reaching out to hit the question mark block to see if pills or talismans were hidden inside.
However, right on her jumping path.
“Thud!”
A muffled sound echoed.
Nuo Tao’s head collided solidly with an originally invisible ‘hidden block.’ This hidden block was placed in an extremely tricky position—right on the path she had to take to reach that question mark block.
This collision directly interrupted her upward momentum, causing her to lose balance. Even worse, that hidden block seemed to have triggered something.
The originally solid ground below suddenly disappeared, replaced by a deep pit full of spikes.
“Waaaaah—!”
Nuo Tao screamed as she fell.
Pfft.
Her vision faded into darkness, followed by a line of blood-red characters: 【Noob】.
…
【Current Attempt Count: 2nd】
A white light flashed, and Nuo Tao returned to the starting point.
She rubbed her head, which felt no pain but was suffering from severe phantom pain, gritting her teeth as she looked at the position of that hidden block.
“How treacherous, to set an ambush at the jump point!”
She learned her lesson this time. She carefully bypassed that hidden block and continued forward.
A giant green pipe appeared in the middle of the road ahead.
Nuo Tao scanned it with her divine sense. After confirming there were no spiritual energy fluctuations, she prepared to climb over it.
The moment her palm touched the edge of the pipe.
A piranha plant with sharp teeth suddenly lunged out from the pipe and bit her head.
【Noob】
…
【Current Attempt Count: 12th】
Nuo Tao’s eyes were already somewhat numb.
She skillfully dodged a giant rock whose trigger condition was her stopping her footsteps, avoided floor spikes whose trigger condition was her walking too fast, and bypassed a flag that looked like a save point but would actually teleport someone into lava.
She arrived on what seemed to be a flat road.
A few clouds floated in the sky, appearing harmless to humans and beasts.
Suddenly, those clouds revealed smirking faces and began to drop those spiky iron turtles.
Nuo Tao fled with her head in her hands. After finally dodging the cloud monsters’ bombardment, an item appeared ahead that looked like an invincibility star.
She subconsciously wanted to take it.
But remembering the previous lessons, she forcibly held back and chose to go around it.
However, after she took three steps around that star.
The entire road collapsed.
The only way to survive was actually to get the brief flying ability after eating that star.
Looking at her darkening vision again, Nuo Tao only had one thought in her mind: Gu Chengming, damn you!
…
Outside the light screen.
Gu Chengming watched Nuo Tao die over and over for the nth time, his expression a bit complicated.
—Is it too hard?
The Myriad Thief Immortal was watching with great interest.
So-called trials didn’t have impossible situations… This was what thief cultivators called the “path of life.” And a thief cultivator’s basic skill was to find the only path of life among countless dead ends. This was why he had set this final trial.
What it verified was precisely a thief cultivator’s ability to find the path of life.
As the saying goes, to know yourself and your enemy is the key. Only by knowing how dead ends are designed can one better find the path of life.
So in this situation, was it that Gu Chengming’s ability to design dead ends was too outstanding, or was Nuo Tao’s ability to find the path of life too weak?
In any case, this design had indeed opened the Myriad Thief Immortal’s eyes.
Not bad, not bad. Such a fine talent should indeed be tied to my Myriad Thief Sect.
…
Finally.
After experiencing her thirty-seventh death.
Relying on the muscle memory that had been tortured out of her and an intuition called “I can survive as long as I predict your prediction,” Nuo Tao finally passed through that corridor full of malice.
Her clothes were in disarray. Although her body was a spiritual projection and wouldn’t be injured, her wretched appearance made her look like a beggar who had just escaped from a refugee camp.
Ahead was a high platform, and atop the platform quietly floated a treasure pearl emitting a soft light.
That treasure pearl was crystal clear with seven-colored halos flowing through it. It was the token for clearing the trial.
“Finally! It’s over…!”
Looking at that treasure pearl, Nuo Tao’s eyes instantly welled up. There had never been a moment when she felt a pearl could be so dear.
She dragged her heavy steps and climbed the platform step by step.
During this time, she still kept her nerves tight, fearing the steps would suddenly turn into a slide or a giant iron ball would fall from the sky.
But nothing happened. The surroundings were so quiet that only her breathing could be heard. No traps were triggered, and no monsters jumped out.
Nuo Tao let out a long breath: “It seems Brother Gu still has a bit of a conscience. The end here is finally normal.”
“Got it!”
The moment her fingertips touched the surface of the treasure pearl.
“Crack—”
The surface halo of that originally beautiful and holy treasure pearl suddenly tore open, revealing a bloody mouth full of barbs.
That wasn’t any treasure pearl at all. That was a mimic monster curled into a ball!
That bloody mouth, with the speed of a lightning strike, went ‘chomp’ and bit her neck.
【Noob】
…
On the other side, Gu Chengming, watching Nuo Tao fail again and again, couldn’t help but have a complicated expression.
Wasn’t the second trial of the Myriad Thief Immortal earlier a mimic chest? How could there still be a part where she falls for it over and over…
Xiao Tao, you’re quite a glutton for punishment.
Well, due to so many mistakes, Nuo Tao could almost remember all the traps.
Finally, after killing the mimic chest and picking up the item it dropped, she truly cleared the trial.
Nuo Tao felt a bit hopeless about life.
“The result is decided.”
The Myriad Thief Immortal’s voice carried a hint of emotion: “Without a doubt, your performance as a worldly walker of the Myriad Thief Sect is quite qualified.”
Hearing the Founding Grand-Patriarch’s praise, a look of surprise appeared on Nuo Tao’s originally hopeless expression:
“Ah, really?”
“If Gu Chengming didn’t exist.”
Nuo Tao: “.”
The Myriad Thief Immortal waved his wide sleeve: “Since the winner is decided, let the fortune be granted.”
He pointed his finger lightly, and two streaks of light descended from the sky toward the two of them.
Looking at the light ball floating toward her, Nuo Tao was a bit incredulous: “I get one too?”
The Myriad Thief Immortal glanced at her and smiled: “Didn’t I say it? Your performance as a worldly walker of the Myriad Thief Sect is quite qualified.”
Nuo Tao was overjoyed, and her previous depression was swept away. However, before she could carefully savor this joy…
“Alright, now that you’ve taken the stuff, hurry up and leave.” The Myriad Thief Immortal waved his sleeve quite unceremoniously.
“Ah? Founding Grand-Patriarch, wait, I still—” Before Nuo Tao could finish her words, a pitch-black hole suddenly appeared beneath her feet.
“Whoosh—”
The young girl’s figure instantly disappeared, and even her cry was cut off in the void.
The entire space instantly became quiet.
“Alright, now there are no outsiders.” The Myriad Thief Immortal turned to Gu Chengming and asked: “So, little friend Gu, do you really not want to consider it?”
“If you become a worldly walker of my Myriad Thief Sect, with the vastness of this Jiuzhou, where could you not go?”
Gu Chengming was bewildered: “Then what about Nuo Tao?”
The Myriad Thief Immortal thought for a moment: “She can be your follower.”
Gu Chengming thought to himself that there didn’t seem to be a difference from how it was now. She was already his follower.
Seeing that Gu Chengming truly had no intention of doing so, the Myriad Thief Immortal could only sigh.
“Forget it. Since you won the final trial, according to the rules, this old man should also give you a portion of fortune.”
“Do you know what ‘fortune’ is?” Gu Chengming’s expression turned stern, and he put away his joking mind, sitting upright: “I would like to hear more.”
The Myriad Thief Immortal raised his hand, his fingertip lightly brushing through the void. A crack visible to the naked eye followed, but it didn’t heal, instead freezing there like a scar.
“For low-realm cultivators, spirit stones, manuals, and pills can all be called fortune. But once you reach the fifth realm, and even that legendary sixth realm…”
His voice became low and distant: “So-called fortune is the rules bestowed by the law seat.”
“A cultivator’s cultivation is following the heavens to accumulate foundation, and defying the heavens to break through shackles. And the moment you attain a law seat, you become the incarnation of a certain rule in this world.”
Gu Chengming thought to himself, ‘Sure enough, after the sixth realm, they start playing with mechanics.’
“Of course, law seats also have levels of quality… The 【Sky-Connecting Branch】 law seat this old man borrowed from the heavenly dao back then belongs to the ‘heaven law seat’ order among many law seats.”
“Although I’m not clear about the specific rank, it can be considered among the best.”
“However,” the Myriad Thief Immortal’s tone shifted: “The fortune this old man wants to give you today is not from this 【Sky-Connecting Branch】.”
Gu Chengming was stunned: “It’s not the Myriad Thief Sect’s inheritance?”
“If it were anyone else, I would have given it. But you are different.”
The Myriad Thief Immortal shook his head, “The karma on you is too mixed and your luck is too prosperous. Although the 【Sky-Connecting Branch】 is good, it might not be suitable for you. Moreover…”
“In my life, I’ve stolen paths of life, stolen karma, and stolen heavenly secrets. But at the very beginning, what this old man actually wanted to borrow was not this 【Sky-Connecting Branch】, but another law seat.”
“That law seat was too high and too heavy. Back then, this old man exhausted all his heart and blood and even almost died. I only managed to ‘steal’ a trace of residue from it at the moment that law seat formed.”
“Even if it was just a trace of residue, it was enough to benefit this old man infinitely back then. It can even be said that it was this trace of residue that made the later Myriad Thief Immortal.”
Gu Chengming’s heart couldn’t help but beat a bit faster.
Not even caring about a Heaven law seat? What level of existence could that be?
“May I ask senior, what is the name of that law seat?” The Myriad Thief Immortal slowly uttered one word: “Dao.”
—Crap, how did I suddenly trigger a late-game quest?
“Senior…”
Gu Chengming’s throat felt a bit dry, and he instinctively became wary: “Why are you giving this to me? What do you want me to do?”
The Myriad Thief Immortal seemed to have long expected his reaction and waved his hand with a beaming smile:
“Don’t panic, don’t panic. This old man is now just an obsession. What could I plot against you for? I just feel you’re more likely to complete what I failed to complete back then.”
“And when the time comes, you will know for yourself. Since this old man gave it to you, I will never harm you.”
Gu Chengming remained silent for a long time before finally clasping his hands and saying: “Thank you, senior.”
“Good! Bold!” The Myriad Thief Immortal laughed and clapped his hands.
He said no more and just slowly raised his right hand.
In an instant, the entire pure white space began to tremble violently.
This was not a collapse, but an extremely eerie “pouring back.”
The white walls around them, the floor beneath their feet, and even those floating geometric objects in the distance all began to decompose at this moment.
They turned into countless extremely complex lines, into dense streams of data, and into some kind of “concept” that transcended vision and directly affected cognition.
“Go.” The Myriad Thief Immortal’s figure also began to become transparent, but the smile on his face became increasingly brilliant: “Let this world see the scenery of this corner of the ‘Dao’.”
Boom rumble—
Those countless lines and concepts, like a flock of birds returning to their nest, or like a reversed galaxy, frantically surged toward Gu Chengming.
Gu Chengming subconsciously spread his arms.
There was no imagined intense pain, nor was there any crisis of spiritual energy exploding his meridians.
He only felt his perspective being infinitely elevated in an instant.
He saw the essence of this secret realm, saw the foundation stones constructing matter, saw the trajectories of spiritual energy flow, and even saw the threads called “rules” hidden beneath the surface.
In the next moment, a line of characters appeared before Gu Chengming’s eyes.
【Obtained Special CG / Laboratory of Love】
—Crap, what the hell did you just call it?!
